Latest News

The government is offering 6.25% profit for a three-year PBC from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2DLbiDv

The central bank has increased its monetary policy rate by 0.25% from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2WxuPP6

QUETTA: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Director General Balochistan, Abid Javed on Thursday declared that ruthless accountability inevitable for continuation of progress and prosperity of the country.  Hearing public issues in an ‘open kachery’ Abid Javed said that NAB believed in rule of law and across the board accountability. He said that delay in development projects and corruption will not be tolerated and added that the common man suffered due to delay in development projects. The NAB DG said that bringing back looted money top priority of the watchdog. He said that many development projects in Balochistan facing unnecessary delay. He said that the concerned officials were being bound to complete the uplift projects on time and added that NAB to address people’s complaints pertinent to corruption. Read More: NAB Chairman vows to root out corruption for country’s uplift Earlier, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal on Jan...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated his resolve to make Pakistan self-reliant with effective policies of the incumbent federal government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, ARY News reported on Thursday. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of “ Pakistan Banao Certificate ” in Islamabad. The PM exhorted the overseas Pakistanis to come forward and enthusiastically purchase the certificates to make this scheme a success.  “The government has given an attractive return on these certificates and it would not only help the Pakistani diaspora to earn reasonable profit from these certificates but also extend a helping hand towards reviving the national economic at this critical juncture,” the prime minister said. Appreciating the efforts of the Pakistanis nationals living abroad, PM Khan said government is mulling over to create ease for them. “The ambassadors of Pakistan are being trained for how to provide maximum facilities to the Overseas Pakistanis,” he said. Shedding t...

ISLAMABAD: United States (US) Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday confirmed that they had made significant progress on two vital issues, counter terrorism and troop withdrawal during the recent round of US-Taliban talks in Doha. Zalmay Khalilzad said in a tweet, “That doesn’t mean we’re done. We’re not even finished with these issues yet, and there is still work to be done on other vital issues like intra-Afghan dialogue and a complete ceasefire.” He said that the path to peace did not often run in a straight line and added that the situation in Afghanistan was complex and like all sensitive talks. The US envoy said that everything could not be disclosed in public. In another tweet, Khalilzad said, “Skeptics have rushed to judgment based on just the first part of a much larger effort, as though we have a completed agreement. But you can’t eat an elephant in one bite.” He said that a forty-year old war could not be resolved in one me...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet on Thursday approved new Hajj Policy for 2019, deciding against provision of any subsidy, ARY News reported. Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri briefed the cabinet meeting about the new Hajj Policy that was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan here today.  According to new Hajj Policy more than 1, 84000 Pakistanis will perform the religious ritual of Hajj this year, while 60 per cent quota would be reserved for the government and the remaining 40 per cent for private hajj tour operators. Applications in this regard will be received from next month. “The cabinet has decided against provision of any kind of subsidy,” sources said. On the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the authorities concerned to ensure smooth Hajj operations and warned of strict action in any negligence. People 80 years and above will be able to perform Hajj without the need to enter a draw. People who have been unsuccessful for three consecutive years wi...

ISLAMABAD: A convicted child-sex offender, who was part of a gang that exploited teenage girls in a northern English town, has been arrested in Pakistan where he fled during his trial, the British High Commission in Islamabad said on Thursday. Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain, 41, was part of a group of men who were jailed for abusing dozens of girls following an investigation centred on the town of Rochdale near Manchester. The men groomed the girls with gifts and plied them with alcohol and drugs before forcing them to have sex with others. Hussain escaped during the trial but was found guilty in 2016 in his absence of a series of serious offences including rape and child sexual abuse. “The arrest of this individual, who has been convicted of sexual offences by a British court, is a significant achievement and another excellent example of UK-Pakistan cooperation in tackling international criminality and impunity,” Thomas Drew, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan said. “It sends...

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Thursday in its summary to the government has recommended up to Rs4.50 per litre reduction in petroleum prices for the next month. The regulator has suggested cut in fuel prices to transfer the benefit of lower prices in world markets to the consumers. The regulatory authority has worked out a reduction of Rs4.5 per litre cut in high-speed diesel (HSD) to Rs102.20, petrol down by 50 paisa to Rs90.47 per litre, kerosene oil rate to go down by Rs2 to Rs80.98 per litre. The new prices of the petroleum products will be announced after approval by the prime minister which will come into force from Feb 1. The levies on petroleum products generate revenues for the government. The government presently receives 17 per cent general sales tax (GST) on all petroleum products. The government was charging 0.5pc GST on light diesel oil, 2pc on kerosene, 8pc on petrol and 13pc on HSD until Dec 31, 2018. In Pakistan, petrol and HSD gen...

Bank believes it can help during macroeconomic uncertainty from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2SghvPJ

Pakistan struggle with the bat but impress in the field from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2CUlZSy

It was performing cosmetic surgeries without authorization, says the commission from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2RZdQqq

ISLAMABAD:  The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced a procedure for the registration of unregistered mobile phones by paying duties and taxes online, ARY News reported on Thursday. According to the policy, overseas Pakistanis only bring one mobile phone without paying duties and taxes. The phone will be registered in the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System’s (DIRBS) white list without payment of duties and taxes whereas mobile phone sellers will be required to pay taxes and duties. The FBR and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority  introduced a web-based user interface application for DIRBS registration after payment of taxes and duties. International travellers are allowed to bring phones in their luggage after registering them through the online app. Those you receive phones through postal or courier services can get the mobiles registered following the procedure laid down on the PTA website. The post New registration process introduced for...

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday unanimously agreed that the new international Islamabad airport should also be named after former prime minister Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The PAC meeting, chaired by Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif, discussed the name of the new Islamabad airport which was inaugurated in May last year. All members of the PAC agreed to name the new airport after the assassinated leader in order to honor her memory, like the old airport of the twin cities. “At PAC when records of ‘Islamabad Airport’ showed the original name of ‘New Benazir Bhutto International Airport’ all members across the political board endorsed our advice to revert to the right name of the airport. Govt please take note. SMBenazir Bhutto is Pakistan’s pride,” Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted after the meeting. At PAC when records of “Islamabad Airport” showed the original name of “New Benazir Bhutto International Airport” all members across th...

KARACHI: The epidemic of drug-resistant ‘superbug’ typhoid is now spreading in parts of Karachi because of contaminated water, Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho told the Sindh Assembly. While responding to queries of lawmakers in the provincial legislature, the minister said as many as 116,000 children aged six months to 10 years had been vaccinated till October 2018, while a training plan for mass vaccination had been completed for Karachi. She said the mass vaccination plan for other parts of the province was also in process. The province had planned to import conjugated vaccine for four million children and the matter was in process with the federal government and Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan, she said. The minister said a tentative plan had been approved for further mass vaccination against typhoid and it would be started this year, adding that the vaccine would be incorporated in routine immunisation after a mass campaign against the disease. She said that Hyderabad...

CARACUS: Venezuelan authorities have detained five foreign journalists covering the standoff with opposition forces seeking the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro. Two others, from Chile, were deported as the crisis spilled over to hit journalists covering the oil-rich but economically crippled nation’s latest taste of crisis. Two of the detained are from France, two from Colombia and one from Spain. The latter three worked for the Spanish national news agency  Efe  and had all come from Colombia to cover the growing turmoil. Their detention was reported by the  Efe  bureau chief in Venezuela, Nelida Fernandez. Two French journalists working for a TV programme called  Quotidien were detained on Tuesday while filming outside the presidential palace, diplomatic sources said. A local producer working with them was also detained. Two Chilean TV journalists were detained on Tuesday night near the presidential palace and held for 14 hours before being expelled ...

WARSAW: Poland has exported 2,700 kilograms of suspect beef to European Union countries, the Polish chief veterinarian said on Thursday after television footage showed a company killing sick cows and selling the meat for human consumption. Pawel Niemczuk told a news conference that the suspected meat had been exported to Romania, Sweden, Hungary, Estonia, Finland, France, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia. Poland produces around 560,000 tonnes of beef a year, with around 80-85 percent of it being exported. Consumer concerns about food safety have increased after a reporter from private broadcaster TVN got a job in a slaughterhouse around 70 miles east of Warsaw where he was ordered to kill cows and butcher their meat. The footage showed sick cows being transported to the slaughterhouse where they were mistreated and killed. “The Chief Veterinary Officer ordered immediate inspections in Poland … These inspections will be carried out in close cooperation with … the Police, Ro...

ISLAMABAD: Governor State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday announced 25 basis points hike in the interest rate in a press conference here on the new monetary policy for the upcoming two months. Governor central bank Tariq Bajwa’s announcement of 25 basis points hike has pushed the interest rate to 10.25 percent. Earlier, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank in its meeting in Islamabad decided the Monetary Policy. The central bank had hiked the monetary policy rate by 150 basis points in November last year pushing the interest rate to 10 percent. The State Bank has hiked the interest rate by overall 450 basis points with its fresh increase in interest rate since January in previous year. Earlier, some economic analysts predicted further 50 to 100 basis points hike in interest rate by the central bank at its bi-monthly interest rate policy review meeting. Other experts, however, had advised against the hike in interest rate insisting to leave the rate unchanged. Pa...

KARACHI: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Railway Shehla Qureshi rejected Karachi police chief Ameer Sheikh’s claim that arms and ammunition used in an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi last year was brought to the metropolis via train. Speaking to the media, she said weapons were shifted through buses and coaches and not train. “Our DSP railway had informed the authorities concerned.” Earlier, on Jan 11, the Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) had said arms and ammunition used by the attackers was brought through train. Three terrorists who stormed the consulate stayed in a house in the city’s Baldia Town along with their four facilitators, all of whom have been arrested, he added. “Arms and ammunition were brought through train and kept in the same house in Baldia Town where the terrorists stayed with their facilitators and came from on the day of the attack.” The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police claimed earlier this week that...

KARACHI: Consul General of Qatar in Karachi Mishal M. Al Ansari said on Thursday, his country will recruit 100,000 Pakistan citizens by issuing work visa in all sectors, Radio Pakistan reported.   Speaking to media during his visit to Matiari district in Sindh, he told that Qatar has already opened its visa centers in Karachi and Islamabad to facilitate Pakistani workers and professionals. “We are working to boost bilateral relations between the two countries and looking forward to take advantage of Pakistan’s offers,” he continued. Last year in December, Qatari ambassador Mr. Saqr bin Mubarak Al-Mansouri announced that Qatar will give jobs to 0.1 million Pakistanis. Meanwhile, he committed to offer support for the education sector in Pakistan. “Qatar will provide education to one million Pakistani children who are out of schools,” he added. Recently, the government of Qatar has also lifted a ban on import of Pakistani rice which will add huge revenue to the n...

UTAH: A man has sued Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow for $3.1 million, claiming she slammed into him on a ski slope in 2016, breaking four of his ribs and knocking him unconscious before skiing off. Terry Sanderson, 72, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Paltrow in Utah state court over the alleged “hit and run ski crash” at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City. Sanderson, a retired optometrist who said he has skied for more than 30 years, was heading down a beginner slope on Feb. 26, 2016, when he heard “a hysterical scream” and was hit hard between the shoulder blades, he said at a news conference on Tuesday. In court papers, Sanderson said he suffered “permanent traumatic brain injury” as a result. A spokesperson for Paltrow confirmed the accident had involved the actress but shrugged off the suit. “This lawsuit is completely without merit. Anyone who reads the facts will realize that,” Paltrow spokeswoman Heather Wilson said, declining to comment further about the incide...

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered all sessions courts and anti-terrorism courts to install screens at courtrooms for hearing of rape and assault cases. The bench ordered courts to ensure video conferencing of victims in rape cases. The court passed the orders while hearing a petition seeking implementation of the Supreme Court’s directives of making the investigation process of rape and assault cases effective. The court ordered immediate arrangement of video conferencing at courtrooms as per the orders of the apex court. The court also ordered a secured arrangement for victims to record their statements. The bench directed the ATC judges, the Registrar and session judges to inform the Member Inspection Team (MIT) about it. The court also ordered the provincial home department to ensure provision of required funds for it. Earlier, Sindh Prosecutor General informed the court that a DNA Lab will start working at University of Karachi within two months. He said th...

Pakistan on Thursday rejected allegations in a United States threat assessment report that it provides safe haven to militant groups, warning that such "controversial statements will be counterproductive and have the potential to adversely affect the peace and stability of the region". Earlier this week, US Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats presented a threat assessment report for 2019 to the US Senate which accused Pakistan of protecting and providing safe havens to terrorist organisations in order to "plan and conduct attacks in India and Afghanistan, including against US interests". Read more: Challenges in South Asia to grow due to elections in Afghanistan, India: US report Coats' briefing and report on possible threats to the US in the coming year come at a time when Pakistan is playing a crucial role in brokering peace talks between the Taliban and the US in order to find a solution to the 17-year-long Afghan war. Foreign Office (FO) sp...

The former prime minister's is not displayed anywhere at the airport from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2Tvr9v6

It has suspended its notification and summoned its reply by Feb 3 from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2BbkcZ2

The Javed Nihari owner's son just got married and no one can believe their eyes from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2sYlsdS

He said he doesn't have any faith in the JIT from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2CUsyEF

Doodh pati chai is still the first love of most Pakistanis from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2BbWMmu

In recognition of their services, he invited the polio workers to PM House from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2TjbDm9

All three have been recommended by the NAB Rawalpindi DG from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2BmCMOj

It says the mini-budget focuses mainly on revenue-based measures from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2Tmwfdi

When Tim Linhart started making instruments from ice they were more likely to explode with a bang than produce music, but things have come a long way since then. Today, the US-born artist is in charge of an ice orchestra of local musicians playing a series of concerts at sub-zero temperatures in a vast, custom-built igloo high in the Italian Alps. “I made snow and ice sculptures in the ski resort where I’m from in New Mexico (for 16 years)… and then I decided it would be cool to make a sculpture of a violin,” Linhart, 59, told AFP. “I heard the sound coming from inside and thought ‘wow this is super exciting, if I just tighten up the strings a little bit more it would be louder’,” he recalled. Overtightening the strings, however, caused the instrument to shatter into little pieces, he recounted. “But I had heard enough, it was the beginning,” said Linhart, his large frame treading nimbly among the delicate instruments on stage in the igloo. ‘Only setback is they melt’ In the P...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Wednesday rejected objections raised by India over Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s telephone call to All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. A day earlier, FM Qureshi  briefed the APHC leader  on the efforts of Pakistan government to highlight the human rights violations by the Indian army in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq appreciated the efforts of the Pakistan government and emphasised that Indian atrocities shall never be able to suppress the will of the people. “Kashmir is an unresolved issue between Pakistan and India and acknowledged as such through UN Security Council resolutions, including the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration,” a statement issued by the foreign office said. “We also categorically reject any insinuation that seeks to project as “terrorism” the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for self-determination. This is an outright travesty,” the statement add...

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad asked Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif to stay calm as he does not intend to ‘misbehave’ or ‘fight’ with anyone after his inclusion in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).    In a press conference on Thursday, Rasheed underscored that he was the most senior parliamentarian of Pakistan and after consultations, he learnt that a minister can become a member of the PAC and “Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated me in the place of Riaz Fatyana.” “There will be two Public Accounts Committees – one of Shehbaz and other would be of Sheikh Rasheed,” the minister remarked, assuring the Opposition Leader of the National Assembly that he was not coming to the PAC with any ‘malicious intent’ to misbehave or fight. “I will play my constitutional role in the PAC,” the minister vehemently said. Criticizing the issuance of production order for the detained PAC chairman every now and then, Rasheed recounted “My prod...

QUETTA: Balochistan has produced Pakistan’s first organic cotton bale, while the ceremony for its certification was held at Kot Sabzal, ARY News reported Thursday. According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the harvesting of the cotton bale was made possible due to cooperation of Balochistan’s Department of Agriculture. Balochistan’s Minister for Agriculture Engineer Zamrak Khan said the provincial government was committed to promoting organic agriculture throughout the province. He added the government was paying special attention to Balochistan. He further said that Balochistan would be developing an organic agriculture policy soon. It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of cotton in the world and the third largest exporter of raw cotton. WWF-Pakistan Director General Hamad Naqi Khan said, “We have made a major breakthrough in the cotton sector of the country that will benefit stakeholders and the overall economy of Pakistan.” In his remarks, ...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its ruling on a petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision of disqualifying a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly over his name being on the fourth schedule list, ARY News reported. A high court bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from the petitioner’s lawyer Babar Awar. The commission had disqualified Shah Muhammad, who was elected on the provincial assembly seat (PK-89) in Bannu, for being on the list compiled under the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. Awan contended before the court that the district police officer concerned had given his client a clearance certificate before he submitted his nomination papers for the 2018 general elections. “Placing a name on the fourth schedule is violation of basic human rights,” he argued, adding that the Election Commission couldn’t de-seat a lawmaker for being on the fourth sc...

KARACHI: Moody’s rating agency in a report released on Thursday said the government’s recently announced mini-budget supports manufacturing sector and exports. However, it will enhance the challenges of fiscal consolidation for the government, the report said. Moody’s report said that the fresh budget measures would support manufacturing sector, fostering exports and import substitution, help narrow current account deficit. Finance Minister Asad Umar, on January 23, announced the government’s second mini-budget, which largely focuses on revenue-based measures to improve supply-side conditions for businesses and incentivise domestic reinvestment. The report said in the absence of new spending cuts or revenue-raising measures, however, these measures will keep Pakistan’s budget deficits wider for longer, potentially eroding the credibility of government efforts to achieve fiscal consolidation. The government’s this mini-budget aims to improve business conditions, including for manu...

WASHINGTON: Top US and Chinese trade officials returned to the bargaining table Wednesday, working to avoid a sharp escalation in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. At the head of a 30-person delegation from Beijing, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He greeted his counterpart, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, against the backdrop of Washington’s prosecution of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which has outraged Beijing and infused the negotiations with uncertainty. The two sides have just a month remaining in a 90-day truce declared in December. Should the talks fail, US import duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports are due to more than double on March 2 — something economists say could help knock the wind out of the global economy’s sails. The world’s two largest economies are battling for nothing less than future dominance in critical high-tech industries, according to Lighthizer, the lead US negotiator. A little over three years ago, Beijing launched a ...

West Indies Women on Thursday brushed aside their Pakistani counterparts by 71 runs in their opening clash of the three-match T20I series at Southend Club Cricket Stadium in Karachi. The Carribean side's opener Deandra Dottin was the star of the show as she smashed Pakistan Women all over the park during her unbeaten 60-ball 90-run knock. She was well supported by Chedean Nation, who scored 50* off just 35 balls. The only bowler to pick up a wicket for Pakistan was Nashra Sindhu, who gave away just 23 runs in her allotted four overs. Dottin and Chandu dealt everyone else with ease, and helped their side amass a daunting 160-run total for the loss of just two wickets. In reply, Pakistan Women could only muster 89 runs before losing all their wickets. Captain Bismah Maroof top scored with 38 off 37 balls. She and opener Javeria Khan (19) were the only two batters that contributed in doubles figures. The rest crumbled against the Calypso Queens' devastating bowling unit, spear...

Visitors claim emphatic 71-run win over Bismah Maroof’s charges at Karachi’s Southend Club from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2GeLSj1

SAHIWAL: Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials arrested in the Sahiwal shootout case have denied that they fired shots at Khalil and members of his family who were travelling in a car driven by a terror suspect, ARY News reported. The CTD officials in their statement to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the incident revealed that neither did they open fire at the Sahiwal family nor had anyone given them directives to do so. To a question about how the car passengers got killed, the personnel said they were shot dead by their associates who were travelling on a motorcycle. The CTD officials, however, said they had opened fire at terrorists in retaliation. Khalil, a resident of Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat, along with his wife Nabeela and teenage daughter Areeba were killed in a shady encounter involving the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police on a highway in the Qadirabad area of Sahiwal district last week. Earlier today, Sahiwal vicitm’s brothe...

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Thursday, it is high time to broaden the cooperation between Pakistan and China by exchanging information and co-producing feature films, Radio Pakistan reported.  In a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing in the federal capital, the information minister sought assistance from its all-weather friend in setting up a technical media institute as part of the Media University, which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has vowed to establish soon. Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy hailed the new visa policy and said the move of the government was indicative of an open, confident and secure Pakistan. He further commended the PTI government’s efforts to beef up bilateral relations between the two ally countries, while lauding the personal efforts of the information minister in promoting a positive image of Pakistan. Earlier in January, the federal minister for information and broadcasting while addressin...

PESHAWAR: A man was caught at the Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar on Thursday trying to smuggle drugs hidden in fruits, ARY News reported. According to Airport Security Force (ASF), the man had hidden drugs inside oranges and pomegranates and wanted to smuggle them to Qatar. He was due to board a flight, but was caught during screening of his goods. The passenger had hidden charas weighing more than four kilograms inside the fruits. The ASF personnel have taken the man into custody and began investigation. Sources at the airport said joint search counters were helping the Airport Security Force in catching all such elements. Earlier in the day, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) claimed to have foiled a bid to smuggle drugs out of the country by nabbing two suspected smugglers at the Islamabad airport. ANF officials said one kilogram of heroin amounting to millions of rupees was seized from the possession of the arrested smugglers. They were to board a Doha-bound flight (Q...

The singer and her friends lip-synced popular phrases from Fahad Mustafa's show from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2UveGrz

The cabinet discussed a 20-point agenda from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2DKXity

Racers from 13 countries are vying for titles at Karakoram International Alpine Ski Cup from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2MK729X

The Supreme Court on Thursday, overturning the Peshawar High Court's earlier acquittal of a murder suspect, handed him a life sentence for the killing of a teenager and ordered his immediate arrest. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa heard a review petition against the PHC's acquittal of Hazrat Ali ─ who had been sentenced for life by a trial court ─ in the murder of a 17-year-old boy. Justice Khosa, overturning the PHC's decision, observed that "none of the witnesses had spoken the truth in this case." "None of the witnesses paid any regard to their oath," he regretted, adding: "The purpose of investigation agencies is to present the truth." The chief justice once again lashed out against the practice of recording false testimonies before courts, saying that it creates hurdles for courts. "In other countries, people speak the truth and laws are debated but here, hurdles are created for courts,...

The Taliban said on Wednesday they are not seeking a “monopoly on power” in a future administration in Afghanistan but are looking for ways to co-exist with Afghan institutions — the most conciliatory statement to date from the militants. The statement came amid intensified United States-led efforts to resolve the long-running Afghanistan war. US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad reported this week that there had been “agreements in principle” toward a framework for peace with the Taliban. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman based in Qatar where the Taliban have a political office, said that once US forces withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban want to live with other Afghans, “tolerate one another and start life like brothers”. Shaheen’s statement was provided in an exclusive audio message to  The Associated Press . “After the end of the occupation, Afghans should forget their past and tolerate one another and start life like brothers. After the withdrawal, we are not seeking a monopoly on ...

It is currently trading at Rs138.5 from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2sUGDxl

Black Caps win by eight wickets after restricting Men in Blue to just 92 from Samaa Digital http://bit.ly/2MITM5M

In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan summoned India's high commissioner on Thursday, a day after Delhi had summoned Islamabad's representative in India to lodge a protest over Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's telephone call to Kashmiri leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Qureshi on Tuesday had apprised the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader of Pakistan's efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue at all international forums and to expose brutalities committed by Indian security forces in the occupied territory. He was of the view that India should permit a Commission of Inquiry to visit Indian Occupied Kashmir. Farooq had appreciated the Pakistani government's efforts and asserted that Indian atrocities would never be able to suppress the will of the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir. He had added that Kashmiris would continue to raise their voices against Indian repression and black laws. The foreign minister had informed the APHC chairman of upcoming events b...

European leaders moved Wednesday to head off British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to rewrite the Brexit divorce deal, warning they will not budge. Having thrown out the exit deal May negotiated with the EU, divided British lawmakers voted on Tuesday to send her back to get an Irish border “backstop” clause removed. May seized on this as a chance to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union on March 29 without an agreement, vowing to return to Brussels to demand changes to the text. But even she admits she faces a formidable challenge convincing Brussels to re-open an accord that took 18 excruciating months to conclude, and European leaders are so far united in dismissing any such manoeuvre. “My message to PM @theresa_may: The EU position is clear and consistent. The Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation,” EU Council President Donald Tusk tweeted. “Yesterday, we found out what the UK doesn’t want. But we still don’t know what the UK does want,” he added. ...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday said India must keep electoral politics on their soil and refrain from dragging Pakistan into it, ARY News reported. During a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Dr. Muhammad Faisal said India keep changing its policies [regarding Kashmir]. He reiterated that Pakistan had a clear stand on Kashmir and “that underlines the dispute should be resolved as per the United Nations resolution.” The occupied Kashmir is a disputed territory and its resolution is inevitable, he added. The spokesperson said human rights violations in the held-Kashmir were alarming and they need to be addressed by the international community forthwith. Dr Faisal said India was constantly violating the water agreement between the two countries, adding Pakistan had raised the issue at relevant forums. Answering a question, he said the Pakistani high commissioner was summoned at the Indian High Commission on Wednesday night, in which they objected at a telephonic talk ...

Malaysia on Thursday installed a new king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, after the last monarch abdicated in a historic first following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen. In a ceremony steeped in pomp and centuries of tradition, the sports-loving sultan, dressed in aqua blue formal wear, took the oath of office at the national palace in Kuala Lumpur. The ceremony was televised nationally and attended by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and hundreds of guests decked out in Islamic finery. Before being sworn in at the palace, the 59-year-old, who is also the ceremonial ruler of central Pahang state, was given a welcome at the national parliament and inspected a guard of honour. His predecessor, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month following just two years on the throne after he went on medical leave. Reports then surfaced he had married a former Miss Moscow. No official reason was given for his abdication, but it was the first time a king had stepped asid...