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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    Pictured is Federal Judicial Academy, temporary headquarters of Panama case JIT. ? Geo News FILE ISLAMABAD: The joint investigation team (JIT), constituted by the Supreme Court to probe businesses and financial dealings of Sharif family, has once again summoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's cousin to appear before it.

    The investigation team issued summons to the PM's cousin, Tariq Shafi, to appear before it at 12 noon on July 2. The summons, signed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) member of the JIT Irfan Mangi, were issued on June 23, Geo News has learnt.
    Shafi has twice appeared before the team of investigators on May 16 and 17.
    PM's cousin accuses Panama JIT member of harassment
    His counsel says the documents demanded by the JIT have already been presented, which are also part of court proceedings
    It is pertinent to note here that Tariq Shafi had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that he was part of all transactions relating to sale of Dubai properties owned by Mian Sharif ? father of PM Nawaz Sharif ? and transfer of that money to Qatar.

    However, after having appeared before the JIT, Shafi, through his lawyer, wrote a letter to JIT head, Wajid Zia, alleging mistreatment of him by some members of the team.
    The letter read that a JIT member threatened him with serious consequences, if he didn't withdraw the affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court.
    So far, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his brother, Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif, his sons, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, and his son-in-law Captain (R) Safdar have appeared before the Panama case JIT.
    The Supreme Court has directed the Panama case JIT to submit its final report on July 10.


  2. Waqas Dar
    BANGALORE: India´s top journalists have accused a state parliament of "a gross misuse of powers and privilege" by ordering that two editors be arrested for allegedly defaming local lawmakers.
    Police in India´s southern Karnataka state said the editors -- both from tabloid newspapers in the capital Bangalore -- had evaded authorities since the state assembly issued an order for their arrest last week.
    The allegations were first levelled against the editors in 2014, but the assembly only voted last week to pursue the charges.
    A warrant was issued for the two journalists last week for "breach of privilege and criticising lawmakers", S.D Sharanappa, deputy commissioner of police in Bangalore, told AFP.
    The editors could face a year in prison and a 10,000 rupee ($155) fine.
    The Editors Guild of India in a statement Sunday said the order violated the constitution and fundamental tenets of freedom of speech.
    "It is also a gross misuse of powers and privileges of a state legislature. The guild urges the Karnataka assembly to withdraw its resolution without delay," the statement added.
    The Committee to Protect Journalists, a global press rights group, in August last year said that successive local and national governments had failed to promote freedom of press in the world´s biggest democracy.
    "(Case studies) show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting... and how India´s culture of impunity is leaving the country´s press vulnerable to threats and attacks," the committee said in a report.
    In 2015, India was rated as the deadliest country in Asia for journalists by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.


  3. Waqas Dar
    Firefighters prepare to distinguish fire after burning seized drugs at an event to mark International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, outside Yangon, Myanmar June 26, 2017. REUTERS Officials in Myanmar and Thailand burned illegal narcotics worth more than $800 million on Monday to mark the UN day against drug abuse and trafficking.
    The move came even as authorities struggle to stem the flood of illicit drugs in the region, with Thailand's justice minister last year saying the country's war on drugs was failing.
    In Thailand's Ayutthaya province, more than 9 tonnes of drugs with a street value of over 20 billion baht ($590 million) went up in smoke including methamphetamines, known locally as "yaba" or "crazy drug", according to police.
    "Currently, we are able to take down a lot of networks, including ... transnational networks bringing drugs into Thailand ... to be shipped to Malaysia and other countries," Sirinya Sitthichai, Secretary-General of the Office of Narcotics Control Board, told reporters in Ayutthaya.
    In neighbouring Myanmar, the police said they destroyed confiscated drugs worth around $217 million.
    Myanmar remains one of the world's largest producers of illicit drugs, including opium, heroin and methamphetamines. Those narcotics are often smuggled into China.
    Last year, law makers in Myanmar voiced disappointment over the country's lacklustre efforts to tackle the drug problem.
    The market for methamphetamines has been growing in Southeast Asia, the United Nations has said. It estimates that Southeast Asia's trade in heroin and methamphetamine was worth $31 billion in 2013.


  5. Waqas Dar
    US President Donald Trump - File Photo Reuters  The US Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to President Donald Trump by narrowing the scope of lower court rulings that blocked his travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries and agreeing to hear his appeals in the cases.
    The court said it would hear arguments on the legality of one of Trump's signature policies in his first months as president in the court's next term, which starts in October.
    The justices granted parts of his administration's emergency request to put the March 6 executive order into effect immediately while the legal battle continues.
    The court said that the travel ban is in effect "with respect to foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States."
    The court also said it would allow a 120-day ban on all refugees entering the United States to go into effect on the same grounds.
    Three of the court's conservatives said they would have granted Trump's request in full, including Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch.


  6. Waqas Dar
    MUMBAI: Salman Khan?s new movie Tubelight has failed to break into the INR 100 crore club during its first weekend of release.

    According to reports in the India media, the opening weekend ticket sales amounted to INR 64.77 crore which is far below expectations.
    Salman Khan has been dominant during the Eid weekend and Tubelight is the lowest earning film of his last five releases. The last two Salman Khan Eid releases Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) and Sultan (2016) both earned over 100 crores over opening weekend.
    The movie has not received favorable reviews and needs a good showing over the remaining days of Eid to turn a profit and avoid becoming a flop. 


  7. Waqas Dar
    Pakistan's Mohammad Amir holding an Essex County shirt.?Photo: Essex Cricket LONDON: Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir continued his rich seam of form from the Champions Trophy win over India, striking early for Essex using a pink ball on a landmark day for English county cricket.

    Amir trapped Middlesex Nick Gubbins lbw as the latest round of county championship matches got underway on Monday.
    The new day/night format led to the use of the pink ball with a black seam ? ideal preparation for England's Test players for a match with the West Indies from August 17-21 at Edgbaston.
    Domestic cricket history was also made in Glamorgan's game with Derbyshire as the latter's 16-year-old Afghan-born spinner Hamidullah Qadri became the first player born in the 2000s to play Championship cricket.
    Floodlit cricket is not totally new to England as it first came to their shores on July 23, 1997, in a limited overs match between Warwickshire and Somerset at the same Edgbaston ground where the Test match will take place.
    The county championship has had one-day night game in 2011 between Kent and Glamorgan but got mixed reviews from the players and attendance was not impressive.
    England bowling great James Anderson believes batsmen will not particularly like the experience.
    "I've had no experience with pink balls. I don't think the batsmen are hugely in favour of it," said Anderson before play got underway.
    "All the reports I've heard of day-night Test matches are that the twilight period is really difficult to bat in.
    "It's great all the England players are available, not just because it's a pink-ball game, but a round of county games with all the England players available is a stronger one, and probably a more exciting one."
    However, Anderson and his fellow bowlers may not have things all their own way as England and Wales Cricket Board´s (ECB) director of cricket operations Alan Fordham told BBC Radio.
    "If people are expecting it to behave in the same way as a red ball, they´ll be disappointed," said the 52-year-old former Northamptonshire batsman.
    "The easiest way to describe it is the pink ball is manufactured in the same way as a white ball, so it's not a ball that is easy to shine.
    "You can perhaps get a little bit of a sheen on it but nothing like a red ball where you can get a really good polish on it, keep that lasting well and perhaps swinging into 40 or 50 overs. That´s unlikely to happen."
    Surrey vice-captain Rory Burns offered a more upbeat tone than Anderson.
    "It's an exciting, different challenge. We've been practising with the pink ball and getting used to it," he told BBC Radio.
    "It's a very different ball to the red ball, in how it reacts and the seam on it. With spin, you can't quite see the seam. That's one of the challenges.
    "It feels a little bit lighter off the bat. The tougher periods will be when the floodlights come into play."


  8. Waqas Dar
    Pictured is a cop calling citizens bathing in the sea back in Karachi. ? Geo News FILE KARACHI: Police have detained 20 people for swimming at Karachi beaches, in spite of a ban in place, Geo News learnt Monday.

    The Sindh government, on May 24, banned swimming at Karachi beaches for a period of six months. The restriction was imposed after twelve youngsters drowned while swimming at different beaches in the city in the month of May.
    The citizens, like every other occasion, thronged beaches on Eid, where some of them violated the ban by stepping into the sea.
    Police in order to prevent any untoward incident acted timely and detained 20 people.
    On the other hand, the law enforcers cracked down on one-wheelers in Islamabad, who not only risk their lives, but others' as well by performing stunts on crowded thoroughfares.
    They impounded around 200 motorbikes and fined their owners.


  9. Waqas Dar
    Photo: File LAHORE: Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Monday said that Imran Khan?s style of politics is akin to throwing dirt at each other, adding that protest is not synonymous to politics.
    Rafique while addressing a ceremony at the Child Protection Bureau said that that the way to secure votes is to serve people. He criticised both Imran Khan and Bilawal Bhutto, calling the latter a ?paratrooper?.
    The minister also said that the Bahawalpur incident, in which 157 people died, should not be politicised, adding that Punjab has six functional burns unit.
    Meanwhile State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali claimed that the Joint Investigation Team, assigned by the Supreme Court to probe the prime minister?s financial dealing abroad, has made itself controversial.
    ?Has the murderer identified by Aziz Baloch before the JIT been arrested,? asked Ali.
    The minister asked what transpired after a JIT probed Pakistan Peoples Party?s Dr Asim, Sharjeel Memon as well as Ayyan Ali. 


  10. Waqas Dar
    Burnt out cars and motorcycles are seen at the scene of an oil tanker explosion in Bahawalpur?REUTERS. BAHAWALPUR: The death toll due to Bahawalpur oil tanker fire incident has risen to 157 on Monday as the police have registered the case against the driver, owner and manager of the tanker.

    More than a hundred victims were being treated in different hospital, many of them badly injured due to the incident.
    According to health sources, 126 were killed on the spot while 31 died later during the treatment within two days.
    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also announced to hold an inquiry into the incident and declared that the government has made a policy decision to provide jobs to the injured as well as family members of the deceased.
    The premier, alongside Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was holding a press conference during a visit to the site of the accident in Ahmedpur East.
    152 burnt to death as oil tanker catches fire in Bahawalpur
    Scores injured in fire that broke out after oil tanker overturned and crowds rushed to collect fuel
    PM visits Bahawalpur, announces inquiry into oil tanker fire
    The prime minister also expressed remorse over the loss of precious lives in the fire incident








    London trip cut short
    The premier was in London on a private visit and was expected to return to Pakistan later in the week but cut short his trip after the tragic fire incident.
    Talking to members of the press after offering Eid prayers in a mosque in central London, the premier said the National Action Plan had significantly reduced the incidents of terrorism in the country.
    ?[Peace and stability] conditions in Pakistan are steadily improving,? he said.
    He added that he [recently] met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and both leaders mutually agreed on a few matters.
    ?We are working to make our relations with Afghanistan better,? the prime minister said.

    geo_embedgallery
    COAS visits the injured
    Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa also visited those injured in the tragedy at Nishtar Hospital, Multan.
    COAS Gen Bajwa was briefed on the condition and treatment of the injured by Nishtar Medical University vice chancellor and the in-charge of the Burns Centre at Nishtar Hospital, he Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
    During his visit to the hospital, Gen Bajwa appreciated the role and efforts of the ?first responders? to the tragic incident, including the civil administration, motorway and Punjab police, locals and hospitals? staff.
    Commander Multan Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Sattar accompanied the COAS during the visit.
    Pakistan has an appalling record of fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
    At least 62 people including women and children were killed in Karachi in 2015 when their bus collided with an oil tanker, starting a fierce blaze that left victims burnt beyond recognition.


  11. Waqas Dar
    French businessmen Francois Pinault (4thL), his son Francois-Henri Pinault (L), Japanese architect Tadao Ando (2ndL), Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo (3rdL) and French architects Lucie Niney (R) and Thibault Marca pose by the project´s model during the presentation of the project of the future museum of the Pinault Foundation - AFP PARIS: One of the world´s biggest art collectors unveiled Monday his plans for a spectacular new museum in Paris, cementing the city´s claim to be a modern art capital.

    French billionaire Francois Pinault will show his $1.4 billion (1.25 billion euro) collection of modern masters in the domed Bourse de Commerce, within a stone's throw of the Louvre, long the world´s most visited museum.
    The new gallery, which he said would open in early 2019, is also within sight of the Pompidou Centre, which houses Europe´s largest modern art collection.
    Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the museum "an immense gift" to the French capital and told reporters that it would help put the city back at the top of the modern art tree.
    Pinault, 80, holds an enormous trove of abstract and contemporary masterpieces in a 3,500-piece collection that goes from Mark Rothko to Damien Hirst.
    He owns the auction house Christie's and built a fashion empire that contains labels like Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, and already has his own private museum in Venice.
    But he has been trying for decades to find a home for his collection in Paris.
    That desire sharpened when his great business rival Bernard Arnault, who controls the LVMH luxury goods conglomerate, opened the Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton Foundation for his art collection in 2014.
    Pinault has commissioned another Pritzker-winning architect, the Japanese master Tadao Ando, to convert the magnificent 19th-century Bourse de Commerce, which sits on the edge of Paris´s former central market district.
    French businessman Francois Pinault (C) tours the former stock exchange building within the presentation of the project for the future museum of the Pinault Foundation, on June 26, 2017 in Paris - AFP 'Epicentre' of world culture

    Ando compared the circular building to the ancient Pantheon in Rome.
    He said the concrete cylinder he plans for the inside of the building would be "the cultural epicentre of Paris which in turn is the epicentre of culture in the world."
    He said he would create three floors of galleries under the building´s dome, whose spectacular frescos representing trade with the five continents are also being restored.
    The former corn exchange is a part of a one-billion-euro urban renewal project to give what Hidalgo calls a "new beating heart" to the city´s Les Halles district.
    Paris's beautiful central market was bulldozed in the 1970s to make way for an airless underground shopping complex and transport hub which many Parisians loathe.
    But a vast new steel-and-glass canopy unveiled last year to put a lid on the problem has also been derided, with one critic branding it a "custard-coloured flop".
    Asked earlier if he was going to his expand his collection to fill the new space, Pinault said, "When you see a new work you have to know when to jump on it. The big public institutions cannot do that.
    "We are a museum in movement and (will be) very complementary to the existing institutions," he added.
    In 2001, Pinault handed the reins of his empire to his son Francois-Henri, who is married to the Mexican Hollywood star Salma Hayek.
    Since then the man once described as "the most powerful in the art world" has mostly dedicated himself to his art collection, installing it in the Palazzo Grassi in Venice and two other historic buildings there.
    The Venice venues will work in tandem with the new Paris gallery, sources close to the collector told AFP.


  12. Waqas Dar
    N?DJAMENA: Eight Chadian soldiers were killed in fierce fighting with Boko Haram insurgents at the weekend on islands on Lake Chad, the army said Monday.

    "Our forces attacked Boko Haram elements on five islands near Nigeria on June 24 and 25," said Chad army spokesman Colonel Azem, indicating eight soldiers had died and another 18 were wounded.
    He also claimed troops had killed 162 militants from the Nigeria-based group, and destroyed six vehicles along with many of the motorcycles often favoured by Boko Haram fighters in their raids.
    Chad is part of a five-nation regional force -- also comprising Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Benin -- fighting Boko Haram, which is blamed for killing at least 20,000 people and leaving another 2.6 million homeless.
    Chad?s President Idriss Deby threatened on Sunday to pull the country?s troops out of peacekeeping operations in Africa because of a lack of foreign financial support.
    Chad has contributed the third-largest contingent to MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping mission deployed in Mali in response to insurgency, with 1,390 soldiers.
    Deby indicated that N?Djamena lacks help to pay for its 2,000 men in the Joint Task Force battling Boko Haram, which emerged in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 and has in recent years attacked across borders.
    "We have not at all been supported on the financial, economic side," he said in an interview with several French media.
    "If nothing is done, if that goes on, Chad will be obliged to withdraw," he added. "We can?t keep being everywhere -- in Niger, in Cameroon and in Mali. All that is excessively expensive."
    Chad?s army is one of the most battle-hardened in the region, but the country faces a major economic crisis made worse by low oil prices, its main source of revenue.
    There have been frequent clashes on the many small islands of Lake Chad since the Boko Haram conflict began in 2009. The lake borders four countries on the edge of the Sahara: Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.


  13. Waqas Dar
    Photo: Radio Pakistan CHAMAN: IG Frontier Corps Balochistan Major General Nadeem Anjum on Monday visited the areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, including Kali Luqman and Kali Jahangir which came under Afghan shelling early last month.
    Major General Anjum visited the houses of the affectees and congratulated them on returning home. He also distributed gifts among children.
    Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to border demarcation in flag meeting
    Country representatives mutually decide to conduct survey of Killi Luqman, Killi Jahangir
    11 martyred, 46 injured in firing by Afghan forces at Chaman border
    Afghan border police opened fire on FC soldiers deployed for security of census team in the area: ISPR
    Later he visited Army and FC troops stationed at posts in Kali Luqman and celebrated Eid with them. The IG said that the troops are celebrating Eid with simplicity on the directions of the army chief.
    Sector Commander Brigadier Nadeem Sohail briefed Major General Anjum of fencing being done along the border as well as progress on coordination with Afghan authorities.
    At least 11 people were martyred and 46 injured early Friday when Afghan border forces opened fire at FC Balochistan soldiers deployed for security of census team near the Chaman border on May 5.
    Over 50 Afghan soldiers were killed and more than 100 injured when Pakistan retaliated to the unprovoked firing and shelling.
    Following the tensions, the friendship gate between both the countries on the Chaman border, Bab-e-Dosti was also closed after 20 days.


  14. Waqas Dar
    Photo: FILE ? Geo News KARACHI: A fire broke out at an oil factory in Karachi on Monday afternoon, fire brigade officials said.

    The blaze erupted at the factory located in the city's SITE area, where three fire tenders are currently busy dousing it.
    Officials said that two more fire tenders have been dispatched to the site. So far, no casualties have been reported in the wake of fire.
    This is a developing story and more details will be provided as received.


  15. Waqas Dar
    Photo: ISPR  RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited those injured in the Ahmedpur East fire tragedy at Nishtar Hospital, Multan on Monday where he was briefed on the treatment of the patients, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

    COAS Gen Bajwa was briefed on the condition and treatment of the injured by Nishtar Medical University vice chancellor and the in-charge of the Burns Centre at Nishtar Hospital.
    During his visit to the hospital, Gen Bajwa appreciated the role and efforts of the ?first responders? to the tragic incident, including the civil administration, motorway and Punjab police, locals and hospitals? staff.
    COAS said on the occasion that crises management is a joint national responsibility and the army performs its duty in aid of civil administration. He assured the civil administration of the army?s continued full support in taking best care of the victims.
    Gen Bajwa said that learning from such avoidable incidents, a national public awareness campaign is required to safeguard against recurrence of such incidents.
    Later, COAS also met with families of army martyrs at Multan Garrison, where he lauded their sacrifices and said that the nation is proud of them. He said that nothing is more sacred than laying down one?s life for the country.
    Commander Multan Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Sattar accompanied the COAS during the visit. 
    At least 152 people have died while around 120 are under treatment as a result of the Bahawalpur oil tanker fire incident. 


  16. Waqas Dar
    A billboard of Takata Corp in Tokyo in September 2014. Photo: Reuters TOKYO: Japan's Takata Corp, the firm at the centre of the auto industry's biggest ever product recall, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan, and said it would be bought for $1.6 billion by US-based Key Safety Systems.
    In the biggest bankruptcy of a Japanese manufacturer, Takata faces tens of billions of dollars in costs and liabilities resulting from almost a decade of recalls and lawsuits.
    Its airbags have been linked to at least 17 deaths around the world.
    TK Holdings, its US operations, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Sunday with liabilities of $10 billion to $50 billion, while the Japanese parent filed for protection with the Tokyo District Court early on Monday.
    Takata's total liabilities stand at 1.7 trillion yen ($15 billion), Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd estimated.
    Final liabilities would depend on the outcome of discussions with carmaker customers who have borne the bulk of the replacement costs, a lawyer for the company said.
    The filings open the door to the financial rescue by Key Safety Systems (KSS), a Michigan-based parts supplier owned by China's Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp.
    In a deal that took 16 months to hammer out, KSS agreed to take over Takata's viable operations, while the remaining operations will be reorganised to continue churning out millions of replacement airbag inflators, the two firms said.
    The US company would keep "substantially all" of Takata's 60,000 employees in 23 countries and maintain its factories in Japan. The agreement is meant to allow Takata to continue operating without interruptions and with minimal disruptions to its supply chain.
    "We believe taking these actions in Japan and the US is the best way to address the ongoing costs and liabilities of the airbag inflator issues with certainty and in an organised manner," Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement.
    Takada said he and top management would resign "when the timing of the restructuring is set."
    His family ? which still has control of the 84-year-old company ? likely would cease to be shareholders.
    Jason Luo, president and CEO of KSS, said in a statement the "underlying strength" of Takata's business had not diminished despite the airbag recall, citing its skilled employee base, geographic reach and other safety products such as seat belts.
    The companies expect to seal definitive agreements for the sale in coming weeks and complete the twin bankruptcy processes in the first quarter of 2018.
    The filings have, however, not resolved all issues.
    Honda Motor Co, Takata's biggest customer, said it had reached no final agreement with Takata on responsibilities for the recall.
    Honda said it would continue talks with the supplier but anticipated difficulties in recovering the bulk of its claims.
    Unprecedented recalls
    Takata faces billions in lawsuits and recall-related costs to its clients, including Honda, BMW, Toyota Motor Corp and others which have been paying recall costs to date.
    It also faces potential liabilities stemming from class action lawsuits in the United States, Canada and other countries.
    Global transport authorities have ordered about 100 million inflators to be recalled.
    Industry sources have said that recall costs could climb to about $10 billion.
    The ammonium nitrate compound used in the airbags was found to become volatile with age and prolonged exposure to heat, causing the devices to explode.
    Costs so far have pushed the company into the red for three years, and it has been forced to sell subsidiaries to pay fines and other liabilities.
    Founded as a textiles company in 1933, Takata began producing airbags in 1987 and at its peak became the world's number two producer of the safety products.
    It also produces one-third of all seatbelts used in vehicles sold globally, along with other components.
    The Tokyo Stock Exchange said its shares would be delisted on July 27. The stock has collapsed 95 per cent since January 2014 as the recalls mounted.


  17. Waqas Dar
    Pakistan team with the Champions Trophy Having already given the nation an early Eid gift by winning the ICC Champions Trophy, the victorious heroes of the Pakistan cricket team shared their Eid wishes and messages of peace and joy.
    Player of the Tournament Hasan Ali, speaking to Geo News earlier on Monday, wished everyone a very happy Eid and shared his plans for the day.
    ?Eid Mubarak to all. Please remember the poor in your Eid celebrations and take care of them,? he said.
    The pacer, who topped the wickets chart with a tally of 13, added with a cheeky smile that he would be defying his physio as he cannot wait to tuck into vermicelli.
    ?I will eat sawayyan (vermicelli), of course. My family has prepared it with so much love.?
    ?Last Eid I was in England so couldn?t celebrate with my family. This time I am home with my parents, brother and sister-in-law, so I?m happy to be celebrating Eid with them,? he said.
    He also took to social media earlier to wish Eid to his fans.
    Other players of the winning squad also took to social media to share Eid greetings. 












  18. Waqas Dar
    Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa (COAS) offered Eid prayers with troops at the Line of Control. 
    A press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations stated that the COAS prayed for the prosperity of Pakistan and hailed the morale of troops, their devotion and operational preparedness.

    Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sohail Aman also visited an operational base where he met all on-duty personnel and exchanged Eid greetings with them. ACM Aman also appreciated the high morale of all personnel and inspected the operational preparedness of forces.
    ?Pakistan?s sovereignty is our top priority,? a statement by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) quoted the air chief as saying.
    The ACM also said that ?we have established peace in the country after tremendous sacrifices. Instead of fomenting terrorism inside Pakistan, neighbouring countries should fight terrorism on their own soil.?
    He also said that the PAF will continue to befittingly respond to all airspace violations at all costs.
    The air chief also suggested that Islamic countries should work together to fight terrorism.
    Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah visited forward bases on Eid. He offered Eid prayers with troops at the 31 Marine Battalion Headquarters in Sujawal, Sindh.
    The naval chief also visited the navy?s forward post at Ghani near the Indian border. 


  19. Waqas Dar
    RAWALPINDI: A total of 133,000 cases have been settled in the Lahore High Court (LHC) in one year, said LHC Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday.

    During a visit to Adiala Jail on Eid, Shah said the LHC had resolved all pending cases from 2014.
    The chief justice said they are trying to resolve all pending cases for the betterment of society.
    ?Prisoners are a part of our society. It is important that we give them time,? he said further.
    Shah also expressed grief at the loss of lives in Bahawalpur, Parachinar and Quetta.


  20. Waqas Dar
    Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of the landslide on June 24. Photo: Reuters Villagers in China visited what used to be their relatives' homes on Monday to mourn loved ones lost when a landslide swept down a mountain, with little hope of finding anyone alive after more than 48 hours of fruitless searching.
    At least 93 people are missing after the landslide engulfed Xinmo village in mountainous Sichuan province as dawn broke on Saturday. Ten people have been confirmed dead.
    "Our house was somewhere around here but everything has been destroyed beyond recognition," said a middle aged woman, one of a few residents who were away when disaster struck, after she pulled a green blanket she recognised out of the mud and rocks.
    The government has sent some 3,000 rescuers, along with heavy digging equipment, and has promised to do all it can to look for survivors.
    Heavy rain triggered the landslide, authorities have said.
    Some villagers said they've always known landslides are a big danger but authorities never offered to help them move.
    With danger of more landslides, authorities have been restricting access to the disaster zone, but hundreds of people were allowed back on Monday.
    Mournful wails and firecracker explosions echoed through Xinmo's steep valley as bereaved relatives returned, many clutching snacks and wrapped in plastic and bottles of wine as offerings for the dead.
    Some people burned paper money and lit incense which, along with setting off fireworks, are traditional acts of mourning.
    "Every single family has been impacted by the landslide, it's horrible," said Sun Danxian, from a neighbouring village who was walking through the site.
    The government of Mao county, where the village is located, posted on Monday drone video footage of the area showing about dozen mechanical diggers shifting through a landscape of grey rocks.
    Rescue workers pull a rescue dog across a river at the site of the landslide on June 25. Photo: Reuters 'Lying for three days'

    Earlier on Monday, about 100 villagers, unhappy with what they said was limited information, met government officials at a nearby primary school, insisting they had to get to Xinmo.

    They also voiced fears about the possibility of rebuilding homes before winter and what would happened to orphans.
    "These government officials have been lying to us for three days," a middle aged man from Xinmo, with several missing relatives told Reuters. He declined to give his name.
    "They told us we could go back yesterday morning but they kept delaying and delaying giving us all kinds of excuses. They told us a central government official was going to come to visit us. He showed up and didn't even bother to speak to us."
    Another relative said the government should have moved them out of an area they knew was prone to landslides.
    "There have been landslides before but no one has ever suggested we move. The government knows it's dangerous to live in these kinds of villages and yet they do nothing," said the elderly man, who also would not provide his name.
    The official China Daily cited Xu Qiang, a disaster expert at the Ministry of Land and Resources, as saying large-scale relocations in the area were difficult.
    "Many of the villagers have been living here for generations and have seen no major geological disasters," Xu said. "This is their home and livelihood and it is very difficult to convince them to leave, specially when you only have a hypothesis and predictions."
    Sichuan province is also prone to earthquakes, including an 8.0 magnitude tremor in central Sichuan's Wenchuan county in 2008 that killed nearly 70,000 people.
    Mao county is next to Wenchuan. State media said the mountainside that collapsed onto the village had been weakened by the 2008 earthquake.
    Most residents of the area are poor farmers of the Qiang ethnic minority and the area is the target of a poverty alleviation project, according to government officials.


  21. Waqas Dar
    LARKANA: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief at the loss of lives in several terrorist attacks and the Bahawalpur oil tanker accident in the last days of Ramazan.
    Talking to the media in Larkana, Shah said the government has put the issue of fighting terrorism on the backburner.
    When asked why the government is not holding a meeting of the Sindh Apex Committee, he said the meeting is called when and as needed and has nothing to do with [the government?s tussle with] Sindh Inspector General of Police AD Khawaja.
    The chief minister also stated that whether elections are held or not, the work of the Panama Papers case Joint Investigation Team (JIT) will have an effect on the country?s politics. 
    Opposition leader in Sukkur
    Talking to the media in Sukkur, Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah said it seems from the present circumstances that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could not satisfy the JIT during his questioning.
    ?The premier should have given the same answers he gave in Parliament,? he said.
    The government tried to make the JIT controversial, he claimed, and added that the prime minister should resign and appoint someone in his place. 


  22. Waqas Dar
    PARACHINAR: Protest sit-ins by the bereaved of the victims of the deadly Parachinar bombings continued for the fourth day on Monday, as grief-stricken locals demonstrated against the tragic loss of lives in the back-to-back blasts that hit the city on Friday.
    The families of the victims gathered in Shaheed Park where they continued their protest against the repeated terrorist attacks in Parachinar and the firing allegedly carried out by the forces to dispel the demonstrators.
    The bereaved of the martyrs and other locals offered Eid prayers at Shaheed Park on the first day of Eid and also made special prayers in the wake of the recent tragedy.
    Death toll from twin blasts in Parachinar rises to 72
    The two back-to-back explosions occurred as people were busy shopping for Iftar and Eid in Turi Bazaar area
    At least 72 people were martyred and over 300 injured after two subsequent blasts rocked a densely populated area of Parachinar in Kurram Agency on Friday evening.
    The bombings occurred as people were busy shopping for Iftar and Eid in the Turi Bazaar area, close to a crowded bus terminal in Parachinar.
    The second blast took place as people rushed to provide aid and rescue the wounded from the first explosion.


  23. Waqas Dar
    Protesters hold the Pakistan flag during a protest in Srinagar in 2016. Photo: Reuters SRINAGAR: Thousands of people in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) staged anti-India and pro-Pakistan demonstrations and hoisted Pakistani flags and banners in Srinagar, Kulgam, Pampore, Pulwama, Shopian Sopore, Kishtwar and other parts of the territory, the Kashmir Media Service reported on Monday.

    Immediately after Eid prayers, people in large numbers took to the streets and shouted high-pitched slogans of 'Jeevei-Jeevei Pakistan', 'Teiri Jaan Meiri Jaan Pakistan Pakistan' and 'We Want Freedom'. The protesters demanded that Indian troops leave Jammu and Kashmir without any further delay.
    Dozens of people were critically injured after Indian police personnel used brute force, fired pellets and teargas shells on protesters at Eidgah, Hyderpora, Sopore, Pattan, and Pulwama areas.
    The authorities had placed all Hurriyet leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mohammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Mohammad Ashraf Sehraee, Ayaz Akbar, Zafar Akbar Butt, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and Showket Ahmad Bakshi under house arrest and in police stations. The authorities did not even allow them to attend the Eid-ul-Fitr prayers.
    Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik in their statements in Srinagar, denounced the curbs by the authorities on Hurriyet leaders and called upon the international community to play its role in the early settlement of the Kashmir dispute.


  24. Waqas Dar
    The World Heritage-listed reef is the largest living structure on Earth. Photo: AFP Australia's under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth $42 billion and as an ecosystem and economic driver is "too big to fail", a study said Monday.

    The World Heritage-listed reef is the largest living structure on Earth and its economic and social value was calculated for the first time in the Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
    Using economic modelling, it said the reef was worth Aus$29 billion to tourism, supporting 64,000 jobs.
    The "indirect or non-use" value ? people that have not yet visited the reef but know it exists ? was estimated at Aus$24 billion, with recreational users such as boaters making up the rest.
    The study, based on six months' analysis, comes as the reef suffered an unprecedented second straight year of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.
    It is also under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish, with the problems compounded this year by a powerful cyclone pummelling the area.
    Great Barrier Reef Foundation director Steve Sargent said the study showed that no single Australian asset contributed as much to international perceptions of "Brand Australia".
    "At $56 billion, the reef is valued at more than 12 Sydney Opera Houses," he said.
    "This report sends a clear message that the Great Barrier Reef ? as an ecosystem, as an economic driver, as a global treasure ? is too big to fail."
    The study included a survey of 1,500 Australian and international respondents from 10 countries which found people value the reef for a range of reasons ? due to its importance for tourism but also the belief that Australia would not be the same without it.
    Lead author, Deloitte Access' John O?Mahony, said it was clear the reef was "priceless and irreplaceable".
    "But we?ve been able to look at it as an 'asset' that has incredible value on multiple fronts ? from its biodiversity and job creating potential to its support for critical industries and standing among international visitors to Australia," he said.
    Australia last month hosted a summit of more than 70 of the world's leading marine experts to work on a blueprint on how best to respond to the threats facing the reef.
    Options explored included developing coral nurseries, strategies to boost culling of crown-of-thorns starfish, expanding monitoring systems and identifying priority sites for coral restoration.
    Key to the talks was the need to slash greenhouse gas emissions to prevent warming sea temperatures.


  25. Waqas Dar
    British author JK Rowling is credited with tempting a generation of children back to reading books with the Harry Potter series. Photo: AFP Harry Potter turns 20 on Monday when muggle readers in gowns and glasses from Indonesia to Uruguay will celebrate the birth of a global publishing phenomenon in 1997.

    "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (later renamed "Sorcerer's Stone" for the US market) introduced the boy wizard and a magical cast of supporting characters.
    Penniless single mother JK Rowling finally succeeded after a series of rebuffs from publishers, and the book became the first installment of a seven-novel series that has sold 450 million copies worldwide and spawned eight blockbuster films.
    The Potter universe now encompasses theme parks in the United States and Japan and a permanent exhibition at London's Warner Bros Studios, helping to turn Rowling into a billionaire.
    No other children's book has achieved quite as much in terms of both commercial and cultural impact, turning an entire generation of boys as well as girls into enthusiastic readers who would happily join midnight queues at bookshops as each novel came out.
    If some of the early reviews took issue with Rowling's pedestrian writing and bald characterisation, everyone agreed about the narrative verve on show in "the Philosopher's Stone", starting with the delivery of a letter that will, like alchemy, transform the 11-year-old hero's life forever.
    "Once you start reading it, you enter a magical world, a world where you could be special, a world with clever things, with the idea that it all just might exist," Durham University education professor Martin Richardson told AFP.
    "The characters become part of the family. It starts to enter the nation's DNA," he said.
    "I think people will be reading Potter in 20, 30, 40, 60 years time, even if it's only for the story."
    Far beyond Britain and English-language markets, the saga wove itself into the world's literary DNA.
    The seven volumes have been translated into 79 languages ??in 200 countries, and Monday's 20th anniversary will feature fancy-dress reading parties around the world starting in Australia and ending in Canada and the US West Coast, at libraries, bookshops and British embassies.
    Love at first sight 
    Marie Lallouet, editor-in-chief of a children's literature digest at the National Library of France, underlined the scale of the books' appeal beyond Britain, which already had a rich stock of literature conjuring tales out of the worlds of boarding schools and magic.
    "Harry Potter re-validated children's literature in the eyes of adults, and encouraged an entire generation (of French children) to learn English so that they could read the books as soon as they came out in English," she said.
    Rowling managed to magic "something very powerful" into existence, Lallouet said, by portraying one boy's struggle to come to terms with his tragic beginnings against the backdrop of an existential struggle of good against evil.
    The first print run of "the Philosopher's Stone" produced 1,000 copies ? all now highly sought after by collectors ? and earned Rowling a £1,500 contract from Bloomsbury after numerous rebuffs from other publishers.
    "I just loved it at first sight. I'd worked with Roald Dahl in his glory days, so I suppose the opening chapters reminded me a little of him," Barry Cunningham, Rowling's original publisher at Bloomsbury, told The Daily Telegraph.
    Bloomsbury affected one small change by persuading Joanne Rowling to publish under the nom de plume JK, convinced that boys would shy away from a book written by a woman.
    Still, Cunningham was not sure "the Philosopher's Stone" would make any money, and urged Rowling to stick to a day job while writing on the side.
    "I couldn't be prouder of the Harry Potter legacy: not only has it made reading cool again, it has shown that families can all enjoy great stories together," he said.
    "We can believe that there is a real purpose to standing up to evil. And, of course, we can find our own magic."


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