#PPP - Bilawal Bhutto demands no-confidence motion against Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has demanded a no-confidence motion against Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Bilawal said that he would discuss the no-confidence motion against the speaker in the opposition APC. Today, the role of the Speaker has endorsed our position.He said that the government did not want the opposition to talk about these bills. We will try to bring the opposition parties on one page. A non-controversial bill was also made controversial. These people are using FATF to empower themselves.Bilawal said that problems were arising due to ego and dictatorial thinking of the government. The government’s attitude will increase public problems. The demands of FATF are related to Pakistan, we will meet them.

Chairman People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto said that you cannot silence my opposition. Asif Zardari initially said that NAB and economy cannot go hand in hand. We are not interested in any NRO. The government wants the opposition not to speak in the House.

He said that he wanted to make it clear that the NAB Ordinance has been brought by PTI. What the government is doing today is beyond comprehension. They will not be deprived of their rights by government threats and propaganda.

Bilawal said that the government had taken action against BRT, Malam Jabba, sugar and wheat scandals. Shehzad Akbar declared his property 2 years later.

“We are facing charges but you are hiding behind the stay order”.

He said that Imran Khan was protecting the corruption of his advisers. Imran Khan himself has received the highest amnesty. The noise of the NRO is actually being hidden from the NRO.

Bilawal Bhutto said that how can one be prevented from reading proxy in the name of Islam. How to ban books. The Punjab Assembly needs to review the legislation. Censorship is not in Pakistan’s interest.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/648507/bilawal-bhutto-demands-no-confidence-motion-against-speaker-national-assembly-asad-qaiser/

#KhabarSayAagay #NayaDaur 'Qurbani Se Pehle Qurbani': Who Will Be Next? | Khabar Say Aagay

#Ahmadiyya #IstandwithAhmadiyya How to become an instant hero in #Pakistani social media — shoot someone to save Islam

NAILA INAYAT 

Khalid Khan shot dead an American citizen accused in a blasphemy case in a Peshawar court this week. The murderer became an instant hero on Pakistani social media.

There’s a new ‘hero’ in Pakistan. He’s trending on social media, virtual petals are being showered on him and he’s become the Facebook display picture of many. Even a leader from the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party hailed him.

The ‘hero’ is a young man—Khalid Khan—who shot dead Tahir Ahmed Naseem, an accused in a blasphemy case, in a Peshawar courtroom this week. In front of the judge. This is what happens when you weaponise religion for decades.

Naseem, an American citizen who allegedly claimed to be the “last prophet of Islam” during a discussion with a madrassa student, was booked under Pakistan’s blasphemy law in 2018. A law that carries a death sentence anyway. Formerly an Ahmadi by faith and with a reported mental illness, Naseem was one of the many against whom people in Pakistan are prejudiced. And the law helps.

Khalid Khan fired at him six times during the court hearing Wednesday and reportedly said that Naseem was an “enemy of Islam”. Almost immediately, Khalid and his brutal act were lionised — quite literally because people were posting pictures of him with a lion in the background. The moth-eaten social fabric of Pakistan can even condone a killing if it “defends” Islam.

A legion of fans

Many in Pakistan are justifying Khalid Khan’s crime as an act of bravery, putting up his photos as display pictures — just to hail a murderer.

Not too far from the glorification display was PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, who had apparently put up the killer’s photo with a showering-petals filter as his Facebook DP. The leader later said on Twitter: “This is to clarify, I personally don’t manage my Facebook accounts. This was posted without my knowledge or consent.”

The lions

This isn’t new in Pakistan. This has happened many times in the past — even before Partition. Take, for instance, the 1929 case of Ilm-ud-Din, an illiterate teenager who stabbed to death a Hindu publisher, Mahashe Rajpal, for releasing a book on the Prophet. Din believed that the book, which he hadn’t read, had hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims. His case was fought by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and he was hanged to death. Poet Iqbal, while burying Din, tearfully said, “The educated people like us just could do nothing, while this carpenter’s son scored a point.” Today, there is a mausoleum for Din in Lahore and he is revered as a ghazi (warrior), shaheed (martyr) and a saint.

The 2011 assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer by his own guard, Mumtaz Qadri, also took place because of a similar streak of intolerance. Quadri was allegedly incensed because of Taseer’s opposition to the blasphemy law.

Qadri was executed in 2016, but his funeral was attended by more than a hundred thousand people in Rawalpindi. Now, Qadri’s shrine in Islamabad attracts many followers. Even if he was hanged by the state, the duplicity around the issue keeps breeding more Qadris. And that is how in the Peshawar shooter, Pakistanis surely see a Din and a Qadri.

Ban and blasphemy

Between 1987 and 2017, about 75 people have been killed extra-judicially over mere accusations of blasphemy. These include — Christian couple Shama and Shehzad who were burned alive in a kiln in 2014, and Pashtun student Mashal Khan who was lynched on a college campus in 2017.

Yet, blasphemy laws continue to be used as a weapon by anyone who wants to overpower and silence the other. The state has ceded so much space to religious pressure groups that no one can even debate these laws. As in the case of a professor from Sindh, Arfana Mallah, who was threatened with blasphemy charges. Her crime? She supported another teacher, Sajid Soomro, who was booked under blasphemy laws for having a dissenting opinion.

No space for critical thinking is allowed when teachers fear ending up like Junaid Hafeez, a young university lecturer who was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges last year.

Be it the Hindu Krishna temple in Islamabad, the row over a gurudwara conversion in Lahore or the Christian man shot and killed for living in a Muslim neighbourhood of Peshawar, the increasing fanaticism this year doesn’t move the Imran Khan government at all.

Despite all this, the Punjab assembly just passed a controversial bill to protect Islam. In the garb of religion, the idea is to curtail free thinking. Banning a hundred textbooks over photos of pigs in a maths question, banning maps showing Kashmir as part of India, or the wrong birthdates of Jinnah and Iqbal. Then there is a Punjab Assembly member who wants designer beards criminalised because it is a sin. And a possible ban on TikTok is always kept handy — a warning was recently issued to the Chinese app because its content was leading to “extremely negative effects”. Not too long ago, the PTI wanted a ban on the Japanese cartoon Doraemon. What did Doraemon ever do to the PTI?

Not only are these laws, resolutions, calls for bans regressive, but they also remind us that Zia-ul-Haq may have gone, his ruins are still working overtime.

https://theprint.in/opinion/letter-from-pakistan/become-an-instant-hero-in-pakistani-social-media-shoot-someone-to-save-islam/471108/

#StateAttackedChamanSitIn - چمن: ایک خاتون سمیت تین افراد ہلاک، حکام کا مظاہرین پر براہ راست فائرنگ سے انکار

پاکستان کے صوبہ بلوچستان کے افغانستان سے متصل سرحدی شہر چمن میں سرحد کی بندش کے خلاف احتجاج کے دوران فائرنگ سے کم ازکم ایک خاتون سمیت تین افراد ہلاک اور 13 افراد کے زخمی ہونے کی اطلاعات ہیں۔

فائرنگ کے بعد افغانستان سے متصل سرحدی شہر چمن اور اس سے متصل سرحدی علاقے میں صورتحال کشیدہ ہوگئی ہے۔

مشتعل مظاہرین نے بعض سرکاری دفاتر کو بھی نذر آتش کیا ہے۔

چمن ہسپتال کے ایک سینئر اہلکار نے بی بی سی کو بتایا کہ اس واقعے میں ایک خاتون سمیت تین افراد ہلاک ہوئے ہیں۔ انھوں نے بتایا کہ گولیاں لگنے سے 13افراد زخمی بھی ہوئے ہیں جن کو ابتدائی طبی امداد کی فراہمی کے بعد علاج کے لیے کوئٹہ منتقل کیا گیا ہے۔

بلوچستان کے وزیر داخلہ میر ضیاءاللہ لانگو نے کوئٹہ میں اس حوالے سے ایک پریس کانفرنس کے دوران بتایا کہ ’ہمارے وہ بھائی جو احتجاج پر تھے وہ ریڈ زون میں داخل ہوگئے اور زبردستی سرحد کو عبور کرنے کی کوشش کی۔‘

انھوں نے کہا کہ وہاں قرنطینہ سینٹر اور نادرا آفس کو بھی نذرآتش کیا گیا ہے۔

ان کا کہنا تھا کہ اس دوران جو شرپسند عناصر تھے انھوں نے فائدہ اٹھانے کی کوشش کی اور حالات کو خراب کرنے کی کوشش کی۔

خیال رہے کہ چمن کی سرحد کو کورونا کے باعث بند کیا گیا تھا۔

https://www.bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-53596393

#Pakistan #PPP - We did not let Tabahi Sarkar bulldoze the FATF Bills without amendments says Sherry Rehman

Addressing the media in the parliament lodges, Parliamentary Leader of the PPP, Senator Sherry Rehman cleared the air over government’s false claims and said, “The bone of contention was not NAB but FATF. We made sure that our proposed amendments in the FATF legislation by the 24 members of the notified committee were included. We did not let them bulldoze it without amendments”.

She said, “They were trying to move these bills without our amendments and that is why Senate majorities had to be summoned, so they see we have the numbers and send the bill back to committee”.

“The federal government itself admitted that the amendments were much needed and that we are right. We have seen the FATF requirements and they do not include economic terrorism nor was their arrest for 90 days. Pakistan’s parliament is here to ensure the protection of its citizen rights,” she added.

Speaking on the NRO allegations, she said, “We are not scared of NAB and they can keep it to themselves. We have all faced it and will do it in the future too but we will never ask for an NRO. They might need it, not us. We have not asked for any concession from the government. They came to us. We did not go to them”.

“Pakistan was in FATF’s grey list and PPP’s government managed to remove it from the list unlike all the hullabaloo which this government is creating. President Zardari made it clear that we do not need their NAB. He served prison sentence for eleven years, he does not need it,” she added while highlighting PPP’s role.

Parliamentary Leader of the PPP, Senator Sherry Rehman concluded by saying, “They have misused the parliament so much and have not safeguarded Pakistan. This country should be running through the parliament and not executive orders. This is not a presidential system and we will not even let Pakistan become that”.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/07/30/we-did-not-let-tabahi-sarkar-bulldoze-the-fatf-bills-without-amendments-says-sherry-rehman/

#Pakistan #PTI wants dictatorial powers in the name of Financial Action Task Force, Chairman #PPP

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, addressing a press conference at Zardari House Islamabad has said that the government is making those legislations controversial which could have been easily passed. He said that the government has undemocratic behaviour and opposition was censored in the National Assembly. The government is trying to get dictatorial authority in the name of FATF and the bills which have been passed today from the Senate and the National Assembly are not controversial. The government included PPP’s amendments in those bills.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the government,t in the garb of FATF, wanted to bring a legislation through which it could make any citizen a missing person for six months. The PPP could not allow this because our stance has been for democracy and basic human rights. The government wanted to get dictatorial powers using the backdoor but PPP will never allow it to happen. The government is also trying to blend FATF legislation with the legislation for NAB. They are two different issues. The business community had met the Army Chief and the government and their narrative was that NAB and business cannot go together. In this regard, President Asif Ali Zardari had said long ago that NAB and economy cannot go together. Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that after the verdict by the Supreme Court judge Justice Baqar, NAB and democracy cannot go together.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the government is trying to provide relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav. Imran Khan was supposed to become ambassador for Kashmir but he has become the counsel for Kulbhushan Jadhav and is trying to give him relief through the backdoor.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Imran Khan gave NRO to himself, his sister and all his friends. He gave NRO to every case of mega corruption under his government, from BRT Project to Malam Jabba and from sugar to wheat scandals. He said that the wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa is called by FBR and asked to provide her money trail. Imran Khan has given NRO via amnesties and he also gave NRO to his sister Aleema Khan’s corruption. Every advisor and special assistant should also be asked to give their money trail. There has been no answer from the government about the foreign funding case. The puppet prime minister and his puppet ministers are trying to hide behind the stay order. NAB will have to adopt the same process for PTI which it has adopted for opposition.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the PTI government is trying to impose a ban on knowledge in the name of Islam. Punjab government has passed a resolution in this regard. Islam asks all of us to acquire knowledge; we cannot ban books in the name of Islam. Punjab Assembly should review its resolution. He said that this government is also after social media and wants to ban social media and this kind of censorship is not in the interest of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that the government is imposing censorship in the Senate and the National Assembly.

Chairman Bilawal said that PTI government has stopped testing for Covid-19 and is claiming that 19 districts of Punjab are Covid-19 free. They are lying because they are not conducting tests for Covid-19. This will further harm the health and economy of the country.

Responding to questions, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the government accepted our amendments in the two bills which have been passed today. PPP and PML-N are working together and we should not give any credence to the government’s propaganda. He said that all the opposition parties together will decide of the future actions against government. We should not forgive the dictatorial behavior of the speaker of the National Assembly and the opposition can dislodge him so that the NA session does not become a PTI jalsa each time we meet. He said that the green passport was undermined by this government’s actions of grounding all the PIA planes and not taking appropriate action against Covid-19. He said that we should not put a ban on education, knowledge and books in the name of Islam and said that he once again asks Punjab Assembly to review its resolution. He said that the PTI had promised to create a South Punjab province within hundred days but like all the other promises, it did not fulfil this promise as well that had been made to the people.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/07/30/pti-wants-dictatorial-powers-in-the-name-of-financial-action-task-force-chairman-ppp/

Video Report - Peshawar Incident And The 'One Curriculum' Govt Is About To Introduce

What Makes India's Rafale Fighter Jets So Potent Against China, Pakistan

The first five Rafales bought from France in a multi-billion-dollar deal landed in the country on Wednesday.

The ability to strike air-to-air targets from up to 150 km away and safely hit land targets 300 km within enemy territory make India's Rafales some of the deadliest fighter jets flying in the world.

Known for air-superiority and precision strikes, the French-made Rafales are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The first five Rafales bought from France in a multi-billion-dollar deal landed in the country on Wednesday and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh used their arrival to launch a veiled warning to neighbouring China over territorial tensions.

"If it is anyone who should be worried about or critical about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity," Mr Singh said.

The Rafales were greeted with a water-cannon guard of honour when they landed at the Ambala air base.

Indian and Chinese forces were locked in a six-week-long standoff along their de-facto border that peaked with a hand-to-hand battle in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed last month. China also suffered casualties in the showdown but has not given figures.

The deadly clash has sharpened an intense nationwide spotlight on the combat jets that were greeted with a water-cannon guard of honour when they landed at the Ambala air base in Haryana.

The aircraft are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, SCALP cruise missiles and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.

Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats facing the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden. The Meteor is powered by a unique rocket-ramjet motor that gives it far more engine power for much longer than any other missile, experts say.

The Meteor missile can target enemy aircraft from 150 km away. It can destroy enemy aircraft before they actually even get close to the Indian aircraft.

Had India had this capability a day of during the aerial encounter with Pakistan last year, the assumption is that many Pakistani F-16s would have been destroyed.

Rafales are also equipped to carry SCALP cruise missiles that can hit targets 300 km away. It means that an Indian Air Force Rafale taking off from Ambala, will be able to launch one of these weapons from well within Indian airspace to hit a target deep inside China.

The third weapon system is the MICA missile system. The MICA is a very versatile air-to-air missile. It comes with a radar seeker. It also comes with an infrared seeker and the reason which makes it very advanced is that it can be fired for the short-range to your long-range as well right up to a 100 km.

It's already in service with the Indian Air Force is Mirages and is the primary weapon system of Rafales as well.

The five aircraft are being inducted into the Ambala-based No 17 Squadron, also known as the ''Golden Arrows''.

The Indian Air Force is also procuring new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon system Hammer to integrate with the Rafale jets.

Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran. The missile was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.

Apart from weapons, Rafales also fly with SPECTRA - widely considered the world's most advanced fighter-based electronic warfare suite, a system which is the cornerstone of the Rafale's survivability against a host of the latest threats.

SPECTRA is designed to detect threats and provides a multi-spectral threat warning capability against hostile radars, missiles and lasers.  By detecting threats at long-range, SPECTRA allows the pilot to instantly select the best suited defensive measures combining radar jamming of ground and airborne radars and the deployment of infrared or radar decoying flares and chaff.

The fleet of five aircraft, comprising three single-seaters and two twin-seaters, are being inducted into the Indian Air Force as part of its Ambala-based No 17 Squadron, also known as the ''Golden Arrows''.

India has also received five more jets which are currently in France for training missions. The delivery of all 36 aircraft as part of the deal is set to be completed on schedule by the end of 2021, the government has said.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rafale-news-what-makes-indias-rafale-fighter-jets-so-potent-against-china-pakistan-2271025

Pakistani Man Accused Of Blasphemy Shot Dead In Court

A Pakistani Muslim who was on trial for blasphemy has been shot dead in a courtroom in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

It was not immediately clear how the young assailant, identified as Khalid Khan, managed to get into the court on July 29 amid tight security. The attacker was subsequently arrested.

The suspect told police the prophet Muhammad had ordered him to kill the man standing trial, Tahir Nasim, because he had belonged to the Ahmadi faith.

Ahmadis, a 4-million-strong minority group in Pakistan, have faced death, threats, intimidation and a sustained hate campaign for decades.

Ahmadis insist they follow Islam. However, Pakistan declared the group non-Muslim in 1974 for regarding their sect's founder, Ghulam Ahmad, as a prophet. Orthodox Islam holds there can be no prophets after Muhammad.

Nasim was arrested two years ago on blasphemy charges after claiming he was Islam’s prophet.

Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law carries an automatic death penalty for anyone convicted of insulting God, Islam, or other religious figures.

Crowds and individuals in Pakistan often take the law into their own hands.

While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, even the mere accusation can cause riots. Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.

A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy.

Bibi was acquitted after spending eight years on death row in a case that drew international attention. Faced with death threats from Islamic radicals upon her release, she flew to Canada to join her daughters last year.

In December, a Muslim professor in Pakistan was also sentenced to death after being convicted of blasphemy.

A court in Multan found Junaid Hafeez, who had been held for six years awaiting trial, guilty of spreading anti-Islamic ideas.

Hafeez's lawyer said his client was wrongly convicted and he would appeal the verdict.
https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistani-blasphemy-accused-shot-dead-court/30755005.html

Millions in Pakistan face new Covid risk as they travel home for Eid

FASEEH MANGI 

Experts warn of high chances of virus resurgence as starting Friday, Eid could attract millions into crowded fairs and religious and family gatherings.

Pakistan is at risk for a second wave of virus infections during the upcoming Eid holidays as millions travel to their home towns and mingle at family and religious gatherings.

The South Asian nation — with the second highest number of infections in Asia — has had some respite over the last few weeks with the rate of new infections slowing. But experts warn the chances of a resurgence are high, with Friday marking the start of the religious holiday. And they say it’s difficult to assess the path of the nation’s epidemic because its testing rate remains one of the lowest in the world.

“Eid al-Fitr will draw millions of people into crowded fairs and religious and family gatherings,” said Steve Hanke, professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University. “Masks and social distancing will be abandoned, and similar to the Chinese New Year in Wuhan, Eid al-Fitr could become a cataclysmic event for Pakistan and the region.”

Pakistan will also have to manage Muharram processions in late August, when large crowds of Shiite Muslims gather to praise and mourn Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad killed in the battle of Karbala. Globally, religious gatherings have sparked several virus clusters.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government said last month its estimates showed the pandemic will reach its peak by the end of July with 1.2 million reported cases. As of Tuesday. the country had reported more than 275,000 confirmed cases with 5,900 deaths. The country’s cases rose by 3.7% last week, the slowest pace since the outbreak began in Pakistan.

Unreported infections

Qatar Airways and Emirates are among the airlines that have made it compulsory for travelers from Pakistan to get tested before travel. Meanwhile, Pakistan has stopped testing incoming travelers — one reason for a drop in testing rates and new confirmed cases.

“The significance of the drop is that cases are likely being highly underreported,” said Hanke in an emailed reply.

Khan has downplayed the seriousness of the virus, but his administration has advised caution.

“Any complacency and we will face the same increase we saw earlier,” said Faisal Sultan, the prime minister’s point person for Covid-19 strategy and an infectious disease expert. The reason for the recent drop in cases “is harder to know but is likely multi-factorial. The biology of the epidemic including interplay of host, pathogen and environment but also interventions have likely helped.”

The pressure on Pakistan’s hospitals has also eased with patients on ventilators and low flow oxygen dropping by more than 50% since June 20, Faisal said.

Data deficit

Pakistan’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer Getz Pharma tested 24,210 people in mostly urban workspaces. Its study then extrapolated those findings to the urban, adult, working population of Pakistan and found active COVID-19 infections would likely reach 4.11 million, which is almost 15 times higher than the current tally. The positivity rate for those tested in the study was 17.5%, higher than government data that shows the rate dropping to below 5% from more than 20% in June.

Pakistan’s medical associations and experts have long warned that low testing and lack of data means there is an underbelly of virus cases that don’t appear in official figures.

Serology tests, private hospital data and many virus-related deaths are not being reported in the government’s official numbers, said epidemiologist Wajiha Javed, head of public health and research at Getz Pharma. “The initial peak was two weeks post Eid and we may expect second peak at two weeks post the second Eid.” –

https://theprint.in/world/millions-in-pakistan-face-new-covid-risk-as-they-travel-home-for-eid/470140/

UN: Too Early for Pakistan to Celebrate Improving COVID-19 Situation

By Ayaz Gul

The United Nations has commended Pakistan’s gains in the fight against the coronavirus but warned complacency during the coming Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha could lead to a new surge in cases.
 
The warning comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan was among the few countries in the world that have largely controlled the pandemic.  
 
The outbreak hit the county of 220 million people in late February and the number of confirmed cases has since surpassed 275,000, including nearly 5,900 deaths. Almost 90% of patients have recovered, and COVID-19 infections have considerably dropped over the past month.
 
On Tuesday, health officials said there were 936 new cases and 23 deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, representing a decline of about 86%. Pakistan had a peak of 6,825 cases on June 14.  
 
“There is an improvement in the COVID situation in the country,” Aida Girma, UNICEF representative in Pakistan, told an online public event in Islamabad. “Across all indicators we are seeing improvement, and this is very encouraging. But it is too soon to celebrate. We can’t be complacent.”
 
The UNICEF country chief urged the government to redouble efforts ahead of the Eid festivities starting later this week to ensure the gains Pakistan has made in the past few weeks are not lost.
 
“We are at a critical juncture of the current pandemic, witnessing a significant decrease in the number of cases, and no way can afford slackness or complacence, as was observed during Eid-al-Fitr days”, Zafar Mirza, a special assistant to the Pakistani prime minister, told the online forum.  
 
Mirza was referring to the Muslim festival in May when the government relaxed lockdown restrictions on the eve of the festivities and the number of cases shot up, putting pressure on hospitals in Pakistan and prompting severe criticism of the government.

Authorities have tightened lockdown restrictions ahead of Saturday’s Eid celebrations, banning visits to public places, restaurants and closing shopping malls in parts of Pakistan.
 
In his nationally televised speech on Monday, Prime Minister Khan urged Pakistanis to continue to strictly adhere to official guidelines on maintaining social distancing, avoiding big gatherings and using masks during Eid celebrations to help sustain the national gains against the pandemic.  
 
“The world is acknowledging our smart lockdown strategy that has led to a gradual decline in our cases…But if we are not cautious during Eid… cases might rise again and the situation can worsen,” Khan said, citing the example of Australia and Spain where the virus cases had spiked after initially falling.  
 
"It could prove harmful for our aged and ailing citizens and our economy as well,” the prime minister said.
 
UNICEF’s Girma noted that the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan had disrupted the provision of essential health services for women and children, including immunization services.
 
“Over 40 million children had missed out on their polio vaccination since the outbreak (of the coronavirus) started,” she said.
 
Pakistan, one of the two countries in the world along with Afghanistan where polio remains endemic, resumed a national polio vaccination campaign last week after about four months of suspension.

https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/un-too-early-pakistan-celebrate-improving-covid-19-situation

Video Report - Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto address media in Lahore

#Pakistan - #PPP - Opposition parties are 'on one page' in anti-govt effort, says Bilawal after meeting Shehbaz, Fazl

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said that all opposition parties are "on one page" in their movement against the PTI government, which he alleged has become a "hazard" for the country.

Bilawal's remarks came after he held back-to-back meetings with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore, ahead of the opposition's multi-party conference (MPC) scheduled to be held after Eidul Azha.Speaking to the media with Sharif by his side after their meeting at the latter's Model Town residence, Bilawal said his party will join the PML-N in "standing up for the people of Pakistan" and devise a strategy to oust the government during the MPC.He claimed the opposition will no longer need to stage a sit-in to force Prime Minister Imran Khan's government to quit, saying: "We will reach half the way and the government will go home."He said the "selected" government had become a hazard for the country as it was for the first time in national history that "theft is being committed in wheat flour, ghee and sugar" stocks.Bilawal said he was "surprised" that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke about the amendment to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law in the National Assembly but does not bring up the issue of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

He alleged that the government's NAB ordinance had "failed" and as per a recent judgement of the Supreme Court the accountability ordinance is a "black law".

In his remarks, Sharif said the opposition had "placed the responsibility on Bilawal's young shoulders" and he will lead them in the anti-government movement."Imran Khan and Pakistan can no longer function together," he said, alleging that the incumbent government was "nothing less than a danger" for the country.He said opposition members were not seeking any sort of relief from the government and neither were they "begging" when they discussed a number a legislations with the government earlier today.

Sharif said the government's economic policies had failed and people were finding it difficult to put two meals on their tables due to rising food costs.

"They called us thieves and robbers day and night but today the people have understood them well," the PML-N leader said.

Sharif said a meeting of the opposition's Rehbar Committee will be held after Eid during which the agenda for the MPC will be announced.

'People's mandate was stolen'

Earlier in the day, Bilawal and other PPP leaders held a meeting with Rehman at a local hotel where they discussed the prevailing political situation and reviewed their anti-government strategy.

Speaking after their meeting, Bilawal said the government wanted to bring a "controversial" law as an excuse for meeting requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plan."The government will have to go home under the current circumstances," he said, adding that the opposition and the people were on the same page.Rehman said his party had been saying for the past two years that the people's mandate "had been stolen" with the election of the PTI and that it should be returned to the public."This government will have to go [and] a government with a real mandate should come into power," he said, accusing the government of being "illegitimate" as well as "incompetent".Last week, the PML-N and PPP had agreed to convene an MPC post-Eidul Azha for framing a joint anti-government strategy and formed a joint coordination committee to take on board other opposition parties as well as set an agenda for the moot.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between a PML-N delegation and Bilawal at his Lahore residence.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1571628/opposition-parties-are-on-one-page-in-anti-govt-effort-says-bilawal-after-meeting-shehbaz-fazl

#Pakistan #PPP - People of all provinces united to expel PM Imran out of power: Bilawal

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that people of all provinces are on the same page to expel Prime Minister Imran Khan out of power.

He was talking to media persons after his meeting with chief of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Moulana Fazlur Rehman in Lahore on Tuesday.

Bilawal Bhutto said that today's meeting was fruitful and the result of this meeting will start showing after Eid-ul-Azha.

He said that Imran Khan's government has threatened the health and life of every citizen of Pakistan. Imran Khan's government has also put the economy of the country in danger, he added.

Responding to the questions of media, Bilawal Bhutto said that Shahbaz Sharif is ill and he is also suffering from cancer. Shahbaz Sharif has had a meeting with Moulana Sahib. He said he will also meet the opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif. https://nation.com.pk/28-Jul-2020/people-of-all-provinces-united-to-expel-pm-imran-out-of-power-bilawal

تاریخ میں پہلی مرتبہ آٹا، گھی، چینی میں چوریاں ہورہی ہیں، جتنے این آر اوز پی ٹی آئی نے دیئے کسی نے نہیں دیئے ہیں، چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹوزرداری

بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ آج شہباز شریف کا شکریہ ادا کرتا ہوں انہوں نےچائے پلائی۔ ہمارا استقبال کیا۔۔۔ہم ن لیگ کے ساتھ مل کر پاکستان کے عوام کے لئے کھڑے ہوں گے۔ اے پی سی میں بیٹھ کر لائحہ عمل بنائیں گے۔ وہ شہباز شریف کی رہائش گاہ پر انکے ہمراہ ایک مشترکہ پریس کانفرنس سے خطاب کر رہے تھے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ عمران خان کی سلیکٹڈ حکومت اس وقت خطرہ ہے ۔ اپوزیشن جماعتیں آج ایک پیج پر ہیں۔تاریخ میں پہلی مرتبہ آٹا، گھی، چینی میں چوریاں ہورہی ہیں
جتنے این آر اوز پی ٹی آئی نے دیئے کسی نے نہیں دیئے ہیں۔ میں حیران ہوں شاہ محمود قریشی نیب پر بات کررہے ہیں کھلبوشن یادیو پر بات کیوں نہیں کرتے ہم پہلے دن سے ایک ہی بات پر کھڑے ہیں ہمارے ساتھ بہت سارے لوگ کھڑے ہیں حکومت کا نیب آرڈینیس فیل ہوچکا ہے۔پی پی پی انسانی حقوق اور جمہوریت پر یقین رکھتی ہے سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلہ کے مطابق نیب ایک کالا قانون ہے۔ ایف اے ٹی ایف ایک خطرناک صورتحال ہے ہم بلیک لسٹ میں جاسکتے ہیں۔ ہم جمہوریت اور انسانی حقوق کے لئے جہدوجہت کررہے ہیں
حکومت سمجھتی ہے کہ ایف اے ٹی ایف پر زیادہ پاورز لیں گے تو غلط ہے
اس موقع پر شہباز شریف نے کہا کہ عمران خان اور پاکستان اب ایک ساتھ نہیں چل سکتے بلاول بھٹو کے آنے پر ان کا شکریہ ادا کرتا ہوں سیاسی صورتحال پر تفصیلی گفتگو کی۔ پی پی پی، ن لیگ اور دیگر جماعتیں ملک کو درپیش چیلنجز جو دو سال سے درپیش ہے معیشت کو اس حکومت نے بے پناہ نقصان پہنچایا ہے۔کورونا کی وباء سے لاکھوں لوگ جان سے گئے دنیا میں چیزوں کی قیمتیں گری پاکستان میں آسمان سے باتیں کررہی ہیں۔چینی ساٹھ سے سو روپے پر پہنچ گئی ہے
لاہور: میں نے کبھی نہیں دیکھا گندم کی کٹائی مکمل نہیں ہوئی سٹاک ختم ہوگیا
سرکاری ریٹ اور چکی کا آٹا قیمت سے باہر ہے۔ تیل سو روپے لیٹر پر بک رہا ہے عام آدمی دو وقت کی روٹی پوری کرنا مشکل ہے۔پچاس لاکھ گھر اور ایک کروڑ نوکریاں کہاں سے دیں گے لوگ مشکلات کا شکار ہیں۔ جی ڈی پی کے حالاے ابتر ہوچکے ہیں اس حکومت کے یو ٹرن نے سرمایہ کاروں کو تباہ کردیا ہے۔ اس حکومت کے بس کی بات نہیں عمران خان کی حکومت ناکام ہوچکی ہے
شہباز شریف نے کہا کہ حکومت کے نمائندوں کے ساتھ جو بات چیت ہورہی تھی ہم بھیک نہیں مانگ رہے۔ ہم کسی طرح کا ریلیف نہیں مانگ رہے۔ نیب نیازی گھٹ جوڑ کو پوری دنیا نے دیکھا
سپریم کورٹ کا فیصلہ خواجہ سعد رفیق کے حوالے سے پڑھ لیں۔ بدترین طریقے اختیار کیئے جارہے ہیں
کوئی پوچھنے والا نہیں بی آر ٹی پشاور میں اربوں روپے کے گھپلے ہوئے
ہمیں انھوں نے دن رات چور ڈاکو کہا عوام آج ان کو اچھی طرح جان گئی ہے
یہ حکومت خطرے سے کم نہیں ہے عید کے بعد رہبر کمیٹی کی میٹنگ ہوگی اے پی سی میں ایجنڈے کا اعلان ہوگا اسموقع پر بلاول بھٹو اور شہباز شریف میں دلچسپ مکالمہ بھی ہوا۔ایک سوال کے جواب میں چئیرمن بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کرونا کی وجہ سے شہبازشریف سے براہ راست ملاقات نہیں ہو سکی تھی تاہم فون پر ہم مسلسل رابطے میں تھے۔اب شہبازشریف تندرست ہیں اور حکومت مخالف تحریک کی انقلابی قیادت کرنے کیلئے تیار ہیں۔اس کے جواب میں شہباز شریف نے مسکراتے ہوئے کہا کہ کہا کہ بلاول کے جوان کندھوں پر ذمہ داری ڈالی ہے یہ ہمیں لیڈ کریں گے۔

ایک سوال کے جواب میں چئیرمن بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ اب دھرنے کی ضرورت نہیں پڑے کی ہم آدھے راستے میں پہنچے گے اور حکومت گھر جائے گی

https://www.ppp.org.pk/2020/07/28/jitney-nro-imran-khan-ney-diye-utney-kisi-ney-nae-diye/