ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday categorically rejected speculation that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s ties had deteriorated, adding that both countries were each others’ “support and necessity”.

“Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s ties are and were always better,” said the foreign minister, . “I think no one understands the depth of our relations with each other. We are each others’ necessity and support,” he added.

He pointed towards Saudi Arabia’s stance on the issue of Israel, adding that the kingdom had not strayed from its historic stance on the issue and that Pakistan held the same view.

FM Qureshi said that Gen Bajwa recently visited Riyadh where he held important meetings. He expressed the desire for future meetings to be held with Saudi Arabia on important issues, hoping that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia both fulfill the targets and expectations they had of each other.

Kashmir important for both China and Pakistan

The foreign minister spoke about his visit to China, stating that lots of developments had taken place over the past one year that needed to be discussed between the two countries.

“Pakistan, with the help of China, raised the issue of occupied Kashmir three times at the UN Security Council in one year,” he said. “China had a standoff with India as well on occupied Kashmir, which has not ended. Hence, you can see that Kashmir is important for both countries,” he added.

The minister said that Pakistan and China will also discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan, as both the government and Taliban move closer towards a political settlement after the exchange of prisoners there.

FM Qureshi revealed that before the trip, he held detailed discussions with PM Imran and Gen Bajwa. He said that people from the foreign office and those representing the GHQ were also accompanying him on the trip.

He said that CPEC will also come under discussion during his visit and both countries have to discuss the time frame of certain schemes part of the project, which included Gwadar, and also deliberate on its targets.

FM Qureshi arrives in China

Qureshi Thursday arrived in southern China’s Hainan province to attend the second meeting of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue. He will lead the Pakistani side while the Chinese side will be led by China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said the visit would help the two countries enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and strengthen close coordination on international and regional affairs.

“This dialogue mechanism is a platform for the two sides to coordinate exchanges and cooperation in various fields, make policy suggestions on the development of bilateral ties and enhance coordination and co-communication on the international and regional issues,” the spokesperson said. The first dialogue was held in Beijing last year on March 19, which led to many consensuses and played an important role in the development of bilateral relations.

ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Sindh government to get all official residences vacated from illegal occupants within two months.

Headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, an apex court bench directed the provincial government to cancel all illegal allotments and ensure that they are allotted to officials on a merit basis.

It further instructed the government to submit a compliance report in the SC at next hearing.Over the course of the hearing, Sindh’s additional advocate general said as many as 229 government residences have been illegally occupied and the process to clear illegal occupations was halted due to coronavirus.

A Capital Development Authority (CDA) lawyer informed the bench that the Inspector General Police (IGP), Islamabad’s residence too was allotted illegally as police have grabbed the CDA’s 200 quarters.

At this, the chief justice said the court would take up the illegal occupation of quarters by police at the next hearing.

The hearing of the case adjourned for two months.

ISLAMABAD : Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a message on International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, expressed solidarity with the victims of terrorism and their families.

He said the people of Pakistan have suffered the most from terrorism over the last two decades. “We have lost more than 70,000 lives and suffered an economic loss of over $120 Billion. Thousands of valiant soldiers and law enforcement officials have laid down their lives in defending the motherland.”

“I would like to thank and honour Pakistani citizens and families of martyrs of our law enforcement agencies and armed forces who have rendered immense sacrifices for the freedom, safety and security of Pakistan and its people,” FM Qureshi said, maintaining that the government and people of Pakistan will never forget their sacrifice.Despite these losses, he said, the country’s resolve to fight terrorism remains unwavering. “In the face of every tragedy, the resilient Pakistani nation has shown that the values of enlightenment, compassion and empathy that bind us together are much stronger than the forces of intolerance, hatred, and violence that aim to divide.”

“As we commemorate this day, we must also remember and venerate the victims of the worst form of state terrorism perpetrated by India against innocent people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” he said.

Since 1990, he added, India’s occupation army has martyred over 100,000 Kashmiris, widowed over 22,000 women, orphaned around 108,000 children and raped more than 11,000 women. “India’s state terrorism has intensified since 5 August 2019 military siege of 8 million Kashmiris in the Valley, with the imprisonment of political leaders; the abduction and torture of 13,000 Kashmiri youth; brutal force against peaceful protestors; collective punishments and extra-judicial killings.”

He called for the international community to prosecute Indian civil and military personnel involved in state terrorism and serious crimes against humanity.

Qureshi reiterated the country’s commitment to take joint actions to extend all support to those who have been the victims of terrorism. “Let us commit to showing them that they are not alone, and that the international community stands in solidarity with them, wherever they may be.”

The views were expressed by Pakistan and Uzbek experts in a webinar titled “Cooperation between South and Central Asia on Peaceful Settlement of Conflict in Afghanistan”. The webinar was jointly organized by Eurasian Century Institute (ECI), Islamabad and Institute of Strategic and Regional Studies (ISRS) under the President of Uzbekistan, Tashkent 

DNA

ISLAMABAD: “Regional countries particularly Pakistan and Uzbekistan and larger international community should make all-out efforts that intra-Afghan peace process gets under way at the earliest and becomes a success. Peace and stability in Afghanistan is essential not only for Afghans but for the entire region of South and Central Asia.”

These views were expressed by Pakistan and Uzbek experts in a webinar titled “Cooperation between South and Central Asia on Peaceful Settlement of Conflict in Afghanistan”. The webinar was jointly organized by Eurasian Century Institute (ECI), Islamabad and Institute of Strategic and Regional Studies (ISRS) under the President of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.

The speakers noted that Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been among the countries hardest hit by lingering conflict in Afghanistan. They also noted that both the countries have also played notable roles in bringing Afghan warring factions to the negating table.

Speakers from Uzbek side included: Akramjon Nematov, First Deputy Director of ISRS, Manzura Khusnidnova from Analytical Center on International Relations, Akram Umarov, Lead Research Fellow at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy and  Rustam Khurramove, also from ISRS. Pakistani speakers included Rana Athar Javed, Director General of Pakistan House, Brig. (r) Said Nazir, senior analyst, Tahir Khan, senior journalist and Irfan Shahzad Takalvi, Founding President of Eurasian Century Institute (ECI), Islamabad.

Participating academics noted that while peace process has been initiated, there are number of questions and obstacles in the way but the same can be countered with a positive regional approach and tackling the potential spoilers of peace. It was suggested that despite differences and divergences, common grounds and shared objectives should be focused first to move forward for desired goal of peace and stability in Afghanistan. The moot participants were unanimous that there must be no foreign interference in this process, from any county at all.

The webinar also noted with appreciation the efforts that Pakistan has made for deal between the US and Taliban as well for re-initiation of the intra-Afghan peace process. The event also highlighted specific initiatives of Uzbekistan for enhancing road and rail connectivity of Uzbekistan with the region, energy supplies as well as developmental and humanitarian assistance of Tashkent for Kabul. Uzbekistan was also noted as potential host of coming rounds of intra-Afghan talks. 

Islamabad – Citizens of the federal capital has urged the Mayor to take necessary action to urgently restore the routine water supply to the sectors where it is disrupted for weeks now. Public is in sheer distress and blind on what the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) is doing to do the needful. On the other hand, the water tanker mafia in connivance with the MCI staff is fleecing public and minting money.

Islamabad Green Citizens Front (IGCF), a member of the Pakistan Civil Society Network, wrote a letter to the Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz on Thursday highlighting the water shortage in many of the residential sectors of the federal capital. Water scarcity has peaked in the recent days in the absence of the routine water supply as the MCI could not repair the Sangjani turbines and some other pipes supplying water to Islamabad.

In the letter, the IGCF convener Munir Ahmed wrote on behalf of the citizens that MCI water tanker facility is being misused by the water tanker mafia in connivance with the MCI staff deputed there. He said the MCI staff ask the citizens starved for water to buy private water tanker while the MCI tankers remained under-used.

He said this is ironic that MCI sells 2000 gallons of water from their G-10/4 and I-10 facilities at Rs.300 to a private water tanker that is supplied to a needy citizen in Islamabad from Rs.3000 to Rs.4500.

He said he himself had witnessed that private water tankers were queued up at the facility while the private tankers were getting filled up with water. This sheer violence of the mandate of the MCI concerned section and its staff. The pathetic situation shows the sorry state of affairs which should immediately be checked, and the miscreant should be taken to task who don’t run their own facility to the maximum of capacity.

The IGCF members, however, has requested the Mayor for immediate suspension of the shift in-charges of the water tanker facilities to conduct an impartial inquiry against them on supporting the private water tankers and negligence in providing relief to the citizens. Some honest and steadfast staff should be appointed to replace the suspended staff.

The IGCF has asked the Mayor to immediate stop irrational facilitation to the private tankers mafia and the MCI staff unduly facilitating them should be taken to task. Efficiency of the MCI water tanker facility shall be improved, and MCI should issue a proper receipt of whatever meagre amount it receives from the citizens on account of charges for the water tanker.

The IGCF has suggested the Mayor to immediately start water metering system in its jurisdiction besides launching monitoring teams including civil society volunteers to curb the misuse of water to wash cars and porches all around the city.

Some information is in the air that some influential institutions have illegally interrupted the water supply by inducting their pipes and sucking the water 24/7 that should be taken up with them and pointed out the spots in the media to highlight the injustice done by the state institutions against the public interest.

Most importantly, the urgent measures shall be taken to restore the regular water supply, and meanwhile the public shall be taken into confidence with public interaction and through media to tell the actualities of the water shortage.

LAHORE : An accountability court on Thursday admitted for hearing a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and members of his family over their alleged involvement in money laundering and accumulation of assets beyond known means of assets.

Accountability Judge Jawadul Hassan has summoned the investigation officer of the case to appear on Friday (Tomorrow).

After a preliminary hearing, the court will issue notices to all accused for further proceedings in the case.

On Aug 17, the national graft buster filed Rs7 billion money laundering and assets beyond means reference against the Shehbaz family, including his sons, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz and Suleman Shehbaz, wife Nusrat Shehbaz and others.

Suleman is a proclaimed offender in the case. The other accused named in the reference include Nisar Ahmed, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi, Ali Muhammad Khan, Qasim Qayyum, Rashid Karamat, Masroor Anwar.

The bureau approved requests by Muhammad Mushtaq alias Mushtaq Cheeni, his son Yasir Mushtaq, Shahid Rafique, and Aftab to turn approvers against Shehbaz family in the case.