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Experts call for deepening of Pakistan, Azerbaijan defence ties

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DNA

ISLAMABAD: Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamabad, and Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad jointly organized a Webinar titled “Azerbaijan-Pakistan Defence Cooperation: Successes & Opportunities” dedicated to the 102ndAnniversary of Azerbaijan Armed Forces.

The session was commenced with the opening remarks by Lieutenant Colonel Khalid TaimurAkram (Retd), Executive Director, CGSS. He stated that it is an honor for CGSS to organize this Webinar and honoring the Armed forces of Azerbaijan. He stressed the strong bond that the two countries share.

Guest of Honor, Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua HI(M), (Retd), Former National Security Advisor of Pakistan stated that it is a great occasion to commemorate the sacrifices and contributions of Azerbaijan Armed Forces. He further stressed that Azerbaijan’s ability to maintain national security is exceedingly praiseworthy. He also mentioned that Pakistan extends unconditional support to Azerbaijan on the NagornoKarabakh issue. Pakistan envisions a great and common future with Azerbaijan in multiple sectors.

Making his remarks in the webinar Ali Alizada, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Pakistan stated that Azerbaijan and Pakistan are bound by the relations of strong friendship and strategic partnership which have solid roots and reflect the will of our fraternal nations. One of the most important and main pillars of this brotherly relationship is also our cooperation and strategic partnership in defence, security and military fields and thanks to the efforts and positive views of the leadership of both countries our relations are in upward trajectory in these fields as well.

Extending congratulations on Armed Forces Day of Azerbaijan to the people of his country, Supreme Commander in Chief and staff members of Azerbaijan Armed Forces, Ambassador Ali Alizada said that despite having the conflict with aggressor country Armenia which occupied 20% of internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan in the early independence years of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Azerbaijan has made greatest strides in Armed Forces building and by the leadership of Supreme Commander in Chief Azerbaijan Army became one of the strongest armies in the region and are capable to liberate occupied territories any time.

Ambassador also noted that Pakistan Armed Forces’ and its leaderships’ support to Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and demand of unconditional withdrawal of Armenian occupational forces from internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan is commendable and very much appreciated by the government and people of Azerbaijan. He thanked Pakistan Armed Forces and its leadership for continued cooperation and expressed his confidence for further strengthening bilateral relations in the years ahead.

Major General Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery HI(M), (Retd), President CGSS stated that Pakistan has brotherly relations with Azerbaijan and great prospects of cooperation especially in defense and military areas. He congratulated Azerbaijan on the 102nd Anniversary of their Armed Forces.

Col MehmanNovruzov, Defence Attaché, Azerbaijan spoke about historical background of Azerbaijan Armed Forces, the role of Heydar Aliyev, the National Leader of Azerbaijan in Azerbaijan army building process, security challenges in the South Caucasus region, and priorities of Azerbaijan Army. He said that, under the leadership of H.E. IlhamAliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Army has undergone rapid developments and at the present is ranked 64th among the armies of the other countries of the world.

Col Nadeem Choudhry, DefenceAttaché, Pakistan discussed that Pakistan and Azerbaijan are extending cooperation in the field of security, military technology, and educational spheres. Many visits have been carried out between representatives of both countries in this regard.

The Webinar was moderated by Ms. Palwasha Nawaz – Project Executive, CGSS, and was attended by 45 participants from diverse backgrounds. The Webinar was also broadcasted live on different social media platforms.

India using terrorism as state policy to destabilize Pakistan: FO

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  • Aisha says Pakistan had proposed to declare four Indian nationals as terrorists under the United Nations 1267 Sanctions List as they were providing financial, technical and material support to TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar

Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqi has said that India is “using terrorism as a state policy” to destabilise Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. She added India supports terrorist groups and banned outfits for carrying out terrorist activities inside Pakistan.

In a statement on Wednesday, she said Pakistan had proposed to declare four Indian nationals as terrorists under the United Nations 1267 Sanctions List as they were providing financial, technical and material support to terrorist groups including TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and others.

She said that the individuals were identified as Venumadhav Dongara, Ajoy Mistry, Gobinda Patnaik, and Angara Appaji.

Aisha maintained that the UNSC Sanctions Committee objected to declaring Dongara as a terrorist. The spokesperson observed that Pakistan hopes the listing requests of other three Indian nationals will be given due consideration in an objective and transparent manner.

She said India took advantage of regional situation and promoted terrorism inside Pakistan by providing training and financial support to terrorist groups to kill innocent people in Pakistan.

She said these Indian nationals are now residing in India with impunity which indicates Pakistan’s position that India is a state that sponsors terrorism.

With JKT gone, hyenas chase Tania Aidrus

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After the ouster of Jahangir Tareen due to the sugar scandal, opposing PTI factions want Ms Aidrus out too.

In February 2020 Ms Tania Aidrus was notified the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Digital Pakistan. Before coming back to Pakistan Ms Aidrus had been working for Google for 12 years in various leadership roles, her last one being “Director, Product, Payments for Next Billion Users”.

Ms Aidrus’ return to Pakistan, according to various sources within the government, was facilitated by Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen, the erstwhile PTI party stalwart. However, after the ouster of Jahangir Tareen due to the sugar scandal, opposing PTI factions want Ms Aidrus out too.

Conflict of interest or line of attack?

Long before Ms Aidrus’ notification as the SAPM on Faberuary 27, 2020, she and her former Google colleague Mr Khurram Jamali had been in talks with the government since early 2019. These talks were facilitated by Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen who was unofficially leading many of the reforms initiatives of the PTI government. According to the finalized plan, both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali would leave Google to join Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan Initiative. Mr Jamali formerly worked under Ms Aidrus as “Head Partnerships – Payments for Next Billion Users” at Google.

Finally, in a grand ceremony in December 2019 held in Islamabad, the Prime Minister announced that Ms Aidrus would lead the Digital Pakistan Initiative. Ms Aidrus spoke on the occasion and gave an outline of her plan for Digital Pakistan. The presentation that both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali had earlier given the Prime included a plan to create a non-profit organization called Digital Pakistan Foundation. Both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali had given the outline of what Digital Pakistan Foundation was going to be.

According to Ms Aidrus, the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative has no Federal Budget assigned to it, neither is it under the ambit of Ministry of IT or Ministry of Science and Technology, leaving it high and dry. The plan, since day one, and as presented to the Prime Minister, was to create a non-profit foundation called Digital Pakistan Foundation in parallel to the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative.

Talking to Business Recorder, a source close the the developments said, “She has been talking about the Digital Pakistan Foundation since day one, she has been pretty transparent about it. She had been saying that she will make a foundation, and raise money to attract Pakistani talent abroad with good salaries because the Government of Pakistan isn’t spending anything on the Digital Pakistan Initiative. This was her plan from the very beginning and I think Khan was aware of it.”

The same was being said be both Mr Jamali and Ms Aidrus at various webinars and talks they were giving to industry group. One such webinar, given to Open Silicon Valley group, a group of tech Pakistani expatriates in USA working in tech, Mr Jamali gave his outline. According to Mr Jamali, this was not a novel structure unique to Pakistan and they did not come up with the idea on their own. According to Mr Jamali, India also has a similar structure where a non-profit think-tank called iSpirit works as an industry group in parallel to the government from policy formulations to execution of digital projects.

Hence, on 27th February 2020, a day before Ms Aidrus was officially notified as SAPM, Digital Pakistan Foundation was registered with SECP as a non-profit foundation. The foundation had Mr Jamali as its CEO; Ms Aidrus ad the Chairperson of the board; and Mr Mudassir Ilyas Shaikha, Mr Sikandar Bashir Mohmand, and Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen as board members. Pertinent to mention here is that Mr Mohmand is Mr Tareen’s lawyer in court for the sugar scandal.

Later in April, when sugar scandal came out and it became obvious that Mr Tareen was being ousted from PTI, both Mr Mohmand and Mr Tareen resigned from the board of Digital Pakistan Foundation.

While technically a conflict of interest on holding both roles does exist, however, there have been no indications that Ms Aidrus had kept her involvement with Digital Pakistan Foundation secret at any point. In fact, both Ms Aidrus and Mr Jamali had been touting the benefits of this structure very publicly.

Why now?

The Digital Pakistan Foundation was made in February, both Mr Aidrus and Mr Jamali had been talking about it publicly since then in various interviews and webinars, so why has it suddenly become a scandal? This, according to investigations by Business Recorder, has to do with Mr Tareen’s ouster.

Jahangir Khan Tareen was a PTI party stalwart, he was a patron to many position holders within the PTI government and was extremely close the Prime Minister. When the sugar scandal came out, the Prime Minister Imran Khan grew disillusioned with Mr Tareen for prioritizing his sugar business over national interest. This let to the estrangement of the PM and Mr Tareen, who, according to sources, are not on talking terms any longer. Mr Tareen has reportedly left Pakistan and does not hold sway in the government any longer.

Consequently, all those brought into the party and the government by Mr Tareen stand vulnerable to PTI’s faction wars and infighting. Ms Aidrus is one of the casualties.

The attacks on Ms Aidrus seem to be emanating from the office of Shabahat Ali Shah, CEO of NITB. From day one, Ms Aidrus and Mr Shah have not been getting along. Since both work for IT side of the government, there has been an overlap of their turfs, leading to turf wars. A close friend of Mr Shah, Ms Sabeen Sultan has been leading social media attacks against Ms Aidrus. Taking advantage of Ms Aidrus’ fresh vulnerability, they allegedly want her ousted from her role as SAPM. To that end, the Digital Pakistan Foundation scandal was intentionally leaked to a journalist on Twitter, whose thread about the scandal was later picked up by various media outlets.

The cost of Infighting

While two of the arguably most important government departments are involved in infighting, it is Pakistan that is suffering. Due to this infighting, the development of critical and key software infrastructure aimed at leading the government’s war against Coronavirus was also made controversial, as reported by Business Recorder earlier. It seems like in many other projects of the PTI government, the important work in the IT sector of Pakistan will also be sacrificed to the clash of egos and turf wars.

As with everything, the buck of this too stops with the Prime Minister.

PIAF for concrete steps to attract investment to save jobs

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DNA

LAHORE, JUNE 24 – The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front has asked the government to take concrete steps to attract foreign investment, saving the livelihood of millions of workers associated with various sectors, as foreign investment in Pakistan’s long-term projects like power plants, oil and gas exploration and 3G/4G internet has dropped to a nine-month low at $120 million in May 2020.

PIAF chairman Mian Nauman Kabir, in a joint statement with the senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed and vice chairman Javed Siddiqi, observed that the government will have to make visible reduction in taxes in the budget to help revive the businesses, which are near to bankruptcies owing to prolonged worldwide lockdowns amidst coronavirus.

He said that like the domestic industry Covid-19 crisis has also forced the global investors to put their new investment plans on hold, foreign direct investment (FDI) was 10% lower than the $133.2 million recorded in April 2020 and 53% lesser than the $254 million registered in May 2019.

He said that there is no visible improvement in employment a month after the business activities were allowed and countrywide lockdown eased. The small and medium industries (SMEs) -the main providers of jobs are still struggling because of lack of funds and demand.

PIAF chairman said that the larger industries are also operating partially. Textile sector that was the major provider of permanent and daily wage jobs has lost 50 percent of both domestic and export market. The auto sector is operating at less than half capacity. The job losses at the original equipment manufacturers not significant but at auto venders, where bulk of auto-related jobs exist are operating with minimum possible staff.

According to reports, in the 11-month period, the power sector got the largest investment of $749.6 million, followed by the communication sector $583.8 million, oil and gas exploration $275.9 million, financial business $256.8 million and electrical machinery $153.4 million.

The communication sector, mostly the 3G/4G service providers, attracted the largest foreign investment of $73.5 million in May 2020, followed by oil and gas exploration firms $18.6 million and financial businesses $15.5 million.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that the global lockdown imposed to contain the virus badly impacted economic activities, businesses, people’s income and their purchasing power. As a result, the demand for many products, except for food and pharmaceuticals, dropped sharply. Most of the foreign investment during the Covid-19 pandemic went to the ongoing projects in Pakistan.

The revival of demand for products like cement, textile and chemical would attract foreign investment in future, he said. The financial health of companies around the globe is deteriorating. Many of them are filing for bankruptcy. The return of stability to the financial health of global firms is a must to attract new foreign investment in Pakistan.

PIAF senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed said that with a view to save the economy from the impacts of the slowdown due to the COVID-19 the government should announce special incentives for a cash-strapped SMEs, which represents more than 90 percent of around 3.2 million business enterprises in Pakistan, contributing 40 percent to the GDP, employing more than 80 percent of non-agricultural workforce, and generating 25 percent of export earnings.

PIAF vice chairman Javed Siddiqi, expressing dissatisfaction over the financial packages announced so far by the government for industry to deal with the challenges posed by coronavirus, called for a significant cut in import duties and waiver of sales tax, income tax and additional income taxes which are still being charged in this time of grave crisis.

A war has been imposed on us by fascist BJP-RSS regime in Delhi: Masood Khan

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DNA

Islamabad; 24 June: Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while citing the reoccupation of Jammu and Kashmir by India in August 5, said that a war has been imposed on us and we will have to fight this war for our existence. “This is a war for our sovereignty; for protecting our cultural and religious identity, and the rights of our Kashmir brothers and sister”, he said.

The President made these remarks while addressing a web-conference on “Solidarity with Kashmir during Covid-19 and lockdown effects on Kashmir and Pakistan” organized by the National Youth Empowerment (NYE). Students from Lahore and Sahiwal were present at the conference. Mr Abdullah Hamid Gul, Chief Patron NYE also addressed the conference.

The AJK President in his remarks said that many still are not aware of the gravity of the situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, especially post-August 5, when India re-occupied the disputed territory. India, he said, has even issued fake maps showing AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan as part of India. “These fake maps are now available all over the internet”, he said while condemning these actions as a grave violation of international law and UN SC resolutions.

Masood Khan said that IOJK despite being an internationally recognized the disputed territory has been divided into two parts – Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir – by the Indian government and that too without the consent of the people living there. Resultantly, he said, India has brought these two newly divided areas under the direct control of Delhi and in turn inadvertently internationalized Kashmir.

“The area now occupied by India is actually a part of Pakistan as its people had wished to accede to Pakistan and despite all efforts of India to coerce them into submission they have rejected their rule and writ”, said President Masood.

Terming August 5 and October 31 actions taken by India in IOJK as lebensraum, irredentism and expansionism, the President said that the rights to permanent residence, ownership of property, livelihoods and education – as protected by international law – have been usurped by Delhi. Since April, this year, after the introduction of the New Domicile Rules the Kashmiris have been made homeless in their own homeland, he said. Masood Khan said that Hindus from all over India are being allowed to settle in IOJK and their domiciles are being made ready in a period of only 15 days on the instructions of Delhi.

The President informed his audience of the dire situation in IOJK. He said that according to a recent report, over 13,000 Kashmiri boys have been picked up by Indian forces. These young Kashmiris – some as young as 9 years-old – have been imprisoned in prison houses all over IOJK and northern India where they are being subjected to unimaginable torture. Under the cover of the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous Kashmiris have been killed in staged encounters and so-called cordon and search operations.

“The Kashmiris people are fighting for their lives and this act of self-defence is an inherent right acknowledged in the UN Charter [Article 51]”, he said.

Masood Khan said that not only are Kashmiris being targeted but under the fascist rule of the RSS-BJP regime, Muslims all over India are being lynched, mobbed and – under the Citizen Amendment Act – are at risk of becoming stateless.

Responding to a question, the President said that the recent standoff between China and India has exposed the latter’s incapacity to face an equal military power. Having lived in China for eight years during his diplomatic career, the President said that he had the opportunity to witness the steely resolve of the Chinese people. He added that the People’ Liberation Army is a far more professional, committed and resolute army as compared to the Indian army. “India has never triumphed in a war with an equal. Their experience entails fighting and killing its own people, and that too after disarming them”, he said.

To another question on the role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the resolution of the Kashmir issue, the AJK President said that the OIC has openly and resolutely supported the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and has staunchly reinforced Pakistan’s stance on the issue. He added that the OIC has issued strong communiqués on Kashmir condemning Indian actions. “This support of 57 brotherly countries cannot be undermined”, he said

“A convict has become a cop”, said Masood Khan while referring to India’s entry to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member. He added that this was an anomaly in itself that the tormentor has been elevated to such a position. He said that India has to be de-seated from that position as grave human rights violations have been documented against it in reports published by leading international human rights organizations, and globally recognized bodies like the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, OIC-IPHRC, Amnesty International, Genocide Watch, and the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir among others.

To the youth, the President said that they are the future of the nation and they should think passionately about the destiny of Pakistan. He urged them to contemplate on the current challenges faced by Pakistan and plan for the future. The youth, he said, must have a passion for excellence and should aim to be second to none. We must all envision Pakistan as the top 10 economies of the world by the year 2050, he said. He also urged the participants to reach out to their peers around the globe and raise awareness on the plight of the Kashmiri people.

President Khan said that for becoming a great nation, we must excel on all fronts and achieve the full spectrum – military, diplomatic and economic. Developing countries of the yester-decades, like Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, to name a few, have progressed due to sheer struggle towards a collective commitment for development.

China’s 3D printed isolation wards to help Pakistan curb COVID-19

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DNA

BEIJING, June 24 : Fifteen units of 3D printed isolation wards set off from Shanghai and Suzhou for Pakistan, Gwadar Pro reported on Wednesday. After one month’s sea transportation, these printed wards will arrive in Islamabad for local COVID-19 prevention and cure.

This batch of 3D printed wards valued about $123,300 is voluntarily donated from Ying Chuang Building Tech (Winsun) after contact and coordination with Consulate General of Pakistan in Shanghai and National Disaster Management Association.

The ward’s design is specifically for Pakistan, which shows excellent heat-proof quality. These wards have already been installed with water and electricity utilities, doors, windows and inner decoration.

As soon as arriving at the destination, after assembling and connecting with water and electricity supply, they can be put into use promptly.

It is learned that 3D printed isolation wards had been used in Hubei and Shandong, China during the most difficult time and achieved satisfactory feedback.

The isolation ward can be transformed into hotel, park lounge, cafe, guardroom, toilet, emergency room for disaster relief, etc. Furthermore, the wards are printed from recycled materials.

After crushing, sorting, grinding and high-temperature treatment, these wards can be turned into materials again for printing other new buildings, the report added.

Novak Djokovic tests positive for COVID-19

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World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has tested positive for the coronavirus, the tennis star said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, Croatia’s Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki have previously tested positive after playing in Djokovic’s Adria Tour exhibition tournament in the Balkan region.

Djokovic’s fitness coach Marco Panichi and Dimitrov’s coach Christian Groh have also tested positive.

“The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested,” Djokovic said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that he was not showing any symptoms. “My result is positive, just as Jelena’s (wife), while the results of our children are negative.

“I am extremely sorry for each individual case of infection. I hope that it will not complicate anyone’s health situation and that everyone will be fine. I will remain in self-isolation for the next 14 days, and repeat the test in five days.”

The organisers said that the remainder of the Adria Tour had been cancelled, the two-day event on July 3-4 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and the planned exhibition match with Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in Sarajevo on July 5.

Serbia has 13,092 registered cases and 263 dead due to the pandemic but both Serbia and Croatia eased lockdown measures weeks before the tournament and players were not obliged to observe social distancing rules in either country.

The tournament witnessed packed stands during the opening leg in Belgrade, players hugging at the net, playing basketball, posing for pictures and attending press conferences together.

Djokovic, 33, organised nights out in Belgrade for the players and pictures and videos of him dancing with the other participants at his event were posted on social media.

“Prayers up to all the players that have contracted Covid- 19,” said Nick Kyrgios, retweeting a video of the players dancing shirtless in Belgrade.

“Don’t @ me for anything I’ve done that has been ‘irresponsible’ or classified as ‘stupidity’ – this takes the cake,” said the temperamental Australian, who was placed on probation by the men’s ATP Tour over his behaviour last year.

Professional circuit 

The professional circuit was halted in early March as nations closed borders and imposed lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus.

Last week the ATP and the women’s WTA issued revised calendars for the resumption of the circuit from August while organisers of the US Open said the Grand Slam will be staged without fans as scheduled from August 31 to September 13 in New York.

The ATP said on Monday that “it continued to urge strict adherence to responsible social distancing and health and safety guidelines to contain the spread of the virus”.

“In planning for the resumption … ATP and other stakeholders have made exhaustive plans to mitigate risks through a variety of precautions and protocols to be implemented at ATP events,” the men’s governing body said, adding they will adjust protocols aligning with latest health guidelines.

Djokovic, who earlier said he faces a dilemma if a vaccine becomes compulsory for players to compete when tennis resumes, insisted that the idea behind his tournament was to raise funds for players in need.

“Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” said Djokovic, who is also the head of the players council of the men’s ATP Tour.

“Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.”

Uganda opposition to defy ban on campaign rallies

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Uganda’s opposition figure Robert Kyangulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has said he will hold campaign rallies despite a ban by the electoral commission.

The People Power Movement leader said President Yoweri Museveni was using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to prevent opposition leaders from reaching voters.

The east African nation will hold a general election in January 2021 and the electoral commission has banned mass campaign rallies to protect voters against coronavirus. It encouraged aspiring candidates to campaign through the media

President Yoweri Museveni, who is serving his fifth term of office, is eligible for a fresh term but has not announced whether he will vie.

Bobi Wine said the electoral commission’s ban on rallies was not genuine.

“No Ugandan should be fooled into believing that Museveni is doing this for the safety of Ugandans. What Museveni fears is the people,” he said.

He said the government was using the pandemic to prevent a free and fair election process.

The banning of campaign rallies means that the opposition would be disadvantaged as radio is the most popular media in Uganda and most private stations are owned by politicians in the ruling party.

LHC seeks reply from Punjab govt on sugar, wheat crisis

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LAHORE, JUNE 24: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the federal government, Punjab government, others on a petition filed to make sugar, wheat inquiry reports public.

As the hearing went underway, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted a reply in the court over the investigation into sugar, wheat scandal.

The LHC adjourned the hearing till July 7 and also sought a reply from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The court directed Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan to submit a progress report in the next hearing.

It may be noted that FIA was asked to investigate the sugar subsidy issue and it had submitted a report, which was made public by Prime Minister Imran Khan, last month.
Earlier on June 10, Shahzad Akbar had said that the federal government has prepared an action plan in light of the recommendations tabled by the inquiry commission as the authorities will now begin efforts for the recovery after the massive financial irregularities.

“Few matters are given in hands of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The government is not working behind closed doors and everyone will be apprised for what we are going to do now.”

The special assistant said that the anti-corruption watchdog will analysis the aspects of subsidies which went against laws. He added that the present government has also presented itself for the accountability of Rs2.4 worth subsidy on sugar.

On Saturday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed the petition filed by the Sugar Mills Association challenging the sugar inquiry commission report.

Pilot, air traffic controller held responsible as PIA plane crash report presented in NA

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ISLAMABAD, JUNE 24 (DNA) :  Federal Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Wednesday has presented initial investigation report on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash in the National Assembly (NA).

Speaking in the House, the minister blamed plane’s captain, crew members and the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) for the crash, while PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have also been declared responsible because of their inaccuracies in preventing such accidents.

He said that the pilot neglected instruction given by Air Traffic Controller. Action against the responsible people will be taken according to the law, he pledged.

Ghulam Sarwar told CCTV footage showed that the ill-fated plane hit the runway after which, the pilot chose to go around (re-take off). Evidence of damages caused to both engines of the plane due to failed landing was also found, he told.

According to the report, the plane was fit for take-off and its landing gears were also working properly. The captain and first officer of the aircraft were well experienced and the weather at that time was also suitable for flying.

The preliminary investigation report has further blamed plane’s captain, crew members and the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) for the crash, while PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have also been held responsible because of their inaccuracies in preventing such accidents.

The airport administration had told that the plane was flying at high altitude at the time of landing, the report revealed.
The inquiry report was prepared while keeping in view the investigation record, statements of staff and Airbus team’s report. Data flight recorders, cockpit voice recorders and flight records obtained from air traffic control are also part of the report.

PIA plane crashes in Karachi

It is pertinent to mention here that all but two of the 99 people on board a PIA passenger plane were killed when it crashed into a residential neighborhood of Karachi.

The PIA plane had made multiple approaches to land at Karachi airport when it came down among houses.

The national carrier’s flight PK-8303 took off from Lahore Allama Iqbal International Airport and crashed in Model Colony area in Malir, approximately 4 kilometers away from the airport.

The plane came to rest about 2:39pm in a narrow alley in the poor and congested residential area known as Model Colony between houses smashed by its wings.

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