ISLAMABAD: The head of Pakistan’s flagship social protection programme called on Monday for critics to apologise to millions of beneficiaries whose dignity she said had been wounded by remarks likening state welfare payments to a vehicle for turning recipients into beggars.
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Pakistan steps up diplomacy to free crew held by Somali pirates as $4m ransom talks stall
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is intensifying diplomatic pressure to secure the release of crew members held hostage aboard an oil tanker seized by Somali pirates nearly seven weeks ago, with senior officials acknowledging that negotiations over a ransom demand have yet to yield a breakthrough.
Pakistan’s top court rules acid attacks more heinous than homicide, calls for sweeping reforms
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared acid attacks a graver crime than homicide in a landmark ruling on Monday, calling on federal and provincial governments to establish a national rehabilitation fund for survivors, impose sweeping restrictions on the sale of corrosive substances and extend disability protections to victims of what the court described as an assault on the soul as much as the body.
Pakistan tells UK to stay out of Kashmir affairs as death toll rises in protest crackdown
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Ministry on Monday sharply rebuked members of the British-Pakistani diaspora and several British lawmakers over their comments on unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, telling them to stay out of the country’s internal affairs as at least seven civilians lay dead following clashes between security forces and protesters in the territory.
Pakistan presses peace as Iran, Israel trade blows for first time since April ceasefire
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Monday for all sides to “give peace a little more chance” after Iran and Israel traded fire for the first time since an April ceasefire, in an escalation that complicated Islamabad’s intensive mediation efforts and rattled global markets.
Death toll rises to eleven as Azad Kashmir clashes grow into broader crisis
RAWLAKOT: At least seven civilians and four police officers were killed on Sunday in the deadliest violence to grip Azad Jammu and Kashmir in years, as clashes between security forces and supporters of the newly banned Joint Awami Action Committee tore through Rawlakot, leaving a territory already on edge now staring down a deepening political and security crisis.
Israel strikes Iran despite Trump appeal for restraint, threatening peace talks
ISLAMABAD: Israel struck military targets across western and central Iran early on Monday, defying a direct appeal from President Trump to hold fire, in the most serious breach of a regional ceasefire since fighting paused in April and the exchange that US officials fear could unravel ongoing peace negotiations with Tehran.
Young doctors shut Quetta hospitals after colleague wounded in acid attack
QUETTA: She is 29 years old and working her shift at the Civil Hospital when a man she knew walked up to her and threw acid in her face.
Ruling coalition partners clash over tax policy ahead of federal budget
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s two largest ruling parties clashed over taxation strategy on Sunday as they raced to iron out budget differences before Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presents the federal spending plan to parliament in less than 72 hours.
NEC meets to recast Rs4.715 trillion development budget amid IMF pressure, coalition tensions
ISLAMABAD: The National Economic Council convenes on Monday under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to overhaul a combined federal and provincial development program worth Rs4.715 trillion, with officials signalling the final numbers could shift substantially from what a subordinate planning body cleared just days ago — a reflection of the competing fiscal pressures bearing down on a government simultaneously managing an IMF bailout and an uneasy coalition.