Jamaat-i-Islami, one of Pakistan’s oldest Islamist parties, said it will march on Islamabad on Sept. 20 unless the government scraps a fuel levy that has become the flashpoint for the country’s broadest street protests since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took office, escalating pressure on an administration already navigating a fragile International Monetary Fund program.
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PTI and JUI-F agree to push for national conference amid growing dispute over new provinces
ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties agreed on Friday to push for an all-parties conference to address the creation of new provinces, along with law and order and the state of the economy, following a meeting between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leaders in Islamabad.
Sharif orders two-hour cap on power blackouts as Hormuz crisis bites Pakistan’s grid
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered power authorities to hold electricity outages to no more than two hours in any part of the country, moving to contain public anger over blackouts that officials tied directly to the fallout from the war between the US and Iran.
Petrol hits Rs375.82, diesel Rs403.32 as Middle East conflict keeps oil markets on edge
ISLAMABAD: The government raised petrol and diesel prices again on Friday, extending a steady climb in fuel costs this month as war in the Middle East continues to unsettle global oil markets.
Lahore High Court halts order to expel Afghan medical students
LAHORE: A Lahore High Court judge on Friday suspended government directives ordering Afghan medical students to leave Pakistan, granting at least temporary relief to 13 students who argued they had been expelled from their colleges without being given a chance to respond.
Family detentions mark escalating crackdown ahead of PTI march
ISLAMABAD: Police in Punjab province have detained elderly parents and siblings of opposition activists who evaded arrest, including a 93-year-old man held until officials were informed of his failing health, as authorities mount an escalating campaign to stop a nationwide protest planned for Sept. 27, local media reported.
Parliament to take up new-provinces debate in October, minister says
The question of whether Pakistan should carve out new provinces will reach the floor of parliament next month, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said Thursday, moving a proposal that has unsettled political leaders across the country from the realm of speculation into a formal legislative calendar.
Pakistan fuel prices rise for fourth day amid Red Sea escalation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan raised retail fuel prices for a fourth consecutive day, extending the steepest run of increases since the country moved to daily pricing in July, as attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure add a new front to the Middle East conflict driving global crude higher.
Cricketer Rizwan, Haq grilled by cyber crime agency over alleged dressing-room leaks
LAHORE: Two of Pakistan’s most prominent cricketers, Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq, presented themselves before the country’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency in Lahore on Thursday, as officials pressed ahead with an inquiry into alleged leaks from the team’s dressing room during its troubled tour of England.
Pakistan heads into IMF review with revenue and reform gaps
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is preparing for a pivotal encounter with the International Monetary Fund this month, as a staff mission arrives to assess whether the South Asian nation has done enough to keep its $7 billion bailout on track despite a persistent revenue shortfall and stalled anti-corruption reforms.