INFO TECH NEWS

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Sunday voiced optimism that the pressure on the rupee, which has seen a sharp drop against the dollar in recent weeks, would ease within the next two weeks. 

  Heavy rains and floods have unleashed devastation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving 19 more dead and hundreds of others stranded in both provinces, disaster management authorities said. 

  KARACHI : There is no official decision regarding the extension of summer vacations in the metropolis. Still, there was a lot of confusion among parents regarding this matter on Friday after some private schools announced that they were going to extend the vacations due to the weather conditions, Ashura and Independence Day. 

  ISLAMABAD : Inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) increased by 3.68 per cent from the previous week mainly due to the highest-ever increase in food prices, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data released on Friday. 

  KARACHI : The Foreign Office on Thursday clarified that SAPM Tariq Fatemi had undertaken a “private visit to Washington DC” and that his meetings were facilitated by the Pakistan embassy in Washington. 

  ISLAMABAD : Expressing his gratitude to the nation for what he called “foiling an international conspiracy” by supporting his candidate, Parvez Elahi, in the recent Punjab chief minister’s election, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chair­man Imran Khan on Wedne­sday ruled out any possibility of sitting down for talks with the ruling coalition. 

  Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps (FC) troops on Thursday assisted the civil administration with rescue and relief efforts in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab as monsoon rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country. 

  Chasing a mammoth 508 for victory, tourists Pakistan were bowled out for 261 in the second session on day five with skipper Babar Azam hitting a valiant 81 in Galle. 

  ISLAMABAD: In a decision that was awaited with bated breath by political observers, the media and all the parties involved, the Supreme Court late on Tuesday declared Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as the duly elected chief minister of Punjab for securing 186 votes against the 179 of his opponent, PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz, in the July 22 run-off poll for the coveted office of the province.  Later, in the small hours of Wednesday morning, President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to CM-designate Elahi at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad.  Mr Elahi had to rush from Lahore to the federal capital after Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman refused to carry out the job. Earlier when the short order was pronounced by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Moonis Elahi, a son of the petitioner Parvez Elahi, was surrounded by PTI and PML-Q supporters and lawyers in courtroom No 1 to congratulate him.  PTI senior leaders, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, also accompanied former

  The rupee continued to slide against the dollar on Wednesday, hitting another low of Rs237 in the interbank market. 

  Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday warned of imposing governor's rule in Punjab if he was restricted from entering the province. 

  The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Wednesday forecasted more rains for Sindh, including Karachi, over the next two to three days. 

  LAHORE : PTI candidate for CM Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Friday chaired a meeting of the PML-Q parliamentary party at Punjab Assembly and said that Asif Zardari’s mission has failed, hours after the latter visited his cousin and party chief Chaudhry Shujaat to convince him to support Hamza Shahbaz. 

  The rupee continued to lose ground against the dollar on Friday, hitting yet another record low of Rs228.50 interbank trade as concerns remained over the exchange rate volatility and analysts called for the government and central bank’s intervention.  According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the rupee depreciated 75 paise — a slump of 0.33pc — against the previous day’s close of Rs227.75 to reach Rs229 by 15.00pm.  The FAP’s closing rate of the last session is higher than the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP’s) closing rate of Rs266.81.  Today’s decline in the rupee’s value is in continuation of its free fall against the dollar witnessed throughout this week.  According to the SBP data, the exchange rate rose to a record high of Rs215.2 on Monday, peaked to Rs222 on Tuesday, surpassed the Rs224 mark on Wednesday and reached Rs226.81 on Thursday.

  LAHORE: All eyes are on today’s run-off election for the slot of Punjab chief minister as its outcome will set the tone for the future of the country’s politics, with the ruling alliance making last-ditch efforts to ensure it has the numbers to save its government.