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HOUSTON: US presidential contender from Democratic Party Bernie Sanders has said he was deeply concerned about the situation in Kashmir and called for immediate removal of the communication blockade in occupied Kashmir. Speaking at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) conference in Houston, Sanders said, “India’s action [in Kashmir] is unacceptable,” criticizing its crackdown in Kashmir, revoking its special status.” He said he is deeply concerned about this situation in Kashmir where the Indian government has revoked Kashmiri autonomy, cracked on dissent and instituted a communications blackout. Bernie Sanders added, “Even many respected doctors in Indian have acknowledged that the Indian government-imposed restrictions on travel are threatening the life-saving care that patients need.” “The United States government must speak out boldly in support on international humanitarian law and in support of a UN back a peaceful resolution that respects the will of the Kashmiri peo

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday unveiled a completely revamped 2019-20 domestic cricket structure while claiming the new system will produce quality cricketers who’ll show consistency. The PCB also announced that it would decentralise the powers, currently held by it, to the cricket associations. However, confining the first-class competition to just six provincial teams and scrapping the previous 16-team event, several contentious decisions have been taken. Central Punjab, which has been the hub of the Punjab, has three big regions — Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad — but collectively they’ll field just one first-class team. According to the latest census, these three regions between them have a population of 50-60 million. In contrast, the South Punjab team, having a total population of almost half of Central will also have one team from regions of Multan and Bahawalpur who both don’t boast of having won major titles in the past. It is learnt that initially the

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said Islam is a religion of peace and it has nothing to do with terrorism. Addressing the Muslim community of North America in Houston via video call, the premier said Islam is a religion of peace and teaches to live with peace. The act of one person cannot be attributed to that of whole community. “Islamophobia is increasing across the world”, he continued. The prime minister said Muslim places of worship were also attacked in Europe. Referring to the situation in Occupied Kashmir, he said Kashmiris are under siege for the last 28 days. “The current Indian regime is a follower of RSS, a hatred and supremacist ideology”, he said and added that  West will have to understand the philosophy of RSS in order to think clearly of this problem. The same philosophy led to the carnage of Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat earlier. Prime Minister reiterated we are talking of a country of one billion people, with nuclear weapons and extreme

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has issued a set of directions to various departments of the Punjab government to plant saplings and protect forests and make the existing laws more stringent to deal with the violations. “All the respondents shall take steps to protect, manage and conserve the forests and trees in the urban areas, in fact make manifest and obvious efforts, to enlarge the forests and trees in Pakistan and the Punjab,” states a 78-page judgment issued by Justice Jawad Hassan on several petitions. The petitions were moved by lawyers and civil society activists questioning the government’s failure to implement laws and to seek explanations from the respondent departments as to how the National Climate Change Policy 2012, the National Forest Policy 2015 and the Forest Policy Statement, 1999 have been implemented to increase the forest cover in Pakistan and Punjab. They further sought reasons for drastic reduction in forest cover in the country, particularly in Punjab, and de

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PESHAWAR: The rescue teams have retrieved more four bodies, who lost their lives in an appalling road incident in Upper Kohistan on Friday night. According to local police, so far bodies of 12 people have been recovered; search to retrieve more bodies is still underway. At least 24 passengers were killed and two got wounded after a bus carrying 31 people fell into a ravine in a horrible incident of a bridge collapse in Upper Kohistan on Friday night. The incident took place in Kandia subdivision of the Upper Kohistan. The bus had women and children on board. All passengers belonged to the same family, who were traveling to attend a function. DPO Kohistan Raja Abdul Saboor while speaking to the media had said the final police report will be issued after investigators probe into the accident. Earlier on August 12, at least five people had lost their lives and eight others got wounded after their passenger van fell into a ravine in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Acc

TEXAS: A white male in his 30s who was known to police killed four people and wounded 21 others on Saturday in a gun rampage between the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa that started with a traffic stop and ended when he was killed by officers, authorities said. The suspect hijacked a postal van and opened fire on police officers, motorists and shoppers on a busy Labor Day holiday weekend before being shot dead outside a multiplex cinema complex in Odessa, police said. Authorities originally thought there were two shooters driving two vehicles, but Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke told a news conference on Saturday evening that he believed there was only one. The gunman was heading from Midland to Odessa on Interstate 20 when he was stopped at 3:17 p.m. local time, Gerke said. He shot the police officer, took off west on I-20 and then exited at Odessa. There he drove to a Home Depot and opened fire on passersby. “At some point the suspect stole a mail truck and ditched his

KARACHI: The global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has issued the list of nominees for its press freedom awards ahead of its 25th anniversary. Journalists and media outlets from 12 countries have been shortlisted for three international awards. Among them are a Russian investigative journalist who has been attacked several times, a Vietnamese journalist who has been beaten and imprisoned for her work, and Pakistan’s oldest daily newspaper Dawn , which is repeatedly harassed by officials. Dawn has been nominated for the Prize for Independence. “The country’s oldest daily newspaper is the only one that continues to resist military rule. Its distribution was banned during the 2018 elections. This year the government instructed advertisers not to publish ads with Dawn,” the RSF said. Since its creation in 1992, the Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Awards honour particularly courageous and independent journalists whose work has had a great impact. “Many of the

ISLAMABAD: The telecom regulatory authority on Saturday extended the registration date for all such mobile devices that come with dual SIMs and have separate international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) till Sept 15. Two weeks ago, the Pakistan Tel­ecommunication Authority (PTA) had asked all subscribers with dual SIM mobile phones to register their IMEI numbers before Aug 31. The PTA had said earlier that there had been instances where subscribers who own handsets with dual SIMs have registered one IMEI number against the slot they use. Most users do not utilise the second slot and have either not registered the IMEI number against it or have forgotten to do so. Mobile device users with one IMEI registered, and the second IMEI not registered are advised to register all IMEIs. The IMEI number is only used for identifying the device and has no relation to the subscriber. The number is used by the PTA to identify valid devices and therefore can be used for stopping a stolen phone fr

ISLAMABAD: The fina­n­ce division on Saturday notified new prices of petroleum products which have been moved down 5.8 per cent for the month of Septem­ber owing to decline in prices in the international market. As per a statement, the purchasing price of petrol has been reduced by Rs4.59 per litre to Rs113.24 per litre to be effective from Sept 1 from Rs117.83 per litre previously. Similarly, the price of high speed diesel (HSD) has dipped by Rs5.33 per litre to Rs127.14 per litre from Rs132.47 previously. The new purchasing price includ­es the impact of taxes and distribution charges. The average purchase price of petrol inclusive of customs duty over the last imported period has been Rs71.89 per litre and that of HSD Rs82.06 per litre prior to taxes and cost of distribution. The finance ministry state­ment claimed that the end purchasing price of petrol in term of rupee parity is significantly lower than the prices in regional markets, like India where it is available at Rs168.25

WASHINGTON: The developing situation in India-held Kashmir might negatively impact the Afghan peace process, warns a US think tank as a congressional subcommittee scheduled a hearing to review the situation in the valley. “Pakistan has been wary of Indian intentions in Afghanistan for decades, and this turn of events in Kashmir will make Islamabad that much more mistrusting of its neighbour,” warns the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in its report on Kashmir. “Pakistan has been playing a significant role in the recent US-Afghan peace negotiations with the [Afghan] Taliban. The Kashmir issue may not only detract Pakistani resources and political will away from Afghanistan but potentially could also be used as leverage to persuade the United States to intervene with India,” the report adds. The Afghan peace talks are in their final phase and the US and Taliban delegations are now holding their ninth meeting in Doha, Qatar, to finalise a deal. Bu

ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Science and Technology is planning to introduce environment-friendly motorcycles and rickshaws, which will run on rechargeable batteries, in the country. During a visit to the Pak­istan Council for Renewable Energy and Technologies on Saturday, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry rode a battery-operated motorcycle and a rickshaw. The electronic vehicles, according to the minister, would help conserve energy and protect the environment. Mr Chaudhry said that the battery-operated vehicles, which were the future of transport, would revolutionise transportation in Pakistan that was one of the largest users of motorcycles and rickshaws. He elaborated on the aim of the government to convert the transport into electronic technology ultimately reducing dependency on petroleum. “Use of electronic vehicles will reduce carbon emissions in the environment,” the minister said. Mr Chaudhry also announced the launch of a bottled water brand produced by

KARACHI: The euphoria over the stunning rally in the preceding week that saw the KSE-100 index recording gains of a staggering 2,585 points (nine per cent) marking it the best week in 10 years, could not sustain in the outgoing week. The stocks retraced nearly 62pc of the previous gains with KSE-100 index plunging 1,678 points (5.35pc) and settling below the 30,000 level at 29,672 points. Incidentally, the benchmark index closed negative for the seventh consecutive month and lost 6.8pc during August which also was the heaviest monthly decline this year. The placement of Pakistan on the ‘enhanced expedited follow up list’ by the Asia Pacific Group on Aug 23 put a dampener on the investor sentiment, with market closing the first trading session in red. In addition to that, the potential divestment of the 10pc shares of the Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) and 7pc shares of the Oil Gas Development Company (OGDC), index heavy weights, built further pressure on the index, stated analysts at

MODI’S abrupt and illegal move to annexe occupied Jammu & Kashmir was a moment of truth for Pakistan, the Kashmiri people, India’s ‘secularists” and the world community. In Pakistan, those who believed that a compromise on Jammu & Kashmir would end Indian hostility and promote cooperation have had their eyes opened. It is now evident that for Modi and his BJP-RSS cohort, a ‘final solution’ for Kashmir (through demographic transformation) and hostility towards Pakistan are not merely electoral artifices; they are part of their supremacist vision of a Hindu India that is to be ruthlessly realised. Pakistan has had to adjust quickly to this ugly reality. Prime Minister Imran Khan believes his earlier offers of a dialogue, and Pakistan’s self-restraint in last February’s military exchanges, were seen by Modi as signs of weakness and appeasement. He is now committed to advocating the Kashmir cause globally as the Kashmiris’ “ambassador”. Pakistan’s early diplomatic response was s

UMERKOT: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi addressing members of the Hindu community at Shiv Temple here on Saturday said the gathering of non-Muslims in solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren drew a stark contrast with the dystopian vision of the Modi government. “This public gathering is not political in nature but it has given a clear message to the fascist Modi government that Hindus and other non-Muslims of Pakistan express solidarity with the Kashmiris,” Mr Qureshi said while rejecting the media reports that Pakistan was trying to negotiate with India. No amount of oppression in India-held Kashmir could suppress the voice of Kashmiris who had been living under curfew for several weeks, he said, adding that India had tried in vain to prevent the European Union from accepting Pakistan’s request for having a discussion on the Kashmir issue on Sept 2. The following day people would gather in large numbers at London’s Hyde Park to meet Indian High Commission, rights activists

GUWAHATI: Almost two million people in northeast India were left facing statelessness on Saturday after the state of Assam published a citizenship list aimed at weeding out “foreign infiltrators”, in a process the central government wants to replicate nationwide. A total of 31.1 million people were included in a final National Register of Citizens (NRC), but 1.9 million were deemed ineligible, according to a statement from the Assam government. Most of those excluded were expected to be Muslim. Assam, an impoverished isolated state of 33 million, has long seen large influxes from elsewhere, including under British colonial rule and around Bangladesh´s 1971 war of independence when millions fled into India. For decades this has made Assam a hotbed of inter-religious and ethnic tensions. Sporadic violence has included the 1983 massacre of around 2,000 people. This has led to pressure from those who see themselves as genuine Assamese for a lasting solution — which they hope will come

Alleged 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp will finally go on trial in 2021, almost two decades after the devastating Al-Qaeda attack, the New York Times reported Friday. A military judge at the US Navy's Guantanamo, Cuba base set the date for the death-penalty trial for January 11, 2021, according to the newspaper. The date was included in a scheduling order for pre-trial activities by the military judge, Colonel Shane Cohen, the Times said. The five will be the first to go on trial in the military commissions established to handle the "War on Terror" detainees captured and sent to Guantanamo after September 11, 2001 attacks that left 2,976 people dead in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi were accused of planning and participating in the plot hatched by Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to hijack four airliners and crash

SRINAGAR: In occupied Kashmir, over 4,500 persons among total over 10,000 arrested have been booked under draconian law, Public Safety Act, since the illegal repeal of the special status of the territory by India on 5th August. Those detained under PSA include Hurriyat leaders, political workers, traders, lawyers, social activists, and youth. Read More: Will fight for Kashmir at all forums till its freedom: PM Imran Khan Principal Secretary of occupied Kashmir, Rohit Kansal, confirmed to media that over 4,500 people have been arrested under the PSA. The law allows the authorities to keep anyone under detention for up to two years without trial. Meanwhile, the curfew and communication blackout continue in the Kashmir valley on the 27th consecutive day, today, where people are facing acute shortage of essential commodities including baby food and life-saving medicines.The valley remains cut off from the rest of the world since August 05 due to continued blockade and suspension of in

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Search operation for at least 15 missing bodies restarted on Saturday morning after a pickup truck carrying 26 people plunged into the Kandia river in Kohistan last night. The incident took place in a very difficult and remote terrain yesterday, when a pick up carrying 31 passengers fell into the river after a wooden bridge collapsed while the car was on it. Five of the passengers jumped out of the vehicle and managed to save their lives. At the moment, the flow of water in the river is fast due to which search teams are facing difficulties. However, Deputy Commissioner Upper Kohistan Hamid Ur Rehman told Dawn that expert teams have been dispatched to fish out the bodies from the river. Last night, four bodies were recovered from the river before the operation had to be suspended due to darkness. Since the operation began again today, seven more bodies have been recovered from the river. According to the DC Rehman more teams are being dispatched to the site as 15 bodies are still

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the announcement of US House Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss the prevailing situation in occupied Kashmir is a major development. He said the meeting of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs will prove to be quite useful regarding Kashmir dispute, Radio Pakistan reported. The minister appreciated the role of overseas Pakistanis, particularly the Pak-American community who made a key contribution to internationalize the issue. Shah Mahmood Qureshi said “we are highlighting the Kashmir issue across the globe and it is the reason that issue is being discussed at every forum.” He said Prime Minister Imran Khan will forcefully raise the Kashmir issue during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly session on Septemeber 29. Occupied Kashmir is under strict a lockdown since 5th August when Narendra Modi-led Indian government announced the repeal of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that granted special

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SRINAGAR: In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated state terrorism subjected thousands of Kashmiris to custodial disappearance during the last twenty-nine years and the families of the victims have no information about their whereabouts. According to the data released by the Research Section of the Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Day of Disappeared, on Friday, over 8,000 Kashmiris have vanished in the custody after they were picked up by the Indian troops, police and paramilitary forces. The report maintained that thousands of unnamed graves had been discovered in the territory and the human rights activists feared that these graves could be of the disappeared Kashmiris. The impunity provided to the troops and police personnel through draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act and Public Safety Act gave them the license to kill and harass the people and ransack their possession without being questioned and the tra

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PESHAWAR: At least 24 passengers were killed and two got wounded after a bus carrying 31 people fell into a ravine in a horrible incident of a bridge collapse in Upper Kohistan on Friday night.  The incident took place in Kandia subdivision of the Upper Kohistan. The bus had women and children on board. As per police, all passengers belonged to the same family, who were travelling to attend a function. DPO Kohistan Raja Abdul Saboor while speaking to the media said the final police report will be issued after investigators probe into the accident. Earlier on August 12, at least five people had lost their lives and eight others got wounded after their passenger van fell into a ravine in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to police, the van was going to Barawal area from Teemargara area in Lower Dir. The driver lost control of the vehicle, due to which it veered off the course and plunged into the ravine.   The post Kohistan bus incident: 24 passengers dead;

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday telephoned United Arab Emirates (UAE) Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, apprising the latter of the troubling situation in India-held Kashmir and sought support of the Muslim world for Kashmiris. According to the Prime Minister Office, the crown prince thanked Mr Khan for keeping him informed on the latest developments in the occupied valley. “The people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir are looking for strong support of the Islamic states. The people of Pakistan also attached high hopes to the OIC countries, including the UAE, at this critical juncture,” the prime minister told the crown prince. The UAE and its crown prince were lately severely criticised in Pakistan for awarding the UAE’s highest civilian medal, Order of Zayed, to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the oil-rich Emirates last week. Much of that criticism was vented out on Twitter. Online activists were annoyed at the UAE and its leadership for

ISLAMABAD: Terming it a violation of basic human rights, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari on Friday lashed out at the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government for shifting former president Asif Ali Zardari from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to Adiala jail despite having serious cardiac problems and warned that if anything happened to Mr Zardari then the Pakistan Peoples Party would hold the “selected government” responsible. Addressing a press conference at Zardari House, Ms Bhutto-Zardari said that she went to meet her father in hospital but was not allowed to meet him. She lamented that instead of being given medical treatment, the former president was shifted to Adiala jail. She was accompanied by PPP leaders Sherry Rehman, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Farhatullah Babar. Ms Bhutto-Zardari said that the doctors had informed her that they were pressurised to shift Mr Zardari back to Adiala jail. “But the health condition of Zardari sahib required him to stay in hospital for fur

ISLAMABAD: The National Accounta­bility Bureau (NAB) on Friday gave an undertaking to an accountability court to complete the inquiry against former finance minister Miftah Ismail in the next 14 days. Acting judge of the accountability court Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan, on the assurance of the NAB investigation officer, extended the remand of Mr Ismail till Sept 12. NAB produced Mr Ismail before judge Hassan, seeking extension of Mr Ismail’s physical remand for another 14 days. The NAB prosecutor, Sohail Arif, argued before the court that the investigation team required his custody for further probe in connection with “inquiry against authorities including minister for petroleum and natural resources concerned secretary and others regarding the illegal award of LNG Terminal-1 contract to Engro Energy Terminal Private Limited”. The prosecutor further said that a co-accused, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, had also been remanded to NAB for investigation into the same case. Mr Ismail’

ISLAMABAD: It was high time for Pakistan to pull out of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as it was worse than the United Nations, former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani said on Friday. Taking part in a discussion on Kashmir in the Senate, he said the “bubble of an Islamic Ummah had burst” and Pakistan should reappraise its relationship with the Ummah. Recalling that the OIC had failed to act whenever Pakistan or any other Muslim country faced a difficult situation, he referred to the 1990s genocide in Bosnia and the ethnic cleansing in Palestine. “The world has become too profit oriented and focused on economic interests.” He cited as examples a $15 billion deal signed recently between Aramco, the Saudi-owned oil giant, and India’s largest conglomerate Reliance, conferment of the UAE’s highest civil award on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and signing of MoUs during the first-ever visit to Bahrain by an Indian premier last week to drive home the point that Muslim

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa said on Friday that the initiative of model courts had instilled a new willingness into the masses to repose confidence in the institution of the judiciary, which otherwise had been blamed for undue delays. Speaking at the award distribution ceremony of the Model Criminal Trial Courts (MCTC) at the Supreme Court building, he said that the model courts had materialised the vision of expeditious and inexpensive justice as envisaged in Article 37(d) of the Constitution. Dispensation of justice was a dream before establishment of the model courts in the country, the chief justice said, adding that efforts, devotion and commitment on the part of the MCTC judges had turned the dream of speedy and inexpensive justice into reality and litigants were getting prompt relief. The credit went to the judges who had rejuvenated the ailing judicial system under existing and available resources and without any amendments to the related law, he ob

ISLAMABAD: Amid confusing statements by some cabinet members, the government on Friday announced a reduction in prices of petroleum products by up to 5.8 per cent for the month of September owing to decline in prices in the international market. It all started when Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan announced the price cuts through her Twitter account, saying the government would pass on the benefit of lower prices in the international market to the public. Later, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar told Dawn that “as per policy implemented last month, the government has decided to pass full impact of price reduction”. However, this was soon contradicted by the finance ministry. “The new POL prices being reported in a section of the media are not correct. Official press release in this regard shall be issued tomorrow evening,” said a ministry statement received through WhatsApp. 5.8pc reduction announced for S

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Indian delegations on Friday held another round of technical level talks on the Kartarpur corridor. Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal, while talking to Dawn over the phone, confirmed that the talks were held at the border, more commonly known as the ‘Zero Point’, and that “good progress was made during the discussion”. A source said that most of the “technical matters” related to construction of the visa-free corridor for Indian Sikhs to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur Sahib had been resolved and the project was on schedule for inauguration in time for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary to be celebrated in November this year. The technical level talks pertain to the alignment of the corridor and sharing of coordinates of border crossing points and other infrastructure. The two sides would meet shortly for a discussion on the remaining issues, the source said. FO spokesperson says ‘good progress’ made in discussion It is important to note that

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Friday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had set the GDP growth target at 2.4 per cent for Pakistan, but “we foresee a growth of 3.5pc for the fiscal year 2019-20”. He also said the State Bank stood prepared to meet any external shocks, either in the form of a military challenge due to the situation in Kashmir, or from the rising oil prices in world markets. Addressing business and industry leaders at an interactive session organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) where the heads of all commercial banks were also present, the SBP governor assured them that the economy is moving in the right direction. However, he was quick to add that “we have to sustain our policies in order to gain the confidence of local and foreign investors”. Responding to a number of issues raised by the industry leaders, Mr Baqir said that in order to pull the country’s economy out of the woods, t

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) management has laid off nearly 1,000 surplus employees and has taken other measures to reduce operational cost of the airline. This was informed by PIA president and Chief Executive Air Marshal Arshad Malik during a meeting with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on Friday. The PIA chief executive, according to a press release issued by the finance ministry, briefed Dr Sheikh on various activities and initiatives undertaken by the PIA to reduce its operational cost and increase revenues through better management and effective utilisation of available financial and human resources. Dr Sheikh asked the PIA to pursue independent, sustainable business plan and said the government wanted the national flag carrier to effectively utilise its assets, improve revenue streams and ensure efficiency and financial discipline. The adviser stressed the importance of a viable and independent corporate plan to help t