Thursday, 17 June, 2021 I 6 Dhul-Qadah, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 347 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
OppOsitiOn parties cOmes clOser fOllOwing mOre na budget sessiOn chaOs g
SHeHbAz'S SPeeCH CuT SHOrT by SLOgANeerINg FrOM TreASury beNCHeS
ISLAMABAD staff report
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eCurrINg chaos in National Assembly’s budget session has brought opposition parties closer, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to sources, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz President Shehbaz Sharif met Pakistan People’s Party Chairman bilawal bhutto-zardari on Wednesday. The meeting was arranged by Leader of the Opposition in the Senate yousaf raza gillani. During the meeting they decided to move a no-confidence motion jointly against NA Speaker Asad Qaiser after two days of ruckus in the lower house of the parliament. They said that Tuesday’s proceedings in the
pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
944,065
LAST UPDATED AT 9:09 AM ON JUNE 16, 2021
NEW CASES:
46
1,038
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
882,332 21,828 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
329,279
344,379
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
136,313 AJK/GB: 19,822/5,734
26,331 ISLAMABAD:
82,207
SeveN MPS bArreD FrOM PArLIAMeNT AFTer buDgeT SeSSION ruCKuS
NA marked the “darkest day for democracy in Pakistan’s history,” according to the sources. “The speaker has failed to fulfil his constitutional, legal, democratic, and parliamentary responsibilities […] he is the protector of every parliament member, but [he has failed in his duties] and is not qualified to hold office any more,” the sources quoted the opposition leaders as saying this. In this regard, the joint opposition leaders also agreed to form a committee that would be tasked with tabling the motion. However, the names of its members are under deliberation. They demanded that a parliamentary committee be established with equal representation — from treasury and opposition benches — to probe the ruckus that had transpired in parliament. The joint opposition also
cOrOnavirus in
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
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rejected the NA speaker’s decision to ban seven members of the lower house who used foul language in Tuesday’s session. earlier, seven members of the lower house, including three from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, will not be able to access parliament after throwing budget document and expletives at each other during a session, Speaker Asad Qaiser said on Wednesday. The house took on the appearance of a battleground on Tuesday as an ugly scuffle broke out opposition and treasury MPs clashed during the post-budget address of the opposition leader. video clips shared on social media showed Assistant to Prime Minister on Capital Development Authority Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan shouting expletives at an opposition MP and tossing a book at his rival, who hurled it back at him. In a tweet announcing the development, Speaker Qaiser regretted the “unparliamentary” and “inappropriate” behaviour of the MPs. The parliamentarians include Ali gohar Khan, Chaudhary Hamid Hameed and Sheikh rohail Asghar from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz; Faheem Khan, Abdul Majeed Khan, Ali Nawaz Awan from the ruling party and Syed Agha rafiullah from the PPP. They have been told not to enter the precinct of the House until further orders.
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PM approves speaker’s move to seek PPP’s support to run business smoothly STORY ON PAGE 03
Premier directs police to take action against whoever breaks the law g
IMrAN SAyS eveN IF He FLOuTS THe LAW, THe POLICe SHOuLD ArreST HIM
Directing the police to take action against anyone who breaks the law, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that “there are no holy cows” and “even if Imran Khan flouts the law, arrest him” but “if you fail to do so, I will take action against you”. According to Dawn, Prime Minister Imran, while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the eagle Squad unit of Islamabad Police, said that the police should deal with the powerful people with an “iron fist” and empathise with the poor, as according to him, “jailing small fish isn’t law enforcement”. A day earlier, the Interior Ministry had said in a statement that the new eagle Squad unit of Islamabad Police comprised 100 motorcycles and was established with the cost of rs300million. The squad will patrol in the capital on the state-of-theart two-wheelers. In his inauguration speech today, the premier insisted upon the police that
Government rules out coronavirus vaccine shortage in country ISLAMABAD staff report
A day after major cities reported shortages of coronavirus vaccines, prompting the federal government to release 150,000 reserved doses to meet the growing demand, Minister of State for National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan on Wednesday said the shortage is limited to busy vaccination centres and is only temporary. In Lahore, the shortage of jabs forced the authorities to close down two vaccination centres while some others in the rest of the province may face closure, a local publication reported citing people familiar with the situation. The publication further reported that only a day’s stock of the coronavirus vaccine is left in Punjab, impelling the authorities to close down the camp established at the Lahore Press Club and the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute. Today, Dr Sultan, while addressing a press conference, said the shortage had been reported only at some busy vaccination centres. Officials, he assured, were working on ensuring the supply of additional shots
taking action against illegal practices lead to supremacy of the law. “Whenever powerful people break the law; you should deal them with full force,” he told the cops. The prime minister said that the police had the responsibility of law enforcement, “and in countries where police perform well, it leads to peace and prosperity.” The premier lamented that Pakistan couldn’t progress for the past years because of dual laws — one for the poor and one for the rich. He also called upon the police department to adopt latest technology to upgrade their workflows and make the most of it. He said a country generated more revenue when its law and order was stable and the investment milieu remained safe in its wake. “The capital is home to foreign embassies and missions, and when the environment is safe and secure, it has a big effect on visitors, and this leads to prosperity in the country,” he said. News Desk
more inside
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SC rejects Centre’s request to halt demolition drive along Karachi drains
STORY ON PAGE 02 and the situation is expected to improve after June 20. “There are more than 2,000 vaccination centres in the country […] the number of visitors varies. So there may be a shortage of vaccines at some points,” he said. The Ministry of National Health Services was in touch with the provinces and efforts were being made to overcome the shortages by diverting supplies, the minister said. He said the government has more than two million doses of the coronavirus vaccine in its stock, but acknowledged that it is critical and complex to manage the stock properly. About 2.2 million people
have been fully vaccinated against the contagious disease, and more than 3.7 million have received at least one dose, he said, citing data. He also clarified that it was not harmful if the second dose was delayed beyond the studied duration of four weeks. “Approximately eight million doses have been administered. Pakistan is among the top 30 countries of the world in terms of vaccine doses administered.” The government launched a nationwide vaccination drive, starting with older people and frontline healthcare workers, in March.
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