Pakistan

GUJRAT - Punjab Minister for Industries Chaudhry Shafay Hussain and Minister for Social Welfare & Bait-ul-Maal Punjab Sohail Shaukat Butt visited a flood relief camp at Fawara Chowk in Gujrat, where they distributed essential supplies among families affected by recent flooding.

THATTA/LARKANA: Rising pressure of floodwaters on the Baghar Ochto protective dyke of Indus River has triggered fresh fears of flooding in Mangli area near Ghorabari as Chhachh Lake in the riverine area has already overflowed and submerged several villages. Entire settlements of Ramzan Mallah, Usman Khaskheli, Urs Mallah, Allah Dino Mallah, Haroon Mallah, Ghulam Mallah, Haji Shahdad Khaskheli, Haroon Khaskheli, and Suleman Mallah have been encircled by water, cutting off their road access to nearby towns. The villagers are now using boats to receive food and other essentials. As the lake swells with Indus waters, reverse flow has begun, inundating vast tracts of the riverine belt. The Ghar Marhu canal, which irrigated hundreds of thousands of acres through Udero Lal Barrage on the river, was blocked near the GBU dyke last week in a desperate attempt to preempt damage from the rising floodwaters. But preparedness on ground remained questionable. Near Isa Khaskheli village, the irrigation department has set up ...

KARACHI: Pakistan cannot regulate cryptocurrencies within its current financial system, as the State Bank tightly manages foreign exchange, but virtual assets may still serve as an alternative to hawala, said former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman and economist Shabbar Zaidi. Speaking at a session on Adopting Digital Currency and Cryptocurrency in Pakistan: Possibilities and Concerns, organised by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) on Saturday, Mr Zaidi outlined the risks and opportunities surrounding digital currencies. He said a law enabling cryptocurrency regulation has been passed and is under discussion in parliament. However, he stressed that digital or virtual currencies, by design, are difficult to regulate. “Cryptocurrencies flourish because they leave no trail. A currency born unregulated cannot be regulated,” he argued. While the US market has seen widespread adoption, he noted, the difference lies in the freer foreign exchange regime. In Pakistan, commercial banks canno...

KARACHI: Inflation and changing consumption patterns are reshaping online food and grocery orders in Pakistan, according to foodpanda Pakistan CEO Muntaqa Peracha. “During Covid-19 we expanded rapidly, launching four verticals in 18 months instead of one in two years,” he recalled. “Impulse purchases defined that period — snacks, cigarettes, small-ticket items.” Average order sizes have since increased. Grocery baskets have risen from Rs800-900 during the pandemic to Rs2,000-2,200, while food deliveries average Rs1,200. The blended average per order now stands at Rs1,400-1,500. “The pandemic was about habit creation. Now we’re working to shift customers from impulse buys to weekly grocery missions,” Mr Peracha said, adding that monthly shopping is still largely done offline. Online orders move from impulse to grocery top-ups Food delivery continues to generate about 70pc of the platform’s topline, with groceries contributing the remainder. The company is active in 35 cities for food deliveries and 12 for groc...

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided in principle to relocate the headquarters of the Fed­e­ral Constabulary from Pe­­shawar to Islamabad, ap­­proximately two months after the civilian paramilitary force was officially renamed from the Fron­tier Constabulary. Federal Interior Minis­ter Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday instructed officials to identify suitable land for the new headquarters and sought a master plan for the facilities, according to a statement released after a meeting at the Capital Development Authority. He emphasised that while identifying the land, the requirements for both headquarters and training facilities should be given special consideration. The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the federal secretary of interior, the chairman of the CDA and senior police and constabulary officials. “The Federal Constabu­lary will be developed on modern foundations with the aim of transforming it into a well-structured and highly effective force,” Mr Naqvi said. The mo...

ISLAMABAD. Addit­ional District and Sessions Judge Nasruminallah Bal­och has ordered the initiation of proclamation proceedings against Bahria Town founder Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz Malik in two cases pertaining to alleged money laundering of the housing giant’s funds abroad. During Saturday’s hearing, the court adjourned further proceedings aga­inst the real estate tycoon and his son until September 30, while moving to formally declare them as absconder in the cases. Last week, the same court distributed copies of the challan among three other accused, including retired Colonel Khalilur Rehman, personal staff officer of Malik Riaz, along with Mushtaq and Imran. According to court proceedings, Mr Rehman received the challan in person. Mushtaq appeared physically, while Imran’s attendance was marked via video link. Both Mushtaq and Imran are expected to appear in person at the next hearing. The FIA’s money laundering wing registered the case, alleging that the accused illegally transferred large sums abr...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has scaled down the security detail of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi from eight official vehicles to two, freeing a significant number of personnel for regular policing duties. The move, announced on Friday, is part of efforts to ensure prudent use of public resources and to rationalise security arrangements in line with official entitlements. The security regime for serving judges has also been regulated suitably, making it rational and aligned with the entitlements under the rules. In the same spirit, security for retired judges has also been regulated in accordance with applicable rules, established security protocols and entitlements, including the relevant presidential order that provides lifetime security to retired judges, considering the sensitive nature of their past office and continuing security concerns. In order to operationalise these security protocols, without conferring any extraordinary benefit, added concession or privilege, a circular has been issued to scale down...

LAHORE - Chairman Prime Min­ister’s Youth Programme Rana Mash­hood Ahmad Khan has said that Pa­kistan’s future rests with its youth, stressing that today’s students are to­morrow’s leaders and must be trans­formed from job-seekers into job-cre­ators.

LAHORE: As rescue and relief operations get underway, Sialkot, Narowal and Jhang have emerged as the three worst flood-affected districts across Punjab so far, according to a Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) report issued on Saturday. Sialkot ranks first with 1,069 Mauzas (villages), including some urban areas, affected by flood and rainstorms. A population of 1.773 million people has been impacted, while 24 people lost their lives. Narowal stands second with 908 Mauzas affected, where 180,000 people were hit by floods and four deaths were reported. In Jhang, 313 Mauzas were affected, though no deaths or injuries were reported. PDMA report says 4,744 Mauzas across Punjab affected so far; Sialkot tops list with 1,069 villages In Gujrat, 214 Mauzas, including urban areas, were affected by floods and four people were reported dead. Other affected districts include Gujranwala/Wazirabad (74), Mandi Bahauddin (78), Hafizabad (165), Sargodha (41), Chiniot (144), Khanewal (158), Multan (138), ...

PESHAWAR - The services have been provid­ed to patients in Med­ical Teaching Institute (MTI) Hayatabad Medi­cal Complex (HMC) de­spite ongoing strike.

QUETTA - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that his govern­ment, in collaboration with the World Bank, will develop a com­prehensive Karachi Transport Master Plan to address the me­tropolis’s chronic mobility crisis.

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Pakistan batter Saim Ayub said on Saturday that the team was not just focusing on the Pakistan-India match, but winning the men’s Asia Cup. The arch-rivals will clash in a geopolitically-charged men’s Asia Cup contest in Dubai on Sunday. It will be the first cricket match between the sides since four days of military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. While reigning T20 world champions India are the firm favourites to retain their title, Pakistan are on a high, having convincingly beaten Afghanistan to win the final of a tri-series and Oman in the lead-up to the contest. Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Saim said: “We are not just looking forward to the Pakistan-India match, but we are looking forward to winning the tournament.” He added that the current tournament is what matters at this moment. Responding to a question about Pakistan’s new batting approach against the quality of the Indian attack, Saim said: “The focus is on playing fearless cricket against all opponen...

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