ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday asked the Cabinet Division secretary for a compliance report on its judgement against illegal constructions by Pakistan Navy and, in case of non-compliance, asked him to appear in person. An IHC division bench consisting of Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb was hearing an appeal filed by former chief of naval staff retired Admiral Zafar Mahmud Abbasi against the order passed by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah. Justice Minallah had ordered the navy sailing club on the banks of Rawal Lake to be razed within three weeks. The ruling also declared the…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
PESHAWAR/HARIPUR: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that development budget of the merged tribal areas has been doubled since 2018, as uplift of those areas is among the priorities of his government. The prime minister told the ruling party lawmakers at a meeting held at Governor House on Monday that the government increased the development budget from Rs24 billion in 2018 to Rs54bn this year. Mr Khan expressed these views during his daylong visit to Peshawar where he addressed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) members of the national and Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, according to a statement issued here. In the meeting that lasted…
The Senate on Tuesday again saw an intense debate over retired military officers holding key positions in the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and other state organisations, with opposition senators demanding details of such appointments but state minister Ali Muhammad Khan equating the query to “hatred for the armed forces”. The matter, which was previously discussed on December 29, saw Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed complain that he had specifically asked for the number of ex-military men rehired in Nadra but was instead given a general figure saying that the Authority has 13,997 employees in total. “I asked this question because unemployment…
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday directed authorities to make public the entire report of the scrutiny committee constituted to audit the foreign funds of the ruling PTI. The report compiled by the scrutiny committee confirmed that the PTI received funding from foreign nationals and companies, under-reported funds and concealed dozens of its bank accounts. Later, it emerged that the report did not not include eight volumes of the documents and bank statements requisitioned through the State Bank of Pakistan. The documents concealed by the committee included all original 28 bank statements and year-wise details of foreign funds transferred to the PTI’s…
At least five people were injured in an explosion near a railway track in the Mashkaf area of Balochistan’s Bolan district on Tuesday, a senior official of Pakistan Railways said. Muhammad Kashif from railways told that the blast occurred when Rawalpindi-bound Jaffer Express was passing by the area. The train was coming from Quetta. He said the blast had also derailed the train from the track, resulting in injuries to at least five persons who were moved to a nearby hospital. Police have not yet issued a statement on the incident. Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qaddos Bizenjo, in…
ISLAMABAD: As a bill seeking creation of south Punjab province landed in the Senate on Monday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi declared that the ruling party stood by its electoral promise and sought support of all other parties to help make it a reality. The private member bill was introduced in the House by Rana Mehmoodul Hasan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and was supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), but was opposed by another PML-N lawmaker. “It is a wail of our deprivations,” Mr Hassan said while presenting the case for south Punjab province…
A heated exchange took place between Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani and the counsel for the victims in the Islamabad couple harassment case on Tuesday after the victims failed to appear before the court. The case had surfaced when a video of four persons holding a couple at gunpoint, forcing them to strip and then beating them up had gone viral on social media last year in July. In September, charges were framed against the primary accused, Usman Mirza, and co-accused Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Rehan, Umar Bilal Marwat, Mohib Bangash and Farhan Shaheen, all of whom were produced before…
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Tuesday said the gun attack on police in Islamabad the previous night was not a robbery or dacoity gone awry but an act of terrorism. The interior minister was talking to the media after attending the funeral prayers of Head Constable Munawar, who was martyred in the shootout on Monday night. “He (Munawar) was on duty and terrorists shot a burst [of fire] on him,” Rashid said. “This was not an incident of theft or robbery. We have received a kind of signal that terrorist incidents have started happening in Islamabad. “This is the first incident of…
Queen Elizabeth II is asked to pass down the Crown to daughter Princess Anne and not Prince Charles. As per an Express.co.uk reader, Anne would be a ‘far better monarch’ than any of the potential Queen heirs. “Now is the time to right a wrong and end discrimination against our excellent Princess Anne,” said a social media user. “Purely because she is female Anne has been kept beneath her two younger brothers in the line of succession. “This is the exact time that she should take her rightful place given that females are now and for some time have been…
Will Smith was recently spotted grooving with his mom on her birthday. The Focus actor, 53, and his mom, Caroline Bright, celebrated her 85th birthday by shaking a leg to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody. In the adorable clip shared to Smith’s Instagram Page Monday, the duo can be seen holding hands while singing the song. It seems both of them had a blast and made the most of the special day. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) “85 Today! Happy Bday, Mom-Mom. Let’s dance our way to 100,” the King Richard actor captioned the…
