Airblue Limited, the private Islamabad-based airline, has taken delivery of its first A321neo aircraft…reports Asian Lite News
Airblue Limited, the private Islamabad-based airline, has taken delivery of its first A321neo aircraft. It marks an important step in Pakistan’s aviation journey, making Airblue the first operator of an Airbus neo aircraft in the country. The airline currently operates an all Airbus fleet of nine A320 Family aircraft.
Airblue receives its firstA321neo aircraft
Airblue’s A321neo, on lease from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) is equipped with CFM International’s LEAP-1A engines. Currently Airblue operates domestic flights to Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Multan and to international destinations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The A321neo will enable the airline to further expand its network.
The highly-fuel-efficient A321neo will help reduce Airblue’s operating costs and will offer exceptional technical, economic and environmental performance by incorporating the latest engines, aerodynamic advances and cabin innovations.
Airblue’s A321neo is configured with 235 seats in an all economy class cabin. Passengers on-board the aircraft will benefit from the widest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft, stand-alone Off Seat Power Supply system and Wireless Content Distribution (WCD).
The A320neo Family offers airlines more options for configuring the generous floor space offered by its A321neo, allowing more flexibility and thus increasing the total number of available seats. These new cabin options, along with the A320 Family commonality and its new engine options, will allow Airblue to further enhance its operations, routes, and market share.
The Administration said that the two airlines will be fined and punished if they violate the rules…reports Asian Lite News
Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Administration said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Kam Air, a private Afghan airline, will be banned from operating flights from Kabul to Islamabad if they do not charge the same price as they did prior to the Taliban takeover.
In a statement, the Administration said that the two airlines will be fined and punished if they violate the rules, Khaama Press reported.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan warned the airlines after PIA, the Pakistani flag carrier, started charging up to $2,500 for each ticket from Kabul to Islamabad.
The statement has also asked people to cooperate the administration in reporting violation of the new rules.
They have asked people to report documented violation to them.
Khan has refused to accept the appointment of the new DG ISI and is not going to back down. Bajwa in turn has stuck to his guns that Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed cannot continue as the Director General of ISI….reports Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha
How long will the Imran Khan government last? This is the big question being asked in Pakistan after the headline grabbing standoff between the Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa became open.
Though Khan’s cabinet colleagues insist that the differences between the PM and army chief have been sorted out amicably after both had a 3-hour marathon one-on-one meeting on Monday night, Pakistani sources think otherwise.
Khan has refused to accept the appointment of the new DG ISI and is not going to back down. Bajwa in turn has stuck to his guns that Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed cannot continue as the Director General of ISI.
Sources claim that work on a plan-b is also in the works. A fresh summary pertaining to the appointment of the new DG ISI will be jointly prepared by the defence ministry and the military, in which three new names for DG ISI would be presented to Khan and Bajwa, but neither Lt Gen Faiz Hameed nor Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum’s name will not be in the list.
Earlier Bajwa had appointed Nadeem as the chief of the ISI replacing Hameed who was sent to Peshawar as a corps commander.
While Hameed’s transfer was the prerogative of the army chief, on paper the appointment of the chief of ISI is done by the PM in consultation with the army chief. Khan told Bajwa that he was not consulted for the appointment of Nadeem as the ISI chief. Sources claim that Bajwa told Khan that it was a strategic military decision and the civilian government should not get involved. But Khat insisted that Hameed should continue as the ISI chief. On that, Khan was told bluntly that someone whom he likes can’t continue on his post “forever”.
“The new DG would be appointed and neither General Faiz nor General Nadeem Anjum would be considered for the post anymore. But the relation between the civilian head and military head.fault lines are hard to fix,” said Pakistani journalist Rauf Klasra.
Pakistani analysts say that PM khan, by interfering in the “internal” matter of the army, may have crossed the red line. They are also wondering why Khan is insisting to keep Faiz Hameed as the ISI chief ?
There is a perception in Pakistan that Imran Khan asked Bajwa to let Hameed continue till December but Bajwa refused. Earlier, he first proposed making the ISI chief’s rank equivalent to that of corps commander ,and then proposed Hameed take on the role of Corps Commander Peshawar as an additional charge. However, Bajwa did not agree to the proposal because this would have led to resentment among his top military leadership.
Pakistani observers say Khan and Bajwa have not been on the same page in the handling of critical foreign and security matters. How to deal with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has become a major friction point, with PM Khan seen as too eager to reconcile with the militant outfit which is responsible for killings of thousands of Pakistani soldiers and civilians.
But in the present geopolitical situation, neither the army chief Bajwa nor Imran Khan are in a position to go for a full showdown and both understand this .So shadow boxing is the only available option.
Yet, Khan himself is well aware that he was “selected” or made “puppet” prime minister because it was the army who rigged the elections to make him a winner. In Pakistan, it is clear as daylight that when push comes to shove, it is the iron-hand of the military, which finally prevails.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
This follows a reported impasse between the civil and military leadership over the appointment of DG of the ISI…reports Asian Lite News
Amid “differences” with his Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Bajwa on the issue of appointment of new Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan received a summary carrying names of candidates for one of the most powerful positions in the country.
This follows a reported impasse between the civil and military leadership over the appointment of DG of the ISI, Dawn reported.
On Monday, the Pakistan military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations issued a notification regarding the appointment of Lt General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as DG ISI despite the fact that his appointment was not issued by PM Khan’s office.
The law in Pakistan states that the appointment of the ISI Chief falls under the Prime Minister’s decision in consultation with the COAS.
At the moment, no notification has been issued by the Prime Minister’s Office for the appointment of the incoming ISI chief, Dawn reported. (ANI)
Sindhi Congress discusses enforced disappearances with UN Pakistan
World Sindhi Congress USA-Director Dr Saghir Shaikh presented the current status of enforced disappearances in Sindh and informed that disappearances persist in the region….reports Asian Lite News
The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) held a meeting with the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) during which they highlighted the current status of enforced disappearances in Sindh province of Pakistan.
“Young people are abducted from their homes and produced by the state months later with false charges to keep them in prison,” the WSC said in a statement.
The meeting took place on September 29. The WSC raised the case of Syed Zain Shah, against whom a terrorism case has been registered for democratically organising demonstrations in Bahria Town.
The WGEID Chairman pledged to continue following up on the cases of missing Sindhi persons. The WSC thanked the WGEID and said it will continue advocating and working with the UN for the victims’ release.
World Sindhi Congress USA-Director Dr Saghir Shaikh presented the current status of enforced disappearances in Sindh and informed that disappearances persist in the region.
Enforced disappearance has been used as a tool by the Pakistani state to silence the minority communities. While countless abductees have been killed, many of them are still facing inhuman torture in army secrets cells, Dawn reported.
Islamabad has been discriminating against its religious minorities, which is manifested in various forms of targeted violence, mass murders, extrajudicial killings, abduction, rapes, forced conversion to Islam, among other things making the Pakistani Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyyas, and Shias one of the most persecuted minorities in the region.
The 2020 report International Religious Freedom released by the United States earlier this year highlighted a downward spiral of religious expression in Pakistan, most notably in the form of blasphemy laws, punishment for which ranges up to the death penalty.
Citing civil society reports, the IRF report mentioned that there were many individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges, at least 35 of whom had received death sentences, as compared with 82 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and 29 who received death sentences in 2019. (ANI)
The benchmark KSE-100 index shed 661.3 points, or 1.51 per cent, to close at 43,221.78 points….reports Asian Lite News
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange ended the day in the red on Wednesday as investors were worried over the controversy surrounding the appointment of the Inter-Services Intelligence chief.
The benchmark KSE-100 index shed 661.3 points, or 1.51 per cent, to close at 43,221.78 points.
Topline Securities CEO Mohammad Sohail said investors were worried over the controversy surrounding the appointment of the Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Dawn reported.
Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation said stocks fell across the board on investor concerns for global equity sell off and rising inflation amid slump in rupee.
“Uncertainty over outcome of ongoing Pak-IMF talks under EFF (Extended Fund Facility) and economic uncertainty amid surging trade deficit, bond yields played a catalyst role in the bearish close,” he said.
Last week, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had announced that Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum had been appointed the new ISI chief. Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, formerly the ISI Director General, was posted as the Peshawar Corps Commander.
However, despite the passage of days following the ISPR announcements, a notification confirming Lt Gen Anjum’s appointment as the new DG ISI has not been issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the report said.
The name of the new Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) will likely be announced tomorrow (Thursday) as Pakistan Prime Minister House has received a summary in this regard, ARY News reported.
According to sources privy to the development, the Prime Minister’s House has received a summary from the Defence Ministry carrying recommendation of three names for the DG ISI.
“Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, Lieutenant General Sarfaraz and Lieutenant General Saqib Malik are recommended for the slot in the summary,” they said adding that an announcement in this regard is expected after formal approval from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the report said.
Pakistan Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry earlier in the day has said that the process of appointing new ISI chief has begun.
“Consultation between PM and COAS over appointment of new ISI DG has been completed and the process has begun,” he said in his tweet.
During the operation, weapons and ammunition were reportedly recovered….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistani forces on Monday killed one terrorist in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district during an intelligence-based operation (IBO), local media reported.
The IBO was conducted in a hideout on confirmed intelligence of terrorists being present in Mirani, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, The Express Tribune reported.
During the operation, weapons and ammunition were reportedly recovered.
Earlier on Saturday, Frontier Corps (FC) killed four terrorists near Balochistan’s Awaran district. Weapons and ammunition were recovered after the operation, The Express Tribune reported.
There has been an uptick in attacks on Pakistani forces in recent months. Attacks on security forces have increased in North Waziristan and adjacent South Waziristan tribal districts since the Taliban intensified offensive against the government forces across the border in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has been blamed for its proxy war in Afghanistan. Earlier in August, Afghans launched campaigns on social media and staged protests all across the world, calling for an international ban on Pakistan. They blamed Islamabad for the raging war in Afghanistan. (ANI)
Former Pakistan Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik said it was the country’s partisan role in favour of former US President Donald Trump, during the 2020 US election campaign, that annoyed the Biden….reports Asian Lite News
Amid the frayed ties between the United States and Pakistan, a new report has revealed the issue of Afghanistan was not the cause of cold shoulder on the part of US President Joe Biden towards Pakistan.
Former Pakistan Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik said it was the country’s partisan role in favour of former US President Donald Trump, during the 2020 US election campaign, that annoyed the Biden.
“During the US presidential election, a Pakistani businessman used the Pakistani Embassy in Washington as Trump’s election office and when President Joe Biden found out about it, he got annoyed,” Malik told The News International.
Malik advised Imran Khan to write a letter to the US president and clarify Pakistan’s position. Former Pakistan Minister stated that “the ice had not melted yet” between the two countries, otherwise Biden would have talked to Khan, the News International reported.
Interestingly, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s recent visit to Pakistan overshadowed the desire for broad-based ties with Islamabad as it was focused on Afghanistan’s current situation.
US State Department’s statement on Shermans’s engagements indicated the centrality of the Afghan issue in US-Pakistan talks.
These developments confirm what Sherman said at an event in Mumbai last Thursday, where she declared that Washington no longer sees itself building a “broad-based relationship” with Pakistan and that she was going to Islamabad with a “specific and narrow purpose” of talks on Afghanistan.
Despite differences on Afghanistan and other issues, the Biden administration will continue its engagement with Pakistan, according to media reports.
The United States will focus on four major points: Recognition of the Taliban government in Kabul, international sanctions on Afghanistan, access to the land-locked country and counter-terrorism cooperation, Dawn newspaper reported. (ANI)
Reports about lack of consensus between the civil and military leadership over the matter had been making rounds on social media for the last few days…reports Sanjeev Sharma
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan informed the federal cabinet that he had told Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa that he wanted Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed to continue as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general for some time due to the critical situation in neighbouring Afghanistan, Dawn reported.
Reports about lack of consensus between the civil and military leadership over the matter had been making rounds on social media for the last few days, but after it appeared on regular media on Tuesday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry was compelled to clarify the government’s point of view.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief whip in the National Assembly Amir Dogar said Prime Minister Khan and Gen Bajwa held a detailed meeting late Monday night on the matter.
Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed
The meeting was also confirmed by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry during his presser after the cabinet meeting, stating that the issue of appointment of new ISI DG Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed Anjum had been resolved and that the PM enjoyed the authority to appoint the chief of the country’s premier spy agency in accordance with law and Constitution.
Also sharing details of the meeting, Pak PM’s aide on political affairs Amir Dogar said the premier wanted Lt. Gen. Hameed to stay as DG ISI in view of the situation in Afghanistan, adding that Prime Minister Khan and Gen. Bajwa enjoyed relation of respect and dignity, the report said.
Khan was of the opinion that the government wanted to take all institutions on board, Dogar said. “The body language of the prime minister was quite positive and he seemed confident,” he added.
The PTI’s chief whip said the prime minister had told the cabinet that he was an elected prime minister and chief executive of the country.
“The prime minister has the authority to appoint the DG ISI and he held a detailed meeting with Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa in this regard,” Chaudhry told the press conference.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (Source: ANI)
“The federal government will follow a legal and constitutional procedure on the appointment of the Inter-Services Intelligence director general,” he said.
The minister categorically stated there would be no step taken from the PM Office or the military setup that damaged the repute of one another, the report said.
Referring to rumours circulating about the matter, the minister said: “I see on social media, there are many who have wishes; I want to tell them that the Prime Minister’s Office will never undermine the respect of the Pakistan Army and army chief. And the COAS and the army will never take any step that will undermine the respect of Pakistan’s prime minister or civil setup.”
He stressed that both the prime minister and the military leadership were in close coordination, and the DG ISI would be appointed after fulfilling all legal requirements. “Both (PM Khan and Gen Bajwa) are in agreement over this and the prime minister has the authority over it,” he added
The study shows that Pakistan is lagging behind India and Iran in DQL but performing better than Bangladesh…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan was ranked among the worst countries in Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2021, slipping 14 places since last year and standing at the 97th spot among 110 countries, The Express Tribune reported.
The DQL survey was conducted by cyber security company Surfshark which evaluates countries based on a set of five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars — internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security and electronic government.
The study shows that Pakistan is lagging behind India and Iran in DQL but performing better than Bangladesh.
📚DQL results – Which country has the slowest broadband internet speed in the world? Algeria. With just 4.89 Mbps, there’s still loads for improvement regarding internet speeds in Algeria.
The third annual edition of the DQL ranks Pakistan 97th among 110 countries and covering 90 per cent of the global population, according to an official statement.
Internet affordability and internet quality in Pakistan have been ranked at 66th and 74th on DQL Index, respectively, the report said.
However, out of 110 countries Pakistan stood at 106th spot in e-infrastructure, 98th in e-security and 85th in e-government.
Overall, Pakistan has demonstrated one of the most significant downfalls compared to DQL 2020, dropping from 83rd to 97th.
The study found that the country’s internet affordability has decreased by 14 per cent and is now around 50 per cent worse than the global average.
The country ranks 66th for internet affordability and is surpassed by India and Iran.
At the moment, people in Pakistan have to work more than four hours to afford the cheapest broadband package.
