Princess Charlotte, the daughter of Kate Middleton and Prince William, stole the show during the Commonwealth Games with her adorable smile.Tuesday saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge bring their seven-year-old princess to the 2022 Commonwealth Games swimming competition in Birmingham, England.
Charlotte, the young princess, could be seen smiling and laughing among the audience as she listened to her mother Kate’s advice on the various activities. She even gave her father a thumbs up at one point.
The seven-year-old made a cheeky exhibition, passionately applauding, putting her tongue out, and gasping during action.The young queen joined her parents earlier this afternoon during the swimming and hockey events, where she later cheered on gymnastics.
Dress costs £44. Charlotte and Rachel Riley both seemed excited to attend the competition. The 40-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, who wore the $1,945 white Alexander McQueen trouser suit for the occasion for the first time during the Caribbean tour earlier this year, was also in good spirits and looked fashionable.
Why Manchester United are carrying Tom Huddlestone to the club
Man Utd have made one more arrangement at youth level with a previous England global joining the positions.
Manchester United have delegated Tom Huddlestone as their new player-mentor at institute level.
Joined have been quick to bring an accomplished proficient into their imaginative mixture job after Paul McShane reported his retirement from playing toward the finish of last season.
McShane has since been elevated to a full-time player improvement stage mentor as a component of the most recent foundation reshuffle, significance United no longer had a veteran that could be put into match circumstances.
Understand MORE: Eriksen is now further developing the changing area
That will be tended to with the arrangement of Huddlestone, 35, who was playing in the Championship for Hull last season and is looking towards a future in training when he formally resigns.
Joined had initially designated previous players with experience of playing for United for the job, yet in the midst of a restricted player pool, they picked Huddlestone, who knew foundation boss Nick Cox from their time at Hull.
Christian Eriksen is as of now further developing the Manchester United changing area
After a time of a poisonous changing area that was near on unmanageable, Man United are purchasing great players and characters, particularly on account of Christian Eriksen.
This pre-season has filled in as an update – not that it was required – of what an honor it is venturing to the far corners of the planet and covering game’s most examined organization in Manchester United.
Kindly, the Zoom period is finished and handshakes are the standard again in the organization of the chief or a player. Throughout the course of recent weeks, the committed United reporters have addressed Victor Lindelof, Fred, Tyrell Malacia, Anthony Elanga, Bruno Fernandes, David de Gea, Diogo Dalot, Tom Heaton and Christian Eriksen. Not even one of them were sat behind a work area before a theater.
For critics like this one, there is as yet a buzz when you are in the organization of a player in a secret setting. De Gea overwhelms a room like the objective and Fernandes is as connecting with a talker as you could expect.
Additionally read: Eriksen uncovers he held converses with three United chiefs prior to joining club
After the draw with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, two of us were accompanied down the south stand ventures, along the pitch, past the holes and into the Old Trafford passage to a huge space to talk with Christian Eriksen.
Away from nosy cameras and holder ons after a selfie or a clench hand knock, we had something like six minutes with Eriksen until he was educated one regarding the mentors required his consideration.
The majority of Apple’s sites are no longer requiring corporate employees to wear masks.
Even as COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in the US, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than 90% of infections are caused by the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the Omicron variant
These subvariants differ significantly from the initial iterations of Omicron, and vaccination resistance deteriorates over time.
If you feel more comfortable doing so, don’t be afraid to keep wearing a face mask, Apple advised in the internal email, according to the report. Please respect each person’s choice to wear a mask or not, she added.
KARACHI: On Tuesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a battle between the bulls and the bears as the KSE-100 index traded on both sides of the fence, but closed with a gain of more than 100 points as participants selected stocks that had previously lost value.
favorable cues
The On favorable cues benchmark KSE-100 index continued to swing back and forth between the red and green zones, reaching a high and low for the day of 40,458.09 and 39,762.50 points, respectively.favorable cues
The strengthening of the rupee against the US dollar and the confirmation that Pakistan had completed all prerequisite steps for the distribution of the loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund were the driving forces behind the bullish trend.
The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 115.65 points or 0.29 percent to close at 40,191.61 points.favorable cues
According to a report from Arif Habib Limited, the Pakistani rupee continued to face resistance against the US dollar as further appreciation was seen, and the PSX had a positive session today.
The brokerage house said, “The market opened in the negative territory but investors chose value buying during the day resulting in the index to close in the green.”
While healthy volumes were seen in the third-tier stocks, main board activity remained respectable.
Fertilizer (+73.6 points), chemicals (+46.8 points), cement (+35.6 points), refinery (+10.5 points), and automobile assembler (+9.1 points) were among the industries that contributed to the performance.
During the session, shares of 327 companies were traded. 191 scrips closed in the green at the close of trading, 105 in the red, and 31 were unchanged.
Compared to Monday’s total of 110.42 million shares, the total trading volume increased to 217.50 million shares. Shares were traded for a total of Rs6.32 billion during the day.
With 35.08 million shares traded, TPL Properties Limited led the pack in terms of volume, gaining Rs1.16 to close at Rs18.98. Agritech traded 22.62 million shares, gaining 22.62 rupees to close at Rs. 8.13, and Pakistan Refinery traded 13.18 million shares, gaining 0.77 rupees to close at Rs. 16.07, respectively.
Gold prices were muted on Wednesday in choppy trade due to the strengthening of the rupee and the possibility that the central bank might raise interest rates in response to record-high inflation, which kept investors on edge.pakistan
According to data released by the Pakistan All Sindh Saraf and Jewellers Association, the price of gold, which is regarded as a safe haven, fell by Rs3,500 per tola and Rs3,001 per 10 grammes to settle at Rs154,900 and Rs131,945 in the local market (ASSJA).
On July 28, the price of gold reached an all-time high of Rs162,500 per tola.
In Pakistan price of gold
It should be noted that the price of gd is currently below its actual cost. The price of gold is Rs 3,000 per tola less than it is in Dubai.
In order to take into account the prices at which trades between buyers and sellers occurred, the most recent price for local markets was established.
As the US dollar edged higher on the international market, gold prices rose by $6 per ounce to settle at $1,780; however, a decline in Treasury yields and escalating recession fears kept gold prices close to a four-week high.
In the meantime, domestic silver prices increased by Rs. 10 per tola and Rs. 8.57 per 10 grammes to close today at Rs. 1,640 per tola and Rs. 1,460.03 per 10 grammes.
BIRMINGHAM: The Commonwealth Games anti-doping committee has collected blood samples from a few Pakistani athletes for testing. The results of the tests are anticipated in 20 days.
Athletes from Pakistan
A spokesman for the Pakistani delegation confirmed that samples were taken on Monday from the weightlifters Haider Ali, Nooh Dastgir Butt, Hanzala Dastgir, and hockey players Abdul Manan and Ghazanfar Ali as well as the para-athlete Anila Izzat Baig and the swimmers Haseeb Tariq, Bisma Khan, and Jehanara Nabi.
The test results will be available in 15 to 20 days, according to Dr. Asad Abbas, the chief medical officer of the national contingent.
According to earlier reports, samples were obtained from two hockey players, swimmer Haseeb, and Anila as soon as they arrived in Birmingham.
It is significant to note that Pakistan has sent 103 participants, including para-athletes, to Birmingham to compete in 13 different sports.
However, none of the Pakistani athletes have been able to medal in the competition up to this point.
Famous Pakistani weightlifter Talha Talib was disqualified from competing in the Commonwealth Games earlier in April after his doping test result was positive.
However, in a letter to the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, Talha Talib referred to this as a “unintentional mistake” (PWF).
All Pakistani weightlifters were subjected to unexpected drug tests in Gujranwala and Lahore by the International Testing Agency and International Weightlifting Federation.
It should be noted that Talha, who won bronze at the World Weightlifting Championship in Tashkent last year, gave Pakistan its first-ever medal in the sport.
He narrowly missed representing Pakistan with an Olympic medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Talha had said, “I have always kept my focus on training and making my country proud through legal means.
DUBAI: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has released the schedule for the Asia Cup 2022, which includes a match between Pakistan and India on August 28. (T20 format).
Hosts Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will square off in the opening game of the Asian tournament. The multi-nation event will be held in Sharjah and Dubai in the meantime. 2022 Asia Cup
The focus will continue to be on the eagerly anticipated match between Pakistan and India. Pakistan won their first-ever World Cup match against India in 2021 by a margin of 10 wickets.
UAE, Singapore, Kuwait, and Hong Kong will compete in the preliminary round. Later, one of the five main teams for the main event will be joined by a team from the qualifiers.
Sri Lanka was initially slated to host the Asia Cup in 2022. But later, the event was moved to the UAE because of the nation’s political and economic crisis.
BEIJING: According to officials, China’s population will start to decline by 2025 as people age and family sizes decrease.
With a workforce that is rapidly getting older, an economy that is slowing, and its weakest population growth in decades, the country with the largest population in the world has been battling a looming demographic crisis.By 2025
Additionally, despite government officials loosening the country’s strict “one-child policy” in 2016 and allowing couples to have three children last year, the birth rate has fallen to a record low.
The National Health Commission stated on Monday that the population’s growth rate has significantly slowed and will eventually experience negative growth during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, which runs from 2021 to 2025.
Authorities stated that forecasts indicated that the population would experience zero growth “or even negative growth” over the course of that five-year period in January.By 2025
The NHC stated in its most recent report that “currently, our country’s policy system for childbirth support is not perfect, and there is a big gap between population development and the people’s expectations.”
The country is anticipated to enter a stage of severe ageing around 2035, with more than 30 percent of the population older than 60, and the total fertility rate has fallen below 1.3 in recent years.
The health commission called for better child-raising support as well as policies on housing, education, and taxation to help reduce burdens on families because families are also getting smaller, “weakening” the functions of pension and childcare.
By 2025
In an effort to combat the slowing birth rate, authorities are already enacting family-friendly laws in some regions of China.
Families with three children will be permitted to borrow 20% more than the maximum amount when applying for housing provident fund loans for the first time, the eastern city of Hangzhou announced on Monday.
According to state media, additional cities have also implemented supportive policies. These include Nanchang and Changsha.
The lower birthrate has been attributed to higher living expenses as well as a cultural shift brought on by people becoming accustomed to smaller families.By 2025
Deng Xiaoping, the country’s paramount leader, implemented the “one-child policy” in 1980 with some exceptions made for rural families and ethnic minorities in order to slow population growth and foster economic development.
According to UN estimates, the world’s population will reach eight billion in November 2022, with India on track to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation in 2023.
PHF members reached out to 19.9 million people to initiate human, uplift projects with Rs25 billion ISLAMABAD: Appreciating the significant contribution of INGOs towards humanity and development, Government and Civil society representative expressed that the role of civil society and development and humanitarian agencies is highly crucial to bring transformational change at the societal level.civil
Govt, civil society
These views were expressed at the annual showcasing event of the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF) on the work of PHF member organizations which was accomplished in year 2021. Director General,
Federal Directorate of Immunization Dr. Soofia Younas stressed on the joint efforts at all levels to meet the desired outcomes of development and humanitarian goal in the country. She further highlighted the importance of investing in the overall health with special focus on mother child health and immunization of children for a healthy and prosperous future.civil
Head of Office Pakistan & Iran, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office – ECHO , Taheeni Thammannagoda said that organizations are aligning their program with development and humanitarian needs in the country. She highlighted their role in providing humanitarian relief such as food and nutrition, shelter, health care, water and sanitation and education in emergencies.
A five-year strategic plan of PHF was also shared at the ceremony to better educate audience at large about future plans to contribute to development and humanitarian sector of Pakistan.
Giving details of the PHF member organizations’ projects, Country Coordinator of Pakistan Humanitarian Forum Syed Shahid Kazmi informed the audience that 275 development and humanitarian projects were completed during the year 2021 with a total funding of Rs25 billion by reaching out to 19.9 million people in Pakistan.civil
He said that among the 275 projects, 131 were the humanitarian and 144 were the development projects. Through these 275 projects, PHF member organizations brought a significant change in the area of health, education, women economic development, nutrition, food security, disaster management, shelter/NFI and many other areas.
He mentioned that the INGOs are investing lots of resources in Pakistan and reaching out to communities in hard-to-reach areas and changing their lives but somehow their contribution is not really visible. “So it is a high time that the people must aware that this sector is fully committed to build the capacity of local organizations and to provide the assistance to the people,” he said.
Farhan Ahmed Khan, Chair of PHF Executive Committee, shared that among these 275 projects, 44 percent projects had COVID 19 component, 23 percent had cash component and 33 percent had DRR component. He further mentioned that PHF and its member organizations are fully committed to bringing a drastic change in Pakistan in both the humanitarian and development AAA development sectors and to playing a very effective role in fulfilling the targets of Vision 2025 and all the global and international commitments of Pakistan.
While addressing to the ceremony, Lt Gen (Retd) Omar Mehmood Hayat, Chairman PHF, Board of Trustees, said that how significant is the role of such forum to take position on any development and humanitarian challenge in the country. He further mentioned that the five-year plan is a strategic guideline, which helps PHF and its member organizations to take tangible actions and perform a viable role to meet the goals of SDGs and Vision 2025 of Pakistan.
Dr. Maqsood Jafri @ The religions based on emotionalism, blind faith , mythological cults, and inhuman rituals are very dangerous and abhorrent . It is only Islam that claims to be a natural, rational and moderate religion out of all religions but is also the victim of monarchy, Mullahism, and sectarianism. My book titled “ Rational Study of Islam” throws ample light on several subjects and analyses issues on rational basis. The Illiterate people are prone to emotionalism, hence religious extremism, sectarianism, retrogressive mindset, dogmatic cults, terrorism are the offshoots of religious bigotry and emotionalism. When Karl Marx said that religion was an opium, he actually inferred this conclusion when he read the hazards of religious rites, rituals and extremism. In my opinion any creed or article of faith, that is based on inhuman and irrational outlook must be discarded. Four articles / fundamentals must be adopted and they are: humanism, rationalism, universalism and naturalism. Any religion whose message collides with theses four principles must be abandoned. Love for all humans must be the core and crux of all philosophies and religions. In the quest and greed of heaven, the clerics have made life on earth worse than hell. All humans are one comity and one community. All racial discriminations and religious differences must be shunned with one stance: “ Humans Unite”. We are humans and must love human values and human rights. My life long experience is very bitter. I have found religious extremists and sectarian addicts and adherents very narrow minded, prejudiced and spiteful. The liberal, secular and rational people are better in conduct than the hardliners. They are better humans than the sectarian hardliners and maniacs. ( The writer is an eminent author, poet, scholar and political activist based in Islamabad)
Despite a $25 million US bounty on his head, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri moved into a house in Kabul where he would frequently be seen in the open, on his balcony. This was despite the fact that the Taliban had recently taken control of Afghanistan.
Ayman al-Zawahiri
The heir to Osama bin Laden and one of the 9/11 attack planners, however, remained a target for the US government, who had not given up on him.
President Joe Biden announced on Monday that after years of hunting him down, US military personnel launched two Hellfire missiles from a drone hovering above the Afghan capital, striking Zawahiri’s hideout and killing him.
An operation that was as meticulously planned as the one that killed bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout in 2011 was described by US officials.
It was not unexpected that the violent jihadist group’s leader was in Afghanistan because, according to analysts, Al-Qaeda has felt more at home since the hard-line Islamist Taliban reclaimed power in August.
Finding him was challenging, though.
According to a senior administration official, “the US government has been aware of a network that we assessed supported Zawahiri for a number of years.”
But US intelligence didn’t learn of his family’s relocation to the Afghan capital until this year, when they received information from his wife, his daughter, and her offspring.
According to the official, they were cautious and used “long-standing terrorist tradecraft” to avoid being traced to the al-Qaeda leader.
But Zawahiri eventually arrived and stayed.
The official said, “We identified Zawahiri on multiple occasions for sustained periods of time on the balcony.
Throughout May and June, an attack strategy was created. In order to understand the family’s pattern of life, the United States continuously observed the multi-story house — though the official would not specify how.
detailed model of a safe house To reduce the risk to bystanders, they examined the home’s construction in order to hit Zawahiri without endangering the stability of the structure.
Defense and intelligence officials completed the plan in June, and they used a detailed model of the White House to present it to Biden on July 1. This was done before the raid on bin Laden’s hideout.
According to the official, Biden inquired in-depth about the building, weather conditions, and the risk to civilians.
Finally, on July 25, while still suffering from a case of COVID-19, Biden made the choice.
The final briefing was attended by important cabinet members, echoing the White House meeting on April 28, 2011, when President Barack Obama decided to send US special operations forces into Pakistan to capture bin Laden.
Biden, who was vice president at the time, expressed uncertainty. He later recalled that there was a high likelihood that something would go wrong, that bin Laden had not been positively identified, and that relations with Pakistan might suffer.
However, Zawahiri was easily identifiable, no US troops would enter the country, and relations with the Taliban were minimal.
At the conclusion of the discussion on the 25th, Biden asked each participant for their opinion, just as Obama had done 11 years earlier.
According to the official, “all strongly recommended approval of this target,” and Biden approved it.
The attack was carried out by a US drone that fired two precisely guided Hellfire missiles at 6:18am on Sunday, Kabul time.
The official claimed that Zawahiri was “killed on the balcony.”
The missiles don’t seem to have been regular Hellfires, which could have destroyed the house with their high explosives.
A major setback for Al-Qaeda According to apparent photos of the structure, only a few windows on one floor were damaged.
That suggests the use of the R9X, a non-explosive variant of the Hellfire that rips apart its target with a series of knife-like blades deployed from its fuselage while leaving nearby people and property unharmed.
US forces have killed other jihadist group leaders with the infamous “flying ginsu” missile at least six times without harming innocent bystanders.
Although the official withheld further information, she expressed her strong conviction that Zawahiri had been killed and no one else had been harmed.
According to him, Zawahiri’s family members were present in other areas of the safe house at the time of the attack and were purposefully not targeted. They were also unharmed.
The attack “deals a significant blow to Al-Qaeda and will degrade the group’s ability to operate,” the official claimed.
The official declared, “As President Biden has repeatedly stated, we will not permit Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists who might harm Americans.”
After Dua Zahra’s father claimed scandalous and slanderous statements were made about his family, the Sindh High Court ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to file legal complaints against six social media activists in accordance with the law.
Six social media activists were also legally barred by the court from publishing any malicious, scandalous, or defamatory content on social media against Zahra’s father and his family, including digital videos and written content.
Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi filed the lawsuit in an effort to get a court order prohibiting certain social media activists from defaming him and his family online.
The plaintiff’s attorney claims that the petitioner filed a FIR under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Rules regarding the kidnapping and child marriage of his daughter. He stated that the court-appointed medical board had established that his daughter was between the ages of 15 and 16.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
He claimed that private social media channels that were publishing “scandalous and malicious” content about the plaintiff and his family were being blocked and removed by the PTA.
He claimed that according to the PTA’s web analysis division, the complaint was not admissible under Rule (I)(v) of the Removal and Blocking of Illegal Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2021 because the facts of the complaints required a thorough evaluation of the evidence by a competent court in order to establish the correct position.
The attorney claimed that the defendants’ entire body of work was founded on “defamatory, baseless, and scandalous” statements made about the plaintiff and his entire family, undermining the plaintiff’s reputation in public. On social media, he alleged that the defendants were “mocking” the plaintiff and his family.
Following the preliminary hearing of the plaint, a single bench chaired by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued notices to the PTA and social media activists prohibiting them from airing, publishing, or sharing any defamatory and scandalous content material about the plaintiff and his family.
The court further ordered PTA to take legal action against social media activists in accordance with the law and to provide a thorough report within 15 days of receiving the order.
based on reports On Monday, a sessions court in Karachi renewed the interim bails for Zaheer Ahmed, the main suspect in the “kidnapping” case involving Dua Zahra, and his brother Shabbir.
The brothers’ temporary bail has been extended by the court until August 17.
On July 21, Zaheer and his brother were given a temporary pre-arrest bail, but they had to provide a surety of Rs. 100,000 for each.
The judge ordered the brothers to participate in the investigation, and July 26 was set aside for the confirmation or rejection of their temporary release from custody. The brothers were told to appear in court today and the bail was increased for the hearing date.
On the other hand, the investigation officer’s request for Dua Zahra to undergo a medical examination was denied by a judicial magistrate for District East of Karachi.
The investigating officer asked for more time to submit the case’s supplementary challan after the court rejected the plea, so the hearing was postponed.
August 6 has been set as the new date for the hearing.
Dua, 15, gained national attention when she mysteriously vanished from Karachi in April. She later claimed that she had fled her home to wed Zaheer, 21, who was then 21.
RAWALPINDI: According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army helicopter that had been missing since Monday night in Balochistan crashed, killing six military personnel.
ISPR the military helicopter
Around 5:30 p.m., the military helicopter had vanished while travelling from Quetta to Karachi. The individuals in the helicopter were in charge of managing the flood relief operations in the southwest of the nation.
This year, Pakistan has been severely affected by monsoon rains that were above average and deadly flooding, which have so far claimed hundreds of lives and caused devastation, especially in Balochistan.ISPR
There, the army has participated in rescue and relief operations.
A Pakistan Army aviation helicopter carrying prominent individuals on its crew went missing on Monday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed in a tweet. The helicopter was travelling from Quetta to Karachi.
The military’s media wing explained on Twitter that the aviation helicopter had lost contact with air traffic control while performing a flood relief operation in Lasbela, Balochistan (ATC).
The tweet stated that there were six people on board, including Commander 12 Corps who was overseeing flood relief efforts in Balochistan and that a search operation is in progress.
Corp Commander Quetta Lieutenant General Sarfaraz Ali, who was overseeing the flood relief operations in the province, was also on board, according to the information that is currently available.
According to the specifics, Major Syed was the helicopter’s pilot and Major Talha served as his co-pilot. Brigadier Amjad, Director-General of the Coast Guards, Brigadier Khalid, and chief naik Mudassir were also present.
The heavy rains that have devastated the province and killed 147 people are currently keeping the civil authorities and the Pakistan Army busy with relief efforts.
After the incident, the district administration reported that a helicopter had crashed near the Windar area’s Sassi Punnu Shrine, but the ISPR has not yet confirmed whether it was the same aircraft.ISPR
The helicopter was reportedly seen flying low before it vanished, according to locals. The incident reportedly occurred just before sunset, according to reports at the time (Maghrib prayers).
The helicopter is being sought after, according to local police teams, according to deputy inspector general Khuzdar Pervez Imrani. There are mountain ranges in the area, which is making the search effort challenging.
He added that police teams are attempting to search the helicopter on motorcycles despite the difficulties brought on by the terrain. For the past five hours, police and the Frontier Corps have been working together to rescue people.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted his concern regarding the disappearance of the helicopter: “Alarmingly, an Army Aviation helicopter has vanished from Balochistan. The entire country prays to Allah Almighty for the wellbeing of these countrymen who came out to assist the flood victims as well as their safety, security, and return. Allah willing.”
In addition to expressing his deep concern over the disappearance of the helicopter, President Dr. Arif Alvi prayed for everyone on board to remain safe.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party both expressed the same grave concern. He prayed for the wellbeing of all the military personnel on board the missing helicopter.
The investigation into the missing helicopter is ongoing, according to Commissioner Kalat Division. According to him, the Levies employees are aiding the FC and police teams in their search efforts. The teams are assisted by residents in the area.
The Commissioner also noted that Sassi Pannu, 120 kilometres from Othal, is a hilly region.
The three-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finally released its decision in the PTI’s prohibited funding case, also known as the foreign funding case, after a nearly eight-year-long wait.
explicitly prohibited
The Imran Khan-led PTI did receive funding from foreign firms and individuals, which it hid, according to the commission’s 68-page order. For the time being, the ECP has given the party a show-cause notice asking it to provide justification for not seizing the illegal funds.prohibited
It is necessary for the government to submit a declaration to the court. After the Election Commission’s order, which very clearly stated that the PTI has been receiving foreign funds, the federal government is left with few options. It would be challenging for the government to refrain from declaring that the party [PTI] is currently receiving foreign assistance. The Supreme Court will then review the declaration after that.prohibited
The legal definition of “foreign aided” is very specific and covers funding from international sources. Whether or not this is fair is up for debate. But at the moment, that is the law.
prohibited
— Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, head of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency
“Court, not ECP, shall decide” The ECP has limited the scope of its decision to the confiscation of funds under Article 6 of the PPO and Rule 6(3) of the PPR; it has not held that the PTI is ineligible for funding under the definition of a “foreign-aided party,” which means it received such funds from a foreign government or political party.
The Supreme Court previously ruled in Hanif Abbasi v. Imran Khan that there is no difference between operating as a foreign-aided political party and receiving prohibited funds; however, this ruling only applies to confiscation and is still up for further review.
Regarding Khan, the Supreme Court established in recent jurisprudence that it is the intention of the legislator that is taken into account, and not just the fact of omission, before warranting a declaration of dishonesty or otherwise — that is another question that has not yet been resolved.
In any case, the ECP cannot make such a declaration; only a court of law may.
PTI cannot be in two places at once. Was it illegal for the PTI to receive funds from foreign sources, as the ECP was asked to determine? The PTI has made a lot of distinctions between instances of “foreign funding” and “prohibited funds.”
It was not the case that PTI received funding from a foreign government or political party. But regardless of how you want to describe it, the ECP has now discovered that the PTI received funding from foreign individuals and businesses.
These funds are also illegal according to the law. The ECP also discovered that Khan submitted “grossly inaccurate” forms in this area while serving as chairman.
prohibited
While Article 62(1)(f) has historically been used for less, it would be better for us to restrict its application rather than give it more authority. Legally speaking, the possibility of confiscating the funds exists.
However, this has broader implications morally. The PTI has a history of elevating itself above other political parties and portraying itself as pure.
Even now, in the wake of the ECP’s conclusions, it continues to use inquiries into other parties as a crutch. Similar to that, those issues ought to be resolved as soon as possible. But they don’t affect the findings against the PTI. PTI can’t have it both ways.
‘Dangerous phase’ survived The order establishing that the case relates to prohibited funding means that the PTI has survived the “dangerous phase” because it is not a case of foreign funding.
The problematic part is the false affidavit that party chairman Khan filed, claiming that, in light of the Hanif Abbasi ruling, 62(1)(f) — sadiq o ameen — proceedings can be started against him.
According to the three-member bench’s ruling, the court now has a clear view, which is necessary for 62(1)(f) proceedings.
There’s a catch, though. Various court orders have been issued, and there is disagreement among the courts as to whether the ECP is a court or not.
To begin proceedings under Section 62(1), the Supreme Court must have certain undisputed facts in order to disqualify someone (f).
The PTI has for the time being held on, and it will now challenge the verdict in court, changing the political landscape.
The decision of ECP may have “serious consequences.” The verdict might have negative effects on the PTI. Until the legal issues are resolved, neither the government nor the opposition can be stabilised.
Now is the right time for the nation’s political establishment to enact legal changes.
The “rule of law” The law ought to be the same for everyone in the nation and there ought to be a rule of law. Despite not receiving a salary from his son’s company, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified, while PTI has accepted funding from foreigners.
If the PTI does not comply with the ECP, its funds, which were obtained illegally, may be seized.
LONDON: As party members began a month of voting to determine the next occupant of 10 Downing Street, the seat of the UK’s prime minister, the front-runner for the Conservative Party of Great Britain, Liz Truss, got another prestigious endorsement on Monday.
With a plan for future tax cuts and the chance to host a future women’s football World Cup in Britain after England’s “Lionesses,” their women’s football team, won the European championship, Truss’s trailing competitor Rishi Sunak attempted to regain lost ground.
The second of 12 members’ hustings held on Monday before the winner is declared on September 5 pitted the Tory candidates against one another in Exeter, in the southwest. After Truss sped into a commanding lead in the polls on a promise of quick tax cuts to alleviate Britain’s biggest cost-of-living problem in generations, Sunak, a polished debater, needs to regain the initiative.
French software developers filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. on Monday, claiming that the iPhone manufacturer had overcharged them for access to its app store, in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
Société du Figaro, which creates the Figaro news app, L’Équipe 24/24, which creates the L’Équipe sports news and streaming app, and Le Geste, a group of French content creators, are the plaintiffs in the proposed class action.
The complaint asserts that by requiring just one app store for mobile devices running iOS, Apple has abused its monopoly power over app distribution. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Oakland, California.
The plaintiffs claimed that by doing this, the Cupertino, California-based business has been able to stifle innovation and customer choice while charging “supracompetitive” 30 percent commissions for 14 years and $99 yearly fees to app developers.
Apple’s actions are not justified by any legitimate business needs or pro-competitive considerations, the complaint stated. Apple’s measures, on the other hand, aim to eliminate competition.
Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan Markle, thanked the British people for their good wishes when he was taken to the hospital after having a stroke. The Duchess of Sussex’s father can be seen in a video clip from Thomas’ son’s conversation with Dan Wooton enjoying a windy beach while seated at a table.
“Hello Dan,” read the placard he was holding. I appreciate your kind words and those of the British people. On May 23, the former lighting director experienced a stroke, and he spent the next five days in the hospital.
After leaving the hospital, Thomas declared, “I feel incredibly grateful and realize how fortunate I am to be alive.”I would like to express my gratitude to everyone, especially the great medical staff who saved my life. Angels, they are.
“The kind letters I’ve gotten from people all across the world have impacted me incredibly. People have been so kind. Although I am unable to talk at the moment, I am working hard and will express my gratitude when I can.
President Joe Biden said on Monday that the United States had executed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world who was thought to be the planner of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Biden claimed in a televised speech that the attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, had taken place on Saturday. He stated, “I gave the final authority to go grab him,” and added that there had been no harm done to any civilians.
Biden declared, “Justice has been served, and this terrorist commander is no more.”
There were no US troops in Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official, and Zawahiri was killed by a drone hit while standing on the balcony of a home in Kabul.
Zawahiri’s presence in the Afghan capital Kabul, according to the official, was a “obvious violation” of a deal the Taliban and the US made in Doha in 2020 that allowed for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Since American forces left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, it is known that this was the first over-the-horizon attack by the US on an Al-Qaeda target there.
Since the 9/11 attacks that claimed over 3,000 lives in the United States, Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who grew up in a privileged Cairo family before converting to violent radicalism, had been on the run for 20 years.
ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Tuesday rejected the ruling of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the party receiving prohibited funding.
The ECP, in a unanimous verdict, said the commission found that 34 foreign donations were taken in fundraising. The donations were taken from America, Australia, Canada, and the UAE.
In addition, PTI took funds from an American businessman, the ECP said.
The commission added that hiding accounts is a “violation” of Article 17 of the Constitution in its conclusion that “unknown accounts” had also come to light.
The PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted a bogus Nomination Form I, and the affidavit presented regarding party accounts was false, according to the ECP’s findings. Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the PTI, said in a press conference held after the decision that abroad Pakistanis donated money to the party and that the ECP had agreed with their claim that this did not constitute “foreign funding.”
The PTI will demonstrate the 16 accounts are legitimate in the following phase, in addition to the fact that they are “subsidiary accounts,” according to Chaudhry.
The PTI leader stated that “no party has the right to conceal its finances from the people.”
In the funding case against the PPP and PML-N, he urged that the election authority disclose its decision after the PTI.
Later, the PTI leader claimed in a tweet that the ECP members and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja had “poor” legal backgrounds and had not been able to “differentiate between an affidavit and certificate.”
In a telephonic conversation on Tuesday, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of the most recent developments in the search for the Army Aviation helicopter that went missing a day earlier, The prime minister was concerned about the six missing army personnel and jawans, including Lt. Gen. Sarfaraz Ali, commander of the 12 Corps. “Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali is a top professional soldier and a wonderful person,” the prime minister said.
He expressed concern for the safety of everyone on board.
The prime minister also asked the nation to keep the brave Pakistani soldiers in their thoughts and prayers, and stated that the unfortunate incident has deeply saddened the entire country.
The premier praised the “dutiful sons” who assisted flood victims as “wonderful examples of service.”
Since Friday night, the army chief has been updating the prime minister on the progress of the search for the missing helicopter.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) tweeted on Monday that a Pakistan Army aviation chopper carrying prominent individuals and travelling from Quetta to Karachi had vanished. The military’s press office stated that the aviation helicopter had lost communication with air traffic control while performing a flood relief operation in Lasbela, Balochistan (ATC).
The tweet stated that there were six people on board, including Commander 12 Corps who was overseeing flood relief efforts in Balochistan and that a search operation is in progress.
The director of the nation’s atomic energy organisation expressed his country’s reluctance to pursue the weaponization of nuclear materials, but Iran said it remained “optimistic” about a potential revival of the 2015 nuclear deal on Monday.
Despite having the technical ability to do so, Iran has no plans to develop an atomic weapon, according to Mohammad Eslami, who was quoted.
Iran has already surpassed the cap of 3.67 percent set by Tehran’s now-broken 2015 nuclear agreement with international powers by enriching uranium to up to 60 percent of fissile quality. For nuclear bombs, uranium must be enriched to 90%.
Eslami echoed remarks made in July by Kamal Kharrazi, a top advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Separately, after the European Union put forth a proposal aiming for a compromise in the talks stalled since March, Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said at a news conference that Tehran “remain[ed] optimistic that the negotiation process will lead us to a logical and reasonable outcome.”
The statement was made after Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy and coordinator of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and other nations, last Tuesday delivered a new draught text and pleaded with the parties involved in the discussions to accept it or “risk a dangerous nuclear crisis.”
KARACHI: Although domestic bonds offered enticing returns of up to 16 percent, the net outflow in the first month of the current fiscal year was only a little over $28 million.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed on Monday that only $3 million in treasury bills were brought in while $31.085 million were taken out. The United Kingdom accounted for both the inflows and outflows, which was indicative of the subpar performance of the domestic bonds.
Foreigners were permitted to invest in local bonds prior to the pandemic in 2020, which garnered an immediate $3.5 billion. However, the majority of the investments departed the country when the country was hit by Covid-19, and since then no sizable foreign investment has returned to domestic bonds.
In June, the final month of FY22, $22 million was invested in T-bills while $62.8 million was withheld. However, during the month, there was no interest from international investors in Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs).
Investor confidence was affected by the regime change in Islamabad as well since the political unrest that followed had a negative impact on the environment for investments.
Due to the extremely unsettling political climate, no foreign investment in T-bills and PIBs was made during the two months of March and April; instead, sizable withdrawals were made. The nation received $9.9 million on May 6 after a nearly two and a half month hiatus.
Although the risks associated with unpredictable political instability prevented foreign investors from making investments during the fiscal year FY22, there were over $1 billion in outflows from domestic bonds despite the favourable yields.
On Tuesday, August 2, at 10 a.m., the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will make its decision in the protracted prohibited funding case — previously known as the foreign funding case — against the PTI.
Akbar S. Babar, a founding member of the party, filed the lawsuit, which has been ongoing since November 14, 2014. Babar, who is no longer connected to the PTI, said that the organization’s funding from Pakistan and overseas had been subject to major financial irregularities.
The PTI claims that the funds does not come from forbidden sources and has denied any wrongdoing. ECP withheld its decision in the case’s last month.
On January 4, the ECP’s scrutiny committee, formed in March 2018 to examine the PTI’s foreign funding in one month, finally submitted its report after 95 hearings and nearly four years.
According to the report, the party under-reported an amount of Rs312 million over a four-year period, between FY2009-10 and FY2012-13. Year-wise details show that an amount of over Rs145m was under-reported in FY2012-13 alone.
The hearing set for tomorrow will be presided over by a three-member panel, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja, and including Shah Muhammad Jatoi and Nisar Ahmed Durrani.
After Dua Zahra’s father claimed scandalous and slanderous allegations were made about his family, the Sindh High Court ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to file legal complaints against six social media activists in accordance with the law.
Six social media activists were also legally barred by the court from publishing any hostile, scandalous, or defamatory content on social media against Zahra’s father and his family, including digital videos and written text. Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi filed the complaint in an effort to get a court order prohibiting some social media activists from defaming him and his family online.
The plaintiff’s attorney claims that the petitioner filed a FIR under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Rules over the kidnapping and child marriage of his daughter.
He stated that the court-appointed medical board had established that his daughter was between the ages of 15 and 16. He claimed that private social media outlets that were publishing “scandalous and hateful” content about the plaintiff and his family were being blocked and removed by the PTA.
He claimed that according to the PTA’s web analysis division, the complaint was not admissible under Rule (I)(v) of the Removal and Blocking of Illegal Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules 2021 because the facts of the complaints required a thorough evaluation of the evidence by a competent court in order to establish the correct position.
ISLAMABAD: On Monday, a larger bench than the three-judge panel that is currently hearing the review case against Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was requested by the Supreme Court.
The review petition filed by Roshan Ali Baririo seeks Mr. Shah’s disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution for having dual nationality and an iqama or work permit. The review petition will be heard by the bench, which is made up of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Munib Akhtar. The political foe of Mr. Shah is Mr. Baririo.
On January 23, 2019, the Supreme Court rejected a petition challenging the April 6, 2013 ruling that Mr. Shah was ineligible for office on the grounds that the Returning Officer (RO) was not a court of law. The review petition is currently being evaluated by the court thanks to Mr. Shah’s motion, which emphasises that Justice Yahya Afridi was a member of the bench that dismissed the initial appeal on January 23, 2019.
It declared that because Justice Afridi was not a member of the current bench, the bench had not been properly constituted to hear the review case. In his view, the review petition should not be processed without Justice Afridi.
According to the application, Order 26, Rule 8 of the Supreme Court Rules mandates that, to the extent possible, the review plea be scheduled before the same bench that originally handed down the decision being sought to be reviewed.
ISLAMABAD: Chaudhry Shujaat, president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), on Monday extended an olive branch to his cousin Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and urged him to put a stop to the animosity between the Chaudhrys of Gujrat.
At a news conference in Islamabad, Mr. Shujaat, joined by PML-Q leader Tariq Bashir Cheema, warned the media that “false narratives” about the party’s division were being circulated. He continued by saying that those close to Mr. Elahi, who won PTI backing to become Punjab’s chief minister, made “false” claims.
The PML-Q leader went into great depth about the issues that caused him and Mr. Elahi to disagree. But he also urged the party’s reconciliation after a fight over the choice of the Punjab chief minister. Despite a letter from the president claiming otherwise, the party also didn’t seem eager to take the matter before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the disqualification of the MPAs who supported Mr. Elahi.
The majority of the media’s queries were answered by Mr. Cheema because Mr. Shujaat is having health issues and his voice was challenging to understand. On behalf of the party president, Mr. Cheema answered to a question on the disqualification of the PML-Q MPAs in Punjab by saying that the legal team will make a decision once the Supreme Court’s entire judgement was available.
KARACHI: On Monday, TikTok launched its Creator Portal in Pakistan, a hub for learning resources on content creation for platform producers.
The portal, which can be viewed on the TikTok account @tiktokcreatorspakistan, is a collection of films that offer instructions, advice, and hacks to help producers maximise their in-app presence and advance their videos.
By allowing producers to go deeper into modules like storytelling, community building, and creative effects, the platform will be able to host a wider variety of content.According to a TikTok statement, “Creators are the lifeblood of TikTok. Without being renowned or having a significant following on social media, anyone can connect with an audience on TikTok.
They create the app a welcoming place wherever millions of people come for amusement, education, and pleasure.
Even if it simply takes a few button clicks to become a creator, success as a creator demands dedication, patience, and some education.
Making a strategy for content creation can be challenging due to the variety of tools, analytics, effects, and creative ideas that must be balanced on a TikTok account.
Recent months have seen a rise in violent occurrences involving TikTokers, one of which occurred just a day ago when a young guy lost his life while filming a TikTok video in a canal close to Phiphara hamlet in Mandi Bahauddin.
KARACHI: Following Monday’s deluge of rain, police reported that a piece of a “abandoned” restaurant collapsed and sank into the sea at the city’s well-known Do Darya location.
The official announcement followed social media videos that appeared to show the deck near the water having crumbled while individuals appeared to be attempting to rescue those who had fallen.
Although the police were told that the restaurant has been “abandoned” for the past 12 years, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) South Asad Raza said that no fatalities had been reported. On the food strip beside the water, there are a number of eateries.
RAWALPINDI: A Pakistan Army helicopter with six people on board, including Commander 12 Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, lost contact with the air traffic control in Balochistan’s Lasbela district, the Inter-Services Public Relations said on Monday.
The helicopter was assisting flood operations in the province, a statement issued by the media affairs wing of the armed forces said.
“A Pakistan army aviation helicopter which was on flood relief operations in Lasbela, Balochistan lost contact with ATC,” the ISPR tweeted.
A Pakistan Army aviation helicopter en route from Uthal, Balochistan to Karachi with important personalities aboard has gone missing on Monday.
the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed in a tweet.Taking to Twitter, the military’s media wing said that the aviation helicopter was on a flood relief operation in Lasbela, Balochistan when it lost contact with air traffic control (ATC).”
Six individuals were on board, including Commander 12 Corps who was supervising flood relief operations in Balochistan,” the tweet said, adding that a search operation is underway.
The ISPR said that more details will be shared later.
