ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis began voting on Sunday in by-elections for six seats in the National Assembly and seven in the Punjab provincial assembly, contests that highlighted the lingering fallout from last year’s political upheavals and tested the ruling coalition’s grip amid accusations of electoral irregularities.
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New FCC takes first step, receiving appeal in bitter family inheritance dispute
ISLAMABAD: The newly established Federal Constitutional Court began hearing cases when a litigant handed over an appeal against a Sindh High Court ruling, the first document that marked the court’s debut filing on Friday.
Islamabad calls first meeting of contentious NFC on Dec. 4 as pressure mounts to rewrite fiscal formula
ISLAMABAD: After months of postponements that have underscored the political and fiscal strains gripping the country, the government has called the first meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission for Dec. 4, setting the stage for what could be contentious negotiations over how to divide the nation’s tax revenues between the center and its four provinces.
Indian Tejas fighter jet crashes in flames at Dubai Airshow, killing pilot
ISLAMABAD: An Indian Air Force Tejas light combat aircraft plunged to the ground in a fireball on Friday afternoon during an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow, killing the pilot and casting a pall over the final day of the Middle East’s largest aviation exhibition of military and commercial aviation.
Pakistan says India’s suspension of Indus Waters Treaty threatens regional stability
ISLAMABAD: Deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, warned on Friday that India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty constituted an “illegal and unilateral” act that posed a “real threat” to regional stability, as he delivered a sweeping critique of multiple global conflicts at an Indo-Pacific ministerial forum in Brussels.
Security forces kill 13 militants in overnight operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 13 militants in two separate intelligence-led operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the military said on Friday, as a separate attack on a local peace committee in the same restive region left seven people dead, including a former Taliban fighter who had renounced violence.
Pakistan says Hasina death verdict ‘internal matter’ for Bangladesh
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday the death sentence handed down this week to Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s former prime minister, was strictly an internal affair of Dhaka and that its people were entirely capable of resolving their own political and legal matters through their constitutional processes.
Trump’s warm embrace of Pakistan’s army chief reshapes US strategy in South Asia
ISLAMABAD: Barely a year ago, American diplomats spoke of India as the indispensable counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific, while Pakistan was often felt like a reluctant, troublesome partner kept at arm’s length. That calculus has been dramatically upended under President Donald Trump, who has showered praise on Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Air Marshal Asim Munir, calling him a “great guy” and crediting himself with averting nuclear catastrophe between the two rivals, even as he has slapped some of the world’s highest tariffs on India.
Gas blast in Faisalabad factories kills 15, injures dozens
FAISALABAD: A gas explosion ripped through a cluster of factories in the Malikpur area on the outskirts of this industrial city early on Friday, killing at least 15 people, injuring more than a dozen others and reducing buildings to rubble, officials said.
Pakistan targets debut panda bond before Chinese new year , finance minister says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to issue its first Panda bond before the Chinese New Year in late January, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, in a clear signal that Islamabad is accelerating its push to diversify funding sources and re-enter international capital markets after years of isolation.