Pakistan's democracy strong enough to withstand crises: Mamnoon

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain while addressing a joint session of parliament on Wednesday said Pakistan's democracy has been strengthened to the extent that it can now withstand various crises.

Sustainable development is not possible without a stable democracy, Mamnoon said, adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had guided the country to progress. Under the PM's leadership, the system of tax collection had improved, the budget deficit and inflation brought under control and growth had been sustained, he said.

"One does not need to state how important the Pak-China partnership is for national economic growth," the president said. "Heads of many countries have personally told me that this partnership would prove to be a golden opportunity for their own economic development."

Pakistan's foreign policy is based on three main points, Mamnoon said, "constructive diplomacy, non-interference, and trade and economic cooperation".

The policy was modelled on the Quaid's views, he said, adding that Jinnah wanted Pakistan's foreign policy to be based on friendship and brotherhood with all nations.

"We do not wish to be aggressive towards any nation and intend to participate with honesty in national and global affairs," he said.

"We believe the main cause of tension in the region is the Kashmir issue," the president said. Until this issue is resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions, there will not be peace in the region, he said.

"In last year’s UN General Assembly session, we conveyed clearly that we are open to uninterrupted dialogue with our neighbours. I regret that the warmth we showed was not reciprocated," the president said.

The president said that a government which ensures rule of law, economic development and provision of basic needs to its people can easily overcome challenges, stabilise democracy and reinforce the relationship between the individual and state, Radio Pakistanreported.

The goals of Operation Zarb-i-Azb will be achieved soon, he said, adding that the security situation in Balochistan and Karachi is encouraging.

The president's address marks the beginning of a new parliamentary year and is mandatory under the Constitution.

بالی ووڈ اداکار سریش چٹوال طویل علالت کے بعد چل بسے

بالی ووڈ اداکار نے سپر ہٹ فلموں ’’کرن ارجن‘‘، ’’کوئلہ‘‘ اور ’’منا بھائی ایم بی بی ایس‘‘ میں بھی اہم کردار نبھائے ہیں، فوٹو:فائل

ممبئی: بالی ووڈ کے لیجنڈری اداکار سریش چٹوال طویل علالت کے بعد انتقال کرگئے۔

بالی ووڈ اداکار سریش چٹوال  نے فنی کیرئیر کا آغاز 1969 میں ریلیز ہونے والی فلم ’’راکھی راکھی‘‘ سے کیا جس کے بعد وہ سلور اسکرین کے علاوہ چھوٹے پردے پر اداکاری کے جوہر دکھاتے رہے جب کہ انہوں نے سپر ہٹ فلموں ’’کرن ارجن‘‘، ’’کوئلہ‘‘ اور ’’منا بھائی ایم بی بی ایس‘‘ میں بھی اہم کردار نبھا کر کرداروں کو ہمیشہ کے لیے زندہ کردیا تاہم بھارتی فلم نگری کے لیجنڈری اداکار اب اس دنیا میں نہیں رہے۔

بالی ووڈ اداکار سریش چٹوال طویل علالت کے بعد ممبئی میں انتقال کرگئے جن کی آخری رسومات بھی ادا کردی گئی ہیں جب کہ ان کے انتقال کی خبر ان کے بیٹے نے سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائٹ ٹوئٹر کے ذریعے دی جس کے بعد کئی نامور فلمی ستاروں نے ان کے انتقال پر دکھ کا اظہار کیا ہے۔

Zimbabwe sack Whatmore, Masakadza before India series

  EMAIL

  PRINT

Whatmore took over as coach shortly before last year's World Cup. — AFP/File

HARARE: The merry-go-round in Zimbabwe's cricket structures completed another cycle on Tuesday as the board approved a raft of changes less than two weeks before India arrive for a short tour.

Coach Dav Whatmore, captain Hamilton Masakadza and convenor of selectors Kenyon Ziehl were all sacked after Zimbabwe Cricket completed its review of the team's performance at the ICC World Twenty20 in India in March, where Zimbabwe failed to make the group stage.

Masakadza and Ziehl had been in their positions for less than a year.

Masakadza was appointed captain in January following Elton Chigumbura's resignation, while Ziehl replaced Givemore Makoni as convenor of selectors last July.

Whatmore took over as coach shortly before last year's World Cup in Australasia and was given a four-year contract last May.

However, performances failed to improve during his tenure, with Zimbabwe regularly losing to Associate nations and dropping down both the one-day international and Twenty20 international rankings.

A ZC media release said that former South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who has been serving as Zimbabwe's bowling coach since February, would take over from Whatmore in “an acting capacity until the appointment of a substantive head coach”.

It also said that vice-captain Graeme Cremer would replace Masakadza as captain on an interim basis, while former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener had been hired as a batting coach on a two-year contract.

Former Sri Lanka batsman Marvan Atapattu had filled the same role as a consultant during the World Twenty20.

ZC also announced that Tatenda Taibu had accepted the position of selection chief, almost four years after he retired from cricket at the age of 29 to dedicate his life to his church work.

“He will have additional responsibilities in development and high performance, and will also assist ZC in bringing former Zimbabwe players back into local cricket,” the release said.

Former captain Taibu had numerous run-ins with ZC as a player, most recently in 2011 when he claimed that ZC had “just painted a house that's about to fall”.

At the time ZC had revamped its domestic structures and was about to return to Test cricket after a self-imposed exile, but Taibu's words proved prophetic as the organisation subsequently slipped into a spiral of debt from which it has never recovered.

Despite being a Full Member nation with the ICC, Zimbabwe are currently ranked 11th in ODIs, below Afghanistan, and 12th in T20 cricket, where they are also behind the Netherlands.

Zimbabwe recently dropped off the ICC's Test rankings table because they had not played the required number of matches over the past three years. Their last Test was in November 2014.

A second-string India squad will arrive in Harare next week for three ODIs and three T20Is, which take place at Harare Sports Club between 11 and 22 June.

وزیراعظم نواز شریف کی طبیعت پاناما لیکس کی وجہ سے خراب نہیں ہوئی، مریم نواز

جس کا دامن صاف ہو اس کو پریشان ہونے کی کوئی ضرورت نہیں ہے، مریم نواز۔فوٹو:فائل

 اسلام آباد: وزیراعظم نواز شریف کی صاحبزادی مریم نواز کا کہنا ہے کہ وزیراعظم نوازشریف کی طبیعت پانامالیکس کی وجہ سے خراب نہیں ہوئی ہے جس کا دامن صاف ہو اس کو پریشان ہونے کی ضرورت نہیں ہے۔

ایکسپریس نیوز کے پروگرام کل تک کے میزبان جاوید چوہدری کے ساتھ بات چیت میں نواز شریف کی صاحبزادی مریم نواز کا کہنا تھا کہ وزیراعظم نوازشریف کی طبیعت پانامالیکس کی وجہ سے خراب نہیں ہوئی بلکہ وزیراعظم کو گزشتہ 4 مہینے سے دل کی بیماری سے متعلق علامات ظاہر ہوئی تھیں جس کو وہ نظر انداز کررہے تھے تاہم  جس کا دامن صاف ہو اس کو پریشان ہونے کی کوئی ضرورت نہیں ہے۔

مریم نواز کا کہنا تھا کہ پاناما لیکس ایک سازش ہے جو ناکام ہوگی تاہم جس طرح سے ترقی ہورہی ہے اس سے لگتا ہے کہ 2018 کے الیکشن سے خوفزدہ لوگ اس بات کو طول دینے کی کوشش کررہے ہیں۔

Cincinnati gorilla shooting: Police to investigate parents

A police investigation into the killing of a gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo after a three-year-old fell into an enclosure will focus on the boy's parents.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said the police would later "confer with our office on possible criminal charges".

The zoo says it had no choice but to kill the gorilla, and has defended its safety measures around the enclosure.

Animal activists have accused the zoo of negligence.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now, a Cincinnati-based animal rights group, said it had filed a federal complaint against the zoo with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ADVERTISEMENT

The police said that their review of the incident "is only regarding the actions of the parents/family that led up to the incident and not related to the operation or safety of the Cincinnati Zoo."

The parents of the boy, who suffered minor injuries in the incident, have also faced heavy criticism on social media.

Cincinnati Police on Tuesday corrected earlier statements which had given the boy's age as four.

The case report provided by police states that witnesses said the gorilla at first appeared to be protecting the boy, but then grew agitated due to screaming onlookers. It then began to drag him.

Image copyrightREUTERS/CINCINATTI ZOO

Image captionHarambe was an endangered western lowland gorilla

The child fell into the enclosure of 17-year-old Harambe, an endangered western lowland gorilla, on Saturday.

Video footage showed the boy being dragged through shallow water by the animal. Zookeepers shot Harambe soon afterwards.

The zoo on Monday defended its actions, saying it had no choice but to shoot the gorilla as tranquilisers would not have worked in time to save the boy.

It also said its Gorilla World exhibit was safe and exceeded required protocols.

But Michael Budkie, of Stop Animal Exploitation Now, said the USDA should fine the zoo for having an exhibit that the public could access.

"What happened this weekend made it very clear that the physical barriers at the Cincinnati Zoo are not adequate to keep people out of the enclosures, obviously," he said, adding that the enclosure was reported to be over 30 years old.

He also said the zoo had been criticised back in March after two polar bears were able to wander out of their pen into a service hallway.

---

#JusticeForHarambe - How it's playing on social media

Image copyrightFACEBOOK/JUSTICE FOR HARAMBE

Michelle Gregg, the mother of the boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure, has become the victim of online abuse.

People were quick to take to social media after zoo officials defended the decisionto shoot the animal.

Eddie Whrnbrg wrote on Facebook: "...the zoos aren't the problem. It's the idiotic parents."

On Twitter @blxxm83 wrote: "So lazy parents can't control their wild kids and a beautiful endangered animal gets shot and killed because of it? #Harambe #RIPHarambe"

In another tweet @brittrosenthal wrote "Sad thing is it looked like #Harambe was protecting the kid more than the parent was. #CincinnatiZoo"

Some even called for Ms Gregg to be dismissed from her job.

Ms Gregg, posting on Facebook after the incident, said her son was "able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes... no broken bones or internal injuries".

She also had this to say to her critics: As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes of of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen but I am thankful people were in the right place today."

Her Facebook page has since been deleted.

About the same time as she made her comments, a Facebook group called Justice for Harambe was set up.

An online petition signed by more than 300,000 people was also created, calling for her to be held accountable for Harambe's death.

محمد حفیظ کی ایم آر آئی رپورٹ تسلی بخش قرار

قومی ٹیم کے نئے فزیو کو ٹاسک سونپا گیا ہے کہ وہ محمد حفیظ کو جلد سے جلد فٹ کرنے کی کوشش کریں۔ ۔ فوٹو : فائل

 لاہور: قومی ٹیم کے اوپننگ بلے باز محمد حفیظ کی ایم آر آئی رپورٹ تسلی بخش قرار دی گئی ہے۔

قومی ٹیم کے سابق کپتان اور اوپننگ بلے باز محمد حفیظ کو دورہ انگلینڈ میں شامل کرنے یا نہ کرنے کا فیصلہ ان کی فٹنس سے مشروط ہے جب کہ اب ان کی ایم آر آئی رپورٹ تسلی بخش قرار دی گئی ہے۔ ذرائع کے مطابق آسٹریلیا سے تعلق رکھنے والے قومی ٹیم کے نئے فزیو کو ٹاسک سونپا گیا ہے کہ وہ محمد حفیظ کو جلد سے جلد فٹ کرنے کی کوشش کریں۔

ذرائع کے مطابق قومی ٹیم 16 جون کو دورہ انگلینڈ کے لئے روانہ ہوگی تاہم محمد حفیظ کو ٹیم میں شامل کرنے یا نہ کرنے کا فیصلہ سلیکشن کمیٹی ان کی رپورٹ دیکھ کرے گی۔

واضح رہے کہ اوپنر محمد حفیظ گھٹنے کی انجری کا شکار ہیں جس کے باعث وہ اسکلز کیمپ میں بھی حصہ نہیں لے رہے اور وہ بھارت میں عالمی ٹی ٹوئنٹی کپ کے بعد سے کرکٹ میدان میں قدم نہیں رکھ سکے۔

North Korea says Trump isn't screwy at all, a wise choice for president

SEOUL: North Korea has backed presumptive US Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as “a prescient presidential candidate” who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North.

A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state's mouthpieces, described Trump as a “wise politician” and the right choice for United States voters in the Nov 8 US presidential election.

It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as “thick-headed Hillary” over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula.

Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear programme, and that China should also help solve the problem.

North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under UN sanctions over its past nuclear tests. South Korea and the US say its calls for dialogue are meaningless until it takes steps to end its nuclear ambitions.

DPRK Today also said Trump's suggestion that the US should pull its troops from South Korea until Seoul pays more was the way to achieve Korean unification.

“It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate,” said the column, written by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk.

DPRK Today is among a handful of news sites run by the isolated North, although its content is not always handled by the main state-run media.

It said promising to resolve issues on the Korean peninsula through "negotiations and not war" was the best option for America, which it said is "living every minute and second on pins and needles in fear of a nuclear strike" by North Korea.

The North has for years called for the withdrawal of US troops from the South as the first step towards peace on the Korean peninsula and demanded Washington sign a peace treaty to replace the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

Its frequently strident rhetoric also often threatens nuclear strikes against South Korea and the US.