ISLAMABAD : The residents of federal capital may be in for some relief as the incumbent interior minister, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, has directed removal of all unnecessary policy checkpoints across Islamabad.

Ahmed said people will no longer face difficulties due to the checkpoints. “Police has been handed over six vehicles equipped with the latest technology,” said the interior minister. “It will be provided with eight more vehicles for security purpose.”

The Islamabad Police has begun implementing on Ahmed’s directives and replaced all checkpoints, except those in the Red Zone, with mobile checkpoints.

This is not Ahmed’s first stint as a minister for interior. In his political careers spanning over 35 years, the veteran politician has held 15 ministries.

Ahmed first became a minister in 1991 when he was appointed federal minister for industries during Nawaz Sharif’s maiden government. He also held the portfolio of culture ministry in the same cabinet.

In Nawaz’s second tenure, Ahmed was given federal ministries of sports, culture, and tourism. Later, in the same cabinet, he was made federal minister for youth affairs, manpower development, labour, and overseas Pakistanis.

In 2002, Ahmed was made the federal minister for information under Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s premiership. In Shaukat Aziz’s cabinet, Ahmed was given dual portfolios of railways and information ministry.

When PM Imran Khan assumed office in 2018, Ahmed was given the railways ministry again. On December 11, the premier changed his portfolio, making him the federal interior minister.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan joins the international community in the observance of International Migrants Day today. As a country of origin, transit, and destination, Pakistan believes in the potential and promise of migration, as it unlocks a host of opportunities for the individuals and their families as well as the countries concerned. Pakistani diaspora overseas is not only a major source of support for our national development but also contributes to the progress of host countries. Pakistanis living abroad have excelled in all fields in their host countries.

Under the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, all necessary measures are being taken to facilitate overseas Pakistanis, to promote the welfare of our migrant workers, and to create special investment opportunities for them in Pakistan as well. The Government undertook a massive effort earlier this year to support our migrant workers around the world and to facilitate their safe return to the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a country of destination, Pakistan continues to host millions of regular as well as irregular migrants from neighbouring and regional countries. Pakistanis have always shown generosity and hospitality towards all migrants without any discrimination.

The adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) by the United Nations two years ago marked the beginning of a new era of migration governance, dialogue and international cooperation. It reflected a growing global understanding of the benefits of human mobility. At the same time, it also recognized that, if poorly managed, migration can generate huge challenges, ranging from tragic loss of life to human rights abuse and social tensions. In this regard, the destination States, in particular, need to ensure fair and ethical treatment including access to health care and social protection without discrimination. Legal avenues of migration need to be expanded and the transfer costs of remittance reduced.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the challenges being faced by migrants. Some of the measures implemented to contain the virus such as lockdowns, border closures and stay-in-place orders have at times worsened the living conditions of migrants by restricting their ability to move, to have access to health and other basic services, and to send remittances back home. Thousands have lost their jobs. Moreover, migrant workers have also been exposed to increased hardship due to xenophobia, discrimination, disinformation and the use of stigmatizing narratives.

On this Day, Pakistan calls upon the international community to show greater solidarity by strengthening cooperation to enhance the protection, well-being, working conditions, and effective integration of migrants, in addition to ensuring that in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, no one is left behind.

Karachi, 17 Dec 20 : Induction ceremony of state of the art Corvette, Pakistan Navy Ship TABUK was held at Pakistan Navy Dockyard, Karachi. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi graced the occasion as Chief Guest.

Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Guest termed the induction of PNS TABUK as an important milestone in Pakistan Navy to enhance its operational capabilities. The Admiral underscored that the new addition will contribute in promoting safe and secure maritime environment in the region.  He further highlighted the importance of evolving geo-strategic environment in the region and need of a potent Naval Force to counter increasing maritime challenges.  While highlighting the plight of Kashmiris in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIoJ&K), the Chief Guest paid tribute to their exemplary struggle of self-determination against Indian oppression.

Pakistan Navy contracted for the two YARMOOK class Corvettes in 2017. The first ship of this class, PNS YARMOOK was inducted in July this year while the second ship PNS TABUK has also been inducted into the Fleet.

Later, the Naval Chief urged the officers and men of PNS TABUK to make full use of the combat potential of this modern warship in guarding the maritime interest of motherland. He also acknowledged M/s DAMEN Shipyards (Romania) for their cooperation and delivering high quality platforms to Pakistan Navy. The induction ceremony was attended by Senior Naval Officers.

Islamabad, December 17, 2020: Discussing the government’s decision to hold polls for the 51 seats of the Senate, a month before the schedule, Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman said, “It is quite clear that this is being done to disrupt the PDM movement, and to make up for unhappy government MPs whose votes PTI is not sure of, but what the federal government does not realise is that this is an illegal and unconstitutional act. The term of the current senators will end on March 11, 2020 so, holding elections before that is wrong on many counts and can potentially mire the country in a constitutional crisis ”.

“How can the Senate polls be held before the senators’ terms expires? Who is the government to change the dates when the authority lies with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to formulate the schedule of the Senate’s elections? Under Article 213 of the Constitution, only the ECP has the right to announce a date for elections. What is the government’s urgency that a forty-year-old schedule is being changed?” she asked. “It is obvious that they are extremely rattled by the opposition and by the prospect of losing their own disgruntled members. “

“The issue of transparency was addressed in an early report, but the government totally ignored it, so that cannot be the issue. “

Rehman said, “Article 226 of the Constitution explicitly provides for all elections other than those of the prime minister and chief ministers to be held, by saying they “shall’ be held by secret ballot. There should be no confusion after this”.

“The single divisible vote and secret ballot cannot be changed without recourse to a full amendment in the Constitution. Article59 (2) states that elections to the Senate shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. This is a formula that was carefully made to protect the system from the unbridled dominance of the majority. In any case, an amendment in the law can only be done through the parliament as under Article 186, the Supreme Court can only give its opinion, and we hope the courts will support parliamentary supremacy over executive fiat.”

The Senator said, “It would be far more productive if the government spent its time and resources tackling issues which the public is facing. We are going through unprecedented times and people are tired of facing one crisis after the other. Food inflation and joblessness is increasing, there’s gas/LNG shortage and the recent findings of the inquiry commission on the petroleum shortage makes it pretty obvious that Tabahi sarkar is struggling to run the country.”

The Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman concluded by saying, “The Constitution of Pakistan cannot be changed on the whims of this government and it can certainly not be bypassed. The ECP rules cannot override the constitution, which is the back door the government is seeking because they are clearly rattled by the opposition. Only the parliament can make laws and despite this government’s efforts to make it redundant, we will not let them bulldoze the rights of our parliament”.