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Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday recognised the deep-rooted ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, expressing the hope that relations between the two countries would reach “historic heights” in the future. The army chief made the remarks while attending the passing-out parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst where he was the chief guest. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army’s initial officer training centre. All British Army officers, including late-entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as other men and women from overseas, are trained at the academy. Sandhurst is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Due to the pandemic, the army chief had not visited the academy over the last couple of years, but had been a regular visitor each year since he took over

The benchmark KSE-100 index reversed its losses on Friday on the back of the rupee's strong recovery and expected inflows. According to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) website, the benchmark index had gained 386.33 points, or 0.91 per cent, by 12:26 pm to reach 42,629.66 points. On Thursday, stocks snapped a five-day rally due to political noise and a hike in the power tariff. However, the stocks started reversing losses shortly after trading opened today. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks showed "sharp recovery" on the rupee's appreciation and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail's statement that the United Arab Emirates would invest $1 billion in the PSX. Head of Research at Intermarket Securities Raza Jafri said the rupee's continued strengthening and news of the letter of intent being received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are leading the stock market higher. He was referring to a report published in The News which quoted

The rupee continued to gain for the ninth consecutive session on Friday, jumping by Rs3.28 in the interbank market. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the PKR was being traded at Rs215.6 by 12:30pm, having appreciated 1.49 per cent from yesterday’s close. Mettis Global Director Saad bin Naseer said he believed the rupee’s rise was because exporters, who were earlier holding their dollar earnings abroad, have now started to bring their proceeds into the country amid the local currency’s appreciation. On the other hand, demand for the dollar has been subdued due to the government’s intervention to keep imports in check, he said. However, Naseer cautioned that any negative news on the political front could lead to the rupee’s fall again. “Political stability is a must for the positive trend to continue, otherwise the rupee will erase all its gains.” General Secretary of Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (Ecap), Zafar Paracha, shared a similar view. He sa

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday underscored the trade relationship with the European Union as he hoped that the GSP Plus scheme, a special trade and investment policy set to expire next year, would continue beyond 2023. The premier made these remarks during a meeting with the newly-arrived envoy of the European Union to Pakistan, Dr Riina Kionka, at the Prime Minister House. “With current GSP Plus scheme mutually beneficial, trading ties between Pakistan and EU should be enhanced. Pakistan will continue to be part of the arrangement beyond 2023,” the prime minister said as per the statement issued after the meeting. He said the sustained high-level exchanges between Pakistan and the European Union were vital to further strengthen the partnership. “Pakistan attaches high importance to its relations with the EU as well as its historically close and cooperative bilateral ties with EU member states,” he added. Recalling his recent telephone conversations with EU Council Pre

Prime Minister has directed the authorities concerned to utilize all the resources for resettlement of the flood victims. Presiding over the review meeting on the rehabilitation of flood victims in Islamabad on Thursday, he expressed his satisfaction over the steps taken for the rehabilitation of the victims. The Prime Minister appreciated the role of National Disaster Management Authority and National Highway Authority in providing relief to the affected people and ensuring timely restoration of damaged infrastructure. He directed NDMA and NHA to further improve their skills in view of more rains. The Prime Minister was briefed in detail on the ongoing efforts of the provincial and district administrations to help the people in the flood-affected areas and restore the infrastructure. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/MA9In4P

Senior PTI leader Shahbaz Gill has been produced before a local court in Islamabad today (Friday) after the completion of a two-day physical remand granted in a sedition case filed against him.   from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/BLuD9oG

The summer vacations of schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been extended till August 31. According to the announcement issued by the Ministry of Education, the decision was taken in view of the increase in heat waves in the province in recent days. The extension of holidays will be applied only to schools in hot areas. The schools will reopen from September 1 instead of August 15. The extension of holidays will be applied to students up to matriculation.   from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/qItohpZ

Gold price was down Rs1,400 at Rs141,700 per tola and decreased by Rs1,200 to Rs121,485 per 10 grams. The rates of gold were Rs143,100 per tola and Rs122,685 per 10 grams. The dealers had already anticipated the market to undergo a correction after the precious commodity scaled to new peaks. The gold hit an all-time high of Rs162,500 per tola on July 28. Pakistan is a small market for gold at the global level. It meets the commodity’s demand through imports as it does not produce the commodity locally. Accordingly, the gold price for local markets is determined by keeping in view its prices in world markets, rupee-dollar exchange rate, and demand and supply in domestic markets. The latest price for local markets was determined to keep in view the prices at which trades took place among buyers and sellers. It should be noted that the gold price is standing below cost. Gold is cheaper by Rs4,000 per tola compared to its price in Dubai.   from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift

The rupee, which has been consistently recovering after falling to a record low last month, continued its upward momentum on Thursday. By 9:52am, the local currency had gained Rs2.71 or 1.22 per cent to reach Rs219.2 against the dollar in the interbank market, data shared by the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) showed. FAP Chairperson Malik Bostan attributed the rupee’s continued recovery to several factors, including the expected release of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche by August 19 to 24 which he said had created confidence among investors and ended the crisis the market was facing. Besides this, Pakistan’s Eurobond rating had improved, the import bill was consistently declining and the inflation numbers for August were expected to be lower than in previous months, he said. Bostan said the rupee could gain further in the coming days and trade at 200 against the dollar. Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad said discussions about the materialisation of inflows

Expressing his apprehensions at the success of talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday admitted on the floor of the National Assembly that anti-Taliban feelings were growing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as people were holding protest demonstrations in various parts of the province against the Taliban presence in their area. Responding to independent MNA from erstwhile Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) Mohsin Dawar who drew the attention of the house towards the rise in terrorism in KP after arrival of Taliban from Afghanistan, the defence minister admitted that the law and order situation was worsening in the province. He, however, termed it a “national issue”, instead of a provincial matter. The minister regretted that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leadership, including former prime minister Imran Khan, had in the past welcomed the Taliban people in the province, but now the PTI’s provincial government was itself prot

Pakistan’s young sprinter Shajar Abbas has created a new national record in 200m as he finished first in his heats for Islamic Solidarity Games. Abbas clocked 20.68 to surpass his previous best of 20.87 which he achieved during XXXII Qosanov Memorial in Almaty and manually recorded 20.7 by Liaquat Ali in the 2015 National Games. World Athletics only recognises timing that has been tabulated from automatically recorded timings. Shajjar had earlier also created a national record of 100m by clocking 10.25 in Islamic Solidarity Games in less than a week after clocking 10.38 in Birmingham during Commonwealth Games. The Pakistani athlete finished first in his heat, followed by his countryman Mueed Baloch who clocked his personal best at 21.28. His previous personal best was 21.41. This was Shajar’s seventh sprint in nine days and the athlete has managed to improve his own record despite fatigue. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/shAcUHm

Manchester City and France footballer Benjamin Mendy on Wednesday began his trial for the alleged rape and assault of seven women, which could see his playing career end in jail if convicted. Mendy, 28, arrived at Chester Crown Court in northwest England wearing a dark blue suit and tie to face eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape, relating to seven young women. Flanked by an interpreter in the dock, the French player spoke in English to confirm his identity. He pleaded not guilty in May to nine of the charges, and not guilty on Wednesday to a subsequent rape count that had not previously been put to him in court. All the alleged offences are said to have taken place at Mendy’s home address in Prestbury near Macclesfield, also in northwest England, between October 2018 and August last year. He is standing trial before a jury along with his co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, 40, who has also pleaded not guilty. Matturie denies eight co

A wildfire was advancing through the Gironde region of southwestern France on Wednesday, destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, some of whom had clambered onto rooftops as the flames got closer. More than 1,000 firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft were fighting the fire that has razed more than 6,000 hectares and is still burning out of control. France, like the rest of Europe, is struggling with successive heatwaves and its worst drought on record. Dozens of wildfires are ablaze across the country, including at least four other major ones. In the village of Hostens in the Gironde, police went door to door telling residents to leave as the fire advanced. Camille Delay fled with her partner and her son, grabbing their two cats, chickens and house insurance papers before taking flight. "Everyone in the village climbed onto their rooftops to see what was happening - within ten minutes a little twist of smoke became enormous," the 30

The meta-owned instant messaging app, WhatsApp, Wednesday shared multiple layers of security to protect privacy. In a thread shared on its official Twitter handle, the instant messaging app shared that end-to-end encryption is the foundation for all privacy features. “Every personal message sent on WhatsApp is automatically encrypted, protected and private,” it said, adding that only the person sending the message and the person you're messaging can see what is sent and not even WhatsApp can read your personal messages. Among new features is to leave groups silent. Under this new feature if the user leaves a group only the group admin will be notified unlike previously when notifications were received by all members of the group. “This means you can decide when to make a quiet exit — without everyone knowing,” it said. Moreover, the Meta-owned app is planning to roll out two new features, which include: Online presence puts you in control of who can and can't see when y

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail claimed that Pakistan has successfully averted Sri Lanka-like situation and the economy of the country “was now heading in the right direction”. Miftah, in an interview with CNBC, said: “There were serious worries about Pakistan heading Sri Lanka’s way and Pakistan getting into a default-like situation but thankfully, we made some significant changes…… I think we averted that situation.” The finance minister further added that country was now in International Monetary Fund's (IMF) programme and a staff-level agreement has already been signed and approval from the IMF board for the release of funds under the Extended Fund Facility is expected to be given by end of August. “The country was headed in the right direction,” he said, adding that due to the reduction in demand, the interest rates have been increased. “The imports have also gone down whereas the Pakistani rupee has appreciated by around 7% against the dollar since

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has challenged the Election Commission of Pakistan’s verdict incriminating the party of deliberately taking funds from prohibited sources in the Islamabad High Court. In a unanimous decision, a three member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja declared that the PTI ‘knowingly and willfully’ received funding from prohibited sources, including foreign nationals. According to a petition filed on Wednesday, the PTI requested the court to “suspend the operation of the Impugned Fact Finding Report dated 02.08.2022 of the ECP” as they alleged that the report “is perverse, incorrect and in excess of authority and jurisdiction.” The party also prayed to the court to suspend the show cause notice issued by the commission. In its application, the PTI also prayed to the court to declare that any action suggested by the ECP is beyond authority. It also wants the court to announce that no action can be taken on the basis of th

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser on Wednesday challenged the notice of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Peshawar High Court after the bureau on Saturday commenced its country wide inquiry into PTI’s prohibited foreign funding case. While talking to media outside the court, Asad Qaiser said that he did not come for an interim bail but he has reached the court against FIA. He claimed that the party opened this account for the convenience and it is not illegal. "This account was opened for the salaries of workers and expenses of the office," he said. He further said that transactions of only 21 lacs were made in the account in six years. While he said that all the transactions have been made through cheques. Fomrer Speaker Qaiser said that the the inquiry into this case is not the jurisdiction of the FIA. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/CcjWnr9

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority predicted more rains in different parts of Balochistan. According to a report issued by PDMA, flooding is expected in different areas of Balochistan as heavy rains are expected from August 10-14. PDMA has issued a flooding alert for Qila Saifullah, Loralai, Sherani, Sibbi, Dera Bugti, Bolan, Mosa Khel, Barkhan, Kalat, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Awaran, Kharan, Tubat, Panjgor, Harnai and Sorab. According to PDMA, 176 persons including 77 men, 44 women and 55 children have been killed so far from the recent monsoon rains and flooding in Balochistan. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority reported that the heavy rains caused loss of 23,013 livestock and damaged 198,461 acres of crops in Balochistan. According to data shared by the PDMA, 75 people, including 48 men, 11 women, and 16 children were injured due to floods, while over 1500 people were displaced. The report informed that the deaths in rain-related incidents were reported from Cha

The rupee’s upward trajectory against US dollar continued on Wednesday, as it gained Rs4.28 in the interbank market. The greenback was being traded at Rs221.75. The development comes against the backdrop of $1 billion of investment from the United Arab Emirates and the update on the International Monetary Fund tranche, which last week said Pakistan met the last prior action of the global lender pertaining to the bailout package. The Pakistan Stock Exchange also showed positive momentum at the start of trading as the KSE-100 index had gained 632.51 points or 1.5% by 10:45am to reach 42,728.75 points. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/9JYHWPb

A court in Islamabad on Wednesday approved a two-day physical remand of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill in a sedition case. The case hearing took place amid strict security arrangements, with duty magistrate Umar Shabbir ordering police to present the PTI leader in court on Friday. During the brief proceedings, police requested a remand of the PTI leader. The court then briefly reserved its verdict before eventually granting a two-day physical remand. The Islamabad police took Shahbaz Gill, who is PTI Chairman Imran Khan's chief of staff, into custody Monday afternoon from Bani Gala Chowk for inciting the public against state institutions. Providing reasons for the remand, the police told the court they still need to recover Gill's mobile phone and the device he used to make the statements he was arrested for. "We also need to investigate at whose behest the programme was aired," the police told the judge. Faisal Chauhdry, Gill's counsel, told the judge that the p