ISLAMABAD: Russia lifts ban on import of Pakistani rice, as the ban was imposed two years back due to differences in the quality of rice.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Federal Minister for National Food Security Fakhar Imam said that the ban on the import of Pakistani rice was imposed two years ago due to differences in quality.
He said that there is a market of 2.5 million tonnes of Pakistani rice in Russia and Pakistan is exporting rice to 140 countries.
On the other hand, the Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said that Russia has initially given permission to four firms to export rice, while more companies will be allowed after inspection by Russian authorities.
“Breakthrough in rice exports! We are glad to share that Russia has allowed the import of Pakistan’s rice from 11 June 2021. Initially, 4 firms have been allowed & more will be allowed after virtual inspection by Russian Authorities which would be coordinated by DPP,” he wrote on Twitter.
ISLAMABAD: In making attempts to bring PPP and ANP back into the folds of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said that no party has the right to kick out another from the alliance.
The PML-N president was addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman after the two met today ahead of tomorrow’s much-awaited meeting of the alliance.
“No party has the right to bring or kick another party out [of the alliance]. PDM is a forum and decisions are taken with consensus,” said Shehbaz when asked about the PPP and ANP.
He also explained to reporters that when the consultations are completed and a decision is taken then the president of the alliance announces the future course of action.
When the reporters pressed the PML-N president about his stance on the two parties’ returns, he clarified that he does not have a “personal opinion” and whatever he says is always the “party’s opinion”.
The former Punjab CM also shared with the media personnel the agenda for tomorrow’s PDM meeting. He said that meeting that will be chaired by Maulana Fazlur Rehman will discuss the country’s political situation.
Shehbaz said the alliance will also discuss the budget that will be presented by the PTI government next month and the situation in Afghanistan.
The PML-N president also clarified on the PPP’s invite to the dinner party held for the Opposition by him.
Shehbaz said that his party had invited parliamentary leaders of all opposition parties to the dinner and the “PDM had no link with it”.
“We had invited parliamentary heads in NA and Senate and as I am the leader of the opposition and it was my responsibility,” said Shehbaz, adding that the dinner was held to discuss how the Opposition could adopt a “joint strategy” against the government ahead of their budget and exposed their “massive failures in all areas” in Parliament.
The Opposition leader then slammed that ruling party for their “failures”, saying that they speak about the state of Madina every day but do not implement “anything”.
Meanwhile, PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the Shehbaz had arrived at his residence to inquire about his health.
The former Punjab CM’s arrival at the PDM chief’s residence was expected.
Earlier today, it was reported that Shehbaz and Fazlur Rehman would meet to discuss the strategy and future course for the Opposition alliance.
The PDM is scheduled to hold an important meeting of party chiefs and take important decisions on whether the PPP and the ANP will be taken back into the alliance’s fold or not.
ISLAMABAD: President of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Volkan Bozkir on Thursday said that the UN’s inaction on the issue of Palestine is hurting its credibility.
Speaking at the National Defense University in Islamabad, Bozkir shed light on various issues, including Palestine, the Kashmir Issue, and the coronavirus pandemic.
“Inaction on the issue of Palestine, which is a grave matter, is damaging the credibility of the United Nations and the Security Council,” Bozkir said, adding that it is hoped that the Security Council will also hear a unanimous vote on this important and necessary issue.
“Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in blatant human rights abuses,” Bozkir said, adding, “Negotiations are urgently needed to establish two independent states. The UN General Assembly will not sit idly until peace is restored in the Middle East”.
The UNGA Secretary-General also spoke about the Kashmir issue and said that he is well-aware of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, adding that he knows who a common Pakistani feels about the issue.
“I have always urged the parties to refrain from changing the status of the disputed territory. I urge India and Pakistan to work for a peaceful solution to this problem,” he said, adding that peace, stability and prosperity hinge on the normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India through the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Bozkir also spoke about the coronavirus pandemic and said that the coronavirus vaccine is equally needed by rich and poor countries, adding that governments’ efforts are yielding results.
Regarding Afghanistan, Volkan Bozkir said that peace in the country is imperative for stability in the region.
“The Afghan peace process should be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led,” he said while appreciating Pakistan’s role in the peace process in Afghanistan.
It should be recalled that PGA Bozkir had reached Pakistan on a three-day visit at the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi a day ago (Wednesday, May 26).
He landed in the country after concluding his visit to Bangladesh. “After an important and fruitful official visit to Bangladesh, I arrived in Islamabad for my official visit to Pakistan,” Bozkir had said. “I look forward to my important meetings in Islamabad.”
Bozkir is the first Turkish national to preside over the UN General Assembly. He is a former diplomat and a senior politician.
Following his 39-year long illustrious diplomatic career in the Turkish Foreign Service, Bozkir was elected thrice as a member of the Turkish Parliament and has served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and EU Affairs minister.
He last visited Pakistan in August 2020 before taking up the position of president of the UNGA.
“The visit of the PGA would lend an opportunity to showcase Pakistan’s active contributions to multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations in international affairs,” the Foreign Office had said in a statement.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said that there are no US military bases in the country and neither is it considering any such proposal.
“There was no US military or air base in Pakistan, nor was any such proposal envisaged,” said the foreign office’s spokesperson in a statement.
The statement from the foreign office’s spokesperson comes a day after Afghan media reported that the US was constructing military airbases in Pakistan’s former tribal areas across the Durand Line.
“Any speculation on this account was baseless and irresponsible and should be avoided,” read his statement.
Pakistan provided bases to the US to operate drones at one time. Last time, President Arif Alvi had told Voice of America that his country won’t become “a base of US action in Afghanistan” after withdrawal of its troops from the neighbouring country in September.
“I think we should be careful in ensuring the fact that Pakistan doesn’t become a base of US action in Afghanistan of any sort,” President Alvi had said.
ISLAMABAD: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (RHC) will meet today (Wednesday) to sight the Shawwal moon. The meeting will take place in Islamabad under the chair of RHC Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, as per an earlier statement of the committee.
The meetings of zonal committees would take place in their respective areas, while the central committee would gather witnesses from across the country.
Azad has earlier stated his resolve to ensure that Eid is celebrated on the same day throughout Pakistan.
In Peshawar, the zonal RHC meeting will be held at the Auqaf Hall under the chair of Maulana Ehsaan. He is the chief of the Peshawar zonal RHC.
Maulana Ishaq, Qadri Abdul Rauf and Mufti Fazlullah Jan, Maulana Mohammad Ali Shah, Maulana Irshad Hussain and Maulana Abdul Baseer will also partake in the meeting.
Earlier, the Meteorological Department had said that Pakistan would observe Eid-ul-Fitr on Friday, as there was “no chance” of citing the Shawwal moon on May 12, Wednesday.
If the moon is not sighted on Wednesday — Ramadan 29 — then the holy month would extend to 30 days, and the festival of Eid will be celebrated on May 14 — Friday.
The weather department said the new moon of Shawwal would be born on crossing conjunction point at “00-01 PST on 12-05-2021.”
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore chapter has written a letter to its headquarters in Islamabad, asking it to place PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s name on the Exit-Control List (ECL).
The request was made to place Shehbaz Sharif’s name on the ECL the no-fly list as he is being investigated in an assets beyond means case and is accused of money laundering.
The former Punjab chief minister has denied all charges of wrongdoing. However, the interior ministry officials did not confirm receiving any letter from the NAB Headquarters on the issue.
NAB Lahore wrote a letter to the DG Operations NAB Headquarters on April 28, recommending that the PML-N president be placed on the ECL as there were several investigations against him, his sons Hamza Shehbaz, Suleman Shehbaz and others, sources said.
All of the above-mentioned are being probed in assets beyond means and money laundering cases.
According to a copy of the letter, NAB Lahore stated that via order dated 22-04-2021, the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted bail to the accused Shehbaz Sharif, whereas no orders regarding the placement of his name on the ECL or asking the PML-N leader to surrender his passport have been issued.
“As the presence of the accused is required to face the trial, it is recommended that the name of Mian Shehbaz Sharif be placed on the ECL for the smooth trial of the reference no 22/2020,” the letter read.
The letter further mentioned that the NAB Headquarter was earlier asked to place Shehbaz Sharif’s name on the ECL and whereas the Ministry of Interior was requested through letter No 3-1(1)285/L/WII/NAB/Dy Dir (ECL) dated 19.02.19 and resultantly Ministry of Interior vide letter No12/46/2019-ECL dated 21.02.2019 confirmed the placement of accused Shehbaz Sharif on the ECL.
The letter further stated that thereafter the accused Mian Shehbaz Sharif filed a writ petition with the LHC for removal of his name from the ECL and a subsequent LHC order set aside the memorandum of the Ministry of Interior.
The letter stated that in this regard another request for the placement of Shehbaz Sharif’s name on the ECL was forwarded to the NAB HQ in Islamabad.
In response, the prosecutor-general NAB HQ, in a letter, had conveyed that instead of placing the name of the accused on the ECL, it has approved to place, before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the material collected against the accused to place his name on the ECL.
The letter stated that a reference (ACR No 22/2020) has been filed against Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Mrs Nusrat Shehbaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Suleman Shehbaz, Muhammad Usman, and 11 others and the said reference was filed on August 20, 2020, on the allegations that the suspects had accumulated disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs7,328 million through dishonest means. It said the suspects were also guilty of the offence of money laundering, with the case pending before an accountability court in Lahore, Geo News reported.
The letter stated that the names of all persons except Shehbaz Sharif had been placed on the ECL and 11 other accused with Shehbaz Sharif were facing trial.
The letter further stated that five of the accused had been declared proclaimed offenders in the case.
ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has decided to extend closure of all educational institutions uptill 23rd of this month.
The decision to this effect was taken at the NCOC meeting held in Islamabad on Saturday.
According to a Tweet of NCOC, the decision has been taken in view of ongoing trends of disease. However, the review will be carried out in the next meeting of the NCOC to be held on 18th of this month.
Earlier Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had called for a united response to deal with the third wave of Covid-19.
In his tweets on Saturday, he had said the world community appreciated Pakistan for handling the first wave of coronavirus. He was confident that we will do it again together.
The Minister had said that the danger is higher than ever and there is a clear need to observe caution.
He said we realize that the mobility restrictions put in place from today till the 16th of this month are going to cause inconvenience. He, however, said these measures have been necessitated by the extremely dangerous situation which has been created in the region with the spread of virulent mutations of the virus.
Pakistan reported 120 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 854,240. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 18,797 on Saturday.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 4,109 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
ISLAMABAD: Capital Police have arrested a 25-year-old man in Islamabad for raping 20 women, including a woman constable, in the past six months.
The man not only raped the women, but cut their private parts with a sharp object too, according to a report.
The suspect, who hails from Azad Kashmir, used to sexually assault women in a forest near the Islamabad Highway.
Rukhsar Mehdi, a sub-divisional police officer in Islamabad, said that the suspect had been committing such heinous crimes for the past six months.
The officer said he used to conduct recce of women for two to three days before assaulting them.
The police came to know about him after a woman filed a complaint at the Koral police station. She said she was attacked and raped by an unidentified man in the forest, according to Mehdi.
The woman helped the police make the sketch of the attacker. It was then showed to several people in the area where the assaults took place.
A man saw the sketch and identified the attacker because he had also raped his three daughters, another investigator said.
According to Mehdi, at least three rape cases were reported within the limits of his police station. Other women have not yet filed their complaints.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad district administration has announced new restrictions for Eid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The restrictions are being implemented under the NCOC guidelines issued on April 29 and will be applicable from May 8 (Saturday) to May 16 (Sunday).
All markets, commercial activities, businesses, and shops will remain closed except the following: Medical stores and pharmacies, Vaccination Centres, Grocery stores, Vegetable and fruit shops, Meat shops, Bakeries, Petrol pumps, Takeaways and Utility services.
A ban has been imposed on all markets on Chaand Raat, including mehandi, jewelry and clothing stalls.
All tourist spots, picnic points, resorts, and hotels/restaurant will be closed including the following: Lake View Point, Faisal Mosque, Pakistan Monument, Murree Point, Peer Sohawa, Shrines, F-9 Park, Jasmine Garden, Damn-e-Koh, Rawal Dam, Shahdra Hill Station, Trails, Shakar Parian and Lok Virsa Centre.
All types of inter-provincial, inter-city, and intra-city public transport has been banned too. The ban will not be applicable to private vehicles, taxis/cabs, rickshaws with 50% occupancy.
ISLAMABAD: Coronavorus epidemic death toll across Pakistan has surged to 18,000 mark as the figure jumped to 18,070 while 4,414 new cases and 113 new deaths were reported during last 24 hours.
Authorities on Federal and Provincial level are asking people to follow the COVID-19 SOPs to avoid the consequences as country is lacking proper facilities. Hospitals arereaching to their capacity and there is only option left that people follow SOPs strictly or the Governmant impose curfew.
The authorities on Sunday have reported 113 new deaths in last 24 hours while the virus as 4,414 more people were tested positive that took the tally to 829,933 cases. During last 24 hours 113 new deaths were reported that took the toll of fatalities to 18,070.
According to latest figures displayed on National Coronavirus Dashboard of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the NCOC confirmed the death of 113 more people during last 24 hours besides reported that 4,414 persons tested positive for COVID-19.
Punjab have been declared worst hit province during this month as positivity rate of the province was witnessed over 11 per cent in some parts while the toll of infections reached to 304,889 in the province. Sindh has reported 284,738 overall coronavirus epidemic infections, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Punjab has overtaken Sindh in most number of casualties.
The new cases have taken the national tally of positive cases to 829,933 with 304,889 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 284,738 in Sindh, 119,277 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 75,892 in Islamabad, 22,528 in Balochistan, 17,297 in Azad Kashmir and 5,312 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Nationwide till of deaths surged to 18,070 out of that 8,550 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab 4,658 in Sindh, 3,350 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 691 in Islamabad, 477 in Azad Kashmir, 237 in Balochistan, and 107 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Pakistan has so far conducted 11,882,141 coronavirus tests and 45,275 in the last 24 hours. 722,202 patients have recovered in the country whereas 5,448 patients are in critical condition.
