Category: English

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze aid to Pakistan could affect almost two billion dollars’ worth of assistance, a senior administration official said on Friday — substantially more than first thought. After an announcement designed to force Pakistan’s military and intelligence apparatus to cut support for the Taliban and other Islamist groups, the official said that both US military assistance and Afghanistan coalition funding to Islamabad could be suspended. It is “approximately two billion worth of equipment and coalition support funding that is in play,” the official said on condition…

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Air Marshal retired Asghar Khan, the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), passed away at the age of 96 on Friday morning in Islamabad, a spokesperson of the PAF said in a statement. Khan, who became the youngest head of PAF at the age of 35, passed away after a long illness. His funeral prayers will be offered on Saturday in Abbottabad. “Air Marshal Asghar Khan headed the PAF diligently and with courage. With his leadership capabilities, he played a vital role in transforming the PAF into…

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LAHORE: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been in Saudi Arabia for the last two days, has been unable to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman due to ‘unknown’ reasons, though his younger brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif met Prince Mohammad on Monday and discussed the kingdom’s absence from the summit on Jerusalem held in Turkey last month. “Mian sahib had a scheduled meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Monday but for some unknown reasons, it was cancelled. It will be seen if…

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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) removed on Friday the capital’s mayor, Sheikh Ansar Aziz, as the head and executive member of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Justice Athar Minallah made the decision after concluding several petitions filed by citizens of the federal capital against the mayor’s appointment as the executive member and then chairman of the CDA. The IHC, in its judgment, suspended the notification of Aziz’s appointment as the executive member of the authority, following which he was given the ‘part-time’ charge of the CDA supremo. Justice Minallah directed…

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LAHORE: Member of National Assembly (MNA) and former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Ayesha Gulalai has revealed the name of her new political party, which she announced to form earlier this month. Gulalai recently met PTI leader Seema Anwar in Lahore, a video of the occasion shows, in which she said her new political party will be called Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Gulalai or PTI-G. During the meeting, Gulalai asked for a list of angry PTI female members from Anwar and extended an offer to her to join her new party, which Seema turned…

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PRICES of food items have started rising in the wake of a recent fall in the rupee’s value, though the price hike has somewhat remained subdued as the depreciation is not accompanied by supply constraints. However, a sharper rise has been noticed in prices of imported food items. From tea, coffee, milk powder, chocolates and cheese to pulses, spices and pickles, a large number of imported food items have become costlier by five to 10 per cent, wholesale traders at Jodia Bazaar say. Locally produced foodstuff has also depicted a…

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LAHORE: Internal rifts in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf resulted in a clash between the activists belonging to two groups within the party at a ceremony, forcing the leadership to leave the venue here on Sunday. It all began when supporters of Punjab chapter president Aleem Khan resorted to sloganeering against Lahore chapter chief Waleed Iqbal for not inviting Mr Khan to the Quaid-i-Azam Day ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Iqbal. Iqbal was organiser of the event. As some of Mr Khan’s activists attempted to reach the stage, the rivals intervened, ensuing a…

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LAHORE: Notwithstanding the opposition by the interior ministry to entry of offshoots of proscribed entities into the national political arena, Jamaatud Dawa Emir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed opened an office of a subsidiary of the JuD here on Sunday. The JuD chief visited different areas of National Assembly constituency NA-120, the Lahore seat the Sharifs had never lost since their debut in politics in 1985 here. He inaugurated an office of the Milli Muslim League (MML), the political face of the JuD, on Mohni Road and listened to civic problems of…

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In a blow to the PML-N, Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani — former senator and the ruling party’s leader from Balochistan — joined the Balochistan National Party (BNP) on Sunday evening. Along with Raisani, a large number of other political workers also parted ways with PML-N and joined the BNP. “Balochistan has always been ignored and deprived [of its due rights] by rulers,” Raisani told the supporters gathered on Sariab Road. He vowed to continue his political struggle for the “acquisition of usurped rights of people of Balochistan”. “Balochistan has been turned into a…

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LAHORE: Two days after TV channels flashed the news that former premier Nawaz Sharif had named Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as the party’s nominee for the office of prime minister in 2018 general elections, the elder Sharif is said to be reluctant to publicly nominate his younger brother for the coveted office as he wants to keep his cards close to his chest till the last minute, it emerged on Saturday. While Shahbaz Sharif’s camp in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has been running a vigorous campaign to see their leader nominated…

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