SOURCE: Ausaf, Ummat, Daily Pak, Nawa-i-Waqt, Urdu Point, Daily Jinnah, Awami Awaz, Daily Dharti, Jasarat, Kawish, Daily Intekhab, Daily Times, Jang, Ibrat, Khabrain, Roznama Dunya, Hizb Media, Al Qalam Weekly, Baad-e-Shimal, Bang-e-Sahar.
CHINA
1. Jang hails China reiterating full support to Pakistan during Pakistan Army Chief‘s visit to China. It notes that the Pakistan Army Chief has visited China at a significant time when the US is creating hurdles for Pakistan in procuring F-16s. The daily criticises the fact that the US calls Pakistan its strategic ally but supports India in all important matters. (Jang Edit)
AFGHANISTAN
1. Afghan Taliban has gained control over Chashma Sher military academy in the district Pool Khumri of Baghlan province in Afghanistan after fierce fighting which lasted for three days. Additionally, Taliban has reportedly killed 16 Afghan troops and destroyed 13 tanks. According to another report, Afghan Taliban had fired and killed Commander Gul Jaan, who was a close friend of the Governor of Balkh, Commander Atta, who belongs to Jamiat-e-Islami. Taliban claimed that Gul Jaan was killed as it was the people’s demand. Furthermore, Afghan Taliban has also released the names of those who had given up their fight in the Uruzgan province. Reportedly, 85 policemen and local militants had given up their weapons and fight against the Taliban. (Ummat)
IRAN
1. Pakistan-Iran Trade gate at Taftan was reopened for trade and business after a closure of 23 days. The gate had been closed by Iranian authorities, which had made the life of local people miserable as the local population depended solely on trading at the Gate. Assistant Commissioner of Taftan, Zafar Ali Baloch, told residents and traders that if they followed the rules and did not allow illegal trade on the Gate, they would not face difficulties. (Daily Intekhab)
BANGLADESH
1.Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina was going mad in her enmity against Pakistan and the war tribunal formed by her government had issued fresh warrants against two more leaders – former Muslim League leader, Muhammad Liaqat Ali, and Al Badr leader, Rajab Ali – for supporting Pakistan and opposing the formation of Bangladesh. (Ummat)
INDIA
1. Jasarat Edit says UN has been unable to implement its resolutions on Kashmir but now India is mocking the UN’s existence by presenting a bill in parliament through which not showing Kashmir as a part of India in maps will constitute a crime. Though India is claiming that Pakistan’s reaction on the controversial bill is interference in India’s internal matters, India is wrong because Kashmir is a disputed territory and the bill is against the people of Kashmir who have continued to protest against Indian occupation. (Jasarat Edit)
2. Editorial in Ausaf praises Pakistan for reacting strongly against Indian attempts to implement new cartographic bill. It wants the international community to pressurise the UN to fulfil its promise of providing impartial and independent self-determination rights to the people of Kashmir. (, Ausaf Edit)
3. Mansoor Asghar Raja, in an article, writes that India wanted to make Pakistan barren Pakistan by 2020 and for the same India was making dams on Chenab and Sindh Rivers and had started working on changing the flow of waters. He states that this could badly affect the crops in 19 districts of Punjab, 13 in Sindh, and 4 in Balochistan. Chief Coordinator of World Water Assembly, Hafiz Zahoor-ul-Hassan Dahir, had said that to stop India’s water terrorism, the government of Pakistan would have to go to the International Arbitration Court. Raja further claims that if the Indian design were to succeed then the desert of Cholistan would spread till Lahore. (Ummat)
ARMY/SECURITY FORCES
1. Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif was expected to lay the foundation of the new GHQ in Islamabad after the federal budget’s sanction. The new Army GHQ will be built in Islamabad in the E-series sector like the Pakistan Naval and Air force HQs. (Jang)
2. Shakar Solangi, in his article, states that the Asghar Khan case had been lying in the Supreme Court over the years and that most of the names that have now appeared in the Panama Papers, had also appeared in that long pending Asghar Khan case. He writes that in the Asghar Khan case the politicians had taken crores of rupees from one important department/government institution and that case had been lying unresolved in court for years, and that if an important case like Asghar Khan had still remained unresolved over the years, then the nation should not expect much from the Panama Papers case. According to Solangi, while a lot had been talked, written, discussed and debated, in the last month or so, on the Panama leaks issue, and these debates might go on for some more time, but the larger belief around was that ultimately this case would get buried. (Kawish)
TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
1. Acting on a tip off, sensitive agencies foiled a terrorism bid by apprehending two accused and seizing a large number of detonators from them, after searching a vehicle that had reached the bus depot at Rawalpindi from Gilgit. (Jang, Ausaf)
2. Rana Sanaullah has rejected the statements attributed to him regarding state involvement in banned outfits’ activities. (Jang)
POLITICAL SCENE
Hamid Mir, who is normally critical of Imran Khan, in his article, praises him for trying to answers all question raised against him and even explaining the facts about property that were not listed. Nawaz Sharif on the contrary refused or avoided answering a single question on the issue. Mir warns of challenges faced by Pakistan in the coming days. He refers to the request made by China that it should not asked to defend such non-state actors who were facing terrorism charges – in regards to Pakistan’s request to China to help remove UN restriction on JeM chief Masood Azhar; while, China had obliged Pakistan against India that time, it was not willing to do the same again. Mir adds that likewise even the US was disturbed over few non-state Pakistani actors in Afghanistan. According to Mir, although Pakistan’s complaints against Indian conspiracies were genuine, the unity needed to counter these conspiracies were lacking at the national level. He finally writes that the government did not appear serious in resolving the Panama issue. (Jang)
2. Editorials on Panama leaks issue say instead of prolonging the Panama leaks matter, there must be investigations in respect of all the names that have appeared the PM and his children including. Both the ruling and opposition parties must be sincere about these investigations and thorough discussion should be held on it in the house, followed by transparent investigations. Nawa-i-Waqt appreciates the agreement to form the 12-member ToR committee on Panama leaks and accountability. The parliament is meant for resolving public issues more than settling personal goals. Khabrain criticises the Sharif government for taking too long to deal with the unlike Indian PM Modi who had ordered the formation of a commission to swiftly complete investigations on Indians who had been accused in the Panama leaks. Jang Editorial praises opposition for displaying mature attitude by ending the boycott and agreeing to Prime Minister’s offer to set up a parliamentary committee for joint ToRs on the Panama leaks investigation. Roznama Dunya Editorial, with reference to pending Panama issue, NAB raid and arrest of a Foreign Affairs department’s officer under corruption charges, expresses concern over the increasing corruption in the country and urges the government to take serious steps. (Kawish Edit, Nawa-i-Waqt Edit, Khabrain Edit, Jang Edit, Roznama Dunya Edit)
ECONOMY/POWER
1. WAPDA is adding to Sindh peoples’ inconvenience even in current times when there is a severe heat wave, by resorting to acts like cutting-off power on the grounds that the people are not regularly paying their bills. WAPDA staff should be taken to task for adding to people’s inconvenience; authorities should see to it that there is uninterrupted power supply. (Ibrat Edit)
2. Jang editorially lauded NAB for carrying out raids and investigations against all accused, including political personalities, without any bias. (Jang Edit)
SINDH
1. Kawish states that the severe heat wave in the country has resulted in children fainting in schools and conditions turning pathetic even in hospitals. The first thing the government should do is to set up more heat-stroke centres and to stop undeclared power cuts. (Ibrat Edit, Kawish Edit)
KHYBER-PAKHTUNKHWA
1. Ausaf edit agrees with the PM’s statement that KP will slip away from PTI in the 2018 election. PML (N) has introduced metro bus services in Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, but the provincial PTI government could not introduce any such project in Peshawar, it points out. (Ausaf Edit)
POK/ G-B NEWS
1. Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court Chief Justice, Wazir Shakeel, said that the Chief Court has all the rights same as the High Courts in other provinces and it has full authority to hear National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases. The CJ asked NAB to submit a list of all the employees and vendors involved in Rs.22crore forgery in National Bank. (Daily K2)
2. Gilgit-Baltistan CM Hafizur Rahman said that the government has closed all doors of corruption and feudalism in state departments and even political influence in the Police department has been ended. He added that NAB was doing free investigations against corruption lords and the government was in full support. (Daily K2)
3. PM Sharif will preside over the Gilgit-Baltistan Council oath-taking ceremony today for the 6 elected members. Additionally, he was also expected to lay the foundation stone for the Optic-fibre Cable Link project between Pakistan and China in Gilgit. New taxes and other important decisions would also be taken on the Tourism, Forest, and Minerals Departments. (Daily K2, Baad-e-Shimal)
4. Gilgit-Baltistan Deputy Speaker, Jafar ullah, expressed concern over the increasing sectarian hatred in the province and said that even hospitals, schools, and mohallas were coming under the strife of sectarian differences and should be controlled before it was too late. (Baad-e-Shimal)
5. Action Committee has warned that if tenders for the Chhumak Bridge were not issued immediately, the conditions may worsen. The Committee alleged that the last tender was cancelled to benefit a favoured contractor. According to the committee, a lobby in Gilgit was working against the interests of Baltistan for a long time, and conspiracies were being hatched against Baltistan. (Daily K2)
6. Daily K2 welcomes NAB taking action in three big cases of corruption in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has become essentially important that everyone involved in corruption across the country should be brought to justice without any distinction. (Daily K2 Edit)