Overview
- Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif approved using public‑private partnerships for construction, maintenance and operations across Punjab, with at least 30% of the 2026–27 development program to be PPP and multiple key roads slated for dualization and O&M through private partners.
- Lahore’s commissioner fixed “Safe Basant” for February 6–8 with a pre‑event kite‑flying ban, a Feb 1–8 sales window for kites and string, mandatory safety rods on motorcycles and zero‑tolerance enforcement under the Kite Flying Ordinance 2025.
- Chief Justice Yahiya Afridi directed courts to expedite long‑pending, high‑value tax disputes that affect the economy, as the PTA submitted recommendations to cut import taxes on mobile phones to improve access and curb smuggling.
- Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ordered a sustained crackdown on money‑laundering networks, hawala operators and human‑smuggling agents; FIA briefed that recent actions led to 20 arrests tied to human smuggling and seizures of non‑customs goods and drugs.
- Pakistan Kisan Ittihad warned it will protest outside the Punjab Assembly on January 26 if demands on crop prices, electricity tariffs and policy supports are not met after postponing an earlier planned action.