Murree Governor House Is Opened For General Public

Hopefully, you remember the slogan of Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding austerity drive and putting an end to VIP culture. Well relating to this narrative, the Murree governor house is now open for the general public. Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar on Monday inaugurated the Governor House Murree for the public.

Speaking at the ceremony, the CM said that the ease of staying could be availed by paying dues. He further said that inauguration of this house for the people was a pleasant occasion. Alteration of government buildings into rest houses is the beginning of abolishing VIP culture, he added.

Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar said that the development of tourism is a prime agenda of the current government. He also asserted how the tourism sector was ignored in the tenure of past governments.

He said that the motive behind the opening of government houses for the general public is solely for the promotion of tourism. He stated that for the first time the historical building is opened for the general public and for the unofficial use. The CM further told that the golden jubilee of this Governor House was convened fifteen years ago and numerous international personages have stayed in this historic building.

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Besides, he stated that it is a prestige to visit in such a luxurious building and the PTI led government does not want to restrict this prestige to its notables only.

On his Twitter, Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar, stated, "In continuation of austerity drive, we are opening Luxurious Governor House Murree for public We have already opened 177 Govt resthouses of different departments These facilities are a reminder for the public about how our taxes were misused for the lavish lifestyle of previous rulers."

In continuation of austerity drive, we are opening Luxurious Governor House Murree for public

We have already opened 177 Govt resthouses of different departments

These facilities are a reminder for public about how our taxes were misused for lavish lifestyle of previous reluers pic.twitter.com/Kk4G9aRyR3

— Usman Buzdar (@UsmanAKBuzdar) July 29, 2019

Pakistan Tehreek E Insaf Government has initiated its drive against VIP culture. As per an official of PTI, the Prime Minister, Imran Khan has spurred the austerity drive by not living in Prime Minister House but in an adjacent small house. 

Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar also said that camping sites, safari and paragliding experiences will also be held to develop tourism.

The CM Punjab stated that the double-decker buses will be launched soon in Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan, and the CM also expected that a great number of domestic and foreign tourists will be drawn through such actions, which will enhance the foreign exchange of the country.  Besides, he asserted that these initiatives will help in creating employment opportunities for local residents. 

Indeed, this a good step of the PTI government and it will definitely help in soaring the tourism and ending the VIP culture in the land of pure. However, hopefully, the opening of such government building will not make them vulnerable from the general public and the eminence of the building will be protected. 

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PM Imran Khan Rejected Any Concept Of Nuclear War Between India, Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday rejected the concept of any type of nuclear war in between Pakistan as well as India, stating his country would quit its arms and ammunitions if its eastern neighbor did the same.

In an interview with the Fox News, the prime minister responded in affirmative when asked "If India said we would give up nuclear weapons, would Pakistan? "Yes, because nuclear war is not an option. And between Pakistan and India, the idea of nuclear war is actually self-destruction, because we have two and a half thousand-mile border."

"Also, I think there's a realization in the subcontinent and there was some incident that happened last Feb and we again had tension at the border. An Indian plane was shot down in Pakistan," PM said during mentioning Indian aggression over the eastern borders. For more news about Pakistan click here

He informed Bret Bier of the Fox News that it was this very 'realization' he asked President Trump to play his role. He stated the USA of America was the most powerful country worldwide "the only country that could mediate between Pakistan and India, and the only issue is Kashmir."

PM said, "the only reason for 70 years that we have not been able to live like civilized neighbors, is because of Kashmir." The United States President Donald Trump in his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Oval had actually provided US mediation on the 70-year old Kashmir disagreement between India and Pakistan.

Read also: PM Imran Khan Promises Meritocracy In Every Department Of Pakistan

PM Imran Khan Promises Meritocracy In Every Department Of Pakistan

A huge political gathering of PTI addressed by PM Imran Khan was held in Washington yesterday. It was witnessed as the biggest crowd of overseas Pakistanis ever which is also being considered as one of the record-setting political gatherings held in USA.

In this gathering on Monday PrimeMinister Imran Khan addressed some key issues of Pakistan that PTI government is struggling to deal with currently. The focus of the whole discussion was based on the lack of meritocracy in the Pakistani system which has affected the country in multifaceted ways.

“Badshahat”, The Death Of Merit

He assumed the democracy of Pakistan to be partial as the leaders who were previously ruling the state have not been coming up by merit. And neither were they appointed the role to the ministries on merit. All of the big ministries were just given to their own relatives regardless of the fact that they have no skill, knowledge or capability in the area. So, Imran Khan declared Pakistan’s democracy pseudo saying that it's more like “badshahat”.

"A society that doesn't have merit, doesn't go forward."

This “badshahat” is the reason that Pakistan has been brought to the stage that it is in right now. As there was no merit being considered, He further gave the reference of Mughal Empire how it fell because of the lack of capability in the Mughal rulers who came after Aurangzeb. But they were still given the authority to rule based on the “badshahat”.

So PM Khan clarified that democracy is supposed to let the people choose their leaders by merit which was not the case in Pakistan previously.

"Nawaz Sharif was propped up by dictator. Asif Zardari & Bilawal became leaders on the basis of some piece of paper that left the party behind them. Similar stories with other parties.", said Khan.

The Only Merit-Based Party

Declaring PTI the first party to have come to rule by merit he said that during his tenure nothing is going to be done beyond merit and he will give equal chances to all Pakistanis to get to a higher position. Explaining this he gave the example of Murad Saeed who came from a regular family and is now the Federal Minister of Pakistan, purely based on merit.

Leaders Accountable For Their Actions

Khan also added that in democracy after a ruler has been appointed he becomes accountable for all his actions and every penny spent by law and by the Muslim religion. However, when in Pakistan the leaders are held accountable they say, “Mujhe Kyun Nikala.”

But now in “Naya Pakistan” all the leaders are answerable to the estate about how they made their assets and where did they spend the money taken in the name of the loan?

"What’s happening today in Pakistan is 'Naya Pakistan'. Where the powerful are being held accountable."

The Changing Wind

He also recalled the prosperous days of Pakistan back when he was growing up. After which the downfall came, corruption started, buying of public offices happened. So, the rest of the coming years just kept digging Pakistan deeper into the corruption.

However, PM claims that the wind in Pakistan has changed and there is no space for corruption.

"But today, Naya Pakistan is a place where every public office holder is accountable to the people,” declared Imran Khan.

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Prime Minister Pakistan added that the corrupt leaders are seeking NRO from him on being arrested. And he has been requested from a King to provide Nawaz with NRO, but he refuses to grant it to him. Their properties are being seized and the other governments are in talks with Imran Khan to return the looted money back to Pakistan.

No investors were ready to invest or do business in Pakistan because of its corrupt image. But now that the country is clearing its name off corruption, the government is intending to attract investments from around the world, said Khan.

“Naya Pakistan is being created in front of your eyes.”

Rising Up The Underprivileged Via Merit System

There is three educational system running side by side. All of them with the different syllabus. Due to which the underprivileged do not get the chance to make a name for themselves. But the government of PTI is the first-ever party to have attempted to introduce one main syllabus in the government schools, private schools, and madrasa. So the youth that rises up to the higher positions are backed by merit and not just the fact that they were privileged.

"There is education apartheid. Here [in America] people are given opportunities."

What is Riyasat-e-Madina?

PM said that people ask him what his vision is for the country to which he responds that he dreams to make Pakistan “Madina Ki Riyasat”. But most of the people don’t know what he means when he uses this phrase. So he explicitly explains what he means by Riyasat-e-Madina.

Madina was ruled by modern principles where everyone was given equal opportunities and there was a proper system of merit for everything which was unaffected by gender, religion, and class. It was a welfare state where the principles supported the rights of women, children and elderly. And the state was ruled with compassion, justice, and rule of law.

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The state considered its responsibility to look after the elders, women, and children who had no one else having empathy for widows, the weak, orphans, the most downtrodden and elderly. Minorities in the state were not deprived of their rights. It was an absolute modern-day society.

The women were given their rights in the property which unfortunately even today are not given to the women of our state. So, PTI intends to pass a law to protect the rights of women in property, by law.

Cricket Team And PIA

Khan was disappointed by the performance of all the departments of Pakistan. He specifically mentioned that the system of Cricket Board will also be reformed and as there have been enough disappointments.

On being asked a question about PIA he responded that when the power was handed over to PTI, every institution was going in loss. Eventually, the government will fix PTI and the other institutions too.

Concluding the speech he told the people that he has always lived by one principle to never submit himself to anyone else. Hence, he would never let his nation submit or bow down in front of anyone else either, referring to his meeting with Trump.

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PIA Plane Skids Off Runway While Landing At Gilgit Airport

Pakistan’s national airline PIA has been undergoing many incidents in the past due to its poor maintenance and management issues. For which the airline has been facing constant criticism and people have kept their eyes strictly on the airline. And yet another incident takes place showing the irresponsibility of PIA and its crew.

The plane that was landing on the runway of Gilgit Airport skidded off and failed at safe landing. It was an ATR passenger plane which bore the consequences of the negligence.

The accident could have been a major one had the pilot not gained control of it. Passengers traveling in the ATR-42 were marked safe in this incident which took place on Saturday. The news of the safety of passengers was given out by the flight's spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar.

It was the skillfulness of the pilot who effectively regained control of the plane after it slightly slid off the track into the unpaved area during landing. However, it was a major threat to the safety of the 53 people that the airline was carrying including the crew members so the orders for investigations have been issued by the CEO of PIA.

But a source has informed the media that the incident had also occurred due to the misjudgment of the pilots in the first a place who later successfully managed to regain control.

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The source claimed that if the pilots would have landed the current with the aircraft touching down the runway at the recommended portion, there is no way that this incident would have taken place where the plane skidded off the runway unless the brakes would have failed.

PK-605 was flying from Islamabad to Gilgit according to Gilgit Deputy Commissioner. The plane came to halt near the tarmac in the grassy area. It was found resting on its right side post halt.

After the incident, the runway was closed temporarily. PK-608 took off to Islamabad right after the runway reopened. Read More for more news regarding Pakistan 

PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik ordering a the transparent investigation said that actions will be taken according to aviation rules if negligence is proven in the investigations.

The pilots of the flight of the incident have also been grounded until the investigation will be cleared on their part. One of the pilots of this flight has been up til now identified as Captain Maryam.

The current incidents that were associated with PIA, all depict the irresponsibility and mismanagement of the airline. These incidents have already affected the reputation of the airline a lot and if the errors aren’t corrected, it will completely lose people’s trust which would eventually turn out to be a great loss.

Simon Taufel Declares That Umpires Made Error In Judging The Overthrow

Whoever watched the World Cup Final 2019 would have not missed the last over which was the most exciting over of the match. The turn of events that took place in this over was super tense. One of which was the controversial overthrow. It happened while Rashid and Stokes were on the field. Stokes had hit the ball mid-wicket and was attempting to take the second run when the ball got overthrown by the bat of Stokes and rolled over to the boundary.

The umpires reviewed and signaled for a six. This outspread chaos among the fans who were wondering how the team was awarded six runs. However, in the heat of the moment, the judgment wasn’t reanalyzed and a super over was given after which England ended up winning even though it was a tie between the two teams. The winners were announced based on the number of boundaries they hit in the match. 

Stokes did an apologizing gesture to the team New Zealand right then and there for accidentally hitting the throw. And said that he wouldn't forgive himself for this. But the damage was already done to the opposing team with the Umpire giving England six runs.

But after England’s win, social media was flooding with critics coming up with justifications as to why the 6 runs given to England weren’t justified. Anyhow no comments were passed by the ICC officially so these were just public opinions.

What added weight to the judgments was the statement given by the World’s Once Best Umpire Simon Taufel. This statement obviously was concerned about the number of runs awarded to England which lead them towards the win.

The former number one Umpire called this judgment a “clear mistake”. He reinforced that the Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus made a mistake in judging the overthrow.

Stokes and Rashid had not crossed each other when the fielder released the ball. According to the rule when the action takes place only all the completed runs would be counted. Which in this case was only one and not two? But the Umpires misjudged it and gave the team a 6.

This was based on the assumption that the batsmen might have crossed each other before the throw and eventually deserve the run to be awarded to them. However, in the later findings, it was found that Stokes and Rashid did not cross each other.

The criticism was not being taken seriously or being called legit until Simon Taufel shared his view. The weight that has been added to the apprehension of the overthrow has put ICC in a bad light. Since it wasn’t a small error, it cost the World Cup to New Zealand. Click here for more latest updates on cricket

ICC needs to take measures to correct the mistakes that were done in this tournament to compensate for the ones done this year. Otherwise, people would demand the reformation of ICC because this is just one of many mistakes ICC did this season.

What do you think about the World Cup 2019? Share your views in the comments.

SC Abolished Services Tax On Prepaid Mobile Cards And Finally People Can Take Sukh Ka Sans

Mobile service providers in Pakistan have begun the execution of an order of the Supreme Court to expel service or subsistence charges on prepaid mobile scratch cards or load, according to Khurram Mehran, spokesperson of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Currently, Pakistan is going through the tough phase and the bourgeoisie class is struggling due to hefty amounts of taxes. Prime Minister, Imran Khan has vowed to take taxes from the people.

However, at this juncture of adversity, the relief in service charges of mobile service providers in Pakistan is a blessing.

Forthwith, the cell phone users in Pakistan will get about Rs. Rs88.9 balance in their cellphone account after adding Rs. 100. Earlier, a user used to get about Rs. 72 to Rs. 77 after a recharge of Rs. 100 PKR.

Khurram Mehran told that in an earlier recording this year, the supreme court had ordered mobile phone service providers in Pakistan that they could charge 12.5 percent withholding tax. Nevertheless, the court had directed them to remove the 10percent service charges.

Former CJP Saqib Nisar

In 2018, the former chief justice Saqib Nisar had taken a Suo Motu notice against the Mobile service providers in Pakistan. The public complaints inspired Chief justice to take notice of the high amount of tax or other charges. Click here for more viral news from Pakistan

Thereafter, Ex-chief justice, Saqib Nisar abolished the taxes. However, it was temporary. After the retirement of Chief justice Nisar, the apex court restored taxes owing massive loss to the exchequer.

Justice Nisar had questioned whether the reduction of Rs40 on a load of Rs100 was not taking advantage and noted that the matter is associated with the public interest.

In one of the hearings, the apex the court was informed that the country had undergone a loss of about Rs90 billion since the suspension of taxes.

In the month of April 2019, the Supreme court reinstated reduction of withholding tax and sales tax on pre-paid load by renouncing the earlier order.

The Supreme Court, yet, stated that the mobile service providers in Pakistan were not permitted to levy any service charges.

The order stated: "The order dated 11th June 2018 did not record reasons nor did it determine that the imposition of the taxes was without jurisdiction. We are also not persuaded to hold that the taxes were imposed without requisite legislation or that the six statutes contravened the Constitution."

The order declared the restoration of the taxes may, hence, be continued."However, the cellular telecom companies are not allowed to impose any service/maintenance charge; thereon as they have elected not to impose these charges," said the order.

Before the adjournment, withholding tax was 12.5% on a load of Rs100; following Section 236 of the Income Tax Ordinance of 2001. In comparison, Islamabad imposed a 17percent excise tax on the users in Islamabad.

The provinces were getting the 19.5pc sales tax on services from cell phone users. Moreover, Mobile service providers in Pakistan were charging 10 percent for their services.