Azam Swati tells Fazlur Rehman to rethink siding with PDM after 'his candidate was rejected' in Senate

Minister for Railways Azam Swati on Sunday said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) "rejected" Maulana Fazlur Rehman's candidate in the Senate election and he should now rethink siding with the opposition alliance.

The minister was addressing a press conference alongside Sadiq Sanjrani who was reelected as Senate chairman in a blow to the opposition alliance who had jointly fielded Yousaf Raza Gillani and had expected victory with their majority of 51 seats in the upper house of parliament.

The government swept away the entire election, also clinching the post of deputy chairman with Mirza Mohammad Afridi defeating the opposition's Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri.

Swati's remarks referred to the defeat of Haideri, who is a member of the Fazlur Rehman-led JUI-F party, and who obtained 44 votes versus Afridi's 54.

"PDM rejected [Fazlur Rehman's] candidate. Their is no room for him [in the alliance] now," the minister said.

"He should wisen up and think again if he wants to continue [siding with them]," Swati added.

Swati said that the way "cracks are emerging in PDM means that the parties have always served their own interests".

"Their narrative has been defeated and they must repent now and allow us to complete Imran Khan's reform agenda for the next two and a half years — and then we will again emerge victorious in 2023," he said.

'They can continue to hit their heads'

Speaking of the opposition's decision to challenge the Senate election results, he said that no matter what the opposition does, the "Constitution protects us".

"This is not an election held by the Election Commission. This is an upper house election. The Election Act has no bearing on this," he said, adding that there are two Sections of the Constitution that "guarantee us full protection".

"[The opposition] can continue to hit their heads [but will not succeed in having their way]," Swati said.

Electoral reforms

On electoral reforms and whether the government will invite the opposition for consultation, the minister said: "If the opposition is sensible, if they wish to serve democracy, they must know that reforms can only be brought with the law and Constitution."

He said the government simply seeks to make the Senate election process "so transparent that everyone should know who voted for whom".

"The only way to defeat this practice of votes buying is by implementing what Imran Khan is saying," Swati said.

He also called for the 39 amendments in the Election Act that he has filed to be passed by the parliament.

Swati said that Sanjrani has "played a positive role" as Senate chairman the last three years and he is confident after his reelection that he will continue to play an effective role in the three years ahead.

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Coronavirus in Pakistan: 2,664 test positive in single day, positivity rate climbs to 6.6%

Coronavirus cases across the country continue to be on the rise with Pakistan reporting 2,664 new infections over the past 24 hours, on Sunday.

The positivity percentage of the virus has been measured at 6.6% while 32 people have passed away from the disease in a single day.

The fresh number of cases reported over the past 24 hours mean that the total number of cases in the country has risen to 652,000. Out of these, 570,000 have recovered from the novel virus while total death toll has increased to 13,508.

On Saturday, Pakistan conducted 40,564 tests of the virus after which the above-mentioned results were obtained.

Earlier this week, the NCOC and the education ministry had taken important decisions on closing schools in certain cities of the country owing to the rising number of cases.

The NCOC had also announced that the ban on shrines, outdoor dining and other activities, such as the reopening of cinemas, has been extended as the country braces for a third wave of the virus.

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Three Islamabad subsectors to be sealed tonight among other measures as COVID-19 cases rise

The Islamabad district administration has decided to seal three subsectors of the capital city, among other measures, amid a rising number of coronavirus cases.

According to APP, 152 people tested positive in the capital in the last 24 hours.

Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said subsectors I-8/4, F-11/1 and I-10/2 will be sealed tonight and more areas are expected to be locked down. He said the new UK variant strain is prevalent in Islamabad.

1/3 - Following sub sectors are being selaed from tonight

Sector F-11/1 (51 cases)
Sector I-8/4 (53 cases
sector I-10/2 ( 48 cases)

Commercial areas , Amusements parks will be completely locked down on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

— Office of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) March 14, 2021

Shafqaat added that marketplaces and amusement marks will be kept shut on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

He said that all No-Objection Certificates (NOC) that had been granted to organisers of gatherings now stand cancelled. No indoor gatherings are allowed.

The deputy commissioner said that outdoor gatherings of 300 people are allowed only for a two-hour duration.

Offices are not allowed to call more than 50% employees to work.

Anyone found violating standard operating procedures will have to face immediate legal action.

Islamabad makes wearing masks mandatory

A day earlier, the district administration had mandated the use of masks by all citizens.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been put in place for the implementation of the rule, the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad, Hamza Shafqat said, as he announced the new rule.

The district administration warned of legal action against those found not wearing a mask, adding that the mask-wearing rule will remain in place for the next two months.

Additionally, five sectors of Islamabad were declared coronavirus "hotspots" and were to be sealed — Sectors G-6/2, G-9/1, G-10/4, I-8/3 and I/8-4.

Pakistan's coronavirus situation has taken a turn for the worse, with total cases zooming past 600,000 to hit 605,200 in the last 24 hours.

The situation is alarming as only a month ago, the cases stood at 500,000.

In the last 24 hours, 2,664 people tested positive in Pakistan and 32 people died.

Earlier this week, Minister for Planning and National Command and Operation's Centre chief Asad Umar had said "there is no doubt that the third coronavirus wave has begun".

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Three Islamabad subsectors to be sealed tonight among other measures as COVID-19 cases rise

The Islamabad district administration has decided to seal three subsectors of the capital city, among other measures, amid a rising number of coronavirus cases.

According to APP, 152 people tested positive in the capital in the last 24 hours.

Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said subsectors I-8/4, F-11/1 and I-10/2 will be sealed tonight and more areas are expected to be locked down. He said the new UK variant strain is prevalent in Islamabad.

1/3 - Following sub sectors are being selaed from tonight

Sector F-11/1 (51 cases)
Sector I-8/4 (53 cases
sector I-10/2 ( 48 cases)

Commercial areas , Amusements parks will be completely locked down on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

— Office of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) March 14, 2021

Shafqaat added that marketplaces and amusement marks will be kept shut on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

He said that all No-Objection Certificates (NOC) that had been granted to organisers of gatherings now stand cancelled. No indoor gatherings are allowed.

The deputy commissioner said that outdoor gatherings of 300 people are allowed only for a two-hour duration.

Offices are not allowed to call more than 50% employees to work.

Anyone found violating standard operating procedures will have to face immediate legal action.

Islamabad makes wearing masks mandatory

A day earlier, the district administration had mandated the use of masks by all citizens.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been put in place for the implementation of the rule, the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad, Hamza Shafqat said, as he announced the new rule.

The district administration warned of legal action against those found not wearing a mask, adding that the mask-wearing rule will remain in place for the next two months.

Additionally, five sectors of Islamabad were declared coronavirus "hotspots" and were to be sealed — Sectors G-6/2, G-9/1, G-10/4, I-8/3 and I/8-4.

Pakistan's coronavirus situation has taken a turn for the worse, with total cases zooming past 600,000 to hit 605,200 in the last 24 hours.

The situation is alarming as only a month ago, the cases stood at 500,000.

In the last 24 hours, 2,664 people tested positive in Pakistan and 32 people died.

Earlier this week, Minister for Planning and National Command and Operation's Centre chief Asad Umar had said "there is no doubt that the third coronavirus wave has begun".

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2,664 new corona cases in country wide reported over past 24 hours

Coronavirus cases across the country continue to be on the rise with Pakistan reporting 2,664 new infections over the past 24 hours.

The positivity percentage of the virus has been measured at 6.5% while 32 people have passed away from the disease in a single day.

The fresh number of cases reported over the past 24 hours mean that the total number of cases in the country has risen to 652,000. Out of these, 570,000 have recovered from the novel virus while total death toll has increased to 13,508.

Pakistan conducted 40,564 tests of the virus after which the above-mentioned results were obtained.

Earlier this week, the NCOC and the education ministry had taken important decisions on closing schools in certain cities of the country owing to the rising number of cases.

The NCOC had also announced that the ban on shrines, outdoor dining and other activities, such as the reopening of cinemas, has been extended as the country braces for a third wave of the virus.

NCOC chief Asad Umar had issued a grim warning: the third coronavirus wave has begun in Pakistan.

Speaking to DawnNews on Thursday, the planning minister had said: "Yes, absolutely. There is no doubt that the third wave has begun. Basically, the phenomena driving it is the spread of the UK strain."

"We had genome sequencing done from NIH (National Institute of Health) and [...] the dominant strain is the UK strain," the minister had said.

He said the UK strain was already known to transmit more easily and so spreads faster, compared to the original, Wuhan strain.

"And now with a new report we have also found that the mortality rate is higher," he added.

Umar had said that since Pakistan's first death in March last year and until now in 2021, "our fatality rate [...] saw a clear and sustained increase and we had speculated that it may be linked to this strain but now the international report establishes it".

"So this is a very dangerous situation that is developing."

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PMLN,s Javed Latif criticized for his 'Pakistan Khappay' statement

Various ministers of the government criticised PML-N MNA Javed Latif for his 'Pakistan Khappay' remarks, accusing him of issuing an anti-Pakistan statement.

A day earlier, Latif had said during a current affairs show on a private TV channel that if anything happened to PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, the PML-N will not say "Pakistan Khappay".

Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Pakistan on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill said Latif's statement had made it clear that money was dearer to the PML-N than anything else.

He said that those who talk against the solidarity of the country would meet the same fate that MQM founder Altaf Hussain had met, adding that they should apologise for the remarks.

SAPM to the Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan lashed out at the statement, saying it is "the height of madness and shamelessness".

"For this [statement] they deserve punishment, not forgiveness," she tweeted.

"This Maryam Safdar sycophant Javed Latif has the audacity to threaten to break up Pakistan. Any fool who places loyalty to leader above loyalty to the country is a disgrace & should be dealt with accordingly," tweeted federal minister Ali Zaidi.

پاکستان کا حامی و وفادار ہونے کا حلف اٹھانے والے MNAجاوید لطیف کی جانب سے جھوٹی راجکماری اور کرپٹ ظل سبحانی کے پروپیگنڈہ پر اندھا دھند وطن مخالف بیان بےشرمی اور پاگل پن کی انتہا ہے! جس پر یہ معافی نہیں سزا کے مستحق ہیں۔ عقل سے عاری درباری اس حد تک نہ گریں کہ واپسی کا راستہ نہ رہے

— Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan (@Dr_FirdousPTI) March 13, 2021

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opposition parties should not resign from the Parliament, Bilawal

Opposing the proposal of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the opposition parties should not resign from the Parliament.

Talking to journalists following a dinner at Zardari House in Islamabad, Bilawal said that a wrong impression was being created that some senators belonging to the opposition parties had deliberately wasted their votes.

He maintained that all the senators belonging to PDM had cast their votes to Yousaf Raza Gillani. There was no split within the opposition alliance, he said, adding the all the opposition parties were united under the umbrella of PDM.

Earlier today, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman had conveyed a suggestion of resigning from the assemblies to the head of the parties included in the opposition alliance.

According to sources privy to the discussion within the opposition alliance, the PDM head had reached out to PML-N General Secretary Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and consulted over the option to resign from the assemblies.

“Besides leading long march to Islamabad, the PDM should mull over resigning from the assemblies,” the JUI-F chief had said during the conversation adding that the move could prove effective against the incumbent government.

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