A Hero Dies ( 1930-2018)
Pakistan Nuclear physicist & former head of (PAEC)
Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad passes away
ISLAMABAD (JANUARY 18, 2018) The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) acknowledged the deceased scientist’s contribution, saying Dr Ahmad’s services in the field of nuclear energy were exemplary. Dr. Ishfaq, who had also served as the former science advisor to the government of Pakistan, was heading the PAEC when Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998.
His work was also acknowledged by the government of Pakistan and other institutions on various occasions. In 1989, Dr Ahmad was bestowed with first state honour, Sitara-e-Imtiaz by then prime minister Benazir Bhutto; and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 1995. In 1998, Ahmad received the highest state honour, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, given to any national of Pakistan, for his services to the country in a graceful state ceremony. He was also awarded gold medallion by the Institute of Leadership and Management in Lahore, in the same year. Dr Ishfaq lefts behind thousands as members of extended family of PAEC colleagues
Dr. Ishfaq Ahmed laid to rest : On 21st Jan. The funeral prayer of former chairman of (PAEC), Dr Ishfaq Ahmed was offered at H-11 Graveyard, Islamabad. People belonging to different walks of life participated in the funeral prayer. He was 87-year-old.
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Pakistani nation felt betrayed on trivializing decade old cooperation: COAS
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has informed Commander US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Joseph L Votel that “entire Pakistani nation felt betrayed on trivialising our decade old cooperation. We won’t ask for restoration of financial assistance but honourable recognition of our contributions.”
Comd US CENTCOM and a US Senator telephoned COAS to discuss security coop post US President Donald Trump’s tweet. Bajwa received two phone calls over the week to discuss Pak-US security cooperation. A press release was given by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) which read, “General Joseph L. Votel apprised COAS about the US decision regarding Security Assistance and Coalition Support Fund.” Gen Votel said US values Pakistan’s role “towards war on terror and expected that on-going turbulence [between the two countries] remains a temporary phase”.
The press release further stated that US is not contemplating any unilateral action inside Pakistan but is “seeking cooperation to tackle Afghan nationals who, according to the US, use Pakistan’s soil against Afghanistan.”
COAS reiterated Pakistan’s response and said that nation felt betrayed over US statements despite decades of cooperation. “Accordingly, unanimous national response reflected the same sentiments,” the press release read. Bajwa further added that Pakistan shall continue its sincere counter terrorism efforts even without US financial support in accordance with national interest and shall remain committed to bring it to its logical conclusion along with other stake holders.
“COAS said that Pakistan has suffered hugely due to great power competition in the region. He said that Pakistan is fully aware of US concerns on activities of Afghan nationals in Pakistan and we are already undertaking multiple actions through Operation ‘Radd ul Fasaad’ to deny any residual capacity to terrorists of all hue and colour for which return of Afghan refugees is an essential prerequisite,” the press release stated.
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Pakistan’s nuclear capability a ‘weapon of deterrence’:
DG ISPR responds to Indian Army chief
Jan. 13, 2018| Responding to a remark by the Indian army chief that his country’s armed forces are ready to call Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff”, the chief of Pakistan Army’s media wing has said that India should not harbour any illusion about Pakistan’s defence capabilities, while the Foreign Office (FO) warned India against any misadventure.
Indian Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat had said that the Indian army would not hesitate to cross the Pakistani border to carry out an operation if ordered by the government, Hindustan Times reported. “We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff,” Gen Rawat was quoted as saying.
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, while talking to state-run PTV World termed the Indian army chief’s statement “irresponsible” and “unbecoming” of a four-star general who is serving as the chief of army staff.
Asked what Pakistan’s response would be if India resorted to any such misadventure, Maj Gen Ghafoor said: “Should they [India] wish to test our resolve they may try and see it for themselves. We have a credible nuclear capability exclusive[ly] meant for threat[s] from [the] East.”
The ISPR chief said Pakistan considers its nuclear capability to be a “weapon of deterrence” and not an option for war. He said India was unsuccessfully targeting Pakistan through sub-conventional threats and “state-sponsored terrorism” because it could not subdue Pakistan through conventional engagement following overt nuclearisation in the region. “[The] only thing stopping them is our credible nuclear deterrence as there is no space of war between the two nuclear states,” he said. The ISPR chief said Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state with a professional army, therefore India “must not remain in illusion”.
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No country understands how to defeat terrorism better than Pakistan, Sri Lankan COAS
( January 16, 2018) Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are probably the only two countries that understand what they take to defeat the menace of terrorism. He remarked during meetings with the top military leadership of Sri Lanka after landing there on a two-day official visit on invitation from his counterpart, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Gen Qamar held meetings with Sri Lanka’s chief of defence staff and the chiefs of all three services. He was given guards of honour in all three service headquarters. The army chief also visited the Command and Staff College Sri Lanka and interacted with faculty and staff.
According to the ISPR, the Sri Lankan military leadership expressed their gratitude and appreciation for Pakistan’s unequivocal moral and material support during the country’s successful war on terror. They also appreciated successes of the Pakistan Army in its ongoing war against terrorism. During the meetings, various new initiatives and ongoing projects were discussed to improve the existing defence ties between the two brotherly countries, the statement added.
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CPEC’s results already coming in, says PM Abbasi at Davos
DAVOS: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi stated on Wednesday 24th Jan. that the results of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have already started to come in. Speaking at a session titled ‘The Belt and Road Impact’ at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Abbasi said CPEC is about developing infrastructure, power plants, airports, seaports, highways and special economic zones for export growth. Sharing the results of the over $56 billion CPEC, Abbasi said the cement industry has grown by 56 per cent while exports are up by 15 per cent, adding that the project has resulted in the creation of “great investor confidence”. Talking about foreign investors in CPEC, the premier said there is a need to ensure that the projects are inclusive and open to all investors with the same level playing field that’s available to local players. “Pakistan can provide connectivity to most of land-locked Central Asia,” he stated.
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Prime Minister Abbasi inaugurates Northbound section of Lyari Expressway
Karachi 28 Jan. : Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the prime minister congratulated Sindh governor, chief minister, FWO for completing the project despite many hurdles . He said the Rs5 billion project was completed at Rs10 billion, adding that cost was raised due to delay . “It is unfortunate. Citizens of Karachi had to wait for 10 years,” said he. The project’s completion coincided with the Sindh government’s announcement of developing a similar carriageway the 38-kilometre Malir Expressway that would run along the Malir River under a public-private partnership.
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PM inaugurates Gwadar Free Zone, Expo 2018
January 29, 2018 : The prime minister opened the Gwadar Expo 2018 – the two-day conference and exhibition aimed at providing a platform for Pakistani and Chinese businessmen, already working on CPEC-related projects. He visited different sections of the Free Zone, Business Centre and the Exhibition, Hall showcasing over 100 stalls by the companies.
Spread over 60 acres, Gwadar Free Zone will be operated by China Overseas Port Holding Company, which has also set up a Business Centre for handling of operations. The Business Centre will provide a one-window operation for matters including immigration, customs, visa operations and port clearance facilities.
The South Area of the Free Zone (Phase I) will develop a commercial logistics zone with the leading functions of commodity exhibition, transit and distribution, relying on the existing port, as well as fishery processing.
Processing and manufacturing areas will be developed in the North Area and divided into three construction phases. Daily necessities and small household appliances, fishery, stone processing, machinery manufacturing and metal processing are the main introduced industries.
The Free Zone will adopt tax exemption policy in the development of bonded logistics.
President AJK Masood Khan, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Maritime Affairs Minister Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to PM Musaddiq Malik, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chairman China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) Zhang Baozhong, Chairman Gwadar Port Authority Dostain Khan Jamaldini and China’s ambassador Yao Jing were present besides businessmen of 93 leading companies of Pakistan and China.
Prime Minister Abbasi along the Chief Minister, the CJSCS, President AJK and others jointly pressed a large button to unfurl a huge red and green banner, covering the front gate of economic free zone, amidst a huge applause of Pakistani and Chinese nationals, gathered at the historic event.
CPEC is a purely economic project: China
BEIJING: The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is purely an economic cooperation project that does not involve the issue of territorial disputes against any third party, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said . “China has clarified its position on many occasions and I will not repeat it here,” said Hua Chunying during a regular press conference held by the Chinese foreign ministry.
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Rape, murder of 8-year-old shocks Pakistan
KASUR: (10 Jan, 2018) The streets of Kasur were filled with the stench of burning tyres as residents voiced their anger and outrage at the news that little Zainab, who went missing on Saturday 5 Jan. had been found raped, dead, and buried in garbage. In the morning, in front of DHQ Hospital, a crowd of protesters demanded the public flogging and hanging of “the monster responsible”. Inside, her body was on an autopsy table. It was the eighth incident during the last five years, but instead of arresting the killer, the police had only picked up innocent people randomly “as is their routine practice”, since the very first incident was reported.
Around the same time, protesters gathered outside the deputy commissioner (DC) office. The crowd soon turned violent and attempted to attack the office. Policemen opened indiscriminate fire and killed two protesters. At least two others were injured.
Condemnations
The Chief of Army Staff condemned the cold blooded murder of Zainab and directed “immediate all out support to civil administration to arrest the criminals and bringing them to exemplary justice”
On January 10, 2018| Zainab, a seven-year-old girl, was laid to rest amid sobs and tears as hundreds of devastated family and friends turned up to attend her funeral prayer in Kasur.
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Kasur rape case: Murderer of 8-year-old Zainab finally arrested
(January 23, 2018) Twenty-four-year-old man arrested and linked to ‘at least seven’ other killings. At a news conference in the capital, Lahore, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif identified the suspect as Mohammed Imran, 24, who was arrested near Kasur.
All of the other young female victims lived within a 3km radius, went missing from near their homes and were dumped on rubbish sites or in abandoned houses nearby. Chief Minister of Punjab Shebaz Sharif said the provincial forensics lab processed 1,150 samples of DNA before arresting Imran. “The beast has confessed to have committed the past such crimes,” he said. “His DNA was matched 100 per cent with samples collected from crime scenes.”
Zainab’s father sat next to the chief minister at the news conference. He expressed satisfaction with the investigation.
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Naqibullah Mehsud Murder: Sindh Govt Removes SSP Anwar Rao Ahmed Khan
Naqeebullah, 27, was reportedly picked up by personnel in civvies from a tea shop at Karachi’s Sohrab Goth area on January 3. Later, the police killed him along with three others after declaring him an operative of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Sindh Police have decided to arrest former SSP Malir Rao Anwar and his entire police party, allegedly involved in ‘extrajudicial murder’ of Naseemullah alias Naqeebullah Mehsud.
The decision was taken during a high-level meeting of police officials in Karachi, headed by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Additional DIG Sanaullah Abbasi, who is also heading a committee formed to probe into the alleged custodial killing. Anwar, also called an ‘encounter specialist’, had been working as SSP Malir for the last few years.
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Rao Anwar’s tenure in Malir saw 444 accused killed in encounters
The summary details the number of police encounter cases of District Malir which occurred during the tenure of SSP Rao Anwar. The data has been collected from July 25, 2011, to January 19, 2018. The report reveals that the during the period, 745 police encounter cases were registered, in 192 cases the accused were killed and in 553 the accused weren’t killed. At least 891 suspects have been arrested in police encounter cases.
FIR registered against Rao Anwar, name added to ECL after SC takes notice of attempt to go abroad. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) foiled Anwar’s attempt to leave the country from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Interior minister awards certificates to FIA officers for foiling Rao Anwar’s attempt to flee.
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Police kills 19-year-old youth ‘Intezar Ahmed’ in Karachi:
KARACHI (anuary 14, 2018) : According to DIG Crime Investigation Agency Saqib Ismail, personnel of Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) of the Sindh Police allegedly shot dead a young man in Defence Housing Authority’s Khayaban-e-Ittehad area. The police had earlier said the youth, identified as Intezar Ahmed, was killed in firing by unidentified assailants on motorcycles.
Six ACLC officials arrested for killing to youth ‘Intezar Ahamed’.
The deceased’s father, Ishtiaq Ahmed, told the media outlets that Intezar, who recently came back from Malaysia, had a fight with two men, Fahad and Haider, a couple of days ago, who are said to be the sons of a lawyer and policeman respectively.
CM takes notice, demands daily progress reports and directed the police to ensure proper investigation of the case and directed.
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Four soldiers martyred in unprovoked Indian firing across LoC
Jan. 15, 2018 : ISLAMABAD: According to the army’s media wing, ISPR, the soldiers were working on lines communication maintenance in the Jandrot and Kotli sectors of Azad Jammu and Kashmir when they were attacked with heavy mortar fire. According to the ISPR, the Pakistan Army responded to the attack and killed three Indian soldiers and injured many others. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the troops were fired upon and hit by a heavy mortar round in Jandrot and Kotli Sectors of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
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Two women martyred in cross-border Indian firing in Sialkot
Thu. 18, 20118| RAWALPINDI: According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), five other civilians including three women were injured in the cross-border firing by Indian troops since Wednesday 17 Jan night. The ISPR said the Indian forces targetted the civilian population in Kundanpur Village of Sialkot. Border guards of the Punjab Rangers conducted retaliatory fire and destroyed an Indian force, the ISPR said.
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Six, including four security personnel, martyred in Quetta suicide bombing
QUETTA: (9 Jan.) At least six persons, including four Balochistan Constabulary personnel, were martyred and 17 others injured in a suicide bombing near the Balochistan Assembly building in Quetta. The attacker blew himself up close to a police truck near GPO Chowk on Zarghoon Road, located in the provincial capital’s high-security Red Zone just 300 metres from the provincial assembly building. The blast also damaged a nearby public bus.
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Security forces personnel martyred 6 injured
in gun attack in Balochistan’s Kech
QUETTA (Jan. 16, 2018) : The deceased include Constable Zakir, Lance Naik Masood, sepoy Farhanullah, sepoy Shehbaz and sepoy Masood. The attacker blew himself up close to a police truck near GPO Chowk on Zarghoon Road, located in the provincial capital’s high-security Red Zone just 300 meters from the provincial assembly building.
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Six of a family martyred in Kurram roadside blast
PARACHINAR (30 Jan.) : The sources said the family was travelling to Boshera from the Maqbal area when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Members of Anjuman-e-Hussainia, Member National Assembly Sajid Turi and local elder Ibrar Hussain condemned the blast and said that anti-state elements wanted to create a law and order situation in the country through such terror acts. They said that Turi and Bangash tribes would continue supporting the security forces for maintaining law and order.
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Former Pak Air Chief Asghar Khan passes away
RAWALPINDI ( 5 Jan 2017) : Asghar Khan became first commandant of the Pakistan Air Force Academy in 1947 and was also the first to head the Directorate-General for Air Operations (DGAO) in 1950. In 1957, Asghar Khan became the youngest to-date and the first native Air Force Commander-in-Chief of the PAF. His tenure as air commander saw the extensive modernisation of the PAF. He was authored of several books, including an autobiography, titled My Political Struggle, in 2008.
On Saturday 6th Jan, Air Marshal Asghar Khan laid with full military honours to rest in his native village Nawanshehr, Abbottabad. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other government and military dignitaries attended the state funeral of former chief of air staff Air Marshal Asghar Khan at the Nur Khan Air Base. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, and other top civilian and military officials also attended the funeral.
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Renowned Chef Zubaida Tariq passes away in Karachi
Fri, 5 Jan 2017: KARACHI: Renowned chef Zubaida Tariq, popularly known as Zubaida Aapa, passed away on Friday night after a protracted illness. Sources said she was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.She was 72. Zubaida Tariq achieved fame doing culinary shows on television and writing cookbooks. Her regular culinary advice segments on various TV channels were so popular that ‘Zubaida Aapa’ became a household name across Pakistan. She lovingly came to be known as Zubaida Aapa. Of late, Zubaida was working with Masala TV and her cooking programme ‘Handi’ had been the most watched cooking show of Pakistan. She covered more than 1000 episodes for the show. Zubaida Aapa had millions of followers and lovers across the globe.
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Famed columnist, poet Munnu Bhai passes away
LAHORE: Renowned columnist and poet Munir Ahmed Qureshi, more commonly known as Munnu Bhai, passed away on Friday 19 January. He was 84 years old. The senior journalist was suffering from kidney and cardiac problems for quite some time, and was also going through routine dialysis treatment. Munno Bhai was born in Wazirabad on February 6, 1933. He was affiliated with journalism for more than 25 years. He also wrote dramas for Pakistan Television, his most famous being ‘Sohna Chandni’ which will always be remembered by his fans. In 2007, he was given Pride of Performance award by the state of Pakistan.
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Pakistani UN peacekeeper in Congo martyred in rebel attack
Pakistani peacekeeper, Naik Naeem Raza, deployed with the United Nations stabilisation mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was martyred in an ambush. At least one other peacekeeper, Pakistan’s Sepoy Bilal, was wounded following an attack by members of an armed group near Lulimba, 96 kilometres south-west of Baraka, in the DRC’s South Kivu Province, according to the UN.
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