Tag pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to present amendments to the budget in a National Assembly held on September 18, sources informed Geo News on Thursday.

A Senate session will be held on the same day in the evening.

According to sources, a joint Parliament session is expected to be held on Monday evening. President Arif Alvi will address the session.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had earlier issued directives to postpone they joint Parliament session by two days following the death of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife.

Members of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — headed by Nawaz’s brother Shehbaz Sharif — had requested for the postponement, citing their engagement with the last rites of Begum Kulsoom.
Government to make significant amendment to Finance Bill 2018-19: sources

On Wednesday, sources had informed Geo News that the PTI-led government will make a significant amendment to the Finance Bill 2018-19 along with changes to the amnesty scheme introduced by the previous government.

According to sources privy to the matter, the PML-N government had introduced tax exemption for annual income up to Rs1.2 million. The new government will reduce the slab from Rs1.2 million to Rs0.8 million, sources said.

Furthermore, recommendations will be made to increase tax revenue. The government will also propose the imposition of a one per cent regulatory duty on all import items.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Awn Chaudry has been appointed as adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

The Punjab government has issued a notification regarding Awn’s appointment.

Awn also took to Twitter to announce the news and thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and the PTI.

“I want to thank my Prime Minister Imran Khan and my party for their continued trust in me,” he said.

The PTI leader also vowed to try his best to serve with sincerity and honesty.

“My life and services are all devoted for Pakistan and I pledge to do my best in this new position with sincerity and honesty. Truly humbled and honoured by this appointment!” he said.

DHAKA: Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India in the semi-final of the ongoing SAFF Championship 2018 today.

This will be Pakistan’s first appearance in the semi-final after 13 years where they will take on India, the only unbeaten side in the competition so far.

India were placed in Group B alongside Sri Lanka and the Maldives while Group A consisted of Nepal, Pakistan, hosts Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

Pakistan began their campaign in the championship with a 2-1 win over Nepal in Group A. However, they lost their second group game, 1-0 to hosts Bangladesh before ending their group stage with a 3-0 win over Bhutan.

Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were all tied on six points in Group A but the former two teams progressed to the semi-final stage courtesy of a better goal difference.

On the other hand, India started their tournament with a 2-0 win against Sri Lanka and then defeated Bhutan 2-0 before progressing to the semi-final.

Head to head, India have the upper hand against Pakistan in football.

Out of the 23 times, the two sides have met, India have won 10 games while Pakistan have won just three. Meanwhile, 10 games between the two sides have ended in a draw.

The last time the two sides met was during the 2013 SAFF Championship where India beat Pakistan 1-0.

The tournament is taking from September 4 to September 15 in Bangladesh.

JARANWALA: A man killed his sisters over a property dispute in Jaranwala area late Sunday, according to the local police.

The accused, Atif, wanted the ownership of his sisters’ property. Upond Nazia and Shazia’s refusal to transfer the property to their brother, the latter took the lives of the two women by opening fire on them, the police said.

According to the law enforcement authorities, a search is under way to find the accused man.

Incidents of violence related to property disputes are common in Pakistan.
Tenant’s son throws acid on Sukkur landlord’s daughter over property spat

Last month, a man threw acid on a 20-year-old girl in Islam Colony in a dispute over rented property. The survivor’s father alleged that the son of his tenant doused his daughter with acid after he asked them to vacate the property.

The girl’s father said he believed the tenants wanted to illegally take over his property, adding that they had not left the premises despite being told to earlier.

ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to strengthen the strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is on a three-day official visit to Pakistan, met Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The two counterparts held a one-on-one meeting at the Foreign Office.

Delegation-level talks between the two delegations led by the two foreign ministers were also held, according to FO spokeperson Dr Muhammad Faisal.

“Chinese State Councillor Yi underscored Beijing’s firm support to Pakistan’s socioeconomic progress and development,” the FO spokesperson said.

Yi also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan to be the guest of honour at the International Import Expo in China.

“China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), economic cooperation, cultural and educational exchanges and regional situation were discussed during the meeting,” the spokesperson further said.

The Chinese foreign minister arrived in Pakistan on Friday.

He will also call on the president, the prime minister, National Assembly speaker and the chief of army staff (COAS).
Chinese FM arrives in Pakistan on three-day visit

This is the first official visit by a Chinese dignitary since the new government was formed in Pakistan.

The Chinese state councilor is visiting Pakistan upon the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced Thursday.

Chunying said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners, adding that the two countries are “good neighbours, good friends, and good brothers”.

Moreover, she said China-Pakistan relations have maintained a good momentum of development. “The two sides have maintained frequent high-level exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in various fields has progressed smoothly,” she added.

She further said the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has achieved fruitful results.

She added, Pakistan successfully held General Election and elected a new president, adding, the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have sent congratulatory messages to President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan, respectively.

(media92news)
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday issued notices to 69 members of the National Assembly for abstaining from voting during the election for prime minister as it heard a petition challenging Imran Khan’s election as PM.
Petitioner Sheikh Zahid Mahmood’s counsel A.K. Dogar filed a case on Aug 30 pleading that it was mandatory under Article 91(4) of the Constitution for every MNA to cast his/her vote to person(s) nominated for the election of prime minister.
The petitioner maintained that two major political parties, the PPP and the Jamaat-i-Islami, did not cast their votes in the election for PM. He held that the chosen representatives of the people could not abstain from voting and urged the court to declare that the election of PM Khan had been unconstitutional. He also asked that it be made essential for every citizen of voting age in Pakistan to cast their vote in the general election.
The court accepted the petition on Sept 4 and set Nov 1 as the date of the first hearing of the case. The petitioner, however, asked the court on Thursday to expedite hearing of the case. The Election Commission of Pakistan, PM Khan, PPP, JI and the federal law ministry have been made party to the case.

A complete shutdown is being observed in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) on Thursday to register protest against the Indian government’s attempts to abrogate Article 35A of the constitution.

Tensions in the occupied territory have worsened before a major Supreme Court hearing on the troubled region, which residents fear could allow Indians from outside Kashmir to buy property in the state and get government jobs.

The Indian Supreme Court will hear arguments on Friday on a legal challenge against a 1954 constitutional provision, Article 35A, that reserved the special privileges for Kashmir permanent residents.

Residents seeking Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan, along with business and civil society groups, have opposed scrapping Article 35A.

The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to annul the constitutional provisions that grant special status to Kashmir.

Call for the strike across IoK was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Muhammad Yasin Malik.

Meanwhile, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more youth in Bandipore district on Thursday, raising the toll to three in less than 24 hours in the occupied territory.

The youth was killed by troops during a cordon and search operation at Parra Mohalla in Hajin area of the district.

ISLAMABAD: The talks between Pakistan and India would be held today over reported violation of the Indus Water Treaty, with two controversial water storage and hydro power projects being built by India.

A nine-member delegation headed by Indian Water Commissioner P K Saxena reached Pakistan via Wagah border a day earlier.

The Pakistani delegation will be headed by Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Meher Ali Shah.

During the talks, both the countries will present their reports over the matter.

Following meetings between the two parties, a joint notification would be issued.

The projects by India have been started on Chenab River, which violate the Indus Waters Treaty signed between the two countries, sources said.

Officials have confirmed that India wanted to place spillway of 1,000 megawatts of Pakal Dul Dam on Chenab River in Indian-occupied Kashmir, about 15 metres down against the permissible limit, which will give the country undue leverage of holding 11,000 acres of feet water in addition to allowed volume of water storage, The News reported.

India wanted to establish water storage capacity of 88,000 acre feet on Chenab River with the setting up of Pakal Dul Dam.

Pakal Dul Dam is a reservoir-based scheme currently under construction on river Marusudar, the main right bank tributary of Chenab River in Kishtwar tehsil of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir, while lower Kalnai project is of 48 megawatts on another tributary of the river.

Imran Khan, the newly elected prime minister of Pakistan also holds the badge of being the former Chancellor of “University of Bradford”, recently received a congratulatory tweet from his Bradford team as he was sworn in at a ceremony in Islamabad on Saturday.

Khan is mustering praises and well wishes for his upcoming premiership from all over the globe when University of Bradford added to the list.

“Congratulations to our former Chancellor, Imran Khan. Today he has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. From cricket hero, to University of Bradford Chancellor, to Pakistani PM, an incredible journey”, University of Bradford tweeted.

However, this university was the first institution in Britan to establish a Department of Peace Studies in 1973, which is currently the world’s largest university center for the study of peace and conflict.

India put Twitter on fire as cricket star Navjot Singh Sidhu attended Imran Khan’s oath taking ceremony when he was invited by the elected prime minister after his win along with other cricketers like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar who declined the invitation because of their prior engagements.

However, being an advocate of peace for both nations Sidhu claimed that he is here as an “Ambassador of goodwill” and wants to boast friendly terms between both neighbors by following gestures like these.

“These moments of democratic change in Pakistan are very important. I feel lucky that Imran Khan, being a friend, invited me. It is an honor for me. I am going to Pakistan as a goodwill ambassador. I am going there with the hope that relations between our two nations will improve,” former Indian cricketer told media.

But on the contrary, India fumes on Twitter while expressing their rage and fret over cricketer turned politician for attending the ceremony. Moreover, Twitteratis questioned his credibility while blowing out at him for exchanging pleasantries with Bajwa.

Few linked this to the recent terrorist attack in Sopor while questioning on his priorities as an Indian politician or as Imran Khan’s friend.