Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: In a landmark judgment, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that profit-making subsidiaries of charitable trusts are not exempt from Zakat deduction. The LHC’s Rawalpindi Bench gave this ruling while dismissing a petition filed by Fauji Foundation’s educational entity Foundation University. The plea challenged the deduction of Zakat from its investments in National Saving Certificates. The bench, led by Justice Jawad Hassan, held that the university does not qualify for exemption as a charitable institution under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980. Justice Hassan ruled that the university, despite being established under the Foundation University Ordinance 2002 and sponsored by the Fauji Foundation, functions as an independent body corporate with financial autonomy, making it liable to compulsory Zakat deduction. The university had approached the court through counsel Sayyid Murtaza Ali Pirzada, seeking to set aside a letter issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on April 24, 2018, which hel...

Turning the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station has raised mixed emotions in his Austrian hometown. “It’s a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier, outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn on the border with Germany. While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have “been used better or differently”, the 53-year-old office assistant told AFP. The government wants to “neutralise” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner. Workers are finishing works at the birth house of former German dictator Adolf Hitler that is turned into a police station, pictured in Braunau am Inn, Austria on February 17, 2026. — AFP Austria — which was annexed by Hitler’s Germany in 1938 — has repeatedly been criticised in the past for not fully acknowledging its responsibility in the Holocaust. The far-right Freedom Party, founded by former Nazis, is ahead in the polls after getting the most votes in a nat...

Pakistan has reaffirmed its firm opposition to the creation of new permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning that such a move would deepen dysfunction within the 15-member body and undermine the principle of sovereign equality among member states.

US President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, a trip announced as the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods. A White House official confirmed the trip on Friday, just before the highest US court dealt Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China. Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on an extended visit to Beijing had been expected to revolve around extending a trade truce that kept both countries from further hiking tariffs. Ruling raises questions for US-China relations But the Supreme Court’s reversal created new questions for tense US-China relations that had recently stabilised after Trump trimmed tariffs on Chinese goods, in exchange for measures from Beijing, including cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade and pausing export restrictions on critical mineral...

• MQM-P’s Shoukat Ali says he belongs to Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui’s group; accuses Shariq Jamal from former PSP group of threatening him • Speaker suspends Muttahida’s Engineer Usman over ruckus • Area SSP, SHO summoned to record MPA’s statement; leave assembly after two sides ‘reconcile’ KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly was on Friday rocked by unprecedented infighting within the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan when a party lawmaker, citing threats from a fellow member inside the house, appealed for protection. The atmosphere abruptly grew tense and dramatic when MQM-P lawmaker Shoukat Ali rose on a point of order, alleging that he had been threatened with dire consequences by his own party colleague, MPA Shariq Jamal. “Step outside and we’ll see you,” he quoted Mr Jamal as saying to him, and demanded that the relevant police station register a case and guarantee his security, warning that otherwise he would have no choice but to resign. Taking strong notice of the lawmaker’s allegation, Speaker Syed Awais Shah d...

COLOMBO: The struggles of stalwarts Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have come under the spotlight as Pakistan eye a winning start to their T20 World Cup Super Eight campaign against New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Saturday. While Babar failed to deliver in his newly-assumed number four role — barring a decent outing against the USA — during the group stage, Shaheen has emerged as one of Pakistan’s weaker links throughout the tournament so far. The duo may well take a back seat against the BlackCaps, with the less experienced yet promising Khawaja Nafay and Salman Mirza expected to be entrusted with middle-order batting and new-ball bowling duties, respectively. On the eve of the fixture, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson laid bare Babar’s vulnerabilities with the bat and hinted the former skipper could contribute only in a specific role, providing context as to why he was not sent in during the last group game against Namibia. “We think he’s a fine player through the middle, if required, in t...

• BBC, Telegraph reports say Indian-owned franchises won’t bid for Pakistani players • Former England captain Vaughan says ECB should not allow this to happen FORMER captain Michael Vaughan has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to “act fast” on reports that Pakistani players will be overlooked by Indian-owned teams in the domestic Hundred competition. The issue could be a factor during next month’s player auction for English cricket’s Hundred, a 100 balls-per-side competition featuring eight franchises rather than the traditional 18 first-class counties. BBC Sport and The Telegraph have reported that with four of the eight franchises in the upcoming tournament owned by companies that control teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), it is “an unwritten rule” that Pakistani players would not be considered for those team. According to the BBC, a senior ECB official indicated to an agent that interest in his Pakistan players would be limited to sides not linked to the IPL. Vaughan, referencing the ...

• President vows alternative ways to impose levies as court declared his tariff regime ‘illegal’ • Trump insists ‘India deal is on’ • Three liberal justices joined three conservatives in Friday’s ruling • Canada hails ruling, UK, Germany cautious in their response • Stocks rise, Treasury yields gain after the verdict WASHINGTON: After the US Supreme Court struck down the President’s sweeping tariffs that he pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies, Donald Trump announced on Friday he was imposing an extra global tariff of 10 per cent on US trade partners. The conservative-majority court ruled the emergency powers law — International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — “does not authorise the President to impose tariffs”, marking Trump’s biggest defeat at the SC since returning to the White House last year. While hard-hit Canada welcomed the ruling pointing out the levies were always “unjustified”, other US trading partners particularly European powers were cautious in their response, with...

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Baragzai X-01 well produces 225 bpd of oil, 1.01 mmscfd of gas