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  • PTI govt in Azad Kashmir gone, as region gets PDM-backed PM

    PTI govt in Azad Kashmir gone, as region gets PDM-backed PM

    Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-backed Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has been elected unopposed as the 15th Prime Minister (PM) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

    Haq won with a comfortable majority of 31 votes in the 52-strong Legislative Assembly in the wee hours of Thursday.

    Initially, the session was convened at 2pm on Wednesday, however, it got delayed amid hectic political manoeuvring. Consequently, a new election schedule was issued by the speaker late in the night with proceedings starting at 12:40am on Thursday.

    The election of the prime minister was triggered by the disqualification of Tanveer Ilyas of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by the AJK High Court on April 11. Later, the decision was upheld by the region’s Supreme Court.

    After Imran, another PTI prime minister removed from power

    Earlier, PM of AJK Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was disqualified by a full bench of the region’s High Court on contempt of court charges.

    Ilyas is associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He assumed the office of PM in April 2022 and has been removed a year later, making him the first premier of the region to be removed in such a manner.

    Almost exactly a year ago, on April 10, his party chief and then-PM Imran Khan was ousted through a no-confidence motion.

    Ilyas had indirectly blamed the judiciary for affecting the functioning of his government and interfering in the domain of the executive through the grant of stay orders at an event in Islamabad.

    On April 14, 2022, AJK PM Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi tendered his resignation even before voting on the no-confidence motion against him could be held. Later, Ilyas was elected unopposed by the Assembly.

  • Filipino TikToker embraces Islam with the help of Pakistani friend

    Filipino TikToker embraces Islam with the help of Pakistani friend

    Famous TikToker Fiona James, who is based in Dubai and originally from the Philippines, has converted to Islam during the holy month of Ramadan. With almost 800,000 followers on TikTok, Fiona changed her name to Zainab after accepting Islam at the Islamic Information Centre in Satwa, Dubai. She had been living in the UAE for over eight years and had always been fascinated by the call to prayer from the mosques. Hearing the azan made her feel calm and curious about the religion, and she even memorized parts of it. Zainab shared her story in an interview with Khaleej Times.

    According to reports, Zainab, the TikTok influencer who recently converted to Islam, is currently taking online classes from the Islamic Information Centre to deepen her understanding of the religion. She aims to complete the course within a month while also studying and memorizing smaller chapters of the Holy Quran. Zainab’s family is said to be happy and supportive of her decision to embrace Islam.

    “I feel very nice and very calm inside me. I embraced Islam on my own. No one forced me to accept this religion,” she added.

    Zainab’s Pakistani friend Salman, who is also a TikToker with two million followers, helped her learn about Islam. The two friends have created several videos together for the social media platform.

    “We are friends for five years. In Islam, one cannot be forced to embrace religion. Instead, it’s all about getting the right information and meeting the right people. Sometimes we used to discuss it also as she used to ask me questions time and again. I believe this encouraged her to come into the fold of Islam,” said Salman.

  • ‘Judiciary cannot re-write Constitution’; PM Shehbaz remains defiant

    ‘Judiciary cannot re-write Constitution’; PM Shehbaz remains defiant

    A defiant Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the judiciary can only interpret the law, but cannot re-write it.

    “There is no example in the world where the parliament’s law — which has not even come into existence right now and has not taken its applicable shape — was subjected to a stay order,” said PM Shehbaz while addressing the launch ceremony of the constitution’s mobile app in Islamabad.

    “The Constitution has taken birth from the cradle of the parliament. The judiciary can interpret the Constitution — that is their right — but the judiciary cannot rewrite the Constitution,” said the Premier as his government faces off with the Supreme Court.

    “This (rewriting Constitution) is only the parliament’s authority,” he added, warning that the “parliament will use its constitutional and legal rights on this” matter.

    Shehbaz said the country was “standing at crossroads today” and that politicians, including him, had committed numerous mistakes.

    “The ones who stand above others are those who move forward after learning from their mistakes and subordinate themselves to the national interest for the nation’s supreme aim,” he said.

    The prime minister said the government was “working day and night to improve Pakistan’s difficult conditions and will keep doing so”.

  • BBZ is going to India next month for the Shanghai Cooperation Org

    BBZ is going to India next month for the Shanghai Cooperation Org

    In a major diplomatic development, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be visiting India to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which is set to take place on May 4-5 in Goa, India, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has confirmed.

    The minister is going to India at the invitation of the country’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

    Pakistan is currently preparing for the meeting.

    It is pertinent to mention that Bilawal’s visit to India will be the first by a Pakistani foreign minister in nearly 12 years. In 2011, the then-top Pakistani diplomat, Hina Rabbani Khar, now Bhutto-Zardari’s deputy in the foreign ministry, visited India.

    If Bilawal’s visit goes as per plan, it is likely that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit India too for the summit, reports Express Tribune.

    ​Bilawal also attended the last meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in July last year in Tashkent.

    The SCO is a regional political and security bloc whose members include Russia, China, India and Pakistan.

  • Pakistan places first order for discounted Russian crude oil

    Pakistan places first order for discounted Russian crude oil

    Pakistan has placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a new deal negotiated between Pakistan and Russia, following months of discussions.

    State Minister for Petroleum, Musadik Malik, confirmed that one cargo will dock at Karachi port in May.

    Pakistan will only purchase crude oil, not refined oil, and imports are expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day if the initial transaction goes smoothly. Pakistan’s Refinery Limited (PRL) will initially refine the Russian crude, with other refineries to be included after a trial run.

    A delegation from Russia arrived in Pakistan earlier this month to discuss the payment mode. During these talks, the Russian side requested that the deal with Moscow be kept secret as they do not want the disclosure to other Russian crude buyer countries.

    Consequently, Pakistan’s top officials decided not to disclose the mode of payment and the exact discount. Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov led a delegation to Islamabad in January to hold talks on the deal, after which he said oil exports to Pakistan could begin after March.

  • Boycott? PML-N decides not to give tickets for Punjab election

    Boycott? PML-N decides not to give tickets for Punjab election

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided not to issue tickets to any candidate for the general elections in Punjab.

    According to news reports, PML-N leadership has decided that the nomination papers of the party candidates will not be withdrawn for now. The party will give tickets after the Supreme Court gives its verdict. For now, it has been decided not to issue party tickets till the court decision is announced.

    It is also reported that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif will decide whether his party will participate in the upcoming elections or not.

    In the light of the court decision, there is a possibility of calling an important consultative meeting after Eid ul Fitr.

    According to the election schedule, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has to allot party symbols to the candidates today.

  • Har maidan main Fateh; King Babar is just one win away from breaking T20I record

    Har maidan main Fateh; King Babar is just one win away from breaking T20I record

    Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is just one win away from breaking another record in T20 internationals.

    Babar will have the opportunity to write his name in history as the captain with the most number of wins when his side meets New Zealand in the fourth T20I at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday (today).

    Currently, Babar is the joint-holder of this record with Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan and England’s Eoin Morgan after 42 wins. The 28-year-old has captained the Green Shirts in 69 T20 Internationals.

    Under his captaincy, Pakistan reached the semifinals of two successive T20 World Cups — 2021 and 2022 — and finished as runner-ups in the latter.

    During the second T20I against the Black Caps, Babar scored his third T20I century at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

    Babar is close to breaking the record of Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma, who currently tops the International Cricket Council (ICC) list with four centuries.

    He is the only Pakistan batter with more than one ton in the format. The hundred puts Babar close to the top of the list of batters with the most T20I tons.

    During the match, Babar managed to score a half-century on merely 36 balls and then slammed 51 runs off the next 22 deliveries, including 36 runs off the last three overs.

    Babar smashed James Neesham for two fours and a six in the last over, completing 100 runs off the final ball of the innings.

  • ‘Trying to update our software’: Khan says reign of terror controlled by other force, not PDM

    ‘Trying to update our software’: Khan says reign of terror controlled by other force, not PDM

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chair­man Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that the “reign of terror” that his party was going through was not controlled by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) but by another force that sees itself as above the law.

    In a series of tweets Khan said, “The way we have descended into becoming a banana republic where there is no Rule of Law & only law of the jungle, it is clear that this reign of terror is not controlled by PDM puppets but by another force that sees itself totally above the law.”

    “Our ppl are abducted & afterwards sham FIRs are registered. As bail in one FIR is granted, another FIR pops up. I have over 145 FIRs against me. Its a circus of FIRs. My Bani Gala caretaker, my Zaman Park cook, our social media’s Mashwani, Waqas & my security incharge Ghumman – all abducted & tortured to try & update their software.”

    “Ali Amin got bail in one sham case, & another FIR popped up & now another one with police taking him to Lahore.”

    “Despite his falling ill on the way & being taken to hospital, he was removed from hospital before he had stabilised. Now total fascism prevails.”

  • Proposed cross-fuel subsidy plan fails to impress IMF, causing delays in bailout program

    Proposed cross-fuel subsidy plan fails to impress IMF, causing delays in bailout program

    In a bid to fulfil promises made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Ministry of Finance is prepared to strongly oppose a draft summary proposed by the Ministry of Petroleum on the provision of cross-fuel subsidy.

    The proposed subsidy would involve increasing petroleum product prices by Rs75 per litre for all vehicles with engines of 1,000cc or more, in order to subsidize petrol for vehicles of 800cc and motorbikes. The draft summary was circulated among different ministries for comments before the upcoming Economic Coordination Committee meeting.

    An official from the finance ministry stated that the petrol scheme was still at the draft stage, and the ministry was preparing its comments and consulting with the IMF. The official recalled that a similar scheme had been proposed during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government but could not be implemented.

    Former finance minister Miftah Ismail had also allocated Rs48 billion on account of the Sasta Petrol Scheme in the last budget, but these resources were diverted towards flood-affected areas. The official added that such a scheme could not be implemented transparently in Pakistan, and the ministry would send its official comments soon.

    In March, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the government’s plans for fuel pricing. While economists warned the decision could hinder a crucial IMF payout needed to prevent economic collapse, the government said that it was a scheme, not a subsidy.

    The IMF officials were quick to share that the Pakistani government did not consult the global lender on its petrol subsidy for low-income groups before the announcement. The Fund has asked the Pakistani authorities to provide more details about the petrol relief package causing more delay in the signing of the staff-level agreement.

    Pakistan has been trying to convince the Washington-based lender to release the next tranche of the bailout programme since the IMF funding stalled in November, hit by snags over fiscal policy adjustments after officials of the lender visited Islamabad in February for talks. They formed part of a ninth review exercise on a bailout package of $6.5 billion agreed upon in 2019 whose resumption is critical for Pakistan to avoid risking default on external payment obligations.

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  • Nine Pakistani pilgrims killed in road accident in Saudi Arabia

    A road accident near the Al-Qassim area in Saudi Arabia has resulted in the deaths of nine Pakistani citizens, including women and children. Additionally, five Umrah pilgrims were injured in the accident.


    The victims were returning to Riyadh from Madina after performing Umrah.


    According to reports, the individuals who lost their lives in the accident were from neighbouring villages, namely Islamnagar and Chak 18, located in the Nankana Sahib area. The individuals were in Saudi Arabia on visit visas