PMD alert on cyclone Shaheen: Heavy rains expected in Balochistan coastal areas

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued the seventh alert on the severe cyclonic storm 'Shaheen' in the northwest Arabian Sea. The alert forecast heavy rains and strong winds along the Makran coast and moderate rain in Karachi.

According to the Met department's latest update, the severe cyclone has moved west-northwestward during the last 12 hours with a speed of 10km/hour. It now lies centred near latitude 24.0N and longitude 62.5E, at a distance of about 125km south of Gwadar, 250km southwest of Ormara and 470km west of Karachi.

It estimated maximum sustained surface wind is 110-120km/hr, with the sea condition very rough/high around the system centre.
"The system is likely to keep moving west-northwestwards till today evening and then recurve southwestward towards Oman northern coast," PMD's alert read.

According to the Met dept, due to the effects of cyclone Shaheen, it is likely to be partly cloudy in Karachi even today, with moderate rain expected.

The current temperature in Quaid's city has been recorded at 27°C, while the maximum temperature is likely to remain at 31°C. Winds are blowing at a speed of 10km per hour in Karachi with a humidity of 85%.

The Karachi commissioner has banned swimming in the sea under section 144 due to the storm. Despite the ban, however, a large number of citizens are present on Seaview beach.

Cyclone Shaheen has caused intermittent rains with strong winds in the coastal areas of Balochistan, Geo News reported.

It has been raining intermittently in Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar and their surrounding areas.

According to the Meteorological department, the storm has moved towards the coast of Muscat.

Rain-wind-thunderstorms with few heavy (isolated very heavy) falls are likely in Gwadar, Lasbella, Awaran, Kech and Panjgur districts of Balochistan till tomorrow, October 3 (Sunday).

All private schools in Gwadar will remain closed today due to rains.

According to the PMD, heavy rains lashed Gwadar, Ormara and Pasni last night, while strong winds are blowing and intermittent rains are prevailing. Heavy rains are also continuing in and around Turbat.

Sea conditions will remain rough/very rough with a high surge at times along the Makran west coast till Sunday, the PMD alert stated, advising fishermen not to venture in open sea till tomorrow.

Heavy rains may cause urban flooding in Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani and Turbat cities, while a windstorm may cause damages to vulnerable structures along the Makran coast.

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Talks with TTP factions: Case of those involved in APS carnage is ‘different’, says Sheikh Rasheed

Reacting to reports about disarmament talks with some factions of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed Saturday clarified that the case of those involved in the massacre of the Army Public School is “different”.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Imran khan, speaking to TRT World’s Ali Mustafa in Islamabad, had revealed that Pakistan was in disarmament talks with some factions of the banned TTP, adding that the government wanted stability in the country in the backdrop of a fast evolving situation in Afghanistan.

Talking to journalists, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said, “We know who is good and who is bad.” He maintained that it is not appropriate to fight with those who surrendered to adopt peaceful lives.

Sheikh Rasheed said that the government is making a strategy for the next 20 years, adding that the world scenario is expected to change soon.

The interior minister emphasised that Pakistan wants good relations with the US and China.

Talking about the Afghanistan crisis, the minister gave an assurance of Pakistan’s every possible support in tackling the crisis. “[The] US signed the deal relating to [the] withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan but not us,” he added.

PPP’s leadership is intelligent as it has boarded the “Samjhauta Express” he revealed, adding that the PML-N will also board the train, but after being thrashed.

“There is no need to hold talks with the opposition leaders as they are facing corruption cases,” said Sheikh Rasheed.

Terming inflation a top priority of the government, the minister vowed to overcome the issue soon. He said that the FIA has been directed to crackdown on hoarders of dollars.

Speaking on the occasion, the interior minister said that they would fight with the enemies of the country and vowed to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country at all costs.

On petrol prices, the minister said that in Pakistan, the prices of petroleum products are much less as compared to India and Bangladesh. The petrol prices will fall if they reach a deal with Saudi Arabia, he added.

Provision of food items and medicines at affordable rates to the masses is a top priority and the government’s “national duty”, the minister said.

Sheikh Rasheed was of the view that there is no need to take the leader of the opposition into confidence over the appointment of the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as he was also facing the corruption cases.

On October 1, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said Pakistan was in disarmament talks with some factions of the banned TTP as the government seeks stability in the country in the backdrop of a fast evolving situation in Afghanistan.

PM Imran Khan, speaking to TRT World’s Ali Mustafa in Islamabad, had said: "I think some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government. You know, for some peace, for some reconciliation."

When asked to confirm whether Pakistan was actually in talks with the TTP, the premier had clarified to say that talks are ongoing "with some of them".

He had said that the Afghan Taliban are "helping", in the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan.

The premier had said that these talks, for disarmament, if successful, will lead to the government "forgiving" them, "and then they [will] become normal citizens".

The premier had noted he always believed that a non-military solution was the only way forward for Afghanistan — and he has reiterated it time and again on national, international forums.

 

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COVID-19 in Pakistan kills 46 people in last 24 hours

COVID-19 killed another 46 people in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally to 27,831, official data from the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) showed Saturday morning.

The country recorded 1,664 fresh coronavirus cases after 51,796 tests were taken over a period of 24 hours, making it the seventh consecutive day the country has reported a daily case count of less than 2,000.

The positivity rate, meanwhile, stands at 3.21%. Since September 25, Pakistan has reported a positivity rate below 4% on six out of seven days.

With 2,847 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the tally for recoveries now stands at 1,173,437, NCOC's data showed. The number of active cases went to the lowest level since the last two months to 46,934.

The active cases, along with the positivity rate, have been consistently falling since more than a month with new recoveries surpassing fresh cases almost daily. Among the active cases, 3,511 patients are under critical care.

COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 1,672 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 29% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

Pakistan has administered at least 82,830,350 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 19.1% of the country’s population.

During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 725,632 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 60 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.

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COVID-19 in Pakistan kills 46 people in last 24 hours

COVID-19 killed another 46 people in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally to 27,831, official data from the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) showed Saturday morning.

The country recorded 1,664 fresh coronavirus cases after 51,796 tests were taken over a period of 24 hours, making it the seventh consecutive day the country has reported a daily case count of less than 2,000.

The positivity rate, meanwhile, stands at 3.21%. Since September 25, Pakistan has reported a positivity rate below 4% on six out of seven days.

With 2,847 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the tally for recoveries now stands at 1,173,437, NCOC's data showed. The number of active cases went to the lowest level since the last two months to 46,934.

The active cases, along with the positivity rate, have been consistently falling since more than a month with new recoveries surpassing fresh cases almost daily. Among the active cases, 3,511 patients are under critical care.

COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 1,672 new infections reported on average each day. That’s 29% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

Pakistan has administered at least 82,830,350 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 19.1% of the country’s population.

During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 725,632 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 60 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.

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Shehbaz Sharif's wife Nusrat indicted in money laundering case

An accountability court in Lahore on Friday indicted Nusrat Shehbaz, the wife of Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, in a money laundering reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

In December last year, Nusrat was declared absconder by the accountability court for her persistent non-appearance in the money laundering reference.

During Friday's hearing in the court of accountability judge Naseem Virk, Nusrat was indicted through a pleader as she is currently in London. NAB prosecutor Usman Rashid Cheema was also present on the occasion.

The court also accepted Shehbaz's plea for exemption from appearance in the case. His lawyer, Chaudhry Nawaz, informed the court that his client was unable to appear in person due to ill health. The court subsequently approved his request.

Shehbaz suspended all political activities a day ago as he was advised "complete rest" by doctors after he had slipped on a staircase on Wednesday.

Money laundering case

In August 2020, the NAB had filed before an accountability court a Rs8 billion reference of money laundering against Shehbaz, his wife, his two sons and other family members.

The reference accused Shehbaz of being a beneficiary of assets held in the name of his family members and "benamidars" (ostensible owner), who had no sources to acquire such assets.

It said the family members and "benamidars" of the Shehbaz family received fake foreign remittances of billions in their personal bank accounts. In addition to these remittances, the bureau said billions of rupees were laundered by way of foreign pay orders which were deposited in the personal bank accounts of Hamza and Suleman.

The reference further said that Shehbaz's family had failed to justify the sources of funds used for the acquisition of assets.

It said the suspects committed offences of corruption and corrupt practices as envisaged under the provisions of National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and money laundering as delineated in the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010. It asked the accountability court to try the suspects and punish them under the law.

With the continuation of case proceedings, the accountability court had in December also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Nusrat before declaring her absconder for not appearing before the court. In reply, the respondent had challenged the warrants through PML-N deputy secretary-general Attaullah Tarar as a special attorney on Jan 19, 2021 in the Lahore High Court.

The petitioner had pleaded that she was an old and infirm woman of over 66 years of age and was a known chronic patient of a number of serious ailments, including cardiac issues. She had to go abroad in early 2019 for health reasons and since then she was stuck there for medical treatment.

A day later, the LHC had restrained the NAB from taking coercive measures against Nusrat.

In March, the LHC bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar had set aside an order of the accountability court wherein Nusrat had been declared an absconder.

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Sirbaz Khan becomes first Pakistani to scale 9 of world's 14 highest peaks

Mountaineer Sirbaz Khan became the first Pakistani on Friday to climb nine of the world's highest 14 peaks — each of which has a height of more than 8,000 metres — after he scaled the 8,167-metre-high Dhaulagiri mountain in Nepal, said Alpine Club of Pakistan Secretary Karrar Haidri.

Sirbaz was part of the 19-member 'SST-Dhaulagiri I Expd. 2021 Autumn' expedition organised by trekking company Seven Summits Trek.

According to Seven Summit Trek officials, the climbers summited the world's seventh highest peak on Friday morning, with Sirbaz raising Pakistan's national flag upon reaching the mountain's top.

In his recent communication with Dawn from Dhaulagiri on Thursday, Sirbaz had said he was determined to summit the peak on Friday morning.

Dhaulagiri, which forms part of the Himalayas mountain range, is widely known as one of the hardest peaks to climb due to its steep sides and bitterly cold climate.

As Sirbaz achieved the feat, congratulations poured in for him.

Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of legendary mountaineer late Mohammad Ali Sadpara and a climber himself, tweeted: "Lots of congratulations to Sirbaz Khan to climb Dhaulagiri . After climbing Daulaghiri he is first Pakistani to summit nine 8000 mountains."

Sirbaz, 32, hails from the Aliabad area of Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan and began his climbing career in 2016.

In 2019, he became the first Pakistani to summit Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest mountain at 8,516m in Nepal, without the use of supplementary oxygen.

Moreover, he summited the 8,125-metre-high Nanga Parbat in 2017, 8,611-metre-high K-2 in 2018 and Broad Peak, which has a height of 8,163 metres in 2019. Earlier this year, he climbed the 8,091-metre-high Anapurna mountain, 8,848-metre-high Everest and 8,035-metre-high Gasherbrum II.

On four of these expeditions, he had been accompanied by late Muhammad Ali Sadpara.

Sirbaz is aiming to become the first Pakistani to climb all 14 of the world's highest peaks.

Before setting on the mission to summit Dhaulagiri earlier this month, he had said: "I am looking forward to his expedition and reaching closer to the dream of my mentor Ali Sadpara, who had the similar dream of scaling the 14 highest peaks, but tragically lost his life earlier this year during a winter expedition on K-2.”

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Govt in talks with TTP groups for reconciliation process: PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the government is in talks with some groups of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), seeking a reconciliation.

"There are different groups which form the TTP and some of them want to talk to our government for peace. So, we are in talks with them. It’s a reconciliation process," he said during an interview with the TRT World.

When asked if the government was asking them to lay down arms, the PM responded: "Yes, we forgive them and they become normal citizens".

The interviewer then asked why the TTP was conducting attacks on Pakistan's security forces when they were in talks with the government. To this, the premier said it was just a "spate of attacks".

"We might not reach some sort of conclusion or settlement in the end but we are talking," he added.

Responding to another query on whether the Afghan Taliban were acting as mediators between the TTP and Pakistan, the premier said: "Since the talks were taking place in Afghanistan, so in that sense, yes."

PM Imran reiterated he didn’t believe in military solutions. “I am anti-military solution, and as a politician, I believe political dialogue is the way ahead.”

He said dialogue was the only way out in the case of Afghanistan also.

Earlier in September, President Arif Alvi had suggested that the Pakistani government could consider giving an amnesty to those members of the TTP who had not remained involved in "criminal activities" and who laid down their weapons and agreed to adhere to the Pakistani Constitution.

Such an amnesty could be one of the ways to "establish peace", the president had said.

His remarks were followed by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressing similar sentiments in an interview on Sept 15. He said the government would be "open to giving" a pardon to members of the TTP if they promised not to get involved in terrorist activities and submit to the Pakistani Constitution.

"But as long as they do not come and start undertaking terrorist activities [in Pakistan]. That is our concern," the minister had emphasised.

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