Shehbaz Sharif

The Pakistan Prime Minister, in his letter on Sunday, stated that the President's letter to him was one-sided and held anti-government views, Geo News reported. "You openly express anti-government views and your letter was not reflective of the president's constitutional role and this is what you're constantly doing," wrote the Premier, Geo News reported.

Pakistan Day is celebrated on March 23 every year to commemorate the passage of the Lahore resolution in 1940, which formed the basis of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent, The Express Tribune reported. The main event of the day is the joint military parade of the armed forces of Pakistan. However, this year, the scale of the parade had been cut back.

The process of recall has started but not finalised yet, The News reported. Rathore was earlier posted as Pakistan's High Commission in Canada and hardly a month after his settlement there, he was asked to get ready for posting in Riyadh. He was flown to Saudi Arabia during Khan's visit, which turned out to be the latter's last one.

A 446-page record of gifts from 2002 to March 2023 has been released, which includes the details of gifts received by the presidents and prime ministers, including Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Asif Ali Zardari, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. All of them took away jewel class sets and other gifts by paying minimal or no costs at all, The News reported.

Shehbaz also took into confidence the coalition partners on his plans to write a response to President Arif Alvi and termed the latter's attempt of a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) about the dates for polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) "unconstitutional", The News reported on Friday. He said that the president should not conduct such.

Pakistan is desperate to unlock the next tranche worth $1.1 billion loan facility with the IMF but is struggling to meet tough conditions set by the global financier, Geo News reported. The IMF is demanding that Pakistan boosts its pitifully low tax base, end exemptions for the export sector, and raise artificially low energy prices that are meant to help poor families.

Addressing a press conference, the Prime Minister said that he hoped the matters with the IMF will be settled in the next few days. He informed the media that matters with the IMF are in their final stages, Samaa TV reported. The government has tried that the mini budget does not impact the poor population.

"The Prime Minister is pleased to direct that a well-considered proposal/plan in this respect may please be submitted to this office within two weeks positively," The News quoted a directive issued by the PMO as saying. This official communication titled "Rationalisation of Foreign Mission Abroad" states that in view of the ongoing economic constraints and the consequent need for fiscal consolidation and control of external deficit, the Prime Minister was pleased to constitute a National Austerity Committee (NAC).

The ruling party leader reportedly made these remarks at a recent meeting with the representatives of PML-N's youth wing, The Express Tribune reported on Thursday. "This is not my government. Our government will be when Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan," the party sources quoted her as saying during the meeting.

Since coming to power in April last year, Sharif has been calling for austerity but the frequent expansion of the cabinet by inducting more people as special assistants to the premier without adopting a clear criteria and process has raised several eyebrows, The Express Tribune reported. Former senator and lawyer Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former minister of state.