1:00pm Headlines on 24Digital

♦ The second phase of local bodies elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be held as per schedule on March 31 after the Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected a plea of the KP govt to halt the elections; Justice Ijazul Ahsan questioned why the SCP should interfere in the Election Commission of Pakistan’s working?; Said will not set a wrong precedent by suspending the election schedule; SC says the issuance of the election schedule and its conduct is the responsibility of the ECP

♦ KP government is trying to evade elections after giving the schedule itself; Govt says to hold the elections after Ramazan; After Ramazan, it would say to hold it after Eidul Aha and then would come Muharram; In this way election it would not be possible to hold elections; Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that KP govt wants seizure of ECP’s authority; Says if the SC is to issue the schedule then we should close the ECP as well

♦ PTI defeated at home ground; JUI’s Haji Zubair Ali elected City Mayor of Peshawar; PTI’s Umar Amin Gandapur won DI Khan Mayor election by taking 63753 votes; JUI’s Malik Mamoor Wazir elected chairman in Bakka Khel; PTI’s Azmat Khattak also won

♦ Addressing a ceremony, PM Imran Khan said inflation increases with an increase in the electricity prices; Says if Pakistan has focused on constructing new dams, it should not have to produce costly electricity; Says his government has planned to take the country ahead instead of thinking about elections

♦ Government springs into action over the political contact of the opposition; PTI will hold its core committee meeting today; PM also called an important meeting of party spokespersons to discuss the current political situation and media policy; PM will give important guidelines to the media team 

♦ Like-minded group of PTI in Punjab also starts flexing its muscles; Will hold an important meeting today to discuss opposition’s no-trust motion and political situation of the country

♦ Fawad Ch says all the looters are being got united due to Prime Minister Imran Khan; Says no personal enmity with Nawaz Sharif and only want him to return the looted money to the country; Dares Nawaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar to return to the country and face the cases; Says people who destroyed the country’s economy are now claiming the inflation has increased

♦ Punjab governor Ch M Sarwar while talking to party delegations said the opposition would not be able to complete the numbers to remove the government from the office; Warned the opposition that Captain is still steadfast and they would continue dreaming and the time of the next elections would come meanwhile

♦ Iranian Interior Minister Dr Ahmad Vahidi reaches Pakistan, Interior Minister Sh Rashi Ahmad received the distinguished guest at Nur Khan Airbase, the Iranian minister will hold meetings with the Prime Minister and the Army Chief

♦ Is Pulwama situated in India or Occupied Kashmir? Prime Minister does not have any clue; In an interview with CNN, PM said an attack was carried out in Pulwama, India; Mr Prime Minister Pulwama is situated in Occupied Kashmir and Kashmir is a disputed territory; PM has also claimed that he knew India better than his own country; Hamid Mir questioned that if Pulwama is in India then why Kashmir is a disputed territory? And if Modi is promoting the racist ideology then why did the government sign a ceasefire agreement with India last year?

♦ Islamabad High Court ordered the commission for forced disappearances to submit its report; Summoned the attorney general for the final arguments of Feb 28; CJ IHC said if there is a doubt that the state has abducted a person then there is no need to give any directions; Said the time has come to hold someone responsible

♦ The relatives of Nawabshah incident continued sit-in at National Highway for the third straight day with dead bodies 

♦ Police arrested six more main accused in the Mian Channu mob killing case; Seven main accused of the Sialkot Incident has also been presented before an anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala

♦ Pakistan reported 2,662 new coronavirus cases and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours

♦ Karachi is facing the fifth wave of coronavirus as the positivity ratio reached 12.62 percent; 740 new cases were reported in a single day; 234 patients under treatment in hospitals

♦ The authority to challan the vehicles has been taken back from traffic officials in Karachi; Only section officers now can issue challans to vehicles over violations

♦ CNG stations reopened in Sindh after two and a half months

♦ PNS Aslat reached Oman; The commanding officer held meetings with authorities in Muscat

♦ Saudi Arabia, UAE, Belgium, Holland, Canada and Australia ordered their citizens to leave Ukraine over possible Russian attack on the country; US President Joe Biden talked to Ukrainian counterpart over the phone; UK PM Boris Johnson also busy in resolving the issue through diplomacy; Oil prices increased in the world market due to the tension

♦ Pakistan observes the 64th anniversary of a close aide of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar

♦ The weather will remain dry and cold in most parts of the country; Some areas of KP and Gilgi-Baltistal likely to receive light rains snow 

♦ Lahore Qalandars defeated Quetta Gladiators by eight wickets; Peshawar Zalmi beat Karachi Kings by a big margin of 55 runs; Islamabad United and Karachi Kings will face off today