A view of garbage spreading on the road of Latifabad and needs the attention of concerned authorities
A vendor displaying the second hand quilts & warm clothes to attract the customers at Bacha Khan Chowk
A vendor preparing traditional food item paratas for customers outside his hotel at Fort Road
A worker cleaning the peanuts in a traditional way at Grain market to attract the customers
Customers selecting & purchasing swing displayed by shopkeeper to attract the customers at Resala Road.
Students performing in a tableau during Sindhi cultural programme to mark the Sindhi Ajrak Topi Culture Day at Government Girls Higher Secondary School
An employee of Irrigation Department removing waste material from Rakh Branch Canal
Vendors displaying corn combs to attract the customers at Vegetable Market,
A female vendor displaying green chilies to attract the customers at Vegetable Market,
Academics, youth abroad our ambassadors; help project positive reality immensely: Dr Moeed
ISLAMABAD, Dec 04 (APP):National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf on Saturday said Pakistan’s academics and youth abroad were its ambassadors and help project its positive reality immensely.
The NSA in a tweet on his official Twitter handle informed that he held a consultative session with Pakistani faculty members and students of Nazarbayev University in Nur-Sultan, Dr Moeed Yusuf is on his two-day official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Dr Moeed further wrote, “Wherever I go, I try to learn from such diaspora groups & always walk away truly impressed.”
Ticket prices for Pakistan vs West Indies T20I, ODI series announced
By Sohail Ali
LAHORE, Dec 04 (APP):The National Stadium will be available to fans at 100 per cent seating capacity to watch this year’s most successful T20I side in action when Babar Azam’s Pakistan take on the West Indies in three T20Is and as many ODIs from 13-22 December.
Pakistan have won 17 T20Is this year and will enter the shorter format series against the West Indies with nine wins in the last 10 completed matches.
In a bid to help cricket fans from various walks of life watch their superstars in action, the Pakistan Cricket Board has set the ticket prices for the T20I matches from as low as PKR250 till PKR2,000.
Seats in General Enclosures (Intikhab Alam, Iqbal Qasim, Mohammad Brothers, Nasimul Ghani and Wasim Bari) are priced at PKR250; in First-class Enclosures (Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan, Quaid, Waqar Hasan and Zaheer Abbas) are for PKR500; in Premium Enclosures (Imran Khan and Wasim Akram) are for PKR1,000; and in VIP Enclosures (Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad) are for PKR2,000.
These tickets can be purchased online (www.bookme.pk), over telephone (0092 313 778 6888) or through box office and M&P outlets, details of which are available in the document attached.
Fans of all ages will be able to see No.1 ranked Babar team up with 2021’s most successful T20I batter Mohammad Rizwan as his opening partner.
According to the guidelines issued by the National Command and Operations Centre, individuals above 12 are required to be fully vaccinated, while no vaccination is required for the children below the age of 12. The access to the stadium will be granted upon the display of original ticket, CNIC and Nadra-issued immunisation certificate for Covid-19.
The two sides will play three ODIs – part of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League – on 18, 20 and 22 December, for which the tickets will start from as less as PKR100 and go up to only PKR1,000. The seats in General Enclosures are available for PKR100, in First-class for PKR250, in Premium for PKR500 and VIP for 1,000.
To ensure all the spectators get to enjoy the action in a safe manner, they are advised to follow the Covid-19 protocols and wear the facemasks when in the stands.
Protection of lives, property government’s priority: State Minister
LAHORE, Dec 04 (APP):State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said on Saturday that protection of lives and property of people was top priority of the government and no compromise would be made in this regard.
He stated this while addressing a prize distribution ceremony of National Volunteer
CERTS Challenge 2021 organised in collaboration with VSO Pakistan at Emergency
Services Academy (ESA) here. The ceremony was organized to march International
Volunteer Day.
He said that Rescue-1122 had emerged as a well organised institution and the whole nation was proud of its services.
The minister said the Rescue-1122 was a beacon for all public service-oriented
departments.
Rescue 1122 had always responded efficiently in all sort of emergencies and calamities just to protect the lives of people, he maintained.
He further said that rescue cadet corps (RCC) was the need of hour and he appreciated the rescue for encouraging community participation.
Farrukh said it was very good to see volunteers in the ESA who had come here from
different districts and far flung areas.
He further said the Punjab government would soon start Rescue-1122 motorbike service in different districts and added that first helicopter emergency service would soon be launched and a formal approval in this regard had been given by the Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.
The State minister said that all these initiatives would help in capacity building of
Rescue-1122 and the government would provide all possible support to strengthen
the department. He distributed prizes and certificates among the volunteers.
Rescue-1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer also spoke.
Earlier, he witnessed the mock exercises of the Rescue-1122, in which rescuers
demonstrated their skill to cope with emergency situations.
Pakistan’s New York consulate expands online services for expatriates
NEW YORK, Dec 04 (APP): Pakistan’s Consulate General in New York has digitalized its operations and is delivering a range of services to overseas Pakistanis that do not require them to visit its offices, a senior Pakistani diplomat has said.
Consul General Ayesha Ali told a press conference on Friday that overseas Pakistanis can now obtain online — Power of Attorney, Passport, Visa and NICOP (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) — from the comfort of their homes.
They can also access the Punjab record system and operate Roshan Digital Accounts, as well as make use of the portals of the prime minister and the foreign minister to enter their comments or raise their problems.
Another way to keep the expatriates informed of developments or to resolve their problems was “khuli katcheries” that the consul general said she has been holding with great of success.
While the coronavirus lockdowns adversely affected countries around the world, Ayesha Ali said the situation helped accelerate the digitalization process so as to maintain critical service remotely.
She said that bolstering of facilities for the overseas Pakistanis is in line with the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan who regards them as the country’s “biggest asset”.
Pakistan receive US$3 bln Saudi deposit: Tarin
ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP): Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin Saturday announced that Pakistan has received US$3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia to lend support to the local currency and help bolster foreign exchange reserves of the country.
In a tweet, Tarin thanked Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the kind gesture.
“Good news, US$3 billion Saudi deposit received by SBP. I want to thank His Excellency Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the kind gesture”, the Adviser tweeted.
Twitterati questions UK “double standards” of rejecting Malik Riaz’s visa, allowing Nawaz to stay
ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP): As the UK court of appeal upheld a Home Office decision of canceling 10-year multiple-entry visit visas of Malik Riaz and his son, different circles are questioning the rationale of not invoking the same principles against convicted PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif staying in London.
The UK court judgment noted that the Home Office’s conclusion that Malik Riaz and his son Ahmed Ali Riaz had been involved with corruption and financial/commercial misconduct was founded on their involvement in the affairs of Bahria Town.
The Home Office’s decision to cancel their 10-year multiple entry visa was taken after the top immigration body considered the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) investigation and settlement of £190 million with Malik Riaz in 2019; Supreme Court judgements concerning Bahria Town in May 2018 and March 2019; a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report probing money deposited by Bahria Town into fake accounts and a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference filed in April 2019 linking Bahria Town to an investigation into Karachi Land Developments.
However, considering the very principles, the people in Pakistan are questioning the “double standards” of the UK system to punish one party while allowing Nawaz Sharif to live freely there who was also convicted for corruption.
“What hypocrisy! Convicted criminal Nawaz Shareef is happily living in the UK but … Malik Riaz and his son are not allowed to stay in the UK. I protest to the UK govt. against this discrimination,” said a Twitter user Maheen Brown.
The Twitterati believed that the reason behind judgment against the real estate tycoon was that he had most of his investments in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif is allowed to live there freely because he had invested billions of dollars in the UK economy.
Khawar Qureshi with a Twitter ID of Bhanwar said Malik Riaz cannot enter England anymore. UK court decides because “He might” be involved in money laundering. “But U.K. will allow Nawaz Shareef to stay because “He definitely” is involved in money laundering. Moral: You have to be proven money launder to stay.”
According to the Home Office, an exclusion decision was a personal decision of the Secretary of State, on the ground that it is conducive to the public good. This means that it is undesirable to admit the person to the UK because they pose a threat to UK society.
In a case, instigated by the Panama Papers, the court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif as prime minister over corruption and money laundering charges and banned him from parliament for life. However, after getting bail on medical grounds, the PML-N leader flew to London for his treatment since November 2019, in what his political opponents say was just a tactic to avoid criminal cases against him here in Pakistan.
In December last year, the Islamabad High Court had also declared Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender in two cases — Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia reference.
“UK court rejects visa of accused Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz on corruption case but a convicted criminal Nawaz Sharif is still living in London freely. Why this double standard?” questioned AH Farooqui on Twitter.
Another netizen Me Abdullah drew some different analysis and said, “May be Malik Riaz is not so important for UK govt like Nawaz Sharif & Ishaq Dar otherwise both these characters are million times more corrupt & king of money launderers.”
He said the Supreme Court of Pakistan had branded Nawaz Sharif as Sicilian Mafia.
Hina Safdar also drew attention towards MQM leader Altaf Hussian facing multiple criminal charges in Pakistan and also staying in the UK for years with no action against him.
“Malik Riaz is corrupt & cannot stay in UK but Nawaz Sharif Crook & The Gangster Altaf Bhai can,” she commented.
Another Twitter user Rao Saab commented, “Nawaz Sharif is one of the biggest investors in UK & illegal money is the main pillar of British economy since colonial era.”
He viewed that the UK would never kick out Nawaz Sharif. Though, controversial and doubtful but major investments of Malik Riaz are in Pakistan, he added.
“I would still accept Malik Riaz . His wealth is in Pakistan and he is doing business in Pakistan on the other hand the famous thief Nawaz Sharif looted Pakistan and has all the money in UK,” said another user Zabi.
Zabi opined that Malik Riaz wouldn’t have got his visa denied if he had kept his money in the UK.
APP Digital Report by Ishtiaq Ahmed
Perpetrators of Sialkot incident to be awarded exemplary punishment: Farrukh Habib
LAHORE, Dec 04 (APP): State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said on Saturday
that exemplary punishment would be awarded to the culprits of Sialkot incident to
check recurrence of such like incident in future.
Talking to the media, he said the police had arrested two main accused of the incident besides 110 others. To a question, he said that Pakistan was fighting the case of Namoos-e-Risalat (PBUH)
at international level. He further said that people should not take law into their hands and must accept the writ of the state.
He stressed the need for changing the mindset of people and added that collective efforts were required in this regard. To another query, he said that a comprehensive inquiry was being conducted with regard to the incident.
Responding to a question about Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protest, he said that as far it was concerned the incumbent government opted the dialogue option in the larger interest of the county.
Religious fanaticism time bomb needed to be defused: Fawad
ISLAMABAD, Dec 04 (APP): Minister of Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday while expressing deep sorrow and regret over the Sialkot incident, said that narrow minded religious fanaticism was like a time bomb which needed to be defused before it was too late.
In a tweet he said that after Sialkot incident he had been thinking what to write about the most tragic incident, but the words had become useless.
The minister said that such incidents saddened the society for a couple of days and then everyone forgot the incident till next tragedy.
He said such type of apathy from the society could lead to bigger tragedies as such fanaticism had caused bloodshed in many countries.
Pakistan to host OIC FMs’ moot on Dec 19; humanitarian assistance, resource mobilization for Afghanistan on agenda
LAHORE, Dec 4 (APP): Pakistan on Saturday announced to host an extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC countries on December 19, with core objectives of highlighting the need for urgent assistance and mobilization of resources to avert a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse in war-torn Afghanistan.
“If we don’t pay timely attention, half of Afghanistan’s population or 22.8 million people can face food shortage and 3.2 million children may face malnutrition. This is the magnitude which we and the world should understand,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at a news conference here.
He said considering the gravity of the situation, Pakistan made an effort and moved ahead to host the international event realizing that, if not addressed timely, the situation would have dire consequences for Afghanistan, its neighbors as well as the whole region.
He said the country could face an economic collapse if the frozen assets were not released to cope with the burgeoning needs.
He said such an extraordinary session OIC FMs on Afghanistan situation would be held after 41 years with the first held in 1980.
He said besides the foreign ministers of the OIC countries, Pakistan also invited the special representatives of P-5 countries including the US, China, Russia, France and the UK.
Moreover, the High Representative of the European Union on Foreign Affairs was also invited and that the invitation would also be extended to the World Bank and relevant UN agencies which could assist in the whole process.
Moreover, with a mere objective of evolving an international consensus, Pakistan would also invite important countries like Germany, Japan, Canada and Australia.
Foreign Minister Qureshi said Pakistan also desired to invite a high-level delegation of Afghanistan to interact with the visiting dignitaries and apprise them of the latest on ground situation.
He said prior to the session, the senior officials of the respective countries would meet here besides the officials of the OIC Secretariat to be arriving even more earlier around December 1 to oversee the preparations.
Qureshi said the idea of holding the session on Afghanistan emerged during the meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in Riyadg on the sideline of the Green Summit.
It was discussed that as Afghanistan was the founding member of the OIC, so the Muslim Ummah should also make efforts for the brotherly country to steer it out of the difficult situation.
He said being chair of the OIC, Saudi Arabia came onboard and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal also took keen interest to evolve a consensus.
He said it was agreed that abandoning Afghanistan would be a historic blunder and the world should learn from the past instead of repeating the same mistake.
“If timely attention is not paid, a new crisis can emerge which would bring in instability. This instability will beget mass exodus of refugees. We are already hosting three million Afghan refugees and will be difficult to host anymore. The countries like Iran, Tajikistan, and other bordering countries are also similarly concerned,” he said.
He also told the media that on December 7, he would meet EU High Representative and EU parliamentarians in Brussels to sensitize them on the Afghanistan situation.
He said after the withdrawal of troops and the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, India launched a campaign to sanction Pakistan blaming the country for the situation. However, due to its effective foreign policy, Pakistan thwarted all such Indian designs.
Qureshi said following Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach, the international community had been convinced that engagement with Afghanistan was in everyone’s interest as delegates had started visiting the country.
He said in collaboration with China, a platform of six neighboring countries was also formed to discuss the situation and also explore opportunities after the revival of peace in Afghanistan.
The foreign minister said Pakistan was already assisting Afghan people by dispatching medicines, 50,000 tons of wheat and other relief items. Moreover, India was also allowed to transport wheat through Pakistan, though the country was still putting one after the other excuses to materialize the commitment.
Coming to the FATF, he said unprecedented solid progress was made on the action plan as the political parties were also supporting the legislation to take the country out of the grey list.
He said a clear majority of the FATF members were convinced that Pakistan had made remarkable progress.
“Out of 27 points of the action plan, I firmly believe, 26.5 are competed… And I think there is no rationale for keeping Pakistan in the grey list… I hope in the next session, Pakistan should come out of the grey list. If it is kept in the grey list, then this forum will compromise its credibility,” he remarked.
The foreign minister told the media that some powers wanted to use FATF for Pakistan’s arm twisting to get their demands fulfilled with India being on the forefront to politicize the technical forum.
Replying to a question, the foreign minister termed Friday’s incident of killing a Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot as “unfortunate and shameful” and said the notice was taken at the highest level and the prime minister was personally overseeing the investigation.
He said the government gave 48 hours deadline to probe into the real factors behind the incident.
“We are in contact with Sri Lanka and updating high commissioner on the issue. They lauded Pakistan’s prompt reaction as such incident had hurt everyone,” he said.
The foreign minister said he would also speak to the Sri Lankan counterpart later on the day to apprise him of the situation and hoped that the incident would not impact the bilateral ties as Pakistani nation and the government had nothing to do with it.
To a question, the foreign minister reiterated the government’s willingness to take the opposition along in the legislation and other issues including the Electronic Voting Machine.
Coming to the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the foreign minister said the government raised the issue at every world platform and also led to the UNSC discussing it thrice contrary to the Indian stance of calling it an internal matter.
He told the media that on Friday evening, he spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed bilateral relations. He assured that despite all tactics by the subversive elements, no CPEC project would be suspended.
“Like Kashmir, there is also a national consensus on CPEC and similar agreement is also emerging on Afghanistan,” he remarked.
Govt taking various steps to promote GB’s sports culture across country: Minister Tourism
ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP):Gilgit Baltistan Minister for Tourism Raja Nasir Ali Khan on Saturday said that there is no lack of talent in the Gilgit-Baltistan and the government was taking various steps to promote local sports of this area across the country including polo game and other cultural festivals.
He said, “We want to promote ice-hockey at international level to participate in Olympic games”.
Raja Nasir said huge revenue could be gained through sports tourism sector of GB as maximum facilities were being provided to tourists.
Talking to PTV news, he said at the first step, we have revised our tourism policy and issue of granting ‘trekking permits’ has been brought under the tourism ministry adding this step helped us accumulating wealth that could be utilized for the betterment of locals.
To a question, the minister said that GB is very attractive place for the foreign and local tourists to observe a unique culture and civilization of the area.
Minister said the government is working to establish tourism authority in Gilgit Baltistan and for this purpose legislation is under process in coordination with all stakeholders.
He said that a task force is also formed for strict monitoring and sustainability of tourists places.
Raja Nasir Ali Khan said the government is also working to promoting winter tourism in the province.
He said the tourism industry has huge potential to contribute to the economy of the country, therefore, more focused approach is need of the hour.
He said GB is declared a plastic free zone and it has been requested to the tourist to follow the parameters and other laws for the neat and clean environment of GB.
The Minister expressed that GB has huge potential in the sector of tourism.
He said there is different types of land in the GB that includes hilly areas, mountains, valleys, lakes, forests, natural fountains, desert area and cultivated lands etc.
He said now due to the road networks the traveling time to GB has reduced from 6 to 3 hours adding that Sakardu Airport is fully functional and producing handsome contribution in the promotion of tourism sector.
Minister said that from the next season the international flight operation would be started to facilitate foreign tourists.
He said GB government was taking practical steps to fulfill the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the promotion of tourism sector.
He said the government is also using social media platform for conveying messages to foreign tourists that around 2000 rooms were available for the tourists.
He said most of the tourist wanted to keenly observe Pakistani culture and traditions of GB.
Replying to a question, he said 55 percent area of GB had not been explored so far and now the government is taking various steps to ensure that the tourists should get access to the remaining areas of GB with new ways.
He said that electricity, roads, internet networking, communication had been improved for the tourists and new job opportunities would be created for the local youths to mitigate the pressure of unemployment.
He said that now well-trained staff would provide their services in the hotels.
Pakistan’s talent has potential to conquer sports arenas in world: PM
ISLAMABAD, Dec 4 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday called for timely completion of the sports-related projects saying that if sports participation increases, Pakistan’s talent had the potential to conquer the sports arenas across the globe.
The prime minister, chairing a high level meeting on National Sports Policy and Overhauling of Sports Governance Structure in Pakistan, said that Pakistan Sports Board should act as a regulator and focus on providing facilities to the youth.
The meeting was apprised of the proposed revised structure of sports and coordination with the provinces for their input in National Sports Policy.
It was told that Pakistan Sports Board’s constitution has been re-drafted after a thorough review and the comprehensive draft has been accorded a nod by CCLC.
The board has been rationalized with its members reduced to 11 whereas the executive committee will comprise five members. Not only the powers and functions of the Board has been redefined to fulfill the purpose of increasing sports activities in the country and competition for improvement in quality, but also a new organogram has been prepared.
In addition to the above, a comprehensive guideline has been laid for federations pertaining to all the sports being played in the country with incentives to comply including registration mechanism, guidelines for elections, model constitution and National Anti-doping Organization of Pakistan.
The meeting was also briefed on coordination with the provinces regarding National Sports Policy whereby strengthening the ties has been unanimously agreed which will help to conduct organized sports activities nationwide.
Furthermore, it was told that the guidelines had been laid for the provinces to help increase sports activities in the provinces which include prioritization of major sports, revival of sports activities at the grassroot level i.e. schools and facilitation of clubs and associations to engage youth at local level.
Updating the meeting about the laying of synthetic hockey turfs, the meeting was informed that six major cities had been provided the facility whereby in Islamabad it had been completed while the work was near completion in Wah Cantt, Faisalabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Interprovincial Coordination Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Minister for State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Punjab Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti, Minister for Sports GB Raja Nasir Ali Khan, Minister for Environment Sports & Youth Balochistan Abdul Khaliq Hazara, SACM Sindh for Sports Arbab Lutfullah, DG Pakistan Sports Board Col. Muhammad Asif Zaman (Retd) and senior officials concerned. Chief Minister KP Mehmood Khan attended the meeting via video link.