Maulana Fazalur Rehman has announced that he is ending the Azadi March dharna and is going ahead with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F)’s Plan B.
Plan B consists of blocking highways across Pakistan, in every province and major cities.
After the announcement of ending the sit-in, Azadi March participants have dismantled their tents and have started leaving the H-9 venue in Islamabad.
Memories the Azadi Marchers are leaving behind
Plan B has already begun as dharna protests have begun on the Quetta-Chaman highway. They are also planning to block highways in Lower Dir and the Indus Highway. In Punjab, they will be blocking G.T. Road. The motorway to Sukkur and the road linking Ghotki to Punjab will also be closed.
The blocking of roads will officially start on Thursday at 2PM. JUI-F representatives say that they will not carry sticks and ambulances will be allowed to pass through.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Isnaf (PTI) government has decided to amend the Army Act so as to allow Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal against his conviction on charges of espionage before a civilian court, Dunya News reported.
Jadhav of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was arrested from Balochistan three years ago. In 2017, he was convicted by a military court in Pakistan and sentenced to death on charges of espionage and terrorism.
The punishment was awarded by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM), a military court consisting of Pakistan Army officers.
While Jadhav had confessed to working for the covert agency to destabilise Pakistan, India had rejected the charges and maintained that he was a former Indian Navy officer “kidnapped by Pakistani forces”.
The Indian spy’s death sentence had later been challenged in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
After a long battle, the court, in its verdict, had rejected a number of Indian demands, including the annulment of the military court’s decision, Jadhav’s release and safe passage to India.
It had, however, directed Pakistan to provide appropriate remedies to the spy, such as providing him effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentences according to its own justice system.
The Army Act forbids any individuals or groups being tried in a military court from filing an appeal and seeking justice from a civilian court, but a special amendment is now reportedly being made for Jadhav.
Minister for Communication and Postal Services, Murad Saeed has claimed that the government has recovered embezzlement worth Rs10.8 billion in the Hazara motorway project done by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Addressing the National Assembly (NA) session on Monday the minister said that PML-N made changes in the design of the motorway and added a suspicious bridge in the project that caused the delay and escalated the cost as well.
Murad said that he requested the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to look into the matter and launched an inquiry, which led to recoveries of Rs10.8 billion.
The minister informed the parliament that inordinate changes were also made in Hakala-Dera Ismail Khan, Sukkur-Multan, and Lahore Abdul Hakeem motorway sections.
He later demanded an apology from those who caused substantial damages to the national exchequer and announced that the design changes have been completed, and the motorway will be open for the public on November 15.
As rising vegetable prices spell misery for people under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has claimed that peas are being sold in the market for only Rs5 per kilogram (kg).
“Another grower, [Federal Minister for Aviation] Ghulam Sarwar Khan Sahab has told [me] that 20kg pea bags are being sold at the rate of Rs5/kg,” she said while addressing a press conference.
WATCH VIDEO:
Statement from PM Imran Khan’s aide, who seems to be totally unaware of the persisting sky-high vegetable prices in the country, made headlines a day after the premier’s finance adviser, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, told reporters that tomatoes were being sold for as low as Rs17 per kg across Karachi.
“In Karachi, in the sabzi mandi (produce market), tomatoes are being sold for Rs17 per kg”.
When some of the reporters present at the scene told him that tomatoes were, in fact, being sold at Rs240 per kg, he refuted saying “people were lying”.
“That’s what is being run on the television,” Imran’s adviser noted, to which one of the reporters said, “But on the TV, it says tomatoes are being sold for Rs240 a kg.”
Another journalist responded with a fresh personal story, “Sir, I myself bought tomatoes for Rs300 a kg.”
Finance Adviser Hafeez Shaikh claims tomatoes are being sold at Rs17/kg in Karachi’s Sabzi Mandi. This is the guy running the country’s economic affairs.. Rates in Karachi and Isb: Tomato: Khi Rs240/kg Isb Rs300/kg Potato: Khi Rs80/kg Isb Rs100/kg Onion: Khi Rs100/kg Isb Rs150/kg pic.twitter.com/k8lZC4eNeH
“Oh but I am agreeing that prices of many commodities need to be controlled. Agriculture [industry] has seasonality,” the PM’s adviser explained, as someone from behind persistently tried to stop the person holding the phone from recording the video.
After news of Nawaz Sharif’s relief from the court spread across the country, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday referred a petition filed for the release of 10,000 sick inmates, like Nawaz Sharif, to Punjab chief secretary.
Kot Lakhpat jail Lahore, where Nawaz was jailed
The court asked the chief secretary to decide the plea after hearing the position of the petitioner. The petitioner had submitted that more than 10,000 ailing inmates were in different jails across the country and adequate health facilities and resources were not given to them .
He also stated that since the constitution was equal for all, there should be no special service for Nawaz and if there was, other patients also have the same rights.
A policeman on duty at the Azadi march in Islamabad, slit his own throat with a blade when he was not given permission to go see his sick daughter in Swat.
Head Constable Khan reportedly attempted to kill himself after his leave was rejected. He had gotten news that his daughter was seriously ill and asked his commanding officer for leave. The officer denied the leave and reportedly told Khan off for asking for leave during such a difficult time in the capital but Khan said that if he was in Swat with his daughter, he could get her the medical help she needed. He asked for leave again but was rejected once again and told that he could not go back to Swat until the Azadi March was over.
Upset, Khan went to the bathroom and slit his throat with a shaving blade. His roommates broke into the washroom after hearing him and and rushed him to the hospital. Express Tribune sources claim that although he has been operated on, his condition is still serious.
A police probe has been initiated to investigate the issue.
Khan was part of a police team that was called in from Swat to help monitor the Azadi March in Islamabad.
A life-size statue of Abhinandan, the Indian pilot captured by Pakistan after the Pulwama incident, has been placed in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Museum.
Abhinandan’s ammunition, blueprints, uniform have also been placed in the museum.
The statue stands in a gallery named Operation Swift Retort.
The move has led to severe criticism from the Indian media.
Abhinandan’s MiG-21 jet was shot down by a Pakistani fighter after the Balakot attack.
Meanwhile, visitors are excited to take selfies with the statue and the display.
After the government announced earlier that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be allowed to leave the country on ‘conditional permission’, Nawaz has refused to leave Pakistan.
Sources claim that a one-and-a-half hour meeting took place between Nawaz and his brother Shahbaz Sharif at Nawaz’s residence where he took this decision.
Analysts say the only course of action for the Sharifs is to take the case to court but that might take time. Since Nawaz’s doctors have stated that he is in immediate danger and needs to be treated abroad, going to court might be a difficult decision for the family.
Nawaz’s departure is now unconfirmed and Geo News sources are claiming that an air ambulance has not been called for transporting Nawaz, as previously claimed by the media.
On the other hand, the cabinet committee will officially announce tomorrow if Nawaz’s name has been taken off the exit control list. The decision will be announced at 10 am Wednesday morning.
Interior Minister Ijaz Shah has said that even Maryam Nawaz would be allowed to travel abroad if she was unwell, Geo News reported.
According to the details, the minister said that there was no difference of opinion in the cabinet over the issue of removing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
“Nawaz Sharif is being allowed to go abroad on humanitarian grounds,” Shah said, adding that according to the doctors, former Prime Minister’s health was in critical condition and his treatment was not possible in Pakistan.
“Nawaz is not going out of the country on a permanent basis. He will return after recovering from illness,” Shah said, dispelling the notion that the PML-N leader was being given relief under a deal.
He added that all the ministers were in favour of allowing Nawaz to go abroad for treatment.
Commenting on the ongoing Azadi March, Shah said, “We are giving Maulana Fazlur Rehman so many facilities that he will forget his demand for the prime minister’s resignation.”
The minister, however, conceded that the JUI-F chief was not going to leave Islamabad anytime soon. “We have given him water, electricity and medical support,” he said, adding that Maulana Fazl had grown fond of Islamabad.
Advisor to Prime Minister (PM) on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has claimed that tomatoes are being sold at Rs17 per kilogramme, Pakistan Today reported.
However, the fruit is being sold at as much as Rs320 per kilogramme in the market as reported by citizens who bought groceries from multiple locations in the city on Monday morning.
Hafeez Sheikh also advised people to buy tomatoes only from the sabzi mandi if they did not wish to splurge on the basic food item.
When some of the reporters present at the scene told him that tomatoes were, in fact, being sold at Rs240 per kilo, he refuted their comment, saying people were lying.
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A journalist said: “Which sabzi mandi, sir?” To which, Dr Sheikh responded: “You go and check it out yourself!”
Another journalist added: “Is it the sabzi mandi of Islamabad that you’re talking about?”
Immediately, then, the adviser looked directly at the camera, muttering under his breath, “oh this again,” and everyone behind him laughed.
“That’s what is being run on the TV,” Dr Sheikh noted, to which one of the reporters said: “But on the TV, it says tomatoes are being sold for Rs240 a kilo.”
A journalist responded with a fresh personal story: “Sir, I myself bought tomatoes for Rs300 a kilo.”
“Oh but I am agreeing that prices of many commodities need to be controlled. Agriculture [industry] has seasonality,” the PM’s adviser explained, as someone from behind persistently tries to stop the person holding the phone from recording the video of Dr Sheikh’s comments.
“There are storage facilities for many things, especially fresh produce, but we don’t have them in our country, so we need to come up with solutions for such problems”, the advisor added.
Then there’s this thing that if you increase the capacity, then it’s natural that you’d predict beforehand about which things experience seasonal shortage, and, therefore, you can order it prior and store and there would be additional storage cost,” Dr Shiekh said.
Vendors and hawkers claim that the high prices are not their fault since wholesale prices have shot up significantly.
