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Tag: islamabad

  • Islamabad Traffic Police issues more than 28,000 challans to careless drivers

    During the last three months, the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) handed 28,224 fine tickets to motorists who were negligent on the roads.

    As per Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic, Rai Mazhar Iqbal, special squads have been formed on the directives of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Muhammad Ahsan Younas to deal with reckless drivers who endanger the lives of road users.

    He also instructed the officials that road users should be treated with respect.

    SSP Iqbal stated that all city personnel have been urged to take stern action against such offenders and to assure that the city’s roads are secure.

    Furthermore, he revealed that the ITP education wing has been directed to ensure renewed efforts in a bid to raise public awareness regarding traffic rules.

    Several students have joined ITP as traffic volunteers, therefore he directed ITP’s teams to visit educational institutions to build traffic sense among more students.

    According to the SSP Traffic, the goal of conducting action against irresponsible drivers is to safeguard their personal safety as well as the safety of others.

  • 17 Pakistani universities listed among world’s best institutions

    17 Pakistani universities listed among world’s best institutions

    As many as 17 Pakistani universities have been listed among the best global universities for 2022.

    According to the ranking published by US News, Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad has been ranked 461 in the World Ranking for 2022. Aga Khan University, Karachi and COMSATS University Islamabad are following the QAU in the ranking respectively.

    Apart from these institutions, more universities have made to the list, such as the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) which is placed at 922, the University of Peshawar, at 933, University of Agriculture Faisalabad at 954, Government College (GC) University Faisalabad at 1,149, University of Punjab at1,242, Bahauddin Zakariya University at 1,368 and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore have been placed at 1,458th position.

    Following the news, the Vice-Chancellor (VS) of QAU Prof Dr Muhammad Ali Shah congratulated the faculty, students, staff, and alumni on the official website of the university.

  • Motorway Police distribute prizes to the best drivers

    Motorway Police distribute prizes to the best drivers

    Inspector-General National Highways and Motorways Police (NHMP), Inam Ghani recently paid a visit to the Public Service Vehicles Management Centre (PSVMC) at the Motorway (M-2) North Toll Plaza.

    IG Inam Ghani presented prizes to the safest drivers on motorways/highways who did not violate any traffic rules including overspeeding, seat belt violations, lane violations while driving 30,000 to 40,000 kilometers, and made strict adherence to traffic rules.

    On the occasion, IG Ghani said that information technology plays a significant role in revamping the Motorway Police.

    He was of the view that linking NHMP’s system with NADRA can also help in arresting prominent offenders besides feeding information regarding vehicle registration, vehicle fitness, driving licenses, and benefitting from contemporary technologies. These advancements would help boost the performance of Motorway Police.

    In order to make motorways/highways safer and more convenient, the purview of information technology is being extended to facilitate motorists and encourage safe driving.

    Read more: Petroleum sales increase by 23% in March, despite hefty oil prices

    Inspector-General (IG) Inam Ghani was joined by the DIG Motorway (M-2) North, DIG Operations, Sector Commander, and other senior personnel at the event.

  • ‘All is fair in Jihad’, Audio leak of CM KPK inciting violence on orders of PM Khan leaked

    ‘All is fair in Jihad’, Audio leak of CM KPK inciting violence on orders of PM Khan leaked

    An alleged voice note of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has been leaked. In the voice note sent to PTI ministers in KP, Mahmood Khan can be heard inciting violence, saying that they should call the MNAs who have left PTI ‘traitors’. The audio is in Pashto.

    “PM Imran Khan has ordered that all ministers take out rallies today in their constituencies with pictures of defecting MNAs, chant murdabad, call them traitors, and celebrate success in local elections.,” digital rights activist Usama Khilji translated the audio.

    In the audio message, he can be also heard saying that videos of the rallies should be recorded so that they can be published on social media. He said that PM Khan called him.

    As per Geo News, CM KP has admitted that the audio leak saying “Everything is fair in Jihad.”

    Twitter users are criticising CM KP for inciting the violence.

  • MNA Ali Wazir granted bail ahead of no-confidence motion vote against PM Khan

    MNA Ali Wazir granted bail ahead of no-confidence motion vote against PM Khan

    Member of National Assembly (MNA) Ali Wazir from South Waziristan has been released from Karachi’s central prison on parole to participate in the no-trust vote against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Members of the Opposition had submitted a written request on March 25, asking the NA Speaker to issue the production order for every detained lawmaker — irrespective of their party affiliation — allowing them to exercise their right to vote.

    Ali Wazir will be in Sindh House in Islamabad. A room in Sindh House has been declared as a sub-jail for Wazir.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Jam Abdul Karim from Karachi has been granted protective bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000 by the Sindh High Court.

     The no-confidence motion against PM Khan will be discussed in the National Assembly during the Lower House session today (Thursday), scheduled to start at 4pm.

    The NA Secretariat issued the order of the day for today on Wednesday night, with a discussion on the no-trust move against the premier on the session’s agenda.

  • Can a jalsa turnout be determined through number of mobile phones?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s jalsa’ was held on March 27 at the Parade Ground in Islamabad as the opposition geared up to remove the PM from his office via a no-confidence motion. The very first thing that the media speculates is that how many people were present at the location of the rally.

    Several Pakistani digital news platforms have stated that “more than 0.6 million unique mobile devices were detected in Islamabad on Sunday, as per the data traffic analysis shared by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)”, which means that they are suggesting that more than six lakh people were present at the PTI rally.

    It is pertinent to mention that PTA or any authentic personnel have not officially released any statement regarding this. In fact, a number of netizens have commented that the ones who are claiming the presence of 0.6 million people at the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s march do not have the authentic source of information.

    The crowd was reportedly estimated by Islamabad police to be between 60,000 – 70,000 people, while the Intelligence Bureau (IB) said it was only 26,000 people.

    Independent sources claim that not more than 35,000 people attended the rally, and some suggest that the crowd was not even close to 100,000 people.

    But the question remains: Can you determine a jalsa turnout through the number of mobile phones in the area?

    Whenever a cell phone is used, it emits an electromagnetic radio wave, called a radio frequency, which is received by the nearest cell tower’s antenna. Once the cell tower receives this signal, it will transmit the signals to a switching center.

    Also, the cellular towers have limitations to accommodate a certain number of phones, this might allow the network provider to determine the devices connected to it.

  • ‘Impose economic sanctions on India’: Azad Kashmir President urges OIC

    ‘Impose economic sanctions on India’: Azad Kashmir President urges OIC

    Addressing a special meeting of the Kashmir Contact Group of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry asked the forum to help stop oppression in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK) by imposing economic sanctions on India and boycotting its products.

    He said that since August 5, 2019 (when India changed IoK special status) Indian authorities have issued fake domiciles to 4.2 million non-state Hindus to change the proportion of population there.

    He said the OIC should play its role for the release of political leaders and youth who have been arrested before and after August 5, 2019.

    On the occasion, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) representative Syed Faiz Naqshbandi and Ghulam Mohammad Safi also briefed the OIC delegations about the current situation of violation of human rights in IoK. They also presented a memorandum to OIC Secretary General Hussain Ibrahim Taha.

    APHC is a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict.

  • Hopeful PM Khan: public pressure will force PTI members to come back

    Hopeful PM Khan: public pressure will force PTI members to come back

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project has said that ‘mark my words all the members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who have left will come back due to the party’.

    “And mark my words, as the no-confidence motion comes near, all those who are in talks with the Opposition will return as the people are angry at the lawmakers for venality,” the premier said.

    “The public would force the dissident PTI lawmakers — who are around a dozen — to come back to their party,” said PM Khan.

    “Times have changed […] and on March 27 — when PTI will stage a rally in Islamabad — everyone will witness a historic gathering.”

    Talking about the PTI workers who stormed the Sindh House in the capital where the disgruntled lawmakers were residing, he said what is the Opposition fearing and why so much security is being provided.

    PM Khan further said if the PPP is “buying” the loyalties of the PTI lawmakers, then it must be through the funds given to the Sindh government — “it is illegal as the people’s money cannot to used to lure in other party lawmakers”.

    The premier further said that “never in the history of Pakistan” has any provincial force been deployed “just to safeguard” the MNAs of other parties.

    “So why did they need Sindh police over there [Sindh House]? Because illegal activities were taking place there. People have now seen their reality,” the premier said.

    “They are so afraid of public pressure that no one [in the UK] can do the things that are happening at the Sindh House,” PM Imran Khan said but noted that no one was allowed to resort to violence.

  • PM refuses to accept ‘minus Imran Khan’ policy

    PM refuses to accept ‘minus Imran Khan’ policy

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Friday refused to accept the “minus Imran Khan” policy proposed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), reports Geo News.

    “This cannot happen in any scenario,” said the PM according to media reports.

    Chairing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) political committee, PM Khan said that the parties think this “minus one” formula will save the PTI-led government from falling. 

    “Fortunately, they are requesting […] this will boost our morale,” the premier was quoted.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad said that there was a rumour circulating that “everything is okay but Imran Khan. Everything can be saved if we go towards minus one.”

    The minister declared that there is “no room for minus one” in the PTI, adding that if anyone had any misunderstanding, they should remove it.

    MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, during an interview in Geo News’ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath“, said, in the light of current developments, he thinks there was no chance for PM Imran Khan to stay in the office any longer.

    “After today’s events, PTI government can survive but the prime minister’s survival is unlikely,” Siddiqui said.

    Speaking on the same show after Maqbool, PML-Q leader and Federal Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema agreed with the MQM-P leader’s views.

    “Instead of opting for a new adventure, the prime minister should select a member from within the PTI who will be acceptable to all,” said the PML-Q leader — whose party is an ally in Punjab and the Centre.

    “He has time till the [National Assembly votes on the] no-confidence motion,” Cheema said.

  • Fawad Chaudhry says govt to file reference in SC for interpretation of Article 63 (A)

    Fawad Chaudhry says govt to file reference in SC for interpretation of Article 63 (A)

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday that the government would file a reference in the Supreme Court, asking it to interpret Article 63 (A) of the Constitution.

    The minister took to Twitter and in a series of tweets said, “The Supreme Court will be asked about the legal status of the vote of party members when they are clearly involved in horse-trading and changed their loyalties in exchange for money.”

    Fawad said that the government would seek the apex court’s guidance on whether a person, who shifts loyalty for monetary benefit, should be ineligible for lifetime to become a lawmaker or whether they could contest polls again and be elected to parliament.

    “The Supreme Court will be requested to hear the case on a daily basis,” he said.

    Fawad’s words come a day after several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, who were staying at the Sindh House in Islamabad, revealed that they were in the Opposition camp now.

    Article 65-A

    According to Article 63 (A) of the Constitution, a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he “votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill or a Constitution (amendment) bill”.

    The article says that the party head has to declare in writing that the MNA concerned has defected but before making the declaration, the party head will “provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him”.

    After giving the member a chance to explain their reasons, the party head will forward the declaration to the speaker, who will forward it to the chief election commissioner (CEC). The CEC will then have 30 days to confirm the declaration. If confirmed by the CEC, the member “shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant”.

    The government has already indicated that it will use Article 63 (A) to “crush” the no-confidence motion against PM Imran.