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The coronavirus cases are on the decline with every passing day as the positivity rate in Pakistan has dropped to its lowest 3.71 per cent during the third wave of the pandemic, reported on Tuesday. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, as many as 1,771 new cases of the Covid-19 detected over the previous 24 hours. The overall country’s caseload stands at 922,824. The death toll climbed to 20,850 after 71 more people succumbed to the disease. A total of 47,633 samples were tested, out of which 1,771 turned out to be positive. The positivity rate of infections was recorded at 3.71%, the NCOC said. 3,397 more people recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered patients to 844,638. The number of Covid-19 patients in critical care has come down to 3,842. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab has reported a total of 340,110 cases, Sindh 318,579, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 132,822, Islamabad 81,257, Balochistan 2...

China announced on Monday that married couples may have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world’s most populous country. The change was approved during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping, the official news agency Xinhua reported. In 2016, China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy – initially imposed to halt a population explosion – with a two-child limit, which failed to result in a sustained surge in births as the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities deterred many couples from starting families. “To further optimise the birth policy, (China) will implement a one-married-couple-can-have-three-children policy,” Xinhua said in a report on the meeting. The policy change will come with “supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country’s population structure, fulfilling the country’s strategy of actively coping with an ageing popul...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday visited Command and Staff College (C&SC) in Quetta where he addressed officers and faculty of the college, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement. According to ISPR, COAS address to staff course-2020/21 focused on professional matters, internal & external security situation and matters concerning the regional security environment. Speaking on the occasion, COAS emphasized Pakistan’s resolve and determination to confront the global phenomenon of terrorism by adopting a whole of nation approach. “Future of enduring peace and stability in South Asia hinges on the ability to resolve long pending issues within the region. This can be complemented through meaningful international support and will to take on complex challenges,” he added. Focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, COAS said that Pakistan Army along with other state institutions will do all to mitigate the challenges faced by the people of...

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Monday expressed anger over the "continued unannounced load shedding" in the metropolis and directed the K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi to immediately resolve the issue. The governor had summoned the chief of KE — the utility company responsible for power supply in the city — following reports of increasing outages in the city. During the meeting, Ismail directed the KE CEO to "personally supervise" matters related to load shedding in Karachi and "immediately resolve the "complaints of citizens, a statement issued by the Governor's House said. During the meeting, Ismail also phoned Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and stressed the need to improve the load shedding situation in the metropolis and ensure better functioning of the K-Electric. Azhar issued directions to the KE CEO during the call as well, the statement said. Earlier this month, several areas in Karachi faced prolonged power outages after a high-tens...

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Monday expressed anger over the "continued unannounced load shedding" in the metropolis and directed the K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi to immediately resolve the issue. The governor had summoned the chief of KE — the utility company responsible for power supply in the city — following reports of increasing outages in the city. During the meeting, Ismail directed the KE CEO to "personally supervise" matters related to load shedding in Karachi and "immediately resolve the "complaints of citizens, a statement issued by the Governor's House said. During the meeting, Ismail also phoned Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and stressed the need to improve the load shedding situation in the metropolis and ensure better functioning of the K-Electric. Azhar issued directions to the KE CEO during the call as well, the statement said. Earlier this month, several areas in Karachi faced prolonged power outages after a high-tensi...

The head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar said that the government will launch a major campaign to make sure that the coronavirus vaccine reaches the entire population. Umar spoke about the government's plan to launch the campaign while addressing a press conference in Islamabad after attending a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan that reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country. The federal minister for planning said that the restrictions introduced by the government before Eid had paid dividends as the positivity rate was declining. He explained that the restrictions were a "defensive action" and affects the livelihood of the people, adding that the only way out of the current situation was to get vaccinated. Umar said that the government is hoping to get enough people vaccinated by Eid-ul-Azha so that there is no need to impose restrictions as they did on Eid-ul-Fitr. To th...

The Sindh government has decided to set up coronavirus vaccine centres in public and private institutions. In line with the decision, a coronavirus vaccine centre was set up by the Sindh Health Department in a shopping mall in the Clifton area of ​​Karachi. Sindh Health Secretary Kazim Jatoi inaugurated the centre. The health secretary said that the shopping mall administration has been provided with a single dose of the PakVac vaccine. Jatoi said that in the first phase, the management will vaccinate its employees, and in the second phase, the families of the employees will be inoculated. Meanwhile, and in the third phase, customers coming to the shopping mall will be vaccinated. According to the health secretary, the Sindh government has also set up a vaccine centre at a shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road, while vaccinations are being carried out at the Sindh Secretariat, Karachi Press Club, Arts Council, the Bank of Punjab, the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI)...

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan on Monday gave emergency approval for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine — and now the local population can be inoculated with it. The DRAP Registration Board approved the vaccine's use for children above 12 years of age, thus becoming the first vaccine that can be administered to children in Pakistan. "This vaccine will be administered to people with low immunity, including, pregnant women and aspiring pilgrims (hajjis) who are above 40,". More than 100,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine had arrived in Pakistan through the COVAX facility, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Pakistan had said on Friday. The doses had reached Islamabad Friday morning with the help of UNICEF, it said in a statement on Facebook. UNICEF had said that a consignment containing diluents as well as syringes is expected in the next two days. DRAP officials said influential people have started seeking inoculations for Pfizer...

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has announced to raise voice for timely election in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) at every forum, reported on Monday. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad,  Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said the Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) government is working against its claims. He claimed that the PTI government after seeing their expected defeat in the elections is trying to delay the polls to temper the voters’ list. There is no provision in the constitution to delay general elections in the AJK, he added. Ashraf vowed to raise the issue at every forum and added that the PPP will ensure timely elections in the region. Amid COVID trend, the National Command Operation Center (NCOC), last week had recommended the federal government to defer polls in Azad Kashmir for two months and continue Covid-led restrictions intact. The times ahead of polls are very eventful and there are political campaignings and rallies which may...

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided on Monday to start scheduling Covid-19 vaccination of citizens above 18 years of age from Thursday. In a message on his official Twitter handle, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said: “In today’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting it was decided to start scheduling vaccination of registered 18 plus from thursday the 3rd of june.” “With this step the vaccination of all eligible age groups would carried out,” he said, appealing to people to sign up for vaccination as soon as possible. On May 27, the government started registering citizens aged 18 and above for vaccination against Covid-19. People in the age bracket of 19 to 30 years were asked to register themselves by sending CNIC to 1166. On Sunday, Asad Umar said that Pakistan set a new record of most vaccinations in a day after nearly 400,000 people received COVID jabs on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, Asad Umar said th...

Punjab has set a new record of most vaccinations in a day after 1,8000 people received COVID jabs over the past 24 hours, reported. According to the Primary and Secondary Health Department Punjab, the process of vaccination has been geared up on the directions of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC). As many as 1,80000 people received COVID jabs on Sunday, setting a new record of most vaccinations in a day in Punjab. So far 39,00000 people have received COVID jabs, since the start of the drive in the province. The health department said that they will achieve the vaccination target set by the NCOC. On Sunday, Federal Minister for Planning and Development and NCOC head Asad Umar had stated that so far seven million people have been vaccinated in the country, while the number of people getting registered for the vaccination is also increasing day by day. He had said that so far 11.6 million people have registered themselves to receive COVID jabs. from latest-news ...

As many as 2,117 new cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) detected over the previous 24 hours took the country’s caseload to 921,053. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data, the death toll climbed to 20,779 after 43 more people succumbed to the disease. A total of 52,223 samples were tested, out of which 2,117 turned out to be positive. The positivity rate of infections was recorded at 4.05%, the NCOC said. 1,919 more people recuperated from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered patients to 841,241. The number of Covid-19 patients in critical care has come down to 3,947. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab has reported a total of 339,989 infections, Sindh 317,665, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 132,549, Islamabad 81,195, Balochistan 25,148, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 19,232, and Gilgit Baltistan 5,578. On Sunday, Federal Minister for Planning and Development and head of the NCOC Asad Umar said that Pakistan set a new record o...

A Lahore sessions court on Monday has extended the interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen in money laundering case till June 11, reported. Additional Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain heard the interim bail of Jahangir Tareen and Ali Tareen. At the outset of the hearing, the judge asked about the last 15 days development in the case. The deputy director FIA replied that an official of the department has been transferred, the investigation is still underway. “It’s been long since the case is underway, but yet the investigation has not been completed, is FIA not interested in pursuing the case,” Justice Hamid Hussain asked the FIA official. Later the hearing was adjourned until June 11. Talking to newsmen after getting an extension in interim bail, Jahangir Tareen said, Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised delivery of justice and we are still waiting for it. Commenting on the report finalized by Barrister Ali Zafar, the PTI leader...

Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine reduces coronavirus mortality by 97 percent, according to early results of the immunization campaign in Uruguay, which relies heavily on the Chinese vaccine. In people who had received two doses, it reduced infection with the coronavirus by 57 percent and intensive care admissions by 95 percent, said a report by the health ministry of the South American nation. Compared to other vaccines in use, there have been few scientific publications on the efficacy of CoronaVac, produced by Chinese firm Sinovac, and widely divergent reported results. Coronavac is nevertheless widely used in China and in some two dozen other countries. Chile reported last month that early results from its immunization campaign showed CoronaVac to be 67 percent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 80 percent at preventing death. Trial results with CoronaVac in Brazil showed efficacy of about 50 percent in preventing symptomatic infection, while Turkish data said it was...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, his office said. The event was not announced in advance and media reports said guests were invited at the last minute to the Roman Catholic cathedral in central London, adding that even senior members of Johnson’s office were unaware of the wedding plans. “The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral,” Johnson’s office said on Sunday. “The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer.” Weddings in England are currently limited to 30 people due to COVID-19 restrictions. Johnson, 56, and Symonds, 33, have been living together in Downing Street since Johnson became prime minister in 2019. On Saturday, the cathedral was suddenly locked down at 1:30 p.m. and Symonds arrived 30 minutes later in a limo, in a long white dress with no veil, media reports said. The co...

The rem­ains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, have been found buried on the site of what was once Canada’s largest indigenous residential sch­o­ol, one of the institutions that held children taken from families across the nation. Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tkemlups te Secw­pemc First Nation said in a news release that the rem­ains were confirmed last weekend with the help of ground-penetrating radar. More bodies may be found because there are more areas to search on the school grounds, Casimir said on Friday. In an earlier release, she called the discovery an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children were required to attend state-funded Christ­ian schools as part of a programme to assimilate them into Canadian society. They were forced to convert to Christianity and not allow­ed to speak their native languages. Many were ...

In a bid to provide maximum relief to the common man, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has announced that the federal government would not impose new taxes in the budget 2021-22. Addressing a budget webinar in Islamabad today, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that no new tax would be slapped on taxpayers, adding that they would trace tax evaders via modern technology and send them to the prisons. He maintained that achieving sustainable development goals was the top priority of the incumbent government. The finance minister said agriculture, industries, IT and service sectors will be incentivized in the next budget to enhance their productivity. He further said the government has a progressive plan for the development of agriculture sector. Enhancing its productivity will also help check the prices of food items. “The tax rates will not be increased,” he said, adding that they have figured out a plan to enhance our revenues. He expressed the confidence that the tax collection w...

Quetta Gladiators captain and 10 other participants couldn’t travel to Abu Dhabi for remaining Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six matches. According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, Sarfaraz from Karachi and 10 others from Lahore have not been able to travel despite receiving clearance. All of them were scheduled to leave for Abu Dhabi by commercial flights at around 4 am this morning. Remember, Abu Dhabi Sports Council gave special permission to PCB to send 16 people via commercial flight from Pakistan to UAE. PCB has contacted the Abu Dhabi Sports Council for clearance of all people. The PCB is also considering alternative options for their early departure to the UAE. On the other hand, five people including fast bowler Muhammad Hasnain left Karachi for Abu Dhabi. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2R9vSHc

Federal interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said Saturday in the wake of an alleged attack on journalist Asad Toor which prompted protests that some people are trying to malign sensitive state institutions in the case. The federal minister said the ministry has collected concrete video evidence of incident and a probe is underway to zero in on the assailants who led the attack on Toor. Islamabad police and Federal Investigation Agency are working in alliance to investigate the collected evidence, he said. Whoever is found guilty of the wrongdoing and assailing the journalist will be taken to task and held accountable for his actions soon, Ahmad said. Separately today on the political front, the head of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman said in a press conference following the huddle amongst the opposition alliance a new strategy of protests and marches starting July has been hammered out. The situation of this region is getting worse, JUI-F chief Maulan...

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday held Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for the country’s economic crisis. In a series of Tweets, Fawad said, Pakistan is facing economic crisis due to ineffective policies of PML-N and PPP governments. پاؤں پرکھڑا کرنےکی اس کوششش میں بھرپورحصہ ڈالا اور1,000ارب روپیہ پاکستان بھیجا، گندم،چاول،گنااور مکئ کی تاریخی پیداوار ہوئ زرعی معیشت میں 1100ارب روپیہ منتقل ہوااس سے کسانوں کی قوت خرید میں بھرپور اضافہ ہوا,ٹریکٹر 64% زیادہ فروخت ہوئے کھاد اور زرعی ادویات کے استعمال میں اضافہ ہوا — Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 30, 2021 Fawad further said that the policies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are boosting the economic growth of the country. For the first time, Rs4 billion tax has been gathered, he added. The minister maintained that historical production of wheat, rice, sugarcane and corn has been recorded during PTI tenure. from latest-news - SUCH TV http...

Prime Minister Imran Khan will interact with the general masses via telephone again today (Sunday) for a fourth time. The prime minister has been taking live calls from the masses and answering their queries for the past couple of months. This is the fourth time he will be interacting with the public. Today, the transmission will begin at 4:00pm. If you wish to speak to PM Khan, call on 051-9224900. The interaction will be broadcast live on television, radio and digital media. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3fvz1dM

Oman Arab Bank was set to raise $250 million on Thursday in its first foray in the international debt markets with an Additional Tier 1 perpetual bond issue, a document showed. The bank launched the bonds at a yield of 7.625% after initial price guidance in the low 8% range for the AT1 bonds after it received more than $1.1 billion in orders, the document from one of the banks on the deal showed. AT1 bonds are at the higher end of the risk spectrum of bank debt issues. They are perpetual in nature but issuers can redeem them after a specified period. Oman Arab Bank’s bonds will be non-callable (redeemable) for five years. The deal is the latest in a series of AT1 bond issues from the oil-rich Gulf this year, as banks take advantage of low interest rates to bolster their Tier 1 capital after the region’s economies were hit by the double shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s historic slide in oil prices. Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Kamco Invest, Standard Ch...

The WHO’s European director warned Friday that the Covid-19 pandemic won’t be over until at least 70 percent of people are vaccinated, while deploring that the vaccine rollout in Europe is still “too slow”. “The pandemic will be over once we reach 70 percent minimum coverage in vaccination,” the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview. Kluge also said that one of his main worries was the increased contagiousness of new variants of the novel coronavirus. “We know for example that the B.1617 (Indian variant) is more transmissible than the B.117 (British variant), which already was more transmissible than the previous strain,” Kluge said. According to the Belgian doctor, speed is “of essence” in pandemic. “Even when WHO declared a pandemic, many countries were still waiting, we lost valuable time.” While the regional director, who has held the position since February 2020, lauded calls for solidarity he stressed that a speedy ro...

Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected for a fourth term as president of Syria, official results showed on Thursday, despite Western accusations the polls were “neither free nor fair”. The parliamentary speaker announced Thursday that Assad garnered 95.1 percent of the votes cast, trouncing two virtually unknown challengers. Standing against him were former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmud Merhi, a member of the so-called “tolerated opposition”, long dismissed by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime. On the eve of the election, the US, Britain, France, Germany and Italy said the poll was “neither free nor fair”, and Syria s fragmented opposition has called it a “farce”. But few doubted that Assad, a 55-year-old ophthalmologist by training, would be re-elected. In the last multi-candidate poll in 2014, Assad won 88 percent of the vote. Huge election posters glorifying Assad had mushroomed across the two-thirds of the country under his control i...

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday lamented that Pakistan never paid attention to exports, adding that it was very difficult to increase a country's wealth without them. The premier was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Rashkai Special Economic Zone being developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. "If you aren't increasing your exports, then the country's wealth will never increase," he lamented, adding that selling wheat and other products will not make Pakistan wealthy alone. He said Pakistan should learn from the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) set up by China. He labelled the Rashkai Special Economic Zone a "big opportunity", stressing on authorities to create ease of doing business for investors. "The more hurdles you remove for investors, the more investors will arrive here [in Pakistan]," he said, adding that Pakistan had not been an "investor-friendly country". He said investors were always attrac...

Senior US diplomat in Pakistan Angela Aggeler on Friday lauded Islamabad for its "sincere efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region, especially the Afghan peace process". US Chargé d’affaires Aggeler had called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi today. "During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, overall regional security situation including recent developments in Afghan peace process and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed" said a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). This is the US diplomat's second meeting with Gen Bajwa in a month. Earlier this month, she had called on Gen Bajwa to discuss several matters of mutual interest between Pakistan and the United States. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3fs8kqj

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said Friday Pakistan's gross domestic product (GDP) growth was expected to hit 4.8% in the financial year 2021-2022. Highlighting the achievements of the government during a press conference in Islamabad, Umar said in the nine months of the current fiscal year, IT exports showed growth of 46%. Umar said the country had "witnessed a strong growth" during the fiscal year, and it is expected that the remittances would shoot up from $21.7 billion to $29.1 billion till the year end — an increase of 34% in a year. The federal minister said if we combine the 3.94% GDP growth and the increase in remittances, it will take the gross national product (GNP) growth to 6.5% — the "highest" GNP growth in the last 16 years. Umar said remittances played an important role in helping the country's economy grow, and it is important that we should give overseas Pakistanis the right to vote. Shedding light on why the ...

Trade with Afghanistan through Torkham remained suspended on the third consecutive day on Thursday as Khugakhel tribesmen continued their protest and blockade of the main road leading to the border crossing. Afghan nationals aspiring to return to their country were, however, provided with an alternative route via Charbagh area to reach Torkham as part of a good-well gesture by the protesters as the travellers also included women, children and elderly people. Mufti Ejaz and Mirajuddin Khan, the elders of Khugakhel, told journalists at the protest site that their protest would continue till signing of a mutually agreed accord regarding fulfilment of their four major demands with concrete guarantees from the regional security officials. The Khugakhel tribesmen, being the collective owners of the land leased out for the construction of modern customs terminal at Torkham, had long been pushing for payment of the price of the additional land the National Logistic Cell (NLC) had off late...

Prime Minister Imran Khan will interact with the general public via telephone for the fourth time on May 30. Taking to Twitter, Senator Faisal Javed said that the prime minister will directly interact with the public for the fourth time at 3:00 pm on May 30 in a series of direct discussions via telephone under the banner of ‘Aap ka Wazir-e-Azam Aap kai Sath’ [Your Prime Minister is With You]. He said that the interaction would be broadcasted on television, radio and digital platforms as people could reach out to the prime minister via telephone number 051-9224900. In the previous interaction, the prime minister besides directing to resolve issues raised by the general public said that the COVID cases in the country are witnessing a stabilizing effect and urged the public to adopt COVID SOPs during Eid in order to avoid an India-like situation. “The more we adopt precautionary measures, the sooner we will be able to come out of this situation,” Imran Khan said adding that during h...

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said the Centre and Sindh will together fight the menace of bandits in the province. Addressing a press conference here, he said: “I held a meeting with Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah this morning, wherein it was decided that the Cetnre and province will together deal with bandits.” Sheikh Rasheed said the Sindh government can utilize the Rangers’ services wherever it wants in the province. “We are ready to provide the Rangers for the entire province if the Sindh government desires so,” he added. He said bandits involved in kidnapping for ransom and murders will be booked under the terrorism law. “We are ready to provide drones to the police,” the interior minister said in a reference to the chief minister’s demand for provision of air support and sensitive equipment for the anti-bandit operation. “We will not rest until the dacoit rule is eliminated,” he vowed. Though, the Sindh government wants to tackle the Shikarpur situation on its own,...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) resumed on Thursday hearing nine cases against Lyari gang war kingpin Uzair Baloch. Baloch and nine witnesses, all policemen, appeared before the court as it resumed hearing. During the hearing, the witnesses picked out Uzair Baloch before the court. The accused had attacked the police personnel during the Lyari operation, witnesses testified. Adjourning the case until June 9, the court directed the prosecution side to present more witnesses on next hearing. The nine cases registered at different police stations pertain to an attack on a police team and possession of explosives and illicit arms. On May 20, jail officials failed to produce Uzair Baloch in court in a case pertaining to police encounter and attempt to murder. The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Karachi South received a letter from the senior superintendent jail over the matter. “There are security concerns with regard to producing Uzair Baloch in the city court,” the j...

Former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday appeared before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) land case. The NAB’s Rawalpindi office on Wednesday had asked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), senior leader, to appear before the joint investigation team of the NAB on Thursday (today). Talking to journalists, after appearing before the NAB, Qaim Ali Shah said DC and the commissioner were enjoying powers in the land case, in which he was summoned. “Was asked to amend the law, but I rejected,” Shah said and added that the NAB has not given him any questionnaire neither gave another date for the appearance. Replying to a reunion with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the PPP leader said that the party has yet not decided in this context. The decision about rejoining PDM will be taken by the committee. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against former chief minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah in 2012. According t...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) resumed on Thursday hearing nine cases against Lyari gang war kingpin Uzair Baloch. Baloch and nine witnesses, all policemen, appeared before the court as it resumed hearing. During the hearing, the witnesses picked out Uzair Baloch before the court. The accused had attacked the police personnel during the Lyari operation, witnesses testified. Adjourning the case until June 9, the court directed the prosecution side to present more witnesses on next hearing. The nine cases registered at different police stations pertain to an attack on a police team and possession of explosives and illicit arms. On May 20, jail officials failed to produce Uzair Baloch in court in a case pertaining to police encounter and attempt to murder. The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Karachi South received a letter from the senior superintendent jail over the matter. “There are security concerns with regard to producing Uzair Baloch in the city court,” the j...

Former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday appeared before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) land case. The NAB’s Rawalpindi office on Wednesday had asked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), senior leader, to appear before the joint investigation team of the NAB on Thursday (today). Talking to journalists, after appearing before the NAB, Qaim Ali Shah said DC and the commissioner were enjoying powers in the land case, in which he was summoned. “Was asked to amend the law, but I rejected,” Shah said and added that the NAB has not given him any questionnaire neither gave another date for the appearance. Replying to a reunion with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the PPP leader said that the party has yet not decided in this context. The decision about rejoining PDM will be taken by the committee. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed the reference against former chief minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah in 2012. According t...

The government started registering citizens aged 19 and above for vaccination against Covid-19 from today (Thursday). People in the age bracket of 19 to 30 years can register themselves by sending their CNIC number to 1166. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in yesterday’s meeting decided to open vaccine registration for all people having Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs). Around 39 million people will benefit from the decision, according to a report. On Wednesday, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, tweeted: “In today’s NCOC meeting we decided to open up vaccination registration for all 19 years and above.” “This registration will start from tomorrow. So now registration will be open for the entire national population which is approved by health experts for covid vaccination,” he said. The NCOC decision to register people aged 19 and above for vaccination came four days after it allowed vaccination of citizens aged 30 ...

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Karachi, the district administration has decided to impose heavy fines on the citizens who do not wear face masks in the city. The administration of district South in an announcement said that it would set up cases and impose fines under the Epidemic Act against citizens who found violating corona SOPs. The deputy commissioner visited various areas of the southern district and fined more than 30 citizens for not wearing masks. The deputy commissioner fined the owners of Burns Road, Clifton, President, Defense bakery, Malik Shop, restaurants for seeing the staff without masks. The deputy commissioner directed the owners of restaurants, bakeries and country shops to make their staff wear masks and enforce SOPs. He clarified that no concessions would be made to those who did not wear face masks and heavy fines would be imposed on them. The deputy commissioner said that seven shops were sealed for violation of SOPs and lockdown while a ca...

The sun will align with the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Thursday (today) at 14:18 Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and 12:18 Saudi time. The disc of the sun will be positioned immediately over the Kaaba and it will lose its shadow for a brief time, said Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah’s Astronomical Society. The celestial phenomenon called “zero shadow” occurs twice every year at the Grand Mosque because of its location between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. The holy structure loses its shadow for some time during this phenomenon. Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, the sun travels at 23.5 degrees north and south of the celestial equator. The sun falls directly overhead on places lying over the equator during the equinox. “People can determine the exact direction of the holy Kaaba by placing a wooden stick vertically in the ground; the direction of the Qibla will be the exact opposite to the stick’s shadow,” Abu Zahra added. from latest-news - SUCH TV ...

ISLAMABAD: President of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir Wednesday reached Pakistan on a three-day official visit. On his arrival at the airport, the UNGA president was received by senior officials of the foreign ministry, the UN Representative in Islamabad and Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Yurdakul. “After an important and fruitful official visit to Bangladesh, I arrived in Islamabad for my official visit to Pakistan. I look forward to my important meetings tomorrow in Islamabad,” Volkan Bozkir said in his tweet. The Foreign Office while detailing the visit said that the UNGA president is undertaking a visit from 26-28 May 2021 to Pakistan at the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. During his stay in Islamabad, Bozkir will have detailed talks with the foreign minister and call on the leadership. The interactions will cover a wide range of political and socio-economic issues on the UN agenda. Mr. Bozkir will also deliver a talk on the “Importance of...

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that the PPP was not answerable to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz or PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and that his stance remained unchanged. Addressing a press conference in Badin, Bilawal was responding to a question from a reporter on Maryam's recent comments that the PPP had not responded to the show cause notice sent to it and had shown her support to comments by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Secretary General Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Abbasi had said on Tuesday that there was no place for the PPP within the opposition alliance until it restored the trust it had betrayed. He said that the PDM had sought a response from the PPP, which Bilawal had torn into pieces. "We had asked for a response. Join together the torn pieces [of the show-cause notice], read it and give us the clarification we had sought," Abbasi had said. In Wednesday's press conference, the PPP chairman acknowledged that he had torn the show ...

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar on Wednesday took oath as the member of Punjab Assembly after a delay of two years and ten months. The lawmaker was unable to take an oath as a member of the assembly on Monday due to the "absence of the speaker and deputy speaker." The former interior minister left the assembly soon after acting speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari administered him the oath and then had a casual conversation with journalists. "I will visit Lahore soon ... where I will speak to the journalists in detail," Nisar said, adding that he was not going to join any political party. Nisar had been elected from Punjab Assembly’s constituency PP-10 in the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate. However, the former interior minister refrained from taking oath then, as he alleged that rigging cost him the National Assembly’s NA-59 seat. Speaking to the media after he was unable to take the oath, he had said the day for his oath-taking was fixed ...

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday vowed action against dacoits in Dera Ghazi Khan, after a video of three kidnapped people went viral on social media, two of whom were brutally murdered on tape. Addressing a launch ceremony in Layyah of the Insaf Sehat Sahulat Card, he said he was saddened to see poor people being killed in this barbaric manner. He said the Rangers have been given instructions to bring the perpetrators to book and provide all possible assistance to the police. "Now these dacoits will not be spared. No one will be allowed to pester area residents any longer," he promised, adding that if needed a police checkpost will be established in the area. The Ladi gang had abducted three people from the Taman Khosa area. A video that went viral yesterday showed one being shot dead, while the limbs of the other were chopped off before he was killed by the ring leader, known as Khuda Baksh. All the while, his partner was filming the horrific events. The Ladi g...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged on a Middle East mission on Tuesday that Washington would provide new aid to help rebuild Gaza as part of efforts to bolster a ceasefire between its Hamas rulers and Israel. Hoping to reverse a move taken by former President Donald Trump that angered Palestinians, Blinken said the United States would advance the process of re-opening the Jerusalem consulate that had served as its diplomatic channel to the Palestinians. Speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Blinken said the United States would provide an additional $75 million in development and economic aid to the Palestinians in 2021, $5.5 million in immediate disaster relief for Gaza and $32 million to UN Palestinian aid agency. But Blinken reiterated that Washington intended to ensure that Hamas, did not benefit from the humanitarian aid — a potentially difficult task in an enclave over which it has a strong grip. Blinken began his re...