Political activists, stakeholders and Civil Society to take part in Yaum-e-Istehsal rallies

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Tuesday that the entire country was united on the issue of occupied Kashmir and will give 'one message' to India on the one-year anniversary of New Delhi's August 5 move.

"There is no confusion in our emotions or direction," said the foreign minister. "The entire country is united [on Kashmir issue] and will send one message to India [on August 5]," he added.

The foreign minister said that he had invited all political parties and stakeholders, which included the PPP, PML-N and other parties' leaderships, to the Foreign Office where they will exchange views on the Kashmir issue.

"We will take the political and Kashmiri leadership into confidence regarding the issue," he stressed, adding that the Yaum-e-Istehsal event will also come under discussion during today's cabinet session.

Answering a question about Pakistan's response and what more needed to be done, the foreign minister said that the struggle to provide the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir was an ongoing one.

"See, this is a struggle and it will have its ups and downs," he said. "Our stance hasn't changed and our destination is Srinagar. The locks and chains on the Jamia Masjid Srinagar will be broken," he added.

FM Qureshi said that political activists, stakeholders and other members of the society will take part in Yaum-e-Istehsal rallies around the country tomorrow. "We will observe one-minute silence, of course, keeping in mind the SOPs due to the coronavirus pandemic," he said.

The foreign minister lashed out at the Indian government for imposing a curfew in the occupied region, saying that it had negated India's stance.

"India's stance has been buried [by its decision to impose curfew again]," he said. "It shows that the Indian rulers aren't confident that Kashmiris will agree with them, despite the government's oppression and greed tactics," he added.

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PM Khan, Ashraf Ghani discuss progress in Afghan peace process

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called Prime Minister Imran Khan and extended felicitations on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

The prime minister reciprocated the Eid greetings and observed that this year, Eid-ul-Azha came when the international community was facing a number of challenges, including COVID-19.

He commiserated with President Ghani on the loss of lives in Afghanistan due to COVID-19 and expressed the hope that the coronavirus pandemic would be successfully contained, a press release issued by the PM Media Office here said.

Prime Minister Khan informed President Ghani of the government’s strategy against COVID-19 in Pakistan with the particular emphasis on saving lives, securing livelihoods, and stimulating the economy.

During the telephonic conversation, the two leaders also discussed the latest stage in the Afghan peace process.

The prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s positive contribution to the peace process, strongly stressing that peace in Afghanistan was of paramount importance.

He expressed the hope that the current momentum would be further built to implement the U.S.-Taliban Peace Agreement in its entirety leading to intra-Afghan negotiations at the earliest.

Referring to the various institutional mechanisms between the two countries, the prime minister highlighted the importance of working together to further strengthen bilateral relations and said Pakistan looked forward to the next session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) at the earliest.

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PM Khan, Ashraf Ghani discuss progress in Afghan peace process

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called Prime Minister Imran Khan and extended felicitations on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

The prime minister reciprocated the Eid greetings and observed that this year, Eid-ul-Azha came when the international community was facing a number of challenges, including COVID-19.

He commiserated with President Ghani on the loss of lives in Afghanistan due to COVID-19 and expressed the hope that the coronavirus pandemic would be successfully contained, a press release issued by the PM Media Office here said.

Prime Minister Khan informed President Ghani of the government’s strategy against COVID-19 in Pakistan with the particular emphasis on saving lives, securing livelihoods, and stimulating the economy.

During the telephonic conversation, the two leaders also discussed the latest stage in the Afghan peace process.

The prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s positive contribution to the peace process, strongly stressing that peace in Afghanistan was of paramount importance.

He expressed the hope that the current momentum would be further built to implement the U.S.-Taliban Peace Agreement in its entirety leading to intra-Afghan negotiations at the earliest.

Referring to the various institutional mechanisms between the two countries, the prime minister highlighted the importance of working together to further strengthen bilateral relations and said Pakistan looked forward to the next session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) at the earliest.

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NDMA starts work on clearing Karachi's key nullahs

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) teams started the operation to clear stormwater drains in Karachi on Monday, a few days after PM Imran directed the authority to clean the city.

NDMA teams along with the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) reached Gujjar nullah to unclog the drains in the city before the fourth spell of rain is forecast to hit Karachi later this week.

Heavy machines are being used by the teams involved in cleaning the drains, to lift the trash and shift it to the city's landfill sites.

Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed NDMA chairman to visit Karachi and launch a cleanup operation after rain wreaked havoc in the provincial capital.

“I have asked the NDMA chairman to go to Karachi immediately and start the clean-up in the aftermath of the rain,” the prime minister said on Twitter.

The prime minister’s directive had come after the reports of deaths, electrocution and flooded roads came from the city following heavy rain last week.

Chairman NDMA Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal while addressing a press conference on Sunday had said local corps of Pakistan Army had also been tasked to work alongside NDMA and FWO teams to give relief to the people from flash floods.

He had added that efforts were underway to evolve a long term solution to mitigate the woes of Karachiites by taking all stakeholders including federal, provincial, local governments, etc, for a permanent solution of overflowing nullahs and roads.

“We should give relief to people with joint collaborated efforts. The flash flood losses would remain in check during August and September rains. Afterwards, a permanent solution would be in place for getting rid of flash floods,” he had noted.

The chairman had said the city could experience its next wet spell from August 7 which was expected to last till August 10. Another one or two days spell is expected from August 15, however, the expectations of rain were 40%.

“Yet another spell would be from August 24 to 26. The chances of rain will be 60 to 65%,” he had said.

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India heightening security to hide people's anger and frustration: Mehbooba Mufti

Former chief minister of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJK) Mehbooba Mufti accused New Delhi of heightening security and surveillance "to ensure that anger and frustration felt by people here remain hidden".

The politician, who has been illegally detained since last year when Indian revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution that guaranteed autonomy to IoJK, took to Twitter to slam India's heightened security measures ahead of the one-year anniversary of the August 5 move.

"Suddenly, there is heightened security and surveillance in the valley. Not like non discriminatory COVID virus will be more active in the days approaching 5th August so clearly this is being done to ensure that anger and frustration felt by people here remain hidden," her account tweeted.

Though the statement comes from Mufti's account, a pinned tweet on her Twitter profile says that since she is being detained, her daughter is operating the account.

"Ms Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister J&K to whom this twitter handle belongs has been detained since 5th August 2019 without access to the account. This handle is now operated by myself, Iltija daughter of Ms Mufti with due authorisation," reads the tweet from September 2019.

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Constable opens fire on jailed man for asking for a cigarette

A cop on Sunday opened fire on a jailed man at a police station in Lahore over repeatedly asking him for a cigarette.

According to police, the incident occurred at Chuhang police station in Lahore, where Constable Waris opened fire on a jailed man, Zeeshan, who was brought to the police station in a case pertaining to electricity theft.

“The constable opened fire after the inmate repeatedly asked for a cigarette from Waris, who was posted at the security of a lockup at the police station,” they said.

The injured inmate was shifted to a hospital for medical treatment as police arrested the cop for injuring a prisoner and booked him in a case.

The police said that they would investigate the real motive behind the incident and determine if it was an incident over mere refusing a cigarette or anything else.

The doctors, who have treated the injured accused, said that he was currently out of danger.

It is pertinent to mention here that cases have been reported where cops have been found violating the powers given to them.

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Kashmiri people rejected India’s illegal move on August 5, 2019: Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the entire country is proud of its soldiers deployed at the Line of Control (LoC) and saluted their bravery.

The foreign minister made the remarks while speaking to the media at the LoC along with Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security, Dr Moeed Yusuf as the country marks the first anniversary of the Indian revocation of the special status of occupied Kashmir.

Qureshi, Khattak and Yusuf will brief the media about the Indian violation on LoC, targeting civilian towns and population. The foreign minister will also visit Muzaffarabad where he will meet the political leadership of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, while departing for the visit to LoC, Qureshi in a video message had said that Pakistan stands with Kashmiris. “Innocent Kashmiris are targeted by Indian forces every day at the LoC as New Delhi keeps violating the ceasefire pact between the two countries,” he said.

“The Kashmiri people have rejected India’s illegal's move on August 5, 2019,” he noted.

The foreign minister had added that the people of Kashmir will continue their struggle until they get their right to self-determination.

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