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US, North Korea leaders should hold summit before US election: S Korea

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US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should meet once more before the US presidential election in November, a Seoul official said quoting South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in.

Trump and Kim met for the first time in 2018 in Singapore, raising hopes of an agreement to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programme. But their second summit, in 2019 in Vietnam, fell apart when Trump rejected Kim’s offer to dismantle North Korea’s main nuclear facility in return for lifting some economic sanctions.

Moon made the remarks during a video conference with European Council President Charles Michel on Tuesday, saying another summit between Trump and Kim would help resume the stalled nuclear negotiations, an official at Moon’s office told reporters.

“I believe there’s a need for North Korea and the United States to try dialogue one more time before the US presidential election,” the official quoted Moon as saying.

“The issues of nuclear programmes and sanctions will ultimately have to be resolved through North Korea-US talks.”

Moon’s office had conveyed such views to Washington and the officials there are making efforts, the official said.

Moon’s comments came days after US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who led working-level negotiations with North Koreans, said there is still time for both sides to re-engage and “make substantial progress”.

Biegun, however, said an in-person summit would be difficult before the November election, citing the coronavirus pandemic which has all but wiped the world’s diplomatic calendar clean.

“I think it’s probably unlikely between now and the US election, as we see events being cancelled around the world,” Biegun told a virtual seminar hosted by the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum on Monday.

Court exempts Shehbaz Sharif from Ramzan Sugar Mills case hearing

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LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore on Wednesday exempted former chief minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif from appearing in the hearing and directed him to remain present in the next hearing of Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

Accountability Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry adjourned further hearing of the case till August 06.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif was present in the hearing.Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif’s counsel Amjad Pervaiz submitted a plea of his client seeking exemption from the case hearing today.

The counsel said that his client was infected of coronavirus and has quarantined himself at his home. He could not appear in the court due to symptoms of the disease. “The Lahore High Court has also exempted him from appearing in the case hearing.”

The counsel informed the judge that Shehbaz Sharif’s coronavirus test will be held on July 02, the high court has also demanded his coronavirus test report on July 07.

According to doctors, a coronavirus patient could be declared recuperated after two back up tests, which report the infected person clear of the disease.

The NAB has filed a reference accusing former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shahbaz and others for causing losses to the national exchequer and misusing authority by sanctioning construction of a bridge to facilitate the sugar mills.

NAB officials say Shahbaz Sharif, being chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by issuing directives for the construction of a 10-kilometer-long drain in Chiniot primarily to benefit the sugar mill owned by his sons. Shehbaz and Hamza have been accused of fraudulently causing a Rs 213 million loss to the national exchequer.

Shoaib wants Pakistan to showcase the 90s brand of cricket

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DNA

ISLAMABAD, Jul 01 : Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar wants Green-shirts to showcase the late 1990s brand of cricket against England, for which Pakistan was known for, saying the whole world would be watching the series and the expectations were high.

“Pakistan needs to play good cricket by making the right combinations after accessing the situation. We should not just play to draw the Test series but win it. In the past we lost many series just because of the batting and mindset which we could have won,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

He said in the late 1990s when we used to play cricket in the likes of Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Wasim Akram, Razzaq, they all played with aggression.

“I need that type of aggression and that brand of cricket which we were known for. I want Pakistan to play sensible innings as the whole world will be watching the series. I have a lot of expectations from Babar Azam and Haider Ali (in Twenty20),” he said.

Shoaib, who bagged 178 wickets in 46 Tests, said he wants to see Pakistan come out as a good team. “I want the fast bowlers to go out and see their length as the aggression lies in the length and not in the pace. Glen Mcgraw, Wasim Akram, Maklum Marshal were the bowlers who knew when to hit the deck. So keep up the pace and test English batting and skill,” he said.

The former speedster regretted that there was no practice match before the series where spinners Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan’s form would have been checked.

“Yasir is a very good spinner and he needs to compete and perform. Shadab is also brought for reentry and rebuilding as he can be a part of the test team. I am seeing that Pakistan will go in the series with three pacers, one all-rounder and a spinner depending on the wickets,” he said.

About batting coach Younis Khan, he said Younis was a good man and needs to transfer his attitude to the youngsters. “I want to see Pakistani batsmen playing like Younis. He should transfer his courage, knowledge and experience to the youngsters,” he said. Shoaib, who took 247 wickets in 163 ODIs, said England has a long batting line up in the likes of Barristrow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes etc. “I want Pakistan team to be aggressive and test the England batting and their skills. At the same time Pakistan needs to come out as a great team, as a unit. And when it comes to leading the pack with Wahab Raiz or Shaheen Shah Afridi, I just want Pakistan to look like a better team,” he said.

India can destroy regional peace to distract attention from failures: FM

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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that India can sabotage regional peace to divert attention from its internal failures.

Talking to Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan in Islamabad, he said Pakistan has been continuously apprising the global community about peace and security in the region. He underscored that durable peace and stability in Afghanistan are inevitable for development and progress of the region.

The foreign minister said Pakistan played a reconciliatory role in the Afghan peace process with utmost sincerity, which was commended by the entire world. He expressed the resolve that the country will continue its efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.They also exchanged views on the Afghan peace process and regional peace and stability.

Besides, Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a statement said India is interfering in Balochistan at the same time it is also adversely affecting peace efforts in Afghanistan. He added he apprised United States (US) Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad about Indian intentions.

He said terrorists involved in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) attack wanted to take people hostage, but Pakistani security personnel successfully foiled their bid. He maintained India wants incidents of terrorism to divert world attention. He said it is India that orchestrated the drama of Pulwama attack.

IHC reserves verdict on petition against aviation minister

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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday reserved a verdict on maintainability of a petition seeking to stop Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan from performing his duties.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah took up the petition that requested the court to constitute a judicial commission to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the issue of dubious licences of pilots.

Advocate Tariq Asad, the petitioner, contended before the bench that Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar’s statement about alleged fake or improper licences of pilots has dented the image of the country.He impleaded the prime minister, the National Assembly speaker, Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the Civil Aviation Authority respondents through the principal secretary and the secretary aviation.

Last week, Ghulam Sarwar had revealed that as many as 262 pilots, out of a total of 860 in the country, had ‘suspicious flying licences’, who would be grounded immediately.

“Their [pilots] licences are doubtful due to certain reasons including dates of examination and exams. There are some pilots, who did not appear in any paper, out of eight, but managed to get the licences. Among them are those working with the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Airblue, Serene, private clubs and foreign airlines,” he said while talking to the media after presenting the  interim inquiry report on the PIA plane crash in the National Assembly.

Coronavirus recoveries in country top 100,000

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ISLAMABAD : 91 more people lost their lives in the country in the past 24 hours due to complications related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the death toll to 4,395.

According to latest data of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 4,133 new infections were detected after 22,418 tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours, taking the national tally of cases to 213,470.

More than 1.3 million tests have been conducted in the country while 108,273 COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment and 100,802 patients have recuperated from the disease.84,640 cases have been detected in Sindh so far, 76,262 in Punjab, 26,598 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10,476  in Balochistan, 12, 912 in Islamabad, 1,093 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,489 in Gilgit Baltistan.

US sees the biggest one-day spike

New U.S. COVID-19 cases rose by more than 47,000 yesterday according to a Reuters tally, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic, as the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that number could soon double.

California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new U.S. epicenters of the pandemic, reporting record increases in COVID-19 cases.

“Clearly we are not in total control right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a U.S. Senate committee. “I am very concerned because it could get very bad.”

E-PAPER JULY 01

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Petrol price hike challenged in Islamabad court

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ISLAMABAD, JUN 30 (DNA) – Mian Aslam, who is a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, has challenged the Rs26 overnight increase in petrol prices in the Islamabad High Court.

On June 26, the federal government increased the petrol price by Rs25.58 per litre to just a little over Rs100. The price of high-speed diesel has been increased by Rs21.31. The prices of kerosene and light diesel oil have gone up by Rs23.50 and Rs17.84 respectively.

The petitioner has requested the notification to be set aside followed by a decrease in petrol prices. He said that the prices have been increased in an “arbitrary, unrealistic and flimsy” way. ”

“Despite the slight fluctuation in the crude oil prices in international markets, the government has endorsed a huge increase in prices of petroleum products in an illegal and hasty manner by increasing the base price of petroleum products and petroleum levy”.

The people from the middle and lower classes are “facing huge financial stress because of major cuts in their earnings” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This followed by an “excessive increase [in petrol prices] will adversely affect the lives of the salaried class, small businessmen and farmers and will provide an unnecessary and unfair advantage to the large companies, which is in violation of their constitutional right of fair opportunity to trade,” the petition said.

He remarked that it is the state’s responsibility to “provide relief and support to its people during critical financial situations” but the federal government’s action is in “sheer violation of the government’s duty”.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Petroleum, PM Office, Ministry of Finance, federal government have been named as respondents in the case. = DNA

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EU suspends authorization for PIA to operate in Europe for six months

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KARACHI, JUN 30 (DNA) – The European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended the authorisation for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate in Europe for six months.

The move follows the grounding of 262 pilots whose licences the Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed “dubious”.

“EASA has temporarily suspended PIA’s authorisation to operate to the EU member states for a period of 6 months effective July 1, 2020, with the right to appeal against this decision,” a PIA statement said. It added that PIA would discontinue all its flights to Europe temporarily.

The PIA spokesperson said that passengers who have a PIA reservation can get it refunded or extended. The suspension will end soon due to government and administration measures.

Meanwhile, airline pilots and their union have raised questions about a government list of 262 pilots with “dubious” credentials, saying it is full of discrepancies. Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar had earlier said the pilots included 141 from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), nine from Air Blue, 10 from Serene Airline, and 17 from Shaheen Airlines.

The PIA said the list showed discrepancies once the airlines received it. Thirty-six of the 141 had either retired or moved out, it said. Air Blue said seven of the pilots on the list no longer worked for the airline. The pilots and their union have rejected the list and demanded a judicial investigation. = DNA

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Investigation reveals further details behind PSX attack

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KARACHI, JUN 30 (DNA) – CTD officials have unearthed vital information related to the events before Monday’s PSX attack such as the attackers’ intentions and the route they took to arrive at the stock exchange building.

According to sources, the terrorists used the Lyari Expressway to reach the Pakistan Stock Exchange, entering from Gharibabad Interchange and reaching tower from Maripur Interchange.

The terrorists came directly to the stock exchange from the direction of customs house and probably chose Lyari expressway due to its lack of security.

Sources revealed that the terrorists did not plan to take the staff of the stock exchange hostage. In fact, they wanted to enter the stock exchange building using their car.

The first two terrorists disembarked the vehicle to raise the barricade in front of the building’s gate so that the car could make its way inside. They intended to enter the building and cause casualties, damaging the national economy and international confidence in the process.

Meanwhile, the investigating authorities have completed geofencing from Gharibabad to the stock exchange while CCTV footage of all routes leading to Gharibabad is being obtained. = DNA

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