Here’s what is happening across the border: World Bank to finance country’s tertiary education programmes and Bilawal calls for action plan to protect politicians.
Sharif family appeals Avenfield verdict in Islamabad High Court
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and son-in-law, Captain Safdar (retd), Monday appealed against the verdict in the Avenfield property case, in the Islamabad High court, reported Geo TV.
On 6 July, the National Accountability Bureau, an autonomous federal institution, sentenced Sharif to 10 years in jail and Maryam to seven in the Avenfield luxury apartment case, while Safdar received a one-year sentence. All three are currently lodged at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
On Saturday, Maryam’s appeal was drafted; however, her lawyers could not file the petition as summer court hours reportedly last only till 1 pm.
Meanwhile, Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML – N) founder, said in an audio message from the jail that the whole country has been turned into a “prison” and the time has come for the people to “break all shackles”.
“Spread my message across houses, streets, villages (of the country). Come out and defeat those, who insult your votes in a way that they will never raise their heads again”, he added.
Caretaker PM calls for tighter security of candidates, political rallies
With the recent terror attacks in Mastung and Bannu, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk Sunday chaired a meeting on law and order in Quetta and ordered tighter security for candidates, public rallies and corner gatherings, reported ARY News.
The Prime Minister reviewed security measures at Balochistan and urged all the stakeholders concerned to launch a public awareness campaign regarding the need to strictly adhere to security procedures.
Meanwhile, four unknown men attacked former senator Daud Khan Achakzai at his residence in Chaman Monday, reported SAMAA TV.
The Awami National Party (ANP) leader, who served as a senator of Balochistan between 2012 and 2018, was shot in the right arm and subsequently taken to hospital in Quetta.
This was the fourth attack on a politician ahead of the 25 July general election.
Media portraying Sharif as being innocent: Imran Khan
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief, Imran Khan, accused media of portraying arrested former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as being innocent. He was addressing a rally at Faisalabad Sunday, reported Dawn.
The former cricketer wondered why the media was being sympathetic towards Sharif, whom he accused of having plundered billions of government resources leading to price hikes and increased foreign debt.
“Foreign debt of the country was Rs 6,000bn a decade ago, which is now Rs 27,000bn and the masses have to pay the price for the debt as the PML-N government had imposed taxes to pay the instalments of the debt,” he said. He even questioned the utilisation of the debt since few proposed projects manifested during Sharif’s rule.
World Bank to finance $200 million to Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission
World Bank is expected to approve a plan of $200 million to assist Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) develop the country’s tertiary education sector, reported Dawn.
A World Bank mission will appraise the ‘HEC Vision 2025’ early next year to develop the country’s tertiary education sector by increasing the number of highly-qualified faculty in higher education institutions. This will help achieve a 10,000 PhD faculty for higher education institutions in the next 10 years through the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor Programme and establish PhD programmes in Pakistan.
HEC has introduced initiatives to improve quality and instil a culture of research since 2002. Despite this, much remains to be accomplished, according to a World Bank report.
The World Bank will provide technical assistance to HEC for services to universities and colleges.
Bilawal Bhutto calls for national unity to counter terrorism
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Sunday appealed for national unity in the face of the recent terror attacks in the country, reported The Express Tribune. He was addressing a rally at Malakand in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Bilawal also called on authorities to have a National Action Plan in place, as, he added, terrorists are targeting democracy and peace. He added that when Iran and Iraq can conduct elections on time amid tensions then Pakistan can also do the same. He even spoke of receiving threats himself.
LIVE: #PPP Chairman @BBhuttoZardari visits his constituency #NA8 in #Malakand https://t.co/DYgNxQi8qs
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) July 14, 2018
Commenting on Pakistan Terek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan’s “derogatory remarks”, he said that his party will not resort to such language to aid its campaign and politics.
Contributors: Alind Chauhan, Anagha Deshpande, Manisha Mondal, Sharanya Munsi and Soniya Agrawal