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ISLAMABAD :  Pakistan Air Force achieved yet another remarakble milestone by inaugurating  the ‘Centre of Artificial Intelligence & Computing’ at Islamabad today.  Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force was the chief guest at the occasion.

The Air Chief formally inaugurated the newly established centre by unveiling the plaque. Addressing the ceremony, the Air Chief said that establishment of CENTAIC was indeed a landmark initiative in the evolutionary journey of PAF which would lead Artificial Inteligence Research & Development in both civil and military spheres.He further said that technology had altered the characteristics of warfare in the 21st century and the vision of establishing the centre was to harness the potential of Artificial Intelligence and its integration in PAF’s operational domain.

Earlier, Air Marshal Aamir Masood, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Training), in his welcome address, gave a broad overview of the newly established centre.  The event was attended by former Air Chiefs, Principal Staff Officers and senior serving and retired PAF officers.

LAHORE : An accountability court here on Thursday resumed hearing a money laundering and assets beyond means case against Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and his family.

Judge Jawadul Hassan heard the case as the PML-N president appeared before the court.

At the outset of the hearing, the judge asked the government lawyer present in court as to where Hamza Shehbaz was, to which he replied that he will be presented before the court in a short while.Shehbaz stated before the judge that he had not been involved in corruption of even a single penny. “I served the masses for twelve and a half years but never received TA/DA of a single rupee,” he continued.

At this, the accountability judge assured the opposition leader that he will be delivered justice. “You will be acquitted if you are found not guilty.”

“I swear to God, I saved billions of rupees of the nation,” the PML-N president maintained, claiming he was implicated in a trumped-up case.

The court allowed Shehbaz Sharif to leave the court after recording his attendance and issued arrest warrants for Suleman Shehbaz and Haroon Yousuf Aziz. It also issued summons to Shehbaz’s wife Nusrat Shehbaz and daughters, Rabia and Javeria.

LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan has said PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif should get ready to be disqualified if former prime minister Nawaz Sharif does not return to the country, as the government weighs its options to bring back the ex-prime minister.

“Nawaz is neither undergoing medical treatment nor admitted to a hospital. He has been on vacation for 10 months and was seen without a face mask amid coronavirus at a London café,” Chohan told a press conference on Wednesday.

The minister added that Shehbaz took went back on his word by lying about Nawaz’s return. “The whole world knows that Shahbaz had guaranteed his elder brother’s return once his treatment was over,” he said.

Speaking about the Opposition’s decision to vote against the FATF-related Bills in the Senate, Chohan said, “The Opposition only wants to protect its plundered money which is why it did not let the Anti-Money-Laundering Bills pass, ignoring the country’s future.”

He added that from 2007 to 2018, “the gang of corrupt persons, under the banner of ‘Charter of Democracy’ pushed Pakistan close to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.”

The provincial minister added that due to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s efforts the country would soon be off the FATF’s grey list.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday categorically rejected a so-called “charge sheet” by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) which “mischievously attempts to implicate Pakistan in the Pulwama attack” as a bid to “divert attention from Indian state terrorism in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The Pulwama attack took place in the disputed territory last year in which over 40 Indian soldiers were killed, an incident New Delhi was quick to pin on Pakistan and which raised tensions in the region. Pakistan has consistently denied the allegations and has asked for actionable evidence.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said the “fabrications in the reported ‘charge sheet’ are patently designed to further the BJP’s anti-Pakistan rhetoric and its narrow domestic political interests”.

At the outset, Pakistan had rejected India’s baseless allegations and expressed readiness to extend cooperation on the basis of any actionable information, the Foreign Office said. “India failed to provide any credible evidence for its invective and has instead been using the attack for its malicious propaganda campaign against Pakistan.”

The Foreign Office also called into question the timing of the Pulwama attack. It said: “Just two months before the Lok Sabha elections in India, and the fact that explosives used in the attack were collected from inside IIOJK, and the key accused persons in the attack have already been killed by Indian forces, raise too many questions. The world knows well as to who benefited the most from Pulwama attack and drew electoral dividends.”

Pakistan also drew attention to the events on February 26 last year, when Indian military aircraft “engaged in belligerent action against Pakistan”. “The Indian misadventure was effectively countered by the Pakistan Air Force, which resulted in the downing of two Indian warplanes and capture of an Indian pilot. Despite India’s provocations, the Indian pilot was released by Pakistan as a peace gesture,” it added.

The statement said in response to a paper shared by the Indian government following the Pulwama attack, Pakistan constituted a high-level investigation team to examine its contents. As the information provided by India was “incomplete, patchy and unsubstantiated”, Pakistan shared two Aide-mémories, seeking further information and supporting evidence from India.

“India has been unable to provide any corroboration of its unfounded allegations,” it added.

The Foreign Office continued: “India cannot mislead the world community with its motivated propaganda. Indian allegations against Pakistan seek to divert attention from India’s state-terrorism in IIOJK, grave human rights violations of the Kashmiri people under Indian occupation, and the RSS-BJP regime’s mishandling of domestic issues.”

“Pakistan has been forewarning the international community about India’s use of ‘false flag’ operation and possible ill-conceived misadventure,” it said. “With the approaching state elections in India, the RSS-BJP ploy of raising the Pakistan bogey again for making electoral gains is palpable.”

“We warn the world community again to be cognisant of its dangerous consequences for peace and security in the region.”