Today’s outlook: PM reaching Karachi on Saturday, floods ravage Punjab

Here are some of the stories we will be following today (Friday):

• Lieutenant General (retired) Asim Bajwa said on Thursday that he would resign as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special assistant on information and broadcasting. In an interview with ARY News, Bajwa said he would present his resignation to PM Khan. He said, however, that he would retain the post of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority chairman.
• At least three soldiers were martyred and four others injured in a landmine explosion in North Waziristan, according to the army’s media wing. The martyred soldiers have been identified as Nasir Hussain Khalid, Mohammad Imran and Usman Akhtar, the ISPR said.
• At least 25 people were killed in Punjab and 10 died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following monsoon rains and floods. The Kunhar and Siran rivers in Mansehra and Upper Hazara Division have flooded. Villages neighbouring the rivers have been evacuated and a flood emergency has been declared.
• Prime Minister Imran Khan has spostponed his visit to Karachi from Friday to Saturday. Important meetings are underway regarding the development of Karachi. The premier is expected to announce a “big package” for the city on his visit.
• Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah claimed that he wasn’t aware of the prime minister’s visit to Karachi or its postponement. I will meet them only if they call me, he said, adding that advice regarding Karachi’s administration will be taken by the Centre but the main decision will be the provincial government’s.
• Residents of Karachi’s DHA protested again on Thursday outside the DHA office. They demanded their drainage system and road infrastructure be fixed and the areas flooded in this monsoon season be drained.
• Former president Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N’s Nwaz Sharif had a conversation over the phone. Earlier this week, Shehbaz Sharif visited Karachi and met PPP leaders. The leader of both parties have decided to take key political decisions together.
• The National Accountability Bureau of Lahore has arrested Engineering and Transport Planning Agency Chief Engineer Mazhar Hussain Asif in a corruption case of over Rs700 million. He will appear before a court today for a physical remand.
• The APC meeting of opposition parties will be held on September 20.
• An accountability court in Lahore has issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the illegal allotments case. The warrant has been sent to the Foreign Ministry.
• Unknown men robbed a resident of Korangi and then shot him. CCTV footage of the incident has been obtained. No arrest has, however, been made.
• Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has once again refused to file a review petition against the death sentence awarded to him for his involvement in espionage and subversive activities in Pakistan, Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan informed the Islamabad High Court Thursday.
• The border with Afghanistan in North Waziristan has been reopened for trade after coronavirus cases decreased.
• ICYMI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s anti-encroachment department removed on Thursday soft encroachments from Chakore Nullah in Shah Faisal Colony and New Karachi Nullah and Gujjar Nullah in Nazimabad.

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