ISLAMABAD: Torrential monsoon rains in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have inundated the streets and main roads, creating immense difficulties for the residents.
According to details, the contingents of Pakistan Army have arrived at the rain-hit areas after the authorities issued alert.122 millimeter rain has been recorded in different parts of the twin cities while the water level has also risen in Nullah Lai.
Meanwhile, heavy rains have also lashed Gujranwala and Sialkot.
As per Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), rain wind/thundershower (with Isolated heavy fall) is expected in Kashmir, Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Hot and humid weather is likely to prevail over other parts of the country.
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud arrived in Islamabad today (Tuesday) for a day-long visit at the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat was received by Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tahir Ashrafi at the Nur Khan Air Base.
The Foreign Office said that Prince Faisal is leading a delegation comprising senior officials of the Saudi government.
“During the visit, the two foreign ministers will exchange views on the entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional and international issues. The Saudi Foreign Minister will call on other dignitaries as well during the visit,” the Foreign Office had said about the visit.
The FO said that the visit holds “special significance in the backdrop of the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia in May 2021”.
Pakistan hopes that the visit will provide a timely opportunity to both countries to review the progress in bilateral cooperation.
“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long-standing and historic fraternal relations, rooted deep in common faith, shared history and mutual support. The relationship is marked by close cooperation in all fields and mutual collaboration on regional and international issues,” the FO said.
The FO hopes that Prince Faisal’s visit will reinforce the positive momentum in high-level exchanges and the deepening of bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.
BAGH: Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Vice-President, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has warned that her party would give a call for a sit-in at Shahrah-e-Dastoor (Constitution Avenue) in Islamabad if the July 25 Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections are rigged.
“We will not accept the results if elections are rigged,” she said while addressing a rally ahead of the polls in AJK’s Haveli.
“For how much did Sardar Tanvir Ilyas buy you (Imran Khan) and for how much did you try to buy the vote of Kashmiris through your new ATM?” she asked.
Maryam alleged that PM Imran Khan had “smuggled his new ATM” Ilyas to AJK from Islamabad. “Ilyas had bribed a government official by giving him Rs1 billion, think what he must’ve given to Imran Khan.”
The PML-N vice-president said “despite using government funds” for small rallies, the premier’s party was unable to attract people, and following their “public humiliation”, PTI candidates are asking PM Imran Khan to not come back into their constituencies.
“His candidates are saying don’t come back or we might not even get four votes,” she said.
Speaking about the Afghan ambassador’s daughter’s alleged abduction, Maryam said it was the PTI-led government’s “failure.”
AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, said he would not allow PM Imran Khan to rig the July elections.
“I have no personal grudge against Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur, but it is beyond my understand that it tomatoes and eggs are thrown at you, then you respond by firing at the people,” he said.
The AJK PM asked whether it was Bani Gala — PM Imran Khan’s resident — that the federal minister resorted to such actions. “I will present my case before the people of Kashmir.”
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has said that a two-day Peace conference on Afghanistan is being held in Islamabad on Saturday (tomorrow).
Responding to a host of questions during his weekly news briefing in Islamabad, he said the delegations from Afghanistan will start arriving in Pakistan on Friday.
The spokesperson said peace in Afghanistan is in Pakistan s interest as any security situation in the neighboring country has direct impact on our own security.
He said spoilers should not be allowed to exploit any security vacuum in Afghanistan.
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry said that Pakistan has been hosting over three million Afghan refugees for decades and now it is not possible to accept more refugees.
He said regional economic activity and connectivity are vital for peace and prosperity of the region, which is directly linked with tranquility in Afghanistan.
Replying to a question, he said Pakistan wants to reopen Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing with Afghanistan to facilitate cross border movement of the people.
ISLAMABAD: Chaired by Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, the Command and Staff Conference of Pakistan Navy was held at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad.
Matters related to geo strategic milieu, national security, operational preparedness, training and welfare of troops were reviewed.
The Naval Chief was also given briefings on various ongoing and future developmental projects of Pakistan Navy.
The forum reviewed evolving maritime security situation after US withdrawal from Afghanistan and reaffirmed solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) for the rightful struggle of self-determination.
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Dr. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has said that complete religious freedom as per constitution of Pakistan being enjoyed by the minorities in the country.
Addressing Paigham-e-Pakistan ceremony in Islamabad, the minister said minorities in Pakistan have a historical connection to this land and are the valuable citizens of this country.
Noor-ul-Haq Qadri said that Paigham-e-Pakistan document has been prepared after an extensive consultative process and hard work and it should be implemented with latter and spirit.
There is an exemplary interfaith harmony and sectarian unity in Pakistan due to prudent steps taken by the government taking all religious scholars and stakeholders on board, he added.
The Minister Religious Affairs said that elements who hurt the feelings of any religious class are enemies of Pakistan and Islam as well.
ISLAMABAD: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) medical team has arrived in Islamabad to start coordination meetings with Pakistani doctors for open heart surgeries of needy people.
During a coordination meeting it was announced that the team would work for the holding voluntary medical campaign for open heart surgeries and cardiac catheterization for children in Pakistan.
The Saudi medical team during its visit would meet Pakistani doctors to exchange ideas and coordinate for the implementation of the campaign and will also visit different Cardiac institutions, they said.
The campaign comes within the framework Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relief projects, represented by the KSReIief to alleviate the suffering of the Pakistani people during the current humanitarian crisis.
ISLAMABAD: “The Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood and his entire team deserve huge congratulations for announcing the single largest increase in the federal education development budget in over a decade. However, with merely 10 per cent of the development budget earmarked for school education, there is an immediate need to rationalize this division of funds.”
This statement was made by Ms. Areebah Shahid, Executive Director, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates (PYCA) in light of the recently announced education budget.
The federal government allocated a total of Rs. 140 billion for federal education for the fiscal year 2021-22, compared to the previous year’s Rs. 118 billion. A 44 per cent increase was also observed within the education development budget taking it to Rs. 48 billion during FY 2021-22 compared to the Rs. 34 billion allocated for education development initiatives during the last two fiscal years. While 10 per cent of the development funds will be spent on school education, 90 per cent have been earmarked for higher education.
“Although, after the 18th Amendment the primary responsibility of the federal government is higher education, however the schools in the federal area also come under its purview,” pointed out Hisham Khan, Program Coordinator at PYCA.
“An estimated 30,000 children remain out-of-school in the federal capital, making the current allocation of funds for school education inadequate to bring about any significant improvements in terms of greater enrolment, retention and improved learning among the most marginalized children.”
The need to prioritize school education has become all the more pronounced in the aftermath of the COVID-19 emergency.
Recent data emerging from Pakistan points at a potentially large exodus of children, especially girls from schools owing to the financial strain experienced at the household level.
At the same time, prolonged school closures have also contributed to huge learning losses among the most marginalize learners and any strategy to mitigate this situation will require additional and sustained funding over the next few years.
With these sobering realities threatening the educational future of thousands of the most marginalized children, the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood must empathetically review the situation and ensure that the educational needs of the most vulnerable young learners in the federal capital are not left unattended.
ISLAMABAD: A bid to smuggle 30 kilogrammes of heroin to the United Kingdom was foiled at Islamabad International Airport, customs officials said Monday.
The heroin, according to the customs officials, was being smuggled in a clothes’ consignment. The contraband was identified at the airport’s scanner.
The suspects were travelling to the UK via a foreign flight, the customs officials, said without naming which airline they were about to board.
Two people involved in the act have been arrested, they added.
ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi will inaugurate a two-day high level international conference at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, on the rise of Hindutva on July 06.
The Department of International Relations of National Defence University is organizing the conference under the title of “Institutionalization of Hindutva in India: A Regional Security Perspective” on July 06 & 07, 2021.
The mega academic huddle will be attended by eminent experts of international relations and scholars from leading universities across the globe and they will present their research papers on the topic.
Dr Khurram Iqbal, Head of Department of International Relations, who is also the chief organizer of the conference, said in a statement that the major focus of the conference is to examine global rise of far-right extremism, its manifestations in South Asia and how this new variant of fundamentalism termed “Hindutva” impacts regional security.
The West tends to examine “Islamic extremism” with a magnifying glass, while turning a blind eye to Hindutva and this is a regional security imperative to deliberate the rise of Saffron Extremism in India, he added.
Renowned scholars, including Prof Arie Kruglanski from University of Maryland-US, Prof. Xie Chao from Tsinghua University-China, Prof. Mezan Bin Aslam from Naif Arab University for Security Studies, Omid Babelian from University of Tehran, Prof. Lubna Abid Ali from National Defence University, Michel Kugelman from Woodrow Wilson Centre-US, Prof. Qiu Yonghui from Sichuan University-China, and many prominent South Asian experts will give presentation on the emerging regional security issue.
