Islamabad court dismisses Gill’s bail plea in sedition case

A District and Sessions court of Islamabad dismissed the post arrest bail petition of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill on Tuesday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal pronounced the reserved verdict.

Gill was arrested on August 9 in Islamabad after a sedition case was filed against him for inciting mutiny within the Pakistan Army. He was already facing sedition charges, but the Islamabad Police last week also registered a case against the PTI leader over possession of an illegal weapon.

His bail in the arms recovery case has already been approved.

Gill was booked in the case after police raided the incarcerated PTI leader's room in Parliament Lodges late Monday where they recovered weapons, a satellite phone, and foreign currency.

The PTI has repeatedly demanded that the party leader be released on bail, alleging that he is facing humiliation, torture and sexual abuse in police custody.

Gill, during the raid at his Parliament Lodge's residence, also told journalists that he had been sexually assaulted.

The party leader also asserted that he was denied treatment for asthma; however, the federal government and police have refuted the allegations.

 

13 people dead due to the turn of the boat in sindh still now

Deputy commissioner says death tolls rise to 13.Total of seven people, including children, drowned. Search for more people is underway.

The death toll from a boat that capsized while carrying flood affectees near Sindh’s Bilawalpur earlier today is presumed to have surpassed 10 after officials said on Monday a search for more people is underway.

The deputy commissioner said that the death tolls rose to 13; while eight people have been rescued. Rescue sources said that nearly 25 flood victims were being taken to the relief camps when the incident took place.

A total of seven people, including children, drowned as the boat capsized, their bodies have been rescued and recovered.

A huge relief operation is underway in Pakistan as the country struggles to deal with monsoon flooding that has affected more than 33 million people.

Officials said 1,136 people have died since June when the seasonal rains began, but the final toll could be higher as hundreds of villages in the mountainous north have been cut off by flood-swollen rivers washing away roads and bridges.

Officials said this year's flooding has affected more than 33 million people — one in seven Pakistanis — destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.

IHC suspends Pemra’s order to ban live telecast of Imran Khan’s speeches

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended the Pakis­tan Electronic Media Regu­latory Authority’s (Pemra) orders to ban the live telecast of Imran Khan’s speeches.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, after taking up the matter on an application filed by the former prime minister today, observed that the watchdog had “exceeded its authority” and directed Pemra to appoint an officer who could justify the ban in court.

On August 20, while addressing a rally in Islamabad to express solidarity with party leader Dr Shahbaz Gill facing proceedings in a sedition case, Imran warned the judiciary against its “biased” attitude and warned the judge who sent Mr Gill on physical remand to brace for consequences.

Subsequently, a ban was imposed on the live broadcast of Imran’s speeches on television and a case was also registered against him.

Sindh Govt announces free medical facility for flood affectees

Sindh government has announced free of charge medical facility for the flood-affected people at Dow Medical University Hospital in Karachi.

This was stated in a news release issued from Commissioner Karachi office on Monday.

In Sindh, so far 349 people have been killed by floods with over 170,000 houses destroyed and crops spanning 2,800,000 acres were severally damaged.

Pakistan Army has joined the national and provincial authorities in responding to the floods and COAS on visited the areas which has been hit heavily by the rains.

Shaukat Tarin allegedly directs Punjab, KP to withdraw from IMF deal

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shaukat Tarin has allegedly asked Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Ministers to backtrack from IMF commitments in order to pressurize federal government.

According to details, an audio clip has surfaced in which former finance minister was allegedly giving directions to provincial finance minister to derail International Monetary Fund deal.

In alleged audio, Shaukat Tarin said that they need to backtrack from Rs750 billion commitments and tell the lender that the commitment Punjab made was pre-floods and now the province "cannot honor it".

The PTI leader told the finance minister to draft a letter and send it to him for vetting so it could be sent to the federal government and later on to the IMF representative in Pakistan.

At Tarin’s request, Leghari asked whether Pakistan would suffer if Punjab withdraws from the deal.

"Well, frankly isn’t the state already suffering because of the way they are treating your chairman [Khan] and everybody else? IMF will definitely ask them: where will you get the money from now?" Tarin responded.

He further said that Centre is sending PTI leadership to jail and filing terrorism case. Tarin said that this could not go on further and the party could not bear being "mistreated" and not respond. "We cannot be blackmailed.

PM Shehbaz visits flood affectees in Nowshera

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has visited Nowshera to review operation in flood-affected areas.

During the visit, the prime minister would also distribute cheques of cash relief assistance among the flood-stricken people.

The PM has also been briefed by the relevant authorities on the damages and relief operations in the area. PM have also been informed about the relief camps arranged for the flood affected.

Apart from reviewing the relief work, the Prime Minister also met the flood victims.

 

Sedition case: Shahbaz Gill willing to apologise, lawyer says

Shahbaz Gill is willing to apologise for his controversial remarks, his lawyer told a district and sessions court in Islamabad.

On August 9, Gill was arrested from Banigala Chowk in the capital a day after making controversial remarks on a private TV channel. He was subsequently booked on charges of sedition and inciting members of state institutions against the Pakistan Army.

At the outset of the hearing, the Islamabad Capital City Police presented the case record in court as directed by the judge at the last hearing of his bail plea.

Additional District and Sessions judge Zafar Iqbal resumed the hearing on the bail plea this morning.

During the hearing, Gill's lawyer Burhan Moazzam asked if he can see the case records submitted in court by inspector Arshad.

The court directed the inspector to show the record to the lawyer. However, prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi objected that they cannot show the supplementary challan of the case.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing shortly.

After the hearing restarted, Gill's lawyer maintained that the police didn't show the statement recorded under Section 161.

"The police is showing all statements except for Gill's," the lawyer said.

At this, the court directed the police to show Gill's initial statement to the defence lawyer.

Death toll breaches 1061 mark as flash floods sweep country

Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan have killed over 1,061 people and injured and displaced thousands more.

Powerful flash floods in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caused the Kabul River to swell, sweeping away bridges overnight, cutting off some districts from road access.

Downstream, fears of flooding around the river banks prompted thousands in the district of Charsadda to flee their homes, according to disaster officials, with some spending the night on highways with their livestock, miles away from their inundated villages and towns.

The picturesque Kalam Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is one of the areas most affected by the rains and flooding. Waters from overflowing rivers swept away entire buildings, including an iconic hotel.

The monsoon season, which began earlier than normal this year, has lashed Pakistan with particularly heavy rains and rescuers have struggled to evacuate thousands of marooned people from flood-hit areas. The crisis forced the government to declare a state of emergency.

Historic monsoon rains and flooding have damaged more than 950,000 homes while over 800,000 animals were killed. Over 3,400km of roads and about 150 bridges were severely damaged.

In Balochistan all 34 districts of the province were badly affected by heavy rain and flooding and road networks were destroyed and bridges washed away and relief was only possible by deploying helicopters, which are not often able to operate because of bad weather.

Provincial officials have confirmed over 250 deaths but the number was expected to increase significantly after communications are restored.

In Punjab, the Rajanpur district appeared to be the hardest hit along with the district of Dera Ghazi Khan. Thousands of mud and brick houses were inundated by water, most of them completely demolished or at least partly destroyed.

Residents made homeless by the flood took shelter on higher ground, where they waited for relief goods and other help.

In Sindh, so far 349 people have been killed by floods with over 170,000 houses destroyed and crops spanning 2,800,000 acres were severally damaged.

Pakistan Army has joined the national and provincial authorities in responding to the floods and COAS on visited the areas which has been hit heavily by the rains.

 

PM summons 'emergency meeting' of Govt's allies

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called an "emergency meeting" of the government s allies to deliberate upon the current situation in the country.

The emergency meeting of the government allies will be held at the Prime Minister house at 6:00pm today (Monday).

The chief ministers of all provinces have also been invited to attend the meeting. The meeting will be also attended by the heads of the three armed forces.

According to media reports, the meeting will review the current flood situation in the country. Important decisions are expected to be taken during the meeting.

Pope Francis urges aid for flood-hit Pakistan

Pope Francis on Sunday called on the international community to help flood-hit Pakistan.

According to international media, his comments came as he visited the city of L'Aquila in central Italy, which was hit by an earthquake that killed more than 300 people in 2009.

The 85-year-old pope praised the people of L'Aquila's "resilience" and "dignity".

Pope Francis, who used a wheelchair during the visit, was due to return to the Vatican early this afternoon.

He will chair a meeting with cardinals from around the world on Monday and Tuesday, where they will discuss the future of the Catholic Church.

Monsoon floods: PM convenes APC on Monday

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has summoned an “All Parties Conference” (APC) over the ongoing flood disasters in the country, which will be held at the Prime Minister’s House on Monday.

The conference will discuss measures to tackle the calamity befallen on the people due to the monsoon brust and flooding across the country.

It should be noted that the humanitarian situation in Pakistan has deteriorated further over the past two weeks as heavy rains continue to cause flooding, over 1000 have died due to rain and flood disasters in the four provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan, while millions have been displaced.

Furthermore, crops on millions of acres have been completely destroyed and many houses have become piles of rubble

Death toll breaches 1030 mark as flash floods sweep country

Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across much of Pakistan have killed over 1,030 people and injured and displaced thousands more.

Floods continued to devastate the country on Sunday, particularly the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan leaving at least 119 people dead and more than 70 injured in the past 24 hours.

Floods have claimed over 1,030 lives, with 74 deaths reported in Sindh, 31 in K-P, six in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), four in Balochistan, and one in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

According to the data released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 32 children, 56 men and nine women are among those who died in the flood after the rains, while the number of victims has reached 5.77 million.

Over the past 24 hours, nearly 0.95 million houses and 0.72 million livestock were flooded while 0.27 million houses were destroyed and 3,116 kilometres of highways and 149 bridges were washed away.

According to media reports, 0.49 million people in Sindh, 0.45 million in Punjab, and 0.36 million in Balochistan have been affected by floods.

Meanwhile, two ships carrying relief goods from Turkiye are expected to arrive in Karachi tomorrow [Monday]. The Turkish Consul General in Karachi will hand over the relief goods to the Pakistani authorities at the airport tomorrow morning.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced on Sunday that various private mobile network services had been restored in the provincial capital of Balochistan, while efforts were underway “to restore services in other affected areas”.

Earlier this week, as the unprecedented vicious attacks triggered by climate change had continued unabated, leaving many marooned, the environmental crisis had robbed Balochistan of digital connectivity after almost cutting it off from the rest of the country physically.

PTI plotting against IMF deal: Shehbaz Sharif

Self-centred politics can cause irreparable damage to Pakistan as unfortunately, a party is playing politics over the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when the lender's board meeting is around the corner, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, without naming the PTI.

"I have never seen such self-centered politics; it will be a huge injustice with Pakistan and a big conspiracy against the country,” the premier said while referring to PTI on his visit to the flood victims in Sujawl, Sindh.

PM Shehbaz said that the federal government had allocated Rs38 billion in grant to support the flood-affected families with the disbursement of Rs25,000 to each of them.

Speaking to the flood victims, the prime minister said he had already announced Rs15 billion in grant to Sindh while the distribution of flood relief amount among the affected families had commenced in the province after Balochistan under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). “The BISP has complete data, ensuring prompt and fair distribution among the deserving families,” he added.

Assuring the provincial governments of the federal government’s support, the prime minister said other provinces would also be provided with grants. The prime minister was accompanied by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, federal ministers and relevant authorities.

The prime minister said the federal government had continued it efforts to support the provincial governments in rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts with the support of the National Disaster Management Authority and other relevant departments. “A survey will be launched soon to assess the damages and losses caused by floods across the country,” he added.

The prime minister stressed that in the hour of trial, they had to work collectively, instead of playing politics.

The prime minister said that they would have to devote themselves to the country and the nation and urged industrialists and businessmen to come forward and support people suffering from the impacts of rainfall and floods. He said it was time to seek Allah Almighty’s mercy.

“In Swat and Kalam, flash floods have caused colossal losses as hotels have been swept away and scores of lives were lost,” he maintained. The prime minister also directed Minister for Energy Khurram Dastagir to supervise efforts for restoration of power supply to affected areas.

Meanwhile, Pakistan contacted the IMF for a clarification of a letter written by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

 

All eyes on Pak vs Ind clash in Asia Cup 2022 today

The high-octane clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India in the T20 Asia Cup 2022 is all set to take place today (Sunday) at the Dubai Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 7pm PST.

Both teams are well prepared for the major cricket event. Pakistan has finalised its playing eleven but the names of the team will be revealed before the toss.

The green shirts will have batting powerhouses like captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali and Hyder Ali. Both Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz will showcase their spinning skills along with their batting prowess.

Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf will join the team as fast bowlers. Either Shahnawaz Dhani or Muhammad Hasnain will be in the playing eleven.

The Indians will feature big names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul who will be aided by talented pacers and spinners. The two major bowlers of the two teams -- Shaheen Shah Afridi and Jasprit Bumrah -- will not be available for this match. Cricket fans will miss both of them.

The Asia Cup 2022 will feature six teams from the Asian continent divided into two groups. Pakistan is in Group A along with India and Hong Kong. Group B has the other three Asian teams -- Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Following the group matches, two top teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage, which will begin on September 3.

The final between the top two teams of the Super Four will be played on September 11. The cricket action will continue in Dubai and Sharjah till the final on September 11.

Pakistan playing XI (probables):

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani.

India:

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

PM to visit Balochistan today to review rescue, relief activities in flood-hit areas

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit Haji Alladino village of Jafarabad district Balochistan on Sunday to review the rescue and relief activities in the flood-hit areas.

Chief Secretary Balochistan and Director General Provincial Disaster Management Authority will brief the Prime Minister about the relief provided to the flood affected people and restoration of the infrastructure.

The Prime Minister is expected to interact with the flood-hit people to know about the relief being provided to them.

Shehbaz Sharif will also have an aerial view of flood-affected villages of Hafeezbad, Gaibi Khan, Qadirpur and Shikarpur.

Pak vs Ind: Can Green Shirts repeat last year’s World Cup feat against India?

The Green Shirts, with strong T20 cricket credentials over the years, can repeat last year’s World Cup feat against India with their opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who will be a real threat to the Indians.

 There is no bigger game in cricket than the clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, and one is due on Sunday (tomorrow).

The two neighbouring nations, with a bitter cricketing history, will lock horns in the Asia T20 Cup. Having being whipped by a whopping margin of ten wickets by the Green Shirts in the T20 World Cup game on October 24, 2021, last year in Dubai, India will be very cautious in the much-anticipated showpiece.

And indeed it would not be easy for India to dent Pakistan’s hopes. The Green Shirts, with strong T20 cricket credentials over the years, can repeat last year’s World Cup feat against India with their opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who will be a real threat to the Indians.

With Babar having stamped his authority as the most reliable batsman in all three formats with enormous consistency, Rizwan is undoubtedly the most dangerous T20 player which the world has produced in recent years.

Having played together for quite some time while opening the innings in the T20 forma,t both know the art of handling any top attack with an enviable ease. With Babar elegant in his approach, Rizwan is brutal when it is his day. The contracting characters will be a real threat to India, which are hot favourites of the six-nation event.

If both bat for a few overs, they may take the game away from India. Besides being highly reliable, both also know each other and can put a lot of pressure on the Indians with their singles and twos which are at times needed in T20 cricket.

Irrespective of his fluctuating fortunes in the longer format, Rizwan always has shown a killer instinct in T20 cricket. And his recent stint with Sussex shows this.

Rizwan had a wonderful 2021, amassing 1,326 runs in 26 innings with 12 fifties and one century. He also scored the most runs in the format in a calendar year than any other batter to date.

And the Peshawar-born wicket-keeper batsman will look to build on his heroics from the previous match in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

After Rizwan, Babar was the second-highest run-scorer in T20 cricket in 2021. And he has not shown any signs of shifting gears at any stage, having ruled the world’s cricket for the previous two years or so.

 

Army called in as floods uproot millions

Government has decided to deploy Pakistan Army to help the civilian authorities in rescue operations in the flood-hit areas.

The troops are being deployed in pursuant to the requests made by all the provincial governments in wake of the emergency situation due to torrential rains and floods.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, scores of people have died due devastating floods in rivers and streams. The flash floods washed away dozens of hotels, bridges, mosques and link roads in the Upper Swat district while hundreds of houses, shops and restaurants were submerged.

The Munda Headworks in Charsadda on Friday collapsed due to heavy monsoon rains due to which water levels in Jindi and Khiyali canals had increased.

The provincial government has declared rain emergency in several districts as flash floods triggered by torrential rains wreaked havoc in most parts of the province.

Meanwhile Balochistan remained cut off from the rest of the country as linking highways remained non-operational because relentless rains and floods did not allow authorities to repair the damaged artery.

Quetta and its outskirts remained submerged as over a day long rain spell inundated most parts of the provincial capital, bringing life to a standstill and leaving hundreds of families without homes.

Elsewhere in the country, a Punjab PDMA spokesperson said that moderate to high level of flooding was expected in the Indus River at Kalabagh, Chashma and Taunsa during the next 48 hours, which could affect the Mianwali, Bhakkar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur districts.

In Sindh, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, Badin, Jacobabad, Umerkot, N. Feroze, Kashmore, Jamshoro, Dadu, Sujawal, Khairpur, Ghotki, Sanghar, Kamber, Umerkot, Matiari and Keamari were battered by the monsoon.

PTA reports internet service outages in KPK after flash floods

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reported a disruption in communication lines in several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a statement today morning, the telecom regulator said flash floods have damaged optical fibre cable and led to power outages, due to which there is an "impact" on the services.

Services have been affected in Chitral, Upper Dir, Donbala, Swat, Mardan, Lal Qila Samarbaghdir, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan.

"PTA is monitoring the situation closely. Work is underway to fully restore services," the telecommunication authority said.

Devastating flash floods have brought the lives of people across Pakistan to a standstill, with the rain and flood related death toll jumping to 982, according to official statistics.

Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed and scores have been displaced as the government appeals to international donors in its bid to provide relief to the people. 

Devastating flash floods cripple Pakistan

Thirty million people have been affected and hundreds have been killed, government declares a national emergency, after heavy rains triggered historic flooding in the country.

The flow of water at the Munda Headworks bridge which collapsed last night has slowed down, but the threat of floods in Charsadda and Nowshera districts remains.

The bridge had broken down overnight due to the severe pressure of flood water, which disconnected Tehsil Shabqadar and Prang from the district.

As per media reports, the flow of water at Munda Headworks has reduced from 260,000 cusecs to 135,000 cusecs, said Charsadda Deputy commissioner Abdur Rehman Saturday morning.

In view of the expected flood, nearby localities were evacuated, he said, adding that the emergency measure was taken to avoid any human loss.

The deputy commissioner said that 17 relief camps have been established in Charsadda to deal with any emergency situation.

“Kabul River is still running in high flood,” he said, adding that the flow of water in the river is recorded at 280,000 cusecs.

“Water level is still high at Khayali Bridge in Kabul River,” he added.

A flash flood of 400,000 is expected to pass through the Kabul Rives in the next few hours, he warned.

The deputy commissioner confirmed that the flood water entered several areas in the district.

The Munda Headworks bridge incident took place late at night on Friday at around 11pm. The residents were then advised to leave their homes and go to government designated camps.

 

Floods kill more than 180 in Afghanistan

Flooding in Afghanistan this month has killed more than 180 people as torrential rains wrought widespread devastation in central and eastern provinces.

As per international media reports, 182 people had been killed and 250 injured. More than 3,100 houses were destroyed and thousands of livestock were killed, exacerbating the country’s economic and humanitarian crisis.

Afghanistan has been reeling from natural disasters this year, including drought and an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people in June.

The nation has been largely cut off from the international financial system since the Taliban took more than a year ago.

Global humanitarian agencies have provided assistance for months, but have warned they need more access and funding to avoid a humanitarian disaster with thousands left homeless and no access to shelter or clean drinking water.

In Khoshi district in central Logar province, aid workers described widespread destruction from the powerful floods in recent days, with fields of crops reduced to mud and bodies of dead animals lying in piles.

About 20,000 people in the district were affected by flooding and 20 people, including at least six children, were killed with two more missing, the UN children’s agency said.

Last year, casualties topped 100 while dozens were reported missing in the remote Kamdesh district, about 200 kilometres northeast of the capital, Kabul.

In 2020, at least 100 people were killed in northern and eastern Afghanistan as the deluge ravaged large parts of Charikar city, the capital of Parwan province.