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Flash floods have wreaked havoc in the country as the death toll has reached 1,343 people across Pakistan with scores injured due to rain-related incidents. As per details, in the last 24 hours, 34 deaths were recorded taking the toll to 1,343. Meanwhile, the incessant rains in many areas have caused massive destruction across Pakistan. As per an estimate, in Balochistan, the death toll has reached 234 so far while in Sindh 306 people have succumbed to the recent floods. On the other hand, a total of 185 people died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in the recent monsoon spells while 37 died in Azad Kashmir and 9 in Gilgit Baltistan (GB). The data shared by the NDMA revealed that 6 lac 70 thousand 328 houses were completely destroyed due to rains and 7 lac 93 thousand 995 cattle have died. Highways were also affected by rains and floods across the country. In Sindh, 2,328 km of highways were affected, 60 bridges were damaged, NDMA said. The Climate-Change Minister Sherry Rehman said t

Flash floods damaged houses and crops, blocked roads and caused power outages in Swat with several people to leave their houses due to the damage caused by the floodwater. Several houses and hotels were flooded at Mingora by-pass. While the road of Mingora by-pass was blocked for any kind of travelling as it was inundated with the floodwater. Due to the risk of a high-level flood in the Swat river, the administration directed the residents to leave their houses. Also, rains wreaked havoc in the Tank district. 90 percent of the area has been badly affected by the flood. The flashfloods also swept away 3 people. On the other hand, due to the floodwater of the Chenab river, residents have been facing food shortages, power outages. The people have lost their lands and animals. Their houses have also been swept away with the flashflood. The people of the area are living under the sky without any roof or shelter. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/YlV6Fbx

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the power distribution companies to revise the electricity bills of up to 200 units within 24 hours. The prime minister, who chaired a high level meeting to address the issues faced by the power consumers, also constituted a committee on the subject. He instructed that the staffers of the distribution companies should work round the clock to ensure the revision of electricity bills. He asked the authorities concerned to cancel the leaves of all the staffers and present him a compliance report immediately. The prime minister said that the banks should also be directed to remain open in the coming days to enable the consumers pay their revised electricity bills. The meeting was told that the implementation of the relief package announced by the prime minister was being ensured. The electricity bills of around 16.6 million were being corrected to provide them the relief under fuel price adjustment. The prime minister instructed the

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a contempt petition filed against Maryam Nawaz, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The IHC upheld the registrar’s objection regarding that it was not the relevant forum to file the petition. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani heard the plea with the objection raised by the registrar on Friday. Local lawyer Ali Ijaz Buttar requested the court to start the contempt proceedings against the coalition leaders. Justice Kiyani asked the lawyer what was his petition? He replied that Maryam, Rana Sanaullah, Fazlur Rehman and others made contemptuous remarks about the judiciary on social media. Justice Kiyani asked the lawyer if this court was mentioned in those remarks. He advised him to take his petition to either Supreme Court or the Lahore High Court. Why the petitioner who belongs to Lahore has filed his plea in the Islamabad High Court, the judge objected saying nobody bothered to take notice of the contem

Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday termed the flood situation across the country a national emergency. “National spirit is required to cope with the devastation caused by the calamity in Balochistan and Sindh provinces,” she said in a statement. The minister requested the people, including overseas Pakistanis, to donate for the help of flood victims, noting that a significant amount will be required due to the scope of destruction. The donations can be deposited in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund 2022 Account No.'G-12164'. “The federal government is working in coordination with the provinces and resources are being mobilised to extend relief to the affected people,” Marriyum added. PM Shehbaz Sharif has also discussed the situation with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), army doctors and

North Korea says it has found four new fever cases in its border region with China that may have been caused by coronavirus, two weeks after Kim Jong Un declared victory over COVID-19. According to international media, North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Thursday that health workers were conducting genetic tests on the samples taken from four people in the Ryanggang Province who exhibited fevers to confirm whether they were caused by the “malignant epidemic”. Authorities immediately locked down the areas where the fever cases emerged and plan to maintain tight restrictions and quarantines until health workers determine the cause of the illness. “[Health authorities] pay attention to the fact that those with fever had not been infected by the malignant epidemic,” KCNA said. The country’s emergency anti-virus headquarters dispatched “talented epidemiological, virology and test experts to the area” and is taking steps to “trace all persons … connected with the

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has cancelled his London visit in view of heavy rains and floods in the country. On his return home from Qatar, he will chair a meeting regarding flood situation and relief activities. All the relevant departments including National Disaster Management Authority will brief the Prime Minister about the steps taken for rescue and relief of flood affected people. The Prime Minister had to leave for London from Qatar due to the ailment of his granddaughter who is under treatment at the British capital. In view of the flood situation, the Prime Minister however decided to immediately return to the country. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/wNpjtYM

A court in Islamabad on Thursday accepted the pre-arrest bail application filed by PTI leader Asad Umar in the case of violation of section 144. In his petition, PTI leader had said that he was ready for interrogation by the police in the case. He went on to say he feared that the police would arrest him only to demean and insult him. “When PTI was holding rallies across the country on the call of its Chairman Imran Khan, I was in Lahore,” Asad said, and prayed to the court to accept his bail plea in the case. Earlier, PTI secretary general went to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the purpose where the court registrar raised objection to the petition, saying the forum of a sessions court was already available to him for seeking bail in the case. from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/4e9ZkKs

The Pakistani internet users may face outages in the days to come as the country deals with extreme flooding due to incessant rains. The IT ministry had sought a report from the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) after incidents of cable cuts recently. According media reports, PTCL in its report stated that internet outages during the past few days were actually caused by “flood relief efforts in the Sukkur division where fibre-optic cables were being damaged mainly by heavy machinery used to clear water in Sindh”. The netizens experienced disruptions in services multiple times during the past several days as the rescue efforts kicked off amid heavy rains in Sindh. Meanwhile, Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque, citing the technical report, warned that “the situation was serious and more such incidents could be expected in near future”. The minister told the publication that due to extensive flooding, mo

Hong Kong National Cricket Team have qualified for the Asia Cup 2022 group stage round after defeating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 8 wickets. The Asia Cup 2022, which is the 15th edition of the tournament, is scheduled to be played from August 27 to September 11. The entire tournament is set to be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the hosts Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan in the opening clash. The tournament was originally set to be played in Sri Lanka but was shifted to United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the economic and political crisis in the country. The matches of the tournament will be played across two venues, including Dubai International Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Notably, the Asia Cup, which was last played in 2018, will be played in the T20 format with 6 teams fighting for the title. The 5 teams that will be fighting for the championship were already confirmed. Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were the confirmed teams. from

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has released a report containing the details of the damage caused by torrential rains and floods in Punjab from June 15 to August 21. The PDMA Punjab report states that heavy downpours submerged 69 schools and seven basic health centres under rainwater. Rains and flash floods unleashed devastations in 555,893 areas in six districts of the province. Rajanpur, DG Khan, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Sialkot and Layyah are the most affected areas, according to the PDMA report. The rainwater inundated 201,965 agricultural areas and 12,628 houses under flood water. The PDMA data shows that at least 151 people lost their lives due to floods and rains, 606 people were injured and 341,077 others were displaced. Rain and flood caused death to over two lakh large animals, and 2,586 small animals, while 37 roads and eight bridges were swept away in the water. Flood water also destroyed seven canals. According to the PDMA Punjab report, 20,264 pe

Former prime minister Imran Khan will appear before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad to seek pre-arrest bail today (Thursday) in a terror case filed against him for threatening Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry during a public rally. Khan will appear in person before the court where ATC judge Raja Jawwad Abbas will hear his plea. The PTI chair had staged a rally in the federal capital on August 20 to express solidarity with his chief of staff Shahbaz Gill after claims of torture in custody. He said that the additional sessions judge who sent Gill into physical remand on the police's request should brace herself for consequences. An FIR was registered against him under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Margalla police station for threatening the judge and other senior officers of the Islamabad Police during the rally. A day after the registration of a case against him, Imran Khan secured transit bail till August 25 from the Islamabad High Court which d

Pakistan has strongly condemned the blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by another official of India's ruling BJP. This is the second time in the last three months that a BJP leader has made derogatory remarks against the holy prophet (PBUH) as the first time was when Nupur Sharma committed blasphemy in June. "Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the highly provocative and sacrilegious remarks made against the Holy Prophet [Muhammad] (PBUH), by Raja Singh, a BJP official and a member of the state legislative assembly of the Indian state of Telangana," a statement issued by the Foreign Office read. It stated that these highly derogatory remarks have gravely hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and billions of Muslims around the world, including India and the token and perfunctory disciplinary action taken by the BJP against the said official cannot assuage the pain and anguish caused to the Muslims. The FO berated the Indian auth

The Islamabad police Wednesday sought from a district and sessions court a seven-day extension in the remand of incarcerated PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, who is party chair Imran Khan's chief of staff. The prosecution sought an extension in the remand, which was strongly opposed by PTI's lawyers. After hearing the arguments, the court reserved the verdict. Gill was arrested on August 9 in Islamabad after a sedition case was filed against him for inciting mutiny in the Pakistan Army. He has since been back-and-forth in police custody and at the PIMS hospital. The police have demanded a seven-day remand extension in the sedition case, while they have also asked the court to grant judicial remand of the PTI leader in an arms recovery case. Gill was already facing sedition charges, but the Islamabad police — a day earlier — also registered a case against the PTI leader over possession of an illegal weapon. He was booked in the case after police raided the incarcerated PTI leader

Western leaders on Tuesday warned Russia against annexing other parts of Ukrainian territory after Crimea amid rumours Russia is planning to do so in various occupied areas, while Washington warned that Russia could attack Ukrainian government facilities in the coming days as Moscow said it would show “no mercy” over an assassination it has blamed on Ukraine. The leaders sent video addresses to the Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv which was attended in person by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. The Crimean peninsula was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014. Since February, Moscow has been using Crimea as a staging post for att­acks on Ukraine as well as “a testing ground for the brutal methods Russia is now applying across the other occupied parts of Ukraine,” Euro­pean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the conference. “Putin is planning to do to parts of Ukraine, indeed, to all of Ukraine, what he’s done to Crimea,” Br

Heavy rains continue to ravage the province of Sindh, killing another 15 people in house collapse incidents in the districts of Sukkur, Shikarpur, and other areas and leaving hundreds of families stranded and homeless. Rain lashed several cities in Sindh on Tuesday, including Sukkur, Shikarpur, Dadu, and Khairpur districts. Six members of the same family died when the roof of their house collapsed in the Chak area of Shikarpur district. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took note of the incident and directed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to provide immediate assistance to the deceased's heirs as well as rehabilitation.   A woman named Shamaila died in district Sukkur when a wall of her house collapsed, while three children died in Rohri due to a roof collapse. Three children, Ehtesham, Bisma, and Kashyan, were killed in Gherelo when their house's roof collapsed. Meanwhile, in Hubbo Saeed Khan and Lakhi Ghulam Shah, two people were killed in a similar incident. R

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced fixed taxes have been abolished for retailers and more than 1.7 million people will now be exempt from fuel charges adjustment on electricity bills. Addressing the nation on Tuesday from Qatar where he arrived today on a two-day trip the premier said that fixed taxes were imposed on the people in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, announced on June 10, against the intention of the coalition government. The move will translate into a tax gap of Rs42 billion, but PM Shehbaz said that the coalition government "cannot add further pressure on small traders". In a press conference last week, Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail said that the coalition government aimed to collect Rs42 billion through retail taxes, however, after the tax exemption, it would no longer be able to meet the target. Ismail revealed that the revised target is now Rs27 billion. “To meet the gap, which will be created by the exemption of fixed taxes on

Minister for National Health Services, Abdul Qadir Patel on Tuesday said that the necessary medicines valuing over Rs 15 million, and other relief items including 0.6 million medicated mosquito nets were being dispatched to flood-hit areas of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab within the next few days. Talking to media persons, he said his ministry was making extraneous efforts to help flood hit people in distress. Giving details of the relief work he said: “A 12-member team of doctors has already been sent to the worst hit Lasbela district. Some 30,000 vaccines, a truck carrying medicines worth Rs 100,000 has already been sent to flood hit areas. A contingent of 200,000 vaccines was also being sent to the affected areas. The ministry has already dispatched 36,000 medicated mosquito nets. Over 1.4 million more medicated mosquito nets would soon be dispatched to flood hit areas.” He said anti-venom serum was ready for immediate delivery to any flooded areas that might be in need. He sa

Former president Asif Ali Zardari urged on Tuesday the institutions and government to establish their writ as he took a jibe at PTI Chairman Imran Khan for criticising Pakistan's armed forces, police and judiciary. "The institutions and government will have to establish their writ or else the law, Constitution and institutions will keep falling pray to his [Imran Khan] demands," a statement issued on Twitter stated. As per media reports, in a meeting with Sindh ministers, Zardari was quoted as saying by the PPP said that the flood affectees in all four provinces are looking towards the government for help while the hunger for power is driving Imran Khan crazy day by day. "This person is criticising our army every day and the same army's officers and soldiers are fighting against terrorists and laying down their lives in two provinces. He threatens the army, police and then a female magistrate and challenges them to arrest him," he said. Zardari said th

Islamabad Police raided incarcerated PTI leader Shahbaz Gill's room in Parliament Lodges late Monday and it recovered weapons, satellite phone, and foreign currency. According to details available with the media house, the raid was carried out under the supervision of a senior superintendent of police (SSP) and Gill accompanied them there with police officials in handcuffs. A pistol was recovered during the operation; however, Gill refused to take ownership of the weapon. Apart from weapons, a mobile phone, satellite phone and USBs have also been recovered from the room. Moreover, his wallet, that was missing, has also been recovered in which two of his CNICs were also found. Along with all these two passports were also recovered. Gill told journalists that he had no clue as to why is wallet was found in the room, claiming that he had left it in the car when he was taken into custody. “My wallet was usually carried by my driver and the room from where the pistol has been rec