Daily News Pakistan

Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids. The army said it had carried out the detentions in response to “election fraud”, handing power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station. A military spokesman did not answer phone calls seeking further comment. Phone lines to the capital Naypyitaw and the main commercial centre of Yangon were not reachable, and state TV went off air hours before parliament had been due to sit for the first time since the NLD’s landslide election win in November, viewed as a referendum on Suu Kyi’s fledgling democratic government. Soldiers took up positions at city hall in Yangon and mobile internet data and phone services in the NLD stronghold were di...

The coronavirus claimed 26 more lives as another 1,615 people tested positive for the deadly disease during the past 24 hours across Pakistan. According to the latest update released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 1,615 new infections surfaced after 34,785 samples were tested during this period. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country has soared to 546,428 with addition of the fresh cases while the countrywide death toll jumped to 11,683. There are a total of 33,493 active cases as 501,252 people have recuperated. Since the first Covid-19 case was detected in the country almost a year back, Sindh has reported a total of 247,249 infections, Punjab 157,796, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 67,214, Balochistan 18,823, Islamabad 41,418, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 9,019, and Gilgit Baltistan 4,909. Earlier, Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar had said that Pakistan will likely get 17 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine by March. Turning to soc...

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday called upon the joint opposition to "force the removal of puppets", after the January 31 deadline set by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for Prime Minister Imran Khan to quit passed without any signs of the government retreating. "The selected PM has failed to resign by the deadline set by PDM," Bilawal said in a series of tweets, adding that the opposition alliance had given "this illegitimate regime the opportunity to step aside respectfully and allow for a transition to democracy with free, fair and transparent elections". He said the Pakistani people faced historic poverty, unemployment and inflation because the incumbent government had been "forced on them". "The joint opposition must now force the removal of puppets," he wrote, emphasising that the PPP believed in relying on democratic tactics and that sustained joint efforts inside and outside the parliament would ...

Eleven people lost their lives after car bombs exploded in two separate incidents in Turkish-held northern Syria on Sunday. According to a monitoring group, the deceased included six civilians. The first attack took place near a cultural centre in the town of Azaz and killed six civilians, including a young girl, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An AFP reporter at the scene saw a mangled car ablaze, black smoke billowing into the sky. A man rushed away from the site of the blast, carrying what appeared to be a child wrapped in a bloodied cloth. In the second incident, a car bomb targeted a checkpoint of pro-Ankara rebels near the town of Al-Bab, killing five fighters, the Observatory added. Areas of northern Syria held by Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies are regularly rocked by such bombings. There is usually no claim for them, although Turkey routinely blames Kurdish fighters it accuses of being "terrorists" linked to its outlawed Ku...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has updated its entry rules for citizens to enter the emirate from within the country, as the country steps up measures to contain the novel coronavirus from spreading. According to the Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee, the new procedures will be in effective since Monday, February 1, 2021. PCR tests According to the new rules, those who take a COVID-19 PCR test and their results come out negative, will be allowed into the emirate for 48 hours from the receipt of the result. However, those who remain in Abu Dhabi for four or more days will have to take another PCR test on Day 4. For those who have to stay in the emirate for eight days or more, another PCR test must be taken on Day 8. DPI test For those taking a Diffractive Phase Interferometry (DPI) test, they will be allowed into the emirate for 24 hours from the receipt of the negative result. However, these tests are only valid for entry into the emirate once and cannot be use...

The PTI-led federal government is working on development projects in Pakistan's southern port city as it considers the metropolis "its own", Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar said Sunday, claiming that its counterpart under the PPP in Sindh did not have the same views. Speaking at the inauguration of the PTI's regional office in Shah Faisal Colony, Asad Umar said the ruling party "considers Karachi as [its] own and [the PPP] does not; therefore, the PTI is working on various development projects in the city. Umar was accompanied by members of the Sindh Assembly, including PTI lawmakers Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Jamal Ahmed, and Adeel Ahmed. "You don't consider Karachi as your own but we will continue to work here. When the federal government tries to work in Sindh, obstacles are put in its way. "The local government system in Sindh does not meet the spirit of the Constitution. The local government should have all the powers but that'...

International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the Taliban’s deal with the United States, four senior officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) said — a move that could escalate tensions with the Taliban demanding full withdrawal. “There will be no full withdrawal by allies by April-end,” one of the officials told Reuters. “Conditions have not been met,” he said, on condition of anonymity, because of the sensitivity of the matter. “And with the new US administration, there will be tweaks in the policy, the sense of hasty withdrawal which was prevalent will be addressed and we could see a much more calculated exit strategy.” The administration of then-President Donald Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban early last year, calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops by May in return for the insurgents fulfilling certain security guarantees. Trump hailed the accord — which did not include the Afghan government — as th...

Prime Minister Imran Khan's government will not survive a single day if I don't want it to, said Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak on Sunday. The former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister was speaking to PTI workers in Nowshera where he spoke about the incumbent government. Khattak spoke about the Opposition, saying that they respected him which is why he also had regard for parliamentarians. "No one can cheat me when it comes to politics," he said, adding that Imran Khan's government would not last a single day if he didn't want it to. However, Khattak clarified that the prime minister had bestowed a lot of favours on him and that he was with the premier all the way. The former KP chief minister turned his guns towards the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), accusing it of trying to pressurise the government to hide their corruption. "There are internal rifts within the PDM. Very soon, their artificial alliance will meet its fate," he said. Kha...

All the compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across Sindh will remain closed for 72 hours from Monday (Feb 1). A spokesperson for the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) said gas filling stations will remain shut for 72 hours from 8 am on Monday till 8 am on Thursday (Feb 4) across the province. A notification regarding CNG stations closure has been issued. The country faces a shortfall of gas in winter, forcing the government to cut gas supply to CNG stations and industries while domestic consumer are supplied gas on priority. Earlier, Special Assistant to the PM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar had said the country faced a dramatic decline in the domestic gas production this year. He said the government had suspended gas supply to CNG stations but domestic consumers will be given priority.

As many as six passengers from Bacha Khan International Airport Peshawar were taken into custody for trying to travel while presenting fake COVID-19 test reports. According to details, a vigilance team of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and KP health department took action against six passengers after they were trying to travel abroad using fake reports of COVID-19 test. The passengers were traveling from separate flights of the PIA and a private airline to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. The passengers produced test reports to the authorities at the airport and on getting suspicious regarding their authenticity, the reports were checked and turned out to be fake. The airlines did not issue boarding cards to the passengers and they were arrested over the forgery. They were later released after paying a fine but were not allowed to take the flight. It is pertinent to mention here that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued strict SOPs for entering the nation-wide airport...

Pakistan People’s Party has decided to oppose the government’s move for constitutional amendment bill to change the secret ballot vote in senate elections. According to sources, PPP, one of the two major opposition parties in the parliament, has decided to contact with the parliamentary parties to oppose the change in the voting method by replacing existing secret ballot to open ballot vote, as proposed by the government for the upcoming senate polls. A meeting of the opposition parties’ alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is also expected to consider over the proposed constitutional amendment bill. Prime minister’s Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan in a media talk on Thursday announced that the PTI government would table a bill of amendments to the Constitution of Pakistan in the Parliament next week. It is to be mentioned here that a five-judge larger bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed hearing a presidential reference seek...

An accountability court declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter Rabia and son-in-law, Ali Imran, proclaimed offenders in Saaf Pani corruption case. The court initiated the process of declaring the accused as proclaimed offenders over their continued non-appearance before the court. The investigation officer has been directed to paste the advertisement in the AC, declaring Rabia and her husband Ali Imran as proclaimed offenders. Both the accused have been named by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Saaf Pani corruption refernece. Ali Imran, his wife Rabia and others are accused of denting the national exchequer Rs24.7 million in the Saaf Pani scam by giving the building of the project on rent. According to the reference, Ali & Fatima Developers, a company of Ali Imran and Rabia illegally received the rent of the building which was even not completed and was under-construction.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has issued a travel advisory for visitors to Saudi Arabia and directed passengers to fill the new health declaration form. A notification was issued by PIA’s Flight Services department which stated that the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) updated its health disclaimer form for all airlines operating in Saudi Arabia amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.   The national carrier ordered the staff to distribute the health declaration form onboard the flight to all passengers arriving at the kingdom with immediate effect. Following the GACA instructions, the passengers travelling to Saudi Arabia have been asked by the PIA administration to fill and sign the mandatory health declaration form at the airport’s health control centres. Earlier on Friday, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had extended a travel ban on passengers arriving from the United Kingdom (UK) other than Pakistani passport holders and updated its C category for...

Police in Japan have arrested a woman after the body of her dead mother was discovered in a freezer in her flat. Yumi Yoshino, 48, said that she found her mother dead and hid the body 10 years ago because she "didn't want to move out" of the Tokyo home they shared, local media reported, citing unnamed police sources. There were no visible wounds on the frozen body, police said. The authorities could not determine the time and cause of the woman's death. The body was reportedly discovered by a cleaner after Ms Yoshino had been forced to leave the apartment due to missing rent payments. The body had been bent to the fit in the freezer, police said. Ms Yoshino was arrested in a hotel in the city of Chiba, near Tokyo, on Friday.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has issued a travel advisory for visitors to Saudi Arabia and directed passengers to fill the new health declaration form, on Saturday. A notification was issued by PIA’s Flight Services department which stated that the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) updated its health disclaimer form for all airlines operating in Saudi Arabia amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The national carrier ordered the staff to distribute the health declaration form onboard the flight to all passengers arriving at the kingdom with immediate effect.  

The Sindh government has made major announcements for the reopening of schools and examination schedules for the matriculation and intermediate students, reported on Saturday. Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani announced that all schools will be reopened from February 1 across the province and the new academic year will begin from August 2. The provincial minister made the announcement after chairing a session of the Sindh Education Department’s steering committee which deliberated upon the reopening of schools and universities after months-long closure of educational institutions amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Saeed Ghani said that schools will be reopened from February 1 and examinations of 9th and 10th classes (matriculation) will be started from July 1. The exams of intermediate students, 11th and 12th classes, will be commenced from July 28. He added that standard operating procedures (SOPs) against COVID-19 will be strictly followed during the examinations. “A...

Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted a likely spell of dusty winds in Karachi as minimum temperature dropped to 09º Celsius on Saturday. The Met office has said that the wind speed has been measured at 12 kilometres per hour currently. Presently northeastern winds blowing in the city, which could become southwesterly with change of the wind direction. Maximum temperature in city could increase in daytime to 26 degree Celsius, according to the weather report. Cold and dry weather is likely to prevail over most parts of the country. while very cold in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan. A wave of severe cold continued in northern districts of Balochistan including Quetta and Kalat, where the mercury dropped to minus-5 degree Celsius, while the mercury dropped to minus six in Ziarat. Minimum Temperature: The mercury dropped to minus-12 at Astore, minus-10 at Skardu, minus-09 at Kalam and minus-04 at Malamjabba.

Two people were killed and one got injured in a collision between two trailers at M-9 Karachi near Kathore, reported on Saturday. According to rescue sources, the horrible road crash took place near Kathore at the Karachi Motorway, M-9, which resulted in fatalities of two and injuries to one. The bodies and injured were moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Earlier on Dec 19. 2020, an appalling accident near Northern Bypass on Karachi’s M-10 Motorway had claimed at least one life while injuring eight people as a private vehicle and a dumper truck collide. According to rescue sources who went to the scene soon after the unfortunate development transpired, the eight injured and the body of one deceased are being shifted to Civil Hospital.

Pakistan has recorded 65 more coronavirus-related deaths in past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 11,623, reported on Saturday. According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the COVID-19 has claimed 65 more lives and 2,179 fresh infections were reported. In the past 24 hours, as many as 1,407 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and 2,111 patients are still in critical condition. The total count of active cases is 33,439. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 543,214. A total of 41,435 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 498,152 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 7,889,741 samples have been tested thus far.

A low intensity blast occurred nearby the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Friday, police said, adding that there were no casualties. The explosion, caused by a "very low intensity improvised device" damaged the window panes of three nearby parked cars, a Delhi police spokesman said in a statement. "Initial impressions suggest a mischievous attempt to create a sensation," the statement said. "An explosion occurred recently near the Israeli embassy in India. There were no casualties in the blast, and no damage to the building," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The incident is under investigation by the authorities in India, who are in contact with the relevant Israeli authorities." The blast occurred shortly after 1700 IST (1130 GMT), while India's President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were participating in a military ceremony a kilometre away from the site. A Reuters eyewitness said the site of t...

A low intensity blast occurred nearby the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Friday, police said, adding that there were no casualties. The explosion, caused by a "very low intensity improvised device" damaged the window panes of three nearby parked cars, a Delhi police spokesman said in a statement. "Initial impressions suggest a mischievous attempt to create a sensation," the statement said. "An explosion occurred recently near the Israeli embassy in India. There were no casualties in the blast, and no damage to the building," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The incident is under investigation by the authorities in India, who are in contact with the relevant Israeli authorities." The blast occurred shortly after 1700 IST (1130 GMT), while India's President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were participating in a military ceremony a kilometre away from the site. A Reuters eyewitness said the site of t...

Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Friday said that Sindh will start a COVID-19 vaccination drive from Wednesday, February 3. He was addressing a press conference at the Sindh Assembly, during which he said that the federal government has received about 500,000 vaccine doses from China, out of which Sindh has received 82,359 doses. "In the first phase of the vaccination drive, front line healthcare workers will be inoculated, " he said. "The Sindh health department has allocated Rs1.5 billion for COVID-19 vaccine." Nasir Shah said that the chief minister of Sindh has also earmarked a separate budget for the purpose. "Sindh CM has also written a letter to prime minister Imran Khan regarding the procurement of the vaccine," the Sindh information minister said, adding that in the beginning, vaccines will be distributed in 10 districts of the province. Nasir Hussain Shah added that the Centre is yet to permit the ...

The United States has decided to retain Zalmay Khalilzad as the US special envoy to Afghanistan. He has been asked to stay in his post under US President Joe Biden. “We’ve asked him to continue the vital work that he’s performing,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his first news conference since taking office. Khalilzad, a political scientist born in Afghanistan, is a veteran of Republican administrations who served as US ambassador to the United Nations, Iraq and Afghanistan under former President George W Bush. He brokered a deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban.

The United Nations and Western governments voiced alarm on Friday over threats by Myanmar’s military that have stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of an election the army says was fraudulent. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was following with “great concern” developments in Myanmar, where the army has said it would take action if complaints about the election are not addressed. An army spokesman on Tuesday declined to rule out the possibility of seizing power. Australia, Britain, Canada, the European Union and United States, and 12 other nations, in a separate statement urged the military to “adhere to democratic norms”. They said they opposed “any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition”. A military spokesman did not answer phone calls seeking comment. Talks between the civilian government and army failed to ease tensions ahead of parliament’s opening on Monday, a ruling party spokesman said as pro-m...

United States President Joe Biden’s new administration may hold meetings with Chinese counterparts at a World Economic Forum meeting in Singapore in May, the organisation’s president said on Friday. Borge Brende was speaking in a virtual dialogue with Singapore’s prime minister, who called for a reset of the relationship between the two superpowers. “Singapore has had very close ties with the U.S. but also worked very well with China,” Brende said. “The special annual meeting could be a place where you could see the new Biden administration and China meet.” The meeting has been moved from its usual home in the Swiss town of Davos, from where it takes its informal name, to Singapore over concerns about COVID-19 in Europe. Beijing has been pushing for greater global influence in a challenge to traditional U.S. leadership. Relations between the two nations soured under former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over trade tariffs and Trump’s criticism of China’s handling o...

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday gave Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar a pat on the back for razing to the ground landgrabbers' 'palaces'. The prime minister made these comments while addressing a public gathering in Sahiwal, where he arrived earlier today on a one-day visit. The prime minister's comments seemed to be targeting PML-N leaders Saiful Malook Khokhar and his relatives. The government had launched a massive operation against the PML-N leaders, alleging that they had occupied land illegally. The Khokhar brothers denied accusations of wrongdoing, blaming the government for exacting political revenge on them. He said that the government had taken action against "Lahore's largest qabza group", accusing a former prime minister of supporting them. "The [former] prime minister and his government were protecting these landgrabbers," he said. The prime minister turned his guns to the Opposition, saying that change had indeed been b...

Pakistan has recorded 46 more coronavirus-related deaths in past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 11,560,reported on Friday. According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the COVID-19 has claimed 46 more lives and 1,644 fresh infections were reported. In the past 24 hours, as many as 2,167 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and 2,133 patients are still in critical condition. The total count of active cases is 32,726. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 541,031. A total of 43,381 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 496,745 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 7,848,316 samples have been tested thus far.