ISLAMABAD: The government has brokered a sweeping fiscal compact with its two most populous provinces, freezing their shares of national tax revenues and redirecting a portion back to the Centre in a financial restructuring that officials say is essential to fund defence priorities and honour commitments to the International Monetary Fund.
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No survivors after army helicopter Mi-17 crashes near Muzaffarabad; inquiry ordered
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Army Mi-17 helicopter crashed near Muzaffarabad on Wednesday, killing all personnel on board when the aircraft went down during takeoff due to what military officials described as a technical fault, marking the third deadly helicopter accident involving security or government in less than one year.
Imran Khan barred from family visits again despite court order, sister says
ISLAMABAD: The sisters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan were turned away from Adiala Jail on Tuesday for what his family says has become a months-long pattern of denied visits in defiance of a court order granting him regular access to relatives and legal counsel.
Global nuclear spending surges to record $119 bln; Pakistan sees second-steepest rise
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s spending on nuclear weapons rose 18 percent last year to an estimated $1.5 billion, outpacing the rate of increase by rival India and ranking as the second-steepest percentage jump among the world’s nine nuclear-armed states, according to a report published on Tuesday by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
Pakistan hosts back-to-back military diplomacy as Gulf and Lebanese commanders converge on Rawalpindi
RAWALPINDI: The commander of Bahrain’s National Guard held separate meetings with all three of Pakistan’s service chiefs on Tuesday, as Islamabad positioned itself at the centre of a busy round of military diplomacy with the Middle East against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict.
Banned Kashmir group’s strike shutters markets; PM urges talks as sedition cases filed
MUZAFFARABAD: Streets fell quiet and markets shuttered across Azad Kashmir on Tuesday as a recently banned civil rights alliance pressed ahead with a strike, while the regional government ordered sedition proceedings against two of its leaders and the prime minister appealed for a return to negotiations.
One soldier martyred, 14 militants neutralised in Balochistan counter-terrorism raid
ISLAMABAD: A soldier was martyred and 14 militants killed in a security operation in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday, the military said, as Islamabad intensified counter-terrorism sweeps it has attributed to Indian-backed proxy networks.
TTP militants storm Peshawar checkpoint, kill six paramilitary troops and abduct eight
PESHAWAR: Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants stormed a paramilitary checkpoint in Peshawar on Monday, killing six personnel, wounding four others and abducting eight more in one of the most brazen militant assaults on the provincial capital in recent months, security officials said.
ICC penalises Lord’s and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium for ‘unsatisfactory’ pitches
LAHORE: The International Cricket Council on Tuesday sanctioned two of cricket’s most storied venues, awarding demerit points to Lord’s in London and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium after match referees condemned the pitches used for recent internationals as heavily skewed in favour of bowlers.
Gilgit-Baltistan election results frozen as re-polling ordered at 26 polling stations
GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission has ordered the suspension of final election results across all constituencies until re-polling is conducted at 26 polling stations spread across five seats, throwing the outcome of Saturday’s regional assembly vote into uncertainty even as the Pakistan Peoples Party held a commanding lead.