ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The former Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again reiterated the demand of an open trial of the former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt General (retd) Faiz Hameed if he is suspected of fueling the 9th May riots, maintaining that neither it’s a military issue nor a part of any foreign design.
Talking to media at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Friday, Imran Khan said that they are alleging me of conspiring with Faiz Hameed to attack military installations on May 9, 2023 but in fact, I took the only federal-level party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from zero to peak and had been waging a political struggle for the past 28 years within the constitutional boundaries.
آپ اتنا بڑا الزام لگا رہے ہیں کہ فیض سے مل کر 9 مئی کی سازش کی،میں نے زیرو سے پارٹی شروع کی اور 28 سال سے آئین کے اندر رہ کر جدوجہد کر رہا ہوں، اگر 9 مئی میں فیض حمید ملوث تھا تو آپ اوپن ٹرائل کریں، یہ ملٹری کا ایشو ہے نہ ہی سیکرٹ انٹرنیشنل ایشو ہے، عمران خان۔۔۔!!!
Referring to the response attributed to the “unnamed security sources” on media over his demand of Faiz Hameed’s open trial, the former prime minister said that they asked me ‘who am I’, they must know that I am the head of the Country’s largest political party and therefore, entitled to make such a demand.
About the postponement of the PTI public gathering at Tarnol scheduled on August 22, Imran Khan said that he was informed that the matter relates to the sensitive issue of Finality of Prophethood and religious parties were protesting in Islamabad, prompting a fear of chaos; therefore, he called Azam Swati and Barrister Gohar Khan and instructed them to postpone the jalsa.
Otherwise, he added, he was fearing as it would have caused the replica of 9th May riots.
Imran Khan made it clear that he had postponed the PTI jalsa for the last time. He said that the authorities have issued a NOC allowing the party to organize a public gathering in Islamabad on September 8, and now if any obstacles are once again created in the way, the latter would be held responsible.
عمران خان نے نے کہا کہ 8 ستمبر کو آپ کہہ رہے ہیں کہ آپ جلسہ کر سکتے ہو اور NOC بھی مل گیا تو 8 ستمبر کو جلسہ ہر صورت ہونا چاہیے، علیمہ خان pic.twitter.com/n7dDNWC5ma
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The Embassy of Pakistan in Brussels is holding an Art Competition titled “Defence Day” as part of the celebrations to mark the upcoming Country’s Defence Day.
The Defence Day Painting/Poster Competition has been categorized into various age groups i.e. under 8, under 14, and no age limit.
The participants for the Competition have been asked to take a high-resolution photograph of their artwork and send it to the email address parepbrussels@mofa.gov.pk by September 2, 2024 for registration.
The original artwork should be submitted on September 6, 2024 at 3:30 pm.
The dimensions of the original artwork should be 30cm in length and 40cm in width.
The winners of the Defence Day Painting/Poster Competition will be awarded with the certificates.
The Award Distribution Ceremony will be held at September 6, 2024.
Commercial Banks reserves: $5.37 billion, up by $3 million
KARACHI, Pakistan: With a marginal increase of US$ 22 million in a week ended on August 16, 2024, the Country’s total foreign reserves reached US$ 14.67 billion, as per the latest statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The statistics showed that that the total liquid foreign reserves held by the Country as of August 16, 2024 were US$ 14,667.4 million.
Pakistan’s Liquid Foreign Reserves Position (Aug 16, 2024):
It’s worth noting that like elsewhere around the Pakistan, exchange rates are not fixed in Pakistan as well and they can fluctuate everyday due to a variety of factors including market forces, interest rates, inflation, political & economic stability, and speculation.
On Friday (August 23, 2024), the gold rate for one tola of 24-karat in Karachi, Pakistan, is Rs 262,200.000.
It’s important to note that gold prices in Pakistan are subject to frequent fluctuations based on international market conditions; therefore, they are not fixed. The below rates are sourced from local gold markets and Sarafa Markets in different cities.
Gold Price in Pakistan Today – August 23, 2024 (In PKR)
Gold Rate
24K Gold
22K Gold
21K Gold
18K Gold
Per Tola Gold
262,200.000
240,350.000
229,425.000
196,650.000
Per 10 Gram Gold
224,800.000
206,066.667
196,700.000
168,600.000
Per 1 Gram of Gold
22,480.000
20,606.667
19,670.000
16,860.000
Per Ounce
637,146.000
584,050.500
557,502.750
477,859.500
Today’s gold rate per Tola in Pakistan is Rs 262,200.000 on Friday (August 23, 2024).
Whereas one gram of 24k Gold is being sold at Rs 22,480.000 and 10 grams of 24K Gold are being traded for Rs 224,800.000.
A single ounce of 24k gold is trading at Rs 637,146.000.
Islamabad, Pakistan: The former prime minister Imran Khan who was voted out from office in April 2022 is getting exceptional space in Western media, and over 130 articles have appeared in his favour in European and North American media since he was sent to jail. No such former prime minister of Pakistan got this much space in foreign media although late Benazir Bhutto, Muhammad Khan Junejo, and Mian Nawaz Sharif were sent home but no such response came from foreign media in their favor as Khan is receiving.
Political circles believe that the exceptional media space that Imran is getting in foreign media is due to lobbying firms his party has hired. Some believe it was because his team is sitting in the United States and operating freely from there and meeting foreign journalists. The most lethal misconception is that Imran Khan is getting this favor from foreign media because he was jailed. Another misconception among people is that Project Imran was home-grown and the work of some former members of the Pakistani establishment. Nonetheless, the rise of Imran as a ‘Zionist Project’ was indicated by several personalities like Hakeem Muhammad Saeed, Dr Israr Ahmad, and many more as early as in 1990s. They predicted that Zionists would launch Imran Khan and he would run Pakistan to fulfill the Zionist agenda. Hakeem Saeed authored and compiled over 200 books on religion, medicine, and wisdom. On October 17, 1998, he was martyred in Karachi, when he was brutally shot outside his pharmacy in Aram Bagh. In his book ‘Japan Ki Kahani‘, he predicted Imran Khan of Pakistan had been selected by the Jewish lobby and Zionist television and press have taken Imran Khan hand in hand, CNN, BBC Everyone is shaking the earth and sky in praise of Imran Khan. Britain, which partitioned Palestine and established a Jewish government, is promoting Imran Khan. “Now Imran Khan is married to Jews, Pakistan’s media is being given crores of rupees to make Imran Khan a special person. Imran Khan is being promoted to the Prime Ministership of Pakistan”, Hakeem Saeed added. If we look at the events in the last three decades from the establishment of PTI and Imran Khan to the post of Prime Minister till now, the powerful Jewish lobby is standing behind Imran Khan. The influence of the Jewish lobby that is behind the massacre of Palestinians has been showing its ‘worries’ for ‘human rights abuses in Pakistan’.
On April 13, 2022, during his interview at the Capital Talk show with Hamid Mir, President Asif Ali Zardari said that PTI social media is far ahead of any political party because it is designed by foreigners and the Goldsmiths family is behind Imran Khan. He was referring to the ex-wife of Khan Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith and her family who is part of the UK cabinet. Answering questions, Zardari said that social media had become a lethal weapon and PTI social media is far ahead of any political party because it is designed by foreigners and the Goldsmiths family is behind Imran Khan and even (the then) sitting Minister of the UK who is a relative of Imran Khan released an objectionable statement in favor of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith responded to such allegations and called them untrue.
A brief look at the media outlook of Imran’s coverage in Western media indicates that more than 130 toxic articles appeared in the last year in favor of PTI and against Pakistan in Western media, several international media TV documentaries appeared, and anti-Pakistan resolutions moved in American Congress and Great Britain Parliament and running paid anti-Pakistan campaigns on vehicles and ships were observed. President Zardari linked such activities in the past with the ‘House of Goldsmith’. Goldsmith’s followers are engrossed in the genocide of innocent Muslims in Gaza but with extreme hypocrisy and shamelessness, they are spreading fabricated propaganda about false human rights violations in Pakistan.
Official circles claim that since Goldsmith’s agents could not provide any relief to Imran Niazi and his party by sitting outside Pakistan, they have fully mobilized their proxies in Pakistan including a few Pakistani journalists and even the British Embassy in Islamabad looks very active for providing relief to Imran Khan. British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriot has been seen holding meetings with journalists, Human Rights activists, and academia to rally support for Imran Khan. One asks what a British ‘diplomat’ gains by these endeavors or the right question may be; what are the British afraid to lose?
This British High Commissioner is not a typical diplomat after having served mostly in conflict zones like Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, etc. At least a decade of her ‘service’ is unaccounted for and doesn’t boast any diplomatic deployment. Official circles believe that Marriot is behaving as a diplomat should have been and her comments during the Asma Jahangir Conference have already exposed what she has in her mind. She expressed concerns about the electoral process, noting that not all parties were allowed to contest, and legal processes were used to inhibit some political leaders and the use of recognizable party symbols. These comments provoked a strong response from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Supreme Court’s registrar addressed Marriott’s criticism in a letter, emphasizing that the court had resolved the election date issue in just 12 days and that general elections were held throughout Pakistan on February 8, 2024.
When contacted, responsible officials who are dealing with cases of Imran Khan were of the view that getting Imran Khan and his associates out of the trap of the May 9 Mutiny is also the main objective of this foreign-funded and foreign propaganda project. They also claim that not only the UK Embassy in Pakistan is active rather some other diplomatic platforms such as the European Union are actively following Imran’s cases and are in contact with journalists and Human Rights organizations in Islamabad.
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: A delegation of 44 students from Harvard Business School (HBS) Trek-2024, representing nine different countries, met the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
The interactive session provided a platform to share perspectives on Pakistan’s pivotal role in promoting regional peace and stability, its unwavering efforts against terrorism, and its commitment to upholding democratic values.
General Asim Munir emphasized the significance of education, critical thinking, and innovation in addressing contemporary security challenges. He highlighted Pakistan’s vast potential and encouraged the attendees to form their own opinions based on personal experiences.
The COAS also cautioned against the perils of misinformation and fake news in the digital age, urging the students to navigate this landscape with discernment.
The Harvard students expressed their gratitude to the COAS for facilitating a constructive and enlightening interaction.
This engagement follows the COAS’s earlier interaction with students from various universities at the General Headquarters on August 20, underscoring his commitment to nurturing and inspiring the nation’s youth.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze met Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad on Thursday.
The prime minister welcomed the German minister to Pakistan and appreciated Germany’s longstanding support for Pakistan’s socioeconomic development. He said that Pakistan and Germany had a history of mutually beneficial commercial and economic ties and lauded Germany’s role in Pakistan’s industrial development.
In this context, the prime minister expressed Pakistan’s strong desire to revive the Pakistan-Germany partnership back to its glorious past.
The prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to sustainable development, climate change mitigation and economic growth while sharing his government’s priorities including structural reforms for the economic revival of the Country.
The German minister conveyed greetings of Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the prime minister and reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Pakistan, particularly in the areas of trade, investment, and development cooperation.
Svenja Schulze also shared that Germany was keen to increase its support for Pakistan’s renewable energy sector and climate resilience initiatives.
The two sides discussed ways to further enhance bilateral economic cooperation including increased trade, investment, IT and technology transfer as well as export of skilled labor.
They also exchanged views on regional and global issues including the situation in Gaza and the Ukraine conflict.
The German Minister Svenja Schulze also extended an invitation to the Prime Minister on behalf of Chancellor Olaf Scholz to attend the Hamburg Sustainability Conference in October.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from both sides including the Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister, Minister for Planning, Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister for Commerce and Minister of State for IT.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday launched Buna-Raast Connectivity Project in Islamabad to streamline remittances from the Arab world to Pakistan.
The project links Pakistan’s digital payment system Raast with Buna which is established under the Arab Monetary Fund.
While addressing the launching ceremony, the prime minister said that this ground breaking initiative will further strengthen our historic relations with the Arab World in a modern digital way. He said that the initiative aims to facilitate our fellow Pakistanis in the Arab world to quickly send their money back home.
براہِ راست: وزیرِاعظم محمد شہباز شریف کی بونا-راست کنیکٹیوٹی منصوبے کے نفاد کی افتتاحی تقریب میں گفتگو https://t.co/Ipq3W7pdtB
Shahbaz Sharif pointed out that it is Pakistan’s first cross border real time payment system that will make remittances more affordable and accessible.
Referring to the economic challenges, the prime minister said that he will soon announce a five-year home grown economic program. He said that discussions have been held with stakeholders on it over the last many months. He said that the program will envisage measures to uplift the economy and different sectors including agriculture and IT.
In his remarks on the occasion, the Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed satisfaction that macro-economic stability is taking roots in Pakistan. He said the investor confidence is also coming back to the Country.
The finance minister was confident that the Extended Fund Facility of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will help bring permanence to macro-economic stability. He said that the government is committed to structural reforms including in the energy and taxation system.
Muhammad Aurangzeb said that remittances are a lifeline for Pakistan and the country received remittances of US$ 3 billion in July 2024. He said that Buna-Raast project will further enhance remittances.
Islamabad, Pakistan: The saga of Monal Restaurant in Margalla Hills National Park is a textbook example of how the Superclass manipulates rules to benefit elites and grab economic and power resources in Pakistan.
Strongly interlaced, intermixed, and intermingled, the Superclass oMargalla Hills National Parkvertly employs rules, and laws and even covertly rewrites rules in its favor without any fear of contest from the administrative system that serves the powerful.
Margallah Hills National Park comprises the Margallah Range (12605 ha) the Rawal Lake, and the Shakarparian Sports and Cultural Complex. The rock formations are 40 million years old, and fossils of marine life abound everywhere bearing eloquent testimony that the Margallah hills were at one time under the sea.
Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP) was established in 1980 through notification No. S.R.O. 443 (1)/80, dated 28th April 1980 under section 21 of Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation & Management) Ordinance, 1979. Margalla Reserve Forest comprises villages that include Mangial, Malach Dakhali, Phulgran, Mandia, Jhang, Malpur, (Bijran), Rumli, Narias, Padoh Dakhali, Noorpur Shahan, Ratta Hottar, Saidpur, DhokJiwan, Gandhian, Kilinjar, and Saniari; the area bounded by Shahrah-i-Kashmir in the north, Shahrah-i-Islamabad in the west and Murree Road in the South and East up to the junction with Shahrah-I-Kashmir and Rawal Lake and areas within the distance of 2km from the highest water mark of the lake. Today, the land comprising Shakparian, Lok Virsa, Sports Complex Islamabad Club, Polo Ground, Islamabad Riding Club, Islamabad Golf Course, Gun Club, Parade Ground, heliport, and China Expo Centre also fall in the MHNP. Motels and marquees along the Murree Road from Faizabad up to the Islamabad Club are located in the MHNP in violation of rules that govern National Parks globally.
Before the establishment of MHNP, the land had been under usage by different departments and entities including the Punjab Forest Department and a military grass farm. The Superclass used this past of MHNP as a ‘loophole’ to ruin Margalla National Park.
According to a brief history of this land, the Punjab Government leased out 11,970 acres out of 12,511 acres of the forestland to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for 20 years in 1961. The lease expired in 1981 and CDA got an extension of the lease for 10 years. However, after 1991 neither did the CDA ask for another extension nor did the Punjab government take any step to reclaim the ownership of the forestland because it suited both to create ambiguity about the ownership for favoring land encroachers and builders of the hotel industry. In 2012, the Punjab government took up the issue with CDA with a lull of 21 years when CDA started a project of construction of Margalla Avenue passing through the forests near Labana village. The Punjab Government called for the construction of Avenue violation of the lease agreement signed by the West Pakistan [now Punjab] Agriculture secretary and CDA’s Horticulture Directorate in 1966. The situation is similar to the military grass venture. The record shows that only the grass-cutting rights were given to the Military Veterinary and Farms Corps (MV&FC) to provide fodder to the military animals and MVFC regularly paid an annual fee to the Forest Department in the past.
When CDA directed Monal Restaurant to stop encroaching land around the Restaurant, the owner of the Restaurant who is a brother of the Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal claimed that CDA was not the owner of the land as the land belonged to the military and he signed a lease deal with military farms authorities though he got the first lease from CDA.
It is pertinent to mention that the notification of 1980, which established the MHNP directed that the CDA maintain the Margalla forest and CDA can’t violate the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation & Management) Ordinance, 1979 under which MHNP was set up.
Interestingly, Margalla Society (run under a powerful bureaucrat Roedad Khan for decades before his death), Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), WWF, IUCN, and other environmental protection authorities and organizations miserably failed to save the third-largest national park in Pakistan when commercial activities like restaurants, amusement parks and even housing societies started operations in Margalla Hills. IWMB is operating under the Ministry of Climate Change having a mandate to protect, manage, and conserve the Margalla Hills National Park. It was set up in 2015 under Section 4 of the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Ordinance 1979.
Nature was at last helped by the Islamabad High Court which came forward to save this National Park from the manipulation of civil administration. In January 2022, the Islamabad High Court declared that the claim of the Remount, Veterinary, and Farms (RV&F) Directorate of Pakistan Army, over 8,068 acres of land in the notified Margalla National Park area violates the Ordinance of 1979 read with the Ordinance of 1960 and the Master Plan.
The court order indicated that the RV&F Directorate bypassed the Government of Pakistan and directly took up the matter with the CDA. It stated that through notification No. 266 dated 23 April 1910 land was being ‘utilized by Military Farm Rawalpindi for production of hay for Army animals and permitting the use of land does not confer its ownership, nor could ownership have been conferred on the Directorate, a non-legal entity.
The case consequently went to the Supreme Court of Pakistan which released its detailed judgment on August 21, 2024. The judgment shows how the Superclass manipulates rules, and laws and even rewrites rules to protect members of this Superclass. The judgment notes that the directorate asserted rights to the land of the National Park on the tenuously improbable premise that in the year 1910, the Veterinary, Remount, and Farms unit of the British Army was allowed to use some land of the National Park for fodder cutting but did not have ownership of the land. Strangely, the Directorate gave a lease to a brother of one of the top bureaucrats of Pakistan for a seventeen-year lease of a land that was not under its ownership. The judgment also indicates that the Federal Government was correct in rejecting the fanciful notion of the Directorate that 110-year-old permission to collect fodder did not nor could bestow ownership rights to such land. The judgement added that the application was filed by the federal government wherein it stated in writing that the RV&FD Lease was void ab initio’, and that no record is available to show ‘that the Federal Government has given any approval to execute the Lease Agreement with owner of Monal Restaurant.
Chief Justice Pakistan noted that a lessee cannot unilaterally discard his lessor, substitute it with another, and then become the lessee of the latter, but this is what Mr Afzal did. He unilaterally cast aside CDA, his Lessor, and the CDA Lease and elected to become the purported lessee of the Directorate under the RV&FD Lease. Mr. Afzal had obtained the possession of the property from CDA pursuant to the CDA Lease and had agreed to pay rent to CDA, but then he stopped paying rent to CDA and had the temerity to seek the refund of the rent already paid to the CDA.
For a better understanding of how the bureaucrats play havoc with state properties, the following parts of the SC judgment are reproduced hereunder:
“Nonetheless, Mr Afzal retained the possession of the property which he had got from CDA under the CDA Lease while he put up his untenable contention. Rarely such audaciousness, and complete disregard of the law has been witnessed. Afzal cultivated and developed relationships with the powerful, and his brother was in the bureaucracy who then rose to the highest position in it. Therefore, he may have deluded himself by assuming that he was above the law. He violated the law for years and went on expanding his restaurant by encroaching into and destroying the National Park. The protected status of the National Park was of no consequence to him and to the government servants who supported him.”
Money, connections, influence, and/or nepotism supplanted the law and the protected status of the National Park, first by getting the CDA to execute the CDA Lease and then the Directorate to execute the FV&FD Lease. Every opportunity was given to Mr Afzal to comply with the law, which he had been continuously flouting for eighteen years. Probably it finally dawned that this Court would ensure the law is abided by and that it would also ensure that the National Park is protected which made him and the other restaurant owners pause and reflect.
During the hearing of these cases and earlier too frequent fires had erupted in the National Park. The Court was informed that the cause of these fires could also be that Monal, La Montana, and Gloria Jeans were popular venues and daily attracted thousands of customers and any of whom could carelessly throw a lit match or a cigarette, without first extinguishing it, which would ignite the dry grass and twigs lying on the forest floor of the National Park. These blazes are difficult to put out and require considerable manpower and resources, including repeated sorties by helicopters carrying water to throw on the fires.
The owner of La Montana and Gloria Jeans, namely, Dr. Muhammad Amjad, was also issued a notice by this Court, but he elected not to disclose how he managed to get possession of the mountain ridge next to Mr. Afzal’s restaurant and who, if anyone, granted him permission to construct and run his establishments. However, it is unimaginable that without having connections with those at the power center of the country he would have been able to raise illegal buildings and to do so by disregarding the laws of Pakistan.
He too had connections with General Pervez Musharraf, who after his retirement had made Dr. Muhammad Amjad his political party’s Chairman. When personal contacts with the paid servants of the State, trump the laws of Pakistan, and bureaucrats come to serve the interest of lawbreakers it is an abomination.
The priciest land in Islamabad is the land facing the Margalla Hills; prices start reducing the further one moves away from this natural wonder. Resultantly, every profiteer has set his eyes on this unbuilt real estate which probably is the most expensive land in Pakistan. The National Park land has over the years been encroached upon, which could only have happened with the involvement of the officers of CDA and other senior bureaucrats.
The National Park land is under grave and imminent danger. The rich, powerful and well-connected want to wrest it away for their personal use and/or gain. This must stop. The people cannot be deprived of the National Park, its flora and fauna, and of the benefits of this amazing national asset. Government servants who collude with land grabbers also need reminding that it is the people who pay their salaries and it is them who they serve, and whose interest they must protect. Those who forget this fundamental truth are a drain on the public exchequer.
Private interests and those marauding public lands must not be allowed to deprive the people of Pakistan and future generations of it. If we lose the National Park the adverse effects of greenhouse gases, deforestation, soil erosion, pollution, and climate change will be exacerbated to the detriment of the people and future generations.
The fundamental right to life, and to live it with dignity (respectively Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution) is to live in a world that has an abundance of all species. It has by now been scientifically well established that if the earth becomes bereft of birds, animals, insects, trees, plants, clean rivers, unpolluted air, and soil it will be the precursor of our destruction, and scientific research establishes that nothing in nature is without value and purpose”.
This is one case that appeared on the surface but there can be hundreds of such cases where bureaucrats played havoc with state property that actually belongs to the citizens of the country who have no ownership over state land because they are not backed by the powerful Superclass.
Total reserves: $14.67 billion, up $22.2 million
SBP reserves: $9.30 billion, up $19.2 million
Commercial Banks reserves: $5.37 billion, up by $3 millionKARACHI,...
Islamabad, Pakistan: The former prime minister Imran Khan who was voted out from office in April 2022 is getting exceptional space in Western media,...
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: A delegation of 44 students from Harvard Business School (HBS) Trek-2024, representing nine different countries, met the Chief of Army Staff (COAS)...