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• Ahsan, Asif oppose dialogue with PTI; Rana Sana says meeting with Achakzai had nothing to do with PTI • PML-N president favours all-embracing approach to tackle crises • PTI’s Asad Qaiser says govt ‘uncertain’ about negotiations, asks it to make contact if serious LAHORE: Amid efforts by the coalition government to woo a former key ally, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has proposed an across-the-board dialogue involving all political parties, including the PTI, as well as the state institutions to steer Pakistan out of crises. The proposal to take everyone on board was floated amid attempts by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to court their former ally, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who had announced a solo flight against the government earlier this month. During a meeting of the party’s top brass at the Model Town headquarters on Saturday, the PML-N bigwigs discussed a host of issues, including the recent relief to power consumers, local bodies reforms in Pun...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A senior army officer and three of his relatives, who were kidnapped earlier this week from Kulachi tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan district, have been released unconditionally, the military said on Saturday night. “Safe and unconditional release of Lt Col Khalid Ameer and three of his other relatives have been secured due to the role played by tribal elders and local notables,” the Inter-Services Public Relations further said. All the abductees safely returned home, it added. The officer, his two brothers and another person were kidnapped from a mosque in their hometown of Mohalla Khadr Khel in Kulachi tehsil while receiving people who had come to offer condolences over their father’s death. The suspected militants had forcibly abducted the three siblings; one of them is working for the Rawal­pindi Cantonment Board and the other for the National Database and Registration Authority. In videos released the other day, two of the three brothers said they were “far away”...

Dr Riaz Ahmed, an associate professor and syndicate member at the University of Karachi (KU), was released on Saturday night after eight hours of alleged “illegal detention” by three police stations in Karachi upon protest and outcry. Fellow colleague Prof Tauseef Ahmed told Dawn.com that Dr Ahmed left his home earlier today to go to KU but he did not reach the university and his whereabouts were unknown. He said the KU professor was a member of its syndicate whose meeting was scheduled for Saturday to “decide about the degree issue of a judge of Islamabad High Court (IHC)”. He added that Riaz had earlier posted on X where he alleged “external pressure” on the KU syndicate regarding the degree case. Tauseef alleged that Dr Riaz’s “disappearance” could be related to the KU’s syndicate meeting. He said that rights activists had reached Bahadurabad police station, claiming that Riaz was taken away from there in two police mobiles. Bahadurabad Station House Officer Naeem Raj...

Flooding in Sindh’s Gaj River submerged roads and pathways in over 200 villages throughout the Kachho belt, including Wahi Pandhi and Gorakh Hill Station, officials said on Saturday. The floodwater also submerged villages such as Jam Babbar, Sher Muhammad Talpur, Muhammad Bakhsh Lund and Tamo Chandio, resulting in the collapse of 30 mud houses. The situation was further compounded by flooding at four points along the Nai Gaj River which severed all ground connections between Wahi Pandhi, Gorakh Hill Station and the rest of the Kachho area from Dadu Johi. The inhabitants of Kachho complained that despite the severity of the situation, the Dadu district administration and Sindh government did not implement adequate measures. They demanded the immediate restoration of the Wahi Pandhi-Johi road to facilitate transportation and ensure the supply of essential food and resources to the affected communities. Special assistant to Sindh chief minister and focal person for the relief departm...

ISLAMABAD: Like three previous governments, the coalition government led by the PML-N on Friday approved a revival plan for the long-awaited Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project likely to be executed in collaboration with China this year. A cabinet meeting, presided over by Prime Mini­ster Shehbaz Sharif, app­roved the plan to initiate negotiations on the Fina­ncial Commitment Agree­ment between China and Pakistan Railways for the upgradation of ML-1 project, a crucial component of CPEC, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. Similar plans had earlier got approval of the PML-N government headed by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, PTI government led by Imran Khan and PDM regime headed by Shehbaz Sharif. Speaking at the meeting, the PM said the government would soon unveil its five-year Home Grown Economic Revival Plan aimed at boosting exports, agriculture, ind­ustry, youth’s uplift, skill and vocational training. The ML-1 project envisages construction of an additional rail track from Ka...

ISLAMABAD: With the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) heads of government meeting drawing closer, New Delhi is faced with a diplomatic dilemma: whether or not Prime Minister Narendra Modi should attend the summit in Islamabad. While diplomatic sources suggest the chances of Mr Modi crossing the border are slim, India is keeping its cards close to its chest, fuelling a guessing game that has left analysts and observers on both sides of the divide wondering — will he or won’t he?“ Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed at the weekly media briefing on Thursday that Prime Minister Modi has been invited for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, which Pakistan is hosting on Oct 15-16, under its rotating chairmanship. Speculation about PM Modi’s participation in the SCO meeting gained momentum in the Indian media last weekend, following reports that Delhi had received an invitation. Mr Modi’s past record of skipping meetings of heads of government counci...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) nearly five-month tax registration drive in 42 cities has brought thousands of traders onto the tax roll, but an average income tax collected from an individual under the Tajir Dost Scheme (TDS) is around Rs2,432 per month. Despite contributing 20pc to the gross domestic product, the tax contribution of the retail and wholesale sector stands at a mere 4pc. The government has been striving for years to effectively bring this sector into the tax net. Only 300,000 of an estimated 3.5 million retailers are actively filing tax returns. The TDS aims to bring the remaining 3.2m into the tax net. Since April 1, tax authorities have registered over 64,000 traders under the scheme. In the first phase, the scheme was implemented in six cities: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Rawalpindi. The registration scope was extended to another 36 cities in July. Official sources told Dawn that on Wednesday, the FBR collected Rs503,363 in...

ISLAMABAD: After a consistent rise over the past two decades, air pollution in South Asia declined by 18 per cent in one year possibly on the back of above-normal rainfall in that year but still was the biggest external threat, said the 2024 report by the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI). Despite this slight decline which also led to a drop in global air pollution levels, South Asia remains one of the most polluted regions, accounting for 45 percent of total life years lost due to high pollution. The report stated that the average person living in the region would gain 3.5 years in their lives if WHO guidelines of 5 g/m3 were met. In Pakistan , pollution decreased the average resident’s life expectancy by 3.3 years. In more polluted areas, such as Peshawar and Lahore, it is shortening lives by more than 5 years. “In Pakistan…the PM2.5 standard is much stricter (set at 15 g/m3), and virtually the country’s entire population breathes air that doesn’t meet the standard,” the report noted....

KARACHI: The Dawood Foundation’s MagnifiScience Centre unveiled its latest exhibit, Ocean Odyssey, on Monday in an attempt to raise environmental awareness. Located on the third floor of the Shahzada Dawood Building, the new exhibit was inaugurated by TDF trustee Abdul Samad Dawood, who is the vice chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation. The space was designed entirely in shades of blue, emphasising the movement and environmental impact of water. The floor, painted in varying blue tones to mirror ocean waves, added to the overall beauty of the exhibit. Scientific facts were displayed on the walls in both English and Urdu, making the information accessible to all visitors. As the space is themed around oceans, the facts highlighted various aquatic organisms and species found beneath the water’s surface. The MagifiScience Centre’s new section blends interactive fun with insights into marine conservation In addition, there was a designated game corner for children where they coul...

The current exercise by the federal government to formulate a five-year plan is seen by many as somewhat misplaced in view of the expected three-year top-priority International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilisation programme . In the past, as well, the 23 bailouts by the Fund and its reforms agenda took precedence over implementations of five-year plans; to quote an analyst, “Much of the five-year plans… are paperwork exercises.” One may also note that centralised planning also suffers from many deficiencies in terms of formulation and execution, including erratic and unsustainable modes of financing and the absence of clearly defined federal domains that duplicate provincial functions and cannot be funded by a cash-strapped centre. That is the reason that on August 19, the Senate Functional Devolution Committee unanimously agreed to abolish the “inefficient” federal ministries of Industries and Production and Energy (petroleum division) and devolve their responsibilities to provinces....

• Capital admin deploys over 3,000 police officials to secure procession route • Public holiday in Rawalpindi on Monday, metro service suspended, exams postponed ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The Islamabad police have developed a comprehensive security plan for Imam Husain’s Chehlum by deploying over 3,000 police officers and formulating a traffic plan to ensure smooth traffic flow on Sunday. On the other hand, the Rawalpindi administration has announced a public holiday on Monday for Chehlum, whereas the metro bus service will also remain suspended for the day. In Islamabad, the paramilitary Rangers will also assist the police who have been instructed to maintain close liaison with peace committees and procession organisers. Ambulances and fire brigade vehicles will be stationed near the procession route to handle any untoward situation whereas Dolphin Squad will patrol the designated procession routes and all the Zonal SPs, SDPOs and SHOs will supervise the procession security. The orga...

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Saturday denied media reports about the potential closure of automated teller machines (ATM) and a telecommunication blackout in the country due to the non-renewal of long-distance international (LDI) licences. The LDI operators’ main function is to provide international incoming and outgoing telecom call services. Most of the 10 operators’ licences will expire in July-August 2024. The LDI operators are Worldcall, Redtone, ADG-LDI, Telecard, Dancom, Wise­comm, Circlenet, Wat­een, 4B-Gentel and Multinet. Most of them have not yet paid the principal overdue for the Universal Ser­vice Fund (USF) in their 20-year licence contract, which will soon expire. Their total outstanding principal amount reportedly stands at Rs24 billion, and the PTA has asked them to settle their dues in order to renew their licences for the next 20 years. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications has reconstituted a steering committee to ad...

ISLAMABAD: Senators attending a house committee meeting on Friday cautioned that the 7pc export target set for automakers could not be achieved if locally-made vehicles failed to meet international standards. The Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production, which met with Aon Abbas in the chair, formed a three-member sub-committee under Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee to analyse the country’s electric vehicle policy. Officials informed the meeting that after the government had set the export target at 7pc for 2024-25, the companies obtained a stay order from a court, saying they would not be able to meet the target. Senator Saleem Mandviwalla regretted that cars produced in the country were not of international standards, adding that it is impossible to find suitable export markets for these vehicles. Senate committee discusses vehicle policy Senator Nyazee stated that no manufacturer should be allowed to produce cars that do not follow the WP-29 regulations, questionin...

Karachi police resorted to baton charges and aerial firing on Friday when Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers attempted to move towards the Central Police Office near Tower to register their protest. The TLP workers had organised the protest for police not lodging a first information report (FIR) against the organisers of the minority march at Frere Hall for allegedly spreading “fake” propaganda against section 295(c) (use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)) of the Pakistan Penal Code. City Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Arif Aziz told Dawn.com that the police resorted to baton charges and aerial firing to disperse the protestors as they allegedly attacked police personnel, injuring many and misbehaving with them. A statement from the City police spokesperson said the protesters pelted stones at the SSP Aziz’s vehicle and injured several officers of the force. Aziz said police contingents led by him and Keamari SSP Faizan Ali prevented ...

DHAKA: A United Nations team arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday to discuss with the interim government the process of investigating alleged human rights violations during the recent movement which toppled the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month. About 300 people, many of them university and college students, were killed during protests that began last month after students agitated against quotas in government jobs. The protests spiralled into demands for ouster of Sheikh Hasina, who was in power since 2009. An interim government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in after Hasina fled the country and flew to New Delhi following the student-led uprising. The UN office in Bangladesh said in a media advisory that the team from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be in Dhaka from Aug 22 to 29. “The purpose of this visit is to understand their priorities for assistance in promoting human rights,” said the media advisory, a...

Palestinians watch as smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli strike in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, on Wednesday.—AFP • Acknowledges differences, calls for ‘maximum flexibility’ from both Israel and Hamas • Egypt tells top US diplomat ‘time has come to end the ongoing war’ DOHA: Top US diplomat Antony Blinken headed home on Wednesday after failing to secure a Gaza ceasefire, warning both Israel and Hamas his plan may be the last chance to avert a broader war. The US secretary of state appealed to Hamas to urgently accept a US-backed truce proposal, while also entering into a public spat with Israel over its future presence in the Gaza Strip. “Time is of the essence,” Blinken said after stops in key Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt as well as Israel on his ninth tour of the region aiming to halt the more than 10-month war. “With every passing day, more bad things can happen to more good people who don’t deserve it,” he said before flying out of Doha. “This needs...

• PTA chief blames disruptions on faulty submarine cable; expects issue to be fixed in a week • Dismisses claims about installation of firewall; says govt upgrading ‘web management system’ • PTA files reply in LHC ISLAMABAD: Giving yet another justification for the disruption of internet services in the country, the government on Wednesday blamed a nationwide internet slowdown on a faulty submarine cable, dismissing allegations that it had installed a firewall that was behind the slowdown. The explanation came amid mo­­u­nting criticism from lawmakers over declining internet speeds during a session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication. During the meeting, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeezur Rehman faced tough questions from lawmakers about widespread internet issues. Mr Rehman, a retired major general, attributed the slowdown to a damaged submarine cable, which he said would be repaired by Aug 27. He ...

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has imposed a fine on the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIA) for filing frivolous applications seeking review of an earlier order. Comprising Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar and Justice Agha Faisal, the two-judge bench dismissed the review applications with costs of Rs25,000 each for being frivolous and devoid of merit, and directed the petitioner/applicant to deposit the same in the account of the SHC clinic. The PIA had filed petitions in 2022, assailing respective interlocutory orders rendered by the National Industrial Relat­i­ons Commission (NIRC) and the SHC had dismissed the same in November 2022. Thereafter, the bench noted that the petitioner preferred review applications ostensibly beyond the pale of limitation in January 2023. The dismissal of the petitions was inter alia predicated upon the observation that since the governing law, Industrial Relations Act (IRA) 2012, contained no provision of appeal in respect of inter...

The Lahore police registered a case on Tuesday after the staff of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the Young Doctors Association (YDA) alleged that a five-year-old girl was raped on the facility’s premises. The protest was led by Punjab YDA President Dr Shoaib Niazi and Dr Azam Saeed, president of the YDA’s chapter for the hospital. The demonstration was also joined by the staff and students of the hospital as well as the Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU). A note of demands by the protesters said: “An incident of rape/attempt of rape on the premises of SGRH Lahore has occurred, which was pushed under the carpet by the administration. The victim was said to be a minor of five years old. “The students of FJMU/SGRH demand transparency and an investigation of the case. The students further demand the administration to answer their criminal silence. If such incidents are covered up and silenced, it raises a question mark for the hospital administration!” Among others, the pro...

KARACHI: Astrologers all over the world may be calling the full moon that appeared on August 19 a rather difficult aspect but it also brought with it a happy occasion for brothers and sisters who follow the Hindu religion in the form of Raksha Bandhan on Monday. Celebrated on the full moon of the Hindu month of Shravana, Raksha Bandhan literally means ‘tie or knot of protection’. This popular annual traditional festival sees sisters tying a colourful and decorated thread around the wrists of their brothers to remind them of their significance in the sisters’ lives as their protectors. All the Hindu temples of Karachi had little stalls selling rakhis and witnessed women and girls coming for puja and prayer before putting together their special thali, which they also got blessed. Some came with their brothers and tied the thread or rakhi around their wrists there while others took their thalis home as many were expecting to see their brothers later in the evening. There were also many...

A Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal set up by ousted premier Sheikh Hasina has launched three “mass murder” probes into its founder over the unrest that forced her to flee the country, its investigator said Monday. More than 450 people were killed — many due to police fire — during a month of student-led protests against Hasina’s 15-year autocratic rule, before she quit as prime minister and fled to India on August 5. “We are collecting preliminary evidence at this stage,” said Ataur Rahman, deputy director of the tribunal’s investigation cell, adding the cases were related to “mass murder”. “After this, we will go to the site of the crimes,” Rahman told AFP . All three cases were brought by private individuals, and several of Hasina’s former top aides have also been named in the cases, he said. The cases relate to violence in suburbs or nearby districts of the capital Dhaka, in Mirpur, Munshiganj and Savar. In addition, local police units across the country have filed at least 1...

A smart person learns from the mistakes of others, while the simpleton only learns by committing those same mistakes firsthand. Or so the saying in Urdu goes. But, there is also a lot that never learns, just like the people running Pakistan who relish repeating the same set of self-destruction without ever grasping the consequences. In case you were wondering, I was talking about Pakistan’s repeated adventures with the internet . Even a decade after this obsession first started on a scale, those in power are as serious as ever about reenacting the same blunders, only bigger and better this time. Whether it’s wilful ignorance, brash arrogance or just good-old incompetence, nobody knows. What we do know is that the authorities — whichever ones call the shots — have been throttling connectivity for more than a year now, just around that fateful day we shall not name. Everyone has experienced it: at home, in the office or while commuting. Doesn’t matter if you rely on fixed or mobile b...

Heavy rains lashed Alpine regions of Austria and left parts of Vienna under water at the weekend, causing severe damage in parts of the country and disrupting road and rail transport, authorities and local media said. Fast-moving torrents of muddy water swept cars through the ski resort of St. Anton, in western Austria, on Friday, footage posted on social media showed. Meanwhile, record rainfall hit parts of Vienna in the east of the country on Saturday, state broadcaster ORF said. A woman was dragged under a bus by the force of flooding in the Doebling area in the north of the city on Saturday, ORF said. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition, it added. Fire services in the capital were called out more than 450 times on Saturday as the downpours caused traffic chaos and disrupted rail transport, according to ORF. “Heavy storms have done great damage in many parts of Austria,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on X, thanking officials who were working to clear up the damag...

KARACHI: A former Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) official, who was the last living survivor of the 1965 Cairo crash, passed away in London. Salahuddin Siddique, 93, had retired in 1980 as general manager (public affairs) of the national flag carrier. He was one of the people on board the ill-fated inaugural PIA flight from Karachi and London, which crashed near Cairo airport on May 20, 1965. The flight was supposed to stop over in Dhahran, Cairo and Geneva. The plane had 128 passengers and crew on board, of whom only six had survived. Mr Siddique had been living in London for a long time. According to family sources, he is survived by a son and a daughter. A PIA spokesperson, on behalf of the management of the national flag carrier, condoled with the bereaved family, saying PIA would always remember Mr Siddique’s services. Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/Y3KPwax

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD on Saturday announced plans to open a car production plant in Pakistan, where it will also start selling three models through a partnership with Mega Motors. BYD is the first major new electric vehicle (NEV) entrant in the market , where there is a lack of charging infrastructure. “Our entry into the Pakistan market is not just about bringing advanced vehicles to consumers,” said Liu Xueliang, BYD’s general manager for Asia Pacific. “It’s about driving a broader vision of environmental responsibility and technological innovation.” BYD also plans to open three “flagship stores and experience centres” in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the company said at a launch event in Lahore, adding it plans to start selling two SUV models and a sedan from the fourth quarter of 2024. Mega Motors is a unit of country’s largest private utility Hub Power Co Ltd, known as Hubco. “We will establish Pakistan’s first NEV assembly plant […] dedicated to produci...

• ‘Relief plan’ announced by Nawaz Sharif will be funded by cutting development expenses • PML-N chief blames Imran for inflation, economic mismanagement; PM Shehbaz hails ‘historic package’ LAHORE: After months of public outcry and opposition’s criticism over rising electricity prices, the Punjab government announced on Friday that customers using up to 500 units will get a subsidy of Rs14 per unit in August and September. The move, largely seen as an attempt to placate PML-N’s vote bank in Punjab, was announced by the party’s president, Nawaz Sharif. Sitting beside his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, at the press conference, the PML-N leader said he was “pained” to see people struggling to pay exorbitant electricity bills before announcing the ‘relief plan’ which is expected to cost Rs45 billion. “The Punjab government will provide a relief of Rs 14 per unit in electricity bills up to 500 units for August and September,” he said. View...