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pakistan

Senate elections hastened efforts to reconcile dissidents, appeasing lawmakers | Instant News


PESHAWAR: The upcoming Senate elections have sparked political developments as political parties have accelerated efforts to reconcile with disagreeing lawmakers and initiated steps to appease long-neglected lawmakers.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a looming Senate poll accelerated a settlement between Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and his former cabinet member Mohammad Atif Khan. The two of them became inflexible in their attitudes and intolerable of each other. The reconciliation took place when Prime Minister Imran Khan invited the two together with the head minister and Governor Shah Farman for a meeting in Islamabad.

The PTI could not afford to lose even one vote although Atif Khan would not vote for an opposition candidate in the Senate elections as that could close the door on him to win the trust of Imran Khan. On the contrary, he remained loyal to PTI and Imran Khan despite being separated from Mahmood Khan.

The PTI leadership will also closely monitor the two provincial ministers who were recently fired, Sultan Mohammad Khan and Liaqat Khattak. Both were removed from the cabinet within 11 days. Sultan Mohammad Khan, minister of law and parliament, was sacked by the prime minister after being seen in an old video in which five MPA KPs are seen counting banknotes paid to them for selling their votes to candidates in March 2015 Senate elections. He was a member of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and not the PTI at that time but even then he was fired because he later joined PTI to participate in and win the July 2018 general election.

Liaqat Khattak, the younger brother of federal Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, was appointed irrigation minister two days ago after being blamed for supporting the potential winner of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Ikhtiar Wali, instead of PTI’s Mian Mohammad Umar. Kakakhel, in the PK-63 Nowshera by-election. Both Sultan Mohammad Khan and Liaqat Khattak are clearly angry at the way they were fired without being given the opportunity to tell their story from their side and it remains to be seen whether they will still vote for the PTI candidate for the Senate.

By winning Nowshera’s by-election, the PML-N has increased its power in the provincial assembly to seven, though still far less than it would take to win a Senate seat. The PML-N had to persuade another component of the 11-party opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), to nominate a joint candidate for the Senate seat from the PTI, which has 94 seats in the KP Assembly.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also managed to increase its power in the KP Assembly to six when the independent candidate, Amjad Afridi, elected from Kohat joined the party with his father, Senator Shamim Afridi. This was a bonus for the PPP for getting one additional seat in the provincial assembly with a Senator without much effort. Amjad Afridi and his father must have made political calculations before deciding before the Senate elections to join the PPP, which had bad luck in the 2018 general election.

The Awami National Party (ANP) is the third largest party in the KP Assembly after PTI and JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rahman, but the numbers are still insufficient to qualify a candidate for membership in the Senate. He failed to achieve good results in the Nowshera by-election because his candidate, Mian Wajahatullah Kakakhel, only received 4,279 votes compared to the winner, Ikhtiar Wali from PML-N who collected 21,222 votes and runner-up, Mian Umar Kakakhel from PTI who received 17,023 votes. In fact, it is a common observation that ANP votes are declining even in constituencies that performed well in the previous election. ANP will make a better decision by supporting the PML-N candidate as the joint PDM candidate to gain goodwill and strengthen the opposition alliance instead of fielding its weak contestants.

JUI-F supported the PML-N candidate in the by-election by Nowshera, but worked hard to get its candidate, Mohammad Jamil Chamani, elected from the NA-45 Kurram constituency which the late candidate Munir Khan Orakzai won in the July 2018 general election. JUI-F lost to PTI Malik Fakharuzzaman by 1,150 votes. JUI-F and PTI have been the main contenders in electoral politics in the southern KP and Kurram’s by-election is testament to the fierce competition between the two parties.

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Steady Mansoor took the lead while National Golf was in progress | Instant News


KARACHI: Mansoor Teli from Karachi took a three-shot lead on the opening day of the 60th National Amateur Golf Championship and in the process puts Sindh A on track to win a rare Inter-Association Trophy here at Karachi Golf Club on Thursday.

Mansoor, a very experienced KGC golfer, took full advantage of the familiar conditions to finish with an impressive 73 rounds in extremely windy conditions. Together with Saim Shazli (76) and Omar Khalid (77), Mansoor gave Sindh A a six-shot lead in the two-day Inter-Association Golf Championship that coincided with the National Amateurs.

In second place together are the Saim and Punjab trio Ralfay Raja and Ahmed Kayani at 76.They are followed by Omar Khalid, Abdullah Arif, Qasim Ali Khan and Saeed Khattak at 77.

With strong winds blowing all day, conditions were quite challenging for the participating golfers on the opening day of this prestigious championship. Apart from strong winds, the green fields on the Red and Blue fields were also a big challenge for the participants.

Meanwhile, Sindh A has catapulted herself into a strong position to claim the Inter-Association Trophy. Together, the trio Mansoor, Saim and Omar have 226 points. They have a six-shot advantage against second-placed Punjab B (232). Punjab B includes Ahmed Sultan, Ralfay Raja and Damil Ataullah. In third place was Sindh B followed by Punjab A, Federal and KP teams.

The second round of the 72 holes amateur event will continue on Friday (today). The senior and women’s events will start on Friday.

The following are the amateur leader boards after the first half:

73: Mansoor Teli

76: Saim Shazli, Ralfay Raja, Ahmed Kayani

77: Omar Khalid, Abdullah Arif, Qasim Ali Khan, Saeed Khattak.

78: Omer Shikoh, Yashal Shah, Junaid Irfan, Umer Khokhar, Nadir Khan, Brig Omer Ijaz, Salman Jahangir

79: MA Mannan, Akbar Qayyum, Muslim Abbas, Noman Asghar, Hamza Shikoh.

80: Abdullah Adil, Abdul Moez, Damil Ataullah, Danyal Khan, Zia Hai, Salman Khan.

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The government extends every possible cooperation to the Sindh Government to ease the reservation: Asad Umar – Pakistan | Instant News


Published in November 21, 2020 5:11 am

The government extends every possible cooperation to the Sindh Government to eliminate the reservation: Asad Umar

KARACHI (Dunya News) – Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar has confirmed that the federal government will expand every possible cooperation to the Sindh government to remove its objections to the island issue.

He spoke with reporters in Karachi after inaugurating the GL-16 development project at the Numaish Chowrangi Underpass together with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail.

Federal Minister Asad Umar said the Sindh Government should make use of the Rs 700 billion that has been allocated in the provincial budget for projects in Karachi.

He said this when talking with the media after revealing the plaque commemorating the laying of the BRT Common Corridor groundbreaking stone from the Taj Medical Complex to City Park along Jalan MAJinnah here.

The Federal Minister and the Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail also inaugurated a plaque commemorating the opening of the Grade Works Common Corridor Underground BRT facility on Jalan Naumaish MAJinnah Road.

The Federal Minister said that the Green Line project will be an important milestone for the modern transportation system in Karachi and the Green Line project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. Asad Umar said the public will see the Green Line on the highway in the middle of 2021.

He also appreciated Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) and the Development Planning Division and Special Initiatives for their hard work and dedication in implementing the Green Line project.

Speaking about the Karachi Transformation Plan, Asad Umar said that good progress has been made on all the projects in Karachi which are the responsibility of the federal government and that fast work is being done on the K-4 project, two railway projects, KCR and Freight. Corridor from Karachi Port to Pippri. The Green Line project is in the final stages of implementation, he added.

He said that drainage cleaning work in Karachi was also underway to permanently solve the problem of removing water after rain. Encroachment had been removed in the early stages of clearing the nullah that the Sindh Government of Mehmoodabad had begun working on, he said.

As soon as encroachment is removed from the Prophet, the Federal government will launch work on it, Asad Umar added. On the occasion, the Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail said that the inauguration of Sindh’s first mass transit project would take place between July and September 2021 and Prime Minister Imran Khan, as promised, was expected to carry out the inauguration in Karachi.

Regarding the project, he said together with Asad Umar opened the Grade Works Common Corridor Underground BRT facility on Jalan Naumaish MAJinnah and groundbreaking the BRT Common Corridor from Taj Medical Complex to Municipal Park along Jalan MAJinnah here today.

These projects are part of the Rs 1.1 trillion Karachi Transformation Plan planned by PM Imran Khan, he said. He said that fast work was being done on all the projects that the Federal Government had to carry out in Karachi. The K-4 Water project was submitted to WAPDA. WAPDA will soon submit its report to the Prime Minister on this matter, he added.

Imran Ismail said that the process of hiring a consultant on the K-4 project has been completed and the K-4 will be a major water supply project that will help meet Karachi’s water needs.

Imran Ismail said the Green Line project is a project that has been eagerly awaited and after completion the Orange Line and Blue Line projects will also be launched.
He said that he wanted to tell the Karachi people on behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan that the Prime Minister was worried about the people in the port city and he was very interested in the work of building Karachi to facilitate the masses. PM Imran Khan regularly sends Federal Minister Asad Umar to Karachi to review the progress of the ongoing development work, he added.

He also congratulated SIDCL for the dedication, tireless efforts and dedication shown in the implementation of the development work. The element of transparency which he said was Prime Minister Imran Khan’s dream was mainly maintained in the implementation of these projects.

He said he was very grateful to PM Imran Khan and Federal Minister Asad Umar for taking a personal interest in Karachi development projects.

To the question, Asad Umar said that no practical development work was done in Karachi in the past but that now work is being done on K-4, KCR, cleaning the nullahs and other projects.
He told another questioner that the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), was a Modern Transportation Project worth Rs 300 billion.

The Federal Minister told an questioner that around Rs 200 including Rs 65 billion in Sindh had been distributed among needy, poor and deserving people through the Ehsaas Program.
Talking about the construction of the two islands, Bundoo and Bundal, he said the issue was being discussed with the Sindh Government and that development work would be carried out in Sindh and the people out there would get the results from it.

It should be noted here that the Grade Road Works of the Common Corridor Underground BRT facility at Jalan Naumaish MAJinnah has three lanes in each direction, 1.3 kilometers long and 30 meters wide including service and connecting roads, sidewalks, lampposts, decorative posts, median fences and the horticultural belt was completed at a cost of Rs 425 million in about two years.

The laying of the groundwork for the BRT Public Corridor from the Taj Medical Complex to the City Park along Jalan MAJinnah here was also carried out in the context of carrying out work on the 1.8 kilometer long, five meter wide and 200 meter long corridor which is scheduled for completion in March. 2022 at a cost of Rs 2.26 billion.

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Pakistan will placate the Belt and Road opposition with more projects | Instant News


KARACHI – To quell stiff opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, key to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government launched a major development package for the country’s south-western Balochistan Province. .

Khan announced the package during a visit to Turbat, 160 km northeast of the port city of Gwadar, a major preparation point for the economic corridor. The Prime Minister’s Accelerated Development Package for South Balochistan, as it is called, consists of projects worth tens of billions of Pakistani rupees.

The package aims to create 120,000 jobs, build 1,100 km of roads, build 210 health units, expand Turbat International Airport and provide gas and electricity to 320,000 households in southern Balochistan.

This includes loans for 2,000 fishermen to buy boats and funds to build 16 dams to irrigate 60,700 hectares of land. The plan also includes building part of the M8 highway, a project already part of an ongoing $ 50 billion economic corridor project.

“China’s annual trade is $ 2 trillion and Gwadar will link Pakistan with this trade,” Khan said at a ceremony marking the start of the program in Turbat.

© Reuters

The official aim of the package is to bring southern Balochistan on par with other Pakistanis in terms of development. However, insiders say another goal is to silence opposition to the economic corridor, which is strongest in the Makran division in South Balochistan.

In May 2019, the Pearl Continental Hotel, near the port of Gwadar, was attacked by Baloch separatists. Last month, a military convoy escorting Oil and Gas Development Co. employees. be targeted in the same area.

Malik Siraj Akbar, a South Asia analyst based in Washington, believes Makran has been the epicenter of the Baloch resistance to economic corridors and the Belt and Road in recent years. “It is important to deal with local people’s grievances and lead them to rally support for CPEC,” Akbar told Nikkei Asia.

Other experts are skeptical the development package will serve its purpose.

“I doubt that the announcement of a new aid package by the Pakistani government for the Makran division will end opposition attacks on Chinese interests,” said Jeremy Garlick, assistant professor of international relations at the University of Economics in Prague. He added that although some local residents were happy, the opposition groups which strongly oppose the building of Gwadar in China will not change their minds overnight based on the investment pledge, as they will see this package as an attempt to “buy into their agreement.”

There is also political opposition to the way the package was announced. “People in northern Balochistan will feel discriminated against because of that [the announcement of] a targeted development package in southern Balochistan, “said Aslam Bhootani, who represents the Balochistan coastal belt in the Pakistan National Assembly. He told Nikkei that the elected representatives were not appointed before finalizing the package south of Balochistan.

Bhootani argues that building a highway and expanding the airport under the package will do little to help people in the region, who lack water and the means to make a living. He suggested that the package should include a way to import electricity and gas into the Makran region from Iran, while applying for an exemption from US sanctions on Iran.

As Pakistan is still negotiating with the International Monetary Fund to proceed with the $ 6 billion Fund Extension Facility suspended in February, experts say it is a mystery where the government will find funding for the South Balochistan package. The facility was suspended after Pakistan failed to comply with IMF requests to raise electricity prices and impose additional taxes, fearing a public backlash.

Garlick is also skeptical. “It’s hard to see where a cash-strapped government will get that kind of money unless the funds come indirectly from China,” he told the Nikkei.

Akbar is more hopeful, saying the government often makes big promises about projects and then forgets about them. But according to him the South Balochistan project is different. “This project appears to be a priority for Islamabad to see if they can create a region in Balochistan that is modern, thriving and welcomes CPEC. The South Balochistan project has the support of Islamabad and it is a priority for the Pakistani government to eradicate the ongoing insurgency and clear up areas of violence separatists, “said Akbar.

He added, with that context, the packages might be disbursed sooner than previously promised.

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PTI will soon ease PML-Q’s concerns | Instant News


ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s government of Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will soon ease fears of the Muslim League of Pakistan (PML-Q), Prime Minister Imran Khan’s main coalition government partner in central and Punjab, after the ongoing anti-government movement of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Senior PTI leaders including Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, Planning Minister Asad Umar and Defense Minister Pervez Khattak will soon contact PML-Q leaders to submit their complaints of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s instructions, an informed source told The Nation.

According to sources, the ruling party believes that its coalition government at the center and in Punjab is facing no threat with PML-Q showing their concern as this is not the first time they have moved. PTI leaders have said they will negotiate with PML-Q and their lawsuits and justice will be met as local body and Senate elections draw near.

Earlier this week, PML-Q did not participate in the lunch event, organized by Prime Minister Imran Khan himself for his government coalition partners, while expressing his grievances to the PTI government over various issues.

On that day, PML-Q leader and Federal Minister for Housing Tariq Bashir Cheema said in a public statement that they had a reservation because PM Imran Khan never included PML-Q in the consultation process despite his weekly visit to Lahore. There’s no point in attending lunch if PML-Q isn’t important to the prime minister, he said too.

The absence of PML-Q from the luncheon was a setback for PTI because it was basically a show of strength from the coalition government to ward off the anti-government movement of the 11 opposition party alliance called PDM.

The PDM, which is seeking the overthrow of PM Imran Khan and new elections, has stepped up its political activity by holding public demonstrations in the country’s major cities. This is not the first time PML-Q has raised objections to the coalition. In January this year, Cheema had missed a federal cabinet meeting while PML-Q threatened to quit the coalition government saying that his lawsuits and sincerity were not met.

At that time, PML-Q had said that the PTI government did not deny them both in administrative matters and in the development budget for their respective electoral districts and regencies in accordance with the power-sharing formula signed between PTI and PML-Q after winning the 2018 general election.

A committee consisting of senior PTI leaders has resolved the issue with PML-Q after successive rounds of talks between the two.

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