ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi office has decided to summon all personalities nominated in the sugar scandal case after receiving relevant records.

Important progress was made by the anti-corruption watchdog as it decided to summon all accused in the sugar scandal case after receiving records from the relevant institutions.

The anti-graft watchdog issued a call-up notice to Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) chairman Sikandar Muhammad Khan. The accused was asked to appear before NAB investigators along with records on March 25 in Islamabad.

Sources added that NAB asked to provide details of the subsidy granted on sugar between 2017 and 2019, as well as sought details of sugar production and its cost during the period of three years.

Moreover, the relevant records of in-house meetings of the sugar mill owners and the report which recommended the federal government to grant subsidy during the three-year period were also sought by the NAB investigators.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice Retired Javed Iqbal had greenlighted investigation into wheat and sugar scandal in April last year.

The approval had been given in an executive board meeting where it was decided that the NAB will also thoroughly investigate into alleged smuggling of wheat and sugar and subsidies to the sectors.

It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government had made public reports of a high-level inquiry into the sugar and wheat crises that had hit the people hard across the country in January 2020.

Under the stewardship of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general Wajid Zia, two teams had carried out a probe into the crises and furnished their reports to the prime minister upon completion for perusal. Prime Minister Khan had gone through the report before it was made public.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had also vowed legal action against those responsible for the sugar and wheat price hike after the detailed forensic reports.

Islamabad : A delegation from Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Ahmad Khan Buzdar in Lahore.

The delegation apprised the Chief Minister about problems being faced by business community and industrialists.

Speaking on occasion, the Chief Minister said the government will take all possible steps to facilitate business community and industrialists as they are backbone of the economy.

ISLAMABAD, Mar 18 : For the first time in the country’s history, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday allotted 1,008 flats and 500 houses for poor workers and widows on low-cost mortgage in a bid to uplift the weaker segments of the society.

The Prime Minister performed balloting at the site of affordable residences constructed in the suburbs of Islamabad, under the Naya Pakistan Housing Project carried out by Workers Welfare Fund and Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said the project was in line with the vision of facilitating the lower class which faced hardship in owning a house particularly in the urban areas.

“Naya Pakistan is in fact a vision of empowering weaker segments of the society through economic emancipation and provision of basic necessities of life,” he said.

The Prime Minister said under mortgage system, the rent paid would be converted into the installments of the total cost of the house or flat.

He said the government would give Rs 0.3 million subsidy on each house and would also ensure that the markup rate did not exceed by five percent.

He lauded the efforts of team of Workers Welfare Fund for reviving the project that lingered on for last 25 years and regretted that previous governments never gave priority to working class.

Imran Khan acknowledged that without the support of banks, the project could not be accomplished.

The passage of new foreclosure law for banks took two years to get approval by the courts, he added.

He said in first phase, over 1,500 flats and houses would be distributed and the same number would be replicated in second phase as well. The project will be expanded to other parts of the country as well, he added.

Imran Khan said owning a house was a big dream in one’s life, adding that even rich countries could not give away houses free of cost but on mortgage.

He said the government gave concessions to the construction industry during pandemic that resulted in a boom, including increase in demand of cement.

He said the construction industry would generate massive employment opportunities, expressing hope that the step would lead to wealth creation and strengthening of economy.

The Prime Minister inspected the constructed houses and flats and also planted a sapling in the premises.

PM’s Special Assistant for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Bukhari said the keys of houses and flats would be handed over at payment of 10 percent of the total cost, while 90 percent of the rest of installments could be paid in a period of 20 years.

He said the concept to uplift poor was in line with the ideals of Islam’s first socio-welfare State of Madinah.

Senator Faisal Javed said the project was reflective of the fact that for Prime Minister Imran Khan, the emancipation of lower class was a priority.

Islamabad, 18 March 2021 : Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in Tillaberi region of Republic of Niger that resulted in loss of so many precious lives.

The government and people of Pakistan extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.

Pakistan reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations. We reaffirm our strong support and solidarity with the government and people of Niger in this moment of grief.

ISLAMABAD, Mar 18 : The “1965 War Hero” Muhammad Mahmood Alam, popularly known as M M Alam was remembered (Thursday) on his 8th death anniversary to pay glowing tributes for his heroics unforgettable services.

Legendary war hero MM Alam’s record of shooting down five Indian war planes in less than a minute remains unbeaten.

Alam, nicknamed as ‘Little Dragon’ popularly, while piloting an F-86 Sabre, shot down five Indian war planes in less than a minute during 1965 Pak-India war and altogether, downed nine war planes in the aerial fight.

MM Alam was the first ever fighter pilot for PAF, listed on top in the hall of famers’ list at the PAF Museum in Karachi. Alam is considered as a national hero for Pakistan, most significantly, for his remarkable show of brilliance in the war of 1965 he was awarded the ‘Sitara-e-Jurat’ and also the BAR medal.

The war hero was born on July 6, 1935, in Calcutta, India and was the eldest of 11 siblings. No one in his family before him had been part of the military, and in fact, he joined the armed forces against his father’s will.

In 1965, when India started war in the late mist dark night, Alam who was the first commanding officer of the first squadron of Assaults Mirage III, took his F-86 Sabre jet plane equipped with AIM-9 sidewinder missiles and fly over the skies of Sargodha to defeat the enemies who entered in Pakistani Air Space.

Here, MM Alam made the unforgettable history by knocking down nine Indian Fighter Jets ‘Hawker Hunters’ in air to air combat despite Hawker Hunter superiority over F-86. He shot down as he sets an unbeaten world record by downing five Indian aircraft in thirty seconds.

Alam announced to the radar controller that he had shot down nine IAF aircraft and when Radio Pakistan announced his brilliance, people of Pakistan started rising the slogans of “Allah o Akbar”.

The Air Force legend was battling illness since December 2012, and was admitted to Pakistan Naval Station Shifa Hospital in Karachi.

After a protracted illness, Alam died in Karachi on March 18, 2013 at the age of 77. He retired in 1982 as an Air Commodore.