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  • From grade VI geography to ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience’; five books PM Imran should read

    From grade VI geography to ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience’; five books PM Imran should read

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s reading habits recently made headlines when The Current cited sources as saying that he is an avid reader who prefers books over television.

    Since the premier is a fan of non-fiction and is currently reading “The Silk Roads: A New History of the World” by Peter Frankopan, here are five books that we think he should give a read.

    1. Grade VI Geography:

    No, we’re not kidding. The world broke into laughter when PM Imran said, “…on the border region of Germany and Japan” while addressing a gathering in Tehran.

    https://twitter.com/ZakirKhan012/status/1120779290889469953

    While a lot of people argued that the idea of Germany and Japan sharing a border was just a slip of tongue, we don’t think taking a look back at those geography lessons from grade VI is a big deal.

    2. ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience: The Mahatma in Indian Politics’

    The Salt March of 1930 was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi.

    Since the PM, before coming to power, was somewhat a civil disobedience fan, we think he might enjoy this one by Judith M Brown.

    3. Grade VIII Physics:

    It is hard to forget how the premier once said that the Chinese are working on a train that travels not at light ki speed, but “speed ki light”. We’re sure it was yet another slip of tongue, but…

    Maybe PM Imran can give grade VIII’s physics book a quick look before making such a claim again.

    4.How Democracies Die

    This one is not that important since we might not be there yet. But every political leader should read “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.

    In the book, the Harvard University political scientists explain how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power.

    5. Trump: The Art of The Deal

    PM Imran will soon be leaving for the United States (US) on his maiden visit to the country since being handed the reins of the country.

    Since the premier will be meeting President Donald Trump, giving this book a read to know him better appears to be a good idea.

    The book, credited to Trump, talks about the US president’s childhood. It also describes his early work, building The Trump Organization as well as his actions and thoughts.

  • PM Imran, Malala on the list of 2019’s most admired people

    Prime Minister Imran Khan and Malala Yousafzai have made it to the list of the World’s Most Admired People of 2019. While PM Khan was number 17 on the list, Malala scored the sixth position. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also in the list on number six.

    More than 37,000 people from 35 countries were part of the annual study compiled by YouGov.

    Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Michelle Obama topped the list which included influential people from different fields.

    Michelle Obama replaced Angelina Jolie as the world’s most admired woman. The American actress and humanitarian went down to the third position this year.

    Meanwhile, Microsoft founder Bill Gates remains the world’s most admired man. He tops the list every time YouGov conducts a survey.

    Other people who made it to the list include Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwariya Rai, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan.

  • Meet Capt Qadeer, who went undercover as a beggar and assisted Jadhav’s arrest

    Meet Capt Qadeer, who went undercover as a beggar and assisted Jadhav’s arrest

    Twitter in Pakistan has burst with praise for Pakistan Army’s late Captain Qadeer Ahmed, who went undercover as a beggar for three long years to arrest Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

    Commander Jadhav — an Indian Navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan while entering Pakistan from Iran.

    A day after the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) verdict in the Jadhav case, Pakistanis took to Twitter to praise Capt Qadeer for his role in the Indian spy’s arrest.

    https://twitter.com/ZeeKhanWWE/status/1151527606535069696

    According to reports, working with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Captain Qadeer spent more than three years in Balochistan as a beggar, attired in dirty tattered clothes, and kept an eye on Jadhav’s activities.

    He slept on the pavement and scoured dustbins while keeping a watch. Pictures of the young captain in his beggar avatar are also doing rounds on social media.

    Despite being born to a wealthy family, Qadeer chose a military career against his family’s wishes.

    He passed away on June 2, 2018, while his car was on way to Khuzdar from Quetta. A female relative sitting on the passenger seat sustained injuries in the accident in Lakoran area, while the officer died on the spot.

    He was reportedly on his way home from an undercover duty to see his baby daughter who was ill.

  • PTI govt reluctant to get Peshawar BRT investigated

    PTI govt reluctant to get Peshawar BRT investigated

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has opposed the formation of a committee to investigate the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) has reported.

    As per the details, treasury members of the KP Assembly have opposed the opposition’s proposed suggestion to form a house committee to probe the long-pending project.

    The chair, however, has admitted the question for a full debate under Rule 48 of Assembly Procedure, reports said.

    “The government would not form a parliamentary committee unless it was aimed to facilitate people and provide them relief,” KP Law Minister Sultan Khan said on the floor of the provincial assembly during question hour.

    He rejected the allegations of corruption in BRT and said that public funds had been utilised on the project in a “judicious and transparent” way.

    The minister was responding to a question raised by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) legislator Nighat Orakzai, who argued that public money had been “deliberately misused” in the project.

    According to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released earlier this month, the KP government significantly deviated from the original, agreed design and used inferior quality material in the Rs70 billion Peshawar metro bus project putting lives and assets at risk in the process.

    The inferior quality construction could damage the project’s reputation at the international level, warned the lender that had approved a $335 million (Rs53 billion) loan for the project in mid-2017.

    PESHAWAR METRO:

    The Peshawar metro is rather infamous for its incompletion as the authorities concerned have failed to meet deadlines time and again. The government has now issued yet another deadline for completion of the much-delayed project, saying that it will be operational by the end of current year.

    The KP government and the project’s execution agency had earlier promised to open the project, launched in October 2017, within six months on April 20, 2018. However, the deadline was missed.

    The project managers kept changing the launch dates from May 20 to June 30 to December 31 in 2018 to March 23, 2019. The project’s cost has also jumped to Rs68 billion from earlier Rs49 billion.

  • US visit: PM Imran to fly on commercial flight

    US visit: PM Imran to fly on commercial flight

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will fly to the United States (US) on a commercial flight rather than a charter plane, a PM aide has confirmed.

    “PM Imran Khan will fly to Washington by Qatar Airways [sic],” Special Assistant to the PM on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque tweeted Thursday.

    This will be the first time that PM Imran travels on a commercial plane for an official visit as previously he used a charter jet for state visits to countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia.

    Earlier it was also reported that the premier is planning to not stay at some lavish hotel to save money as part of his government’s austerity drive that continues ever since the PTI rose to power.

    The premier, since assuming office last year, has been pushing for austerity measures to save taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden on the national exchequer.

    Despite the steps taken by PM Imran in this regard, the austerity drive has faced multiple setbacks over the past 10 months owing to the apparent reluctance of the lawmakers in cutting down expenses.

    VISIT TO US:

    In his maiden visit to the US, the premier will travel from July 21-23 on the invitation of President Donald Trump in a bid to mend the strained ties between the two countries.

    Both the leaders will discuss a range of issues, including counterterrorism, defence, energy and trade, with the goal of creating the conditions for a peaceful South Asia and an enduring partnership between the two countries.

    “The visit will focus on strengthening cooperation to bring peace, stability and economic prosperity to a region that has seen far too much conflict,” the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.

    PM Imran will also be meeting prominent members of the US Congress, corporate leaders and opinion makers as well as overseas Pakistani.