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KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan on Sunday alleged that the population of urban areas of Sindh was shown less not because of any mistake but under a particular conspiracy. “Through the media and government institutions sources, it has been proved that population of urban Sindh is being shown less under a well-thought-out plan,” claimed MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Speaking at a press conference at the party’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad, Dr Siddiqui said that if the MQM-P had not made endeavours, the population of Karachi would have been shown 14.4 million only. “Date of census was extended because of our demand owing to which four million more people have been counted,” said the party leader. “This whole process has shown that our concerns were legitimate.” Urging the people to take part in the census, he said the date had been extended for 15 more days. He said that the government and rulers had “realised their mistake”. He pointed out that ...

ISLAMABAD: As part of its continuing effort for the return of fishermen on humanitarian grounds, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) said on Sunday it had launched a campaign demanding the repatriation of such prisoners currently being held in prisons in India and Pakistan. Under this campaign, the commission aimed to highlight the ordeal of those held in prison for accidently crossing the maritime borders and national and international agreements applied to such prisoners, besides urging the governments of Pakistan and India to schedule talks to ensure the return of the detained fishermen. According to data collected by the commission, there were an estimated 1,155 foreign prisoners in Pakistan, with a significant proportion being foreign fishermen who were arrested after reportedly trespassing into Pakistan’s territorial waters. The vast majority of fishermen were from India, particularly its state Gujarat. NCHR’s campaign started with visits to the Malir prison, Karac...

FAR from easing, Pakistan’s Afghan dilemma has become more acute in recent months. Despite several high-level interactions with Kabul aimed at securing its cooperation to contain the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which resides in Afghanistan, little headway seems to have been made. This is evident from the continuing surge in attacks in Pakistan conducted by TTP from their safe havens in Afghanistan. This was confirmed most recently by the Ministry of Defence report submitted to the Supreme Court, which argued that the internal security situation wasn’t conducive to holding provincial elections in May. Although the report was not made public, news reports cited it as maintaining that the terrorist threat had increased because the environment in Afghanistan worsened after the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. It also said that with Kabul unwilling to act against TTP, its regrouping in Afghanistan posed a greater threat to Pakistan. Islamabad’s growing frustration was ref...

MUZAFFARABAD: Authorities in India-held Kashmir on Sunday repatriated a man and his son to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), a day after the duo had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC) from Abbaspur sector of Poonch division, officials said. Abdul Hameed, 55, and his son Abbas, 34, were watering their cattle at a water channel close to their Polas Kakuta village at about 1:30pm on Saturday when they reportedly strayed into the territory under Indian occupation and were taken into custody by the Indian soldiers. Fellow villager Muhammad Hussain, 60, who was behind them saw this happening and reported it to the Pakistan army personnel stationed in the rear, an administration official told Dawn from the area by telephone. According to him, the army contacted their counterparts across the divide for repatriation of the inadvertent crossers, following which the duo was returned by the Indian authorities via Tetrinote-Chakan Da Bagh crossing point on Sunday evening. Assistant co...

WASHINGTON: Classified documents — released recently by a US airman — show that Pakistan, and some other nations, have been quietly distancing themselves from the United States on key issues like Ukraine. The documents, published by The Washington Post and other US media outlets, include two Pakistani memos warning policymakers not to annoy China to maintain links with the United States. In one of the memos, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar argues that Pakistan can “no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States.” The internal memo was sent to official recipients in Pakistan in March. Titled “Pakistan’s Difficult Choices”, the memo cautions Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West. It warns that the instinct to preserve Pakistan’s partnership with the United States would ultimately sacrifice the full benefits of the country’s “real strategic” partnership with China. Leaked memos featuring PM Shehbaz,...

Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel declared the country free of mpox on Sunday after the only patient afflicted with the disease successfully recovered. In a statement issued today, Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) spokesperson Sajid Shah said one mpox case was reported so far in the country, adding that the patient was under treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). Patel said the best medical facilities were provided to the patient who had now recovered. “The patient has been discharged after testing negative [for the virus]. There are no cases of mpox in Pakistan. Kudos to the hospital staff for taking the best measures,” he said. He said the government was ensuring all necessary measures to keep people safe from diseases and the country’s institutions were “always ready to deal with all kinds of epidemics and diseases”. Patel said samples of 22 suspected mpox cases were sent for testing and all of them had turned out negative. “The situa...

LAHORE: Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says all the political parties in the current government have failed to give a better and competent cabinet. “We could not form a 10-member competent people’s cabinet to run the affairs of the country smoothly,” he lamented and added that the people who did not have any ability were made ministers in the cabinet. Abbasi said the institutions were not working within their constitutional limits and all the systems of the country had failed due to failure of the leadership. He bemoaned the lack of vision in the leadership to bring about changes to the system to solve problems of the country facing existential crisis. The former prime minister was addressing a seminar on ‘Reimagining Pakistan’ at the Government College University (GCU) on Saturday. The seminar was a part of ‘The Great Debate 2023’ to discuss the problems of the country and their solutions. Former federal finance minister and PML-N leader Miftah Ismail ...

KARACHI: Four armed robbers looted several people sitting at a roadside eatery in the Dhoraji area on Friday night, police said on Saturday. A video went viral on social media showing unknown persons snatching cell phones from people at gunpoint. Confirming the incident, East-SSP Zubair Nazeer Sheikh told Dawn on Saturday that the police with the help of CCTV footage got some clues about the suspects. A police patrol indicated some motorcyclists to stop on Haider Ali Road and in an ensuing exchange of firing arrested Mohsin alias Kaptan and Tauseef Reh­man in injured condition. One motorbike and seven snatched cell phones were recovered from their custody. During initial probe, the injured disclosed that they were involved in the robbery at the Dhoraji eatery, the SSP said. Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2023 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/3Xp5abI

QUETTA: Amid the ongoing tussle between the executive and the judiciary , leaders of the legal fraternity have advised all institutions to work within their constitutional limits and asked lawyers to stand by the Consti­tution and not any particular class. They said that being the superior judiciary, the Supreme Court needs a lot of caution and as an institution, it should not become weak. Addressing the National Lawyers Convention organised by the Balochistan Bar Council (BBC) at the Balochistan High Court here on Saturday, they expressed concern over political and constitutional crises in the country and said the democratic system today is in danger and the judiciary is working as a “tool for undemocratic powers”. “Therefore, it is important that lawyers play a strong and stable role and move forward in the national interest. It has been an honour that the lawyers of Balochistan have taken the initiative, be it constitutional crisis, martial law or the supremacy of parliament in t...

HONG KONG: China is mulling to allow single women access to in-vitro fertility (IVF) treatment legally in a private clinic as it tries to slow its demographic decline. The changes mean unmarried women can take paid maternity leave and receive child subsidies previously only available to married couples. This has benefited women like Chen Luojin, a 33-year-old divorcee living in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Sichuan province, which legalised registration of children by unmarried women in February, something China is considering implementing nationwide to address record low birth rates. She is now 10 weeks pregnant. “Becoming a single parent is not for everyone, but I’m happy with the decision,” said Chen. Some provinces have already legalised registration of children by unmarried females “Equally, getting married or not is for each individual to decide. We have liberalised the policies here and I know a lot of single women are doing IVF.” Concerned about China’s first...

KAKUL: Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir awards Commandant’s Cane to Course Sergeant Major Fatima Khalid at Pakistan Military Academy, on Saturday.—APP ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir has said the army’s first and foremost loyalty is to the state of Pakistan and commitment to the role that has been assigned to it under the Constitution. He also stressed the need to identify the exposed and hidden enemies who were hell-bent upon driving a wedge between the people and the armed forces. View this post on Instagram He was addressing the passing-out parade of cadets of 147th PMA long, 13th Mujahid, 66th integrated, 6th basic military training and 21st lady cadet courses at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul, on Saturday. Cadets from Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar and Sri Lanka were among the graduating class. Army chief stresses need to identify hidden enemies, says Pakistan’s security linked with ...

QUETTA: Balochistan and Sindh police have launched another operation in the border area of the two provinces for the recovery of the abducted son of a mill owner. The fresh operation has been launched two days after six cops were martyred in a shoot-out with the kidnappers in the same area. The renewed effort, launched in the Jageer area of Balochistan’s Jacobabad district on Friday, was aimed at securing the release of Furqan Somroo, who was abducted by armed groups while travelling between Jacobabad and Dera Allahyar a few days back. Personnel of Balochis­tan Anti-terrorist Force from Jafar­abad, Usta Muhammad, Sibi and Jacobabad are participating in the operation. The combined operation was being carried out under the leadership of Jafarabad SSP Mohammad Anwar Badini, Usta Mohammad SSP Mian Iqbal and Jacobabad SSP Sameer Noor Chana. The forces have surrounded the area from all sides and 15 hideouts of robbers were set on fire and 10 suspects were arrested and transferred to an...

QUETTA: At least three people were killed and several injured as heavy rains battered various parts of Balochistan during the last 36 hours. A new spell of heavy rains, with thunderstorms and lightning, which on Wednesday continued with small intervals till Friday. Seven districts including Lasbela, Kech, Panjgur, Washuk, Khuzdar, Mastung and Sohrab were badly affected, said Balochistan PDMA head Naseer Ahmad Nasar. In Khuzdar, two children died and two people were injured as a result of a lightning strike. In another accident, one person died when his car crashed off a slippery road in Ketch. Heavy rains also caused urban flooding in Turbat and surrounding areas, disrupting normal life and damaging mud houses. The Meteorological Department has warned of more rains within the next 48 hours. Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2023 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2zIWGlA

KARACHI: The Asian Development Bank has said that the Malir Expressway project has been taken off the priority lists for funding through ADB resources. In a letter to Indigenous Legal Rights Alliance (ILRA), a group of people affected by the project, the ADB said that the project was not eligible for consideration under the ADB Accountability Mechanism. “Over the objection of the indigenous people of Malir, ADB rejected the Malir Expressway on environmental grounds,” stated Hafeez Baloch while sharing a copy of the ADB letter on Twitter. However, Sindh government spokesperson and Chief Minister’s Law Adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab told Dawn that the Malir Expressway was a public-private partnership (PPP) project and was not financed by the ADB. Project taken off funding list on complaint of two Malir residents; Murtaza Wahab says public-private partnership project is not ADB-supported The ILRA had lodged a complaint with the ADP about the adverse environmental impact of t...

ISLAMABAD: Just a few weeks after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had filed a complaint against a sitting judge of the top court before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the Sindh Bar Council also jumped into the fray on Friday by requesting the SJC to initiate an inquiry into the allegation of his misconduct. The SBC alleged that Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi’s conduct not only injured the Supreme Court’s dignity but also tarnished its reputation. The complainant believed the alleged violation of the code of conduct was sufficient to justify removal of the judge from office. Nearly half a dozen complaints have been filed over the past few months against the SC judge. Besides Sindh and KP bar councils, Pakistan Bar Council, a Lahore-based social media influencer Advocate Mian Dawood, PML-N Lawyers’ Forum and a private citizen Ghulam Murtaza Khan have moved misconduct and assets beyond means complaints against the Justice Naqvi who was elevated to the Supreme Court in Mar...

RAWALPINDI: After overseeing Pakistan’s 500th victory in the One-day International format on Thursday, captain Babar Azam lavished praise on the way his side controlled the game to draw first blood in the five-match series against New Zealand. With their five-wicket triumph over the Black Caps at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan became only the third cricketing nation to reach the landmark. It came in their 949th one-dayer, making them the second quickest after Australia to achieve the feat. In the second ODI, also at in Rawalpindi, on Saturday, the hosts will look to build on that victory to further embellish their lead in the series but they will be mindful of the fact that New Zealand came back from 2-0 down to level the preceding five-game Twenty20 series 2-2. Pressing home their advantage, therefore, will be crucial for Pakistan. They can’t afford to give the visitors any chance, any opening. In Thursday’s game, they did exactly that with opener Fakhar Zaman’s ninth ODI hun...

ISLAMABAD: To address concerns over the exercise of digital census, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) after a detailed briefing to ministers, lawmakers and leaders of political parties on Friday decided in principle to extend digital census for another 15 days. PBS spokesperson Sarwar Gondal told Dawn the digital census, previously scheduled to conclude on April 30, would be extended till May 15. To work out an operation plan during the extended days, he said, the bureau would hold a meeting with chief secretaries on Saturday (today). “We will present the request of the political parties in a meeting of census monitoring committee,” he added. Need for the extension was felt after it emerged during the exercise that Karachi and Lahore populations showed little increase since the 2017 census. PBS asks political parties to identify areas not covered by enumeration teams The PBS at the briefing requested political parties to identify the areas that had not been covered by cen...

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo directed the health department on Thursday to set up isolation wards in all government hospitals to treat patients infected with the viral disease mpox. Isolation wards with five to 10 beds should be established at Quetta’s Bolan Medical Complex, Civil Hospital, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Institute of Cardiology, Fatima Jinnah Hospital and Kuhclak’s Mufti Mehmood Hospital, the chief minister ordered. He also directed the authorities to provide necessary medical equipment, hygiene kits and personal protective equipment to cope with the possible threat of mpox (formerly called monkeypox). As per Mr Bizenjo’s directives, the health department has issued an alert to all government hospitals for setting up isolation wards. A letter written to the heads of the hospitals by the Balochistan director general of health stated that all measures should be taken in view of possible cases. “The instructions of the health department...

PESHAWAR: Journalists and social media activists staged a protest in Bannu on Thursday against the failure of police to register an FIR and arrest the suspects involved in alleged kidnapping and torturing of journalist Gohar Wazir over a week ago. He filed a written complaint with Bannu City police station after he was set free by the captors and he received medical treatment at a local hospital on April 21. However, the complaint has not been converted into proper FIR so far. Gohar Wazir, who is president of National Press Club Bannu and works with a Pashto private television channel, has claimed that he was given electric shocks by his captors during a round 30-hour illegal confinement at an unspecified location. The protesters included local journalists and social media persons, who were holding placards and banners inscribed with different slogans and demands. They passed through different bazaars and said that the culprits should be arrested at the earliest. Protesters demand...

• Blaze in Lahore-bound Karachi Express linked to short circuit • Railways minister says sabotage can’t be ruled out, orders inquiry SUKKUR/LAHORE: At least seven people were killed and four children went missing after a coach on a moving passenger train caught fire overnight in Sindh’s Khairpur district, officials said on Thursday. Railways official Mohsin Siyal confirmed the number of casualties and said that the train, which was on its way from Karachi to Lahore, caught fire near the Tando Masti Khan village. He said six people were killed in the blaze, while an old woman died when she jumped from the window of the moving train. Police surgeon Dr Abu Talib said the bodies of six victims were “unidentifiable” and would be handed over to the families after DNA tests. The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Khairpur. Railways officials in Sukkur told the media that they found three burnt bodies in Coach 4, where the blaze erupted, whereas two teenage victims were found in ...

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the accountability watchdog to continue its probe against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his spouse in accordance with the amended law. An IHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Babar Sattar, passed the directives as it disposed of a petition filed by Mr Khan and his spouse against National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) notices over alleged corrupt practices in retaining state gifts. The bench observed that the court cannot interfere in the course of the investigation. Khawaja Haris Ahmed, the petitioners’ counsel, argued that NAB’s notice didn’t state in which capacity the information was being sought. Court disposes of Imran, wife’s petition against call-up notices According to him, last year’s amendments to the accountability law made it mandatory for NAB to establish a reason and communicate it to the suspect. “As per the amended law, it should be mentioned whether anyone was summoned as ...

ISLAMABAD: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday appeared to be in a defensive mode, as the CJP implored all parties to sit together to break the political impasse, while also clarifying that the court on April 20 had not directed political parties to negotiate rather it was a mere suggestion. At the last hearing on April 20, the CJP through an order had asked political parties to sit together and chalk out a strategy for deciding the date for simultaneous polls and update the apex court on the progress in negotiations by April 27. During the hearing on Thursday, CJP Bandial implored political parties to sit together to break the political impasse in the wake of a delay in elections. “Constitution violation has already taken place (due to delay in elections) but we want to abide by the Constitution so that nobody disregards it,” observed the CJP while heading the bench inclulding Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Muni...

Hours before the Supreme Court (SC) is yet again to take up the polls delay case, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani on Thursday wrote letters to Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Opposition’s Shahzad Wasim seeking names of members for a “special committee” on “holding political dialogue”. The development comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that “arbitration is not the SC’s job” and the parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the PTI. Subsequently, two senior ministers contacted the Senate chairman and urged him to play his role in bridging the divide. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique met Sanjrani and asked him to form a committee comprising five senators each from the government and opposition sides, government sources told Dawn . In identical letters addressed to Dar and Shahzad today, copies of which are available with Dawn.com , the Senate chairman said that he was approached by the gove...

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to file comments as well as a detailed report about bulk water supply to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). A two-judge bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi observed that apparently no reasonable explanation whatsoever had so far been submitted by the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) and DHA regarding the non-supply of water to residents, apart from an excuse that the KWSB was not supplying water to the CBC to meet its requirement; therefore, there was a shortfall. The bench observed that the KWSB was made a party in the instant petitions and asked to file comments and a detailed report about bulk water supply to DHA in order to ascertain the submissions of CBC. However, the bench noted that KWSB had yet to file any report or comments despite the fact that its lawyer had on April 10 requested time in this regard. It directed the water utility to submit such documents before M...

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Kashmir Election Commission on Wednesday fixed June 8 as the date for a by-election in the constituency of former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas. According to a notification, candidates could submit their nominations for in LA-15, Bagh-II seat by 4pm on May 10. After scrutiny, the list of valid candidates would be published while appeals against rejection of nominations could be filed before the election tribunal by 2pm on May 15. Candidates could withdraw their nominations before 2pm on May 18, and the final list of candidates with election symbols would be published on May 19. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the election commission asked the intending candidates to submit details of their movable and immovable assets on the prescribed form before filing nominations. Mr Ilyas was disqualified by the AJK high court on April 11 under contempt of court charges, following which he was unseated by the commission. Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023 from The ...

SUKKUR / DERA MURAD JAMALI: Six members of the Anti-Terrorist Force of Baloc­histan Police, including a sub-inspector, embraced martyrdom while two others suffered injuries in a shoot-out with kidnappers at the Chand water channel in the jurisdiction of Mouladad police station in Jacobabad on Wedn­esday, police said. A Jacobabad-based band of criminals, known as Mitho Shah gang, had kidnapped Furqan, the son of rice mill owner Aslam Soomro from Balochistan and brought him to the Mouladad area. Furqan Soomro was waylaid in the Kashmirabad area of Jaffa­rabad, while returning to Usta Mohammad town from Jacobabad on Tuesday night, police said. According to police, SSP Hasnain Iqbal came to Jacobabad from Jaffarabad along with a team. SSP Jacobabad Dr Sumair Noor Channa along with a large contingent of police also reached there to support the Balochistan police. Balochistan police team was trying to recover son of mill owner from Sindh-based gang Balochistan police then launched the...

ISLAMABAD: Despite over 63 per cent power generation from domestic cheaper fuels and unprecedented increase in base tariff in recent months, the ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) have moved to charge about Rs10 billion in additional fuel cost to their consumers at the rate of Rs1.174 per unit in May. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has accepted the tariff petition filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of the Discos and has called a public hearing on May 3 to see if the proposed increase in tariff is justified in line with monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) mechanism. On approval, the Discos would charge an additional amount of about Rs9.93bn from their consumers for electricity consumed in March despite a healthy 63.5pc contribution from domestic cheaper fuels. The increase in FCA is despite the base average tariff has gone up by more than Rs7 per unit besides a series of surcharges and a reduction in the cost of import fuels l...

Exhausted, elated and cradling her newborn daughter in a rundown government hospital, young mother Manu Bala had just helped make India the world’s most populous nation. Tears of joy and relief streamed down Bala’s cheeks as her as-yet-unnamed child — one of more than 67,000 born across India on Monday — rested on her chest. It was also the day the UN announced that India, already home to more than one in every six humans on the planet, would this week eclipse China with more people than any other country. “I am very happy that my child was born on the day India left behind China — it feels special to become a mother on this day,” the 22-year-old housewife told AFP from her bed. “I want my baby to study hard and become whatever she wants to become. I want to give her a good life.” Bala had writhed in agony on her gurney inside the crowded and somewhat decrepit maternity ward of her Himalayan town’s public hospital. Flanked by nurses in green and white overalls, her face turned p...