Current Final

Category: National

  • ‘No place for those who do not trust PM Khan,’ says Qureshi

    ‘No place for those who do not trust PM Khan,’ says Qureshi

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) has no place for the ones who do not trust Prime Minister Imran Khan. Qureshi said this on ‘Geo Pakistan’.

    He said that all the elected members of the party are committed to Imran Khan’s discipline.

    “No elected member could violate the party discipline over the vote of confidence and the finance bill,” he said, further adding that the membership of those who do not adhere to the government’s stance will get affected.

    Qureshi said that PM Khan had invited the pro-Tareen group members and heard their concerns. PM assured them that there will be no injustice.

    Without taking any names, Qureshi hinted that Jahangir Tareen must show faith in his leader. “Those who no longer have faith in the PM should not stay in the party,” he stated.

    Nazir Chauhan, a prominent member of JKT group, criticized PM on ARY News Programme, ’11th hour.’

    “So if there is no Imran Khan, there will be no PTI?” Nazir questioned angrily. He further added, “We gave 12 years to the party . Are we mad or are we slaves?”

    Chauhan asked, “Is PTI only Imran Khan?”

    Shortly after this, #IStandWithImranKhan started trending on Twitter. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar also took to Twitter to show support for PM Khan.

    Jahangir Tareen denied reports that he was forming a forward bloc in the party.

    Tareen said, “We were part of PTI, and we will continue to remain part of PTI.”

    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    ‘We will continue to remain part of PTI,’ says Tareen
    
			
    ‘We will continue to remain part of PTI,’ says Tareen
    
			
    

    Disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen on Wednesday denied reports that he was forming a forward bloc in the party.
    




    “We were part of the PTI, and we will continue to remain part of the PTI,” Tareen announced outside the banking court where he had appeared for a hearing. He said that the like-minded group was established three months ago. 
    




    Tareen said that his supporters had decided to form a separate group after the Punjab government initiated “revenge actions” against them.
    




    Tareen said his ‘supporters’ were standing with him as far as, what he referred to as the “fake” FIR lodged against Tareen. The pro-Tareen group had met the prime minister recently.
    




    On Tuesday night, Jahangir Khan Tareen hosted a dinner at his residence and announced a ‘group of like-minded people’. The newly formed group has appointed PTI’s Raja Riaz as Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly while PML-N’s Saeed Akbar Nawani will lead in the Punjab Assembly.
    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    ‘PTI is Imran Khan’: PTI reacts to Jahangir Tareen’s new political group
    
			
    

    On Tuesday night, Jahangir Khan Tareen hosted a dinner at his residence and announced a ‘group of like-minded people’. The newly formed group has appointed PTI’s Raja Riaz as Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly while PML-N’s Saeed Akbar Nawani will lead in the Punjab Assembly.
    




     




    PTI’s Nazir Chohan has claimed that the new JKT party has eight members of the National Assembly and 32 members of the Provincial assembly with them. However, the names of the members of the ‘like-minded’ group are yet to be revealed.
    




    He further added that the whole group will resign if any of their members are disqualified. 
    




    A few hours after the news broke, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close aide, Senator Faisal Javed Khan in a tweet wrote, “Imran Khan is PTI and PTI is Imran Khan,” which started speculation on social media that the tweet referred to the official breakup between JKT and PM Khan and the signalling of a new party.
    




    


    




    Following the sugar inquiry commission report last year, the friendship between Jahangir Khan Tareen (JKT) and Imran Khan ended with JKT leaving for London and returning with rumours that he was leaving the party.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    ‘PML-N was never at war with the establishment,’ says Abbasi
    
			
    

    Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), never had any quarrel with the establishment. Abbasi made this statement in Dawn News programme, ‘Live with Adil Shahzeb.’
    




    


    




    “There is no point of distinctive appeasement with the establishment when we are not at war with them.” says Abbasi.
    




    The PML-N leader said his party always spoke for the country’s betterment, adding that even today, they do not seek power.
    




    Abbasi said the PML-N believes the country is in a miserable condition, thanks to the ‘stolen general elections’.
    




    “Is our country in a better state today than it was on May 2, 2018?” Abbasi asked the show host, “If the country is in a better position, I have no argument to defend my point. But, if the situation is pathetic, I want to ask what is the reason behind the worsening circumstances.”
    




    “The primary reason for the present condition I believe is the diversion from the Constitution,” he said.
    




    Mohammad Zubair, Spokesperson to Mian Nawaz Sharif, and Maryam Nawaz had previously said in a talk show that the PML-N has made peace with Rawalpindi.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Massive dust storm, rain hits parts of Karachi
    
			
    Massive dust storm, rain hits parts of Karachi
    
			
    

    Various parts of Karachi were hit by a dust storm and received rainfall on Tuesday.
    




     The weather took a sudden turn as dark clouds covered most parts of the city and a dust storm appeared on the horizon.
    




    


    




    Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Director Sardar Sarfaraz has said that ‘thunder cells has developed’ over Karachi due to the sweltering heat.
    




    “Winds are blowing from the northeast. The clouds are forming in the northern part of the city,” he said. Sarfaraz added that the PMD had warned of strong winds when it issued the threat advisory for Cyclone Tauktae a couple of days ago.
    




    
https://twitter.com/norbalm/status/1394637700746055685

    




    The PMD official also said that the sweltering heat in Karachi will reduce from tomorrow, adding that the dark clouds will no longer be visible in Karachi in a couple of hours. 
    




    


    




    A few dust/thunderstorm-rain accompanied with gusty winds of 30-50 Kmph may occur in Tharparker and Umerkot districts during next 12 hours. Hot and dry weather will continue today in Karachi, Hyderabad, Shaeed- Banzirabad, Badin and Mirpurkhas districts.
    




    Sea Conditions will remain rough till this evening and fishermen of Sindh are advised to avoid going into deep sea. They can resume their activities from tomorrow, the weather alert added.
    




    As is the case many people took to Twitter to share pictures and videos of dust storms rattling electricity poles and causing problems for the masses.
    




    
https://twitter.com/waqashussain954/status/1394622517034197001

    




    


    




    Twitterati is urging people to stay safe and asking them to take a shade or stay indoors.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    28 passengers on one flight test positive for coronavirus
    
			
    

    Twenty-eight passengers, coming from Bahrain to Peshawar, tested positive for coronavirus at the Bacha Khan International Airport on Tuesday. 
    




    The airport’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Obaid-ur-Rehman Abbasi said rapid antigen tests were conducted on 130 passengers who arrived at the airport from Bahrain. 
    




    “The passengers who tested positive for the virus have been handed over to the district administration,” he said, adding that various areas of the airport had also been disinfected after the development.
    




    A week earlier, the CAA had noted, “with grave concern”, that passengers arriving in Pakistan from mostly Gulf countries, were testing positive for coronavirus.
    




    “Upon conducting an investigation into the issue, it has been found that passengers travelled to Pakistan using fake PCR negative test results and endangered not only passengers travelling with them, but also undermined the intense efforts being made at the national level to curb the spread of Covid-19,” said the authority, in a notification that was released on May 10. 
    




    “The onus of contributing towards this national cause does not fall on the authority alone but is a responsibility that has to be shared by all concerned stakeholders including airline operators,” the notification stated.
    




    The development is a worrying one as Pakistan, like many countries around the world, continues to struggle with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
    




    The current positive cases in the country stand at 882,928 with a positivity rate of 8.2%. 
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Malik Riaz, wife, refuse to get tested for coronavirus at the airport, home
    
			
    Malik Riaz, wife, refuse to get tested for coronavirus at the airport, home
    
			
    

    Real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, his wife, and another member of his team allegedly refused to undergo Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) for coronavirus when landing at Lahore airport, violating the instruction of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
    




    In a letter written to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) headquarters in Karachi, Lahore airport chief operating officer and manager Akhtar Mirza said the Bahria Town CEO refused to give samples for the Covid-19 test. The team of airport health staff went to his residence to follow up with a test but Riaz refused to take the test.
    




    Letter written to the CAA, regarding Malik Riaz refusing to take the Covid test
    




    Riaz, along with four other people, landed at Lahore Airport from Dubai. After the passengers passed through the immigration process, the CAA duty staff requested Riaz and his fellows to undergo the RAT, which is a rapid diagnostic test that directly detects the presence or absence of the antigen and gives results within few minutes.
    




    “But they did not respond and rapidly moved towards international arrivals exit gate,” Mirza stated in the letter.
    




    Riaz, Bina Riaz and Shahid Mahmood Qureshi, “left the airport without [the test] which is an open violation of NCOC instructions and SOPs”, the letter added.
    




    The CAA management then contacted the government health team and Riaz’s personal staff officer to obtain the RAT samples from the property tycoon’s residence. A two-member team of airport health staff subsequently left for Riaz’s house shortly “but unfortunately once again [he] flatly refused to give samples for the requisite test.”
    




    The letter was submitted to the airport services director at CAA Karachi headquarters for his “information and further necessary action”.
    




    After detection of the coronavirus in some passengers arriving in Pakistan and despite them having negative PCR test results, the CAA tightened the rules regarding testing.
    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    PM Khan’s aide Zulfi Bukhari resigns over allegations of corruption
    
			
    

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis, Zulfi Bukhari has stepped down from his position, owing to allegations in the ongoing Ring Road inquiry. Zulfi made the announcement on his Twitter account.
    




    “My Prime Minister has always said that if a person has been named rightly or wrongly in any inquiry he should cease to hold any public office till his name has been cleared of charges ,” wrote Zulfi Bukhari.
    




    “Owing to the allegations in ongoing Ring Road inquiry I want to set this example, by resigning from office until my name is cleared up of any allegations and media’s obnoxious lies,” he added. 
    




    He continued by saying, “I reiterate that I have nothing to do with Ring Road or any ongoing Real Estate project. This time the inquiry should be done by capable personnel. I endorse a judicial inquiry.’
    




    “I’m here to stay in Pakistan and stand united with the Prime Minister and his vision.”
    




    “I sacrificed my life overseas to come and serve my country, I am ready to face any inquiry,” he concluded. 
    




    


    




    




    


    




    His resignation has come after an order by the National Accountability Bureau, to look into alleged corruption and illegal land requisition in the Rawalpindi Ring Road project.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Suspect says ‘was sleeping’ when Mayra was shot dead
    
			
    Suspect says ‘was sleeping’ when Mayra was shot dead
    
			
    

    The main suspect in the murder of a Pakistan-origin British woman in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) neighbourhood earlier this month, appeared before the police on Monday to record his statement.
    




    In his statement, Saad Ameer Butt, one of the two suspects, said he was sleeping at his house the night Mayra Zulfiqar was shot dead.
    




    He said he did not kill Mayra and that the deceased was a friend. “I never attempted to kidnap her”, he told the investigation team. 
    




    He further informed the team that he had even discussed the matter with an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) when Mayra was alive. She had accused him of trying to kidnap her.
    




    24-year-old girl, Mayra Zulfiqar, was found dead in Lahore on May 3. She had been threatened by two men who both wanted to marry her.
    




    Zahir Jadoon and Saad Butt were two of the four accused of being behind the murder in the first information report (FIR) filed by Mohammad Nazeer, a relative of Zulfiqar.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Faisal Edhi files visa application for Palestine
    
			
    Faisal Edhi files visa application for Palestine
    
			
    

    Pakistani humanitarian Faisal Edhi has announced that he has submitted a visa request with the Palestinian embassy in Pakistan to grant him permission to fly to Palestine and help the Palestinians who have been subjected to Israeli atrocities for a long time now.
    




    “We want to take part in the relief work in Palestine via the Edhi Foundation. Five people, including my son Saad Edhi [and myself], will be going to Palestine,” says Faisal.
    




    Son of renowned philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and chairman of the Edhi Foundation, Faisal said that his organisation will buy food and medicine from Egypt, adding that the foundation has set aside a budget of “Rs25-30 million” for the purpose. 
    




    “We do not want any support from the government as we will do everything with the help of people,” said Edhi. 
    




    Israeli airstrikes hammered the Gaza Strip after a week of violence that has killed nearly 200 Palestinians, despite international calls for de-escalation.