Qaim Ali Shah’s outburst against Rangers after giving one-year extension

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah expressed annoyance over the way of working of Rangers and showed discomfort with the interference of external institutions in the anti-corruption workings of the province.

All provinces have their own anti-corruption mechanisms and we don’t need other institutions to interfere in the anti-corruption work of the provincial government, he said in a press conference on Thursday.

Outburst of Sindh Chief Minister against Karachi Rangers appears strange after his government gave one-year extension to Rangers to stay in the city and continue their mission against criminals, gangsters and those involved in mega corruption, especially china-cutting and land grabbing.

Chief Minister said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been around for a long time. “Why NAB had been activated suddenly?” he questioned.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah was of the view that the legal jurisdiction of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is related to federal offences and ideally they shouldn’t be interfering in provincial matters.

Additionally, he expressed his unhappiness over raid of Rangers at Civic Center in July in which they took away thousands of files of plots allotment.

Any such action requires two witnesses for seizure of property which will go to court, but there were no such witnesses, the chief minister stated.

Chief Minister said he wanted protection of the province’s rights, adding that Sindh, including Karachi, has improved considerably in terms of peace and security. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi on Thursday claimed to have arrested the former project director of Lines Area Re-Development Project, over charges of causing loss of Rs5 billion to national exchequer.

Fareed Ahmed Yousufani was charged with embezzlement over generating money through ‘China-cutting’, it was further alleged that funds generated through it were used to ‘finance terror activities,’ according to NAB spokesperson.

The official said that the arrested suspect was involved in illegal bifurcation, amalgamation and allotment of precious auction plots in Lines Area Re-development Project through ‘China Cutting’, bypassing the auction which was otherwise ‘mandatory’ as per law.

“The land was then illegally allotted to builders and ‘qabza mafia’ at throw away prices for bribe and commission. These illegal activities caused a loss in excess of Rs5 billion to the national exchequer.”

The above mentioned illegal land grabbing resulted into generation of “funds for terror financing and unregulated settlements for terrorist activities”, the official added.

During initial interrogation, Yousufani mentioned the names of many former project directors, former KMC administrators and KDA officers as his partners. Accused persons have amassed huge assets for themselves through corruption, claimed NAB’s official.

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5 Majors among 12 killed in Army Helicopter crash

ISLAMABAD: Five Majors of Pakistan Army among the 12 army officials who lost their lives in helicopter crash tragedy near Mansehra on Thursday evening.

Major Humayun (pilot), Major Muzzammil (pilot), Major Dr Shahzad, Major Dr Atif, Major Dr Usman, Havaldar Munir Abbasi (flight technician), Havaldar Asif (crew chief), Naik Amir Saeed, Naik Maqbool, Sepoy Rehmatullah, Sepoy Waqar and Nursing Ammanullah are among those who were killed in copter crash today.

According to an ISPR official, the helicopter, which was carrying relief items and medicines to Gilgit, had taken off from Chaklala, Rawalpindi. About 12 army personnel were on board, including doctors, paramedic and aviation people in the helicopter.

He said the helicopter crashed over the mountains in the Mohar area of northern Mansehra district, adding that it appeared bad weather might have caused the crash.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the helicopter crash near Mansehra. The premier expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in the incident and commiserated with the families of the deceased on this tragic incident.

The incident is the second fatal crash involving army helicopters this year. In May, an army helicopter crashed in Naltar Valley killing seven people, including three ambassadors.

Ambassador of Philippines Domingo D Lucenario Jr, Ambassador of Norway Leif Larsen and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors were among seven people killed in the helicopter crash in Naltar Valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region on May 8, 2015.

Earlier today, a Pakistan Air Force helicopter, engaged in relief and rescue efforts, crashed in the Khot area of upper Chitral, injuring several people. The helicopter was being used to conduct rescue and relief operations in the flood affected district of Chitral.

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Mahira Khan refuses to do ‘love-making’ scene in Indian movie “Raees”

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has made his mark in Bollywood with his roles in films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kick, Badlapur and many more. However, there is an actress who apparently refused to do a love-making scene with the actor.

She is none other than Pakistani actress Mahira Khan who is making her big Bollywood debut with movie Raees opposite Shah Rukh Khan!

According to a report on Bollywoodlife.com, apparently, the actress got the jitters with an intimate scene with Nawaz. The report stated that the sex scene is pretty edgy, dark and somewhat brutal which has Nawaz forcing himself on her. The report further stated that the sequence was unsettling for Mahira and she refused to do it.