Discord leaks: Hina warns against sacrificing strategic partnership with China for US

A major document cache leak has revealed Pakistan government’s internal conundrum on managing relations with the United States while trying to keep healthy ties with China.

Record of an important discussion between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar was leaked wherein the two, along with an assistant, were talking about Pakistan’s ties with the United States.

The record of the discussion on crucial foreign policy, which has been named ‘Discord Leaks’, also reveals the premier’s conversation on the United Nations’ voting on the Ukraine and Russia conflict, according to the Washington Post.

During the discussion, an assistant advised the prime minister that supporting the resolution could jeopardise Pakistan’s trade and energy deals with Russia and would give the impression of a change in Pakistan’s position.

As per the leaked documents, Khar said that Pakistan should avoid appeasing the West and that the country’s desire to maintain a strategic partnership with the US would sacrifice the full benefits of its original strategic partnership with the long-term friendly nation China.

"According to one of the leaked documents, Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s minister of state for foreign affairs, argued in March that her country can 'no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States'," the Washington Post wrote in its story.

Pakistani officials, according to the US news outlet, have refused to comment on the matter.

The story by Washington Post, in which the record has been leaked, revolved around the declining support for the US on the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"When the UN General Assembly voted Feb. 23, Pakistan was among 32 countries that abstained," the media outlet's story mentioned.

The American publication's story comes at a time when the US has already confirmed that it has no objection to Pakistan’s decision to import oil from Moscow.

"Each country is going to make its own sovereign decisions as it relates to its energy supply," US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said during its weekly briefing.

The statement was issued in response to a question regarding Pakistan's deal with Russia after it placed its first order for crude oil after which one cargo will dock at the Karachi port in May.

 

State institutions should work within constitutional domain: Khawaja Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said all institutions of the country should work in their domain. He said that the Judiciary has no mandate to pressure political parties to hold talks.

Addressing a press conference at his residence in Sialkot, the PML-N firebrand said there is no greater honor than the chief justice for the Supreme Court. When it comes to the judiciary, it is a matter of public trust, he remarked.

He further said that during the last few months, matter took a turn for the worse, and former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar went too far in his enmity with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

Saqib Nisar admitted on TV about his son’s recent audio leak, the minister said.

He also held PTI Chairman Imran Khan responsible for the crises that the country is faced with today, adding the former premier has fixed a rate list for party tickets.

Not only Saqib Nisar, but the PTI leadership has also been exposed, Asif exclaimed, adding that staying away from power is eating up Imran from within.

He alleged that Imran Khan and his facilitators oppressed Nawaz Sharif and family beyond limits.

The minister severely criticized the PTI chairman, saying now the former ruling party has got new facilitators.

He claimed the masses will be provided relief in the upcoming budget in June. The government has fulfilled all the conditions of the IMF, he further said.

“Now, we have to see whether the IMF fulfills its commitments or not,” he added.

New study reveals that flu diagnosis could significantly raise heart attack risk

People who get influenza could be six times more susceptible to having a heart attack in the days following a flu diagnosis, a new study from the Netherlands has found.

The study’s conclusions were scheduled to be presented on April 18 at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark, as reported by Medscape.

The lead researcher, Dr. Annemarijn de Boer with the Julius Center for Life Sciences and Primary Care at the University Medical Center Utrecht, analyzed test results from 16 labs in the Netherlands, as well as medical and death records.

Of 26,221 cases of influenza between the years 2008 and 2019, 401 people experienced at least one heart attack within a year of the diagnosis, the report said.

Additionally, people had a 6.16 times higher likelihood of having a heart attack in the week after getting the flu compared to the year before or after, the researchers found.

However, when excluding the deaths that occurred outside the hospital, the increased risk was 2.42 times instead of 6.16.

Woman with flu
People who get influenza could be six times more susceptible to having a heart attack in the days following a flu diagnosis, a new study from the Netherlands has found. 

This is likely because most flu testing in the Netherlands is performed in the hospital, which means patients are more likely to have severe illness, according to de Boer.

Similar findings came from a 2018 Canadian study led by Dr. Jeffrey C. Kwong from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in Toronto, Ontario.

Researchers found that participants were 6.05 times more likely to have a heart attack in the week after diagnosis.

Inflammation heightens risk, doctors say
Board-certified cardiologist Dr. Mary Greene with Manhattan Cardiology in New York City was not involved in the study, but reviewed the findings.

"While the methodology of this particular Dutch study did not yield as much robust data, the study certainly echoes previous studies that have come to similar conclusions," Greene told Fox News Digital.

"Seemingly common colds can turn into serious medical issues."

"I do agree that a flu diagnosis can increase the odds of heart attack in a select group of patients, especially those with underlying heart disease," she added.

The increase in heart attacks among patients diagnosed with influenza, said Greene, largely stems from the inflammatory process and the environment that is created within the body when someone is fighting off the flu or other viral illnesses.

To help minimize the risk of heart attacks, all people should have a cardiovascular screening starting at age 40, or earlier if there is a history of early heart disease in the family, says one cardiologist. 

"Such inflammation in the body can make cholesterol plaques more vulnerable to rupture and blood more likely to clot, which is the underlying mechanism of both myocardial infarction (heart attack) and ischemic stroke," she said.

Study had limitations
Dr. Craig Bober, a family medicine physician at Inspira Medical Group Primary Care Mantua in Sewell, New Jersey, who was also not involved in the Dutch research, noted a key limitation of the study.

"It is important to note that the study was not designed to reflect the generalized population, as it looked at only those tested in hospital settings — these patients tend to be the sickest and usually elderly," he told Fox News Digital in an email.

FDA APPROVES FIRST AT-HOME TEST TO DETECT BOTH FLU AND COVID

"However, the study certainly emphasizes the dangers of seemingly benign virus-mediated infections."

Fox News Digital reached out to the study author for comment.

Prevention, early awareness are key
To help minimize the risk of heart attacks, all people should have a cardiovascular screening starting at age 40, or earlier if there is a history of early heart disease in the family, said Greene of New York City.
The increase in heart attacks among patients diagnosed with influenza, said one cardiologist, stems from the inflammation that occurs when someone is fighting off the flu or other viral illnesses.

"I also recommend that all patients with underlying coronary artery disease, history of stents, history of heart attack and history of heart failure have their annual flu shot," she said.

"Cardiovascular patients see a larger benefit from influenza vaccination in terms of protection against a heart attack should they become infected with the influenza virus."

These findings should serve as a reminder that seemingly common colds can turn into serious medical issues, Bober of New Jersey said.

"Anyone with concerning chest pain or shortness of breath — especially those with high-risk medical conditions such as underlying heart disease, lung conditions, diabetes or kidney disease — should seek medical attention sooner rather than later," he added.

President Alvi returns bill seeking amendments to NAB law to Parliament

President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday returned the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to Parliament, stating that previous amendments to the accountability laws were sub judice before the Supreme Court (SC).

Earlier this month, the bill, dubbed “part two of NRO-2” by the opposition, had sailed through the Senate without being referred to the standing committee concerned.

The bill, which had already been passed by the National Assembly, was moved in the Senate by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar amid a protest by senators belonging to the PTI.

The legislation — proposed by the government in March — not only empowers the NAB chairman to transfer graft cases involving corruption of less than Rs500 million to the relevant agency, authority or department but also closes the pending inquiries and investigations where they think no case is made out.

In a tweet today, the President’s Office said: “The president sent back the bill to Parliament under Article 75 (president’s assent to bills) of the Constitution.”

Stating the reason for returning the bill, President Alvi stated that previous amendments to the NAB law were already under hearing in the Supreme Court.

“This aspect has not been addressed ina the bill and the prime minister’s advice,” he said.

The president asserted that further amendments to the accountability laws “without reviewing the effects of a pending matter should be reviewed once again”.

NAB law amendment in 2022

After coming into power in April, the incumbent coalition government had passed the Nati­onal Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022 — a move that was heavily criticised by PTI — aiming to restrict the NAB’s role in corruption cases of over Rs500 million and taking away the president’s authority to appoint accountability court judges.

The joint session of the Parliament on June 10 approved the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was opposed and returned unsigned by President Arif Alvi before it became law.

It states that NAB’s deputy chairman, to be appointed by the federal government, would become the acting chairman of the bureau following the completion of the tenure of the chairman.

The law has also reduced the four-year term of the NAB chairman and the bureau’s prosecutor general to three years. After approval of the law, NAB will not be able to act on federal, provincial or local tax matters. Moreover, the regulatory bodies functioning in the country have also been placed out of NAB’s domain.

It says that “all pending inquiries, investigations, trials or proceedings under this ordinance, relating to persons or transactions … shall stand transferred to the concerned authorities, departments and courts under the respective laws.”

It has also set a three-year term for the judges of the accountability courts. It will also make it binding upon the courts to decide a case within one year. Under the proposed law, it has been made binding upon NAB to ensure the availability of evidence against an accused prior to his or her arrest.

According to one of the key amendments, the act “shall be deemed to have taken effect on and from the commencement of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999”.

New bill

The National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sought amendments to several sections of the NAB Ordinance, among which those to sections 4 and 6 stand out the most.

An amendment to section 4 of the NAB law states: “If the chairman is satisfied that no case is made out against an accused and the investigation may be closed, he shall refer the matter to the Court for approval and for the release of the accused, if in custody.

“Where the chairman is of the opinion that prima facie case is made out against an accused under any other law for the time being in force, he shall refer the matter to the relevant agency, authority or department, as the case may be,” it further states.

Under a provision added to Section 6 of the NAB Ordinance, as and when the office of the NAB chairman falls vacant or when the chairman is absent or unable to perform the functions of his office — due to any action whatsoever — the deputy chairman shall act as the NAB chairman and in absence of deputy chairman, the federal government shall appoint an acting chairman from amongst the senior officers of NAB.

The bill further says that due to the amendments made to the NAB law last year, “some legal complications have arisen for transfer of those cases from the accountability courts to other courts, tribunals, and forums which do not fall within the domain or jurisdiction of the NAB Ordinance”.

“On the initiative of the Prosecutor General Accountability and after having the input of relevant stakeholders, certain further amendments in the NAB Ordinance are required to be made urgently to provide legal cover to the accountability courts for transfer of aforesaid cases”, reads the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.

 

Gunman kills 5, including child, at home in Texas

In the latest mass shooting to hit the United States, a gunman shot dead five Hondurans including an eight-year-old child at a house in Texas, officials said on Saturday.

Investigators believe the gunman had been firing his AR-15-style gun in a neighbouring yard when the victims asked him to stop, as they were trying to get a baby to sleep, US media reported.

Sheriff Greg Capers of San Jacinto County, which is north of Houston, desc­ribed a horrifying scene when authorities went to the residence after receiving a call about “harassment” around 11:30pm on Friday.

The victims, aged from eight to 40 years old, were strewn from the front door through the house to an inside bedroom, where two of them, both women , were found lying on top of two children who survived the massacre.

Deputies found “several others in critical condition from multiple gunshot wounds,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. Three were hospitalised.

“All the victims were from Honduras,” Capers told reporters, adding that 10 people had been in the house at the time.

The authorities said an arrest warrant had been issued for 39-year-old Fran­­­c­isco Oropeza, charging him with five counts of murder.

The Texas killings appeared to be the latest in a series of shootings spawned by ordinary interactions: a man mistakenly knocking on the wrong door, a cheerleader accidentally stepping into the wrong car, someone mistakenly driving into the wrong driveway, a ball rolling into a neighbour’s yard.

There have been more than 170 mass shootings — defined as four or more people wounded or killed — so far this year in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

NASA successfully extract oxygen from lunar soil model

Scientists from Nasa — in a major development in space exploration activities — have been able to extract oxygen from regolith (lunar soil), which will allow space explorers to use the surface of the moon as a launch pad for future activities.

According to Nasa, a Houston team at the Johnson Space Center separated life-sustaining oxygen from a lunar soil simulation with the help of a high-powered laser to create a carbothermal reaction. For the first time ever, the oxygen was removed within a vacuum environment. "This is a big step for developing architecture to build sustainable human bases on other planets," says Nasa engineer

The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) experiment could be a base for producing oxygen gas for breathing alongside its uses for transport propellers.

"Our team proved the CaRD reactor would survive the lunar surface and successfully extract oxygen," Nasa engineer Anastasia Ford said.

She further stated: "This is a big step for developing the architecture to build sustainable human bases on other planets."

Nasa has been planning for a long to establish the moon as its operational base for space exploration activities. The Artemis mission is aimed to take humans back to the moon in 2025 after fifty years.

Humans last time put a step on the moon in 1972.

The recent success in the oxygen extraction experiment is regarded at readiness level six which means it is all set to be tested in real space.

Aaron Paz, a senior engineer at Nasa noted that "the technology has the potential to produce several times its own weight in oxygen per year on the lunar surface, which will enable a sustained human presence and lunar economy."

Earlier in April, Nasa named four astronauts that will fly to the moon on the Artemis II mission — the first crewed lunar flight of the program.

Nasa has already concluded the Orion spacecraft flight — an uncrewed test —which flew the Moon and returned to Earth in November 2022.

Shaikh Jasim and British billionaire make final bids for Manchester United

Glazer family, owners of Manchester United, are in discussions with both parties, with Sheikh Jassim emerging as main competitor to Ratcliffe. Manchester United is at the centre of a bidding war as Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Jim Ratcliffe submit their final offers to buy the Premier League club.

The Glazer family, current owners of Manchester United, are in discussions with both parties, with Sheikh Jassim emerging as the main competitor to Ratcliffe.

Sheikh Jassim has reportedly submitted an offer of over £5 billion ($6.2 billion), while Ratcliffe's improved bid has yet to be made public. According to the media reports Sheikh Jassim's bid for 100% control of the club comes with a promise of significant additional funding for transfers and infrastructure. Part of the planned spending includes revamping Old Trafford Stadium and overhauling the club's training facilities.

On the other hand, Ratcliffe, the founder of INEOS chemical company, reportedly wants a controlling stake in the club of more than 50%. This move has raised concerns among a fanbase tired of the Glazer family's controversial reign, as they would still retain a 20% stake in the club.

The Glazers reportedly want a world record £6 billion fee for a sports club before they agree to sell Manchester United. However, this asking price raises the possibility that neither Sheikh Jassim's nor Ratcliffe's offers will be accepted.

Since the Glazers took over Manchester United in 2005, they have been deeply unpopular with supporters due to the debt they saddled the club with during their leveraged takeover. Private equity firms such as Elliot Investment Management and The Carlyle Group are among the parties interested in a minority stake, which could allow the Glazers to retain control and provide funding for investment in the club's infrastructure.

Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) has called for a swift conclusion to the bidding process to allow new owners to be in place for the summer transfer window. The fans' group is in dire need of new investment, which undoubtedly requires new ownership. United fans are believed to be planning a protest against the Glazers ahead of Sunday's match with Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

Under the Glazers' ownership, Manchester United has been in decline both on and off the field over the past decade. The Red Devils have not won the Premier League title since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and their revenue has fallen behind local rivals Manchester City and Liverpool due to a lack of regular Champions League football and a failure to modernize Old Trafford.

However, under Erik ten Hag's management this season, Manchester United is enjoying a renaissance. They ended a six-year trophy drought by lifting the League Cup in February and are set to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on June 3.

PM directs to improve power transmission system during summer

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the authorities concerned to take timely and effective measures to improve the power transmission and load management systems during the summer season.

He said this during a meeting with Minister for Power Division Khurram Dastgir who called on him in Lahore today.

During the meeting, the Minister for Power Division briefed the Prime Minister about on-going projects in power sector.

He directed to complete work on the new transmission line at earliest so that every possible facility to be provided to consumers in this summer season.

Saudi Arabia, Iran to reopen embassies ‘within days’: Minister

Saudi Arabia and Iran will reopen embassies in each other’s capitals “within days”, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said in a sign of warming relations after the two countries closed their missions seven years ago.

Announcement comes after the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations during talks in China last month.

Speaking at a news conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, Amir-Abdollahian did not give specific dates for the reopening of the embassies, which closed in 2016. The two countries reached an agreement in China earlier last month to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions.

“During the last phone call between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia on Eid al-Fitr, we agreed to work in the next coming days on the reopening of the Iranian and Saudi embassies in Tehran and Riyadh,” Amir-Abdollahian said, according to an official Arabic translation.

The relationship started deteriorating in 2015 following the intervention of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the Yemen war after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement toppled the Riyadh-backed government and seized control of the capital Sanaa.

Tensions between the countries has led to conflicts across the region, including the Syrian civil war.

Amir-Abdollahian was speaking at the end of his visit to Lebanon where he met with Lebanese officials including Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Iranian foreign minister confirmed President Ebrahim Raisi would visit Syria in “the near future” without providing details.

The visit would be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011. With military help and economic support from Iran and Russia, Assad was able to turn the tide of the conflict and regain control of most of his country.

 

Israel strikes in Syria wound three civilians

Three civilians were wounded when Israeli air strikes targeted a site near the Syrian city of Homs early Saturday, state media reported, with a war monitor saying a Hezbollah munitions depot was hit.

During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.

While Israel rarely comments on the strikes it carries out on Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow its arch-foe Iran to extend its footprint in the war-torn country.

“At around 00:50 (2150 GMT)... the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack with a number of missiles, from the direction of north Lebanon, targeting several positions in the vicinity of the city of Homs,” according to international media reports.

“Three civilians were wounded and a civilian petrol station caught fire and a number of fuel tanks and trucks were burned,” it said, adding that Syrian air defences had intercepted some of the missiles.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said “Israeli missiles destroyed a munitions depot belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah at the Dabaa military airport” in the countryside of Homs province.

Without reporting any casualties, it said there were “loud explosions as the munitions in the depot blew up, with fires seen burning at the site”.

On April 2, Israel carried out similar strikes targeting a Hezbollah depot in the Dabaa airport area, the Observatory had said, killing two pro-Iran fighters and wounding five soldiers.

On Monday, Israel’s army shelled a position belonging to a pro-Iran group in southern Syria near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the second such bombardment in days, the Observatory said at the time.

Elahi’s son moves LHC against late-night police raid

Former Punjab chief minister and PTI President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi's son on Saturday moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the late-night raid at his father's Lahore residence.

PTI President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and 18 others have been booked in a case of pelting stones at and violence on the police during a raid of the anti-corruption department on his residence late on Friday night.

The case has been registered at Lahore’s Ghalib Market police station under 13 provisions, including terrorism and murder.

On Friday night, police and an anti-corruption team carried out an unsuccessful raid at Elahi’s residence to arrest him at around 11pm. The Zahoor Palace was searched three to four times, but the PTI official could not be found.

Police say the case has been registered on the application of anti-corruption CO. It claimed that an anti-corruption team raided Parvez Elahi’s residence to arrest him when 40 to 50 people present inside the house pelted them with stones.

Petrol was also hurled at the team with the intention to cause arson, the FIR claims.

However, Elahi escaped from the spot, but the alleged miscreants who offered resisted during the raid were arrested, the FIR stated.

Meanwhile, Elahi’s son, Raasikh, challenged the police and anti-corruption’s operation in the Lahore High Court.

The Punjab government, anti-corruption department, and police have been made parties in the petition.

Parvez Elahi’s protective bail was approved by the Lahore High Court, but despite that the operation was carried, and the family harassed.

The petition sought that the court order Zahoor Elahi Road be cleared, and the police withdraw its force.

The court should also order the police against arresting Parvez Elahi until his protective bail expires, the plea added.

Earlier, the former chief minister of Punjab had decided to move the Lahore High Court against the raid at this residence last night. He asked his legal team to prepare a constitutional petition in this regard.

Elahi had asked the team to nominate the caretaker Punjab chief minister, the anti-corruption department, police, and others in the case.

Despite court orders, the police carried out the illegal operation, lawyer Amir Saeed Rawn said.

The lawyer said the petition will be filed before the high court today.

“Strongly condemning” the raid, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said the presence of women in the house was not respected.

“We are witnessing democracy being crumbled before our eyes. There is no respect left for the Constitution, court orders or the fundamental rights of the people,” Imran Khan tweeted.

The PTI chief called it a part of the alleged “London plan” to eliminate the PTI, adding fascism ruled the roost everywhere.

Detailed verdict on Elahi’s protective bail plea
The Lahore High Court on Saturday morning issued a detailed verdict on the protective bail of Parvez Elahi in the anti-corruption case registered in Gujranwala.

Irrespective of the merits of the case, the applicant was granted protective bail till May 6, the verdict said.

The petitioner deposited Rs50,000 to the deputy registrar and can refer to the forum concerned by May 6.

This order of the court will expire by 12:30pm on May 6, the verdict said.

Police and an anti-corruption team raided the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf President and former chief minister Parvez Elahi, located at Zahoor Elahi Road in Lahore.

Elahi’s lawyer and family did not allow the team to enter the house. Upon this, the police tried to scale the walls of the house when they were pelted with stones and petrol from inside.

The raiding ended the search operation that lasted for six and a half hours.

Police personnel in plainclothes were also present along with the raiding party in and around Zahoor Elahi Road.

The police broke down the main gate of the house with an armored personnel carrier. The anti-corruption team, headed by SP Amara Shirazi, and a heavy contingent of police searched Zahoor Palace repeatedly to arrest Parvez Elahi, but he could not be found.

Police detained 27 people who pelted them with stones from inside the house during the search.

Anti-Corruption Director General Sohail Zafar Chatta claimed Elahi was present inside the house, but his family was not cooperating.

During the operation, Rasikh Elahi’s house was also searched. However, the police did not get permission to search Wajahat Hussain’s house.

A large number of senior lawyers were also present outside the residence, including Lahore Bar Association and Lahore High Court Bar presidents.

As soon as the anti-corruption and police teams left the Zahoor Palace, repair work on the main gate of the residence had started.

A special Anti-Corruption Court of Lahore announced its reserved verdict on former Punjab chief minister Elahi’s bail plea in a billion-rupee bribery and corruption case on Friday.

Anti-Corruption Court Judge Ali Raza extended the bail till May 6.

The anti-corruption court reserved its decision on Elahi’s bail application as he appeared in court over expiry of his interim bail. The court had granted interim bail to Parvez Elahi till today.

Second round of govt-PTI talks under way at Parliament House

Members of the ruling coalition and opposition PTI on Friday resumed talks on holding elections, following the initiation of a much-awaited dialogue at the Parliament House a day ago.

The second round of negotiations is under way in committee room number 3 of the Parliament House.

The opposition delegation — formed on Wednesday night — consists of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar.

Meanwhile, the PML-N’s Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq along with PPP’s Senator Yousuf Raza Gilani and Syed Naveed Qamar are representing the government.

Ahead of the second round of negotiations today, PTI Chairman Imran Khan — during an informal conversation with journalists at the Islamabad High Court — said that he had requested Fawad and Qureshi to initiate talks with the government only if the ruling party was prepared to immediately dissolve the assemblies and hold elections.

He added, “There’s no need to proceed if they insist on holding polls in September or October,” with both leaders present during the conversation.

Separately, Fawad said that the main objective of the negotiations was to recognise that the public was the “centre of power” in Pakistan and move towards elections.

“Yesterday, talks were held in a pleasant environment,” he tweeted. “Today, we should move forward for the country by understanding each other’s point of view.”

First round of talks

On Thursday, representatives from both sides held at least an hour-long meeting inside Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani’s chamber to begin the negotiations.

Negotiations efforts are underway as per the Supreme Court’s advice while a written order is awaited by it regarding elections in Punjab and KP — an issue on which there has been a weeks-long impasse between the ruling coalition, the opposition and the higher judiciary.

With Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam-Fazl chief Mau­lana Fazlur Rehman reiterating a day ago that his party would not be part of any negotiations with the PTI, the PPP and PML-N seem to have taken command of the talks.

Gilani said after yesterday’s meeting that the PTI would present its demands during today’s meet-up, after which parties of the ruling coalition would be apprised about them and consulted.

It was principally decided that matters would be resolved within the ambit of the Constitution, Dar had said alongside him.

 

Elections impasse

Efforts to reach a consensus come against the backdrop of an impasse on elections, with the PTI seeking early polls — particularly in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where assemblies were dissolved in January — and the government maintaining that elections across the country be held on the same day in October.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court — while hearing a PTI petition — had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. However, the government had rejected the apex court’s orders.

After repeated back and forth last week, the Supreme Court on April 20 afforded a temporary respite to the country’s main political parties, giving them time till April 26 to develop a consensus on the date for elections to the provincial and national assemblies, so they could be held simultaneously across the country.

However, on April 26, Shehbaz reiterated that simultaneous elections will take place in Octo­ber or November after the current National Asse­mbly completed its term on August 13, whereas parliament will have the final say regarding the initiation of talks with the opposition.

The government wanted to talk to the PTI, he said, adding that there was an overwhelming opinion that the doors of dialogue should not be closed, but its format was yet to be decided. “The decision [regarding talks] has to be taken by parliament, not you or me,” he added.

ECC approves up to 20pc rise in drug prices amid soaring inflation

The government on Friday approved an increase of up to 20 per cent in medicine retail prices, with the rise for essential drugs capped at a maximum of 14pc as decades-high inflation grips the country.

The decision, taken in the cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), was due for months to meet the demands of drug importers and manufacturers, whose associations were demanding an across-the-board 39pc rise, warning that the industry could otherwise collapse.

The finance ministry said medicine prices could be reviewed again after three months if the rupee appreciated, adding that “no increase under this category” would be granted in the next financial year.

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association criticised the increase, which it said was way lower than it had expected.

Inflation clocked in at 35pc in March, fuelled by a depreciating currency, a rollback in subsidies and the imposition of higher tariffs to secure a bailout package of $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

Food inflation has risen to more than 47pc and even the wealthier professional class is making lifestyle changes to deal with rising prices.

The simmering price dispute between the pharmaceutical industry and the health ministry had resulted in an acute shortage of critical medicines, forcing patients to rely on smuggled and potentially counterfeit drugs at increased costs.

The government’s rejection of the demand to increase drug prices had propelled pharmaceutical companies to either stop or go into a limited-scale production of scores of essential and non-essential medicines.

PM Shehbaz to visit UK next week to attend King Charles III’s coronation

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a visit to the United Kingdom next week to attend the coronation of King Charles III, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Friday.

Charles, 74, became king after the death of Queen Elizabeth last year in September. As per royal tradition, a British monarch’s coronation takes place some months later, after national mourning and intense preparations.

King Charles III’s coronation ceremony will be held at London’s Westminster Abbey on May 6. The event is expected to be attended by heads of state from around the world, including Ireland, France, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Hungary and Australia.

Earlier, Buckingham Palace said that Prince Harry will also be attending the coronation but without his wife Meghan. The announcement came after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the couple’s attendance, who quit royal duties in early 2020.

In a press briefing today, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: “Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a visit to the United Kingdom to attend the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla on May 6, 2023.”

She went on to say that during the visit, the premier will also participate in an event for Commonwealth leaders on May 5.

“He is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders participating in these celebrations,” she said.

Baloch stated that Pakistan and the UK shared a long history of relations strongly anchored in the dynamic Pakistani-British community.

“We see the British monarch and the royal family as friends of Pakistan and its people and look forward to further strengthening of ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom,” she added.

The PM had met King Charles III last year in London and offered his condolences over the passing of Queen Elizabeth.

BBC chairman resigns after breaching rules over loan to ex-UK PM Boris Johnson

BBC Chairman Richard Sharp resigned on Friday after an independent report found he had breached public appointment rules by not disclosing a potential conflict of interest in his role in securing a $1 million loan for the then-prime minister, Boris Johnson.

His exit comes at a time of heightened political scrutiny of the British public broadcaster. A high-profile row with highly paid presenter Gary Lineker over neutrality dominated headlines in Britain last month.

Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker who became BBC chairman in 2021, had been under pressure since February when a committee of lawmakers said he had made “significant errors of judgement” in failing to declare his involvement in the loan.

Sharp said he had agreed to stay on until the end of June to give the government time to find a successor to lead the broadcaster, funded by a licence fee paid by TV-watching households.

The investigation, initiated by the public appointments watchdog, examined the way in which Sharp was selected by the government to chair the corporation in 2021.

Specifically, it looked at whether Sharp fully disclosed details of his role in facilitating an 800,000 pound ($1m) loan for Johnson before he was named chairman.

The report found that, while he had breached the government’s code for public appointments, that breach did not necessarily invalidate his appointment. Sharp said he believed the breach had been “inadvertent and not material”.

But he also said staying until the end of his four-year term would be a distraction from the broadcaster’s “good work”.

“I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC,” Sharp said in a statement. “I have, therefore, this morning, resigned as the BBC chair.”

The opposition Labour Party’s culture spokeswoman Lucy Powell said the breach had “caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC and seriously undermined its independence as a result of the Conservatives’ sleaze and cronyism”.

The report mentions Johnson’s Downing Street office as having recommended Sharp as “a strong candidate” for the role, which attracted 23 applications.

Sharp has maintained he was not involved in making the loan or in arranging a guarantee or any financing, and that he did no more than seek to introduce Canadian businessman Sam Blyth to a government official in late 2020.

Andrew Heppinstall, who carried out the inquiry, said he was “happy to record” that he had seen no evidence of Sharp having any role in Johnson’s private financial affairs aside from the attempted introduction.

PM Shehbaz says Pakistan on path to overcoming economic challenges

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday asserted that the country was “on its way” to overcoming the myriad of economic challenges it has been facing for the past few months because of the “tough decisions” taken by the government at the cost of its political capital.

Addressing the passing out parade of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Academy Asghar Khan in Risalpur, the premier said, “Let me assure you that we are making all efforts to bring our economy back on track. Thanks to tough decisions at the cost of our political asset, we are on the way to overcome these challenges soon.”

The incumbent coalition government has been making tough policy decisions in the past few months —such as fuel price hikes, increase in gas rates and rising living costs leading to all-time high inflation — to meet the conditions for a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund. (IMF).

Due to the resulting criticism, the government has been wary of the IMF-mandated tough decisions ahead of the general elections that are set to take place later this year.

During today’s address, Shehbaz noted, “We live in challenging times that are being shaped by an evolving regional and global environment. The interplay of geopolitical and geo-economic factors is having a profound effect on the world.”

He admitted that the “cost of living has added to people’s woes and adversely affected all walks of life”, adding that the people could not be left “at the mercy of disruption in the global markets”.

The prime minister said the country needed to “build resilience and protect our economy from global shocks”, which he said was possible by introducing structural economic reforms.

Shehbaz further said it was the reason why he has been a “strong proponent of a charter of economy”.

The premier also reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the issue of India-Occupied Kashmir.

Noting that Pakistan was a “peace-loving nation” that wished to maintain “friendly ties with all countries, especially our neighbours”, he warned that “our desire for peace must not be misunderstood as weakness”.

“There can be no peace in South Asia without a just and fair settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in line with the UN resolution and the aspirations of the people of Kashmir,” he said.

“We condemn the human rights violations in India-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and urge the world to take note of the illegal changes introduced by India post-August 2019,” he said.

Praising the PAF, Shehbaz said it had been a “principal instrument of our national power” and had “jealously guarded our air frontiers”.

Referring to Operation Swift Retort when the PAF shot down two Indian planes that had violated Pakistani airspace in 2019, the premier said, “The most recent example was our befitting response to the Indian aggression in February 2019.

“The world saw how our brave sons humiliated the Indian Air Force in a show of exceptional skill and expertise,” the prime minister remarked.

“No other nation has been tested by a combination of challenges — such as terrorism, extremism and militancy — the way we have.”

He termed the PAF’s performance in “neutralising threats to national security” as “simply outstanding”.

Govt, PTI finally on negotiation table for talks on election date

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Thursday finally sat on the negotiating table to discuss the poll date following Supreme Court's orders.

In the first round of talks held at the Parliament House's Committee Room Number 3, both sides informed each other about their top leadership's stance.

The government's delegation comprises Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Yousaf Raza Gilani, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, and Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar.

The opposition's delegation included PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry, and the party's top legal expert Barrister Ali Zafar.

The delegation informed the government about PTI Chairman Imran Khan's stance on elections and about how the elections should be conducted.

In his speech in the National Assembly earlier today, when he secured a vote of confidence, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government would hold conditional talks with the PTI.

"The allied parties have decided to hold negotiations with PTI in Senate and we will send our representatives in this regard today, but talks will be held only on holding polls across the country simultaneously."

The meeting is crucial at a time when the country sees intense political and economic turmoil as the political forces remain at loggerheads with not just each other, but the Supreme Court as well.

The court had directed the political parties to decide on the election date by April 26, but no progress was made till the deadline. In today's hearing, the SC mentioned that it cannot ask parties to hold negotiations forcefully.

"The court cannot force [parties] on a dialogue. The court only wants implementation on the Constitution so that the dispute is resolved," Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said.

The alliance's chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman — who is also the president of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — said his party was against the negotiations and would not be part of the talks with PTI.

In conversation with journalists, Fazl said holding consultations is the job of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), not political parties.

"The Supreme Court is forcefully asking us to hold talks; all the political parties are trying to convince one person [Khan] and we cannot do that," the JUI-F chief said.

The political turmoil — that began after Khan's ouster in April last year — has led to severe economic distress, with the rupee falling to historic lows against the dollar and foreign exchange reserves falling to less than a month's import cover.

PM Shehbaz obtains vote of confidence from NA

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has managed to secure a vote of confidence from the National Assembly. Around 180 lawmakers reposed confidence in the prime minister.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the foreign minister, tabled the resolution, on which 180 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) voted yes, as opposed to 174 when Shehbaz was elected as the prime minister in April last year.

The prime minister took the vote of confidence after the assembly rejected the money bill tabled by the government for providing funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — on the orders of the Supreme Court.

When the bill was rejected, apparently for the first time in history, the top court — hearing a petition seeking polls simultaneously — implied that the prime minister did not have the confidence of the house.

In its order, the SC stated: "In terms of the system of parliamentary democracy envisaged by the Constitution, the [prime minister] must enjoy the confidence of the majority of the NA at all times."

Former prime minister Imran Khan also won a vote of confidence — securing 178 votes, six more than required to maintain the majority — from the lower house on March 6, 2021. A special session of the NA was called after the former ruling party — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — faced an upset in the Senate elections.

Addressing on the floor of the National Assembly after securing a confidence vote, the prime minister thanked the coalition partners for reposing their trust in his leadership.

“Today, Pakistan is facing serious challenges [...] Pakistan’s economy was prospering before the 2018 elections,” he said while blaming the previous PTI-led government for the prevailing economic crisis.

The "entire world" is aware of how RTS was compromised and the 2018 election results were manipulated. Former chief justice Saqib Nisar ordered to stop the recounting of votes when we challenged the election results.

Referring to the PTI chief's ‘foreign conspiracy’ narrative, PM Shehbaz said the incumbent government is importing cheap Russian oil "which will arrive soon in the country".

He said had his government been formed as a result of a foreign-backed conspiracy, it would not have imported oil from Russia.

“Today, the decisions of parliament are being challenged. It is not possible that a court stops the implementation of a law which has not been enacted yet," he said, taking about the top court's decision to stop the implementation of the bill seeking to curb the chief justice's powers.

"We don’t accept the decision of a three-member bench. We accept the decision of a majority of four judges," he said while referring to the Punjab elections delay case verdict of the Supreme Court.

The allied parties have decided to hold negotiations with PTI in Senate and we will send our representatives in this regard today, but talks will be held only on holding polls across the country simultaneously, he added.

Pakistan win toss, elect to bowl first against New Zealand in 1st ODI

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Thursday put New Zealand to bat first after winning the toss in the opening game of the five-match ODI series played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.

Babar Azam said the pitch will be helpful later in the day for batting while NZ captain Tom Latham endorsed Pakistan's decision, saying they will also bowl first had they won the toss.

The ODI series offers both sides the opportunity to feel out each other´s strengths and weaknesses ahead of the World Cup in India in October-November.

The Black Caps shocked the home side by squaring a preceding five-match Twenty20 series 2-2 despite missing eight players -- including skipper Kane Williamson -- due to the ongoing Indian Premier League or injury.

Pakistan have won five of the seven ODI series that Azam has captained. His two losses came against England in 2021 and New Zealand in January this year.

But New Zealand boast recent dominance over Pakistan.

Of the last six ODI series between them, New Zealand have won five and drawn one. Their last series defeat against Pakistan was at home in 2011.

The other matches of the current series are in Rawalpindi on Saturday followed by Karachi on May 3, 5 and 7.

Playing XI
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

New Zealand: Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Mark Chapman, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner

Turkiye rejects 'baseless claims' about Erdogan's health

Turkiye on Thursday rejected “baseless claims” about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s health as rumors speak that he suffered a heart attack and is hospitalized, and thus just days before the elections on May 14.

“We categorically reject such baseless claims regarding President Erdogan’s health. The President will attend nuclear power plant opening via videoconference,” the country’s Communications Director, Fahrettin Altun, said on Twitter.

“No amount of disinformation can dispute the fact that the Turkish people stand with their leader and Erdogan and his AK (Justice and Development) Party are set to win the May 14 elections,” Altun added.

The directorate’s center for combating disinformation also said the claims shared on some social media accounts that President Erdogan “had a heart attack and was hospitalized” did not reflect the truth, report state-run news agency.​​​​​​​

During a television interview a few days ago, Erdogan felt unwell, resulting into rumors regarding his health. The Turkish president had similar incident in the past with scenarios speaking that he suffers from diabetes.

Meanwhile, the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s spokesman, Omer Celik, said there is “immoral false news” being published by some foreign media outlets about Erdogan’s health.

“Our president is on duty. After a little rest, he will continue his programs in the same way,” Celik said on Twitter.

PM Shehbaz wishes Turkish President a speedy recovery

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has conveyed best wishes to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his recovery from illness.

In a tweet on Thursday, the Prime Minister said he feels greatly relieved to learn that his brother President Tayyip Erdogan has recovered from his illness by the grace of Allah Almighty.

Greatly relieved to learn that my brother H.E. President @RTErdogan has recovered from his illness by the grace of Allah Almighty. My deepest prayers & best wishes are with him for a complete recovery & good health. He symbolises the essence of brotherhood between our two… https://t.co/QfsCX2rgmH

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 27, 2023

He said Tayyip Erdogan symbolizes the essence of brotherhood between Pakistani and Turk nations.

Shehbaz Sharif prayed for the Turk President's complete recovery and good health.

Election case: CJP says SC can’t force govt to hold negotiations

The Supreme Court on Thursday resumed the hearing of the election suo moto case as the deadlock between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf persisted over talks on polls.

During the proceedings, the CJP remarked that the Supreme Court could not force the government to hold negotiations with the opposition.

The hearing resumed after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rejected the proposal floated by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani regarding the formation of a 10-member special parliamentary committee with equal representation from both sides to start a dialogue to end the impasse.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umer Ata Bandial will also hear citizen Sardar Kashif Khan's plea in the open court seeking elections across the country on the same date.

The government is expected to inform the apex court about the progress in the implementation of its orders of holding the political dialogue, in today's hearing.

The apex court had before Eid ul Fitr directed the political parties to hold a dialogue in a bid to reach a consensus on the date of elections in the country.

The hearing was then adjourned till today (April 27) after the key ruling parties — Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — assured the SC they would sit with PTI and try to find a solution on the election date.

Despite a thaw in strict stances on both sides, that hasn't yet happened.

However, the ruling alliance has proposed the formation of a 10-member parliamentary committee with equal representation from both sides for talks on holding elections across the country on the same date, in line with the SC order.

The development came after a meeting of the ruling allies on Wednesday, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said that a parliamentary committee would discuss the terms of talks between the allied parties and the PTI.

Meanwhile, the PTI has also formed a three-member committee for talks with the ruling alliance for elections on the same day.

Ship carrying 37 Pakistanis from Sudan port reaches Jeddah: FO

A ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Sudan — where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed and wounded hundreds — arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Wednesday, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

“Evacuation plan for Pakistani nationals in Sudan continues. The ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arrives in Jeddah,” it said in a tweet.

“They were received by CG in Jeddah, Khalid Majid on arrival at Jeddah Port. We are grateful to the Government of KSA for its support & hospitality,” the FO added.

According to the Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministry, the boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries arrived in the kingdom today, which is the largest rescue effort by the Gulf state to date.

The group was “transported by one of the Kingdom’s ships, and the Kingdom was keen to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure,” it said in a statement.

In another statement, the FO said that “another convoy of 200 Pakistanis has arrived safely in Port Sudan”. It added that the “Embassy of Pakistan in Sudan will continue to facilitate their stay in Port Sudan and arrange their eventual repatriation”.

Fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

At least 459 people had been killed and more than 4,000 as of Tuesday across Africa’s third-biggest country, according to UN agencies.

A three-day US-brokered ceasefire between the warring generals brought some calm to the capital on Tuesday, but witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.

Saudi Arabia has received several rounds of evacuees by air and sea, starting with boats that arrived in Jeddah on Saturday carrying 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials.

On Monday, a C-130 Hercules military plane flew dozens of South Korean civilians to Jeddah’s King Abdullah Air Base, and a boat ferried nearly 200 people from 14 countries across the Red Sea from Port Sudan.

Thirteen of the civilians who arrived on Wednesday were Saudi, while the rest came from countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and North and Central America, the foreign ministry statement said.

All told, 2,148 people have been evacuated to the kingdom from Sudan so far, including more than 2,000 foreigners, the statement added.

A day earlier, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said that more than 200 Pakistanis were evacuated to safety in chaos-torn Sudan, bringing the total number of rescued nationals to 700.

“In keeping with the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to the welfare of overseas Pakistanis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to lead in the relief and rescue of Pakistanis in Sudan. Today, another convoy carrying 211 Pakistanis dispatched from Khartoum has arrived in Port Sudan,” the minister said in a statement.

Shaky ceasefire

The ceasefire between Sudan’s warring generals entered its second day today but remained fragile after witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.

“The pause was not fully upheld, with attacks on headquarters, attempts to gain ground, air strikes, and explosions in different areas of the capital,” UN Special Representative Volker Perthes told the Security Council a day earlier.

Perthes said he maintained contact with both generals: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the heavily armed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“There is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously negotiate,” Perthes said.

Security fears were compounded when the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a “huge biological risk” after fighters occupied a Khartoum laboratory holding samples of cholera, measles, polio and other infectious diseases.

You can now log into same WhatsApp account on up to four phones

Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday that WhatsApp is finally rolling out the option for users to log into the messaging app from more than one phone.

Taking to Facebook, Zuckerberg announced: “Starting today, you can log into the same WhatsApp account on up to four phones.”

To date, WhatsApp users have only been able to use one WhatsApp account on one phone — a setting that users have always complained about.

“Your WhatsApp account can only be verified with one registered phone number. If you have a dual SIM phone, please note that you still must choose one number to verify with WhatsApp. There is no option to have a verified WhatsApp account with two different phone numbers,” the WhatsApp FAQs.

However, currently, users can connect WhatsApp on the web, android tablets, companion phones, and other devices by linking up to four devices to their primary phone at a time.

According to WhatsApp, the new feature — which will allow users’ messages to be synced across devices including other phones — will be rolled out to all users within the coming weeks.

Therefore, if one device is switched off, users will be able to access the app on other devices.

WhatsApp — with more than 2 billion users — is one of the biggest messaging services. However, its lack of multi-phone support was a result of full end-to-end encryption support for chats and calls.

However, back in 2021, the company started testing multi-device compatibility with select beta users.

Meta — formerly known as Facebook — announced two years ago that it had developed new technology to sync messages across devices without compromising end-to-end encryption protection.

WhatsApp competitors like Telegram and Messenger already offer multi-device sync for messages; however, they didn’t have support for end-to-end encryption.

In the following year, WhatsApp rolled out its multi-device feature for all, but it didn’t support multiple phones.

WhatsApp is also rolling out a new way to link devices using a one-time code.

A blog post of the company announced: “You can now get a one-time-use code by entering your mobile number on WhatsApp Web, which you can use to link devices instead of scanning the QR code on your mobile phone. We’ll make this feature available for more linked devices in the future.”

Member of Assembly of Experts assassinated in northern Iran

A member of Iran’s influential clerical body has been assassinated in an armed attack in the country’s northern province of Mazandaran.

Ayatollah Abbasali Soleimani, a member of the Assembly of Experts and also a former representative of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan, died in hospital on Wednesday after being shot at a bank in the city of Babolsar, Mehr news agency reported.

General Governor of Mazandaran Province, Seyyed Mahmoud Hosseinipour, told the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) television news channel that an investigation is underway to find out the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident and the motive behind the assassination.

The Assembly of Experts elects and oversees the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and is in a position of authority to either appoint or dismiss the Leader.

Members are directly elected to office by the people for an eight-year term. The body holds biannual meetings to review major national issues and every other year to appoint a new chairman.

Iftikhar Ahmed, Mark Chapman attain career high positions in ICC rankings

Middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed has achieved the career-best position in the latest ICC T20I rankings after his blistering knocks in the recently-concluded PAK vs NZ T20I series.

Iftikhar moved six places to equal 38th and is the third-highest-ranked Pakistan batter after Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on the current list of T20I batters.

The right-hander scored 36 from 22 in the final T20I on Monday while he baton-charged Kiwi bowlers in the third match when he smashed a quickfire 24-ball 60. The visitors survived Iftikhar’s brilliance to win that match before beating Pakistan in the final match to level the five-game series 2-2.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, who was the leading run-getter in the PAK vs NZ T20I series, was awarded for his sensational form as he moved up 45 places to a career-best 35th overall.

Chapman hit a match-winning hundred in that fifth game of the series to help New Zealand draw the series.

Wicket-keeper batter Rizwan, however, retains his second position on the rankings as he closes in on India’s Suryakumar Yadav, who remains the No.1-ranked T20I batter with 906 rating points.

Rizwan thrashed an unbeaten 98 in the last match and ended the series as the leading run-scorer for Pakistan. He rose from 798 to 811 points, bringing down the difference between him and Yadav to less than 100.

Skipper Babar, on the other hand, holds onto third place on the latest T20I rankings, although the right-hander dropped 13 rating points to 756 points after he managed just 19 runs in the fifth match against Kiwis.

The big mover for Pakistan in the latest rankings was all-rounder Imad Wasim, who produced impressive performances with both bat and ball during the series.

“Imad scored 31 in the fifth and final game of the series, but it was his eight wickets at an average of 10.37 during the series that really stood out and the 34-year-old was rewarded on both the bowler and all-rounder rankings.” said the International Cricket Council’s media release on Wednesday.

Imad made his way into the top 100 on the latest rankings for T20I bowlers rankings and also climbed 44 places to joint-24th on the all-rounders’ list.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan holds the highest rank on the T20I bowler charts, while Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan remains the No.1 ranked all-rounder.

 

Two soldiers martyred in gun battle with terrorists in Khyber

Two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in gun battle with terrorists in Khyber district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said A firefight broke out between Pakistani security forces and terrorists in the general area of Tirah, Khyber District on April 25 as a result of which two army personnel embraced martyrdom.

According to ISPR the exchange resulted in killing two terrorists and injuring four others. Additionally, weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists.

However, the intense exchange of fire also led to the tragic loss of two brave soldiers.

According to military’s media wing Sepoy Waqas Ali Shah, 26, and resident of Charsadda, and Sepoy Basit Ali, 24, and resident of Peshawar, both fought courageously before making the ultimate sacrifice for their country, embracing shahadat.

Following the firefight, security forces carried out a sanitization process in the area to ensure that any other terrorists present are eliminated.

Coalition partners join heads as SC deadline looms

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is chairing a meeting of the ruling alliance today (Wednesday) before negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the Supreme Court’s directions.

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and other leaders are attending the meeting.

Attorney general for Pakistan and federal ministers are also attending the meeting.

According to media reports, the meeting is being briefed by the legal team on the election fund case and the negotiations with PTI.

Earlier today, The News had reported that there are chances of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supermo Nawaz Sharif — who is currently in Saudi Arabia — attending the meeting virtually.

During the last meeting of the coalition partners, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari suggested dialogue with the PTI but the PDM chief Fazl outright rejected the proposal.

As per reports, PMLN sources claim that the party leadership has asked Ayaz Sadiq to contact PTI’s Asad Qaiser and both have agreed to meet today. However, PTI chief Imran Khan has clearly stated that the mandate for negotiations rests with Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

On April 20, the top court adjourned the hearing of the petition till April 27 after the key ruling parties —PPP and PML-N — had assured the Supreme Court they would sit with the PTI on April 26 and try to find a solution on the election date.

A three-member bench of the top court — headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — has sought a progress report on the talks by April 27.

A dispute emerged among the ruling parties over holding talks with the PTI on April 18, sources told Geo News, after Jamaat-e-Islami's (JI) bid to bring both sides to the negotiation table.

The PDM coalition partners met in Islamabad after PM Shehbaz convened a meeting on the country's political situation and the JI's negotiation efforts.

During the meeting, a disagreement took place among the parties in the coalition government over holding talks with the opposition party as some believed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan could not be trusted, while others insisted that political forces should not shut channels for negotiations.

PPP Chairman Bilawal had stressed holding dialogue with the opposition, with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan National Party, Balochistan Awami Party, Chaudhry Salik, and Mohsin Dawar backing him, sources said.

Bilawal said closing the door for talks is against his party's principles and "undemocratic".

But representatives of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) rejected Bilawal's opinion and said that it isn't in the coalition's interests to hold talks with the deposed prime minister — who was ousted from the office via a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly in April last year.

Later, the PPP supremo also held a separate meeting with the JUI-F chief to convince him.

Following the SC directives, both Bilawal and Fazl rejected the order, terming the dialogue between political parties as directed by the court “talks at gunpoint”.

Dar directs CDA to fast track development projects for overseas Pakistanis

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to fast track the development projects for overseas Pakistanis.

He was chairing a meeting on CDA's projects for overseas Pakistanis in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Finance Minister directed the CDA to hold balloting of Nilore Heights-1 project which is exclusively developed for overseas Pakistanis before the 8th of next month.

The meeting was briefed on the provision of commercial and residential plots for overseas Pakistanis on open auction basis. It was informed that in the next phase, registration for plots in C-14 and C-16 sectors for overseas Pakistanis will commence and special facilitation desks have been established to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis.

Ishaq Dar directed that for auction of commercial plots, incentives should be extended to those investors who pay the amount in US dollars so that foreign exchange reserve could be further bolstered.

He also directed to expedite work on Kuri and Overseas Enclave projects and scheme for auction of plots in C-14 and C-16 sectors should be ready by mid of May.

Another convoy of 211 Pakistanis arrived Port Sudan for onward evacuation: FM

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while reiterating the government’s commitment to the welfare of overseas Pakistanis, on Tuesday said that Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to lead in the relief and rescue of Pakistanis in Sudan as today, another convoy of 211 Pakistanis dispatched from Khartoum, arrived in Port Sudan.

“With the latest convoy, the total number of Pakistanis who have been evacuated to safety has reached 700. Ambassador Meer Bahrose Regi’s team in Khartoum and Port Sudan are working day and night to facilitate the stay of Pakistanis who are still in Sudan until their evacuation to Pakistan,” Foreign Office Spokesperson quoted the foreign minister in a press statement.

The foreign minister, in his statement, further said that they remained engaged with the friendly countries in the region especially with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to facilitate the evacuation process.

He also appreciated the hard work of Pakistan missions in the region and the entire foreign office team led by foreign secretary Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, who was leading the inter-agency coordination process.

US President Joe Biden announces 2024 re-election campaign

United States President Joe Biden has officially launched his campaign for re-election in 2024, becoming the Democratic frontrunner in a race that could pit him for a second time against Republican contender Donald Trump.

Biden’s announcement in a video on Tuesday came on the fourth anniversary of the start of his first successful presidential bid.

A majority of Democrats would back Biden, 80, against a Republican challenger in next year’s election, a recent poll found.

But the Democratic president faces some of the lowest approval ratings of his tenure so far, and his age – Biden is currently the oldest person to ever hold the highest US office – has spurred questions about his re-election prospects.

Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party’s nomination with no serious Democratic rivals. But he is still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation.

“I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said in his campaign video. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer.”

The Republican Party reacted to Biden’s announcement by calling the Democrat “out of touch”.

“Biden is so out of touch that after creating crisis after crisis, he thinks he deserves another four years,” the Republican National Committee said in a statement.

“If voters let Biden ‘finish the job’, inflation will continue to skyrocket, crime rates will rise, more fentanyl will cross our open borders, children will continue to be left behind, and American families will be worse off,” it said.

 

Will give befitting response if India resorts to misadventure: DG ISPR

Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif conducted his maiden press conference on Tuesday, stressing that if India tried any misadventures, then Pakistan Army will give a befitting response.

The ISPR DG said that India had committed several ceasefire violations along the LoC this year and Pakistan had also taken down six Indian spy quadcopters.

He noted that Pakistan had taken United Nations observers to the Line of Control (LoC) several times, while India had not done the same.

At the start of the news conference — his first after taking over the post — he said the purpose was to elaborate on the army's professional activities, including analysing its counterterrorism operations.

"The contacts between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch [insurgent] organisations and foreign intelligence agencies has been proven."

Pakistan's civil and military agencies took great steps against terrorists, he said.

Giving a breakdown of the menace of terrorism during the current year, he said 436 incidents had occurred, in which 293 people were martyred and 523 injured.

During this period, security forces conducted 8,279 intelligence-based operations (IBOs), in which 1,535 terrorists were killed. Around 70 IBOs were being conducted daily, he added.

"There is no no-go area in Pakistan," he emphasised. However, terrorists were still disturbing the country's peace.

Referring to the suicide attack on a mosque in Peshawar in January, which claimed the lives of over 70 people, the ISPR DG said the blast was carried out by the banned militant group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar on the TTP's orders.

"The attacker belonged to Afghanistan. The facilitators have been arrested. These terrorists were trained in different areas of Afghanistan."

The masterminds of an attack on the Karachi police chief's office have also been arrested, he said, adding that the terrorists had taken Rs3 million to carry out the attack.

The ISPR DG further said that 137 security officials have been martyred so far this year while 117 have been wounded. "The war against terrorism that Pakistan has fought is unprecedented and will continue till the last terrorist is eliminated," he asserted.

Major General Chaudhry said that 98% of the work on the 2,611-kilometre fence between Pakistan and Afghanistan, while 85% of the work on the fence on the border with Iran had been completed.

Moreover, 65% of the area in tribal lands had been cleared of mines and 95% of the population displaced due to terrorism had returned home.

"No individual or group will be allowed to take the law into their own hands," he stressed. "Attempts to sabotage CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) and other projects are being thwarted. All projects are being provided complete security.

"Different social welfare programs have been announced after slashing the army's budget. The navy and airforce have also participated in relief activities."

The ISPR DG said the army had reviewed its expenditures in view of the country's economic situation. "Petroleum, ration and non-operational movement are being reduced.

Finance Minister urges FBR to boost tax revenue collection efforts

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has asked the FBR to enhance its efforts to achieve the true tax potential of the country.

He made the remarks while chairing a meeting in Islamabad to review the performance of the FBR.

Ishaq Dar extended his full support to the FBR in performance of its duties for revenue collection.

As per a statement released by the Ministry of Finance, FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad gave a detailed presentation on the FBR’s revenue targets and performance for the period July 2022 to March,2023.

“It was expressed that FBR will make all out efforts to meet its targets in remaining months of the financial year,” read the statement.

Dar expressed satisfaction with the FBR and extended his full support to help it perform its revenue collection duties while maintaining that the FBR team needs to enhance efforts to unlock the country’s true tax potential.

SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Chairman FBR, and other senior officers from the Finance Division and FBR attended the meeting.

Pakistan, which remains engulfed in various economic challenges, faces a low tax-to-GDP ratio. As per data provided by the country’s Ministry of Finance, Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio dropped by 0.4% in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year to 4.4% from 4.8% of the same period last year.

Earlier, it was learnt that the federal tax collecting authority suffered a massive shortfall of Rs304 billion during July-March (2022-23).

It was learnt that Rs5,156 billion has provisionally been collected in the first nine months of the current fiscal year against the assigned target of Rs5,460 billion for July-March (2022-23), reflecting a huge shortfall of Rs304 billion.

Earlier, Dar had said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have assured the International Monetary (IMF) they will help Pakistan.

The minister said Saudi Arabia had conveyed to the IMF $2 billion financing to Pakistan while the UAE had confirmed support of $1 billion. The Pakistani government had met all the conditionalities of the IMF for the revival of the loan agreement, he added.

He also said that all preconditions for a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) between Pakistan and the IMF have now been implemented.

Pakistan urges UNSC to act for resolution of Kashmir, Palestine disputes

Pakistan has called on the United Nations Security Council to take “bold decisions” to secure the compliance of States with the U.N. Charter’s principles and its own decisions such as to grant the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir and Palestine.

“The Council has various means available to it, under the Charter, to secure such compliance,” Ambassador Munir Akram told the 15-member Council on Monday.

Speaking in an open day-long debate on ‘effective multilateralism”, the Pakistani envoy suggested that the UN Secretary-General should prepare an annual review of situations on Council’s agenda where its resolutions were being violated or remain unimplemented.

“Protestations of commitment to the UN Charter ring hollow when no action is taken to redress these blatant violations of the UN Charter and resolutions of the Security Council on the two issues on the agenda of the Security Council,” he added

The debate was sponsored by Russia, which holds the rotating Council presidency for the month of April. The session was a prominent appearance for Sergei Lavrov, who appeared at U.N. headquarters in New York, his first visit to the United States since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began 14 months ago that saw him sparring with Western diplomats on the conflict.

“Today,” Ambassador Akram said, “International peace and security confront multiple threats, arising from violations of the principles of the UN Charter; great power rivalries; a renewed global arms race, including in new domains and weapons; proliferating conflicts and disputes; spreading terrorism, hate and Islamophobia; organized crime; rising poverty; and growing climate impacts.”

“A prime illustration of derogation from the Charter and Security Council resolutions is the situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Kashmiri people, prescribed by the Security Council, has been subverted and suppressed by India through seven decades of force and fraud; another is the situation in occupied Palestine,” the Pakistani envoy said.

Warning that an uncontrolled arms race — which now encompasses several new weapons and new domains of competition — will, sooner or later, lead to a disastrous conflict involving States armed to the teeth, Ambassador Akram urged the United Nations to take the lead in reviving the process of arms control and disarmament.

He said effective multilateralism could only be built on the foundation of strong international institutions. In this regard, he called for the Council to be enlarged and become more representative, accountable, democratic, transparent and effective, rather than an enlarged club of the large and powerful States.

“Effective multilateralism, in short, must be comprehensive, inclusive and equitable,” the Pakistani envoy said, promising to promote it, including in the preparations for the Summit of the Future next year.