Wednesday, 20 January, 2021 I 6 Jamadi-ul-Sani, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 202 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
ECP rEsPonds to PdM’s allEgations, says fully awarE of its Constitutional rEsPonsibilitiEs g
Opp leaders claim ecp 'held back' electiOns results in 2018 tO ensure their defeat
ISLAMABAD
t
staff report
he election commission of pakistan (ecp) on tuesday, while responding to a protest demonstration staged by the pdm outside its office, said that the election body was fully aware of its constitutional responsibilities. “we are committed to fulfilling our responsibilities without succumbing to any pressures,” the ecp said in a handout issued on tuesday as opposition parties gathered outside its islamabad office to protest against a delay in the investigations of the foreign funding case against the ruling party. it said that the election commission is ready to hold free and fair polls at any time. the election commission further rejected the allegations of slow progress in the foreign funding case and said that it had made considerable progress in the case.
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
523,011
LAST UPDATED AT 7:52 AM ON JANUARY 19, 2021
58
RECOVERED:
NEW CASES:
1,800 DEATHS:
476,471 11,055 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
236,530 150,316 KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
63,825
special cOntrOl rOOm mOnitOrs grOund situatiOn
“we have further directed the scrutiny committee to hold its proceedings into the case thrice in a week,” the handout read. earlier, pakistan muslim leaguenawaz (pml-n) vice president maryam nawaz, while addressing a protest outside the ecp, that is pursuing a sevenyear-old petition accusing pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) of receiving foreign funding during years leading to and after the 2013 election, said that the opposition parties had gathered to remind the regulatory body of its “constitutional obligations.” Questioning the “unacceptable” delay in the trial, which is set to resume tomorrow (wednesday), maryam sought to remind the chief election commissioner, sikandar sultan raja, of the “constitutional” position of his office. “this [ecp] is the institution that the constitution has made responsible for honoruing the public vote and this is the institution that had to get respect for the public vote,” she added.
Coronavirus in
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
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18,622
8,654/4,887 40,177
her address is part of the protest, organised by the pakistan democratic movement (pdm), being held outside the offices of the election commission to question the delay in the probe that has dragged on throughout the tenure of deposed prime minister nawaz sharif and the two-and-a-half years of the incumbent setup without a verdict. as the trial gained pace, the scrutiny committee of the commission last week summoned both the pakistan people’s party (ppp) and the pml-n, directing them to submit their respective records of funds collected through foreign sources. maryam, in a passionate speech, termed the trial the “biggest fraud in pakistan’s history.” she claimed while the graft cases against her father were expedited and decided within days, the commission had “only held 70 hearings” of the pti case since 2014. “today the pdm and public ask you,” maryam questioned, addressing prime minister imran khan, “if you did not steal, then why did you try to stop the case 30 times.” she further claimed the prime minister had submitted six requests in the court, saying the ecp could not decide this case. “ecp formed a committee called the scrutiny committee whose job was to investigate and place results in front of the people but when the probe was started, the list of crimes was so long that it was told to be lenient on [the pti] and the committee then became obedient of imran khan and ecp,” she said. the pml-n leader said that the case against the pti could be decided within three days, “but they have been sitting like a snake on top of it for seven years.”
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Committee to probe Broadsheet scandal, report in 45 days: Faraz g
infOrmatiOn minister says gOvernment will take actiOn against thOse respOnsible ISLAMABAD Mian abrar
the federal cabinet on tuesday constituted a committee to be headed by a former judge of the supreme or high court to investigate the scandal of broadsheet llc, fix the responsibility on illegal beneficiaries and submit its report within 45 days. the committee was constituted after a heated debate over the report of a ministerial committee into the case. the three-member ministerial committee, led by minister for information and broadcasting senator shibli faraz and comprising minister for science and technology fawad chaudhry and minister for human resource dr shireen mazari, had recommended that the case should be probed thoroughly by a judicial committee. sources told pakistan today that during the meeting, prime minister imran khan not only approved the ministerial committee’s recommendations but also directed the committee to make public the facts in the scandal, involving the london-based asset recovery fund and the national accountability bureau (nab).
PM directs to accelerate measures for Covid-19 vaccine rollout ISLAMABAD staff report
prime minister imran khan on tuesday chaired a meeting on the coronavirus situation in pakistan and procurement of covid-19 vaccines. the cabinet committee, formed on the procurement of covid-19 vaccines, briefed the prime minister about the recently-approved coronavirus vaccines in the country. the committee briefed the meeting that the drug regulatory authority of pakistan (drap) had approved two covid-19 vaccines – china’s sinopharm and Oxford-astraZeneca covid19 vaccine for emergency use in pakistan. the committee told pm imran that steps are being taken to procure doses of two approved covid-19 vaccines as soon as possible. coronavirus vaccines will be available in the country by the first quarter of the ongoing year, the committee told the premier. speaking on the occasion, pm imran directed the committee to accelerate measures for the early provision of two coronavirus vaccines recently approved by drap.
later, addressing a press conference flanked by fawad and mazari, faraz said that the new committee would comprise one representative each of federal investigation agency (fia) and attorney general of pakistan (agp), besides a senior advocate to be nominated by the prime minister. faraz said that the government will probe all the names that surfaced in the london high court judgment and once the investigation is completed, it will take action against those responsible. “accountability cannot be onesided. it is not a choice,” he said. “corruption investigations are underway against ppp leadership.” he added that the broadsheet verdict was based on facts about the corruption stories of the previous rulers. it contain the details of corruption committed before 2,000 and another inquiry is required to look into the wrongdoings done after 2,000. faraz further said that the former rulers fully benefitted from the nrO (national reconciliation Ordinance) and again went on the looting spree of national wealth without any remorse and shame.
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more inside
PDM failed to show power due to hollow narrative: Rasheed STORY ON PAGE 03
the meeting was attended by ncOc head asad umar, sapm on health dr faisal sultan, federal minister for industries hammad azhar and sapm on social protection and poverty alleviation dr sania nishtar. separately, the sindh health department on tuesday recommended an allocation of rs1.5 billion for procurement of anticoronavirus vaccine. a spokesperson for the provincial health department said a draft will be prepared to seek the approval of chief minister syed murad ali shah. the provincial government is negotiating the import of covid-19 vaccines with two private companies. meanwhile, special assistant to the prime minister on health dr faisal sultan said that pakistan
will receive its first batch of the coronavirus vaccine directly from manufacturers as well as the global platform of cOvaX in the first quarter of the year. talking to a private television channel, dr faisal sultan said that the government will be ordering doses from more than one international suppliers within this quarter. he said that pakistan will only procure vaccines that have been approved by the drug regulatory authority of pakistan (drap) after evaluation of its quality vis a vis efficacy data. he said that in near future, more vaccines will also be given a go-ahead by the regulatory body.
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