Imran Khan vows to peacefully lead supporters to red zone Tuesday

#GNN - #ISLAMABAD: #Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan Monday announced to lead his supporters into the red zone of the capital city to stage a peaceful protest in the ‘fake’ (National) assembly and ‘fake’ Prime Minister House.

“Promise me that not a single pot will be broken and you will remain completely peaceful,” he took a pledge from the participants of his party’s sit-in, being staged fifth day on, by asking them to raise their hands.

The red zone houses Supreme Court of Pakistan, Parliament House, Prime Minister House, President Houses and other important buildings including embassies of various countries, diplomatic enclaves, Foreign Office, NADRA, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and parliament lodges.

“I don’t want you to come in confrontation with the police. I will lead you and you will follow me. I will take the first bullet,” Imran Khan said, adding, ‘we will stage a peaceful protest first in the fake (National) assembly and then in the fake Prime Minister House’.

However, he said, he was sure Pakistani police will not open fire on him. He warned that in case some ‘Gullu Butts’ picked up arms against his supporters, they will not find any place to hide anywhere in the world.

The PTI chief also warned the police not to take any such step that may lead to a chaos.

He invited men, women and children from across the country to join the tomorrow’s peaceful protest demonstration.

Defending his decision to launch a civil disobedience campaign, Imran Khan termed it a ‘best weapon’ to attain ‘Azadi’ (independence) in a peaceful manner.

“In case Nawaz Sharif gets scared and takes a flight to Raiwind, we will still be able to bring him to his knees through civil disobedience, we will still be able to topple his government,” he argued.

He said he and people like him remained slaves to the rulers like the ones in power today but he would never want the future generations to face such slavery.

Imran Khan questioned on what merit the Prime Minister had appointed his close relatives on lucrative positions. “What is the qualification and merit on the basis of which Nawaz Sharif placed his daughter on Rs100 billion fund?” he asked.

“What kind of democracy it is that is not based on merit; this is a fake democracy,” he reiterated.

PM grieved over loss of lives at Karachi beach

#GNN - #ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives at Karachi beach during Eid holidays.

According to police and rescue sources, the death toll drowned in the sea has increased to 22.

Netanyahu defends Israeli offensive in Gaza on U.S. television

(GNN) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed international calls for a ceasefire while defending his country's offensive in Gaza during appearances on U.S. television on Sunday.

Netanyahu appealed for sympathy for Israelis under siege from militant rockets as a warning siren followed by an all-clear signal punctuated his interview on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"When we began this interview we were under bomb alert and as the minutes passed now we're told people can go out into the open air again," he said.

"This is the kind of reality we're living in. And we'll do whatever is necessary to put an end to it," he said, referring to the escalating violence between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza.

Netanyahu urged Americans to imagine that U.S. cities from the East Coast to Colorado, or 80 percent of the population, were under threat of rocket attack, with only 60 to 90 seconds to reach a bomb shelter. "That's what we're experiencing right now, as we speak," he said.

Netanyahu's television appearances came as thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in a Gaza town after Israel warned them to leave before threatened attacks on rocket-launching sites.

Sunday marked the sixth day of an offensive that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 160 people.

Militants in the Gaza Strip kept up rockets salvoes deep into the Jewish state and the worst bout of Israel-Palestinian bloodshed in two years showed no signs of abating as Western foreign ministers meeting in Vienna said a ceasefire was an urgent priority.

Netanyahu refused to discuss a ceasefire or give a timeline for Israel's operation in Gaza.

CALLS FOR RESTRAINT

Asked if a ground invasion was imminent, he said Israel would use any means necessary to accomplish its goal of degrading Hamas's rocket-launching capability to restore security for Israeli civilians.

"Whether we're at the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning I'm not going to tell you that right now - because we face a very, very brutal terrorist enemy," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

As international pressure built for restraint, Netanyahu said he had spoken with U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders who understood Israel's need to defend itself.

"We'll do what is necessary," he said. "What any country would do: What the United States would do, what Britain would do, what France would do, and many, many other countries."

Former U.S. Middle East peace envoy Martin Indyk said he did not think Netanyahu wanted a ground war in Gaza. "What he wants is an end to the rocket fire, and he's looking for ways to pressure Hamas to do that," Indyk said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"But he's a very cautious man when it comes to using force and I think he's very reluctant to go in. And in a sense Hamas knows that," said Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. "So the bluff of mobilizing all of these tanks is not working in terms of getting Hamas to stop the firing."

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Netanyahu by telephone, telling him the United States was prepared to broker a ceasefire, a senior State Department official said.

U.S.-led peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in April. Indyk, who stepped down shortly afterward, said Washington should continue to press for a ceasefire.

"The problem is how do you get Hamas to agree to a ceasefire," he said.

(Reuters)(AIP)(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Vienna; Editing by Jim Loney and Lynne O'Donnell)

NWA operation underway, curfew remains enforced

MIRANSHAH: The operation Zarb-e-Azb continued on Sunday in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), while curfew remains enforced in the area.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are observing the first day of fasting today, when they are seen standing in long queues for hours in scorching summer heat waiting to obtain their rations. IDPs said that living in tents in hot humid weather they are very much missing their own sweet homes especially at the advent of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak.

Curfew remains enforced in NWA, while affected persons told that there are still people besieged over there and demanded from the government to ensure the complete evacuation.

Rs12,000 per family being given by the federation, but Rs20,000 Ramazan package per family announced by the prime minister during his visit to Bannu still not disbursed, they complained.(Geo)

Punjab CM, others’ resignations demanded by PAT APC

LAHORE: The All Parties Conference (APC) under the aegis of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Sunday demanded the resignations of the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, several provincial ministers and the members of the government machinery involved in the Model Town tragedy.

The copy of the five-point APC resolution obtained by Geo News strongly condemning the Model Town tragedy stated that the cruel operation on unarmed persons was tantamount to tearing justice into shreds.

The resolution demanded constitution of a commission comprising of three senior Judges of the Supreme Court, which could summon anyone including the prime minister.

All those from the government machinery involved in Model Town tragedy be dismissed and arrested for murders, while Shahbaz Sharif and other provincial ministers involved in the massacre should resign and submit themselves to the law and in case they do not resign the President should sack them, the resolution demanded.

The resolution further demanded that the FIR registered against the victims of Model Town tragedy be withdrawn and FIR be registered on the complaint of Minhajul Quran.

Sindh wants center to pay Rs27 bn for police improvement, rationalise power bill

KARACHI: The Sindh Cabinet on Saturday gave its approval to some of the decisions taken in the meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on May 14, 2014.

The May 14 meeting between the prime minister, governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Karachi, had decided to expedite the ongoing targeted operation with full force and maintain law and order situation in Karachi.

On Saturday, the Sindh Cabinet recommended that the federal government provide them a financial package of up to Rs27 billion to pay for up gradation of police stations, acquiring equipment, that will help it make the targeted operations a success.

The cabinet also decided to establish a separate Counter Terrorism Department that would provide training to the Rapid Response Force (RRF) and help build legislation to clean up the Sindh Police of its black sheep.

The meeting, which was attended by all the provincial ministers, advisors and special assistants belonging to both the Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement also discussed matters relating issues of illegal immigrants, the first power policy of Sindh government and eradication of polio, measles and Rubella virus from Sindh.

Cabinet members expressed their apprehensions over the polio cases and spread of measles in District Thatta. They decided in favour of a massive vaccination campaign with 100% coverage against the diseases with public participation

The chief minister expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of NARA for failing to register aliens and eradicating illegal immigrants from Karachi, before recommending that the federal government merge Nara with NADRA.

Sensitive police station and jails
Declaring 26 police stations of Karachi and three prisons, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana Central prisons as sensitive, the cabinet approved a move for increasing salaries of officers deputed at these locations.

The cabinet also decided to strengthen security at these locations by bolstering the force and reinforcing their structures, especially of the prisons. Five convicts had been shifted to prisons outside the province and 77 from Karachi to other prisons in the province.

The Cabinet also directed the IGP Sindh for providing security to all mosques, imam barghas, mandirs, religious places of minorities, especially in other parts of Sindh.

Chief secretary Sindh told the participants of the meeting that schemes for shifting the ATC Courts to Malir Cantt was underway. He added that red warrants against criminals who have fled the country have been sent to the federal government.

He added that recruitment of an additional 10,000 men, 2,000 former army personnel, 400 investigation officers for the police force in the province was in progress.

Giving a briefing on cases, he said that of the 705 cases in which a charge-sheet had been presented in the anto-terror courts, 59 have been decided.

Acting IGP Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali told the Sindh Cabinet that the targeted operation had reduced murders by 33%, and caused a 65% drop in target killings. Street crime was down by 6% and extortion cases were down by 9% decrease in registration of extortion cases. 188 suspects had been arrested and challaned during the ongoing operation. Further, 850 murder suspects have been arrested pending trial.

Draft power policy
With Sindh under criticism for not paying its bill and facing a power cut off from the national grid, the Cabinet discussed and deliberated over the draft of a power policy for the province.

Tabled by the Advisor to CM for Energy and Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, it was decided that the Cabinet members would go through the proposed draft and share their recommendations within 15 days.

The draft policy proposes the establishment of a Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company (STDC) to transmit the power generated by Sindh Government.

An establishment of Sindh Power Development Board (SPDB) and NEPRA like institutions in Sindh is also part of the proposal in the draft policy document.

The provincial energy secretary during in his briefing was of the view that Sindh government was actively launching the power projects on ADP and PPP mode of investment and trying its best to at least bridge the power shortage by enhancing its own production capacity over the next four years.

It was recommended that renewable energy such as solar energy and wind energy be encouraged to resolve the grievances of the people.

The cabinet, expressing its apprehension over excessive billing and increasing durations of load-shedding from 16 to 20 hours in Sindh, recommended to the federal government to reconcile its bill for justified payment and reduce load-shedding. Failing to do so, it was resolved that the matter will be raised in Council of Common Interests.

For his part, the chief minister wanted WAPDA to justify their bills, adding that the Sindh government will pay only genuine bills. He further complained that nothing had been done even after both the prime minister and federal minister for water and power had ordered the concerned authorities to resolve the problems.

Govt, media, army must work together for country: Nawaz

By Murtaza Ali Shah May 02, 2014 thenews

LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the government, media and army must work together for the country to take Pakistan out of the multifarious and serious crises facing the motherland. Answering a question from ‘GNN - NIN’ after addressing a conference of investors here, the premier said that all the institutions, including the media and security institutions, had a vital role to play.

“We all have to join hands to move forward. Be it the media or Pakistan’s armed forces, the government or the security institutions, we all will have to work together. Pakistan is surrounded by crises and we have tried to put it back on track since coming to power,” he said.

The prime minister was asked about the Jang and Geo appeal to him and the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani. It was feared that justice, fairplay and impartiality could not be expected from a dysfunctional and weak body like Pemra and that the allegations levelled by the Ministry of Defence were so defamatory, scandalous and serious that an independent Supreme Court Commission should be formed to inquire into these allegations.

The premier said that the Judicial Commission was set up by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on his request to look into various aspects of the attack on senior anchor Hamid Mir. “A commission comprising three judges has been formed; let the commission complete its work to find out the facts.”

Nawaz Sharif appealed to all sides to focus their efforts on Pakistan’s betterment. He said that Pakistan’s industry had halted but now it was running two to three shifts and production was increasing.

“I believe that we have to resolve these matters. We should make matters easy and resolve issues amicably. Pakistan is at such a stage where it faces many difficulties,” the premier said.

He said that it was due to his economic policies that Pakistan would get more than $30 billion of investment in the next a few years.

“This is unprecedented investment, mainly from Chinese and also Pakistani investors. This will boost Pakistan’s energy sector. Pakistan will become a corridor for investment and growth in the region.

We have to understand that almost 3 billion people live in this region. There is so much we can gain and our nation can benefit through our policies,” he said adding that the future of the world lay in this region.

He stressed: “We should not entangle ourselves in these issues. We shall not be distracted.

Video : Judicial Commission to probe Hamid Mir attack: PM