Author: Sajjad Ali

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court’s Election Tribunal (ET) has ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to present the record of Form-45 related to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. This order follows challenges to her victory in the general elections. Justice Anwar Hussain of the ET presided over the hearing of an appeal filed by Mehar Shafqat, who ran against Maryam Nawaz in PP-159, Lahore. Shafqat claimed that the notification of Maryam Nawaz’s victory was not accurate and should be invalidated. Maryam Nawaz’s legal team argued that the appeal based on Form-45 was not admissible. Justice Anwar Hussain asked about the…

MUZAFFARGARH: As many as 36 goats died after a lightning strike during rain at village Khairaywala near Chowk Sarwar Shaheed. The goats, valued at over Rs 1.8 million, belonged to Muhammad Sharif, a cattle farmer from district Layyah. The local community expressed deep sorrow over the significant loss. Muhammad Sharif has appealed to the Punjab government for financial assistance, as this disaster has caused severe hardship for him. In 2013, China gifted Pakistan meteorological detectors to provide early warnings of lightning, aiming to protect people and property in Tharparkar. According to Mehr Sahibzad Khan, the Director General of the Meteorological…

PESHAWAR: A traffic policeman was shot dead by unidentified armed men in Peshawar on Tuesday. The incident occurred at Ring Road’s Kabootar Chowk as traffic cop Muhammad Tahir was returning home after his shift. A heavy contingent of police reached the scene after receiving information about the shooting, and the body was transported to the hospital. Earlier, on November 7, at least two policemen were martyred and three others injured in a terrorist attack on an oil and gas company’s camp in the Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to police officials, terrorists attacked the camp in the…

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued contempt of court notices to television channels for airing press conferences deemed contemptuous towards the judiciary. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, issued the written order for contempt proceedings against lawmakers Faisal Vawda and Mustafa Kamal due to their disparaging remarks about the judiciary. In its written order, the Supreme Court mentioned that show-cause notices were issued to 34 TV channels. Of these, the explanations provided by 26 channels were deemed “not justifiable” by…

PESHAWAR: Nine terrorists, including wanted commanders, were killed in two separate operations carried out by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, the intelligence-based operations were conducted in the Khyber and Lakki Marwat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the first operation, seven terrorists, including high-value targets Terrorist Commander Najeeb alias Abdul Ur Rehman and Terrorist Commander Ishfaq alias Muavia, were eliminated in the Tirah Valley of Khyber district. These terrorists were actively involved in multiple terrorist activities and were wanted by law enforcement agencies. The operation also…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) core committee, chaired by Barrister Gohar, on Monday discussed various issues including an alliance with Jwith Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI),  party cases in courts and other matters. Among the key topics discussed was the proposal for Umar Ayub’s resignation as General Secretary, which was opposed by committee members who recognized his dedicated service during challenging periods for the party. The meeting also focused on the upcoming talks with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), with the committee expressing its endorsement for engaging in discussions at the committee level. This decision comes in response to implied criticism from JUI leaders directed…

The Indian Cricket Board head Jay Shah announced big prize money for the Indian team after their victory in the ICCT20 World Cup. Indian cricket team defeated South Africa in the final of the ICCT20 World Cup played in Barbados on Saturday to become the world champion of the shortest format for the second time. Chasing a target of 177 runs, South Africa managed to score 169 runs for the loss of 8 wickets and lost by 7 runs. After winning the title BCCI announced the prize for the players. In his statement released on the social media platform X,…

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday called for fresh elections in the country, insisting on full assurance that the establishment will refrain from interfering in the electoral process. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad following a Central Majlis Shura meeting, Mr Fazl expressed unequivocal rejection of the February 8 election results, declaring them unacceptable. “Our movement against the establishment’s interference in elections will persist,” he asserted. Stressing the sanctity of the electoral process, he added, “The right to vote must be restored to the people, and the establishment along with our secret agencies should stay away…

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has decided to launch a special anti-polio campaign, “Outbreak Response,” following the detection of the virus in sewage samples across the country. The campaign will target over 9.5 million children for vaccination and will run from July 1 to July 7, covering 41 districts, including Islamabad. The drive will focus particularly on 31 districts where polio-positive sewage samples were found. The anti-polio drive will be launched in 16 districts of Balochistan, 11 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8 districts of Sindh, and 5 districts of Punjab. The goal is to vaccinate 8.9 million children in these areas.…

President Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Finance Bill 2024, officially approving the federal budget for 2024-25. A signed copy of the Finance Bill will be sent to Parliament, with the new federal budget set to take effect from July 1. On June 28, the National Assembly passed the federal budget amidst opposition protests. The session, chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, approved a budget worth Rs18.877 trillion. However, the opposition walked out after being denied the opportunity to voice their objections during the financial bill’s passage. Despite the opposition’s protests, the assembly approved provisions to increase tax rates on international…