Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s helicopter made an emergency landing in Lahore due to strong wind on Thursday evening.
Buzdar and his staff members who were travelling from Islamabad to Lahore, remained safe.
The chief minister’s helicopter was scheduled to land at Lahore old airport but the wind forced the pilot to divert and land at the Railway Stadium in Garhi Shahu. Buzdar had gone to Islamabad on Wednesday to attend meetings chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin presented the Pakistan Economic Survey 2020-21 at a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday. However, the document did not have the latest figures on poverty and unemployment.
Tarin revealed that the industrial and services sectors had helped the country post-Gross Domestic Product growth of 3.94 per cent in the first nine months of the fiscal year [FY](July to March), significantly higher than the target of 2.1 per cent.
“The agriculture and manufacturing sectors helped the economy grow to 4.4%, laying stress on the need for sustainable growth in Pakistan in the years to come,” added Tarin.
The minister opened his press briefing by speaking highly of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s policies in combating the coronavirus pandemic.
“The government itself had set [GDP] growth will be 2.1pc and the IMF predicted even lower. But the decisions by this government such as incentivising manufacturing and textiles, construction, and interventions in agriculture have helped the economy recover,” said Tarin.
He said many people lost their jobs when the pandemic hit Pakistan, however, due to PM’s visionary policy of not imposing a complete lockdown across the country, millions of people who were unemployed were hired again.
“The economy is recovering,” he said.
Tarin said Pakistan’s remittances had broken records, adding that they had crossed $26bn. He said that lately imports, especially food in the form of wheat and sugar, were increasing as Pakistan’s economy was growing at the same time.
“We were net exporter of food but now, we have become a net importer,” he said. “Our exports registered a growth but our remittances increased manifold,” he added.
Tarin spoke highly of the Ehsaas programme, adding that the World Bank had described it as “one of the best and the largest” poverty alleviation initiatives across the globe.
“Full credit goes to Sania Nishtar,” he said, adding that handing out cash to 15 million people was not a small achievement.
Tarin said he had told the prime minister it was time to focus on sustainable growth “until we go to 5-8pc GDP growth”.
“We will do interventions and take care of the poor. The poor man has been crushed in this stabilisation phase because the dreams we have shown them have been of a trickledown economy. And this can only happen when growth is sustainable and continuous for 20-30 years,” he said.
“Countries which had sustainable growth, they grew continuously for 20-30 years. What have we done? Every time we grow by borrowing money, which is credit-based growth.”
According to the survey, during FY 2021, while the world was reeling from the economic impact of the pandemic, Pakistan’s “external sector appeared as a key buffer for resilience.”
“The main driver of improvement in current account balance was the robust growth in remittances,” it stated.
“During July-March FY 2021, export of goods grew by 2.3 percent to $18.7 bn as compared to US$ 18.3 bn the same period last year. Import of goods grew by 9.4pc to $37.4 bn as compared to US$ 34.2 bn last year. Consequently, the trade deficit increased by 17.7per cent to $18.7bn as compared to $15.9bn last year,” the survey said.
The finance minister said the government wanted to control inflation “but prices are still high and affecting the common man”.
“So the way to solve this is by increasing production and that is why we have focused on agriculture in this budget,” Tarin said.
Speaking about the FBR, Tarin said he would end the practice of people being harassed by the bureau. “FBR will not audit [businesses or persons] but a third-party audit will be conducted,” he said.
Tarin said Pakistan’s negotiations with the IMF were ongoing, adding that the international money lender had asked the government to hike tariffs and increase taxes.
The finance minister said Pakistan and the IMF want the same thing; sustainable growth, adding that the country cannot afford to increase taxes or hike tariffs so that the poor and the salaried class do not feel additional burden of inflation.
“This is a red line for the prime minister,” he said. “We will not further burden the poor,” he added.
Tarin said Pakistan’s economy was burdened due to the overcapacity in the power sector, saying that “it was a very big challenge and a black hole” for Pakistan.
Tarin said it was fair to ask how he can privatise state-owned enterprises when all others, before him, promised to do the same but failed to.
“Nawaz Sharif used to shout the same slogan during the first time [when he was prime minister] and then for a second time [when he again became the prime minister] and then a third, but nothing happened,” he said.
Actor Ali Safina was asked on Geo News‘ special Pakistan Super League (PSL) transmission as to who would be a better ghar daamaad (live-in son-in-law). Anchorperson Shahzad Iqbal asked the ‘Chupke Chupke’ actor who would he choose as a better ghar daamaad: Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar, Faisal Sabzwari of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and PML-N’s Talal Chaudhry.
Ali voted for Captain (r) Safdar, who is married to Maryam Nawaz. “Safdar sahab already has the elements of a ghar daamaad in him”.
Shahzad added to Ali’s stance saying, ” Safdar sahab embodies this element very positively.”
Shahzad Iqbal played a clip of Safdar, where he says, “Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is like a brother to me while his father Asif Ali Zardari is the life-long president of the son-in-law’s union. I am the general secretary.”
Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said on Wednesday that special legislation granting 20 additional marks was underway to incorporate the youth into Prime Minister’s Ten Billion Tsunami Tree plantation project.
Zartaj Gul, in an exclusive interview with APP, said that in line with PM Khan’s clean and green Pakistan vision, a unique and innovative effort was devised to make it obligatory upon university graduates to plant 20 trees during the course of their study.
Under PM Imran Khan’s vision for a clean and green Pakistan, the full participation of youth in the movement to plant more trees in the country would be encouraged through this legislation, she added.
Explaining the proposed scheme for students, Zartaj Gul said extra marks were given to the students involved in the National Cadet Corps (NCC); additional marks would also be given to the students for planting trees as part of educational activities.
“Programmes like ‘20 Plants 20 Numbers’ will not only encourage the youth to be a part of this national goal but will also further our dream of making Pakistan a green and prosperous country,” she said.
A video of Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan slapping Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhel has gone viral. The incident took place off-air after the two were seen brawling with each other on Express News‘ talk show, ‘Kal Tak with Javed Chaudhry’.
In a verbal fight during the show, Mandokhel accused Awan of being corrupt, which led to a heated scuffle between the two. Firdous slapped Mandokhel after the argument.
Awan claimed in a tweet that Mandokhel had used foul language which angered her, and that only a one-sided story was being shared in the viral video.
She said that after consultation, legal action will be taken against Mandokhel.
No statement has been issues by Mandokhel so far.
Raza Rumi tweeted, “Is it a TV show or a madhouse with no warden?”
“These are senior politicians. She is the face of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” tweeted another Twitter user.
“She is taking advantage of being a woman. What if a man slapped her?,” read another tweet.
Railway Minister Azam Khan Swati on Wednesday said he needed Rs 620 billion for the total up-gradation of the Pakistan Railways, a few days after the fatal Ghotki train accident that claimed over 60 lives and injured over 100 passengers.
“I was at the site till the entire track was not restored,” said the minister, stating with regret that 63 people had died in the accident and 23 were being treated in hospitals for injuries.
Sharing details from the initial report, the minister said the black boxes from the trains had been retrieved. He added that work had not yet started on them for the probe, but reassured that a thorough investigation will be conducted. “It will take us at least three to four weeks,” he said, as reported in Dawn.
“The accident occurred due to the 12 bogies being derailed,” he said, explaining that bogies of the Millat Express train had shifted to the other track.
“I saw the signs of brakes on the tracks myself,” Swati said, adding that there was a need to do a lot more.
Swati said relatives of the deceased will be given Rs 1.5 million by the government as compensation, adding that every injured person will be provided Rs300,000 by the authorities. Swati said that no value could be placed on the injured and the lives lost, adding that they were “precious” and “priceless”.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday said that since the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is not part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) anymore, therefore, it is not her priority.
Speaking to the media outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Maryam denied there were rifts in the PDM, saying that all parties in the alliance had the same stance as Nawaz Sharif.
“We all share the same ideology and the parties in the PDM have the same position that Nawaz Sharif has,” she clarified.
Maryam Nawaz said that the PPP is no longer a part of PDM, therefore, it should not be discussed now.
“PPP is neither my priority nor I have any competition with it,” she said.
Maryam added that the benefits of resignations would have been evident only if all the parties in the PDM had resigned.
Maryam went to the IHC for the hearing of an appeal against her conviction in the Avenfield Properties reference.
The government on Tuesday faced an embarrassing situation in the National Assembly when it received harsh criticism from its own members on the issue of load-shedding in various parts of the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP ) province where the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has been ruling for six years, as reported by Dawn.
Four members of the PTI from KP invited the attention of the Minister of Energy Hammad Azhar to the “shortage of transformers and other electrical equipment resulting in load-shedding in KP, causing grave concern among the public”.
The notice had been moved by Junaid Akbar Khan from Malakand, Imran Khattak from Nowshera, Sher Akbar Khan from Buner, and Gul Zafar Khan from Bajaur.
The movers talked about load-shedding in their respective constituencies. Noor Alam Khan, PTI’s MNA from Peshawar, blasted the government not only on the issue of load-shedding but also price hike.
The Opposition members kept on thumping desks throughout Khan’s speech, making Hammad Azhar angry. The minister, while responding to Noor Alam, alleged that he had delivered the speech for the galleries.
Noor Alam said the minister did not have the correct information as the officials of his ministry and power companies provided him wrong information. He said on the one hand the government was charging Rs34 per unit from the people and on the other hand, people were not getting electricity.
Khan said load-shedding and price hike were the two major issues being faced by the people. He said the MNA’s could not go to their constituents as they “abused” the MNA’s when they had no electricity.
Khan said load-shedding and price hike were the two major issues being faced by the people. He said that parliamentarians could not go to their constituents as people “abused” them due to no electricity.
“We are here to serve the people of Pakistan. We are not rulers and should not act as rulers,” he said.
He added there was load-shedding of 22 to 24 hours in some areas.
In response to Khan’s speech, Azhar blamed the previous two governments for the present situation in the country. He said the PTI government was not responsible for the wrongdoings of the previous regimes.
National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar on Wednesday announced that 10 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Pakistan so far.
Speaking to a press conference, Umar said the government’s decisions to curb the virus were proving “effective” during the third wave of the pandemic.
“The more quickly we get ourselves vaccinated, the faster we will be able to rid ourselves of this menace,” added Umar.
Umar said the government as well as the masses had done a commendable job in following coronavirus SOPs, resulting in the number of cases dropping.
“We have seen that when Pakistanis, as a nation, decide to do something, then they do it,” he said.
Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity rate has been recorded as 2.54 per cent in the past 24 hours — the second day in a row that the positivity rate remained below 3pc. According to the health ministry, 43,900 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours after which 1,118 people tested positive.
Earlier, the minister had taken to Twitter to announce that Pakistan will cross the 10 million doses mark today.
Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who accompanied Umar on the occasion of the administration of the 10 millionth dose, tweeted: “We have reached the milestone of administering the vaccine to 10 million people [sic].”
He also lauded the government, particularly Prime Minister Imran Khan and the NCOC, for the way it fought with deadly virus.
An Ahmadi graveyard in Sheikhupura was attacked by extremists who attempted to stop the burial of an Ahmadi woman.
When the woman’s dead body was brought to the graveyard for burial, a mob attacked the graveyard and tried to stop the family from burying the woman there as the deceased was an Ahmadi. Despite this, the minority community’s members managed to finish the burial process.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s Focal Person Azhar Mashwani wrote in a tweet that police and members of the administration reached the site as soon as the incident was reported.
Mashwani also quoted the district administration as saying that two different areas have been demarcated for both communities’ graveyard as per an agreement between elders of both communities. He said that this “longstanding issue of graveyard is resolved”.