ISLAMABAD, MAY 18, (DNA) – Two Pakistani staffers were held in Kabul by Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) under undisclosed circumstances. The staffers were held for hours by NDS and the incident serves another blow to the already cold relations between the two countries. The embassy staffers, Hassan Khanzada and Syed Munir Shah were visiting a stationery shop in the market when NDS personnel abducted the staffers along with the embassy’s official vehicle, said sources. Mr Khanzada was manhandled during the detention, said sources. The embassy informed the Afghan foreignRead More

ISLAMABAD, MAY 18, (DNA) – In a bid to control the spread of pollen allergy, all male Paper Mulberry trees would be removed from residential areas of the capital by December this year, the National Assembly was informed on Wednesday. “The government has planned to remove all such trees in four phases and in replacement, the government is planting 300,000 new atmosphere-friendly trees, such as Amaltas (Cassia Fistula), Kachnar (Phanera variegate) etc, annually,” Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Afzal Khan Dhandla told the house during question hour. He said that in theRead More

RAWALPINDI, MAY 18, (DNA) – The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) will observe a cleanliness week from May 20 to May 26. The sanitation staff will start working in their respective wards to keep their areas clean and tidy. Chief Sanitary Inspector Waris Bhatti will monitor the cleanliness work daily. RCB CEO Dr Saima Shah urged the citizens to cooperate with sanitary staff for removal of solid waste and did not throw garbage in streets and on the roadsides. According to RCB spokesman, the citizens could approach the authorities of the civicRead More

RAWALPINDI, MAY 18, (DNA) -Four ‘hardcore’ terrorists involved in committing heinous offences have been executed in an unspecified jail in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in line with death sentences by military courts, the army’s media wing said on Thursday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the convicts were involved in the killing of innocent civilians, destruction of communication and electricity infrastructure, educational institutes and attacking personnel of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. The convicts, all said to be active members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were identified as Muhammad Ibrahim,Read More

MAY 18, (DNA) – The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) on Wednesday finalised a national development budget outlay at Rs 2,113 billion, including a federal Public Sector Development Programme of Rs 1,001 billion and provincial Annual Development Programmes of Rs 1,112 billion for the next financial year. The committee decided to fix the GDP (gross domestic product) growth target of six percent for the next financial year as compared to 5.7 percent for the current financial year. The agriculture growth target for next fiscal was set at same level ofRead More