Pakistan

Transfers pending cases to FCC

ISLAMABAD: Following the cancellation of the official accommodation allotted to Peshawar High Court (PHC) Justice Babar Sattar in Islamabad, the IHC registrar on Friday issued him a notice directing him to vacate the residence within 30 days. On April 28, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan approved the transfer of Justice Sattar from the IHC to the PHC. Following his transfer, Justice Sattar had decided to continue residing in the federal capital during his tenure at the provincial high court instead of seeking a separate official residence in Peshawar. According to the notice issued by the IHC registrar, the Estate Office cancelled the allotment of the official residence on July 3. The notice stated that Justice Sattar had been transferred from the IHC to the PHC and, following the cancellation of the allotment, had been given one month to vacate the premises. It further clarified that the 30-day period would be calculated from July 3, the date on which the Estate Office cancelled the allotment. Accordingly...

The government on Friday increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3.66 and Rs4.80 per litre, respectively, passing on the impact of fluctuating global oil prices following renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf. Following the changes, the price of petrol stands at Rs335.18 per litre, while that of HSD stands at Rs383.46 per litre. The government is charging a total of Rs110 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs96 on diesel. The Petroleum Division’s notification said the new prices would be applicable for July 25 (Saturday). The diesel price has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28. The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March. Earlier, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices...

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister (DPM/FM), Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday, along with the Heads of Delegation of the SCO Member States, participated in the Joint Painting Ceremony on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.

Anthropic on Friday released Claude Opus 5, a new artificial intelligence model the company says approaches the performance of its most powerful system at half the price. The San Francisco-based startup, a chief rival to OpenAI, said the model tops industry benchmarks for coding and knowledge work while consuming fewer computing resources than earlier versions. The claim addressed the rising concerns of business customers who have baulked at the expense of running advanced AI systems. Claude competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, and customers pay based on the amount of work performed, measured in units called tokens. Opus 5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, half the price of Fable 5, Anthropic’s most expensive publicly available offering. The company said the new model performs close to Fable 5 across many tasks despite the lower cost. Cost has become a major issue after Anthropic and its archrival OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, both filed for stock market listi...

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday unveiled an ambitious development agenda for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), promising to complete key infrastructure projects, establish modern healthcare facilities and build an international airport in Mirpur if the party forms the next government in.

The metropolis received the first spell of monsoon showers on Friday after multiple localities reported light to moderate rain. According to Dawn News, Azizabad, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Sharea Faisal, Sohrab Goth, Gulshan-i-Maymar, Ancholi, Manghopir, Surjani Town, North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Super Highway, Ahsanabad and Nazimabad experienced rain. It added that Site Area, Rizvia, Golimar, Liaquatabad, Orangi Town, Benaras, Ibrahim Hyderi, Clifton, DHA, Korangi, Landhi, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony, Model Town and other neighbourhoods also received rain. Meanwhile, the Karachi traffic police warned citizens to drive at a slow speed as the rain had made the roads “slippery”. “The public is requested to keep their vehicles at a slow speed. Motorcycle riders are requested to use the left side of the road, keep their vehicles at a slow speed while travelling, exercise caution, and avoid unnecessary travel,” it said in a statement. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast cloudy weath...

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution on Friday expressed serious concerns over the re-establishment of federal ministries on subjects devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, and constituted a sub-committee to examine the alleged violations. The requisitioned meeting was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro. Senators Poonjo Bheel and Jan Muhammad Buledi also attended. Addressing the meeting, Senator Ghumro said the first notification devolving ministries was issued on Dec 2, 2010, followed by notifications on April 15, 2011, and June 29, 2011, under which 17 ministries dealing with concurrent and provincial subjects were transferred to the provinces. “The re-creation of ministries after June 30, 2011, dealing with devolved subjects amounted to a violation of the Constitution,” he stated. He cited education, health, national food security, culture, climate change, social initiatives, housing, EOBI, the Evacuee Trust and th...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the country’s “largest” data centre and Sky47 AI cloud in Islamabad, terming the facility “awe-inspiring”. The project has a capacity of 8.5 megawatts. Sky47 is also developing a 5MW data centre at Karachi’s Port Qasim, slated for completion in September. Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said it was a privilege and an honour to be part of the ceremony. “The facility we have just visited is awe-inspiring,” he added. He further said the data centre was built in record time, showcasing the best minds from across Pakistan in both the military and civilian sectors. He commended the leadership of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir, under whose supervision the data centre was built. PM Shehbaz said he was hopeful that “if we follow this model, there is no reason — and I am absolutely convinced, more than ever before — that not only will we be able to make up for the losses of the past, but we will also create a...

A terrorist attack on a joint police checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district martyred 15 people, including 14 security personnel, the military’s media wing said on Friday. Among those martyred are 12 soldiers, two policemen and a government official. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the attack took place early on Friday and was carried out by Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term used to designate members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Elaborating on the incident, the military’s media wing said the attackers attempted to breach the checkpost’s perimeter, but their attempts were “swiftly and decisively foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of security forces.” The security personnel deployed at the checkpost displayed “unwavering courage and professional excellence” and engaged and eliminated 15 terrorists, the ISPR added. The statement added that the attackers then rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall. “Due to [the] blast impact, infrastructur...

Foreign Minister Araghchi appreciated Pakistan's continued diplomatic support

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Decides to release stock at PASSCO to provinces

Floodwaters and landslides have cut off four districts of Baltistan Division

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Court granted the NCCIA a final opportunity to file a detailed reply before the next hearing

PML-N president urges PPP chief to shun bitterness

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