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ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has offered 25 acres to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the construction of a cricket stadium in Islamabad. Recently, the CDA approached the PCB with the offer of 25 acres near D-12. “I have spoken to PCB high-ups a few days ago and informed them that CDA has earmarked 25 acres for the project. Next week, CDA and PCB are going to hold a meeting on it,” CDA Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal told Dawn on Sunday. He said the CDA had 150 acres near D-12 and Shah Allah Ditta which will be utilised for promotion of sports. “Out of the total, 25 acres will be given to the PCB for the cricket stadium and we will develop other sports facilities on the remaining land,” he said and added that the cricket stadium in the foothills of Margallas will add to the beauty of Islamabad. The facility will also be used for international cricket matches. Project to construct stadium in Shakarparian was scrapped by Supreme Court in 2018 Asked about possibl

FAR from easing, Pakistan’s Afghan dilemma has become more acute in recent months. Despite several high-level interactions with Kabul aimed at securing its cooperation to contain the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which resides in Afghanistan, little headway seems to have been made. This is evident from the continuing surge in attacks in Pakistan conducted by TTP from their safe havens in Afghanistan. This was confirmed most recently by the Ministry of Defence report submitted to the Supreme Court, which argued that the internal security situation wasn’t conducive to holding provincial elections in May. Although the report was not made public, news reports cited it as maintaining that the terrorist threat had increased because the environment in Afghanistan worsened after the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. It also said that with Kabul unwilling to act against TTP, its regrouping in Afghanistan posed a greater threat to Pakistan. Islamabad’s growing frustration was ref

WASHINGTON: Classified documents — released recently by a US airman — show that Pakistan, and some other nations, have been quietly distancing themselves from the United States on key issues like Ukraine. The documents, published by The Washington Post and other US media outlets, include two Pakistani memos warning policymakers not to annoy China to maintain links with the United States. In one of the memos, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar argues that Pakistan can “no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States.” The internal memo was sent to official recipients in Pakistan in March. Titled “Pakistan’s Difficult Choices”, the memo cautions Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West. It warns that the instinct to preserve Pakistan’s partnership with the United States would ultimately sacrifice the full benefits of the country’s “real strategic” partnership with China. Leaked memos featuring PM Shehbaz,

KARACHI: The ongoing census faces a fresh controversy as both the federal and Sindh governments went public with their differences over the issue on Sunday. The PPP-led Sindh government expressed concerns for excluding those parts of the province where “population growth rate has been recorded higher than a certain benchmark” and warned that the province would reject the result if its reservations were not addressed. The Sindh government’s concern came soon after Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal directed all the provincial governments to complete the field verification/coverage of the population and housing census till May 15 in “areas where population growth is not in line with normal demographic trends” and “close the field operation in all areas exhibiting natural trends”. On the other hand, both a federal government ally and the opposition PTI expressed their reservations over the census results. Murad says result won’t be accepted if reservations not addressed In a strongly-wo

Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel declared the country free of mpox on Sunday after the only patient afflicted with the disease successfully recovered. In a statement issued today, Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) spokesperson Sajid Shah said one mpox case was reported so far in the country, adding that the patient was under treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). Patel said the best medical facilities were provided to the patient who had now recovered. “The patient has been discharged after testing negative [for the virus]. There are no cases of mpox in Pakistan. Kudos to the hospital staff for taking the best measures,” he said. He said the government was ensuring all necessary measures to keep people safe from diseases and the country’s institutions were “always ready to deal with all kinds of epidemics and diseases”. Patel said samples of 22 suspected mpox cases were sent for testing and all of them had turned out negative. “The situa

LAHORE: Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says all the political parties in the current government have failed to give a better and competent cabinet. “We could not form a 10-member competent people’s cabinet to run the affairs of the country smoothly,” he lamented and added that the people who did not have any ability were made ministers in the cabinet. Abbasi said the institutions were not working within their constitutional limits and all the systems of the country had failed due to failure of the leadership. He bemoaned the lack of vision in the leadership to bring about changes to the system to solve problems of the country facing existential crisis. The former prime minister was addressing a seminar on ‘Reimagining Pakistan’ at the Government College University (GCU) on Saturday. The seminar was a part of ‘The Great Debate 2023’ to discuss the problems of the country and their solutions. Former federal finance minister and PML-N leader Miftah Ismail

KARACHI: Four armed robbers looted several people sitting at a roadside eatery in the Dhoraji area on Friday night, police said on Saturday. A video went viral on social media showing unknown persons snatching cell phones from people at gunpoint. Confirming the incident, East-SSP Zubair Nazeer Sheikh told Dawn on Saturday that the police with the help of CCTV footage got some clues about the suspects. A police patrol indicated some motorcyclists to stop on Haider Ali Road and in an ensuing exchange of firing arrested Mohsin alias Kaptan and Tauseef Reh­man in injured condition. One motorbike and seven snatched cell phones were recovered from their custody. During initial probe, the injured disclosed that they were involved in the robbery at the Dhoraji eatery, the SSP said. Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2023 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/QvAqneO

HONG KONG: China is mulling to allow single women access to in-vitro fertility (IVF) treatment legally in a private clinic as it tries to slow its demographic decline. The changes mean unmarried women can take paid maternity leave and receive child subsidies previously only available to married couples. This has benefited women like Chen Luojin, a 33-year-old divorcee living in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Sichuan province, which legalised registration of children by unmarried women in February, something China is considering implementing nationwide to address record low birth rates. She is now 10 weeks pregnant. “Becoming a single parent is not for everyone, but I’m happy with the decision,” said Chen. Some provinces have already legalised registration of children by unmarried females “Equally, getting married or not is for each individual to decide. We have liberalised the policies here and I know a lot of single women are doing IVF.” Concerned about China’s first

ISLAMABAD: Another group of 97 Pakistani nat­io­nals evacuated from Sudan arrived in Karachi on Saturday as people continue to flee the war-torn country which the UN chief said “is falling apart”. This brought the total number of evacuated Pak­is­tanis to 357, as 260 lan­ded in Karachi a day ago . The group was flown from Jeddah to the Jinnah International Airport via a C-130 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force. The government of Pakistan will continue to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis, the Foreign Office spokesperson said. According to a PAF press release, as per the direction of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, PAF’s transport aircraft successfully carried out evacuation missions “with complete professionalism and determination” to bring their Pakistani brothers and sisters to safety immediately. ‘Sudan falling apart’ As war continued to ravage the country, UN chief Antonio Guterres threw his support behind mediation efforts. “My appeal is for

QUETTA: Amid the ongoing tussle between the executive and the judiciary , leaders of the legal fraternity have advised all institutions to work within their constitutional limits and asked lawyers to stand by the Consti­tution and not any particular class. They said that being the superior judiciary, the Supreme Court needs a lot of caution and as an institution, it should not become weak. Addressing the National Lawyers Convention organised by the Balochistan Bar Council (BBC) at the Balochistan High Court here on Saturday, they expressed concern over political and constitutional crises in the country and said the democratic system today is in danger and the judiciary is working as a “tool for undemocratic powers”. “Therefore, it is important that lawyers play a strong and stable role and move forward in the national interest. It has been an honour that the lawyers of Balochistan have taken the initiative, be it constitutional crisis, martial law or the supremacy of parliament in t

Former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday announced that the PTI was ready for elections on a single date if the incumbent coalition government dissolved the remaining assemblies by May 14. In a televised address to the nation today from his Zaman Park residence, the PTI chairman said: “If you dissolve the assemblies by May 14 then we are ready on a single election date with you.” Imran said his negotiation team comprising PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar will go for the meeting on crucial election talks with the government team on May 2 (Tuesday). “It will be a national election and we feel we are ready for it,” he said. “This is the only way stability will be achieved, the economy will improve and the conditions of the people will transform.” Imran lambasted the government leaders for suggesting passing the new budget first before calling for elections. “I sense bad intentions in this,” he said. “Win the polls

KARACHI: Four air travellers suspected of having monkeypox (mpox) tested negative for the disease on Friday. Officials sources told Dawn that the passengers, two of them hailing from Somalia and as many Pakistani deportees, had arrived in Karachi from Dubai on Thursday on different flights. “None of them tested positive. The teenager accompanied by his father was travelling to Pakistan for repair of a congenital disease,” shared an official. The suspected patients had been quarantined at a government health facility in Bhittaiabad in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and their samples were analysed at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS). Meanwhile, the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) has sent a sample of a seven-year-old child suspected of having mpox disease to DUHS. A resident of Lyari, the child is stated to be a liver disease patient. He had been under treatment at the Indus Hospital for over six months from where he was recently referred to the NICH. “Though it seems to

ISLAMABAD: Just a few weeks after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had filed a complaint against a sitting judge of the top court before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the Sindh Bar Council also jumped into the fray on Friday by requesting the SJC to initiate an inquiry into the allegation of his misconduct. The SBC alleged that Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi’s conduct not only injured the Supreme Court’s dignity but also tarnished its reputation. The complainant believed the alleged violation of the code of conduct was sufficient to justify removal of the judge from office. Nearly half a dozen complaints have been filed over the past few months against the SC judge. Besides Sindh and KP bar councils, Pakistan Bar Council, a Lahore-based social media influencer Advocate Mian Dawood, PML-N Lawyers’ Forum and a private citizen Ghulam Murtaza Khan have moved misconduct and assets beyond means complaints against the Justice Naqvi who was elevated to the Supreme Court in Mar

RAWALPINDI: After overseeing Pakistan’s 500th victory in the One-day International format on Thursday, captain Babar Azam lavished praise on the way his side controlled the game to draw first blood in the five-match series against New Zealand. With their five-wicket triumph over the Black Caps at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan became only the third cricketing nation to reach the landmark. It came in their 949th one-dayer, making them the second quickest after Australia to achieve the feat. In the second ODI, also at in Rawalpindi, on Saturday, the hosts will look to build on that victory to further embellish their lead in the series but they will be mindful of the fact that New Zealand came back from 2-0 down to level the preceding five-game Twenty20 series 2-2. Pressing home their advantage, therefore, will be crucial for Pakistan. They can’t afford to give the visitors any chance, any opening. In Thursday’s game, they did exactly that with opener Fakhar Zaman’s ninth ODI hun

ISLAMABAD: To address concerns over the exercise of digital census, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) after a detailed briefing to ministers, lawmakers and leaders of political parties on Friday decided in principle to extend digital census for another 15 days. PBS spokesperson Sarwar Gondal told Dawn the digital census, previously scheduled to conclude on April 30, would be extended till May 15. To work out an operation plan during the extended days, he said, the bureau would hold a meeting with chief secretaries on Saturday (today). “We will present the request of the political parties in a meeting of census monitoring committee,” he added. Need for the extension was felt after it emerged during the exercise that Karachi and Lahore populations showed little increase since the 2017 census. PBS asks political parties to identify areas not covered by enumeration teams The PBS at the briefing requested political parties to identify the areas that had not been covered by cen

Iran’s intelligence ministry on Friday accused foreign “enemies” and dissidents of fomenting fears over suspected poisonings of schoolgirls , saying its investigation found no actual poisoning. The wave of suspected attacks has affected thousands of schoolgirls and provoked public anger , after months of protests against Iran’s clerical rulers following the death of a young woman held by police for allegedly flouting strict hijab rules. “The enemies’ role in fuelling this crisis is certain and undeniable. Individuals, groups and Western media [especially in Persian language] … have focused on this in the past few months, as well as foreign politicians and international bodies,” said a ministry report carried by state media. “In field findings and laboratory investigations … no toxic substance able to cause poisoning was observed … and there have been no deaths or long-term physical conditions,” the report said, blaming mischievousness and mass hysteria among students. The report ac

PESHAWAR: Journalists and social media activists staged a protest in Bannu on Thursday against the failure of police to register an FIR and arrest the suspects involved in alleged kidnapping and torturing of journalist Gohar Wazir over a week ago. He filed a written complaint with Bannu City police station after he was set free by the captors and he received medical treatment at a local hospital on April 21. However, the complaint has not been converted into proper FIR so far. Gohar Wazir, who is president of National Press Club Bannu and works with a Pashto private television channel, has claimed that he was given electric shocks by his captors during a round 30-hour illegal confinement at an unspecified location. The protesters included local journalists and social media persons, who were holding placards and banners inscribed with different slogans and demands. They passed through different bazaars and said that the culprits should be arrested at the earliest. Protesters demand

ISLAMABAD: After two confirmed cases of mpox emerged in the country, medical professionals said the situation was under control and there was “nothing to worry about since Pakistan was dealing with such cases for decades. Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) spokesperson Sajid Shah told Dawn blamed the media for creating “hype” about the viral disease and said everything was under control. He added that there was no evidence regarding the local outbreak of the disease. “We have learnt a lot from Covid-19 and our health system, which also includes trace and track mechanism, has improved. We are well prepared to deal with any situation,” he said. Speaking about the first case of mpox, he said that an expat, who arrived from Saudi Arabia on April 17, had tested positive for mpox. “The patient was admitted in an isolation ward of Pims and as many as 22 contacts were traced and samples were taken from them with a direction to remain in isolation until results of tests would be ann

ISLAMABAD: PDM chief Mau­lana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday reiterated that his JUI-F would not be part of any negotiations with the opposition PTI and announced a mass contact campaign to be launched across the country soon. The remarks came hours before the government comprising the PDM and PPP held first round of parleys on the initiative of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani with Imran Khan-led PTI on the issue of elections. “We stand by our position that we are not in favour of negotiations with PTI,” the Maulana said, adding adding that calling for consultations among the politicians is the job of Election Commission. “I wonder why the [Supreme] Court has got into this debate of 90 days,” he asked rhetorically. Says JUI-F will soon kick off countrywide mass contact drive; expresses surprise over decline in population of urban Sindh Talking to media after a meeting of JUI-F’s Central Working Party, he said, “We do not call the Supreme Court’s decision of holding elections in Punjab

• Blaze in Lahore-bound Karachi Express linked to short circuit • Railways minister says sabotage can’t be ruled out, orders inquiry SUKKUR/LAHORE: At least seven people were killed and four children went missing after a coach on a moving passenger train caught fire overnight in Sindh’s Khairpur district, officials said on Thursday. Railways official Mohsin Siyal confirmed the number of casualties and said that the train, which was on its way from Karachi to Lahore, caught fire near the Tando Masti Khan village. He said six people were killed in the blaze, while an old woman died when she jumped from the window of the moving train. Police surgeon Dr Abu Talib said the bodies of six victims were “unidentifiable” and would be handed over to the families after DNA tests. The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Khairpur. Railways officials in Sukkur told the media that they found three burnt bodies in Coach 4, where the blaze erupted, whereas two teenage victims were found in

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is among the 20 countries which are at risk of excessive rainfall as the El Nino oceanographic phenomenon forecast returns in June following three years of La Nina, according to a report prepared by the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. While 20 countries are at risk of excessive rainfall, 42 countries are also at risk of the effects of El Nino with the risk of dry conditions, the report says. The countries at risk of excessive rainfall are: Afghanistan, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhu­tan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Turkm­e­nistan, United States and Uzbekistan. The report released on Wednesday aimed to highlight countries where El Nino-induced dry weather conditions could occur and have an adverse impact on cereal production in 2023-24, potentially aggravating local food insecurity. Forecast to retu

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday assured MQM-P of an early redressal of its grievances after the government-allied party accused major coalition partner PPP of “systematic alteration” in the ongoing population census. Upon the PM’s assurance, the MQM-P which had threatened to resign its National Assembly seats over the census issue, decided not to part ways with the ruling coalition. The MQM-P delegation was led by party convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal also attended the meeting. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to address the reservations of Muttahida Qaumi Movement regarding the ongoing population census at the earliest,” said a PMO press release. Khalid Maqbool accuses PPP of making ‘systematic alterations’ in census data; PM phones Chinese counterpart A source privy to the talks, which was the second such meeting in as many days, quoted the MQM-P as having told the PM that PPP, the ru

Hours before the Supreme Court (SC) is yet again to take up the polls delay case, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani on Thursday wrote letters to Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Opposition’s Shahzad Wasim seeking names of members for a “special committee” on “holding political dialogue”. The development comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that “arbitration is not the SC’s job” and the parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the PTI. Subsequently, two senior ministers contacted the Senate chairman and urged him to play his role in bridging the divide. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique met Sanjrani a day earlier and asked him to form a committee comprising five senators each from the government and opposition sides, government sources told Dawn . In identical letters addressed to Dar and Shahzad today, copies of which are available with Dawn.com , the Senate chairman said that he was approach

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to file comments as well as a detailed report about bulk water supply to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). A two-judge bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi observed that apparently no reasonable explanation whatsoever had so far been submitted by the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) and DHA regarding the non-supply of water to residents, apart from an excuse that the KWSB was not supplying water to the CBC to meet its requirement; therefore, there was a shortfall. The bench observed that the KWSB was made a party in the instant petitions and asked to file comments and a detailed report about bulk water supply to DHA in order to ascertain the submissions of CBC. However, the bench noted that KWSB had yet to file any report or comments despite the fact that its lawyer had on April 10 requested time in this regard. It directed the water utility to submit such documents before M

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Kashmir Election Commission on Wednesday fixed June 8 as the date for a by-election in the constituency of former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas. According to a notification, candidates could submit their nominations for in LA-15, Bagh-II seat by 4pm on May 10. After scrutiny, the list of valid candidates would be published while appeals against rejection of nominations could be filed before the election tribunal by 2pm on May 15. Candidates could withdraw their nominations before 2pm on May 18, and the final list of candidates with election symbols would be published on May 19. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the election commission asked the intending candidates to submit details of their movable and immovable assets on the prescribed form before filing nominations. Mr Ilyas was disqualified by the AJK high court on April 11 under contempt of court charges, following which he was unseated by the commission. Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023 from The

SUKKUR / DERA MURAD JAMALI: Six members of the Anti-Terrorist Force of Baloc­histan Police, including a sub-inspector, embraced martyrdom while two others suffered injuries in a shoot-out with kidnappers at the Chand water channel in the jurisdiction of Mouladad police station in Jacobabad on Wedn­esday, police said. A Jacobabad-based band of criminals, known as Mitho Shah gang, had kidnapped Furqan, the son of rice mill owner Aslam Soomro from Balochistan and brought him to the Mouladad area. Furqan Soomro was waylaid in the Kashmirabad area of Jaffa­rabad, while returning to Usta Mohammad town from Jacobabad on Tuesday night, police said. According to police, SSP Hasnain Iqbal came to Jacobabad from Jaffarabad along with a team. SSP Jacobabad Dr Sumair Noor Channa along with a large contingent of police also reached there to support the Balochistan police. Balochistan police team was trying to recover son of mill owner from Sindh-based gang Balochistan police then launched the

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to vote on Thursday to condemn a ban on Afghan women working for the UN in Afghanistan and call upon the Taliban administration to “swiftly reverse” its crackdown on the rights of women and girls. The resolution to be voted on — drafted by the United Arab Emirates and Japan and seen by Reuters — describes the ban as “unprecedented in the history of the United Nations” and asserts “the indispensable role of women in Afghan society”. Diplomats said it is expected to be adopted. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or France to pass. The draft resolution says the ban on Afghan women working for the UN “undermines human rights and humanitarian principles.” Earlier this month, the Taliban began enforcing the ban on Afghan women working for the UN after stopping most women working for humanitarian aid groups in December. Since toppling the Western-backed governmen

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted rains and thunderstorms across Pakistan from today (Wednesday) under the influence of a westerly weather system which is likely to spread to the central and southern parts of the country. In a statement issued today, the department warned that the westerly wave would persist till the first week of May. Under the new system, thunderstorms are expected in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Bajaur, Kurram, Waziristan, Kohat, Islamabad, Murree, Galliyat, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Lahore from April 26 to April 29. The advisory said rain-dusts with isolated heavy falls and hailstorms are expected in Balochistan’s Quetta, Zhob, Barkhan, Qila Saifullah, Qillah Abdullah, Chamman, Pishin, Noshki, Naseerabad, Sibbi, Khuzdar, Kalat, Lasbella, Awaran, Kharan and the Makran coast from April 27 (evening) to May 3. Similarly, in South Punjab, rain and duststorms