FEATURED – Page 29 – OVERSEAS TRIBUNE

Veteran Asghar Khan’s state funeral held in Rawalpindi

January 6, 2018 News Desk

Civil and military leaders attended the state funeral of Air Marshal retired Asghar Khan held at Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, and Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, as well as other serving and retired officials were among those in attendance. His body will be flown to Abbottabad where a second funeral will be offered for the former chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). He will be laid to rest in the…

Koreas agree to meet for talks next week

January 6, 2018 News Desk

SEOUL: The rival Koreas will sit down for their first formal talks in more than two years next week to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics in the South and to improve their abysmal ties, Seoul officials said on Friday. While a positive sign after last year’s threats of nuclear war, the Koreas have a long history of failing to move past their deep animosity. The announcement came hours after the United States said it will delay annual military exercises with South Korea until after the Winter Olympics…

‘Fire and Fury’ author claims everyone around Trump questions his fitness for office

January 6, 2018 News Desk

The release of a bombshell-filled book about Donald Trump’s first year in the White House on Friday sparked fresh debate about the president’s fitness for office, with the author claiming his closest aides “say he is like a child.” “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” was rushed into bookstores and onto e-book platforms four days ahead of schedule due to what its publisher called “unprecedented demand” — and after Trump’s bid to block it failed. The book — which has sent shockwaves across Washington — quickly sold out in…

Russia accuses US of ‘interfering’ in Iran

January 6, 2018 News Desk

MOSCOW: Russia accused the United States on Friday of interfering in Iranian affairs as the UN Security Council prepared to hold a meeting at Washington’s request on deadly protests in Iran. “The United States continues to interfere both openly and covertly in the internal affairs of other countries. They do so shamelessly,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. “This is how we view the American initiative to convene the UN Security Council over a situation that is of purely national concern in…

$2bn in military transfers on the line after US suspends aid

January 6, 2018 News Desk

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze aid to Pakistan could affect almost two billion dollars’ worth of assistance, a senior administration official said on Friday — substantially more than first thought. After an announcement designed to force Pakistan’s military and intelligence apparatus to cut support for the Taliban and other Islamist groups, the official said that both US military assistance and Afghanistan coalition funding to Islamabad could be suspended. It is “approximately two billion worth of equipment and coalition support funding that is in play,” the official said on condition…

Air Marshal Asghar Khan passes away in Islamabad

January 5, 2018 News Desk

Air Marshal retired Asghar Khan, the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), passed away at the age of 96 on Friday morning in Islamabad, a spokesperson of the PAF said in a statement. Khan, who became the youngest head of PAF at the age of 35, passed away after a long illness. His funeral prayers will be offered on Saturday in Abbottabad. “Air Marshal Asghar Khan headed the PAF diligently and with courage. With his leadership capabilities, he played a vital role in transforming the PAF into…

End of an era: Zubaida Apa passes away in Karachi after brief illness

January 5, 2018 News Desk

Renowned chef and media personality Zubaida Tariq passed away in Karachi late on Thursday after a brief illness, DawnNews reported quoting family sources. She is survived by a son and a daughter. Zubaida Tariq, fondly known as Zubaida Apa, was famous for her culinary skills and housekeeping advice (totkas). A household name, she hosted several widely viewed culinary shows and wrote cookbooks. On her official Twitter account TotkaAapaZubaida (@ZubaidaAapa), she wrote: “Ask me quick solutions to your domestic, social, political etc problems. Happy to help men and women alike.” According to Zubaida Apa’s…

Ex-PM awaits audience with king, crown prince in S. Arabia

January 2, 2018 News Desk

Former Prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif

LAHORE: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been in Saudi Arabia for the last two days, has been unable to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman due to ‘unknown’ reasons, though his younger brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif met Prince Mohammad on Monday and discussed the kingdom’s absence from the summit on Jerusalem held in Turkey last month. “Mian sahib had a scheduled meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Monday but for some unknown reasons, it was cancelled. It will be seen if…

Iran blocks Instagram and messaging app after third night of protests

December 31, 2017 News Desk

People protest in Tehran, Iran December 30, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media - Reuters

Iranian authorities, scrambling to contain the biggest nationwide protests since 2009, have blocked social media apps and said anyone who disrupts public order will pay the price, after a turbulent night of growing anti-establishment demonstrations left at least two dead. People took to the streets on Saturday night for a third evening of apparently spontaneous protests. The demonstrations began over economic grievances but have since taken on a political dimension, with unprecedented calls for the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to step down. More protests have been organised for Sunday evening,…

Indian superstar Rajinikanth joins politics in Tamil Nadu, to launch own party

December 31, 2017 News Desk

Movie superstar Rajinikanth is entering politics in his southern Indian state with a plan to launch his own party, calling it his duty. The 67-year-old said Sunday to his cheering supporters that his objective is to change the system and bring good governance to Tamil Nadu. He called for a political change and appealed to his fans to bring all sections of society into the fold. “I do not want cadres. I want watchdogs,” New Delhi Televisionchannel quoted Rajinikanth as saying. Rajinikanth is one of India’s most popular stars and many…

Palestine recalls envoy for sharing stage with Hafiz Saeed

December 31, 2017 News Desk

Palestinian AMBASSADOR Walid Abu Ali with Hafiz Saeed

Palestine has recalled its envoy to Pakistan after India objected to his appearance in a public meeting on Al Quds along with Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed. A statement by the Palestinian foreign ministry said: “The minister of foreign affairs and expatriates under the direct instructions of the president of the state of Palestine has decided to recall the Palestinian ambassador to Pakistan immediately.” It said that the envoy’s participation “in a mass rally in solidarity with Jerusalem… in the presence of individuals accused of supporting terrorism is an…

Ex-CJCSC Gen (retd) Khalid Shameem Wynne killed in road accident

December 30, 2017December 30, 2017 News Desk

Former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee Khalid Shameem Wynne died in a road accident near Chakri on Saturday afternoon, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed. “The accident occurred due to a tyre burst,” spokesperson Motorway Police confirmed. “Khalid Shamim passed away in the incident, the injured have been shifted to Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi.” He was born on August 28, 1953 in Abbotabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He received multiple accolades over the years, but the most outstanding ones are his recognition of Hilal-e-Imtiaz and Nishan-e-Imtiaz. Wynne retired on October 8, 2013 as…

IHC unseats Islamabad mayor as CDA chairman

December 29, 2017 News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) removed on Friday the capital’s mayor, Sheikh Ansar Aziz, as the head and executive member of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Justice Athar Minallah made the decision after concluding several petitions filed by citizens of the federal capital against the mayor’s appointment as the executive member and then chairman of the CDA. The IHC, in its judgment, suspended the notification of Aziz’s appointment as the executive member of the authority, following which he was given the ‘part-time’ charge of the CDA supremo. Justice Minallah directed…

Ayesha Gulalai reveals name of her new political party

December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 News Desk

LAHORE: Member of National Assembly (MNA) and former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Ayesha Gulalai has revealed the name of her new political party, which she announced to form earlier this month. Gulalai recently met PTI leader Seema Anwar in Lahore, a video of the occasion shows, in which she said her new political party will be called Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Gulalai or PTI-G. During the meeting, Gulalai asked for a list of angry PTI female members from Anwar and extended an offer to her to join her new party, which Seema turned…

Senator Siraj Ul Haq to address Pakistani Community in Oslo on Sunday

December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 News Desk

Report by Mohammad Tariq Chief of Jamaat e Islami, the well known religio-political party of Pakistan Mr Siraj ul Haq is on his way to Norway on weekend. He is invited by Islamic Culture Center Norway to address a public gathering on Sunday (Dec 31, 2017). The topic of lecture of the leading Pakistani conservative figure is “International Scenario and Pakistan”. Senator Siraj ul Haq is an elected chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, the social, religious and political party in Pakistan which aims are to establish Islamic laws in the country. He…