Pakistani Americans leave for Israel for second peacemaking trip.

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September 20, 2022

WASHINGTON: After the groundbreaking success of a historic trip by Pakistani Americans to Israel and the United Arab Emirates in May 2022, another group of prominent Pakistanis left for Israel for a peacemaking trip.

This group includes prominent Muslim-Americans and South-Asian Americans, American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC) and SHARAKA, AMMWEC said in a press statement.

“The goal of this delegation is to continue the peacemaking efforts started by the delegation of interfaith leaders led by Pakistani American president of AMMWEC and Sharaka Board Member, Anila Ali, and to build positive understanding and to help encourage Pakistan-Israel relations and Pakistan’s connection to the Abraham Accords”, the statement reads.

The group consists of prominent Pakistani American leaders, including Dr. Nassim Ashraf, and a number of leading Pakistani journalists and religious figures.

“The floodgates are wide open; the initial shock has turned into a realization that Muslims and Jews are both the children of Prophet Ibrahim PBUH. Therefore, we must continue our work to build peace on a people-to-people connection to promote the Abraham Accords in Muslim countries. If we are to build a better future for our children, we must let go of the grievances of the past,” explained Anila Ali.

SHARAKA is a non-governmental, region-wide project that brings together Arabs and Israelis to build mutual understanding and promote peace in the Middle East through people-to-people engagement and citizen diplomacy.

It has branches in the Arab Gulf, Israel and Morocco, and members from around the region, as well as the US, Europe, and Pakistan.

The aim of the trip is to allow the participants to see and explore Israel for themselves, and to transmit what they learn and experience to audiences in Pakistan to help provide information for the important debate underway on whether Pakistan should join the Abraham Accords. Moreover, due to the tragic flooding in Pakistan, much of the visit will focus on life-saving technologies developed in Israel relating to water and food security and to mitigating climate and environmental disasters.

The trip includes a meeting with the President of Israel, senior foreign policy figures, and well-known intellectual, cultural, religious, and political figures. The trip will have a special focus on the Israeli hi-tech ecosystem and will feature meetings with leading innovators in the water, agro and climate tech spaces, as well as Israel’s world-leading water management systems.

They will also meet an internationally recognized expert on crisis preparedness. The team will also pay a visit to the holy sites that are sacred to Abrahamic faiths along with a visit to the Holocaust Museum.

The delegation consists of high profile Pakistani Americans, interfaith leaders, and media giants.

One of the leading members of the delegation is the renowned Pakistani American, Dr. Nasim Ashraf.

“I am delighted and honored to be invited by AMMWEC and SHARAKA to be part of the delegation to visit Israel to promote peace and interfaith dialogue. Such people-to-people contacts are very important to develop understanding and harmony between Abrahamic Faiths to which we belong, Dr. Nasim Ashraf.

Sharaka co-founder Amit Deri. “We are thrilled to be welcoming this delegation to Israel as a part of our efforts to expand the peace camp. This is truly historic, and we hope can lead to additional countries, like Pakistan, joining the peace camp. Only by working together and building roads of dialogue can we work to solve our differences and take on common challenges and threats – from climate and water related challenges to extremists in the region who only want to promote hatred.

American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, AMMWEC is a non-profit organization built to provide the diverse Muslim American women the tools and opportunities to lead and to empower them to live a better life.

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Premier Shehbaz to tell Pakistan’s story of ‘anguish, pain’ to world at 77th Session of UNGA

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Our Correspondent

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September 20, 2022

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in New York, US, on Tuesday to represent Pakistan and highlight the plight of the flood victims in the country at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The premier announced his arrival in the US on his official Twitter handle and said that he will tell Pakistan’s story “of deep anguish & pain arising out of a massive human tragedy caused by floods,” during his UNGA address on September 23.

“In my address at UNGA & bilateral meetings, I will present Pakistan’s case on issues that call for [the] world’s immediate attention,” he added.

The premier will attend the reception of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today and will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron.

Besides meetings with the Austrian chancellor and Spanish president, he will also hold a meeting with European Union President Council Charles Michael and will participate in the Global Food Security Summit.

On Wednesday, the premier will meet International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President David Mills.

Apart from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, PM Shehbaz will also hold a bilateral meeting with Iran’s President Seyed Ibrahim Raisi. He will host a luncheon in honour of President Erdogan and his wife tomorrow.

Other engagements of the premier include meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaaqob, UNGA president, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the UN secretary-general as well as Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.

The premier will also hold meetings with prime ministers of China, Japan and Luxembourg.

During his stay in the United States, PM Shehbaz will also give interviews to various renowned US media outlets.

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Premier Shehbaz deeply touched by Palestine’s gesture of sending rescue team for flood victims

By

Nuzhat Aftab

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September 20, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed gratitude to Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas for sending the response and rescue team for the flood-affected people in Pakistan.

The prime minister in a tweet said he was moved by the gesture of the people of Palestine.

“Deeply touched by Palestinians’ gesture of sending their Rapid Response and Rescue team to help flood victims in Pakistan,” he said.

PM Sharif termed it as a representation of the brotherhood between the people of Pakistan and Palestine.

“It is a reflection of a strong bond of love and brotherhood we have for each other,” he said. “We will never forget this gesture.”

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77th UN General Assembly session: Bilawal reaches New York; scheduled to participate in session

By

TNT Monitoring Desk

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September 19, 2022

NEW YORK: Foreign Minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reached New York on late Sunday night to attend the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Bilawal Bhutto was received at the airport by Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Munir Akram and a large number of PPP workers.

FM Bilawal Bhutto is scheduled to participate in 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) beginning September 20th in New York. He will also hold meeting with world leaders at the sideline of UNGA session.

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New rail car launched between Lahore, Rawalpindi

By

Qamar Malik

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September 17, 2022

LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) launched a new rail car between Lahore and Rawalpindi. The train was inaugurated by Divisional Superintendent Railway Lahore Muhammad Hanif Gul along with Senior Train Driver Hanif Ghazi. The train consists of five Economy Class, two AC Standard, two AC Business and one power plant.

The train left on schedule at 7:30PM. Inshallah, it will reach Rawalpindi at 11:55PM. We believe in passenger safety and punctuality. DS Railway Muhammad Hanif Gul said that we would continue to provide good service to passengers while staying within limited resources.

Meanwhile. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chinese Railway Construction Company Chen Feng visited the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) headquarters here on Friday.

On this occasion, Chief Operating Officer PSCA Kamran Khan gave a detailed briefing about the working of Safe Cities Authority. He said that PSCA is expanding Safe City Centres in other districts of Punjab as well. The PSCA is a role model for modern policing in Pakistan, he added.

Expressing his views Chen Feng said that they would continue to provide more support to Pakistan in building top class infrastructure. Later, Kamran Khan presented a commemorative shield to Chen Feng.

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Aima Baig announces split from Shahbaz Shigri

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Our Correspondent

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September 17, 2022

LAHORE: Pakistani singer Aima Baig has announced that she has separated from Shahbaz Shigri a showbiz start and now they are not more husband and wife.

Taking to Instagram, the ‘Baazi’ singer has cleared the air over the matter, which was being discussed by fans, when they [fans] came to know that Aima and fiancé Shigri had deleted all their snaps together on Instagram.

Sharing a note on the social media platform, Aima penned, ”Yes, I will always respect this person for giving me a good time. Sometimes, sh*t happens for a reason. And to answer all your questions, yes we have parted ways. But we are both doing good and fine, so don’t worry. I wanted to do it in the most respectful way and so I did. People can choose their ways of expressing their feelings, which define who they are from the inside.

Aima added. “That’s me telling the truth to anyone wondering they are or they are not together. And the answer is, nope. Me and Shahbaz are not together anymore.” Aima concluded her statement with, “PS: No more ‘feeling sorry texts’ please! We are doing just fine.”

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Shehbaz accepts invite for Moscow, Beijing visits; Russia eager to foster ties with Islamabad

By

Nuzhat Aftab

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September 17, 2022

: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has accepted the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Moscow that shows eagerness of Russian leadership to foster relations with Pakistan.

A trip of Premier Shehbaz Sharif is likely to travel to Beijing in November while he has also accepted an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to a visit to Moscow.

The acceptance of Shehbaz Sharif to visit oscow is categorical contradiction of the claims that Pakistan may distance itself from the US adversaries following the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan.

The development comes at a time when efforts are underway to reset the troubled relationship between Pakistan and the US.

A senior adviser of the US secretary of state recently visited Islamabad, while the US President Joe Biden Administration approved $450 million sale of the F-16 equipment in a sign that Washington wants to maintain a working relationship with Islamabad.

In the middle of all this, Shehbaz’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday are significant and show that Pakistan is trying to maintain a delicate balance in its ties with big powers.

The transcript released by Putin’s office after meeting Shehbaz suggested Russian eagerness to deepen ties with Pakistan. At the same time President Xi in his maiden meeting with Shehbaz termed the Pakistani prime minister “a person of pragmatism and efficiency.”

Shehbaz also heaped praise on Putin, calling Russia a “superpower” and its president a “man of words”. On his part, the Russian president began his meeting with Shehbaz by recalling his working relationship with his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, when he was the prime minister.

Observers believe that Shehbaz’s flurry of meetings with Russian and Chinese presidents indicated that Pakistan’s policy, seeking diversification in the country’s foreign policy options, remains intact.

It is worthy to be mentioned here that in 2011 it was a unanimous decision of the country’s parliament and other stakeholders to reach out to Russia after Islamabad’s relationship hit the lowest ebb because of a series of debacles.

Since then successive governments, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had pursued the policy of normalising ties with Russia.

In 2015, the two sides signed an agreement under which Russia would lay a gas pipeline from Karachi to Punjab for supply of the liquefied natural gas (LNG). The project could not take off because of possible US sanctions but both sides did not give it up and are still making efforts to turn the project into a reality.

In their Thursday’s meeting in the Silk Road city of Samarkand, Putin and Shehbaz brought up the Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline project in their discussions. “There are very interesting and large-scale projects, namely the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline project, which involves building the infrastructure needed for the delivery of LNG,” Putin told Shehbaz.

The Russian president also offered Pakistan to supply gas through a pipeline. “This is possible as well, in view of the fact that some infrastructure is already in place in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,” he said.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who attended the Putin-Shehbaz meeting, said in a tweet that the prime minister’s meetings with President Putin and President Xi were extremely successful.

He said both leaders invited Shehbaz on a visit to their respective countries. He confirmed that the prime minister would embark on his maiden visit to China in November, while he did not confirm the date of his visit to Moscow.

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Terrorism case: ATC grants interim bail extension to Imran Khan till September 20

By

Palwasha Mustafa

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September 12, 2022

ISLAMABAD: An Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday granted an interim bail extension up to September 20 to Imran Khan during a hearing of the terrorism case leveled against him after his anti-judiciary speech.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chaitman Imran Khan appeared before the ATC to record his statement at 11am.

ATC judge had asked Imran Khan to appear before the court in person to face the trial as well as a probe by the case’s investigation officer within the court premises.

The former premier’s legal counsel Babar Awan implored the court to take notice of police reluctance in conducting an inquiry within court premises.

“Why is it insulting for the police to grill Imran Khan in the judicial complex?” Babar Awan questioned Special Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi.

He warned the prosecution that the court has the authority to take punitive action against the police for willfully obstructing legal proceedings and hiding evidence.

Though the judge seconded the opinion, he noted that the court cannot intervene in the investigation and therefore it is better for both parties to lock a location for interrogation on their own.

Earlier on Monday, ATC asked Imran Khan to appear before the court in person whilst allowing the investigation officer to conduct an inquiry within the court premises.

During the hearing of the case, the Sessions Court judge asked the investigation officer (IO) if Imran Khan participated in the investigation proceedings or not, in response, the IO said the PTI chief only submitted a written statement.

Upon learning that Imran Khan’s written response was not submitted in the report given to the court, the judge bashed the IO for willfully obstructing legal proceedings based on ill intent.

Defence counsel Babar Awan told the court that Imran Khan will arrive at 11am to participate in the proceedings and if the case demands, police can probe the former premier in the bar room of the judicial complex.

Agreeing to the viewpoint of the defence counsel, the judge allowed the IO to conduct a probe within court premises and adjourned the hearing till 11am today (Monday).

On September 2, the ATC granted interim bail to PTI Chief Imran Khan till September 12.

Imran had been booked in a case with terror clauses after he had stated in a public rally that they would not spare the judge who had approved the remand of Imran Khan’s chief of staff Shahbaz Gill.

Imran subsequently approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking bail in the case. However, the court had told him to take it up with the anti-terror court since terrorism cases are handled by the specific court.

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LHC to hear Maryam Nawaz’s passport plea on Sep 14

By

Qamar Malik

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September 12, 2022

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s application for obtaining a passport has been set for hearing on September 14 (Wednesday).

A three-member full bench headed by Chief Justice Lahore High Court has been constituted on Monday to hear Maryam Nawaz’s application.

The bench consisted of Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, while the full bench will hear the petition of Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday.

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Four terrorists killed in IBO in Lakki Marwat

By

Irfanullah Khan

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September 12, 2022

LAKKI MARWAT: At least four terrorists of banned outfit were killed during a joint operation conducted by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and police personnel in Lakki Marwat on late Sunday night, reports said.

According to details, the CTD and police personnel conducted an intelligence based operation (IBO) in Takhti Khel area in the jurisdiction of Naurang Police Station in Lakki Marwat during which terrorists hiding in the area opened fire.

The law enforcement agencies personnel returned the fire as a result four terrorist were killed. The CTD spokesperson informed that automatic weapons have been recovered from the dead terrorists.

The spokesperson also informed the a few accomplices of the dead terrorists managed to escape from the scene. The law enforcement agencies have also launched a search operation in the area to arrest other terrorists.

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