Daily News Pakistan

World AIDS awareness Day is being observed today to let people know about HIV/AIDS and express solidarity with people living with the pandemic. The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care around the world. This year theme of World AIDS DAY is Communities make the difference, the Radio Pakistan reported. In his message pertaining to the day, the UN Secretary General António Guterres said we need to harness the role of community-led organizations that advocate for their peers, deliver HIV services, defend human rights and provide support.

Mehmood Qureshi hoped that the opposition will cooperate with the government regarding the tenure extension of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. “Whatever the government did regarding extension in the army chief’s tenure it did remaining within the ambit of constitution,” the minister told reporters in Multan. He said the government would proceed with the matter after issuance of a detailed verdict by the Supreme Court. “It is hoped that the opposition will cooperate in legislation,” Qureshi added. The comments by the foreign minister came days after the Supreme Court decided to extend General Bajwa’s tenure as the army chief for six months. The court had asked the government to submit an undertaking that the parliament would enact a law on this in six months. Qureshi further said the government wanted to fix any imperfections in the procedure. The opposition would demonstrate responsibility by cooperating with the government, he added.

In US South Dakota State, a plane crash killed nine people, including two children and three injured during a winter storm. The Pilatus PC-12, a single-engine turboprop plane, crashed shortly after take-off approximately a mile from the Chamberlain airport and was carrying as many as 12 people, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Among the dead was the plane’s pilot, NBC News reported, citing the Brule County state attorney’s office. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet that it was “investigating today’s crash of Pilatus PC-12 near Chamberlain, SD.”

Taking notice of killing 11-year-old girl in Dadu over honour, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh Syed Kaleem Imam has sought report into the matter. The IGP Sindh has directed Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dadu to submit details of the incident. He also directed him to ensure the delivery of justice and stern punishment to those involved in the crime. The incident occurred on November 21 in Johi, a small town in Dadu, where an 11-year-old girl was stoned to death in the name of honour and was later secretly buried. The police responded to the reports and arrested parents of the victim and two other facilitators. A case was also registered with the Dadu police. According to the FIR, the girl’s father, his relative, and four others had “hatched a conspiracy for the murder of the girl and killed her by stone-pelting”. They then bought a shroud and buried her near Lak graveyard. The authorities were investigating the matter from different views to ascertain the facts. ...

In another meeting, PM Imran Khan once again made it clear that Punjab CM Usman Buzdar will complete his term. Sources said that during one of the meetings with members of the Punjab cabinet and MPAs at the CM Secretariat, the PM said that he knew everyone sitting in the meeting wanted to become the chief minister, but he would continue standing with CM Buzdar. “Those aspiring to replace Mr Buzdar should wait for the next four years,” asserted the prime minister. He said Mr Buzdar was neither living in palatial houses nor spending Rs800 million per annum on his personal security. “The reforms implemented during the PTI government’s tenure have never happened before in Punjab. We need to hold seminars and publicise the reforms implemented in Punjab,” he said. During meetings with MPAs, senior government and police officials and at a press conference, Mr Khan said his government had fought with the “mafia” during the past 15 months and survived. In separate meetings, Imran outlin...

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has congratulated the Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz on the 5th anniversary of his accession to the throne. In a tweet, she said Pakistan commends the huge projects that Saudi Arabia has witnessed in the past five years in various fields.  نهنئ خادم الحرمين الشريفين صاحب الجلالة الملك سلمان بن عبد العزيز، بمناسبة #ذكرى_البيعة_الخامسة لتوليه زمام الحكم في #السعودية ، ونشيد بالمشاريع الضخمة التي شهدتها المملكة العربية السعودية في السنوات الخمس الماضية في شتى المجالات. — Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) November 30, 2019 Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said Pakistan-Saudi fraternal relations have been strengthened in economic, cultural, and defence fields and these unique relations will continue to expand and deepen for joint action on bilateral and regional issues.

As the government continues deliberations for the appointment of a new chief election commissioner (CEC), PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has proposed three names for the post in a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan. The incumbent CEC, Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza, is set to retire in December. In the letter, dated November 25, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, who is currently in London for the treatment of his brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has proposed the names of Nasir Mehmood Khosa, Jalil Abbas Jillani and…

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a press conference in Lahore on Saturday, announced the government’s plan to curb and reduce the impact of air pollution. He was in the Punjab capital on a day-long trip to meet party members, bureaucracy and police, two days after a bureaucratic reshuffle in the province. The premier said smog (fog or haze intensified by smoke or other atmospheric pollutants) had increased in Lahore owing to a 70 per cent reduction in tree cover, as well burning of paddy stubble in neighbouring India.Smog, he added,…

Banks have now agreed on sharing of their account holders details to tax authorities. An agreement was reached at meeting between Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi and chief executives of commercial banks on November 27, 2019, at the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi. “The PBA (Pakistan Banks Association) has agreed to withdraw its petitions from the high courts and also agreed to provide account holders information under section 165A (of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001),” a source said. “It would enable the tax department to access real-time information of transactions made through the banking system.” Sources said banks have agreed to withdraw their petitions by next week. Section 165A was introduced to the main statute through Finance Act, 2013 but the implementation remained in litigation before the higher courts since then. Under Section 165A, banks are responsible to provide details of financial transactions made by their account holders to FBR....

Online FIR registration system is about to be operational in Balochistan. Minister of Balochistan for Home and Tribal Affairs Mir Zia Langove has promised to ensure relief for applicants at police stations through introduction of online FIR registration facility. “The common man should feel ease while lodging complain at police station,” he said and urged Balochistan police to speed up work on introducing online FIR registration facility to lessen complainants’ burden. 

By December, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has calculated minor reductions in the prices of major petroleum products. Meanwhile, Ogra has already notified an increase of 2.64 per cent in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for next month. Under the notification, the 11kg domestic cylinder would now cost Rs1,514 instead of current rate of Rs1,495. A Petroleum Division official told Dawn that Ogra moved a summary on Friday to the government containing calculations on petroleum prices on the basis of existing rates of general sales tax and petroleum levy. He said the Ministry of Finance would announce the ex-depot prices of petroleum productions on November 30. Based on the import parity price of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for purchase in November, Ogra has worked out about Rs2.40 per litre decrease in the rate of high speed diesel (HSD), 25 paisa per liter in petrol, 83 paisa in kerosene and Rs2.90 for light diesel oil (LDO). As such, the ex-depot rate of H...

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has arrived in Lahore on one-day visit. As per details, PM will meet Governor, Chief Minister, new chief secretary and IG Punjab in his short visit. PM Imran will also chair joint meeting session with Chief Minister where provincial government will brief PM about the condition of smog in Punjab. A shuffle might take place in Punjab cabinet as PM is expected to wipe out the ministers who have failed to deliver their respective tasks. Earlier yesterday, Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information Mian Aslam Iqbal, while talking with AbbTakk news confirmed about the shuffling in bureaucracy. Mian Aslam further said, Chief executive have right to change the team. Everything will get clear in coming two days.

A Palestinian teenage boy has been killed after Israeli forces attacked anti-occupation protests taking place in the besieged Gaza Strip. According to the Gazan Health Ministry, the Israeli forces killed the boy and injured five people most of them children, east of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza Strip. The child was identified as 16-year-old Fahd Mohammed Walid al-Astal. Local sources said that the Israeli forces opened fire on dozens of young men who staged a protest east of Khan Yunis, noting that the rally was held although the organizers announced the annulment of the rallies slated for Friday. The organizers attributed the decision to their desire to safeguard the blood of the protesters, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to “export his internal crisis to our besieged strip” after his failure to form a new government, deepening a political deadlock in the occupied territories. The “Great March of Return” rallies have been held every week since March 3...

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) announced to launch ManPack Mobile Units country-wide to facilitate registration process at doorstep. The service was aimed at facilitating the registering process for bed-ridden, seriously ill, special or handicapped persons at their door steps. The authority said in its online post that the service was launched by the Chairman NADRA Usman Yousaf Mobin in line with the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of facilitating the public and improvement in service delivery. It said that the launching of the service has achieved another milestone in the domain of service delivery aiming at facilitating handicapped, mentally deranged, seriously ill and special person at their homes. According to procedure of the service, anyone coming under this category could submit an application with NADRA authorities at regional, zonal or local offices. NADRA launches ManPack Mobile Units all across Pakistan exclusively for registering bed-rid...

Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) is all set to celebrate its 52nd Foundation Day on Saturday (today). The PPP, founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was on November 30th, 1967, ruled Pakistan five times since its foundation. The central function of the 52nd Foundation Day of the PPP will be held in Muzaffarabad which will be attended by party leaders and workers from all over the country. The stage has been set up and the venue has been decorated with party posters and flags with thousands of chairs. According to local administration, strict security arrangements have been made for the gathering. The gathering will also be addressed party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other party leaders. In his message, Bilawal reiterated commitment to founding principles and also vowed to set a new direction for the country. “Only a strong people’s agenda can pull Pakistan out of democratic, economic and governance crisis,” he said. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) remains a consistent electoral ...

Prime Minister Imran Khan will arrive in Lahore on a day-long visit today (Saturday). He is scheduled to chair a meeting of the parliamentary body of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. PM Imran will also take take PTI’s parliamentary body into confidence over the current political situation of the country. The reshuffle in the provincial cabinet will also during the meeting. He will preside over a high-level meeting at the Chief Minister’s House. He will hold separate meetings with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Governor Chaudhry Sarwar.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has invited Prime Minister Imran Khan for the KL Summit, being held in Kuala Lumpur from 18th to 20th of the next month. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia Marzuki Bin Haji Yahya delivered an official invitation to Prime Minister in Islamabad. The Prime Minister conveyed his thanks for the invitation and stated that he looked forward to participating in the KL Summit. In the bilateral context, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to further deepening Pakistan-Malaysia relations in all fields. Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated Malaysia's principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He also apprised the Special Envoy of the continuing inhuman lockdown of over eight million Kashmiris since India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August and the dire human rights and humanitarian situation resulting from it. Imran Khan stressed the importance of the international community playing its role in the remova...

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi says he intends to resign in response to a call by the country’s top Shia cleric, who urged Iraqi lawmakers to "reconsider" their options regarding the future of Iraq. "In response to this call, and in order to facilitate it as quickly as possible, I will present to parliament a demand (to accept) my resignation from the leadership of the current government," a statement signed by Abdul Mahdi said on Friday. The prime minster added that the measure would allow the parliamentarians to “reconsider their options.” “Everyone knows that I had previously suggested this option (to resign) during public and formal statements.” The statement did not elaborate on the time of an official resignation. The parliament is to hold an emergency session on Sunday. Abdul Mahdi’s statement came shortly after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani addressed weekly Friday prayers in the holy city of Karbala. The top cleric said the government "...

Iraq's top cleric has warned that enemies of Iraq and affiliated groups in the country are plotting to create internal strife and bring the country back to the "era of dictatorship", an apparent reference to the former rule of Saddam Hussein. Addressing worshipers during Friday prayers in the holy city of Karbala, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged protesters to prevent attacks on people and their property and distance themselves from those committing such acts. "It is imperative on peaceful demonstrators that they separate their ranks from non-peaceful individuals and cooperate on shunning saboteurs - whoever they are - and not allow them to abuse peaceful protests to damage and attack the property of citizens," a representative of Ayatollah Sistani said as he delivered the top cleric's sermon. "The enemies and their levers, in order to achieve their malicious goals, plan to spread chaos and plunge the country into internal strife and then retur...

Facebook’s family of apps including Instagram and Messenger after facing a global outage briefly have now been restored while the reason for the servers being down remained unknown. Users in Pakistan and around the world once again faced an outage as they were not able to share content or even log into their accounts. Reard More:  Facebook and Instagram outrage users experience crash The photo-sharing app took to its Twitter handle to announce that the app has been restored and should function normally. Gobble gobble, we back. We apologize for the inconvenience and wish a #HappyThanksgiving to those who celebrate! pic.twitter.com/nUl0fq9bup — Instagram (@instagram) November 28, 2019

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has conducted a command level operation exercise with participation of all Operational Bases across the three Regional Commands. All types of PAF aircraft participated in the massive concurrent exercise to practice short-notice offensive employment concept involving fighter aircraft, force-multipliers and Special Forces. Pakistan Air Force conducts Hawk-Eye Exercise https://t.co/vpK9LN61tx — PAF Falcons (@PAF_Falcons) November 29, 2019 The concept validates PAF’s options for offensive employment of its various capabilities. All types of PAF aircraft participated in the massive concurrent exercise to practice short-notice offensive employment concept involving fighter jets, force-multipliers and Special Forces. The concept validates PAF’s options for offensive employment of its various capabilities. pic.twitter.com/OyDHcdzO4v — PAF Falcons (@PAF_Falcons) November 29, 2019 Spokesperson PAF said that “All types of PAF aircraft participated in the massiv...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Thursday launched the “Mera Bacha Alert”, a mobile phone application developed to help people and relevant departments in recovering missing children in the province. The app was launched at a ceremony at the chief minister’s secretariat with advisor to the chief minister on merged districts and provincial government spokesperson Ajmal Wazir, IGP Naeem Khan, PMRU Director Muhammad Fawad and others in attendance at the ceremony. The application is a recent addition to the already available Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Citizens Portal and would also be included in Pakistan Citizen Portal. "میرا بچہ الرٹ" ایپ کا افتتاح حکومت خیبر پختونخوا کا زیادتی کا شکار، اغواء اور لاپتہ بچوں کے حوالے سے اہم اقدام جدید ٹیکنالوجی کے ذریعے زیادتی کا شکار، اغواء اور لاپتہ بچوں کے کیسز کے حوالے سے آن لائن ڈی پی او کو رپورٹ کرنے کے لئے “میرا بچہ الرٹ” ایپ متعارف #KPKUpdates pic.twitter.com/qT7SnJuyXA — PTI (@PTIofficial) November 28, 2019 Speakin...

Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said the government is targeting the groundbreaking of first Special Economic Zone under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor by the end of next month. In a tweet on Friday, he expressed the determination to open two more SEZs within current fiscal year. He said under the first phase, one each Special Economic Zone is being established in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Asad Umar said the government is focusing on the development of SEZs under the CPEC to accelerate industrialization and job creation.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday extended suspension of appointment of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf’s Abrar Ul Haq as Chairman Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) till the next hearing of the case. Chief Justice IHC Athar Minallah had suspended appointment orders of Abrar Ul Haq in the previous hearing of the case. The court was hearing a petition filed by the outgoing chairman Red Crescent Society Saeed Elahi who was an acting chairman of the body before his removal. Justice Athar Minallah said that the law governing the body exists, which could not be violated by anyone. Abrar ul Haq today appeared in the court hearing along with his lawyer. His counsel said in the court that the Red Crescent is a welfare body and the petition against appointment of its chairman is non-maintainable. The federal government sought time for submission of its reply in the court over the matter. The bench granted the government to submit its reply in the case by the coming Thursday. Abrar ul Haq...

Barrister Farogh Naseem, who stepped down as Federal Minister for Law to represent Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in the Supreme Court in a tenure extension case, rejoined the federal cabinet. The oath ceremony was held in the federal capital Islamabad. President of Pakistan Dr, Arif Alvi took oath from Barrister Farogh Naseem. Farogh Naseem  entrusted with the same portfolio of the law minister he held previously.

Direct flights between Azerbaijan and Pakistan would start next year, which would help strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations as well as people-to-people contacts between the two countries, said Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Ali Alizada. “Investors in Azerbaijan are keen to invest in potential sectors of Pakistan,” he said while talking to the business community at the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The ambassador pointed out that Azerbaijan attached immense importance to improvement in trade, economic and cultural relations with Pakistan. The diplomat termed his country a lucrative destination for foreign investors and urged the business community of Pakistan to invest in information technology, software engineering, tourism and other potential sectors of Azerbaijan. The meeting discussed investment opportunities in diverse sectors and possibilities of enhancing cooperation, launching joint ventures, exchange of business delegations and establishment ...

Direct flights between Azerbaijan and Pakistan would start next year, which would help strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations as well as people-to-people contacts between the two countries, said Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Ali Alizada. “Investors in Azerbaijan are keen to invest in potential sectors of Pakistan,” he said while talking to the business community at the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The ambassador pointed out that Azerbaijan attached immense importance to improvement in trade, economic and cultural relations with Pakistan. The diplomat termed his country a lucrative destination for foreign investors and urged the business community of Pakistan to invest in information technology, software engineering, tourism and other potential sectors of Azerbaijan. The meeting discussed investment opportunities in diverse sectors and possibilities of enhancing cooperation, launching joint ventures, exchange of business delegations and establishment ...

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has called on a meeting of the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokespersons in Islamabad today (Friday). The meeting will take place at the PM House around 5 pm today. According to sources, the government legal team will brief the spokespersons on Supreme Court’s verdict in Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension in a tenure case. Sources further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will also give a guideline in this regard to the spokespersons.

President United States Donald Trump made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday and said he believed Taliban insurgents would agree to a ceasefire in America's longest war. Trump's visit was his first to Afghanistan since becoming president and came a week after a prisoner swap between Washington and Kabul that has raised hopes for a long elusive peace deal. “The Taliban wants to make a deal and we are meeting with them,” Trump told reporters after arriving in Afghanistan after an overnight flight from the United States, kept secret for security reasons. “We say it has to be a ceasefire and they didn’t want to do a ceasefire and now they want to do a ceasefire, I believe. It will probably work out that way.” Taliban leaders have told Reuters that the group has again been holding meetings with senior US officials in Doha since last weekend, adding they could soon resume formal peace talks. The Air Force One presidential plane touched down a...

Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan has said that opposition would be answerable to the court if it created any hurdle on the legislation on the extension of army chief's tenure. Talking to a private news channel, he said the present government would implement the court orders in letter and spirit and legislate in the Parliament on the COAS's extension in due course of time. About the extension of three-year duration, he said the Parliament would decide the length of the period. He, however, said the government does not want any kind of conflict among the institutions.

Barrister Farogh Naseem, who stepped down as Federal Minister for Law to represent Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in the Supreme Court in a tenure extension case, is likely to rejoin the federal cabinet. Sources relayed Farogh Naseem will be entrusted with the same portfolio of the law minister he held previously. He will likely to take oath of the office today (Friday).

Many Facebook and Instagram users across the globe complained on Thursday of the two social media websites not working. According to users around the world, Facebook stopped working along the same time as Instagram, which is also owned by the same company. The majority of users are reporting problems with their news feeds, while others are also experiencing problems logging into the app and accessing the Stories feature. 'My Instagram is dead. All photos and stories inaccessible. Keep getting "something went wrong" everytime I refresh. I logged out and tried…

Coke Studio’ will be releasing the sixth and final episode of Season 12 on 29th November 2019, featuring Bo Giyam by Kashif Din and Nimra Rafiq, Mundiya by Ali Sethi and Quratulain Balouch, Aaye Kuch Abr by Atif Aslam, and Tiri Pawanda by Harsakhiyan. Bo Giyam: Newcomer Kashif Din has traveled all the way to Coke Studio from Hunza with Bo Giyam, an original composition with Burushaski lyrics written by Nas Nafees, a poet who also hails from the same valley. Fusing the folk music of Hunza with contemporary colors,…

QUETTA: The Baloch­istan government on Wednesday expressed its desire to partner up with private companies for investment in the province. In a meeting with MRDL Saindak President Wang Jicheng and Chairman HeXuping in Quetta, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan Alyani said: "We are committed to inking agreements with private firms by leading bilateral matters in a conducive way as many international mining companies have been showing interest to do business with the provincial government." Furthermore, expansion of the Saindak project was discussed. He also briefed the Chinese regarding provincial…