ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP):Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, in a strong rejoinder to Imran Khan’s rhetoric at a public rally Sunday, said that Instead of lying everyday unabashedly Imran should account for his lies in the Supreme Court and present himself in the anti-terrorist court from which he had been running away.
In a statement issued here, the minister asked as to how a person, who gambled with the party funds and donations, could fill the national exchequer? She observed that Imran indulged in corruption even while running the tree plantation campaign.
Challenging the democratic credentials of Imran Khan, Marriyum said that in 2014 he came to have the assemblies dissolved but returned after attacking the parliament. His statement again today to dissolve the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was very regrettable, she added.
The minister asked Imran to unlock the KP Ehtsab Commission, answer the questions posed by Aeysha Gulalai and also to let the people know the fate of Bank of Khyber scandal.
Responding to Imran’s repeated rhetoric about NRO, she said that now there would be only one NRO of the people as a result of which he would have to leave the country.
Marriyum castigating Imran for his persistent lies, asked did he not have fear of God? Referring to the new wave of his public rallies. she questioned,” Is it not so that they are a new installment of the third sit-in?”
Marriyum asks Imran to appear before SC, anti-terrorist court instead of lying everyday
PML-N to go in general election under Nawaz Sharif leadership:Mushahid Ullah
ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP): Minister for Climate Change Mushahid Ullah Khan Sunday said the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) would contest in 2018 general election under the leadership of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
Nawaz Sharif was supreme leader of the PML-N and the entire party was united under his dynamic leadership, he said talking to a private news channel.
He said those who wanted to see differences in the party and the Sharif family would be disappointed. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had worked with great commitment and resolved the challenges faced by the country in 2013, including terrorism, economy,energy crisis and law and order situation.
Mushahid Ullah said the PML-N had won maximum by-elections during last four years due to its popularity among the people.
The minister said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan was doing negative politics and using derogatory language against others. He had raised anti-corruption slogans, but had not taken action against corrupt elements present in his party, he alleged.
The PTI, he said, had failed to bring any ‘change’ in Khyber Pakthtunkhwa where they were in power. The party had been criticizing the metro bus service projects lin Punjab, but it had itself launched the same in KP, he added.
He said Imran Khan also owned an off-shore company and misused money collected for his cancer hospital but he never presented himself for accountability.
Imran Khan only attended public gatherings and staged sit-ins in four years but did nothing for the welfare of the masses, he added.
Trump’s approval rating dips to new low in latest poll
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (APP):As the one-year anniversary of his election win approaches, US President President Trump has hit a record low approval rating, and a majority of Americans says he has achieved little in office. Just 37 percent of Americans approve of his job performance in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll. His net approval rating of negative 22 percentage points is the lowest for any president at nine months in office in polling dating to 1946; except for Gerald Ford, no other president had a net negative at this point in his presidency.
Moreover, 65 percent of Americans say Trump has accomplished either “not much” or “little to nothing” as president, up from 56 percent after his first 100 days. On the other hand, only 35 percent of respondents agreed that he is keeping his major campaign promises.
But even with historically low approval ratings, 2016 voters say a hypothetical rematch between Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would still be too close to call, according to the poll. Both the president and Clinton would receive 40 percent of vote among those who showed up to the polls last November.
Responding to the week’s bombshell Russia probe news, 51 percent of respondents said the president is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign, compared to 37 percent who said Trump is not cooperating and 12 percent who had no opinion. Just under 70 percent of respondents approved of the charges against Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, who stands accused of money laundering and failure to register as a foreign lobbyist, the latter of which is required by law.
The poll was conducted from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 and reached a random sample of 1,005 U.S.
Since Gallup began tracking presidential approval in 1945, only four presidents spent significant time below 40 percent during their first four years.
Climate talks to open in Bonn Monday; experts call for reducing emissions
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 5 (APP):One year after the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change, a global climate conference is set to kick off on Monday in the German city of Bonn, with experts stressing steps to reduce emissions.
“While Paris represented one of those moments where the best of humanity achieved an agreement so important to our collective futures, Bonn represents how we will move forward to fulfill its promise”, the Executive Secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, said.
“We are running out of time to turn things around. To do so, we must significantly increase our efforts to reduce emissions and our carbon footprints,” she added.
The Paris Agreement, which was adopted by the 196 Parties to the UNFCCC in December 2015 in the French capital after which it is named, calls on countries to combat climate change by limiting the rise of global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius and strive not to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius.
A year ago, the Marrakech Climate Conference concluded with the Marrakech Action Proclamation, for our climate and sustainable development, in which the UNFCCC States Parties affirmed their “commitment” to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement. Today, 169 Parties have ratified the Agreement.
At the Bonn Conference, informally known as COP 23, countries will seek to move forward in completing the rule book for operationalizing the Paris Agreement.
Up to 25,000 people are expected to attend the talks, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji ” the first time that a small island nation will be at the helm of a major international climate conference. Participants will include diplomats from 195 nations, as well as scientists, lobbyists and environmentalists.
The United States, which has announced its intention to pull out of the landmark Paris climate accord, will be represented by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders are expected to fly to Bonn toward the end of the summit to give the talks a final push and signal their commitment to fighting climate change.
At Paris, diplomats did not agree on the details of how their nations will reach the ambitious goal set by the agreement. The Bonn talks will flesh out the rule book that countries have to abide by.
This includes coming up with international standards for how to measure carbon emissions, to make sure that one nation’s efforts can be compare to another’s. A second debate centers around how countries take stock of what’s been achieved and set new, more ambitious goals for curbing carbon emissions after 2020.
The third big issue concerns money. Experts agree that shifting economies away from fossil fuels and preparing countries for some of the inevitable consequences of climate change will require vast financial resources” including some from the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, which is doubtful about man-made climate change.
Organizing a massive global conference in Fiji would have strained the Pacific nation’s resources and posed a travel nightmare for thousands of delegates. Germany offered to host the talks in Bonn, the country’s former capital, because it has ample conference space and is already home to the U.N. climate change agency.
Still, they are going to miss the sunshine of Fiji. The weather in Bonn is generally dreary at best in November.
Germany says the two-week talks will as environmentally friendly as possible. The country is setting aside part of the 117 million euro ($136.3 million) budget for a fleet of bicycles and electric buses to ferry people between venues.
Each participant will receive a bottle to fill with tap water” a move organizers say will save half a million plastic cups.
Germany’s environment ministry is also investing in renewable energy projects to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by people from all over the world flying into Bonn for the talks.
Call for regional economic integration in South Asia
LAHORE, Nov 05 (APP): SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Pak chapter) Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik Sunday said South Asia had a viable potential to make the region a magnet for the greater trade, investment and financial flows.
Talking to reporters here, he stressed the need for regional economic integration in South Asia on the pattern of Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
He was of the view that South Asia could become a main economic hub if all indigenous resources were fully exploited.
Malik said South Asia had the second highest intra-regional trade costs and underlined the need for a South Asian economic union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements among member states including rail, energy, highways, cargo and ferry services among the ports.
He said the intra-regional trade in South Asia constituted only 1.4 percent of the total world imports and 1.2 percent of exports, whereas merchandise trade was only 27.9 percent of GDP, the lowest in the world. He said that world development indicators revealed South Asia houses 1.79 billion world’s population thus representing a large workforce, tremendous business and investment opportunities.
The SAARC leader said the chamber had fully supported the government-industry partnership and remained engaged in dialogue with governments of the SAARC region. He called for promotion of regional and economic cooperation in South Asia.
He said the region was today confronted with serious energy crisis as per capita power consumption was among the lowest in the world and 30 percent energy demands were met through import. At the same time the presence of natural gas in Bangladesh, coal and petroleum in India and Pakistan, hydro-power in Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan could be a basis for regionally integrated energy cooperation.
He said history made neighbours, which could not be changed and they should work together for the betterment and welfare of the people besides prosperity, development and progress in the region.
COAS arrives in Tehran on official visit
TEHRAN, Nov 5 (APP): Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday arrived in Tehran, the capital city of Iran, on an official visit.
According to a tweet of Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor, the COAS is scheduled to meet Iranian civilian and military leadership.
PIAF for early implementation of export package
LAHORE, Nov 05 (APP): The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) on Sunday called for early implementation of the Prime Minister Export Enhancement Package.
PIAF Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Senior Vice Chairman Tanveer Sufi and Vice Chairman Shahzeb Akram, in a statement here, said early implementation of the much-awaited export package approved recently by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet would help steer the exporting industry out of crisis.
They demanded the quarters concerned for initiating steps such as provision of uninterrupted energy supply to the
industry to make Pakistani exports competitive in the international market, besides evolving an export-led policy
and availability of energy at regionally competitive prices for economic turnaround.
The PIAF office-bearers mentioned that Pakistan’s share in global market was shrinking and going to other countries and unit price of its products was decreasing thus resulting in reduced profitability for Pakistani exporters.
They urged the government to rescue this vital sector of economy and get the relief package implemented in its true spirit to sustainability of country’s exports. Capacity of the industry was mostly un-utilized while overhead costs had increased which compelled the export sectors to think of alternatives, they maintained.
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh stated that textiles in general and the value-added apparel sector in particular were becoming
uncompetitive in international market. That was why export of Pakistani textile was on the decline for the last few years
while its competitors – Bangladesh, India, China and Vietnam were recording upward move in their exports, he cited.
PIAF office-bearers also stressed that the supply of power and gas should not be interrupted during winter as the export orders in hand had to be honoured.
FC Balochistan recovers 850kg black explosives, 252 grenades
RAWALPINDI, Nov 5 (APP):Frontier Corps Balochistan and intelligence agencies on Sunday recovered 850 kilograms of black explosives, 252 grenades, 236 grenade fuses, ammunition of machine gun and sniper rifle.
According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement issued here, the recovery was made during an intelligence based operation (IBO) conducted in Channah Nullah and Chatthar area, near Dera Murad Jamali.
The IBO was carried out as part of the ongoing operation Raad-ul-Fasaad.
Rafto Prize award conferred on Kashmiri human rights activists
ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (APP): Two Kashmiri human rights activists from the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), Parveena Ahangar and Imroz Parvez, were awarded with the Rafto Prize 2017 in a ceremony held in Bergen, Norway.
The award was given in recognition of their decades-long struggle against abuses of human rights in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
Conferment of the prestigious Rafto Prize to Kashmiri activists has brought attention of the world to the violations of human right in the Indian occupied Kashmir, the Foreign office said in a press release on Sunday.
Parveena Ahangar founded the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, which supports parents of missing and disappeared persons in the Indian occupied Kashmir whereas Imroz Parvez is a Kashmiri lawyer, civil rights activist, and founder of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society.
Every year, the non-profit and non-partisan organization, Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, Norway, selects the most distinguished individuals in the fields of human rights and democracy from around the world for conferment of the prestigious Rafto Prize.
PPP-PTI wants to postpone general election for face saving: Amir Muqam
PESHAWAR, Nov 05 (APP): Adviser to the Prime Minister and Provincial President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Engr. Amir Muqam has said that both PPP and PTI leaderships are trying to postpone the forthcoming general election for their face saving but we will not let them run.
He said this while addressing a big public meeting at Kharakai PK-28, District Mardan where he inaugurated provision of sui gas facilities to the area along with other developmental projects. He said both PPP and PTI have been using delaying tactics.
He said PML (N) is the party of the masses and they will bring the actual faces of the people involved in “Darna” and politics of agitations rather to serve the down trodden people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Amir Muqam said Pakistan Muslim (N) is united like it was in the past.
He said PPP and PTI leadership were badly failed in delivering to the masses. The slogan, he said, of change was proved to be just a slogan and no practical steps were taken for the welfare of the people.
He said Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz would not let them to succeed in their nefarious design they are using for postponing the forthcoming general election. He expressed the hope that the 2018 general election would be held on its schedule and PML (N) would re-elect with the majority votes.
While pointing the presence of hundreds and thousands of people in the public meeting, he said, it clearly indicated the failure of the PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said in PTI govt a metric-pass is also become a doctor. That was the change they actually wanted to bring, he added. He said former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has categorically decided to face the courts and that is why he left her ailing wife in the hospital and appeared before the court.
Engr. Amir Muqam said that Muhammad Nawaz Sharif would emerge victorious in the all the fabricated cases instituted against him by vested lobby. He said that Pakistan future lies in the hands of the youth as they are the future builders of the nation. The youth, he said, should join those who brought Pakistan out of darkness and re-track the country on the road map of progress both economically and socially.
He said former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his family did nothing wrong and he was sure that they would get a clean chit from the accountability court. He criticized the opposition, especially the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for claiming that the ousted premier had left Pakistan to escape accountability in the references filed against him.
Amir Muqam said that PML-N is strong in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and that it’s now time to show Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that KP public is with Nawaz Sharif.
He further said that the people that have come out to show support for Nawaz Sharif are doing that out of sheer loyalty. He said that the party workers live and die just for the party leader.
Blaming Imran of having double standards and policies he stated, “Imran Khan paralyzed Islamabad during his 128-day sit-in at D-Chowk. He affirmed that the people are going along with Nawaz Sharif out of their love and loyalty with him.
“We are committed to the public and not to the opposition, he concluded.