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Tuesday, 8 December, 2020
NEWS
MaRyaM SayS ReSPoNSIbILITy To ouST PReMIeR oN LaHoRe’S SHouLdeRS
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NEWS DESK
N spite of warnings from the incumbent government, the leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have said that they will move forward with their Lahore rally, and in this regard, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that the "responsibility to remove [Imran Khan] had fallen on the shoulder of Lahore". The PML-N VP, while speaking to a charged crowd at a venue in Lahore's NA128 constituency on Monday, was gathering support for the upcoming PDM
rally. Replying to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s earlier statements about allowing the rally, Maryam lashed out and said, "He says he won't stop the government but says will not allow chairs […] He says he will not allow tents. Lahore, tell me, do you need chairs?" "The Lahore jalsa will show that this fake government's days are numbered,” she added. Similarly, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira addressed a press conference in Lahore today, wherein he said the government’s attempts to change tactics would not stop the upcoming rally. "The premier doesn't realise that these
Court sentences three to death for rape in Gilgit GILGIT: A local court in Gilgit on Monday sentenced three men to death after they were found guilty of subjecting a woman to sexual abuse in Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) Shigar district. Abid Hassan, Sakhawat and Asghar were also directed to furnish a fine of Rs1 million each. The convicts had sexually abused the woman for seven months. The court wrapped up the trial proceedings within a month’s time by hearing the case on a daily basis. Gilgit Baltistan Chief Court Chief Justice Malik Haq Nawaz had taken notice of the incident after it came to light. A first information report (FIR) of the incident was filed on September 20 while the trial began on November 20. On September 25, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had handed capital punishment to two men for raping and filming a teenager in Skardu. ATC Judge Mahmoodul Hassan announced the verdict, sentencing Muzaffar Abbas and Tajamul Hussain to death. Besides, both were also handed life imprisonment and asked to pay a fine of Rs1 million each. TLTP
Iqbal's indictment in NSC case deferred ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Monday deferred the indictment of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary general Ahsan Iqbal in a case pertaining to the Narowal Sports City (NSC) project. Last month, the court had decided to indict Iqbal in the reference on December 7. The process was postponed after an anti-graft prosecutor failed to appear before the court. Meanwhile, the PML-N leader and the four other accused were present. Adjourning the hearing, the court announced to indict the accused on December 22. The agency filed the reference against Iqbal last month in the accountability court, accusing the PML-N stalwart of misuse of authority and “illegally enhancing the scope of [the] project from Rs34.75 million to Rs3 billion”. STAFF REPORT
Two witnesses record statement in Ramzan Sugar Mills case LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday recorded statements of two witnesses in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case. The hearing of the case was resumed by Accountability Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry. The jail authorities presented Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz before the court under strict adherence of the coronavirus-related standard operating procedures (SOPs). The jail authorities and secretary home presented their report on the orders of the court over not presenting Hamza on a previous hearing. Earlier, the court took notice of Hamza’s absence in the hearing and had ordered the jail officials to submit a written response to clarify the reasons for not producing him. The NAB had filed a reference accusing former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hamza and others for causing losses to the national exchequer and misusing authority by sanctioning construction of a bridge to facilitate the sugar mills. The NAB officials said that Shehbaz, being the chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by issuing directives for the construction of a 10-kilometre-long drain in Chiniot primarily to benefit the sugar mill owned by his sons. STAFF REPORT
things don't stop rallies. Martial law used much harsher tactics but rallies and movements did not stop." He labelled the incumbent government as “fascist”, declared that the people were fed up with the ruling party, and said that it was time for the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) to go. "The PDM leadership has decided that the Dec 13 jalsa will take place," he said. This announcement comes a day before the leaders of the PDM meet in the federal capital to finalise their strategies for the aforementioned rally. Punjab PML-N President Rana Sanaullah confirmed that the heads of the
11-party alliance would meet tomorrow, and said, "Hundreds of thousands of workers will participate in the Lahore rally. This requires complete arrangements. They cannot be addressed without a proper sound system." Sanaullah also lashed out against the premier for his inconsistent statements. "[Imran] is saying that he will not allow arrangements for chairs and lights and will not allow a stage to be set up. And [in the same breath] he says he will not stop us from holding the rally". A day earlier, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had warned the government that it will respond in the same coin if it used force to disrupt the PDM Lahore rally. The Jamiat Ulema-e-IslamFazl (JUI-F) chief had also said that the opposition parties wanted their armed forces to carry on their duties as professional soldiers. “They are our strength and should concentrate to protect the geographical frontiers of the country,” he had said.
Security situation may worsen if action not taken: Interior Ministry NEWS DESK The Ministry of Interior, in a letter, has asked provincial governments to take measures against armed wings of political and religious parties, warning that the security situation may worsen if action is not taken. The letter issued added that these organisations and will create a negative image of the country. Furthermore, the letter outlined how certain religious parties, in violation of Article 256 of the Constitution and the third point of the National Action Plan (NAP), have established their militias and even wear uniforms like formal armed forces. Interior Ministry requested all provincial governments to take immediate cognizance of this threat and adapt effective necessary measures to check the functioning and other development of such militias.
In response to the letter, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the order to take action against religious and political parties' volunteers is "ill-intentioned." "There is a difference between a party's military wing and its volunteers," Fazl said. "Our volunteers belong to Ansar-ul-Islam, which is the constitutional wing of the JUI, and is registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan." "In 2001, our volunteers planned thousands of jalsas in the country. At that time, the then home minister had appreciated the arrangements made by our volunteers," he maintained. "Akin to that, the volunteers of Ansar-ulIslam performed security duties during our 2017 jalsas." The JUI-F said that the letter by the home ministry was merely to exert political pressure.
Sindh govt surpassed tax collection targets, Murad tells Bilawal NEWS DESK Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had a meeting with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, wherein the former said that the Sindh government has surpassed its own tax collection targets this year. The meeting took place at the Bilawal House in Karachi on Monday, and the two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest. During the meeting, CM Murad said that the development of the province was slow-going due to low payments made by the federal government. The two also talked about measures taken against Covid-19 by the Sindh Health Department. Furthermore, Bilawal stressed the need for a public-private partnership to create more employment opportunities and instructed the Sindh
government to start a recruitment drive for filling vacant positions. On Saturday last, Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal, while speaking to the media outside the National Accountability Bureau court in Karachi, had said the chief minister “illegally and immorally withheld the money under the NFC [National Finance Commission] Award after its release from the federation, as if it was his personal property and not of the people of the province”. “No one dares to ask him why the entire Sindh, including its capital Karachi, is posing a dismal look despite receiving thousands of billions of rupees from the NFC every year,” he had said. Speaking on the occasion, he had said that public problems could not be resolved without local governments, and that asked for election of mayors which would revolutionise the country.
Zardari suffered head injuries after fall, IHC informed NEWS DESK The Islamabad High Court (IHC) learned on Monday that former president and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had suffered head injuries from a fall and had been readmitted to a hospital on November 22. According to the medical report with Geo TV, the PPP leader had complained of swelling in his head and pain on the left side of his chest, as well as tension in his lower back. It also said that the chest pain increased whenever Zardari walked. He had earlier been discharged from the hospital on October 11. After an examination by neuro, orthopaedic, and spinal surgeons, it emerged that there was a blood clot in the occipital bone of the former president. Furthermore, a CT scan had been conducted and Zardari had been advised to refrain from travelling. In light of this, Zardari had filed a petition with the IHC to exempt him appearing in court on medical grounds in the fake accounts case.
LHC seeks Punjab’s reply on petition seeking ban on rallies LAHORE STAFF REPORT
The Lahore High Court (LHC) took up on Monday a writ petition seeking a ban on public gatherings due to a continued surge in coronavirus cases and other Covid-related measures. An LHC bench issued notices to Punjab’s special health secretary and the Lahore deputy commissioner to furnish their response to the petition by the next hearing. The petitioner stated before the court that there is a need to ban rallies to halt the spread of the deadly disease. He demanded that pharmacies at all the hospitals be ordered to stay open round-the-clock. He further requested the court to issue directives for the authorities concerned to ensure presence of senior doctors at coronavirus wards at night and kith and kins of hospitalised Covid-19 patients interact with them through video calls to keep tabs on their health condition. On December 2, a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking court order against the upcoming protest meeting by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Lahore. A petition filed by Advocate Nadeem Sarwar has made the federal government, NCOC, PDM, PML-N and PPP, parties in the petition. A health emergency has been enforced in the country in the wake of coronavirus, the petition said. The PDM is holding protest rallies despite the government’s ban on large public meetings, which are causing a spike in coronavirus cases, according to the petition. “The PDM leadership is playing with the lives and health of the people,” the petition said.
CPEC is a transformational project, says foreign secretary ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Monday held a meeting with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa, wherein he said that CPEC is a transformational project, and there is a complete national consensus on CPEC's indispensability for Pakistan’s national development efforts. “Pakistan and China are firmly committed to the timely completion of CPEC projects and making it a high-quality demonstration project of BRI [Belt and Road Initiative],” he said. Reviewing the progress of CPEC projects, the foreign secretary maintained that CPEC energy and infrastructure projects had created thousands of jobs
and had boosted industrial growth and productivity. It testified to the fact that CPEC's contribution to strengthen Pakistan’s economic landscape has been real and substantial, he emphasised. The foreign secretary underlined that Pakistan's focus in the next phase of CPEC was on industrialisation and socio-economic development, areas that will create vast job and growth opportunities for the common people. Three out of the nine CPEC SEZs, namely Rashakai, Dhabeji and Allama Iqbal, have been prioritised and Pakistan would welcome foreign direct investment in those projects. Lt Gen (r) Bajwa underscored that the CPEC Authority was committed to ensuring that CPEC projects were completed on time. He hoped that the 10th JCC, likely to be held in the near future, will create more economic opportunities and contribute to
further expansion of CPEC projects. He reaffirmed that Pakistan would welcome relocation of industry from China and in that regard will institute a regime that could encourage inflow of Chinese investments to Pakistan. The foreign secretary underlined that the government was particularly focused on strengthening agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China. In that regard, a plan of action, detailing the contours of this collaboration, was already being discussed between the two governments. The foreign secretary hoped that the plan of action will be expeditiously implemented. It was reaffirmed in the meeting that postCovid-19, through collective efforts of Pakistan and China, CPEC would become the hub for the regional trade and connectivity and will deepen people-to-people exchanges at a wider level.
