Pakistan

The government has reassured citizens that petrol supplies across the country remain stable despite recent volatility in global energy markets.

The National Assembly will resume its session at the Parliament House in Islamabad at 12 noon on Tuesday.

PM Shehbaz Sharif • PM defends ‘difficult decision’ on fuel prices, says global oil market ‘not in Pakistan’s hands’ • Public, private workplaces to shift half their staff to ‘work from home’; won’t apply to essential services such as banks, hospitals, agricultural or industrial sectors • All schools, colleges to stay closed for two weeks; higher education institutes to shift classes online • Special cabinet committee reviews fuel stocks, assesses national preparedness • Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also announce measures; Sindh cabinet meets today ISLAMABAD / LAHORE / PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced unprecedented austerity measures to cope with the situation that emerged due to the US-Israel war on Iran, which has led to a global oil crisis affecting various countries, including Pakistan, as three provinces with the exception of Sindh have taken their own set of steps to deal with the situation. In his address to the nation on Monday night, the premier unveiled the government’...

Members of the Lebanese Civil Defence extinguish a fire in a building after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.—Reuters • Lebanese parliament postpones legislative elections for two years • Lebanese president says Hezbollah risks state collapse, suggests full truce, direct talks BEIRUT: The Israeli onslaught in Leb­anon has displaced nearly 700,000 people, with reports of children among the casualties, as the conflict with the Leba­nese resistance group Hezbollah enters its second week, a UN agency said on Monday. “Mass displacement across Leb­­a­non has forced nearly 700,000 people including around 200,000 children from their homes, adding to the tens of thousands already uprooted from previous escalations,” UNICEF Reg­ional Direc­tor Edouard Beigbeder said. “Children are being killed and injured at a horrifying rate, families are fleeing their homes in fear, and thousands of children are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters.” Lebanon, a country of 6 million, has turned its largest sport...

• US president calls Mojtaba’s appointment ‘bad idea’; says war could be ‘over soon’ • Kremlin says Putin gave Trump proposals for a quick settlement of conflict • Israel launches more attacks on Tehran, Isfahan; Iran pledges bigger warheads in response • Bahrain oil facilities attacked; Nato defences shoot down missiles aimed at Turkiye • Two UAE servicemen killed; strike hits near Iraqi base, Baghdad airport TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: Monday was a rough day for global markets, which saw Brent crude oil prices jumping to a peak of $119.50 as Iran launched fresh strikes on energy installations in the Gulf, before coming back down to around $82 a barrel. For his part, US President Donald Trump predicted the war in the Middle East could be over soon, even as Tehran saw rallies in support of the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Iranian state media showed large crowds in several cities rallying behind the new leader, waving Iranian flags and holding portraits of his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced a host of austerity measures to conserve fuel in view of the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. Austerity measures 50pc cut in fuel allowance for official vehicles, with the exemption of operational vehicles such as ambulances and public buses, for the next two months 60pc vehicles of official vehicles to be grounded in all federal and provincial government establishments for the next two months The federal cabinet and provincial cabinet members will forgo salaries and allowances for the next two months Salaries of members of federal and provincial legislatures to see a 25pc cut for two months BS-20 government officials, in federal and provincial government establishments, who earn Rs300,000 or more, may forgo two days’ salary; officials serving in health and education sectors are exempted 20pc reduction in non-employee related expenditure for the fourth quarter for all federal and provincial government establishments 50pc staff to work...

US President Donald Trump indicated for the first time on Monday that US military operations in Iran could be coming to an end, saying the war was “very complete” and progressing ahead of schedule. The war had sent stock markets slumping and oil prices soaring again on Monday as Tehran, under new leader Mojtaba Khamenei, fired a new barrage of missiles at its Gulf neighbours and signalled that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would likely remain closed. But Wall Street vaulted into positive territory on Monday after Trump’s remarks, despite the lack of details on any solution to the conflict still raging in the Middle East. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force,” Trump told CBS News by phone, repeating battle damage assessments that he has given in previous days. Trump told the US broadcaster that the United States was “very far” ahead of his initially stated timeframe for the war of four or five weeks. On the first day in power for the 56...

ISLAMABAD: Aurat March organisers, civil society members, and rights groups accused the authorities on Monday of manhandling and threatening women’s rights activists who had been detained the previous day in Islamabad. The assertions were made at a press conference after police released all 44 activists detained ahead of an International Women’s Day rally on Sunday. Police cited the imposition of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the district administration not issuing a no-objection certificate (NoC) to the Aurat March for the rally as reasons for the arrests. After the activists were released, they held a press conference at the National Press Club, demanding an investigation into the incident. Aurat March’s Dr Farzana Bari said the organisers of the rally were aware that Section 144 was imposed in the federal capital, but “civil society does not accept any law that is in violation of basic rights”. “You cannot take our right to protest. Similar protests were held across the globe, but we were ...

ISLAMABAD - The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Monday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case related to allegations against state institutions.

Islamabad - Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Monday that Pakistan is conducting operations against militant hideouts inside Afghanistan based on accurate intelligence information.

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) Monday dismissed the Sindh province appeal regarding the appointment on deceased son/spouse quota.

LAHORE - Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Monday said that ensuring safe highways and modernising the motorway network were among the government’s top priorities, adding that the National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) had a vital role in maintaining discipline and safety on the country’s.

ISLAMABAD - The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) yesterday strongly criticized a reported threat alert issued to the party’s members of the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies in Balochistan, saying the move reflected the failure of the Balochistan government to ensure law and order in the province.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Navy on Monday launched ‘Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr’ to safeguard national energy shipments, the Pakistani military said on Monday, amid disruptions to critical sea lanes due to the ongoing Middle East crisis.

Shehbaz Sharif reveals 14-point austerity plan Announces four-day work week to offset impact of Middle East war Schools will remain closed from end of this week for next two weeks Govt to reduce 20pc expenditure except salaries No cabinet members will draw salary for next two months: PM Punjab CM.

Two men were charged on Monday with “terrorist” offences for throwing a nail bomb near a weekend protest, after which the pair told police they were aligned with the militant Islamic State (IS) group, charging documents showed. The two men, both US citizens, are in custody after allegedly being involved in tossing the bomb packed with explosives. “This is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, using another name for the Islamic State group. She said it was not thought to be linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran. No one was hurt during the incident. Two suspicious devices were thrown by a man identified by police as Emir Balat near the protest on Saturday, led by a far-right influencer to oppose public Muslim prayer. According to the charging document, the men “referred to ISIS in recorded post-arrest statements … More specifically, Balat wrote on a piece of paper that he pledge(d) allegience (sic) to the Islamic State.” The men were charged with five c...

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan celebrated the researchers who have made their way into the world’s top two percent scientists with a renewed commitment to fostering a culture that nurtures research activities focused on socio-economic development of the country.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday cautioned that the pollution resulting from the recent US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s oil sites could worsen air quality in western parts of the country. “Due to [the] recent situation in Iran, the winds may carry pollutants and deteriorate air quality in the western parts of the country,” read a press release issued by the PMD. Iran, Pakistan’s western neighbour, has been embroiled in a war with the United States and Israel since the latter’s February 28 strikes that assassinated its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Major airstrikes on Tehran’s refineries and fuel depots on March 7 plunged the Iranian capital into a toxic gloom as black, oily rain fell on Sunday. In Tehran, the sun was blotted out by thick black smoke billowing from oil facilities that continued to smoulder. CNN correspondent Frederik Pleitgen described the scene at Tehran’s Shahran oil depot as “apocalyptic”, adding that “breathing the air feels quite toxic”. The Iranian Re...

The Pakistan Navy has initiated Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr to safeguard national shipping and maritime trade in response to evolving security dynamics in the region and potential disruptions to critical sea routes.

Secretary General of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Sindh, Senator Waqar Mehdi, Monday visited the Embassy of Iran in Islamabad to express condolences over the martyrdom of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei.