Bad weather forces postponement of

UAE president ’s visit to Islamabad

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The planned day-long visit to Islamabad of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been “postponed” due to unfavourable weather conditions, according to a statement from the Prime Minister ’s Office (PMO)

“Due to weather conditions, [the] visit to [ ] Pakistan scheduled for [Monday] has been postponed to a later date,” the statement said The tour, intended to strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the sheikhdom and Pakistan, was postponed to a later date

The UAE president arrived in Pakistan on January 25 for a private visit and held a bilateral meeting with Prime

Minister Shehbaz Sharif

He was set to be welcomed at the Nur Khan Air Base of Pakistan Air Force

Z ardari sends Rs10bn notice to Imran over ‘ false’ murder claim

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has sent a Rs10 billion legal notice to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan for making baseless allegations against former president Asif Ali Zardari

In the notice, Zardari accused Khan of causing harm to the PPP s reputation and defaming him after the former prime minister accused the former president of paying terrorists and hatching a fresh plan along with people in the intelligence agencies to assassinate him after the previous attempt failed

Khan, during a virtual press conference from his residence in the Zaman Park neighbourhood of

Lahore, had said there were three more names along with Zardari who are part of this new plot

“Now they have made a Plan C, and Asif Zardari is behind this He has an ample amount of corruption money which he loots from the Sindh government and spends on winning elections He has given money to a terrorist outfit and people from powerful agencies are facilitating him This has been decided on three fronts and they will act soon,” he had claimed

I am telling you [the people] this because if something happens to me the nation should know the people who were behind this so that the nation never forgives them Khan had said

The notice alleged that Khan’s actions caused severe agony mental stress, and loss of reputation” to Zardari, and demanded that Khan issue an unconditional apology within 14 days or face legal proceedings for damages

Mar yam to embark on nationwide organisational tour, announces minister

f

(PML-

Nawaz is scheduled to address workers conventions in various cities, including Bahawalpur, Multan, Abbottabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Sahiwal Gujranwala Sheikhupura Faisalabad Peshawar, Lahore Division, Quetta, and Karachi, the minister for information and broadcasting said Organizational meetings for the PML-N will also be held in each respective city during her programme

Farrukh Habib moves LHC against police harassment

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Farrukh Habib has moved Lahore High Court (LHC) against possible arrest and harassment at the hands of police A c c o r d i n g t o d e t a i l s , A d v o c a t e

Abuzar Salman filed a petition in Lahore H i g h C o u r t ( L H C ) o n t h e b e h a l f o f

Farrukh Habib against the possible arrest and ‘police harassment’

The TLTP leant that in the petition, the former state minister stated that a ‘bogus’ case was registered at Ferozwala Police Station on political grounds H e u rg e d t h e H i g h C o u r t t o b a r police from harassing and arresting him, n o t i n g t h a t h e h a d s e c u r e d a n i n t e r i m p r e - a r r e s t b a i l I t i s p e r t i n e n t t o m e n t i o n h e r e t h a t a c a s e w a s r e g i s t e r e d a g a i n s t P a k i s t a n Te h r e e k - e - I n s a f ( P T I ) l e a d e r F a r r u k h H a b i b a n d o t h e r s f o r ‘ i n t e r f e r i n g i n o ff i c i a l a ff a i r s ’ a n d t e a r i n g u n i f o r m s o f p o l i c e m e n t o g e t F a w a d C h a u d h r y r e l e a s e d

A first information report (FIR) was registered late night at Ferozewala police station on the complaint of federal police office Adeel Shaukat The first information report (FIR) was lodged against Farrukh Habib for interfering in official affairs and ‘tearing uniforms of policemen’ The PTI leader has been booked under sections 148, 149, 186, 225, 341, 353, and 395 of the Pakistan Penal Code

A day later, a local court in Lahore granted interim bail to Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) leader till February 16

(PAF) by Sharif and members of his cabinet, followed by a guard of honour from the military at his official residence and a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister

According to the PMO statement, t h e v i s i t w i l l b e r e s c h e d u l e d a n d t h e n e w d a t e s w i l l b e a n n o u n c e d s h o r t l y T h e p r e s i d e n t c o n t a c t e d S h a r i f a n d e x p r e s s e d d i s a p p o i n t m e n t a t t h e p o s t p o n e m e n t , t o w h i c h t h e l a t t e r r e s p o n d e d t h a t t h e s a f e t y a n d protection of their guest was of utmost i m p o r t a n c e a n d c o u l d n o t b e compromised in unfavourable weather c o n d i t i o n s A l N a h y a n a s s u r e d S h a r i f that he would soon be making a twoday visit to Islamabad

Deadly coach accident kills two, injures 24 near Kallar Kahar interchange LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Two people were killed and 24 others injured in a passenger coach accident near Kallar Kahar Interchange on the motorway on Monday The accident was caused by slippery road conditions due to rain, according to the motorway police The coach was en route to Lahore from Rawalpindi The dead and injured were taken to a Trauma Center in Kallar Kahar The accident follows a deadly bus crash on Sunday in which 41 people were killed and 7 injured after a coach plunged off a bridge near Chungi stop in Lasbela The bus was carrying 48 passengers from Quetta to Karachi at the time of the crash Poor road conditions, lax safety measures, and reckless driving contribute to Pakistan’s high rate of road accidents According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 27,000 people were killed on Pakistan’s roads in 2018 Karachi policeman Killed: Unidentified suspects killed a police officer in Karachi shooting on Monday The incident occurred near the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, according to police The slain police officer was identified as 50-year-old Muhammad Iqbal and his body was later handed over to his family Double shooting claims two lives in Karachi

Rupee extends losses against dollar

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The exchange rate of the Pakistani rupee depreciated by Rs 6 03 against the US dollar in the interbank trading on Monday and closed at Rs 269 63 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 262 60 According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of dollar in the open market were recorded at Rs 268 and Rs 270 5 respectively The price of the euro appreciated by Rs 7 11 and closed at Rs 292 71 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 285 60, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) The Japanese yen increased by 06 paisa to close at Rs 2 07, whereas an increase of Rs 8 87 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British pound, which was traded at Rs 333 81 as compared to its last closing of Rs 324 94 The exchange rates of the Emirates dirham and Saudi riyal increased by Rs Rs 1 87 and Rs 1 91 paisa to close at Rs 71 82 and Rs 73 40 respectively