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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said that Dawn Leaks inquiry is a deliberate attempt to malign Pakistan Army, hours after the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) rejected the Prime Minister's orders on recommendations of the committee.
    Imran Khan tweeted that government must immediately make the complete inquiry report public.
    Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed, meanwhile, warned the government against clashing with institutions.
    The government is showing reluctance in publishing the report, he added.
    Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeem-ul-Haque accused the federal government of "concealing the truth", demanding that it releases the detailed report by the inquiry committee.
    Speaking to Geo News, Haque said the nation wants to know if the committee also probed the prime minister, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and the PM's Principal Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.
    "We would like to know what role Tariq Fatemi and others played in discrediting the military," he said, adding that the government should avoid concealing facts.
    Speaking on the ISPR statement rejecting the government notification, the PTI leader supported the stance of the military's media wing, alleging that the government was trying to hide the truth in "a conspiracy began from the PM office".
    "Nawaz Sharif has become a controversial prime minister...he has become a security risk and cannot be trusted," said Haque.
    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said the nation was waiting for the detailed report of the inquiry committee.
    Pakistan People’s Party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the government has taken the step to "protect someone", and that no sane individual would believe these findings.
    We would not have seen the reaction of the Inter-Services Public Relations had the report been prepared with consensus, said Kaira.
    He said that government needs to take stock of the situation and that it was already entangled in the Panama Papers case.


  2. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed warned the government against clashing with institutions, hours after the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) rejected the Prime Minister's orders on recommendations of the Dawn Leaks inquiry committee.
    The government is showing reluctance in publishing the report, he added.
    Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeem-ul-Haque accused the federal government of "concealing the truth", demanding that it releases the detailed report by the inquiry committee.
    Speaking to Geo News, Haque said the nation wants to know if the committee also probed the prime minister, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and the PM's Principal Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.
    "We would like to know what role Tariq Fatemi and others played in discrediting the military," he said, adding that the government should avoid concealing facts.
    Speaking on the ISPR statement rejecting the government notification, the PTI leader supported the stance of the military's media wing, alleging that the government was trying to hide the truth in "a conspiracy began from the PM office".
    "Nawaz Sharif has become a controversial prime minister...he has become a security risk and cannot be trusted," said Haque.
    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said the nation was waiting for the detailed report of the inquiry committee.
    Pakistan People’s Party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the government has taken the step to "protect someone", and that no sane individual would believe these findings.
    We would not have seen the reaction of the Inter-Services Public Relations had the report been prepared with consensus, said Kaira.
    He said that government needs to take stock of the situation and that it was already entangled in the Panama Papers case.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah called for immediate resignation of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar over the Dawn Leaks notification on Saturday.
    All that has come to the forefront regarding Dawn Leaks notification is quite sad, said Khursheed Shah while addressing a press conference.
    Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had approved the recommendations of the Dawn leaks Inquiry committee, withdrawing the portfolio of Foreign Affairs from his Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi, according to notification issued by PM Office.
    "The Prime Minister, having considered the findings of the Committee as to its terms of referece, is pleased to approve its recommendations in para 18 of the report," read the order.
    Reacting to this, military's media Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a short statement saying that Army rejects the government notification and that it is "incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board".
    However, Chaudhry Nisar had clarified that PM Office does not have the authority to issue a notification over the matter. The notification would be issued by Interior Minister, he said, adding that a fuss was created over nothing.


  4. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeem-ul-Haque accused the federal government of "concealing the truth", demanding that it release the detailed report by the inquiry committee that investigated the Dawn Leaks issue.
    Speaking to Geo News, Haque said the nation wants to know if the committee also probed the prime minister, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and the PM's Principal Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.
    "We would like to know what role Tariq Fatemi and others played in discrediting the military," he said, adding that the government should avoid concealing facts.
    Speaking on theInter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement rejecting the government notification, the PTI leader supported the stance of the military's media wing, alleging that the government was trying to hide the truth in "a conspiracy [which] began from the PM office".
    "Nawaz Sharif has become a controversial prime minister...he has become a security risk and cannot be trusted," said Haque.
    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader said the nation was waiting for the detailed report of the inquiry committee.
    Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the government has taken the step to "protect someone", and that no sane individual would believe these findings.
    We would not have seen the reaction of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had the report been prepared with consensus, said Kaira.
    He said that government needs to take stock of the situation and that it was already entangled in the Panama Papers case.
    Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed warned against clashing with institutions as imprudent.
    The government is showing reluctance in publishing the report, he added.


  5. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: US and Afghan troops likely killed the leader of Daesh’s Afghanistan affiliate in a raid this week, the Pentagon said Friday.
    US officials also said they have opened a probe into whether two US Army Rangers killed in the assault had been struck by friendly fire.
    The raid, which occurred overnight Wednesday-Thursday in Nangarhar province, targeted Abdul Hasib, whom the Pentagon called Daesh leader in Afghanistan.
    "The thought is we got him, but we are not certain," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said.
    Davis said about 50 US special forces and 40 Afghan commandos had been choppered in to the Mohmand Valley late Wednesday near the compound used by Hasib.
    His group is affiliated with Daesh in Iraq and Syria, and the US military calls it Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K.
    The troops´ arrival was met with immediate and ferocious opposition, and early on the two Rangers, sergeants Joshua Rodgers and Cameron Thomas, were shot and killed.
    "We are investigating the circumstances of the combat deaths of the two Army Rangers in the beginning of what was an intense three-hour firefight," Davis said.
    "It is possible the Rangers were struck by friendly fire."
    A formal probe was underway to determine whether the bullets came from US, Afghan or terrorist gunfire.
    One other US commando was wounded in the raid.
    "Within a few minutes of landing, our combined force came under intense fire from multiple directions and well-prepared fighting positions," US Forces-Afghanistan said in a statement.
    "Nevertheless, our forces successfully closed on the enemy, killed several high-level ISIS-K leaders and upwards of 35 fighters."
    US-Forces Afghanistan said that if confirmed, the death of the Hasib and his associates would "significantly degrade ISIS-K operations in Afghanistan and help reach our goal of destroying them in 2017."
    The compound was located near the tunnel complex where the US military on April 13 unleashed the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast device that the Pentagon said was the biggest non-nuclear weapon it had ever used in combat.
    Defence Secretary Jim Mattis paid tribute to the two dead Rangers.
    "Fighting alongside their Afghan partners, Josh and Cameron proved themselves willing to go into danger and impose a brutal cost on enemies in their path," Mattis said in a statement.
    "Our nation owes them an irredeemable debt, and we give our deepest condolences to their families."
    The Pentagon estimates about 1,000 Daesh fighters remain in Afghanistan.
    The terrorists established a foothold there in early 2015 and their numbers now are about half what they were at their peak, the Pentagon says.


  6. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: In what appeared to be criticism of a social media post by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said it was unfortunate that tweets were being used by institutions to handle key matters.
    "I believe that these tweets are like poison for Pakistan's democracy. It is unfortunate that we handle these matters through tweets," he told reporters at a press conference in Karachi.
    "A non-issue has been turned into an issue. No notification has yet been issued, and it will be according to the unanimous recommendations of the [Dawn Leaks inquiry] committee," he said, referring to an executive order issued earlier today by the Prime Minister's Office.
    The executive order said that PM Sharif had approved the recommendations of the Dawn Leaks inquiry committee, and that he had ordered that the Foreign Affairs portfolio of his Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi be withdrawn and that proceedings be initiated against Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer at the Information Ministry, under the E&D rules 1973 on the charges based on the report findings.
    Shortly after the PM's order, the DG ISPR Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor sent a tweet from his official account rejecting the government 'notification' on the Dawn Leaks case, saying it was "incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board".
    But, addressing reporters, Nisar asked why there was speculation about the government's notification when none was yet issued.
    "When no notification has yet been issued, what is all the fuss about?" he remarked.
    "According to the Rule of Business, the PM Office cannot issue a notification. A notification [in this regard] will be issued by the Ministry of Interior and not the PM Office," he said.
    He added that the notification would be "exactly the same as the recommendations of the committee".
    "I had stated earlier that PM had in letter and spirit accepted the recommendations of the committee. They will be implemented in similar manner when Interior Ministry issues the notification," he said.


  7. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: In what appeared to be criticism of a social media post by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said it was unfortunate that tweets were being used by institutions to handle key matters.
    "I believe that these tweets are like poison for Pakistan's democracy. It is unfortunate that we handle these matters through tweets," he told reporters at a press conference in Islamabad.
    "A non-issue has been turned into an issue. No notification has yet been issued, and it will be according to the unanimous recommendations of the [Dawn Leaks inquiry] committee," he said, referring to an executive order issued earlier today by the Prime Minister's Office.
    The executive order said that PM Sharif had approved the recommendations of the Dawn Leaks inquiry committee, and that he had ordered that the Foreign Affairs portfolio of his Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi be withdrawn and that proceedings be initiated against Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer at the Information Ministry, under the E&D rules 1973 on the charges based on the report findings.
    Shortly after the PM's order, the DG ISPR Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor sent a tweet from his official account rejecting the government 'notification' on the Dawn Leaks case, saying it was "incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board".
    But, addressing reporters, Nisar asked why there was speculation about the government's notification when none was yet issued.
    "When no notification has yet been issued, what is all the fuss about?" he remarked.
    "According to the Rule of Business, the PM Office cannot issue a notification. A notification [in this regard] will be issued by the Ministry of Interior and not the PM Office," he said.
    He added that the notification would be "exactly the same as the recommendations of the committee".
    "I had stated earlier that PM had in letter and spirit accepted the recommendations of the committee. They will be implemented in similar manner when Interior Ministry issues the notification," he said.


  8. Waqas Dar
    Turkey has blocked online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, the telecommunications watchdog said on Saturday, citing a law allowing it to ban access to websites deemed obscene or a threat to national security.
    The move is likely to further worry rights groups and Turkey's Western allies, who say Ankara has sharply curtailed freedom of speech and other basic rights in the crackdown that followed last year's failed coup.
    "After technical analysis and legal consideration ... an administrative measure has been taken for this website (Wikipedia.Org)," the BTK telecommunications watchdog said in a statement on its website.
    It cited a law that allows it to block access to individual web pages or entire websites for the protection of public order, national security or the well-being of the public.
    The watchdog is required to submit such measures to a court within 24 hours. The court then has two days to decide whether the ban should be upheld.
    A block on all language editions of the Wikipedia website was detected at 8 AM (10 AM Pakistan time) on Saturday, monitoring group Turkey Blocks said on its website. "The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country," it said.
    When attempting to access the web page using Turkish internet providers, users received a notice the site could not be reached and a "connection timed out" error.
    Monitoring groups have accused Turkey of blocking access to social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, particularly in the aftermath of militant attacks.
    The government has in the past denied blocking access to some sites, blaming outages on spikes in usage after major events. But technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda.
    Since last year's failed coup, authorities have sacked or suspended more than 120,000 people from the civil service, police, and judiciary and arrested more than 40,000 on suspicion of ties to terrorist groups.
    President Tayyip Erdogan says the measures are needed given the scope of the security threat Turkey faces.
    Turkey last year jailed 81 journalists, making it the world's top jailer of journalists, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.


  9. Waqas Dar
    SHERGARH: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday addressed a large gathering in Shergarh town of Okara district on Saturday.
    Earlier in the day, the prime minister joined farmers in Shergarh to formally inaugurate the wheat harvesting activity and symbolically harvested a bunch of wheat crop.
    The prime minister was accompanied by Muhammad Ashiq Hussain Shah, PML-N member of National Assembly, and other high officials.


  10. Waqas Dar
    Having a family history of prostate cancer doesn’t make it more risky for men with a new diagnosis of the disease to initially hold off on active treatment in favour of monitoring with periodic lab tests, a research review suggests.
    It’s becoming more common for doctors to skip aggressive treatments like surgery or radiation for men with low-risk prostate tumours in favour of doing periodic tests to see if tumours grow, a practice known as active surveillance. But research to date has offered a mixed verdict on whether this approach is safe for certain men with a higher risk, including black patients and people with a family history of prostate tumours.
    For the current study, researchers analysed data from six previously published studies and found that active surveillance wasn’t linked with an increased risk of prostate cancer progressing for men with a family history. One study did, however, find that family history increased the risk of cancer progression in black men.
    “The current findings can help doctors reassure patients that having a family history of prostate cancer should not automatically exclude them from being considered for active surveillance, although more research needs to be done for African-American men,” said senior study author Dr. James Dupree, a urology researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
    Most men with prostate cancer are diagnosed with low-risk tumours that haven’t spread to other parts of the body. Often, doctors and patients struggle to choose the best course of action because it's hard to tell which tumours will grow fast enough to be life-threatening and which ones might never get big enough to cause problems.
    “Just because a cancer is found, it does not automatically mean it needs to get treated right away,” Dupree said by email. “In some cases, cancer should be treated, but in other cases, it may not need immediate treatment and can be managed with active surveillance.”
    For example, Dupree and colleagues reviewed one study of 200 patients that didn’t detect a meaningful difference in high-risk tumours based on whether or not men had a family history. In men who did have a family history, this study also didn’t find a difference in risk based on the number of relatives with prostate cancer.
    Two other studies in the review looked at biomarkers for prostate tumours, including results from prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests that are commonly used to look for these malignancies. Neither study found family history to be a meaningful predictor of aggressive prostate cancer.
    In another study, family history wasn’t a good predictor of aggressive tumours for most men, but it did signal an increased risk for black men.
    One limitation of the research review is that it included only six studies, the authors note in BJU International.
    Still, the findings should reassure men with a family history of prostate cancer that active surveillance may be a reasonable option in some cases, said Dr Behfar Ehdaie, a urologic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York who wasn’t involved in the study.
    “Screening for prostate cancer saves lives,” Ehdaie said by email. “However, the decisions after prostate cancer is detected may lead to overtreatment.”
    To strike the right balance, doctors can screen men at a young age with a PSA blood test to help determine a patient’s future risk, then recommend an appropriate treatment after a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, Ehdaie added.
    “Incorporating active surveillance to treat men with low-risk prostate cancer reduces the harms of overtreatment associated with both surgery and radiation therapy,” Ehdaie said.


  11. Waqas Dar
    SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon.com Inc's ventures far beyond online retail, from cloud computing to movie making, are raising questions among corporate strategy experts about its focus.
    The Seattle-based company wowed Wall Street again this week with a 23 percent jump in sales, pushing its shares to an all-time high. But there are concerns that if blockbuster growth stops, investors may come to regard the company more like a conglomerate stock - worth less than the sum of its pieces.
    "High growth covers a lot of sins," said Harry Kraemer, a partner at private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
    "Picture yourself running the company where one minute we're talking about how we're going to operate air cargo, and the next minute we're going to talk about artificial intelligence," he said. "I don’t think it's sustainable."
    So far, analysts have baulked at the idea of calling Amazon a conglomerate because of its businesses, all of which, although varied, relate in some way to retail. Warehouses, trucks and planes bring packages to shoppers' doorsteps. Amazon Web Services sells the very cloud-computing services to enterprises that were built to meet the technology needs of Amazon.com.
    "It's not like General Electric Co having financial services and making aircraft engines," Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian said.
    Some initiatives, though, such as a television studio in Hollywood, seem further afield. Amazon says the video foray has allowed it to stream unique programming to members of its Prime shopping club, thereby increasing sign-ups for a program that encourages people to buy more goods, more often.
    The financial success of the investment is difficult to assess. Revenue from Prime membership fees and other media subscriptions rose 49 percent in the first quarter to $1.9 billion, the company reported on Thursday. It does not disclose the costs of content for its Prime Video service, but they were estimated by an analyst to be more than $3 billion in 2016.
    Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
    OUT OF FASHION
    These days, conglomerates like GE are out of fashion in the corporate world. By a standard method of valuation - comparing a company's share price to its earnings per share - Amazon is worth about 10 times more than storied conglomerates Berkshire Hathaway Inc and United Technologies Corp.
    Investors discount conglomerate stocks partly because diverse businesses are tough to manage, and partly because they believe the market allots money across industries better than a company can.
    Indeed, a 2012 report by McKinsey & Co consultants found that conglomerates' revenue on average grew by 6.3 percent per year from 2002 to 2010, while "focused" companies grew by 9.2 percent.
    Amazon has acknowledged its pursuits point in many directions, but stresses they are for the long-term, not for quick gains.
    Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky rattled off a lengthy list of investments from retail in India to drones and artificial intelligence on the company's earnings conference call on Thursday, in an attempt to explain why its operating profit margin had thinned in North America.
    "I know I'm drifting a bit from North America, but it's all part of the same theme," he told analysts.
    For now, at least, Amazon is being treated as a special case in part from the halo effect around its billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest person alive. Many view Bezos as an entrepreneurial genius; he's already extended his reach beyond Amazon to start a space exploration company and purchase the Washington Post.
    "Bezos gets a longer leash to wander around than the typical CEO," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. But he was not convinced it was entirely justified.
    "You hesitate to bet on this being the singular team that can do something that history has shown - over and over again - is really hard to do," said Gordon. Referring to Walt Disney Co's CEO, he said: "Leave the movie making to Bob Iger."


  12. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Saturday rejected the federal government's notification on the Dawn Leaks inquiry, saying it is "incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board".
    The Army announced the rejection in a tweet sent out by DG ISPR Major-General Asif Ghafoor from his official account. 
    The tweet came shortly after the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) government released a notification announcing that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had approved the recommendations of the Dawn Leak inquiry committee.
    The notification from the PM Office announced that it was withdrawing the portfolio of Foreign Affairs from Prime Minister Sharif's Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.
    It added that Rao Tehsin Ali, the principal information officer at the Information Ministry, will be proceeded against under the E&D rules 1973 on the charges based on the report findings.
    It added that the role of the editor of Dawn Newspaper, Zaffar Abbas, and reporter Cyril Almeida will be referred to the All Pakistan Newspaper Association (APNS) for necessary disciplinary action to be taken against them.
    The notification also said that the APNS will be asked to develop a code of conduct for the media, "especially when dealing with issues relating to security of Pakistan and to ensure that stories on issues of national importance and security are published by abiding to basic journalistic and editorial norms".


  13. Waqas Dar
    Police and townsfolk in Waynesboro, Virginia, are trying to figure out why someone is abducting pet cats and returning them with hairless underbellies.
    Since December, at least seven cats have suddenly shown up at their homes with shaved belly, groin, and leg areas, Waynesboro Police Captain Kelly Walker said on Friday.
    "The shaving appears to be almost surgical," Walker said.
    No harm was done to the animals, but they "seemed a little skittish" after the curious incidents, he said.
    The occurrences came to the attention of police when an owner asked about posting flyers to encourage the public to report suspicious activity to authorities.
    "Shaving Cats!!??" says the poster in Waynesboro, a city of 21,000 about 140 miles (225 km) south-west of Washington, D.C.
    "Several neighbourhood cats have been ABDUCTED and had their lower abdomens and groin areas SHAVED. This is very upsetting to the cats and their owners," the poster says.
    Walker said the cats were collar-wearing, well-groomed pets, not strays or feral cats, although some were outdoor cats. All of them had been either neutered and spayed before the shaving incidents, he said.
    The investigation focuses on five cats - some of whom were shaved twice - from one household and two cats from another, who came home partially hairless three weeks ago.
    "Probably the best solution is for whoever is doing this to just stop," Walker said.


  14. Waqas Dar
    VEHARI: A man, his wife, and their two children were severely burnt after relatives broke into the house here Friday night and threw acid on them over an alleged land conflict.
    Relatives of Noor Ahmed, one of the victims of the horrendous acid attack, broke into his house in the dead of the night and threw acid over the sleeping family, badly burning them. However, the suspects – including Ahmed Ali, Shahid, and others – escaped.
    Noor Ahmed was involved in a property dispute in Chak 206 EB of Vehari – a town near Multan – with his relatives since some time and a case was underway in the civil court.
     

    Note: Images have been blurred due to their graphic nature
     
    The acid burn victims – including Noor Ahmed, his wife Sharifa Bibi, and two children Anees Ahmed and Ali Sher – have been shifted to DHQ.
    Police have subsequently launched an investigation and a search operation has been commenced to catch the suspects.


  15. Waqas Dar
    If you like to spend a lot of time on Twitter, then you must know about two things that are incredibly important.
    Liberal emoji use and knowing how to put Twitter's search tool to good use are the two most important things for a Twitter user.
    Now, the service's latest update brings those two things together.
    Twitter now lets you use emoji characters in search.
    The update, first spotted by Emojipedia, is supported both on Twitter's website and apps.
    With the change, you can search for specific emoji either in usernames or within the text of a tweet itself. 
    It will also improve searches for specific accounts that use emoji in their usernames.
    It's probably not a feature you'll need to use very often, but it's definitely an improvement for all emoji-related searches


  16. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday approved the recommendations of the Dawn leaks Inquiry committee, withdrawing the portfolio of Advisor on Foreign Affairs from Tariq Fatemi.
    A notification from the PM Office said that Rao Tehseen Ali, the principal information officer at the Foreign Ministry, will be proceeded against on the charges based on the report findings.
    It added that the role of the editor of Dawn Newspaper, Zaffar Abbas, and reporter Cyril Almeida will be referred to the All Pakistan News paper Association (APNS).
    The notification also said that the APNS will be asked to develop a code of conduct for the media, especially the print media.


  17. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday accused Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of lying in court, saying that all five judges on the bench of the Panama Papers case had rejected the Qatari letter presented by the legal team of the PM's family.
    In a message sent out to his 5.3 million Twitter followers, Imran thanked party workers and supporters for "the record crowd that participated in launch of PTI's Go Nawaz Go campaign".
    Imran claimed that all five judges of the Supreme Court on the bench of the Panama Papers case had rejected the letter by the Qatari prince presented by the defense, claiming that it meant that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had lied to the court.
    Imran's tweet follows a large public meeting by the PTI on Friday evening at the federal capital's Parade Ground.
    Addressing the gathering, the party chairman warned PM Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that, if called to the court, he would tell the name of the person who, according to him, made him an offer of Rs10 billion for remaining silent on the Panama issue.
    Imran also hinted that names of relatives of the rulers will also come to surface in this regard.
    The PTI chief vowed to disclose the name of the person before the court, but said he would request the court to protect him first, as the Sharifs would attack him and ruin his business.
    "It is good they are now taking me to the court. The person, who came with the offer, was also assured of Rs2 billion payment, if he managed to convince me to stay silent on the Panama issue," he noted.
    The PML-N has rejected Imran's claims as lies.
    "If Khan is unable to validate his allegation of the Rs 10bn offer with proof, we will take the liar not only to the court of justice but also to the people's court," said PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique.


  18. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: Responding to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's speech on Friday, Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said Imran Khan was about to fall in a hole he was digging for others.
    "PTI's legal accountability will start from May 3," he said. "If Khan is unable to validate his allegation of the Rs 10bn offer with a proof, we will take the liar to the legal and public's court."
    The minister remarked that disgrace and ill-fate are PTI's fate. "Imran and his comrades have gone berserk for a few days of power," he said.
    Read more: Take me to court, will reveal who made Rs10 bn offer: Imran
    Rafique alleged that the public was fooled on the premise of change by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1970 and Imran Khan in 2013.
    "Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's (PML-N) successful rally in Swat is proof of the public's lack of trust in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government," the federal minister said. "Mian Nawaz Sharif's worker Ameer Muqam alone is sufficient to face Imran and his party workers [in elections]."
    Read more: Imran Khan has made a record of lying: Shehbaz Sharif
    Earlier on Friday, Khan challenged his opponents, saying that those who want to know the name of the person who made the Rs10 billion offer to stay mum over the Panama case, can take him to court.
    Imran Khan said that he gathers people not for himself but for the country, as he addressed the first rally of the party since the announcement of the Panama case verdict.
    Read more: PTI chief is lying about Rs10bn offer: Hamza Shahbaz
    He said that he’s not revealing the name of the one who tried to bribe him, only out of consideration that the person would be forced to go out of business due to vengeful activities.


  19. Waqas Dar
    Britain’s Oxford University has announced to name one of its rehearsal rooms to honour Pakistani musician Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, making him the first South Asian artist to receive such a tribute.
    In this regard, Oxford University’s Faculty of Music has arranged a concert on May 25, wherein the famed singer will bring to stage the magic of the 600-year-old qawwali tradition. The event is geared to raise funds for the aforementioned department’s work and will be held in the institute’s Sheldonian Theatre, according to the university's website.
    The Fusion Project – comprising Oxford University’s students – will join Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in the concert to perform original compositions created by its lead singer Rushil Ranjan.
    Qawwali, a major part of the subcontinent’s music scene, is known as the rhythm of Muslim Sufi saints. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, having being mentored by the ‘King of Qawwali’ Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has made it one of his life goals to spread the genre and Pakistan’s name throughout the world.
    Moreover, Rahat Fateh Ali disclosed that he will be gifting his late uncle and legendary musician Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali’s harmonium to the university. It is hoped that the importance of the tradition of qawwali will garner much more prominence once the room is officially named after Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
    On the development, Music Faculty Board chairman Professor Michael Burden said, “The music of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is a force on the international scene, and we are extremely grateful to the student group – The Fusion Project – for involving us in the event.”
    Rahat Fateh Ali has time and again sold out entire shows in his tours in US, Europe, and the Middle East.


  20. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, on Saturday, said that a single person had held Karachi hostage before the government was able to drive out criminals from the city.
    “One person held the city hostage; if he ordered the city to be set on fire, it was set on fire,” the minister said, referring to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder while addressing the Sindh Rangers’ passing out parade in Karachi.
    He said the decision to extend the paramilitary force’s special policing powers in Sindh after every three months should not be created into a dispute.
    Read more: Sindh Cabinet extends Rangers' special powers
    “The tradition of creating barriers in the extension of Rangers’ powers after every three months must be stopped,” the minister stressed.
    Nisar complimented the force for setting new examples of courage and bravery. “Rangers sacrificed their own lives for Pakistan,” he said.
    Earlier on April 22, the Sindh Cabinet on Saturday decided to extend the special policing powers granted to the Rangers paramilitary force in Sindh for 90-days.
    Read more: Four Jundullah terrorists killed in Karachi: Pakistan Army
    The powers enabled the paramilitary force to conduct raids against target killers, extortionists, extremists and kidnappers. 
    A special session called by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah with the Rangers issues as the prime focus. The Rangers had submitted a report of their six-month operations to the Sindh government. 
    The special policing powers granted to Pakistan Rangers Sindh in Karachi, for a period of three months, expired on Friday, April 14.


  21. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The ongoing heatwave in the city is predicted to continue for three to four days, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) stated on Saturday.
    The hot and dry weather is forecasted to persist for at least the next 24 hours, it added. Temperatures are expected to go as high and low as 26° and 38-40° Celsius, respectively, Geo News reported.
    The humidity level in the air was registered at 69%, PMD mentioned.
    It was reported earlier that sea breeze – that usually keeps Karachi’s weather in check – is expected to give way to hot winds coming in from the plains of interior Sindh. Consequently, temperatures in the country are expected to surpass 40° Celsius.
    A shallow westerly wave has started impacting northern parts of Pakistan, likely to persist for the next 36 hours, the department said.
    For the next 24 hours, thunderstorms with rain, scattered dust, and gusty winds are predicted in Malakand, Hazara, Mardan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, and some places in Peshawar, Kohat, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Islamabad, and FATA.
    Heat stroke management
    More than a dozen hospitals, on Tuesday, set up heat stroke centres after PMD forecasted high temperatures in the city for the next three days. On Monday, the mercury surged to 40.5° Celsius in the metropolis with forecasts of a further rise in the temperature in the coming days.
    Talking to Geo News, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) emergency services department head Dr Seemin Jamali said, “We are well prepared this time. We have a fully equipped emergency ward to accommodate all emergency heat [stroke] patients. Similarly, our medical wards are also prepared.”
    Heat exhaustion and lethargy are the primary symptoms of a heat stroke, highlighted Dr Jamali.
    On the other hand, Sindh Health Department officials commented on the matter as well. “To ensure that people are generally protected against the wave an advisory is being issued to all hospitals and medical facilities,” they said, according to a local media outlet.
    Precautionary measures, including providing logistics support to district administration, training for ambulance and boat drivers, and establishing relief centres, etc., were discussed by Syed Salman Shah, DG PDMA Sindh.
    It is, therefore, wiser to not go out during the peak sunlight hours to stay safe from a heatstroke. The use of ice packs, cold sheets, and wet towels is advised, and drinking more water is recommended.


  22. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A fire that broke out early on Saturday at a building on I.I. Chundrigar road in Karachi, reignited after the fire department controlled.
    A man who was trapped inside the building was rescued, the fire department told Geo News. The man did not sustain any serious injuries. 
    Rescue activities are underway, as the fire department continues to make efforts to contain the fire. 
    Five fire tenders, a fire snorkel and water bouser fought the fire for three hours, on the fifteenth and sixteenth floor of Saima Trade Tower, following which it was reported under control.
    However, the blaze reignited an hour after it was reported under control by rescue sources. 
    The blaze erupted between 5.30 AM and 6.00 AM, rescue sources told Geo News.
    Firetrucks promptly reached the site within ten minutes after the fire brigade department was alerted.
    No casualties were reported, however, two guards who were trapped on the affected floors were safely evacuated from the building two hours after rescue teams reached the site.
     
     
    This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is received. 


  23. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: A fire broke out early morning in a shoe shop located in Lahore's Masti Gate, Moti Bazaar vicinity on Saturday.
    Fire brigade and rescue services promptly doused the fire.

    Images from fire in a shoe shop in Moti Bazaar
    The blaze erupted due to a short-circuit, rescue sources told Geo News.

    The fire gutted down the cardboard warehouse
    Read more: Blaze reignites in building on Karachi's I.I. Chundrigar Road
    Earlier at 2 AM, a fire erupted in a cardboard warehouse in the city. The fire was controlled soon after fire trucks reached the site. 
    Early morning on Saturday, a fire erupted in a building on I.I. Chundrigar road in Karachi. The blaze reignited after the fire department controlled it after three hours of rescue activities. 
    A man who was trapped inside the building was rescued, the fire department told Geo News.


  24. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A fire that broke out early on Saturday at a building on I.I. Chundrigar road in Karachi, reignited after the fire department controlled.
    A snorkel, five fire trucks, and a water bouser fought the fire for three hours, on the fifteenth and sixteenth floor of Saima Trade Tower, following which it was reported under control.
    However, the blaze reignited an hour after it was reported under control by rescue sources. 
    The blaze erupted between 5.30 AM and 6.00 AM, rescue sources told Geo News.
    Firetrucks promptly reached the site within ten minutes after the fire brigade department was alerted.
    No casualties were reported, however, two guards who were trapped on the affected floors were safely evacuated from the building two hours after rescue teams reached the site.
     
     
    This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is received. 


  25. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: A fire broke out, early on Saturday, on the fifteenth and sixteenth floor of Saima Trade Tower on I.I. Chundrigar road in Karachi.
    The blaze erupted between 5.30 AM and 6.00 AM, rescue sources told Geo News.
    Firetrucks promptly reached the site within ten minutes after the fire brigade department was alerted.
    Five fire trucks engaged in dousing the fire for three hours, following which it was reported under control.
    No casualties were reported, however, two guards who were trapped on the affected floors were safely evacuated from the building two hours after rescue teams reached the site.


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