Overview
- The federal cabinet approved a phased levy on captive power plants, starting at 5% and rising to 20% by August 2026, with proceeds earmarked to deliver periodic electricity tariff relief.
- Officials plan to pass the levy’s collections to consumers roughly every two months, with enforcement measures that include action against nonpaying plants and potential gas supply cutoffs for persistent defaulters.
- Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced laptops and scholarships for students engaged through National Workshop Balochistan and directed faster timelines for provincial development schemes, including roads, water and housing installments.
- Punjab’s police chief ordered stronger security and upgraded infrastructure at riverine and border check-posts, directing 24/7 functionality of boats and cameras and a 15‑day improvement plan followed by inspection.
- A pre-dawn explosion damaged a railway track near Notal in Nasirabad, leaving a one-foot crater; police sealed the area and opened an investigation, as national cyber readiness advanced through a new PNCERT–Kaspersky cooperation agreement.