Tag: Pakistan

  • PM Khan launches Kamyab Pakistan Programme for low sectors

    PM Khan launches Kamyab Pakistan Programme for low sectors

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has inaugurated a Rs1400 billion worth Kamyab Pakistan Programme in order to facilitate the underprivileged sector in Pakistan, reports Radio Pakistan.

    According to PM Khan, this initiative will bring improvement in the living standards of the public and his government is trying to change priorities to uplift unprivileged families.

    While talking about the previous governments, he said that they had flawed policies which left behind the marginalized segments of the society and said that this project should have been launched 74 years ago.

    “We made a huge mistake 74 years ago. We believed that we would make Pakistan a welfare state after there was prosperity and wealth in the country. The thought — that there needs to be surplus first and then we (government) will invest in the poor — I believe these were fundamentally wrong decisions,” said the premier.

    Referring to China’s ideology, the PM said that Beijing took measures to facilitate the low sectors of people and became a developed country within 35 years.

    The programme will be rolled out in phases. During the first phase, the loans will be provided to the deserving families in Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the underprivileged areas of Punjab and Sindh.

    Under this, the government will provide Rs1.4 trillion micro-loans to 3.7 million households across the country.

    This scheme has five components Kamyab Kissan, Kamyab Karobar, Naya Pakistan low-cost housing, Kamyab Hunarmand and Sehatmand Pakistan.

    It also includes a user-friendly portal called Kamyab Pakistan Information System (KPIS). The portal will be integrated with Ehsaas and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) databases for verification of beneficiaries’ eligibility.

  • ‘Chance at a normal life’: Fawad supports TTP integration

    ‘Chance at a normal life’: Fawad supports TTP integration

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry is supporting ‘a normal life’ for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), those of whom wish to pledged loyalty to the state, reports Geo.

    Fawad said, “The people who could not fulfill their pledge of allegiance to Pakistan want to return to fulfill this pledge.”

    According to the minister, those people who wish to follow the constitution should be given a chance, adding that the government seeks to move forward with the conditions laid down by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Earlier, PM Khan called for the disarmament of the TTP by saying, “We can forgive them and they can become normal citizens.”

    The information minister added that in Balochistan more than 3000 people have come back to a normal life, the ones who had ‘fallen prey to India’s conspiracies.’

    The TTP said that their leaders are engaged in “secret talks” and have asked all fighters to observe a ceasefire till October 20.

  • US official calls for Pakistan action against militants ‘without distinction’

    US official calls for Pakistan action against militants ‘without distinction’

    US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet with Pakistani officials during her October 7-8 visit.

    Ahead of her visit, Sherman told reporters, “We seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism and we expect sustained action against all militant and terrorist groups without distinction.”

    “Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats,” she said.

    In an important development prior to her visit, Prime Minister Imran Khan told Turkey’s TRT World television, “Some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government for some peace, for some reconciliation.”

    “If the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) lay down their arms, we can forgive them and they can become normal citizens,” said PM Khan.

    “I repeat I do not believe in military solutions. I am anti-military solutions, so I always believe that being a politician, political dialogue is the way ahead, which I always believed was the case in Afghanistan,” added the premier.

  • Sirbaz Khan becomes first Pakistani to scale nine of world’s 14 highest peaks

    Sirbaz Khan becomes first Pakistani to scale nine of world’s 14 highest peaks

    Mountaineer Sirbaz Khan summited the 8,167-metre-high Dhaulagiri mountain in Nepal on Friday, stated Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haidri. The mountaineer has become the first Pakistani to summit nine of the world’s highest 14 peaks, each having the height of more than 8,000 meters, Dawn reported.

    Sirbaz was part of the 19-member ‘SST-Dhaulagiri I Expd. 2021 Autumn’ expedition organised by trekking company Seven Summits Trek.

    According to Seven Summit Trek officials, the climbers scaled the world’s seventh highest peak on Friday morning, with Sirbaz raising Pakistan’s flag upon reaching the mountain’s top.

    Read More: Shehroz Kashif summits 8000 meters Manaslu in Nepal

    Dhaulagiri, which forms part of the Himalayas mountain range, is commonly known as one of the hardest peaks to climb due to its steep sides and bitterly cold climate.

    Soon after the news broke, social media users congratulated the climber for his achievement.

    Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of late Mohammad Ali Sadpara and a climber himself, tweeted: “Lots of congratulations to Sirbaz Khan to climb Dhaulagiri. After climbing Daulaghiri he is first Pakistani to summit nine 8000 mountains.”

    The 32-year-old mountaineer hails from the Aliabad area of Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan and began his climbing career in 2016.

  • ‘Petroleum products prices in Pak are still lower than other countries’: Shaukat Tarin

    ‘Petroleum products prices in Pak are still lower than other countries’: Shaukat Tarin

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday said the rates of petroleum products in Pakistan are still lower when compared to several regional countries.

    Tarin said Pakistan ranks 17th in the region when it comes to petrol prices.

    “There are only 16 other countries that have lower petrol prices than ours. They are oil producers and have their own oil,” said Tarin.

    “Prices in the international market have increased recently forcing the government to hike local prices,” he said after petrol prices were increased by Rs4 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2 per litre.

    Shaukat Tarin said Prime Minister Imran Khan stopped the ministry from increasing the levy as he wanted to lessen the burden on the masses. “This is the reason we want to give direct subsidy to the lower-income group.”

    “We are not even charging [petroleum] levy even though we have kept a target of Rs600 billion for it in the budget. But we and the prime minister didn’t care for it.”

    Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman has criticised the government for dropping a “petrol bomb” on the masses in times of extreme inflation.

  • VIDEO: Heated argument between PTI’s Shahbaz Gill and anchor Kamran Shahid

    VIDEO: Heated argument between PTI’s Shahbaz Gill and anchor Kamran Shahid

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM), Dr Shahbaz Gill, alleged that anchorperson Kamran Shahid was asked to spread fake news and misquote facts about the United Kingdom’s (UK) court order to unfreeze Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and his family’s bank accounts for lack of evidence of corruption and money laundering. A heated exchange took place between the two on Dunya News‘ programme, ‘On the Front with Kamran Shahid’.

    Gill started off by reading a few statements by Kamran Shahid and gave details of the statements, which as per him were fake news and were factually incorrect.

    Gill’s comments led to a heated exchange of words between Gill and Kamran.

    “Sir, no one can make me misquote statements, not the prime minister or Azhar Javed [UK-based journalist working for Dunya News],” replied Kamran Shahid.

    “You cannot say that I misquote my facts. I have been in journalism for the past 15 years. I am not indulging in any personal attacks against you and neither should you. No one can make me say things that are factually incorrect, not PM Imran Khan, not Shehbaz Sharif, no one,” added Shahid.

    “You are wrong here, no one has the courage to make me misquote my statements or facts. Refrain from doing this.”

    “Let the masses decide about your statements, seems like you are running for an election,” said Gill in response to Shahid’s answer.

    “I have the right to judge the prime minister, he is my PM as well. I supported him long before your [Shahbaz Gill] career as a politician started in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” said Shahid.

    “You have a fascist regime, your party is monitoring everything, you all do one-sided reporting on Pakistan Television Network (PTV), there is no mention of the Opposition in their reporting. If you so highly support journalism why haven’t you made media independent from the information ministry,” said Shahid.

    Shahid added, “PM promised in my show that he will raise the standard of PTV like that of the BBC, now should I say the PM lied?”

  • Sikh hakeem shot dead in Peshawar

    Sikh hakeem shot dead in Peshawar

    Unidentified men shot down a Sikh hakeem near Charsadda Bus Stand on Thursday, Dawn reported.

    The police identified the deceased as hakeem Satnam Singh who was murdered in his clinic in the limits of Faqirabad police station.

    A police official told Dawn that unknown attackers opened fire on Satnam Singh and escaped the scene.

    A brother of the victim told the local police that Satnam Singh had gone from his home in Mohallah Jogan Shah to his clinic where he was murdered. He said that he had no enmity with anyone.

    Faqirabad SHO Ejaz Nabi said that an investigation is underway. He said it was not clear at this moment whether this was a case of targeted killing or had some other motive.

    Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan strongly condemned the murder of the Sikh hakeem.

    CM Khan asked the city police to immediately find and arrest the criminals. He also condoled with the victim’s family and said the killers would be behind bars soon.

  • Cyclone Gulab: Karachi on high alert as storm nears

    Cyclone Gulab: Karachi on high alert as storm nears

    The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued a warning to Karachi residents as a cyclone named Gulab nears the Sindh-Makran coast.

    People are advised to keep at a distance from trees, billboards and polls, Director Met Office Sardar Sarfaraz told ARY News.

    Earlier, as per the official notification, the coastal belts had also been warned as the sea conditions would remain very rough with high surge at times till October 3.

    The department also suggested that there will be urban flooding in Karachi, Badin, Thatta, Hyderabad, Dadu, Mirpurkhas, Shaeed Benazirabad, Lasbela, Sonmiani, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Turbat and Jiwani.

    The notification said: “The system is likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours and move northwestwards.”

    However, the Met Office said that the PMD Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, Karachi is closely monitoring the system.

    Currently, Hashtag #CycloneGulab is one of the top trends on Twitter Pakistan as heavy rainfall has caused electricity poles to fall in different parts of the city.

  • Govt officials directed to set ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ ringtone on phones

    Govt officials directed to set ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ ringtone on phones

    The Balochistan government has directed government officials to set the “Pakistan Zindabad” ringtone on their mobile phones, Geo News reported.

    A statement issued by the Balochistan government stated that it was decided in a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary that the administrative secretaries, additional secretaries, deputy secretaries and heads of relevant institutions should set the ringtone of “Pakistan Zindabad” on their mobile phones networks.

    The notification also added the procedure to set the caller tune for different mobile networks.

  • ‘We are friends of Afghanistan, not spokesmen for any particular group’: PPP’s Sherry Rehman lashes out at PM Khan

    ‘We are friends of Afghanistan, not spokesmen for any particular group’: PPP’s Sherry Rehman lashes out at PM Khan

    Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) leader Senator Sherry Rehman has said that Pakistan faces a serious threat after the hurried pullout of United States (US) forces from Afghanistan.

    Sherry Rehman, lashing out at Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, said, “We are friends of Afghanistan, not spokesmen for any particular group. We should not make decisions that hurt the country. The PM mentions sacrifice. Yes, that is correct, but why make fun of that sacrifice by saying we will give amnesty to outfits like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that have martyred not just our twice elected PM Benazir Bhutto but also the children of Army Public School and many of our brave soldiers.”

    She said that national unity was missing and said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was busy in their war narrative. The government is ignoring the Constitution and the parliament.

    “If we even try to help Pakistan, we are told our leaders are corrupt. How is that helping Pakistan? Our president Asif Ali Zardari also wrote op-eds in The Washington Post. He defended the whole of Pakistan, not just his party. Read the op-eds and see how parliament was conducted to unite in moments of danger.”

    “You need to pay attention to what’s going on in the Pakistan Senate, not just the US Senate. The PM of this country needs to respect the sanctity of the parliament and come here and discuss the situation instead of playing the blame game and disrupting unity. Is this how you defend the country?” she questioned.

    “While it is important to engage with all countries with self-respect, particularly angry superpowers like the US that itself is in turmoil over its 20 years occupation of Afghanistan, what are we doing to empower our own selves? Instead of trying to unite the parliament around a bipartisan foreign policy, the parliament has never met on the Afghan transition, the humanitarian crisis there, and the response. All over the world, joint meetings are being held in Afghanistan but Pakistan’s government is in a state of denial over dealing with the parliament”, said Senator Sherry Rehman.