Pakistan

Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani directed on Tuesday the implementation of “wide-ranging austerity measures”, projecting a reduction of more than 50 per cent in the Senate Secretariat’s remaining budgetary utilisation for the current fiscal year, which is believed to translate into savings of around Rs700-750 million. A statement issued by the Senate Secretariat said that Gilani presided over a high-level meeting at the secretariat today to review the austerity measures and discuss their implementation in light of the country’s economic situation. The austerity measures for the secretariat align with a broader initiative taken by the government to deal with a global fuel crunch resulting from the ongoing Middle East conflict. The discussion during the meeting focused on “significant cuts in Senate expenditures, beginning with substantial reductions in the budget of the chairman’s office”, the statement said. “Adopting a top-down approach to fiscal discipline, the chairman directed that austerity measures mu...

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Six districts left without customary aid; beneficiaries struggle amid soaring inflation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday approved the restructuring of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) under a plan that envisions aligning the national agenda with export targets and food security goals. The premier’s approval came during a meeting chaired by him and convened to discuss PARC-related matters in Islamabad, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. It added that PM Shehbaz directed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to chalk out a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of the reorganisation plan, including a timeline. He directed that the PARC should be developed in line with research being carried out on agriculture by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), the statement said, further quoting PM Shehbaz as saying that research plays a central role in the development of the country’s agriculture sector and food security. Under the restructuring plan, a copy of which is seen by Dawn, the National Agricultural Resea...

Security sources said that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fell on a house in Chaklala area of Rawalpindi early Tuesday morning. They said that no loss of life was reported in the incident. However, they said that the house had sustained some damage. Last week, four people were injured after a “few rudimentary” drones launched by the Afghan Taliban were intercepted in various cities of Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. The development came amid Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, which was launched on the night of February 26, following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border. The ISPR said the drones were intercepted through “soft and hard kills” and did not reach their intended targets. “However, the debris from these drones resulted in injuries to two children in Quetta and a civilian each in Kohat and Rawalpindi,” the military’s media affairs wing said. The military spokesperson had also stated in late February that Afghan forces attempted to use “rudimentary drones”...

From sea turtles to birds and the gentle dugong, the Persian Gulf’s diverse but fragile marine life is threatened by the bombs and oil of the war in the Middle East. The ecosystem was already under pressure from climate change and maritime traffic before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. More than 300 incidents involving environmental risks — including attacks on oil tankers — have been recorded in the region since the conflict broke out, according to a March 10 report by the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a UK non-governmental organisation. The geography of the Gulf makes its ecosystem particularly vulnerable. A semi-enclosed and shallow sea about 50 metres deep on average, it is connected to the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz. Its slow water renewal — every two to five years — limits the dispersion of oil or other pollutants. The region hosts the world’s second-largest population of dugongs — herbivorous marine mammals known as “sea cows” that ...

China said on Tuesday it will provide humanitarian assistance to Middle Eastern countries, including Iran and Lebanon, targeted in US and Israeli strikes in the conflict now in its third week. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the war had caused “grave humanitarian catastrophes” in Iran and other Middle Eastern nations. “China has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. It is hoped this will help alleviate the humanitarian plight faced by the local populations,” Lin told a press conference, without providing further details. “China will continue to make every effort to promote peace and stop the war … and to prevent further spreading of the humanitarian crisis,” he added. China has sought to mediate in the war, with its special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, urging de-escalation when he recently met Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister for talks. China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has also said that the war “should never have happened” and called for ...

Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson Rubina Khalid on Tuesday said that the programme was not responsible for the process of disbursement of cash, saying that it had been “outsourced” to banks. The statement comes a day after at least seven women were killed and more than 75 were injured during a roof collapse when hundreds of women gathered at a retail shop in Rahim Yar Khan’s Tibba area to collect BISP handouts. Speaking to the media during a visit to Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan on Tuesday, Khalid maintained that BISP was not responsible for disbursing cash handouts. “We don’t have any mechanism for disbursement, so when you outsource something, the responsibility falls on the banks,” she said. Khalid termed it unfortunate that the programme — an initiative aimed at uplifting people — was pushed to the “background” while “actual criminals … are not asked why their retailers and franchises are doing this”. She said that BISP had no “direct relation” to retailers or franchises, addi...

A meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Tuesday, in principle granted approval for the restructuring of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), aiming to transform it into a modern, high-performing institution to strengthen Pakistan’s agriculture sector and ensure food security.

A crude oil tanker transporting supplies to Pakistan has successfully passed through the strategically significant Strait of Hormuz despite heightened tensions in the region, according to a Bloomberg report.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday congratulated Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the success of a “historic constitutional referendum”, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). On Monday, Kazakhstan voted 87.15 per cent in favour of adopting a new constitution, the Central Election Commission said. The new constitution streamlines the country’s Parliament and recreates the office of vice president, which was abolished in 1996. It gives the president the right to appoint the vice president, as well as a host of other key officials. In a statement on Tuesday, the PMO said that during a “warm and cordial call” with the Kazakhstan president, PM Shehbaz congratulated him on the success of the “historic constitutional referendum”. Furthermore, the prime minister noted that the “overwhelming turnout and support for the new constitution reflected the trust and confidence of the people of Kazakhstan in President Tokayev’s visionary leadership and reform agenda”. The statement ...

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) will submit a report on the implementation of the government’s austerity measures, it emerged on Tuesday. On March 10, the government announced a host of austerity measures in view of the global oil crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has hiked local fuel prices. In a daily meeting held to review the implementation of the austerity measures as well as the fuel situation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was briefed that the implementation of his directives was being ensured. The meeting was told that IB would submit a “monitoring report on the implementation of all measures”, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Sources had told Dawn that the premier had tasked the IB to carry out a third-party audit of austerity measures announced by the government to tackle the energy crisis. A source in the PM’s Office said a notification to this effect had been issued, adding that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) would keep a vigilant eye to prevent misuse of offi...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Tuesday, held a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and congratulated him on the success of the historic constitutional referendum held in Kazakhstan on 15 March.

LAHORE: Pakistan’s fragile economy, already reeling from the shock of rising oil and gas prices, has been further exacerbated by a lack of economic restructuring measures, five senior PTI leaders incarcerated in Kot Lakhpat Jail said on Tuesday. In an open letter shared by their counsel Rana Mudassar Umer, PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Omar Sarfraz Cheema said that Pakistan’s hard-earned macroeconomic stability, gained by “squeezing” ordinary citizens over the last three years, would wither away in the next three weeks if the Gulf conflict were to persist. It also said that uncertainty and the shock of rising oil and gas prices had scrapped the chances of a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Commenting on the country’s economic situation, the leaders said it was becoming increasingly difficult to meet the performance criteria agreed upon at the time of budget formulation for the current fiscal year. “Exports remain ...

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran, Mudassir Ali Tipu, has expressed gratitude to the Iranian government for ensuring smooth transit trade between the two countries during challenging times.

A total of 5,615 Pakistani citizens have returned from Iran since the outbreak of the ongoing conflict on February 28, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said on Tuesday.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rejected allegations by the Afghan Taliban regime that Pakistan targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, describing the claim as “entirely baseless.

Another Pakistani national was killed due to “falling debris” following the interception of a ballistic missile in the United Arab Emirates, the country’s media office said on Tuesday. The development marks the third instance of a Pakistani national losing their life in an attack in the UAE during the ongoing war between Iran, the US, and Israel. The Abu Dhabi Media Office, in a statement on X, said that the authorities “responded to an incident involving falling debris in the Baniyas area, following the interception of a ballistic missile by air defence systems”. “The incident resulted in the death of a Pakistani national,” it said. The Pakistan Embassy in the UAE, in a statement on X, expressed sorrow at the death and said it was in “close coordination” with local authorities. The embassy said that it will extend “all possible support to the bereaved family,” and added that the embassy will “facilitate the repatriation process at the earliest possible time”. “In this hour of grief, we share in the family’s ...

KARACHI: Inhalational asphyxia/suffocation was the predominant cause of death in the tragic Gul Plaza fire that claimed at least 73 lives, according to Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed. The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall, took nearly two days to be fully extinguished and left over 1,100 shops in ruins. Despite 10 days of hectic search efforts amid the rubble, at least eight people remained missing. Dr Syed submitted a reply to a questionnaire from the judicial commission probing the blaze, it emerged on Tuesday. Asked what the dominant cause of loss of life was, in her professional opinion, the police surgeon stated: “The predominant cause of loss of life was inhalational asphyxia/suffocation.” However, she added, polytrauma could not be ruled out in 66 others “due to fragmented remains”. Polytrauma is a medical condition involving multiple severe injuries. Detailing the findings, Dr Syed said, “Inhalational asphyxia was established as the primary medical cause of death in...