WASHINGTON: Funding by the United States and other nations and the Taliban regime’s relations with Pakistan will shape Afghanistan’s future, say two recent reports by a US federal institution. In these reports, the Washington-based US Institute of Peace (USIP) reminds the United States and its allies that humanitarian aid alone cannot prevent an economic collapse in Afghanistan. USIP released the two reports this week as part of a larger report summarising the studies it conducted during 2021 on Afghanistan and other issues. Positive relationship with Islamabad could help foster stability, development Elizabeth Threlkeld, the author, believes that the aid given…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
KARACHI: As many as 72 Hindu couples joined in matrimony during a mass wedding ceremony organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) at the Railway Ground here on Sunday evening. Every year, for the last 14 years, MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankvani, who is also the PHC patron-in-chief, has been organising mass weddings for poor Hindu couples who cannot afford a big wedding for themselves on the their own. The couples in their wedding finery reached the ground by afternoon and sat waiting in 10 by 10 feet wide enclosures, or mandap as they are called, in two long rows…
ISLAMABAD: As the debate sparked by recent disclosures about donations received from foreign companies and nationals by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) continues to intensify, the report of the scrutiny committee itself suggests that the ruling party faces no imminent threat of being banned. The report says that foreign funding and funds received from prohibited sources are not one and the same, and have separate consequences, if proved. The report, which cites relevant judgements of the Supreme Court in the Hanif Abbasi and Benazir Bhutto cases, says it was very clear from the unambiguous language of the provisions of the Political Parties Order…
ISLAMABAD: Although tasked with managing the affairs of the bureaucracy and — in turn — ensuring that the affairs of the country run smoothly, the Establishment Division itself has been violating the rules governing the transfer and posting on deputation of civil servants, documents examined by reveal. The Establishment Division serves as the nerve-centre of the bureaucracy and its officers act as management consultants for the federal government. In addition to dealing with postings, transfers, promotions and trainings, they are tasked with undertaking case studies to solve specific management problems, conducting organisational reviews, defining the functions and procedures of various…
KARACHI: Despite claims from the authorities that the long-awaited Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme, commonly known as K-IV, would be completed by the end of 2023, the federal and Sindh governments on Sunday agreed that the mega project had been suffering “serious issues” and there was a need to improve coordination for execution of its conveyance systems and augmentation. The consensus between the two sides emerged during the sixth meeting of the Coordination Committee, set up in September 2020 between the federal and Sindh governments, held at Chief Minister House. The meeting agenda included establishment of the combined effluent treatment…
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly will begin its fresh session on Monday (today) with the controversial Finance (Supplementary) Bill, generally known as the mini-budget, on its agenda as Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the joint opposition in Parliament House before the start of the sitting to devise a strategy to block the bill’s passage. The National Assembly Secretariat on Sunday issued a 48-point agenda for the Monday’s sitting, which also includes a motion at number 39 in the name of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin seeking the passage of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 that he introduced…
ISLAMABAD: Had the government departments and local administration acted promptly on Friday, we would not have witnessed a tragedy of this scale in Murree. “It was a complete failure of the government and it was complete mismanagement as despite warnings from Met Office and continuous snowfall nobody bothered to check the status of the tourists in the hill station,” said Qari Abdul Wajid Abbasi while leading a group of volunteers in rescue activities. Over 20 people, including children, lost their lives in stranded cars in the area on Friday night. Mr Abbasi told that if the stranded passengers could be…
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday urged youths to gain maximum benefits of IT-related world market that may help in overall development and prosperity of Pakistan. “There are billions of opportunities for developing the smart apps. Pakistan is at the jumping board. Pakistan is now changing. The world is the market for IT [information technology] gadgets,” he said while addressing an international webinar titled ‘current entrepreneurship aspects in digital world’ arranged by the Joint Cultural Society for Communities Collaboration. The president said: “Youths can avail the existing and innovative opportunities in the realm of information and technology and access…
PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday said Prime Minister Imran Khan was creating a “unnecessary fuss” over army chief’s tenure, saying that as per the Constitution a premier was only mandated to talk about the “appointment” of the military head and not of their “extension”. Prime Minister Imran Khan had on Jan 6 said he had so far not thought about extension in the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. “The current year has just started and November is far away. Then why is there a worry about extension in the tenure of the…
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said the Narendra Modi-led government was “a real and present threat to peace” in the region, adding that all minorities in India were at the target of extremist groups operating under the patronage of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Last month, leaders from several far-right groups in India had issued calls for the ethnic cleansing of minorities in the country, especially targeting its 200 million-strong Muslim population. A report by The Quint had said that the “hate speech conclave” was organised by Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand from Dec 17 to 19 in Uttarakhand’s pilgrimage city of Haridwar,…
