Pakistan News Time

The county attorney said 'the decision to use deadly force' was authorized from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Kb9zqN

Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi said Monday she was deeply changed by her eight-month sentence in an Israeli jail for slapping two soldiers, but does not regret any of her actions. Tamimi, who was 16 when she was arrested in December for hitting and kicking soldiers in front of her house in the occupied West Bank, was released Sunday and swarmed by media from across the globe. In one day you age 100 years," she said in the backyard of her home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2mTg6gE

Triple-digit temperatures and parched land have left much of California's expansive forests vulnerable to any spark or flame. The Carr Fire, which started on July 23 after a vehicle caught fire, has spread to nearly 100,000 acres as of July 30. From hundreds of miles above, satellite images show a state besieged by an imposing plume of smoke, with a vast part of the region blanketed in a thick, brown haze.  SEE ALSO: Redding newspaper lost power amid extreme fire, but still found a way to print the news Vegetation in the drought-ridden terrain around the City of Redding, where the Carr Fire has prompted thousands to flee and has taken at least six lives, is now exceptionally dry.  NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the California fire's smoke spreading to Utah.Image: NASAIn fact, it's likely approaching either near-record or record dryness levels in Northern California, said Brenda Belongie, lead meteorologist of the U.S. Forest Service's Predictive Servic...

When former GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore sat down for an interview with a man from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2M021sW

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican senator who was publicly undecided over whether to back U.S. President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh threw his support behind the judge on Monday, improving chances Kavanaugh would win Senate confirmation despite a pitched battle by leading Democrats to block him. U.S. Senator Rand Paul made his announcement as Kavanaugh continued visiting senators considering his nomination, including the first Democrat he has met, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Apq2Ir

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on CBS CEO Les Moonves facing sexual harassment allegations (all times local): from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2AwV69s

MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2K8iOIC

A Department of Health and Human Services official who shared bigoted memes from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2mW70Qd

Three people were killed and seven injured when two men opened fire into a large crowd outside a New Orleans strip mall on Saturday. According to the city police chief, Michael Harrison, the pair stood over one person and fired multiple shots before fleeing. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2NWFz4y

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Footage shows the man shot from behind after a frenetic foot chase from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2M0Sstw

Rudy Giuliani said Monday that President Donald Trump didn't collude with the from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2LSNIcC

By Bob Strong REDDING, Calif. (Reuters) - California firefighters on Monday gained ground on a massive wildfire that has killed six people and destroyed hundreds of homes, while rescuers searched for at least seven missing people. The Carr Fire ignited a week ago outside Redding, about 150 miles (240 km) north of Sacramento, and doubled in size over the weekend, charring an area half the size of New York City and forcing 38,000 people to flee their homes. Two firefighters, a 70-year-old woman and her two young great-grandchildren were among the dead. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2LP75U3

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced on Monday he will support the nomination of from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2NX1atC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court will hear on Tuesday the petition filed by the former premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (r) Safdar against the Avenfield verdict. On July 6, an accountability court had sentenced Nawaz Sharif to a total of 11 years in prison besides a fine of £8 million in […] The post IHC to hear Nawaz and family’s petition against Avenfield verdict today appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2mYHzNW

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday announced that today is the last date of Tax Amnesty Scheme and the time would not be exceeded anymore. The FBR has warned all the undeclared asset holders to declare their local and foreign assets till today’s (Tuesday) midnight, otherwise, they would have to face consequences. The […] The post Tax Amnesty Scheme: Last day to declare local and foreign assets appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2AmGF7u

The Islamic State jihadist group on Monday claimed an attack that killed four foreign cyclists in Tajikistan in what was originally reported as a hit-and-run road accident. The victims, two Americans, a Swiss and Dutch citizen, were struck by a car and attacked on Sunday while on a popular cycle route in the Danghara district, […] The post IS claims deadly attack on tourists in Tajikistan appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2mZf0jH

Donald Trump seemed to jettison threats of impending war with Iran on Monday, saying he was willing to meet the country’s leaders without precondition, a dramatic about-face by the enigmatic US president. Barely a week after warning Iran it would suffer untold “consequences,” Trump said he would meet the country’s leader Hassan Rouhani “any time” […] The post Trump says willing to meet with Iran leaders ‘any time’ appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2Aq4OdH

Yemen’s Huthi rebels are still arming themselves with ballistic missiles and drones that “show characteristics similar” to Iranian-made weapons, a report by a UN panel of experts has found. In a confidential report to the Security Council, a copy of which was seen by AFP on Monday, the panel said it “continues to believe” that […] The post UN panel finds further evidence of Iran link to Yemen missiles appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2OsHu1T

The planet’s largest colony of king penguins has declined by nearly 90 percent in three decades, alarmed researchers said Monday. The last time scientists set foot on France’s remote Ile aux Cochons — roughly half way between the tip of Africa and Antarctica — the island was blanketed by two million of the flightless birds, […] The post World’s biggest king penguin colony shrinks 90 percent appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2Aq4trr

More than 500 hikers and their guides have been successfully evacuated from an Indonesian volcano after a deadly earthquake triggered landslides that trapped them on the mountain, officials said Tuesday. Tonnes of rock and mud were dislodged on Mount Rinjani in the 6.4-magnitude quake, which struck early Sunday and was followed by scores of aftershocks, […] The post More than 500 hikers evacuated from Indonesian volcano appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2mX4SI0

US intelligence agencies have found that North Korea is building new missiles, based on satellite photographs taken in recent weeks and other new evidence, The Washington Post reported Monday. Just weeks after a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang appears to be developing at least one or […] The post N. Korea developing new missiles: report appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2Aq48VH

Corruption is mother of all evils which is silent killer and is one of major hurdle in the way of Progress and prosperity of Pakistan. NAB under the leadership of worthy Chairman NAB Honorable Justice Javed Iqbal is absolutely committed to eradicate corruption by adopting “Accountability for All” policy through Zero Tolerance and Self Accountability […] The post NAB chairman — a man of action appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2v0CUzQ

ISLAMABAD: Major political parties who suffered defeat in the recently held general elections on Monday decided to form a ‘grand opposition alliance’ to give the government-in-waiting of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) a hard time. The meeting attended by leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Awami National Party […] The post Grand opp alliance set up to give Imran a hard time appeared first on Daily Times . from Daily Times https://ift.tt/2NXxpbQ

Chris Gayle and Rayad Emrit are out as Windies name a strong 13-man squad for the three Twenty20 Internationals against Bangladesh, reported ICC. The first match will be played on Wednesday, 1 August in Basseterre, before the teams go to Lauderhill in Florida, and wicket-keeper batsman Chadwick Walton has been brought in for Gayle. That is one of two changes to the team that played the one-off Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge game against ICC World XI at Lord’s in May. The other is the return of left-arm paceman Sheldon Cottrell in place of all-rounder Rayad Emrit. The rest of the squad remains unchanged with Carlos Brathwaite continuing to be captain. Andre Russell, who played his first one-day international since 2015 in the recently-concluded series, retains his place after recovering from the injury that forced him to miss the last ODI, as does star opening batsman Evin Lewis, who will be tasked with giving his side good starts in the absence of Gayle. “We have rested Chris ...

LOS ANGELES: Lindsay Lohan, whose promising movie career crashed in a string of legal woes and substance abuse, is returning to US television in a reality series about her nightclub ventures in Greece. MTV said on Monday that Lohan Beach Club  will follow the actress as she works to expand a recently launched nightclub and restaurant business in Greece. The TV network said the show, expected to air in 2019, will see Lohan, 32, lead a team of “brand ambassadors” who will help promote her business “while striving to rise above the temptations the Mykonos nightlife scene has to offer.” Lohan, once one of Hollywood’s most-sought after young actresses after starring roles in The Parent Trap  and Mean Girls , went to rehab six times between 2007 and 2013, and was in and out of jail and court repeatedly for offences ranging from theft to drunken driving and drug possession. Her last feature movie was the 2013 low-budget thriller The Canyons  after which she moved to Lo...

LONDON : An estimated 3.19 million Pakistanis are estimated to be trapped in slavery, the third highest number in the world, a local media outlet reported on Monday. Poverty, crime and conflict are among the primary reasons why modern day slavery persists, with the Walk Free Foundation and the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) estimating the total number of people affected to be 40 million. India tops the list with approximately 8 million people followed by China, Pakistan, North Korea and Nigeria. However, North Korea has the highest percentage of its population enslaved with one in ten enslaved. from Pakistan Today https://ift.tt/2vpLJlQ

KARACHI: Following the complaint of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board chief, the Supreme Court-mandated commission on water and sanitation in Sindh on Monday summoned two contractors tasked with the disposal of garbage in South and East districts for breaching their contract, local media reports have informed. Head of the commission retried Justice Amir Hani Muslim issued notices to both the contractors and directed them to present themselves on Aug 1 with an explanation that why their contract should not be annulled and/or penal clauses should not be invoked against them for defiance of the terms of the contracts. SSWMB managing director Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo has brought to the notice of the commission some serious complaints against both contractors and contended that they were not complying with the terms and conditions under which the contract was awarded to them. He further said that the contractors had withdrawn the manpower in violation of the terms of the contract. Th...

LAHORE: Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Irfan has been called up by the Barbados Tridents for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL), reported ICC.  The 36-year-old will replace fellow left-armer Junaid Khan, who has withdrawn himself from the tournament. It’s an impressive coup for Barbados Tridents, who have acquired a player with very similar qualities to Khan. Despite playing just four Tests, Irfan has excelled in the white-ball format, taking 83 wickets in 60 ODIs and 15 wickets in 20 T20 Internationals. Irfan has been a regular on the franchise T20 circuit. Most recently, he took six wickets in six games for the Edmonton Royals in the Global T20 Canada competition and claimed 12 victims – albeit with an economy rate of 9.61 – for the Karachi Kings in his native Pakistan Super League this year. Tridents head coach Robin Singh said: “It is a disappointment not to have Junaid available but the experience of another left-arm quick like Mohammed Irfan will be an asset t...

A Netflix Inc executive promised on Sunday a “fitting end” to the streaming service’s acclaimed political drama House of Cards but did not divulge how the series wrote out scandal-tainted star Kevin Spacey. House of Cards put Netflix on the map as a home for original entertainment when the series debuted in 2013 starring Spacey as conniving politician Frank Underwood. The show’s coming sendoff centres on Robin Wright, who plays Frank’s devious wife, Claire. “We’re really proud of the show, and it’s a fitting end,” Cindy Holland, vice president of original series at Netflix, said in response to questions at a Television Critics Association event where networks promoted upcoming shows. “We always planned for season six to be the final season, and we are proud of the work of Robin” and the rest of the cast and crew, she added. The company has not yet set a release date. House of Cards upended television when Netflix released the first season’s episodes all at once to encourage onli...

ISLAMABAD: Out of the 105.9 million registered voters in Pakistan, only about 54.6 million voted in the last week’s general election, highlighting several factors including mistrust and lack of awareness that kept almost half of the voters (51.3 million) away from the electoral process, local media reports have stated. The voter turnout for the National Assembly in the July 25 polls was 51.7%, while at the provincial level, Punjab led with 55% turnout followed by 47.6% in Sindh; 45.5% in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 45.2% in Balochistan. According to data of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the voter turnout at the 1970 general election, the first to be held on ‘one-man-one-vote’ formula, was 63%, the highest ever in election history of Pakistan. Discussions with the ECP officials and voters shed light on several factors that stopped people from fulfilling their civic duty. According to the Free and Fair Election Network’s (Fafen) General Secretary Sarwar Bari, the mistrust o...

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ISLAMABAD: The high treason case against former military dictator retired Gen Pervez Musharraf suffered a blow on Monday as head of the prosecution Mohammad Akram Sheikh tendered his resignation. In his resignation letter sent to the interior secretary, Advocate Sheikh expressed his inability to proceed with the case after the imminent change of government at the Centre. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had appointed Akram Sheikh as head of the prosecution in the high treason case in November 2013. Initially, the legal team of Gen Musharraf challenged Advocate Sheikh’s appointment as chief prosecutor, but the special court seized with the high treason case as well as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed the challenge. Akram Sheikh expresses inability to proceed with case because of expected change of government The special court indicted Gen Musharraf for high treason in March 2014. The prosecution laid its evidence by September same year. However, thereafter, th...

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar has said it is not the judiciary’s job to build water reservoirs in the country, and that it is the responsibility of the executive. His comments came weeks after he had initiated the donation fund for the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams. The CJP said that the apex court could only maintain a supervisory role — concerning the collection of funds for such special projects — in the name of transparency. “The Supreme Court will not interfere in awarding contracts, nor will it meddle in the designing and structural plans of the two dams, but will ensure that no one makes illegal commissions, or embezzles the funds allocated for the projects,” the CJP said while heading a three-judge bench hearing a case pertaining to the fund-raising for the dams. On July 4, the Supreme Court had ordered that an account be opened for the purpose of collecting donations, directing the government, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda)...

WASHINGTON: The US National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) 2019, passed by Congress this week, does not link future payments of security-related assistance to Pakistan to the country’s counterterrorism efforts. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate last week, now goes to President Donald Trump for signing into a law. The bill has only one reference to the Haqqani network, which the US claims carries out attacks into Afghanistan from its hideouts in Pakistan, a charge Islamabad rejects as incorrect. It mentions the Haqqani network while talking about the ability of the Afghan security forces to defend their territory against militants. There are 19 references to Pakistan in the document, known as the conference report, which is the joint version of both chambers of the US Congress. The first reference comes in the section that lays out the condition for reimbursing some friendly countries for their border security operations. It notes that the ...

ISLAMABAD: A number of personalities, including former Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shahbaz Sharif, tried to meet former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the cardiac centre of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) since he was shifted to the hospital on Sunday night, but they were not allowed. “We have nothing to do with it as the second floor of the cardiac centre, where Mr Sharif is under treatment, has been declared a sub-jail. People need to take permission from the jail administration if they want to meet Mr Sharif,” Pims executive director Dr Raja Amjad said while talking to Dawn. Moreover, Pims deputy executive director Dr Zulfiqar Ghouri said Mr Sharif was not willing to be shifted to the hospital, adding that even after having been admitted he had been insisting that he be shifted back to the jail. A large number of PML-N leaders and workers were present when Mr Sharif was shifted to Pims on Sunday night. They wanted to see thei...

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s pointman Jahangir Tareen flew into Karachi from Islamabad on Monday evening and invited former nemesis Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to join Mr Khan-led next federal government. The MQM-P has won six National Assembly seats — four in Karachi and two in Hyderabad — in the July 25 elections compared to its 24 NA seats in 2013. With just six seats, the MQM-P has become an important factor in national politics since the PTI cannot form a government on its own and lacks a simple majority in the lower house of parliament. Mr Tareen along with PTI leaders Arif Alvi, Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Imran Ismail reached the MQM-P’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad area and met with its convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Senior leaders Dr Farooq Sattar, Amir Khan, Faisal Subzwari, Khwaja Izharul Hasan and Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar were also present. Talks between the two parties held behind closed doors till 1.10am an...

KARACHI: Panic in open currency market compelled the banks to devalue US dollar by 3.1 per cent, or Rs4, per dollar on Monday. However, the greenback has lost over 11 per cent in the kerb market since the general elections held on July 25. The US dollar was traded as low as Rs124 in the interbank market while some said the banks bought at Rs122 during the day. Bankers said the dollar was closed at Rs123.50. However, the open market witnessed a high degree of exploitation by the exchange companies as they bought dollar as low as Rs115-16 but sold in the range of Rs120-22. This margin of profit never witnessed before. Just after the general elections, the exchange rate quickly changed in favour of the rupee which sharply appreciated against the dollar on a day-to-day basis. The reversal of dollar price in the interbank market was surprising since the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had adjusted exchange rate to protect the rupee from over valuation. The central bank devalued the rupee b...

PESHAWAR: Former chief minister Pervez Khattak, who had earlier threatened to revolt if not made chief executive of the province again, said here on Monday that there was no grouping in PTI on the issue. Mr Khattak backtracked on his statements, published in the newspapers, that he would even quit PTI if he was not made chief minister of the province. He also managed to publish news in the newspapers in his favour, giving the impression that he was a strong candidate for the slot of chief minister. “Imran Khan will decide about the chief minister of KP,” Mr Khattak told journalists after a meeting of his party’s MPAs-elect held in the Speaker’s House here on Monday evening. Former CM disowns statements about his possible revolt against party He said that there was no grouping in the party over the slot of chief minister. He said that propaganda was underway on television regarding him. “We are soldiers of Khan Sahib (Imran Khan),” he added. The MPAs-elect, who attended the meeti...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will resume hearing of appeals filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar seeking suspension of the verdict in the Avenfield properties reference on Tuesday. The same court will also hear appeals of Mr Sharif for transfer of two pending references — Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment — from the accountability court of Judge Mohammad Bashir to another court. Also read: What are the ways the Sharifs could appeal the Avenfield verdict? A counsel for the Sharif family, Barrister Saad Hashmi, on Monday filed an application with the IHC seeking photocopies of previous orders of the accountability court passed in the Avenfield reference during the course of trial. An IHC division bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb will hear the transfer application as well as the appeals seeking suspension of sentence awarded to the Sharif family after...

TEHRAN: Iran’s currency plummeted to a record low on Monday, a week before the United States restores sanctions lifted under the unraveling nuclear deal , giving rise to fears of prolonged economic suffering and further civil unrest. Already last month, protesters clashed with police outside parliament in Tehran in three days of demonstrations sparked by the Iranian rial plunging to nearly 90,000 to the dollar. That followed country-wide economic protests in December and January, in which 25 protesters were killed and nearly 5,000 people were arrested. The currency hit a new low on Monday, closing at 122,000 to the dollar on the thriving black market, rapidly dropping from 116,000 on Sunday and 98,000 on Saturday. The official exchange rate, available only to businesses with import and export licenses, was about 44,000 to the dollar on Monday, down from 35,000 on Jan 1. Iranians have already seen their savings dwindle, and shopkeepers are increa­singly refusing to sell certain goods...

PESHAWAR: As the outcry by various political parties against alleged rigging in the July 25 polls gains momentum, the Awami National Party (ANP) has taken to the streets to register its protest and call for a re-election in the country. The religious party, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), too, has announced a protest rally on Aug 6. Rejecting the recently held polls for being “tainted” because they were conducted under the supervision of the army, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the caretaker government, ANP workers took out rallies on Monday across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, tribal areas and Karachi on a call for protests by party president Asfandyar Wali Khan. Party workers and supporters held demonstrations in Karachi, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Peshawar, Nowshera, Dera Ismail Khan, Karak, Bannu, Dir Lower and other cities and towns. ANP workers in the tribal districts of Bajaur and Mohmand also organised demonstrations in their a...

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced last week it was suspending oil shipments through the Red Sea’s Bab-el-Mandeb strait after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two ships in the waterway . To date, no other exporters have followed suit. A full blockage of the strategic waterway would virtually halt shipment to Europe and the United States of about 4.8 million barrels per day of crude oil and refined petroleum products. The Yemen war The threat to shipping in Bab-el-Mandeb has been building for some time, with the Houthis targeting Saudi tankers in at least two other attacks this year. It is not unusual to reevaluate security after such an incident, but Riyadh’s announcement also carries a political dimension. “Rather than allowing these hostile manoeuvres to go unnoticed in the eyes of the world, the Saudi (energy) minister has placed Iran’s subversions of the whole global economy under the spotlight for everyone to see,” said energy consultant Sadad al-Husseini, a former senior...

KARACHI: Outgoing Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair visited the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad on Monday in an attempt to dissuade the party from forging a coalition with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf at the Centre. The MQM-P has won only six National Assembly seats — four in Karachi and two in Hyderabad — and the PTI needs its support to get a simple majority in the lower house of parliament. The meeting between the outgoing Sindh governor — a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz nominee who a day earlier announced that he had resigned from the office — and MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui took place behind closed doors. Mr Zubair later said the PTI was the beneficiary of rigging and he urged the MQM not to support the Imran Khan-led party. “We want the MQM to sit on the opposition [benches] with the PML-N,” he told reporters after the meeting. Accompanied by senior MQM-P leaders Dr Farooq Sattar, Amir Khan and Faisal Subzwari, Mr Zubair sai...

A meeting of senior leaders of four parliamentary parties — PML-N, MMA, PPP and ANP — was held in Islamabad on Monday, during which they agreed on formulating a joint parliamentary strategy to counter PTI's emergence as the most powerful party in the National Assembly. Talking to media persons following the meeting, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said it has been decided that the agitating parties will “form a strong opposition both inside and outside parliament”. The parties also reiterated claims that the recently-held elections were massively rigged. Gilani denounced the interference of “non-state elements” and also criticised the alleged self-imposed censorship by media houses while reporting election-related protests. Senior PML-N leader Raja Zafrul Haq, also present, alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan had "remained ineffective" in the conduct of the election and demanded that the Chief Election Commissioner tender his resignation. MMA ch...

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Monday rejected three separate applications submitted by Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui seeking records of expenses incurred on the maintenance of official residences of all superior court judges. Justice Siddiqui is accused of spending more money on the refurbishment of his official residence than he was entitled to. A complaint in this regard had been filed with the SJC — which conducts inquiries against judges on charges of misconduct — by a retired employee of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). For the first time in the country’s judicial history, the SJC had agreed to an open hearing of a reference against a judge upon Justice Siddiqui's own request. Headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, the five-member council includes the chief justices of the Balochistan and Sindh High Courts. When the CJP inquired at the start of the hearing what evidence would be brought on record today, Justice Siddiqui's la...

India on Monday effectively stripped four million people in Assam of citizenship, sparking fears of mass deportations of Muslims from the northeastern state. The draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), published on Monday, includes only those able to prove they were in Assam before 1971, when millions fled Bangladesh's war of independence into the state. Critics say it is the latest move by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advance the rights of India's Hindu majority at the expense of its many minorities. More than 30 million people had applied to be included on the list, of whom just over four million were excluded from the draft published on Monday, said Shailesh, the registrar general of India, who uses one name. “No genuine Indian citizens need to worry as there will be ample opportunities given to them to enlist their names in the final NRC,” he told a news conference in Assam's biggest city Guwahati. He said those wishing to appeal ...

After former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was shifted from Adiala jail to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) due to health complications late Sunday night, the Islamabad chief commissioner declared the private ward of Pims' cardiac centre — where Sharif is being treated — as sub-jail. A notification issued by the office of the Islamabad chief commissioner — dated July 29 — said that the capital city's administration had decided to declare premises of the Pims Cardiac Centre's private ward "as sub-jail for keeping Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, convicted prisoner in NAB case with immediate effect". The private ward will serve as sub-jail until the time Nawaz is kept there for medical treatment. The capital's police will provide security to the convicted three-time premier, according to the notification. Following news of Nawaz's health complications, PTI chairman Imran Khan prayed for Sharif’s recovery and directed party workers to stay awa...

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq on Monday said that the new government, likely of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), should be given a chance to play their due role. The JI emir, while addressing a press conference in Lahore, struck a contrasting tone to that of his fellow Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) leader Fazalur Rehman, who has rejected the result of the July 25 elections , floated the idea of not taking oath and may even push for fresh polls. Haq today said that the party wants continuation of democracy and supremacy of the parliament. He termed the holding of the elections a welcome sign but rued that some measures (or their lack thereof) dented the entire polling process. As a result, he said, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the caretaker setup find themselves in a defensive position. Showing his support for the next government, Haq said, "We want to give a chance to the newly elected government for the sake of the continuation of democracy."...

Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidate Dr Fehmida Mirza, who had emerged victorious from NA-230 (Badin-II) according to preliminary results of the 2018 polls, is trying to influence the recounting process — returning officer (RO) Arif Rajput complained to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday. PPPP candidate Haji Rasool Bux Chandio, who lost by a slim margin of 860 votes, had moved the RO for a recount, which began on Saturday after the RO's approval. Following a recount at just 13 polling stations, the margin of votes between Dr Mirza and Chandio started to decrease, the RO stated in his application to the commission. When the recount resumed again the next day, the RO claims that Dr Mirza "started creating nuisance and tried to create hurdle[s] in the recounting process by raising unreasonable and baseless objections... apparently to avoid the conduct of further recounting proceedings". The PPPP candidate, however, has shown his complete trust over ...

The PTI leadership also assured the MQM that they will redress the party’s complaints regarding the election and delimitation of constituencies from Samaa Digital https://ift.tt/2M6UfgK

Any potential IMF bailout for the new government in Pakistan should not be used for repaying Chinese lenders, says the US from Samaa Digital https://ift.tt/2AsldOK

The PTI candidate rejected the results and said he would approach the Election Commission from Samaa Digital https://ift.tt/2M7bOx9

The court will also hear the pleas to transfer the Al-Azizia and Flagship references to another court from Samaa Digital https://ift.tt/2LI0fkc

The prices of all petroleum products may go up from August 1, if the caretaker government accepts recommendations of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). In its summary, based on general sales tax, the Ogra has advised the government to raise Rs2.45 per litre in price of petrol, Rs2.70 in diesel, Rs3.25 in kerosene... from Samaa Digital https://ift.tt/2OsPUpT