Siasat Wala Blog

While Prime Minister Theresa May is doggedly defending her Brexit plan, delegates at her party´s annual conference have joined the EU in writing it off — and suggest her own time in office is limited. Conservative party members queued for two hours on Sunday to see leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg denounce May´s “Chequers plan” for close economic ties with the EU, one of half a dozen events he is addressing in Birmingham. Across town, several Tory Eurosceptic MPs joined former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage in demanding a clean break with the EU, at a rally attended by around 500 people waving British flags. Similar crowds are expected at a conference event on Tuesday with former minister Boris Johnson, a rival for May´s job who has condemned her plan as “deranged”. “The prime minister is completely out of touch with the majority of party members,” Michael Wilkins, 53, told AFP at the rally, seated near a giant poster saying “Save Brexit”. Many eurosceptic Tori

  ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced extension in deadline for filing income tax returns till November 30, 2018. According to reports, the process of filing income tax returns was at snail’s pace owing to the incentives given to non-filers in the mini budget announced by the government couple of weeks ago. It is reported that around 0.34 million people submitted income tax returns till September 30, prompting the FBR to extended the deadline. Under the PTI’s mini budget presented on Sep 18, non-filers can now buy property but on a higher (registration) rate, Similarly, Withholding tax on banking transactions for non-filers will be maintained. Finance Minister Asad Umar said that the government is removing the petroleum levy imposed by the previous government while increasing the duty on expensive smartphones and luxury cars. He also announced ending the tax rebate for ministers including the prime minister and governors of all four provinces. He said th

ISLAMABAD: Ousted premier Nawaz Sharif and his legal counsel Khawaja Haris skipped the hearing on Monday without notifying accountability court judge Arshad Malik who is supervising the hearing of Flagship reference against the Sharif family. On the onset of hearing, the assistant lawyer of Nawaz’s counsel informed the accountability court that Khawaj Haris could not appear as he was unwell. While on the absence of Nawaz Sharif, accountability court judge remarked “it does not happen this way that the accused appears before the court when he wishes.” The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor said that neither an exemption plea was submitted by the accused, hence non-bailable arrest warrants should be issued for Nawaz on his no show today. Resented with the situation, judge Arshad Malik granted two intervals to the assistant of defense counsel to find the whereabouts of former premier. After considerable delay, the accountability judge was apprised that Nawaz was under an

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has called for strict action against fake news ‘systematically’ being circulated on the social media. The minister took to twitter to express his resentment on widespread fake news regarding different government events. He said: “A series of Fake notifications and news is systematically spread on social media, it started from a media dinner picture and now there is a series of such rubbish. Without effecting freedom on SM we need to take strict action against fake news.” Before the July 25 elections, World’s popular messaging app WhatsApp had taken a full-page newspaper ad in a local English daily apprising users ways to spot spread of false and fake news in Pakistan. Must read:   Armed with smartphones, youngsters make life difficult for politicians The ad, published in the Pakistani English daily reads at the start, “Together we can fight false information” and includes 10 tips on how to spot fake messages. The tips inform readers

KARACHI: A fire erupted on the fourth floor of a multi-storey building, Techno City, located at I.I. Cahndrigarh road in Karachi early Monday morning.  According to fire officials, a snorkel and half a dozen fire tenders are taking part in the fire fighting operation to douse flames in the building at one of the busiest streets of the city. Fire tenders of Pakistan Navy are also helping the fire fighters to extinguish the fire, the Pak Navy’s spokesperson said in a statement. The cause of the fire is yet not known. The post Fire erupts in multi-storey building in Karachi appeared first on ARYNEWS .

NEW YORK: On the floor of world’s body, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres brought to light the brutalities of Modi-led Indian government in occupied Kashmir. Guterres voiced grave concerns over the escalated worsening situation in India held Kashmir (IHK) and urged the India government to proceed to negotiation table for the resolution of decades old conflict. UN Secretary-General made these remarks ahead of his visit to New Dehli. As per Indian media, Guterres is due to reach India today (Monday) on a three-day long visit. On the international forum, the head of world’s body proposed conducting positive talks and a peaceful settlement on differences between arch-rivals – Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in his speech at the 73rd session of United Nations General Assembly effectively presented Pakistan’s viewpoint on Kashmir issue saying, “The unresolved Jammu and Kashmir dispute hinders the realization of the goal of durabl

KARACHI: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has granted approval to the country’s sole reinsurer to offer sharia-compliant reinsurance, part of efforts to boost the fledgling Islamic insurance (takaful) sector. The SECP said it had authorised Pakistan Reinsurance Co to open a takaful window, which would help boost new business opportunities for the state-owned firm. The move would enable local takaful companies to obtain retakaful cover within Pakistan, avoiding outflow of premiums to reinsurance markets overseas, the SECP said. Takaful is seen as an important bellwether of consumer appetite for Islamic financial products. It is based on the concept of mutuality, where a takaful company oversees a pool of funds contributed by policyholders from which claims are paid. Pakistan introduced new takaful rules in 2012 which allowed the use of takaful windows, a practice that allows insurers to offer sharia-compliant and conventional products side by side, provided

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court here on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking its permission to auction the seized assets of former finance minister Ishaq Dar. Judge Muhammad Bashir reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from the defence and prosecution sides and is likely to pronounce the verdict later today. The NAB had moved the application before the ATC judge, requesting him to allow it to auction the PML-N leader’s assets over his inability to appear in court to face trial in a case filed against him for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income. A NAB prosecutor contended that the accused is obliged by law to contact within six months of the seizure of his assets. If no objection is raised by the accused within the given time, then the property is sold, he added. He said Dar has not yet raised any objection to the assets having been seized. Earlier this month, the British government turned

ISLAMABAD: While terming the meeting with Saudi officials very productive, Finance Minister Asad Umar said it was premature to forecast the actual volume of investment coming from the Saudi Arabia. Mr. Umar, while speaking to a private TV channel, said the government was exploring all other opportunities to strengthen the national economy. He said that the situation of uncertainty in national economy would be cleared by mid of October as the economic reforms were on the top of the government’s priorities. Read:   Finance minister rebuffs claim of $10bn deal with Saudi Arabia He said recently a team of IMF had visited Pakistan but it had nothing to do with any bailout package. He said the government also wanted to enhance exports, promote investments and industrial development in the country for producing exportable surplus and fetching the foreign exchange reserves. The finance minister said the forex reserves were under pressures as every month about US$ 2 billion were spent to

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry says that opposition has no right to claim chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Speaking to media, he said the decision to that effect would be taken with consultation in the party after the arrival of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was currently on an official visit to the United States in connection with the United Nations General Assembly session. He said after the by-elections in October, the position of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would further strengthen in the assemblies. Talking to media persons to provide details of a party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on the by-elections, he said the PTI would participate in the by-polls with full preparations and would emerge victorious from all the constituencies. “The meeting was in fact an introductory interaction of the by-election candidates with the prime minister,” he added. The minister said the by-elections

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi moved on Monday an application in an anti-terrorism court seeking acquittal in the PTV and Parliament attack case.   The President through his counsel filed the application under section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), requesting the ATC Judge to exonerate him from all charges levelled against him in the case for want of evidence. His lawyer contended that a politically motivated case was registered against him during the 2014 sit-in in Islamabad as no evidence has come on record to incriminate him. The anti-terrorism court on Sep 27 granted President Arif Alvi constitutional immunity in the case. The president was given the immunity under Article-248 of the Constitution. “An accused person facing trial namely Dr Arif Alvi has already been elected and has taken oath of the office of President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Keeping in view the above fact in light of Article 248 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973,

LAHORE: Minster for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad on Monday inaugurated a non-stop train on the route of Lahore to Faisalabad at the Lahore Railway Station. Speaking to media on the occasion, the minister said the government would run 10 new trains within a target of 100 days. He said a detailed briefing on the railways would be given to Prime Minister Imran Khan soon and important decisions about his department would be made. The new train 119/Up-120/Down Faisalabad non-stop consists of air-conditioned and economy coaches. It will leave Lahore at 8am and reach Faisalabad at 10am. In the afternoon, the train will leave Faisalabad at 2:30pm and reach Lahore at 4:30pm. The economy class will cost a ticket of Rs190, while AC standard Rs400 rupees and AC Parlour class Rs500. The railways minister had earlier announced to run three new trains on immediate basis in order to improve the railways department. The three new trains include Lahore-Faisalabad train, Mohenjo Daro Express and

MITHI: Two more kids have passed away because of viral diseases and malnutrition on Sunday, mounting the number of children’s death to 40 in last month, at a public hospital in Mithi. Civil Hospital Mithi sources told that 40 minors conked out in September only, while the number of total such deaths in the following year so far has reached 360.  The sources said the district hospital was also facing dearth of medicines. Water level too has dropped in drought-hit Tharparkar. People have complaint of lack of health facilities in the district. While, Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had recently constituted a committee to investigate reasons of deaths of the children. Read More: Infant dies of malnutrition in Mithi, pushes monthly death toll to 24 In April, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah assigned Child Foundation the task to assess pediatric facilities at Mithi hospital. “I am worried about the children of Thar who still need special attention,” he said while holdi

JERUSALEM: Israel on Sunday released a French-Palestinian lawyer held without charge for the past 13 months over unspecified allegations, his lawyer said. Salah Hamouri, 33, was freed at Jerusalem police headquarters after being brought from his cell in a prison in southern Israel’s Negev desert. Attorney Mahmud Hassan told AFP that Hamouri was forbidden to take part in demonstrations, protests or celebrations of his release for a period of 30 days and required to post a bond of 3,000 shekels ($825, 710 euros). He was arrested at his home in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on August 23, 2017 and subsequently interned under what Israel calls administrative detention, which allows detention without trial for renewable six-month periods. Read More: Palestinians ask UN court to revoke US Jerusalem embassy move Neither suspects nor their lawyers are informed of the reasons for arrests and Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency had no immediate comment when asked by AFP for the

WASHINGTON: Kellyanne Conway, an adviser to President Donald Trump, said on Sunday that she was the victim of sexual assault and that women who survive such experiences should be heard. “I feel very empathetic, frankly, for victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape,” Conway told CNN while defending the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault by one woman and sexual misconduct by two other women. “I’m a victim of sexual assault,” Conway said. Conway and White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Read More: Kevin Spacey sued by masseur over alleged sexual assault The court nomination has been upended by the allegations, and President Donald Trump was forced to order the FBI to look into them after several moderate Republicans, whose votes could be crucial for Kavanaugh’s confirmation, called for a probe. One Kavanaugh accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, detailed her allegation in te

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Sunday passed over eight trillion rupees budget for nine months of current fiscal year 2018-19. To conclude the budget session, leader of the house, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who has also the portfolio of finance minister, said that institutions needed to be reformed for development of the country. The chief minister informed the house that 15 billion rupees have been allocated for education sector. He said Thar coal will start producing energy at the end of this year. Read More: Sherry Rehman disappointed over ‘non-serious’ mini budget The opposition presented the 113 cut motions to curtail the expenditure from the budget but all cut motions were rejected with majority votes of treasury benches. The house has now been prorogued. Murad Ali Shah announced to bring reforms into the police department and termed it ‘Amal Reforms’ in the memory of the minor girl who was mistakenly shot in a police shootout. Declaring to start a war agai

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Saif with an embarked Z9EC Helicopter is participating in multinational naval exercise Mavi Balina 2018 which is being held in the Eastern Mediterranean Turkey. The exercise is aimed at practicing anti-submarine defense. Naval and air forces from Turkey, NATO, the United States, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Algeria, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania and Saudi Arabia are participating in the exercise Mavi Balina (Blue Whale), an international anti-submarine warfare exercise led by Turkish Naval Forces. Read More: British Royal Navy Ship HMS ARGYLL arrives in Karachi This exercise has evolved into a common forum for both Western and Eastern nations, to share, discuss and propose solutions for collaborative maritime security, which is one of the critical contemporary maritime challenges. Blue Whale is held biennially as invitation only basis and considered as the largest anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Mediterranean. It is hosted and administered by

ISLAMABAD: Police have sought help from intelligence agencies for probe into rape case of a lady police constable in Islamabad, ARY News reported. Unidentified armed persons made the police constable knock out by placing a rag on her mouth on Saturday night. They physically abused and then dumped her at highway. She was rushed to labour room of a polyclinic at 1:30am, said police sources. They said according to the initial report, two persons raped the lady. Her official gun was found from near her where she was lying unconscious, they added. Launching investigation, police have obtained CCTV footages from private banks and other buildings along the service road. The hospital officials have refused to give test and treatment report saying that they could not present any information in absence of senior doctors. Police said the criminals abused her on gunpoint. They said probe was underway, while they had also sought help from intelligence agencies. Read More: School teacher accu

BEIJING: China is set to lift restrictions on an area in central Henan province, where the country’s second African swine fever outbreak occurred last month, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday. The local government in Zhengzhou plans to officially lift the blockade on Oct. 1, but it must take measures to prevent recurrence of the highly contagious disease, the ministry said in a statement. On Saturday, the ministry said it had removed restrictions in Shenyang, Liaoning province, where the first such outbreak was reported. The world’s top pork producer has seen a steady stream of outbreaks since the first case was reported in early August. Authorities have banned the transport of live hogs and pig products from regions bordering provinces where African swine fever has been reported, shut live markets and banned the use of feed derived from pig blood in an attempt to contain the disease. Read More: Aamir Khan turns ‘pale’ after swine flu recovery The post China to lift restri

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Saudi Arabian delegation on Sunday arrived in Pakistan to hold bilateral trade talks between the two countries. The delegation is being led by Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan. It will hold meetings with different high-level officials during its stay. It will also hold talks on promotion of bilateral ties and economic and trade cooperation. Though this could not be confirmed but Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had earlier said the delegation will include the Saudi Arabian investment head, minister for petroleum and minister for energy. Read More: Saudi Arabia to invest for upliftment of basic infrastructure in Pakistan: Fawad The visit has been in line with the previous announcement by the  government pertaining to Islamabad’s invitation to Riyadh for making investments in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as well as other infrastructure projects countrywide. The delegation is expected to sign five important

ISLAMABAD: In a reaction to attempted attack by Indian forces on his helicopter, Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider on Sunday said they were within the boundary and India only staged a drama. “It is clearly evident that India is perturbed. I along with the ministers in the helicopter were within our limit,” he said while exclusively talking to ARY News.  Indian troops fired shots at helicopter of the PM from a border post, while he was travelling on a white civilian helicopter to Tarori near LoC to condole the death of brother of Chaudhry Abdul Aziz. The helicopter landed safely on the ground without any damage. Read More: Indian troops fire shots at AJK PM’s helicopter The incident reflects the state of affairs of panic-stricken Indian army and media who termed it a Pakistan Army helicopter. Farooq Haider said Kashmiri would become a frontline against India (if war was waged), however they did not want war obsession in the region. He said it was a privat

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakthunkhwa government has completed 255 mini micro hydro-power projects in 12 northern districts of the province to provide inexpensive electricity to people. “Work on 67 others mini macro hydro-power projects is also in full swing to provide affordable energy and clean drinking water to the people,” officials in KP energy department said. The sources said the KP government had also proposed seven mega projects for inclusion in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) including Mujigram-Shghor 64MW plant, Istaru Booni 72MW plant, Turen More Kari 350MW plant, Jamshill Turen More 260MW plant, Ghrait-Swir Lasht 277MW plant, Torcamp-Guddubar 409MW plant, Kari-Mushkur 446MW plant and power evacuation from Chitral to Chakdar through a transmission line. Read More: PM inaugurates first unit of Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project The government has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Chinese companies for construction of these seven gigantic hydropower

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said that 200 ambulances would be inducted into ambulance service in the province by the end of this year. Chairing a meeting regarding provision of ambulance service to National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Karachi, he said that trained staff will also be provided to NICVD. In March, the Sindh chief minister handed over 12 well-equipped ambulances to Tharparkar district for its six taluka hospitals. “I am pleased to hand over 12 well-equipped and state-of-the-art 4×4 Toyota Hilux Ambulances, two for each Taluka headquarters hospital of Tharparkar for timely transportation of patients from rural and hardest areas to hospitals or even to tertiary level health facilities for management of critical conditions,” he said. He said that Tharparkar was one of the most under-privileged areas of the province. “Its 95% area is desert and facing several socioeconomic issues and natural calamity including drought,”

WASHINGTON: A US Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Sunday, a US official told Reuters, potentially angering Beijing at a time of tense relations between the two countries. Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war that has seen them impose increasingly severe rounds of tariffs on each other’s imports. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the destroyer Decatur traveled within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs in the Spratly Islands. The operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, where Chinese, Japanese and some Southeast Asian navies operate. China’s claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. “We conduct routine and regular freedom-of-navigation operations, as we have done in t

LAHORE: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that under the Premier Imran Khan’s austerity drive, the expenditure of Prime Minister House has been reduced to only few million from one billion rupees previously. Addressing an event in Lahore, Chaudhry stated that public did not have the money to purchase medicines then how could the PM House run in a royal fashion. He further said that the auction of buffaloes of PM House was not aimed at garnering any financial benefit, but it was being done in a symbolic manner to convey the message of simplicity to the masses. The Minister lamented that the austerity drive of PM had already come under fire, however, “all our struggles are meant for the poor faction of the society.” The government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has considerably brought down the expenditure of PM House, he said while adding that his government was putting most of its focus on sectors of education, health and cleanliness. Soon after coming into the

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah announced to bring reforms into the police department and termed it ‘Amal Reforms’ in the memory of the minor girl who was mistakenly shot in a police shootout. Declaring to start a war against the street crimes in Karachi, the Chief Minister admitted that the menace has grown worsen lately but it will be curbed soon. “Amal reforms will be introduced which will improve the performance of police department,” he added. The Case Background Amal,10, along with her parents was on the way, when she was hit by a bullet in her head while the robbers were robbing a car next to them. The parents rushed to the nearest hospital (National Medical Centre – NMC) where the the injured girl was given oxygen by an Ambubag pumping manually. The doctor told parents to take her to another hospital. The NMC neither provided them emergency medical aid, nor ambulance and even refused to give the Ambubag to help the injured reaching another hospital, accor

MUZAFFABAD: Indian troops fired shots at the helicopter of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider near the restive Line of Control (LoC) on Sunday. Quoting sources, ARY News reported, the AJK prime minister was travelling near Taraori village when bullets were fired at his chopper from an Indian post across the LoC. He, however, landed safely. The AJK prime minister had gone to condole the death of Chaudhry Abdul Aziz’s death. The firing incident comes at a day after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi warned Indian of a strong response if New Delhi tries to cross the LoC or acts upon its so-called doctrine of limited war against Islamabad. Addressing the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the foreign minister said that Pakistan will continue to support the comprehensive reforms in the Security Council and wants to see it more democratic and transparent. The foreign minister maintained that Pakistan has been an active member

CHITRAL: In the latest assault on education, a bomb went off at a primary school in Chitral on Sunday. Rescue sources said the blast occurred at the Government Primary School in Arandu Gol area of Chitral. The school is within a kilometre’s proximity of the Pak-Afghan border. Two rooms of the school were completely destroyed in the explosion. However, there were no reports of any loss of life in the school incident. Last month,  twelve schools  – eight girls and four boys – were burnt down in various parts of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district. Though no one had claimed responsibility for the ghastly attacks, but attackers are believed to be militants opposed to girls’ education. “The miscreants tried to damage around 12 schools in Diamir district. They tried to set fire to some of them and broke windows and doors of some others,” regional home secretary Jawad Akram had said. The schools that were burnt down include Girls Primary School located in Ronay, Chilas; Girls School Taky

WASHINGTON: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Saturday carmaker Tesla and Chief Executive Elon Musk had agreed to pay $20 million each under a settlement that will also see the billionaire step down as chairman after a tumultuous two months for the company. But Musk, who is synonymous with the Tesla brand, will remain as chief executive under the settlement over tweets he posted on Aug. 7 about taking the company private, the SEC said. The SEC alleged in a lawsuit on Thursday that the tweets about financing for a go-private plan he abandoned just weeks later had no basis in fact, and said the market chaos that ensued hurt investors. Musk is now required to step down as chairman of Tesla within 45 days, and he is not permitted to be re-elected to the post for three years. Tesla is required to appoint two new independent directors to its board. Saturday’s settlement saw the SEC pull back from its demand that Musk be barred from running Tesla, a sanction that many

Rescuers in Indonesia were scrambling Sunday to reach trapped victims screaming for help from collapsed buildings, while looters risked entering an unstable shopping mall to grab whatever they could find after a massive earthquake spawned a tsunami that left more than 800 dead. People could still be heard calling out from the eight-story Roa-Roa Hotel which toppled as Friday’s twin disasters swept through the hard-hit city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, said Muhammad Syaugi, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency. “I can still hear the voices of the survivors screaming for help while inspecting the compound,” he told local online news portal  Detik.com , adding there could be 50 people trapped inside. Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference Sunday that the death toll had more than doubled to 832, with nearly all of those killed in Palu. He said there were still not comprehensive reports about casualties in surrounding coastal areas. “The

BEIJING: China’s central bank said on Saturday it will maintain its “prudent and neutral” monetary policy while keeping an ample level of liquidity amid a trade war with the United States. The yuan’s exchange rate and market expectations remain generally stable, giving the world’s second largest economy a stronger ability to counter external shocks, the People’s Bank of China said after its third-quarter monetary policy committee meeting, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Amid warnings about China’s massive debt mountain, the bank said it will “guide reasonable growth in credit” and continue to deepen financial reform. China has been locked in an intensifying trade conflict with the US, which unleashed a new wave of tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods on Monday, with Beijing targeting $60bn in American products in response. Premier Li Keqiang acknowledged last week that China is facing “greater difficulties” in maintaining steady growth in the face of the US onsla

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Sunday summoned record of cases pertaining to the Model Town incident from an anti-terrorism court. Headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar the two-judge bench of the apex court was hearing a petition pertaining to the Model Town carnage at the Lahore registry. Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Khurram Nawaz Gandapur appeared before the bench. The petitioner complained that the anti-terrorism court has been unable to wind up the trial proceedings into the Model Town cases despite the directives of the top court. He recalled that the chief justice had directed the court to decide these cases within a period of three months and pleaded that it may be directed to complete the trial at the earliest. Lately, Prime Minister Imran Khan telephoned PAT chief Dr Tahir ul Qadri and assured him that the perpetrators of the Model Town massacre will be punished. The prime minister reiterated his resolve that those responsible for the ruthless killing of innocen

NEW YORK: The Sikh community protested outside the monumental building of United Nations (UN) Headquarters following Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj’s striking speech at the UN General Assembly session on Saturday.    Railing against India, the Sikh community raised slogans in favor of Khalistan and giving it a status of a new state. The activists reminded India that their atrocities over Sikhs can not last longer, “the day is not far when a new state of Sikhs will be established”. Calling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a killer of Sikhs and Muslims, the demonstrators demanded India to hold a referendum in 2020 in entire Punjab. “If referendum is conducted then 90 percent of the Sikh community will vote for a separate state,” the protesters said. Moreover, Sushma Swaraj, during her speech tried to mislead the international community by accusing Pakistan of sabotaging all opportunities for peace talks. “We are accused of sabotaging the process of talks. Th

GILGIT: Newly appointed governor of Gilgit Baltistan Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon took oath of his office in Gilgit on Sunday. Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit Baltistan Chief Judge Javed Iqbal administered the oath to the new governor. GB Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rahman, cabinet ministers, elites, and senior civil and military authorities attended the ceremony. On Sept 25, the federal government appointed Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon as new governor of Gilgit-Baltistan. Maqpoon has remained president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the region. He was defeated by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Akbar Khan Taban in the GB Assembly election from Skardu constituency in 2015. According to a notification issued by Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Maqpoon has been appointed as new GB governor under Article 33(1) of the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018. The post Raja Jalal Maqpoon sworn in as new GB governor appeared first on ARYNEWS .

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Sunday summoned MNA Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar for allegedly barring Lahore police from arresting a land grabber, Mansha Bomb.  The chief justice, who was heading a two-judge bench of the apex court at the Lahore registry, directed the police to immediately send the land grabber behind bars. At the outset of the hearing, he questioned who is Mansha Bomb? A superintendent of police (SP) informed that Mansha is a land grabber involved in encroachment of lands in Lahore’s Johar Town. He said when the police tried to arrest the land grabber on the directives of the court, they began receiving phone calls from people for favours. “Who called you for a favour,” the chief justice questioned. At this, the police official said MNA Karamat Ali Khokhar had requested the police not to arrest Mansha Bomb. Justice Nisar directed the lawmaker to immediately appear in court to explain his position. The SP told the judges that Mansha an

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Sunday set up a committee to ascertain whether or not adequate facilities are being provided at private universities across the province. A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, constituted the committee comprising legal expert Zafar Iqbal and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director Waqar Abbasi to hold an inquiry into provision of facilities at private varsities, including the University of Lahore. The CJP instructed the committee to ascertain availability of faculty among other facilities at private medical colleges and submit a report within a week. The bench was hearing a suo motu case with regard to the working of the private educational institutions. Yesterday, the apex court came down hard on various private universities, saying they have ruined the education system. The top judge took notice of non-issuance of degrees to students of an affiliated college of the University of South Aisa. The bench was informed t

JERUSALEM: Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said Saturday the Palestinians have petitioned the UN’s top court, alleging that the US inauguration of an embassy in Jerusalem was illegal. The Palestinians have filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “for violating international law by moving its embassy in Israel to the occupied city of Jerusalem”, he said, quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. In December, US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite Palestinian claims on part of the city and breaking with longstanding US policy. Palestinians have since refused all contact with the Trump administration. The US embassy was transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, a day marked by mass protest in the Gaza Strip, where about 60 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli fire in border clashes. Israel occupied east Jerusalem along with the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War and later declared t

Watching the two little lion cubs boisterously play with each other at a conservation centre outside of South Africa’s capital Pretoria, it’s hard to see anything out of the ordinary. But these cubs are unique. “These are the first ever lion cubs to be born by means of artificial insemination — the first such pair anywhere in the world,” announced the University of Pretoria, whose scientists are researching the reproductive system of female African lions. The two cubs, a male and female, born on August 25 are healthy and normal, said Andre Ganswindt, the director of the University of Pretoria’s mammal research institute. His team’s breakthrough came after 18 months of intensive trials. “We collected sperm from a healthy lion,” Ganswindt told AFP. Then when the lioness’ hormone levels were found to be viable, she was inseminated artificially. “And luckily it was successful,” said Ganswindt, adding that “there were several attempts, but surprisingly it didn’t take too much effort