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Early elections will push country into default: Shahid Khaqan

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  • Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says everybody needs to give priority to the national interest.
  • Says past four years of the country were wasted due to poor governance.
  • Says government will be producing up to 29,000 MW till June 29. 

PML-N senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi ruled out the possibility of early elections in the country, saying due to the current economic turmoil, the country will move towards default, Geo News reported.

Speaking on Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “Early elections are not the solution to the country’s problems. It will default if handed over to the interim government for three months.”

The former premier said that the government knew the political cost of its decisions, but as he had mentioned earlier, “everybody would have to give priority to the national interest.”

“We will gain nothing by playing politics. If the country moves towards default, which government will steer the country out of this crisis?” he asked, “At least there is a government who is dealing with the situation, and we will go to the masses before elections after solving issues,” he added.

The former PM, shedding light on the current economic state of the country, went on to remark that when we came to office, the country’s economic condition was worse than we had anticipated because the past four years of the country were wasted due to poor governance.

Regarding the situation of load shedding in the country, he stated, “Plans are now being made to procure coal, LNG, and oil, while the former government made no such arrangements.”

“As of today, we produce 21,000 megawatts (MW) of power; by June 29, this will increase to 29,000 MW, and load shedding will be reduced to less than two hours,” he continued.

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“Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card” for farmers gets approved by CM Punjab

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At a meeting on agricultural reforms, Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz presided over the approval of the “Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card” for farmers.

Farmers would receive a variety of subsidies through the Kisan Card scheme, and 500,000 small farmers in Punjab will be eligible for loans totaling Rs 150 billion over the course of a year. Each farmer will receive Rs 30,000 for every acre of land used for agriculture.

CM Maryam Nawaz announced during the meeting that a model agriculture center will be constructed in each district of the province with the assistance of the commercial sector, enabling farmers to discard phony fertilizers and medications.

The establishment of a cutting-edge center of excellence for research development on cotton, wheat, and rice crops was approved during the conference, and the Agriculture Department was instructed to gather comprehensive data on the production and demand of each crop.

Participants in the conference decided to link the research center with local universities and to give the board authority over administrative matters.

It was also decided to construct a research and development center at Agricultural University Faisalabad with Chinese participation, at a cost of Rs 2 billion.

In addition, it was decided to hire 500 agricultural graduates, update the Punjab Seed Corporation and Punjab Agricultural Research Board’s organizational structures, provide a bill that forbids the use of agricultural land for residential purposes, and outfit the Agricultural Extension Wing with cutting-edge machinery.

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Khalid Maqbool calls the ‘non-local’ police that were placed in Karachi ‘injustice’.

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Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the convener of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), described the imposition of “non-local” police and administration on the port city as an injustice for the people, as reported by The News on Friday.

During a labor wing of the party-organized iftar dinner in North Nazimabad, the politician claimed that Karachi had non-local police, calling this an injustice to the city’s residents.

Siddiqui questioned why the province’s capital city had a non-local police force, pointing out that other major centers in Sindh had their own citizens working in state and federal organizations.

We are going through numerous political phases as a country, and we are forced to use non-local administration and law enforcement. However, the MQM-P has once again reclaimed from the non-locals the mandate of the province’s metropolitan districts,” Siddiqui stated.

Siddiqui claimed that “ghair maqami,” or non-local, bandits were killing young people in Karachi through street violence, citing the city’s growing number of youth fatalities from such incidents.

“Young people in the city are being brutally murdered by out-of-town bandits during Ramadan,” the MQM-P leader claimed.

He went on to say that Sindh’s “racist” administration had been given free rein and that although his party had been silent throughout Ramadan, it will now speak out about the deaths of young people in the city at the hands of outside bandits.

Siddiqui emphasized that if it took going to the streets to defend women’s honor, the MQM-P would not think twice about making any sacrifice. The ad hoc organizing committee of the party was also present at the occasion.

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Chinese firms have temporarily halted construction on the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha dams.

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A day after work at the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project was also put on hold, Chinese businesses in charge of operations at the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha Dams have temporarily paused civil work at the sites due to security concerns, The News reported on Friday.

This development follows earlier this week’s terror incident in Shangla, which resulted in the deaths of at least six individuals, including five Chinese engineers who were working on the Dasu Dam.

The passengers died on Tuesday when their bus was struck by an explosives-laden automobile on the Karakoram Highway in the Bisham region.

An official working on the project revealed to the publication that approximately 991 Chinese engineers were employed on both projects, with the local workers being instructed to remain at home until further orders are given.

At District Upper Kohistan, the 4,320 MW Dasu Dam is being constructed by over 6,000 locals and 741 Chinese laborers. Chinese engineers are still employed at the Mohmand Dam site in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nevertheless, where construction is still ongoing.

In a similar vein, Chinese company’s suspension of dam construction was verified by GM Diamer-Bhasha Dam (DBD) Nazakat Hussain. According to him, there were about 500 Chinese nationals working in DBD, but the FWO personnel is still employed. Approximately 6,000 residents are working on the dam project.

In a few days, he hoped, things would settle down and the Chinese workers would return. By using hydropower, the Diamer-Bhasha Dam would generate 4,800 MW of electricity.

Asim Rauf, the general manager of the Mohmand Dam, told The News that the 250 Chinese laborers are still working on the project and have not stopped.

“Chinese have shown satisfaction over the security situation in the project area and they are working on the site,” according to the official.

After it is finished, the Mohmand Dam will manage floods downstream, irrigate 15,100 acres of land, and provide 740 MW of hydroelectricity.

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