Uzbek president to arrive in Islamabad for two-day visit today (Thursday)

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March 3, 2022

ISLAMABAD: On special invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will pay an official visit to Pakistan from March 3-4, the Foreign Office.

The Uzbek president will arrive Islamabad today Thursday and he will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, comprising the foreign minister, other members of the cabinet, senior government officials, and business and media personnel.

This will be the first visit of President Mirziyoyev to Pakistan since assuming office in 2016.

The state visit of President Mirziyoyev would mark the historic commemoration of the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

During the visit, the two leaders will review the entire gamut of bilateral relations including cooperation in political, trade and economic, connectivity, education, culture, security and defence domains. They will have a wide-ranging exchange of views on major regional and international issues.

A number of bilateral agreements/MoUs will be signed, the communiqué added.

The prime minister will hold a one-on-one meeting with the president of Uzbekistan that would be followed by delegation-level talks and “Joint Media Stakeout”. PM Imran will also host a state banquet in his honor. President Mirziyoyev will have separate meeting with President Arif Alvi.

The two sides would focus on enhancing political and strategic linkages; fast tracking trade, transit and economic ties; enhancing connectivity; and promoting educational and cultural collaboration. The Trans-Afghan Railway Project, connecting Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, will be a key area of deliberations. There will also be fruitful interaction with leading businessmen of the two countries.

Pakistan and Uzbekistan are linked through a common faith, shared history and cultural affinities. The two countries have been closely collaborating at regional and international fora, especially at the UN, OIC, ECO and SCO.

Prior to the president’s visit, the two sides are scheduled to hold the 7th Session of Joint Ministerial Commission and 2nd Joint Business Forum in Islamabad.

Pakistan has enhanced its engagement with Central Asian countries within the framework of “Vision Central Asia” policy, with five key strands: political and diplomatic, trade and investment, energy and connectivity, security and defence, and people-to-people relations.

The Pakistan-Uzbekistan relationship has witnessed an upward trajectory over the past few years. Premier Imran visited Uzbekistan in July 2021. The two leaders also met recently in Beijing on the sidelines of Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on 5 February 2022.

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Intermittent rain hits parts of country; Islamabad other areas feeling chilly weather

By

Sara Maqsood

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March 3, 2022

ISLAMABAD: The continuous intermittent rainfall has lashed parts of country today (Thursday) as the murcury gone down with having cold weather in Islamabad and other areas.

According to details, Lahore has witnessed light and heavy rain while weather in Islamabad, Okara, Jhang, Pir Mehal, Pakpattan and Bahawalpur also became cold after the rain.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted mainly cold and dry weather in most parts of the country. However, rain-wind/thunderstorm (snow over the hills) is likely in Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir.

Rainfall;
Balochistan: Barkhan 27, Zhob 05
Punjab: Chakwal 12, Kot Addu 09, Murree 07, Bahawalpur 06, Sargodha, Layyah 05, Rawalpindi (Chaklala 04, Shamsabad 03), Multan, Sahiwal, Okara 04, DG Khan 03, Jhang, Bahawalnagar, Toba Tek Singh 02, Mangla. Jhelum, Hafizabad, Joharabad, Khanewal, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan 01

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Parachinar 04, Saidu Sharif 03, Balakot, Kakul 01

Kashmir: Rawalakot 03, Garhi Dupatta 01 and Sindh: Jacobabad 02.

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Government working to ensure safety of Pakistanis stranded in Ukraine: Pak envoy

By

TNT Monitoring Desk

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February 25, 2022

KYIV: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Ukraine Dr Noel Israel Khokhar has said that the government is working to ensure the safe evacuation of all Pakistani nationals stranded in Ukraine.

The embassy said in a statement that 1,500 Pakistanis, including 500 students, are residing in Ukraine and have been asked to relocate to safer regions.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Embassy in Ukraine announced in a tweet that Ukraine’s airspace is closed while the Embassy is communicating with Pakistani students who were unable to leave earlier than advised.

In a tweet, the Pakistan Embassy in Ukraine stated that it is fully functional from Ternopil, Ukraine and provided contact details of the embassy.

The embassy can be reached on parepkyiv@gmail.com, while following are the mobile numbers the embassy can be contacted on.

+380636965523
+380636968264
+380638282984
+380664944004

Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed.

US and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government, which Putin regards as a puppet of the United States. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced along the shortest route to Kyiv from Belarus to the north.

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PM Imran returns after two-day visit to Russia

By

Nuzhat Aftab

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February 25, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan and his delegation reached Islamabad in the wee hours of Friday after completing two-day visit to Russia.

PM Imran Khan’s visit to Moscow was the first bilateral trip by a Pakistani prime minister after two decades, PM Imran Khan was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the members of his cabinet.

During his visit to Russia, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday held nearly three-hour long meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Kremlin in Moscow.

According to sources, the two leaders discussed matters relating to bilateral relations and other important affairs.

The two leaders reviewed the entire array of bilateral relations including economic and energy cooperation, particularly the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline. The regional situation including the developing scenario of Ukraine also came under discussion.

The Russian President also hosted a luncheon for Prime Minister Imran Khan. Earlier on his arrival at Kremlin, the Prime Minister was warmly received by Russian President.

The prime minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including federal ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Asad Umar, Hammad Azhar, Commerce Advisor Abdur Razzak Dawood, National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf and Member of the National Assembly Amir Mahmood Kiyani. This is the first bilateral visit by a Pakistani Prime Minister to Russia after a gap of 23 years and is being termed as a historic step to renew relations between the two countries.

Earlier, PM Imran Khan also laid a floral wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a war memorial dedicated to Soviet soldiers killed during World War II. The national anthems of Pakistan and Russia were played on the occasion as the prime minister observed a moment of silence in respect for the fallen troops.

PM Imran Khan’s visit to Moscow was the first bilateral trip by a Pakistani prime minister after two decades, PM Imran Khan was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the members of his cabinet.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also held a separate meeting with Deputy Prime Minister for Energy of Russia Alexander Novak, along with a delegation. During the meeting, matters pertaining to mutual cooperation in multiple fields came under discussion.

The Prime Minister regretted the latest situation between Russia and Ukraine and said that Pakistan had hoped diplomacy could avert a military conflict. He stressed that conflict was not in anyone’s interest, and that the developing countries were always hit the hardest economically in case of conflict.

PM Imran Khan underlined Pakistan’s belief that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Expressing concerns on rising trends of extremism and Islamophobia in the world, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for interfaith harmony and coexistence. Appreciating President Putin’s understanding of the respect and sensitivities that the Muslims attach to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), the Prime Minister said that inter-faith harmony and respect for all religions was imperative for peace and harmony within and among the societies.

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Noor Mukadam Murder: Court sentences Zahir Jaffer to death for murder of Noor

By

Tanzeel Ahmed

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February 24, 2022

ISLAMABAD: The Additional District and Sessions Court in Islamabad on Thursday sentenced primary suspect Zahir Jaffer to death for the murder of Noor Mukadam.

The court sentenced Zahir’s household staff Iftikhar and Jameel to 10 years in jail, while all others, including Zahir’s parents and TherapyWorks employees, were acquitted.

Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani announced the verdict, which was reserved on Tuesday following months of hearings.

Zahir, his father Zakir Jaffer, mother Asmat Adamjee and other suspects were present in the court when the verdict was announced.

It is worthy to bementioned here that Noor, 27, was found murdered at Jaffar’s residence in the capital’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20 last year. A first information report (FIR) was registered the same day against Zahir Jaffer — the primary accused who was arrested from the site of the murder — under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of the victim’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, who is a retired diplomat.

Ahead of the verdict today, Zahir was brought to the court along with the other co-accused — Zakir Jaffer (Zahir’s father), Iftikhar (watchman) and Jan Mohammad (gardener).

The lawyers, plaintiff Shaukat and other co-accused who are out on bail, including Therapy Works employees and Zahir’s mother Asmat Adamjee, also arrived at the court.

After the court marked the attendance of Therapy Works employees, the judge ordered for the courtroom to be emptied, saying he needed to speak to the defendants. The quartet of detained accused, including Zahir, were later sent back from the court once the judge was done with them.

After the FIR was registered in the case and Zahir was arrested, his parents and household staff were also taken into custody by police on July 24 over allegations of “hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime”. They were made a part of the investigation based on Noor’s father’s statement.

In his complaint, Shaukat had stated that he had gone to Rawalpindi on July 19 to buy a goat for Eidul Azha, while his wife had gone out to pick up clothes from her tailor. When he had returned home in the evening, the couple found their daughter Noor absent from their house in Islamabad.

They had found her cellphone number switched off and started a search for her. Sometime later, Noor had called her parents to inform them that she was travelling to Lahore with some friends and would return in a day or two, according to the FIR.

The complainant said he had later received a call from Zahir, whose family were their acquaintances. The suspect had informed Shaukat that Noor was not with him, the FIR said.

At around 10pm on July 20, the victim’s father had received a call from Kohsar police station, informing him that Noor had been murdered.

Police had subsequently taken the complainant to Zahir’s house in Sector F-7/4 where he discovered that his “daughter has been brutally murdered with a sharp-edged weapon and beheaded”, according to the FIR.

Shaukat, who identified his daughter’s body, has sought the maximum punishment under the law against Zahir for allegedly murdering his daughter.

Police later said that Zahir had confessed to killing Noor while his DNA test and fingerprints also showed his involvement in the murder.

Six officials of Therapy Works, whose employees had visited the site of the murder before police, were also nominated in the case and were indicted with six others, including Zahir Jaffer’s parents, in October.

Talking to the media after the last hearing, Noor’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, had said that he sought “maximum punishment” for the accused and reposed his confidence in Judge Ata Rabbani.

“He has conducted a fair and transparent trial,” Shaukat had said of the judge’s handling of the case, adding that he was “completely satisfied” with the investigation despite “some ups and downs” as he also commended the police for operating “under pressure”.

“It was a difficult time but I had full faith in my daughter. Noor Mukadam was a good girl and she was not involved in anything wrong,” Shaukat said.

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Bar associations reject PECA amendment ordinance

By

Tanzeel Ahmed

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February 22, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Bar associations on Tuesday rejected Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) amendment ordinance and Election Act and challenged both in court.

According to the details, the PECA ordinance and Election Act has been challenged in court of law.

The bar associations claimed that the amendment is just an agenda to silence those who believe in freedom of expression. The government is using such tactics to cover up its failures.

According to the notification, the bar associations said that the government should make counter policies to avoid spreading the fake news.

On the other hand, Sindh High Court Bar Association has passed a resolution condemning the amendment in Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016.

The resolution mentioned that the PECA Amendment Ordinance was issued in the dark of night. The President and the Law Minister negated the opinion of Parliament through ordinances.

The PECA Amendment Ordinance is another criminal act of the Ministry of Law. The ordinance is a manifestation of the dictatorship, it stated.

Earlier on February 20, President Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi had signed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) Amendment Bill and Election Act Amendment Ordinance (EAAO).

According to details, the PECA Amendment Act includes the definition of a person, which includes a person, a company, an association, an institution or an authority, while the amendment bill increases the imprisonment for attacking the identity of any person from 3 to 5 years.

As per the ordinance, the aggrieved party, who will be the representative or guardian of the complainant, has been declared a felony and the offense is non-bailable.

It is pertinent to mention here that the amendment bill states that the trial court will decide the case within six months and will submit the details of the case to the High Court every month.

The ordinance states that federal and provincial governments and officials will be asked to remove obstacles. The Chief Justice of each High Court will nominate a judge and officers for these cases.

Under the EAAO, the members of all assemblies, senates and local governments will be able to speak during the election campaign, and any public office holder and elected representative will be able to visit the constituency.

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Coronavirus Fifth Wave: Case count in Pakistan drops 1,000 in 1.5 months

By

Ishfaqullah Shawl

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February 22, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus fifth wave has shown some downward trend as during last 24 hours Pakistan reported less than 1,000 positive cases of the deadly virus.

According to latest figures of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed at National Coronavirus Dashboard the country reported 961 new cases and 13 more deaths on Tuesday morning.

NCOC reported that Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity rate fell to 2.51 per cent after 38,139 tested were conducted in last 24 hours out of which 961 people were tested positive.

The national COVID-19 body said that the new cases surfaced after it conducted 38,139 diagnostic tests countrywide during the last 24 hours.

The 961 new cases pushed Pakistan’s overall case count to 1,502,641. However, the active cases witnessed a further decline as 2,393 patients recovered overnight, pushing the country’s active case count down to 66,227.

Meanwhile, the country’s daily death count also dropped to 13, the lowest since January 24, when Pakistan reported only eight COVID-19 deaths in a single day.

The latest additions placed the total number of deaths Pakistan has reported since the pandemic to 30,053.

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Modern cricket stadium being constructed in Islamabad: Sheikh Rashid

By

Sara Maqsood

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February 22, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Tuesday announced that modern cricket stadium was being constructed besides setting up a new five-star hotel in Islamabad.

Addressing a press conference here, the minister said that Capital Development Authority (CDA) has also been directed to auction three plots in a prime location for setting up new modern hospitals. After the provision of health card by the government, the people were now getting free treatment from private hospitals resulting in ease of pressure on public sector hospitals in the federal capital, he added.

The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan would depart for Russia tomorrow on a historical visit after over two decades. We were going for issuing an E-Passport facility and the PM would inaugurate the launching of E-Passport after returning from Russia, he added.

He said Australian cricket team was also visiting Pakistan on February 27 after a long time and special arrangements were made for tight security in this regard.

Sheikh Rashid said the federal government was ready to provide more personnel of Ranger to the Sindh government, in case the provincial chief minister made the request as per the constitution. Even we were ready to deploy Ranger in police stations for maintenance of law and order in Karachi, he added.

He said 13 new passport offices besides 28 new NADRA offices were being set up across the country to facilitate the masses. He said the service of 1819 was also being restored along with modernizing service of Rescue 1122.

The minister said a high-level Service Centre of Police was being established at F-6 where 28 services would be provided to the citizen under one roof.

He said a scheduled conference of foreign ministers of OIC was also being held on March 22 and 23 in Islamabad and there would be a local holiday.

About the no-confidence motion of the opposition against the PM, the minister said Imran Khan would emerge victorious in this political battle and the opposition would face embarrassment like in the past.

Responding to a question, he said politicians never closed their doors for talks with others and PML-N top leadership met with PML-Q leaders after 14 years. Jahangir Tareen was a seasoned politician and in his personal views there was no harm to engage him, he observed.

To another question, he said Pak Armed forces rendered supreme sacrifices to defend the motherland and crush Pakistan’s enemies.

To a separate query, he said all out of order cameras of safe-city were being repaired. He advised the people to provide data to the concerned police stations before renting out their houses to tenants.

He said he would not comment on Mohsin Baig as the case was sub-judice in the court.

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ECC approves proposals of grants submitted by different Ministries, Divisions.

By

Palwasha Mustafa

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February 17, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Fayyaz Tarin presided over Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet held in Islamabad on Thursday.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam, Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Secretaries and senior officers attended the meeting.

ECC discussed in detail a summary presented by Ministry of Industries and Production regarding uninterrupted supply of oxygen gas in the country for medical purposes and approved duty and tax exemption to products/goods i.e oxygen gas, oxygen gas cylinder and cryogenic oxygen tanks for health sector up to June 2022 to cope with the fifth wave of Covid in the country.

ECC also considered and approved a summary submitted by Finance Division on expansion of Kamyab Pakistan Programme throughout Pakistan.

The ECC after deliberation on a summary presented by Ministry of Industries and Production on fixation of imported Urea price and approved the cost estimates for import of Urea amounting to Rs. 12.345 billion on cost sharing basis among the Federal and Provincial Governments on 50:50 basis.

The ECC also considered and gave principal approval on a summary presented by Ministry of Defence Production for extending the Defence Credit Line Facility of USD 50 million to Sri Lanka to enhance bilateral defence and security cooperation.

The Ministry of Industries and Production submitted a summary on grant of arrival/priority berthing of TCP’s Urea vessels at Karachi Port Trust (KPT).

Considering the urgent requirement of Urea in the country, the ECC approved the proposal.

The ECC also considered and approved a number of proposals of Supplementary/Technical Supplementary Grants submitted by different Ministries/Divisions.

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Sub-inspector martyred, another security officer injured in Islamabad encounter

By

Tanzeel Ahmed

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February 12, 2022

ISLAMABAD: One sub-inspector on Saturday has embraced martyrdom while another security officer sustained severe wounds in an encounter in Islamabad.

According to police officials, the police retaliated the fire of dacoits driving a car. As a result, one of the robbers was arrested.

The police have cordoned off the entire area and launched search operation to detain other suspects.

Moreover, Inspector General Islamabad has taken notice of the firing and sought report from Deputy Inspector General Operations as soon as possible.

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