MULTAN: In a striking verdict underscoring the right to fair process, the Lahore High Court has come to the aid of a Layyah resident caught in a bureaucratic blind spot, halting the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from enforcing a disputed tax bill. Ghulam Mohy Ud Din had sought to challenge a hefty demand notice but discovered that the appellate commissioner’s seat meant to hear such objections had been left vacant. Left without recourse, he turned to the court. The bench agreed his predicament was unjust, ruling that it is fundamentally unfair to demand payment while the state fails to…
Author: Imran Ali Khan
MANAMA/VATICAN CITY: His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, yesterday held high-level meetings with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his official visit to the Vatican City State and the Italian Republic. According to official statements, discussions with Pope Leo XIV centered on fostering interfaith dialogue, enhancing mutual respect among civilizations, and advancing initiatives promoting global peace and human fraternity. The Crown Prince highlighted Bahrain’s longstanding commitment to promoting religious coexistence and dialogue, a principle underlined by the Kingdom’s historic hosting of the “Bahrain…
YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million (€20.9 million) to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots. According to Euronews, Trump had launched legal battles against multiple social media giants including Meta and X (formerly Twitter) after his accounts were blocked in the wake of the Capitol unrest. While legal experts initially dismissed the lawsuits as unlikely to succeed, all three companies have now opted for settlements. Court documents filed on Monday reveal that $22 million (€18.8 million) from YouTube’s settlement will go toward the…
ISLAMABAD: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Iva Petrova held its opening session with Pakistan’s economic team, headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, to kick off the latest review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the $1.1bn Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The meeting, attended by the State Bank governor, finance secretary and chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), reviewed performance up to end-June 2025. Officials conceded that while power sector benchmarks were comfortably met, revenue collection fell short by nearly Rs1.2 trillion about 1pc of GDP in the last fiscal year, with…
WASHINGTON/GAZA: U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday unveiled an elaborate 20-point framework for Gaza that he claimed could serve as the key to peace in the Middle East. The announcement comes against the backdrop of unprecedented destruction, mass displacement, and a worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly endorsed the proposal, while several Arab states have also signaled cautious support. At its core, the plan seeks an immediate ceasefire and the transformation of Gaza into a fully demilitarized zone. All militant tunnels, weapons caches, and manufacturing facilities would be dismantled. Administrative control would not…
MULTAN: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Multan Bench has ruled that a controversial tax dispute should be referred back to the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) for adjudication, rather than being decided directly by the court. The case Ibrar Iqbal vs. Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals-Sahiwal) (ITR No. 28/2025) revolved around an order dated Jan 23, 2025, which the applicant had sought to challenge before the High Court under Section 133 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. However, during the proceedings on Sept 15, counsel for the applicant-department argued though his counsel Furqan Ahmad Khan that the legal landscape had shifted.…
Riyadh: In a landmark policy shift, the Saudi Arabian Cabinet has approved new regulations allowing the children of legally employed foreign residents to enter the Kingdom’s job market, a move aimed at enhancing economic participation while safeguarding Saudi workforce priorities. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Cabinet has amended its earlier decision No. 585 dated 22 Sha’ban 1444 AH, officially empowering the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development to set detailed rules and eligibility criteria for foreign residents’ children who wish to work in Saudi Arabia. The new policy comes with a key restriction: children of expatriates…
Dubai: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has thrown his weight behind his players’ aggressive mindset ahead of the first-ever Asia Cup final between Pakistan and India, saying controlled aggression is essential, especially for fast bowlers. Speaking at a heated pre-match press conference, Salman stressed that while discipline and respect remain non-negotiable, he would not curb his team’s natural intensity. Every individual has their own way. If a player wants to be aggressive, then why not? If you take aggression away from a fast bowler, then there’s nothing left, Salman said, responding to a question from an Indian journalist. The skipper…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks on during a visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot missile system, at an undisclosed location in Germany
New York/Tehran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday fiercely rejected U.S. demands that Tehran surrender its enriched uranium stockpiles in exchange for temporary sanctions relief, calling the proposal unacceptable and a political trap. The remarks came as the specter of sweeping UN sanctions looms large after the collapse of high-stakes nuclear negotiations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran’s uranium stockpile enriched up to 60 percent has now reached 440.9 kilograms as of June 13 a significant increase of 32.3 kilograms since May. While Iran recently readmitted international inspectors, Western…