Friday, 30 April, 2021
ISLAMABAD
NEWS
03
PM rejeCTs BAsHIr MeMon’s ALLegATIons As BAseLess ISLAMABAD
P
Staff RePoRt
RIME Minister Imran Khan on Thursday finally broke his silence over the allegations levelled against him by former director general of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Bashir Memon and termed all the claims as “baseless.” “I had only directed Memon to investigate the iqama (work permit) case of PML-N’s Khawaja Asif,” the premier said. The prime minister made the statements
while speaking during a meeting with senior journalists and anchorpersons in Islamabad. “The decision to investigate the case of Khawaja Asif was also taken during a meeting of the federal cabinet,” the PM said, adding that he had directed Memon to investigate whether the country’s former foreign minister was holding a foreign resident permit and withdrawing a salary from foreign sources. “All the claims made by Bashir Memon are baseless,” the premier said. “I have never directed him to initiate investigations or file
any cases against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.” The premier added, “Memon was not even authorised to file references [against a Supreme Court judge], so why would I ask him to do so in the first place?” Responding to a question, the premier said that he had not even directed Memon to file any cases against opposition leaders Maryam Nawaz or anyone else from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) or the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). “I have never asked [the FIA] to file a terrorism case against Maryam Nawaz
regarding the photograph of the first lady,” the premier maintained. “Bashir Memon used to only brief me about the investigation the FIA’s joint investigation team was carrying out against the Omni Group,” PM Khan said. A few days ago, Memon said that he was asked by the prime minister himself to file cases against Supreme Court judge Justice Isa and other opposition leaders during his tenure as the FIA’s director-general. Memon had said that Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem Naseem
PM for environmental preservation at any cost in Ravi City project ISLAMABAD aPP
Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday directed the authorities concerned to ensure the preservation of green areas at any cost during the execution of the Ravi City project in Lahore. Chairing a meeting to review progress on Ravi City and Central Business District projects, the prime minister said the incumbent government had taken unprecedented measures for environmental protection in the country. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Finance Minister Shaukat Fayaz Tarin, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister
(SAPM) Dr Shahbaz Gill, Naya Pakistan Housing Authority Chairman Lt General (r) Anwar Ali Haider, and senior officials attended the meeting. Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Dr Salman Shah, Special Assistant to CM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik also joined through video link. The prime minister also directed to point out the issues impeding the execution of Ravi City and Central Business Districts for their early resolution. Lt General (r) Anwar Ali Haider and the Ravi Urban Development Authority CEO apprised the prime minister of the progress on their respective projects particularly the beginning of the bidding
PIA suspends staffer for harassing trainee KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Thursday suspended an instructor at its training centre for harassing a trainee. The revelation of harassment came to light in a purportedly leaked audio clip, following which an investigation committee was formed to ascertain the facts. Following the committee's report, Agha Waseem was served show-cause notice and suspended from his job with immediate effect. He has been asked to submit a response within seven days. INP
Proscribed TLP approaches Interior Ministry for removal of ban ISLAMABAD: Proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Thursday approached the Interior Ministry to remove the ban that was imposed on the religious party. TLP has formally submitted an application to the Interior Ministry in which it has maintained that the party was outlawed on April 15, 2021 over allegations of disturbing peace and interfering in the state’s affairs which are contrary to facts. The application requested the government to review its decision remove ban from TLP. The Interior Ministry sources verified that an application from the banned religious party has been received. Furthermore, Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has summoned a high-level meeting on Friday to review the TLP application. It is pertinent here to mention that the Interior Ministry had banned TLP over the Punjab government’s request. INP
Habib takes oath as minister of state for information ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday administered the oath of Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting to Farrukh Habib. The ceremony was held at President House in Islamabad and attended by Minister for Information and Broadcast Fawad Chaudhry and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, Radio Pakistan reported. Habib, who became a member of the Parliament for the first time in 2018, was appointed to the post on Wednesday in what is said to be a part of the ongoing cabinet reshuffle. Prior to his new job, Habib has often been seen holding press conferences outside the headquarters of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after hearings of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) foreign funding case. Staff RePoRt
process. They also highlighted the proposed strategy devised in consultation with the stakeholders for environmental protection and measures to dispose of the matters pertaining to the land acquisition and resolve the issues on a fast track basis. The meeting was also briefed on the development of different zones, the interest of foreign investors, and the start of the bidding process by five renowned investors interested in a zone of Ravi City, and the interest of an international consortium for land development in the new zones. The authorities concerned also apprised the meeting of the progress on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and public-private partnership for the development of the knowledge
city and technology zone under the Ravi City project. The prime minister was also briefed on the development of a wastewater treatment plant through the financing of the Asian Development Bank, a breakthrough in the payment of land prices to the owners, preservation of green areas and launch of young leaders program for youth’s employment in partnership with the renowned universities. The authorities concerned also put forward recommendations on consultation with the investors for the launch of the first phase of Central Business District and future outline of the project.
Pakistan wants to boost ties with Korea in all domains: COAS RAWALPINDI Staff RePoRt
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that Pakistan attaches great importance to furthering bilateral relations with Republic of Korea in all domains. The army chief said this during a meeting with Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Suh Sangpyo who called on him at General Headquarters (GHQ), said the Inter-Services public relations (ISPR) in a statement on Thursday. According to the ISPR, matters of mutual interest, regional security and enhanced bilateral and defence cooperation were discussed during the meeting. Both reiterated the desire to further enhance bilateral relations including efforts for peace and security in the region. The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s sincere efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region, especially the Afghan Peace Process. On Wednesday last, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin telephoned Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss the drawdown in Afghanistan as the US-led international forces prepare to end a 20-yearlong military campaign from May 1. During the call, Secretary Austin reaffirmed the importance of the USPakistan bilateral relationship and expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s support for Afghanistan peace negotiations. The defence secretary and the army chief also discussed the importance of regional stability and the
desire for the United States and Pakistan to continue working together on shared goals and objectives in the region. The ISPR handout said that during the call matters of mutual interest, regional security situation including latest developments in Afghan peace process, drawdown and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed. Gen Bajwa said that Pakistan will always support “Afghan-led Afghan-owned” peace process based on mutual consensus of all stakeholders. He also reiterated that peace in Afghanistan means peace in Pakistan. The US dignitary also acknowledged Pakistan’s continuous efforts for peace and stability in the region and pledged to further enhance bilateral relations between both countries.
President for expediting EVM production with high-tech security features ISLAMABAD aPP
President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday asked the Ministry of Science of Technology and other concerned organizations to expedite the process of developing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with advanced security features to ensure transparency in the electoral process. He underscored the need for introducing an e-voting system in the country which, he said, would not only facilitate overseas Pakistanis but would also improve the efficiency and various other aspects of the electoral process. The president made these remarks while chairing a meeting of sub-committee on Emerging Technologies on e-voting, here at Aiwan-e-Sadr. Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication (IT&T) Syed Amin ul Haque, Minister for Railways Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Minister for Science and Technology (S&T) Senator Shibli Faraz, IT&T Secretary Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) Acting
Chairman Brig (r) Khalid Latif, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) IT Director General (DG) Khizer Aziz, and senior officials of the government attended the meeting. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz briefed the meeting about the measures taken by his ministry with regard to the manufacturing of EVMs. He informed that COMSATS, the National Institute of Engineering (NIE) and National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) were jointly working to produce a prototype of EVM which would be ready shortly. The president stressed the need that the security of the equipment and various processes involved have to be fool-proof, user-friendly and transparent to ensure credibility of the entire electoral process. The meeting agreed that NADRA would facilitate evoting under the umbrella of ECP. It was also agreed to hold meetings on weekly basis to review the progress on e-voting and EVMs. The president appreciated the efforts of M/o Science and Technology for developing a prototype of EVM.
and the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar had also wanted him to proceed against Justice Isa on money laundering charges. Memon had maintained that he had refused to do so as “the FIA had no grounds to do so, especially since the matter pertained to a Supreme Court judge”. Memon had said that he once had a meeting with the prime minister during which the premier lauded his services by saying that he is a “very good officer” and told him to pursue cases against the corrupt people.
5,480 new CovId-19 CAses, 151 deATHs reCorded ISLAMABAD: The nation recorded 5,480 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking the national tally to 815,711. Data released by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) suggested the death toll climbed to 17,680 after 151 people succumbed to the disease during the last 24 hours. Most deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Out of the total 17,680 deaths, 4,629 deaths occurred in Sindh, 8,327 in Punjab, 3,238 in KP, 677 in Islamabad. About 233 deaths were reported in Balochistan, 106 deaths in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and 470 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Meanwhile, 3,699 patients recovered from the deadly disease taking total recoveries to 708,193. According to NCOC, the total active Covid-19 cases across the country were reported to be 89,838. A total of 11,739,027 tests had been conducted since the outbreak of the virus in February last year. There are about 630 hospitals with Covid-19 facilities with more than 6,000 patients admitted across the country. The highest number of ventilators occupied in the country was found to be in Lahore with 73 per cent occupancy, followed by Multan at 73 per cent, Mardan at 73 per cent, and Gujranwala at 62 per cent. The NCOC further reported that the highest number of oxygen bed occupancy in the country was in Peshawar at 70 per cent followed by Swabi at 67 per cent, Mardan at 65 per cent, and Swat at 60 per cent. About 57,013 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours out of which 14,716 were conducted in Sindh, 26,338 in Punjab, 8,261 in KP, 5,651 in Islamabad, 929 in Balochistan, 241 in G-B and 877 tests were conducted in AJK. aPP
PM voted ‘personality of the week’ for efforts against Islamophobia ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has been voted “Personality of the Week” by the AlJazeera weekly programme “Sibaq-ul-Akhbar” for his views and efforts to address the issue of Islamophobia. “Sibaq-ul-Akhbar” is an interactive and live one hour weekly programme in Arabic on Aljazeera TV. This programme is very famous in Arab countries. In this programme, the channel selects three to four top news of the week and subsequently viewers are asked to vote as to which is the top news story and personality associated with the story. Imran secured 56 per cent votes from the viewers. Al-Jazeera’s viewers on the Sibaq-ul-Akhbar programme held on April 24 voted for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran as Personality of the Week for his candid views on the issue of Islamophobia. In the initial part of the programme, the anchor highlighted PM Imran’s achievements and later he took Shaukat Paracha, an anchor of a private TV channel from Pakistan, for comments. In October 2019, Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named PM Imran as its “Man of the Year” in its list of the most persuasive Muslims in the world. The centre is an autonomous research entity with the Royal Aal al Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan. “If The Muslim 500 was in print back in 1992 and I was the chief editor then, I would have nominated Imran Khan as our Muslim Man of the Year because of his brilliant performance in cricket, which culminated in Pakistan winning the 1992 Cricket World Cup — a sport I have always admired for its combination of elegance and intense competitive play,” said Professor S Abdallah Schleifer, a Professor Emeritus of Journalism in the American University in Cairo, who chose Imran Khan winner of the title. tLtP
