Govt doesn’t see Nawaz, Fazl, Maryam as stakeholders in the current political setup: Fawad

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, taking exception to the opposition’s plan to hold an "all party conference" on electoral reforms, said on Tuesday that the government didn’t see Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz as stakeholders in the current political setup.

Speaking to the media after a meeting of the federal Cabinet, the minister said the opposition leaders were making all-out attempts to derail the existing system, adding that the opposition’s decision to hold an “APC” on electoral reforms was actually aimed an weakening the parliament.

Chaudhry said, however, that the government was open to discuss the proposed electoral reforms with parliamentary leaders.

He said the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were being used in 20 countries and Estonia was the most digitised country as it had now switched to internet voting from the EVM. He added that Pakistan was looking to introduce the EVMs for transparent holding of the polls.

He also stressed that deciding a mechanism for holding elections was the job of the country's political leadership and the ECP and bureaucrats had nothing to do with it. The minister added that anyone intending to write a letter to the ECP should bear in mind that the parliament's sanctity should not be violated in its wake.

Chaudhry maintained that the election commission was not entitled to raise questions on laws passed by parliament. “The ECP has to implement all laws passed by Parliament while matters related to laws contradicting the Constitution will be dealt by the Supreme Court,” he clarified.

During the presser, the minister said that the cabinet had approved the introduction of Public Properties Removal of Encroachment Bill 2021 to pave way for reclamation of government lands encroached by certain elements.

“Under the law, an officer will be appointed by the federal government empowered to issue show-cause notice to an encroacher and, in case of an unsatisfactory answer, he can proceed to take necessary action which includes punishment and imposition of fine.”

He said that if the encroacher refused to surrender the property, then a rent will keep accruing upon him that he will have to pay later when leaving the property.

Chaudhry said an appellate tribunal will also be formed with the authority to take a decision in such cases within 30 days. “There are federal properties which have been encroached upon and several properties of the National Press Trust have been forcefully occupied by encroachers. Similarly, Pakistan Railways and Evacuee Trust will also be able to get their lands retrieved.”

Regarding conditions imposed by some countries on acceptance of certain vaccines, the minister said countries refusing to accept certain vaccines were also in negotiations with the World Health Organisation. “This is a global issue … and we expect this issue to be resolved soon,” he added.

He said the government had witnessed tendency among the public to get jabs, which was encouraging, “and this particular interest was seen especially when we opened vaccinations for all people aged above 18. Now on average, daily 0.4 million people are getting themselves vaccinated and our target is to vaccinate 70m people by the year's end,” he added.

Shedding light on other decisions taken by the cabinet, the minister said a cabinet committee had been formed to review policies related to NGOs and after examination, the committee will report back to the cabinet.

He also informed that the cabinet had approved the appointment of five independent directors in the Diamer-Bhasha Company.

The minister said a three-month extension to Asim Rauf as Chief Executive Authority of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had also been approved by the cabinet. “His extension is only valid until appointment of the next CEO,” he added.

"A request was earlier floated to the government regarding establishment of the Supreme Court Staff Colony. Now a cabinet committee has been formed with Shireen Mazari as its head to oversee modalities of the formation of such a colony," he added.

He also announced that the Cabinet had permitted Pakistanis residing in Luxembourg to hold dual nationality. “They have been permitted to hold Luxembourg nationality while being Pakistani nationals,” he added.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106927-govt-doesn-t-see-nawaz-fazl-maryam-as-stakeholders-in-the-current-political-setup-fawad.html

US could slow pullout from Afghanistan: Pentagon

The US military could slow down its withdrawal from Afghanistan due to the gains made by the Taliban, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday.

Kirby stressed that President Joe Biden´s deadline of a full withdrawal by September remains in place, but added that the pace could be adjusted based on conditions.

"The situation in Afghanistan changes as the Taliban continue to conduct these attacks and to raid district centers as well as the violence, which is still too high," he told reporters.

"If there needs to be changes made to the pace, or to the scope and scale of the retrograde, on any given day or in any given week, we want to maintain the flexibility to do that," he said.

"We're constantly taking a look at this, every single day: what´s the situation on the ground, what capabilities do we have, what additional resources do we need to move out of Afghanistan and at what pace."

"All of these decisions are literally being made in real time," he added.

Pentagon officials said last week that the withdrawal, ordered by Biden in April after nearly two decades fighting Al-Qaeda and helping government forces battle the Taliban, is around half completed.

At the time of Biden´s order around 2,500 US troops and 16,000 contractors, mostly US citizens, were in the country. The Pentagon has already turned over several of its key bases to government security forces, and has removed hundreds of cargo plane-loads of equipment.

Kirby said US forces continue to support Afghan troops in fighting the Taliban.

"So long as we have the capability in Afghanistan, we will continue to provide assistance to Afghan forces," he said.

"But as the retrograde gets closer to completion, those capabilities will wane and will no longer be available."

source https://www.suchtv.pk/world/item/106926-us-could-slow-pullout-from-afghanistan-pentagon.html

Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan parts ways with team

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Pakistan men’s national cricket team batting coach Younis Khan today mutually agreed to part ways, a statement released by the PCB said Tuesday.

Younis was appointed last year in November on a two-year contract until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Commenting on Younis's departure, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “It is sad to lose an expert of the stature and experience of Younis Khan. Following a series of discussions, we both have reluctantly but mutually and amicably agreed that it was time to move in different directions.

“I want to thank Younis Khan for his contributions during his short stint as the Pakistan men’s national cricket team’s batting coach and hope he will remain available to assist the PCB by sharing his vast knowledge with the emerging cricketers.”

Both PCB and Younis Khan have agreed not to make any further comment on the reasons for the former captain’s departure.

Pakistan men’s national cricket team will travel to the United Kingdom without a batting coach, while the decision to appoint Younis Khan’s replacement for the West Indies tour will be made in due course.

Pakistan men’s national cricket team will tour the United Kingdom from June 25 to July 20 for three ODIs and three T20Is, while the West Indies tour will be from July 21 to August 24 where the visiting team will be featured in five T20Is and two Tests.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/sports/item/106925-pakistan-batting-coach-younis-khan-parts-ways-with-team.html

Cabinet gives go-ahead to import of 1m tonne wheat

The federal cabinet on Tuesday gave a go-ahead to the import of one million tonnes of wheat to meet rising demand of the commodity in the country.

Briefing the media on the decisions taken by the cabinet in today’s meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the approval to import more wheat was given due to the ballooning population.

He said the meeting approved the appointment of Aslam Khan as the chairman of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). It deferred its decision on issuance of prohibited arms licences and appointment of the CEO of the Sukkur Electric Power Company, he added.

Besides, Fawad said the cabinet approved the draft Public Property Encroachment Bill 2021 and appointment of the executive director of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission.

He said the government will bring in a new law to remove encroachments from its pricey properties.

The information minister claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) proposal to convene an all-parties conference on electoral reforms is a conspiracy to weaken Parliament.

He was of the view that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) cannot question laws made by Parliament as its sole role is to implement them. It is up to the Supreme Court to determine whether a law is in contravention of the Constitution or not, he added.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106924-cabinet-gives-go-ahead-to-import-of-1m-tonne-wheat.html

PM Imran Khan orders action against FIA officials for neglecting harassment complaint

A woman who had to leave her university employment and allegedly attempted suicide after multiple harassment complaints on the citizen portal were not entertained by FIA has finally got relief from Prime Minister Imran Khan, reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan while taking notice of the incident has directed DG FIA to immediately suspend the concerned officials who did not entertain five harassment-related complaints from the woman on the portal.

The prime minister also directed strict action against the officials.

The PM Office said that the woman had to leave her university job owing to harassment while she also allegedly committed suicide over lack of response from the FIA authorities.

It emerged that complaints were lodged between 16 December 2019 to 13 June 2021, however, the officials neglected them despite reopening the matter twice.

The issue came to the light after the woman reached out to Prime Minister House along with her husband. Taking notice of the matter, the prime minister delivery unit dispatched a letter to DG FIA over non-compliance of the complaints.

“A high-level inquiry should be held to act against the officials,” the PM Office directed as Imran Khan ordered to provide immediate relief to the victim.

The prime minister has also warned of strict action against officials taking complaints on the citizen portal in a non-serious manner. The PMO said that an inquiry report into the matter would be submitted to the prime minister by July 20.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106922-pm-imran-khan-orders-action-against-fia-officials-for-neglecting-harassment-complaint.html

Corona positivity ratio declines in Pakistan, recorded at 1.69%

Pakistan continues to record a decline in COVID-19-related deaths and new cases, as the country recorded 1.69% positivity rate over the past 24 hours.

According to data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 27 more people succumbed to the disease during this period, taking the nationwide death toll to 22,034.
Pakistan recorded COVID-19 positivity rate of 1.69 per cent as of the total 39,017 samples tested for the presence of the infection, 663 were declared positive. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 949,784.

With 1,204 people getting their health back during the past 24 hours, the overall number of the recovered stands at 894,352. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the country has carried out 14,187,441 tests to diagnose the deadly disease.

 GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology said on Monday final results from a late-stage study of their monoclonal antibody confirmed it significantly reduced hospitalization and death among high-risk COVID-19 patients when given early in the disease.

The treatment, sotrovimab, received an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, while the European Union’s drug regulator has also backed it. read more

The drugmakers also said on Monday the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended sotrovimab to treat high-risk, non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106919-corona-positivity-ratio-declines-in-pakistan-recorded-at-1-69.html

PM-led CCI meeting approves National Electricity Policy 2021

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday chaired the 47th meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and approved the National Electricity Policy 2021.

According to details, the session headed by Imran Khan was attended by federal ministers, chief ministers and other concerned officials.

Briefing media about the decisions take in the meeting, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said that the Council of Common Interest has approved National Electricity Policy 2021 with a consensus of all provinces.

“The new electricity policy has been approved for 10 years,” he said, adding that people will get cheaper and environment-friendly electricity under the new power policy approved by the CCI.

Criticising the previous government, the federal energy minister said that the policy should have been approved 15 years ago. He said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was working on various options to resolve the issues in the power sector including the circular debt.

“Had we put in place a policy like this 15 years ago, we would not have a troubled power sector today,” the minister added.

The minister said in the light of the new electricity policy, policies for sub-sectors will be devised. He further said that the PTI government had allocated Rs100billion in the federal budget 2021-22 to improve the transmission system in the energy sector.

 In the previous CCI meeting chaired by PM Khan on June. 18, the meeting discussed in detail the draft of the National Electricity Policy 2021 and constituted a committee to further deliberate upon the proposed policy.

The body was tasked to present the final draft before the CCI in its next meeting on Monday.

The committee comprises the finance minister, energy minister, law minister, SAPM for Power and chief ministers of the four provinces.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106915-pm-led-cci-meeting-approves-national-electricity-policy-2021.html

Multan Sultans qualify for final after vanquishing Islamabad United

Multan Sultans scored a victory over Islamabad United by 31 runs on Monday and reached the finals of the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League.

The Sultans had won the toss and set a 181-run target for United at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. The loss for the Shadab Khan-led side means that they will either face Karachi Kings or Peshawar Zalmi in the Eliminator 2.

The winner of Eliminator 1, which will take place later in the day, will face the United in Eliminator 2.

Sohail Tanvir got an early break through for the Sultans as he bowled Colin Munro in the second bowl of the first over for a duck, putting pressure on the United.

In the third over, Imran Khan Snr's direct hit at non-striker's end dismissed Muhammad Akhlaq (10), as he struggled to get across the pitch.

In the fifth ball of the same over, Tanvir capitalised on the pressure that the team had put on United, as he got the wicket of skipper Shadab Khan (0), with a nice catch by Shan Masood at the cover drive.

Blessings Muzarabani, in the ninth over, sent Iftikhar Ahmed (16) back to the pavilion after chipping the ball to Sultans' wicketkeeper and captain Mohammad Rizwan — breaking an important 40-run partnership between Ahmed and Usman Khawaja.

In the 10th over, Mohammad Rizwan stumped Asif Ali (1) as he looked to flick a slow bowl by Imran Tahir.

Khawaja — after Hussain Talat handed him the strike in the 14th over of Blessings Muzarabani — smacked 18 runs to bring back his team in the game.

Tanvir — the experienced bowler who Sultans bring in when they are hot waters — turned United's hopes dim in the 15th over as he dismissed Khawaja for 70.

Veteran spinner Tahir struck again in the 16th over, as he dismissed Hasan Ali (10) with an impressive catch by Rilee Rossouw at long-off, while in the 18th over Mohammad Wasim (13) fell lbw.

In the 19th over, Muzarabani dismissed all-rounders Faheem Ashraf (0) and Hussain Talat (25) to take his team to the finals of the tournament.

Islamabad United's innings

Multan Sultans have handed a 181-run target for Islamabad United.

Akif Javed got the first and important wicket of Mohammad Rizwan in the second over after he made an appeal for caught behind. The Sultans' skipper could not get the bat on it.

United's skipper Shadab Khan was able to break the partnership of Sohaib Maqsood (59) and Shan Masood (25) after the latter fell lbw, courtesy a good length ball turning in from outside off.

Two bowls after sending Masood back to the pavilion, Shadab was able to dismiss an important batsman of the Sultans, Rilee Rossouw, for a duck.

However, after the quick dismissals, Jhonson Charles (41) and Maqsood were able to build a 40-run partnership to help their team bounce back in the match.

Maqsood hit a half-century in the 13th over of the match, with six fours and three sixes.

In the 15th over, Charles muscled a straight shot to deep midwicket, but Iftikhar Ahmed took a good catch — getting Faheem Ashraf his first wicket.

Ashraf, in the 17th over, took the much-needed wicket of Maqsood, dismissing him for 59, thanks to a catch by Akif Javed.

To keep, the Sultans' hopes alive, Khushdil Shah (42) hit some impressive shots — five sixes — in the last overs to put up a competitive score for the United.

Playing XI:
Multan Sultans:

Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wk), Shan Masood, Sohaib Maqsood, Johnson Charles, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Blessing Muzarabani, Imran Khan, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani

Islamabad United:

Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Shadab Khan (captain), Hussain Talat, Ifthikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Waseem, Akif Javed

source https://www.suchtv.pk/sports/item/106912-multan-sultans-qualify-for-final-after-vanquishing-islamabad-united.html

Gen Bajwa, Azerbaijan president discuss military cooperation, regional issues

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday held talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyez and Col. Gen. Hasanov Zakir Oglu, Minister of Defence.

The army chief, on his two-day official visit to the country, held talks with the dignitaries at Baku. During the meetings, matters of mutual interest, regional security situation including recent developments in Afghan Peace Process and bilateral defence and security cooperation in various fields were discussed.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan share common values based on rich cultural, religious and historical affinities and have tremendous geo-strategic significance/potential for mutually beneficial and enhanced cooperation at all forums, said the army chief.

Gen Bajwa lso expressed Pakistan Army’s desire to further enhance bilateral military cooperation and regional partnership between the two countries.

The dignitaries thanked the army chief for Pakistan's support to Azerbaijan at international forums.

Earlier on arrival at the Ministry of Defence, the army chief was also presented a Guard-of-Honour by a smartly turned out military contingent.

 

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106911-gen-bajwa-azerbaijan-president-discuss-military-cooperation-regional-issues.html

Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz obtain pre-arrest bail before FIA appearance

A session court on Monday approved pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz before their FIA appearance in a sugar scam case, reported.

The lawyer of the PML-N president during the hearing at the session court sought a long delay on implementation on arrest orders and cited the ongoing session of the National Assembly as the reason.
The court ordered against the arrest of Hamza Shehbaz and Shehbaz Sharif before July 10 and directed them to submit two surety bonds with each amounting to Rs1 million.

The development came after PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz on Sunday decided to appear before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

According to sources privy to the matter, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz have made the decision after consultation with their lawyers. “PML-N activists and MNAs and MPAs are also directed to reach the FIA office on the appearance of both the party leaders,” they said.

It is pertinent to mention here that Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz have been summoned by the FIA in connection with the ongoing probe into the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

Sources having knowledge of the matter told ARY News that the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has been asked to turn up at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore office on June 22.

The subpoena served to the PML-N President warned him of legal action, including his possible arrest, in case he fails to show up before the FIA.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106907-shehbaz-sharif-hamza-shehbaz-obtain-pre-arrest-bail-before-fia-appearance.html

Pakistan suffered heavy losses due to Afghan war: PM Imran

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said Pakistan would not allow the United States (US) to use its bases for cross-border military actions after American forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In an interview with a US TV HBO Axios, Imran Khan said Pakistan suffered a lot due to war in Afghanistan.

When asked if Islamabad would allow the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct cross-border counter-terrorism missions in Afghanistan, he replied: “Absolutely not.”

“There’s no way we are ever going to allow,” the premier stated in clear terms. “Any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan, absolutely not.”

The United States has said it will withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan on Sept. 11 after a two-decade presence.

He said more than 70,000 Pakistanis were martyred during the war against terror after 9/11 attacks. “Islamabad is not interested to become part of any other conflict.”

The premier said Pakistan’s nuclear program is for defense purposes only and we do not have hostile designs against any of the countries including India.

Replying to a question, PM said China has been one of the greatest friends to us in our most difficult times. When we were really struggling, our economy was struggling, China came to our rescue.

On COVID-19, Prime Minister Imran Khan said partial lockdown coupled with comprehensive data analysis helped Pakistan to keep the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

He said there were more than seventy per cent informal economy workers and daily wagers and the government could not make the decision to force a complete clampdown in the country.

He said National Command and Operation Centre performed actively and coordinated with all institutions for the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106906-pakistan-suffered-heavy-losses-due-to-afghan-war-pm-imran.html

Pakistan records 1,907 corona cases within a day

Pakistan continues to record a decline in COVID-19-related deaths and new cases, as the country registered 30 deaths over the past 24 hours, data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed on Monday.

According to the national dashboard, 30 more people succumbed to the disease during this period, taking the nationwide death toll to 22,007.
Pakistan recorded a coronavirus positivity rate of 2.60 per cent as of the total 34,754 samples tested for the presence of the infection, 907 were declared positive. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 949,175.

With 829 people getting their health back during the past 24 hours, the overall number of the recovered stands at 893,148. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the country has carried out 14,148,424 tests to diagnose the deadly disease.

Yesterday, a special flight of PIA carrying 1.55 million doses of vaccine from China landed at Islamabad airport, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The shipment of Sinovac corona vaccine arrived in Islamabad on board a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight.

The NCOC had said that Pakistan has purchased the vaccine from China’s Sinovac and another two to three million doses of vaccine will reach Pakistan in the next week.

“China has been a time-tested friend and it is taking measures to ensure an uninterrupted vaccine supply to Pakistan,” the NCOC said.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/general/item/106904-pakistan-records-1-907-corona-cases-within-a-day.html

Rs50 bn Gilgit-Shandur Expressway project to be completed soon: Umar

Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has earmarked Rs 40.5 billion for development projects in Gilgit Baltistan.

Addressing a press conference here along with Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Khalid Khursheed, Asad Umar vowed to increase the federal allocation for the GB development package up to Rs50 billion in the fiscal year 2022-24.

The minister said the Gilgit-Shandoor Expressway would be completed at a cost of Rs 50 billion and this project would be included in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

19 mega projects had been included in the Federal PSDP under the integrated development plan for Gilgit-Baltistan, he said.

Asad Umar has said that the incumbent government was working for the development of Gilgit-Baltistan on a priority basis.

Speaking about the vaccination drive in GB, the federal minister said that the government has established six vaccination centres across the GB region.

Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a five-year Rs370 billion uplift package for the scenic region of Gilgit Baltistan.

The prime minister announced that funds to the tune of Rs370 billion would be spent in the region over the next five years, vowing to extend every possible help for the area’s well-being.

source https://www.suchtv.pk/pakistan/gilgit-baltistan/item/106900-rs50-bn-gilgit-shandur-expressway-project-to-be-completed-soon-umar.html