In call with COAS Bajwa, US defence chief reiterates commitment to ‘maintaining strong’ ties with Pakistan

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday reiterated Washington's "commitment to maintaining strong bilateral defense relationship with Pakistan".

The Pentagon chief renewed the commitment in a phone call with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on March 21.

"Secretary Austin reinforced the United States’ commitment to maintaining a strong bilateral defense relationship with Pakistan and expressed gratitude for Islamabad’s continued support for the Afghan peace process," said a press statement issued by the Department of Defense.

In the phone call, the US defence chief noted that he looks forward to "further cooperation" between the two countries in areas of common interest.

The phone call came just weeks before Washington is due to withdraw the last of its troops under a deal struck with the Afghan Taliban and Austin's unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Sunday.

Kabul was the last stop on a whirlwind tour of Asia for the new Pentagon chief, a former career soldier who served in Afghanistan as a division commander from September 2003 until August 2005.

Austin and his entourage flew into Afghanistan on a US-liveried aircraft instead of a military plane that usually carries US officials to the war-torn country.

Details of his visit were kept under wraps for security reasons until after he left.

Before Kabul, Austin had a series of meetings with Indian leadership during his visit to New Delhi.

 

 

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COVID-19 vaccine: China will prioritise fulfilment of Pakistan’s needs: Wang Yi

China will prioritise the fulfilment of Pakistan’s COVID-19 needs, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday.

The Chinese foreign minister, in a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said that China will donate more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Pakistan by March 31 to help the country fight coronavirus.

Wang Yi said that over a 100 countries had approached China to get the vaccine but they would prioritise the fulfilment of Pakistan’s COVID-19 needs.

The telephonic conversation encompassed the pandemic situation as well as the bilateral and other matters of mutual interests, a foreign ministry press release said.

Qureshi told Wang Yi that the government had formulated a comprehensive strategy to vaccinate the citizens against COVID-19 for which the country would require further doses of the vaccine.

In response, the Chinese FM assured to provide more vaccine doses by end of the current month.

Qureshi thanked the Chinese counterpart for the goodwill gesture. He said the Chinese assistance to the world particularly Pakistan during the challenging situation the pandemic was exemplary.

The foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart that Pakistan’s government was taking all precautionary measures, including the smart lockdown as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He also thanked the Chinese leadership for expressing good wishes, through a letter, for Prime Minister Imran Khan who had tested positive on Saturday.

Both the leaders had a detailed discussion on bilateral ties and multiple cooperation besides agreeing to keeping up the high-level contacts between the two countries.

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NAB Lahore office declared 'red zone' ahead of Maryam's hearing on March 26

The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday approved a request by the National Accountability Bureau to declare their Lahore office a "red zone" and for security to be provided to the bureau on the day of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz's hearing.

Maryam has been summoned by NAB on March 26 in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, as well as the purchase of land in Raiwind.

According to sources, the Punjab government's sub-cabinet committee on law and order approved the declaration of the NAB office as a red zone during Maryam's appearance.

NAB had cited fears of a possible attack on its building the day the PML-N leader is expected to appear.

Sources said approval has been granted for Punjab Rangers and police personnel to be deployed within the NAB office and surrounding areas on March 25 and 26.

Punjab Minister for Law Raja Basharat has said that no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands and strict action will be taken against those who disturb law and order and violate coronavirus safety protocols.

Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Fazlur Rehman, in a gesture of support on Sunday, said that during Maryam's hearing with NAB, the opposition alliance will show up in an act of solidarity with the PML-N leader.

"The apparent reasons cited by NAB (for the summons) have exposed the bureau for the puppet institution it is. It has approached the court for cancellation of [Maryam's] bail on the basis that she speaks against institutions.

"So the institution has been formed not to combat corruption but to serve other institutions," he said.

Fazlur Rehman said that when she appears before NAB on Friday, all of the PDM's workers and leaders will be right there with her.

He went on to say that the workers will number "not thousands, but hundreds of thousands".

It will be decided later who among the leaders will be present, but nonetheless, we will be there and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her, the PDM chief said.

Clashes outside NAB office last year

In August last year, when Maryam had been summoned by the anti-corruption watchdog to respond in a case of alleged illegal transfer of government land, violent clashes between PML-N workers and police took place.

Whereas Maryam branded the incident “state-sponsored terrorism” and said the government is "afraid of losing grip on power", NAB said it had never in its 20 years of existence ever experienced such “hooliganism” whereby its offices were vandalised.

What should have been a routine appearance before the anti-graft body, turned into a series of events that ran late into the evening, with the party as well as government officials engaged in an effort to seize the narrative.

While Maryam accused the police of firing tear gas shells and baton-charging party workers, and moreover of a deliberate attempt to cause her injury, the government said the violence was initiated by PML-N which has a “history” of “launching attacks against law enforcement”.

Later in the day, as many as two dozen of the party's workers were arrested, with the government vowing to hold all those responsible to account.

Additionally, the following day Maryam Nawaz, her husband Safdar Awan and 188 party workers were booked by police.

A case was registered at the Chohang police station against 300 unidentified persons — including the 188 PML-N workers — with charges including violence against police personnel.

According to the first information report registered, 13 policemen were injured in the clashes.

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NAB Lahore office declared 'red zone' ahead of Maryam's hearing on March 26

The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday approved a request by the National Accountability Bureau to declare their Lahore office a "red zone" and for security to be provided to the bureau on the day of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz's hearing.

Maryam has been summoned by NAB on March 26 in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, as well as the purchase of land in Raiwind.

According to sources, the Punjab government's sub-cabinet committee on law and order approved the declaration of the NAB office as a red zone during Maryam's appearance.

NAB had cited fears of a possible attack on its building the day the PML-N leader is expected to appear.

Sources said approval has been granted for Punjab Rangers and police personnel to be deployed within the NAB office and surrounding areas on March 25 and 26.

Punjab Minister for Law Raja Basharat has said that no one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands and strict action will be taken against those who disturb law and order and violate coronavirus safety protocols.

Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Fazlur Rehman, in a gesture of support on Sunday, said that during Maryam's hearing with NAB, the opposition alliance will show up in an act of solidarity with the PML-N leader.

"The apparent reasons cited by NAB (for the summons) have exposed the bureau for the puppet institution it is. It has approached the court for cancellation of [Maryam's] bail on the basis that she speaks against institutions.

"So the institution has been formed not to combat corruption but to serve other institutions," he said.

Fazlur Rehman said that when she appears before NAB on Friday, all of the PDM's workers and leaders will be right there with her.

He went on to say that the workers will number "not thousands, but hundreds of thousands".

It will be decided later who among the leaders will be present, but nonetheless, we will be there and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her, the PDM chief said.

Clashes outside NAB office last year

In August last year, when Maryam had been summoned by the anti-corruption watchdog to respond in a case of alleged illegal transfer of government land, violent clashes between PML-N workers and police took place.

Whereas Maryam branded the incident “state-sponsored terrorism” and said the government is "afraid of losing grip on power", NAB said it had never in its 20 years of existence ever experienced such “hooliganism” whereby its offices were vandalised.

What should have been a routine appearance before the anti-graft body, turned into a series of events that ran late into the evening, with the party as well as government officials engaged in an effort to seize the narrative.

While Maryam accused the police of firing tear gas shells and baton-charging party workers, and moreover of a deliberate attempt to cause her injury, the government said the violence was initiated by PML-N which has a “history” of “launching attacks against law enforcement”.

Later in the day, as many as two dozen of the party's workers were arrested, with the government vowing to hold all those responsible to account.

Additionally, the following day Maryam Nawaz, her husband Safdar Awan and 188 party workers were booked by police.

A case was registered at the Chohang police station against 300 unidentified persons — including the 188 PML-N workers — with charges including violence against police personnel.

According to the first information report registered, 13 policemen were injured in the clashes.

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Jack Dorsey's first ever tweet sells for $2.9m

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's first ever tweet has been sold for the equivalent of $2.9m (£2.1m) to a Malaysia-based businessman.

The tweet, which said "just setting up my twttr," was first published on March 21, 2006 and was auctioned off by Mr Dorsey for charity.

The Malaysia-based buyer Sina Estavi compared the purchase to buying a Mona Lisa painting.

The tweet was bought using the ether cryptocurrency, a rival to bitcoin.

It was sold as a nonfungible token (NFT) on Monday to Mr Estavi, the chief executive of technology firm Bridge Oracle.

An NFT is a unique digital certificate that states who owns a photo, video or other form of online media. Each NFT is unique and acts as a collector's item that can't be duplicated, making them rare by design.

NFTs have become hugely popular this year, with expensive digital artwork also being sold this way.

Mr Dorsey said he would convert the proceeds to bitcoin and then donate them to the Give Directly's Africa Response fund.

"This is not just a tweet!" Mr Estavi posted on Twitter. "I think years later people will realize the true value of this tweet, like the Mona Lisa painting."

Mr Dorsey's brief tweet was sold via an auction on an online platform called Valuables, which is owned by the US-based company Cent.

Under the platform's rules, Mr Dorsey receives 95% of the proceeds of the primary sale, while Cent receives 5%.

But the post will remain publicly available on Twitter even after it has been auctioned off. Within minutes of the auction bids reached more than $88,000.

As the buyer, Mr Estavi will receive a certificate, digitally signed and verified by Mr Dorsey, as well as the metadata of the original tweet. The data will include information such as the time the tweet was posted and its text contents.

Social media experts predict the sale of tweets and other online posts will become more popular.

"We live in an age where celebrities, musicians and influencers have more than fans, they have stans, and they will want to own a piece of their favourite stars," said Cathy Hackl, founder of technology consultancy Futures Intelligence Group.

"Just like people buy physical memorabilia, they will buy their tweets, posts, and snaps because they want to feel close to that star".

Earlier this month, the first digital-only art auction was held by Christie's auction house and netted $69m for the artist Beeple.

Beeple - real name Mike Winkelmann - creates a new piece of digital art every day, and was selling the first 5,000 days (13 years) of his work.

"This is a watershed moment and proof of concept for digital art, which has been dogged by questions of commercial value, authenticity, ownership and scarcity," said Rob Anders, boss of Israel-based digital art platform Niio.

Mr Estavi and Bridge Oracle didn't immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by the BBC.

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Nation celebrates Pakistan Day with enthusiasm

The nation is celebrating Pakistan Day today (Tuesday) with a renewed pledge to transform the country into a truly Islamic and welfare state in line with the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The day marks the adoption of the historic Lahore Resolution this day in 1940 that provided a framework for the realization of the goal of a separate homeland for Muslims of South Asia.
The Day dawned with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salute in provincial capitals. It is a public holiday today.

Special prayers were offered in mosques after Fajr prayers for the progress, prosperity and solidarity of the country.

In view of the third wave of Covid-19, all the events in connection with the day will be held ensuring compliance to SOPs. The Pakistan Day parade had been rescheduled owing to bad weather in Islamabad.

According to the army’s public relations wing, the parade has been rescheduled due to rain forecast by the Pakistan Metrological Department in Islamabad for the next two days.

The parade will now be held on March 25 with zeal and zest, the ISPR said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) also released the national song ‘Aik Qaum, Aik Manzil’ in connection with March 23 – Pakistan Day.

The song; Aik Qaum, Aik Manzil, highlights the very same ideology of unity, resilience and an indomitable resolve of Pakistanis, 81 years later.

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Corona claims 72 more lives, 3,270 fresh infections reported in pakistan

Coronavirus has claimed 72 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 13,935, reported on Tuesday.

The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 72 more lives and 3,270 fresh infections were reported during the period.

The total count of active cases is 34,535. The positivity ratio was recorded at 8.22 per cent during the past one day.

A total of 39,742 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Since the detection of the first COVID-19 case in the country, overall 9,857,233 tests have been conducted so far.

2,485 patients are in critical condition across the country, whereas, 1,733 people recovered from the deadly disease during the last 24 hours. Overall 585,271 have regained their health from the COVID-19.

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