Category: Others

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  • ‘Saudi Arabia telling a nuclear-power what to do’; Twitter react to PM Imran’s Malaysia decision

    ‘Saudi Arabia telling a nuclear-power what to do’; Twitter react to PM Imran’s Malaysia decision

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has cancelled his scheduled visit to Malaysia reportedly after succumbing to pressure from Saudi Arabia and Twitter is not happy about it.

    According to reports, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi will represent Pakistan in the premier’s place at the Kuala Lumpur Summit scheduled for December 18-20, after a meeting between PM Imran with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh, during which matters related to bilateral relations were discussed.

    The Kingdom has reportedly raised serious concerns over the statement of Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad, who had recently said that the Muslim countries at Kuala Lumpur Summit would form a new platform to replace the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that he said had failed to deliver on issues faced by the Muslims across the world.

    Here’s what politicians and journalists among other Twitterati have to say about PM’s Malaysia decision.

    And many have termed the move “a failure of Pakistan’s foriegn policy”.

    Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that after his Bahrain visit, the premier will travel to Geneva and return to Pakistan Thursday, following which a final decision regarding his Malaysia trip would be taken.

  • PIC attack ‘agitator’ Dr Irfan was accused of murder in 2018: report

    The main character behind the clash of lawyers and doctors at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), Dr Irfan, was earlier nominated as the main accused in the murder case of a Christian who was tortured to death by doctors at the Services hospital Lahore last year, Pakistan Today reported.

    According to the details, Dr Irfan was nominated among the four doctors in FIR [First Information Report] “No. 163/18” registered with the Shadman Police for torturing Sunil Saleem, to death.

    According to the FIR, Anil Masih — Sunil’s brother — has stated that he, his brother Sunil and other relatives had taken their pregnant sister Kiran Kashif to the emergency labor ward of the Services hospital on March 26, 2018, because she was suffering labor pains.

    Anil said, “Kiran went to the doctor on duty, Dr Saira, who was playing with her cell phone while sipping on tea. Dr Saira told Kiran to wait outside until she finished her tea. We waited for some time, but since Kiran was experiencing severe pain, she again went inside the ward to request for immediate attention.”

    Anil Saleem added that as soon as Kiran approached Dr Saira, she started cursing her for not waiting and told a nurse to attend her.

    “When my sister protested against the rude behavior, the doctor started slapping her, throwing her on the floor,” he said, adding that she asked my sister how dare a Chuhri [a derogatory term for Christians] question her order?.

    Anil said, “On hearing the ruckus we entered the ward, but as soon as she saw us, Dr Saira shouted to the other doctors and security guards to lock the doors from the inside and teach these Christians a lesson”.

    “Around 15 to 20 paramedical staff and security guards and eight to 10 young doctors, including Dr Irfan, Dr Salman, Dr Hasan and Dr Sahi lunged at us with iron rods, chairs, leather belts and other things and started beating us,” Anil added.

    He said “Sunil, a police constable in the National Highway and Motorway Police, tried his best to placate the assailants but they continued to beat him mercilessly, kicking and punching him in the groin and chest until he fell unconscious.”

    “Sunil died after a delay in treatment and due to lack of timely emergency medical assistance”, Anil said.

    “We had pardoned the accused doctors after pursuing the case for a year”, reports quoted Anil as saying.

    It is important to mention here that Dr Irfan’s speech, which went viral on social media a few days before the attack was the core reason behind the clash between doctors and lawyers at the PIC.

    Dr Irfan in the video was seen narrating an encounter with some lawyers in front of a group of medical and paramedical staff of PIC, where he said that a group of lawyers had gone to the inspector general (IG) of police and told him to charge “two doctors” under Section 7 of ATA.

    The doctor narrated that the IG had refused while the lawyers had urged him to press charges, saying “they could save face” that way.

  • Mengal wants DG Khan, Rajanpur back in Balochistan

    Mengal wants DG Khan, Rajanpur back in Balochistan

    Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal has demanded the inclusion of Dera Ghazi (DG) Khan and Rajanpur into Balochistan, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, BNP-M chief while addressing a gathering held at Kalama Chowk of Taunsa tehsil in honour of the martyrs of Koh-e-Sulaiman said that Balochistan had the lowest population in Pakistan despite having an area of 43% of the country.

    “Both these regions should be included in Balochistan to balance the population,” Mengal said, adding that they were part of the province at the time of partition.

    While criticising the the government for launching mega projects such as metro trains under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in other cities of the country, he said that no welfare projects were being introduced in Balochistan.

    Akhtar Mengal also accused the government of “selling” the entire country, including Balochistan province under CPEC.

    Akhtar said that he is only supporting the government for the implementation of his six-point agenda.

    “I am not supporting them in greed for any post,” he added, saying that he was striving for the rights of his people within the framework of the Constitution.

    He further demanded of the Punjab chief minister to conduct an inquiry into the killing of two persons in DG Khan two months back in police encounter.

  • Police trying to save PM’s nephew? Hassaan Niazi’s name excluded from FIRs

    Police trying to save PM’s nephew? Hassaan Niazi’s name excluded from FIRs

    The police, in an attempt to favour Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s nephew Barrister Hassaan Niazi, have allegedly excluded his name from the cases registered against the lawyers who attacked the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore on Wednesday, Dawn reported.

    According to reports, an official has claimed that a mobile phone footage showing Niazi pelting cops with stones Jail Road had surfaced, however, the police had neither nominated him in the FIRs [First Information Reports] nor detained him.

    The authorities have registered two FIRs against 250 lawyers after they stormed the state-run cardiac hospital, damaged public property and beat up government officials, including Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hasan Chohan, on Wednesday.

    Police have booked the protesters under terrorism, murder and street crime charges in the FIRs lodged on the complaint of the hospital’s chief executive and SHO concerned.

    Moreover, police authorities, after going through several CCTV/mobile phone footage and obtaining credible information from different sources, have nominated 21 lawyers in the FIRs.

    A senior police officer, however, has denied the allegation of favouring PM’s nephew, saying all the lawyers, who participated in the violent protest, would be treated equally.

    He said that Hassaan was among the 250 lawyers who had gone underground to avoid arrest and the police were carrying out raids for their arrest. “46 lawyers have been arrested so far,” the official added.

  • Saudi Arabia’s energy company ‘Aramco’ worth’s $1.7 trillion after a historic IPO

    Saudi Arabia’s energy company ‘Aramco’ worth’s $1.7 trillion after a historic IPO

    Saudi Arabia has recently turned Aramco (Arabian-American Oil Company) in publicly owned enterprise. By making it a public entity – that investors can buy and sell shares in the stock market.

    Shaybah

    In the Initial Public Offering (IPO) phase, the worth of the company has plunged to $1.88 trillion that break all the records of the recent decades.

    The offering price of Armaco shares were 32 Riyals ($8.53) and people bought the shares of $25.6 billion – eclipsing Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO of 2014.

    Moreover, seconds after the debut on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange, the price per stock rose to 35.2 riyals. This development further boosted the energy giant’s valuation.

    Haradh Gas Plant (Aramco)

    On the launch ceremony, the Chairman of Aramco Yasir Al-Rumayyan said “Today the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no longer the only shareholder of the company. More than five million shareholders have joined including citizens and residents, in addition to Gulf countries and international investment institutions. The kingdom is immensely proud of this day.”

    It was the strategy of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to overhaul the oil-reliant economy.

    The IPO process had put the energy giant’s value at $1.7 trillion, far ahead of other firms in the trillion-dollar club, including Apple and Microsoft.

    The listing of Aramco, with its huge capital value, boosts the Saudi bourse — known as Tadawul — to the ranks of the world’s top ten.

  • ‘Eight million people have gone below poverty line under PTI govt’

    ‘Eight million people have gone below poverty line under PTI govt’

    Pakistan’s renowned economist Dr Hafiz A Pasha has claimed that eight million people in the country have gone below the poverty line under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and another 10 million could slip below the same soon, Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, Dr Pasha in an article has said that due to low economic growth and double-digit food inflation the national poverty ratio, which was 31.3% in June 2018, would sharply jump to over 40% by June 2020.

    In simple terms, people living in poverty will increase from 69 million in June 2018 to 87 million by June 2020, indicating 26% increase in poverty in first two years of the PTI government.

    “The situation is very alarming due to an economic growth rate that is close to the population growth rate and an exponential increase in prices of perishable food items,” reports quoted Pasha as saying.

    The economist said that the government’s decision to simultaneously increase taxes, energy tariffs and devaluation of currency contributed to the increase in poverty.

    He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s decision to keep the rupee-dollar parity stable kept the inflation under check adding that the incumbent government is implementing probably the toughest IMF programme of Pakistan’s history aimed at overpowering fiscal and external accounts challenges.

    Dr Pasha is the former finance minister of Pakistan and has also advised Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan at the time of building consensus on signing an IMF [International Monetary Fund] programme.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in response to Dr Pasha’s claims has said, “We do not have latest official poverty statistics,” adding that the country was exiting a severe balance of payments crisis which had its own implications.

    “The PTI government accelerated the poverty alleviation measures aimed at protecting the poor and vulnerable people from the adverse impact of macroeconomic adjustments”, said the minister.

  • Former president Zardari granted bail on medical grounds

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday approved the bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari on medical grounds and asked him to submit surety bonds worth Rs10 million.

    A week earlier, Zardari, who is under detention on charges of money laundering and presently undergoing treatment at a hospital, had agreed to file a bail petition on medical grounds at the insistence of his family members.

    His lawyers had moved the IHC for his bail.

    It had been announced by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during a brief news conference after meeting his ailing father at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) last Monday.

    In his petition, Zardari had maintained that he was suffering from a heart condition and has had three stents placed in his body. He had said that he also suffers from diabetes which means that he has to constantly monitor his blood sugar levels.

    The PPP co-chairperson’s medical reports were also submitted along with the application to the IHC so that bail may be granted.

    The high court had also admitted for hearing a bail petition filed by Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur. In her appeal, Talpur had maintained that she is the mother of a differently-abled child. In order to care for her child, she had asked the court to grant bail until the completion of the trial.

    Zardari, 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 National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleges that the national exchequer suffered a loss of Rs3.77 billion because of the irregularities.

    Zardari was shifted to PIMS in October after the medical board stated that he was suffering from cardiac problem, diabetes and other ailments, and needed medical care.

  • Pakistan: Qatari royals among seven arrested for hunting without license

    Pakistan: Qatari royals among seven arrested for hunting without license

    Seven Qatari nationals, including four royals, have been arrested for attempting to hunt the houbara bustard in Nushki district of Balochistan without permission of the Foreign Office, a private media outlet reported.

    According to reports, the Qatari nationals were en route Nushki when they were intercepted and taken into custody on the Quetta-Nushki highway. Deputy Commissioner Abdul Razzaq Sasoli confirmed the arrest and stated that they were aiming to hunt without proper license.

    He added that the Qataris had been handed over to the wildlife department.

    The four royals have been identified as Sheikh Mohammad bin Mansoor Jasim, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jasim and Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Khalid.

    A case has been registered against the foreigners who were in the country on a three-month visa. They had been informed before that they would not be allowed to hunt if they did not possess a proper hunting license.

    According to the Wildlife Department, 100 houbara bustards can be hunted for a fee of $100,000.

  • ‘PTI’ supporters in London raise slogans ‘to shoot Nawaz dead’

    A group of alleged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters held a protest outside the Avenfield flats in London, where they raised slogans to shoot former premier Nawaz Sharif and attempted to break down the main gate, The News International reported.

    According to the details, around 40 protesters, led by Tariq Mehmood who runs a group called ‘Pakistan Patriotic Front’, raised slogans in support of the ruling PTI and many were wearing PTI caps.

    Reports claim that many of the protesters who were present outside Avenfield flats are seen often at the PTI protests earlier, but the party’s elected body has issued a statement distancing itself from the protest.

    One of the protesters can be heard shouting in the video that “some shoot him” in reference to former prime minister’s presence on the third floor in Avenfield flats and slogans for Taliban style bombing of the Avenfield apartments were also made during the protest.

    Video footage from the protest also shows at least three protesters banging the front gate in order to break down while two protesters entered premises from the side entrance and they were asked by the police to come out.

    Ahead of Nawaz’s arrival, elected senior official of PTI in United Kingdom (UK) Soraya Aziz had issued a similar call for violence on Twitter.

    Soraya Aziz, who is head of Computing at the Beths Grammar School in Bexley, Kent had wrote, “For his own safety, I strongly recommend Nawaz Sharif not leave his Avenfield apartments. If he’s seen shopping in Knightsbridge, overseas Pakistanis will give him response even his few remaining platelets won’t know where to hide!!”.

    Soraya later deleted her Tweet.

    Meanwhile, PTI’s Information Secretary London Taqveem Ahsan Siddiqui, in a statement issued on Sunday had said, “The PTI has not called for any demonstration outside disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence.”

    “It has been brought to our attention that an invite to demonstrate outside his residence is in circulation. PTI UK does not have any intention to call or join any demonstration outside Nawaz Sharif’s residence until he abides by his bail condition”, Taqveem added.

    Former premier Nawaz is in London for a medical check-up after the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted him exemption on medical grounds. The court had earlier directed Nawaz to return to Pakistan after four weeks.

  • London bridge attacker laid to rest in Pakistan

    London bridge attacker laid to rest in Pakistan

    British national Usman Khan who attacked people on London Bridge was laid to rest in his family’s ancestral village in a southern district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, the body of the 28-year-old Usman was brought by his family from Islamabad airport to Kijlani village in district Kotli where the funeral took place at 4pm, following which he was buried in a local graveyard.

    Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) General Manager Public Relations Abdul Hafeez has said that Usman Khan’s body was shifted to Islamabad from London aboard a PIA flight PK-792, which was later handed over to his family.

    Abdul Hafeez said that it was the PIA’s policy that it carried bodies on the basis of genuine documentation, including foreign-origin card of the deceased and Pakistan High Com­mission’s letter.

    The body was handed over to his relatives after passing through the immigration and customs process.

    Usman’s relatives drove the body to the town of Kotli for burial as his family didn’t want to bury him in the United Kingdom (UK). His funeral prayers were earlier offered in a Birmingham mosque.

    After Usman’s funeral people, on social media have pointed out that the government had earlier tried to cover up the fact that the London Bridge attacker was a Pakistani and now they have allowed him burial in the country.

    Usman Khan had earlier stabbed two people to death and left three others injured in an attack in London. He had been residing in the Staffordshire area of UK.

    According to reports, Khan was part of a gang of nine extremists, mostly of Bangladeshi origin, who were sentenced in February 2012 after being convicted. However, he was released in December 2018, but was required to wear a GPS [an electronic tag].

    After the London Bridge attack, Usman was shot dead by security personnel.