PDM decides to hold long march against PTI Government in December

November 7, 2021

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has decided to hold a long march against the PTI led Government in December.

An emergency meeting of the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has decided to launch protests in provincial capitals before going ahead with a long march towards Islamabad.

The decision was taken at the summit session of the PDM, convened on an urgent basis by the alliance’s president, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, to discuss the strategy of the alliance for a joint sitting of the Parliament on November 10 and rising inflation.

After the PDM meeting, PDM Secretary General Shahid Khaqan Abbasi issued a statement.

According to the statement, the PDM session was chaired by Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Leaders of all political parties participated in the meeting through video link. The overall political and economic situation of the country was discussed in the meeting.

The meeting discussed the worst inflation, NAB Ordinance, so-called electoral reforms in detail. The meeting also discussed in detail the internal and external issues facing the country.

Rejecting the worst increase in prices of electricity, gas, petrol, sugar and other essential commodities, the meeting strongly condemned the worst inflation in the country.

According to the statement, the PDM agreed to launch a decisive movement against the government s anti-people sentiments. The meeting decided to hold massive protest rallies in the provincial capitals.

The Opposition alliance held a virtual meeting in which it decided to hold protests in Karachi on November 13, in Quetta on Nov 17, and in Peshawar on Nov 20.

The statement further mentioned that the first rally against the government over rising inflation would be held in Karachi on November 13. The second would be held in Quetta on November 17, and the thirds in Peshawar November 20.

After the final rally in Lahore, there would a long march on Islamabad in December, according to the PDM statement.

It may be recalled that a few days ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the nation had said that it was inevitable to increase the prices of petroleum products otherwise the deficit would increase.

A day after the speech, the federal government sharply increased the prices of petroleum products. The price of petrol was increased by more than Rs 8 per liter.

Advertisment

Govt plans to increase petroleum levy on POL prices: Shaukat Tarin

Sara Maqsood

November 7, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Government under the special instructions from International Monetary Fund (IMF) will have to increase petroleum development levy on petroleum products, Finance Adviser Shaukat Tarin said.

Just a couple of days after the federal government jacked up prices of petroleum products, it again has expressed the intention to increase the petroleum development levy on petroleum products in the coming days.

“The International Monetary Fund [IMF] has also asked to increase the petroleum development levy [PDL] but it will depend on the global prices of petroleum products,” Shaukat Tarin said.

“If the global price of oil goes down, it will be easy for the government to increase the PDL”, he said.

Tarin said the prices of petroleum products were increased because they were directly linked with the international market, where the prices touched their peak in the last several years.

When and how the government cranks up the PDL depends upon the oil prices in the international market, the finance adviser said.

Ruling out any deadlock in the talks with the IMF, Tarin said there is a single irritant regarding the autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) being currently negotiated upon which will hopefully be resolved in the coming days.

The adviser declined to comment on the issue regarding the SBP’s autonomy. However, he said the IMF officials have appreciated Pakistan’s objections to the SBP’s autonomy draft which the country [sort of] agreed to in March.

Commenting on the IMF’s condition regarding income tax, Tarin said Pakistan will not go for pyramiding as the country is getting good results on the revenue side.

Pakistan went food deficient and had to import food items which led to the hike in food prices, he said, adding that the global prices of steel, coal and palm oil have gone up and the country has to import them. He said the situation was not the same six to seven months back when petrol, which has recently shot up to $87, was being sold at $45 to $50.

The government has announced a subsidy as part of relief to the poor, he said, adding that the government is making efforts to enhance agricultural produce.

The government is doing all it can to increase agricultural produce, Tarin said, adding that the country got a good sugarcane crop this year which will ultimately help reduce the price of sugar. He also expressed optimism on the increased production of wheat and other staple crops, saying it will ultimately push down food prices.

Imported sugar is in abundant quantity in the country but its price went up because sugar mill owners and dealers hoarded the commodity and got a stay order from the court, he said. The adviser said sugar will sell at around Rs90/kilogramme once the stay order is lifted.

Replying to a question regarding the effective government control on food items, he said that after the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment it was the prerogative of the provinces to fix the prices of food items.

The PTI government is trying to reduce the circular debt without putting the burden on the common people, he said.

Tarin said Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a huge economic relief package for the poor of the country in this difficult time as the government is taking some concrete measures to reduce inflation.

Tarin said the government is considering reducing the import of CBUs, ie Completely Built Units, to reduce the import bill. The government will also try to reduce the import of non-essential items.

Advertisment

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s special envoy on Kashmir due today in Islamabad

Nuzhat Aftab

November 7, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Yousef Aldobeay, Special Envoy of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Jammu and Kashmir, will arrive on a six-day visit today on Sunday.

Ambassador Yousef Aldobeay during his six-day visit will also tour Azad Jammu Kashmir besides his stay in Pakistan.

Ambassador Aldobeay will be accompanied by a delegation comprising OIC’s Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Tarig Bakhit, and other senior officials.

During the visit, the Special Envoy will hold discussions on peace and security in occupied Kashmir and the human rights and humanitarian situation. “His visit will reinforce the centrality of a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to lasting peace in South Asia,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday.

The special envoy will interact with a cross-section of people from the Kashmiri society, including their true representatives. The delegation will visit a model village housing Kashmiris forced to flee their homes by the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir and meet victims of India’s cross-Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire violations.

Ambassador Yousef Aldobeay will interact with a cross-section of people from Kashmiri society

These engagements will provide the special envoy a first-hand account of the gravity of the situation on the ground in occupied Kashmir and along the LoC.

The presence of the assistant secretary general is particularly significant to follow up on the OIC’s call at the 47th session of the Council of Ministers in Niamey, Niger in November last year, to examine and analyse the egregious violations of international human rights and humanitarian standards in occupied Kashmir with particular reference to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Established by the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in 2019, the OIC’s Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir has played an important leadership role in steering the Organisation’s principled position on this issue.

Special Envoy Aldobeay earlier visited Pakistan and AJK in March last year. He presented his first report to the 47th CFM, in Niamey. The report, inter alia, reaffirmed the OIC’s support to the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their inalienable right to self-determination and recommended intensifying coordination between OIC member states to support the Kashmir dispute at international forums.

As part of its broad-based and comprehensive engagement on the Kashmir dispute, the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir at the level of foreign ministers also met on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, on Sept 23, 2021. The joint communiqué adopted on the occasion affirmed the OIC’s unequivocal support to the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination as enshrined in UN Security Council resolutions and firmly repudiated India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 and all subsequent steps. A delegation from the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission also visited Pakistan and AJK in August this year.

Pakistan greatly values the OIC’s principled and steadfast stance on the Kashmir dispute. As a collective voice of over 1.2 billion Muslims across the world, the OIC has led the way on this critical issue for the Ummah.

Advertisment

Coronavirus Pandemic: Pakistan reports 515 coronavirus cases, 11 deaths in 24 hours

Ishfaqullah Shawl

November 5, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus epidemic is still going to lowest as during last 24 hours Pakistan has reported 11 deaths by the deadly virus and 515 more people were tested positive.

According to the latest figures appeared on National Coronavirus Dashboard of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 515 new infections were confirmed by the authorities that took the overall toll of positive cases to 1,275, 673.
eleven (11) more deaths were reported nationwide taking the overall tally of fatalities to 28,507 on Friday morning.

Giving the province wise figures by the NCOC it was stated that Punjab province remains the worst-hit province in terms of deaths followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Confirming the overall country-wide figure of positive cases 1,275,673, the NCOC stated that 471,205 coronavirus positive cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 440,788 in Punjab, 178,427 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 107,063 in Islamabad, 34,491 in Azad Kashmir, 33,307 in Balochistan and 10,392 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 21,011,048 coronavirus tests and 44,148 in the last 24 hours. 1,224,425 patients have recovered in the country whereas 1,229 patients are in critical condition.

The COVID-19 positivity ratio was recorded at 1.16 per cent.

So far, 71,907,993 people have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine including 579,686 in last 24 hours. 41,902,093 citizens have been fully vaccinated while 579,686 received their second dose in last 24 hours.

The number of total administered doses has reached to 106,984,156 with 1,102,224 in the last 24 hours.

Advertisment

GSP Plus Status: European Parliamentarians ask Pakistan to implement 27 conditions

Nuzhat Aftab

November 5, 2021

ISLAMABAD: European Parliamentarians have told Pakistan to ensure fulfilling of its commitment to implement 27 conditions regarding the Generalized Scheme of Preferences- Plus (GSP+).

The visiting Parliamentarians have conveyed to Islamabad that the European Union (EU) wishes to remain a reliable partner of Pakistan provided Islamabad fulfills its commitment to implement 27 conditions.

“The Parliamentarians underlined the need that EU wishes to remain a reliable partner of Pakistan and continue to support all efforts towards the improvement of human rights, freedom of expression, the rule of law and strengthening democratic institutions,” MEPs said in their meetings with key ministers and policymakers.

A Group of European Parliamentarians visited Federal Capital on November 3 and 4, during which they hold meetings with hig government officials.

Pakistan has benefitted from the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP+) Scheme since 2014. The Parliamentairna have noted with satisfaction the progress made so far, such as the adoption of relevant legislation, but cautioned that there were still some areas of concern and that the GSP Plus should not be taken for granted.

As the EU prepares new GSP legislation, likely to include more global conventions on human rights and rule of law, more concrete steps are needed in these areas to ensure that Pakistan can continue benefiting from that favorable trade scheme if it decides to re-apply under the new legislation.

According to the EU’s announcement, MEPs underlined that the active participation and contribution of civil society organizations is considered vital in that process and that space for their activities must be guaranteed.

The European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with South Asia, which covers relations with Pakistan, and other five countries in the region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka), paid an official visit to Islamabad on 3rd and 4th November 2021, on the occasion of the 12th inter-parliamentary meeting between the European Parliament and the National Assembly of Pakistan.

The MEPs met with the speaker of the National Assembly, the deputy chairman of the Senate, the minister of foreign affairs, the minister for law and justice, the prime minister’s Adviser on Commerce, the Attorney General of Pakistan, the governor of Punjab, with prominent Members of Parliament, with civil society organisations and with representatives of the media.

The meetings focused on issues of common interest, such as the state of EU-Pakistan cooperation in a number of fields, bilateral trade and GSP+, climate change, regional issues, good governance and the rule of law,freedom of religion, freedom of the press and the situation of minorities.

Earlier this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concern about the human rights situation in Pakistan. This visit offered the opportunity to assess the situation together with Pakistani interlocutors from the Parliament, Government and civil society and to gather first-hand information. The MEPs were encouraged to learn about relevant human rights-related legislation introduced in Parliament but expressed concern over the issue of blasphemy laws and rights of religious minorities. MEPs underline the importance of guaranteeing freedom of expression, and expressed concern about the shrinking space for media. Freedom of the press is a pillar of any democratic system. Censorship and harassment of journalists are not acceptable. The MEPs also reiterated their strong opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and took note of the de facto moratorium that has been applied over the past three years.

The European delegation took note of Pakistan’s relevant role as regards developments in Afghanistan. The close historic and cultural ties with Afghanistan and the privileged contacts with the Taliban are an important tool in trying to address the risk of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan. While recalling the EU’s benchmarks for engagement with Kabul, MEPs expressed their appreciation for the role of Pakistan in helping channel humanitarian aid and in facilitating the relocation of vulnerable Afghans to numerous countries of the international community.

The Pakistani side assured that Islamabad is committed to the full implementation of the UN conventions related to GSP Plus.

Advertisment

KC-EU’s Chair Ali Raza Syed meets AJK Premier Niazi

Our Correspondent

November 1, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Kashmir Council Europe (KC-EU) Ali Raza Syed met Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi.

The two sides discussed efforts for Kashmir issue in Europe in meeting which took place at Kashmir house in Islamabad.

Sardar Qayyum Niazi said, India could not decrease spirit of the Kashmiris who are doing unmatched sacrificing for last seven decades. He said, International community should pressurize India for a peaceful resolution of Kashir issue which is essential for peace in the region.

Overseas Kashmiris have also duty to uncover the real dirty and brutal face of India.

AJK Premir also praised the efforts of KC-EU headed by its chairman Ali Raza Syed for raising Kashmir issue in Europe and said that we regard the valuable struggle of Kashmir Council EU in Europe.

Abdul Qayyum Niazi said, Kashmir is main cause of tension in the region and dream of regional peace can not be fulfilled until resolution of Kashmir issue.

Ali Raza Syed said, India is committing war crimes in occupied Kashmir and our organization (KC-EU) raises the issue of violations of human rights of Kashmiris in Europe.

Chair of KC-EU also presented a report about the ongoing activities of KC-EU in Europe and said, KC-EU will continue its efforts.

AJK PM appreciated all overseas Kashmir including KC-EU for working on Kashmir issue in abroad.

Advertisment

Over 10 children sexually abused daily in Pakistan: report

Sara Maqsood

October 31, 2021

ISLAMABAD: More than 10 children were subjected to sexual abuse across Pakistan on average every day between, revealed a report issued by child protection organization Sahil.

The report issued by Sahil, titled as “Six Months Cruel Numbers 2021”, states that the average number of children subjected to abuse has increased by two children per day in comparison with the last year’s January-June report.

Sahil’s latest report states that the average number of child abuse victims increased by two per day as compared to last year’s biannual report.

81 daily national and regional newspapers were monitored between January and June to collect data on child abuse.

Report says that children from the age group 6-15 are most vulnerable to abuse. “This year, 81 daily national and regional newspapers were monitored during January-June 2021 to collect data on Child Sexual Abuse, Abduction, Missing Children, and the cases of Early Forced Marriages,” read the report.

The data collected from all four provinces of Pakistan including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), besides Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit Baltistan (GB), showed that a total of 1,896 cases of child abuse were reported in the period.

Of these, 1,084 cases were of sexual abuse against children, 523 were cases of abduction, 238 cases of missing children, and 51 cases of child marriages.

The report further states that 53% (1,013) of the victims were girls and (883) 47% were boys. It reveals that “children from the age group 6-15 are most vulnerable to abuse”.

As many as 640 children from the age bracket 11-15 years and 409 children from the age bracket 6-10 fell prey to different types abuse during the last six months, the report adds.

According to the report, in 1,045 cases, the abusers were acquaintances, while they were strangers in 430 cases, relatives in 49 cases, female abettors in 47 cases, seminary/school teachers in 38 cases, neighbors in 37 cases, and family members in 32 cases.

In addition to this, the data reveals that 60% of the total cases were reported from Punjab and 6% from the ICT.

The rest of the cases were reported from other provinces — 26% from Sindh, 5% from KPK, and 3% from Balochistan, and AJK & GB.

Of the total cases, 58% were reported from rural areas and 42% cases from urban areas.

Sahil has been working since 1996 on child protection, especially against child sexual abuse (CSA).

Sahil aims to develop a society and environment where every child should be safe, secure, and protected from abuse, especially from sexual abuse.

Advertisment

Coronavirus Pandemic: Pakistan reports 706 new cases, 9 deaths in 24 hours

Ishfaqullah Shawl

October 28, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus epdemic is continuously showing downward trends across Pakistan as during last 24 hours country reported 9 deaths along side 706 people have been tested positive of novel coronavirus.

According to the latest figures displayed on National Coronavirus Dashboard of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 706 new positive cases for COVID-19 were reported past 24 hours that took the tally of positive cases to 1,271,027. Nine new deaths were reported in the country taking the death toll to 28,414 on Thursday morning.

As per the figures shown by NCOC in province-wise breakdown of the killer virus epidemic Punjab province remains the worst-hit province in terms of deaths followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

NCOC in its detailed province wise figures has reported 28,414 total deaths across the country out of which 12,904 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab 7,557 in Sindh 5,733 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 938 in Islamabad, 740 in Azad Kashmir, 356 in Balochistan, and 186 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As far the overall positive cases are concerned the tally jumped to 1,271,027 out of which 468,776 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 439,653 in Punjab 177,723 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 106,813 in Islamabad, 34,455 in Azad Kashmir 33,220 in Balochistan and 10,387 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 20,660,167 coronavirus tests and 49,486 in the last 24 hours. 1,219,174 patients have recovered in the country whereas 1,408 patients are in critical condition.

The COVID-19 positivity ratio was recorded at 1.42 per cent.

So far, 69,341,110 people have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine including 301,581 in last 24 hours. 39,303,110 citizens have been fully vaccinated while 327,948 received their second dose in last 24 hours.

The number of total administered doses has reached to 102,067,945 with 603,182 in the last 24 hours.

Advertisment

Tough competition expected between Khosa, Bhoon in SCBA polls

Asifa Farhat

October 28, 2021

LAHORE: A nail-biting one-on-one contest is expected between Latif Khosa of Hamid Khan-led Professional Group and Ahsan Bhoon of the Independent Group, known as the late Asma Jehangir Group for the slot of the president during the annual elections of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

All arrangements have been completed as polling stations have been set up in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan and Bahawalpur. As many as 3,121 eligible voters will exercise their franchise in the election.

The highest number of voters in the elections is 1,267 in Lahore. A total of 14 candidates will contest for 5 seats.

It is pertinent to mention here that both the presidential candidates are determined to win. They said the welfare of lawyers and supremacy of the Constitution is their manifesto.

Chaudhry Imtiaz Kambho, Chaudhry Ibrahim, Khawar Ikram Bhatti and Sabteen Akhtar Bukhari are contesting for vice president of Punjab chapter seat. There are three candidates for the post of secretary. They are Hammad Waqar Walana, Muqtidar Akhtar Shabbir and Wasim Mumtaz Malik.

Advertisment

Fazlur Rehman says considering boycott of local govt elections in KP

Sara Maqsood

October 28, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Demanding fresh general elections in the country, JUI-F chief and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that they were considering to boycott the upcoming local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Fazlur Rehman said, “Local governments elected under a government which came to power through rigged elections are not acceptable.”

Raising questions over the intentions of the PTI-led federal government, the JUI-F chief asked that why the local body polls were going to be held when the Election Commission of Pakistan was saying that it was verifying voter lists.

“It means the election commission has admitted that there is something wrong in voter lists,” he said.

He stated that the JUI-F was consulting legal and constitutional experts on the issue to finalise the future course of action in this regard, adding that they will also discuss it with other PDM parties before announcing the decision.

On Oct 25, the ECP had announced that in the first phase, 17 districts of the province would go to the polls on December 19 and the candidates will start submitting their nomination papers from November 4.

Talking about the protest of the banned organization, the JUI-F chief said that regardless of the debate whether the TLP’s demands are justified or not, it is their democratic right to record their protest.

“I call upon the government to resolve the issue in a democratic and decent way,” he said. He said how the demonstrations of the same organisation against the Nawaz Sharif government were legal and their protest against Imran Khan was illegal.

“The government is labelling the TLP as a terrorist and extremist party because it is a religious party,” he said.

Fazl reminded the government that it was Imran Khan who staged a 126-day sit-in at D-Chowk of Islamabad and is now denying this democratic right to the TLP activists. He said that according to reports, 10 to 12 people were martyred in Lahore while several injured near Sadhuki on Wednesday.

Earlier on Sunday, JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had said that the government which “gave birth to rigging” in the elections had “no right and reason” to hold local government elections in the country,

The PDM president had said that the alliance wanted free and fair elections at the earliest.

“Saving the nation and country from this government is tantamount to sympathy towards the nation and is the need of the hour,” Fazl had said. He had claimed that people are turning up in huge numbers to the PDM-led anti-inflation protests being held across the country. “The incumbent government is illegal, incompetent, and cruel, and it has been imposed on the nation,” he had added.

Advertisment

1...636465...119 Page 64 of 119

Tag: islamabad

Adblock Detected!