Javed Latif moves IHC to quash FIRs
ISLAMABAD, Oct 05 (APP): Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif on Wednesday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to quash the first information reports (FIRs) registered against him in different cities.
The minister, in his petition, prayed the court to terminate the cases against him by declaring them illegal. He said only the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) could take action if he had spoken something wrong on a TV channel.
He stated said that criminal cases could not be instituted on basis of mere criticizing a politician. He had addressed a press conference to bring some facts about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on record, he added.
Sindh turns to be first victim of climate change: CM Sindh
KARACHI, Oct 05 (APP):Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah Wednesday said that agricultural water is becoming an expensive commodity; therefore we would have to use it efficiently to ensure food security by changing cropping patterns.
This he said while talking to Australian High Commissioner Neil Hawkins who called on him here at CM House, said a spokesperson of the CM Sindh.
The meeting was attended by CM Special Assistant Syed Qasim Naveed, Secretary to CM Rahim Shaikh while the Australian high commissioner was accompanied by First Secretary Ms. Ashleigh Light and Political Secretary Fareeha Shamim.
At the outset of the meeting, the Australian High Commissioner expressed profound grief and sorrow over the loss of life caused by the recent floods.
He added that the impact of climate change has started emerging in the shape of heavy downpours, scorching heat, and melting of heat.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that Pakistan, particularly the people of Sindh has become the first victims of climate change. He added that internally displaced persons (IDPs) were facing numerous problems.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the issues of dengue, malaria, and skin have broken out among the people living along the main roads and camps. “We have established medical camps to provide treatment to the patients and try to drain out accumulated water at the earliest so that these issues could be controlled,” he said.
The high commissioner said that the flood water could be released into the River so that it could be discharged into the sea. He added that it would help maintain the stability of the ecosystem.
At this, the chief minister said that unfortunately some of our people believe that releasing water into the sea through the rivers was waste [of water], as a matter of fact, it was necessary to stop sea intrusion.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that in the early Kharif we faced an acute shortage of water and then heavy downpours turned everything upside down.
He added that water was becoming an expensive commodity, therefore we have to make its efficient use for agricultural purposes.
According to the CM, food security could only be ensured by introducing low delta and high-yield crops. “Now, various varieties of rice and wheat have come into the international markets which have a high yield,” he said and added he was focusing on agriculture research so that desired seeds and varieties could be introduced.
The visiting diplomat and the chief minister agreed to take benefit from each other’s experiences in respect of cropping patterns and high-yield crops.
The chief minister presented his shield, Sindhi ajrak, and cap to the visiting guest, and the guest presented a book to the chief minister.
Past regime of PTI amended NAB laws for political victimization: Atta Tarar
ISLAMABAD, Oct 5 (APP):Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Narcotics Control Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday said it was the past regime of PTI that started amending National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws for political engineering and victimization of opponents.
“It is clarified that all amendments in the NAB laws have not been initiated during the tenures of PML-N and PPP. These (NAB law amendments) had been carried out during the tenure of Imran Khan Niazi with certain purpose and background,” he said while responding to PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain’s objections over the recent amendments in NAB laws at a news conference here.
He said the height of political victimization and the NAB-Niazi nexus could be gauged from the fact that all opposition members of the first two rows in the National Assembly were behind the bar, due to the accountability laws which he called ‘black laws.”
He said it was unfortunate that Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the NAB officials when he had already passed six-month imprisonment in a bogus case, while Maryam Nawaz Sharif was arrested in front of her father Nawaz Sharif. All the unlawful things were done by the NAB just because Imran Niazi wanted to see happening this, he added.
The SAPM said the PPP and PML-N did not bring amendments to the NAB law during their past tenure (2008-2013 & 2013-2018) because they never wanted to use it as a tool against political opponents.
It was the past regime of PTI that felt the need of amending the NAB law for the arm-twisting of opposition leaders, he added.
Now, he said, the incumbent coalition government had just rectified the NAB laws for the smooth working of routine official matters as government officials and contractors were avoiding taking any initiative, in the presence of black laws.
Tarar made it clear that the recent amendments in the NAB laws were not meant to benefit any members of the cabinet or partners of the coalition government. He said the courts had cleared all the leadership of PML-N and PPP under old NAB laws.
He was of the view that the amendments in the NAB laws had benefited the leadership of the PTI including Imran Khan.
He alleged that Farah Gogi had been given an ‘NRO’ by the Punjab government in all the corruption cases. He questioned why five Director Generals of Anti-corruption had been changed in a short time. “The DGs of Anti-Corruption had been changed just to give NRO to Farah Gogi,” he said.
Farah Gogi did all the corruption in line with the direction of Imran Khan’s family and she was facilitated by the PTI leadership to fly abroad, he maintained.
To a question, he said it was under consideration to issue to Red Warrant for the repatriation of Farah Gogi.
Labourers repairing tomb shrine of Shah Ruknuddin Alam
Ongoing, increasing human-induced changes to freshwater ecosystems highly jeopardise river dolphins: Experts
ISLAMABAD, Oct 05 (APP):The experts at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Pakistan) international conference to tackle fisheries threats to river dolphins in Asia on Wednesday pointed out that the ongoing and increasing human-induced changes to freshwater ecosystems were putting river dolphins at ever greater risk.
As per the stats the unsustainable fishing practices were one of the leading threats to river dolphins globally whereas there were four river dolphin species across eight range countries in Asia today. Of the four, IUCN lists two as endangered and the remaining two as critically endangered.
In light of this, WWF-Pakistan hosted an international conference, in partnership with the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and supported by the Engro Foundation to bring the Asian range countries together with leading international scientists to discuss the way forward and work together to address this critical threat, a news release said.
The panelists and speakers from countries including Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, China and India highlighted the risks to river dolphins.
All river dolphins live in basins with growing human population pressures and share their habitat with local communities, which also depend on freshwater for sustenance. Looking at Asia, some species have already shown 80 per cent decline in the range due to alteration in river flow regulation, infrastructure development and construction projects.
However, the primary cause of decline in the numbers of the Asian river dolphins is entanglement in gillnets, which is generally regarded as the most immediate human-induced threat. The regional conservation management plan will bring together the best available science and management expertise to protect and recover the river dolphin populations.
Speaking at the conference, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan stated, “Biodiversity and conservation of wildlife are unfortunately not a priority in Pakistan, but despite that, the conservation of the Indus River dolphin has been a success due to the efforts of conservation organizations and provincial wildlife departments.
This conference is unique because we have representation from all river dolphin range countries and our singular aim is to come up with a localised and region-specific, but also global conservation management plan.”
In March this year, WWF-Pakistan and Engro Foundation entered into a first-of-its-kind partnership for the conservation and management of the endangered Indus River dolphins.
Favad Soomro, Head of Engro Foundation, said “Engro is striving to solve the most pressing issues facing Pakistan, and protecting Indus River Dolphin, which is endemic to Pakistan and is crucial for the health of the Indus River and life of other species in the river.”
He explained how the partnership with WWF-Pakistan on Indus River Dolphin protection will be achieved through research, community engagement, and raising the profile of the species globally over the next 5 years.
Daphne Willems, WWF Global River Dolphin River Initiative Lead stated, “All the river dolphins are critically endangered or endangered and we have already lost one river dolphin species.
These species are the apex predators of the rivers which is why the entire river ecosystem depends on them and their survival. Likewise, the lives of entire populations living across the length of the rivers are inextricably linked to the river dolphins. The challenges are old, but we need new solution to tackle them.”
Syed Ghulam Qadir Shah from the Ministry of Climate Change added, “Fisheries practices have indeed been a threat to the river dolphins. Fisheries is an important sector since the livelihood of hundreds and thousands of people depend upon it. However, there is a lack of awareness among the fishermen who continue to use old and outdated practices.
The ministry is working in this regard as the Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. The Living Indus Initiative is one major project where we have multiple cross-cutting sectors, and we hope that they will alleviate some of these unsustainable fishing practices.”
The conference is being attended by individuals representing a wide array of international conservation organizations including WWF International, the Ministry of Climate Change, IWC, WorldFish UK, YASASAN Rasi Indonesia, and government representatives from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Cambodia.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif addressing a Press conference at PID
Deputy Speaker National Assembly Zahid Akram Durrani in a group photo with students to the city school junior Branch at Parliament House.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chairs a meeting on railway connectivity of Thar Coal Mines
