The Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government is considering a proposal to promulgate an ordinance that would restrict children from evicting their aging parents from their homes.
According to Dawn, Federal Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem has discussed the proposal with the premier to promulgate the ordinance to prescribe the right of parents to evict their children and their spouses and protect the rights of parents living with their children, a Law Ministry statement said.
He informed PM Imran that the ordinance should focus on three things:
Firstly, It should restrain children from evicting their parents from their homes if the houses are owned by the children.
Secondly, if the houses are owned by parents, they should have the right to evict children and their spouses through simple procedures i.e. within 10 days through intervention of the police or district management.
Thirdly, if houses are constructed with funds provided by parents or grandparents, but they are registered in the names of children, some remedy is to be provided to parents till the time they are alive.
The minister told the PM that if such an ordinance were promulgated, it would earn the premier, law minister, the entire cabinet and also the president prayers of all parents of Pakistan.
“Within a matter of seconds, the PM approved the proposal and asked me to urgently draft the ordinance,” reports quoted Naseem as saying.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Saturday refused to say that former military bigwig as well as his ex-aide Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa was not guilty of corruption, maintaining that it wasn’t his job to say so.
In an interview with senior journalist Mansoor Ali Khan, when asked to say on camera if Bajwa was not guilty of corruption, the premier said, “I cannot say this because it is not my job to say this. However, I will say that he gave a very detailed answer to the allegations against him. I sat with our law minister and reviewed it.”
Earlier this year, Bajwa had rebutted a news report linking his military career to his family’s businesses, terming it “malicious propaganda”. Amid opposition’s tirades against him despite a clarification, he had decided to continue serving as the chairperson of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority but stepped down as the premier’s aide on information and broadcasting.
PM Imran himself had, however, expressed satisfaction over the ex-army official’s clarification regarding his assets and rejected the resignation at first.
“These were mere allegations and if anyone had any problems with it, they should file a case against the retired army officer with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB),” the premier said on Saturday.
He added that Bajwa was made the CPEC chairperson based on his credentials as opposed to any pressure from the army on him to do so. “He had served in the past as the commander of the Southern Command in Balochistan and had also worked closely with the Chinese. Gwadar is the focal point of the whole CPEC project.”
The premier said that the government had then appointed Bajwa as his special assistant on information as he had also worked as the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief and had the much-needed experience for the job.
PM Imran reiterated that he was not under any pressure from the armed forces and among other executive decisions, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in charge of the country’s foreign policy. “The army hasn’t [directed] me to do one thing which I did not want to do,” he said.
“I would have resisted the army if they exerted pressure on me. The entire foreign policy [being implemented today] is mine, you can check the PTI’s manifesto,” the premier added.
The prime minister said that Pakistan’s foreign policy today was centered around the PTI’s manifesto, adding that the world was praising Pakistan for advocating non-military solutions to conflicts. “There was pressure on us to take a side in a conflict between any Muslim countries; we said we would remain neutral and play our role in uniting Muslim countries instead.”
During the wide-ranging interview, PM Imran spoke on various issues and also trained guns at the opposition.
Responding to a question, he said that former PTI general-secretary Jahangir Tareen was going through “difficult times” but said that he would not interfere in the sugar inquiry investigation.
“Jahangir Tareen has been really close to us [in the past], we have worked together in the past closely,” he said. “Tareen says he is innocent. The investigation is going on, I will not interfere in matters of institutions,” added the PM.
He said that under his government, an inquiry against the sugar cartel was launched for the first time in Pakistan’s history. He said that an FIR had also been registered against Tareen.
When asked about former Punjab government spokesperson Fayazul Hasan Chohan who was shown the door a couple of weeks ago and Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was appointed as a special assistant to the chief minister (CM) of Punjab, the premier said both mattered to him.
“We need both Fayyaz Chohan and Firdous Ashiq Awan,” he said. “In order to win the match, you need to change the team sometimes,” he said.
The premier said that Chohan wanted a “strong” ministry which he had been given now.
Speaking further about the Punjab government, the PM said that his party had brought in people on merit. “The same setup was in power in Punjab over the past 30 years, but we brought in people on merit.”
He said that the new Punjab inspector general (IG) was doing a fabulous job, adding that Punjab CM Usman Buzdar was doing a commendable job as far as development projects were concerned. “You will see that after five years, Buzdar will be the number one provincial chief executive in the country,” he said.
When asked to respond to allegations of being a “selected” PM, the premier said that he couldn’t understand their criticism.
He said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the leader of his party because “he had shown a piece of paper” (in reference to Benazir Bhutto’s will) and Maryam Nawaz was leading the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) because she was Nawaz Sharif’s daughter.
“And they make these allegations against a man who has struggled in politics for the past 22 years,” said the premier, referring to himself.
He said that the leadership of the PML-N and the PPP had opened corruption cases against themselves. “Nawaz Sharif threw Asif Zardari in jail,” he said. “Our government only made cases against Shehbaz Sharif.”
Referring to former PM Nawaz’s medical condition, the premier said that when he read the PML-N chief’s medical reports, he couldn’t help but wonder whether a person could suffer from so many ailments. “No one exerted pressure on me to send Nawaz abroad,” he said, adding that no one could do so either.
To another question, PM Imran said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), being one of the best spy agencies in the world, knew about everything he does.
Two days before Kaavan is expected to fly to Cambodia, where he will retire in a wildlife sanctuary, US pop star Cher met Prime Minister Imran Khan and thanked him for his efforts in making this possible. The singer, who has campaigned for Kaavan’s freedom for years and is helping pay for his move, arrived in Pakistan this week to see the animal off.
“Just came from meeting to thank PM Imran Khan for making it possible for me to take Kaavan to Cambodia,” said Cher in a tweet.
Just Came From Meeting To Thank Prime Minister Imran Kahn For Making It Possible For Me To Take Kaavan To Cambodia. Kaavan Will Be Able To Leave For Cambodia On The 29. Think Documentary Will Be Heartwarming .
Meanwhile, a statement from PM Khan’s office said that the prime minister appreciated Cher’s efforts in retiring Kaavan to an elephant sanctuary and thanked the singer for her campaign and role in this regard.
The Prime Minister observed that it was indeed a happy moment for all of us that after giving joy and happiness to the people of Islamabad and Pakistan for about 35 years, Kaavan will now be able to retire with other elephants in a specialized sanctuary in Cambodia.
According to the PM Office, Cher also appreciated PM Khan’s efforts in combating climate change and working towards a cleaner and greener Pakistan.
“She also offered her support for furthering the green initiatives through her organisation ‘Free the Wild,’ added the PM office.
She said that both the “Protected Areas Initiative” and the “10 Billion Tree Tsunami” initiative of the government were highly commendable and praiseworthy as nature based tools for climate mitigation.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, who was also present at the meeting, also thanked the US singer for coming to Pakistan to see the elephant off.
As per details, 36-year-old Kaavan is set to fly out of Pakistan on November 29 on a Russian cargo plane, specially chartered for his transportation.
A team of vets and experts from Four Paws, an Austria-based animal welfare group, has spent months working with Kaavan to get him ready for the journey to Cambodia. Experts have trained Kaavan to enter a large metal crate that will be used to transport the animal to the airport.
Kaavan was also put on a diet of fruit and vegetables and has lost half a ton (450 kilograms). Previously, Kaavan was eating 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of pure sugar cane every day, with an occasional fruit and vegetable.
“All arrangements have been made, a Russian plane has been chartered that will land at Rawalpindi’s military (Chaklala Airport) in the morning of November 29, the same evening Kaavan will depart the Marghazar Zoo at 3 PM in VIP protocol paying his last regards to the city where he was brought as a calf from Sri Lanka in 1985. Kaavan was brought up at the same Marghazar Zoo. Here he had a female companion Saheli who later died of gangrene in 2012,” shared Director of the Four Paws Project Dr Amir Khalil.
“Now at the age of 36, Kaavan is leaving for yet another home into retirement,” said Dr Khalil.
The doctor added that there are many elephants at the sanctuary, but in particular three female elephants are awaiting Kaavan’s arrival. He joked that Kaavan might just find a girlfriend there.
On November 24, Islamabad Zoo gave Kaavan a farewell party, which was attended by the public and government officials. The party was held right outside Kaavan’s enclosure and also included performances by Haroon, Natasha Baig, Khumaariyan and Arieb Azhar.
Later, President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi also paid a visit to Islamabad Zoo to bid farewell to Kaavan. During his visit, President Alvi said that he hopes that Kaavan finds happiness in Cambodia.
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.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that the careless actions of the opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), can result in a second lockdown for the country, and would adversely affect people’s livelihoods.
“Opposition is callously destroying people’s lives & livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO. Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO,” he tweeted.
Opposition is callously destroying people”s lives & livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO. Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO.
While the premier has been against going into lockdown, he felt that the actions of the PDM and their refusal to stop their rallies would result in faster spread of the novel coronavirus, and this in turn would leave the country with no choice but to go into lockdown.
“If [coronavirus] cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown and the PDM will be responsible for [the] consequences,” he said further.
I do not want to take measures like a lockdown that will start hurting our economy which at the moment is showing signs of a robust recovery. Unfortunately, the Opposition’s only goal is NRO at whatever cost to the lives of people & the country’s economy.
PM Imran said that another lockdown would be terrible to the economy, which declared was “showing signs of a robust recovery”. However, he added that should the PDM continue with its actions, the government would have no choice but to impose another lockdown.
At the moment, there are a number of smart micro-lockdowns taking place across the country, where those streets with more than eight cases reported are shut down. Similarly, wedding halls, large public gatherings, and indoor events have been banned as per the official orders of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
On Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government had refused to grant permission for a public meeting planned by the PDM due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.
In response to the notification, the PDM had refused to back down and claimed that this is a ploy by the ruling party to prevent the rallies from taking place.
Ikhtiar Wali, the spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) KP chapter, had insisted that the coalition would go ahead with the rally.
Speaking to media persons on Friday, the spokesperson had said that the premier had held a rally in Swat a week ago and that the KP chief minister had held a large public gathering two days ago.
“Who did they ask for permission? And who granted them permission? So if there is no rule for the ruling party, then why is [there one] for us?” he had asked.
Separately, referring to the government as ‘Covid-18’, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz had rejected the government’s demands to postpone jalsas and public gatherings as coronavirus cases rise across the country.
“While a mask gives you protection from COVID-19, ‘Vote ko izzat do’ narrative & struggle will protect you from ‘Covid-18’ & all such future attempts, Insha’Allah. Protect yourself, protect your vote,” she tweeted.
As anti-government protests of the joint opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) gain momentum, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has announced a ban on political rallies across the country on recommendation of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), journalist Asad Ali Toor has reported.
According to the details, the ban was announced by the premier as he addressed the nation following a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on the COVID-19 pandemic, a second wave of which is currently taking toll on Pakistan.
Earlier it was announced by the PM’s Office in Islamabad that the premier would address a press briefing after the meeting.
وزیر اعظم عمران خان کی زیر صدارت قومی رابطہ کمیٹی برائے کویڈ-19 کا اجلاس شروع
The meeting comes after the NCOC recommended urgent measures to the NCC to control the rapidly-increasing infections across the country, Geo reported.
The NCOC recommended limiting all public gatherings to 500 people, including cultural, political, religious, entertainment, and civil gatherings.
It also suggested allowing only outdoor dining till 10 pm, shutting down cinemas and theatres, and closing down shrines beside an early closure of markets and safe days.
Meanwhile, the decision on early and extended winter vacations in schools was deferred till November 23, the Ministry of Federal Education/Professional Training said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed to have intelligence on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, alleging that former ambassador to the United States (US) Hussain Haqqani was “running Nawaz’s communication strategy”.
Speaking to a private media outlet on Thursday, the premier was referring to the former PM’s recent speeches in public meetings of his party and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) during which he had accused the army establishment of orchestrating his ouster.
Nawaz had gone on to name the Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chiefs and said that there was “a state above the state”.
Reacting to his political rival’s statements, Imran on Thursday accused Nawaz of trying to create rifts within the armed forces by encouraging army personnel to “rebel against” the military leadership.
“When they say that the [military leadership] is bad and the rest of the army is good; is army a democratic party that would move a no-confidence motion? You [Nawaz] are telling the army to launch a coup, to rebel [against the leadership]. Can there be a bigger [form of] treason?”
When asked if the government would take up a treason case against Nawaz, the premier did not give a clear answer and said, “Treason cases are hard to prove.”
He said that he had information on Nawaz’s activities but added that “court cases cannot be filed on agencies’ reports”.
WATCH VIDEO:
“A person who is sitting outside in a Mayfair luxury flat bought with stolen money is telling the army [personnel] to rebel. He is also trying to drive a wedge in the judiciary by taking the name of one judge saying he is good while another, who was a chief justice and gave the Panama judgement against him, was a bad judge.”
“Imran Khan is a Bollywood villain but Nawaz is a democrat. The person who grew up in Ziaul Haq’s lap is a democrat today, while Imran Khan who started his party from scratch, who mobilised people to come to power is an army puppet!”
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has approved funding for the advance purchase of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a statement released by the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation on Thursday.
The Health Ministry said that the prime minister has shown special interest in ensuring quality vaccines at the earliest and has approved funding in this regard. The ministry said the government has developed a COVID-19 vaccine strategy in response to global best practices.
According to the statement, under this strategy, the government has prioritised the groups most likely to be the initial recipients of a potential vaccine. It said an expert committee on the COVID-19 vaccine has been working on technical oversight and review of safety and efficacy data coming in from trials.
Earlier, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan confirmed that the PM has approved funds to purchase the possible vaccines of COVID-19 in advance. The funds were approved after the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination had written a letter to PM Imran Khan for advance booking of coronavirus vaccines.
Earlier on November 4, it was learnt that the health ministry has recommended purchases of potential coronavirus vaccines under last-stage trials and allocation of $100 million funds for its advance booking.
The ministry recommended allocation of $100 million in funds for the purchases of vaccines on an emergency basis for around 10 million nationals. In its first phase, the vaccines will be made available for elderly citizens and health workers.
After both the upper and lower houses of the parliament, details of assets and liabilities of Punjab Assembly members have also been released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), according to which, Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar is a millionaire or crorepati with his 10 immovable properties alone amounting to Rs35 million (Rs3.5 crores).
According to details, while some members of the provincial assembly also own offshore properties, others run businesses besides owning agricultural lands.
It has also emerged that CM Buzdar, on top of his 10 immovable properties, also has a 14-kanal bungalow in Taunsa Sharif and four kanals in Dera Ghazi Khan. His spouse, on the other hand, owns three pieces of land, whereas Buzdar himself also owns agricultural land in Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan besides three tractors, two vehicles and Rs7.7 million (Rs77 lacs) in his bank account.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi owns three properties worth Rs69.4 million (6.94 crores). He also has shares in three properties and owns a house each in both Lahore and Islamabad. The former CM also has shares in the Zahoor Palace Gujarat, has Rs9.9 million (Rs99 lacs) capital in a flour mill and Rs13.5 million (Rs1.35 crores) unsecured debt.
On top of this, he has Rs12.7 million in his bank account while his wife has assets worth Rs93.1 million in her name, including jewelry worth Rs2.1 million.
The assets of Hamza Shehbaz, who is the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, are worth Rs414 million (Rs41.4 crores). He owns Rs30 million (Rs3 crores) of agricultural land given by his brother Suleman Shehbaz, and has invested Rs130 million (Rs13 crores) in the country.
Hamza also has Rs10 million (Rs1 crore) in his bank account.
Provincial Minister Aleem Khan and his wife have properties worth Rs159.2 million (Rs15.9 crores). His daughter and wife have assets worth Rs7.8 million (Rs78 lacs) in England and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and stock shares worth Rs117.7 million (Rs11.77 crores).
Aleem also has an unsecured loan of Rs1.21 billion and owns three luxury cars worth Rs32.1 million (Rs3.21 crores) in addition to 65 tolas of gold. He also has Rs10 million (Rs1 crore) cash and Rs139.1 million (Rs13.91 crores) in his bank account.
Punjab Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan owns two properties worth Rs8.5 million (Rs85 lacs) while he and his spouse have a total of Rs7.9 million (Rs79 lacs) in their bank account.
Provincial Minister Raja Basharat owns more than Rs29.3 million (Rs2.93 crores) assets, while Provincial Minister Raja Rashid Hafeez owns more than Rs111 million (Rs11.1 crores) assets.
The documents also state that Ejaz Khan of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has total assets of only Rs274,000 (Rs0.27 million) and no car or jewelry or businesses at home or abroad. The lawmaker with the least assets and liabilities is Sajida Yousuf, who has only Rs217 in her bank account. She has no car, no jewelry and no property at home or abroad.
Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has invited his Pakistani counterpart, Imran Khan, to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) heads of government meeting being held in New Delhi on November 30.
According to reports, the Indian premier invited all the eight members and four observer countries on Tuesday during the online summit of the organisation held in Moscow, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Newsquoted sources as saying that the Russian president appreciated Pakistan’s proposals on various counts.
Modi, who tried to demean the objectives of the SCO, tried to take on Pakistan and China in the same stroke without naming them under the garb of respect of sovereignty and said in muffled words that India believed that to enhance connectivity it was important that we move forward while respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He boasted that India had always been resolute in working in sync with principles laid out in the SCO charter, but it was unfortunate that there had been repeated efforts to unnecessarily bring bilateral issues in the SCO agenda which was in violation of the SCO spirit.
It was an assault on Pakistan and China’s policies of enhancing connectivity in the region.
Modi referred to the Shanghai spirit and SCO charter, but he conveniently forgot that it was India that had humiliated the two documents by its actions and inactions.
Diplomatic sources told the English daily that none of the significant member countries’ premiers will attend the New Delhi virtual meeting except Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin while the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, and PM Imran might not be available to attend the heads of government meeting.
Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood or Additional Foreign Secretary Syed Faisal Tirmizi are likely to represent Pakistan at the huddle.
