The Foreign Office has said that India is complicit in acts of terrorism within Pakistan. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday that the Indian External Affairs Ministry has not refuted the accuracy of our reliable information of New Delhi’s complicity in extraterritorial and extrajudicial killings in Pakistan. She stated that Pakistan has also given friendly nations and other pertinent nations—especially those with whom we need to continue working to hold the perpetrators of the terror acts accountable—evidence proving India’s involvement in the acts of terror. The spokesman India claims that Pakistan’s accusations of terrorism are baseless and neither new nor trustworthy.
On Thursday, President Dr. Arif Alvi underlined the necessity of strengthening the legal framework to promote financial accountability and more openness in government spending. During his visit to the office of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), the president stated during a meeting that digitising government transactions and documenting the economy will enhance transparency. The president was briefed by AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal regarding the function and performance of the position. According to President Alvi, the AGP’s performance would increase with the adoption of contemporary technologies. He emphasised the importance of educating the public on the functions, undertakings, and audit results of the AGP. He noted that in order to guarantee the prudent use of taxpayer funds and advance openness, legislative monitoring was crucial.
Due to a weekend holiday on February 3 and 4 and Kashmir Day on February 5, all banks nationwide will be closed from February 3 to February 5. Tuesday and Wednesday, February 6 and 7, will see all banks open; on February 8, the day of the election, banks will close once more and reopen on Friday, February 9. The warning states that banks will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, as well as on February 10 and 11. All banks will only be open for three days in the ten days that follow tomorrow before closing for seven days, according to the announcement.
Since October 7, Israeli bombardment on Gaza have resulted in at least 27,019 Palestinian deaths and 66,139 injuries, according to a report released on Thursday by the health ministry in Gaza. The government also stated that 190 Palestinians were injured and 118 Palestinians died in the last 24 hours. The Israeli military declared on Thursday that it had killed dozens of fighters in fighting that raged throughout the Gaza Strip during the course of the previous day. Israel has been concentrating its operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. According to the military, Israeli forces conducted close-quarters fighting and controlled airstrikes there. Additionally, it mentioned combat in Gaza’s north and centre. There have been over 30 victims found that were shot at point blank range by Israeli forces while wearing handcuffs and blindfolds.
The former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were convicted to 14 years in prison on Wednesday in connection with the Toshakhana reference, dealing another setback to Imran Khan and his party. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a new reference against the two in an accountability court last month for keeping a set of jewellery that they had acquired from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia despite its low value estimate. Earlier previous month, an accountability court in Islamabad had indicted Imran and Bushra in the reference. In the reference, the anti-graft agency claimed that Imran and his spouse had accepted 108 presents from various foreign dignitaries and heads of state when he served as prime minister. Eight days before the general elections on February 8, the verdict is rendered.
President Dr. Arif Alvi stated on Wednesday that young people have the power to alter the course of the nation by combining morals, intelligence, and education. More than answers, he added, Pakistan needed leadership and appropriate application of intelligence, and he thought the country’s youth were more than capable of filling this role. Speaking at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) convocation, the president stated that Pakistan must emulate China in order to meet its development objectives quickly because China’s progress has been built on the foundation of health and education. The president mentioned how Vietnam, which was devastated in the 1973 war, was one among the countries that exported $300 million worth of fisheries in 1999.
According to a report on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has updated its forecast for Pakistan’s GDP growth rate during the current fiscal year from 2.5% to 2%. Given that population growth was 2.6%, it shows that per capita income in dollars is bound to decrease. Pakistanis’ income would not rise in terms of dollars if the real GDP growth rate remains at 2%. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) report stated that Pakistan’s growth rate for the current fiscal year, FY24, was expected to be 2% of GDP. Additionally, 3.5% GDP growth is anticipated for the upcoming fiscal year, FY25.
According to Gohar Ejaz, Minister of Interior and Commerce, one of the government’s main goals is to make affordable essentials available to the public. He said these things today in Islamabad while presiding over a meeting of the sugar advisory board. The state of the nation’s sugar supplies was discussed at the meeting. According to Gohar Ejaz, sugarcane production is predicted to surpass 6.5 million tonnes, setting a record for the second year in a row. Additionally, he said that the nation has large supplies of sugar. Gohar Ejaz emphasised that the government must defend the interests of sugarcane growers and unequivocally declared that action will be taken against tax evaders in the sugar business.
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani was visited by Special Envoy of the European Union on Freedom of Religion and Beliefs, Frans Van Daele, on Wednesday. They talked on the promotion of interfaith unity and the rising trends of religious intolerance throughout the meeting. The foreign minister, who is visiting on official business, was greeted by the EU envoy in Brussels. In order to promote peaceful coexistence, both parties underlined the need to lessen the prevalence of intolerance and to accept one another’s opinions.
Prior to the upcoming general elections on February 8, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday ordered the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to guarantee that former prime minister Imran Khan and the candidates of all political parties were granted “free and unrestricted” access to the media. Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza issued the order in response to a case filed by Imran, who is presently detained in Adiala Jail, last year challenging Pemra’s ruling to prevent Imran’s speeches and press conferences from airing on any satellite TV channel. Imran attacked previous army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa for what he perceived as “protecting incumbent rulers in their alleged corruption cases,” and as a result, the ban was put into place with “immediate effect.”
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