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by-election: Imran Khan secures Peshawar constituency, maintains lead on 5 remaining seats up for grabs

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 16: Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf Chairman Imran Khan emerged victorious in six of the seven constituencies that he was contesting from, with PPP’s Hakim Balouch edging over him in Malir’s NA-237.  Overall, PTI managed to grab six National Assembly seats and two Provincial Assembly seats, while PML-N could only win one provincial assembly seat.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan won the NA-31 Peshawar-V seat after beating ANP’s Ghulam Ahmed Bilour as unofficial results of eight National Assembly, and three Punjab Assembly constituencies pour in.

Khan bagged 57,824 to defeat his rival, according to unofficial results, with Bilour securing 32,253 votes — allowing the PTI chairman to win by more than 25,000 votes.

The counting of votes started at 5pm after the polling — which started at 8am — was held without interruptions despite intense political activity. Sporadic clashes were reported in some constituencies. On the eighth seat that Khan wasn’t contesting, PDM candidate Musa Ali Gillani emerged victorious, according to unofficial results.

There are eight National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly sets on

which the by-elections are being held. The National Assembly

constituencies are NA-22 (Mardan-III); NA-24 (Charsadda-II); NA-31

(Peshawar-V); NA-108 (Faisalabad-VIII); NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II);

NA-237 (Malir-II); NA-239, (Korangi), Karachi-I; and NA 157 (Multan-IV).

The provincial constituencies are PP-139 (Sheikhupura-V); PP-209

(Khanewal VII); and PP-241 (Bahawalnagar-V).

Unofficial results of National Assembly seats are as follows: NA-22 Mardan-III: PTI Chairman Imran Khan defeated Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) candidate Muhammad Qasim .NA-24 Charsadda-II: Unconfirmed and unofficial results from 226 polling

stations show that PTI candidate Imran Khan will defeat ANP candidate.

NA-31 Peshawar-V: According to results from all polling stations, PTI Chairman Imran Khan easily defeated ANP Ghulma Ahmad Bilour.

NA-108 Faisalabad-VIII: Imran Khan defeated Abid Sher Ali, the nephew of Nawaz Sharif.

NA-118 Nankana Sahib-II: According to unofficial and preliminary results

PTI candidate Imran Khan was in the lead  while PML-N’s Shezra Mansab Ali trailed .

NA-237 Malir-II: PPPP candidate Abdul Hakeem Baloch was leading with

17,753 votes while PTI chief Imran Khan was behind. NA-239 Korangi: PTI candidate Imran Khan easily defeated MQM candidate. NA 157 Multan-IV: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Ali Musa Gillani defeated PTI’s Meher Bano Qureshi who is daughter of Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Unofficial results of Punjab Assembly seats are as follows:

PP-139 Sheikhupura-V: PML-N’s Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed Bhangoo was leading with 18,396 votes while PTI’s Muhammad Abu Bakr behind. PP-209 Khanewal VII: PTI candidate Faisal Khan Niazi defeated PML N candidate. PP-241 Bahawalnagar-V: PTI candidate Malik Muzaffar was well poised to register a win over his PML N opponent.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that overall, the polling process remained peaceful, and the commission’s central control room received 15 complaints of code violations.

Ethiopia Supported Pakistani Flood Affectees: Ambassador Jemal Beker

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DNA

ISLAMABAD, OCT 16: Jemal Beker, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan visited flood affectees in the Tent City District of Sindh Province where he distributed basic food, medicine, shelter, and non-food items to more than eight thousand affectees in the vicinity. Tent City is a two-hour drive from Karachi. On my way to the city, I was just thinking about what kind of life, pain, and agony these people undergoing.

Ambassador said that it is very sad and painful to comprehend where one-third of the country was inundated with water, more than 1600 precious life lost, 1.7 million houses destroyed, women give birth in the tent, 800 thousand livestock, majority of crops were devastated, schools, health facilities, and infrastructures destroyed that heavily affected the livelihood of people beyond imagination.

Upon my arrival at the Tent City, I was received by a crowd of people composed of elderly men and women, youth and children. Looking into their face and eye, I am old enough to comprehend the agony and suffering they are undergoing for the causes they are not part of it. Coming out of my car, I extend my hand and gave strong hugs to the children around me just to express my empathy and sympathy with them while scanning the camps and visualizing the magnitude of the suffering. Related to this, I have noticed one thing the Pakistani people have strong and solid hearts and growing hope to survive, revive and recover and eagerly wait for their return to their place. But I have just asked myself one question, what would be left over in their locality upon their return nothing but debris and begin life from zero that has further worried me a lot. Certainly, I have learned that the worst is yet to come when looking into the situation there is likely hood of a disease outbreak that would significantly hurt the already victimized society. Truly speaking, Pakistan can not alone address the unfolding scenarios and the international community must redouble its effort and ensure justice.

Indeed, Pakistan became ground zero for climate change calamities for the causes where its share is minimal, however, it suffers the most. Looking into the causes of climate change, developing countries like Pakistan and my Country Ethiopia contribute smallbut the main causes are developed countries’ greed, and resistance to adjust their actions as to the scientific advice and warnings costs the world a lot. Today Climate change became a reality in which all states and non-state actors should oblige to adopt the doctrine of do-no-harm and refrain from their wrongdoing that aggravated the unfolding fiasco on planet earth. It is clear that today’s human sufferings were caused by the self-centered, state of nature of developed State’s behavior that polluted the environment and disrupted the ecosystemthat brought us here.

Therefore, it is imperative for developed countries to avail climate finance, technology, and capacity building for developing countries like Pakistan to mitigate and adapt mechanisms that help to create a resilient economy. To this end, it is mandatory to extend and redouble the effort to mobilize the funds to rescue, recover, rebuild and reconstruct the nation and ensure justice.

At this time of agony, the Government of Ethiopia and its people would stand in solidarity and share the pain and suffering with their brotherly people of Pakistan. Indeed, my visit to the flood affectees area of Tent City is a new experience for me where I observed the real challenge unfolding, and we need to prepare for the worst.

On the other hand, Ambassador Jemal Beker held a productive discussion with the Tent City administration, elders, and religious leaders that helped meto understand the reality on the ground and the alarming situations that need to be addressed by the international community collectively.

Finally, Ambassador Jemal Beker along with other officials distributed basic foods, medicine, shelter, water, biscuits, and toys to the children. During this distribution activity, one thing said by the middle-aged man captured my attention: ‘Ethiopia-Pakistan’ zindabad.

Imran Khan wins in Peshawar as PTI remains ahead on several seats

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Peshawar, OCT 16: PTI Chairman Imran Khan won the NA-31 Peshawar-V seat after beating ANP’s Ghulam Ahmed Bilour as unofficial results of eight National Assembly, and three Punjab Assembly constituencies pour in.

Khan bagged 57,824 to defeat his rival, according to unofficial results, with Bilour securing 32,253 votes — allowing the PTI chairman to win by more than 25,000 votes.

PTI is ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on multiple seats, according to unofficial results.

The counting of votes started at 5pm after the polling — which started at 8am — was held without interruptions despite intense political activity. Sporadic clashes were reported in some constituencies.

On the eighth seat that Khan wasn’t contesting, PDM candidate Musa Ali Gillani emerged victorious, according to unofficial results.

Musa — the son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani — bagged 79,743 votes and took a lead of 19,750 as Meher — the daughter of PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi — was able to secure 59,993 votes, according to unofficial results.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that overall, the polling process remained peaceful, and the commission’s central control room received 15 complaints of code violations.

What forced Joe Biden to speak against Pakistan Nukes?

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Comment

Ansar M Bhatti

US President Joe Biden’s remarks that Pakistan may be a dangerous place for it to have nuclear weapons without cohesion have caused uproar among all strata of the society. While different interpretations of the statement continue to pour in, one thing is for sure that US-Pakistan relations that seemed to have been put on track after removal of the Imran Khan government may again be derailed, albeit not for a long time.

Pakistan- US interests are interlinked, especially when it comes to regional security and peace. Ever since the Afghan war, this relationship has seen many ups and downs with each side doubting others sincerity and seriousness.   But despite all these vicissitudes this relationship continued to sustain and it will sustain even now.

The timing of the US President’s statement is quite intriguing. Our Army Chief has just concluded the US visit. Before him, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had an extensive tour. Even before becoming the foreign minister Bilawal had visited America and interacted with high level US officials. Therefore it was quite surprising for all and sundry that how come the US President issues a statement against Pakistan when both the high level visits were dubbed as highly successful?

In the light of the above, one is forced to assume that perhaps all did not go well during these high level visits. Joe Biden’s statement is purely military-specific. The purpose of the statement appears to be putting pressure on the Pakistan Army when it points out as if there was no cohesion within the institution. Some analysts believe when Biden talked about cohesion, he actually meant cohesion in the ranks of the political leadership.

Pakistan is faced with a deep political crisis these days. Imran Khan is on the roads dubbing the incumbent government a ‘stooge’ of America. Unlike, the government is doing its best to keep the former prime minister in limits by using various conventional and non-conventional methods. This is of course an unwarranted method employed by the respective governments against their opponents. However, it seems as if these methods are not helping the government much given the fact that popularity of Imran Khan has touched new heights simply because this government has failed to perform. People’s miseries have multiplied, no doubt, during six months.

After Ishaq Dar’s return Pakistani currency recovered a bit but the current depreciation of dollar is not because of the government policies or Ishaq Daq has any magic wand. It was because of certain factors including Pakistan-US improved relations. Then the PML N government is devising policies only for one year i.e till the next elections.

In case of longer term policies indeed the government cannot achieve economic targets. Since these fiscal arrangements are election-specific and short term therefore it is very much likely that as soon as this government goes, inflation may again sky-rocket. The dollar may also go beyond control. Agreed, if relations with the United States are put back on track, the biggest beneficiary shall be Pakistan’s sagging economy, but the question is can these relations become normal any time soon?

The appointment of the new army chief is yet another issue the present government has to deal with. Imran Khan’s threat to organize a long march is still lurking. As analysts believe he is probably waiting for the ‘divine approval’ before he sets off on the march.

There is still no answer to the question as to why Joe Biden chose this particular time for his tirade against the Pakistani nuclear program? If the American administration or the establishment wants to put pressure on the Pakistan Army, the question is why they want to do it?   I personally think it will not take long for this secret to become public.

On our part, Pakistani leadership needs to act in a responsible manner. It should also sit together when sovereignty and national pride is at stake, but unfortunately it may not happen because personal interests and egos of our worthy leaders appear to be more important than the national cause. For the political system to work smoothly we also need to have a real power transfer. What we have seen after 1988 is that power has always been shared – not transferred to the elected representatives.

The recent statement of Imran Khan that he was not allowed to wield full power when he was the prime minister, is in fact a classic example of ‘shared power’ phenomena. But then if such a thing happens the politicians solely are responsible for that. When they are ruling, they just forget about who had elected them and sent them to the assemblies. Their bad governance and disconnect from the masses creates a vacuum. The un-elected forces then jump into the fray to fill that vacuum.

Imran Khan, as many would opine, delivered a googly when he proposed that the current army chief may continue his work till the time of the new elections. It was indeed a surprise move on his part for he had been blaming the establishment for his ouster. The trick nevertheless put the sitting government in trouble. They were really faced with a situation of to be or not to be.

But at the end of the day they perhaps decided not to pay any heed to this proposal. As things have transpired in the recent weeks, the Imran Khan era ‘same page’ arrangement seems to have been resurrected.  The government wanted to postpone the by-elections, but the Election Commission, which probably wanted to entertain the govt plea, could not do so. On audio leaks, some voices within the PDM believe it may be yet another move to ditch them since leaks that belong to them happen to be of severe nature as compared with the ones relating to PTI.

And above all, the stunning defeat of the PDM in the by-elections should ring alarm bells within the govt and allies ranks. The win, for sure, will put PTI in a better bargaining position besides further strengthening its narrative of the American involvement in the removal of the Imran Khan Government.

PTI suffers setback in Multan as Musa Gilani defeats Meher Bano Qureshi

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MULTAN, OCT 16: In a setback to Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) joint candidate Musa Gilani defeated PTI candidate Meher Bano Qureshi.

Musa — the son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani — bagged 79,743 votes and took a lead of 19,750 as Meher — the daughter of PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi — was able to secure 59,993 votes, according to unofficial results.

Tough competition was expected between the two candidates as nearly 10 years ago, in early 2012, Gilani won the NA seat from Multan that was vacated by Qureshi, who had joined the PTI by then.

In a press conference after the unofficial results were in, Yousaf told journalists that he was thankful to PPP for awarding his son the ticket and praised PML-N and the coalition alliance for supporting Musa.

“I am thankful to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” the ex-prime minister said.

Gillani also slammed PTI Chairman Khan and said that his narrative had led to instability in the country.

RCCI urges reduction in taxes on poultry sector

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Rawalpindi, OCT 16 /DNA/ – President of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI)Saqib Rafiq and Chairman of Pakistan Poultry Association Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf in a joint statement have demanded the government to abolish the 35% tax imposed on day old grand parent chick which is a seed in the poultry industry.  Tax on import of mineral vitamins should be reduced so that poultry and eggs can be made affordable to masses.

Saqib Rafiq while speaking at the ceremony regarding World Egg Day in collaboration with SB Eggs in Rawalpindi Chamber said that the volume of poultry industry in Pakistan has exceeded 1200 billion.The poultry sector generates employment and provides source of income to more than 1.5 million people of Pakistan directly & indirectly, he added.  Hesaid that Pakistan is included in countries where severe stunting (44%) in young children is found and is at alarming level and increased consumption of eggs can help overcome this issue. Poultry industry can be developed by reducing the tax imposed on feed and machinery, he added.

Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf said that the poultry industry is suffering due to the increase in production costs and heavy taxes.  He demanded that the poultry sector is playing an important role in alleviating malnutrition in the country.

Group leader Sohail Altaf, Senior Vice President Muhammad Hamza Sarosh, Vice President Faisal Shehzad, former presidents Dr. Hasan Saroosh Akram, Mian Humayun Parvez, Chairman Standing Committee for Poultry Dr. Farhan Farooq, members of the Executive Committee  and Poultry Association attended the ceremony. Association representatives, women entrepreneurs, students and esteemed members of RCCI also participated.

On this occasion, a presentation was also given on the benefits and nutritional importance of eggs in daily diet.

At the end of the event, certificates and cash prizes were also given to the winners of egg dish competitions in various departments and painting competitions among school kids.

PTI in lead as unofficial results for eight NA, three Punjab Assembly seats pour in

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PTI in lead as unofficial results for eight NA, three Punjab Assembly seats pour in

LATEST: By-elections: Polling ends, counting underway on eight NA, three Punjab Assembly seats

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LAHORE, OCT 16: Voting for by-elections in 11 constituencies in three provinces came to an end and counting began on Sunday, with reports of clashes between PTI and ANP workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and PTI claims of a lawmaker being “attacked” by “PPP goons” outside a polling station in Karachi marring an otherwise peaceful polling process.

Key developments

  • Imran says he’s contesting against PDM, ECP and “namaloom afraad”.
  • ECP rejects Imran Khan’s claims as “baseless and misleading”.
  • Workers of PTI and ANP clash in Peshawar polling station; one injured, two taken into custody.
  • Rana Sanaullah issued notice by Punjab election commission for code of conduct violation in Faisalabad.
  • PTI claims PPP “goons” attacked MPA Bilal Ghaffar in Karachi; police say it was a personal dispute.
  • PPP’s Saeed Ghani says PTI losing and making excuses.
  • PPP’s Sharjeel posts video and claims PTI worker threatening election official in Karachi.
  • Three arrested in Sheikhupura for allegedly possessing weapons.

The polling process started at 8am and culminated at 5pm.

The by-elections were held for three seats each of the national and provincial assembly in Faisalabad, Nankana Sahib and Multan in Punjab; three NA seats in Charsadda, Peshawar and Mardan in KP; and two NA seats in Sindh’s Korangi and Malir.

It is unprecedented in the country’s political history that one candidate, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, is running for as many as seven NA seats out of eight up for grabs.

As polling commenced, Imran tweeted that he was contesting against “all of PDM, the Election Commission and ‘namaloom afraad’”.

After braving broadsides from the PTI leadership throughout the day, the ECP, in a statement issued in the afternoon, said the statements of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, Omar Ayub, Farrukh Habib and others are “completely baseless and misleading and have no relation to reality”.

“The ECP is determined to conduct free, fair and impartial elections, and so far, with the blessings of God, it is what is happening.

“If anyone tries to influence the election process, he will be dealt with strictly according to the Constitution and law.”

A total of 101 candidates from different political parties and independents are taking part in the vote: 52 in Punjab, 33 in Sindh and 16 in KP. Around 4.472 million voters are registered in these constituencies.

The ECP said in a statement that it has passed “strict instructions” to provincial election commissioners to ensure the immediate arrest of anyone that tries to influence the polling process.

Dar urges IMF, multilateral donors to offer greater policy support

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ISLAMABAD, OCT 16: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and multilateral donors to provide greater policy support.

He asked the IMF to tailor its response to the situation in Pakistan and similar countries by taking into consideration the serious economic, social and political challenges that they face amid climate-induced calamities, according to a press release issued by the finance ministry.

Dar made the remarks while addressing a meeting of Menap (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) ministers of finance and central bank governors with the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

During the meeting, Goergieva spoke about the challenges regional economies were facing, including those related to climate change, such as the destructive floods in Pakistan. She expressed sympathy with Pakistan and assured the country of the Fund’s full support, the statement added.

For his part, Dar thanked the IMF official for her support and assured Pakistan’s commitment to completing the ongoing programme. “[The] finance minister highlighted the humanitarian catastrophe and losses suffered by the country. Given the scale of disaster, he pleaded [for] more policy support for Pakistan.”

Dar also welcomed new IMF instruments — Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and Food Shock Window under Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) — to support countries.

The finance minister, who is on a week-long visit to the US to attend annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, had another busy day on Sunday as he held multiple meetings with officials of other countries and international financial institutions.

Separately, Dar, along with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed met Queen Maxima of the Netherlands to discuss financial inclusion and equality in banking.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to work together to achieve fast progress, the finance ministry said in a press release.

In his meeting with Director General of Kuwait Fund Marwan Abdullah Yusuf Thunayan Al- Ghanem, the finance minister appreciated the fund’s contribution to Pakistan’s economic development. He also discussed ongoing projects and potential new areas of investment.

Separately, during his meeting with Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa, Dar thanked the multilateral lender for its support over the years and its commitments following the devastating floods.

The ADB president assured the finance minister of approval of the BRACE programme amounting to $1.5 billion and continued support to Pakistan. Dar also met International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director Makhtar Diop, with whom he discussed potential means of enhancing IFC’s engagement in Pakistan and assured all facilitation in this regard.

Palestinian martyred by Israeli soldiers during West Bank clash

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SALFIT, OCT 16: Israeli soldiers martyred a Palestinian during a clash in the occupied West Bank and he later died of his wounds, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday.

The Israeli military alleges Palestinians had started “a violent riot” near the town of Qarawet Bani Hassan on Saturday and soldiers who had been operating there opened fire.

One Palestinian who was shot later died, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Three others were wounded.

The incident follows months of tensions that have deepened since Israeli forces began a crackdown in the West Bank in March in response to a series of attacks by Palestinians in Israel.

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