Overview
- The government inaugurated the country’s first Google Chromebook assembly line, with Ishaq Dar citing lower device costs for education, job creation and export goals under an MoU to train 100,000 developers and issue Google Career Certificates.
- Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said 24 state-owned enterprises will be privatized with PIA’s divestment targeted this year and a federal right-sizing that merges 39 ministries underway, while the maritime minister outlined a 50% expansion of the PNSC fleet with five ships nearing agreement and invitations for private and foreign investment.
- In a Supreme Court review of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stone-crushing plants, officials reported 903 total units with 879 monitored and 230 closed, as the bench stressed environmental protection rather than blanket shutdowns.
- The Lahore High Court ordered enforcement of smog measures including markets closing at 10 p.m. and restaurants at 11 p.m., with Sunday commercial restrictions proposed and the district administration adopting curfews based on a 2023 notification.
- Roughly 2,100 Indian Sikh pilgrims entered via Wagah for Guru Nanak’s 556th birth anniversary, with Pakistani authorities providing reception services and security, while opposition and religious leaders continued to denounce a proposed 27th constitutional amendment as undermining judicial independence.