ISLAMABAD: The military parade in connection with Pakistan Day celebrations is currently underway in Islamabad on Thursday.

President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, Defence Minister, Pervez Khattak, Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Naval Chief, Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi and other distinguished guests are attending the ceremony.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is not attending the event as he is quarantining at home after testing positive for coronavirus.

The contingents of the three armed forces and other security forces conducted a march past whilst fighter jets presented flypast led by Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar.

As per notifications of Deputy Commissioners Islamabad and Rawalpindi, there is a local holiday in the twin cities in connection with the military parade.

To facilitate the Parade, Islamabad Traffic Police will restrict traffic on Islamabad Expressway from Khanna Bridge to zero points between 5:00 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon.

Islamabad Traffic police have specified alternate routes to facilitate Traffic flow.

President’s address

Addressing the ceremony, President Dr Arif Alvi said Pakistan desires peace and stability in the region. The desire for peace should not be taken as our weakness, he warned.

He lauded the services of the Armed Forces in safeguarding the country’s land, aerial and sea boundaries and fight against terrorism. “Sacrifices of Pakistan Army are being appreciated worldwide.”

He assured Pakistan’s full support to the Kashmiri people fighting the Indian oppression for decades. The president said enduring peace cannot be restored in South Asia until the resolution of the Kashmir dispute as per the UN resolutions.

It is to be noted that the Parade scheduled to take place on March 23, was postponed owing to inclement weather.

SOPs

According to fresh directives issued by the ISPR, all participants/guests attending the parade had been strictly directed to follow Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Face masks have been made mandatory for all participants attending the Pakistan Day parade0 Every person coming to attend the Pakistan Day Parade would undergo temperature checks while it has been directed to staff to ensure the presence of hand sanitizers/masks at all entry gates of the parade.

The sitting arrangement for guests has been made keeping in view Covid-19 SOPs.

CENTRELINE magazine, a sister concern of Daily Islamabad POST elected as Member of the Executive Committee for the second time; the newly elected Executive Committee appreciated the performance of the Election Commission. The members gave standing ovation to Mr. Hameed Haroon

KARACHI (DNA) -The Annual Meeting of the APNS General Council held on March 24, 2021 at APNS House, Karachi unanimously elected  Sarmad Ali as  President,  Jamil Ather as Senior Vice President, Shahab Zuberi as Vice President, Ms. Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani as Secretary General, Mohsin Bilal as Joint Secretary and Owais Khushnood as Finance Secretary of the Society. Earlier, the General Council elected un-opposed the Executive Committee for 2021-22.

The AGM was held under the chairmanship of Hameed Haroon, President, at the lawns of the APNS House completely observing SOPs for Covid-19. The Council unanimously approved the report of the Executive Committee for the years 2019-2021 as well as the Annual Accounts of the Society for the years 2019 and 2020.

The General Council attended by 146  members from across the country, formed an Election Commission headed by Ms. Shimaila Matri Dawood with  Nasir Daad Baloch  and Mumtaz Ali Phulpoto as members. The Election Commission conducted the election of the Executive Committee for the year 2021-22.

Following were elected un-opposed to the Executive Committee of the APNS for the year 2021-22 at the Annual General Meeting held on March 24, 2021 :

Karachi Daily Seats: Aghaz, Business Recorder, Deynat, Dawn, Jasarat, Jiddat

Lahore Daily Seats: Jang, Khabrain, Tijarat, Dunya, Abtak, Pakistan

Rawalpindi/Islamabad Daily Seats:  Ausaf, Sahafat

Balochistan Daily Seats: Awam Quetta, Mashriq Quetta

Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa Daily Seats: Mashriq Peshawar, Wahdat Peshawar

Sindh (Excluding Karachi) Dailies: Kawish Hyderabad, Kaleem Sukkur

Punjab (excluding Lahore/Rwp/Ibd.): Aftab Multan, Paigham Faisalabad, Business Report, Faisalabad

General Seats (Metropolitan Dailies): Pakistan Observer Islamabad, City 42 Lahore

General Seats (Regional Dailies): Halchal Hyderabad, Sayadat Bahawalpur

Periodicals Seats: Naey Ufaq Karachi, Dastak Karachi, Roohani Digest Karachi, Naya Rukh Karachi.

News & News Comments Periodical (Punjab / KPK):  CENTRELINE  Islamabad

News & News Comments Periodical (Sindh / Balochistan): Ibrat Magazine Hyderabad

News & News Comments Periodicals (General): Cricketer Karachi

The new Executive Committee elected Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi on woman – publishers seat.

The newly elected Executive Committee appreciated the performance of the Election Commission. The members gave standing ovation to Mr. Hameed Haroon, the outgoing President for his services to the newspaper industry.

Earlier, the Extra-Ordinary General Council of the Society held a meeting in the morning and adopted a Special Resolution whereby not holding of the AGM due to pandemic for the year 2020-21, was condoned and the actions and decisions taken during the previous year were validated.

Israel’s election brought a surprise when a conservative Islamist party crossed the threshold to enter parliament and its leader emerged on Wednesday as a possible kingmaker.

Mansour Abbas and his Raam party — unlike other Arab political groups before it — have not ruled out joining an Israeli government.

“We are prepared to engage” with either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp or his rivals, Abbas told Israeli radio while stressing that “I’m not in anyone’s pocket”.

On Wednesday, the party was on track to win five seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, with roughly 90 per cent of the vote counted.

Israel’s latest inconclusive election left no clear path for Netanyahu or his rivals to form a government, setting the stage for protracted coalition talks.

When Israel last voted a year ago, Raam had been part of the mainly Arab Joint List. But that alliance fractured earlier this year amid ideological divisions between Abbas and his former partners.

The conservative Abbas long had frictions with other Arab Israeli factions, including those with communist roots.

Weeks before Tuesday’s vote, Abbas indicated an openness to dealing with Netanyahu, even though the premier has demonised Arab-Israelis at various points through his political career.

But Abbas argued that Arab leaders have a responsibility to partner with whoever is in power in order to tackle a crime epidemic rocking Arab communities.

ISLAMABAD, MAR 24 – The government has decided not to renew the passport of former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif who is currently absconding in London. However, the ministry of interior has offered him special documents to return to the country, it emerged on Wednesday.

The interior ministry stated this in response to a query by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made on February 19 regarding the “request for issuance of new diplomatic passport by the former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif”.

Nawaz’s passport had expired in February of this year. Interior Minis­ter Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had already announced in January that the PML-N supremo’s passport would not be renewed as per instructions from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The letter by the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a copy of which is available with Dawn, turned down the request and stated that the renewal of Nawaz Sharif’s passport would not be processed by the relevant authorities.

The interior ministry stated that in order to return to Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif may apply for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) from the Pakistan High Commission in UK, and “the same may be issued once he produces prior bookings of travel to Pakistan through PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) only.”

The interior ministry said that the issuance of a passport was not a fundamental right of any citizen.

“It being a property of federal government may only be issued once the applicant satisfies the relevant authorities regarding the bonafide of the application. A citizen’s right to travel abroad extinguishes once declared a fugitive of law.”

The letter by the interior ministry has been forwarded to Muhammad Ayub, Deputy High Commissioner, London.

The interior ministry said that the application for renewal of passport by Nawaz is “misconceived”, adding that Nawaz was declared a proclaimed offender by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a criminal appeal titled “Mian Nawaz Vs NAB”, as well as Toshakhana Reference by an accountability court in Islamabad and declared absconder in reference in case of Mir Shakeelur Rehman by an accountability court in Lahore.

The interior ministry also added that under the circumstances, Nawaz is required to return to Pakistan and appear before the relevant courts to face charges.

“He being a fugitive of law and absconder cannot seek any further relief unless he surrenders before the courts in Pakistan,” the letter said.

The letter pointed out that the IHC had granted eight-week bail to Nawaz on October 29, 2019, in the form of suspension of sentence, which was not extended by the Punjab government, as he failed to put forth reasonable cause as to why it should be extended for his medical treatment.

The interior ministry stated that Nawaz was now required to serve the remainder of his sentence at Kot Lakhpat jail Lahore.

“Yet, rather than obeying the dictates of the court and abiding by the conditions precedent in the bail granting order, he fled the country to avoid prosecution,” the letter added.

The letter also mentioned the list of cases pending against Nawaz in various courts in which he is required to appear and defend himself. The four cases are the Toshakhana reference and three criminal appeals pending before the IHC.

The foreign ministry has been asked by the interior ministry to respond to Nawaz through the Pakistan High Commission in London.

At the same time, the government has anticipated that the former prime minister is less likely to return and avail the ETD offer, and in a separate letter to the foreign office, the interior ministry has forwarded a form to be filled and signed by Nawaz regarding his current health status.

Referring to the order of the Lahore High Court (LHC) dated November 16, 2019 — in which it allowed Nawaz to travel abroad for four weeks for medical treatment, saying the duration could be extended based on medical reports — the interior ministry said that more information related to Nawaz’s health was needed.

The ministry’s letter regarding Nawaz’s health contains seven queries to be filled by the former prime minister including current diagnosis by medical doctors, name and address of doctors under whom he was receiving medical treatment, copies of all medical reports including tests undertaken in the UK with results of the tests, details of treatment (if any) received in the UK hospitals, details of ongoing treatment (if any), details of payment made for medical treatment in the UK and dates of visits and consultations made with the doctors in the UK.

The interior ministry informed the Foreign Office that Nawaz needed to sign the information, giving consent to the Pakistan High Commission in London, and the information will be forwarded to the LHC.

CENTRELINE magazine, a sister concern of Daily Islamabad POST elected as Member of the Executive Committee for the second time; the newly elected Executive Committee appreciated the performance of the Election Commission. The members gave standing ovation to Mr. Hameed Haroon

KARACHI, MAR 24 – /DNA/ – Annual Meeting of the APNS General Council held on March 24, 2021 at APNS House, Karachi unanimously elected  Sarmad Ali as  President,  Jamil Ather as Senior Vice President, Shahab Zuberi as Vice President, Ms. Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani as Secretary General, Mohsin Bilal as Joint Secretary and Owais Khushnood as Finance Secretary of the Society. Earlier, the General Council elected un-opposed the Executive Committee for 2021-22.

The AGM was held under the chairmanship of Hameed Haroon, President, at the lawns of the APNS House completely observing SOPs for Covid-19. The Council unanimously approved the report of the Executive Committee for the years 2019-2021 as well as the Annual Accounts of the Society for the years 2019 and 2020.

The General Council attended by 146  members from across the country, formed an Election Commission headed by Ms. Shimaila Matri Dawood with  Nasir Daad Baloch  and Mumtaz Ali Phulpoto as members. The Election Commission conducted the election of the Executive Committee for the year 2021-22.

Following were elected un-opposed to the Executive Committee of the APNS for the year 2021-22 at the Annual General Meeting held on March 24, 2021 :

Karachi Daily Seats: Aghaz, Business Recorder, Deynat, Dawn, Jasarat, Jiddat

Lahore Daily Seats: Jang, Khabrain, Tijarat, Dunya, Abtak, Pakistan

Rawalpindi/Islamabad Daily Seats:  Ausaf, Sahafat

Balochistan Daily Seats: Awam Quetta, Mashriq Quetta

Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa Daily Seats: Mashriq Peshawar, Wahdat Peshawar

Sindh (Excluding Karachi) Dailies: Kawish Hyderabad, Kaleem Sukkur

Punjab (excluding Lahore/Rwp/Ibd.): Aftab Multan, Paigham Faisalabad, Business Report, Faisalabad

General Seats (Metropolitan Dailies): Pakistan Observer Islamabad, City 42 Lahore

General Seats (Regional Dailies): Halchal Hyderabad, Sayadat Bahawalpur

Periodicals Seats: Naey Ufaq Karachi, Dastak Karachi, Roohani Digest Karachi, Naya Rukh Karachi.

News & News Comments Periodical (Punjab / KPK):  Centerline Islamabad

News & News Comments Periodical (Sindh / Balochistan): Ibrat Magazine Hyderabad

News & News Comments Periodicals (General): Cricketer Karachi

The new Executive Committee elected Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi on woman – publishers seat.

The newly elected Executive Committee appreciated the performance of the Election Commission. The members gave standing ovation to Mr. Hameed Haroon, the outgoing President for his services to the newspaper industry.

Earlier, the Extra-Ordinary General Council of the Society held a meeting in the morning and adopted a Special Resolution whereby not holding of the AGM due to pandemic for the year 2020-21, was condoned and the actions and decisions taken during the previous year were validated.

KARACHI, MAR 24 (DNA) – Customs officials thwarted a bid to smuggle over two kilogrammes of cocaine worth around Rs49 million into the country.

The officials said two Nigerian nationals, who arrived at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi from Nigeria on board a Qatar Airways flight, were found to have swallowed plastic capsules when they were subjected to an x-ray examination.

Subsequently, the officials said both men were taken into custody and an FIR was registered against them. After obtaining their physical remand from a relevant court, the two were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where 161 plastic capsules were removed from their stomach.

Cocaine recovered from these capsules weighed 2.450 kilogrammes and its value is estimated at Rs49 million in international market. = DNA

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