English – Page 26 – OVERSEAS TRIBUNE

Pakistan seeks changes in free trade agreement with China

September 9, 2017September 9, 2017 News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will try to convince Chinese authorities to revise the existing free trade agreement (FTA) on the less-than-equal reciprocity principle, Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik told Dawn on Friday. The move is aimed at overcoming the trade imbalance that exists between the two countries. “We will demand an early-harvest programme in the existing FTA that will cover 100 items of Pakistan’s export interest,” Mr Malik said. Negotiation teams briefed the minister about the trade agreements with China and Thailand. The briefing was part of the preparation ahead of the eighth…

PM inaugurates country’s 5th nuclear power plant at Chashma

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday inaugurated the country’s fifth nuclear power plant C-4 at Chashma, Mianwali area. The C-4 plant is capable of generating 340MW electricity. Addressing the inauguration ceremony, PM Abbasi said that the project would help the country’s energy problem. The Chashma nuclear power projects units, C-1, C-2 and C-3 have already been successfully contributing to the national grid, he said, adding that two large nuclear power plants, K-2 and K-3, were also under construction that he hoped would be operational soon. Abbasi said that the…

Army’s deployment in federal capital extended

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to extend the army’s deployment in the capital city for three more months. According to officials of the interior ministry, the deployment was extended due to a request made by the chief commissioner of Islamabad. In the extension order, the federal government has exercised powers conferred under Article 245 of the Constitution to extend the authorisation of deployment of 350 troops of the Pakistan Army to act in aide of civil power in accordance with the law for 90 days. The federal government had deployed…

Accountability courts short of judges as NAB approves references against ex-PM, family

September 8, 2017September 8, 2017 News Desk

ISLAMABAD: A Rawalpindi accountability judge will be retiring in a few days while another judge of the Islamabad accountability court is being repatriated to the Lahore High Court (LHC) at a time when the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is filing four references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family. There are two accountability court judges in Islamabad: Nisar Baig and Mohammad Bashir. Mr Baig is being repatriated to his parent department, the LHC. In Rawalpindi, Raja Akhlaq Ahmed is retiring as he will attain superannuation at the end of this…

Who killed Benazir Bhutto?

September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 News Desk

IT is indeed a shocking court judgement. Almost 10 years after her assassination, Benazir Bhutto’s murderers have not been identified let alone convicted. While the anti-terrorist court has acquitted the five main accused for lack of evidence, two police officers charged with negligence have been convicted. So the mystery surrounding the murder of the twice-elected prime minister and one of Pakistan’s most charismatic and popular leaders remains unresolved. Or is this really so? Last week’s ruling of the single-judge court has raised many questions about the dubious way in which the…

Universities move to counter trends of extremism, militancy in students

September 6, 2017September 6, 2017 News Desk

KARACHI: Alarmed over reports of a university student’s involvement in the attack on the leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly on Eid day, two major public sector varsities in the city held meetings on Tuesday to brainstorm ideas on how to check trends of extremism and militancy in students. All deans of Karachi University as well as university syndicate and academic council members attended the meeting that was chaired by the varsity’s Vice Chancellor Prof Mohammad Ajmal Khan. A similar discussion was held at the NED University of Engineering and Technology.…

12 killed as monsoon rains continue to lash Karachi; parts of city submerged

August 31, 2017 News Desk

At least 12 people have been killed so far, mostly from electrocution, in Karachi as monsoon rains continued to lash the city on Thursday, Edhi officials told DawnNews. In one incident, an eight-year-old child was killed when a building belonging to the Intelligence Bureau collapsed in Clifton area in the aftermath of heavy rain, Karachi South DIG Azad Khan confirmed. After the incident, the minor’s body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali confirmed the death of the child. Officials are still engaged in removing…

Benazir murder case: ATC acquits 5 accused, declares Musharraf an absconder

August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 News Desk

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi announced the verdict in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on Thursday, acquitting five Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suspects and announcing 17-year imprisonment for two police officials. The ATC also declared retired Gen Pervez Musharraf an absconder in the case. The ATC had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011. Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police (SP) at Rawal Town, were each awarded 17 years in prison. The two, who were…

‘Peanuts, not billions of dollars’: Nisar assails Trump’s claims of aid for Pakistan

August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 News Desk

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday lambasted the strategy announced by US President Donald Trump for Afghanistan and South Asia, saying Pakistan was not responsible for the failure of US and its allies in Afghanistan. Nisar also ridiculed Trump’s claim that the US has paid “billions and billions of dollars” to Pakistan, calling on the Pakistani government to put on the table the record of past 20 years to expose American claims. “It’s not billions of dollars, it is peanuts,” the former interior minister said while speaking in the…

LNG is the only solution to Pakistan’s energy crisis: PM Abbasi

August 28, 2017August 28, 2017 News Desk

Inaugurating the second Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at Karachi’s Port Qasim on Sunday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that LNG was the only solution to Pakistan’s energy crisis. “If you don’t add more gas into the system, you cannot fight the energy crisis,” he insisted, adding that other methods to produce energy are either too expensive or too slow. Talking about the challenges faced during the project, the prime minister said that many people had questioned it [the project] when it started but “Port Qasim came through” and…

US aware of Afghan Taliban’s presence in Peshawar and Quetta: Gen John Nicholson

August 28, 2017August 28, 2017 News Desk

Gen John Nicholson, the top United States commander in Afghanistan, claimed on Saturday that the US was aware of Afghan Taliban leadership’s presence in Peshawar and Quetta, adding that the military would continue to put pressure on Taliban sanctuaries inside and outside Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with Tolo News, the top commander John Nicholson, discussed US President Donald Trump’s recent speech in which he revealed his long-awaited policy on the Afghan war. Trump, in his first address as the commander-in-chief, called for greater troop deployment and Indian involvement in Afghanistan while lambasting…

Senate passes ‘historic’ Right of Access to Information Bill

August 23, 2017August 23, 2017 News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Senate unanimously passed on Tuesday the much-demanded access to information bill, which grants citizens complete access to the record of public authorities. The landmark legislation is expected to make the government more accountable regarding corruption and inefficiency, besides ensuring good governance, sound economy and the respect for human rights. However, under the ‘Right of Access to Information Bill 2017’ there will be no access to the official record of armed forces, defence installations, details of individuals’ bank accounts, defence and national security. But information regarding defence-related commercial and…

Kulsoom Nawaz diagnosed with throat cancer: reports

August 22, 2017August 22, 2017 News Desk

Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife, has reportedly been diagnosed with throat cancer, a high-level PML-N source said on Tuesday. A senior PML-N party leader close to the Sharif family confirmed to Dawn that the cancer had been detected in London where Begum Kulsoom was undergoing medical checkups. The PML-N source speaking to Dawn said that she was likely to opt for chemotheraphy instead of surgery. However, he added, this is an initial diagnosis and further information will be made available as more tests are conducted. Geo News on Tuesday also reported that Begum…

After Trump’s Afghan policy statement, China reaffirms support to Pakistan

August 22, 2017 News Desk

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday reaffirmed Beijing’s support to Pakistan during a meeting with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua hours after US President Donald Trump lambasted Pakistan for allegedly offering safe haven to “agents of chaos” in his South Asia policy announcement. Earlier, as Beijing came to Islamabad’s defence in light of Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying asserted that Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made “great sacrifices” and “important contributions” in the fight, according to a Foreign Ministry handout. Chunying called on…

Court can order military to arrest Nawaz and his family, warns Khursheed Shah

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017 News Desk

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah has said that court has the right to exercise Article 190 over non-compliance, asking the military to arrest former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members. “Nawaz Sharif is playing a very dangerous game as him and his family members are not appearing before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) despite being summoned,” Shah told reporters in Islamabad on Monday, Express News reported. If this continues to happen, the National Accountability Bureau can issue warrants to arrest the Sharif family, Shah said, adding that court…