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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan is likely to be arrested in foreign funding case, ARY citing sources reported on Friday.  The report comes soon after the other PTI leaders including Tariq Shafi, Hamid Zaman and Saif Niazi were arrested the same day. The media outlet said that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah ordered concerned authorities to lodge a case against Imran Khan.  Dawn newspaper citing sources reported that the federal government has prepared a plan under which the police have been given a go ahead to put Imran Khan under house arrest at his Banigala residence after the announcement of the much-hyped long march.  Notably, PTI leader Saifullah Niazi was also taken into custody by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Cybercrime wing on Friday, on charges of running an 'unauthorized' website, which was being used for illegal fundraising, ARY news reported. "After Shehbaz Sharif's press conference yesterday and the subsequent arrests of Tariq Shafi, Hamid Zaman and Saif Niazi, it is clear that the government is panicking and is scared after the announcement of 'Azadi March'," PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain tweeted.  Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, Rana Sanaullah gave reasons for the detention and noted that the PTI leaders were not appearing before the FIA in the party's prohibited funding case.  Meanwhile, Imran Khan directed party workers to get ready for the 'Haqeeqi Azadi March' in Islamabad. After the announcement, the Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government had decided to call out the army and deploy troops in the capital city if PTI chief Imran Khan gave a call for the march. The ousted Prime minister claimed that there is only one way for Pakistan to come out of the prevailing situation and that is to ensure fresh general elections in the country.  While addressing a mega rally last month in Punjab's Rahimyar Khan district, Khan said he would give the final call for anti-government protests when the time was ripe, asserting that it would come when he is assured that he can "take three wickets in one ball". (ANI)

After facing heavy losses, Nepal Airlines has decided to sell five of its Chinese-made aircraft as nobody wants to lease them. The aircraft spent more time on the ground than in the air, and they were becoming a financial burden on the debt-ridden national flag carrier.  Eight years after acquiring a batch of Chinese planes it had hoped to fly on underserved mountain routes, Nepal Airlines finally decided that it didn't want the albatross around its neck anymore after the direction of the Ministry of Finance.  In 2012, the corporation advanced the purchase agreement of four Y12E (Y12E) and two MA60 (MA60) aircraft from China. One of these planes is now in a state of non-operation after the accident, while the remaining five are sitting idle in the parking lot of Tribhuvan International Airport. Besides maintenance issues and lack of spare parts, Nepal Airlines couldn't find pilots to fly the aircraft, and there was no sense in keeping them anymore. The deadline for the bids set by Nepal Airlines is October 31. Some top Nepal Airlines officials say they do not expect to see potential lessees. It is said that the Ministry of Finance has instructed the corporation to prepare to sell the aircraft to anyone who wants it after not even leasing it from this call, reported hamrakura.com. After purchasing the Chinese aircraft, it became a headache for the first batch that entered in 2014.  Now, as the losses continue to increase, the situation has arisen that these aircraft have to be sold at a loss price. In November 2012, state flag-carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) signed a commercial agreement with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a Chinese Government undertaking to procure the aircraft. China at the time had provided the grant and concessional loan assistance of 408m Chinese Yuan, equivalent to Rs 6.67bn.  Out of the total aid money, a grant worth 180m yuan (Rs 2.94bn) went to pay for one MA60 and one Y12e aircraft. The other aircraft were bought for 228m yuan (Rs 3.72bn) with a soft loan provided by China's EXIM Bank.  Soon after their arrival, the NAC board then realized that aircraft cost more to operate than to purchase and bring to Nepal. In July 2020, the NAC board decided to stop the operation of aircraft and since they have been kept at the Tribhuvan International Airport. Though the planes are out of service due to high-cost operationalization and being unfit to fly, the Ministry of Finance has started paying back the interest on the loans for the planes. (ANI)

The UN Human Rights Council's vote against a US-led draft decision on Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region showed that the international community would not be easily misled despite pressure from the US and some other Western countries, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in a late statement on Thursday, Global Times reported. The international community is clearly aware that the ultimate motive of the US and some other Western countries behind their Xinjiang narrative is to contain China and does not like this pattern of using human rights as a pretext to meddle in other countries' internal affairs, said the spokesperson. The remarks came after the 51st session of the Human Rights Council on Thursday voted down a draft decision on Xinjiang region, which was pushed by the US and some other Western allies. Despite pressure from the US and its allies, the draft decision ended up unsupported by the majority of the Human Rights Council membership, especially many members from the developing world. The agenda has again failed to gain international support, said the spokesperson. The issues related to Xinjiang are not about human rights. They are about countering violent terrorism, radicalization and separatism. Thanks to strenuous efforts, there has been no violent terrorist incident in Xinjiang for over five consecutive years. The human rights of people of all ethnic backgrounds in Xinjiang are protected like never before, the foreign ministry spokesperson said. "For some time now, the US and some other Western countries have been misinforming the public about Xinjiang region and seeking political manipulation in the name of human rights simply to smear China's image and contain China's development," said the spokesperson. The spokesperson stressed that these countries have ignored facts and truths about Xinjiang region, noting that in recent years, nearly 100 countries, including many Islamic countries, have spoken out openly in support of China's just position on issues related to Xinjiang and have expressed opposition toward using these issues to interfere in China's internal affairs. The issues that the Human Rights Council truly needs to focus on are the serious human rights violations concerning the US, the UK and some Western forces, including systemic racism and racial discrimination, the rights of refugees and migrants and rampant gun violence, said the spokesperson, according to Global Times. China urged the US and other Western forces to abandon political manipulation, disinformation and suppression, return to the track of dialogue and cooperation, and make real contributions to the global advancement of human rights.

Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) leaders were absent from the ruling coalition meeting held to decide seat distribution. JPS leaders did not participate in the meeting expressing their dissatisfaction with the seat distribution. According to JSP sources, leaders including Chairman Upendra Yadav are in final preparations for electoral alliance with CPN-UML. After getting only 16 seats in the ruling coalition, Yadav reached Balkot, KP Oli's residence on Thursday expressing disagreement with the alliance. According to sources, there is also a draft agreement with UML Chairman Oli. But the JSP sources say that there is still few things left to finalize the agreement. Meanwhile, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed displeasure saying that JSP is going to destroy the alliance. His secretariat has mentioned that an alliance was formed to protect the constitution and if it is destroyed, the federalism and the political achievements will be attacked. "The regressive, anti-federal democratic forces may be daydreaming of plotting to destroy the coalition without agreeing on seat distribution and leading the country towards regression. But the coalition was built on the foundation of ideological and political objectives. There may be some disagreement. But it is the wish of all of us that this coordination should continue until the federalism is institutionalized and the regression is completely defeated. If someone deviates from this basic principle, it will be an attack on democracy, federalism and the achievements we have achieved," Dahal's secretary Ganga Dahal wrote on Facebook. She mentioned that the alliance was formed to protect the constitution against regression and respect the votes of the Nepalis in favor of progress rather than any political gain.