Pakistan

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark index climbed by 1,900.34 points on Tuesday after witnessing a meltdown a day earlier. The KSE-100 index climbed by 1,900.34 points, or 1.29 per cent, to close at 148,743.31 from the previous close of 146,842.97. The index saw an intraday low of 147,743.67 points at around 9:30am. However, it then rose to an intraday high of 150,225.63 points at around 2:20pm, before settling at 146,842.97. On Monday, PSX came under extreme selling pressure, dragging the KSE-100 index below the 145,­000 mil­estone intraday. The benchmark KSE-100 index remained in negative territory from the beginning of trade, hitting an intraday low of 144,656.97, a sharp decline of 7,050.55. It then closed 4,864.54 points lower than the previous session. Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd (AHL), said that since February 9, it has been the seventh consecutive Monday, excluding March 23, during which the market experienced significant sell-offs, mostly driven by adverse geopolitical dev...

Lahore Qalandars batter Fakhar Zaman has been suspended for two Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches after he was found guilty of breaching the code of conduct, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the final over of Sunday’s match between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars, with the former needing 14 runs to win. Fakhar, Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi and fast bowler Haris Rauf were involved in a brief discussion, during which Fakhar and Rauf passed the ball between them. The umpire then approached Rauf and asked to see the ball. Following consultations with the square-leg umpire, the officials awarded five penalty runs to Karachi and ordered the ball to be changed. The penalty proved costly as Karachi went on to chase down a target of 129 with three balls to spare, Abbas Afridi hitting a four and a six to seal a four-wicket victory. On Monday, the PCB had officially charged Fakhar with ball-tampering. In a press release issued on Tuesday, the PCB said, “Fakhar Zaman h...

LAHORE: An election tribunal on Tuesday dismissed an election petition against Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s victory from NA-127 in the 2024 general elections as non-maintainable. The decision was announced by the tribunal, comprising retired justice Rana Zahid Mehmood, on the election petition filed by PTI-backed independent candidate Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, who had contested against Tarar. Khokhar had lost his election to Tarar with a margin of 15,980 votes as the latter bagged 98,210 votes against 82,230 of the former. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also contested the 2024 general election from the same constituency; however, he stood third with 15,005 votes. The tribunal dismissed the petition on technical grounds, declaring it not maintainable for failing to comply with statutory requirements under the Election Act 2017. In his petition, Khokhar had alleged the impugned notification of the respondent’s victory was a result of “corrupt and illegal practices” committed on the polling day. H...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has directed the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to extend full cooperation to law enforcement agencies in tracing and deporting undocumented foreign nationals.

The Election Tribunal has dismissed a petition challenging the victory of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ataullah Tarar from NA-127 in the 2024 general elections.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday directed the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to immediately identify aliens who managed to illegally obtain Pakistani citizenship, and remove them from the national database. The minister, during his visit to Nadra headquarters, chaired a high-level meeting where he praised Nadra’s performance and effective public services, and directed it to fully support law enforcement agencies in the repatriation of foreigners illegally residing in Pakistan. Nadra Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Munir Afsar briefed the Naqvi on the institution’s performance, as well as its ongoing and future projects. Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Dr Usman Anwar and senior Nadra officials were also present on the occasion. Naqvi noted significant improvements in Nadra’s services over the past two years and directed that more modern services be introduced for public convenience. He also instructed Nadra to build state-of-the-art offices in major cities...

GILGIT: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned about a risk of glacial lake outburst floods (Glof), flash floods, and landslides in areas of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from April 1-10. According to an alert issued by the NDMA, there was an “increased risk” of Glof, flash floods, mudslides and landslides in the vulnerable areas of GB and KP and the surrounding regions, particularly near the glacier terminus, due to the “expected widespread weather spell, especially from April 1 to 10”. “Over the past few days, temperatures over the northern mountainous regions remained above normal,” it pointed out. The NDMA advised local communities to remain vigilant, while the relevant authorities were requested to take precautionary measures to safeguard lives and infrastructure. In light of the prevailing situation, it urged all federal ministers and departments, provincial governments and their departments, as well as district and municipal administrations, to proactively monitor a...

Chinese authorities have banned entombing cremated remains in cheap apartments, a practice that had gained popularity as mourners took advantage of the subdued housing market to dodge rising funeral costs. “Bone-ash apartments” are units in often barely occupied residential complexes used by some families as resting places for their loved ones’ remains. They can be cheaper than a public cemetery plot, according to local media, as well as giving families more control over the site. Acquiring one “kills two birds with one stone”, Carsten Herrmann-Pillath from Germany’s Erfurt University told AFP. “It’s an investment and eases the (process of carrying out) ritual practices.” But regulations that came into force on Monday explicitly ban “the use of residential dwellings specifically for the interment of ashes”. Bone-ash apartments are often identifiable by sealed-off windows or closed curtains, according to Chinese media reports. A resident quoted by the Communist Party-run Legal Daily newspaper described peeking...

An unusual legal situation emerged at the District and Sessions Courts in Islamabad when police submitted a fresh challan in a case involving Imran Khan, despite his earlier acquittal in the same matter.

The Sindh government has announced a province-wide public holiday on April 4 in remembrance of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Flight operations across Pakistan faced major disruption on Tuesday, with 62 flights cancelled due to the escalating crisis in the Middle East.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Tuesday departed here for China to pay a day-long visit, at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast chances of rain and thunderstorms in Karachi on Thursday, as well as other areas of Sindh from April 2-4, as a result of a new westerly wave from Balochistan. A westerly wave is likely to approach the southwestern parts of Balochistan on April 1 and likely to persist till April 4, the Met Office said in its daily weather outlook issued on Tuesday. In its three-day weather forecast, it said that Tuesday and Wednesday would both bring partly cloudy weather in the Karachi division. The maximum temperature on Tuesday is expected to be between 29 and 31 degrees Celsius, with a minimum temperature of 22.7°C. The humidity is forecast to reach 54 per cent in the daytime, remaining around 40-50pc in the evening. A west/southwesterly wind is expected to prevail. Wednesday’s temperatures will reach highs of 30-32°C and lows of 22-24°C, according to the forecast. While the evening humidity is similar to Tuesday, a higher daytime humidity of 65-75pc is predicted, a...

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to facilitating dialogue between the United States and Iran, even as regional tensions intensify. In an interview broadcast on Tuesday, Ambassador Sheikh told Fox News that Pakistan is “committed to providing every possible facilitation for fruitful dialogue”, while stressing that ultimate decisions rest with the conflicting parties. “While Pakistan continues to be the facilitator, it is actually upon the conflicting parties themselves to not only create the prerequisites for negotiations and to be able to conduct them in all earnest, but they will have to take the decisions which make it successful,” Ambassador Sheikh said. He described the situation as “a highly complex issue involving political, economic, and regional factors” and expressed gratitude that both sides have shown confidence in Pakistan’s ability to help mediate. “We are also mindful of the fact that it is not an easy process. It’s a very complicated matt...

Israel’s parliament approved a bill on Monday that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks, a move that has been criticised as discriminatory and immediately drew a court challenge. Sixty-two lawmakers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, voted in favour and 48 against the bill, championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. There was one abstention and the rest of the lawmakers were not present. The legislation would make the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed “acts of terrorism” by an Israeli military court. The legislation says that the sentence may be reduced to life imprisonment under “special circumstances”. Palestinians in the West Bank are automatically tried in Israeli military courts. Meanwhile, under the legislation, in Israeli criminal courts anyone “who intentionally causes the death of a person with th...

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday slapped a Rs20 million fine on fast bowler Naseem Shah for breaching several clauses of his central contract. Last week, the cricketer was issued a show-cause notice for “violating the terms of [his] central contract as well as the media policy and regulations”, requiring him to respond within the stipulated time. The notice was ostensibly issued in response to a social media post in which Naseem had expressed a critical opinion about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who was the chief guest during the opening match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) played at the Gaddafi Stadium. According to ESPNcricinfo, Naseem had Naseem’s account responded to a post from the PCB media account, saying, “Why is she treated like the Queen at Lord’s?” It should be mentioned that PSL matches are being played behind closed doors in line with the government’s austerity drive amid the oil crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. Minutes later, the post was taken down and...

Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars on Monday imposed a Rs1 million fine on pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi over his involvement in an incident of security protocol breach but clarified that the “matter arose from a misunderstanding rather than any deliberate attempt to violate established procedures”. On Sunday, a police official had detailed the alleged incident in a letter to the PSL chief executive officer, claiming that Afridi — who is also the captain of Lahore Qalandars — and his teammate Sikandar Raza had “disregarded the directives and forcefully escorted” four visitors to the latter’s room at the hotel where the players were staying “despite resistance from on-duty security personnel”. Subsequently, a press release by Lahore Qalandars said that the franchise had taken “strong notice of the recently reported incident dated March 28 concerning an alleged breach of security protocol involving its players”. “The franchise promptly initiated a comprehensive internal review to establish the f...

Peshawar - Special Assistant to the Chief Minister (SACM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Shafi Jan has expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious human lives in roof collapse incidents in various districts of the province following recent rains.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has urged citizens to take a collective pledge to eliminate the use of plastic, emphasizing shared responsibility for environmental protection on the International Day of Zero Waste.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is facing a huge diplomatic challenge to bridge trust deficit among stakeholders as it champions dialogue to bring peace in the Middle East.