Sunday, 8 August 2021
ISLAMABAD, AUG 8: Ambassador MATSUDA Kuninori has extended congratulations to Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s premier javelin thrower, for showing his great talent by winning 5th place in the final of men’s javelin throw competition in the Tokyo Olympics and conveys best wishes for his future endeavors.
“Though, unfortunately, you could not win a place on the medal winning podium but, I believe, you have won many hearts back home for your brilliant performance in the world’s mega event. I congratulate you for having the honor of competing in the final round played for the medals.
Keep up your efforts with fresh zeal and I am sure, the day is not far when you will be on victory stand”, said the Ambassador.
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Saturday, 7 August 2021
Munaza Kazmi
The Karakoram Highway is the highest and the lengthiest paved international highway of the world, it is also viewed as the 15th most beautiful roads of the world for its scenic beauty.
The Karakoram Highway was built by the governments of Pakistan and China in a long span of almost twenty years (1959-78) due to the region's unique topography, high-altitude mountains, snow-covered peaks and tough terrain.
The mighty road, manifesting the
strategic relationship and geographical interdependence between the two nations
– China and Pakistan – is also termed as Friendship Highway and it is referred
to as the eighth wonder of the world.
The Karakoram Highway represented
the undeclared beginning of CEPEC- a dream that is being realized after 50
years.
The magnificent 1300km road
snakes through the Pamirs, Hindu Kush, Kunlaun Mountains, and Karakoram Range,
to connect Kashgar in China to the northern provinces of Pakistan. At a maximum
height of 4714 meters, it has the world’s highest border crossing at the
Khunjerab Pass.
Whilst ensuring the most epic
road trip ever, the highway is notorious for frequent land sliding, avalanches,
and movement of glaciers under extreme weather conditions; the well-known
Attabad Lake, that is now an attractive tourist destination is a living result
of such land sliding.However, the highway was constructed on respective sides
of China and Pakistan by their relevant organizations.
Construction at such a high elevation and harsh terrain defies conventional engineering wisdom. Hence, then government of Pakistan gave this task to the Army’s Corps of Engineers to undertake the work; thus, was born the Frontier Works Organization.
However, in the meanwhile 200
Chinese and over 800 Pakistani laborer and engineers lost their lives; some due
to inclement weather, others to the harsh elevation of 4,693 meters (15,397 ft)
above sea level.
To say inevitably the Karakoram Highway had a huge impact on the lives of locals, their economic conditions improved manifold, likewise it turn out to be an open gateway for them to the rest of the world.
One of the major benefits it came with is the uplift in adventure tourism, as it is the corridor to the stunning mountain range of Pakistan, namely the gorgeous Himalayas, magnificent Hindukush and the mysterious Karakorum. Furthermore, one can have a luxury of an uninterrupted and clear view of notorious Nanga Parbat and Rakaposhi.
Also, it is a gateway to the
world’s largest glaciers, mainlyKhujerab, Passu, Minapin and Ghulkin.
Thankfully now it is no longer difficult to access the many high mountains,
glaciers, and lakes in the area.
The Karakoram Highway offers to
its traveler a delightful experience of scenic beauty that would surely remain
for life. One would be travelling while
witnessing the sights of world’s beautiful landscapes, the lands of fairies and
djinns.
Moreover, it was deemed the third-best tourism site in the country and one of the most challenging engineering feats anywhere in the world.
Historically Karakorum Highway
was a trade route, famously known as the ancient Silk Road Route, that relates
to a lot of beautiful stories that I will be sharing in my next article,
however it was used by Chinese traders on their journey toward the Middle East,
Central Asia and Europe.
However, under the CEPEC, the Karakorum Highway has been upgraded as a motorway. It is the sustenance for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan besides the source of economic activities.
Moreover, Karakorum Highway can be viewed as the main channel of the CEPEC and its impact are evident in the whole region as a beneficiary of trade between China and Central Asia, the Middle-East and Eurasia through the Arabian Sea at Gwadar.
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Munaza Kazmi holds MPhil in Management Sciences (Bahria University Islamabad, 2020). She’s a travel writer, an author, & co-author of scientific contributions in national & international publications. Her main areas of research include tourism & quality management.
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ANKARA/ISLAMABAD, AUG 7: The Turkish government has eased quarantine rules for Pakistani students returning to university after the summer break.
According to the new rules,
students will be allowed to quarantine at their dormitories instead of hotels.
They will have to isolate for 10 days.
Students will be quarantined at
the Higher Education Credit and Hostels Institution’s (KYK) Muhteşem Süleyman
Dormitory in Istanbul and Tahsin Banguoğlu KYK Dormitory in Ankara.
The new rules came into effect
August 6. The Pakistan Embassy in Ankara said students will have to show a
valid student identification document showing that they study in Turkey.
Pakistani students studying at
universities in provinces other than Istanbul or Ankara, will only be able to
travel to the provinces where their registered universities are based after the
end of the quarantine period.
Work/residence permit holders
People from Pakistan with valid
residence and work permits will be exempted from hotel quarantine and will be
allowed to quarantine at their residence.
They will only be allowed to go
to their residence by private vehicle and cannot use domestic flights or public
transport.
Tourists from Pakistan will be quarantined at the designated hotels like before.
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COURTESY SAMAA NEWS
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Friday, 6 August 2021
ANKARA, AUG 6: Turkish coffee will be promoted in the US through a documentary filmed by a Turkish foundation in seven cities of the country where the strong drink is prepared in different ways.
OSLO, AUG 6: Several municipalities are resorting to creative solutions during this year’s “pandemic” parliamentary elections. In Oslo, people will be able to vote from their car at drive-in premises if they are in quarantine.
“Everyone who wants to vote must
be allowed to vote, regardless of whether they are ill, in quarantine, or in
isolation,” the communications manager for elections in Oslo, Ingvild Åsgard,
told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
Oslo Municipality has set up a
record number of premises for advance voting for those who are afraid of ending
up in quarantine or becoming ill on election day.
One of the premises allows people
to vote from their car.
“If you are in quarantine, you can vote via drive-in at Valle Hovin. Then you vote in your car, and then the election staff comes and takes your vote through the window,” Åsgård noted.
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COURTESY norwaytoday
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LAHORE, AUG 6: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif filed an appeal in the British Immigration Tribunal on Thursday after the Home Department refused to extend his stay in the country on “medical grounds” any further.
The decision of the UK Home Department prompted the Imran Khan government to offer the PML-N supreme leader to arrange his return to Pakistan at a notice of 24 hours if he is willing.
“The UK Home Department has refused to extend Nawaz Sharif’s stay in the country any further on medical grounds. However, Mr Sharif will legally remain in the UK till the tribunal issues its decision on his plea for his stay in the country,” PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb told Dawn on Thursday.
“Mr Sharif has already filed an appeal with the British Immigration Tribunal challenging the Home Department’s decision. The UK Home Department’s decision will remain in effect till the tribunal arrives at a decision,” she added.
Govt offers special documents for his return; PML-N rebukes minister for doing politics on ex-PM’s health
Dispelling an impression that Mr Sharif had applied for asylum after refusal of his visa extension, Ms Aurangzeb said: “This does not in any way amount to a political asylum and is only a request for an extension to his stay on medical grounds.”
She castigated the PTI ministers for doing politics on the health of Mr Sharif. “As long as the treatment of Mr Sharif is not completed and doctors do not allow him travel he will remain in the UK,” she said. The “rented spokespersons” of the “imposed regime” were doing politics on Mr Sharif, who had earlier returned to Pakistan leaving his ailing wife on deathbed, only to save their jobs, she added.
The passport of Nawaz Sharif, who has been ‘absconding’ in London since November 2019 on medical treatment grounds, had expired in February this year.
The PTI government had declined a request for issuance of a new diplomatic passport to Mr Sharif. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had already declared that Mr Sharif’s passport would not be renewed as per “instructions from Prime Minister Imran Khan”.
On Thursday both Mr Rashid and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry offered Mr Sharif “special documents” to return to the country.
Mr Chaudhry said now Mr Sharif had an option to apply for an emergency travel document from the Pakistan High Commission in the UK to return to the country and face corruption cases against him. “He has no legal grounds to satisfy the tribunal about his further stay in London. It has been established that he lied about his health,” he said and warned the former premier not to tell lies (about his health) before the tribunal to seek extension to his stay as he may face jail there too for it. “Neither Imran Khan nor the PTI has any enmity with Nawaz Sharif. We want him to come back to the country, deposit the looted money amounting to billions of rupees into the exchequer and afterwards stay at his home,” Mr Chaudhry said.
Meanwhile, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif telephoned his elder brother in London and insisted him to stay there “till his treatment is completed”. “The nation and the PML-N are more concerned about your (Nawaz) health and they are praying for your fast recovery,” he said.
During the talk, Mr Nawaz told Mr Shehbaz about the rejection of his visa extension application and filing of an appeal in the tribunal subsequently.
Prior to the departure of Mr Nawaz to London, Mr Shehbaz had submitted an undertaking to the Lahore High Court that he would ensure return of his brother “within four weeks or on certification by doctors that he has regained his health and is fit to return back to Pakistan”. Mr Nawaz was allowed to leave the country for four weeks, extendable on the basis of medical reports.
Mr Nawaz was serving seven-year imprisonment in the Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia corruption case before his departure to London.
Mr Nawaz has been in London since 2019, and has reportedly applied for multiple extensions in his stay. Foreigners on visas can stay in the UK for up to six months in one stretch. Mr Sharif has been in the UK now for nearly two years, but sources said that the letter from the Home Office said his stay despite the refusal of an extension remained valid.
The news of the visa extension application’s rejection took the Sharifs by surprise, as TV channels started to broadcast the alert based on reports from Islamabad. “We just found out ourselves,” Hussain Nawaz told Dawn, expressing his surprise that the story had become public in Pakistan. “This was not leaked by us.”
Interestingly, it was federal minister Faisal Vawda who first tweeted about this development. On Aug 3, Mr Vawda claimed Mr Nawaz’s “visa is being cancelled by UK authorities”. Though technically the claim was erroneous, a few days later it emerged that Mr Nawaz’s application for extension of his stay was denied.
The Home Office does not comment on individual immigration or visa applications, and declines requests to share information on applications with the media or members of the public.
The former prime minister has been in the UK since November 2019, after getting bail from the court on medical grounds and securing permission from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government. His doctors said he was suffering from complicated cardiac disease and an immune system disorder that resulted in a low platelet count. In September, a medical report submitted to the Lahore High Court by his legal team said doctors had advised him against travel due to the coronavirus outbreak as he was suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and diseases of the kidney and heart. The report stated that as a heart patient, he was vulnerable to contracting Covid-19. His lawyers contend that his treatment that was paused due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK would resume soon.
Prior to the pandemic, Mr Sharif had been visiting St Guys’ and St Thomas’ Hospital as well as Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital for check-ups, which the PML-N said would help doctors determine next steps in his treatment. Mr Nawaz’s visits to the hospital had been temporarily paused when the UK went into lockdown in March and when non-urgent surgery patient appointments were postponed due to heavy burden of Covid-19 patients on the National Health Service.
Members of the government on several occasions have dismissed the family’s statements regarding Mr Nawaz’s health and made efforts to bring him back to Pakistan to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the Al-Azizia case.
Atika Rehman in London also contributed to this report
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
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Thursday, 5 August 2021
WASHINGTON, AUG 5: (Raja Furqan Ahmed) Pakistan's National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf has explained that Pakistan will not accept a “forceful takeover’ of Kabul. While talking to the media after concluding week-long talks with the US administration, Moeed, said, “We will not accept a forceful takeover.”
“We have made it absolutely clear that we are with the international community on where this goes. But the world also needs to be clear that the US invest in a political settlement,” he said. Harsh rhetoric of the Afghan government against Pakistan was making it impossible to maintain good relations between the neighbouring countries, he added.
He further said, “We are beginning to see a very conscious, deliberate effort by the Afghan government to scapegoat Pakistan.” Moeed said Afghanistan’s incumbent government wanted “to shift the entire blame of its failures” on Pakistan.
He urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to “compromise and reach a peace settlement” as the fighters made rapid gains amid a US troop withdrawal. “There will have to be some compromise given the ground reality. But the violence will have to stop,” he added.
“Whatever limited leverage we had, we used,” he said, pointing to Pakistan encouraging the Taliban to enter talks with the Afghan government in Doha. “Now with the US troop withdrawal, that leverage has logically gone down further,” he added.
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RAWALPINDI, AUG 5: (Raja Furqan) India is changing the geographical boundaries of occupied Kashmir. 1.2 million Indians have been settled in Occupied Kashmir since August 5, 2019.
These views were expressed by Mushaal Hussein Mullick, Chairperson Peace and Culture Organization while addressing a protest rally, flag hoisting and photo exhibition on Indian atrocities organized by Punjab Arts Council flanked by Naheed Manzoor and Director Waqar Ahmed.
She said that the Indian fascist government would turn Kashmiris into a minority in the valley by conducting a false census in occupied Kashmir. The genocide of Kashmiris in the occupied valley has increased in the last two years. Mushaal Hussein Mullick said that Hurriyat leadership Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Asiya Andrabi were enduring the hardships of incarceration in Indian jails.
Hurriyat leader Ashraf Sehrai was poisoned to death by Indian authorities in jail. Malik further said that India was depriving Kashmiris of their identity, political, religious and economic rights. She said that the Human Rights Commission, the International Court of Justice and the United Nations should take notice of the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
The United Nations needs to pass a new resolution for a referendum in occupied Kashmir, while the Kashmiri people want a solution to the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN resolution. Mushaal Mullick has appealed to the people of Pakistan to expose the ugly face of India to the whole world. Similarly, India has failed in occupied Kashmir before and will continue to fail in the future also.
Addressing on the occasion, Naheed Manzoor said that Kashmir is the lifeblood of Pakistan. Pakistan and Kashmir are inseparable from each other. Director Arts Council Waqar Ahmad said that August 5, 2019, is the darkest day in the history of Kashmir. He said that every child of Pakistan is standing side by side with the Kashmiri brothers. A large number of citizens participated in the rally and photo exhibition.
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ISLAMABAD, AUG 5: Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community to hold India accountable for human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a message on the second
anniversary of India's annexation of the disputed region, Prime Minister Imran
Khan said New Delhi has failed to break the will of the Kashmiri people.
"Today marks two years since
India's illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in Indian Illegally
Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)," he said. "These actions were
followed by an unprecedented military siege and restrictions on fundamental
rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people to perpetuate Indian occupation in
the occupied territory."
He added that Kashmiris face
unabated extrajudicial killings, custodial torture, and death, arbitrary
detentions, burning and looting of houses to inflict collective punishment, and
other worst forms of human rights abuses.
Kashmir is held by India and
Pakistan but claimed by both in full. On Aug. 5, 2019, the Indian government
revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its Constitution,
scrapping the country's only Muslim-majority state with its autonomy. It was
also split into two federally administered territories.
Khan accused India of bringing
demographic changes to the disputed territory through domicile and land
ownership laws.
He said India's "unilateral
actions" are aimed at changing the region's demographic structure, and
converting Kashmiris into a "minority in their own land."
He called the measures a blatant
violation of international law, including the UN Charter, UN Security Council
resolutions, and the Fourth Geneva Convention. "Pakistan, the Kashmiris,
and the international community forcefully rejected these steps," he said.
The Pakistani prime minister
reaffirmed his country's commitment to the Kashmir cause. He assured all
possible assistance to Kashmiris until the realization of their right to
self-determination and a just resolution of the dispute in accordance with the
relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
'COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT'
In a separate message, President
Arif Alvi said Kashmiris are being subjected to "collective punishment by
Indian occupation forces," which have turned the territory into the
"world's largest militarized zone."
"For the past 24 months,
Kashmiris have suffered the worst human rights violations inflicted by Indian
occupation forces, including a military siege and unprecedented restrictions on
fundamental freedoms of Kashmiris," he said.
"To this day, the senior Kashmiri
leadership remains incarcerated under trumped-up charges. Extrajudicial
killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions also continue unabated."
He said Pakistanis stand by the
"Kashmiri brothers and sisters" in their struggle, and will continue
to highlight the dispute to the international community.
"Our ultimate objective
remains the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per
relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,"
the president concluded.
RALLIES
Rallies to show solidarity with
the Kashmiris were held in cities across Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir. The
main rally was organized in the capital Islamabad and led by Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi from the Foreign Ministry to the parliament.
President Alvi, Interior Minister
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, other Cabinet members, and lawmakers also joined the
gathering.
The participants, carrying flags
of Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, raised slogans in support of the
Kashmiri cause.
"The entire Pakistani nation
and Kashmiris reject the illegal and unilateral steps of Aug. 5, 2019,"
Qureshi said, urging the UN and the international community to take
"immediate action" and stop India from "bringing demographic
changes in the disputed valley."
"Two years ago, today, India
acted illegally & unilaterally. With state-backed terrorism, the Modi
regime is sparing no attempt to subjugate the Kashmiri people. But, their
indomitable spirit cannot be broken in their just struggle for self-determination,"
the foreign minister said in a separate tweet.
"We will not relent in our moral & diplomatic support for Kashmiris' right to self-determination in accordance w/ UNSC resolutions. The int'l community must hold [India] accountable for its crimes, to reverse its illegal & unilateral actions & cease all terrorism."
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COURTESY Anews
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ANKARA, AUG 5: Forest fires are a global threat just like the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkey's president said Wednesday.
The whole world is currently
facing this challenge, which is like a "terrorist threat," Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan said in a live television interview.
He said 187 forest fires have
erupted in Turkey in the past eight days, with 15 of them yet to be put out.
Some 51 helicopters and 20 planes are engaged in operations to douse the wildfires, the president said.
He added that Turkish
intelligence and police personnel are thoroughly investigating the fires.
Erdoğan said Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev told him that his country will send another amphibious
aircraft, which is currently undergoing maintenance, to Turkey to support its
ongoing battle against the forest fires in its southern provinces.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt
Çavuşoğlu said Wednesday that Azerbaijan will send a new team to help Turkey in
its firefighting efforts.
A total of 160 personnel, 40 fire
trucks and a plane will arrive from Azerbaijan early Thursday, Cavusoglu said.
This will be the third team Baku
has sent to assist Turkey's fight against the wildfires.
According to official figures, at least eight people have lost their lives since the fires started in south and southwestern Turkey last Wednesday.
TURKOVAC COVID-19 VACCINATION TO GET EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION
Turning to the global coronavirus
pandemic, Erdoğan said Turkey aims to get emergency use authorization for its
indigenous Turkovac COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible for its widespread use
in the country.
"Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our
domestic vaccine Turkovac have been successfully completed," he said,
adding the clinical and research phase started in June.
He also said that the Turkish
economy will see 7% growth this year and inflation and interest rates will drop
in the coming period.
Turkey has administered more than 74.33 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released Wednesday.
The country is continuing its
intensive vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with
everyone 18 and over eligible for vaccine shots.
Amid a nationwide drop in cases
and an expedited vaccination drive, Turkey entered a new normalization phase on
July 1, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.
However, seeking to limit the
spread of the Delta variant of the virus, the country suspended flights from
India and required arrivals from the UK, Iran, Egypt and Singapore to have
negative COVID-19 test results taken within 72 hours prior.
Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed nearly 4.25 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 200 million cases reported, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.
TURKEY CONSIDERS ORGANIZING INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON CYPRUS ISSUE
On the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said
Turkey is considering an international meeting to discuss issues regarding the
region in the fall. The scope of the meeting will be about the Eastern
Mediterranean, Cyprus and mainly the town of Maras, also known as Varosha.
Cyprus has been mired in a
decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of
diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the
early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup
aimed at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor
power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result,
the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace
process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland
under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the UK.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.
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COURTESY Anews
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Editor-In-Chief
Exclusive by Farukh Shehzad
Cultural Morality is one of the key factor in character building of a child and of a human being in any society.
According to experts men and women who have been married over the past 40 years, they have absolutely failed in transferring of light of Islam to their children.
It has now become normal to see battling with each other in families in our society.
During the discussion, a question was asked that after Noor Mukadam case took place in Islamabad now girls have fear in going out in the field... Expert says that this fear of girls is good for them, this fear is actually a blessing for the girls.
Experts advised girls that take this fear as a blessing and 'stay home and stick with your parents and do not try to make friendship with boys' because it is also against the teaching of our beautiful religion Islam.
In the light of the teachings of Islam if women need to go out in any important case then they must fully cover up their body to get a safe environment around her, experts added.
Experts further said that 70% parents are responsible for children diverting towards bad habits. They also said that cultural morality has been destroyed badly over the past 40 years.
Solution for this problem:
Cultural Morality can only be improved by sitting and spending time with pious people in your life and it is mandatory for the both boys and girls.
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