Hot and humid weather likely in most parts of country:PMD
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP): Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Wednesday forecast mainly hot and humid weather in most parts of the country during next 24 hours.
However rain-thundershower may occur at isolated places of Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, northeastern Punjab and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the synoptic situation, continental air was prevailing over most parts of the country.
A shallow westerly wave is still affecting Kashmir and adjoining areas.
During the last 24 hours, hot and humid weather prevailed over most parts of the country. However rain occurred in Narowal and Garhidupatta.
The rainfall recorded during the period was Narowal and Garhidupatta 01mm.
The highest maximum temperatures recorded during the period were Noor Pur Thal 41C, Dalbandin, Nokkundi and Sibbi 40 C.
PAF bases actively participating in flood rescue, relief operations
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP): The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bases were actively participating in rescue and relief operations being conducted in the flood affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab along with relief and rehabilitation operations in Naltar valley.
31 August, 2022: PAF Bases are actively participating in rescue and relief operations being conducted in the flood affected areas of KPK, Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab. Relief and rehabilitation operations by Pakistan Air Force are also in full swing in Naltar valley. pic.twitter.com/m69qbI9MJK
— DGPR (AIR FORCE) (@DGPR_PAF) August 31, 2022
PAF Air Mobility Command had undertaken 89 helicopter and C-130 sorties in which relief goods were flown to flood affected areas which were inaccessible through land routes, a PAF news release here received on Wednesday said.
As a humanitarian gesture, PAF Emergency Response teams had distributed 795 tents, 42,491 Cooked Food Packs, 146,726 Ration Packs carrying basic food items, 82,806 water bottles amongst the needy families.
Moreover, till date 16 tent cities and 41 relief camps have been established where in addition to provision of free shelter and food, 14,822 patients were also attended by the medical teams of Pakistan Air Force. However, the relief operations were still in progress.
A gooses rises up and flaps its wings in the water at Rawal lake in Federal Capital.
Pakistan Navy further extends flood relief activities in different areas
RAWALPINDI, Aug 31 (APP): Pakistan Navy has further extended its flood relief activities in Dera Ismail Khan and surrounding areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa besides ongoing operations in the rural areas of Sindh.
Pakistan Navy personnel including diving teams rescued stranded families in flooded areas by operating boats in challenging circumstances at night and at long distances, a Pakistan Navy news release said.
“Pakistan Navy is also operating helicopters for rapid access to deep areas and immediate reaction to life threatening situations. Thousands of survivors from small villages in Mirpur Khas, Qambar Shahdadkot and Dadu have been evacuated so far by Pakistan Navy.”
Pakistan Navy Diving Team recovered four dead bodies of an unfortunate boat sinking incident near Talti Lake, Sehwan.
Furthermore, Pakistan Navy troops were distributing ration bags, cooked food, fresh drinking water, tents and other necessities to affected populace. Medical Camps by Pakistan Navy were also continually working in different flood affected areas.
Pakistan Navy, along with civil administration and various philanthropist organizations is providing continuous assistance to the people of flood stricken areas.
Commissioner Hazara Division and Deputy Commissioner Lower Indus Kohistan District briefing Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the rescue and relief activities in the flood affected areas of Indus Kohistan District within the Hazara region of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa
IHC dissatisfied, asks Imran Khan to resubmit reply by Sept 8
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP):The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction over the reply of PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, and instructed him to resubmit submit it within seven days in the contempt of court case pertaining to his threatening remarks about a woman judge.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minullah and comprising Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri heard the contempt of court case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, who was also in attendance.
Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali, Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Dogal, Advocate General Islamabad Barrister Jahangir Jadoon, and Imran Khan’s lawyer Hamid Khan also appeared before the court.
At the outset of proceedings, the chief justice while addressing Hamid Khan, remarked that he was also the assistant of the court along with being the lawyer of Imran Khan. The reply submitted by Imran Khan was not expected from him, which had made him (CJ) saddened, he added.
The court expected from the counsel (Hamad Khan) that he would help increase people’s confidence in the judiciary and that his client political party believed in the rule of law and constitution, CJ Minallah observed.
He remarked that during the last over 70 years, the common man had no proper access to high courts or the Supreme Court.
The chief justice observed that Imran Khan had appeared before the court when he was prime minister and the judicial complex was being built. It would have been better if he went to the court and expressed his confidence in the lower judiciary.
He said a leader like Imran Khan should be more careful in uttering words as he had a big following. He was expecting that the PTI chief would realize his mistake.
The chief justice said the court had raised the issue of torture without any fear in the last three years. Torture could not be allowed at any level. Whether there was any greater torture than a missing person, he questioned.
He said the answer submitted in response to the show-cause notice showed that Imran Khan had not realized the mistake. The court kept sending the cases of journalists Asad Tur and Absar Alam to the then federal cabinet for three years, he said and wished that Imran Khan would have raised his voice even then.
He inquired that the Adiala Jail was under whose administrative control. Whether the jail administration accepted a prisoner without medical check-up If there was even a complaint of torture, he asked.
The chief justice noted that the matter was pending in the IHC when PTI chief delivered the speech. Those who criticized the institutions were not even supposed to get bail for six months under the PECA Ordinance, he said, adding when the IHC declared that ordinance null and void, a campaign was launched against it but the court never cared about criticism.
He said Imran Khan had questioned why the courts had opened at 12 o’clock. The IHC was open 24 hours for any constitutional case, Justice Minallah said.
He observed that the contempt of court was very serious when there was a pending case and it was a matter of justice.
Chief Justice Minullah said the opening of the court (for 24 hours) was a clear message that October 12, 1999 would not happen again. Every judge was well aware of every word of the constitution but no leader was talking about civil supremacy.
He observed that the Supreme Court had already given judgments in the cases of Daniyal Aziz, Nihal Hashmi and Talal Chaudhry, and the IHC could not go against them.
The chief justice said the political leaders were misusing the social media, His picture and that of a Supreme Court judge with the head of the political party were made viral. Wrong information was spread about a flat abroad in his name.
To a query, Hamid Khan requested the court to make Munir A. Malik an amicus curiae in the case. At this the chief justice asked the lawyer to give a name on which everyone would be agreed. However, the AGP requested the bench to appoint Makhdoom Ali Khan as an amicus-curiae.
The chief justice said the court was also making the Pakistan Bar Council as amicus-curiae for its legal assistance.
Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb remarked that the case could had been winded up today but the court would porceed it further after the PTI leader answer.
The court had given one more opportunity to Imran Khan to submit his reply, he added.
The chief justice remarked that the judiciary was blamed for having a ranking of 131 in the world, and once he told Fawad Chaudhry that it was the rank of executive.
The court ordered to implement the police order but the government opposed it, he added.
The court asked the PTI chairman to resubmit his written comments after detailed deliberation and adjourned the case till September 8.
The IHC had served a show-cause notice to Imran Khan asking him to clarify that as why a contempt of court proceeding should not be initiated against him on his remarks about Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.
Audio Leak – Experts, businessmen denounce PTI’s plot to sabotage IMF programme
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP):Economic experts, business leaders and politicians on Wednesday strongly came down on the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for a “sinister” unsuccessful plot to sabotage loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that could have overturned country’s economy.
The comments came on the recent audio-leak of telephone calls of former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin with the Finance Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, for hatching conspiracy to fail the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme ahead of IMF board meeting.
The financial experts termed it a “sinister” move at a time when the country was already facing financial problems and the recent floods had played havoc with infrastructure, crops and economy of the country.
“Pakistan’s economy is currently going through a critical phase and such a move by PTI leaders is aimed at destabilizing the economy,” President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Shakeel Munir told APP.
He said, the people were already living in miserable conditions when they were hit hard by the devastating floods that inflicted loss of around $10 billion by damaging houses, standing crops, orchards, livestock and other properties.
Shakeel Munir urged the politicians not to indulge in such dangerous moves for political interests as it posed a serious threat to country’s sovereignty. Instead the political leaders need to work jointly for economic improvement at a time when extensive damages were inflicted on country’s economy.
“Politicians should realise that the country’s financial conditions cannot withstand such things and work together to improve national economy,” he remarked.
Renowned economic expert and former finance minister, Dr. Hafeez Pasha also voiced his concern over the PTI move and told APP that it should have not run such a campaign a day before the IMF board was to finalize the loan deal.
He said it was good that the campaign had not any impact on the IMF program and pointed that the current economic situation was serious; particularly after the floods hit the country.
Pasha, advocated adopting a common plan of action on economy with joint efforts by taking advantage of the current challenging situation.
“In these circumstances, when there is economic uncertainty, no party, including PTI, should run any such campaign, said Deputy Executive Director SDPI, Dr. Sajid Amin.
Meanwhile, Chairman Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Islamabad Chapter, Qurban Ali asked the PTI leaders to think beyond politics at this time when the country is under heavy flooding and stop running negative campaign.
Talking to APP, he also advocated the concept of ‘Charter of Economy’ to cope with the huge challenges the country was faced with currently to save people from the effects of the flood and ensure economic progress.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail while commenting on the audio leaks termed it as “heinous and shameful” act against national interests and an attempt to push the country into economic default.
He said the telephone call leaks had unveiled the dirty politics of PTI and the faces behind the conspiracy. The PTI leaders, he alleged, were making “cheap efforts” for their vested political interests. They were least bothered about national interests and were hell bent to achieve their political motives at all costs.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal also condemned Imran Khan and former finance minister Shaukat Tarin for the shameful act. He said that earlier it was India that used to oppose the IMF programe whereas inside Pakistan it was PTI leadership that was hell-bent upon to sabotage the programme.
He said the IMF had finally approved the programme and had it not been approved Tuesday, the country would have been facing several challenges.
It is very shocking that a seasoned economist, who himself had remained finance minister, would hatch such a conspiracy to foil government efforts for taking the country out of economic crisis amid devastating floods.