NSC meeting to be held today in parliament

An in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security will be held at Parliament House today (Thursday) to discuss several important issues, including the Afghanistan situation.

Apart from the internal situation, the in-camera session will also be briefed about the situation in Afghanistan, India and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), said sources.

Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed will brief the parliamentary committee.

Important leaders of the opposition parties in Parliament have been invited to attend the meeting as they will be taken into confidence with regards to the recent developments in Afghanistan and national security, according to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Several political leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, JUI-F Parliamentary leader Maulana Asad Mahmood and ANP leader Ameer Haider Azam Khan Hoti have been invited to participate in the parliamentary committee meeting.

Corona claims 40 more lives, 1,037 fresh cases report in pakistan

Pakistan has reported 40 more deaths over the last 24 hours by COVID-19 as the total number of the fatalities has reached 22,321, reported on Thursday.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the number of positive cases has surged to 958,408 after the inclusion of 1,037 fresh infections during the said period.
The country conducted 46,145 tests in the past 24 hours out of which 1,037 Pakistanis were tested positive for the disease. The COVID positivity ratio was recorded at 2.2%

Overall 904,320 Pakistanis have recovered their health back from the COVID-19 pandemic, while 1,844 are still said to be critical.

As of July 1, as many as 12,938,721 people have been partially vaccinated against the deadly infection while 3,032,920 fully vaccinated, the NCOC said.

A total of 159,716,411 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Pakistan thus far.

 

Bilawal Bhutto urges PM Khan to tape FM Qureshi's phone

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday responded to a challenge by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a noisy session of the National Assembly.

After severely criticising the government over the provisions of budget 2021-22 and condemning the legislative process conducted on Tuesday, the PPP chairperson left the House after his speech.

"He spoke a lot about [parliamentariy] procedures; I would also like to speak on procedures a bit," said a passionate FM Qureshi after Bilawal and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had spoken.

"Where did he go after making his speech? I want him to return," he added.

"I would like to ask Bilawal Bhutto to return to his seat; come back to the field and listen to us now," the foreign minister stated.

The Opposition benches in the National Assembly broke into huge applause when the PPP chairperson, with another lawmaker by his side, returned to his seat.

The foreign minister spoke briefly but after immense criticism from the Opposition benches, asked the speaker to let a JUI-F MNA speak instead, and sat down.

Tempers flare as Bhutto urges PM Khan to tape FM Qureshi's phone
Later, a war of words erupted between the two leaders when Bhutto took a dig at the foreign minister.

"I would like to request the prime minister to order the ISI to tape Shah Mahmood Qureshi's phone," taunted Bhutto. "When he used to be our foreign minister, he ran a campaign around the world to make him the prime minister, instead of Yousaf Raza Gillani," he added.

"That is why we sacked him from the post of foreign minister," added the PPP leader.

The foreign minister responded to the PPP leader's accusations, telling him that he also knew Bhutto "since he was a little kid".

He hit back at the PPP chairperson by referring to him as a "kid".

"I know you since you were a kid and I also knew your parents as well," he added.

'PM won't be able to speak here if leader of the Opposition isn't allowed to'
Speaking after Bhutto concluded his speech, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said he supported everything said by the PPP chairperson.

 

Two Pakistan Army soldiers martyred in cross-border attack from Afghanistan: ISPR

Two soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom when terrorists from across the border, inside Afghanistan, attacked a military post in Dwatoi, North Waziristan, the military’s media wing said Wednesday.

“Own troops responded in a befitting manner. During an exchange of fire, 2 soldiers, Havaldar Saleem, age 43 years, and Lance Naik Pervaiz, age 35 years, embraced shahadat,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The statement said Pakistan has consistently been asking Afghanistan to ensure effective border control on its side.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the continuous use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan,” it added.

Pakistan records 27 more deaths, 979 fresh corona case within a day

Pakistan has reported 27 more deaths over the last 24 hours by COVID-19 as the total number of the fatalities has reached 22,281, reported on Wednesday.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the number of positive cases has surged to 957,371 after the inclusion of 979 fresh infections during the said period.

The country conducted 42,062 tests in the past 24 hours out of which 979 Pakistanis were tested positive for the disease. The COVID positivity ratio was recorded at 2.3%
The number of active cases in Pakistan currently stands at 31,606.

Overall 903,484 Pakistanis have recovered their health back from the COVID-19 pandemic, while 1,871 are still said to be critical.

As of June 30, as many as 12,641,654 people have been partially vaccinated against the deadly infection while 2,939,748 fully vaccinated, the NCOC said.

A total of 15,581,402 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Pakistan thus far.

Pakistan has primarily used Chinese vaccines – Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac– in its inoculation drive and, earlier this month began allowing those under 40 to receive AstraZeneca, of which it has a limited supply meant for people traveling to countries that require it.

Pakistan has so far granted emergency use authorization to six different vaccines, including China’s Cansino, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Russian Sputnik V, European AstraZeneca and US Pfizer vaccines.

Speaker Sindh Assembly bans 8 lawmakers for bringing charpoy in house

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani has banned the entry of eight lawmakers into provincial assembly over the issue of bringing “folding charpoy” in the House.

The entry of eight lawmakers namely, PTI parliamentary leader Bilal Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed, Arsalan Taj, Muhammad Ali Aziz, Adeel Ahmed, Nawaz Jadoon, Raja Azhar has been banned.

Condemning an unpleasant incident that had taken place in the Sindh Assembly earlier today, Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani has ordered a probe into the scuffle between the members from the opposition and treasury benches.

The uproar started when protesting members brought a “folding charpoy” in the House.

Agha Siraj Durrani has ordered Secretary Sindh Assembly, Umar Farooq, to submit a report after completing an inquiry into the incident.
Opposition lawmakers earlier today brought a charpoy in the Sindh Assembly while terming it a coffin of democracy as the proceedings once again witnessed a rumpus.

According to the visuals captured during the provincial assembly proceedings, Opposition Leader Haleem Adil Shaikh could be seen leading the PTI lawmakers from the entrance of the assembly as they carry a charpoy with a banner over it inscribed with letters ‘Jamhoriyat Ka Janaza’

Corona positivity gone down 1.78% in pakistan

The COVID-19 positivity rate has gone down to 1.78 per cent in Pakistan during the last 24 hours,reported, quoting the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The pandemic has claimed 23 more lives in Pakistan during the last 24 hours, pushing the nationwide death toll to 22,254.
A total of 735 new cases of the virus emerged when 41,133 samples were tested during this period, taking the country’s caseload to 956,392.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said the Covid-19 infection rate was recorded at 1.78%.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease since the first case of the pandemic was reported in the country climbed to 901,985 after 784 more people recuperated in the last 24 hours.

Keeping in view the downward trend in coronavirus infections, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday had announced to lift some Covid-19 restrictions that put in place owing to the Third Covid-19 wave in the country.

According to details, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired a session of NCOC to review the coronavirus situation in the country.

The forum announced to lift various Covid-19 restrictions from July 1 owing to the downward trend in Covid infections across the country.

US TO SEND 2.5M DOSES OF MODERNA VACCINE TO PAKISTAN

The United States (US) on Monday has announced to send 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Pakistan, confirmed White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Jen Psaki said the doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are being sent to Pakistan to help Islamabad in the fight against the pandemic.

She further said The US is sending 1.5 million doses of Moderna to Honduras, 2 million Modern doses to Peru this week.

“Thanks to president s commitment to playing a leading role in ending the pandemic everywhere.”

Last week it was reported that Pakistan is likely to receive Moderna’s mRNA-1273 coronavirus vaccine doses in the coming months through COVAX — the World Health Organisation’s global shared vaccine programme.

Beauty of Kagan hardly founds anywhere in the world: PM Imran Khan

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday stressed the need to promote tourism in Pakistan during his visit to Naran and said that even Switzerland could not match the beauty of tourist spots in the country, reported.

Speaking to tiger force members in Naran, the prime minister said that he was delighted to see more trees being planted in the area during the aerial visit.
“Our future generations would be thankful to us that we cared for them,” he said and added that previously the forests and trees were ruined.
He said that no place in the world could match the beauty Pakistan has and it is their responsibility to take care of such blessings of Almighty Allah.

The prime minister Khan also stressed the need to hire local volunteers to keep a watch on forests saying that they are more aware of the local dynamics and know people involved in cutting trees in their respective areas.

“Trout fish in River Kunhar is loved by people across the country,” the premier said while highlighting another tourism potential and added that promoting tourism in these areas would bring money and job employment opportunities for locals.

Prime Minister Imran Khan further highlighting the potential of tourism said that even Switzerland could not match the beauty in Pakistan. “Switzerland is half of Pakistan’s northern areas and yet it generates US$80 billion from tourism,” he said.

SECP Disqualifies B4U Group Sponsors For 5 Years, Rs 04 billion Fine Imposed

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has disqualified the sponsors of the B4U Group from becoming a director of any company for a period of five years and has also imposed a penalty of Rs100 million on each of its sponsors, a statement said on Saturday.

Further, the sponsors would not be allowed to incorporate any new company under the Act.

In addition, the commission has granted sanction for winding up all 18 companies of the B4U Group and imposed a penalty of Rs200 million on each company. Aggregate penalties, amounting to Rs4 billion have been imposed on the B4U Group.

The commission concluded the adjudication proceedings against the B4U Group and its sponsors for raising illegal deposits from the public and operating pyramid schemes, in violation of the Companies Act, 2017.

The B4U Group comprises 18 companies incorporated under the Act, as well as five unincorporated business setups. All the 18 companies were registered during the last two years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is fully committed to safeguarding the interest of the general public against the prohibited business practices such as illegal deposit raising, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, etc.

In addition to initiating enforcement actions, the commission has continuously been issuing necessary press releases, time and again, cautioning the general public not to invest in any such illegal and dubious investment plans, while taking strict enforcement action against the companies and sponsors that violate their mandate.

Gilgit Baltistan Affairs | 27 June 2021

CAA allows to increase number of flights to five countries

Following the orders of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has allowed to increase the number of flights up to 40 percent to five countries.

The airlines have been granted permission to increase flights to Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. The passengers traveling to Pakistan will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 PCR test prior to their departure.

Arriving at the Pakistani airports, the passengers will have a mandatory RAT test after which they will be sent to quarantine if tested positive for the virus.

The policy will come into effect from July 1, 2021.

Pakistan reports 901 coronavirus cases, 23 deaths in 24 hours

Pakistan has reported 23 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 954,743. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 22,211 on Sunday.

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 901 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Province-wise Details

Punjab remains the worst-hit province in terms of deaths and cases followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Till now 10,721 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab 5,410 in Sindh, 4,304 in KP, 776 in Islamabad, 582 in Azad Kashmir, 307 in Balochistan, and 111 in GB.

Furthermore 345,796 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 335,555 in Sindh, 137,628 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 82,565 in Islamabad, 27,003 in Balochistan, 20,212 in Azad Kashmir and 5,984 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Tests and Recoveries

Pakistan has so far conducted 14,416,394 coronavirus tests and 44,544 in the last 24 hours. 900,291 patients have recovered in the country whereas 1,941 patients are in critical condition.

 

Corona claims 36 more lives, 935 new cases report in pakistan within a day

The COVID-19 pandemic claimed 36 more lives in Pakistan over the past 24 hours, pushing the nationwide death toll to 22,188.

A total of 935 new cases of the virus emerged when 46,842 samples were tested during this period, taking the country’s caseload to 953,842.
The number of people who have recovered from the disease since the first case of the pandemic was reported in the country climbed to 898,944 after 1,110 more people recuperated in the last 24 hours.

As of June 26, as many as 11,440,648 people have been partially vaccinated against the deadly infection while 2,725,240 fully vaccinated, the NCOC said.

A total of 14,165,288 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered across Pakistan thus far.

On Friday, NCOC head Asad Umar foresaw a fourth wave of Covid-19 hitting Pakistan in July.

In a statement on his official Twitter account, the planning and development minister said a meeting of the NCOC reviewed an artificial intelligence-based disease modeling analysis.

“In the absence of strong SOP enforcement and continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July,” Umar said, urging people to adhere to the SOPs and get themselves vaccinated against the virus as soon as possible.

 

Microsoft to unveil first new Windows in six years

Microsoft Corp will show off on Thursday the first major revamp of its Windows operating system since 2015.

The software that turned Microsoft into a household name and dominated personal computers for years has been overtaken in popularity by devices using Apple and Google software, but it is still core to Microsoft’s strength in the corporate market.

And the upgraded operating system may also appeal to individuals, who have helped drive sales of PCs sharply higher over the past year due to work-from-home practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Analysts expect the successor to Windows 10 to be called Windows 11 and to contain updates for business users that could make it easier to use with dual-monitor setups. It may also hold updates for PC gamers, another important customer base for Microsoft, including an Xbox app.

Microsoft may also give more details at Thursday’s online launch event on its plans for a revamped Windows Store.

The company recently cut commissions on games sold through the store to 12 per cent, lower than the 15pc it takes on regular apps, and has been a vocal critic of Apple Inc’s App Store, which charges 30pc commissions and requires developers to use Apple’s in-app payments systems.

Windows powered Microsoft’s rise in the 1990s as PCs became a fixture among businesses and consumers. But the operating system took a back seat to Apple’s iOS and Alphabet Inc’s Google as mobile phones displaced PCs as the primary computing device for billions of users.

Windows remains one of the biggest platforms in the technology world, with Microsoft’s personal computing segment, which includes Windows revenue from businesses and consumers, accounting for $48.2 billion of its $143 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year.

Windows 10, the most recent version, has 1.3 billion users, nearly as many as Apple’s total installed device base of 1.65 billion users but less than half of Alphabet’s 3 billion Android users.

Among PCs and laptops, Windows lost some market share in 2020 to Google’s Chromebooks as schools opted for cheaper devices for online learning but still retained greater than 80pc market share, according to data firm IDC.

Pakistan gets $4.5bn facility for oil, LNG imports

Pakistan has secured a $4.5 billion worth of three-year trade financing facility from Jeddah-based Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to cover import cost of crude, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

A formal financing framework agreement on the arrangement would be signed early next week here, informed sources told Dawn. The funds would be utilised under Annual Financing Plan of roughly $1.5bn each. This trade financing arrangement is in addition to about $531 million already signed by Ministry of Economic Affairs with Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) for project financing of Mohmand dam, a couple of coal based projects besides a few hydropower projects including two in Azad Kashmir.

The ITFC’s financing would be utilised over three years (2021-23) by Pak-Arab Refinery Ltd (Parco), Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) for import of crude oil, refined petroleum pro­ducts and LNG and help augment the country’s foreign currency reserves and provide resources to meet the oil import bill.

Pakistan’s oil import bill has amounted to about $10bn in first 11 months of the current fiscal year but has been rising in recent months because of increasing trend in the international oil prices. In first 11 months, Pakistan has imported about $2.5bn each worth of LNG and crude oil besides $4.5bn worth of refined petroleum products.

ITFC is a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group and provides trade financing to member countries after putting together funds from financial institutions in the Middle East. The sources said Pakistan had last year signed a $1.1bn trade financing facility for the current year but could not be fully utilised due to lower international oil prices, depressed demand in Pakistan and limitations of the refineries in availing Arabian Crude.

The sources said the financing cost for the upcoming financing facility would be lower than the existing one given substantial surplus liquidity of the banks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia because of constrained business activities in the wake of ongoing Covid-19 wave. The existing facility envisaged 2.3pc plus London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor).

The source said the two sides may cover the agricultural commodities as well including DAP fertiliser in addition to existing pipeline of crude, oil products and liquefied natural gas. The sources said the ITFC had also committed in April 2018 a similar financing line for Pakistan for 2018-20 but utilisation finally could not cross $3bn as private refineries were unable to import crude under the facility as it was mostly limited to Parco and to some extent PSO.

Before 2018, the ITFC’s financing was available only to Pak-Arab Refinery which was expanded to Pakistan State Oil in 2018. Last year, PLL was also included in the arrangement for the first time. ITFC had a limited portfolio of about a billion dollars of its own and normally arranged funds from other private financial institutions. Some of the other major recipients of the ITFC’s trade facility have been Indonesia, Egypt and Bangladesh.

The facility is expected to provide relief in oil and gas import bill and ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Under the facility, funds do not come into Pakistan’s account but ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves. These funds would be used for financing of letters of credit for oil and LNG imports by PSO, Parco and PLL.

Turkish, US officials discuss security plans for Kabul airport

Turkish and US military officials met in Ankara on Thursday to discuss plans for Turkish troops to continue securing Kabul’s airport after the withdrawal of US and other Nato troops from Afghanistan.

Turkey, Nato’s only majority-Muslim member, has offered to protect and run the Hamid Karzai airport. the main gateway into Afghanistan after the alliance pulls out of the country.

Turkey, which has around 500 non-combat troops in Afghanistan, is however, seeking US and other allies support for the mission.

Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of a Nato summit that Turkey was looking for diplomatic, logistic and financial assistance from the United States to protect and operate the airport. Turkey also wanted Pakistan and Hungary to be involved in the mission, he said.

Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said a technical delegation from the United States had arrived for talks.

“We will continue to take on the responsibility of operating the Hamid Karzai international airport, which we have been doing for the past six years, if the necessary conditions are met,” Akar said.

Discussions on this matter are continuing. No decisions have been reached for now.

Akar said: We want to achieve the best result for the interests of our country and for those of Afghanistan. Thats what we are working for. Our aim is to continue working for the security, peace and welfare of our Afghan brothers.

Critics see Turkeys offer to operate the airport as being part of an effort by Erdogan’s government to mend ties with the United States which have deteriorated over an array of disagreements.

Those have centred on Turkey’s purchase of Russian weapons and US support to Syrian Kurdish fighters which Ankara says are linked to a Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey. They question the safety of the Turkish non-combat forces there.

Many die, 100 go missing as 12-storey building collapses in Florida

A 12-storey oceanfront apartment block in Florida partially collapsed on Thursday, killing an unspecified number of residents and leaving almost 100 unaccounted for as teams of rescuers combed the rubble for possible victims.

Video footage posted online showed a large portion of the building in the town of Surfside — just north of Miami Beach — reduced to rubble, with the apartments’ interiors exposed.

It was unclear what caused the building to collapse, nor how many people were inside at the time, since it was occupied by a mix of full-time and seasonal residents and renters.

“It’s hard to get a count on it,” a local official told CNN. “It is 51 people who were supposedly, supposedly, residing there at the time (and) have not either called out or had people call in to reach them.

“But you don’t know between vacations or anything else. So we’re still waiting. And unfortunately, the hope is still there, but it’s waning,” she said.

Around 55 apartments were affected by the collapse, according to Miami-Dade fire rescue official Ray Jadallah. He told a news conference that emergency services arrived at the scene at around 1.30am and evacuated 35 people from the building.

Some residents were able to walk down the stairs to safety while others had to be rescued from their balconies.

Surfside mayor Charles Burkett said 14 survivors had been recovered from the rubble. The search phase of operations concluded by sundown and the focus shifted to recovery of possible victims amid the rubble, in a massive operation assisted by drones and dogs and involving both police and firefighter units.

“Apparently when the building came down it pancaked, so there’s just not a lot of voids that they’re finding or seeing from the outside,” mayor Burkett said on an NBC show.

Surfside’s town manager Andrew Hyatt told the news conference that search operations could last a week.

Four Argentinians — three adults and a six-year-old girl — were among those unaccounted for, according to the country’s foreign ministry.

Like ‘a bomb went off’

Surfside’s mayor said the reasons for the collapse were still unclear.

“It looks like a bomb went off, but we’re pretty sure a bomb didn’t go off, so it’s something else,” Burkett said.

Miami resident Nicolas Fernandez, 29, said he has yet to hear from friends who were staying overnight in a unit that his family owns in the building.

“The one day that they decided to stay there overnight is the one day that this happened,” he said.

Fernandez said that when his mother called him in the early hours to say the building had collapsed, he thought it was a joke — and hung up.

“She calls me again and tells me: `Nico, you know I would never joke about this. I need you to go over there.’ We came running.”

One witness, 25-year-old Julian Targowski, described the sound of the collapse.

“It was like a very bass-y, like boom boom, boom boom, that kind of thing,” he told a television channel.

Sindh Assembly approves budget 2021-21 amid opposition protest

Sindh Assembly on Friday approved the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2020-21, amid ruckus from the opposition benches.

The house met with Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the chair. The opposition members were asked for speeches by the speaker, but they denied and started raising slogans in the house.

The opposition parties’ lawmakers surrounded the speaker’s rostrum and pasted banners with various slogans.

The behaviour of opposition parties compelled Speaker Durrani to suspend all the speeches and gave the floor to CM Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah.

After the concluding speech of the chief minister, the Sindh assembly approved the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 during the hue and cry of the opposition.

Later, the house was adjourned till Monday.

Sindh budget 2021-22

On June 15, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of Finance Minister, had presented the budget of the province for the next fiscal year 2021-22.

The total outlay of the budget for the province is estimated at Rs1.477 trillion, witnessing an increase of 19.1 percent from the previous year.

The total receipts of the province for Financial Year 2021-22 are estimated at Rs.1.452 trillion as against a budget estimate of Rs.1.22 trillion for CFY, showing an overall increase of 19 percent.

Underdogs Multan Sultans thrash Peshawar Zalmi to win maiden PSL title

Multan Sultans triumphed over Peshawar Zalmi in the final to win their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title in a see-saw kind of game at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

At the start of the innings, Zalmi, who were chasing a target of 207, made a blistering start courtesy Kamran Akmal's 36.

Zalmi needed a herculean effort by their batsmen to chase the record-breaking target in the PSL final and Akmal gave hope to his team till the fifth over.

Zalmi were 36 for the loss of no wickets at that point and all those runs were scored by the veteran wicketkeeper.

Hazratullah Zazai, the other opener, was looking to join the party when he hit Blessing Muzarabani for a six from the first ball of the sixth over. However, in the very next ball, Zazai was removed by the Zimbabwean to give the Sultans their first wicket.

Imran Khan then bowled a wicket-taking maiden sixth over to put Zalmi further under pressure. The bowler in the over removed the dangerous Akmal from the very first delivery.

Then Rilee Rossouw, who had started with the bat for Multan, removed Jonathan Wells with a run out during the 10th over to tilt the final in the Sultans' favour.

In the 11th over, Imran Khan removed Shoaib Malik but the decision was overturned after replays showed that the pacer had overstepped.

The mistake proved to be too costly for the Sultans as Malik then made the side pay for their mistake.

West Indian Rovman Powell was giving good company to Malik but he was removed by Muzarabani during the 15th over.

All the while the Sultans knew that Malik was key for them if they wanted to lay their hands on their first PSL trophy.

And it was the experienced Sohail Tanvir who removed the veteran all-rounder from the first ball of the 16th over. But Malik had taken his side far enough to make Zalmi dream of victory at that point. They needed 70 runs from the last 29 balls at the time.

After Malik's dismissal, Sherfane Rutherford decided to charge at the Multan bowlers.

Once again, it was experience that really counted in the situation.

Imran Tahir, during the 17th over, removed the dangerous Rutherford, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Imran to end the little hope that Zalmi had of clinching their second PSL title.

In the next over, Imran Khan took Zalmi's ninth wicket to take his side closer to the finish line.

Getting 56 runs in the last 16 balls proved too much for the last two Zalmi batsmen.

The Sultans triumphed over Zalmi by 48 runs to win their first PSL title.

Multan Sultans' innings

Earlier, a 98-run partnership between Sohaib Maqsood and Rilee Rossouw powered the Sultans to 206-4 after their team was asked to bat first by Zalmi.

The first over of the final was bowled by Sameen Gul and it could have been a maiden had he not bowled a wide off his first ball.

The first boundary was hit by Mohammad Rizwan against Mohammad Irfan in the second over. The Sultans' captain was also the one to hit the first six of the final.

The openers, Rizwan and Shan Masood, were struggling to take off against the Irfan-Sameen duo till the third over of the match. It was in the fourth over that the openers found some flow and started finding boundaries easily.

However, it was youngster Mohammad Imran who stepped in for his team and removed Masood and Rizwan in the 9th and 11th over. Masood departed after making 30 while Rizwan was removed for 30.

The dismissals would have given hope to Zalmi that their bowlers would stop the flow of runs and take more wickets to put the pressure back on the Sultans.

However, Sohaib Maqsood and Rilee Rossouw did not give any space for the Zalmi bowlers to capitalise on the two quick wickets.

The duo built a partnership of 98 runs and by the time Rossouw was dismissed in the 18th over, the Sultans had crossed 180 runs. The South African was dismissed by Gul shortly after completing his half-century.

On the very next ball, Gul removed Johnson Charles for a duck to putthe Sultans four down.

In the last over, Maqsood and Khudhil Shah hit Ammad Butt for 21 runs to take the Sultans to 206 for four.

Maqsood ended the innings as the Sultans' highest run-scorer with an unbeaten 65.

Playing XI

Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Roussouw, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani, Imran Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani

Peshawar Zalmi: Hazratullah Zazai, Kamran Akmal (wk), Jonathan Wells, Shoaib Malik, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Amad Butt, Wahab Riaz (c), Sameen Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Imran

Terrorists attack FC vehicle in Balochistan's Sibi, five soldiers martyred: ISPR

Five Frontier Corps soldiers have been martyred in an attack by terrorists in Sibi, Balochistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, confirmed in a statement on Friday.

The terrorists targeted an FC patrol party in Sangan, District Sibi.

During an exchange of fire, heavy losses were inflicted on to the terrorists in men and materials, the ISPR statement said.

The martyred soldiers were: havildar Zafar Ali Khan, a resident of Lakki Marvat, lance naik Hidayatullah, a resident of Lakki Marvat, lance naik Nasir Abbas, a resident of Bhakkar, lance naik Basheer Ahmed, a resident of Naseerabad and sepoy Noor Ullah, a resident of Lakki Marvat.

A sanitization and search operation is in progress to "block the escape routes of the terrorists and apprehend the perpetrators", the ISPR said.

"Such cowardly acts by inimical elements, backed by hostile intelligence agencies, cannot sabotage the hard earned peace and prosperity in Balochistan," the ISPR statement read, adding that security forces were determined to neutralise their nefarious designs even at the cost of blood and lives.

PAKISTAN REPORTS 1,052 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 44 MORE DEATHS

44 more people have lost their lives to COVID-19 over the past 24 hours in Pakistan, pushing the nationwide death toll to 22,152.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 1,052 new cases of the virus emerged during the said period. The overall number of the confirmed cases currently stands at 952,907.
As many as 45,924 samples were tested during this period, taking the country’s overall tests to 14,325,008.

It said Pakistan recorded Covid-19 infection rate at 2.29 during the last 24 hours.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease since the first case of the pandemic was reported in Pakistan has climbed to 897,834 after 1,013 more people recuperated in the last 24 hours.

Mildy ill young COVID-19 patients report lasting symptoms
More than half of young adults with mild COVID-19 who self-isolated at home were still reporting troublesome after-effects six months later, a study from Norway published on Wednesday in Nature Medicine found.

Read more: ECC okays supplementary grant to cope with Covid-19

The study included 312 COVID-19 survivors over age 16, with illnesses of varying severity. Overall, at six months, 189 patients, or 61%, reported persistent symptoms. Of the 61 patients between the ages of 16 and 30 who had only been mildly ill, 32 (52%) continued to have symptoms at six months, including loss of taste and smell (28%), fatigue (21%), trouble breathing (13%), impaired cognition (13%) and memory problems (11%).

IMF says further discussions with Pakistan on fiscal spending plans, structural reforms needed

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said that further discussions with Pakistan are needed on Pakistan's fiscal spending plans, structural reforms, particularly in the tax and energy sectors, and social spending.

According to IMF spokesman Gerry Rice, the Fund is holding open, constructive discussions with Pakistan as part of a sixth review of the country's 39-month, $6 billion financing programme that began in 2019.

Rice declined to say if disbursements under that programme had been halted.

IMF staff were unable to complete the talks during a recent mission, but the global lender remained “fully engaged” and aimed to resume the discussions in the period ahead, Rice told a regular IMF briefing.

“We stand ready to continue to support Pakistan,” he said. “As the recovery gains strength, it will be important to accelerate the implementation of policies and reforms needed to address some of the long-standing challenges facing the Pakistani economy.”

Pakistani authorities and IMF, for the time being, have agreed to continue talks to narrow down differences, but the IMF-sponsored programme has been put on halt mode as the international money lender has conveyed that the sixth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be accomplished in September this year instead of July 2021.

Following allegations by former finance minister Miftah Ismail that the IMF programme had been suspended, the Ministry for Finance had issued a statement to clarify that this was not the case.

In a statement, the ministry said that the IMF team will visit Pakistan in August and review the economic performance of the country.

The ministry also said that Pakistan completed all the targets given by the Fund in March and claimed Pakistan had an excellent performance during the outgoing fiscal year.

Last week, Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin ruled out the possibility of Pakistan's exit from the IMF programme, during his discussion with the Senate Standing Committee on Finance in Parliament House

Pakistan this month set a growth target of 4.8% for the 2021-22 financial year and a fiscal deficit target of 6.3%.

The country surpassed growth projections in the 2020-21 financial year despite a third wave of COVID-19 infections, reaching GDP growth of 3.96%, after a 0.47% contraction in 2019-20.

Nawaz's pleas in Al Azizia, Avenfield corruption references dismissed by IHC

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday dismissed pleas by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif against the imprisonment sentences announced in the Al Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield apartments references.

IHC judges Justice Umar Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar pronounced a nine-page judgment that was earlier reserved after listening of arguments from the National Accountability Bureau prosecutor and amicus curiae.

The verdict means that the judgments pronounced by the accountability court for the two cases have been upheld.

According to the IHC judgment, Nawaz is a proclaimed offender and so "there was no choice but to dismiss the pleas" owing to his continued disappearance from court.

The judgment observed that if Nawaz returns or is caught by the authorities, an application for a renewal of appeals can be filed.

The former prime minister had filed appeals with the IHC against the decisions of the accountability court.

Accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir had on July 6, 2018, convicted Nawaz in the Avenfield reference and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

However, an IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb suspended the sentence in the reference and later granted him bail allowing him to travel abroad for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, accountability judge Mohammad Arshad Malik had on Dec 24, 2018 convicted Sharif in the Al Azizia reference and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment, besides imposing fines of Rs1.5 billion and $25 million.

He was acquitted in a joint reference with the Al Azizia reference — the Flagship investment reference.

Reacting to the development, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said that the "sluggish" Opposition does not pose any threat to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said that the PTI had won the 2018 general elections with the mandate of bringing back the wealth that was looted from the country.

"This crippled Opposition cannot topple the government," the minister said.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior and Accountability Shahzad Akbar said that the government has once more reached out to the British government for the deportation of Nawaz.

He said that the PML-N supremo has applied for an extension in stay based on medical grounds, adding that if the UK does decide to deport him, he will have the right to appeal the ruling.

Akbar said that the Pakistan government has informed Britain that Nawaz is a convicted felon.

The accountability adviser said that Nawaz had gone to London on a visit visa and British law dictates that no one can stay on a visit visa beyond six months.

He said that Nawaz Sharif "is not ill, he is healthy" and must appear before the court.

"If the court acquits him, we will not object," he said.

Akbar said that Nawaz must let the government know who poses a threat to his life, and he will be provided security.

"Even if he needs a bullet proof vehicle, we will provide it. But he must return to Pakistan," the adviser said.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry hailed the verdict, terming it a "victory for the people of Pakistan".

He said Nawaz and his family "must return the wealth stolen" from the nation.

The minister said that Maryam Nawaz's sworn affidavit "was fake".

He further declared today's decision to be a triumph for the PTI's stance.

"Nawaz Sharif is an absconder and he has been fined but he is unwilling to pay it," he added.

Kulbhushan Jadhav case: ICJ review and reconsideration bill presented in Senate

The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Bill, meant to provide the right of appeal to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, was presented in the Senate on Thursday. The bill had been passed by the National Assembly last week.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan introduced the bill in the House, which was criticised by the Opposition. Following this, the Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani referred the bill to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

The bill states that where the International Court of Justice issues an order regarding the rights of foreigners, the high court will have the power to review and reconsider it and the affected foreigner will be able to file a petition for review in the high court either themselves or through their representative.

The petition will be filed with reference to punishment or order of punishment by a military court under the Pakistan Army Act. A review or reconsideration request will be filed within 60 days of the military court's order.

Per the bill, the high court will examine whether the foreign national has been discriminated against in terms of defence, right to testify, fair trial, and denial of consular access.

The aims and objectives of the bill stated that India has approached the International Court of Justice regarding Jadhav's trial, adding that the decision of the ICJ requires Pakistan to provide a review mechanism to such prisoners.

Commenting on the bill, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the PTI-led government did not take the Opposition into confidence when passing the bill in the National Assembly last week.

"The PPP will not be a facilitator in Jhadav's case because the bill was prepared by the government behind closed doors," he said while speaking to the media in Karachi.

Bilawal added that if the government wishes to grant the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to Jhadav, PM Imran Khan should do it himself without expecting the cooperation of his party.

Bilawal also shed light on issues related to Afghanistan and said that the Parliament should be informed about the deal that the PTI-led government has struck with Afghanistan.

PML-N’S KHAWAJA ASIF RELEASED ON BAIL

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif has been released from jail custody, reported on Thursday.Khawaja Asif is facing assets beyond known sources of income charges.

MNA Khawaja Asif through his counsel Barrister Haider Rasul Mirza filed the petition which stated that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested him from Islamabad last year on December 29.
The PML-N stalwart is currently under treatment at the Jinnah Hospital Lahore. Seeing the release orders, the jail police left the hospital.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Asif in assets beyond means case.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Aliya Neelum, approved the bail petition after hearing arguments of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor and the PML-N leader’s lawyer.

The NAB prosecutor contended before the court that the accused neither provided money trail of funds transferred to him from the UAE nor disclosed the sources through which these were transferred.

The bench observed that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had made the documents that support its case part of the record while those in favour of Member of the National Assembly Asif were not made part of it. The bureau accepts a work permit but not its conditions, the court said.

Corona claims 38 more lives in pakistan within a day

The COVID-19 has claimed 38 more lives in Pakistan over the past 24 hours, pushing the nationwide death toll to 22,111.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 1,097 new cases of the virus emerged during the said period. The overall number of the confirmed cases currently stands at 951,865.
As many as 46,124 samples were tested during this period, taking the country’s overall tests to 14,279,084.

It said the Covid-19 infection rate was recorded at 2.37.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease since the first case of the pandemic was reported in the country climbed to 896,821 after 1,131 more people recuperated in the last 24 hours.

As of June 24, as many as 7,267,000 people have been partially vaccinated against the deadly infection while 3,566,547 fully vaccinated, the NCOC said.

A total of 13,484,364 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered across Pakistan thus far.

Meanwhile, the second batch of Pakvac vaccine has been produced and will be available for use in the next couple of days after approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), said sources on Wednesday.

According to sources privy to the matter, the Pakistani experts solely manufactured the second batch of the vaccine which is based on the formula of single-dose Chinese vaccine-Cansino. “Previously, the first batch was manufactured with the help of the Chinese experts,” they said.

The second batch of the vaccine, according to sources, would be handed over to the government in phases after approval from the DRAP and added that the regulatory authority would issue an NCLB Lot release certificate besides it being examined by the National Control Laboratory for Biologicals.

LHC grants bail to Khawaja Asif in money laundering and assets beyond means case

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to PML-N's senior leader Khawaja Asif in an inquiry into assets beyond means and money laundering initiated against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

A two member bench of the LHC, comprising Justice Alia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, announced the verdict, ordering Asif's release from jail upon the submission of a bail bond worth Rs10 million.

"The instant petition is accepted and the petitioner is admitted to post-arrest bail subject to his furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs10m with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court," reads the short court order.

Arguments on the PML-N leader's bail application were completed in three days.

Senior PML-N leadership took to Twitter to celebrate the decision. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Asif on his release.

"Khawaja sahab belongs to our vanguard which is not afraid of prisons or chains.

"The politics of revenge in the name of accountability has been exposed once again today with the release of Khawaja Asif on bail!" said the PML-N president.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said the PML-N leader did not abandon party chief Nawaz Sharif despite confronting "political revenge".

"The selected ruler of the time was unsuccessful in breaking Nawaz Sharif and his companions and embarrassment has embraced him today as well."

Court hearing

During the hearing at the LHC today, the NAB prosecutor argued that the PML-N leader had been elected as a senator in 1991 and his assets in 1993 had amounted to Rs5.1m. He added that Asif continued to be elected as an MNA from 1993 to 2018.

He said the PML-N leader had earned Rs50m from a local business, earned a total income close to Rs333m and had invested Rs157m. Meanwhile, Asif's total expenses had been Rs454m, said the NAB prosecutor.

"The income is Rs333m and the expenditure is Rs454m. A negative balance is showing for Khawaja Asif," he said, adding that Asif had received money from Dubai and details of its nature and money trail were not provided.

"Was the money that came in Khawaja Asif's account in dollars or rupees?" questioned Justice Neelum upon which she was told that dollars were received and were later converted into rupees.

The NAB prosecutor said that the Federal Investigation Agency had only investigated the issue of the PML-N leader's iqama (work permit) and the salary associated with it while NAB was investigating the assets beyond means case.

"What evidence does NAB have that Khawaja Asif misused his authority?" asked Justice Neelum to which the NAB prosecutor responded: "NAB does not have a case of kickbacks and corruption against Khawaja Asif."

The NAB prosecutor informed the court that Asif's negative balance had reduced to Rs150m from Rs230m, adding that while this was not mentioned in the investigation report, there were documents available to support it.

"A different view is appearing in NAB's two answers. You will have to tell how much money Khawaja Asif deposited in the accounts. At the moment we have two contradictory answers of NAB," said Justice Neelum.

The bench further asked why the time and duration had been changed between the reports to which it was told: "It was NAB's goodwill that it reduced Khawaja Asif's controversial amount."

The bench also pointed out that on the one hand, NAB had told the court the investigation was ongoing while on the other hand, the prosecutor had stated that the reference had been sent to the anti-graft watchdog's chairman for final approval.

"What is all this? Say one thing," Justice Neelam said.

The prosecutor stated that the PML-N leader used to receive a salary of 9,000 AED from the international company.

The NAB prosecutor informed the court that a letter had been written to the company that employed Asif but they had not joined the investigation.

Meanwhile, Asif's lawyer presented a copy of his work permit in court, arguing instead, that Asif used to receive a salary of Rs87m from the company.

The prosecutor said NAB had been asking Asif for information but he had refused to provide it. Upon this, Justice Neelum asked him to "open your eyes a bit, all this is written on the iqama."

The NAB prosecutor said the anti-corruption body did not consider the work permit to be valid because it was not verified to which the bench replied that the court had gotten the verification done.

NAB had arrested Asif in Islamabad on Dec 29, 2020 and later shifted him to Lahore where he remained on physical remand till Jan 22.

The accountability watchdog has alleged that Asif had failed to explain the sources of his income and assets. It had said he was first elected senator in 1991 when his assets stood at around Rs5 million. It said Asif's assets had swelled to Rs221m by 2018, which were beyond the known sources of his income.

It added that Asif had yet to disclose the source of income of a foreign remittance he received from Dubai amounting to Rs100m.

In a bail petition sought from the LHC in March, Asif's legal counsel contended that the petitioner, during his 22-day physical remand with the NAB, had not been confronted with any evidence that could prove that he owned assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The petition had contended that no recovery had been made from Asif that could connect him with the allegations of corruption as alleged in the grounds of his arrest. It had asked the court to release the petitioner on bail.

PM's comment on women's dressing reflects his 'criminal mentality: Maryam

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday over his recent statement in which the premier said men are "tempted" when women wear less clothes and hence, it leads to a rise in sexual violence in society.

"Imran Khan's statement is a reflection of a criminal mindset. He has revealed his shallow thinking to the nation," said Maryam, hitting out at the premier during a press conference in Lahore.

The PML-N leader said Pakistan needed freedom from a mentality that held the victim of a violent incident to blame.

"What of the little children that are sexually abused; are they subjected to it [sexual violence] because of their dressing?" she asked.

Maryam said the prime minister "should be ashamed over such a statement".

The PML-N leader accused PM Khan of insulting rape victims, adding that his words would add insult to injury for parents of the victims of these tragedies.

"They will be ashamed as you (prime minister) have held them responsible," she said.

When asked about her father's return, Maryam said if she was provided a guarantee that Nawaz Sharif's life would not be in danger, she would call him back to the country this instant.

Taking a jibe at the government, she said the fourth finance minister of the incumbent regime had presented its third federal budget.

She condemned the Lahore bomb blast and paid tribute to the police for sacrificing their lives in the line of duty.

In an interview with Axios's Johnathan Swan, PM Imran Khan had said: "If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on men .... Unless they're robots. I mean, it's common sense."

"Yes, but will it really provoke acts of sexual violence?" asked Swan.

"It depends which society you live in," answered PM Imran Khan. "If in a society, people haven't seen that sort of a thing, it will have an impact on them," he added.

He had brushed off accusations against him of rape victim blaming as "nonsense" and said the concept of purdah is to avoid temptation in society.

"We don’t have discos here, we don’t have nightclubs, so it is a completely different society, way of life here, so if you raise temptation in society to the point and all these young guys have nowhere to go, it has consequences in the society," PM Khan had said.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a day earlier, had said the clothes a woman wears or the way she dresses, has nothing to do with the sexual violence she is subjected to.

The PPP chairman, speaking to media at the Parliament Tuesday, said the prime minister's remarks were "disappointing". Bilawal called on people to stand with victims of rape and sexual abuse.

"Such crimes should not be linked to a single cause ... the clothes of a person have no link with rape or abuse," he said.

Bilawal delved into the prime minister's statement, stressing that the law for those found guilty of sexual abuse and rape should be the same.

"Imran Khan's statements before and after coming into power are different .... He was a coward since day one," said the PPP leader.

Azerbaijan, Turkey appreciate Pakistan's efforts for peace in Afghanistan

Officials in Azerbaijan and Turkey on Wednesday appreciated Pakistan for its role in promoting peace in the region, especially the country’s efforts for bringing peace in Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa held a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Internal Affairs Colonel General Eyvazov Vilayat Suleyman oglu, the country’s Chief of State Border Service (SBS) Colonel General Elchin Guliyev and Chief of State Security Service Colonel General Ali Naghi Oglu Naghiyev at Baku, Azerbaijan today.

The military’s media wing said that the Azeri officials and the army chief discussed “matters of mutual interest, bilateral defence and security cooperation, regional peace and stability, and cooperation in energy, trade and connectivity projects”.

“Emerging geo-strategic paradigm in the region necessitates our close cooperation and collective response against common challenges,” Gen Bajwa told the officials. He also called for an increase in the “mutually beneficial engagements at all levels and forums” between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

The ISPR said that the Azeri officials recognised the high standards of professionalism of the Pakistan Army. They also lauded the army for its “contributions for conflict prevention in the region especially efforts for bringing peace in Afghanistan”.

Gen Bajwa in Turkey

After his trip to Azerbaijan, Gen Bajwa landed in Turkey for a day-long visit and met senior officials of the country.

The army chief, during the visit, held a meeting with Turkey’s Defence Minister General (retd) Hulusi Akar. Turkey’s Commander General Staff General Yasar Guler and Commander of Land Forces General Umit Dundar attended the meeting.

As per the ISPR, the Turkish officials and the army chief discussed matters of mutual interests, the regional security situation including the recent developments in the Afghan peace process, and bilateral defence and security cooperation.

The military’s media wing said that Gen Bajwa appreciated Turkey’s engagements with Pakistan, especially the ongoing efforts for peace in the region.

“Turkey is one of the key Muslim countries in the region and enhanced Pakistan-Turkey cooperation will have a positive impact on regional peace and stability,” Gen Bajwa told the Turkish officials.

The ISPR said that the Turkish officials appreciated Pakistan's positive role in regional peace and stability, especially the Afghan peace process. They also pledged to continue working on improving relations between the two countries.

Earlier on arrival, Gen Bajwa was also presented with a Guard of Honour by a smartly turned out military contingent.

PM Imran Khan chairs meeting at ISI headquarters

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday visited headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) along with senior federal ministers where he was briefed on the Afghan peace process, reported quoting sources.

According to sources privy to details, the prime minister chaired a high-level meeting at the ISI headquarters which was attended by heads of the armed forces and senior members of the federal cabinet.

“Those accompanied the prime minister in the meeting included Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed,” they said.

The prime minister, according to sources, was briefed on internal and external security issues including progress in the Afghan peace process.

On May 24, Prime Minister Imran Khan visited headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) along with federal ministers and other government functionaries.

In April last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan along with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Jawed Bajwa paid a visit to the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the capital.

They were received by ISI Director General Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid, according to the PM Office.

A comprehensive briefing covering the entire spectrum of internal and external challenges was given to the premier during the visit. He was also briefed on the impact of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The prime minister emphasized that no effort would be spared for the security, integrity, and sovereignty of Pakistan. He appreciated the sacrifices and contributions of the Inter-Services Intelligence being a superior state intelligence agency.

‘Bomb blast’ in Lahore’s Johar Town kills three, injures 23

At least three people, including a six-year-old boy, were killed while 23 others got injured in a blast outside a house in Lahore’s Johar Town area on Wednesday, reported.

Speaking to the media at the site of the blast, Punjab IG Inam Ghani confirmed that it was a bomb blast. “A bomb planted in a car went off. It cannot reach its target due to police barriers,” he said. “The police were the target of the bomb blast.
Earlier today, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mahmood Dogar visited the site of the blast and said the nature of the explosion has not yet been ascertained.

An eyewitness claimed some explosive material planted on a motorcycle went off.

Rescue sources relayed that the injured were shifted to the Jinnah Hospital for medical attention. Three of the injured are in critical condition, they added.

Seemingly, the sources said, the blast was caused by a main gas pipeline exploding in the residential area. However, it is yet not clear what exactly caused the blast. They said that the explosion was heard far and wide and was so powerful that the windowpanes of adjoining buildings were shattered.

A rickshaw and motorcycles parked nearby were completely destroyed by the blast, the police said. The site of the blast has been cordoned off with a bomb disposal squad collecting evidence.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar took notice of the blast and directed the provincial police chief to submit a report after conducting a thorough investigation into it.

He instructed that those responsible for the explosion be brought to justice at once and the best possible medical aid be provided to the injured. He called for declaring a medical emergency at the Jinnah Hospital and other health facilities in the provincial capital.

Corona claims 39 more lives, 930 fresh cases reports in 24 hrs

The coronavirus (COVID-19) claimed 39 more lives in Pakistan during the previous 24 hours, taking the nationwide death toll to 22,073.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 930 new cases of the virus emerged when 45,519 samples were tested during this period, taking the country’s caseload to 950,768.

It said the Covid-19 infection rate was recorded at 2.04.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease since the first case of the pandemic was reported in the country climbed to 895,690 after 1,338 more people recuperated in the last 24 hours.

As of June 23, as many as 7,267,000 people have been partially vaccinated against the deadly infection while 3,566,547 fully vaccinated, the NCOC said.

A total of 13,484,364 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered across Pakistan thus far.

Pakistan to receive 13 mln doses of Pfizer vaccine

Pakistan has made an agreement to procure 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer.

An exact timeline was not yet available, health minister Faisal Sultan told Reuters, but said the doses would arrive by the end of 2021, under an agreement the government has made with the manufacturer.

Pakistan has started a mass vaccination campaign late last month that is now open to all adults.

On May 29, Pakistan received 100,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX facility, but authorities have only administered those to people who are immunocompromised and not suitable for other vaccines.

Nearly 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country of 220 million people so far, with about 3.5 million people fully vaccinated, according to the National Command Operation Center, which is overseeing the pandemic response.

Pakistan has primarily used Chinese vaccines – Sinopharm, CanSinoBio and Sinovac- in its inoculation drive and, earlier this month began allowing those under 40 to receive AstraZeneca, of which it has a limited supply meant for people traveling to countries that require it.

Earlier this month Pakistan approved spending $1.1 billion on procuring vaccines, part of its goal to inoculate at least 70 million people.

Govt of Pakistan and Facebook partner to fight COVID misinformation

Government of Pakistan has partnered with Facebook in their fight against COVID-19.

In Pakistan, over 32 million people received authoritative information regarding COVID prevention and vaccination through social media messaging campaigns conducted by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information’s Digital Media Wing (DMW) in partnership with Facebook.

Facebook provided Marketing Partner Support and Ad Credits for these campaigns and helped the government increase its engagement rates with the public on these posts between March 16 and April 6, 2021.

As part of these campaigns, Facebook and the Ministries focused on creating videos and messages on boosting greater Vaccine Confidence amongst the nation. The messaging campaigns helped the Ministry of Health increase its total number of page likes to 470,000 – increasing the government’s ability to connect with and provide information to its stakeholders.

As COVID-19 vaccines are becoming more readily available to larger groups, Facebook launched new Facebook profile frames in partnership with the Ministry of Health that allow users to share their support for getting vaccinated with their family and friends. Research shows, when people see others who they know and trust getting the vaccine, they will be encouraged to do the same. This can be particularly effective when it comes to encouraging those who were otherwise unsure about getting themselves vaccinated.

Speaking in regard to the support extended by Facebook Dr. Faisal Sultan—Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health said, “We are appreciative of the support extended by Facebook in our fight against COVID-19. We reached 76% of our target population through our social media messaging campaigns. The pandemic has brought to the forefront the importance of using digital tools for transmitting critical health information to citizens and keeping them safe and healthy.”

Throughout the pandemic, Facebook has worked closely with the two ministries to direct people to authoritative COVID-19 information. A campaign to create awareness about spotting COVID related misinformation on social media was also launched in Urdu for the Facebook community in Pakistan in partnership with the Ministry of Information’s Digital Media Wing.

Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Information & Broadcasting stated, “We appreciate the hard work put in by the Ministry of Health and the Digital Media Wing of Government of Pakistan in bringing together an engaging campaign in partnership with Facebook. It is crucial to differentiate between information and misinformation in the age of digital communication. Facebook has supported the spread of accurate information through their drive of removing misinformation and fact checking of news. We hope to partner with Facebook in the future to ensure that the people of our nation are provided with accurate information.”

Facebook has worked to take aggressive steps to remove harmful misinformation and connect people to resources from health authorities. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Facebook removed more than 16 million pieces of content from Facebook and Instagram globally for violations against our policies on COVID-19-related misinformation and harm. Between March and October of 2020, Facebook displayed warnings on about 167 million pieces of content on Facebook worldwide based on COVID-19 related debunking articles written by our fact checking partners.

Globally, Facebook has connected over 2 billion people to resources from health authorities through the COVID-19 Information Center and pop-ups on Facebook and Instagram with over 600 million people clicking through to learn more.

On WhatsApp, over 3 billion messages have been sent by governments, nonprofits, and international organizations to citizens through the WhatsApp government chatbots on COVID 19.

 

Bitcoin slumps in wake of China crackdown

Bitcoin tumbled as much as nine per cent on Monday as recent volatility in the cryptocurrency market showed no signs of dampening down, with market players citing thin liquidity and China's expanding crackdown on Bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin fell as low as $32,288, its lowest in 12 days, and was last down 7.5pc. If sustained, the drop would be its biggest in around a month.

Authorities in the southwest province of Sichuan on Friday ordered cryptocurrency mining projects to close. The State Council, China's cabinet, last month vowed to clamp down on Bitcoin mining and trading as part of a series of measures to control financial risks.

"Crackdown on Chinese miners might mean that they are offloading coin into a thin market and taking us lower," said Ben Sebley of London-based crypto firm BCB Group.

Production of Bitcoin in China accounts for more than half of global Bitcoin production. Sichuan is China's second-biggest Bitcoin mining province, according to data compiled by the University of Cambridge. Some miners shift production there in the rainy summer to take advantage of its rich hydropower resources.

Companies that mine Bitcoin typically hold large inventories of the cryptocurrency, with any moves to sell large amounts depressing prices.

Bitcoin has dropped by over a fifth in the last six days, and is down by half from its April peak of almost $65,000. Still, it has gained over 10pc this year.

Smaller rival Ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation that tends to move in tandem with Bitcoin, dropped as much as 12pc, falling below $2,000 for the first time in almost a month. It was last down 10pc at $2025.31.

Raisi calls for ‘effective’ nuclear talks, rules out meeting with Biden

Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday he will not allow nuclear negotiations for the sake of negotiations, in his first news conference since winning election last week.

Raisi also ruled out meeting US President Joe Biden but said there were “no obstacles” to resuming diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia which have been severed for five years.“Any negotiations that guarantee national interests will certainly be supported, but... we will not allow negotiations to be for negotiations’ sake,” Raisi said of the nuclear talks. “Any meeting must produce a result... for the Iranian nation,” he added.

The 2015 deal saw Iran accept curbs on its nuclear capabilities in return for an easing of sanctions, but former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew three years later and ramped up sanctions, prompting the Islamic republic to pull back from its nuclear commitments.

Trump’s successor Biden has signalled his readiness to return to the deal and state parties — also including Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — have lately been negotiating its revival in Vienna.

The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said that there was “no reason to believe” that Raisi’s government would take “a different position” in the talks than its predecessor. When asked by a Russian media outlet whether he would meet Biden and try to “fix” issues between them in the event the nuclear talks lead to the US lifting sanctions on Iran, he replied, flatly: “No”.

Raisi also said his administration would be open to restoring ties with Iran’s regional foe Saudi Arabia.

“There are no obstacles from Iran’s side to re-opening embassies... there are no obstacles to ties with Saudi Arabia,” he said.

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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.

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."