Christian delegation visits NADRA headquarters

Islamabad: A delegation of Christian community, led by former federal minister Kamran Michael, visited NADRA Headquarters here on Friday. The visit was aimed at discussing ways to improve the registration process for the Christian community and addressing the challenges faced in obtaining identity documents.

During the meeting with NADRA Chairman, Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar, Kamran Michael emphasized the need for increasing the frequency of NADRA's Mobile Registration Van (MRV) visits to areas with a high concentration of Christian residents.

The Chairman NADRA briefed the delegation about special registration campaigns for minority communities, including MRV operations. He assured that NADRA remains committed to supporting the registration of minority individuals and would increase the frequency of MRV visits to areas where they are most needed.

The delegation expressed their appreciation for MRV activities, acknowledging that these initiatives have significantly improved access to NADRA services for the Christian community.

ICT Police conducts flag march to ensure law and order

Islamabad: Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police, on Friday, conducted a flag march under the leadership of zonal Superintendents of Police (SPs), with active participation from Station House Officers (SHOs), the Traffic Police, and the Dolphin Squad across the district.

A public relations officer told reporter that the flag march aimed to reaffirm the police's commitment to maintaining law and order and fostering unity and harmony. The march proceeded along designated routes and concluded without incident.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Ali Raza, stated, 'No one will be allowed to take the law into their hands. Strict action will be taken against violators.' He added, 'We trust the peace-loving citizens of Islamabad to cooperate fully with the police in ensuring the safety and security of the city.'

PTI founder’s real face exposed in history’s ‘biggest graft case’: Ahsan Iqbal

Islamabad: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday said the court decision in the £190 million (around Rs 64 billion) corruption case, which he called the 'biggest graft case' in the political history of Pakistan, had exposed the real face of the PTI founder and his spouse.

'It is the biggest corruption case in the political history of Pakistan, perhaps in South Asia, which ended in conviction following clear documented evidence and the court trial,' he said while addressing a news conference.

He remarked on how strange it was that the PTI founder hoodwinked and mustered public support in the name of Tehreek-e-Insaf (a justice movement ) to gain get into the power corridors; and looted the public exchequer by handing over the recovered £190 million to Malik Riaz, a property tycoon.

Elaborating, the minister said the National Crime Agency (NCA) of Britain had recovered the laundered money from the property tycoon, which was meant to be deposited in the national exchequer but was instead transferred into an account intended to deposit the fine imposed by the apex court on Bahria Town as part of a settlement in a land occupation case.

He said the recovered amount was used by the PTI government to pay the court fine, effectively converting the laundered money into white money. In exchange, the PTI founder and his spouse received land and jewelry, added.

'To cover up this corruption, they staged a drama by setting up a university,' he said, adding that no charitable work could be justified if it was carried out with looted and plundered money.

Ahsan Iqbal also recalled that a leading British newspaper, The Financial Times, had uncovered that the PTI founder gave the Shaukat Khanum hospital's charity fund to his friend Naqvi for political purposes and election campaigning. 'The news story has not been denied or challenged so far by the PTI, which is tantamount to accepting it as true,' he added.

In contrast, the minister pointed out that the PTI government's SAPM on Accountability Shehzad Akbar managed to publish a story in the British newspaper Daily Mail against Shehbaz Sharif, which was later challenged in the UK court, clearing the PML-N leader.

With the recovered money from the NCA, the minister said at least six internationally recognized universities, thousands of schools and hundreds of medical dispensaries could have been established, in addition to awarding scholarships to thousands of students.

He urged the nation, especially the youth and the PTI supporters who were disappointed after seeing the real face of the PTI founder, to unite and become part of the country's 'URAAN PAKISTAN' plan to transform the country into one of the leading economies of the 21st century.

Ramesh reviews final stages for issuance of minority cards

Lahore: A meeting was held at the camp office of human rights under the chairmanship of Provincial Minister for Minorities Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora to review the final stages of the issuance of minority cards.

Representatives from NADRA, PITB, Punjab Bank, Finance, and other relevant departments provided detailed briefings. NADRA's representative highlighted the technical aspects of the registration process for minority cards, while officials from Punjab Bank clarified the procedure for receiving financial assistance.

It was revealed that a significant amount of data has already been verified by NADRA, and the final stages for issuing the minority cards will be completed soon. The meeting also decided that the completion of the minority card issuance process would be expedited to ensure that eligible minority families receive immediate financial assistance and other benefits.

In his address, provincial minister stated, "The issuance of minority cards will be a great gift for religious minorities in the new year. The Punjab government is committed to ensuring transparency and ease in this process." He further instructed that "minority cards should only be given to deserving families, and there should be no corruption or confusion in the distribution process." He also directed the Secretary of Human Rights to appoint a focal person for the immediate resolution of public complaints. Representatives from the Finance Department, NADRA, Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), PITB, Punjab Social Protection Authority, and Punjab Bank participated in the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Secretary of Human Rights, Ali Bahadur Qazi, Additional Secretary Rizwana Naveed, and other relevant officials.

CM congratulates nation on launch of Pakistan’s indigenous Electro-Optical Satellite

Quetta: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti congratulated the nation on the successful launch of Pakistan's indigenous Electro-Optical Satellite (EO-1).He also termed it a historic milestone in the field of science and technology of Pakistan.In a message issued here of Friday, he said that this success is not only a manifestation of the progress of Pakistan's space research but would also open a new chapter for national development.The CM said that thanks to the EO-1 satellite, important sectors like agriculture, urban development, environmental monitoring, and conservation of natural resources would be revolutionized across the country.He said that the satellite could especially benefit the agricultural sector of the country, including Balochistan, as it would be helped in improving crop monitoring, irrigation planning, and production forecasting.These measures will play an important role in food security and welfare of farmers in Balochistan, he said.Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that in vie w of climate change, the EO-1 satellite would be able to help in timely monitoring and effective management of landslides.He also appreciated the role of satellites in monitoring the country's natural resources, minerals, and water reserves and said that this technology would create new opportunities for development in Pakistan.The CM said that this success is the result of the hard work of our scientists, engineers, and national institutions who have taken Pakistan to this important position.He said that this launch is a big step towards including Pakistan in the ranks of developed countries of the world under the national space policy.Mr. Bugti said that the Balochistan government would use this success to its full potential for the development of the province and would benefit from space technology in public welfare projects.He said that this success reflects our national unity, hard work, and commitment to development.The Chief Minister appealed to the nation to be proud of this great success and play their role for the development of their country by understanding their responsibilities.

DC Sibi for making successful polio drive starting Feb 3

Quetta: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sibi Jahanzeb Sheikh on Friday said that all resources should be utilized to make successful the polio campaign to be started on February 3.

He said this while chairing meeting regarding the anti-polio campaign.

The meeting was attended by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dosteen Dashti, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. Akbar Solangi, Deputy District Health Officer Dr. Qadir Haroon, WHO representative Nasir Ahmed Kurd and other heads of all departments.

Addressing the meeting, DC directed all the concerned officers to work on a micro plan to make the campaign effective and bring the number of rejected and remaining cases to zero.

Briefing the meeting, WHO representative Nasir Ahmed Kurd said that 39,217 children would be vaccinated against polio in Sibi district. In which 288 teams would work, while 46 to be fixed site and 22 could be transit teams.

He said that the environmental sample of Sibi district is also coming back positive again and again.

The Deputy Commissioner Sibi expressed concern over the positive environmental sample and directed the concerned officers and staff to give full attention to this campaign and all the concerned officers to ensure better arrangements regarding the polio campaign.

He said that unless people from all schools of thought contribute to it, the polio campaign could not achieve the success that we desire.Therefore, it is important that our duties are performed with good faith during the campaign. Any negligence or negligence will not be tolerated under any circumstances, he said.