Govt will have to obey SC if it wants to stay in office: Asma

LAHORE: Former president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Asma Jehangir has said that the Supreme Court cannot perform all the tasks and every institution must remain within its ambit as provided in the constitution. Talking to media here on Wednesday, Asma Jehangir said there were NROs in every one's table drawers and the government will ultimately have to write letter to the Swiss government for reopening of the cases. She said she had always advised the government to respect and implement the verdicts of the judiciary but at the same time she said the court cannot perform all the work and it was in the interests of the institution to remain within their constitutional limit and perform their functions. .

Fata Grand Alliance demands creation of Qabailistan province

Peshawar: Fata Grand Alliance has demanded of the government to give identity to the tribal people by naming all the tribal agencies as a separate province with the name of “Qabailistan”. Malik Khan Marjan Wazir, chief patron of the alliance while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday at Peshawar Press Club, said since independence of Pakistan no political ruler had performed his due role for the development of Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) rather everyone was found involved in looting FATA resources. FGA, he said had struggled for amendment in FCR and it was due to the struggle that President Asif Ali Zardari announced reforms in Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR).

Patients suffer as strike of paramedical staff continues in govt hospitals

ISLAMABAD: A number of patients at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and other state-run hospitals in the federal capital have been suffering as the nursing, paramedical and non-medical staff observed a complete strike for the 11th consecutive day on Wednesday.

All activities in the ward, outpatient department and operation theater were affected. The paramedical and non-medical staff observed the strike on the 11th day consecutive and all activities in the hospitals were stopped. Routine operations were suspended while OPDs remained closed. Thousands of patients from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Azad Jammu Kashmir, KPK, and northern Punjab could not get treatment or relief but returned disappointed.

Assad takes defiant message to Damascus street

AL observer quits, slams Syria war crimes

DAMASCUS: President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance on Wednesday, vowing to defeat a "conspiracy" against Syria a day after he blamed foreign interests for stoking months of deadly violence. "Without a doubt we will defeat the conspiracy, which is nearing its end and will also be the end for (the conspirators) and their plans," Assad told tens of thousands of cheering supporters in the capital's central Omayyad Square. Casually dressed in a jacket and open-necked shirt, a confident-looking Assad stood at the edge of the throng, security guards in front of him, and said: "I came here to draw from your strength. Thanks to you, I have never felt weak.

Govt plans to import 500,000 Mcf/day LNG from Qatar

KARACHI: Pakistan plans to import around 500,000 Mcf/day of LNG from Qatar starting at the end this year, an official at the ministry of petroleum and natural resources said Wednesday. A four-member delegation will leave for Qatar within a week to finalize plans including prices, the official said.  Pakistan's gas shortfall is expected to hit 3.021 Bcf/day in 2016 with no big discoveries in sight, and the country will become increasingly dependent on imports to meet its energy demand, the State Bank of Pakistan said last month in a report. While rationing of natural gas is inevitable in the near future, meaningful steps must be taken to curtail residential consumption, while prioritizing supply to the fertilizer and power sectors, the central bank said.

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