Friday, 26 August, 2022 I 27 Muharram, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 57 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
Govt announces emerGency as Pakistan reels under ‘abnormal floodinG’ ISLAMABAD
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international institutions announce $500m for flood affectees
staff report
akistan continues to reel from the “climateinduced humanitarian disaster” as climate change has directly affected the south asian nation in the wake of above-normal rains, glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) and cloudburst. the inter-services public Relations (ispR) revealed that the residents of the four provinces of pakistan — Balochistan, sindh, punjab (south), and khyber pakhtunkhwa — are fleeing flooding triggered by record monsoon rains. on the appeal of prime minister shehbaz sharif, international organisations thursday decided to donate $500 million for the relief of pakistani as record monsoon rains have caused a “climate-induced humanitarian disaster”, as it killed over 900 people since June. a report released by the national Disaster management authority (nDma) showed nearly 73 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. meanwhile, 82,033 houses were damaged, and 710 cattle were dead according to nDma, due to incidents related to heavy monsoon rainfall and floods nearly 400 people, including 191 women, lost their lives. While over 1,000 people suffered injuries.
Residents are fleeing flooding triggered by record monsoon rains. GoVT DECLARES NATIoNAL EMERGENCY: minister for information and Broadcasting marriyum aurangzeb on thursday, while terming the ongoing flood situation in Balochistan and sindh a national emergency, said at the critical juncture, there was need to show national spirit for dealing with the extraordinary natural disaster. the entire nation, especially the overseas pakistanis, should donate generously to help the flood victims as huge amount of money would be required for their rehabil-
Punjab lodges terrorism case against Sanaullah for ‘threatening judiciary, officials’ LAHORE staff report
the punjab government on thursday registered a terrorism case against interior minister Rana sanaullah for allegedly threatening judiciary and government officials in his speeches delivered on april 15, 2021 and January 29, 2022. the fiR was registered at Gujrat industrial area police station on the complaint of a citizen namely sheikh shekaz aslam, under section 7 of the anti-terrorism act (punishment for acts of terrorism), and sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 189 (threat of injury to public servant) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the pakistan penal code. the complaint stated that Rana sanaullah, during his speeches on april 15, 2021 and January 29, 2022, had threatened to stop the judiciary from doing its job and kill children of the punjab police officials. the fiR also reproduced his remarks, which according to it were aired on Geo news programme naya pakistan recently. “the purpose of sanaullah’s statements was to terrorise the judiciary, chief secretary, commissioner and people of the country,” the fiR said. “his aim was to stop the officials from working and prevent them from fulfilling their lawful responsibilities.” it added that the minister’s speeches had created fear in the judiciary, bureaucracy, police, administration and the nation. furthermore, it was pleaded in the fiR that sanaullah should be probed for his comments and be punished “to create an example for other citizens speaking against government officials”. the development was also shared by punjab home minister hashim Dogar on twitter.
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itation in the wake of large-scale disaster, she said in a statement. the minister said owing to heavy rains and severe flooding, there were difficulties in relief operations. however, the federal government, along with the provinces, was making vigorous efforts, and mobilizing all resources to carry out relief activities, she added. she said the rescue and relief process of the victims could be accelerated with the public support. marriyum said that the details and process for depositing donations in the prime minister’s flood Relief account 2022 had
already been released. she said local and overseas pakistanis could deposit their donations in the account (prime minister Relief fund account 2022 account no. ‘G-12164’). “compatriots in trouble were waiting for our help, let us all be a support for them.” overseas pakistanis could also send donations through wire transfers, money service bureaus, money transfer operators and exchange houses, she said, adding the donations could also be deposited in cash at all commercial banks.
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ISLAMABAD: The international organizations and financial institutions Thursday announced an immediate assistance of more than 500 million dollars for the flood victims on the appeal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The PM chaired an important meeting with the international donors here for providing relief to the flood victims. The representatives of World Bank, Asian Development Bank, international financial institutions, development partners and donors attended the meeting. The officials of China, the United States and the European Union, agencies of the United Nations and World Health Organization also took part in the meeting. The Prime Minister briefed the international partners about the devastation caused by floods in the country particularly in Sindh and Balochistan. He said the country faced an emergency situation because of the historic rains and floods and a large number of people including women and children lost their lives. He told that houses, infrastructure, crops and orchards were destroyed, roads and bridges were washed away and land routes were cut off which made it difficult to carry rescue and relief activities. The relief activities were expanded with the help of Pakistan army and helicopters, he informed. The devastation caused by floods was more grave than what happened in 2010, he said adding the affectees needed food, medicines, tents and temporary shelters. He said the federal government undertook relief activities in coordination with the provinces and the federal and provincial departments were working together. The government released Rs five billion for relief and family of every deceased was given the financial assistance of Rs one million. Country Director World Bank for Pakistan, South Asia Region Najy Benhassine informed the PM about the immediate assistance of $ 350 million from his organization. He appreciated the flood relief cash programme of the Prime Minister. The World Bank would provide the financial assistance by the end of the current week. The World Bank would also cooperate with Pakistan through a comprehensive plan for the restoration of the infrastructure after assessment of the losses. The World Food Programme- the agency of the United Nations – also announced $ 110 million for the flood affectees. The Asian Development Bank pledged to give $ 20 million assistance while the UK Aid would give 1.5 million pounds. While the UK Aid also announced another 38 million pounds for the mid term and long term projects for the restoration of the flood affectees. staff report Continued on page 03
Imran granted bail in terrorism case g
pti chief says plot afoot to knock him out ‘technically’ ISLAMABAD agencies
an anti-terrorism court in islamabad on thursday granted bail to imran khan on charges of terrorism and barred police from arresting the former prime minister through the end of the month. khan is accused of making verbal threats to top brass of islamabad police and a judge in his speech at a rally in Rawalpindi over the weekend. the latest development comes days after the government of the pakistan Democratic movement (pDm) coalition leveled terrorism offences against khan, escalating political tensions and drawing nationwide condemnation. earlier, khan’s lawyer Babar awan requested the court to grant bail to khan. arriving at court, khan was asked
to walk toward the courtroom as ordinary suspects do. the court agreed to extend khan’s protection from arrest until september 1 against a surety of Rs100,000. awan, however, requested the court to extend the duration of bail, but the request was turned down.
“i cannot grant bail for a longer period and will only grant it for a week. i am granting bail till september 1 and issuing a notice to police,” the judge said. he also issued notices to the petitioner and prosecutor, seeking their replies, and adjourned the hearing.
HEIGHTENED SECURITY: hundreds of khan’s supporters gathered outside the court building, chanting slogans against the government. Demonstrators said khan is being politically victimised by the government of shehbaz sharif. later, khan left the court for his home on the outskirts of islamabad. legal experts say khan could face from several months to 14 years in prison, the equivalent of a life sentence if he is found guilty by the court during the trial which has not started yet against him on the terrorism charges. thursday’s appearance of the pti chair before the anti-terrorism tribunal amid tight security was the latest development in the saga between the government and khan, who has been holding mass rallies, seeking to return to power.
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Rupee slides by Rs1.22 in interbank market ISLAMABAD inp
the pkR continued to lose its value on thursday, with analysts attributing the fall to a higher demand for dollars, particularly by travellers flying to the united arab emirates (uae). according to the forex association of pakistan (fap), the local currency lost Rs1.22 in the interbank market by 1pm and was being traded at Rs219.6 per dollar. in the open market, the rupee was being traded at Rs228 per dollar around the same time.
komal mansoor, head of research at tresmark, said demand for dollars in the open market was “creating a stir” in the interbank. “higher import duties and the new regulation on carrying dirhams have led to a surge in dollar demand in the open market,” she said, referring to a new condition requiring pakistanis travelling to the uae to carry 5,000 dirhams with them. she said traders should keep in mind that the rupee would re-adjust its parity after the international monetary fund’s (imf) executive Board approves the loan tranche for pak-
istan, which is expected later this month. saad bin naseer, director of web-based financial data and analytics portal mettis Global, said the rupee was witnessing volatility in the open market due to rising demand pressures from travellers and students exchanging local currency into dollars at exchange counters. naseer said demand for the dollar was stable in the interbank market as aggregate demand in the economy had slowed down, which meant that there was no pressure on the greenback from importers.
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