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• Fixed monthly fee to jump from Rs10 to Rs400, consumer rates by 194pc • Special ECC meeting scheduled today to clear unprecedented hikes ISLAMABAD: Before seeking final dates for the second review of the ongoing IMF loan programme, the government has convened a special meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday (today) to discuss and clear an unprecedented surge of 3,900 per cent in fixed monthly charges and a 194pc hike in consumer rates for natural gas. These price adjustments, set for cabinet’s ratification on Tuesday, aim to be implemented retroactively from Oct 1. This is on top of the petroleum division’s request to shift towards a new gas pricing mechanism on the pattern of the weighted average cost of local and imported gas (WACOG) to ensure the actual cost of gas supply and eradicate the flow of the gas sector’s circular debt, which stands at Rs2.1 trillion as of this June, according to a summary submitted to the ECC. However, there’s a disparity in ...

PALESTINIANS evacuate a wounded man after an Israeli strike near a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Khan Yunis, on Saturday.—AFP AL ZAHRA: Omar Ashur became a refugee during the Nakba (catastrophe) experienced by Palestinians following Israel’s creation in 1948 and now fears the ongoing bombardment of Gaza will again force him into exile. A retired general from the Palestinian Authority security forces, 83-year-old Ashur lives in Al Zahra, central Gaza, where Israeli missiles flattened an area of more than 20 buildings late on Thursday. Residents had been warned to flee before the strikes, but many of them raced into the street with no idea of where to go. When they returned in the early hours of Friday morning, they found a scene of devastation, with several blocks of buildings reduced to smoking ruins and rubble. The area lies about 10 kilometres south of Gaza City, where Israeli warplanes have focused their fierce bombardments since the Hamas ra...

Karachi police on Saturday arrested a man for allegedly killing his brother and sister-in-law over “honour” in the city’s Jeddah Hazara Colony. Ittehad Town Station House Officer (SHO) Inayatullah Marwat confirmed the arrest and said the police had recovered the pistol used in the crime. He added that during the initial probe, it transpired that the suspect killed his younger brother’s wife for allegedly meeting “bad people”. When the brother intervened, the accused killed him as well, the official said. The SHO added that the bodies had been shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital to fulfil legal formalities. A day ago, a man allegedly shot dead his wife and cousin in the Jacobabad district in the name of honour. He then fled the area. A week ago, a young man was shot dead by his maternal uncle in Kohat over an honour-related issue. Earlier this month, a man was arrested after he allegedly shot dead his niece and her friend in the name of honour in Larkana while days befor...

Ziauddin AFTER a relentless and brutal bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip, Israel is on the brink of launching a ground assault. This is not the first time that Tel Aviv has opted for a ground incursion into Palestinian territory. The current circumstances and situation, however, are unprecedented and not just in terms of sheer violence. But there are fears of worse to come if Israel launches the ground invasion it has promised. The incessant bombing of the besieged enclave has resulted in at least 4,137 Palestinian casualties so far, according to Gaza’s health ministry, around 500 of whom perished in the bloodbath at the Al-Ahli Hospital earlier this week. This even surpasses the toll from the bloody Second Intifada (2000-2005), which, according to Reuters figures, stood at over 3,000 casualties. The latest spate of Israeli violence against Gazans marks the deadliest period in the territory’s history, even more so than the two intifadas The latest round of violence start...

• ‘N’ supremo set to return today by chartered plane • Will land in Islamabad to ‘make bail’, then head to Lahore • Scheduled to address at Minar-i-Pakistan this evening • Party tasks ticket aspirants with ‘bringing crowds’ LAHORE: PML-N sup­remo Nawaz Sharif is all set to arrive in Pakistan today (Saturday) after a four-year self-imposed exile in the UK, and his party is rallying its base, urging supporters to converge at Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore from around the country to greet their leader and showcase the undiminished popularity of the party, which has been declared ‘irrelevant’ by its rivals. Former finance minister and PML-N stalwart Ishaq Dar confirmed that the elder Sharif would fly in from Dubai to Islamabad via a chartered plane on Saturday afternoon. “After staying an hour or so in Islamabad, he will leave for Lahore to address a rally at Minar-i-Pakistan,” Mr Dar told journalists on Friday. According to the party, the elder Sharif will likely land in Islamabad at 1...

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and PTI ally, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, has resurfaced over a month after his arrest from Rawalpindi, and said he was gone on a “pilgrimage”. Rashid made these remarks in an interview with Samaa TV on Friday, marking his first appearance since his detention by plainclothes personnel at his residence on September 17. Widespread violent protests broke out across the country on May 9, following the arrest of the PTI chief. During the protest, military installations — including the Lahore corps commander’s residence — and state properties were damaged across Pakistan, eliciting strong condemnation from the military. Since then, several PTI leaders, have chosen to part ways with the party. Farrukh Habib and Usman Dar are among the most recent. In line with other PTI leaders who have either departed from the party or resigned from their party roles, Rashid also voiced his disapproval of the events on May 9, deeming them “highly condemnable”. He also descr...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court may take up important constitutional matters in the coming weeks, such as trial of civilians by military courts and the holding of general elections . The intention to fix the cases was revealed when Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa made some hints during the hearing of a different case in which a counsel sought 15 days’ time. The CJP observed the court intends to hear important cases, like the trial of civilians by military courts and election matters, in the coming weeks. Therefore, it was difficult to postpone the present case for a fortnight, though it could be taken up again after two months. The last time a six-judge SC bench had taken up challenges to the trial of civilians in military courts was on Aug 3. During a hearing on May 27, the federal government assured the court that, up to that date, no formal trial had commenced against 102 individuals held by military authorities in connection with the May 9 incidents of violence ...