Gauhar submitted his resignation via WhatsApp last night, confirmed sources, adding that one of the reasons for him doing so could be due to his tough position on the government's negotiations with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy, a shaken Congress formally certified Biden’s election victory.
Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an “orderly transition” on Jan. 20 when Biden will be sworn into office.
Congress had resumed its work certifying Biden’s Electoral College win late on Wednesday after the chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill, with debate stretching into the early hours of Thursday.
After debate the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected two objections to the tally and certified the final Electoral College vote with Biden receiving 306 votes and Trump 232 votes.
Vice President Mike Pence, in declaring the final vote totals behind Biden’s victory, said this “shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected president and vice president of the United States.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take office alongside Biden on Jan. 20.
The outcome of the certification proceedings had never been in doubt, but had been interrupted by rioters – spurred on by Trump – who forced their way past metal security barricades, broke windows and scaled walls to fight their way into the Capitol.
Police said four people died during the chaos – one from gunshot wounds and three from medical emergencies – and 52 people were arrested.
Some besieged the House of Representatives chamber while lawmakers were inside, banging on its doors and forcing suspension of the certification debate. Security officers piled furniture against the chamber’s door and drew their pistols before helping lawmakers and others escape.
The assault on the Capitol was the culmination of months of divisive and escalating rhetoric around the Nov. 3 election, with the Republican president repeatedly making false claims that the vote was rigged and urging his supporters to help him overturn his loss.
Trump persisted in making the false claims he had won even as he said the transition would be orderly.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter by White House spokesman Dan Scavino.
Wednesday’s chaos unfolded after Trump – who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost – addressed thousands of supporters near the White House and told them to march on the Capitol to express their anger at the voting process.
He told his supporters to pressure their elected officials to reject the results, urging them “to fight.”
Some prominent Republicans in Congress strongly criticized Trump, putting the blame for the day’s violence squarely on his shoulders.
“There is no question that the President formed the mob, the President incited the mob, the President addressed the mob. He lit the flame,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney said on Twitter.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a leading conservative from Arkansas, called on Trump to accept his election loss and “quit misleading the American people and repudiate mob violence.”
The PML-N confirmed Maryam Nawaz will be visiting Quetta with other senior leaders of the party whereas Bilawal will be accompanied by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to the Quetta visit.
Read more: Funeral of 11 Balochistan coal miners executed in Machh terror attack today
Besides, a delegation of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) will also leave Islamabad for Quetta today to show solidarity with the Hazara community.
The delegation will convey Maulana Fazlur Rehman's condolence message to the Hazara community members.
The burial was in Nazeer's hometown of Khanabad in Hunza.
But the policemen accused of murdering Nazeer are still at large, the police informed the administrative judge of an anti-terrorism court in Karachi the same day Nazeer was buried.
The investigation officer of the case submitted a report before the judge that the two police constables, Shabbir Ahmed and Jahangir Khan, were on the run. He told the court that efforts were underway to nab the absconding suspects.
A case was registered against the two Karachi policemen on Monday.
News of Nazeer's killing came two days after a 22-year-old Islamabad student, Usama Nadeem, was shot dead by the Anti-Terrorist Squad personnel.
The FIR against the Karachi cops was registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Site A Section police station, where they are deployed.
It was registered on the request of Saleemullah, the cousin of the victim, Nazeer.
Nazeer was a student of BCom and used to work in Saddar.The victim’s family is worried over the pace of the investigation.
Speaking to The News, Saleemullah, a cousin of Nazeer, said the police had not contacted him since the lodging of the FIR and his family was not satisfied with the probe.
“He [Nazir] was a scout and has been buried in his homeland with full honour,” he said, expressing disgust over the initial claim made by police that the victim was a robber who got killed in an exchange of fire with police personnel in the SITE area. “Would a robber hire Bykea to mug people?” he questioned.
He said Nazir had come to Karachi from Hunza a couple of years ago and had started a small garments shop in the Saddar area with the help of his brother.
“The whole Gilgit-Baltistan is in anger over what Sindh police have done,” he said, referring to the videos and pictures of Nazir’s funeral being shared on social media. “He was a boy scout, a responsible person and a social activist. Labelling him a robber is an insult to his services to society.”
The PML-N confirmed Maryam Nawaz will be visiting Quetta with other senior leaders of the party whereas Bilawal will be accompanied by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to the Quetta visit.
Read more: Funeral of 11 Balochistan coal miners executed in Machh terror attack today
Besides, a delegation of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) will also leave Islamabad for Quetta today to show solidarity with the Hazara community.
The delegation will convey Maulana Fazlur Rehman's condolence message to the Hazara community members.
The burial was in Nazeer's hometown of Khanabad in Hunza.
But the policemen accused of murdering Nazeer are still at large, the police informed the administrative judge of an anti-terrorism court in Karachi the same day Nazeer was buried.
The investigation officer of the case submitted a report before the judge that the two police constables, Shabbir Ahmed and Jahangir Khan, were on the run. He told the court that efforts were underway to nab the absconding suspects.
A case was registered against the two Karachi policemen on Monday.
News of Nazeer's killing came two days after a 22-year-old Islamabad student, Usama Nadeem, was shot dead by the Anti-Terrorist Squad personnel.
The FIR against the Karachi cops was registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Site A Section police station, where they are deployed.
It was registered on the request of Saleemullah, the cousin of the victim, Nazeer.
Nazeer was a student of BCom and used to work in Saddar.The victim’s family is worried over the pace of the investigation.
Speaking to The News, Saleemullah, a cousin of Nazeer, said the police had not contacted him since the lodging of the FIR and his family was not satisfied with the probe.
“He [Nazir] was a scout and has been buried in his homeland with full honour,” he said, expressing disgust over the initial claim made by police that the victim was a robber who got killed in an exchange of fire with police personnel in the SITE area. “Would a robber hire Bykea to mug people?” he questioned.
He said Nazir had come to Karachi from Hunza a couple of years ago and had started a small garments shop in the Saddar area with the help of his brother.
“The whole Gilgit-Baltistan is in anger over what Sindh police have done,” he said, referring to the videos and pictures of Nazir’s funeral being shared on social media. “He was a boy scout, a responsible person and a social activist. Labelling him a robber is an insult to his services to society.”
50 more people succumbed to the disease during this period, according to the latest update released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). The death toll from the infection has soared to 10,511, it said.
A total of 40,509 samples were tested yesterday, out of which 2,482 turned out to be positive.
There are 34,049 active cases of Covid-19 while 450,515 people have recuperated from the disease. 2,251 patients are said to be in critical conditions at different hospitals across the country.
On January 5, the federal cabinet with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair had allowed the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to purchase Covid-19 vaccine. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan briefed the cabinet on the current Covid-19 situation in Pakistan.
A District and Sessions court of Islamabad dismissed the post arrest bail petition of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill on Tuesday. Additional Dist...
