Current Final

Category: National

  • PM says Manchester will envy Faisalabad’s progress one day

    PM says Manchester will envy Faisalabad’s progress one day

    As he announced a programme to facilitate industrialisation in Faisalabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he hoped one day Manchester would say that Faisalabad has overtaken it in terms of industrial progress.

    Addressing a ceremony attended by the businessmen on Wednesday, the PM said: “If Faisalabad, once known as Pakistan’s Manchester, had kept up its current pace of industrial development, it would have left even Manchester behind.”

    According to the prime minister, it said it was the government’s job to facilitate industrialisation and the business community.

    “We are now working on how we can aid the business community and investors so that jobs are created. So this cycle can only continue when we [remove] hurdles for the industrial class,” he added.

    The PM said in the ’60s Pakistan was used as an example for the developing world, adding that several countries, such as Malaysia and South Korea, borrowed its first five-year programme. “People now go to Dubai for their vacations but the sheikhs used to come here.”

    The PM also commented on the local government system, saying successful cities around the world function “like countries”. He said that the modern cities were self-sufficient, unlike Faisalabad that depended on the provincial government for funds to fix roads, build hospitals.

  • PM Imran, aides accused of helping sugar barons make Rs400bn in profits

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, his principal secretary Azam Khan and special aide on accountability Shahzad Akbar have been accused of facilitating the sugar barons under the guise of the sugar inquiry commission, helping them made over Rs400 billion in profits.

    The claim was made by former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) deputy director Sajjad Bajwa, who was appointed by the premier to probe the malpractices in the industry, following a hike in the prices. Bajwa was later suspended for sharing classified information with the sugar millers before being dismissed from the service last week.

    According to a report in BBC Urdu, Bajwa said he was removed from the post because of some “influential personalities” in the federal cabinet who turned against him after he questioned the role of the government departments in the smuggling of the commodity.

    “During the investigation, I suspected the smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan and raised questions about the role of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the sugar business,” he alleged.

    “Due to these questions, the decision to remove me from the duty was taken a long time,” the ex-deputy director, who was dismissed from the agency last week, claimed.

    Responding to the claims of Bajwa, SAPM Akbar said there was no truth to these claims. “PM has nothing to do with the matter,” he said, adding that he did not even know Sajjad Bajwa.

  • Buzdar rebukes ‘insubordinate’ ministers, decides to ‘act like chief minister now’

    Buzdar rebukes ‘insubordinate’ ministers, decides to ‘act like chief minister now’

    Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, irked by “insubordination” of his cabinet members, said he was being “being forced to act like a chief minister” and now he would “act like one”.

    The chief minister made these comments during a meeting of the Punjab Cabinet after Education Minister Murad Raas interrupted the CM in the middle of the meeting over the removal of a civil servant.

    Dawn reported that Murad earned the chief ministerial ire when he objected to the removal of Punjab School Education Department Secretary Sara Aslam, saying she was transferred a day earlier without taking him into confidence. CM Buzdar, however, took an exception to the remarks and responded in a “harsh tone”.

    “Is the issue big enough to raise in the cabinet meeting, especially when it was not on the agenda?” Buzdar was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

    Buzdar did not stop at this, he went on to warn his ministers about their behaviour. “I am aware of who was doing what and who is conspiring against whom. I am being forced to act like a [strict] chief minister and now that is what you people are going to get,” the CM reportedly said.

    According to reports, Ansar Majeed Niazi — minister for labour and human resource — also got his share of scolding for crossing lines with CM Usman Buzdar.

  • Man fined for riding motorcycle with nine children

    Man fined for riding motorcycle with nine children

    A citizen of Lahore was fined Rs300 for riding a motorcycle with nine children.

    As per reports, a motorcyclist named Ibrar was stopped by the traffic police for riding a motorcycle with nine children towards Lower Mall Road. The citizen was charged with a fine of Rs300 over violating the traffic rules and for putting the lives of his children and other people at risk.  

    The traffic police advised the motorcyclist to follow the traffic laws in the future.  

  • Indian aircraft makes emergency landing in Karachi

    An Indian aeroplane made an emergency landing at the Karachi airport after the health of a passenger suffered a cardiac arrest on the flight.

    The passenger, 30-year-old Muhammad Noushad, was declared dead by doctors as soon as the plane landed. They said that the passenger had suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed his last before the plane landed.

    According to Indian media reports, the deceased passenger was a resident of Bareilly, a city in Uttar Pradesh. Some reports stated that the flight G8- 6658A- took off from Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon but had to make an emergency landing after the passenger fainted and died on board.

    The aircraft of the private airline, GoAir (6658) carrying 179 passengers, was en route to New Delhi from Riyadh. After refuelling, the flight took off to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

  • UK parliament report suggested expulsion of Lord Nazir over sexual misconduct

    UK parliament report suggested expulsion of Lord Nazir over sexual misconduct

    Nazir Ahmed, the member of House of Lords in England, has resigned from the House a day before a report by Lords Conduct Committee recommended his expulsion for using his position to take advantage of “vulnerable” women.

    According to the report published on Nov 17, Lord Nazir breached the code of conduct for “failing to act on his personal honour” over sexual assault and exploitation. 

    Lord Nazir was earlier accused of exploiting his position to pursue intimate relationships with vulnerable women who asked him for help.

    His retirement was also confirmed by Geo News. Lord Nazir has “decided to retire from the House of Lords after 23 years of service”, it reported

    According to Geo, the UK Parliament confirmed to Lord Nazir that his retirement allocation had been approved under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 “as of 14 November 2020”.

    SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS:

    In March 2019,  BBC said that Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham “took advantage” and began a sexual relationship with her after she approached him for assistance. However, Lord Ahmed, 61, denied acting “inappropriately”.

    According to the report, Tahira Zaman, 43, approached Lord Ahmed in February 2017 through a mutual friend, hoping he would help get the police to investigate a Muslim faith healer who she felt was a danger to women.

    Zaman told BBC Newsnight that Lord Ahmed said he wrote a letter to the Metropolitan Police Commander Cressida Dick about her concerns. “She then alleges that he repeatedly asked her for dinner.”

    BBC said that the woman “finally agreed and weeks after the dinner, she contacted him about her case and he invited her to his east London home”.

    “He was saying I’m beautiful,” she told Newsnight.

    “The pair went on to have sex on numerous occasions. She accepts the relationship was consensual but said: I was looking for help and he took advantage of me. He abused his power,” as per the report.

    Lord Nazir denied any wrongdoing.

  • Govt reduces COVID-19 testing amid spike in deaths

    Govt reduces COVID-19 testing amid spike in deaths

    As coronavirus cases continue to spike across Pakistan, the government has drastically reduced the number of tests, as it conducted around 29,000 tests on Nov 16 as compared to 39,000 tests on Nov 14.

    According to official data, the number of tests remained above 30,000 since Nov 4 (when positivity rate was about 4 per cent) and the maximum number of samples were taken on Nov 14 i.e. 39,410. But for the past couple of days, the government has slashed the testing by 10,000 even though the positivity rate now stands at 7 per cent.

    Graph of COVID-19 testing

    According to data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday, at least 33 people passed away due to coronavirus, while 2,050 new infections were reported across Pakistan. The positivity rate has also witnessed an increase — from 4 per cent at the start of this month to 7 per cent.

    On Saturday and Sunday, the country saw over 2,000 cases and 2,400 cases respectively, which means more than a 20 per cent increase in cases. These numbers are the highest since July. Seventeen people lost their lives to the coronavirus on Saturday. Pakistan reported over 2,000 cases on Monday as well.

    Meanwhile, SOPs violations across the country continue. The marriage halls, restaurants, and such other places have failed to implement the government directives to stem the growth of the virus.

  • PTI lawyer Naeem Bukhari being considered for PTV chairman post

    PTI lawyer Naeem Bukhari being considered for PTV chairman post

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is likely to appoint lawyer Naeem Bukhari, who represented Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Panama Papers case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, as the chairman of the Pakistan Television (PTV).

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed that Bokhari should be nominated as the PTVC board chairman, a report in Pakistan Today claimed.

    The ministry has asked the federal cabinet to keep the composition of the PTVC Board to eight members, with three independent stakeholders.

    In Sept 2020, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • US, ‘friendly countries’ pressurising Pakistan to recognise Israel, says PM

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the United States and some Muslim states, which he cannot name because of good ties with them, have been pressuring Pakistan to recognise Israel.

    The PM made these remarks in an interview aired last week.

    Islamabad, however, will never establish relations with the “Zionist” state until a just settlement of the decades-long Palestinian issue, the prime minister reiterated.

    Except for the US, the PM refused to name other states, saying Pakistan has good relations with these countries. “Are they non-Muslim or Muslim countries that have been putting pressure on you?” the anchorperson asked in an attempt to get a clear answer.

    https://twitter.com/LifeRacer_1/status/1327330663851307009

    “Leave this [question]. There are things we cannot say. We have good relations with them (countries),” the premier replied.

    It may be noted here the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recently established ties with Israel, whereas other Muslim states, including Saudi Arabia, are also weighing options to normalise ties with Tel Aviv.

    Israel, he observed, has had a deep influence in the US, which is another country pressurising him to recognise Israel. “The pressure is because of Israel’s deep impact (influence) in the US. This (influence) was in fact extraordinary during the Trump’s stint,” he maintained.

    Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Foreign Office termed the report a “fabrication”. According to the statement: “The prime minister had stressed that Pakistan’s policy in this regard was rooted in Quaid-e-Azam’s vision. The prime minister’s remarks are an unequivocal reaffirmation of Pakistan’s position on the subject, leaving no room for baseless speculation,” it added.

  • COVID-19: PM bans political rallies across country

    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. 

    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.