PESHAWAR, Oct 19 (APP):Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Senator Shibli Faraz here Monday called on Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest with special focus on KP Government’s reforms and development projects and its effective publicity for awareness of masses.

For this purpose, both of them agreed for better coordination between Federal and Provincial Ministries of Information for effective publicity of the Government projects and reforms initiated in KP for the wellbeing and socioeconomic development of people.
Shibli Faraz said a record number of people welfare projects have been completed in KP during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Government.

He said projects and reforms initiated by the PTI Government in KP for welfare of people were highly praiseworthy, which need to be highlighted at national level.

During the meeting, emphasis were given on accelerating the process of payment of outstanding amount under advertisements head to the media houses.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said media related problems would be addressed on priority basis.

LAHORE, Oct 19 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has expressed sorrow and grief over the loss of precious human lives in a roof collapse in Okara.

According to a handout issued here on Monday, he extended sympathies to the bereaved families and ordered for providing the best treatment facilities to the injured children. He also sought a report from Sahiwal commissioner.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan on Monday said the rallies of opposition parties were meant to protect their corrupt leaders allegedly involved in looting the national exchequer ruthlessly.

Talking to a private news channel, he said they were applying gimmicks on incumbent government to get an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) but their efforts would go in vain as the government was committed to bring these looters to justice.
Babar criticized opposition parties seeking production orders for their corrupt leaders from the National Assembly speaker to whom they accused of being elected from the fake assembly.

He said Pakistan’s enemies were trying to disrupt the peace of the country but they would not succeed in their nefarious designs.

He accused opposition parties for holding activities favoring country’s enemies. The opposition’s anti-state statements were supporting and promoting Pakistan’s enemies narrative, he added.

The SAPM said the patriotic people could not tolerate those who were sitting abroad and trying to malign the national institutions.

Replying to a question, he said the government had expedited the process to bring Nawaz Sharif back to the country.

He said the leaders of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) were consistently using their language against the national institutions, adding two PDM leaders were not calling themselves as Pakistani.

SIALKOT, Oct 19 (APP)::Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on Monday said Kashmir was jugular vein of Pakistan, and the Mother of the Nation Fatima Jinnah had also called it the spirit and lifeline of the country because of its strategic location in the context of defence of Pakistan.

He was addressing the Kashmir Conference, held at the Jammu House in Rukanabad town of tehsil Pasroor, district Sialkot.

He said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not only against the Muslims but also Sikh and Christians living in India. He said Christians were forcibly converted to Hinduism in India.

The governor said Narendra Modi had patronised massacre of Muslims when he was the chief minister of Indian state Gujarat, and he was called the butcher of Gujarat. And now, added Ch Sarwar, the butcher of Gujarat had become the butcher of occupied Kashmir, and he was conducting pogrom of the Kashmiri Muslims there. He said those were unprecedented atrocities going on in the held Kashmir currently.

The Punjab governor said Kashmiris had been living across the world and they had been holding Kashmir’s flag in one hand and Pakistan’s in the other, which was a proof of their love for their land.

Chaudhry Sarwar said overseas Pakistanis were sending billions of dollars as remittance every year, but they and their families were facing lots of issues in the country.

Their properties were occupied illegally and they had to face various problems in different departments, he added. The governor said the provincial government had set up Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission for resolving their issues swiftly.

He said Azad Jammu & Kashmir Overseas Pakistanis Commission would be established when Sultan Mahmood would become prime minister of AJK. He said, “Liberation of both Kashmir and Palestine is part of our belief and Pakistan would continue struggle till their freedom from illegal occupation.” He said voices were being raised in European and British parliaments for giving Kashmiris their right to self-determination.

Punjab Minister for Special Education Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, former prime minister Azad Jammu & Kashmir Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders Umar Dar, former members of Legislative Assembly Azad Jammu & Kashmir Chaudhry Maqbool Ahmad and Sahibzada Hamid Raza and others also attended the conference.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Senator Faisal Javed on Monday said the government would not give national reconciliation ordinance (NRO) or compromise with the political leaders allegedly involved in corruption and money-laundering cases at any cost.

Speaking in upper house of the parliament, he said the opposition parties were trying to pressurize the government for getting NRO by holding public gatherings.

“They have looted public money and should be accountable. Through these public gatherings, they just want to build pressure on the incumbent government to halt the ongoing accountability process against them but they are making futile efforts,” he added.
He said they were not well-wishers of the public and all doing so to get a relief from the corruption and money-laundering cases.

He said all corrupt political leaders were united against the transparent system in a bid to carry on their corruption.

Senator Faisal Javed said from 2008 to 2018, they got loan four times higher then the past tenures.

He added, “As per law of the land, all these corrupt elements should be behind the bars.”
He made it clear that the present government was fully committed to take strict action against all corrupt elements without taking any political pressure of these agitations.

Commenting on public gathering in Karachi by opposition parties, he said it was ‘weekend show’ as people from surrounding areas visited Karachi to spend their weekly holidays.
He added the participation of Karachiites was not even five percent as the locals fully rejected these corrupt elements.

He strongly condemned the violation of sanctity of the Quaid-e-Azam mausoleum in Karachi and added that all those involved in this unethical practice should seek apology from the nation over this sad incident.

He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was a true democratic party with 22 years track record of political struggle while all other political parties used undemocratic means to get powers.

ATTOCK, Oct 19 (APP):Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Monday said that Pakistan was ranked fifth on the index of climate change that was why the government had evolved multiple strategy to tackle the effects of natural disasters.

Talking to newsmen at Hassanabdal, he said that present government was taking tangible steps as per PM’s vision to reduce effects of climate change on the vulnerable communities.
He added that government had a distinction to have included the element of disaster risk reduction in the planning of development projects for the first time in the history of the county. He said under the country’s Protected Areas Initiative measures were being taken to improve environmental governance, management, financing and conservation activities on about 7,200 square kilometers.

Commenting on question related to recent political developments, the PM’s special assistant Malik Amin said that the opposition’s anti government public rallies posed no threat to the government and it had launched an anti-government campaign to hide its corruption.

However, alarming thing is the stance of the PML-N leadership against the state institutions which was against the largest interest of the state and its institutions.

He said that Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples Party was lacking leadership that was why they were using each others shoulders to save their money earned through corrupt practices. He said the opposition did not have a direction or plan and their viewpoint was the same.

He said the government will complete five years while there were no chance of
pre-mature election. He said Nawaz Sharif fled the country on the pretext of illness
and now spewing venom against the state institutions. He said accountability
process of corrupt elements would not be stopped. He predicted that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)- an alliance of the opposition would fall apart upcoming weeks terming the 11 parties alliance as “unnatural and against each other’s interests”.

Responding to a question, he admitted that corruption prevails at gross roots level in public departments and PTI came into power with slogan of change and making all out efforts to get out masses from clinches of the “tout mafia”.

He claimed that corruption at higher level were eliminated as Prime Minister Imarn Khan directly monitoring the affairs at national level while efforts were being made to get rid out the touts mafia from the government departments through introducing reforms, digitalization, introducing apps and direct access to the administrative officials through open door policy.

He said that out of 45 filtration plants, four has been established in Hassanabdal and providing clean water to the masses of the area.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda on Monday said the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had adopted narrative to malign the national institutions but was not ready to bring back its timid leadership from abroad.

Talking to a private news channel, he said PML-N was trying and making plan to send Maryam Nawaz abroad but the government would not allow her at any cost.

He said opposition should avoid to label baseless allegations on others regarding kidnapping of the Inspector General of Sindh Police and if someone had solid evidences in this regard than he should prove.

The minister said the government was committed to reduce inflation and sending to jails all looters and dacoits who had looted national wealth ruthlessly during their tenures.

He said the government had inherited inflation and fragile national economy but it was making efforts for providing relief to the people at the earliest.

Replying to a question, he said the action of Captain (R) Safdar, who is the son in law of Nawaz Sharif, in Quaid-e-Azam Mausoleum was inappropriate.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan on Monday said the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) was still waiting to get the ‘Right of Way’ from the Sindh government for laying a 17-Kilometer gas pipeline in Karachi.

The minister, in a tweet, said the Sindh government did not permit to lay the pipeline despite ‘repeated’ letters and meetings during the last one-and-a-half years.
“The Sindh government will be directly responsible for any gas shortages in Karachi,” Omar Ayub said.

MIRPUR (AJK): Oct 19 (APP):Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan Monday said that as a matter of principle, talks with India should be held only under the UN auspices, and side by side with Pakistan and India, presence of the Kashmiris on the negotiations table is a must.

He asserted that the UN supervision of the talks is essential in order to carry forward and implement the Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.

In an interview with a private TV channel on Monday he said that India had always used the bogey of bilateral talks to consolidate its illegal occupation of Kashmir and to keep the United Nations and the Kashmiris out of the negotiation process, and now it can once again use the talks as a ploy to divert attention from its recent illegal actions in IIOJK, AJK President office said on Monday

The AJK President maintained that since the Kashmir issue has been once again raised in the UN Security Council, the talks as a matter of principle should be held in not Islamabad or New Delhi, but in New York. However, to ensure participation of Kashmiris, these can also be conducted in Islamabad, New Delhi or Muzaffarabad and Srinagar.

In any case, we will have to ensure that the talks are held within the framework of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir only, he asserted.

Responding to a question, he said that Pakistan’s stand on talks is very clear that Kashmir is not a bilateral dispute between Pakistan and India but it is an international issue which must be resolved by the UN Security Council. However, India does not consider it even a bilateral issue and describes it as its internal matter.

He said that India will also not accept Pakistan’s condition of involvement of Kashmiris in the talks process.

“Pakistan has always adopted the stand that the Kashmiri people themselves are to decide their future destiny as has been laid down in the UN resolution”, he said adding that the Kashmir issue must remain with the international community so as to prevent India from turning occupied Kashmir into its colony, and stop it from depriving the Kashmiri people of their land and homes.

Answering another question, Sardar Masood Khan said that the Pakistani and the Kashmiri community living across the world including Pakistan and Azad Kashmir should rise up, and established contacts with the international community on the political level to muster their support in order to stop India from the illegal process of demographic change in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Yet to another question about anti-India stance recently adopted by pro-India Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, the AJK president said that these elements have never been Kashmiri leaders, but these were the people who had sold Kashmir to India in the lust of power, and after they have lost power and privileges, they wanted to strike some deal with India through blackmailing.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday handed over medicines supplies, 350 blankets, medical tents and 5,000 mosquito nets to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for devastated and marooned people of flash flood hit areas of the country.

The WHO has also provided 1,000 testing kits and medicines for flash flood hit area people.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman NDMA Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal lauded the role of WHO specially the role of its head of mission Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala in providing relief to disaster hit people, said a press release.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi Monday said that Sindh Government is trying to distance themselves from the FIR and arrest
Safdar Awan, son in law of PML-N Leader Nawaz Sharif.

In a statement made on social media, he said that Muhammad Zubair selling nonsense narrative that Chief Minister Sindh told, IG Sindh was kidnapped and forced to register FIR, adding that “If this is true then CM Sindh must fire IG Sindh or resign himself as his orders were not followed”.

“I demand that CM Sindh immediately and publicly reject Muhammad Zubair’s comments attributed to him about kidnapping of IG Sindh” he said.

He said that Zubair decrying about ‘state terrorism’ regarding the arrest of Safdar Awan, adding that If arresting a criminal is state terrorism, then what was Model Town massacre by police under Shahbaz.

He said that “lastly, certain elements in the media and opposition parties are unsuccessfully trying to confuse the issue of Safdar’s arrest”, adding that “instead of focusing on the crime he committed, they are asking how Safdar was charged and arrested”.

The minister sharing Sindh Police Tweet, said what kind of mockery is this? “Sindh police tweets about the arrest and then deletes the tweet! Even a zoo is run in a much more organized manner! Now Zubair is caught lying with his fist in the candy jar! Pathetic bunch of liars selling their souls to save their corrupt leadership” he said.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19 (APP):Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood Monday said that cracks may appear both in PML-N and PPP due to difference of opinions and conflict of interests among their leaders and workers.

The disassociation of Bilawal Bhutto from the narrative of Nawaz Sharif and minus Marryam gathering of PML-N workers at Bilawal House were the signs of centrifugal tendencies among workers of major political parties of PDM, he said during talk show programme of a private news channel.

The minister said both Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Marryam Nawaz have set new tradition first ever in the political history of the country by following a path
of maligning the national institutions, merely to hide their corrupt political track record.
He said that it was very painful to make allegations against armed forces of the country during fragile geo-strategic environment, which would benefit no other than the enemies of the country.

Shafqat Mehmood said that after one year’s silence, Marryam Nawaz suddenly started targeting the armed forces, following her party’s failure in getting National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) from the government.

About the arrest and release of Capt (R) Safdar, the minister said he was arrested under clause 3 and clause 8 of the Quaid Mausoleum Sanctity Act 1971 by the provincial police on violation of the written agreement. Any citizen has the right to lodge FIR, he added.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (APP):Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and Heritage Senator Faisal Javed said on Sunday that attendance in Imran Khan’s protest rally was largest because of his popularity among the masses for his struggle against corrupt political system.

He said that the gathering of PDM could not be compared with PTI’s rally as inconsistent to Imran Khan, the leaders of the Opposition alliance have no direct affiliation with their ordinary workers.

In a talk show programme of a private news channel on Sunday, he said that the excitement of people was evident at PTI’s rallies whereas people from remote villages were forcibly brought to the PDM’s flop show against their willingness.

Even only 5 percent citizens of Karachi attended the Opposition’s rally at Bagh e Jinnah, he expressed.