Category: Top Stories

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Ali Jahangir Siddqui will take charge of Pakistan’s ambassador to US on May 29.

Earlier in the month of April, the federal government had appointed the banking expert and special assistant to the prime minister as Pakistan’s ambassador to the US.

The private news channel reported that the Pakistan ambassador-designate will leave for the US tonight on (Saturday). He will use his new diplomatic passport to travel.

Ali Jahangir Siddiqui was appointed as a special assistant to the prime minister and he is the son of renowned businessman and banker Jahangir Siddiqui.

In 2014, he was honoured by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.

Siddiqui holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University, US.

Former foreign secretary Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry was serving as Pakistan’s envoy to the US earlier before his retirement last month.

 

 

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is a constitutional institution and it has the power to summon anyone to appear before it in any case.

Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Shehbaz Sharif said this while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Tayyab Erdogan Hospital’s expansion plan in Muzaffargarh on Saturday.

He added that NAB has the power and right to summon anyone if it wants to summon him again in any case.

Regarding the political opponents former president Asif Ali Zardari and PTI Chief Imran Khan, he said that talking about these two personalities are only wasting of time as one looted the country and the other (Imran) is trying to befool the public on different attractive slogans.

CM Punjab claimed that if his party gets elected again, then in the next five years it will bring southern Punjab at par with central Punjab.

Earlier, NAB has summoned Shehbaz Sharif in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC) case on June 4.

Sources within the anti-graft body informed that a questionnaire had also been sent to Shehbaz. The chief minister had earlier appeared before NAB in the Ashian-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme corruption case.

F.P. Report

SHUJABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday that said we should not use the slogan of new provinces only for the political benefits and adding that a national dialogue must be held to evolve consensus for new province.

PM Abbasi said this while addressing a public gathering on Saturday after inaugurating Multan-Shujabad section of Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5).

He said that formation and establishing is also possible in Pakistan. PM Abbasi was accompanied by Governor Punjab Muhammad Rafiq Rajwana and Minister for Water Resources Javed Ali Shah.

The Sukkur-Multan Motorway is part of Karachi-Lahore Motorway Project and is being constructed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that would cost Rs 294 billion.

Prime minister criticized the people who raising voice of South Punjab and adding that those who had now been calling for South Punjab province were part of Pervez Musharraf’s government when new province could have been created within no time.

Such people were just cheating the people and challenged them to prove their performance during their respective tenures with that of the PML-N government in all sectors, PM said.

Premier Abbasi added that the whole political elite should join heads on the issue of new provinces and other national issues as the politics of blackmailing and impersonation would not work anymore.

He said the present government had delivered even beyond its commitments and besides it own projects, it had also accomplished the half-complete projects of previous government that had been lingering for decades.

PM Abbasi added that the previous governments too had same resources but failed to deliver. During the last five years, the government had executed record projects, comparing with the last 65 years.

It had added around 10,400MW to national grid, comparing with 20,000 MW generated since creation of Pakistan.

 

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Opposition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has finalized Manzoor Afridi name for the caretaker CM.

According to reports, CM Pervez Khattak and opposition leader Maulana Lutf-ur-Rehman have decided to make Manzoor Afridi as caretaker CM after reaching a consensus in the third round of meeting.

Manzoor Afridi is the son of Senator Ayub Afridi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI).

It is to be mentioned here that the name was suggested by the opposition leader which PTI acknowledged.

On the other hand, negotiations are underway to select caretaker CM for Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways, Khawaja Saad Rafique and his younger brother, Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique was once again summoned by National Accountability Bureau on Saturday.

NAB directed elder brother Saad Rafique to appear before the NAB on June 21, whereas Salman has been asked to appear the following day.

NAB Lahore had launched an investigation in November last year into a mega land scam involving Paragon Housing Society in Lahore and it is said to be believed that the land is owned by Saad Rafique and the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC).

Saad Rafique had earlier appeared before the NAB Lahore office in March and had expressed that he answered all the questions. He also claimed that the accountability procedure opted by NAB and highlighted the efforts of the incumbent regime for the uplift of the country.

The Railways minister had also appeared before the apex court, wherein he denied having any links with the private housing society in question.

 

 

 

Monitoring Desk

SRINAGAR: The occupied Indian forces continued its atrocities on the innocent people and martyred four more Kashmiri youth on Saturday in Kupwara district of occupied Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service report, the Indian troops martyred the five youth during a military operation in Tangdhar area of Kupwara district.

Earlier this month, 10 youth were martyred by Indian troops in Shopian district and another was crushed to death by an army vehicle in Noorbagh area.

Pakistan strongly condemned the Indian atrocities in Kashmir and in Senate, unanimously passed a resolution three weeks ago strongly against the reign of terror unleashed by Indian forces in IoK.

The resolution demanded from the international community to play their role and ends its criminal silence over the killing of Kashmiri people.

It reiterated that Pakistan firmly stands with the Kashmiri people and will continue to extend its moral and diplomatic support to them.

 

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has called a meeting of all political parties in the parliament on May 31 to finalize the code of conduct for coming general election in the country.

The meeting has been summoned at 11pm on May 31, at which the proposed code of conduct for General Elections 2018 will be finalized, according to a letter written to parliamentary parties’ heads by the ECP.

The ECP also forwarded a copy of the proposed code of conduct with its letter forwarded to parliamentary parties’ heads.

The code of conduct will be finalized after consultation on political parties, candidates, polling and election agents.

The incumbent government is expected to conclude its five-year term on May 31, after which the caretaker government will take over to oversee the general elections.

 

 

F.P.Report

KARACHI: The military official of Pakistan has express reservations over a book written by Lieutenant General (retd) Asad Durrani, former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Security sources said that Durrani was being summoned to the General Headquarters (GHQ) for clearing his position. They said that the former spy chief would have to clear his position over a violation of the military’s code of conduct.

Durrani, who served as the chief of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency from August 1990 till March 1992, co-authored the book titled ‘The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace’ with former Indian spy chief AS Dulat.

F.P.Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that Nawaz Sharif’s should clear that he is loyal with the country or he play double game.

This he said on Friday in a press conference at Islamabad along with the PPP senior leader including Sherry Rehman.

The former Pakistan president said “Mian sahib should make it clear whether he is with Pakistan or play double game with the country, adding that in past he play double game with the country.

Taking the credit for the recently approved merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Zardari said that the idea was a dream of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir.

“We were unable to implement the idea [of the merger] during our time in the office because of the game Nawaz had played,” said Zardari.

The PPP co-chairman accused those who had opposed the merger of being on an agenda. “They are afraid that their monopoly would end,” he said.

He added and congratulates the Fata people for merger in KP, adding that it is a historic day and its credit goes to PPP.