Category انگلثں نیوز

Supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) block the Islamabad Highway to protest in Islamabad on October 31, 2018. Photo: AFP
KARACHI: Roads were empty and certain routes were blocked in major cities across the country as religious parties continued to protest for a second day on Thursday following a Supreme Court verdict acquitting Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy allegations.

Although, most of the routes that were closed a day earlier in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have now been opened for traffic, some are still blocked.

Karachi

In Karachi, traffic has been blocked at 15 places owing to the ongoing protests.

Teen Talwar, Star Gate at Shahrah-e-Faisal, Numaish, Liaquatabad No 10, Sohrab Goth, Korangi No 5, Bara Board, Baldia No 4, Ranchor Line, Shoe Market and New Karachi have been blocked for traffic.

Further, protests are also taking place at Hub River Road, Baldia, Maripur Road, Orangi Town No 5, Power House Chowrangi, Nagan Chowrangi, Teen Hatti and MT Khan Road.

Lahore

Meanwhile, in Lahore traffic has been blocked at five places — Charring Cross at Mall Road, Data Darbar and Shahdara Chowk, Akari X and Bhatta Chowk.

Roads from Askari X and Bhatta Chowk to the Allama Iqbal International Airport have also been blocked leading to difficulties for passengers.

Islamabad

The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Faizabad Interchange is also blocked.

Roads are also blocked at Dhoke Kala Khan, Tramri Chowk and Karal Chowk.

Further, traffic is blocked at routes leading to Taxila, Gujar Khan and Pir Sohawa.

According to a motorways spokesperson, Pindi Bhattian-Lahore, Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad and Faisalabad-Gojra motorway are blocked for traffic.

Peshawar

In Peshwar, protests were being staged at the Ring Road and GT Road. Roads leading to the motorway have also been blocked.

On Wednesday, following the protests, Section 144 was imposed across Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan barring the gathering of more than four persons in public places as well as pillion riding. Section 144 has been imposed till November 10.

Educational institutes closed
All educational institutes across Punjab will remain closed today in light of the traffic and law and order situation in the country, a spokesperson for the provincial government confirmed.

All educational institutes in Punjab, private ones in Sindh, KP to remain closed today

In Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, however, only the private educational institutes will remain closed, while all schools, colleges, and universities in Balochistan are expected to remain open as per schedule.

The Punjab government spokesperson added that intermediate exams slated for Thursday under all secondary education boards have been postponed and that a new date will be disclosed later.

The School Education Department, in light of the expected traffic situation today, has also announced a holiday, while the University of Engineering has deferred the exams that were scheduled for today.

Private educational institutes in all of KP’s districts, including Peshawar, are also to remain closed today.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov speaks during his meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, China. Photo: Reuters
ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov arrived in Islamabad on Thursday for a one-day visit.

According to the foreign office spokesperson, the Uzbek FM will have a one to one meeting with FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi followed by delegation level talks, Radio Pakistan reported.

Further, Kamilov is expected to call on Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Pakistan and Uzbekistan enjoy a close and cordial relationship founded on mutual trust and understanding and augmented by strong cultural and religious affinities.

A day earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari met with PM Imran and FM Qureshi to discuss relations between the two countries and matters of mutual interest.

File photo of PM Imran chairing a federal cabinet meeting.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned an emergency meeting of the federal cabinet today (Thursday).

The country’s current economic and political situation will be discussed during the meeting, according to sources. The cabinet will also be briefed on the premier’s China visit, they added.

“The current situation in the country following a Supreme Court verdict acquitting Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy allegations, is also expected to be discussed,” the sources further said.

Religious parties are staging protests in major cities across the country following the top court’s verdict. Roads have been blocked and educational institutes have been closed due to the protests.

On Wednesday, PM Imran backed the Supreme Court’s decision in the Asia Bibi case and warned protesters against clashing with the state.

PM says Asia Bibi verdict constitutional, warns agitators of stern action

“I’m here only because a Supreme Court verdict was announced today. The way a small section reacted to it and the language that they used, I am forced to address you,” PM Imran said.

“The decision of the judges is according to the constitution and Pakistan’s constitution is according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah,” he said, referring to Asia Bibi’s acquittal by the apex court.

“Only enemies of the state call for execution of judges and rebellion against the army chief.”

PM Imran appealed to the nation not to listen to such elements, warning the agitators not to clash with the state or hurt the country only for their vote bank and political gain. “If you do this, the state will fulfill its responsibility,” he said.

ISLAMABAD: In its first meeting under the PTI-led government, the Board of Privatisation Commission on Tuesday decided to slash the list of entities on the privatisation agenda — including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) — set by the previous government.

The final list of 34 public sector entities — excluding the national flag carrier, Steel Mills and some other state-owned entities (SOEs) — would be presented to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) on Wednesday (today).

Sources privy to the board meeting told Dawn that the meeting — presided by Chairman Privatisation Commission Mohammad Mian Soomro — conducted a thorough review of the privatisation programme and finalised the list.

According to sources, the government has decided to exclude PIA, PSM, Pakistan Railways and power distribution companies from the privatisation agenda.

The government will begin the privatisation programme with small entities including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), First Women Bank and National Insurance Company.

Meanwhile, a retired official of Pakistan Air Force has been appointed as the new head of PIA in a bid to regain the glory of national flag carrier. The government may also come up with a new plan for Steel Mills.

The government plans to start privatization of 11 entities on short-term, 12 entities on medium-term and remaining 11 on long-term basis before the end of its tenure.

The PML-N government had decided to restructure PIA, followed by divestment of 26 per cent of government equity stakes to strategic partner with management control. While in the case of Pakistan Steel, the decision was divestment with management control.

The issue of Roosevelt Hotel in New York came up for discussion. However no firm proposal for privatization was considered.

According to sources, the issue of outstanding payment of $800 million by the management of Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates against the divestment of 26pc government share in PTCL also came under review during the board meeting.

The meeting was informed that 95pc properties have been transferred in the name of PTCL. Despite meeting this demand of the UAE telecom company, the outstanding amount has yet to be paid.

Since Pakistan is facing serious financial crunch, Prime Minister Imran Khan may be asked to take up the matter at the highest level to resolve the issue, sources added.

An official statement released after the board meeting said the list of active privatization programme was finalized after consulting all relevant ministries and due consideration was given to the feedback provided by them. The board members gave their suggestions to include and exclude SOEs for the next privatisation programme.

Mr Soomro directed for the recovery of outstanding dues receivable from the buyers of SOEs that were privatized in the 1990s. It must be recalled that approximately Rs3.9bn are yet to be received from defaulter buyers of various SOEs.

The chairman also directed to fix responsibility and approach all relevant investigative bodies to reach the truth and rectify the problem.

Meanwhile, the government has reconstituted CCOP, with Minister for Finance Asad Umar as chairman.

LAHORE:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Prime Minister Imran Khan has set a deadline of two months for provincial ministers in Punjab to improve performance and urged them to either perform or get ready to be sent home, according to provincial Housing Minister Mian Mehmoodur Rashid.

Briefing the media on the prime minister’s address to the PTI’s parliamentary party here on Tuesday, Mr Rashid said Mr Khan warned the provincial ministers that if their performance did not improve the cabinet would not be reshuffled, instead the non-performing ministers would be sent home.

PM Khan paid a short visit to the city on Tuesday during which he addressed the parliamentary party and held a meeting with Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. He returned to Islamabad in the evening.

Mr Rashid said PM Khan was monitoring performance of the provincial cabinet.
Mehmoodur Rashid says Imran has made it clear non-performing ministers will have no place in cabinet

He said the prime minister believed that 90 per cent bureaucrats considered themselves as employees of the state and followed the rules. “The trouble is with the remaining 10pc who act more as personal servants of the rulers,” he quoted the prime minister as saying.

The provincial minister said the prime minister had made it clear that such bureaucrats “would not and should not get active postings”, he added.

He said PM Khan had told the cabinet members that they should prioritise the development agenda for each district. “Though every district might have its own peculiar development needs the entire province needs clean drinking water and it must be given priority over other needs. The entire planning should be for the good of common man. The common man must feel relieved,” he quoted the prime minister as saying.

He said during his address, PM Khan hailed the financial package from Saudi Arabia and informed the parliamentary party that he was going to China and the nation would get more good news soon. “I would not be seeking loans in China, but investment and technology transfer. The Chinese are also keen to help Pakistan in both areas,” PM Khan was quoted as saying.

Mr Rashid said the prime minister expressed his seriousness about the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme and said he had already presided over half a dozen meetings in this regard.

The minister said during his meeting with Mr Elahi, PM Khan discussed with him the opposition’s boycott of the provincial assembly’s proceedings. The speaker briefed the prime minister on how he was trying to run the house smoothly. The speaker informed the prime minister that the opposition was trying to create disruptions in the house.

The prime minister has reportedly told the speaker that he should run the house according to the rules and regulations, and not bother about the opposition’s behaviour.

GUJAR KHAN:(Net News/ Media 92 News) A retired judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) was shot dead and his niece injured on Tuesday on the Mandra-Chakwal Road in the jurisdiction of the Jatli police station.

Chaudhry Mahmood Akhtar, 70, a former LHC judge who was practicing as a lawyer in Rawalpindi, was returning from his native village when his car was intercepted by an unknown armed man near the Turkwal Village. The man opened fi re, killing the former judge on the spot.

His wife and niece, Sajida, who were accompanying him in the car, started throwing stones at the attacker, who shot his niece in the shoulder before fl eeing. Sajida was rushed to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Gujar Khan from where she was referred to the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. She is said to be in stable condition.

The Jatli police have registered a case and started investigations. The family is awaiting the post-mortem report. A police offi cial and some close friends of Chaudhry Mehmood Akhtar told Dawn the former judge may have been killed due to an old enmity.
Members of the Chakwal Bar Council came to the hospital when they heard of the incident. The former judge will be buried on Wednesday in his native village of Turkwal.

The Pakistan Bar Council has condemned the killing of Chaudhry Mehmood Akhtar and has urged the government to arrest his killers at the earliest.

Separately, 19-year-old Isma Pervez and her fiancé, Mohammad Bilal, both residents of Gujar Khan, were found dead on the roadside in Sandal, Gujar Khan.

The police have registered a murder case and started investigations.

(Net News/ Media 92 News)Thousands of police guarded the world´s biggest statue ahead of its inauguration by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday with local people threatening protests over the enormous figure.

Activists said about a dozen of their leaders had been detained ahead of the spectacular opening of the 182-metre (600-foot) tall tribute to Indian independence hero Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with air force jets and helicopters to shower flowers on the statue during a flypast.

Anand Mazgaonkar, a community group leader in Narmada district of Gujarat state where the statue has been built over the past four years, said plain clothes police took away 12 people late Tuesday to the local police headquarters.

Police denied they had made any detentions. But authorities are taking no chances in case community groups stage protests to demand compensation for land taken to erect the Statue of Unity, which cost INR29.9 billion ($400 million).

“More than 5,000 police personnel have been deployed at various points in the 10 kilometre radius of the statue site,” said Narmada police inspector general Abhay Chudasama.

“Police patrolling has been intensified in the wake of protests by the local tribal community and leaders. Drones and helicopters will be keeping watch on the entire area,” he told reporters.

Posters of Modi with Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani were torn down or had their faces blackened at the weekend. The chiefs of 22 villages around the statue signed an open letter calling on Modi to stay away from the inauguration. Police guards kept watch on posters put in place of the torn ones.

Nationalist giant
Local legislator and community group leader Chotu Vasava reaffirmed a threat to stage protests on the eve of the ceremonies around the statue of Sardar Patel, who played a key role in unifying India after its independence in 1947.

“Tribals have been exploited by different governments, the ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is repeating it again,” Vasava said, vowing to continue protests.

“I am not against Sardar, but what is the use of the statue if the people on the land have to suffer and are moved from their homes?”

More than 80 per cent of the local population are from tribal groups with special protected status.

The Gujarat government said the 185 families moved to make way for the statue had been compensated and given 1,200 acres (475 hectares) of new land.

Modi, whose nationalist government has made the statue one of its flagship projects ahead of a national election next year, arrived in Gujarat´s main city of Ahmedabad on Tuesday night.

He is to pay tribute at the foot of the statue of Sardar Patel, who has become a hero for nationalists.

Gujarat government chief secretary JN Singh said that dance troupes from across India would perform at the inauguration.

“Air force planes and helicopters will shower flowers on the statue during the unveiling,” he told reporters.

The statue is more than twice the size of New York´s Statue of Liberty and also dwarfs the 128 metre (400 feet) high Spring Temple Buddha in China, the world´s next-biggest statue. It is made up of nearly 100,000 tonnes of concret and steel.

Online booking to visit the Statue of Unity has opened with a INR350 ($4.75) admission fee for the 153-metre-high observation deck.

Indian authorities hope the statue will attract 15,000 visitors a day to the remote corner of Gujarat, which is about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the nearest city of Vadodora.

India is also working on a giant statue of 17th-century warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji, riding a horse and brandishing a sword, which should dominate the Mumbai shoreline from 2021. The current design would make it 212 metres high.

PESHAWAR:(Net News/ Media 92 News) The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday declared several provisions of the Fata Interim Governance Regulation, 2018, including assigning of judicial powers to administrative officers in the tribal districts being merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in conflict with the Constitution.

In a short order pronounced by a two-member PHC bench, headed by Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and also comprising Justice Mussarat Hilali, the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments were directed to make alternative arrangements in accordance with the Constitution within 30 days.

The bench accepted a writ petition filed by Advocate Ali Azim Afridi, who had challenged the Fata Interim Governance Regulation, 2018, on multiple grounds and had requested the court to declare the same unconstitutional.

Directs federal, KP governments to make alternative arrangements within a month

The court pronounced the order after the petitioner and the counsel for the federal and KP governments concluded their arguments.
A detailed judgement will be issued later.

The petitioner earlier argued that the interim governance law was in conflict with Article 175 of the Constitution, which guaranteed separation of the judiciary from the executive.

According to the petitioner, the permission granted to commissioners to act as judges, formation of a council of elders to decide civil and criminal matters, constitution of a qaumi jirga, modification of some chapters of the code of criminal procedure and inclusion of the Third Schedule in the regulation through which judicial powers were assigned to administrative officers violated the Constitution.

The petitioner had implicated the federation through law secretary; the president through his principal secretary; state and frontier region ministry through its secretary, KP government through law secretary, and secretary of the home and tribal affairs department as respondents in the case.

Then president Mamnoon Hussain had promulgated the impugned notification on May 25, which was notified in the Official Gazette on May 29.

The regulation also caused repeal of the colonial-era Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

Mr Afridi said the impugned regulation mentioned that agencies in Fata were declared tribal districts and tehsil and frontier regions subdivisions, while nomenclature of political agent was changed to deputy commissioner, additional political agent to additional commissioner and assistant political agent to assistant deputy commissioner.

He said all those administrative officers had been empowered to act as judges in their respective capacity.

In sheer disregard to the law, the petitioner argued, the deputy commissioner had been allowed to constitute a council of elders for settling disputes of civil nature, while a likeminded individual called a ‘judge’ was allowed to form a council of elders for deciding disputes of criminal nature.

He said the interim governance regulation provided for the executive to be considered part of the judiciary, which was against Article 175(3) of the Constitution. He argued that following the passage of the Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, through which tribal areas were merged with the KP, the government continued to operate under the impugned regulation instead of regular laws, which was illegal.

The petitioner recalled that the federal and provincial government representatives had given undertakings before the Supreme Court that after Fata’s merger with KP all federal and provincial laws would be applicable to the tribal districts.

In their response, the federal and KP governments had pointed out that there was a legal vacuum due to the repeal of FCR and the interim governance regulation was introduced for an interim period and not as a permanent law.

The additional advocate general told the court that the KP government had committed before the Supreme Court that all laws in practice in the province and rest of the country would be made applicable to the tribal districts of former Fata within 30 days.

ABU DHABI:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Pakistan take on New Zealand in the first game of the three-match T20 series at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi today (Wednesday).

Pakistan maintained their top spot in the ICC T20 ranking with a 3-0 whitewash of Australia in Dubai on Sunday, cementing their place as the leading lights of the game’s shortest format.

Speaking to the media, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed admitted New Zealand, two points behind Australia in the world rankings having played three fewer matches, will be a tougher opponent.

“They [New Zealand] have a strong team with ideal batsmen for T20 and a balanced bowling attack so we need to set the tone from the first game by winning it,” said Sarfraz.

He added, “We want to carry forward the winning momentum of the Australia series.”

Pakistan has won 10 of their 18 previous T20 internationals against New Zealand.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is also aware of the threat posed by Pakistan and said his team needed to be at their best to beat the top team.

“Obviously, Pakistan are a strong side,” said Williamson.

“That’s something we’ve known for a long time. The last time we played against them was at home in New Zealand and it was a tough series,” added Williamson of the January series Pakistan won 2-1.

“They are extremely strong in these conditions. Their rankings suggest that as well. They have had a lot of success in the format in recent times.”

Pakistan have named an unchanged side to face New Zealand. However, opener Fakhar Zaman is still sidelined with the knee problem that forced him to sit out Sunday’s game against Australia in Dubai.

The remaining two matches of the three-match series will be played in Dubai on November 3rd and November 4th. The two teams will then play three Tests and three one-day internationals.

The match between Pakistan and Australia will start at 9pm Pakistan Standard Time.

Squads
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Asif Ali, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Waqas Maqsood, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips (wicketkeeper), Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s ambitious plan to reform the Punjab Police is on hold, after the recent resignation of retired police officer Nasir Khan Durrani as chairman of the Commission on Police Reforms and Implementation in Punjab.

Durrani cited poor health as the cause of his resignation. However, it is widely believed he resigned to record his protest when the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Punjab, Mohammad Tahir was abruptly removed and replaced by Amjad Javaid Saleemi. Khwaja Khalid Farooq, a retired IGP of Punjab, soon gave credence to this belief by tweeting that Durrani had resigned probably due to the premature transfer of IGP Tahir.

Unnamed officials were quoted as saying that Durrani told his subordinate he had reservations over IGP Tahir’s abrupt removal. It was reported that offices of the Commission on Police Reforms and Implementation in Punjab, located in the GOR-1 Lahore, were closed down, apparently temporarily, when Durrani refused to take back his resignation.

This triggered a chain of events as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) immediately took notice of the IGP Punjab’s premature transfer on the eve of by-elections on 36 parliamentary and provincial assembly seats, including Punjab. The ECP suspended the notification of the transfer, as it had barred the government from making any postings and transfers until the October 14 polls.

The government found it difficult to defend IGP Tahir’s transfer as Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry made a vague statement that the Punjab police chief had refused to obey orders and failed to work in accordance with the PTI’s agenda of reform. His government should have known that postings and transfers during the election campaign have been banned by the ECP, but it still went ahead, only to face embarrassment when the order was suspended.

Tahir continued to work as IGP Punjab until the by-elections. However, it was obvious he will be posted out after the by-polls. Finally, Saleemi replaced him as planned.

Tahir spent less than two months as IGP Punjab, after his appointment on September 7 from a panel of three shortlisted candidates. His term appears to be the shortest for an IGP in Punjab.

Earlier, Tahir had served as the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), during the rule of the caretaker government. The IGPs of all four provinces were replaced at the time to ensure free and fair general election.

For now, Tahir has been made the commandant of National Police Academy.

Back to Durrani. Now, if poor health was an issue, he would not have accepted the job to head the reforms commission, in the first place. He took the job as a challenge and began drawing up plans for reforming the police in his native Punjab. Durrani had reformed and depoliticised the KP Police and set up several specialized training schools as the IGP, during PTI’s rule in the province from 2013-2018. In fact, his work earned him generous praise from the party chairman, Imran Khan.

It is also a fact that Durrani cited health reasons for declining the offer to become the Punjab caretaker chief minister, who was tasked to hold the elections in Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest province in terms of population and the main battleground between deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Imran Khan’s PTI in the July 2018 election.

His reluctance to become the caretaker chief minister was understandable. The job had to be performed in full glare of the media in a politically charged situation. Given Pakistan’s past history, polarised politics and previous elections, Durrani opted to stay away to avoid controversy.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first speech mentioned Durrani as the architect of police reforms in KP and announced that he will undertake a similar task in Punjab.

Durrani would not have accepted the job without first getting an assurance that there will be no political interference in his work. He had obtained such a promise before accepting Imran Khan’s offer to become the IGP for KP. As Durrani publicly said on several occasions, Imran Khan stood by his word and made no interference in police department affairs.

The outcome was a reformed KP Police that already had a good reputation, and had offered tremendous sacrifices as the frontline law-enforcement force in the war against terrorism. Khan used to proudly claim that his government got the KP Police free from political interference to make it an exemplary force. He mentioned it as a major PTI achievement in KP and pledged to replicate it in Punjab, where he blamed the PML-N leadership for politicising the police.

However, the prime minister’s plan to undertake similar reforms in Punjab met its first hurdle when IGP Tahir was unceremoniously forced out of his job by the PTI’s provincial government.

This wasn’t acceptable to Durrani, who saw his task as police reformer of a system, in which such arbitrary transfers and postings would no longer be possible. Durrani may have realised he will have to face political interference in his work in Punjab and it was better to quit now than later. Perhaps the political culture is different in Punjab than in the more egalitarian KP society.

Already, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was left red-faced, and he, and certain police officials, had to tender an apology to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which took suo motu notice of the abrupt transfer of Pakpattan district police officer Rizwan Gondal following the late August incident involving Khawar Maneka, the former husband of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Maneka.

But despite these happenings, Prime Minister Khan may not easily give up his wish to bring reforms in the Punjab Police, but to accomplish this he will have to persuade Durrani to resume his job or find someone equally competent and dynamic. Besides, he will need to push his party’s lawmakers and allies to agree to police reforms in Punjab. He managed to make this happen in KP, but Punjab presents a bigger challenge.