ISLAMABAD: Federal Government in a bid to make Federal Capital one of the safest cities in Pakistan, has decided to install additional cameras in the capital to expand coverage of the Safe City Project from 30 per cent to 100 per cent during the current fiscal year.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said at present, the safe city project covered at least 30 per cent area of Islamabad but after the installation of additional cameras the coverage would be extended to the entire city.
Rana Sanaullah said more cameras would be installed at “all important places” and added that immediate funds to the tune of Rs 40 million had been issued to the Safe City Authority to meet its urgent needs.
The PML-N leader said the Islamabad police chief and the director general of the Safe City Authority have been directed to prepare a feasibility report for the expansion of the project.
After completion of the feasibility report, funds would be released for the project within one week, the minister said, without elaborating on the amount needed to expand the project.
MUZAFFARABAD: Four people have lost their lives in a worst car accident when the driver lost the control over vehicle and fell into deep ravine outskirts of in Muzaffarabad, the capotal of Azad Jammu Kashmir.
According to reports at least four people were killed in a tragic car accident occurred in Khairian Jesswa village near Chattar Klass area.
A car traveling from Komi Kot area met with a tragic accident at Khairian Jesswa, as it fell into a deep ravine and three persons in the car died on the spot.
While, an injured man was rescued in critical condition but he also succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital.
SINGAPORE: Oil prices continued to pull back on Thursday, dropping more than 2% as investors recalibrated assessments of recession risks and fuel demand amid interest rate hikes in major economies.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures had skidded $2.6, or 2.7%, to $103.46 a barrel by 0330 GMT. Brent crude futures slid $2.5, or 2.3%, to $109.22 a barrel.
Both benchmarks tumbled by as much as $3 a barrel in the early morning of Asian trading, after plunging around 3% in the previous session. They are at their lowest levels since mid-May.
Investors are continuing to assess how worried they need to be about central banks potentially pushing the world economy into recession as they attempt to curb inflation with interest rate increases.
“Oil markets remained under pressure as investors were concerned that U.S. rate hikes would stall an economic recovery and dampen fuel demand,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd.
“The US and European hedge funds have been selling off their positions ahead of the end of the second quarter, which is also cooling investor sentiment,” he said, predicting WTI could fall below $100 a barrel before the July 4 holiday in the United States.
US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the central bank was not trying to engineer a recession to stop inflation but was fully committed to bringing prices under control even if doing so risked an economic downturn.
Analysts from Haitong Futures wrote: “With more data proving that Russian crude supply is less affected by sanctions than most people have previously estimated, the supply side may see a larger-than-expected increase in the near term.”
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was in the process of rerouting its trade and oil exports towards countries from the BRICS group of emerging economies in the wake of Western sanctions over Ukraine.
China’s crude oil imports from Russia in May were up 55% from a year earlier and at a record level.
US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, called on Congress to pass a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax to help combat record pump prices and provide temporary relief for American families this summer.
“The news temporarily boosted the oil product prices, but it was later viewed that even if the gasoline tax was suspended, retail prices would remain high, making it difficult to stimulate demand,” Fujitomi’s Saito said.
The US Energy Information Administration said its weekly oil data, which was scheduled for release on Thursday, will be delayed due to systems issues until at least next week.
KARACHI: Pakistani Rupee snapped its losing streak against the US dollar, gaining Rs3.43 in the interbank market a day after the government secured the much-anticipated deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to details, the dollar was trading around Rs208.5, against Wednesday’s record high of Rs211.93.In open market, local currency also gain Rs2 against the greenback, which was being traded around Rs211.
The development comes after weeks of persistent declines in the rupee’s value, which has been largely attributed to the country’s rising import bill and depleting foreign exchange reserves.
On Wednesday, the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail informed the Chinese consortium of banks has signed a $2.3 billion loan facility agreement on Wednesday which will be received by Pakistan within a few days.
Earlier, the IMF and Pakistan reached an understanding pertaining to the amendments in the federal budget for FY23 to revive the bailout package.
ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has dispatched relief goods for Afghanistan earthquake victims.
The National Disaster Management Authority dispatched a consignment including family tents, tarpaulins, blankets and emergency medicines, said the spokesperson of NDMA.
“Pakistan has assured all possible support to ameliorate the sufferings of the Afghan people affected by the 6.1 magnitude earthquake which hit parts of Afghanistan on Wednesday, (Jun 22, 2022)”, the statement said.
It merits mention that a powerful earthquake jolted a remote border region of Afghanistan overnight killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more, officials said Wednesday, with the toll expected to rise as desperate rescuers dig through collapsed dwellings.
The quake struck hardest in the rugged east, where people already lead hardscrabble lives in the grip of a humanitarian crisis made worse since the Taliban takeover in August.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global agency has “fully mobilized” to help, with UN officials confirming the deployment of health teams and supplies of medicine, food, trauma kits and emergency shelter to the quake zone.
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday while taking a dig at the government said that he had never thought about appointing army chief of his choice.
Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, he said that he had told 11 years ago that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) will join hands. He said that their only purpose is to protect themselves from accountability.
Reacting to the recent statement of federal minister Khurram Dastagir, Imran Khan said that he had never thought about appointing army chief of his choice, adding that he had never compromised on merit throughout his life.
Taking a jibe at the rulers, the former PM said that he had started struggle against them 26 years ago, adding that he had told 26 years ago that former PM and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari are plunderers.
The PTI chairman went on to say that they [Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari] only level allegations against each other’s during the election days, adding that he had no doubt that they would join hands when he [Imran Khan] came to power.
“They toppled my government out of the fear that I would appoint Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as new army chief,” he added.
Imran Khan maintained that the US doesn’t do regime change for the betterment of the country but for their own benefits. He asked if it was in Pakistan’s interest to allow US to have a base in the country.
“Pakistan was devastated in the war on terror with bomb blasts” he said and added the head of our country was threatened over not participating in the war on terror. “I know tribal areas more than anyone else does and there was complete peace in tribal areas before war on terror.”
The PTI chairman said that media was heavily bribed before regime change, adding that he was called “Taliban Khan” and the whole media bashed him for opposing war.
LAHORE: As many as 450 Sikh pilgrims has arrived in Pakistan from India to observe the 183rd death anniversary of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire Maharaja Ranjit Singh to be held in Lahore on June 29.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan and Pakistan Gurdwara Sikh Prabandhak Committee officials received the Sikh pilgrims at the Wagah Border.
“Some 450 Indian Sikhs arrived here via Wagah Border from India to attend festivities in connection with the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Gurdwara Dera Sahib Lahore.
The main event will be held at Dera Sahib on June 29,” ETPB spokesperson Amir Hashmi told the media.
He said that a langar (lunch) was served to all visiting Sikh pilgrims at Wagah before their departure for Gurdwara Janamasthan Nankana Sahib, some 80 kms from Lahore.
During their stay, the pilgrims would also visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara.
Hashmi said that the Pakistan government had issued visas to 500 Indian Sikhs. However, 450 turned up, he said.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire, who ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. The issuance of visas to Indian Sikhs is covered under the framework of Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974.
Every year, a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday signed a RMB (Renminbi) 15 billion ($2.3 billion) loan facility agreement with a Chinese consortium of banks which is expected to aid the depleting foreign exchange reserves and depreciation of local currency.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced the development on his Twitter handle, revealing that the inflows are expected within a couple of days.
“We thank the Chinese government for facilitating this transaction,” he said.
KABUL: An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 has jolted remote Afghan area of Paktiya and killed more than 1000 people on Wednesday, while over 610 of people were injured and the toll is likely to rise as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.
The quake struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, the US Geological Survey (USGC) reported.
“Strong and long jolts,” a resident of the Afghan capital, Kabul, posted on the website of the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
“It was strong,” said a resident of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Helicopters were deployed in the rescue effort to reach the injured and fly in medical supplies and food, said an interior ministry official, Salahuddin Ayubi.
“The death toll is likely to rise as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details.”
Today’s earthquake was the deadliest since 2002. It struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the southeastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the US Geological Survey (USGC) said.
Earlier, according to reports, most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern province of Paktika, where 255 people were killed and more than 200 injured, Ayubi added.
In the province of Khost, 25 were dead and 90 had been taken to hospital.
Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the ruling Taliban, offered his condolences in a statement.
Mounting a rescue operation could prove a major test for the Taliban, who took over the country in August and have been cut off from much international assistance because of sanctions.
Shaking was felt by about 119 million people in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, the EMSC said on Twitter, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in Pakistan.
The EMSC put the earthquake’s magnitude at 6.1, though the USGC said it was 5.9. Adding to the challenge for Afghan authorities is recent flooding in many regions, which the disaster agency said had killed 11, injured 50 and blocked stretches of highway.
The disaster comes as Afghanistan grapples with a severe economic crisis since the Taliban took over, as US-led international forces withdrew following two decades of war.
In response to the Taliban takeover, many nations imposed sanctions on Afghanistan’s banking sector and cut billions of dollars worth of development aid.
Humanitarian aid has continued, however, with international agencies, such as the United Nations, operating.
The UN’s office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Afghanistan had asked humanitarian agencies to help with rescue efforts, and teams were being dispatched to the quake-hit area.
A spokesman of Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said it would welcome international help.
Neighboring Pakistan said it was working to extend assistance.
Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate. read more
In 2015, an earthquake struck the remote Afghan northeast, killing several hundred people in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan.
In January, an earthquake struck western Afghanistan, killing more than 20 people.
The foreign ministry of Pakistan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have expressed condolences over the lives lost in the earthquake.
The Prime Minister said that that “relevant authorities are working to support Afghanistan in this time of need.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry said in a statement that the government and people of Pakistan extend their “deepest condolences and sympathies over the loss of precious lives and damage to property caused by the tragic earthquake in Paktika province of Afghanistan.”
“The people of Pakistan stand in strong solidarity with their Afghan brethren in this difficult time. We have no doubt that the brotherly Afghan people will overcome the effects of this natural calamity with their characteristic resilience,” the statement read.
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday disposed of a plea challenging the validity of Pakistani film actress Meera’s marriage with Atiqur Rehman due to the continued absence of her lawyer.
A family court had rejected the claim seeking to declare the nikkahnama (marriage contract) fake on May 28, 2018. Later this year, a sessions court judge rejected Meera’s appeal against the rejection, upholding the family court’s decision.
After this, Meera, whose real name is Irtiza Rubab, again challenged the session court’s decision, this time in the LHC. However, the high court disposed of her plea as her lawyer failed to appear for the hearings.
Meera maintained in the plea that Atiqur Rehman got a fake marriage contract and wedding pictures made during the shooting of a movie in Dubai, with intentions to seek publicity and blackmail her.
A sessions court on January 31 declared that Meera is legally the wife of Atiq-ur-Rehman, rejecting the showbiz star’s appeal to deny the ruling over her marriage.
Additional Sessions Judge Mazhar Abbas had declared that the nikkahnama is authentic and therefore the star is still legally married to Atiq.
Atiq accused Meera of entering into a another marriage contract with Captain Naveed in 2013 while still being married to him.
