ISLAMABAD: The government withdrew legislation that would have granted telecommunications companies broad authority to install infrastructure on private and public land, bowing to criticism that the measure trampled constitutional property protections and opened the door to forced entry onto private premises.
Lead
Azad Kashmir swears in new premier after contested nomination, narrow party revolt
MUZAFFARABAD: Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, a 46-year-old lawyer whose political career has been defined as much by sudden reversals as by steady ambition, was sworn in on Friday as prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, capping a 15-year rise that included an unlikely by-election upset, a cabinet post, an electoral defeat, and finally a phone call from the top of his party that few had seen coming.
Fesco draws 10 bidders as Pakistan presses ahead with power privatisation
ISLAMABAD: The government cleared 10 companies to bid for control of Faisalabad Electric Supply Co. after the country’s only privately run utility withdrew from the contest and a Chinese firm was disqualified on a technicality, advancing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s push to sell off state power distributors.
Pakistan warns of ‘profound consequences’ as India keeps water treaty frozen
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat delivered a pointed warning to an international audience on Friday, cautioning that any effort to strip his country of water it is owed under a six-decade-old treaty with India would carry grave consequences for peace across South Asia.
PM Sharif orders independent audit of tax overhaul
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered tax authority to submit its restructuring program to independent third-party audits, adding a layer of external scrutiny to an overhaul that has already reshaped how the government collects revenue and polices smuggling.
Pakistan cricket board threatened Lord’s Test boycott over Imran Khan interview
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board came close to pulling its team off the field during the second Test against England at Lord’s this week, after Sky Sports broadcast an interview with Imran Khan’s sons in which they spoke of fearing for their father’s life.
Power regulator threatens to block industry tariff deal without consultation
ISLAMABAD: The power regulator said it won’t approve a special industrial tariff incentive package unless the government first consults with industry, adding a new obstacle to energy policy as consumers brace for a fresh round of fuel-cost increases tied to expensive liquefied natural gas imports.
SBP profit drops 20 percent as rate cuts bite
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan reported a 20% drop in annual profit as the impact of the central bank’s monetary easing campaign began to show up in its own bottom line, even as the institution continued to funnel enormous sums to a government still struggling to close its budget gap.
Gilgit-Baltistan presses ahead with trophy hunt auction after a season upended by unrest
GILGIT: The mountainous northern territory of Gilgit-Baltistan will put hunting permits for three markhor, the national animal of Pakistan, up for auction next month, part of a wildlife program that generates millions of dollars a year for remote Himalayan communities but that has struggled to recover from a wave of unrest tied to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader.
Petrol falls 50 paisa to Rs342.60, diesel 19 paisa to Rs371.61
ISLAMABAD: The government lowered pump prices for gasoline and diesel on Thursday, the latest in a string of near-daily adjustments that have replaced the country’s longstanding practice of setting fuel costs every two weeks.