Pakistan

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has accepted the resignation of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal from the lower house of parliament.

WASHINGTON: The United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office has removed a controversial map of India from its official X (formerly Twitter) account after Pakistan lodged a strong diplomatic protest over the depiction of internationally-recognised disputed territories as part of India, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Wednesday. The map, which accompanied a USTR press release announcing a framework for an interim US-India trade agreement, showed the entire Jammu and Kashmir region — including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan — within Indian boundaries. It also depicted China’s Aksai Chin region as part of India, despite the fact that the area is claimed by China and remains disputed. It was posted on the site on Friday evening, but had been removed by Monday evening, which was also the first working day after the weekend. Diplomatic sources said Pakistan conveyed its protest both to the US Embassy in Islamabad and to State Department officials in Washington, stressing that the map contradicted...

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has successfully conducted its major exercise, “Golden Eagle,” in the Southern Air Command, showcasing the force’s full spectrum of operational capabilities, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has been appointed as President of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Sialkot Stallions, as the team also unveiled its official logo at a ceremony held in Lahore.

Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi has said that the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments are jointly working to restore sustainable and durable peace in the province and eliminate terrorism.

The Sindh government on Tuesday formally notified a single-member judicial commission to investigate the causes of the devastating fire at Gul Plaza.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari yesterday said that Pakistan and Japan enjoy a relationship rooted in decades of trust, mutual respect, and consistent cooperation as the Japanese embassy hosted a reception marking the 66th birthday of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito of Japan.

• Sanctioned load to determine monthly bill regardless of use • Industry freed from cross-subsidy, govt tells hearing ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday reluctantly conceded that the industrial sector had, for the first time, been fully freed from cross-subsidy to compete globally, as it disclosed a higher-than-previously known financial impact of the newly imposed fixed charges on residential electricity consumers. At an almost one-way public hearing on Rs4.04 per unit average cut in power rates for industrial consumers and imposition of fixed charges on residential consumers, industrial consumers, power division and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) were all praise for each other for a long overdue “great move” and “first step in the right direction”. No representative appeared on behalf of more than 28.5 million residential consumers who will be subject to the fixed charges. The power division team, led by Additional Secretary Mehfooz Bhatti and comprising the chief financial offic...

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Declares readiness to face jail or execution for religious principles

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CPI score rises to 28 despite lower ranking

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The United States will have to do “something very tough” if a deal is not reached with Iran, President Donald Trump told Israel’s Channel 12 in an interview published online on Tuesday. “Either we reach a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough,” it quoted Trump as saying. Trump has said he is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, Axios and Channel 12 reported, amid simmering tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme and over its recent crackdown on protesters. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump told Axios, though he noted that Iran “wants to make a deal very badly”. Trump initially threatened military action against Tehran over its crackdown on protesters last month. Subsequently, the US said that a naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier was deployed to Middle Eastern waters amid tensions between the two countries. However, the countries held talks in Oman last week, which Iran called a good star...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Peoples Party leaders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tuesday called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr and discussed the issues related to the province.

Islamabad - The 9th International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Competition successfully concluded at Kharian.