Capt. Safdar lashes out against Ahmedis in National Assembly speech
Speaking at a National Assembly session this Tuesday, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz leader Captain Muhammad Safdar lashed out against Pakistan’s Ahmedi community- calling upon lawmakers to pass a resolution banning the persecuted group’s recruitment in the armed forces.
Safdar criticized Nawaz Sharif’s 2016 decision to rename Quaid-i-Azam University’s physics centre after an Ahmedi- Professor Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s first Nobel Peace laureate stating that he is a “controversial figure that has been termed an infidel in light of the constitution”.
Read here, about Professor Abdus Salam and the discrimination he faced as an Ahmedi in Pakistan.
Armed forces repatriate woman to India-held Kashmir as goodwill gesture: ISPR
In the latest effort to restore peace and tranquillity along the Line of Control (LoC), armed forces repatriated Azmat Jan, resident of Degwar Maldialan village in India-held Kashmir who had accidentally crossed the unmarked border the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release
Her repatriation comes in stark contrast to India’s torturing and killing of mentally ill Rashida Bibi who was shot dead by India’s Border Security Force after she lost her way and crossed the working boundary near Sialkot this past February.
‘Wanted: Violent Muslim Women’: A Dawn report
A couple of months ago, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) came out with its women’s magazine titled Sunnat-i-Khaula with the simple objective of branding extremism as heroic in an attempt to increase recruitment of female members.
Last week, the militant Islamic State (IS), which has long been recruiting women renewed its call for action with the issuance of their latest Arabic newspaper under the title ‘Wajib un-Nisa’ that deemed it a religious obligation for women to partake in the group’s terrorist activities.
Read here, Dawn’s report on recruitment tactics adopted by terrorist organizations in an attempt to increase female membership.
Exaggerated World Bank report says Pakistan needs $31b to stay afloat this year
In its twice a year South Asia Economic Focus Report, the World Bank warns Pakistan’s external sector situation could be unsustainable, claiming that Islamabad needs $31 billion to meet financial obligations- an amount more than double Pakistan’s gross foreign currency reserves of $13.8 billion.
Read here, in detail about the World Bank’s report.
NAB to send team to London to investigate Sharif family’s business agreements with foreign governments
Official sources told Dawn that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will be sending a team to London in pursuance of the letters it had written to the UK authorities in connection with the mutual legal business agreements between the Sharif family and different foreign governments.
The team will ensure its return before Oct 13 to submit a report to the accountability court in connection with the indictment of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and sons Hassan and Hussain.
Mayor Sadiq Khan to visit Pakistan to boost economic and cultural ties with London
Accompanied by a delegation of UK business leaders, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan will lead a trade mission to India and Pakistan later this year- meeting politicians, top business figures, and professionals to boost economic and cultural ties with London, said an announcement on a government website.
The visit is a part of LondonIsOpen campaign — launched by Khan — to show that London is united and open for businesses, and to the world, following the EU referendum of 2016 in which a majority voted in favor of Britain leaving the European Union.
Kabul’s postponement of transit trade could hinder Pak-Afghan trade
A meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA)- a high-level forum set up to deal with problems hindering smooth implementation of a revised transit treaty was unilaterally put off by Kabul, which could result in a decline in trade between the two countries.
A source told Dawn that the postponement of the meeting was linked to Kabul’s demand for India’s inclusion in the bilateral and trilateral transit trade agreements- with an allowance for Afghanistan to tap into India’s market as it is financially unfeasible for them to be currently unable to do so.
