Author: Suayb Khosa

Pakistan plans to privatize its loss-making national carrier Pakistan International Airlines, the government said on Monday, as the country also seeks to outsource its airport operations in line with an IMF deal. The privatization decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Privatisation chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The committee “after deliberation decided to include Pakistan International Airlines Co. Ltd in the list of active privatization projects of the ongoing privatization program, following an amendment in the law by the Parliament,” a finance ministry statement said. The committee also backed the hiring of a financial adviser…

Nepali president Ram Chandra Poudel met with Yuan Jiajun, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee on Sunday here in the Office of the President. Yuan said during the meeting that China is willing to deepen practical cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Nepal, and deeply and solidly promote the strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity between China and Nepal. The CPC is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with Nepali political parties to boost the…

As Nepal’s first openly gay parliamentarian, Sunil Babu Pant educated his colleagues on LGBTQ topics. More than a decade later, the former lawmaker and activist is sharing similar knowledge with locals and tourists on the capital’s streets. On Saturdays, Pant hosts a heritage walk through the heart of Kathmandu, which is dotted with ancient temples, stupas and decrepit old houses that have withstood haphazard urbanization. The three-hour tour introduces the city’s matriarchal religious sites while exploring elements of gender and sexuality. These sites, some in Hindu temples, feature paintings and wooden carvings with deities engaging in sexual acts, along with…

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) an opportunity to submit the details of a case against Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan. A counsel for the bureau appeared before the court and requested for more time to furnish a report on the Al-Qadir Trust inquiry pending against Bushra. Earlier, a federal law officer submitted reports on behalf of the police of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces, saying no case had been registered against the petitioner. Justice Amjad Rafiq adjourned further hearing till June 21, allowing NAB to…

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — When the powerful earthquake rocked her home in early February, 18-year-old Sidra Mohammed Ali woke up and thought of one thing: her music school — was it OK? The next day, as survivors all over southern Turkey were taking stock of the destruction and checking on loved ones, Mohammed Ali rushed to the school, the Nefes Foundation for Arts and Culture, and took a deep breath of relief when she saw it was still standing, only having sustained some minor damage. “This school is my sanctuary from the stress of life as a Syrian refugee in Turkey,” she…

BEIJING — China and Iran have urged mutual neighbor Afghanistan to end restrictions on women’s work and education. The call came in a joint statement Thursday issued at the close of a visit to Beijing by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during which the two sides affirmed close economic and political ties and their rejection of Western standards of human rights and democracy. Since taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade and forced out those in elected offices and other prominent positions. “The two sides … called on…

Christian devotees attend a Palm Sunday service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral church during the government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Lahore on April 5, 2020. LAHORE, Pakistan — Arif Gill said he lost hope of finding his 15-year-old daughter — abducted by a 60-year-old Muslim who forcibly married her and converted her to Islam — until police in Pakistan finally registered a case after nearly two months. Sitara Arif, also known as Saira, was kidnapped on Dec. 15 by Rana Tayyab in the Yousafabad area of Faisalabad, Gill said. Tayyab is the husband…

The government has decided to mark the period from 2023 to 2033 as the Visit Nepal Decade (VND). While the short-term goal of the VND is to revive the country’s tourism sector which was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic for two consecutive years, the long-term goal is to take the Nepali tourism to newer heights, including establishing Nepal as a leading destination in the global tourism market. In fact, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has already prepared a Strategic Action Plan to make the VND 2023-33 successful. Last Thursday, the tourism minister received a draft of the…

Chinese nationals in Nepal are involved in illegal activities from hacking the banking system to heinous crimes such as human trafficking, epardafas.com reported citing Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau Kathmandu. According to the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau Kathmandu, the Nepalese were duped by Chinese nationals and were illegally sent to Laos with offers of high salaries. Earlier, Police Superintendent of the Bureau Daan Bahadur Malla informed that two Chinese nationals have lured and sold 10 Nepali youths. He said that further investigation is ongoing on the suspicion that they have sent more Nepali youths abroad. The two accused Chinese citizens, involved…