Category: Pakistan

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Pakistani nation observed the 73^rd martyrdom anniversary of Brave son of soil Capt. Sarwar Shaheed on Tuesday 27^th July. Captain Raja Muhammad Sarwar holds the distinction of being awarded with the Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan’s highest military award, for the first time in the country’s history, owing to the tremendous valour that he displayed in the battlefield during the war in Kashmir and achieving martyrdom in the process.

Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar, in his tweet on the occasion said: “Nation pays tribute to Capt Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed, NH, on 73rd martyrdom anniversary. His matchless chivalry, unwavering resolve & fortitude shall always be remembered. The supreme sacrifice he made, will keep inspiring defenders of the motherland in times to come.”

Raja Muhammad Sarwar was born in Singhori village in Gujar Khan district on November 10, 1910. His father, Raja Muhammad Hayat Khan, served in the British army as a constable. The British government gifted Raja Hayat Khan with property near Samundri because of his services during the First World War.

Raja Sarwar obtained his early education from Islamia High School in Faisalabad. He joined the army as a sepoy in April 1929 and served in the Baloch regiment till 1941. He was commissioned in the Punjab regiment in 1944 and also got promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant that very year.

He joined the Punjab regiment in 1946 and achieved the rank of Captain, months before the creation of Pakistan. Once the country emerged on the map of the world in 1947, Raja Muhammad Sarwar volunteered to be a part of the battalion formed to regain Kashmir.

He was given the rank of Company Commander of the Second Battalion of the Punjab Regiment. Under his leadership, the regiment was able to force the Indian forces to retreat out of certain regions of Gilgit-Baltistan. However, his battalion faced heavy resistance from the opposing forces present in the Uri sector as the soldiers pushed forward to take over a well-guarded enemy position.

As he along with his battalion continued moving forward, the intensity of gun-fire, grenade attacks and mortar fire. He received martyrdom on July 27, 1948, after receiving multiple shots on his chest as he attempted to cut a barbed wire barrier while making an effort to progress further into enemy lines. In recognition of his courage, Captain Sarwar was awarded with the Nishan-e-Haider by the Pakistan army. Sarwar Shaheed College, located in Gujar Khan, was named to honour him.

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Bodies of Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr have been found, confirmed Gilgit Baltistan Information Minister Fateh Ullah Khan to national media.

Sajid Sadpara, along with Canadian filmmaker Elia Saikaly and Pasang Kaji Sherpa, is summitting the K2 to find the bodies of his father and his companions Snorri, and Mohr. The mountaineers had gone missing on February 5 and were declared dead a few days later after their bodies were not found and the rescue mission was called off.

 

The team had reached Camp 4 this morning and flew a drone around the area in search of the bodies, sources said. Through the drone, the team was able to detect a body above Camp 4 near the bottleneck.

GB information minister told media that the team had located the first body at close to 9am this morning near the bottleneck area of the mountain.

“First, the body of John Snorri was located at 9am below the bottleneck. He was wearing yellow and black coloured clothes,” said Khan. He added that the second body was located at 12pm but they have not been able to identify the other two bodies.

The minister said that Snorri’s body was identified as the army’s focal person had confirmed the colours of his clothes. Khan said that the army helicopters are on stand by for the rescue mission and that the digging process to recover the bodies is underway right now. He added that the army and the government are on alert.

Lahore (NUT-Desk)

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Provincial Minister for Industries and Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal in the committee room of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade in which the performance of Environment Protection Department and future strategy was reviewed. Directing to conduct performance audit of transfer of brick kilns to ZigZag technology, the provincial minister said that environmental study of transfer of kilns to modern technology is necessary.

He said that benefits of using national resources should reach the people. The provincial minister said that a committee for mapping industries would be set up. The committee would consist of officers from the Department of Environmental Protection, Industry and Commerce, Urban Unit and officers of other related departments and the committee would complete the work within two months and submit a report .

The Secretary Environment Department briefed about the reorganization of the department, Punjab Green Development Program, e-Environmental Initiative and other other development programs of the department. He told that 30 air quality monitoring stations and 15 water quality monitoring stations would be set up under Punjab Green Development Program. HeadofSpecial Monitoring Unit Fazil Asif and concerned officers of Environment Protection Department attended the meeting.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Polling for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has begun, amid strict security measures, on Sunday 25^th July today.

Polling that started at 08:00am will continue until 05:00pm without any break while results at the polling stations will be announced after one hour of the conclusion of the polling.

Over 40 thousand security personals including PAK Army, FC, Rangers & Police will perform duties to ensure peaceful polling.

According to data, 701 candidates are contesting for 45 general seats including 12 refugee seats in Pakistan. A tough contest is being expected between three main political parties Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) while on 7 seats regional parties Muslim Conference (MC) and Jammu Kashmir peoples party (JK-PP)’s candidates are in a tough contest against candidates of major political parties, on 6 MC and on one JKPP.

Gallup Survey

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as the most popular party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and is likely to win the upcoming election in the region schedule on July 25, according to a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan.

The Gallup Pakistan survey put PTI ahead of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been placed at the third position.

According to a survey of Gallup Pakistan, 44 per cent in AJK think that PTI will win the elections while PML-N has 12 per cent and PPP 9 per cent popularity.

Any news site activated for more than six months will be considered eligible for advertisements, says info minister.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary has finalized the digital policy for all newspaper websites, accepting a long-held demand of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE).

While talking to members of the CPNE to condole the death of Council President Arif Nizami, he said a summary for approval of the policy will be tabled in the cabinet meeting next week.

According to Fawad Chaudhary, along with the national newspapers, the regional and local newspapers will also be granted a separate advertisement quota. Any news site which is activated for more than six months will be considered eligible for the advertisements, he said, adding that such advertisements will be monitored through cyber wing of the ministry.

Principal Information Officer (PIO) Sohail Khan explained that the government will separately issue advertisements to news websites under the new policy, and an amount of Rs 1billion is likely to be set aside for the purpose.

CPNE Senior Vice President Kazam Khan and provincial presidents Arshad Arif and Ayaz Khan expressed their gratitude to Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhary for his efforts regarding approval of the digital policy.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Veteran journalist and former caretaker federal minister for information and postal service Arif Nizami on Wednesday has passed away in Lahore.

The journalist was under treatment at a hospital for the last two weeks after he had suffered a heart attack. Arif Nizami was son of Hameed Nizami, the founder Nawa-i-Waqt Group of newspapers.

While reacting to the journalist’s death, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “Saddened to learn of the passing of veteran journalist, editor, and political commentator Arif Nizami.”

“My condolences and prayers go to his family,” he added.

President Dr. Arif Alvi also condoled over the demise of veteran journalist Arif Nizami and prayed for the departed soul and bereaved family.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain also expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of Arif Nizami.

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has also expressed heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of senior journalist Arif Nizami.

According to ISPR, the Army Chief prayed that Allah Al-Mighty may bless his soul and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.

Meanwhile, Chief of the Air Staff Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu Wednesday expressed his heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of senior journalist Arif Nizami.

“May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss, Ameen,” said the air chief in a condolence message, issued here by Pakistan Air Force.

 

 

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Eid-ul- Azha will be celebrated today with religious fervor to commemorate the great sacrifice of Hazrat Ibrahim and Hazrat Ismael (AS). The day will dawn with special prayers in mosques for well-being of the Ummah and progress, prosperity and security of the country.

Congregational prayers will be held across the country to mark the religious festival, along with sermons highlighting the significance of the event and the philosophy behind sacrifice.

Security arrangements have been beefed up across the country during the occasion.Prime Minister Imran Khan will offer Eid prayers at Nathia Gali.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Bazdar will offer Eidul Adha prayer at GOR. After the Eid prayers, Chief Minister Usman Bazdar will offer prayers for the security and stability of the country.

Former President Asif Ali Zardari will offer Eid prayers at Bilawal House. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will offer Eid-ul-Adha prayers in Sehwan Sharif.

Most of the political leaders of Sindh will offer Eid prayers in their home towns. Sindh Minister for Information and Local Government Nasir Shah will offer Eid prayers in Sukkur. President PPP Sindh and Provincial Advisor Nisar Khorro will offer Eid prayers in Larkana.

The Balochistan Governor and the chief minister will celebrate Eid in Quetta while members of the National and Provincial Assemblies and Senators will celebrate in their respective areas.

Governor Balochistan Syed Zahoor Agha and Chief Minister Jam Kamal will celebrate Eid in Quetta. They will offer Eid prayers at the Governor House, Quetta.

Heavy Rains disrupts routine life across Punjab. Several got injured and 2 killed in various incidents

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Heavy rains in different cities of Punjab disrupted life on Tuesday, with streets severely inundated and at least two people killed in various rain-related accidents. Low-lying areas in Faisalabad and Mianwali lay flooded, with water flowing into houses. The railway track in Mianwali is feared damaged by the urban flooding.

Heavy rains were also reported in Gujranwala, Jhang and Murree.In Lahore, 99mm of rain made the weather pleasant, however, one person was killed and 10 others were injured when the roofs of their houses collapsed.

Traders in cattle markets were seen struggling trying to protect animals from the rain.The fire station located at the Allama Iqbal International airport also became inundated, along with the runway and the apron. Rescue and emergency vehicles became stuck in deep, muddy waters.

In Raiwind, a 30-year-old man was killed when the roof of his home collapsed due to the rain, while 10 people were injured in similar incidents in the China Scheme and Mohalnawal areas.

Heavy rain has disrupted the Lahore Electric Supply Company’s (LESCO) transmission system in different parts of the Lahore . More than 130 LESCO feeders have tripped due to rain in Lahore on Tuesday. Many areas in the city are facing power outage due to feeders tripping and other technical faults.