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Punjab govt, opposition spar over CM Maryam’s Japan tour

LAHORE: The Punjab government and opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have been wrangling over “exorbitant spendings, chartered jet and private persons in the delegation” of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s Japan’s five-day tour. Ms Nawaz concluded her Japan visit on Monday and reached Thailand. Questions are also being raised on social media regarding CM Maryam’s ‘official visit’ to Japan, in which ‘private individuals’, including her family members, as also a part. It is being argued that even if such participants claim to bear their own expenses, the practice undermines the sanctity of official delegations and blurs the line between state affairs and personal interests. Questions are also being raised on social media platforms over the inclusion of private persons as part of her visit, causing a huge sum of money to the exchequer. Entourage comes under scrutiny; PTI’s Waqas claims bank borrowing spent on excursion; Azma says PTI will consume in its own frustration Punjab ...
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Karachi’s monsoon woes linked more to bad governance than climate change

• KCF convener stresses need for strong political will to fix most basic problems • City can’t handle even 10mm of rains with choked drains, says urban planner KARACHI: Expressing serious concerns over the way the metropolis has been governed for the past several decades, civil society representatives said on Monday that the death, devastation and public chaos Karachi experiences with every monsoon have more to do with bad governance — corruption, inefficiency and absence of political will — rather than climate change. The civil society held a press conference under the platform of the Karachi Citizens’ Forum (KCF) at the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) House, where one of the speakers emphasised the need for what he called a supra provincial body to run Karachi. Describing the situation as “depressing”, the speakers said that cost-efficient solutions to urban flooding were available and that there was no dearth of skilled and talented manpower in the city to implement them to h...
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China’s new mega dam triggers fears of water war in India

India fears a planned Chinese mega-dam in Tibet will reduce water flows on a major river by up to 85 per cent during the dry season, according to four sources familiar with the matter and a government analysis seen by Reuters , prompting Delhi to fast-track plans for its own dam to mitigate the effects. The Indian government has been considering projects since the early 2000s to control the flow of water from Tibet’s Angsi Glacier, which sustains more than 100 million people downstream in China, India and Bangladesh. But the plans have been hindered by fierce and occasionally violent resistance from residents of the border state of Arunachal Pradesh, who fear their villages will be submerged and way of life destroyed by any dam. Then in December, China announced that it would build the world’s largest hydropower dam in a border county just before the Yarlung Zangbo river crosses into India. That triggered fears in New Delhi that its longtime strategic rival — which has some territ...
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Umpteeth time the charm?

As Pakistan navigates its challenges and emerges from diplomatic isolation, the Shehbaz Sharif government now seeks to convert economic stabilisation into inclusive growth to rebuild its political base. Achieving this requires substantial investment in job-creating sectors like agriculture and industry, hence the plan to launch Phase II of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) later this month in Beijing. Official sources also said the prime minister will travel to Beijing at the end of this month to attend the Shanghai Coope­ration Organisation (SCO) summit. Furthermore, he is expected to attend the Pak-China B2B Investment Conference. According to media reports, preparations for the visit were discussed during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to Pakistan last week for the 6th Strategic Dialogue, where both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the high-quality development of the upgraded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Without a clear roadmap, strong inter-departm...
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Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara calls time on illustrious career

Veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara dropped curtains on his illustrious India career on Sunday after playing 103 Tests but failing to win back his place in the last two years. The 37-year-old, who made his Test debut in 2010, last played for India in the 2023 World Test Championship final but has been active in domestic cricket as well as county cricket in England. “Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field — it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant,” Pujara wrote on his social media pages. “But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket. “Thank you for all the love and support!” He joins former India captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the same generation to quit Test cricket within the past year. Pujara scored 7,195 runs, including 19 hundreds, from 103 Tests, averaging 43.6...
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Murree tops Rawalpindi in dengue cases as Attock records five infections

RAWALPINDI: For the first time since 2011, the number of dengue patients in Murree has surpassed Rawalpindi, as confirmed cases in the hilly district rose to 62. Meanwhile, 59 dengue patients have been reported in Rawalpindi district so far this year. This year, dengue cases in Murree have been reported from Ghel and Paghwari union councils and the numbers are still rising. In the Rawalpindi division, 62 cases have been confirmed in Murree, 59 in Rawalpindi, one in Jhelum, four in Chakwal and five in Attock. Majority of the cases in Murree have been reported from Ghel and Paghwari union councils A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that dengue surveillance in Murree had not been conducted earlier due to a shortage of staff. Surveillance began only after the virus started spreading. He said the Rawalpindi District Health Authority was managing health affairs in Murree despite it being declared a separate district. He added that once dengue cases were de...
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India to develop fighter jet engines at home with French company

India is working with a French company to develop and manufacture fighter jet engines in the country, New Delhi’s defence minister said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in May approved the prototype of a fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), calling it a “significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities”. Singh, in a speech at a conference in New Delhi on Friday, gave more details about developing fighter jet aircraft engines in the country. “We are moving forward to manufacture aircraft engines in India itself,” Singh said, in comments broadcast by Indian media. “We are collaborating with a French company to start engine production in India.” Singh did not name the company, but Indian media widely reported the company to be Safran, which has been working in India for decades in the aviation and defence sectors. There was no immediate confirmation. India, one of the world’s largest arms importers, has made the modernisation of its forc...
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