ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to introduce the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) as a pilot project in Islamabad.
The system is being designed in a way that would also facilitate pedestrians’ crossing, particularly during peak hours of traffic.
The CDA Chairman Captain (r) Muhammad Usman Younis invited students of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) who gave a presentation on the system.
The CDA management was apprised that the camera-based system would be linked to the control room. The signals will continue to switch from red to green and green to red automatically to facilitate the movement of traffic and pedestrians.
The Chairman directed to test the system at a crossing having a heavy load of traffic. He also directed Islamabad Traffic Police that the system could be linked with Safe City Project.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Pakistan sought “climate justice” at an international climate summit (COP27) and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on the international community to take joint responsibility for climate change.
“In Pakistan, more than 30 million people have been severely affected; floods caused widespread destruction due to unusual rains; 8-thousand-km-long roads, 3-thousand-km-long railway tracks were affected,” the prime minister said while addressing the COP27 UN climate summit.
The premier’s two-day visit concluded following high-level engagements at the summit and its sidelines where he also conducted bilateral meetings with his counterparts.
At the summit — alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre — the premier co-chaired a high-level roundtable discussion on “Climate Change and the sustainability of vulnerable communities”.
World leaders, policymakers and delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Egypt at the summit, which delegates had kicked off with a deal to discuss compensating poor nations for mounting damage linked to global warming.
The prime minister highlighted that Pakistan has suffered losses worth $30 billion despite its carbon emissions being one of the lowest in the world.
“The [climate change] affected countries have to deal with this challenge with their own resources. Environmental justice requires that all countries take joint responsibility,” he said.
PM Shehbaz said the world has time and again discussed climate change, but no substantial results have come out of those discussions.
He noted that in Pakistan, wheat, edible oil, and other goods have to be imported now after the floods destroyed agricultural crops. “On the one hand there’s such a huge disaster and lack of resources and on the other hand import costs are major challenges.”
The prime minister said Pakistan requires billions of dollars for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people and called upon the international community to aid the country.
During his visit, the PM attended the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” hosted by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman and participated in a high-level breakfast event on “Scaling up action and support on losses and damages-the Global Shield Against Climate Risks” which was co-hosted by the Chancellor of Germany and President of Ghana.
The prime minister, at the summit, called for establishing a dedicated financing facility to address climate-induced ‘loss and damage’ and welcomed the agreement to formally discuss funding arrangements for loss and damage under the COP27 Agenda.
The regular component of the COP27 would continue till November 18, 2022. In its capacity as the incumbent chair of G77 and China, Pakistan is leading the developing countries in the climate change negotiations, including in the thematic areas such as climate finance, adaptation, mitigation, and capacity building.
Earlier, he attended a high-level round-table at COP27 on the “Scaling up Action and Support on Losses and Damages — the Global Shield Against Climate Risks”.
During the round-table, the prime minister underscored that vulnerable developing countries such as Pakistan were already witnessing unprecedented devastating impacts of climate change, even though they have contributed very little to it.
He underlined that the issue of “loss and damage” was one of the key priorities for Pakistan and welcomed its inclusion as an agenda item of COP27.
The prime minister briefed the participants on the situation in the flood-hit areas of Pakistan and the actions being taken by the Government for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-impacted areas.
The event was jointly hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on the significant topic of ‘Loss and Damage’ associated with Climate Change.
The meeting was attended by a number of heads of state and government.
He highlighted that it was for the first time that the COP had agreed to formally discuss funding arrangements for loss and damage, achieved through a persistent push by the developing countries under Pakistan’s chairmanship of Group of 77 and China.
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (CJ IHC) Justice Athar Minallah on Monday said that the country is not being ruled by law but by the elites.
Addressing a full court reference in his honor at the Islamabad High Court, Justice Athar Minallah said that he won’t take credit for what has been said about him. All credits belong to every judge of this High Court. He highlighted that the IHC is not like other High Courts, it is the High Court which represents the Federation. He said Islamabad bar is the best bar in the country.
Justice Athar Minallah clearly stated that there is no civilian supremacy and the supremacy of the constitution. “There is no rule of law here, but rule of elite,” he said.
He added that more than half of their lives were spent in dictatorship and implementation of the constitution is only possible when the mindset changes.
CJ IHC explained that the political leadership can strengthen the implementation of the constitution. He said it is the responsibility of the political leadership to resolve the cases in the Parliament instead of bringing them to the courts.
He further expressed gratitude to the Islamabad Bar and every member of it, and also appreciated High court reporters saying that they have proved themselves as professionals.
He went on to underscore that the support and trust of people is of paramount importance for the judiciary. “Our performance can be measured by public trust,” Justice Athar Minallah added.
Furthermore, other speakers on the occasion nominated by the full court reference in honor of CJ IHC Athar Minallah included Chief Justice Justice Aamer Farooq, Islamabad Bar Council Vice Chairman Qamar Sabzwari, Islamabad High Court Bar Association President Shoaib Shaheen, Advocate General Islamabad Barrister Jehangir Jadoon and Additional Attorney General Barrister Munoor Iqbal Dogal.
The attendees in full court reference included the Advocate General Islamabad, officers of the Attorney General’s Office, the Islamabad Bar Council, the High Court Bar and a large number of lawyers.
Other than that, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Tamman Rifat Imtiaz were also present.
ISLAMABAD: PTI chief Imran Khan said that his party would be resuming its march to Islamabad on Tuesday, November 8, and he will join the protesters from Rawalpindi.
“We will start the march from Tuesday. I will hold an address daily,” Khan said while speaking at the hospital. He added that he would lead the march from Rawalpindi when it arrives in 10-15 days.
Khan called on his supporters to reach Rawalpindi as an announcement of the long march’s resumption, saying that the reason the Pakistani nation is treated as beggars is not because of the lack of resources but due to a lack of justice.
“It is time to realise Haqeeqi Azadi. All of you should come and reach Rawalpindi when I join the party and lead [the march.”
ISLAMABAD: Sindh police and FC troops are being summoned back to Islamabad again following PTI chairman Imran Khan’s announcement that the long march will resume on November 8.
The police expressed regret that citizens may have to experience issues in Islamabad over the next two weeks.
The force noted that due to the anticipated public order issues, some people may encounter difficulties.
All of Islamabad’s highways are still open for traffic, according to the police, and the general populace “is urged to assist the Islamabad Capital Police”.
It should be recalled that Imran Khan was injured following the assassination attempt on him at Wazirabad. The march had been postponed till Khan recuperated, according to a video message from Khan.
Now PTI chief has announced that the long march will resume from Wazirabad on November 8 exactly where he had been attacked.
RAWALPINDI: The District administration has decided to demolish all illegally constructed commercial and residential buildings to restored the real look of the city.
The Director General of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has directed to launch a comprehensive survey to identify illegal commercial and residential buildings in the city.
An RDA spokesperson revealed that strict action will be taken against the violators, including the demolition of illegally constructed buildings.
The spokesperson further revealed that the commercialization, complementary maps, and plans of the illegal buildings have also been sought by RDA chief.
Director General of the RDA has advised citizens against investing in illegal housing societies. He has also warned the society owners against marketing their projects that have not been approved by RDA yet and have not received their No Objection Certificates (NOCs), stating that strict action will be taken against violators.
He has also directed to issue notices to the violators and to regularize all illegal residential and commercial buildings on Adiala Road and Shahpur Road.
DG RDA has directed the Building Control Wing to take stringent measures without discrimination against illegal and unauthorized constructions, commercial ventures, illegal reservation offices, and encroachments.
The Building Control Wing has already started carrying out operations in this regard as it has sealed 50 shops and two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations at Adyala Road.
The owners of the aforementioned properties violated approved plans and maps, as well as the Punjab Development of Cities Act 1976 and the RDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2021, and built illegal commercial buildings without approval or NOCs.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to stop the issuance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s victory notification in the recently held by-polls in 7 constituencies.
In a plea submitted by PML-N’s leader Ali Gohar Baloch, he pleaded that the PTI’s chairman neither be a member of the ongoing Assembly nor contest election after his disqualification in the Toshakhana reference.
The plea further stated that the ECP should not issue the notification of Imran Khan’s victory for any seat.
LONDON: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that former prime minister and party supremo Nawaz Sharif is not getting National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and now more truth will come out in coming days.
Speaking to the media in London, she said that former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan had planned to pressurize government for holding early elections and his prime target is the appointment of new Army Chief but Prime Minister Shehbaz Shehbaz Sharif has the authority to appoint new Army Chief.
ISLAMABAD: The government has put in place modernized system involving cameras and smart cars to ensure security of Islamabad, the Federal Capital.
According to the details, the Safe City Project has been fully modernized keeping in view the emerging challenges to the security of the federal capital. The details provided by the relevant departments showed that 480 latest new cameras have been installed at different locations to keep vigil over the situation round-the-clock in the city.
The patrolling teams have got 16 new smart cars that are new addition to the security apparatus as these are highly capable of recording, processing, positioning, and running wireless security protocols and also have cameras, megaphones, search lights, first-aid kits as well as other latest equipment.
Similarly, 100 km long fibre optic has also been restored besides placement of strobe lights that are actually specialised lamps that produce a continuous series of short and bright flashes of light. The sites for six new police stations have also been selected and these will be established in the coming months.
Unnecessary check posts will not be set up and instead latest technology will be used to conduct checking at various points of the city.
An official has said, “The government is utilising all its resources to provide safe and secure environment in Islamabad. The police department has been equipped with new smart cars to enhance its capability to deal with the challenges related to the security of the city.” “We have also installed latest security cameras that will greatly help monitor the security situation and keep vigil over criminal elements,” he said.
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government has constituted a three-member high-level committee to investigate the murder of senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif.
According to sources, officers of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have been included in the committee.
The committee will travel to Kenya to investigate the murder of Arshad Sharif. Sources said that the Pakistani High Commission in Kenya will assist the committee.
The committee will submit a report to the Home Ministry after completion of the investigation.
Arshad Sharif, was reportedly shot to death by Kenyan Police along the Nairobi-Magadi highway on Sunday in “mistaken identity case”.
According to Kenyan media, the journalist was fatally shot in the head by cops after allegedly violating a roadblock established to keep an eye on motor vehicles using the route.
The media, while quoting local police officials, said that they were directed to intercept a car involved in a carjacking in Nairobi in which a child was taken hostage, which was similar to the one Arshad Sharif and his driver were driving.
