Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has inaugurated the ‘Governor House Café’ that is set up in a double-decker bus inside the Governor House in Lahore.
The restaurant, which will be open for the public, has been established in a double-decker bus. While the lower portion of the bus houses the kitchen, the upper section has the sitting area. According to details, the governor and his wife had lunch with the kids under the care of Sarwar Foundation at the inauguration.
Thanks to our Founder M.Sarwar of #SarwarFdn for joining the launch of our #WinterAppeal.Enjoyed breakfast with the children from Fountain House,in Governor House Cafe,all the kids will be provided with winter jackets.Huge Thanks to our donors for the first 10,000 jackets.#Kidspic.twitter.com/pONRAmQpOZ
Aas per reports, the café will remain open for the public and families from 11 am to 6 pm.
Chaudhry Sarwar’s wife Perveen, while talking to the media, said that only a few children were invited for the opening ceremony because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She added: “We have received a lot of donations and we will use them for their (children) benefit only”.
In addition to the café, Sarwar also inaugurated Quran Garden, Corona Heroes Wall and Souvenir Shop at the Governor House as well.
Twitterati are training guns at Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar’s aide Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan for saying that the Sharifs were “parceling the body of their mother back to Pakistan through cargo”.
Begum Shamim Akhtar, 90, breathed her last in London on Sunday and her dead body is being brought back to Pakistan. According to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb, her funeral prayers will be offered on Saturday at the Sharif Medical City in Raiwind.
“It is painful to see how those who used chartered flights to transfer cuisines are now parceling their mother’s body back to the country through cargo,” she was heard as saying during an informal media talk.
With the government spokesperson also tweeting the same, her statement didn’t set very well with a number of netizens, who said:
آپا یہ آپ کا مسئلہ تو نہیں نہ ھی کومت(حکومت) کا مسئلہ ھے کومت کا مسئلہ اس وقت صرف عوامی مسائل اور ملک کو درپیش چیلنجز کو حل کرنا ھونا چاھیے اس لئے ادھر ادھر فضول معاملات میں یئیں یئیں کرنے سے بہتر ھے عہدے کا درست استعمال کریں
I am greatly perturbed by Firdaus Ashiq Awan’s & various PTI supporters’ nasty remarks about the Sharifs sending their mother’s coffin in Cargo . This not only shows height of insensitivity & heartlessness but also ignorance on their part 1/2
Meanwhile, Qul would be held on November 29 which would be attended only by members of the Sharif family.
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and President Shehbaz Sharif have appealed to the people and workers to offer Fateha for their mother on the day of Qul in their respective areas.
Pakistan has joined the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) as a founding member.
The organisation has been established under an initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that has also invited other countries to join as founding members, including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and the UAE.
The organisation was launched at a virtual event on Thursday, hosted by Saudi Arabia Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha. Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi participated with a video statement.
The foreign minister noted that the creation of DCO would cater to the growing need for international cooperation and collaboration in the digital domain at a time when the digital economy is estimated to be worth over $11 trillion and set to expand further in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organisation will offer a platform to promote the global digital agenda in the scientific, health, educational, commercial, social, agricultural, investment and security spheres.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has claimed that she was given “rat-infested food” by Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail staff during her imprisonment.
In a conversation with journalists at Jati Umrah, the PML-N leader claimed that not only her food was contaminated, but she was also provided with medications that were rotten due to fungus. “They were not fit for use at all,” she claimed.
Maryam, whose popularity has quadrupled since the disqualification of her father ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a corruption case, has gone to jail twice — once after conviction in the Avenfield case, second time was her alleged involvement in a sugar mills scam.
The new accusations against the government came a fortnight after the PML-N VP claimed that cameras were installed in her jail room to humiliate her. The politician had said that if she revealed the details about how she and other female inmates were treated during detention, “they” will find no place to hide their faces.
“I don’t want to hide behind these incidents at all. I’m struggling today, so I don’t want to show that I was affected; I don’t want to cry today that I have been abused,” she had said.
Responding to the claim that Maryam was fed contaminated food, PM’s aide on accountability Shahzad Akbar accused the PML-N leader of concealing the truth. He said: “It’s on record that the food Maryam used to get in jail came from her home.” He said either Maryam is lying about it or the Sharifs’ residence is infested with rats.
یہ ریکارڈ کی بات ہے کہ ان خاتون نے ایک دن بھی جیل کا اٹھانا نہیں کھایا اور کھانا ہمیشہ گھر سے آتا تھا اب سوال یہ بنتا ہے کہ یا تو چوہا گھر کا تھا یا خاندانی روایت کے مطابق پھر جھوٹ بول رہی ہیں ویسے “شریف” چوہے لگتے ہیں جو کھانا چھوڑ دیتے تھے ! https://t.co/JqDNdRnWg6
On July 6, 2018, Maryam was sentenced to seven years in jail by the NAB on corruption charges in the Avenfield reference case.
The court had held that trust deeds presented by Maryam before the apex court were fake and had been tampered with. As a result, she was disqualified from contesting elections for 10 years.
The next day, Maryam announced that she would return to Pakistan on July 13 to file an appeal against the decision. The same day, NAB announced to arrest her and Nawaz Sharif upon their arrival in Pakistan.
She, along with her father, was taken into custody on July 13 upon their arrival at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport and were airlifted to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
On July 26, she challenged her sentence in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and filed a petition for bail. The next day, the court rejected her request for release on bail and adjourned the hearing till the end of the 2018 general election on July 25.
While she was released following the suspension of the verdict against her father, husband and herself by the IHC, Maryam was once again arrested in August 2019 over Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption charges; this time upon her arrival at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore to see Nawaz, who was serving his sentence in a separate corruption case.
In November 2019, Maryam was released on bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Islamabadis are in for a treat as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) plans to open a drive-in cinema in the city next month.
Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat shared the news while responding to a Twitter user, who suggested that a car cinema should be opened in Islamabad given the rise in COVID-19 cases.
“Sir given, we have Covid-19 on the rise and there can’t be any big gathering in the city, how about DC office plan a car theatre every weekend in F9 until things are back to normal. Food vendors can put stalls and serve in cars,” said Twitter user Faizan Khan.
Replying to his tweet, DC Islamabad hinted that the Islamabad administration is planning to launch a car cinema next month.
Later, the official Twitter account of CDA Islamabad tweeted that that authority is working towards setting up an “open-air cinema of international standards” in the city.
In view of current situation, cinema will be prepared while implementing Corona SOPs. Citizens will be able to enjoy cinema by sitting in their cars in view of Corona concerns. #CDA#driveinislamabad#atyourservice
— Capital Development Authority, Islamabad. (@CDAthecapital) November 25, 2020
Drive-in cinemas have gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as people are forced to maintain physical distance. Several countries around the world have set up car cinemas to keep their citizens entertained during the lockdown while following SOPs.
International airport in LithuaniaDortmund, Germany Marl, GermanyMall of the Emirates, DubaiAustin, TexasSeoul, South Korea A technical museum in Speyer, Germany
Whopping losses of Rs122 billion were inflicted to the national exchequer in the petroleum sector alone due to fallout of illogical delays and misguided decisions, but the prime minister (PM) and his teammates are not prepared to disclose as to who benefitted from the damage, journalist Shahzeb Khanzada has claimed.
During his show on Geo News, the journalist claimed deliberate falsehood was spread in the media by ministers and the special advisers who, instead of owning the decisions, hold the media, bureaucracy or the past governments responsible.
While he also accused the government of losing taxpayers’ money to the tune of Rs400 billion in wheat and sugar scandals and taking no action against the ministers responsible, Khanzada raised the question about delayed purchase of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in August and September.
“In July, the LNG was available at 5.7 per cent for August but the government instead of timely tender purchased the commodity in August at the inflated rates of 9.3 per cent that turned out to be $5 million more expensive and the next bid further heaped a loss of $2.5 million. The same was repeated in the purchase of LNG for September in August.”
He said it was available at 6.9 per cent but the timely decision was delayed and then suddenly in September it was decided to purchase the cargo which cost 10.8 per cent. These two cargos alone cost the country Rs1.5 billion. When Special Adviser to Prime Minister (SAPM) Nadeem Babar was asked about it, he blamed K-Electric and accused it of suddenly raising the August and September demand instead of raising advance warning of depleting stocks.
When Federal Minister for Power and Petroleum Omar Ayub was asked if he did not know of the required demand in time, he said the power utility had not intimated of the demand and the load shedding duration in Karachi was increasing prompting the federal government to release their stocks for K Electric.
But, according to Khanzada, the true picture is entirely different from that being stated.
In the last few years, there were differences between the government and the K-Electric due to non-negotiation of a new agreement, The News reported. The power utility kept on demanding gas from the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on the basis of allocation. But the government denied that on the pretext that there was no prior agreement. The confusion led to a severe power crisis in Karachi.
Back in April 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Energy decided that the Karachi power utility be provided 130 MMCFD gas from the SSGC and 60 MMCFD LNG. Under the agreement, K-Electric kept getting 190 MMCFD since 2018. But SAPM Nadeem Babar and Federal Minister Omar Ayub erroneously claimed that the sudden raising of demand by the Karachi power utility in August and September forced them to tender expensive gas.
MMCFD stands for million standard cubic feet per day.
The anchor maintained the federal government provided K-Electric 198 MMCFD LNG in June, and 121 MMCFD LNG in July but reduced it to 73 MMCFD LNG in August and 66 MMCFD LNG in September. This clearly shows that the K Electric had not suddenly raised the demand in August and September but the government in fact had reduced the amount of gas supply. Not only this was far reduced than the amount given during June and July but was equivalent to the gas supply provided in August and September last year.
There was no justification for purchasing the LNG late in those months, Shahzeb maintained. The prime minister must ask his cabinet why the treasury was inflicted massive loss of Rs 1.5 bn because of this incompetency. Khanzada said when in June the petroleum crisis emerged why the government failed to import the fuel. Both SAPM Nadeem Babar and Federal Minister Omar Ayub blamed fuel companies and announced a thorough probe the results of which are still awaited. Due to this, the refineries had run out of furnace oil stocks and there was nothing left for K-Electric. Here once again the responsibility was lumped on the Karachi power utility.
In January 2019, the government banned the import of furnace oil and the PM ordered cheaper power generation through coal and LNG. It was decided that if need arise the K-Electric would be asked to procure furnace oil from the refineries. Against this scenario, K Electric could not have imported the furnace oil on its own. Furthermore due situation emerging out of Covid-19, the refineries had run short of furnace oil. Primarily, it was the responsibility of the government to monitor the fuel stocks. They must have imported LNG when it was cheaply available globally.
In June, the second LNG terminal was running only at its 45 per cent capacity but the government did nothing. In April, the K-Electric had informed the government in advance of its requirement of 120,000-tonne furnace oil for June.
But in June, the demand was increased to 130,000 tonne furnace oil but the PSO only provided 69,000 tonnes as the refineries had run short of furnace oil. In June 2019, PSO had provided 113,000 tonne furnace oil.
The PSO had informed the Ministry of Petroleum of the increased demand by K Electric on June 2, 2020, while reminding it of the May 19 directive by the Ministry of Petroleum to the refineries to supply maximum furnace oil.
But to this day, there has been no confirmation about it nor the allocation was increased. The PSO had intimated the Ministry of Petroleum of the impending crisis due to shortage of furnace oil, but it was not imported.
Similarly, the LNG was available at rock bottom prices but even that was not imported, causing power and fuel crisis in the country leading to losses running into billions of rupees, Khanzada said. He said the criticality of the situation forced the government to import furnace oil in panic at the last moment.
The anchor said ever since the inauguration of the PTI government, this was not the first time the gas crisis had occurred, but the central government ministers blamed the K Electric and the Sindh government for it.
In 2018 winters, a similar gas crisis had created severe problems for the people, but the government did not import the LNG in time nor it owed its responsibility for it and by blaming the MDs of the SNGPL and SSGC instead sacked them. This negligence led to power production using expensive furnace oil in 2018. In Dec 2018, the power sector was given 200 MMCFD gas which generated only 1,200 MW power instead of the needed 2,600MW. Furthermore, 1,600MW was produced by furnace oil which increased its daily consumption from 4,200 tonnes to 18,000 tonnes. The expensive power generation caused a loss of Rs 10 billion. When the then Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar was asked that though the SSGC and SNGPL MDs were sacked but if the Ministry of Petroleum and Ministry of Power had “in time “raised gas demand or if the two MDs had to import LNG on their own, Sarwar conceded that the meeting was held late in December.
Today the situation is being repeated in exactly the same manner and expensive power is being generated by furnace oil. Omar Ayub is continues to be the Minister for Oil and Power, while Ghulam Sarwar’s portfolio has been changed to that of aviation. He has, however, struck disaster with the national airline and the pilots. Nothing has changed, no responsibility has been affixed on the members of the cabinet.
Even today cheap LNG is available globally. In July, once again expensive power was generated from furnace oil at 18 month high rates and even then the gas is not available for bitter winters.
Khanzada said that from October to January one million tonnes furnace oil needs to be imported, expensive power would be generated, forex would be wasted with an additional loss of Rs25 billion.
GOVT RESPONDS:
Reacting to the report on Wednesday, PM’s petroleum aide said that LNG terminals are being run on full capacity while arrangements are being made to import around 1,300 cubic feet of LNG to meet domestic needs.
The special assistant said that it’s unfortunate that a negative media campaign is being run against the government about LNG through fudged statistics.
Addressing a press conference along with Information Minister Shibli Faraz, he said that the present government has imported 35 cargo ships of LNG in the last 27 months at a 20 per cent low rate as compared to expensive LNG agreements signed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) previous government with Qatar.
Babar said that the government has also allowed the private sector to construct LNG terminals in the country and two companies have shown their readiness to establish these facilities in Pakistan. In addition, he said that the last PML-N government had established two LNG terminals with the government’s guarantee of running these facilities, inflicting a huge loss to the treasury.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) chairman Ahad Cheema in an alleged corruption case.
Cheema, who was a close aide of former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, was detained in Feb 2018 by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Ashiana Housing scam. However, the accountability bureau also opened another inquiry against him for possessing assets beyond means.
During the hearing, the apex court directed the former top civil servant to furnish surety bonds worth Rs1 million to secure the bail. The NAB lawyer opposed the bail plea, saying Cheema was a key accused in the case.
At this, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood asked whether the accused doesn’t deserve bail due to the delay in the case.
Cheema’s lawyer responded that his client has been in jail for two years and nine months. Bail is granted in case of undue delay, he added.
Earlier this year, the Lahore High Court had dismissed a bail plea filed by Cheema, even though the co-accused in the case were granted post-arrest bail. Subsequently, ex-LDA chief’s counsel Azam Nazir Tarrar moved the apex court, seeking bail.
ARREST OF FOMRER LDA CHIEF:
In Feb 2018, NAB arrested Cheema after the latter failed to show up on NAB hearings. At the time, NAB had stated that that the inquiry conducted by the bureau “produced sufficient evidence to prove LDA ex-DG’s involvement in the Ahsiana scam”.
In its official press release issued at the time, it said that the Punjab Land Development Company assigned the Ashiana Housing Scheme project to LDA, where Cheema as its DG misused his authority and received illegal gratification in the form of 32 kanals of land, valuing approximately Rs30 million from the owners of Paragon City. The accused also awarded the contract for the project to Lahore Casa Developers, that was ineligible for the contract.
It may be noted here ex-CM Shehbaz Sharif and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad were also accused in Ashiana case.
Days after the prime minister’s visit to the University of Turbat, the Balochistan chief secretary has written a letter to the Makran commissioner, asking him to explain “the shortcomings” observed during the visit of PM Imran Khan.
The letter that has been circulating on social media has been shared by many, including Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Akhtar Mengal as well, who sarcastically captioned it ‘viceregal’ attitude of the centre.
The Current has confirmed the veracity of this letter
The chief secretary asked the commissioner — who was supposed to supervise the arrangements — to explain why “each and every detailed instructions passed on to you” were not carried out in “letter and spirit”.
It says the PM was served soft drinks that were not “properly chilled” and the plates that were used to serve food to the PM and his entourage were also of “low quality”. The sweeping staff was also reportedly inefficient as the “pathways and washrooms remained dirty” despite instructions.
The commissioner was also asked to explain the unavailability of a “qualified person” to handle the operating system “complications” during the presentation. Also, there was no “spare laptop” in the meeting room.
Furthermore, the chief secretary office was also not pleased with the fact that the CS’s chair was not “marked” in the auditorium where the PM interacted with “notables” while the CS was made to sit at the “extreme corner of the first row”, as per the letter. “The seating arrangement for the administrative secretaries to the government of Balochistan was neither marked nor were they were invited in the auditorium,” it added.
Moreover, there was also complaints about the Turbat’s DC and SSP, who allegedly violated protocol by “walking too close to the PM”. “The SSP Turbat consistently tried to engage the PM in chit chat,” the letter mentioned, seeking a response on the above-mentioned “shortcomings” from the commissioner within 7 days.
On Friday, PM Imran Khan visited Turbat district to inaugurate development projects in the city. During the visit, the PM also went to Turbat University.
The Current approached the PM’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid for the confirmation of this letter. According to Dr Khalid, the prime minister has nothing to do with the letter. He said it was a matter of the provincial government. Sources in the provincial government also confirmed the veracity of the letter, saying it was issued by the office of the chief secretary.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) foiled a terrorist attack on CTD Police Station Burki Road, Lahore, as it neutralised a would-be suicide bomber who tried to blow up the building.
A police guard on duty shot the alleged suicide bomber when he did not stop for identification, a CTD spokesperson said. He said the terrorist fired at the check post, but the guard on duty shot him down in retaliatory fire. The alleged terrorist wanted to carry out a suicide attack on the police station; however, timely action by the security officials foiled his plan, the CTD official said.
The suicide bomber was wearing a suicide vest and had two hand grenades and a handgun in his possession. The bomb disposal squad defused the suicide jacket and took into possession the weapons. It also collected evidence for forensic evaluation.
No information was given about his identity by the police. Meanwhile, the police have started an investigation and were trying to trace his collaborators.
Following the attempted attack, the security forces started a search operation after cordoning off the area.
The government on Tuesday dismissed the impression of placing restrictions on the arrival of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his sons — Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz — and former finance minister Ishaq Dar for the funeral of Begum Shamim Akhtar, the mother of Sharif brothers who passed away in London on Sunday.
Nawaz has been living in London since November last year when he was released on conditional medical bail for his treatment abroad. Dar, on the other hand, has taken self-exile in the United Kingdom after his removal from the post of Finance Minister in 2017 following the emergence of allegations of accumulation of assets beyond means against him. Both of them are wanted back home in multiple cases of graft and abuse of power
Speculations arose after the sudden demise of Akhtar, who had travelled to London in February to live with her son, whether or not Nawaz and Dar will return to attend the funeral.
Later on Sunday, Nawaz’s daughter and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz, in a tweet, said she had advised her father not to return because of what she claimed was the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government’s vendetta against the Sharif family.
کسی حکومتی شخص میں اتنی انسانیت نہیں تھی کہ مجھ تک دادی کی وفات کی اطلاع پہنچا دیتے۔ میں نے میاں صاحب کو درخواست کی ہے کہ بالکل واپس نا آئیں۔ یہ ظالم اور انتقام میں اندھےلوگ ہیں جن سے کسی بھی قسم کی انسانیت کی توقع نہیں۔
“They are welcome to come to Pakistan and attend the funeral,” Minister for Information Shibli Faraz said on Tuesday.
نواز شریف، ان کے سمدھی اسحاق ڈار اور صاحبزادوں حسن اور حسین کے پاکستان آنے پر کوئی قدغن نہیں۔وہ تشریف لائیں اور مرحومہ بیگم شمیم اختر صاحبہ کے جنازے میں شرکت فرما کر ثواب دارین حاصل کریں ۔ریاستی جبر کا پروپیگنڈہ دانستہ اس معاملے میں سیاست کرنا ہے۔ آپ کسے بے وقوف بنا رہے ہیں؟
In a tweet, Faraz warned the opposition party of trying to politicise the matter. “The narrative of state suppression is deliberate propaganda and an attempt to politicise this issue. Who are you trying to fool?”
Meanwhile, arrangements are being made to bring the body back to Lahore within a couple of days to be buried next to the grave of her husband, Mian Sharif, at the family’s Jati Umra residence.
