MQM stages sit-in at Numaish Chowrangi

KARACHI: Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists on Tuesday staged a sit-in at Numaish Chowrangi to show solidarity with their leader Altaf Hussai who is held by police in London in alleged money laundering case.

Earlier, addressing the activists at Nine Zero, MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said that the activists would now stage sit-in at Numaish roundabout. He said that the protest would continue until the party chief addresses the activists.

Several activists including women gathered at the Mazar-e-Quaid roundabout and chanted slogans in favour of their party chief. The activists vowed to continue the until MQM chief address them.

MQM legislators also joined the protest sit-in at the roundabout and said that they would update their activists on every development in London.

Meanwhile, the MQM coordination Committee asked their workers to stage protests outside press clubs across the country and said that these protest were called for expressing sympathy with the party chief. (PPI)

No protest, sit-in can impede journey to progress: Shahbaz

 

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that no sit-in or protest against the process of national development can succeed.
According to a handout issued on Sunday, he was talking to a representative delegation of journalists, columnists and intellectuals of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. The delegation congratulated him on the speedy measures for resolving the energy crisis and development projects in the Punjab.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the opposition parties should wait for their turn and not become impatient to oust the government.He said that they were burning the midnight oil with good intentions to take the country out of the crisis and, therefore the opposition parties should wait and promote national solidarity with due regard to the national issues.

During the meetings with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and different delegations on Sunday, the prime minister said when the country would progress and prosper, only then politics would prevail, as future of the country was with democracy.

He said that the first year of this government was going to be completed on June 6, and during this one year, the initial strategy to lead the country on the right track had been evolved, whose positive effects would become clear soon.

The premier further said that their agenda was in line with prosperity of the country. He stated that those who were holding back the progress would end up in dismay. Talking to the guests, the CM said the projects evolved during the tenure of those who were criticising the welfare programmes of the government unjustifiably were not monuments of development but graveyards of corruption. He said the present government was moving in the right direction and the people knew very well who was serving them and who was indulging only in protest politics.

He said had these projects been completed three years ago, Pakistan would not have to face an economic loss of Rs165 billion nor the poor nation had to spend an additional amount of Rs30,000 billion due to the delay in the projects. He said the PML-N government was serving the masses with commitment and sincerity.He said Allah Almighty had given the present leadership an opportunity to serve the nation and it would spare no effort to give a strong and brighter Pakistan to the coming generation.

The chief minister said the completion of the Nandipur Power Project in a record period of seven months was the result of the best team work. He said solid economic policies of the government were yielding positive results and national economy was improving. He said the foreign exchange reserves had increased beyond 13 billion dollars while the Pakistani currency had also stabilised against the dollar; the government was making efforts for overcoming the energy crisis and power projects were being launched expeditiously in the country. He said the government had allocated Rs30 billion for the Dasu Dam and Diamer Bhasha Dam while a sum of Rs55 billion had been allocated for the Karachi-Lahore Motorway and this mega project was being started from Karachi.

He said the Punjab government had voluntarily given Rs11 billion from its annual share to other provinces for achieving a consensus on the NFC Award and as such it had given Rs44 billion to other provinces during the last four years.The delegation members said the chief minister was a revolutionary leader and taking historic measures for the public welfare. They paid tributes to the chief minister for the projects and wished other provinces to have chief ministers like Shahbaz Sharif.

MPAs threaten to stage sit-in against Islamabad vindictive power cut in Sindh

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) members in Sindh assembly here on Tuesday went on a protest against the unannounced and prolonged load shedding in the rural and urban areas of the province piling miseries on the people, Geo News reported.

PPP members urged upon the Sindh government to lodge a formal protest with the federal government for the injustices being perpetrated on the people of Sindh and ensure forthwith the due share of power supply to the province otherwise the members of the assembly would be forced to lead the vexed citizens’ protests and sit-ins on the roads and streets of the province.

PPP’s Nawaz Chandio, MQM’s Muhammad Hussain and others honourable members of the Sindh assembly raising their voice against the unannounced and prolonged load shedding termed the power outage federation’s vengeance against Sindh.

On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N)’s opposition member Irfanullah Marwat, assuring his full support to the agitation against the federal government for power cut in Sindh, said that the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah should also take out processions like Shahbaz Sharif did in PPP tenure. Those sitting in air-conditioned rooms should also know how one feels during the load shedding, he remarked.

Senior Provincial Minister, Nisar Khuhro sharply reacting to the remarks of the opposition member said when do your want to take out the procession, let us go right now.

Following some exchange of barbs between the opposition and treasury members, the Speaker on one occasion sensing the situation getting extremely tense warned the members that session could be adjourned to bring the agitated and angry members under control.

Relatives of missing persons stage sit-in at D-Chowk

ISLAMABAD: The relatives of the missing persons continued their protest on the second day and staged a sit-in at D-Chowk on Tuesday, Geo News reported.

Chairperson of Defence of Human Rights Amna Masood Janjua said that the government has time till the evening to render an apology over police torture on the protesters last evening and to hold a dialogue with the relatives to end the demonstration, else a strict strategy will be announced by the evening. She demanded that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar should apologize personally for the brutal torture by the security personnel on the relatives of the missing persons.

A large number of protesters including children, elders and women are continuing their protest on the second day for the recovery of their beloved family members.

The demonstrators said that they had high hopes that the present government will be able to recover the missing relatives, instead the protesting relatives were subjected to torture by the police force.

They demanded that a case should be initiated in the court if their relatives have been charged, but to keep them away from their families without any news is tormenting for the families.

It may be mentioned that seven civil society activists and five cops were wounded when the police resorted to a baton charge and teargassed the protesters. They were calling for the recovery of missing persons at the D-Chowk and tried to storm the Red Zone.

The Elite Force and Anti Riot Force (ARF) participated in the operation against the agitating people. Amna Masood Janjua and 11 others were arrested.The police refused to obey the order of the area magistrate and assistant commissioner for using force against the agitating persons twice but they insisted they do so. They said the police resorted to a baton-charge and tear-gassing of the mob to stop it in accordance with the decision of the top administrative officers.

The clash between the police and the protesters took place when the protesters started marching towards the Parliament House. The police tried to stop them at the D-Chowk but they tried to move forward through another route, which resulted in a clash after an exchange of harsh words. Some journalists and cameramen were also injured during the clash.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took serious notice and expressed his displeasure over the crackdown by the Islamabad Police on protesters headed by Amna Masood Janjua and ordered their immediate release.

He ordered for the immediate release of the people and directed to take strict action for the officials involved in this unhappy incident.

The Islamabad DC released all activists arrested by the police following the PM’s order. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ordered an inquiry into the incident. He also suspended two sub divisional police officers (SDPOs), the ASP (City) Yasir Afridi and ASP (Secretariat) Iram, terming them responsible for the incident and asked the DC, who is believed to be responsible for the incident, to conduct an inquiry into the incident.