Imran Khan holds meetings with UAE leaders

Agencies
November 18, 2018

Dubai, Nov 18: Update: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Abu Dhabi earlier today on a one-day visit and held meetings with the UAE leaders.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nayan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE’s Armed Forces received PM Imran upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi.

Imran is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Minister of Energy and Power Omar Ayub Khan as well as adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan General Qamar Javed Bajwa is also accompanying Prime Minister Imran.

This is Imran's second visit to the country, the first official one being on September 19.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is coming to the UAE on Sunday, November 18, for the second time in two months.

Earlier report

A top official at Pakistan’s Ministry of Information told Gulf News that Premier Imran will be in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to meet the UAE leadership to seek the financial assistance as part of his continuous campaign to salvage his country’s economic situation.

The PM and his economic team are expected to hold meetings with the UAE leadership and officials, the Ministry official confirmed.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has already arrived in the UAE and held a meeting with his UAE counterpart, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of the 9th Sir Bani Yas Forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Details of the agreements between the UAE and Pakistan are likely to be announced on Sunday.

Shaikh Abdullah has also visited Pakistan early this month as part of the ongoing talks on economic package with Pakistan, a top official told Gulf News.

Shaikh Abdullah has also visited Pakistan early this month as part of the ongoing talks on economic package with Pakistan, a top official told Gulf News.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also discussed the "financial package" with the UAE during his ongoing visit, the official said.

Pakistan is expecting a financial package from the UAE amid the economic crisis.

Economy

Last month, Qureshi had said that Pakistan had requested a Saudi Arabia-like deal from the UAE to stabilise the economy.

He said Islamabad had urged the friendly country to provide a "fiscal space" to Pakistan amid the economic crises.

He said Pakistan wanted to counter International Monetary Fund’s tough conditions through support from the friendly countries.

A high-level UAE delegation comprising senior officials of major companies, including Mubadala Petroleum, ADIA (Sovereign Wealth Fund), Etisalat, DP World, Dubai Investment Authority, property developer Emaar, Aldahra Agriculture and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development had met the Foreign Minister in October.

The Sunday visit is a follow-up of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s official visit to Abu Dhabi on September 19 and his understanding with His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to forge closer economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries in all areas of common interest.

Support

In September, Saudi Arabia had agreed to provide $3 billion for one year as balance of payment support and a further one-year deferred payment facility for oil payments up to $3 billion. Economists calculated the impact of the support at $12 billion.

Imran is also scheduled to visit Malaysia on November 20 to discuss economic cooperation with Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad.

An IMF team is already visiting Pakistan to negotiate the programme, likely to cover a period of three years.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) in its latest report said a potential IMF programme for Pakistan could be valued at $15 billion.

The IIF expects an agreement on a three-year IMF programme of $15 billion by end of this year. However, Finance Minister Asad Umar now believes $6-7 billion from the IMF could settle the economic crises.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Jehanabad, Jan 27: The police here carried out a raid at the ancestral house of anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam, who has been slapped with a sedition case in the national capital for alleged inflammatory speeches he gave at Shaheen Bagh and the Jamia Milia Islamia, a senior official said on Monday.

According to Superintendent of Police, Jehanabad, Manish Kumar, Imams house in Kako police station area was raided late on Sunday night following "help sought by central agencies" which are investigating the cases lodged against the JNU research scholar.

Imam was not found at his house but two of his relatives and their driver were detained for interrogation and let off thereafter, the SP said.

A graduate in computer science from IIT-Mumbai, Sharjeel Imam had shifted to Delhi for pursuing research at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU.

He was slapped with a sedition case after his alleged speeches went viral on the social media wherein he was heard speaking about Assam's possible secession from the country in the wake of the Citienship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

Earlier, he had been booked on similar charges at a police station in Aligarh for a speech he delivered on the AMU campus.

Besides, a case under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA has been registered against him at Assam.

Imams late father Akbar Imam was a local JD(U) leader who had unsuccessfully contested an assembly election in his lifetime.

Reacting to the developments, his distraught mother Afshan Rahim told the media, "My son is innocent. He is a bright young man and not a thief or a pickpocket. I swear in the name of God that I do not know about his whereabouts. But I can guarantee that upon learning about the cases, he will appear before the investigating agencies and fully cooperate in the probe."

She said that it has been a long time since she met her son though she had a telephonic conversation with him a few weeks ago.

"He was obviously disturbed by the CAA and fears of the National Register of Citiznes (NRC) about being implemented across the country which, he said, would affect not just Muslims but all poor people," she said.

In fact, after 15 days of Shaheen Bagh protest, he had asked the agitators there to withdraw and watch the situation for a month, and then decide on the further course of action, she said. "But they refused to relent. He was calling for a 'chakkajam' (road blockade). He is just a kid and not capable of instigating people for secession," she added.

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Agencies
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured audit of donations made to the PM-CARES Fund, and to share the details and the money spent with the people.

"The PM-CARES Fund has received huge contributions from PSUs and major public utilities like the Railways. It's important that the Prime Minister ensure the fund is audited and that the record of money received and spent is available to the public," he tweeted.

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs & major public utilities like the Railways.

It’s important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 9, 2020
His remarks came amid reports that the central government is accumulating a huge sum of money in the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund set up as a corpus to fight novel coronavirus and that the amount spent will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The CAG office had clarified that since the fund is based on donations, it has no right to audit a charitable organisation.

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi told the media that the PM-CARES Fund should be audited and people of the country should know about the donors and the donations made.

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, their first meeting after the assembly polls in the national capital.

The meeting went on for over 20 minutes at Shah's residence. The meeting was earlier scheduled at the Home Ministry.

"Met Hon'ble Home Minister Sh Amit Shah ji. Had a very good and fruitful meeting. Discussed several issues related to Delhi. Both of us agreed that we will work together for development of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted.

Shah had led the BJP offensive against Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly polls in which AAP trounced the saffron party, bagging 62 of the 70 seats.

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