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The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday chaired the 241st Corps Commanders’ Conference held at the General Headquarters. According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), during the conference, the participants took a comprehensive review of the global, regional, and domestic security environment with a particular focus on the situation along the borders, especially the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary as well as the Pakistan-Afghan Border. The forum was apprised on evolving operational imperatives and corresponding strategy to meet upcoming challenges. The COAS expressed satisfaction over the Army’s operational readiness in view of the emerging security threats. While reviewing the recent developments in the Afghan peace process and its attendant effects on the security situation, especially along the Pak-Afghan border, the forum reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for regional peace and stability. Taking serious note of t...

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed to head to Sindh and focus on the province’s law and order situation. “PM has ordered me to go to Sindh and hold meeting with the Rangers,” said Ahmed. He added that the PM issued the directives to him as lawlessness is on the rise in Sindh, and the police are unable to 'deliver'." The interior minister said that the PM directed him to compile a report and send it to him as soon as possible. In this regard, Ahmed warned that he might visit the province any time to review the law and order situation. The minister added that he will contact Major General Iftikhar Hassan Chaudhary of Sindh Rangers. The statement by the interior minister came a few minutes after Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had tweeted that PM Imran Khan held detailed discussions on Sindh with Governor Imran Ismail and Planning Minister Asad Umar. Fawad said that Umar and Ismail had expressed their “grave co...

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said Tuesday the federal cabinet has decided to form a committee to review the ban imposed on the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Chaudhry, addressing a press conference along with federal minister Asad Umar, was informing journalists about the decisions taken in the cabinet meeting held in Islamabad. The information minister said once the committee reviews TLP's application seeking to lift the ban, it will furnish recommendations to the cabinet. Last month, the proscribed TLP approached the Ministry of Interior to lift the ban imposed on it after it was outlawed on April 15, 2021, over allegations of disturbing peace and interfering in the state’s affairs through protests. In mid-April, the government had imposed a ban on the organisation under the anti-terrorism law, with Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed saying the decision was taken at the Punjab government's request. The proscribed organisation...

Federal education minister Shafqat Mahmood said on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, adding that he was experiencing "mild symptoms". In a tweet, the minister said: "I have tested positive for coronavirus. I feel fine with mild symptoms. InshAllah will get well soon." I have tested positive for coronavirus. I feel fine with mild symptoms. InshAllah will get well soon. — Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) May 25, 2021 A day earlier, Mahmood had chaired an online meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference where it was decided to hold board exams across the country after June 20. In March, Mahmood had said that he had gotten vaccinated for Covid-19 at the Polyclinic in Islamabad. Meanwhile, well wishes poured in over the minister's diagnosis. Journalist Hamid Mir was quick to wish the minister a speedy recovery. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Taimur Jhagra said he was praying for the minister's recovery. ...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a qualified apology for offence caused by his past remarks about Islam, speaking in a critical report into his Conservative Party which looked at discrimination including complaints of Islamophobia. Johnson was interviewed for the report, commissioned by the ruling Conservatives in response to criticism of how it handled discrimination and complaints. The report was conducted independently by Professor Swaran Singh who has served as a Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It cited several examples relating to Johnson, including a 2018 newspaper column in which he referred to women wearing burqas as “going around looking like letterboxes” and likened their appearance to bank robbers. Johnson defended the article as a liberal defence of a Muslim woman's right to choose what she wore. “I do know that offence has been taken at things I've said, that people expect a person in my position to get things right, but ...

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Secretary General Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday categorically stated that there was no place for the PPP within the opposition alliance until it restored the trust it had betrayed. Speaking to the media in Islamabad, the PML-N leader said that PDM had not extended an invitation to the PPP. "PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has clearly stated that [the PPP] needs to review its decisions. They need to restore the trust that they have betrayed." He said the opposition alliance was formed for a particular purpose. "If you are not committed to trusting the movement, then there is no place for you within the PDM." Asked whether he would resign as secretary general if the PPP rejoins PDM, Abbasi said: "The PPP can't just rejoin the movement. They can only do so once they restore their trust in the PDM. The alliance does not have a revolving-door policy that you break its trust, leave the movement and try to come back again ...

Cryptocurrency miners, including HashCow and BTC.TOP, have halted their China operations after Beijing intensified a crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading, hammering digital currencies amid heightened global regulatory scrutiny of them. A State Council committee led by Vice Premier Liu He announced the crackdown late on Friday as part of efforts to fend off financial risks. It was the first time the council has targeted virtual currency mining, a big business in China that accounts for as much as 70 per cent of the world's crypto supply. Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi on Monday suspended both crypto-mining and trading services to mainland Chinese clients, adding it will instead focus on overseas businesses. BTC.TOP, a crypto mining pool, also announced the suspension of its China business citing regulatory risks, while crypto miner HashCow said it would halt buying new bitcoin rigs. Crypto miners use increasingly powerful, specially-designed computer equipment, or rigs, to v...