01 FRONT PAGE (18-10-2022)_Layout 1 10/18/2022 1:19 AM Page 1
Tuesday, 18 October, 2022 I 21 Rabi ul Awwal, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 109 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Announce polls or get reAdy to fAce long mArch: ImrAn tells shArIf ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
ormer prime minister Imran Khan on monday said the nation had rejected the ‘imported government’ and reiterated his call for early elections, saying the government is being given ‘some more time’ before he gives the final date for the party’s long march. “I am giving them (government) some more time for the sake of the country and I repeat that they still have time to announce elections,” said the PTI chief. “If they do not, I will begin my march as the preparations are almost complete,” said Imran as he addressed the media in Islamabad a day
after almost clean-sweeping by-polls on eight NA seats. He also claimed that the recent audio leaks proved that the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) was in cahoots with Pakistan muslim League-N (PmL-N) to plan these elections. “The audio leaks have also proven that the chief election commissioner Sikandar Sultan is a key player of PmL-N.” However, he added, through the public’s unwavering support, his party was able to defeat their combined candidates. “eCP and PmL-N had planned to schedule these by-polls in constituencies where they thought their combined vote bank was double the size of PTI’s,” he said. Imran said that despite the hurdles
that were created by rescheduling the elections, they were able to defeat the combined candidates. Touching upon the National Assembly seat the party lost in Karachi’s malir district, Imran accused the PPP of rigging the election. “I have complete evidence of PPP rigging the elections like they always do in Sindh,” he said. He went on to claim that the election commissioner was on the payroll of the Sindh government, an issue for which they had already approached the Supreme Judicial Council, but the ‘case was not being heard’. The PTI chief went on to term the by-polls a ‘public referendum’, saying the nation wants “immediate elections as it has rejected this imported government”.
PM Shehbaz directs steps for water discharge from flood-hit areas ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on monday visited flood-hit areas in Balochistan and directed urgent steps for the discharge of floodwater to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases. The Pm visited the flood-hit areas of Sohbatpur as he arrived in district Khuzdar on a day-long visit to review the arrangements for relief and rehabilitation. He took an aerial view of the inundated areas of Balochistan and Sindh. The Pm proposed taking on board the water engineers and hydrologists to recommend suggestions in line with the postflood studies. Pm Shehbaz feared that epidemics and communicable diseases could become a big challenge if the water took months to recede. He directed to ensure the
availability of drinking water among the flood-affected people. He mentioned that rs five billion had been disbursed among the flood victims of Balochistan under the Benazir Income Support Programme, as each household was given rs 25,000 to meet their needs. The prime minister said to facilitate the flood-struck population, the government had exempt charging of 300 units in electricity bills during August and
September. Pm Shehbaz also interacted with patients at a medical camp set up for flood victims and inquired the staff about the availability of medicine including the anti-malaria vaccine. He mingled with the students at a makeshift school and assured them that the government would construct a model school for them in two months equipped with modern facilities. The Chief Secretary Balochistan briefed the prime minister about the ongoing relief and rehabilitation activities carried out in the flood-hit areas of the province. He said heavy machinery was at work in five districts of Balochistan to rebuild infrastructure and clear pathways damaged by floods. It was told that regular sprays were being carried out to contain any possibility of epidemics in the flood-affected areas.
US ‘confident’ of Pakistan’s ability to secure nukes after Biden uproar WASHINGTON agencieS
The United States said monday that it had confidence in Pakistan’s ability to control its nu-
clear arsenal after President Joe Biden expressed alarm, leading Islamabad to summon the US ambassador. “The United States is confident of Pakistan’s commitment
and its ability to secure its nuclear assets,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. “The US has always viewed a secure and prosperous Pakistan as critical to US interests and, more broadly, the US values our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan,” he said. Biden made the off-the-cuff remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear programme Thursday while at a private Democratic Party fundraiser in California where he began to discuss challenges facing President Xi Jinping of China, a close ally of Pakistan. “And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” Biden said, according to a White House transcript.
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The PTI chairman also vowed to raise the issue of violence being inflicted upon PTI Senator Azam Swati by filing a petition in the Supreme Court. He added that special sessions will also be called in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies to highlight the issue while the party will also take the
matter to international organisations, including the United Nations and the european Union. reiterating his demand for fair polls, Imran said it was the only way for the country to attain political and economic stability.
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