Author: i2wtc

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday emphasised that privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remains a top government priority, highlighting the sale of 75 per cent of PIA shares as a first step in a wider reform drive. Chairing a high-level meeting on the affairs of the Privatisation Commission at the Prime Minister’s House, the premier directed that the pace of reforms within the Commission be further accelerated to ensure efficiency, transparency and credibility in the privatisation process. The meeting was informed that the privatisation of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) has been planned in two initial batches. In the first batch,…

A State Department contractor adjusts a Pakistan national flag before a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on the sidelines of the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism at the State Department in Washington February 19, 2015 Photo: Reuters ISLAMABAD: A high-level Senate delegation led by Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan will pay an official visit to the United States from January 20 to 25, 2026, the Senate Secretariat announced on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a broader thaw in Pakistan-US relations over the past year. The Secretariat described the…

An undated image showing Levies personnel. QUETTA: The Balochistan government has formally merged the Levies Force into the provincial police, abolishing all ‘B’ areas and converting them into ‘A’ areas, a move officials say resolves longstanding administrative ambiguity and ensures uniform law-enforcement across the province. Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced the decision on X, highlighting that the merger clarifies the state’s responsibilities and strengthens the framework for public safety and protection throughout Balochistan. The cabinet approved the step, with Sibi and Loralai divisions now declared ‘A-Areas’. As per the decision, all Levies personnel, including provincial, ex-federal, and members of the…

Photo released on June 11, 2021 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows a selfie of China’s first Mars rover Zhurong with the landing platform. (CNSA/Handout via Xinhua)BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — By studying the detection data of China’s first Mars rover, Zhurong, Chinese geologists have found that the Martian surface had still exhibited significant aqueous activity approximately 750 million years ago.This discovery shows that water existed on Mars several hundred million years longer than previously thought.The study, conducted by a research team from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published…

Women travelling via the public bus system, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), in Peshawar, Pakistan. PHOTO: TWITTER/ (@ADB_HQ PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday directed authorities to complete all preparatory work at the earliest for extending the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service to Jamrud, Tedi and Bara Bazaar in District Khyber. Chairing a meeting on the proposed BRT extension, the chief minister said the expansion would significantly ease commuting between Peshawar and District Khyber, while providing residents of the tribal district with a safe, reliable and affordable public transport facility. He added that the extension would help reduce traffic…

Sermitsiaq Mountain looms behind a row of houses in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 4, 2025. Odd Andersen | Afp | Getty ImagesU.S. President Donald Trump is fixated on taking control of Greenland, a vast, sparsely populated and mineral-rich island situated between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. “It’s so strategic,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday. “Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.” His comments, which came hot on the heels of an audacious military operation in Venezuela,…

RAWALPINDI: Significant progress has been made on the Chirah Dam Water Supply project in the Chirah area of the federal capital, Islamabad. Under the Punjab Irrigation Department, construction of the dam will cost Rs43 billion. Meanwhile, under the Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), a feasibility study costing Rs80 million has been approved for a water treatment plant and a main supply line. The installation of the treatment plant and laying of a 20-kilometre-long main water supply line will require an estimated Rs55b. The total project cost will be jointly funded by the federal and Punjab governments on an equal…

ISLAMABAD: What could be discouraging for any profession, over 70% of officers of Pakistan’s Information Service Group are expected to retire at the mid pay grade of 19 despite spending over three decades in service, underscoring the urgent need to review the service structure, reveals an internal official analysis. Due to the narrow pyramid at the top, all current grade-17 and grade-18 officers of the Information Service Group will never reach grade 20 unless the civil service structure is reviewed, according to an assessment prepared by the Ministry of Information for the purpose of career progression of its backbone -…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan shake hands during a National Assembly session on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Photo: X/Government of Pakistan ISLAMABAD: With Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stepping up preparations for a street movement and the establishment maintaining a firm stance against the opposition party, Pakistan’s political landscape remains fraught with uncertainty and deepening mistrust. Against this backdrop, a senior minister in the PML-N government has once again floated the idea of a high-level dialogue involving the country’s principal power centres, an idea that has surfaced before but never progressed beyond rhetoric. Prime Minister’s Adviser…

This undated file photo shows a porcelain jar unearthed from the tomb of Ma Sanniang, wife of Dong Shunxian, a military officer in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.(Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology/Handout via Xinhua)XI’AN, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Archaeologists in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province have discovered a tomb dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), unearthing a collection of ceramics, bronze ware, and gold and silver artifacts, according to the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology on Tuesday.The excavation took place between January 2022 and April 2024 in the Jiali village of Chang’an District in Xi’an, capital of…