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PPP’s Bukhari again voices reservations about Ishaq Dar being leader of the house in Senate

PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari has again voiced reservations about PML-N’s Ishaq Dar being the leader of the house in the Senate, questioning why caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar did not pick an independent senator for the role. This is not the first time the PPP has levelled allegations against the PML-N for having a hidden alliance with current caretaker government. Earlier this month, Bukhari had raised fingers at Dar for holding his position in the Senate. “With which status, Ishaq Dar is holding the office of leader of the house in Senate. In Senate, leader of the house represents the prime minister,” Bukhari had said in a statement. Moreover, state-run APP reported on Monday that caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi had informed the Senate that the premier had endorsed Dar as leader of the house and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla as chief whip. According to the report, the information minister said that the two would continue to perform their responsi

In pictures: Tears and joy as Israeli hostages, Palestinian prisoners reunite with loved ones

Families have been reunited with their loved ones on both sides of the Hamas-Israel conflict following the four-day truce in Gaza. Under the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, a total of 50 Israeli hostages are to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners over four days. On Friday, Hamas had released 13 Israeli hostages, including children and the elderly, in return for the release of 39 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons. On Saturday, the hostage handover was delayed when Hamas said Israel was interfering in the selection of prisoners for release and not allowing aid into northern Gaza. However, it then proceeded with handover after the intervention of Egyptian and Qatari mediators and released another 13 Israelis and four Thai hostages while Israel freed 39 more Palestinian prisoners. Images of the hostage-prisoner release showed relatives voicing joy at the return of Israeli hostages as cheering crowds greeted Palestinian prisoners as they left a jai

Committee on missing persons in the works, says human rights minister

Caretaker Human Rights Minister Khalil George has said that a committee on the issue of missing persons is in the works, adding that government was “thoroughly” looking into the matter. The human rights minister made the remarks in an interview on Dawn News show ‘ Doosra Rukh ’, which will be aired later tonight. The remarks come days after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to appear before the court on November 29 (Wednesday) if he did not secure the recovery of more than 50 allegedly missing Baloch students. Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday had also hinted at summoning the caretaker prime minister if police and provincial administration could not make any progress in recovery of missing persons. In an interview with Dawn News , George said, “The prime minister is planning a committee on missing persons with the interior minister and other ministers so the issue can be fully analysed. Such as where are the missing

Bid to free 41 trapped tunnel workers in India enters third week

India’s military brought in specialised equipment on Sunday as efforts to free 41 trapped workers entered a third week, with digging ongoing in three directions after repeated setbacks to the operation. The Indian Air Force said on Sunday that they were “responding with alacrity”, as they flew in their third load since the partial collapse of the under-construction Silkyara road tunnel on November 12 in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Rescue officials said they called for a superheated plasma cutter to be brought to the remote mountain location after engineers driving a metal pipe horizontally through 57 metres of rock and concrete ran into metal girders and construction vehicles buried in the earth. A giant earth-boring machine snapped just nine metres from breaking through. The plasma cutter will be used to remove the broken giant earth-boring drill and metal blocking the horizontal route, before digging will continue by hand. Vertical shaft Thick metal girders in th

Four dead, dozens injured in south India stampede

At least four people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday evening in a stampede at a university in southern India, local officials and media reported. The stampede occurred at an outdoor auditorium in the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in southwest Kerala state, where a concert was planned. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Kerala state governor Arif Mohammed Khan said he was “deeply shocked and grieved to know about the sad demise of four students” at CUSAT. “Heartfelt condolences to their families. Prayers for speedy recovery of injured,” he added. State Health Minister Veena George said in a statement that four people were brought dead to the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital while four more were in critical condition, the PTI news agency reported, adding that over 60 people were injured. A local police official said that a crowd outside the auditorium had rushed to seek cover from a sudden downpour when a number of people slipped o

IHC to hear case against former army chief Bajwa, spymaster Faiz Hameed on Tuesday

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed for hearing a plea against former army chief Gen (rtd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, ex-spymaster Lt Gen (rtd) Faiz Hameed and two journalists in a case pertaining to allegedly flouting the Official Secrets Act on Tuesday (November 28). On October 9, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq had issued notices to the former military generals, concerned journalists and the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in response to a petition seeking legal proceedings against them. In the petition, Atif Ali — a concerned citizen — had sought the registration of a case against journalists Javed Chaudhry , Shahid Maitla and the former generals over news reports regarding the ex-military officers’ role in politics. The petitioner had contended that the interview of ex-Gen Bajwa was conducted in a “reckless” manner and the journalists, Chaudhry and Maitla, did not show any sense of responsibility in publishing them. The petition claimed the revelation

Khawar Maneka files case against Imran, Bushra Bibi for ‘fraudulent marriage’

Khawar Maneka, the ex-husband of PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s wife Bu­­s­h­ra Bibi, on Saturday filed a case against the former prime minister and first lady over the allegation of fraudulent marriage and fornication. The development comes a day after a petitioner in a similar case withdrew his plea, citing technical reasons. Earlier this week, Maneka had held Imran responsible for ruining his married life before eventually marrying Bushra Bibi himself. The allegations were met with strong criticism from PTI leaders who questioned the moral necessity of Maneka’s interview, while their PML-N adversaries used the same to sling mud at the former premier. Maneka submitted a private complaint today against the husband and wife in the court of Islamabad East Senior Civil Judge Qudratullah under Sections 34 (common intention), 496 (marriage ceremony fraudulently gone through without lawful marriage) and 496B (fornication) of the Pakistan Penal Code. During the hearing, he also submitted