The federal government has approved an additional amount of Rs410 million for the repair and maintenance of two VVIP Gulfstream aircraft said to be in use of President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, The News reported.
The supplementary grant, that comes as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) touts austerity to lessen the burden on the national treasury, was sanctioned in March 2019 by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
It has now been reflected in the budget document for formal approval by the parliament.
The report further said that the Defence Production Division is responsible for the maintenance of these aircraft, however, ECC had failed to resolve differences between Ministry of Defence Production and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) regarding the transfer of said funds.
Directorate General Defence Procurement had purchased the two VVIP aircraft (one brand new and one used) at a cost of $58.55 million ($58, 550,924) in September 2005 on the directions of Ministries of Finance and Defence.
Mohammad Amir confessed to spot-fixing only after then ODI captain Shahid Afridi had slapped him, former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has claimed.
“He [Afridi] told me to leave the room and after a while, I heard the sound of a slap. Later, Amir told the whole truth,” Razzaq said while speaking to a private media outlet on Wednesday.
Spilling the beans on Pakistan’s ill-fated tour of England in 2010, a scandal that tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket, Razzaq also said that Salman Butt was involved in corruption much before the saga.
“Butt was deliberately getting out and playing dot balls much before the scandal broke out in England,” the former all-rounder said, also blaming the then PCB management for “bringing a bad name to Pakistan cricket”.
Butt, Amir and Muhammad Asif were the three players eventually banned for a minimum of five years in early 2011 by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal after they were first suspended in September 2010.
All three have now returned to playing cricket after completing their five-year bans. But only Amir has been picked for the national team and is currently competing in the World Cup.
Pretty much like the rest of us, the Pakistan Cricket Team also turns to food for entertainment. And after last night’s loss, we’re sure they will be seeking solace in food too. Yeh bhi humari tarah.
A report in the local media, quoting a team official, shared this news bite (pun intended) adding that this team is one of the easiest to manage. The official revealed that members of the team avoid partying and breaking curfews and instead turn to food, takeaways to be specific, for entertainment. This is in stark contrast to players of the previous World Cups who were very fond of indulging in the vibrant nightlife, occasionally causing a stir.
The team official said that this good behaviour from the boys is attributed to Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed who himself is a very religious man along with being very disciplined. Though Sarfaraz doesn’t force anyone to follow him, the official believes that it is natural that the boys will follow suit. He added that all the boys are regular with their prayers but “neither of them is over-zealous.”
After months of struggle, parents have secured a win over private schools with their owners being barred from increasing fees by more than 5 per cent a year, a private media outlet reported.
According to reports, the Supreme Court (SC) delivered the verdict on Wednesday while hearing a case filed by owners of private schools. They had sought legal approval to increase fees by 15 per cent to 20 per cent every year.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan read out the reserved verdict.
The top court upheld the verdict of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and overturned the Lahore High Court (LHC) decision in favour of the private schools.
The schools have been ordered to return or adjust the extra amount they charged parents since the first ruling in the case.
Senior journalist Hamid Mir has trolled Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda for claiming that “anti-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)” media houses had started liking the government after financial benefits.
Speaking on Mir’s show, Vawda on Tuesday said that media outlets, known for their alleged affiliation with opposition parties, were now highlighting achievements of the PTI government as they had been “provided with ease of doing business”.
“It wasn’t our job, but we fought against lay-offs in the media industry. We made doing businesses easy by giving them [media houses] budgets,” he said.
When Mir asked if he meant the government had paid media houses any money, Vawda agreed, saying the PTI had “paid them against government advertisements”.
It wasn’t later that both Mir and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khurram Dastgir Khan broke into laughter.
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Senior journalists have time and again expressed concerns over the state of Pakistani media ever since the PTI government took reins of the country.
With cuts in government advertisements, a shakeout has been triggered and hundreds of thousands of media workers have gone jobless. Some journalists have also accused the PTI of using “stoppage of government ads to media as a weapon”.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has been spotted dancing on the floor of the National Assembly, in what appears to be an attempt to mock the opposition.
As per the details, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Tuesday presented its first federal budget while members of opposition parties recorded a strong protest against PM Imran.
They raised slogans, held placards and wore black armbands during Revenue Minister Hammad Azhar’s budget speech.
As the minister concluded presenting the budget, the premier was seen being escorted out of the house, waving his hands in the air — suggesting he was least bothered about the ruckus.
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Earlier, a Rs7 trillion austerity budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 was presented by the PTI government. It received severe criticism from opposition parties who termed the budget “anti-people”.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Tuesday announced its first federal budget for the fiscal year 2019-20, which received mixed reactions from people.
It was presented by Federal Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar, who delivered his speech while opposition members protested against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and his government.
Amid all the confusion over the increase in prices of different products, which may follow the budget, here is a list of stuff The Current suggests you stock up on before an inflation bomb is dropped.
Rooh Afza
That was exactly our reaction. But, a new health tax has been proposed on sugary drinks, which will make it costlier to buy sharbat. It’s not just that though…
Soft Drinks
You heard that right. Those little soft drink breaks during summers will be costing you more now as the health tax will also be jacking up soda prices. The excise tax on soft drinks has been increased from 11.25 per cent to 13 per cent, which is not too much, but will ultimately affect you.
The good part? The money will reportedly be used to provide free medical treatment to people using Sehat Cards that offer treatment up to Rs720,000 from a private or government hospital.
Cooking Oil/Ghee
Branded cooking oil and ghee prices will also be rising as a 17 per cent sales tax will be imposed. You must be thinking that it doesn’t really affect you much, but you never know how it may or may not affect food prices.
The good news, however, remains no increase in General Sales Tax (GST) in case you’re planning to dine out.
Sugar
The price of sugar is expected to increase by Rs3.60/kg since the government is unhappy with the tax collection from the sector. The new budget recommends increasing sales tax on sugar from 8 per cent to 17 per cent.
We don’t endorse the next thing you need to stock up on, but let’s be honest, we know a lot of people who smoke.
Cigarettes
The budget has also recommended a federal excise duty of Rs5,200 on every 10,000 cigarettes be imposed, which means every pack of 20 cigarettes you buy will cost you at least Rs10 more.
Just so you know, tobacco consumption kills nearly 160,000 Pakistanis every year, and a lot of people are supporting the move.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari will be arrested by the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) in the fake bank accounts case today, The Current has learnt.
As per the details, Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur will be taken into custody after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected their pre-arrest bail pleas earlier in the day.
Issuing its orders, the bench also permitted NAB authorities to carry out the arrests.
“A team of NAB officials has already informed National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser in this regard,” sources said, adding that an elected representative cannot be detained unless the speaker of the respective house has been informed.
NAB’s letter to NA Speaker Asad Qaiser
“Another NAB team has reached Zardari’s residence, however, PPP leaders are seeking a certified copy of the judgment ahead of the arrest,” they said further.
The judgement is being sought so that the Supreme Court (SC) can be petitioned against the high court’s order. “That is the only option left for the two PPP leaders.”
Meanwhile, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s spokesperson Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has requested party workers to stay calm and not resort to violence.
The fake accounts case relates to transactions of hundreds of millions of rupees to Zardari and Talpur’s private companies allegedly through fake bank accounts.
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed has called Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s close aide Naeemul Haque “sick” for criticising VIP culture and ministers who “have police squads accompanying them”.
“Naeemul Haque is sick. Pray for him,” Rasheed said when asked to comment over PM’s special assistant on political affairs’ remarks during a press conference on Saturday.
Earlier, Haque had tweeted to criticise protocol being used by VIPs and ministers.
“A large number of VIPs and ministers are still promoting VIP culture by having police squads accompany them everywhere,” he had said, adding that it was against the directives of the premier.
A large number of VIPs and Ministers are still promoting the VIP culture by having police squads accompany them everywhere . It is against the directives of the Prime Minister. Police squads are allowed to only those who face a real threat to their lives.This practice must stop.
“Police squads are allowed to only those who face a real threat to their lives. This practice must stop.”
The war of words is being termed as another episode of the tussle that is allegedly continuing between elected and non-elected members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Elected members, including Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry, have time and again expressed their concerns over the “interference of non-elected members in affairs of different ministries”.
The mystery of Indian Air Force’s (IAF) missing AN-32 transport aircraft has taken a rather comical turn as an Indian anchor has said that “extraterrestrials may be behind its disappearance”.
As per the details, search is still on for the plane that went missing near the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh last week with 13 people on board.
With Indian media starting to criticise the government for failing to trace the aircraft despite using all-out resources, a new theory has claimed possible alien abduction.
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On Saturday, IAF had announced a reward of Rs500,000 to anyone providing information about the missing transport aircraft.
Indian authorities have launched a massive search operation to locate the disappeared plane but to no avail so far.
