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Waqas Dar

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  1. Waqas Dar
    NEW YORK: People surveyed on five continents mistakenly think wealthy Western countries are welcoming most refugees as the world grapples with its worst migration crisis in decades, a survey showed on Thursday.
    With more people than ever fleeing home since World War Two, most respondents thought the United States, France and Germany accepted the largest number of refugees over the last decade, the survey by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative (AHI) found.
    However, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey welcomed most refugees and asylum seekers over that time period ? some 10 million people, according to data by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) cited as part of the findings.
    The United States and Germany took in some 3.5 million people, according to AHI. The study cited no figure for France because it did not rank among the top 15 nations to have admitted refugees and asylum seekers over the last decade.
    The survey of some 6,500 adults polled in 12 countries in February and March comes as more than 65 million people have been driven from their homes by war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, according to UNHCR.
    Salpi Ghazarin, a social scientist at the University of Southern California associated with AHI, said the mistaken perception that wealthy countries led the pack in welcoming refugees suggested expectations they should do more.
    ?The natural assumption would be that the countries with the most capacity would be the ones stepping forward and doing something,? she said.
    In a sign of ?humanitarian morass worldwide,? the Yerevan, Armenia-based charity also said its poll had found only a third of respondents were willing to welcome more refugees.
    Survey respondents lived in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Argentina, Armenia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Russia and Turkey.
    Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order capping the total number of refugees allowed in the United States to 50,000 this year.
    Europeans have for their part signalled resentment over the surge of refugees in their countries, including in Germany, which has accepted more refugees than any other country in Europe.


  2. Waqas Dar
    Pictured are RPG launcher, rounds and hand grenades among other equipment seized during the raids SUI/DERA BUGTI: Frontier Corps on Saturday seized arms and ammunition from militant hideouts in Sui and Dera Bugti, according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

    FC troops together with intelligence personnel raided hideouts of banned militant outfits in Arjan Nala and Darenjan Nala areas, the ISPR said in a statement.
    The raids came as part of operation Raddul Fasaad - a comprehensive military campaign aimed at wiping out terrorists of all hues and colors from the country.
    Paramilitary personnel, during the raids, seized sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition from militant safe houses, read the statement.
    These included RPG launcher with five RPG-7 rounds, four mortar shells, two land mines, four grenades, 170 pressure buttons and other equipment that was stashed for subversive activities, it added.


  3. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The Airport Security Force on Saturday seized 1 kilogram of heroin from a passenger at Karachi airport, sources told Geo News.

    The passenger was planning to fly to Jeddah. 
    Earlier this week, a bid to smuggle heroin was foiled at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Monday when 20 kilogrammes of the contraband was seized from a London-bound flight of the national carrier.
    The drugs were found by the Pakistan International Airlines' vigilance team concealed in catering galley of PK-785.
    Around 10 days back, a major drug bust by London authorities came to light, when a large amount of heroin was seized from a PIA plane at Heathrow airport. The authorities detained the crew for a brief period and said the incident is expected to have an ? international element?.


  6. Waqas Dar
    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wished Muslims in Canada and worldwide ?Ramadan Mubarak? in a video message, as the Muslims around the world mark the start of the holy month.
    ?Ramadan is a sacred time of the year for the Muslim community, and commemorates the revealing of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
    ?The month-long journey of fasting and prayer encourages spiritual growth, reflection, and compassion for those who are less fortunate,? he said.
    Trudeau, who talks about pluralism and the need to defeat racism in Canada, wished Muslims last Ramazan too. ?Ramadan is also a time of community, when Muslims gather with family and friends to pray and share iftar, the evening meal. For all of us, Ramadan is a reminder to appreciate the many gifts we are given, and to give generously to others, in our communities and around the world,? he says in his message.
    The Canadian prime minister stressed the importance to ?honour the many cultures, traditions, and beliefs that make Canada such a wonderful place to live,? saying that the Muslim community in the country ?help make Canada the strong, diverse, and inclusive country it is today?.
    ?On behalf of our family, Sophie and I extend our best wishes to Muslim communities here in Canada and around the world,? he says.
    In a stark contrast, US president?s Ramazan message revolved mostly around talkig about terrorism/
    ?America will always stand with our partners against terrorism and the ideology that fuels it. During this month of Ramazan, let us be resolved to spare no measure so that we may ensure that future generations will be free of this scourge and able to worship and commune in peace,? Trump said.
    Trump?s statement was also unlike Ramazan greetings released in previous years by President Barack Obama, who spoke about celebrating and honouring the contributions of Muslims to American society.
    ?As Muslim Americans celebrate the holy month, I am reminded that we are one American family,? Obama wrote in his 2016 statement for Ramazan. ?I stand firmly with Muslim American communities in rejection of the voices that seek to divide us or limit our religious freedoms or civil rights.?


  7. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: No new tax has been levied in the federal budget that would adversely affect the public, said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday.
    "However, those defaulting on income tax would be dealt with strictly," he added while addressing a post-budget news conference in the capital. 
    While talking to the posts he had read on the social media regarding the federal budget for fiscal year 2017-18, Dar said the price of milk has not been increased in the new budget. The finance minister added that he would speak to officials in the Ministry of National Food Security and the provincial governments regarding the matter. "I don't know how far it is true but the rate is the same as it was on July 1, 2016."
    He added there was no reason for sellers to increase the rate of milk. "I'm giving a clarification because we have not taken any such step," he assured.
    During the news conference, Dar also told the media persons about the three-year macroeconomic road map devised by the government, instead of a five-year plan.
    "We should make a charter of economy and work towards the goal together," he maintained. "Even the [United Nations'] Sustainable Development Goals should be worked on by taking our economy into consideration."
    Moreover, the finance minister also spoke about the relief given to farmers, saying they have introduced schemes for small farmers. 
    He added that the government also plans to provide IT training to 1 million freelance youth. 
    The minister stated that the government will continue to tighten its grip around non-filers of tax returns to bring them into the tax net.
    Dar also announced that the Rs180-million export relief will continue in the next fiscal year as well. 
    He also clarified that the electricity subsidy on tube-wells for farmers will also continue. 
    Informing the media of a Rs120 billion allocation for salaries and allowances, Dar said government employees are satisfied with the raise in salaries and special allowances. 
    Criticising the practices of the past governments, the minister said in order to increase employment over-staffing was conducted in government departments. 
    He claimed that the federal government, with the latest budget proposal, has achieved the goals it had set in its party manifesto. 


  8. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shahryar Khan on Saturday announced two T20 matches and a bilateral cricket series in a joint press conference with Chairman Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) Atif Mashal.
    "Pakistan and Afghanistan will play two T20 matches and a bilateral cricket series," Khan said, stating that the PCB is on good terms with the ACB.
    Head of PCB's executive committee and PSL Chairman Najam Sethi said that Atif Mashal's visit to Pakistan will not only benefit cricket, it will also have a positive impact on the terms of the two countries, adding that Mashal is a close friend of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

    PCB passes unanimous resolution backing Sethi for Chairman

    "Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold two friendly T20 matches in Kabul and Lahore," he said.

    The Pakistani cricket team will visit Afghanistan to play the first match, following which its Afghan counterpart will come to Pakistan for the second match.
    The ACB chairman said he was grateful to Khan for inviting the ACB for talks, emphasising that sports should be taken positively.
    "It is necessary to keep sports and politics separate," Mashal said, adding that the meeting between the two cricket boards concluded positively.
    Bilateral series between A-teams and Under-19 teams from both countries will also be announced soon, the PCB chairman said.



  9. Waqas Dar
    Melania Trump who is one of the most stylish FLOTUS, has always been making style statements during many of her public appearances.
    Recently, Melania wore a $51,500 Dolce & Gabbana jacket to a meeting with the spouses of some of the most powerful world leaders at the annual G-7 summit in Catania, Italy.
    Photo: CNN While the extravagance of the clothing choice got on lots of American nerves, the internet has also gone wild over the news.
    The much-talked-about silk jacket by the Italian fashion house, plastered with large 3D flowers, was featured on a Dolce & Gabbana runway just months ago.
    Even when Dolce & Gabbana faced a backlash for continuing to dress the first lady, the Italian designers are unmoved by criticism.
    On Friday, Stefano Gabbana posted a video and several pictures of Melania Trump in the jacket on Instagram, captioning the video with a "THANK YOU" and several heart emojis.








  10. Waqas Dar
    Bab-e-Dosti on Chaman border was closed after Afghan troops attacked a census team on May 5. Photo: File  CHAMAN: The main border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Chaman, Balochistan, was reopened on Saturday after being closed since May 5 following cross-border clashes. 
    The border crossing ? also known as Bab-e-Dosti ? was reopened on humanitarian grounds in light of Ramazan and on the request of Afghan authorities, said a statement issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army. 
    Trading and pedestrian traffic resumed on the border following the announcement.
    The Bab-e-Dosti was closed on May 5, after Afghan border forces fired on Frontier Corps Balochistan soldiers deployed for the security of a census team. As many as 11 people were killed and 46 injured in the incident on the Pakistani side. Later, Pakistani officials said dozens of Afghan police personnel were killed in retaliatory fire but the figure was dismissed by the Afghan ambassador in Pakistan. 
    ?After the Chaman incident, Pakistan has its area under effective control having pushed back Afghan border police troops,? reads the ISPR statement.
    As the border is not clearly marked throughout, there has always been a dispute with Afghanistan over some villages in the border areas. 
    The census process in Pakistan has been completed on the Pakistani side and it has been agreed upon by Pakistani authorities that the ceasefire shall be maintained and no border violation will be acceptable, the statement added.
    Pakistani troops will maintain its positions along the international border in Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir villages on the Pakistani side of the border. 
    Tensions between both the countries have resulted in the temporary closure of the gate in the past as well.
    PM orders Pak-Afghan border to be re-opened immediately
    Order issued as a 'gesture of goodwill', according to a statement from the Prime Minister House
    On February 16, the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was closed after a bomb ripped through a shrine in interior Sindh leaving at least 80 people dead.
    The border was reopened after 18 days only for travellers on foot, and not for vehicles. 
    After the most recent closure of the Chaman border, the voluntary return of Afghan refugees under the UNHCR scheme was also halted. Moreover, the scores of people who cross the border daily for personal and business visits were also unable to cross the border. However, the Pakistani government later allowed Afghan nationals holding valid passports and visas, as well as those needing urgent medical attention, to cross the border. 


  11. Waqas Dar
    British police said they had arrested two men on Saturday as they stepped up their efforts to capture a suspected network behind the suicide bomber who killed 22 people in Manchester earlier this week.

    The arrests were among a total of 13 that have been made in recent days.

    Officers used a controlled explosion to gain entry to the address in the north of the city where the latest arrests were made. Detectives are now questioning 11 men over the attack by Salman Abedi at a pop concert in Manchester on Monday.
    Earlier, a 44-year-old man was arrested in connection with the suicide attack on a concert in Manchester.

    According to Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, "immense" progress had been made in the investigation into Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people, seven of them children, at a pop concert in Manchester on May 22.
    "They're very significant, these arrests. We're very happy we've got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about. But as I say, there is still a little bit more to do," Rowley told broadcasters.
    Since the attack, police backed up by the army have been patrolling cities and trains. The interior minister, Amber Rudd, said the official threat risk remained at its highest level, "critical", meaning another attack is expected imminently.
    Hospitals have been warned to be ready. However, Security Minister Ben Wallace said there was no evidence of a specific threat over Britain's holiday weekend, when major events will take place including Saturday's soccer FA Cup final in London, where extra armed officers will be on duty.
    As campaigning for a national election on June 8 resumed after it was suspended following the attack, the opposition Labour Party, emboldened by its rise in opinion polls, charged that Britain's foreign policy had increased the risk of attacks.
    Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also chided Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May for cutting spending on policing. "We must be brave enough to admit the 'war on terror' is not working," he said.
    May hit back. "Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks are our own fault," she said. "I want to make one thing very clear to Jeremy Corbyn and to you, and it is that there can never, ever be an excuse for terrorism."
    She was speaking to reporters at a summit of Group of Seven leaders in Sicily where she won support for action to prevent militants from using the internet to spread propaganda.


  12. Waqas Dar
    On May 26, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led government unveiled its fifth, and final, budget before the upcoming national elections. The proposed Rs. 4.75 trillion expenditure plan is slanted to focus on boosting growth and is more than 8 percent higher than last year?s budget. For the fiscal year 2017/2018, Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar promises a growth rate of almost 6 percent.


    But the government?s development-heavy budget has been immediately met with skepticism. Economists and opposition lawmakers say the Rs. 1 trillion earmarked for federal development and infrastructure projects ? up by 25 percent from last year ? is only to woo voters before elections. The ruling party is further being excoriated for underplaying the Rs. 1,479 billion fiscal deficit.

    How will the government be spending your ? the taxpayer?s ? money? Can the promises be sustained? Here, Geo.TV takes a deeper look at the proposed budget and records the reactions of experts and onlookers:

    The Weakest Link
    Dr Akmal Hussain - Economist, author and dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Information Technology University, Lahore The strength of this year's budget, unlike earlier years, is that it claims to be part of a new growth strategy: inclusive and sustainable growth. 
    The weakness lies in the fact that it does not put its money where its mouth is, and merely makes inadequate gestures in that direction. For example, the most important sector through which high and long-term growth could be sustained is human development. Yet, health expenditure has been only increased from Rs. 29 billion to Rs. 49 billion. 
    We would need to increase our health expenditure fourfold even to reach Sri Lankan?s standards. Pakistan's health expenditures as a percentage of GDP are the second lowest in the world. Similarly, the paltry sum allocated to education is nowhere near what is required to provide high-quality education to all. Here again, Pakistan's expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP is amongst the lowest in the world being ranked 164th out of 173 countries.
    Historical evidence shows that European countries, namely Germany, Scandinavian countries and some Asian countries, Japan and China, which achieved high long-term per capita income growth gave a commitment to providing quality healthcare, education and social protection to all its citizens. And this was done at a time when their per capita income was lower than that of Pakistan today.
    Another example of gesture without substance in the budget is that there is only a 10 percent increase in the salaries of officers and men of the armed forces. They are after all fighting the battle for Pakistan and sacrificing their lives in the process. The government should have increased the salaries of those performing operational duties in the armed forces by at least 50 percent to acknowledge their courage, commitment and sacrifices for our country.



    SOS: Exports Under Pressure

    Dr Vaqar Ahmed - Deputy Executive Director of the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) The budget 2017/2018 is an opportunity to capitalise on the newfound economic growth and step up the efforts towards structural reforms. It is a pity that even after four years of this government the budget preparation process is marred by the soaring circular debt in the energy sector - a key reason why industry and residential consumers are not getting certain and affordable power and gas supplies. Similarly, losses of public sector enterprises need to be curtailed, which in turn will provide increased fiscal space for pro-poor expenditures. Furthermore, the budgetary policies are not leading to a revival of local investor?s confidence, as the private investment to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio remains one of the lowest in the region.


    With no paradigm shift in the overall budgetary policy, it seems difficult to envisage how the growth in agriculture and industry will translate into revival of exports. The key impediments to exports, including rising cost of doing business, lack of trade facilitation reforms, multiplicity of taxes at federal and provincial levels (leading to higher compliance cost to taxpayers), slow process of exporter?s refunds at Federal Board of Revenue, lack of optimal utilization of export development fund, misalignment of exchange rate, and dwindling trade relations with neighbors ? Afghanistan, Iran and India, will continue to keep the exports under pressure.


    Stop Taking The Budget Seriously
    Dr Qaiser Bengail - Economist
    Budgets speeches are an opportunity for the government to make tall claims. Take our former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for example. He promised boosting Pakistan?s growth, but in the end he took us nowhere. Personally, I have stopped taking the federal budget seriously, because the sanctity of the exercise has been lost since a few years now. When tabled in the National Assembly, the attendance in the house is usually low, and debate is not encouraged.

    Presenting the budget has turned into a PR exercise for the incumbent government. Budget plans should instead guide the government on what to do and what not to do in terms of expenditure. But no government has ever followed this rule. The opposition, as expected, berates the bill, with little understanding of its shortcomings. The Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz government has a habit of going overboard with current expenditures. It has now become its legacy.

    As for the almost Rs. 1 trillion allocated for defense that seems to be only a white flag that it is waving.


    'This Is Deceit'

    Mustafa Nazir Ahmad - Islamabad-based development professional specialising in budget analysis One had hoped against hope that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz government would wake up to reality while presenting its last federal budget of the current tenure and, for once, share the real picture ? albeit dark and gloomy ? of the economy with the people. 
    Instead, the short-sightedness, mockery of economic policymaking or, if you want to put it plainly, deceit it has resorted to is unparalleled in Pakistan?s history, which has seen ?ingenious? bankers like Shaukat Aziz at the helm of affairs.

    Take the current expenditure, for example. The government estimates to spend Rs. 3,477 billion on account of current expenditure during the next fiscal year. Despite its rhetoric of keeping current expenditure ?under tight control?, this is laughable, to say the least. In 2013-14, our current expenditure as per the Ministry of Finance?s data, still available on its website, stood at Rs. 4,005 billion. In 2014-15, it increased by 11 percent and in 2015-2016 it further went up by 6 percent to Rs. 4,694 billion.

    In the first nine months of the outgoing fiscal year (July 2016-March 2017), Rs. 3,605 billion have been spent on account of current expenditure, thereby implying that by June the figure would reach at least Rs. 5 trillion. Now, how would the government be able to reduce the current expenditure in the next fiscal year is a million dollar question, particularly with 10 percent increase in the salaries of civil and armed forces employees. Even by a conservative estimate, considering the populist measures necessitated by an election year, Pakistan would be spending something to the tune of Rs. 5,300 billion on account of current expenditure in the next fiscal year. What would this leave us with? To answer this question, just add Rs. 1,800 billion to the budget deficit, as well as the interest all of us Pakistanis would be paying on it as Ishaq Dar resorts to bank borrowings at higher rates.


    Where's The Money For Education?
    Baela Raza Jamil is the CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and Commissioner for the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity The budget speech by the finance minister was peppered with bold assertions of achievements. What was worthy to note is the enhanced fiscal space this budget has offered, due to the increase in tax to GDP ratio from under 10 percent to 12.6 percent (ideal it is 20 percent). What does this improvement mean? Will Pakistan now have more funds to spend, in sector such as education? Will our GDP allocation to education go up to four percent, as promised by the prime minister?


    According to the finance minister, Pakistan's gross national income per capita in 2017 is now $1,610 - up from $490 in 2000 - whilst development indicators, such as life expectancy and infant mortality, have also improved. Yet, even as Pakistan?s income levels go up, some 22.6 million children in the country are deprived of an education in spite of Article 25 A being passed in 2010. So while incomes in Pakistan have grown, the country?s education investments are too limited and the existing resources often do not produce the needed results.

    Even today, in the fifth budget, the education allocation remains low. Pakistan, like many other lower-middle-income countries, will require additional external help estimated at about $1 billion annually over the next 15 years. Will Pakistan be eligible to borrow as it moves up the income ladder, but has tragically low indicators of human development? These are the hard questions to ask at this point


    Note: The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Geo News, The News or the Jang Group




  13. Waqas Dar
    Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh is super energetic and everybody knows it.
    When it comes to professionalism, Ranveer Singh never ceases to amaze his fans with his hard work!
    Ramleela actor's recent injury during the shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati shows his dedication and faith.
    While shooting the climax of the film, Ranveer injured himself on the head.
    The injury needed immediate medical attention but the actor didn?t let this interfere with the shoot.
    According to sources, ?Ranveer hurt himself on the head while shooting for the film during a particular take but he was so engrossed in the performance that he did not realise it till cut was called it's only after he started bleeding profusely from the head after cut was called did everyone realise that he was hurt badly. Ranveer received initial first aid on the set and was rushed immediately to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment."
    "He completed the basic treatment and returned to the film's set to complete his portions of the shoot. Rather than let his injury slow him down or impact the shoot, Ranveer completed the day?s work. He requires stitches on the head" the source added.





  14. Waqas Dar
    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/0a9712f33bf7a1ca31f0d8f6fd1f3a52.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8yNy8yMDE3IDg6MTY6MTMgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1nS1BrdlB1NTF4QituZzNlWFRSSjRBPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center] SRINAGAR: Indian troops martyred eleven Kashmiri youth including a top Hizbul Mujahideen Commander, Sabzar Ahmed Butt, in Indian occupied Kashmir on Saturday, the Kashmir Media Service (KMS) reported.

    The troops, in fresh acts of state terrorism and continued violent military operations, killed eight youth in Rampur and Uri areas of Baramulla and three others including Sabzar Ahmed at Saimoh in Tral area of Pulwama.
    Read more: Mirwaiz slams praising of Indian army officer who used man as human shield
    Indian army claimed that the youth were killed in encounters with troops. However, independent sources said that Sabzar Ahmed Butt and his associates were arrested first and later killed in custody, the KMS said.
    Earlier, people staged forceful demonstrations in Saimoh and its adjoining areas to rescue Sabzar Ahmed and his two associates, who were trapped in a house, last night.
    Indian police and troops fired teargas shells and pellets to disperse the demonstrators, triggering clashes between the protesters and the forces? personnel. Dozens of people were injured during clashes which were ongoing till reports last came in, the KMS stated.
    Residents of Saimoh said that the forces destroyed two residential houses and broke windowpanes of mosques and residential houses.


  15. Waqas Dar
    The US president Donald Trump wished all Muslims ?a joyful Ramazan,? on Friday.
    Most of his message focused on terrorism.
    ?America will always stand with our partners against terrorism and the ideology that fuels it. During this month of Ramazan, let us be resolved to spare no measure so that we may ensure that future generations will be free of this scourge and able to worship and commune in peace,? Trump said.
    Trump?s statement was in sharp contrast from Ramazan greetings released in previous years by President Barack Obama, who spoke about celebrating and honoring the contributions of Muslims to American society.
    ?As Muslim Americans celebrate the holy month, I am reminded that we are one American family,? Obama wrote in his 2016 statement for Ramadan. ?I stand firmly with Muslim American communities in rejection of the voices that seek to divide us or limit our religious freedoms or civil rights.?
    Obama also acknowledged the millions of refugees, many of them Muslim, who were displaced by war and crises around the globe.
    In his message, Trump acknowledged some of the key themes of the holy month, including fasting, acts of charity, and community engagement. He also referenced recent attacks in the United Kingdom and Egypt to point out that such ?acts of depravity... are directly contrary to the spirit of Ramazan.?
    The president, who just over a year ago said ?I think Islam hates us,? has distanced himself from earlier negative comments about the faith. In a speech to leaders of 55 Muslim-majority countries Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump insisted he had nothing against Islam, itself.
    ?This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilisations,? he told the leaders gathered for an Arab-Islamic-American summit. ?This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between good and evil.?


  16. Waqas Dar
    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/c02ebffbadb687aa10203f036bc5bedd.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8yNy8yMDE3IDg6MTM6MzcgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT1LTnVoa2Y5RU8xWWFCSFBNUkNUSTh3PT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center] A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 14 people in Afghanistan on Saturday and fighting between militants and security forces left at least 36 people dead on the first day of Ramazan.

    In eastern Khost province, an attacker detonated a car bomb near a soccer field that is close to a military base, officials said.
    At a local hospital, doctors received at least 14 dead bodies and eight wounded people, said Gul Mohammaddin Mangal, head of the public health department in Khost.
    "The bodies are not recognisable and it is hard to say if they are civilians or security forces," he said.
    In the north-western province of Badghis, militants attacked security forces in Qadis district, sparking fighting that killed 22 insurgents, six security forces, and eight civilians, said Zahir Bahand a spokesman for the provincial governor.
    The fighting also left 33 militants and 17 civilians wounded, he said.
    The Western-backed Afghan government is battling both Taliban and Islamic State militants around the country.
    Taliban forces have increased their attacks in the weeks before Ramasan, with a string of strikes in Kandahar, Paktia, and Helmand, among other provinces.
    Muslims around the world typically mark Ramazan with fasting, prayers, and other observances, although the holy month can begin on different days in different countries.


  17. Waqas Dar
    A suicide bomber targetted vehicles belonging to members of the local police force campaign in Khost province, Tolo News quoted the local officials as saying.
    As per the Afghan media, the local police force campaign members fall under the US-Forces.
    The provincial governor's spokesman Mubariz Zadran confirmed the incident and said it occurred at the Mujahid square in Khost city.
    Zadran did not give details regarding casualties but a source at the scene said there could be as many as 30 dead and wounded.
    On Friday, at least 10 people were killed when a roadside mine exploded in Herat province, local officials confirmed,
    According to Tolo News, the incident occurred in Sherzad area of Adraksan district in Herat province when the vehicle the victims were driving in hit the roadside mine. The victims had been on their way to Ghor province at the time of the explosion, district governor Lal Mohammad Omarzai said. 
    In addition six others were wounded, Omarzai added. 

    Women and children were also among the victims, the governor said.

    According to Omerzai the mine was planted by insurgents wanting to target a security forces convoy. 


  18. Waqas Dar
    QUETTA: A man was killed in mortar shelling from the Iranian side of the border in Panjgur district of Balochistan on Saturday morning.
    The district commissioner (DC) of Panjgur said a mortar shell landed on a vehicle, instantly killing one man inside and causing extensive damage nearby.
    The DC added that a strong protest has been lodged with the Iranian border authorities and a flag meeting in this regard has been called on Sunday.
    Last Sunday, five mortar shells fired from Iran landed in the Chaghai area of the province. No casualties were reported in the incident. 
    Last month, ten Iranian border guards were killed by militants said to be operating from Pakistan. Iran said that Jaishal Adl militants had shot the guards with long-range guns, fired from inside Pakistan.

    Later, the head of the Iranian armed forces warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government does not confront militants who carry out cross-border attacks.
    The situation was later resolved via dialogue and the rhetoric subsided.


  19. Waqas Dar
    Facebook, Amazon and more than two dozen other US technology companies pressed Congress on Friday to make changes to a broad internet surveillance law, saying they were necessary to improve privacy protections and increase government transparency.
    The request marks the first significant public effort by Silicon Valley to wade into what is expected to be a contentious debate later the year over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, parts of which will expire on Dec. 31 unless Congress reauthorizes them.
    Of particular concern to the technology industry and privacy advocates is Section 702, which allows US intelligence agencies to vacuum up vast amounts of communications from foreigners but also incidentally collects some data belonging to Americans that can be searched by analysts without a warrant.
    "We are writing to express our support for reforms to Section 702 that would maintain its utility to the US intelligence community while increasing the program?s privacy protections and transparency," the companies wrote in a letter to Representative Bob Goodlatte, the Republican chairman of the US House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee.
    Section 702 is considered a vital tool by US intelligence officials, estimated to be responsible for as much as a quarter of surveillance conducted by the US National Security Agency.
    But it has long been targeted by civil liberties advocates as too expensive and lacking in sufficient safeguards.
    Disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed the sweeping nature of 702 surveillance, causing embarrassment for some US technology firms.
    In their letter, the companies asked lawmakers to codify the recent termination of a type of NSA surveillance that collected American communications sent to or received from someone living overseas that mentioned a foreign intelligence target.
    Lawmakers should also require judicial oversight of government queries of data collected under Section 702 that involved American communications and narrow the definition of "foreign intelligence information" to reduce the collection of data that belongs to foreigners not suspected of wrongdoing, the companies said.
    The letter asks for more leeway in how companies are allowed to disclose the number of surveillance requests and more declassification of orders approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
    Legislation currently being drafted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee is expected to address all of the concerns raised in the technology companies' letter.
    Other signatories on the letter include Alphabet Inc's Google, Cisco, Twitter, Uber, Yahoo, and Snap.


  20. Waqas Dar
    [embed_video1 url=http://stream.jeem.tv/vod/e3b57520f50616efa3f5f10d677178e7.mp4/playlist.m3u8?wmsAuthSign=c2VydmVyX3RpbWU9NS8yNy8yMDE3IDY6MDA6MDUgQU0maGFzaF92YWx1ZT11NDArLytnV01VQzFRQ0FOVGx3L1RnPT0mdmFsaWRtaW51dGVzPTYwJmlkPTE= style=center]
    SRINAGAR: Widespread anti-India demonstrations were staged in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) on Friday to protest the Indian army chief's awarding of the army officer who used a civilian as a human shield in Badgam last month.

    An Indian army vehicle using a Kashmiri youth as a human shield by tying him against the jeep?s bonnet. Photo: File   Addressing a gathering at the historic Jamia Mosque, All Parties Hurriyet Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that awarding the criminal Indian army officer for his inhuman act vindicates his own stance that Indian forces are involved in war crimes and are patronised and encouraged by the Indian leadership.
    Also read: Indian army uses Kashmiri youth as human shield; video goes viral
    The joint separatist leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Yasin Malik, and Shabbir Ahmed Shah in their statements in Srinagar have also appealed to the United Nations, International Court of Justice, and world human rights organisations to take cognisance of Indian atrocities on the innocent people of IoK.
    People took to the streets in Srinagar, Badgam, Ganderbal, Sopore, Baramulla, Islamabad, Pulwama, Hajin, Shopian, Kulgam, Kupwara, Bandipore and other areas, after the joint resistance leadership made the call for demonstrations.
    Read more: FIR filed against Indian army for using Kashmiri man as human shield
    The protests were led by Hurriyet leaders including Mirwaiz, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, Qazi Yasir, Noor Muhammad Kalwal, Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi and Raja Merajuddin Kalwal.
    The protesters raised pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan, and anti-India slogans. They also waved Pakistani flags at various places. Indian police resorted to teargas shelling in different areas, triggering severe clashes between the protesters and police personnel. Many people were injured in the police actions.
    Thousands of people assembled outside Jamia mosque in Nowhatta area of Srinagar and demanded freedom from Indian subjugation.
    The Indian authorities continued to place Gilani and Shabbir Ahmed Shah under house arrest to prevent them from leading the demonstrations. The leaders were not allowed to offer Friday prayers as well.
    Hurriyet leaders Zafar Akbar Butt and Jahangir Ghani Butt, in their statements, expressed serious concern over increasing border tension between Pakistan and India. They said that peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute was essential for ensuring cordial relations between the two countries.


  21. Waqas Dar
    SRINAGAR: Forceful anti-India demonstrations were staged in Indian occupied Kashmir on Friday to protest against the award by Indian army chief to the army officer who tied a civilian to the bonnet of his jeep as a human shield in Badgam, last month.

    An Indian army vehicle using a Kashmiri youth as a human shield by tying him against the jeep?s bonnet. Photo: File   Addressing a gathering at the historic Jamia Mosque, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that awarding the criminal officer for his inhuman act vindicated his stance that Indian forces? personnel were involved in war crimes and were patronised and encouraged by Indian leadership.
    Also read: Indian army uses Kashmiri youth as human shield; video goes viral
    The joint resistance leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Yasin Malik, and Shabbir Ahmed Shah in their statements in Srinagar appealed to the United Nations, International Court of Justice, and world human rights organisations to take cognizance of Indian atrocities on the innocent people of occupied Kashmir.
    People took to the streets in Srinagar, Badgam, Ganderbal, Sopore, Baramulla, Islamabad, Pulwama, Hajin, Shopian, Kulgam, Kupwara, Bandipore and other areas, after the joint resistance leadership made the call for demonstrations.
    Read more: FIR filed against Indian army for using Kashmiri man as human shield
    The protests were led by Hurriyet leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, Qazi Yasir, Noor Muhammad Kalwal, Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi and Raja Merajuddin Kalwal.
    The protesters raised high-pitched pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan, and anti-India slogans. They also waved Pakistani flags at various places. Indian police resorted to teargas shelling in different areas, triggering severe clashes between the protesters and police personnel. Many people were injured in the police actions.
    Thousands of people assembled outside Jamia mosque in Nowhatta area of Srinagar and demanded freedom from Indian subjugation.
    The Indian authorities continued to place Syed Ali Gilani and Shabbir Ahmed Shah under house arrest to prevent them from leading the demonstrations. The leaders were not allowed to offer Friday prayers.
    Hurriyet leaders, Zafar Akbar Butt and Jahangir Ghani Butt, in their statements, expressed serious concern over increasing border tension between Pakistan and India. They said that peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute was essential for ensuring cordial relations between the two countries.


  22. Waqas Dar
    Portugal's Luis Boa Morte will join other football icons on their trip to Pakistan for promotion of the sport. Photo: Facebook/Leisure Leagues PK  Portugal?s Luis Boa Morte has been revealed as player number six to join Ronaldinho and other football legends on their trip to Pakistan.


    Boa Morte has played for Arsenal, Southamption, Fulham and West Ham United. Boa Morte has earned 28 caps for Portugal during his international career from 2001 to 2009. He was also selected for Olympics 2004 and played FIFA World Cup in 2006.

    In a video message, Boa Morte said ?I am excited to come to Pakistan as I have never been to the country so looking forward [to it].?
    He added, ?[I am excited] to be part of the family.?
    ?There [are] always possibilities to make football big in Pakistan and I am looking forward to it? Are you ready for football??


    The trip is an initiative of the Leisure Leagues Pakistan (LLP), which seeks to bring international players to Pakistan for seven-a-side charity match with Pakistani players in order to promote the sport.

    Other players coming for the trip include football icons such as Ronaldinho, Robert Pires, Nicolas Anelka, David James and Jérôme Boateng.
    However, the LLP?s Facebook page also stated that the name of a Read Madrid player joining the troupe of footballers to Pakistan, will be unveiled on June 2.





  23. Waqas Dar
    Former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who established himself in the administration of President Jimmy Carter as a hard-liner on foreign policy, died on Friday, his family said. He was 89.
    Brzezinski's daughter Mika said on social media that her father died peacefully, but did not give the cause of his death.
    Brzezinski, the son of a Polish diplomat, was national security adviser for all four years of Carter's presidency. He helped Carter contend with several international issues including the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah, the taking of 52 Americans as hostages in Tehran and a failed rescue mission, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
    As national security adviser, Brzezinski, who Carter plucked from the academic world, saw many of the Soviet Union's foreign policy moves as evidence it could not be trusted.
    That placed him at odds with two of Carter's most trusted advisers: Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who pushed for a Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT-2) with Moscow, and Defense Secretary Harold Brown, who urged a US-Soviet accord to curb conventional forces in Europe.
    When Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, Brzezinski strongly backed the arming of Afghan rebels in response to the invasion.
    Former Pakistan president General Ziaul Haq shaking hands with Brzezinski while President Carter stands by in the White House on October 3, 1980. Photo: Jimmy Carter Presidential Library  His hardline stance on US-Soviet relations led Pravda, the Soviet Communist Party newspaper, to denounce him as a "foe of detente".
    And while he was skeptical of Soviet motives and objectives, Brzezinski nurtured a diplomatic friendship between the United States and China, which culminated in a trip to Beijing in June 1978. Six months later Carter announced a decision to re-establish diplomatic ties with China starting in 1979.
    Brzezinski's view of the Soviet Union may have been coloured by his childhood experiences. Born in Warsaw, Poland, on March 28, 1928, he was taken as a youngster to Canada where his father served as a diplomat. When the communists took over Poland at the end of World War II, the family remained in the West.
    Brzezinski received a doctorate from Harvard University in 1953 and became an American citizen in 1958.
    He voiced support for US policy in Vietnam in the mid-1960s, and served on the policy planning staff of President Lyndon Johnson's State Department in that era.
    Along with David Rockefeller, chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank, Brzezinski helped to found the Trilateral Commission, a private group that promoted closer ties among North America, West Europe and Japan.
    Vast influence 
    Carter had known Brzezinski before his election to the White House in 1976 and asked him to leave Columbia University, where the effects of Soviet communism had been the focus of much of Brzezinski's work.
    Having regular access to Carter gave him vast influence in Washington, which for a time led to recurring reports that he and Vance were rivals for the president's ear. The rivalry lasted until Vance resigned after the aborted mission to rescue American hostages in Iran in April 1980.
    Before the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, Vance had resisted Brzezinski's proposals that Washington back a military crackdown against Iran's radical Islamic forces.
    Iranian students climb into the US Embassy in Tehran on Nov 4, 1979. Photo: IRNA/AFP/File Once the embassy was taken by followers of Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Vance sought Carter's backing for an attempt to come to terms with Khomeini. Brzezinski characteristically favored military action to free the 52 American hostages and punish Iran.
    Carter vacillated but eventually accepted Brzezinski's proposal for the ill-fated rescue mission, in which eight servicemen died.
    Brzezinski also took part in negotiations toward the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, which was seen by many as the major achievement of Carter's presidency.
    In the arms control field, Brzezinski, despite his lifelong antipathy to Soviet communism, joined defense secretary Brown in spearheading the unsuccessful drive to win Senate approval of the 1979 SALT-2 accord with Moscow.
    Although it never cleared the Senate as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, SALT-2 remained unofficially in effect even beyond its original five-year life-span.
    After the Carter years, Brzezinski became a consultant on international affairs and a senior adviser for the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He also taught American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University.
    He frequently wrote opinion articles for newspapers and published several books, including "Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power" in 2012.
    Vice President George H W Bush, trying to build up his own image as a tough foreign policy realist, considered it a coup to secure Brzezinski's support in his 1988 presidential campaign.
    Brzezinski was at times critical of the foreign policies of both Bill Clinton and George W Bush. He was sharply critical of Bush's "war on terror" and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
    In August 2007 Brzezinski endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying that Obama "recognises that the challenge is a new face, a new sense of direction, a new definition of America's role in the world."
    Brzezinski and wife Emillie had three children, including Mika, a host on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show.


  24. Waqas Dar
    Taraweeh prayers will be held across the country from Saturday night as Ramazan begins from Sunday.

    The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, under the chairmanship of Mufti Muneebur Rehman, announced Friday night that since no sightings of moon were received from anywhere in the country, Ramzan will begin from Sunday.
    However, Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai of Masjid Qasim Ali Khan, Peshawar announced later that they had received several credible testimonies of moon sighting and thus many in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will begin observing Ramazan from Saturday.
    In light of Ramazan, the setting up of Sasta Bazaars has been completed by the district administrations across the country so affordable essential commodities can be provided to the public.
    No load shedding during Sehr, Iftar and Taraweeh
    A spokesperson of the Water and Power Ministry said that according to the nation-wide Ramazan load management plan, no electricity load shedding will take place during Sehr, Iftar and Taraweeh times. He added however that load shedding will take place for four hours in the urban areas and six hours in the rural areas.
    In Karachi, the management of K-Electric ? the country?s sole privatised power company ? met the commissioner wherein the utility?s officials assured the provincial government that no load-shedding will be carried out during Sehr and Iftar times in Karachi.
    First day of fasting in several countries today
    Muslim communities in Britain, France, Germany and other European countries, as well as those in the US and Canada are observing the first of Ramazan on Saturday (today).
    Saudi Arabia, UAE, other Gulf kingdoms and states in the Middle East are also observing Ramazan from Saturday.
    However, with no credible moon sightings in India and Bangladesh, the two countries will observing the first day of Ramazan from Sunday.
    In Saudi Arabia, thousands of Muslims participated in Taraweeh prayers Friday night in Masjid-e-Nabvi in Medina and Masjid Al Haram in Mecca.
    In the UK, in light of the Manchester attack, security has been heightened around mosques.


  25. Waqas Dar
    Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaking at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales on May 22, 2017. Photo: REUTERS Prime Minister Theresa May's lead in the polls has fallen to 5 percentage points, a new low less than two weeks ahead of a June 8 election, but her personal rating recovered slightly in the days since the Manchester suicide bombing.

    May called the snap election to strengthen her hand in negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union and to win more time to deal with the impact of the divorce.
    If she does not handsomely beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor David Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed. When she called the election, polls showed she was as much as 23 percentage points ahead.
    In the first opinion poll to be published since Monday's suicide bombing in Manchester, the lead of May's Conservatives dropped to 5 percentage points from 9 points on Saturday and 18 points two weeks ago.
    In wake of Manchester attack, the Conservatives saw their support fall to 43 percent from 44 percent, while the opposition Labour Party increased support to 38 percent from 35 percent, the YouGov poll carried out on May 24 and May 25 showed.

    Police arrest another man after Manchester attack
    Cases were also registered against four suspects over charges of terrorism
    Such a level of support, if it was replicated across the country in a uniform way on June 8, would cut May's majority to two from the working majority of 17 she currently has, The Times newspaper, which commissioned the poll, said.
    The pound fell over 0.5 percent on the day from its previous day's close to $1.2861 - its lowest level since May 12. GBP=D3
    The data, however, showed a complicated picture with both the Manchester bombing and PM May's biggest U-turn of the campaign affecting her personal ratings.
    May's campaign misfired when she was forced on Monday to backtrack on one of her core election pledges to make elderly people pay more for their social care, a policy dubbed the "dementia tax" by opponents.
    The bombing on Monday evening, however, may have improved May's rating from a low earlier in the day when she appeared rattled as she backtracked on her social care policy.
    Her personal rating improved from minus eight on Monday to plus one in the following days, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbin's personal rating slipped from minus 11 - his best position in the campaign - to minus 16, YouGov said.
    Britain suspended campaigning after the attack on Monday night in Manchester. Corbyn will criticise May's police cuts and Britain's foreign policy on Friday.
    YouGov's Anthony Wells said May and her party had been hurt by the fallout from the manifesto launch but said it was hard to determine the impact of the bombing on the election campaign.
    "It has been a highly unusual few days in an election campaign, arguably unlike any other in history," Wells said.
    YouGov surveyed 2,052 people for the poll.


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