Category: Latest News

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved five development projects with a combined cost of Rs60.259 billion, including major initiatives focused on healthcare, infrastructure, urban development and water supply. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Professor Ahsan Iqbal chaired the CDWP meeting, which approved three projects costing Rs11.714 billion and referred two projects worth Rs48.545 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for consideration. The projects are part of the government’s Uraan Pakistan development and reform agenda,…

Read More

KARACHI: Tensions between Iran and the United States have sharply escalated after Tehran launched attacks on US military positions in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in retaliation for American strikes on Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted two US military air bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles, claiming the attacks inflicted “heavy damage”. Jordan’s military, however, said it intercepted eight missiles without identifying their origin. The Iranian strikes followed a US attack on Iranian rocket launchers stationed…

Read More

KARACHI: Pakistan’s transition towards electric vehicles (EVs) is progressing slowly, with inadequate charging infrastructure and limited investment by oil marketing companies (OMCs) emerging as major obstacles to the government’s ambitious target of shifting 30 per cent of vehicles to electric power within five years. The government is pursuing multiple measures to reduce the country’s fuel import bill, including the planned $6 billion modernisation and upgradation of existing oil refineries. Earlier efforts to reduce petrol imports by promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) in the transport sector failed to achieve their objectives…

Read More

KARACHI: The government, private sector and civil society must join hands to establish a comprehensive fire safety culture across Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, where recurring fire incidents continue to claim lives and cause substantial material losses due to inadequate preparedness, weak enforcement and lack of emergency training. This was emphasised by office-bearers of the Fire Protection Industry of Pakistan (FPIP), National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH) and Justice Helpline at a joint press conference on corrective fire safety measures in urban areas. They called for an immediate overhaul of…

Read More