Imran hits back at PM Shehbaz, dismisses allegation of army’s vilification

 

ISLAMABAD, MAY 9: PTI chairman Imran Khan on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for accusing him of vilifying the army, saying that he was well aware of the importance of key state institutions.

During his speech in the National Assembly today, PM Shehbaz criticised Imran for his comments regarding state institutions the previous day and said that action should be taken against him within the ambit of the law and the Constitution.

The prime minister reiterated that if Imran’s comments were not clamped down on then “nothing would be left” and there would be a crisis in the country. He lambasted the PTI chairman for taking the country in a direction where democracy could be eliminated.

Addressing a gathering of party leaders in Islamabad, Imran hit out at PM Shehbaz, saying: “He (Shehbaz) is a liar. He is unable to speak the truth. He says that Imran Khan vilified the army. Tomorrow, I have a rally in Jhelum where I will give you (Shehbaz) an answer about the extent to which I insulted and what you traitors did with the country.”

He claimed that Shehbaz and his brother were Pakistan’s “real Mir Sadiq and Mir Jafar”, accusing them of transferring money earned through corruption abroad. “These are the people responsible for the current state of the country,” he said.

He also hit out at the new government for saying it had come into power during tough times, saying in reality it was the PTI government which faced a tough time. “They had left behind a current account deficit of Rs20 billion,” he said, while highlighting the achievements of his government.

Imran further said that “criminals” had now assumed positions of power and questioned how a country would run when such people were behind the helm.

Turning his guns on the Sharif family, he said that Nawaz used to badmouth the army when he fled abroad while Maryam was also doing the same.

“Look at who was happy after they came into power. India celebrated the most as they were coming and I was going,” he said, adding that Nawaz also met Indian premier Narendra Modi in Kathmandu to conspire against the country and its institutions.

“My life and death belong to this country, I do not have any properties abroad. I don’t have any bank accounts and I will not flee to London with my tail between my legs. We have to stay here and aware of the need for strong institutions […].”

Imran said a “group of corrupt rulers” had assumed power with the help of foreign elements, adding Israel, India and those behind fueling Muslim sentiments through blasphemous caricatures were among the happiest on his exit.

The PTI chief said the incumbent rulers will face a strong public reaction wherever they visited. “There is extreme resentment among the public on what happened with the country and the toppling of the elected government.”

He lamented that Donald Lu, a man with the rank of a secretary, was ordering the elected government to remove the prime minister. “I challenge them to send a similar letter to India and see reaction.”

The PTI chairman stated that the “foreign plotters” knew PM Shehbaz was going to be the next premier, hence they assured Pakistan of “forgiving” the country once the change in power took place.

Imran said people would refer to the government leaders as “traitors and thieves”. He also reiterated his demand for early elections and called upon citizens to be ready for the call to march to Islamabad after after May 20.

PTI launches mobile app to expand membership drive

Earlier in the day, Imran launched a mobile application as part of a campaign aimed at expanding the membership of the party.

Addressing the ceremony, he urged people to join his party using the “PTI Raabta” mobile application. Imran said his party wanted to make the most of the modern technology, adding “through our Raabta App, we will be able to collect data and engage with our supporters who can help us in ticket allocation too.”

He also conceded that the party suffered setbacks in the past through the wrong distribution of tickets.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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Army takes ‘strong exception’ to attempts made to drag its leadership in political discourse: ISPR

 

RAWALPINDI, MAY 8: The Army has taken a “strong exception” to “intensified and deliberate attempts” to drag its name into the country’s ongoing political discourse by “some political leaders, journalists and analysts”, according to a press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday.

The military’s media wing noted that attempts to involve the armed forces and its senior leadership in the political discourse were “manifest through direct, insinuated or nuanced references made by some political leaders, few journalists and analysts on public forums and various communication platforms, including social media”.

“This practice of unsubstantiated, defamatory and provocative statements/remarks is extremely damaging,” the ISPR said.

It added that the military took strong exception to such “unlawful and unethical practices” and expected everyone to abide by the law and keep the armed forces out of political discourse in the “best interest of the country”.

The ISPR statement did not specify which incident or incidents it was referring to. However, it is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema has sought the army’s intervention to lead the province out of the crises plaguing it for months despite the armed forces repeatedly refusing to be pushed into the country’s perpetual political quagmire.

On Thursday, the governor wrote a letter to Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, requesting him to play a defining role in the current chaotic times, as he was of the opinion that the constitutional crisis-ridden Punjab had been held hostage.

Last month, senior retired army officials termed audio clips attributed to them, in which statements were given against the Pakistan Army and its leadership, “fake” and a “conspiracy against the Pakistan Army”.

The clarifications from the retired army officials had come two days after the country’s military leadership took notice of an ongoing “propaganda campaign” against the army on social media and endorsed the position taken by the army’s leadership on the political crisis in the country that climaxed with ex-premier Imran Khan’s ouster.

The military came under criticism last month, especially in the wake of Imran’s ouster through a successful vote of no-confidence. Trends against the armed forces and its leadership saw intense activity on social media platforms such as Twitter.

the ‘Imported Hukoomat Namanzur’ (imported government unacceptable) hashtag in Urdu alone generated a volume of 17 million tweets, while one anti-army hashtag generated over 69,000 tweets and a similar one over 410,000 tweets in the past few days.

The Federal Investigation Agency had also launched a crackdown against those allegedly involved in running these online campaigns and was making arrests.

The watchdog has also initiated an inquiry against Bol anchorperson Sami Ibrahim for allegedly transmitting “anti-state” videos and statements on various social media platforms, including regarding the army.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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Will give call for Islamabad march any day after May 20: Imran

 

Mianwali: Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Friday told his party’s workers to remain prepared for the long march to Islamabad, saying he would announce the final date any day after May 20.

Addressing a gathering in his hometown, Mianwali, he said a sea of people would reach the capital to demand only one thing – elections.

“Let people decide who will rule us. We will not accept any imported government.”

The PTI chairman is conducting a whirlwind series of rallies, starting from today to May 20. According to a tweet by party leader Azhar Mashwani, the next rally will take place in Jhelum on May 10, followed by Attock on May 12, Sialkot on May 14, Faisalabad on May 15 and Chakwal on May 19.

Referring to his former aide Shahbaz Gill’s recent accident, Imran, during his address today, said he was warning the government that if it touched any PTI worker in the future, he would hold “three stooges and their handlers” responsible.

Addressing the loudly cheering crowd, Imran said he had not seen such a huge rally previously.

Talking about his government’s achievements, he said it had reduced the current account deficit for the first time in 11 years, adding that Pakistan was among a few countries which protected their people from the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, there were record remittances and crops, he said.

“Shehbaz Sharif, you lodged a false FIR against me, and jailed [MNA] Rashid Shafique [in connection with the Madina incident]. Our women and children will take part in the march in Islamabad. If you try to stop it or lodge a similar FIR, then you will be responsible for what will happen,” he warned.

Since all party workers would not be able to reach the capital on the day of the long march, they should instead protest in Mianwali, he said.

“I am calling my sisters, brothers, youth and mothers to the capital because this is the matter of Pakistan. I want everyone of you to come to Islamabad to tell this boot-polisher that slavery and imported government is unacceptable and [demand that he] hold elections.”

He said it was the nation that would decide who would form the government instead of the US.

The PTI’s Punjab government was toppled through bribery, he claimed, adding that the then-opposition should be ashamed of paying people to switch loyalties. He also asked the judiciary why it had not taken suo motu action over the events.

“If our courts can be opened at midnight, why can these thieves not be disqualified? If these looters come to your constituencies, you have to decide about them. These people who betrayed their country, Constitution, nation and voters should be taught a lesson by you so that in future, they should be afraid of repeating such actions.”

Vow to continue ‘jihad’

Imran vowed to continue “jihad” against the leaders of the incumbent coalition government, who he termed “looters”.

He lashed out at the United States, saying the “conspiracy” had originated there. “The biggest conspiracy was that Americans joined hands with Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs here to oust a government that inherited a bankrupt Pakistan.”

Terming the new coalition government’s leaders as dacoits, he claimed they had looted money from the country and built palaces in London. “These were the people who had been looting the country for the last 30 years and bankrupted it.”

“We do not bow down before any power. We are the ummah of the greatest leader Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). There were two superpowers at the time in Iran and Rome. Did my Prophet try to ask for alms or loans or did he surrender before anyone? He did not.”

Imran said it was the nation’s choice whether it wanted to take to the skies or become a “boot polisher”. The nation’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, would never have served the US like these rulers are doing, he added.

Stressing that Pakistanis were independent people, he said the public did not accept “looters” like PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

“We will not let these thieves be imposed on us. You (the government) lodged an FIR against me, claiming we managed the incident that happened in Madina,” he said, referring to pilgrims who had hounded and chanted slogans against PM Shehbaz and his delegation at the Masjid-i-Nabwi last month.

Calling the coalition government’s leaders as “liars”, he said wherever they want, they would face chants of thieves and traitors.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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Huawei Explores Future of Connectivity and Calls for Collaboration to Achieve Intelligent World 2030

 

Islamabad, May 05: At the 2022 Huawei Global Analyst Summit, Huawei held the Intelligent World 2030 Forum together with industry partners. 

Huawei presented the research and achievements of the communications network and computing industries and called on industry players to work together to realize Huawei’s future vision detailed in its Intelligent World 2030 report. Released last year at Huawei Connect 2021, Intelligent World 2030 explores the major technologies and advances that will define the next decade in the format of four industry reports and one main report, which includes eight outlooks and forecasts for 32 indicators of the future. 

Intelligent World 2030 is the culmination of three years of research, including in-depth exchanges with more than 1,000 academics, customers, and partners, and a total of 2,000 workshops. The report also draws from the data and methodologies of leading industry organizations across the globe.

At the forum, Gavin Gai, President of Huawei ICT Strategy & Business Development Dept, delivered the keynote speech Building Green, Cubic Broadband, and Intelligent Future Communications Networks, giving a detailed analysis of the six defining features of the communications networks of the future. These are cubic broadband networks; harmonized communication and sensing; deterministic experience; AI-native; security and trustworthiness; and green, low-carbon construction and operations. He also gave a detailed analysis of the future of the communications industry.

"Industries are the foundation of the intelligent world. The Communications Network 2030, Computing 2030, Digital Power 2030, and Intelligent Automotive Solution 2030 reports provide insights into the technology trends of these respective industries, and can serve as a reference for industry development in the future,” said Gai at the Forum. "It is our relentless pursuit of a superior experience that drives innovation and evolution in communications networks. We are about to witness the change from tens of billions of connections between people to hundreds of billions of connections between things.” 

Jiang Tao, Vice President of Huawei's Computing Product Line, delivered the speech Building a Green, Integrated, and Collaborative Foundation for Intelligent Computing. 

“By 2030, the computing industry will be characterized by physical-layer breakthroughs, cognitive intelligence, diversified computing, intrinsic security, multi-dimensional collaboration, and green, integrated computing," said Jiang. "The digital and physical worlds will be seamlessly integrated, and computing will be able to simulate, reproduce, and enhance the physical world."

Also present at the event was Tian Yonghong, IEEE Fellow and Chief Technology Engineer of Peng Cheng Cloud Brain. In his speech, Tian said that through building super AI computing, Peng Cheng Laboratory is creating an innovation engine for the intelligent world. He reported how AI is changing the way the economy grows and approaches to science and technology innovation, adding that the super intelligent computing platform his organization is creating will address top global challenges.

Other guests at the event included those involved in leading the Intelligent World 2030 project. Kevin Zhang, CMO of Huawei's ICT Infrastructure Business, and Wang Youchun, Director of Huawei's ICT Insights Dept, shared their thoughts on the intelligent world of 2030, participated in discussions about how ICTs can advance socioeconomic and green development, and explored how industries can move toward the intelligent world of 2030.

Much of the discussion at the event centered on digitalization and decarbonization, and how these two major trends drive and reinforce each other, both serving as engines of the world's green development. Intelligent World application scenarios, innovations in computing and connectivity technologies, and green development practices were also discussed at the event. 

Explore more on the report, visit: https://www.huawei.com/en/giv 

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Pakistan celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr

 

ISLAMABAD, MAY 3: Millions of Pakistanis are celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr 2022 with religious real and zest across the country. Large congregations were held in different cities for Eid prayers.

In the federal capital Islamabad, the largest congregation was held at Fails Mosque where President Arif Alvi also attended the Eid prayers among thousands of others including JUI-F Senator Talha Mehmood.

Security has been beefed up in Islamabad with multiple additional checkpoints set up on roads and worshippers were allowed in Faisal Mosque after security checks, Wahab Kamran reported.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz offered Eid prayers at Jati Umra on the outskirts of Lahore. After the prayers, they went to the graves of Sharifs’ parents and that of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif.

Karachi’s largest Eid congregation was held at the Polo Ground after 8am. Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders Aamir Khan, Farooq Sattar and others attended the congregation.

In Quetta, at least 2,000 additional police personnel have been deployed in the city on Eid.

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Courtesy Samaa.tv

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