NA speaker demands ‘thorough’ inquiry into attack on AJK speaker’s convoy – Pakistan
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday called for a “thorough and urgent” investigation into the attack targeting the convoy of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar. Akbar was visiting his constituency Kakliyot village when the shooting occurred. The attack took place around 12:45pm when the speaker’s convoy, comprising […]
India’s Modi says spoke to US President Trump over phone – World
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump spoke in a phone call on Monday, Modi said in a post on X, the first conversation between the two leaders since Trump’s inauguration last week. “We are committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership,” Modi said in the post, adding that he also […]
SBP cuts key policy rate by 100bps
KARACHI: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in its meeting on Monday, announced the sixth successive cut of a 100 basis point cut in the policy rate, bringing it down to 12 per cent, effective January 28, 2025. The decision comes amid key economic developments, including improved activity in […]
Acrimony at its peak
A clash has intensified between the judges of the Supreme Court's regular benches and those appointed to its constitutional benches (CB), formed in accordance with the 26th Constitutional Amendment, 2024. Now judges from both sides have started passing judicial orders and remarks against each othersomething which was unprecedented in recent judicial history. This trend of […]
LHC seeks report on allotment issues
LAHORE: Chief Justice Aalia Neelum of the LHC has directed the submission of a detailed report regarding alleged irregularities in the allotment of official residences. During the proceedings, Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Advocate General Punjab Khalid Ishaq appeared before the court. The advocate general informed the court that a committee, led by […]
Cabinet committee reviews ministries progress
ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Rightsizing of the Federal Government on Monday chaired by Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb to review progress on the implementation of rightsizing measures across federal ministries and deliberated on the rightsizing plan of railways ministry. The Establishment Division informed the minister about receiving confirmations from 29 […]
India, China agree to resume flights
NEW DELHI: India and China agreed in principle on Monday to resume direct flights between the two nations, nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions halted them. The announcement came at the conclusion of a visit to Beijing by New Delhi’s top career diplomat and heralds the latest signs of a […]
Afghans complain of rising food prices
KABUL: Residents of the Afghan capital have complained of rising food prices as the local currency lost value against the US dollar in recent days. The currency fell to around 80 Afghanis to the dollar on Monday after hovering around 70 in recent weeks. Kabul residents have reported rising prices of basic goods and are […]
Industrialists decry 1% rate cut
KARACHI: Rejecting the 1% cut in interest rate as tiny, industrialists and traders have asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to do more, with a view to boosting economic growth. They said the poor economic strategy of the government and the central bank dismayed the entire business community of the country. They called for […]
German Holocaust remembrance under fire from Musk-backed far right – World
As the world remembers Auschwitz, the German far-right has pushed back against the country’s tradition of Holocaust remembrance, now with backing from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. “I think there’s too much of a focus on past guilt and we need to move beyond that,” the ally of US President Donald Trump told an Alternative […]