ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India signed the Kartarpur Corridor agreement at Zero Point of Wagah border on Thursday.
Sikh Yatrees will be permitted to visit the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from morning till evening, Dr Faisal said while addressing the media after the signing of the agreement.
“There will be a $20 per visitor per visit, as service charges.” Dr Faisal said, adding that the prime minister will inaugurate the corridor on November 9.
The significance of the signing of the bilateral treaty between the two sides comes at a time when bilateral relations are at an all-time low and no high-level meetings between the two sides have been held.
Pakistani and Indian officials signing Kartarpur agreement on Thursday. Google Image
While there have been several agreements between the two sides, very few have been signed by them. In 1974, a Bilateral Agreement on Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines was signed.
Yatrees will be permitted to visit the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from morning till evening.
Pakistan says it is still working on the invitations for the inauguration of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, though one was sent to former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh who hails from a village Gah in Indian Punjab.
Prime Minister Imran Khan would inaugurate the facility on the scheduled date as construction work has entered the final stage, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party announced.
The inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor would coincide with the birth anniversary celebrations of founder of Sikhism Baba Guru Nanak Sahib.
“Pakistan is all set to open its doors to Sikhs from all across the globe,” the PM wrote. “The world’s largest Gurdwara will be visited by Sikhs from across India and other parts of the world,” he said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan would inaugurate the facility on the scheduled date as construction work has entered the final stage.
The prime minister said the Kartarpur Corridor will be a major religious hub for the Sikh community. “(It) will boost the local economy (and) result in earning foreign exchange for the country creating jobs in different sectors including travel and hospitality.”
Pakistan handed the final draft of the proposed bilateral agreement over to India on October 11 and also accepted New Delhi’s demand to allow devotees of other faiths – Hindus, Christians, Zoroastrians etc – to visit Baba Guru Nanak Devji’s final resting place. (With additional input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: In another positive development that could boost investors’ sentiments towards Pakistan and will allow the debt-ridden state to combat its economic crisis, Pakistan has jumped up 28 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index and clinched 108th position besides securing a place among top ten global business climate improvers.
Pakistan carried out six reforms in the last one year that helped improving its ranking from 136 to 108, according to the World Bank’s annual flagship report “Ease of Doing Business 2020”, released on Thursday. Last year, Pakistan was ranked 136th among the 190 nations surveyed.
According to the World Bank, the six areas which saw reforms included starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders. Pakistan made starting a business easier by expanding procedures available through the online one-stop shop. In addition to improvements in property registration, obtaining a construction permit became easier.
The launching of online portals for new commercial connections made getting electricity easier, and tariff changes are announced in advance. Moreover, tax compliance became easier through online payment modules for value-added tax and corporate income tax. Pakistan made trading across borders easier by enhancing the integration of various agencies into an electronic system and by improving coordination of joint physical inspections at the port.
Since assuming the office, Prime Minister Imran Khan made it amongst his highest priorities to take measures for improving ease of doing business in the country. As a result of the coordinated efforts led by the state’s institutions, Pakistan has been acknowledged by the World Bank among the top global reformers this year.
Pakistan, another top improver, developed an ambitious reform strategy, setting up a national secretariat as well as a prime minister’s reform steering committee to ensure progress, the report acknowledged.
Pakistan’s economy kept up a solid pace of business regulatory reforms and earned the spot among the world’s top ten most improved economies and improved their global ease of doing business scores.
Governments of 115 economies around the world launched 294 reforms over the past year to make doing business easier for their domestic private sector, paving the way for more jobs, expanded commercial activity, and higher incomes for many, according to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 study.
This latest edition of the study documents reforms implemented in 10 areas of business activity in 190 economies over a 12-month period ending on 1 May 2019.
Business-friendly environments are associated with lower levels of poverty, and improved regulatory efficiency can stimulate entrepreneurship, startups, innovation, access to credit, and investment.
The study is the 17th in an annual series that evaluates regulations enhancing or constraining business activity for small and medium-size enterprises.
“Governments can foster market-oriented development and broad-based growth by creating rules that help businesses launch, hire, and expand,” World Bank Group president David Malpass said.
“Removing barriers facing entrepreneurs generates better jobs, more tax revenues, and higher incomes, all of which are necessary to reduce poverty and raise living standards.”
“This rise is significant and made possible by collective and coordinated actions of Federal Government and Provincial Governments of Sindh and Punjab over the past year,” said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.
“The accelerated reform agenda has many noteworthy features to improve quality of regulations, reduce time and streamline processes. This momentum needs to be sustained in the coming years for Pakistan to continue to make progress, said Illango.
It is important to note that Doing Business is not meant to be an investment guide, but rather a measurement of indicators of ease of doing business.
The economies with the most notable improvement in Doing Business 2020 are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India and Nigeria, according to the report closely watched by the global investors.
Top performers typically had online business incorporation processes, electronic tax filing platforms, and online procedures for property transfers.
The Ease of Doing Business index is mostly used as a guide by foreign investors to learn more about a country, aiding decisions on pouring money into the economy. The report is based on surveys carried out in Lahore and Karachi. The results are based on the work done from November 2018 to June 2019.
International investors consult the report and the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum before taking decisions on investment plans. (With additional input from INP)
LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal said that government accepts right of protest but no one would be allowed to talk against institutions.
Talking to media persons, Mian Aslam said when PM Imran Khan is apprising the world about Kashmir issue Maulana Fazlur Rehman is arranging his political show in federal capital.
He said uniform of JUI-F workers resemble with RSS workers. He said India tried its best to include Pakistan in FATF blacklist and JUI-F showed its armed group in a rally.
He said Nawaz Sharif is being given best medical treatment. Mian Aslam added that Nawaz Sharif did not want to go to hospital with NAB team and went to hospital after Shehbaz insisted for this.
He said government did not want to politicize the health issue of Nawaz Sharif. (With additional input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik has said that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously acting like a Hollywood actor by his drama of fake surgical strikes at Line of Control (LoC).
He said that PM Modi used this tactic of fake surgical
strike in his election campaign to win the election. He planned and engineered
Pulwama attack to blame Pakistan
for it and then played a Hollywood style
surgical strikes which is still continue.
The Chairman Senate Body advised Prime Minister Modi to be a
real statesman and come out of this fake surgical strike illusion. He said by
fake surgical strikes at LoC PM Narendra Modi proves to impress his opponents
which is his wild imagination. ‘Very rapidly PM Modi is converting a
secular India into an
extremist state by his full support to Indian terrorist organization RSS which
is expanding from Nagaland to East Punjab in India’, he added.
Rehman Malik appealed the Indian opposition parties to stand
against Narendra Modi to block his agenda of converting India into an
extremist state. I would continue to expose the RSS and Modi’s mindset
against Pakistan, adding
that India
had a history of false and persistent motivated flag operations, he added.(Additional Input From INP)
ISLAMABAD: The pre-arrest bail plea submitted by the former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Akram Durrani, has been accepted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday.
The high court conducted the hearing of the petition filed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) central leader Akram Durrani today.
The IHC judge accepted the pre-arrest bail plea of Durrani till November 4 and sought a reply from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by issuing a notice.
Akram Durrani had submitted the petition on Tuesday (yesterday) to seek approval of his pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over the fear of his arrest by NAB authorities investigating into alleged illegal appointment of Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) director.
In his petition, Durrani stated that he has replied over the questionnaire sent by the anti-corruption watch, whereas, the petitioner has also made NAB chairman a party in the plea.
He served as the Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from 2002 to 2007. He served as federal minister for Housing and Works, in the Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018.
Last year, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal had ordered an inquiry against Akram Khan Durrani over misuse of power and illegal allotment of plots.
Durrani was re-elected to Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) from Constituency PK-90 (Bannu-IV) in general election of 2018.
On October 2, 2018, Akram Khan Durrani became the leader of the opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). (Additional Input From INP)
ISLAMABAD: Government s preparations to stop Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)-led Azadi March intensified as Islamabad police dispatch 400 shipping containers to various places in the capital to block roads to prevent JUI-F, PML-N and PPP workers to enter Islamabad.
The containers have been placed in Red Zone area of the
capital. The containers will be used to block the entrance and exit points of
the federal capital and Red Zone to prevent entry of the Azadi March
participants.
According to sources, these steps are being taken to meet
any situation as JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has called for a march on Islamabad on October 31
Meanwhile, a committee formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan
to hold talks over Azadi March of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), on Monday
rejected Opposition’s Rehbar Committee’s demand of the
premier’s resignation.
According to sources, the rejection came during a meeting of
the government’s committee headed by Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak and
comprises of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Senate Chairman Sadiq
Sanjrani, Speaker Punjab Assembly Pervaiz Elahi, PTI leader Asad Umer, Minister
for Education Shafqat Mahmood, and Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq
Qadri held in Islamabad.
During the meeting, the government committee rejected Rehbar
Committee’s demand of resignation of PM Imran.
Sources said that the members of the government committee
said that the government recognizes the opposition’s right to peaceful
protest but the march towards federal capital is inappropriate during the
current situation of the country and the region, adding that the government is
serious about resolving issues through dialogue.
Sources further said that the government committee has
decided to hold meeting with all opposition leaders and it will also hold
meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif.
“Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has also been tasked to contact Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chariman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,” sources said while Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will himself contact JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.(Additional Input From INP)
ISLAMABAD : Capital Development Authority (CDA) has successfully auctioned 20 residential plots worth of Rs.696.00 million (approximately) on Tuesday. The plots were auctioned on first day of three (03) day auction organized by CDA at Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad. The auction will continue till 24th October, 2019.
The auction witnessed impressive gathering of investors and
general public with enthusiastic participation. On the first day of auction
many people participated in the bidding process. The enthusiastic response from
investors is the outcome of investor friendly policies of present CDA
management. CDA has thanked the successful bidders for trusting in the policies
of the authority.
The auction was conducted in transparent manners and
proceedings were supervised by a high level Auction committee headed by Member
Estate. The participants and observers appreciated the auction arrangements
made by the CDA and efficient, open and transparent auction process.
During the first day of auction of residential plots, plot
No. 237, Street No.19 of sector G-10/2 measuring 233.33 square yards (s.q)
received bid Rs.120,000/- per square yard, plot No. 238, Street No.19, Sector
G-10/2 measuring 233.33 s.q received bid Rs. 112,000/- per square yard, plot
No. 239, Street No.19, Sector G-10/2 measuring 233.33 s.q received bid Rs.
111,000/- per square yard, plot No.240, Street No.19, Sector G-10/2 measuring
233.33 s.q received bid Rs.111,000/- per square yard and plot No.241, Street
No.19, Sector G-10/2, measuring 233.33 s.q received bid Rs.110,000/- per square
yard while plot No. 242 of street 19 of sector G-10/2 measuring 233.33 sq/
yards was bid out at Rs.111,000/-. Similarly, plot No.1, Street No.3-A, Sector
F-10/2 measuring 600 s.q received bid Rs.163,000/- per square yard, plot No.2,
Street No.3-A, Sector F-10/2, measuring 600 s.q received bid Rs.153,000/- per
square yard, plot No.155-C, Street No.20, Sector F-11/2, measuring 400 s.q received
bid Rs.121,000/- per square yard, plot No.318, Street No.17, Sector D-12/3,
measuring 500 s.q received bid Rs.90,000/- per square yard, plot No.319, Street
No. 17, Sector D-12/3 measuring 500 s.q received bid Rs.86,000/- per square
yard, plot No.688, Street No.103, Sector D-12/1, measuring 272.22 s.q received
bid Rs.94,000/- per square yard, plot No.689, Street No.103, Sector D-12/1,
measuring 272.22 s.q received bid Rs.93,000/- per square yard, plot No.948,
Double Road, Sector D-12/1 measuring 272.22 s.q received bid Rs.111,000/- per
square yard, plot No.949, Double Road, Sector D-12/1 measuring 272.22 s.q
received bid Rs. 112,000/- per square yard, plot No.970, Street No.75, Sector
D-12/1 measuring 272.22 s.q received bid Rs.103,000/- per square yard, plot
No. 971, Street No.75, Sector D-12/1 measuring 272.22 s.q received bid
Rs.103,000/- per square yard, plot No.1184, Street No.80, Sector D-12/1
measuring 139 s.q received bid Rs.116,000/- per square yard, plot No.1187,
Street No.81, Sector D-12/1 measuring 139 s.q received bid Rs. 104,000/- per
square yard, plot No.1188, Street No.81, Sector D-12/1 measuring 139 s.q
received bid Rs.103,000/- per square yard.
The income generated from the auction of plots will be spent
on development of various sectors of Islamabad. The successful auction of a
large number of plots at much higher prices on the first day of the auction
process is the expression of trust by the citizens in policies of authority.
CDA has thanked the successful bidders for their participation.
The committee will submit its recommendations to the CDA
Board. The CDA Board is the competent authority to accord final approval to the
recommendations after the conclusion of auction process.
Auction of commercial plots will remain continue on Wednesday
and Thursday while commercial plots will be presented for auction on October
23rd and 24th, 2019.(Additional Input From INP)
SRINAGAR: In occupied Kashmir, the routine life continues to remain badly hit on 79th consecutive day, on Tuesday, in Kashmir valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu region with continued heavy deployment of Indian forces and strict restrictions in place under Section 144.
According to Kashmir Media Service, some postpaid mobile phone connections have been restored a day or two ago, but there’s no sign of restoring the internet and prepaid cellular phone services for the inhabitants of the territory. Owing to these circumstances, people are cut off from their loved ones, healthcare services have taken a hit and tourism has grounded to a halt.
Public transport is off the roads. Shops and business centers barring few hours in the morning and evening of a day continue to remain shut. Though educational institutions and offices are open yet very few show up there.
This is a kind of an informal but widespread civil disobedience movement, which has gripped the Valley to protest India’s August 5 illegal action and its efforts to portray a sense of normalcy in the territory. People from all walks of life including students, shopkeepers, fruit growers, businessmen and public and private sector workers are all participating in this extensive and non-violent initiative.
According to media reports, postpaid mobile services, which were recently restored in the Kashmir Valley, may be shut again ahead of October 31 when J&K will be declared as the UT. This will be one of the measures on part of the IOK administration to foil any anti-India protests.
The CRPF units deployed in IOK have planned to equip their dogs with special cameras, which will help handlers to understand what dogs are viewing. The process of purchasing these cameras has been initiated. The officials have claimed that CRPF will be the first Indian force to purchase these cameras for its K9 unit. (With additional input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari was transferred to the PIMS Hospital in view of his “deteriorating health” following a recommendation of a medical board examining his health on Tuesday.
Amid tight security, Zardari’s has been directly
shifted from an accountability court to the hospital.
According to sources, the district administration is
considering declaring PIMS
Hospital a sub-jail.
On Oct 15, the court had rejected a petition filed by
Zardari, who has been put in jail on judicial remand, seeking his shift to a
hospital for medical care.
The court had remarked that the court doesn’t have
jurisdiction over the matter, and it should be referred to the relevant forum.
Zardari’s advocate Latif Khosa had argued before the
court that his client’s life was in danger and it was his Constitutional
right to avail medical facilities in the jail.
“Zardari doesn’t want anything from this
government, but his legal rights must be ensured […] we hadn’t
asked for an apology from even Zia-ul-Haq,” he had said.
“Judicial relief is our right […] if Zardari
suffers any kind of heart ailment, these people wont transfer him to a hospital
[…] it takes an hour-and-a-half to reach a hospital from the Adiala
Jail,” he had mentioned.
“A medial board had recommended shifting Zardari to
PIMS for getting medical care and these people took him to the hospital just
for a day and shifted him back to the jail on the very next day,” he had
further argued before the court.
Khosa had pleaded with the court to direct authorities to
allow Zardari his personal attendant until he stays in his prison.
“Our people will set up tents in front of the
jail,” he had warned.(Additional Input From INP)
ISLAMABAD : Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is responsible for all the crises in the country.
Talking to media persons, the PPP chief said that the
incumbent government of Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has itself put federal capital, Islamabad on lockdown. Will continue efforts
to send the government packing, he pledged.
Earlier, Bilawal Bhutto expressed that they morally support
the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s Azadi
March. “We all are agreed on one thing which is that Prime Minister Imran
Khan has to go”, he added.
He said that if Maulana is barred from the constitutional
right of protest then PPP will consider its own course of action. “I send
a message to the opposition parties that we all should play such cards which
will refrain the third party to come, because even a broken democracy is better
than dictatorship”, Bilawal stated.
He said that government must think that running the affairs
of country is not like playing a cricket match, adding that politicians would
be forced to hold protests if government will lock the parliament.
PM Imran Khan cannot complete his term as he does not
possess the abilities to do so, the PPP chief added.
He asserted that everyone including traders are protesting against this government and country is moving towards anarchy.(Additional Input From INP)
