1- Conspiracy revealed: Plan to attack PM uncoveredJoint Investigation Team (JIT) probing into the abduction of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son has foiled a plot of suicide attack on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Some officials privy to the development told The Express Tribune that during an investigation to find out Ali Haider Gilani, the team not only traced a North Waziristan-based militant group operating in Lahore, but also discovered a plot to target Nawaz Sharif at his residence in Raiwind. The report issued by the office of Punjab Inspector General of Police revealed that during investigations a lead surfaced through technical monitoring about a plan to carry out terrorism somewhere in Lahore.
2- Council of Common Interests: PM to chair first CCI meeting today
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will chair the first Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting to be held in Islamabad today (Tuesday) and take all stakeholders into confidence on a new energy policy.
According to sources, the energy policy and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loan package are expected to dominate the proceedings.
Earlier, the CCI meeting was scheduled with the federal cabinet meeting on July 25. But the meeting was rescheduled since the Balochistan chief minister was unavailable on that date. Today’s meeting is designed to have a detailed input of the provinces on the National Energy Policy, as well as other important issues related to the provinces.
3- Joint presidential candidature: Khursheed Shah calls confab of opposition groupings
The head of the opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah has called a meeting of the opposition groups on Tuesday [today] in Islamabad to seek support for the PPP Senator Raza Rabbani in the upcoming presidential elections, according to an official in the chamber of the opposition leader.
The official told The Express Tribune that Shah has invited all the opposition parties to discuss the presidential election and seek broad support for Rabbani, adding that Shah is presently in Karachi after a minor surgery and would come to Islamabad by Monday evening or Tuesday morning to attend the meeting.
4- Malala scheme: 70% of education fund earmarked for Pakistan
Up to 70 per cent of the $10 million ‘Malala Fund for Girl’s Right to Education’ throughout the world and Pakistan, announced by President Asif Ali Zardari in December 2012, will be used in Pakistan, whereas the remainder is earmarked for Afghanistan. With the support of the international community, Pakistan and Unesco signed the historic memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish this fund with $10 million as seed money.
Qian Tang, assistant secretary general (education) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) met Minister of State for Education, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education Balighur Rehman on Monday and discussed the modalities for the operationalisation of the fund.
5- Non-customs paid vehicles: Confiscation of amnesty scheme cars ordered
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday declared the amnesty scheme on non-customs paid (NCP) vehicles by the previous government as illegal and banned the import of luxury vehicles by government and semi-government departments.
However, vehicles like jeeps that are being used for defence purposes by law enforcement agencies are exempt from the ban.
The former PPP government had approved the amnesty on NCP vehicles on March 3, 2013 allowing owners of smuggled vehicles to legalise the purchase after payment of concessional duty and taxes. President Defence of Human Rights of Public Trust, Khawaja Saad Saleem had challenged the amnesty scheme, citing it as illegal and discriminatory.
6- Poor law, order in Karachi intolerable: Nisar
Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan said on Monday that maintaining law and order was the responsibility of the province but the central government of the PML-N would not tolerate the poor security situation in the port city.
Nisar was talking to journalists at the Raja House of Pir Pagara Sibgatullah Shah Rashdi on Monday after attending a meeting with senior officials, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad.
7- Electricity worth Rs220 bn lost, Rs90 bn stolen in just one year
In an alarming disclosure in an official document, it has been stated that 15 billion units of electricity costing over Rs220 billion were lost in the last financial year out of which at least 25-40 percent is considered to be outright theft causing a colossal loss of Rs90 billion.
This has been mentioned in the official document about the ordinance on enactment of theft control of gas and electricity with huge increase in penalties. A copy of the draft ordinance is available with ‘The News’.
8- Presidential poll to be held as per schedule: ECP
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) here on Monday regretted the government’s request to hold the presidential election earlier than the schedule it had announced a few days back.
An ECP source told The News that Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim and the four Election Commission members had an exchange of notes on the matter, and it was decided that there would be no change in the holding of polls, slated for August 06.
9- Loadshedding issue can’t be solved unless provinces stop theft: CJ
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday observed that the loadshedding issue in the country could not be grappled with unless the provinces were able to stop the power theft.
The chief justice took notice of the unprecedented loadshedding in Fata and directed the NTDC managing director to submit a detailed report in the apex court.The chief justice took notice on an application of Senator Hilal-ur-Rehman, registered through the Human Rights Cell of the Supreme Court.
10- SC directs provinces, ICT to ensure LB polls by Sept 15
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that all the provincial governments as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) should make efforts to hold the local bodies elections across the country close to September 15, 2013 after promulgating the relevant laws.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, heard the case pertaining to the law and order situation in Balochistan.
