RAWALPINDI, SEPT 13  – An 11-year-old girl was killed and four other people injured after Indian forces opened unprovoked fire along the Line of Control in Azad Kashmir on Sunday.

According to the ISPR, the Tatta Pani and Rakh Kichri sector were attacked. The injured people include a 75-year-old woman and two children.

The Pakistan Army gave a befitting response to the firing, the military’s media wing said. They engaged in fire on the Indian check posts.

ISLAMABAD : The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) recovered 137 billion rupees plundered money in a year.

According to a report on recoveries released by NAB, Rawalpindi Bureau of the accountability watchdog made maximum recoveries of 91 billions in an year.

The Pindi bureau recovered 23 billion rupees of the plundered national wealth only in the fake bank accounts case, the report said. The Rawalpindi bureau also recovered heavy amounts in 3-G, 4-G licenses and a housing fraud.

Lahore Bureau of NAB remained at second place with over recovery of over 30 billion rupees in a year, the bureau’s recovery report said.

The Accountability Bureau Sukkur recovered over 9.4 billion rupees and the bureau’s Karachi chapter recovered 3.3 billion rupees of the looted national wealth within the period.

The amount was recovered from corrupt elements in result of plea bargain and voluntary return, the NAB statement said.

In a plea bargain the NAB and a defendant reach to an agreement of return of certain amount of the case money, which requires subsequent approval from the trial court.

The amount plundered from the national exchequer has been returned back to the federal and provincial governments, according to the statement.

The looted money recovered in housing fraud being returned back to the victims of the scam, NAB stated.

New York: Japan’s Naomi Osaka came from a set down to beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to win the US Open on Saturday and clinch her third Grand Slam title.

Osaka, the fourth seed, overcame her unseeded opponent 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 inside a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.

It brought 22-year-old Osaka’s haul of tennis major trophies to three after her victories at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open.

“I didn’t really enjoy that. It was a really tough match for me,” Osaka said following her 1hr 53min victory that delivers her prize money of $3 million.

Azarenka, 31, sprinted to the first set in just 26 minutes, dominating Osaka with an 88 percent success rate on her first serve.

The Japanese was uncharacteristically sloppy, hitting a whopping 13 unforced errors.

Azarenka then went 2-0 ahead in the second set before Osaka fought back to break her opponent’s serve twice and take a 4-3 lead.

The momentum had quickly swung in Osaka’s favor and she broke a third time to push the match to a deciding set.
“I just thought it would be very embarrassing to lose this in under an hour so I just have to try as hard as I can and stop having a really bad attitude,” said Osaka, explaining the turnaround.

Osaka enjoyed the first breakthrough of set three in game four when she broke Azarenka’s serve to take a 3-1 lead.

Azarenka then blew a golden opportunity to get back into the match, wasting three break points as Osaka recovered from 0-40 to hold for a 4-1 lead.

Azarenka saved four break points to make it 4-2 as she battled to keep the contest alive.

When she broke Osaka in game seven, the set was back on serve.

But Osaka immediately broke back after Azarenka pushed a forehand wide to leave herself the opportunity of serving for the match and title.

On Osaka’s second championship point, Azarenka found the net.

– ‘This was fun’ –
After touching racquets with her opponent, Osaka lay down in the middle of the court and looked up at the sky in celebration.

“I always see everyone sort of collapse after match point. But I always think you may injure yourself so I wanted to do it safely,” Osaka said.

The match was watched by just a few dozen people, mostly officials, journalists and event staff after the coronavirus pandemic forced the tournament to be held behind closed doors.

Osaka was the first woman to win the US Open singles final from a set down since 1994 and rises to third in the WTA rankings.

She also becomes the first Asian player to win three Grand Slams, overtaking China’s Li Na on two.

Osaka had walked onto the court wearing a mask bearing the name of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy who was shot dead by a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014.

Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore different masks honoring victims of racial injustice and police brutality in each round of the tournament.

She also donned face coverings bearing the names of Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Philando Castile.

Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, was playing in her first major final since losing the 2013 US Open to Serena Williams.

The last few years of the former world number one’s career have been disrupted, firstly by injury then by a custody battle over her son, born in December 2016.

But she enjoyed a fairytale run in New York, clinching the Western & Southern title before reaching Saturday’s US Open final, where she lost for the third time.

“I want to thank my team for sticking with me, for believing in me,” Azarenka said. “It’s been a long road of getting here, but this was fun,” she added.

RAWALPINDI : Indian army troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in the Tatta Pani and Rakhchakri sectors of Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC) on Sunday, targeting the civilian population.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an 11-year-old girl was martyred and four other civilians including two children got injured as a result of Indian firing.

“Pakistan Army troops responded effectively to Indian firing,” the military’s media wing said.The latest ceasefire breach followed on the heels of another such incident on Sept 9 when Indian forces opened fire in the Bedori sector from across the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in the martyrdom of a Pakistan Army soldier.

“Indian Army troops initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) in Bedori Sector along LOC, targeting Pakistan Army posts and civil population. Pakistan Army responded effectively,” the ISPR had said in a statement.

“Reports of heavy losses on the enemy in terms of men and material. During the exchange of intense fire, Havaldar Liaqat, age 39 years, resident of District Chakwal, embraced shahadat.”

Islamabad

(13 September 2020),Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today to register Pakistan’s strong protest over ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on the night between 11^th and 12^th September 2020, resulting in one shahadat and serious injuries to four innocent civilians.

Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Hotspring and Rakhchikri Sectors of the LoC, 10 year old Iqra Qamrez d/o Muhammad Qamrez, resident of Village Dera Sahib Zadian embraced shahadat while 16 year old Muhammad Iqrar s/o Muhammad Qamrez; 75 year old Motia Begum w/o Muhammad Zaman, residents of Village Dera Sahib Zadian; 8 year old Khwaar Ahmed s/o Saif Ullah; and 40 year old Murtaza Khan s/o Saif Ullah, residents of Village Degwar, sustained serious injuries.

The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons. This year, India has committed 2225 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in 18 shahadats and serious injuries to 176 innocent civilians.

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. It was added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK).

Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB. The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Karachi  : Preserving the environment and reducing carbon emissions are the main goals that the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) aims to achieve through its Cycle Friendly Campus Initiative. It was launched recently by its Alumni Association.

Tufail Group generously donated to IoBM 100 bicycles for this initiative. Through this campaign, IoBM plans to reduce carbon emissions and keep the campus clean and green. Mr. Zubair Tufail, CEO Tufail Group, appreciated the positive direction of IoBM’s management in making the campus carbon-neutral. 

Mr. Salman Tufail, Director, Tufail Group, was pleased to see that his ideas reciprocated with IoBM’s CSR endeavors and was hopeful that more collaborations will materialize. Mr. Talib Karim, President IoBM said that the late Founder President of IoBM, Shahjehan S. Karim, also focused on preserving the environment especially when he served at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Mr. Talib Karim was hopeful that IoBM and Tufail Group could collaborate on several fronts especially in bridging the gap between academia and the industry. Representing IoBM Alumni Association were Mr. Farhan Ahmed, President, Alumni Association and Head of External Communications, Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan); Mr. Asif Jafri, Founder & CEO, E-Ocean Private Ltd.; Mr. Aamir Ali, General Manager Sales, Samaa TV; Ms. Sara Haroon, Project Manager H & S Connect; and Mr. Salman Baig, Visiting Faculty IoBM. Dr. Asima Faisal, HoD Health and Hospital Management, and Dr. Shahid Amjad, HoD Environment and Energy Management were among the speakers from IoBM who discussed how a clean environment positively impacts our health and lifestyle.