Category: National

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  • Imran govt likely to rid PIA of Rs500 billion debt

    Imran govt likely to rid PIA of Rs500 billion debt

    The federal cabinet is likely to take a decision regarding the hefty Rs500 billion debt burden on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

    According to reports, PIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Air Marshal (r) Arshad Mahmood Malik will brief the federal cabinet, scheduled to meet today (Tuesday), about restructuring reforms introduced in the national carrier to make it self-sustainable “without seeking financial help from the government”.

    “Even with operational profits, the airline will not not be able to come out of the financial quagmire,” reports quoted sources as saying. “The burden of debt servicing is unsustainable.”

    They said the cabinet would also be briefed on the airline’s foodservice division (FSD), technical ground service (TGS), base management of the engineering department, revenue enhancement strategies, human resource restructuring, financial restructuring, and measures pertaining to Precision Engineering Complex (PEC).

    The PIA management has been evaluating the possibility of giving a management contract of food services at Karachi and Islamabad. While this will not generate much in terms of cost-saving, it will definitely improve product quality and customer satisfaction.

    Similarly, the PIA management has been evaluating the possibility of giving an operation and management contract for technical ground service.

    Reports said the airline is also evaluating different options to get out of the courier business which was launched by PIA in 2003. It has been considering outsourcing or partnering options for Speedex.

    Moreover, they added, the airline is tackling revenue enhancement strategies, route rationalisation, product improvement, yield enhancement, enhanced focus on corporate business, network optimisation, ancillary revenue, codeshare of the alliance to expand the network, revamping of web business portal and offering special packages for online users and reduction in distribution cost by implementing HITIT portal plus.

  • Quiz – How well do you know Prime Minister Imran Khan?

    Quiz – How well do you know Prime Minister Imran Khan?

  • Dawn in trouble ‘for suggesting Shireen Mazari got FIA official sacked on daughter’s call’

    Dawn in trouble ‘for suggesting Shireen Mazari got FIA official sacked on daughter’s call’

    English daily Dawn has landed in hot water “for suggesting that Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari got a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official removed from office on the call of her daughter, Imaan Mazari”.

    As per the details, Asif Iqbal of FIA’s cybercrime wing had registered an FIR against singer Meesha Shafi, actor Iffat Omer and seven others for their alleged involvement in a vilification campaign against singer Ali Zafar.

    Iqbal, who often uses his social media to share details of different cybercrime laws and punishments, was removed from office after a tweet mentioning Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Media Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.

    A notification by FIA director (cybercrime wing) announced the suspension of assistant director Iqbal soon after the said tweet.

    “Service of Muhammad Asif Iqbal, assistant director/senior investigator (BPS-17) cybercrime reporting centre Lahore is hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect till further orders,” read the notification without any reason, prior warning or show-cause notice.

    Dawn had quoted an official source as saying that Iqbal was suspended on the basis of the tweet.

    It wasn’t later that Twitterati, including prominent ones, started alleging that some influential person in Islamabad was behind the sacking.

    Amid the claims and the subsequent report by Dawn, hashtags ‘#JusticeforAsifIqbal’ and ‘#SackShireenMazari’ started trending on Twitter.

    “Dawn sunk to new lows by publishing a maliciously motivated incorrect news story about how I had an FIA cybercrime official suspended after my daughter tweeted,” Shireen Mazari said soon after.

    “FIA put out an immediate rejoinder to the Dawn story but some are bent on maligning and character assassination,” she added.

    Meanwhile, her daughter tweeted that she will be serving a legal notice to Dawn for insinuating her involvement in the removal of the officer.

    “[I] have nothing to do with this and to publish a false story implicating me is unacceptable. This false story resulted in vicious online abuse and this reporter should now come to court with evidence,” Imaan wrote.

    FIA, on the other hand, has issued a statement saying it suspended Iqbal for acting as its “unofficial” spokesperson.

    “Assistant Director Asif Iqbal was suspended and issued an explanation for maintaining a private Twitter account bearing cybercrime wing Lahore. He was acting as a spokesman for the cybercrime wing on his own accord without permission which is against disciplinary rules,” a statement posted by the wing’s spokesperson read.

    This provided yet another little twist to a rare case where the agency had sought to discipline one of its own staffers.

  • VIDEO: PM says he’ll sack anyone from establishment who asks for his resignation

    VIDEO: PM says he’ll sack anyone from establishment who asks for his resignation

    Soon after deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif claimed that he was told to resign by former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general (DG) Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, PM Imran Khan has said he would take on anyone who dares to tell him to step down as a democratically-elected PM.

    “He [Nawaz] claims he was told by the army… Gen Zaheerul Islam… to resign. You are the PM… how can he dare to demand so from you?” the premier said while speaking to senior journalist Nadeem Malik in an interview that will air tonight at 7:05 pm on SAMAA.

    When asked what would Imran Khan do if he is asked to resign, the premier said he, being the PM, would immediately ask for that person’s resignation. “I am the country’s PM,” he said, to which Malik asked him if he would sack that person.

    “Who can dare to ask me to step down? I am a democratically-elected PM,” Imran replied.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    To a question regarding ailing former PM Nawaz’s return to the country, the premier said a convict had left the country after lying about his health and was now “conspiring against Pakistan”.

    “We will bring him back,” he added.

    A day earlier, Nawaz, who is seeking medical treatment abroad, had said the entire country knows what the former ISI chief had done. He claimed that Zaheerul Islam had at midnight sent him a message seeking his resignation.

    “He threatened to impose martial law if I didn’t step down but I refused to resign at all costs,” Nawaz had added.

  • Controversy stirred over picture of PM with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman

    Controversy stirred over picture of PM with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman

    In what appears to be an attempt to malign Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, a decades-old picture of him with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman Ghislaine Maxwell, has resurfaced over the internet.

    Maxwell, a British socialite, worked for her father, publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, until his death in 1991 when she moved to the United States (US) and became a close associate of Epstein.

    While the picture doing the rounds on social media seems to be from some social event that then cricketer and British film producer Jemima Goldsmith’s husband, Imran, was usually spotted at, netizens are sharing the same seeking the context.

    During his cricketing career, the now premier acquainted several international celebrities. He also counted no less than Princess Diana as a friend.

    According to the details unearthed by The Current, his picture with Maxwell is from a party at Savoy — a luxury hotel in London — to mark the fall of communism in 1990, which was a year before she even moved to the US.

    Greek journalist Taki Theodoracopulos can also be seen in the background.

    WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MAXWELL & EPSTEIN:

    Maxwell is the alleged recruiter of Epstein’s sex ring of underage girls and awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. She reportedly met the late financier through her father Robert and he might have been one early source of Epstein’s wealth that catapulted him into the upper echelon of society.

    Epstein began his professional life as a teacher but then switched to the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns before forming his own firm. He developed an elite social circle and procured many women, including underage girls, who were then sexually abused by Epstein and some of his contacts.

    He was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors and died in his jail cell less than a month later. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, however, Epstein’s lawyers disputed the ruling, and there has been significant public skepticism about the true cause of his death.

    Many believe that he was murdered because of his knowledge of compromising information about famous individuals.

  • Unexploded 750-pound bomb ‘from Indo-Pak war’ found in Faisalabad

    Unexploded 750-pound bomb ‘from Indo-Pak war’ found in Faisalabad

    Locals in Faisalabad have found a bomb weighing 750 pounds from fields which, according to District Civil Defence, may have been dropped during the 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars, but did not explode. 

    The unexploded ordnance (UXO) was unearthed when locals were digging in agricultural fields near Faisalabad airport.

    The bomb — in rusty and dilapidated condition — was handed over to Civil Defence officials shortly after it was discovered.

    District Civil Defence officer Rana Abbas was quoted as saying that the bomb will be handed over to Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

    UXO:

    UXO of war is an explosive that did not explode when it was employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after it was used or discarded.

    It does not always originate from wars; areas such as military training grounds can also hold significant numbers, even after the area has been abandoned.

    UXO from World War I continue to be a hazard, with poisonous gas filled munitions still a problem. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results.

    Around 80 countries are contaminated by land mines, which kill or maim 15,000–20,000 people every year. Approximately 80% of casualties are civilians, with children the most affected age group. An estimated average of 50% of deaths occurs within hours of the blast.

    In recent years, mines have been used increasingly as weapons of terror against local civilian populations specifically.

    In addition to the obvious danger of explosion, buried UXO can also cause environmental contamination. In some heavily used military training areas, munitions-related chemicals can enter soil and groundwater.

  • VIDEO: Pakistani breaks Indian world record, cracks 254 walnuts in one minute

    Muhammad Rashid from Pakistan has set a new world record by cracking 254 walnuts with his head in a minute, defeating S.Navin Kumar of India, who cracked 239 walnuts.

    Rashid now holds the Guinness World Record for cracking the most walnuts head to head in a minute. Previously, Rashid had managed to crack 234 walnuts under a minute with an elbow.

    The martial artist now has 30 world records to his name.

    “My target is to complete 100 records,” said Muhammad Rashid.

    His journey started in 2013 when he participated at the Punjab Youth Sports Festival and broke the record for the most bottle caps removed with the head in one minute. He removed 4o bottle caps in 60 seconds.

    READ MORE: 9-year-old Pakistani girl sets Guinness World Record for arranging fastest periodic table

    Later, in 2014 he participated in an Italian television show Lo Show Dei to break his own record, achieving 61.

    Take a look at Rashid’s previous world records.

  • ‘CEO of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund drawing monthly salary of Rs2,644,333’

    ‘CEO of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund drawing monthly salary of Rs2,644,333’

    A journalist has taken a dig at the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), claiming that the not-for-profit company, which aims to promote an effective approach to poverty alleviation across the country, is only bringing relief to its executives with handsome salary packages.

    “How PPAF alleviates poverty of its own executives rather than the people of Pakistan,” journalist Jawad Khan Yousafzai tweeted along with the details of salary of the fund’s chief executive officer (CEO), which he says he received under right to information (RTI) laws.

    WHAT IS RTI?

    RTI is a citizen’s right to access information from his or her government and private bodies that receive public funds. It is based on the principle that information belongs to the people, and boosts transparency, which in turn strengthens accountability, reduces corruption and improves the delivery of public services.

    It enables citizens to hold public officials to account for their actions, demand for rights and better services, and take a stand against corrupt practices.

    The government also benefits from RTI as access to information by public officials makes it easier for them to carry out their duties more efficiently. It supports citizens’ oversight and demand for accountability, which in turn helps improve the performance and functioning of public organisations.

    RTI is a fundamental right in Pakistan under Article 19-A of the Constitution.

  • Lahore-Karachi crash survivor flies again, shows confidence in PIA

    Lahore-Karachi crash survivor flies again, shows confidence in PIA

    Bank of Punjab President and Chief Executive Officer Zafar Masud, one of the only two survivors of the tragic Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crash from May 22, 2020, has taken to the air once again.

    Overcoming his fear of flying just months after surviving an air crash, Masud bravely chose PIA as his carrier of choice on Saturday when he boarded flight PK-304 from Karachi to Lahore.

    At Jinnah International Airport, he was welcomed by PIA Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Khalilullah Sheikh and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) & Head of Engineering Amir Ali. He was assured of all safety measures being taken for his flight by ground and air staff alike.

    Upon landing in Lahore, PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik personally received the guest at the arrival gate.

    Masud said that despite the trauma he previously faced, he had a pleasant flight with PIA, adding that it was one of the smoothest landings he had ever experienced.

    Masud is also part of PIA’s reforms process and restructuring drive and has said that he stands firmly in support of the national airline, an airline with which he said he felt at home, both now and before the incident.

    The PIA CEO has reportedly thanked Masud and said that PIA feels indebted to him.

    He said PIA will strive to meet the expectations of all civilians and is working tirelessly to bring prestige back to the airline.

    PIA remains under fire after the air crash that killed 97 passengers and light was shed on the issue of fake licences of nearly one-third of Pakistan’s pilots. Out of the 262 pilots found with fake licenses across Pakistan, 101 of them were affiliated with PIA.

    The airline has since grounded and suspended all pilots suspected of having a dubious license and increased safety and security measures on all flights.

  • Six top Pakistani banks named in global money laundering leaks

    Six top Pakistani banks named in global money laundering leaks

    Six Pakistani banks have been named in an investigation on the role global banks play in money laundering by Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), for 29 suspicious transactions close to $2.5 million.

    The banks named are Allied Bank, United Bank (UBL), Habib Metropolitan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan, and Habib Bank (HBL). All the suspicious transactions took place in 2011 and 2012. 

    Buzzfeed News had shared with ICIJ more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, or SARs, filed by global banks to the U.S. Treasury Department’s intelligence unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN. 

    According to the investigation, global banks moved more than $2 trillion between 1999 and 2017 in suspicious payments, and flagged bank clients in more than 170 countries who were identified as being involved in potentially illicit transactions. 

    Banks file SARs when they believe a client is using services for potential criminal activity, though the filing in itself does not require a bank to stop doing business with a client. 

    According to the data revealed by ICIJ, 29 such suspicious transactions to and from Pakistan were flagged. Of those, the ‘received’ transactions amounted to $1,942,560, while the ‘sent’ transaction was $452,000.

    Allied Bank had 12 suspicious transactions flagged, receiving $1,001170; UBL had eight transactions flagged, receiving $399,620; Habib Metro had two transactions flagged, receiving $74,980; Bank Alfalah had three transactions flagged, receiving $99,480 and sending $452,000; Standard Chartered had four transactions flagged, receiving $199,860; and HBL had one transaction flagged, receiving $167,450. 

    Out of the 29 transactions, Standard Chartered filed 28 SARs with FinCEN, while The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., filed one. All of these transactions took place between September and December 2012, except for one transaction that took place in November 2011.