Overview
- Punjab approved new electric buses for 10 districts and sought a plan to deploy 1,500 buses at the tehsil level, with the first batches due by June and dedicated depots in each division.
- Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed immediate wheat purchases at Rs3,500 per maund and announced Rs6 billion in free grain sacks for registered farmers to ease harvest-season costs and cash flow.
- The province also cleared a second phase to convert 7,500 villages into model communities with clean water and drainage, reinforcing a drive to upgrade rural services.
- The federal Power Division set scheduled load cuts of roughly 2.25 hours during evening peaks and the energy minister highlighted about 1.1–1.2 million smart meters already live in Islamabad’s utility, with a nationwide rollout planned to curb overbilling and improve tracking.
- On the foreign front, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on investment and regional security, and the army chief arrived in Tehran as Pakistan positions itself as a bridge in U.S.–Iran contacts; courts separately pressed institutions by ordering PIA to clear a 24‑year pension backlog and restoring four officers’ upgradations.