A senior Australian Defence Force officer has revealed details of how the Royal Australian Air Force deploys Israeli-owned drones for battlefield surveillance and to target anti-government Islamic fighters in Afghanistan.
Wing Commander Jonathan McMullan says Australia is just buying hours on the Heron drones from a Canadian company that in turn leases them from IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries), which is wholly owned by the Israeli government.
While enthusiastically endorsing the Heron s capabilities, Wing Commander McMullan was highly critical of the quality of training provided by Israeli and Canadian instructors to Australian drone crews.
The unarmed Israeli Herons first entered RAAF service in Afghanistan in December 2009.
OIC Contact Group reaffirms its support to Kashmir cause
CAIRO, Feb 6 (INP): The Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) reaffirmed OIC’s commitment and support to the Kashmiri struggle for their right to self determination, as enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions.
The Contact group met on the sidelines of the 12th Islamic Summit Conference in Cairo on Tuesday. The meeting coincided with the Kashmir Solidarity Day (5 February) on which the people of Pakistan express their solidarity with the Kashmiris.
The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar and OIC Secretary General, Mr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. It was also attended by high ranking officials of the Contact Group members i.e Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Niger. The representative of Egypt being the host of the Summit also participated.
Ahsan Iqbal and other members from the Opposition were of the stance that financial impact of any ordinance to public should also be considered. DawnNewsTV
ISLAMABAD: Majority of the members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday strongly criticised the government for implementing financial decisions through presidential ordinances, saying it was violation of the constitution and an insult to the parliament.
The meeting of the committee presided over by PTI lawmaker Faiz Ullah dropped detailed discussions on State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill 2021 and the revised IMF programme on the request of the chairman saying some proponents of the agenda items could not make it to the meeting.
Govt grilled for imposing Rs700 bn taxes through ordinance
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April 8, 2021
ISLAMABAD: The parliamentarians belonging to the opposition parties have grilled the government for the imposition of Rs 700 billion taxes and levies through presidential ordinance, terming it an unconstitutional and deliberate effort to bypass the parliament.
The opposition members criticized the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 approved by the federal cabinet and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs going to lay before the National Assembly anytime in the near future.
The government conceded before an NA panel that the parliament is sovereign and the cabinet’s approved bill will be tabled before the parliament and will be passed with the assent of the parliament. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue which met under the chairmanship of Faizullah from the ruling PTI decided to defer approval on the SBP Amendment Bill and Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2021.