Beijing: China punished almost 300,000 officials for graft last year as President Xi Jinping continued to wage a high-profile war against corruption. Among those ensnared by the wide-ranging crackdown were 200,000 who were given “light disciplinary punishments” and another 82,000 who were handed “severe disciplinary punishments and major demotions”. Ten “centrally appointed and administered officials” were given “drastic demotions” for serious violations against the Communist Party’s code of conduct, according to the report from Xinhua.…
Posts published in “Day: March 8, 2016”
ISLAMABAD: As Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif prepare to attend the first leadership gathering of the counter-terrorism alliance assembled by Saudi Arabia, the government continues to maintain ambiguity about its role in the group. The prime minister and the army chief are visiting Saudi Arabia from Wednesday (March 9), separate statements by the Foreign Office and ISPR said. It was, however, not clear if the two will travel together, but…
Dhaka: Jamaat-e-Islami has called for a dawn-to-dusk countrywide hartal (shutdown) tomorrow over the Supreme Court ruling that upheld death penalty for its leader Mir Quasem Ali in a war crimes case. The announcement was advertised on Jamaat-e-Islami’s website after the Supreme Court order on the condemned war crminal’s appeal against death penalty awarded to him by the trial court. The apex court, while upholding death in one charge, acquitted the war criminal in three other…
ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has advised his supporters to “move to the Taliban-controlled areas and mountains in Afghanistan” to escape any pressure on joining talks with the Afghan government, a Taliban leader said on Monday. The advisory from the insurgent group’s chief came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani reiterated his call for the Taliban to put down their arms and join the talks which continue to face delays. “The [group’s] leaders have…
ISLAMABAD: A bill seeking amendments in the laws dealing with Pakistan’s nuclear programme was withdrawn in the upper house of parliament at the last minute on Monday after the proposer cited ‘reservations of the stakeholders’. Senator Farhatullah Babar, withdrew his private member bill seeking modifications in the National Command Authority (NCA) Act, saying he had been going through an “extraordinary situation ever since he submitted the bill”. Without elaborating any further, the PPP lawmaker said…