ISLAMABAD – The price of 24 karat per tola gold witnessed an increase of Rs.1300 per tola and was sold at Rs.138,600 on Thursday against its sale at Rs.137,300 the previous day in the local market. The price of 10 gram 24 karat and 22 karat gold also increased by Rs.1112 and was sold at Rs118,827 as compared to Rs.117,713 whereas that of ten gram gold increased to Rs.108,925 compared to its sale at Rs.107,903, All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association reported. The price of per tola and ten gram silver remained stagnant at Rs.1570 and Rs.1,346 respectively. The price of gold in international market increased by $25 and was traded at $1856 compared to its sale at $1831, the association reported.

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan on Thursday said that the Pakistani government was reluctant to buy oil from Russia as the ‘enslaved’ leaders feared American backlash. According to Imran, India implemented an independent foreign policy, free of outward influence, and bought oil from Russia at a subsidised rate. He furthered that since the arrival of the new coalition government, all commodities had become more expensive. Read Country may break into three pieces if ‘right decisions’ not taken: Imran“A nation that cannot break the idol of fear becomes a slave. Imran deplored that the current PML-N government was focused on ruining state institutions including the police.

ISLAMABAD – The USAID-funded Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA) being implemented by the University of Utah and its partners initiated the first phase of the faculty training programme by holding an online bootcamp training session. The session was held for 30 full-time lecturers, assistants, associates, or full professors from HESSA’s 15 partners higher education institutions (HEIs). The bootcamp primarily focuses on putting an existing course online or creating an online course afresh on improving the learning of soft skills. As such, they will serve as the foundational network for future expansion of training for faculty in improved and innovative teaching. The bootcamp focuses on incorporating soft skills into teaching to enable students to encounter and master skills such as public speaking, time management, and leadership.

ISLAMABAD – Senior officers of the Ministry of Housing and Works briefed a parliamentary body about latest legal status of allotment and quota policy and its present status. The revised allotment and quota policy was submitted before the cabinet on 29-10-2021 and the federal cabinet granted approval on 02-11-2021. After approval from the federal cabinet, the revised policy was submitted before the Islamabad High Court on 22-11-2021. The Secretary Housing and Works and Director General, FGEHA along with learned counsels on behalf of FGEHA appeared before the court and assisted the court on the revised allotment policy of FGEHA. IHC court declared the revised allotment policy unconstitutional and illegal and a Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal (CPLA) has been filed in the Supreme Court and the decision is awaited.

Looking at the number of signings the Maple Leafs could make this off-season, there’s a lot of interesting ways this summer could go. So, if Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas found a suitor for a trade, the 33-year-old would have to say “yes” for it to happen. But let’s say it becomes a reality — Toronto moves Muzzin and they buyout Petr Mrazek — which UFAs should the Maple Leafs avoid? Pair that with the amount of money he might ask for this off-season, it’s just not worth it for the Maple Leafs. One thing we can agree on, though, is that Subban fits the type of person needed by the Maple Leafs.

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has organised an awareness walk in connection with anti-dengue campaign on Murree Road here on Wednesday. In addition, pamphlets about dengue awareness and prevention were distributed among the citizens on Murree Road Rawalpindi. He directed the RDA officers and officials to take steps to prevent dengue spread in the office premises. Pamphlets about dengue awareness and prevention were also distributed among the citizens. Director Engineering RDA Aamir Rahsid, Deputy Director Finance RDA Muhammad Junaid Taj Bhatti and other officers and staff attended the anti-dengue awareness walk.

LAHORE -The opening ceremony of the High Performance Tennis Training Camp 2022 will be held here at Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah today (Thursday) at 5:00 pm. DG SBP Javed Chohan and Asad Ullah Faiz Secretary Sports Punjab along with Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) will inaugurate the camp. Malik said that top tennis coaches including him are engaged in training the top national tennis players during the first ever High Performance Tennis Training Camp and hopefully, this camp will help the future tennis stars in learning the modern and best techniques to excel at higher level.

Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has backtracked from the six-day ultimatum he had given to the unity government for the announcement of the fresh elections, Express News reported. After reaching Islamabad on May 25, Imran Khan surprised many by announcing to call off the much-hyped long march to the capital. However, he had given a six-day deadline to the government for announcing the election date — an ultimatum which expired on Tuesday. "The government is trying to intimidate people... the shells that were used [against protesters] in Islamabad were the same that were used against the terrorists," he added. Imran Khan further said that the Almighty does not allow anyone to remain ‘neutral’.

Zoya Akhtar got candid about the importance of representation in movies as she pointed out the even men are represented badly in films a lot of times. In an interview with The Hindu, the Gully Boy director said that how we represent different people in films has an effect on the psyche of the nation. She told the outlet, “Representation is when your identity or personality is validated in any kind of popular culture. That affects the psyche of a nation,” Zoya added. She further said, “You saw women that had no right to express how they felt, and that definitely makes a difference.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sought on Wednesday the intervention of the United Nations against the alleged harassment by the federal government of the PTI workers and leadership and “politically motivated” cases against the former ruling party. In a letter written to the High Commissioner for Human Rights by PTI leader and former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, the party led by Imran Khan demanded “independent and impartial investigations into these state excesses and human rights violations”. By “state excesses”, the PTI meant the crackdown by the police ahead of the long march on May 25 and the use of tear gas and baton-charge by the police on the day of the march. It urged the UN to stop the government of Pakistan from “denying the right to peaceful protest through repressive measures”. A few days ago, the PTI chief had conceded that some participants of his “Haqeeqi Azadi March” were armed.

Former prime minister Imran Khan has insisted he wasn't aware that Russia was going to invade Ukraine on the same day he met Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Also read: Russian blitzkrieg begins"I have never believed in military solutions, ours was a bilateral meeting, it was planned long before. We didn't realise that when I would reach there Putin would go into Ukraine. The ousted premier added he is against military solutions in Ukraine and the purpose of his visit to the Kremlin was to discuss bilateral agreements. He said "there was never going to be a military solution" in Afghanistan.

The extension in the ceasefire, which was coming to an end on May 30, is being interpreted as significant progress in talks as well as a major confidence building measure. Despite this development, concerns and questions still remain regarding the viability of talks given the demands that have been tabled by the TTP. However, the militant group has also demanded the enforcement of Shariah regulations in Malakand, withdrawal of military from the borders and the reversal of FATA’s merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The history and role of security forces in these parts of the country has been complex, but militant groups should not be dictating where state forces can and cannot go. The government of Pakistan is right to stress the disbandment of the TTP if talks are to succeed as under no circumstances can we allow any such group to operate on or enter our territory.

A special narcotics court fixed on Tuesday June 25 as the date to frame charges on federal interior minister Rana Sanaullah in the drugs peddling case, registered against him by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF). During the proceedings, the court asked the counsel whether the accused were prepared as the court intended to frame charges against them. The defense counsel argued for the charges to be framed on the next date of hearing as the interior minister would have to travel from Islamabad to reach Lahore. He further argued that he had been granted bail by the Lahore High Court and had been appearing before the trial court. Case detailsOn July 1, 2019, Sanaullah was arrested by the ANF Lahore team while he was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore near the Ravi Toll Plaza on the motorway, claiming to have seized 15kg of heroin from his vehicle.

LAHORE – A five-day training workshop continued for intending Haj pilgrims by the Ministry of Religious Affairs at Alhamra Arts Council here on Tuesday. Assistant Director Haj Arif Zahoor chaired the session while Master Trainers Tariq Mehmood, Younis Mughal, Allama Imran Bashir, Qari Abdul Wahid Qureshi and others briefed more than 700 intending pilgrims on the fourth day of training.

The squad was finalised after deliberations amongst Asmavia Iqbal, the national women team’s chief selector, head coach David Hemp and captain Bismah Maroof. Pakistan will take on T20 world champions Australia and hosts Ireland in Belfast from 16 to 24 July and play Barbados, India and Australia in Commonwealth Games on 29, 31 July and 3 August. Chief Selector Asmavia Iqbal: “Following a successful series against Sri Lanka, we have decided to retain the same winning combination. Ayesha Naseem produced a match winning innings in the second match of the T20Is against Sri Lanka and proved her big-hitting ability. Our team has all the potential to do well in the United Kingdom and I wish them the very best for the tri-series and Commonwealth Games.