In North Waziristan thousands of residents blocked roads and observed a shutter-down strike as part of a ‘protest movement’ launched three weeks ago against targeted killings. The Pakistan-Afghanistan trade artery was blocked at Ghulam Khan area in North Waziristan by tribal people protesting against the spurt in militancy. Are the TTP militants being allowed to return as a result of some agreement or have they penetrated the tribal areas illegally? Last month the military secured the nod of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security for peace talks with the banned TTP. This required that the committee be consulted before brokering an agreement with the TTP.

Ambassador Masood Khan has said that Pakistan was committed to the ideals of pluralism and democracy and would continue to ensure protection of the rights of all citizens and promote minorities’ participation in the national life. Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States made these remarks at the Embassy of Pakistan during a special event held to mark ‘National Day of Minorities’. Ambassador Khan said that promotion of religious tolerance and fighting intolerance was an arduous journey and required constant vigilance. “The issues related to religious freedom are local, national and transnational.” For its part, he said, Pakistan will continue to promote minorities’ rights and oppose religious persecution around the world. Representatives of minorities community speaking on the occasion appreciated the efforts of Embassy of Pakistan for promoting interfaith harmony by observing ‘National Day of Minorities’.

During the meeting, progress on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus status also came up for discussion, said a statement issued by the finance ministry. The finance minister highlighted the bilateral relations and development cooperation between the EU and Pakistan. “Pakistan highly values its bilateral ties with the EU including trade and economic relations,” he said and stressed the need for further strengthening trade ties between Pakistan and the European bloc. Ismail apprised the EU ambassador of the government’s policies for economic development, the statement read. The ambassador highlighted the mutual relations between Pakistan and the EU in diversified fields and appreciated the government’s ongoing economic reform programme.

Over 100 villages flooded as Nullah Dek burst its banksOver 100 villages in Pasrur, Narowal, Daska and Kamonke tehsils were inundated after Nullah Dek that flows from Jammu, India burst its banks at Pasrur due to extremely high flood. The water entered fields, damaging rice and other crops and thus causing a colossal loss to the farmers. The water even damaged section of a railway track between Sialkot and Narowal, resultantly suspending the movement of trains. The track was repaired till the filing of this report.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants have established a check-post on the Balasoor Top, besides roaming in other areas of the Matta tehsil of Swat district. TTP’s return has spread a wave of fear and panic among residents who are demanding the government take action against the militants. According to sources, the militants have established a check-post on the Balasoor Top in the Matta tehsil, the hometown of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and have been roaming in other areas of the district. Deputy Inspector General of Police, Malakand Range, Zeeshan Asghar, was contacted for comments over the new development but he did not respond. Meanwhile, Geo News correspondent in Swat Mehboob Ali, while speaking on Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, shared that at least 200-250 TTP militants are in the area and have stated that they are in Pakistan based on an agreement.

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday approved the proposal to issue a letter of comfort in favour of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for raising a loan facility of Rs. The ECC approved the proposal to issue a letter of comfort in favour of PSO for raising a loan facility of Rs. Ministry of Aviation submitted a summary regarding issuance of GoP guarantee in favour of National Bank of Pakistan. Finance division arranged financing facility as loan from National Bank of Pakistan. The ECC further directed to fix the Urea pricing and dealer margin in future with prior approval of the ECC.

Mason McTavish has a record-setting night for Canada, helping them beat Slovakia 11-1 in their second game of the tournament. In the period, though, Canada scored three more to hold a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the intermission. pic.twitter.com/ZhGo73a0Cc — zach laing (@zjlaing) August 11, 2022oh boy. pic.twitter.com/6YNj2DbE5f — zach laing (@zjlaing) August 12, 2022zack ostapchuk caps off team canada's win with their 11th of the game. pic.twitter.com/oTBs2UkRP6 — zach laing (@zjlaing) August 12, 2022Want to watch the next generation of hockey stars before they make the show?

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said that he will hold a rally and celebrate Pakistan's “real freedom” on August 13 at the hockey stadium in Lahore and tell the nation how to achieve it. “Know that whenever a Muslim forcibly converts someone to Islam, he is actually opposing his own religion because God has said in the Quran that “in religion, there is no coercion”. About justice, Imran said that justice means that both the weak and the powerful are equal before the law. “If there is no justice in a society, that society cannot develop. “Quaid-i-Azam considered all the minorities as equal citizens in the independent state of Pakistan.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a graft case against the former managing director of International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFSL) Rashedul Haque, a close associate of notorious scammer Prashanta Kumar Halder–also known as PK Halder. ACC Assistant Director Rahul Amin filed the case at the commission’s Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1 on Thursday. Earlier on March 29, Rashedul was given a confessional statement in a case against PK Halder. In his confessional statement, Rashedul said that, as the ILFS managing director, he had paid PK Halder Tk200,000 per month at ILFSL employee Shah Alam’s direction. A total of 37 cases have been registered against PK Halder and his associates by ACC so far.

The EU Ambassador Dr. Riina Kionka played the national anthem on trumpet, as a special gesture to honor Pakistan on its 75th Independence Day. The year 2022 also marks the 60 years of EU-Pakistan relations in a long-standing partnership that makes both countries stronger together. The collaboration between the European Union and Pakistan is grounded in the Strategic Engagement Plan (SEP) signed in 2019. It is pertinent to mention here that the EU is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners. The links to the campaign to celebrate Pakistan’s independence can be found below on the social media channels of the European Union.

The much-awaited project stars Fawad Khan as the titular character Maula Jatt, while Mahira plays Mukko. Be it the prolonged legal battle or a pandemic, The Legend of Maula Jatt kept getting delayed for one reason or the other. The much-awaited Maula Jatt movie from the cult franchise finally has a release date. https://t.co/XdsEAtqDBp — Sabah Gurmat (@_sabahgurmat) August 10, 2022me when we finally get maula jatt’s release date https://t.co/RLueN124cV — Aneesa (@_anisaxoxo) August 10, 2022I'll watch the legend of maula jatt for the plot. The Legend of Maula Jatt also stars Faris Shafi, Ali Azmat, Shafqat Cheema and Nayyer Ejaz in important roles.

ISLAMABAD – Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has assured minority community of Supreme Court’s commitment to safeguard constitutional rights of the minority communitiesA 10-member minority delegation Wednesday called on Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial at the Supreme Court building. The Chief Justice of Pakistan wel­comed the delegates and appreciated the con­tributions of the minority communities towards inter-faith harmony in Pakistan. They also shared the problems faced by minority communities in the enforcement of their fundamental rights. The one-man Minority Commission constituted by the Supreme Court emphasised that the challenges faced by the mi­nority communities can only be overcome if the recommendations of the Supreme Court in S.M.C. At the end of the meeting, the Chief Justice of Pakistan assured the delegation of the Court’s commitment to safeguard consti­tutional rights of the minority communities.

ISLAMABAD: The nation will celebrate 75th Independence Day on August 14 (Sunday) with traditional zeal and enthusiasm and hold a number of activities to highlight the struggle of its forefathers and national heroes for acquiring a separate homeland. Literary and cultural organizations have chalked out a number of programmes to mark the day. Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) will arrange various programmes on the occasion of Independence Day celebrations. Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) would organize seminars to commemorate Independence Day. Since Independence Day has assumed the shape of a festival in the country, different brands, online retailers, eateries, cab-hailing services and even electronics companies are offering exciting discount offers, adding more charm to the festivity.

Thus, we were encouraged to apply for the upcoming PSO/PSP (Payment Service Operator/Payment Service Provider) regulations which were announced in late 2014. TPSP is where both regulators joined hands to establish a third-party which would interconnect “Every Telco with Every Branchless Bank” so as to democratize the mobile financial services industry and open it up for cross operator financial services. Within the Pathfinder Group, we have established a Financial Services Technology Division (FSTD) and we have organized them as a technology stack. It extends payment rails which will allow banks and payment service providers to build innovative products. We envision that we can take the strengths of RAAST and enable them on the AMA platform to make it accessible to the masses.

The government on Wednesday accused PTI chief Imran Khan of diverting the public attention away from its prohibited funding case by running a malicious campaign against the army on social media. Taking to his Twitter account, PM Shehbaz said the entire nation had witnessed how Imran has resorted to using epithets against the leadership of the Pakistan Army. "The PTI did trolling of the army’s martyrs. Marriyum said Imran Khan was reaping what he had sown in the politics i.e. Marriyum said Imran had no comparison with Nawaz Sharif, who became prime minister thrice but never compromised over the Constitution.