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rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 256 I 08 Pages I Islamabad edition
ECC pegs cotton price
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CountrywidE ProtEsts As workErs ‘foil’ AttEmPt to ArrEst imrAn g
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PolIce use tear Gas, water cannon anD stun GrenaDes to breaK uP Protests
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asaD omar saYs trYInG Imran In toshaKhana case aKIn to maKInG PaKIstan lauGhInG stocK
rana sanaullah vows to arrest Imran Khan at all costs laHORE
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Saleem Jadoon
rotests broke out in all major cities of country on tuesday against the backdrop of clashes going on intermittently between PtI workers and police personnel around Zaman Park residence of PtI chairman Imran Khan following the police’s attempt to arrest the opposition leader in thoshakhana case. Intermittent tear gas shelling is ongoing at Zaman Park as police personnel who had reached the security barrier outside the neighbourhood — has been forced towards mall road. PtI workers, meanwhile, have secured the path leading to Imran’s residence as well as canal road. the clashes erupted between police and supporters of former Prime minister Imran Khan ahead of his potential arrest. the police heavily fired tear gas and water cannon as hundreds of members and supporters of Imran Khan’s Pakistan tehreeke-Insaf (PtI) gathered outside his Zaman Park residence to foil the attempt being made to arrest him. PtI workers reportedly pelted the police officials with stones as the police resorted to baton-charge on the crowds, turning Zaman Park into a battleground. Police allegedly used water cannons to hold back PtI workers, with some being taken
into custody. according to PtI leaders, the police committed worst brutalities against the party workers and sup-
porters and did not spare the children and women. “the police fired expired tear-gas shells and chemical-laden water on the peaceful
Common man failed to access justice system due to corruption: CJP
protesters”, the party’s woman leader Zartaj Gul told the media while tears rolling down from his eyes due to tear-gas. “It seems the police personnel are Indian forces and trying to suppress the Kashmiris”, he regretted. ‘What they want?’ speaking to reporters outside Imran Khan’s residence, senior PtI leader shah mahmood Qureshi said there was no justification for the police to attack people. “we are ready to talk,” he said. Qureshi said he wanted to see the warrants himself and will speak to his party chairman once he gets to see them. “what do they [police] want?” he asked. “after hearing their point of view, I will have a meeting with Khan sahib. we may be ready for arrest ourselves.”
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‘Stay steady’ if anything happens to me: Imran lahore: amid siege of and clashes between PtI workers and police around Zaman Park, Pakistan tehreek-eInsaf chairman Imran Khan aired a passionate recorded message for his supporters on tuesday, urging them to stay put for their rights and “continue the struggle” for ‘haqeeqi azadi’ even if he is arrested or assassinated. the PtI chairman’s video message was released on social media as police arrived at his lahore residence to arrest him. a large number of party workers continued resisting the police personnel who teargassed and baton-charged the crowds to disperse them outside Zaman Park. addressing his supporters and workers in the video, Imran said that the authorities think his arrest would lead to the nation’s “distracting and indifference.” “my fellow Pakistanis, the police are outside waiting to arrest me. they believe that if Imran Khan is put behind the bars, the nation will fall asleep. You must prove them wrong. You must show that this nation is alive and kicking,” he said. Staff report
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‘Army will not be available for election duty,’ defence ministry tells ECP Islamabad Staff report
the ministry of Defence on tuesday informed the election commission of Pakistan (ecP) that the Pakistan army will not be available for election duty this year due to the “situation in the country”, noting that the security of the borders and the country was the army’s “first priority”. During the ecP’s third session regarding the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies — chaired by chief election commissioner (cec) sikandar sultan raja — Defence secretary lt General (retd) hamood uz Zaman Khan and additional Defence secretary major General Khurram sarfaraz Khan briefed the commission about the current situation of the country, a press release issued by the ecP said. Pakistan has been witnessing a sharp rise in terror incidents for the last few months, which have taken the lives of several people, and as a result, the security forces have upped the ante against militants across the country. the officials of the defence ministry apprised the participants of the session about the situation on the borders and the deployment of the army in the country, along with the overall law-andorder situation. “the army attaches importance to its primary duties, and the security of the borders and the country is its first priority. Due to the current situation in the country, the Pakistan army is not available for election duty at this time,” the ministry’s officials said. “moreover, the current economic situation of the country has an effect on the army as well. and it will be the decision of the ruling administration whether it restricts the army to the performance of primary duties or assigns secondary duties to it — ie election duty.” they also clarified that if the army is assigned election duty, troops would be deployed in quick response (QrF) mode and static deployment of troops would not be possible. It should be noted that on the orders of the supreme court, the polls for the Punjab assembly elections will be held on april 30. apart from this, the election schedule has also been announced and nomination papers are being submitted. KP Governor haji Ghulam ali has also announced may 28 as the date for elections in the province following a meeting with the ecP and President Dr arif alvi.
Deal with IMF just few days away: PM Shehbaz g
saYs Govt has now accePteD even touGhest conDItIons set bY ImF PROfIt REPORt ISlamaBad
Prime minister shehbaz sharif, on tuesday, said that the staff-level agreement with the International monetary Fund (ImF) would be reached within a few days as the government has accepted even the “toughest” conditions put forth by the global financial institution. It has been over a month since the ImF mission left Pakistan, however the news about the signing of the staff level agreement is still awaited. the mission was supposed to negotiate with the government virtually after their
physical visit to Pakistan however, it has taken an unusual amount of time to reach that agreement. the government has been assuring the public of the signing of the agreement “within a few days” for more than 20 days now. however, after the latest episode of devaluation of rupee, and a hike in the policy rate, experts expect the staff level agreement to fall through, sooner than later. the prime minister, in an interview with a private television channel, said that joint efforts were being made by both his economic team and other national institutions to make the process a success.
the prime minister spoke at length on multiple national issues, including the one-year performance of his government, the economic situation, elections, toshakhana record, party matters as well as a probe into the murder of anchorperson arshad sharif. he said at the time of assuming government, he did not know that his predecessor Imran Khan had agreed on such conditions with the ImF. conditions which Imran Khan himself later backed out of, to undermine Pakistan in the world as well as among global institutions. “this is why the ImF is making us accept those conditions and seeking their
implementation. no doubt, these conditions have burdened the common man,” he commented. Pm shehbaz said that after realising the common man’s suffering, the government has decided to provide relief through the benazir Income support Programme. however, the imported inflation caused by the ukraine war also hit the country in the form of increased fertilizer and oil prices, as per the Pm. the floods also affected the national economy, and ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s “shameful” lies about regime change by the united states created uncertainty about Pakistan as
a debtor, he added. the prime minister told the interviewer that friendly countries like china were supporting Pakistan despite the fact that Imran Khan had hurt their brotherly ties. recounting the baseless allegations leveled by the Pakistan tehreek-eInsaf (PtI) leadership against him, through local television channels as well the united Kingdom’s Daily mail, shehbaz sharif said that the latter apologised to him. he said that the uK’s national crime agency also exonerated him from the charges hurled at him by that time’s government.
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