LAHORE: Punjab requires Rs135 billion to achieve 90pc literacy rate by 2035 as the province is grappling with the dual challenge of 9.6m out-of-school children (OOSC) and 26.8m adult illiterate population. The largest proportion of OOSC falls within the 8-16 years age group, which cannot be effectively absorbed by the formal education system, making the non-formal sector...
Category: Pakistan
Poor planning National Highway Authority’s weakest point, Public Accounts Committee told
• Ministry says highway authority’s planning and design wings are being strengthened • Committee members express concern over poor highway conditions and delays in road projects ISLAMABAD: Special Secretary of the Ministry of Communications Ali Sher Mehsud on Tuesday conceded that poor planning was the weakest point of the National Highway Authority (NHA) in road...
Legal challenge launched against PTI’s planned march on Islamabad
• IHC CJ Dogar to take up petition against Sept 27 protest today • Petitioner fears disruption of routine life, traffic, and businesses, seeks court intervention against use of provincial resources for march • KP CM asks Karachi lawyers to join protest, says Imran not cutting any deals ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has...
SC upholds Bait-ul-Mal aid for Hindu girls
• Rejects plea against SHC order requiring Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal to pay Rs10,000 per month to each girl, with 10pc annual increase until marriage • CJP says courts may look beyond legal questions to address underlying predicament ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea filed by the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) challenging the Sindh High...
Pakistan rejects India’s ‘baseless’ claims on status of occupied Kashmir
The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected Indian claims about the status of occupied Kashmir, saying that the neighbouring country’s “unilateral claims of sovereignty have no bearing on the internationally recognised disputed status of the territory”. The statement came after the United Nations voted on Friday to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries aimed at...
FO says Indian claims about Hindu temple in Narowal ‘false, politically motivated’
The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday rejected claims made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding a Hindu temple in Narowal as “false and politically motivated”, adding that the neighbouring country was “distorting facts and resorting to cheap gimmicks”. According to the government, the over-a-century-old temple in Siraj village had collapsed following torrential rains. A...
Master plan violations lead to worsening of Islamabad flooding
ISLAMABAD: Besides the natural calamity, the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) negligence is also a major contributing factor to flash flooding in the capital, as the authority failed to properly implement the city’s landmark master plan. The planned city has been facing flash flooding for the last many years due to poor planning and weak writ....
Security forces kill 15 terrorists trying to cross into Pakistan through Afghan border: ISPR
Security forces have killed 15 terrorists who were trying to infiltrate into Pakistan through its border with Afghanistan, the military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the terrorists had tried to cross into Pakistan’s North Waziristan district on the night between August 31 and...
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation names Lahore as its ‘Tourism and Cultural capital’
BISHKEK: The city of Lahore has been named the Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-27 by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The decision was announced at the 26th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in the Kyrgyz capital, which was attended by PM Shehbaz Sharif. The title of Tourism and Cultural Capital has been...
Schools closed in Rawalpindi as heavy rain lashes twin cities
RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain lashed Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Tuesday morning, inundating low-lying areas, raising the water level in Leh Nullah and prompting the district administration in the garrison city to announce a holiday for educational institutions. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the water level in Leh Nullah had risen to 29 feet at...