Nation observes Quaid’s 146th birthday with zeal
Civil and military leaders pay tribute to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, urge people to learn from his efforts and dedication. The day saw national flag being hoisted at all public and private buildings across the country.
Recitation of Holy Quran, a change of guards ceremony was held at Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi, while a number of events, including seminars, debates and exhibitions, were also held both at official and civil society levels to highlight life, achievements and different aspects of Jinnah’s personality.
Special programmes, discussions, interviews and reports to highlight different phases of the independence struggle and leadership role of the Quaid-e-Azam were also broadcasted.
President Dr Arif Alvi, in his message to the nation, urged countrymen to follow his great guiding principles to make Pakistan a great nation.
The president said that due to his tireless efforts, capabilities, determination, and extraordinary character, Jinnah materialised his dream of the creation of Pakistan.
He said that in order to cope with the prevailing challenges, the nation should follow Quaid’s golden principles of “unity, faith and discipline”.
In his message, Prime Minister Imran Khan emphasised upon the youth to adopt the Quaid’s attributes of honesty, hard work, perseverance and dedication.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the Quaid’s vision of a peaceful and progressive Pakistan and his principles of unity, faith and discipline are imperative for our success as a nation.
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Pakistan test fires home-grown cruise missile ‘Babur’ with enhanced range
(21-12-2021) The indigenously developed Babur cruise missile has a range of more than 900 kilometres, twice the distance of an earlier version.
An earlier version had a limited capacity to travel just 450 kilometres.
The missile’s extended range further enhances nuclear-armed Pakistan’s military capability.
The ordinance is capable of striking both land and sea targets with “high accuracy,” the statement said. This comes days after longtime rival India tested its own next-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-P.
‘Strategic deterrence’
Addressing the launch ceremony, Lieutenant General Nadeem Zaki Manj, who heads the Pakistani army’s Strategic Plans Division, said the test would further strengthen Pakistan’s “strategic deterrence.”
President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and three services chiefs also congratulated the scientists and engineers on conduct of “successful launch.”
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Pakistan: Gas explosion kills at least 12 in Karachi
(17 Dec 2021) A powerful gas explosion in a sewage system in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi has killed at least Police spokesman Sohail Jokhio said the explosion was likely caused by accumulated gas in the sewer beneath a bank building in the city’s Shershah neighbourhood.
Windows were shattered in nearby buildings, while the impact of the blast damaged several cars parked nearby and threw debris onto a gas station on the other side of the building.
One witness, Mohammad Sameer, said he was in the crowded bank branch moments before the blast but left shortly before the explosion.
He said he rushed back to the damaged bank to rescue victims. “Thank God I left the venue otherwise I would also been among the affected ones,” he said.
Karachi, which is responsible for 60 percent of Pakistan’s economic output, has long endured creaky infrastructure, unregulated construction and failing municipal services.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES