m r a n t h a n ks L a h o r e f o r s h o w o f s u p p o r t d u r I n g c o u r t a p p e a r a n c e

LAHORE s ta f f R e p o R t pA k I S TA n I Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran khan thanked the people and especially the lawyers who showed their support during his appearance at the Lahore High Court (LHC) khan posted a tweet expressing his gratitude “I want to thank all the people [and] especially the lawyers for coming out in huge numbers spontaneously and

gunmen kill two policemen in attack in Balochistan

QUETTA s ta f f R e p o R t

Gunmen attacked a paramilitary post in the Mastung district of Balochistan on Tuesday, triggering a shootout that killed two Levies officers, police said, the latest sign of increasing violence in the country Barkat Baloch, the assistant commissioner of Mastung, said a search was underway for the assailants who fled after the attack

He said the bodies of the deceased, identified as Manzoor Ahmed and Muhammad Aslam had been moved to a hospital no one immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting, but previous such attacks have been blamed on Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who operate mainly from Afghanistan and Iran and have a presence in the province Baloch further said a search operation has been launched in the area to apprehend the perpetrators of the attack

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condemnation of the attack and paid his respects to the security forces for their unwavering dedication to defending the nation

He also offered his condolences for those who have been lost, vowing that the sacrifices made by the security forces would not be forgotten, according to the state news agency APP

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo also expressed his shock and grief over the event, pointing out that the recent spike in terrorism is a cause for concern, as those behind it wish to disrupt the peace of the province

He declared that all resources would be put forth in order to apprehend the perpetrators Furthermore, he called upon the authorities to be more vigilant and to unite in keeping anti-national elements at bay

Bizenjo said that law enforcement agencies should not hesitate in carrying out their duties, in order to prevent any malicious plots

Balochistan has witnessed a low-level insurgency by small groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad Although authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence persists in the province

A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained closed for a third day with thousands of goods vehicles stuck and businesses facing losses as officials from both sides try to broker a solution

Taliban authorities on Sunday closed Torkham, the main point of transit for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan

“The closure of the border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been causing losses to traders of the two countries There are long queues of heavy trucks stranded on both sides of the border,” said Zia ul-Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce showing such passionate support yesterday,” he wrote

On Monday, khan was granted a protective bail from the high court in a case registered at the Sangjani police station in Islamabad

He informed the judge that he was unaware of the bail petition and had asked Barrister Azhar Siddique, his counsel, to let him appear in court khan proceeded to apologise for “wasting the court’s time” before withdrawing his bail plea The court then concluded the proceedings

naB summons Buzdar in wealth case

LAHORE s ta f f R e p o R t

The national Accountability Bureau (nAB) has summoned former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar once again to its Lahore office on February 22 The dirty money watchdog has asked that he bring along the relevant details and documents regarding his assets and income

Buzdar had previously failed to appear before the agency and had taken interim pre-arrest bail from an accountability court till February 27 The court has since barred nAB from arresting him in the case of assets beyond his known means and Industry

He said up to 6,000 trucks loaded with goods had been stuck on both sides since Sunday

The reason for the closure was not entirely clear, though officials on both sides have said they were in discussions to resolve the issue A provincial Taliban official told Reuters on Monday Pakistan had not lived up to its commitments to allow transit, travellers and sick people seeking treatment to cross Pakistan has not commented publicly on the matter An official source said they had not been told the reason ahead of the closure

Sarhadi said Afghanistan relied on goods from Pakistan for much of its needs and many trucks were also destined for Central Asia using Afghanistan as a transit point

“The traders and particularly those supplying fresh food items such as fruits, and vegetables are facing losses as trucks are stranded on the way for the past three days,” he said

He added some trucks had been diverted to another smaller border crossing but traders were worried about the security of truck drivers travelling to that region

Residents had reported heavy gunfire on Monday morning near the Torkham border crossing, but the Taliban official had denied any clashes and said the situation was under control

I A a n n o u n c e s d i s c o u n t fo r s t u d e n t s t r ave l i n g to C h i n a

ISLAMABAD s ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will give a 27 percent discount to students traveling to China to pursue academic degrees, an official with the flag carrier has said

The PIA first announced 22 percent fare reductions for students in December last year to facilitate students flying to China

According to a customer care official at the PIA’s official helpline the price of a regular ticket from Islamabad to Beijing is Rs272,000, and the students can avail discount on it

The official said that the PIA currently flies to two destinations in China, including Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

In conversation with Xinhua,

PM Shehbaz asks for cooperation from Kenya leader on Arshad Sharif murder

ISLAMABAD s ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has spoken to the leader of kenya about the issue of the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif in nairobi, his office said Sharif held a telephone conversation with William Ruto on Monday during which the former thanked the latter for the cooperation extended to investigation teams from Pakistan so far

He emphasised that Pakistan attached great importance to the case, requesting fur- ther cooperation from kenya during the course of the investigation in bringing the matter to closure for the family and the people of Pakistan

President Ruto assured the premier of full support and cooperation in the matter

During the conversation, the two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest

Highlighting the significance Pakistan attached to its relations with Africa, the premier conveyed the nation’s strong desire to strengthen its historical ties with kenya in

All Areas Of Cooperation

The assassination of the journalist has gained significance in Pakistan and the government has sent a special joint investigation team (JIT) to kenya to collect facts surrounding the gruesome murder

Last week, the Supreme Court had asked the JIT to submit the complete fact-finding report of Sharif ’s murder within a month before adjourning the hearing till March

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told the investigating team to “do what you have to do but get to the facts students from Pakistan who will be flying to China in the coming days termed the PIA s discount a great help for them as the airlines’ fares skyrocketed due to the devaluation of the currency nAB had earlier approved the recommendation from nAB Lahore to launch an investigation against Buzdar

state land retrieved on punjab ombudsman’s order

LAHORE s ta f f R e p o R t

Pursuant to the order of Punjab Ombudsman retired Maj Azam Suleman khan, in response to public grievances, about the illegal occupancy of government lands three properties worth Rs13 6 million have been reclaimed in different districts

The properties include a 40,837 5 square feet plot in Sargodha valued at Rs3 5 million, a 2,994 76 square feet plot in Jhang worth Rs7 million, and a 34,848 square feet plot in Burewala tehsil with a market value of Rs3 1 million, a spokesman for the agency confirmed in a statement on Tuesday

While giving details of the relief provided to the plaintiffs, the spokesperson added the Sialkot administration has given possession of a 5,445 square feet plot of Rs14 million to its rightful owner, Farnaz Jillani, after he approached the ombudsman office for the same Meanwhile, the spokesman informed the ombudsman office moderated to ensure that the ownership of 114,889 5 square feet of land belonging to one Muhammad Maqsood of Pasrur tehsil was accurately documented in the revenue record The market value of this land was assessed to be over Rs5 5 million Alongside the assistant commissioner of Pasrur has initiated a departmental enquiry against the relevant patwari under the Punjab Employees, Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (Peeda) Act, 2006 for issuing the wrong fard badar (proof of ownership) and sought a report from the tehsildar within 60 days In addition, the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) has granted possession of an 816 752 square feet plot in Dera Ghazi khan to Sobia Iqbal, a complainant based in Multan, following the intervention of the ombudsman office, said the spokesperson