Pakistan

Islamabad, Jun 12 (PTI) Pakistan's efforts to unlock access to the already agreed USD 6.5 billion loan package with IMF a quagmire after the cash-strapped country unveiled a subsidy and development-packed budget of Rs 14.46 trillion which experts say will do little to allay the concerns of the global lender.

11 June 2023; MEMO: At least 28 people, including women and children, died after heavy rains battered parts of Pakistan on Saturday, local media reported, Anadolu reports.

At least 145 others were also injured due to the rains in some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, according to Geo News broadcaster.

At least 69 houses were also partially damaged by the rain, it added.

ISLAMABAD, June 11 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that the enhanced bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Turkiye through joint investment and ventures would prove ‘a win win’ situation for the both countries.

In an interview with Haber Global, a Turkish Tv channel, the prime minister highlighted that a target of bilateral trade to the tune of $5 billion, in the next three years, between the two countries was very much achievable.

ISLAMABAD, Jun 11 (NNN-APP) – Two policemen have been killed by unidentified gunmen, in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, police told the media.

According to the police, the incident took place last night, in Sohrab Goth area of the city, when the policemen patrolling in a police mobile van spotted some suspicious persons on a motorbike and signalled them to stop.

The suspects opened fire on the policemen resulting in their death, police added.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban condemned on Sunday a “baseless and biased” report from the U.N. Security Council highlighting rifts within the group’s ranks.

The last seven months have seen a greater shift of power from the capital Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar, a Taliban heartland and the base of the group’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

MAKKAH MUKARMA, Jun 10 (APP): A total of 240 buildings, divided into nine sectors, exclusively procured in Makkah to ensure ample, comfortable lodging for Pakistani pilgrims during Hajj, Director Moavineen e Hujjaj Sajjad Haider Yaldram said.

Talking to APP, he said a total of 140 buildings are presently providing accommodation to 56,000 Pakistani hujjaj who have arrived in Makkah Mukarama so far.

ISLAMABAD, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday talked over the phone with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on bilateral ties, according to the prime minister's office.

During the phone conversation, Sharif noted that Pakistan deeply valued its bilateral relations with Kazakhstan, saying the countries need to further enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the office said in a statement.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Heavy rains swept through Pakistan’s northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 20 people dead and 80 injured, authorities said.

Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting trees and knocking down electrical transmission towers.

Officials were working to provide emergency relief to the injured, Ahmed said.

Islamabad, Jun 9 (PTI) Cash-strapped Pakistan on Friday hiked defence spending by 15.5 per cent and allocated over Rs 1.8 trillion, as the government unveiled a Rs 14.4 trillion budget for 2023-24 as it battled to fend off a looming default due to shrinking foreign reserves.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who presented the budget in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, said the government will target a growth rate of 3.5 per cent in the coming fiscal year.

ISLAMABAD, Jun 9 (APP): A US-based human rights group “Justice for All” has drawn a parallel between the Hindutva ideology and the Niazis, citing the ongoing persecution of the minorities in India.

The organization’s report titled “The Nazification of India” compares 12 different mechanisms of hate and persecution from the Nazi playbook, and how they are being implemented in India today.

India, the largest democracy in the world has become the weakest at the hands of the fascist Hindutva ideology, said the report released by the Chicago-based human rights organization.