FEATURED – Page 16 – OVERSEAS TRIBUNE

Turkey’s Erdogan declares early elections on June 24

April 18, 2018April 18, 2018 News Desk

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called snap elections in the country for June 24, bringing the polls forward by over a year-and-a-half to sharply accelerate the transition to a new presidential system. Erdogan’s announcement upended the political timetable in Turkey, which had been set to vote in simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections on November 3, 2019. The elections are especially significant as afterwards a new executive presidency — agreed in a 2017 referendum and denounced by critics as giving the president authoritarian powers — will come into force.…

PTI chairman names and shames party members who ‘sold votes’ in Senate polls

April 18, 2018 News Desk

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan announced on Wednesday that the party was taking action against 20 lawmakers for “participating in horse trading” during the Senate elections last month. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the PTI chief said that the party will give the accused a chance to explain before their names are forwarded to the National Accountability Bureau. Khan claimed that PTI, by expelling nearly “30 per cent of its leaders”, was “truly protecting the sanctity of the vote” and wondered if other political parties will follow suit.…

SC summons Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman to explain non-payment of salaries to Geo employees

April 16, 2018 News Desk

The Supreme Court on Monday summoned the editor-in-chief of Geo/Jang Group, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, to appear in court on Tuesday and explain why employees of his media group have not been paid for the past three months. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar issued the directions while hearing a case about the media commission, which was formed by the SC in 2013 to review major points of concern in mass media against the terms of references (ToRs) formulated by the court. While addressing Geo TV’s anchorperson Hamid Mir, who…

Gunmen open fire at Justice Ijazul Ahsan’s Lahore residence in two separate incidents

April 16, 2018April 16, 2018 News Desk

Unknown gunmen opened fire at the residence of Justice Ijazul Ahsan in Lahore’s Model Town in two separate incidents only hours apart, DawnNewsTV reported on Sunday. No casualties were reported in the attacks, one of which took place around 10:45pm on Saturday and the other at 9:10am on Sunday. Justice Ijazul Ahsan Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar visited the residence of Justice Ahsan and called the Punjab inspector general to probe the incidents. The chief justice is said to be overseeing the situation himself. Justice Ahsan was part of the…

London should raise issue of human rights during Modi’s visit to UK, Says Ali Raza Syed

April 15, 2018 News Desk

Chairman Kashmir Council EU Mr Ali Raza Syed called upon British Government to raise issue of human rights of oppressed people of Jammu and Kashmir during upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to UK. According to the reports, Narendra Modi will pay a two-day visit to the United Kingdom on 18-19 April. Beside participation in Common Wealth’s meetings, Modi will take part in bilateral talks in order to sign a dozen agreements to boost Delhi-London ties. In a statement from Brussels Chairman Kashmir Council EU expressed hope the…

Trump says ‘Mission Accomplished!’ after Syria strikes

April 15, 2018 News Desk

President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed a US-led missile assaulton Syria’s regime as “perfectly executed,” despite the limited nature of the strikes and Russia’s condemnation, which further heightened tensions between the Cold War foes. The UN Security Council was set to meet at Moscow’s request at 1500 GMT over the operation, which was unleashed by the US, Britain and France in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack on the rebel-held town of Douma. The strikes were targeted to inflict maximum damage on sites linked to chemical weapons development. A top Pentagon official,…

Military strikes on Syria are meant to deter Assad from chemical attacks, claims Trump

April 14, 2018 News Desk

The United States (US), France and Britain launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again, President Donald Trump announced on Friday. Explosions lit up the skies over Damascus, the Syrian capital, as Trump spoke from the White House. Syrian television reported that Syria’s air defenses, which are substantial, responded to the attack. After the attack ceased and the early morning skies went dark once more, vehicles with loudspeakers roamed the streets of Damascus blaring nationalist…

Modi says India shamed by rape and murder of Kashmiri girl

April 14, 2018 News Desk

NEW DELHI: Eight men accused in the gang-rape and murder case of an eight-year-old Kashmiri girl who were protected by ministers and lawyers loyal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have seized the attention of millions as rage continued to course across India on Friday at the horror of what the little girl suffered. Mr Modi, in a message, called it a shame for any civilised society after opposition groups, including a large candlelight vigil by Congress President Rahul, demanded a statement from him. They asked Mr…

TLP calls off protest in Lahore, other cities after govt’s ‘assurance’ to drop cases

April 13, 2018 News Desk

13 After a long round of negotiations with the Punjab government, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Friday early morning called off its protest in Lahore and other cities. Life in Lahore was disrupted on Thursday when TLP leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi ordered his workers to “come out on streets” until the party’s demands were met. The workers had choked the provincial capital’s major roads while smaller protests were also held in other cities of Punjab, including Sialkot, Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin, Chunia, Multan, Faisalabad and Muzaffargarh. The announcement to end…

Islamabad braces as TLP workers disrupt life in Lahore

April 12, 2018April 12, 2018 News Desk

16 Security has been beefed up in the capital and adjoining areas after the latest deadline given by Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to the government for the implementation of its demands lapsed on Thursday. A heavy contingent of law enforcement agencies has been deployed at the entry and exit points of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A joint flag-march of the army and LEAs was also held in the capital, according to a security official. Meanwhile, TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi has escalated a protest he has been leading at Lahore’s Data Darbar…

SC bars govt from privatising PIA without its permission

April 12, 2018 News Desk

The Supreme Court on Thursday barred the government from proceeding with privatisation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) without its permission. Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar passed the order while hearing a case pertaining to a suo motu notice against sales of national assets on lower prices. Irked by the heavy losses of the national flag-carrier and its proposed privatisation, the chief justice said that he may constitute a judicial commission to calculate and redress the losses incurred upon the airline. “Who is responsible for the loss of Rs360 billion?…

Trump tells Russia to ‘get ready’ for missile attack in Syria

April 11, 2018 News Desk

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “missiles will be coming” in response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria, defying Russian warnings against a strike. Upping the stakes in an escalating confrontation with Moscow, Trump took to Twitter in the strongest assertion yet that he plans to take military action in Syria. “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’ You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills…

Nawaz fears Adiala Jail already being readied for him

April 11, 2018 News Desk

Nawaz Sharif at Anti Corruption Court Islamabad

Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday alleged once again that three members of the joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe his family’s business dealings abroad were “are our worst political opponents”, and expressed fears that Adiala Jail was already being prepared for him. Sharif, along with his daughter Maryam, made the remarks after appearing before an accountability court in Islamabad in a reference concerning his family’s Avenfield properties. “Bit by bit, the reality of the JIT’s investigative report is being revealed,” he said in his customary talk with the media…

Encounters In Kashmir

April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 News Desk

Three parallel encounters in South Kashmir on Sunday have abandoned a trail of blood 13 local rebels, four civilians people and three Indian security forces were slaughtered in the traverse of a couple of hours But first the term “encounter” should be grilled. Online word references have begun posting a different importance for the word in the South Asian context, “A vicious episode in which a speculated criminal is executed by an individual from the police, particularly under questionable conditions.” In Kashmir the word has come to imply as a…

Protracted sanctions on Russia can resolve tensions in Ukraine, Says Ambassador Deshchytsia

April 10, 2018 News Desk

Andrii Deshchytsia Interview by Yasir Aziz

Warsaw- Poland (08 April 2018) Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland has said that solidarity, political support and continuation of sanctions on Russia can be used as a tool to resolve ongoing tensions in Ukraine. He was talking to Overseas Tribune at Ukraine’s Embassy in Warsaw. The exclusive interview covered various topics of current geo-political and geo-strategic dynamics. He particularly spoke on Ukraine’s situation and its current stages of normalization of Peace Process under Minsk agreement, conflicting relationships between Russian Federation and the West, post Skripal poisoning case, future of Euro…