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Hello Jammu News at 10:42:00 PM 0


Lahore, Mar 31 :  A Pakistani court has exempted ailing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in London for treatment, from personal appearance in a money laundering case.

Sharif, 70, has been in London since November last year.

The Lahore Accountability Court on Monday exempted Sharif from personal hearing in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case till the filing of a formal case.

Sharif in his petition had requested the court that he should be granted exemption as his doctors in London are not allowing him to travel.

The three time premier's daughter Maryam Nawaz was also given exemption from personal appearance.

She has also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking permission to go abroad to look after her father. This case is pending in the court.

The National Accountability Bureau has accused Sharif along with two others of money laundering under the garb of sale/purchase of the sugar mills' shares.

According to Sharif's brother Shahbaz, the former premier will undergo a heart procedure this week. He said Sharif cannot return the country till he gets well.

The Imran Khan government has already declared Sharif an 'absconder' after refusing to extend his four-week bail granted by court on medical grounds.

The Pakistan government says it is not satisfied Sharif's medical reports and he should return to the country forthwith.

The Lahore High Court in October last year granted bail to Sharif on medical grounds for four weeks, allowing the Punjab government to extend it further in the light of his medical reports.

The Islamabad High Court had also granted bail to Sharif in the Al Azizia Mills corruption case, in which the former prime minister was serving a seven-year jail term, clearing his way to travel abroad for medical treatment.

According to Sharif's physician, he is suffering from complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium for which he is due to undergo surgery.

According to a media report, Sharif's physician David Lawrence said that the his heart surgery will have to wait until the prevailing uncertainty of Covid-19 settles down, hinting at his extended duration of stay abroad.

According to the doctor, Sharif "at his age, with significant disease burden, falls in the category of patients who if exposed can develop serious Covid-19 symptoms with adverse effects .

The doctor further said that Sharif has been advised to stay in close proximity of advanced health facilities in London.
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Hello Jammu News at 11:16:00 PM 0


Lahore, Jan 27 :  An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Monday sentenced two members of the outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) to 15 days in jail in terror financing case.

"The Anti-Terrorism Court Lahore convicted JuD members - Haji Iqbal and Muhammad Haris - in terror financing case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)," a court official told.

The court sentenced them to "15 days in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of them", the official added.

The FIA's Counter Terrorism Wing had arrested both JuD members during the crackdown on the banned outfits in connection with the Pakistan government's commitment towards the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

They were booked under relevant provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

"The ATC announced the verdict against both JuD activists after the FIA prosecution witnesses recorded their statements and evidence was produced against the suspects," the official said.

Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his close aides - Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Ashram, Yahya Mujahid, Abdul Rehman Makki aand Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad - are also facing terror financing charges.

Saeed has already recorded his statement before the Lahore court in two terror financing cases against him in which he pleaded "not guilty".

The cases of terror financing have been registered against him in Lahore and Gujranwala cities on the application of Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab police.

Cross examination of prosecution witnesses against Saeed and his three close aides by the defense counsel has already been concluded.

The prosecution had produced a number of witnesses against Saeed.

The Anti-Terrorism Court-I (ATC) indicted Saeed and his close aides - Hafiz Abdul Salam, Muhammad Ashraf and Zafar Iqbal - on terror financing charges on December 11.

The CTD had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of Punjab province and arrested him on July 17. He is held at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.
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Hello Jammu News at 1:19:00 PM 0


Lahore, Feb 28 :  Pakistani authorities have suspended the Samjhauta Express train service between Pakistan and India until further notice, an official said Thursday, amidst tense bilateral ties in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack

The train departs on Monday and Thursday from Lahore

"The operation of Samjhauta Express has been suspended today (Thursday) in view of the prevailing tensions between Pakistan and India," Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) spokesman said in a statement

The biweekly train was scheduled to depart from Lahore with 16 passengers

"Samjhauta Express will resume its operations as soon as the security situation improves between India and Pakistan," the FO said without giving any specific date for resuming the train service

The FO statement came after a spokesman of the Railways said early in the morning that the train service scheduled to depart for India at 8.00 AM (local time) was cancelled

Dawn news reported that the train embarked on its journey from Karachi but stopped at Lahore railway station after officials suspended its service

The Samjhauta Express, named after the Hindi word for "agreement", comprises six sleeper coaches and an AC 3-tier coach. The train service was started on July 22, 1976 under the Shimla Agreement that settled the 1971 war between the two nations

Sources said that the footfall of the train, which generally records an occupancy of around 70 per cent, has fallen drastically post the Pulwama terror attack

Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)

India carried out air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In the operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for suicide attacks were eliminated. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief

At least 40 CRPF personnel were killed and many injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a JeM suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.            [Agencies]
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Hello Jammu News at 5:42:00 PM 0



Lahore, Oct 6 (PTI) An anti-corruption court in Pakistan on Saturday granted a 10-day remand of opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif to the country's top anti-graft body in a Rs 1,400 crore housing scam, the latest setback to the embattled Sharif family.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which arrested the PML-N president on Friday, had sought a 15-day remand to investigate his alleged involvement in the multi-billion rupees corruption case.

Shahbaz, 67, is the younger brother of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, 68, who is facing corruption charges in three cases.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, who was kept in a highly-secured lock-up inside the NAB Lahore office, arrived in court in an armoured vehicle, under heavy security.

A large number of PML-N workers gathered outside the court and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking "revenge" from the Sharif brothers.

Accountability Court judge Najamul Hasan accepted the request of the NAB prosecutor's plea and granted Shahbaz's physical remand for 10 days to interrogate him in the case.

Shahbaz, who has been accused of misusing his authority, denied corruption charges and told the court that he had saved billions of rupees in different developmental projects during his tenure as Punjab chief minister.

He requested the judge to view his case as political victimisation as not a single rupee corruption against him has been proved.

Shahbaz was allegedly involved in the corruption of Rs 14 billion Ashiana Housing project and Rs 4 billion Punjab Saaf Pani Company scams.

He allegedly cancelled the award of contract of the Ashiana housing project to successful bidder 'Chaudhry Latif and Sons' to oblige his "favourite" firm the 'Lahore Casa Developers', a proxy group of 'Paragon City Private Limited', causing a loss of millions of rupees.

Nawaz termed his brother's arrest a worst political victimisation.

"Shahbaz Sharif being the chief minister had set great examples of transparency and honesty in all projects.

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Hello Jammu News at 5:40:00 PM 0


Lahore, Oct 6 (PTI) The ashes of veteran Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar were immersed on Friday here in the River Ravi by his granddaughter.

Nayar passed away on August 23 in New Delhi. 

His granddaughter Mandira, also a journalist, scattered his ashes in the Ravi. 

She later visited the Lahore Press Club where the honorary membership of the club was bestowed on her. After her grandfather, she became the second Indian to be given the honour.

"My grandfather was not a member of the New Delhi Press Club, but of the Lahore Press Club. Although he lived in Delhi, he was spiritually part of Lahore. His will to scatter his remains in the Ravi at Lahore is a testimony to his spiritual connection to the place. The late journalist lit the candle of peace and it will be kept burning," said Mandira.

Nayar was born in Sialkot and studied at Forman Christian College then the Law College in Lahore, obtaining a law degree. 

When violence broke out at partition in 1947, the family migrated to India.

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Hello Jammu News at 1:49:00 PM 0

Lahore, Sep 14: A Pakistan International Airlines' flight carrying the body of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, from London arrived in Lahore early Friday.

The flight landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport here around 6:45 a.m (local time). The body was later shifted to Jati Umra Lahore residence of the Sharif family for burial, Geo TV reported.

Kulsoom died Tuesday in a London hospital after a long battle with cancer. She was 68. She would be buried Friday.

Shehbaz Sharif, the deceased's brother-in-law and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), along with Begum Kulsoom's daughter Asma, grandson Zayd Hussain Sharif (Hussain Nawaz's son), and 11 other family members accompanied the body.

Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, Begum Kulsoom's sons, did not return to the country for their mother's funeral. Both have been declared absconders by an accountability court in the corruption cases.

Kulsoom's funeral prayers will be held at the Sharif Medical City in Jati Umra neighbourhood at 5 p.m. (local time).

The former three-time premier, who was accompanied by Sharif family members to pay respects to Begum Kulsoom at Sharif Medical City after her body was brought to Lahore, is currently meeting guests in Jati Umra.

Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) M Safdar, currently serving jail terms in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after being convicted by an accountability court in a corruption case in July, have been released on parole to attend Kulsoom's funeral.

Meanwhile, the Punjab home department has issued a notification announcing an extension in the parole already awarded to Sharif for additional five days - September 12 (4pm) to September 17 (4pm).

On Thursday, hundreds of people attended the funeral prayers of Begum Kulsoom at London's Regent Park mosque, which was separate from another one to take place in Lahore Friday. They chanted slogans of 'we salute to the mother of democracy'.

The funeral prayers were attended by her sons Hassan and Hussain, brother-in-law Shehbaz Sharif, former ministers Chaudhry Nisar and Ishaq Dar among others. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 4:59:00 PM 0

Lahore, Jul 20: A Pakistani peace activist campaigning for better Indo-Pak ties has returned home, seven months after he mysteriously went missing, according to a media report today.

Raza Mahmood Khan, a convener of Aghaz-i-Dosti -- a friendship initiative between Indian and Pakistani youths -- was allegedly picked up on December 2, 2017 from his Model Colony residence in Lahore by some men in plain clothes.

The police are, however, tight lipped about where the 40-year-old social activist was found, the Dawn News reported.

Following Khan's 'enforced disappearance', human rights activists, friends and family had been agitating for his release, condemning attempts to silence and harass those speaking up for peace and human rights, the report said.

Quoting Mohammad Imran, Superintendent of Police, Investigation Model Town, the report said the Punjab police had recovered Khan 10 days ago and he is in good health.

Enforced disappearances are common in Pakistan. According to a recent Express Tribune report, a total of 4,608 cases of enforced disappearances have come to light from 2011 till December 2017 in the country.

The report further suggested that approximately 2,257 cases had been resolved after the whereabouts of those reported missing had been traced. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 11:44:00 AM 0

Lahore, Jul 14: At least 50 people were injured during clashes between PML-N workers and police in Pakistan's Punjab province during rallies held in connection with the arrival of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in Lahore.

The country's anti-graft body - National Accountability Bureau - arrested Nawaz and Maryam in the Evenfield properties case upon their arrival here yesterday and shifted them to Sahala Rest House Rawalpindi after declaring it sub-jail.

Both Nawaz and Maryam have been convicted by an accountability court for 10 and seven years imprisonment, respectively, in this corruption case.

"At least 50 people including 20 policemen have been injured during clashes between PML-N workers, police and rangers mostly in Lahore and some adjoining districts in Punjab," Punjab police spokesman Niyab Haider told.

He said the major clashes took place late last night between the PML-N workers, police and rangers at the Joray Pul, some five km away from Lahore airport, where the PML-N rally was stopped. The protesters pelted police and rangers with stones when they fired tear gas on them.

"It was not understandable as why the PML-N workers were pressing ahead to get to the airport despite the fact that Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were arrested at the airport and flown to Islamabad on a jet," he said.

"Some 25 PML-N workers and policemen have been injured in this clash," he said.

In two other clashes in Lahore at Ravi bridge and Bhutta Chowk Lahore, seven policemen and 10 PML-N workers suffered injuries.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Auranzeb told a number of its workers had been injured in clashes with police.

"Thousands of our workers stopped at different entry points of Lahore who were coming from other parts of Lahore to join a rally here to welcome Nawaz and Maryam."

She condemned the police for using force to stop PML-N workers. She also demanded immediate release of its workers after the court directive.

The Lahore High Court yesterday ordered release of over 370 PML-N workers who were detained ahead of its Lahore rally.

Thousands of people participated in the PML-N rally led by its president Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore that ended last night midnight without reaching the airport to welcome Nawaz and Maryam. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:22:00 PM 0

Lahore, Jul 13: Pakistan's embattled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam are set to arrive in Lahore today to face arrest in a corruption case, amid high security and a massive crackdown on his party activists.

The Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz leader and his daughter stopped over in Abu Dhabi today on their way to Pakistan from London.

Sharif and Maryam are expected to land at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport at 6.15 PM (local time) via Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways flight EY243, the Dawn reported.

They will be arrested on their arrival at Lahore airport from where they will be taken to Islamabad by helicopter so that they can be sent to Adiala jail for imprisonment.

In a video message, tweeted by Maryam, the former premier urged his followers to stand with him and "change the fate of the country".

"The country is at a critical juncture right now," Sharif, 68, said.

"I have done what I could. I am aware that I have been sentenced to 10 years [in prison] and I will be taken to a jail cell straight away. But I want the Pakistani nation to know that I am doing this for you."

The two PML-N leaders are returning to Pakistan to face a prison sentence handed out on July 6 by an accountability court in the Avenfield properties case, one of the three corruption cases against him following the Panama Papers scandal.

Sharif and Maryam have been sentenced to 10 and 7 years in jail respectively.

Sharif, who was in London with his wife and children when the verdict was announced, said he is returning to Pakistan from London to fulfil his pledge to "honour the vote".

Addressing a press conference in London with Maryam by his side, Sharif had said he has decided to return to the country "despite seeing the bars of prison in front of my eyes".

"Is there any Pakistani who has had three generations of his family go through an accountability process only to find out that no corruption was ever done?" he asked during the presser.

He also criticised the court's decision to sentence his daughter to a seven-year term in jail, saying those who did so "did not even remember in their hate what stature daughters have in Pakistan".

Mayam took to Twitter to post pictures of the scenes in London before their departure. In one picture, the father and daughter are seen bidding a teary farewell to Kulsoom Nawaz, who is said to be comatose and admitted at a London hospital.

Over 300 PML-N workers and leaders have been detained in Pakistan in a massive crackdown on the party activists in Lahore ahead of the arrival of Sharif.

Around 10,000 police officers have been deployed across the city to maintain law and order.

Lahore police has also placed containers on the city roads leading to the airport. A narrow passage has been left for motorists where police have been deployed for checking.

The anti-graft body - National Accountability Bureau (NAB) - chairman Javed Iqbal has ordered taking all necessary measures to arrest Sharif and Maryam upon their arrival at the airport.

He has also formed a 16-member team to arrest them and shift them to Adiala Jail Rawalpindi after producing them at the accountability court that sentenced the father-daughter duo last week.

According to sources, the Cabinet Division has allocated two helicopters - reserved for the prime minister - to NAB to shift Sharif and his daughter to jail from the airport.

Sharif, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court last year in the Panama Papers case, is now the supremo of the PML-N.

PML(N) leaders are mobilising the party workers to reach at the airport in a large number. (PTI)
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