Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that no person or organisation would be allowed to carry out terror acts in other countries by using the soil of Pakistan, a media report said Saturday. Addressing his first public gathering on Friday in Thar district of the Sidh province since becoming the prime minister, Khan said his government is fully committed to protecting religious minorities across the country,” the Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying.
Prime Minister Khan said his government was acting upon the teachings of the country’s founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah who had called for ensuring full protection to all races and religions in Pakistan. Khan has said that no person or organisation would be allowed to carry out terror acts in other countries by using the soil of Pakistan. His comments came as Pakistan is under global pressure to act against terrorism and militant groups operating from its soil after the Pulwama terror attack.
Pakistan authorities on Thursday sealed the Lahore headquarters of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) and detained over 120 suspected militants as part of an ongoing crackdown on banned groups. The confiscation of properties of JuD and FIF had come after Pakistan formally placed them in the list of banned organisations on Tuesday. Khan also said that “in case of any misadventure by India, the armed forces and people of Pakistan are fully prepared to respond in a befitting manner”, adding that his priority is to fight poverty. Tensions heightened between India and Pakistan after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF personnel. The suicide attack was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit.
Lahore HC to hear plea on khan’s disqualification on March 11
Lahore: The Lahore High Court will on Monday hear a plea seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Imran Khan for not being “honest and righteous” and concealing the alleged parentage of a daughter with a former partner in his nomination papers for the 2018 election. The high court on Saturday accepted for hearing a petition seeking Khan’s disqualification for violating the provisions of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, that sets a precondition for a member of parliament to be “sadiq and ameen” (honest and righteous), the Dawn reported. The petition, to be heard on March 11, claims that Khan had concealed the alleged parentage of Tyrian Jade Khan White in his nomination papers for the 2018 general elections. Tyrian White is the daughter of Ana-Luisa (Sita) White, the daughter of the late Lord Gordon White. It has often been alleged that Tyrian is Imran Khan’s daughter.
Pak Oppn protests exclusion of Bhutto’s name in govt ad
Islamabad: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s name was missing in an official advertisement highlighting the contribution of Pakistani women in diverse fields on the International Women’s Day, triggering protest by Opposition, which demanded a probe into the matter. Pakistan Peoples Party’s parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman raised the issue during a session of the senate, regretting that the name, photograph and mention of the twice-elected prime minister of Pakistan was missing from the official advertisement. She said Bhutto was an identity of Pakistan and her achievements brought her worldwide fame. She said roads were being named after Banzir Bhutto in different parts of the world while international universities were creating chairs in her name.
Pak to put group of banned outfits in high risk category, monitor activities
Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to “upgrade” a group of banned outfits including the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), to a “high” risk category and start monitoring and re-examining their activities to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) obligations, according to a media report on Saturday. The Paris-based global watchdog against financial crimes had expressed dissatisfaction over considering these entities as “low” to “medium” risk by Islamabad, and said Pakistan did “not demonstrate a proper understanding of the terror financing risks posed by Daesh (ISIS), Al Qaeda, Jamaat-ud-Dawa(Jud), Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Haqqani network (HQN), and persons affiliated with the Taliban”. The proscribed organisations will be examined under heightened security checks at all layers of legal, administrative, investigative and financial regimes, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Pak extends closure of its airspace for till March 11
Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday extended the closure of its airspace for international transit flights till March 11. In a notification, the Civil Aviation Authority said that the country’s airspace would now be closed for international transit flights until 3 pm on March 11, the Express Tribune reported. The decision came a day after, Pakistan on Friday had announced that the country’s airspace would be fully re-opened from March 9. The decision to close the airspace came on February 27 after a rare aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan ignited fears of an all-out conflict with world powers rushing to urge restraint.
