RAWALPINDI, Jun 19 (APP): Like the second Eid day, people were flocking to fun places across Rawalpindi division on the third day of Eid ul Azha to celebrate the festival.
The people were visiting their relatives and recreational places to enjoy Eid celebrations with their loved ones.
In Rawalpindi, great rush was being witnessed on the roads and people were visiting several picnic spots like, Ayub national park, Play Land, Allama Iqbal park, Family park Commercial markets Satellite Town, Jinnah park, Romi Park and other parks.
Girls were seen swinging at the parks while children were screaming on merry-go-rounds and the adults were exuberant to see smiles on the faces of their children.
A large number of people were also seen travelling towards Murree Hills to enjoy Eid celebrations as the weather of Murree Hills has been very pleasant particularly on Eid days.
The parks in Rawalpindi were specially decorated to make them attractive for the visitors.
The families visiting the parks of the city complained that over charging, sale of substandard food items and non-availability of quality products are main cause of concern.
The vendors took full benefit of the situation as the concerned authorities failed to control the quality and rates of the commodities rather there was no check and balance in this regard and the shopkeepers were given free hand.
The citizens demanded of the authorities to take action against the violators and those fleecing the tourists.
A visitor, Mushtaq said he went to Ayub Park for excursion as it was the best place to visit with family during Eid holidays.
“The food-items being offered at the canteen were tantamount to fleecing and the children were being robbed off their Eid is at different parts,” said Mushtaq.
A special control room had also been set up at Deputy Commissioner (DC) Office Rawalpindi which is working round the clock to cope with any emergency situation.
According to a Commissioner Office spokesman, on the directives of the Commissioner Rawalpindi Division, Engineer Aamir Khattak, the departments concerned particularly Police, City Traffic Police (CTP) and Rescue-1122 remained alert during Eid ul Azha holidays to ensure security and provide maximum relief to the citizens.
The authorities concerned were also instructed to pay more attention to parks and other public places besides setting up special posts at various points by Rescue-1122 to avoid any untoward incident.
The residents celebrated Eid-ul-Azha with great religious zeal, fervour and festivity.
On the occasion, tight security arrangements were made by Rawalpindi police on the directives of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Mehmood Hamdani.
No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the city.
City Traffic Police, following the instructions of Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi, Taimoor Khan also facilitated the citizens by smoothing traffic flow.
In Murree, the wardens also controlled traffic mess successfully.
Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Aamir Khattak and Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Hassan Waqar Cheema visited SOS Village and the Child Protection Bureau to share Eid joys with the children on Monday. The commissioner congratulated the children by cutting Eid cake with them and distributing gifts among them.
The Child Protection Bureau and SOS Village organized special meals for the children to celebrate the occasion.
People planned a number of programs while some arranged BBQ parties at their homes while a number of families thronged towards public parks (Ayub Park, Zia Park, Jinnah Park, Nawaz Sharif Park, Lake View) and other resorts like Murree, Pir Sohawa, Daman-e-Koh, F-9 Park and Rawal Lake along with children and made tikkas and kebabs from various aromatic spices and lentils on coals.
The children and young girls enjoyed the swings and delicious food such as chana chat, gol gappay, burger, finger chips, pakoras, samosas and many other sweets.
As the government announced three public holidays, tens of thousands of citizens also headed towards the hill resort Murree.
Because of heavy deployment of traffic wardens, the traffic situation remained under control in Murree, said a CTP spokesman.
He said traffic police had placed special pickets with squads to discourage one-wheeling.
He said the traffic situation in Murree remained under control due to applying special traffic plan prepared on the directives of CTO Taimoor Khan.
“A large number of vehicles entered Murree during Eid holidays and traffic police managed the situation despite having less space for parking,” he said.
Superintendent of Police, Saddar Nabeel Khokhar also visited Murree and reviewed the security and traffic arrangements.
The police spokesman informed that 700 cops were deployed to ensure security in Murree while 300 traffic wardens were regulating traffic.
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PM strongly condemns killing of Landi Kotal senior journalist
ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday strongly condemned the murder of Khalil Jibran, a senior journalist in Landi Kotal city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The prime minister, sympathising with the bereaved family members of the slain journalist, directed the KP chief minister and relevant authorities to arrest the perpetrators and take them to the task.
He reiterated the government’s resolve to take all-out measures to protect the lives and freedom of the media community.
Prime Minister Shehbaz prayed to Allah Almighty for peace for the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family to bear the loss.
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China’s IDCPC Minister Liu Jianchao to visit Pakistan from June 20-22
ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (APP): Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) and member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee Liu Jianchao will visit Islamabad from June 20-22, 2024, at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
During the visit, Minister Liu will co-chair with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister the Third Meeting of the Pakistan-China Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM) of the Political Parties on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He will also call on the senior civil and military leadership of Pakistan, according to a Foreign Office press release.
Established in 2019, the JCM of Political Parties on CPEC is a regular consultation mechanism between the Communist Party of China and the political parties of Pakistan. Previous meetings were held on March 19, 2019 in Beijing and on August 20, 2020 virtually.
At the Third Meeting of the JCM, Pakistan and China will review the progress of CPEC projects, CPEC’s contribution to Pakistan’s socioeconomic development, and its up-gradation and extension for regional connectivity.
The visit is a part of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China including between the Communist Party of China and the political parties of Pakistan.
It reflects the importance attached by the two countries to further deepen their “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership”, reaffirm mutual support on issues of respective core interests, advance high-quality development of CPEC and enhance communication and dialogue on important regional and global developments.
Mushahid becomes first Pakistani to address official int’l BRICS forum
VLADIVOSTOK, Jun 19 (APP): Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed became the first Pakistani to address the official International BRICS Forum, hosted by current Chair, Russia, at the Russian Far Eastern port of Vladivostok, close to North Korea and Japan.
The 2-day forum was organised by the ruling ‘United Russia’ Party.
The Forum was informed that 29 countries, including Pakistan, are applicants for membership of BRICS, which now includes almost half the world’s population, contributing 30% of global GDP and 50% of global oil and gas producers amongst its members, a news release said.
Mushahid Hussain, who is currently Co-Chairman of International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), the largest organisation of political parties of Asia, as well as heading two think tanks in Pakistan, on China & Africa, gave a keynote speech in which he expressed the hope that ‘Pakistan hopes to join BRICS as Pakistan wants to be part of the new emerging order of the Global South’, adding ‘Pakistan as a member of the UN Security Council during 2025-2026 will be a robust voice for peace, justice and the oppressed’.
Mushahid Hussain said that the ‘post World War 2 Western-propped global economic and political order was already unraveling and organisations like BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) would be the pillars of this emerging new global order, which will derive its strength from the United Nations Charter, international law and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, rejecting hegemony, military dictate and double standards’.
He said an expanded BRICS can make a ‘major contribution to promoting three major trends of contemporary international relations: 1) Democratisation of international relations through dialogue and inter-state relationships based on equality and rule of law;2) Demilitarisation of international relations, as the Western world order in the 21st Century is in the grip of a new Cold War hysteria, arming Israel to kill Palestinians or promotion of ‘Asian NATO’ and building groups like QUAD and AUKUS to contain China and Russia;3) Dedollarisation of the international financial system, with the US often using the dollar currency as a political weapon, as now 68 of 193 member states of the UN are already embarked on this process, while Saudi Arabia has ended its 50 year old agreement with the United States regarding petrodollars and Saudi oil is now also trading in non-dollar currencies’.
On the need for a new approach to security issues, Mushahid Hussain welcomed the 14 June initiative of President Putin for a new Eurasian Security paradigm based on indivisible security of nations so that no one country’s security can be at the expense of others’.
He also lauded a similar endeavour of President Xi Jinping for a ‘Global Security Initiative’.
Finally, Mushahid Hussain thanked Russia and China for their principled position on the Gaza Genocide, underlining Israel has lost the war politically, morally, legally, and diplomatically, and Israeli supporters in the declining West have also been exposed for their double standards and aiding and abetting the Gaza Genocide, which is a crime against humanity as stated by the International Court of Justice.
Mushahid Hussain Syed was introduced to the podium by Senator Andrei Klimov, Member of the Bureau of the Supreme Council of the United Russia Party and Head of its Foreign Relations.
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Eid ul Azha celebrated with religious fervor amid tight security
RAWALPINDI, Jun 19 (APP): Like other parts of the country, Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated across Rawalpindi division with religious fervor, enthusiasm and spirit of sacrifice amid tight security arrangements as over 3,000 cops were deployed under a comprehensive security plan chalked out for peaceful observance of Eid ul Azha.
Elite Force, Mohafiz Squad, Special Branch personnel along with ladies police and volunteers performed security duties while 692 Traffic Wardens were also deployed to maintain traffic during Eid prayers.
Eid prayers were offered at Eidgahs, mosques and open places on Monday amid tight security while Ulema and Khateebs, in their sermons, highlighted the significance and philosophy of sacrifice.
Special prayers were offered for the progress, prosperity and integrity of the country, unity of the “Ummah”, solution of their problems and liberation of occupied Kashmir. After the Eid prayers, cows, goats, sheep and camels were slaughtered.
According to CTP spokesman, more than 700 cops and 300 traffic wardens were deployed to ensure the safety and facilitation of visitors and ensure smooth flow of traffic in Murree.
Special pickets were set up at 16 locations around the hill station to boost the security, he added.
Additionally, seven facilitation centers were also established to assist and guide the tourists, providing necessary facilities.
Chairman of the District Coordination Committee(DCC), Engineer Qamar ul Islam Raja here on Tuesday visited RWMC control room and hailed the cleanliness arrangements of the the company made on the occasion of Eid ul Azha.
He lauded the efforts of Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Aamir Khattak and Deputy Commissioner, Hassan Waqar Cheema for making the best cleanliness arrangements on Eid days.
On the occasion, the Chairman RWMC Saqib Rafique briefed that the company was removing animal waste from all areas of the district.
Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) spokesman said that comprehensive cleanliness plan was finalized for Eid-ul-Azha to get rid of entrails of the sacrificial animals. Over 4700 tonnes of garbage were shifted to the transfer station, he said.
The cleanup operation includes 485 vehicles and more than 3832 sanitary workers, adding the control room was monitoring the workers, and over 650 complaints were resolved.
The Cantonment area was also divided into ten sections for efficient cleaning, covering altars, streets, and roads. Lime spraying was also being carried out to ensure cleanliness.
The Rescue-1122 teams remained on high alert to provide quick relief and rescue services besides medical cover to citizens across the district, in case of any emergency.
Over 400 rescuers performed special duties at the district control room and emergency rescue stations, while fully equipped ambulances, firefighting vehicles, rescue vehicles, water boozers and specialized vehicles were on standby to deal with any untoward situation.
Meanwhile, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) had also made a special plan for smooth supply of water during Eid ul Azha.