DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 20 – Responding to media queries, the Spokesperson said that leaking misleading information and twisting facts is not only contrary to diplomatic norms but is also not helpful in the conduct of diplomatic relations.

The news in certain sections of Indian media, quoting sources in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, regarding assignment visa for senior Indian diplomat Jayant Khobragade proposed as Charge d’ Affaires at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad,is misleading.

It may be recalled that following India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Pakistan took a number of steps, including the downgrading of diplomatic relations with India. The purpose of downgrading the relations was to register Pakistan’s strong protest and condemnation of India’s illegal, inhuman and unacceptable actions in IIOJK.

Pakistan believes that by proposing a senior diplomat, who has already served as Ambassador in another post, India is trying to circumvent the effect of downgrading of diplomatic relations,which is obviously not in line with Pakistan’s decision.

However, keeping in view the diplomatic norms, Pakistan has counselled India to nominate an officer with seniority commensurate with Pakistan’s decision of downgrading the diplomatic relations.

As for the veiled threats in Indian media reports that the issue of grant of assignment visa to Mr. Khobragade will “further destabilize” India-Pakistan relations, it must be clear thatthe relations between India and Pakistan are inextricably linked to the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

A just and lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is critical for durable peace and stability in South Asia. Accordingly, India is once again reminded of its international obligations with regard to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. India must listen to the voices of the Kashmiri people and the world community.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 20 (DNA) – The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) president Mian Anjum Nisar has appointed well-known journalist and Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed as Deputy Convener of the FPCCI Central Committee on Environment with immediate effect.

The FPCCI president hoped that the induction of an environmentalist into his team would help develop a comprehensive strategy and an action plan to engage Pakistan’s corporate sector and industry to more environment friendly practices.

Talking to this scribe, Munir Ahmed said Pakistan’s industry and corporate sector is all out to adopt a new mechanism of environmental sustainability to be more competitive to the standards required for entering into the European and the US markets.

The investment does not only improve the environment around and cut the health cost of an industry, it also gives the industry to have more exports.

Ahmed said that with the support and guidance of the FPCCI president a model of sustainability reporting would be introduced for the industry engaged in exports. It would help in securing more exports to Europe and the US.

He said the environment is more than tree plantation, waste management and anti-littering campaigns. Pakistan’s business and industry sector should be introduced to the emerging sustainability trends to have more changes of business and trade globally.

We also need to support and appreciate businesses and industry having environmental compliance and fulfilling their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), he added.

Government is only interested in collecting taxes and that’s it. The federal and provincial governments should come up with a plan to encourage environment friendly industry by giving incentives to engage them into sustainable urban management.

It would make cities more sustainable and resilient to climate change impacts, he concluded.=DNA

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All Pakistan Lootmaar Association gathered to save their corruption money

Abid Raza
LAHORE, “Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan
has said that participation of Begum Safdar in the APC shows
no-confidence over her uncle Shehbaz Sharif.

“Shehbaz Sharif deceiving his elder brother and niece from many years”,
Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said in his statement issued here from Lahore
Sunday.

The only concern of the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is to get rid of
the cases being faced by him and his son Hamza, the minister said, and
added that he is not interested in return of Nawaz Sharif or departure
of Maryam Nawaz to London.

The minister said demand to shut the National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) by opposition is just like demanding National Reconcilation
Ordinance (NRO).

Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said that All Pakistan Lootmaar Association
gathered to save their corruption money.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is hosting
the all parties conference (APC) in Islamabad today which would be
addressed by co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League
Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif.

The all parties conference (APC) would be attended by opposition parties
for consulting over initiation of political movement against the
incumbent government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). DNA

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ISLAMABAD, SEPT 20 (DNA) – Two diplomats who got lost while hiking in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills have been found. A police spokesperson said that the diplomats went hiking in the hills and forgot the way back.

They have been identified as the second secretary at the Hungarian Embassy and a female attaché at the embassy. They took trail six at 7am.

The embassy informed the police that they had not returned at 9pm that night.

Islamabad’s operations DIG said the police began a search operation soon after receiving the complaint. They were found after a few hours.=DNA

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DNA

Islamabad, SEPT 20  – The experts at a webinar said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is getting stronger to safeguard interests of the countries in the region. Covid-19 has played havoc with the world economy, especially the poor and developing economies have suffered a lot. The pandemic has extreme effects on the SCO region as well. That is why the next SCO heads of states meeting would be crucial for coming up with the post-covid-19 regional policy framework.

 Afghan peace process and its impact in the region is expected to be another top agenda besides resolving the pending conflicts between the countries of the region. Working out the regional cooperation for sustainable peace and economic prosperity, and cooperation in the health sector would be other priority tasks for discussions.

The webinar was organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) on Saturday on the SCO’s role in conflict management. The participants included geopolitical analyst from Beijing Zoon Ahmed Khan, senior journalist and political analyst from Washington Anwar Iqbal, Eurasian affairs expert Dr Fahim Akhtar, global security analyst Dr Ashfaq Ahmed and CGSS research fellow Anushka Johum. The webinar was hosted and conducted by Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed.

Zooh Ahmed khan said SCO provides equal opportunity to all countries to represent their development agenda for regional cooperation as envisioned in the SCO charter and mandate. Though each one has the right to present their case, no one can play hegemonic. The respective committees sit together and discuss issues to resolve them.

She said the SCO’s main goals are to strengthening mutual trust and neighborliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

Ms Khan said the Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organization. The SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organization’s multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas, to resolve current important economic and other cooperation issues, and also to approve the organization’s annual budget. The forthcoming meetings are very important in the context of rising economic conflict between China and the US.

Anwar Iqbal said SCO no doubt is getting stronger and meaningful but the question is if it would be able to combat the new emerging bloc in the region where India would be playing proxy for the US-Israel alliance against China. India would be taking on China in the SCO and would not succeed. The same will be the case of Indian-Held Jummu and Kashmir (IOJK). SCO won’t be able to sort out the Kashmir solution in near future even cannot compel India to soften the siege of the territory.

He said Pakistan has lost its strategic importance in the US after getting closer to China on CPEC and other economic fronts. Despite repeated assurances from Pakistan, the decades old relationship is not going to the same pitch.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed said with all the hegemonic efforts by India, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has been dead now. But there is a need for a vigorous and vibrant regional cooperation organization. Having a comprehensive agenda of the regional cooperation and support to all basic sectors, this SCO would fulfil the void. It has the potential to grow like European Union (EU) with large development funds and a regional currency or any other mechanism of trade.

Dr Fahim Akhtar said the SCO is pacing up on its agenda with a consistency, building up trust among the member states, and finalizing policy frameworks for the future discourse and action. Having two veto powers and strong countries and with the inclusion of Iran, the SCO is going stronger. If all the members stand united, they would become a force to combat challenges confronting the region from external forces.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 20 – All eyes are on Islamabad where the much-hyped gathering of the opposition leaders, aimed at devising a strategy to oust the PTI-led coalition government.

Nawaz Sharif addressed participants via video link from London, marking his political comeback after more than a year. He started by thanking PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for hosting the conference as well as Zardari, saying he would not forget the love with which the former president spoke to him a day earlier.

“I am thankful to the organisers of the conference for giving me the opportunity to talk. Even though I am away from my country, I know very well what condition the country and the people are in. I believe this is a decisive turn; it is necessary to protect democracy […] and take fearless decisions.”

In an all-encompassing speech, which centred on criticising the Imran Khan-led government, Nawaz spoke on the “poor state” of Pakistan’s economy, “deteriorating” international relations, “muzzling” of media and “corruption within the PTI and Bani Gala”.

“The country’s leader keeps harping on about accountability but he himself is involved in raising sugar prices. Will no reference be filed against him?”

He also repeated opposition’s allegation that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), with the connivance of PTI, was carrying out only “selective accountability”.

‘Democracy in danger’

“If we don’t do it [take a step] today, when will we?” asked Nawaz, who has been in the UK since November last year for medical treatment.

“I agree with Maulana [Fazlur Rehman, chief of JUI-F] that we need to make this conference purposeful or people will be disappointed.

“Pakistan has been constantly deprived from a democratic system […] When the vote is dishonoured, the entire democratic system becomes meaningless. When it is decided before the election process as to who will win and who will lose, then it can be guessed how the public is betrayed and how the public’s mandate is stolen.”

Pakistan has become a laboratory of “such experiments”, added Nawaz. “Every child knows that no prime minister has been allowed to complete five years in power.”

All dictators have spent multiple years while premiers have hardly been allowed to complete their term, he said.

“When a dictator was first brought into the courtroom for violating the Constitution, you saw what happened. Court gave dictators the right to play with the Constitution and acquitted someone who broke the Constitution twice […] Whereas the ones who follow the Constitution are still in jail.”

‘Parallel government’

Nawaz said former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani once pointed to “a state within a state” in Pakistan. “It is saddening that the situation has escalated to a state above the state. This parallel government illness is the root-cause of our problems.”

Speaking about the 2018 elections, he said the the primary reason for the current problems were those people who “hijacked the people’s mandate by putting inexperienced people in power”. “This is a violation of the Constitution. Has anyone given a thought to what a grave crime it is to steal the people’s mandate?”

“Can I ask why the Results Transmission System (RTS) was closed for hours during election, why polling agents were thrown out during counting? Why was dhandli done, on whose saying and why? The secretary Election Commission should answer and all those responsible will have to answer.”

‘Martial law has been enforced’

Nawaz alleged the government has enforced a “martial law” . “Criminals are allowed to make amendments to the Constitution […] the people’s premier is expelled and his family is insulted.

“This conference should bring forth a concrete plan of action for saving democracy, a concrete policy should be made for solving the problem of ‘a parallel state’.

“Our foremost priority should be removing this selected government and this system. Our struggle is not against Imran Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country.

“If change is not brought, it will bring irreversible loss to this country. It is very important that our armed forces stay away from our governmental system according to our Constitution and the Quaid’s speech, and not interfere with the people’s choice. We have made this country a joke in our own eyes and internationally as well.

“I again urge this all-party conference to go beyond its traditional ways and form a plan of action.”

ISLAMABAD : Former president, Asif Ali Zardari, in his welcome address in the All Parties Conference (APC) said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) believes in democracy.

Welcoming the participants, Asif Ali Zardari said that APC should been called earlier and added that there is no need to be frightened.

The former president said that Maryam Nawaz has faced several hardships and he lauded her resolve and commitment. “My solidarity is with Maryam Nawaz Sharif; she is like my daughters.”

Asif Ali Zardari said that the present rulers are not familiar with the norms of politics and termed them political dwarves.

APCs will neither stop accountability nor provide NRO: Shahbaz Gill

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill slammed the opposition leaders, saying that they were allowed to organise all parties conferences (APCs) as many as they want, however, NRO will not be given to the corruption persons.

Shahbaz Gill, while addressing a press conference had said that the accountability process will be continued against the corruption persons and such elements will be taken to task by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The ‘two families’, who have ruled the country for decades, always labelled each other as corrupt and thieves besides establishing National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and formulating its ordinance, said Gill, adding that the legislation related to FATF bill saved Pakistan to be placed in into blacklist.