Category: Pakistan

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Wednesday inaugurated verification counters at the LHC. Nominated LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi also accompanied with the chief justice. NADRA, Land record and FIR verification counters were set up at the LHC urgent Cell. Additional Registrar IT Jamal Ahmad briefed the chief justice and others about the facilities provided at the counters. The chief justice directed for provision of all necessary facilities to lawyers and litigants at the counters. LHC Registrar Mlaik Mushtaq Ahmad Ojala, Director General District Judiciary Muhammad Saeed Ullah, Sessions Judge Human Resource Javed-ul-Hassan Chisti and others were also present on the occasion.

ISLAMABAD: The foreign pilgrims would be able to use their Hajj smart cards for teller services in Saudi Arabia during Hajj season in the year 2022 (next year). The card will allow pilgrims coming from abroad to transfer money from their bank accounts in their respective countries, Saudi Gazette reported. The smart card will enable the pilgrims to use it as a payment card to buy things in the Kingdom as it will be operational on Saudi Arabia’s Mada network. Foreign pilgrims can benefit from these services until next year’s Hajj, as this year’s Hajj is restricted to only domestic pilgrims. The new facilities and services will be available on the smart card in the second phase of its implementation featuring added services. The smart card was used during the Hajj season of 2019 on an experimental basis, with the distribution of 50,000 cards among a section of pilgrims. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah launched the first phase of the smart card in December 2020 and it will be activated for the first time, covering all pilgrims during the upcoming Hajj season. The first phase linked operations and services of all sectors under the ministry. Major features of the first phase included the issuance of smart identification cards for each pilgrim containing his personal, medical and residential information. The smart card would be instrumental in guiding pilgrims to their accommodation at the holy sites and enables them to have access to various facilities and services. It will also be instrumental in preventing illegal Hajj pilgrimage. The card is considered to be one of the outcomes of Vision 2030 initiatives, and the implementation of the initiative proved to be a successful model for the application of technologies in serving pilgrims. The smart card operates by means of Near-field communication (NFC), which is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that lets NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other. It also enables the card to be read through the Kiosk self-service devices deployed at the holy sites, and the card contains a barcode that is read by workers to know the pilgrim’s data. The card will be administered through a unified center to control all services.

LAHORE: Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Additional IG Ghulam Mahmood Dogar has said police stations are basic units of the department to maintain law and order. He stated this during his surprise visit to different police stations of the city on Wednesday. The CCPO said all necessary measures were being taken and resources were being utilized to bring about positive and public friendly changes in Thana Culture. The CCPO visited PS Iqbal Town, Gulshan Ravi, PS Rang Mahal, Mochi Gate and Police station Gawalmandi and inspected front desks, reporting and record rooms, lockups and other sections. He also checked attendance of the staff and record of the reporting rooms with cleanliness of police stations. Meanwhile, Ghulam Mahmood Dogar listened to complaints of people during his visit and issued orders for their redress

ISLAMABAD: The Meteorological Department of Pakistan predicted on Wednesday hot and dry weather to prevail in most parts of the country during next 24 hours. While very hot in plain areas of the country however, rain-thunderstorm is expected at isolated places in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, a MET office reported. Continental air is prevailing over most parts of the country. Maximum temperature’s recorded was Sibbi 49, Dadu 48, Jacobabad, Bhakkar and D. I. Khan

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said only the people of Afghanistan could resolve the conflict of their country, however, Pakistan would continue to play a conciliatory role. “We can only facilitate the peace process and reconciliation among the Afghan stakeholders,” the foreign minister said in a statement on the situation of Afghanistan and the region. The foreign minister said other countries, may it the United States, China or Russia, could only extend support to the peace process, however, the solution to the problem rested with the Afghans themselves. He referred to the statement of US President Joe Biden who had also emphasized that only Afghans could better resolve the problem faced by their nation. In challenging times, he said, Pakistan would take every step for its own security. Earlier, the foreign minister had confirmed that the government had invited the representatives from all parliamentary parties to attend a conference on national security on July 1, which will mainly focus on the situation in the region, particularly Afghanistan. On situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Qureshi said the illegal acts of India had resulted in rise of unemployment. He stressed that Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir was loud and clear that the dispute must be resolved in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. He pointed out that the All-party Convention called by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi exposed the wide gulf between the minds and hearts of the government and the Kashmiris. Qureshi termed the convention as a failed attempt to fan nationalism in a bid to gain votes for the upcoming election. On Financial Action Task Force (FATF), he said India was trying to misuse the platform for political gains. He said Pakistan was put into FATF gray list because of the money-laundering done by the corrupt elements during the tenure of previous governments.

ISLAMABAD : Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) budget for the next fiscal year with total outlay of over 141 billion rupees was presented in the Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday. Presenting the budget in the Assembly AJK Finance Minister Dr Najeeb Naqi said 113 billion rupees have been allocated in the budget for non development expenses while 28 billion rupees for development. The development budget shows an increase of 14 percent as compared to the outgoing fiscal year. The ADP also includes 2 billion rupees as foreign funds. Moreover 4 billion rupees have been provided for ongoing schemes under Ministry of Kashmir Affairs. Out of it one billion rupees have been set aside for welfare of Indian firing affectees at Line of Control. The Minister informed the house that 35 percent enhancement in government employees salaries have been proposed. It includes 25 percent disparity deduction allowance while 10 percent adhoc relief allowance.