Author: i2wtc

Listen to article Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has presented the one-year performance report of the Sindh government, highlighting the key developments and achievements across various sectors. The event was held at the Chief Minister’s House, where provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants, assembly members, bureaucrats, and civil society representatives were in attendance, Express News reported. During his address, Murad Ali Shah emphasised that all the actions taken by the provincial government are in line with the vision of the leadership. He mentioned that the Sindh government has focused on digitalisation, which has transformed the state of technology in the region.…

Many of the camp’s detainees had opted to stay home that dusty day, but Asma decided to brave the elements and take advantage of a less crowded marketplace. With her four children close by her side, she scanned the underwhelming selection of vegetables on display at a small stall, weighing up what dishes she could muster with the limited options on sale. Asma’s oldest child, a precocious nine-year-old girl with a red-ribboned headband and a pink tracksuit cradled the youngest child, a cherubic one-year-old girl swaddled in a padded jacket. She adjusted the hood of her sister’s jacket, which had…

* A high-stakes meeting held Tuesday between senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials resulted in Kiev okaying a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire plan and Washington consenting to lift its pause on military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.* While expectations had remained low for tangible outcomes from the meeting, the final joint statement revealed a sharp diplomatic shift of both sides almost two weeks after a rare row between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.* Despite the progress in negotiations, it is still too early to perform a “hooray dance,” especially at a time…

Listen to article Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry stated that the establishment has failed to resolve the issue of Balochistan and should now hand it over to political forces. Speaking to the media at the Lahore High Court (LHC), Fawad Chaudhry highlighted that the ongoing crisis in Balochistan is one of the country’s biggest tragedies, with 120 people still missing. He emphasised that Balochistan is not a part of any political party and has been under the control of the establishment for an extended period. Chaudhry further suggested that the establishment should relinquish control over the Balochistan issue and return it to…

Here is the situation on Wednesday, March 12 : Ceasefire talks Senior officials from the United States and Ukraine met in Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah for nine hours of talks, after which Kyiv said it had agreed to accept an immediate 30-day truce and take steps towards restoring long-lasting peace with Moscow, a US-Ukraine joint statement announced. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the talks the “ball is now in Russia’s court”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the truce as a “positive” deal and said the US now must convince Russia to accept the proposal. Following…

Pakistan says 155 hostages have been rescued but 300 more are on the train seized by Balochistan Liberation Army.Pakistani security forces said they have rescued 155 passengers from a train hijacked by separatist forces, as operations to free hundreds more continue. The military launched a major operation on Wednesday against the separatists from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) that seized the train the previous day. About 300 hostages remain on board, officials said. The train, which was carrying about 450 passengers, including army personnel, was attacked as it travelled through the remote southwest region of Balochistan, for which the BLA…

Listen to article ISLAMABAD: Ten years after launching the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and holding 78 progress review meetings, it again emerged on Tuesday that the jewel of the multibillion-dollar initiative, Gwadar, could not shine because it neither has sufficient clean water nor indigenous electricity. The 78th CPEC progress review meeting was not different from dozens of such meetings held in the past where aggressiveness was shown over the lack of progress and new deadlines were set to fulfil obligations under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal chaired the review meeting on CPEC. He…

US duties on steel and aluminium draw swift retaliation from major trading partners.Tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States have come into effect, intensifying the global trade war sparked by President Donald Trump. Trump’s tariffs on metals imports took effect on Wednesday, levying a 25 percent duty “with no exceptions or exemptions”. Trading partners were quick to express objections, with some swiftly announcing retaliation. The tariffs came into play as exemptions, duty-free quotas and product exclusions expired. In addition, the duty on aluminium was raised from 10 percent. Separate tariffs have been levied on Canada, Mexico…

As the sun sets during the holy month of Ramadan, many Muslims break their fast with a sweet, brown dried fruit that has been cherished in the Middle East for centuries. During the 29 or 30 days of Ramadan, observant and able-bodied Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual relations from dawn to dusk, seeking to deepen their taqwa, or awareness of God. Breaking one’s fast with dates and water is rooted in the religious teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and is specifically mentioned in the Quran for its nutritional value. What are the different varieties of dates? Dates,…

Listen to article Security forces killed 27 militants and rescued over 150 hostages in a clearance operation launched after an unknown number of heavily armed terrorists stormed a Peshawar-bound train in Balochistan’s Bolan district, Express News reported on Wednesday. Jaffar Express, with over 400 passengers on board in nine bogies, was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar when it came under attack in the Dhadar area of Bolan Pass on Tuesday, according to security sources. Following the attack, the security forces launched an immediate clearance operation, leading to the deaths of 27 terrorists. Security sources confirmed that the terrorists responsible for…