PM did not attend security briefing as Shahbaz would have walked out if he did: Fawad Ch

Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry on Friday commented on the prime minister's absence from the military and intelligence leadership's briefing on national security, Afghanistan and Kashmir to parliamentary leaders, claiming that the premier had not attended the briefing to accommodate the leader of opposition.

"The prime minister was scheduled to attend the national security huddle, but the opposition leader [Shahbaz Sharif] had conveyed to the speaker that if [Prime Minister Imran Khan] came to the briefing, he would not attend," Fawad said during an appearance on Geo News's morning show Geo Pakistan.

Echoing the talking points from a day earlier, Fawad said the government hopes and prays that there is a peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan.

"There are three million Afghan nationals in Pakistan — if another three million are pushed in, it will put a lot of pressure on our economy," he said.

"It won't be so easy for the Taliban to take over the government," Chaudhry said on the prospects for peace in the war-torn neighbour. "We want that the Afghan Taliban and the Ghani government negotiate [a way out]."

"We are only concerned when India uses Afghan territories against us," he added. "[Meanwhile, we will continue to try and mediate between the Afghan Taliban and the Ghani government."

Responding to the information minister's comments, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a statement, said: "Fawad Chaudhry is lying [...] He is a propaganda machine."

The PML-N spokesperson asked how Shahbaz could deny the request when the Speaker had invited him. "Please present any official document from Shahbaz or his office" denying the Speaker's request, she demanded.

"Did Imran Khan leave the National Parliamentary Committee meeting on coronavirus because of Shahbaz?" she asked.

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Pakistan rejects Indian claims of a drone flying over the Indian High Commission

Pakistan rejects Indian claims of a drone flying over the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, a statement from the Foreign Office said on Friday.

According to FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri: "These preposterous claims have no basis in facts and no proof whatsoever has been shared with Pakistan to substantiate these allegations."

"Curiously, this propaganda campaign by India is also happening at a time when evidence so far collected in the Lahore blast of 23 June is increasingly pointing to external forces with a history of perpetrating state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan," Chaudhri said.

"Pakistan rejects these patently false allegations and diversionary Indian tactics and will continue to stand by the people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination, as enshrined in the UNSC resolutions," the spokesperson added.

India's external affairs ministry, earlier in the day, had claimed a drone was spotted over the Indian High Commission's complex last week.

The Foreign Office, two days ago, had also rejected Indian Home Minister G Kishan Reddy's claim that Pakistan could not be ruled out as a possible force behind the recent drone attack on the Indian Air Force base at Jammu airport.

In a statement, the Foreign Office categorically rejected the "irresponsible and misleading statement" as the Indian official chose not to share any evidence in this regard.

"The Indian government has once again leveled serious allegations against Pakistan. This is yet another manifestation of the unsubstantiated propaganda and smear campaign against Pakistan that is characteristic of the Indian government and an obliging Indian media," the statement said.

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Asif Ali Zardari admitted in hospital after health deterioration

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has been admitted to a hospital earlier today (Friday) after his health deteriorated, PPP sources told ۔

PPP Co-chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has arrived in Karachi from Islamabad while Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari and her husband have also reached the city from Dubai to attend to her father.

Last year in October, the PPP leader and former president was admitted to a hospital due to low sugar level.

Bilawal, during his recent address at the National Assembly, had said that Zardari had attended a budget session despite being unwell.

The former president had arrived in Karachi recently from Lahore and Islamabad. In Lahore, he had recently attended a meeting with former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi.

Dr Asim Hussain said the former president had undergone a medical check-up at a private hospital during which he had complained of severe back pain.

"An orthopedic surgeon is treating Asif Zardari, and he has undergone necessary medical tests,

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SHC LIFTS BAN ON VIDEO-SHARING APP TIKTOK

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday recalled its order placing a ban on the popular short-form video sharing application TikTok.

A bench of the high court directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to unblock the app across the country. The telecommunication regulator moved a plea requesting the court to withdraw its order that called for a ban to be placed on the video-sharing app.

The court directed the PTA to decide the petitioner’s complaint against the app until July 5.

On June 28, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ordered the authorities concerned to impose a ban on the video streaming app, nearly three months after the country had lifted a ban imposed on it.

This was the third time that the video-sharing platform was banned in the country.

The court gave the order on a petition filed by a citizen who lamented that he approached the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to have immoral content removed from the app however, the PTA did not do anything in this regard.

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ONE MORE SESSION OF PCNS TO BE HELD BEFORE EID

One more session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) will be held before Eid where recommendations will be reviewed for the federal government, citing sources, reported on Thursday.

Today’s session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) was continued for eight hours in Islamabad under the chair of the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser to discuss regional developments including the Afghanistan peace process.

The Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed gave a comprehensive briefing to the participants of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).

The meeting was attended by the federal ministers, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG ISI, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar, head of national security institutions, chief ministers of all four provinces, opposition lawmakers and others.

According to the information ministry’s statement, such sessions play important role in building national consensus on national issues. During a question and answer session in the briefing, the participants have also presented their suggestions which would be considered as an important part of Pakistan’s security policy.

The parliamentary and political leaders expressed satisfaction at the briefing besides conveying wishes for peace, progress and prosperity in Afghanistan.

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SINDH CABINET RESHUFFLE LIKELY TODAY

The Sindh cabinet is expected to undergo a reshuffle on Friday as Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to add few more ministers to his cabinet, reported, citing sources.

Sources privy to the development said that CM Murad Ali Shah is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle today, potentially replacing several ministers and picking up some new faces.

This decision has been taken after consultation with the Pakistan Peoples Party’s leadership, the sources said, adding that Sindh Governor Imran Ismail will administer the oath to the newly inducted ministers at the Governor House on Saturday.

Earlier on February 3, in a major reshuffle in the current cabinet of the Sindh Government, stalwarts of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had been given additional responsibilities.

The former Provincial Minister of Sindh for Local Government, Public Health Engineering and Rural Development, and Katchi Abadies, Saeed Ghani’s had been awarded a role in the Literacy and Education departments, he would continue to work on his pre-existing role in Labour department, the official notification read.

Provincial Minister of Sindh for Local Government, Forests and Religious Affairs, Nasir Hussain Shah had been assigned an additional position in the Information Ministry of Sindh.

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ENERGY SHORTFALL IN PUNJAB CROSSES 2,000MW

Energy shortfall across Punjab has crossed 2,000MW, said Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) on Friday, reported.

The spokesperson of the LESCO in his statement said that currently, the energy shortfall in the province is recorded at more than 2,000MW and as a result, the urban and the rural areas of the province are facing unannounced power cuts.

“The grid stations in Lahore are overloaded which is resulting in tripping of the stations,” the LESCO official said.

The sources within the power division have said the load shedding is increasing due to the low level of inflows in Tarbela Dam and no supply of gas and oil to the powerhouses.

They said that the situation will improve in the next two to three days.

On Thursday, it was reported that the overall energy shortfall had reached 6000 megawatts in Pakistan.

According to sources, the country had an aggregate power demand of 25000 megawatts on Thursday, while the overall power supply from various resources was around 19000MW.

The power outages reached six to eight hours daily in big cities, while small towns and villages facing upto 10 hours power load shedding in a day.

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