ISLAMABAD: All the major opposition parties will sit together to devise an anti-government strategy at an All Parties Conference, hosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), at a five-star hotel in Islamabad today.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP chairman Asif Ali Zardari will also address the APC, attended by nearly a dozen political parties, via video link and it will be broadcast live on social media.

“The PPP will provide a link on social media where the two leaders will deliver opening remarks,” the PPP said in a statement.

This will be the first political activity of PML-N supremo since he left the country in November for treatment in London.

The announcement of a live broadcast comes even as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide on political communication Shahbaz Gill warned of legal action if Nawaz’s address is aired.

Gill said that it was not possible for an “absconding criminal” to take part in political activities and gives speeches. “The Sharif family can tell nothing but lies. They are such [habitual] liers that they even lied about a disease.”

Nawaz Sharif agreed to virually attend the conference on the invitation of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto who had called him to inquire after his health.

“Just spoke to Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. Enquired about his health. Also invited him to virtually attend opposition APC, hosted by PPP, on 20th September,” the PPP chairman had tweeted.

Gathering of ‘accused and losers’

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz on Saturday questioned the real status of Nawaz Sharif’s health after it was announced he will deliver opening remarks at the APC tomorrow.

Faraz said that Nawaz should not consider the people “fools”.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, along with Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar, he said: “I have heard that Nawaz Sharif will deliver an address via video link […] When he has to appear before the court he claims he is ill and now all of a sudden he is fit for politics.”

Akbar said that according to a PEMRA regulation, “an absconder cannot address a press conference”.

Faraz said that the opposition’s APC would be a gathering of “accused and losers” that aims to spread chaos in the country.

He said the opposition wanted to rule the country to protect its “illegal wealth and properties”.

JI to stay away

While all the major opposition parties, indluding JUI-F and Akhtar Mengal’s BNP-M, have agreed to join hands against the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government, former PTI ally Jamat-e-Islami has decided to stay away from the APC describing its agenda as vague and objectives as dubious.

“The JI could not sit with those parties which are equally responsible with the PTI for economic and social destruction of the country, and dubiously supported the legislative agenda of PTI to push the country in the slavery of colonial powers,” said JI ameer Senator Sirajul Haq while addressing Mujahid-e-Millat seminar in memory of late Maulana Abdus Satar Niazi on Saturday.

‘Plan to oust government’

Meanwhile, PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira, in a press conference announced that the venue for the conference, which the party is hosting, had been changed to Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

He said that the conference will chalk out the final plan to oust the “hollow” government.

“It is clear the government knows full well how hollow it is from within,” the PML-N leader said. “The crutches it is on will not save the government. The real support comes from the people.”

Besides the PPP and PML-N, Asfandyar Wali’s Awami National Party (ANP), Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are expected to attend, besides others. Jamat-e-Islami (JI) will not attend.

‘Fazl to attend APC’

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gave a formal invitation to JUI-F chief Fazl-ur-Rahman during a meeting at the latter’s residence, sources informed Geo News.

During the meeting, Senator Abdul Kareem, Shah Owais Noorani, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Akram Durrani and Maulana Ataur Rehman were present.

The meeting discussed tomorrow’s APC among other matters.

Following the meeting, Bilawal said that a very “wholesome” and “detailed” discussion took place between both parties. He said that Fazl had accepted his invitation to attend the conference.

“We will hold a joint press conference following the APC and our next course of action will be announced then,” he told reporters.

Akhtar Mengal to send party delegation

Separately, Bilawal spoke to Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Akhtar Mengal to inquire of his health and to thank him for his support.

Bilawal expressed his gratitude for Mengal’s decision to send a delegation of the party for participation in the APC.

New election or in-house change?

The opposition parties had decided to convene an APC on September 20 after a Rahbar Committee meeting comprising leaders from all opposition parties decided that it was time to show the incumbent government the door.

“The situation in the country has reached a stage where we cannot afford even a moment’s delay,” JUI-F’s Durrani had said.

“We want free and fair elections in the country, with no interference whatsoever,” he had further said, terming the 2018 general elections “a disgrace to the whole country”.

Durrani had said that opposition parties were on the same page that giving the incumbent government one more day in power would be unjust. “This government has destroyed the country in its two years” of rule, he added.

The upcoming APC, he had said, would decide on the future plan of action as the opposition leaders had already made up their minds on numerous issues that the country was facing.

“The APC will decide whether there will be a new election or an in-house change,” he had said.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept 25 would focus on Kashmir dispute, the Foreign Office said.

“Due to restrictions imposed by the local government in New York, there will be no in-person high-level participation from outside. Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the General Assembly on Friday, 25th September,” FO Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said at the weekly media briefing.

The general debate, which is the centrepiece of any UN General Assembly session, starts from Tuesday (Sept 22).

The current session, which is the 75th session, is unique in the world body’s history with leaders not attending in person and other meetings being held online.

World leaders will send recorded video statements, which would be introduced by the respective country’s envoy, and then played in the UNGA Hall “as live”.

FO REJECTS INDIA’S REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN LAWYER IN JADHAV CASE

However, the world leaders can still attend in person.

Spokesman Chaudhri said: “… Jammu and Kashmir dispute will certainly be an important component of the Prime Minister’s UNGA address. Let me reiterate that Jammu and Kashmir dispute continues to remain a Foreign Policy priority for Pakistan”.

In his speech at the 74th UNGA session last year, PM Khan had highlighted sufferings of Kashmiris and the Indian action of annexing the occupied territory.

Alongside the UNGA session, there would be a series of special high-level sessions, including an event to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary; a summit on biodiversity; and a meeting to commemorate, and promote, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Mr Chaudhri said that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would participate virtually in the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. He will also participate in other high-level engagements, he added.

India’s military buildup

The spokesman reiterated concerns about India’s military buildup saying Delhi was amassing military capabilities beyond its genuine security requirements.

“Pakistan has been consistently highlighting the risk of massive Indian arms buildup as well as their offensive security doctrine and force postures, which are adversely affecting strategic stability in South Asia,” the spokesman said.

He was reacting to the formal induction of the first five of 36 Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sept 10. The aircraft is being celebrated as a ‘game changer’ by IAF for significantly upgrading its capability.

Mr Chaudhri regretted that this arms buildup by India is being aided and abetted by the West through a policy of exemptions, waivers and supply of advanced equipment, technology and weapons for narrow commercial interests.

“The world community must dissuade India from its disproportionate arms buildup which could lead to an arms race in South Asia,” he said, reminding the world of India’s bellicose and irresponsible rhetoric in pursuit of a revisionist agenda in the neighbourhood.

Jadhav’s counsel

Mr Chaudhri once again said that India would not be allowed to appoint a foreign lawyer for representing spy Kulbhushan Jadhav during the review proceedings in the Islamabad High Court.

“India has been consistently making the unrealistic demand of allowing a lawyer from outside Pakistan to represent Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav,” he said.

“We have informed India that only those lawyers are allowed to appear in Pakistani courts who have a licence to practice law in Pakistan. This is in line with international legal practice. There can be no change in this position,” he added.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs suggested appointment of a Queen’s counsel to represent Jhadav.

Pakistan government initiated review and reconsideration of Jhadav case to implement last year’s ICJ verdict, which asked Pakistan to allow Indian consular officers’ access to him, and arrange effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav.

Jadhav, who was arrested in 2016 in Balochistan, was sentenced to death by a military court in 2017 after being convicted of espionage.

LAHORE, SEPT 19 (DNA) – The employees of the Pakistan Railways have been accused of violating rules and risking passengers’ lives after a video of two drums of kerosene oil being carried in two bogies of the Khyber Mail was shared on social media on Saturday.

People are prohibited from carrying cooking stoves, oil canisters and highly flammable items on trains.

The video was made by a passenger at the Khanpur Railway Station, a major stop for the Khyber Mail which runs from Karachi to Peshawar.

The authorities said that the two canisters were going to be dropped off at the Changa Manga and Multan.

Train travel is popular in Pakistan, especially among middle and lower income groups. The carriages are often overcrowded and many trains are in poor condition.

On October 31, 2019 74 people were killed after the Tezgam Express caught fire near Rahim Yar Khan. It was heading to Rawalpindi from Karachi and was near the Tanwari Railway Station when the fire erupted. More than 40 people were injured.

The Railways authorities, including Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed, had blamed passengers who had brought cylinders on the train. The passengers, all from, had brought gas cylinders and were cooking food when one exploded, causing the fire, authorities had said.

But a Railways report released on January 29 placed the blame on the Railway authorities, not the passengers. The dining car manager and waiters had set up a makeshift kitchen in bogies 11 and 12, said a report. That is where the fire broke out.

The situation was compounded due to the gas cylinders in the train but did not occur due to them, said the report.

The cylinders exploded after the train caught fire, making it worse. The waiters and dining car manager used the makeshift kitchen to make tea and food for passengers. DNA

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ISLAMABAD, SEPT 19 (DNA) – Inspector General of Police Islamabad Aamir Zulfiqar khan on Saturday gave approval to promote 26 Sub-Inspectors (SIs) in next rank.

According to details, a meeting of Departmental Promotion Committee chaired by DIG (Headquarters) Muhammad Saleem was held here at Central Police Office which was also attended among others by AIG (Establishment) Kamran Adil, AIG (Special Branch) Muhammad Suleman,  SSP (Headquarters) Irfran Tariq, SSP (Traffic) Karraukh Rashid  and DSP Legal.

The Committee recommended to promote 26 SIs to the rank of Inspectors. In next phase, Head Constables and inspector would be promoted to the ranks.

IGP Aamir Zulifqar khan has greeted all the promotion holders and hoped that the officers would observe their professional duties with honesty and more responsibility in next ranks.=DNA

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ISLAMABAD, SEPT 19 (DNA) – 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.=DNA

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BEIJING, SEPT 19 (DNA) – A student from Pakistan is found here positive for COVID-19, Gwadar Pro reported on Saturday. The case is a male, 23 years old, from Gansu province, China, and he has been studying in Pakistan since 2017.

On Sep 3rd -13th, he has appeared on campus with disposable mask. On Sep 15th, he had a diarrhea and got better after taking medicine. On Sep 17th, the student returned to China by flight CA946 and reached on 18th.

Then China customs collected his respiratory specimens, and he was transported by bus to the central isolation site for medical observation.

On the same day, his nucleic acid test result was diagnosed positive.

On the morning of Sep 19th, relevant experts conducted a consultation. His physical examination showed no fever, and CT results showed no obvious abnormalities.

Combined with the results of epidemiological history, laboratory tests and imaging examinations, the patient was diagnosed as asymptomatic infected.

The CDC has tracked down 38 close contacts on the same flight. All of them have been quarantined for medical observation and their hotels have been given terminal disinfection.

This is the first asymptomatic case of COVID-19 imported from abroad since Beijing resumed direct international passenger flights on Sep 3rd. DNA

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ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (DNA): Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt. Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said that the Orange Line Train project would be launched soon as all teething issues of the project had been removed.

Asim who is also Chairman CPEC Authority said on twitter that the fare for the commuters had been decided and trial runs were underway.

Further, he said operations and Management award for the project was given and hiring was also in progress. DNA

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ISLAMABAD, SEPT 19 (DNA) – The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has passed an order deciding a matter of the alleged deceptive advertising claims by M/s Hi-Tech for its products under the brand name “Zic.”

Chevron Pakistan Lubricants (Pvt) Limited complained to the CCP that certain marketing and advertising claims made by M/s Hi-Tech Lubricants Limited and M/s. Hi-Tech Blending (Pvt) Limited for their lubricant products under the brand name, Zic, were deceptive and in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010. Chevron also alleged that the choice of words such as, “behtreen” in Hi-Tech’s marketing claims had created unsubstantiated impression of comparison between Zic and the competing products.

The CCP’s enquiry found certain claims of Hi-Tech carrying the Urdu words, “behtar” and “behtreen” without any reasonable basis and in prima facie violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act. On the enquiry’s recommendations, a show cause notice was issued to Hi-Tech and hearings were held in the matter.

Taking into consideration and analysing the arguments from both sides and in light of the Commission’s previous judgments and the case law from other jurisdictions i.e. America, Australia, and India, the bench held that the above-mentioned claims made by Hi-Tech for promoting its products fell under the category of puffery. ‘Puffery’ is term used to describe wildly exaggerated or vague claims about a product or service that the consumer (in the context) is unlikely to take seriously. Puffery claims are generally allowed and does not warrant enforcement action by the competition agencies, provided that they are not materially misleading.

Moreover, the bench accepted the respondents’ arguments that the Urdu word “behtreen” also carrying other meanings such as “alaa”, “umdah” or “mumtaz” indicates that the term “behtreen” is general and vague, and not absolute as was alleged by the complainant. Furthermore, the term “behtreen” is not the correct translation of the word “best” in English, which is an absolute term. Nonetheless, the Bench held that only the claims, which are objective, quantifiable and capable of substantiation in terms of characteristics of the products advertised would be actionable under Section 10 of the Act.

Based upon aforesaid reason and in view of the net general impression caused by the claims, the Bench set aside the enquiry report and disposed of show cause notices against the respondents.=DNA

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DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 19 – Pakistan calls for a transparent judicial inquiry, under international scrutiny, into the extra-judicial killing of three innocent Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on 18 July 2020.

The Indian occupation forces had martyred 25-year old Imtiyaz Ahmed, 20-year old Mohammad Ibrar, and 16-year old Abrar Ahmed in so-called “cordon and search” operation in Shopian on 18 July 2020. The young Kashmiri boys had come from Rajouri to work in apple orchard as labourers.

To cover up the “cold blooded” murder of these innocent Kashmiris, the Indian occupation army had claimed that the three were “unidentified terrorists.” To further hide their crime, instead of handing over the human remains to the families of the victims, the occupation forces had buried them in a graveyard marked for “foreign terrorists.”

Two months after the killing, the Indian occupation Army itself has admitted that the three innocent Kashmiri labourers were killed extra-judicially — a hallmark of Indian occupation forces’ state-terrorism in IIOJK. In a statement issued on 18 September, the Indian Army has accepted that the powers vested under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) were exceeded.

As the world community is aware, since its illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in IIOJK, India has taken its brutalization of innocent Kashmiris to a new level. More than 300, mostly young, Kashmiris have been extra-judicially killed by the Indian occupation forces in fake “encounters” and staged “cordon-and-search” operations in IIOJK during the past one year.

Pakistan has been consistently sensitizing the world community, including the United Nations and the international human rights organizations, about India’s serious crimes against the Kashmiri people. The Indian Army’s statement of 18 September is an acknowledgement that Indian occupation forces are guilty of war crimes in IIOJK.

The BJP leadership must realize that they are directly responsible for crimes against the Kashmiri people. No illegal and inhuman Acts such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) can provide impunity against the crimes that are being perpetrated in IIOJK.

India should be well-aware that use of brutal force, including extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture in custody, use of pellet guns, burning and destruction of Kashmiris’ houses to inflict collective punishment, cannot break the will of Kashmiri people in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination.

The international community must take immediate cognizance of the 18 July 2020 episode in IIOJK as well as other acts indicative of the RSS-BJP regime’s genocidal tendencies and hold it accountable for continuing crimes against the Kashmiri people.