ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday approved former president Asif Ali Zardari’s plea seeking exemption from personal appearance in the Park Lane reference.
Accountability Judge Azam Khan resumed the hearing of the case. Zardari’s lawyer, Farooq H Naek appeared before the court, requesting the judge to grant his client exemption from personal appearance in today’s hearing.
All co-accused, except one named Sher Ali, nominated in the case were in attendance in court. The court started recording testimony of witness Ahsan Aslam.
Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other accused face charges of corruption through fake bank accounts and embezzlement in the financial facility for Park Lane Private Limited and Parthenon (Pvt) Limited.
The Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, over Zardari’s alleged involvement in a loan and its misappropriation by Parthenon Private Limited.
A loan worth Rs 1.5 billion was taken from a bank and transferred to the company’s account in a private bank.
According to spokesman IIUI, Nasir Farid, the university shall reopen on Monday, November 02, 2020.
During this period disinfection shall be carried out in the campus, the spokesman added.
On the other hand, Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad has also been sealed for 14 days due to five positive coronavirus cases reported from different departments of university.
According to the notification, all academic and research activities are shifted online till 6th November, 2020. (With input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace, Kashmala Tariq will tie the knot with Waqas Khan, an Islamabad-based businessman, on October 31.
As per the details, the wedding arrangements are made different from the traditional wedding ceremony as a Mehfil-e-Milad will be arranged on October 29, Qawali on October 30, and wedding reception on October 31 in Islamabad.
Moreover, friends of Kashmala Tariq have arranged a function of ‘Dholki’ in Lahore for her and her would-be spouse Waqas Khan.
The family and friends of Kashmala Tariq are happy about her wedlock and express good wishes to her on a new journey of life.
ISLAMABAD: The capital Police has announced security high alert in Islamabad after today’s bomb blast at a seminary in Peshawar which claimed seven lives and injured over 100 of people.
A spokesperson of the capital city police in a statement informed that the I.G. Police Islamabad has directed to increase checking at the entry and exit points of the city.
“Security has been stepped up at the Red Zone and government and other buildings in the city,” police spokesman said.
The police chief has directed the DIG Police (Operations) and other department officers to personally inspect the security.
The I.G. Police has also instructed the officers to visit Imambargahs, religious seminaries to check the level of security. (With input from INP)
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday has welcomed formation of Pak-Afghan Trade and Investment Forum and hoped that the neighboring country will work with the elected government of Pakistan.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, the premier said peace in Afghanistan is important for promotion of trade and economic activities in the region which will bring prosperity and provide job opportunities to the people.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong determination to continue to play its role for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Referring to the belligerent posture of Indian government, Imran Khan expressed concern that India could use the Afghan land to destabilize Pakistan.
He, however, said our government has decided to strengthen relations with Afghanistan, no matter who is in power.
The prime minister said the government is giving priority to uplift the business community and take the country towards industrialization for wealth creation.
He said we are making efforts to enhance connections with the business community of Afghanistan in order to benefit from each other’s experiences and give impetus to the trade and economic relations.
ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar on Monday said that promotion of trade and economic links between Pakistan and Afghanistan would usher into new era of socio-economic development and would help bring people of the two sides closer.
He expressed these views while addressing the opening session of two-day seminar “Pakistan- Afghanistan trade and investment forum 2020” in Islamabad.
Speaker National Assembly said that 2,640 Kilometers Pak-Afghan border is not only the longest border that Pakistan shares with any of its neighboring country, it is also the thread which weaves our two nations into a historic tapestry of social, cultural, linguistic, economic, religious and fraternal ties.
He said that Pakistan values the common bond that binds Pakistan and Afghanistan together and it is important for the leadership of two sides to create harmony, develop understanding and build consensus amongst ourselves to seek solutions of our common problems.
He called for building a united front against the scourges of our time especially poverty and instability. He observed that Pakistan and Afghanistan are strategically significant trading partners however, trade between the two countries gradually declined and eliminating trade barriers along with facilitating traders would not only enhance the trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan but would also greatly contribute to poverty eradication and social uplift.
“Such initiatives will also increase employment opportunities for our people and decreasing Non-tariff barriers on both sides of the border will enhance mutual trade” Asad Qaisar said.
He pointed out that establishment of Pakistan-Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group and its Task forces for encouraging people-to-people contact and facilitate bilateral and transit trade is a manifestation of our commitment to improving bilateral economic engagement with Afghanistan.
He proposed formation of a taskforce to oversee the terms of negotiation of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) that is going to expire in year 2021 needs input from prliamentarians and institutional stakeholders from both sides of borders for a comprehensive future trade agreement. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment in terms of promoting Parliamentary diplomacy and said that
Pakistan is ready to play its role in mounting strong linkages for mutually beneficial trade relations with Afghanistan.
Addressing the participants, Speaker National Assembly remarked that a peaceful economic cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan and improved trade and transit facilities would help to connect Arabian Sea shipping lanes with Central Asia. He further remarked that Pakistan’s support for Afghan peace process and Intra-Afghan negotiations has been acknowledged by the Afghan Government as well as the international community and we reiterate our continued support for the peace process.
“The level of participation in this forum from both sides fills us with hope for the future of our relations” Asad Qasair said while expressing gratitude to the leader of Afghan delegation and other participants for attending seminar. He expressed the hope that seminar would go a long way boosting trade cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul and both sides would be able to build a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationships.
Speaker Wolsi Jirga (Afghan Parliament) Mir Rehman Rehmani applauded the efforts of Pakistani Government to support Afghanistan for bringing peace in Afghanistan.
He said that Afghanistan highly values its ties with Pakistan as both countries enjoys shared religious and cultural values and Afghanistan is proud of its close relations with Pakistan.
He remarked that there is a need to capitalize on potential of both countries as both countries have vast opportunities of trade and investment. He remarked that by mutual cooperation both countries can progress and develop together.
He appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan government to facilitate the Afghan transit trade as now it took just three days in clearance of container on border and opening new border points for trade would facilitate the traders.
He appreciated the Speaker Asad Qaiser for his efforts to organize this seminar and bringing the both nations closer.
The seminar was largely attended by parliamentarians, experts, trade chambers and people from different walks of life.
ISLAMABAD: Several streets of Federal Capital Islamabad have been identified as the Coronavirus hotspots and administration sealed all these streets to prevent spread of the COVID-19 from Sunday night.
Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat said that, “Only people with jobs in essential services and with negative COVID-19 certificates will be allowed to leave [the area].”
Following streets are being closed tonight for being identified as COVID-19 hot spots, St. 46 F-11/3, St. 23 F-11/2, St. 58 I-8/2, St. 57 I-8/3, St. 91 I-8/4, St. 10 Block D Media Town, St. 12 I-10/2, St. 33 G-11/2, St. 30 Pakistan Town Phase 1, St. 35 G-6/2
He said that the areas will be reopened once the health teams give clearance after completing testing, tracing and quarantine of suspected cases. Assistant commissioners will be coordinating to make sure that arrangements are in place.
The DC said that the “second wave [of coronavirus] is here” and asked the residents of Islamabad to stay follow SOPs.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, Islamabad has decided to shut down several wards after it noted a rise in coronavirus cases.
Entry to emergency services at the nephrology (kidney disease) ward has been stopped after seven doctors working in the ward tested positive for the virus.
The nephrology department also handles dialysis patients. The hospital administration has decided that patients who are residents of Islamabad will be given priority and patients from outside Islamabad can only avail emergency services.
Coronavirus tests will be mandatory for dialysis patients.
A total of 70 doctors and paramedical staff have been affected by the virus at the hospital. There are currently 18 coronavirus patients in the hospital’s isolation ward right now.
Experts have warned that Pakistan’s coronavirus cases are rising and cautioned that precautionary measures must be taken. As of Thursday, Pakistan reported 325,480 cases of the virus and 6,702 deaths.
Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court had said “Obeying the constitution is Patriotism”. He gave these remarks in the hearing of the Navy sailing club and Naval forms case.
This observation of the Federal Capital Court is very important in current circumstances. Earlier we were used to listening about the disappearances of social rights activists and journalists but now the government officers are also being missed from Islamabad. This indicates that we are surely not learning anything from our mistakes.
With this recent motorway rape incident and the news coming about child abuse from almost every part of the country, one can assume the state of our ‘state’. When Shahbaz Sharif government changed the uniforms of Punjab Police, at that time PM Imran Khan said that Shahbaz changed the police into postmen claiming that our government will bring police reforms in true sense.
But sadly, Imran’s promises are yet to be fulfilled. People only watched the continuous change of IGP’s and stay of untouchable Umer Sheikh on the seat of CCPO Lahore, even after the foolish remarks made by him about the victim of the rape incident.
Usman Buzdar another untouchable, is still the Chief Minister of the biggest province of Pakistan. The unqualified and illiterate political elite is sitting in the assemblies and governments corridors while unemployed educated youth is roaming on the roads. It seems that they are running the country on a day to day basis. Chief Justice of Pakistan has also indicated the inefficiency of the government a few weeks ago.
An issue which this government faced like the previous ones, is the economic mess. Every government takes loans from international monetary institutions but one seriously thinks that where does this money go? What are the reasons behind these weak economic conditions of Pakistan?
Every government puts the responsibility on its predecessors by calling them corrupt. But it is surely the mismanagement of the national treasury. It is stated fact that every government and its institutions use public money to buy vehicles and fuel. Millions are spent on the Parliament sessions, official residencies, and other government offices both on federal and provincial levels. There is a long list of target killing of the financial resources of the state machinery for its own luxuries.
We all know that politicians are very corrupt and not sincere with the country. They made offshore companies abroad. Of course, there is no comparison between the companies of dishonest politicians and some patriots. The people questioning or demanding investigations about these ‘Halal’ companies are stupid.
The alarming thing is that the hatred about some of the state institutions among the masses is increasing. It is a general fact that the power of every state and its institutions lies in public support. Now the majority of people are expressing grave concerns about some of the policies of the state and its handling of matters.
COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa pointed out the threats posed by the fifth generation warfare in the latest Corps Commanders Conference. It is now time to seriously look and figure out the causes of the suffusion of this hybrid war in our country. This might be the result of our own mistakes by not addressing concerns and issues of communities that made them vulnerable to hybrid warfare. Our brave armed forces are sacrificing their lives to defend the motherland from external enemies. We should seriously formulate a plan to counter the internal threats and save the reputation of protectors.
This is the dark side and it will become darker if we do not start thinking it now. For this, the state institutions have to avoid unnecessary controversies by obeying the constitution. As said by Justice Athar Minallah “Obeying the constitution is patriotism”.
KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, (PML-N), vice president, Maryam Nawaz while hitting out at Prime Minister Imran Khan said that a man was screaming and mourning his defeat and failure yesterday.
Maryam Nawaz was addressing the second rally of the Political Democratic Movement (PDM) in Karachi, the second power show of the conglomerate of major political parties.
Around 160 feet long and 60 feet wide stage had been placed in Karachi’s Jinnah Bagh while over 50,000 chairs have also been arranged to facilitate the participants.
Thousands of people assembled for the anti-government rally. People were seen waving opposition parties flag and raising slogans. This was the second power show of the 11-party opposition alliance PDM. The first was held in Gujranwala in Lahore.
The selected rulers have panicked after even first anti-government rally of the alliance (PDM), the PML-N vice president said that the fear of your [PM Imran] was visible from every word of your speech and actions, adding that this is the fear of the power of people that was witnessed by the entire nation on television screens.
“If there is no one to teach you [how to react under pressure] then you could have learned from Nawaz Sharif,” she asked Imran Khan critizing his address to Tiger Force in Islamabad.
Referring to PM Imran’s statement mockingly referred to her as a “nani”, Maryam Nawaz said, “Nani is the mother of the mother; you have disrespected this wonderful, beautiful relation.”
Lashing out at PM Imran, she said that children should not get involved in elders’ fights.
Talking to media before leaving to attend Karachi rally, Maryam Nawaz said that she and her party leaders are not afraid of being arrested.
The PML-N vice president said that campaign against the incumbent government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is getting decisive.
While responding to a question regarding Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s decision to not issue production orders, Maryam Nawaz said that those who think that VIP protocols are being given to the opposition leaders in jails are wrong.
Opposition leaders including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Maryam Nawaz, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Mohsin Dawar on Sunday arrived at Karachi’s Bagh-e-Jinnah for the second power show of the joint opposition front Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government.
