Pakistan

Pakistan’s ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025 improved by one point, moving from 135 out of 180 countries in 2024 to 136 out of 182 countries in 2025. At the same time, the country’s CPI score increased by one point, from 27 in 2024 to 28 in 2025, according to Transparency International’s report published on Tuesday. While Pakistan is undertaking commendable efforts in governance and institutional reforms, it is imperative that the recommendations of the IMF Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment are implemented effectively. This is essential to sustain Pakistan’s upward momentum in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in the coming years, said the Chair of Transparency International Pakistan, Justice Zia Perwez. The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) notes that corruption is worsening globally, with even established democracies experiencing rising corruption amid a decline in leadership. The 2025 index shows that the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk fro...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening cooperation with Uzbekistan in key sectors including food and agriculture, mining, information technology, tourism, health and banking.

The Government of Sindh on Tuesday withdrew detention orders issued under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance and directed the SSPs of concerned districts to release detained citizens.

All relevant bank branches have been directed to assist Hajj pilgrims in completing the Saudi visa biometrics process to ensure smooth completion of Hajj formalities.

The ninth International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Competition concluded at Kharian on Tuesday after a 60-hour-long patrolling exercise aimed at enhancing professional military skills and fostering cooperation among participating forces, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has urged countries around the world to mount pressure on the Taliban and avoid maintaining normal diplomatic relations with the Afghan regime, citing worsening restrictions on women’s rights and girls’ education.

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused Monday to answer questions from US lawmakers but her attorney said she was prepared to speak if granted clemency by US President Donald Trump. Maxwell, 64, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with Epstein. Rather than answer the committee’s questions, however, the former British socialite invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate herself. A recording of the deposition released by the committee showed Maxwell speaking via video link, her eyes cast down at the table she was seated in a Texas prison. She was asked about her and Epstein’s co-conspirators, whether they surrounded themselves with the rich and famous in order to “curry favor” and avoid scrutiny, and whether Trump ever engaged “in sexual activity with an individual introduced to him by you or Jeffrey Epstein.” Wearing a drab, beige uniform, Maxwell repeated the phra...

Despite severe weather conditions and the closure of land routes, the Pakistan Army continues to actively serve the local population in Leepa Valley.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted permission to Barrister Salman Safdar to meet incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and appointed him as a friend of the court.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit Washington on February 18 and represent Pakistan at the first leaders’ meeting of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The meeting is scheduled for Feb 19 at the US Institute of Peace. The inaugural meeting will focus on Gaza’s post-war reconstruction. The official invitation underlines the expected presence of “heads of state, heads of government, and international figures”. The summit is also expected to formalise the board’s mandate and structure. Eight Muslim-majority countries are expected to participate in the meeting. They include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, and the UAE. Muslim participants are expected to adopt a unified position on Gaza-related issues. These include halting Israeli ceasefire violations and securing durable peace guarantees. Such guarantees are seen as essential for reconstruction efforts to proceed. The meeting may also address mechanisms to support long-term stability. All 22 invitees have al...

Rainfall lashed the federal capital and several other cities on Tuesday, lowering temperatures and bringing a pleasant chill to the weather.

• Notifies new regulations, shifts all prosumers to net-billing • New contracts will be limited to five years; existing seven-year terms will remain valid until expiry • Buyback rate for future prosumers cut to Rs10-11 per unit from Rs26 • Imported electricity from Discos to be billed separately at Rs37-55 per unit ISLAMABAD: In a rapid move, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Monday drastically changed the terms of contracts for all existing and future net-metered solar consumers — known as prosumers — to contain rising solar energy penetration and protect an expensive and inefficient state-owned power network. The contractual changes were introduced through a predetermined set of regulations that had been published as draft for public opinion but were notified without any change after a public hearing. The notification effectively terminates the existing net-metering regime and replaces it with net-billing for all. As a result, earlier public pronouncements by officials and minister...

LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Monday granted bail to five suspects in the case pertaining to the death of a mother and her infant daughter from falling into an open manhole near Bhati Gate last month as the complainant chose not to seek any legal action. The two — 24-year-old Sadia and her 10-month-old daughter Rida — had fallen into the sewer at the site of the under-construction Data Darbar expansion project near Bhati Gate on January 28. While the woman’s body was found late at night, the same day, the child’s body was recovered the next day. Subsequently, three officials of the contractor working on the project were arrested along with two others. Magistrate Shafqat Abbas conducted Monday’s proceedings after police presented the suspects before the court on the expiry of their physical remand. The suspects included Project Manager Asghar Sandhu, contractor company’s chief executive officer Salman Yasin, Site In-charge Hunzala, Ahmed Nawaz, and Daniyal. Sajid Hussain, the father of the deceased woman, a...

ISLAMABAD: Former Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri moved the Federal Constitutional Court on Monday against his removal. He was removed as an IHC judge in December last year by President Asif Ali Zardari in compliance with an order by the high court, which declared that his elevation was “without lawful authority”. A division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan had announced the verdict on a plea challenging the validity of Jahangiri’s law degree and, by extension, his appointment as a high court judge. On Monday, Jahangiri filed a plea in the FCC through his lawyer, Salahuddin Ahmed. The federation of Pakistan, the president of Pakistan, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, the parliamentary committee (defunct) for the appointment of judges to superior courts, the Higher Education Commission, the University of Karachi (KU) and lawyer Mian Dawood were named as respondents. Dawood had approached the courts over Jahangiri’s appo...

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday stressed the need for a national identity as the National Assembly passed a resolution condemning the attack at an imambargah in Islamabad. Speaking on the floor of the house, Asif said, “It is very important that we have a national identity on which no one disagrees.” Talking about terrorism, he said, “The spike in terrorism in the country; I am sad to say that we are not even united in the condemnation of terrorism.” He said that in order to protect political interests, some refrained from attending the funerals of martyrs. “At least on national issues — all of us sitting here, regardless of which party they belong to … this is one thing on which there needs to be consensus on and that is Pakistan and its integrity as well as respect for those sacrificing their lives,” he said. In his remarks, the minister said that two dictators in the past had joined the war in Afghanistan to please a superpower. He said terrorism was a blowback of mistakes committed by d...

Pakistan Super League franchise (PSL) Multan Sultans on Monday was sold to Walee Technologies for a record Rs2.45 billion ahead of the tournament’s 11th edition. At the auction in Lahore, show host Fakhr-i-Alam informed bidders that the winning bid would also cover the annual fee to maintain ownership of the team for the next 10 years. Speaking at the auction ceremony, the new owner of the team announced that they would be changing the name to Rawalpindi. “Are you ready for a surprise? We will be going for Rawalpindi!” announced the company’s chief executive officer, Ahsan Tahir. Speaking at the ceremony, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi congratulated Walee Technologies on their successful bid and expressed gratitude to former board chairman Najam Sethi for his vision for the Multan Sultans franchise. “Multan Sultans was created by Najam Sethi sahib; we are so pleased he is with us today,” Naqvi said, inviting Sethi onto the stage. In his remarks, Sethi said, “I’m obviously delighted to be h...

The government announced on Monday that Pakistan would play the T20 World Cup match against India, scheduled for February 15. The decision to play the match comes after a delegation from the ICC arrived in the country over the weekend and held meetings with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on the team’s participation in the match against India. It also came hours after Sri Lanka urged Pakistan to play India. In a post on X, the government said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was formally briefed by PCB Chairman Naqvi regarding the outcomes of high-level deliberations held between the PCB, representatives of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). “The government of Pakistan has reviewed the formal requests extended to the PCB by the BCB, as well as the supporting communications from Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and other member nations. These correspondences sought Pakistan’s leadership in securing a viable solution to recent challenges,” i...

Iran could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for all financial sanctions being lifted, its atomic chief said on Monday, one of the most direct indications so far of its position at talks with Washington. US and Iranian diplomats held talks through Omani mediators in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after US President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of new military action. The talks follow a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Iran last month. Trump joined an Israeli bombing campaign last year and hit Iranian nuclear sites. He also threatened last month to intervene militarily during the protests, but ultimately held off. Washington has demanded Iran relinquish its stockpile — estimated last year by the UN nuclear agency at more than 440 kilogrammes — of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent fissile purity, a small step away from the 90pc that is considered weapons grade. The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, M...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Monday during a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake discussed matters related to T20 World Cup cricket match between Pakistan and India.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday said that the public had completely rejected the opposition’s calls for protests and strikes, opting instead for peace, celebration and cultural harmony.