PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is to begin general discussion on the budget for financial year 2013-14 today (Thursday) but Speaker Asad Qaisar has yet to name leader of the opposition in the House. According to the assembly secretariat, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz with 17 members has emerged as the single largest opposition party in the 124-strong House followed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl with 15 members.
KP govt says: Lawmakers have no business using funds
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Sirajul Haq on Wednesday ruled out any role for the members of the provincial and national assemblies in the use of development funds in future. “We’ve allocated Rs1 billion for the early holding of the local body elections in the province. Once the power is transferred to local bodies, all funds will be used at local level with no interference of lawmakers in their utilisation. Their (lawmakers) role will be limited to legislation only,” he told a news conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.
GST not applicable on edible, medicines, SC told
ISLAMABAD: Attorney General of Pakistan Munir A. Malik on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that 70 edible items including cooking oil, peppers, seeds, sugarcane, eggs, fish, fruits and medicines are exempted from General Sales Tax (GST).
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard a case pertaining to one per cent hike in General Sales Tax.The attorney general said that action would be taken against those found receiving GST on food items.
HEC submits fresh list of MNAs having suspicious degrees
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Wednesday submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan a fresh list of newly-elected National Assembly members whose educational degrees are suspicious.
US programme marks birth of one millionth HIV-free baby
WASHINGTON: This month somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa the one millionth baby will be born without HIV to a mother who suffers from the disease, thanks in large part to a decade-old US aid programme.
Russell Brand told Katy Perry of divorce via text message
LOS ANGELES: British comic Russell Brand told Katy Perry he was divorcing her by text message, the US pop star said in a new magazine interview, adding that she hasn’t heard from him since.
FBR issues list of items exempted from GSTFBR issues list of items exempted from GST
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has issued the list of products which are exempted General Sales Tax (GST). Chairman FBR has directed all field offices to monitor the situation closely.
Angelina Jolie stunt double sues News Corp over hacking
A stunt double for Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has sued News Corp over allegations its British newspapers hacked her phone, the first lawsuit in the United States against the company since the scandal broke two years ago.
Karzai suspends US talks, sets new conditions for Taliban negotiations
KABUL: The Afghan government on Wednesday threatened to boycott planned talks with the Taliban in Qatar announced by the United States, saying the peace process had to be “Afghan-led”. “The latest developments show that foreign hands are behind the Taliban’s Qatar office and, unless they are purely Afghan-led, the High Peace Council will not participate in talks,” a statement said.
Pakistani stocks rise on IMF visit optimism
KARACHI: Pakistan’s stocks closed higher on Wednesday, helped by market optimism that a visiting delegation from the International Monetary Fund could lead to a bailout loan and resolve the country’s balance of payment problems, dealers said.
