Nawaz Sharif set to return as PML-N supremo on October 3
The Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) has convened a meeting of its general council on Oct 2 and 3 to formally begin the process of re-electing ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif as the party president
South Asia’s most wanted militant sends Rs100m defamation notice to Pakistan foreign minister
A lawyer for Hafiz Saeed, one of the most wanted militant leaders in South Asia, sent a Rs100 million defamation notice to Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif for his remarks earlier this week reminding the United States not to blame Pakistan for terrorists like Saeed who was first “dined and wined in the White House” years ago. The notice accuses Asif of “an absolute lie and falsehood that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is one of those persons who had been the darlings of Americans and had been dining and wining in the White House.”
Sharif’s children and son-in-law to skip accountability hearing
Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s children Hassan, Hussain and Maryam, as well as son-in-law, retired Captain Safdar will skip the third consecutive accountability proceedings on Monday despite the issuance of bailable arrest warrants just four days ago. “Since Mian sahib’s children are busy looking after their mother [Kulsoom Nawaz as she recovers from surgery] they are unlikely to appear in the accountability court in Islamabad on Oct 2,” Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Dawn News on Saturday.
Militant groups in Pakistan rebrand themselves as political parties
Tourism thrives as security improves in Pakistan
According to state-owned Pakistan Tourism Development Corp (PTDC), tourist arrivals in Pakistan have more than tripled since 2013 as the frequency of terror attacks continues to decrease. The World Travel and Tourism Council put the total contribution of tourism to Pakistan’s economy at $19.4 billion last year and estimated a rise to $36.1 billion in the following ten years. This rise in tourism is seen after the army cracked down on insurgent groups following the 2014 Army Public School massacre in Peshawar.
Pakistanis hesitant to apply for US visa after Trump’s travel ban
Riaz Jafri, a New York-based partner at Withers Worldwide immigration law firm, said extreme vetting makes people from Muslim majority countries increasingly hesitant to go through the hassle of applying for a United States visa. Read here in detail about the impact of President Donald Trump’s executive order passed in January this year barring entry of people from several Muslim majority countries to the US.
Indian border forces claim unearthing 14 feet-long tunnel dug from Pakistan’s side in Jammu
A day after India and Pakistan border forces held a Sector Commander-level meeting in Jammu, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday said they had discovered a 14-feet-long tunnel hidden with arms in Jammu’s Arnia Sector and spotted suspicious movement of 10-12 armed Pakistani nationals.
Muharram processions end peacefully across Pakistan
Cellular services were barred across the country for security reasons on the recommendation of the federal government but were restored countrywide as Muharram processions in all major cities of Pakistan culminated peacefully at their designated destinations, Dawn News reported Saturday evening.
Two girls playing ‘Blue Whale’ game expelled from college
Two female college students in Jhelum were found to have been playing the dangerous Blue Whale challenge that encourages self-harm and eventual suicide among its victims after it emerged that they had inflicted injuries on their arms with a blade.
The female students of grade 11 and 12 at Government Girls Degree College Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum were expelled after a third student informed the college principal that the girls were playing the Blue Whale game. DawnNews reported that the principal took the decision in order to “prevent other students of the college from being influenced” by the game as well.
Under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Gwadar rises
Read here the success stories that Chinese investment has caused in the once-neglected coastal city of Gwadar.