According to court documents, Muhammad Saleem operated the Lahore Foundation in Burtonsville, Maryland. Through the Lahore Foundation, Saleem recruited aliens overseas and fraudulently obtained visas for these aliens to enter the United States. Upon their arrival, Saleem housed the aliens in residences he owned and then employed the aliens through other companies he operated, namely Scientech Personnel, SVP Staffers, and Profourcing. Through these companies and in exchange for
an hourly fee, Saleem illegally contracted the aliens to construction companies to work as electricians in violation of their visa status. Saleem passed only a portion of the hourly fee to the aliens who
performed the labor. Saleem also assisted the aliens in obtaining an extension of their status to remain as a visitor, when in fact the aliens continued working through the defendant.

The case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Labor. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beth N. Gibson.

Our very existence on this earth will be in danger if we did not counter serious issues like dry seasons lasting for years, drought-like conditions in vast swathes of territory, continuous rains for months, flash-floods, thunder storms, rising temperature of the world and melting glaciers. This is the reason why climate change was made the topic of World Tourism Day.”

“To stop this change, is the need of the hour and Pakistan intends to play its due role in this regard,” the prime minister said. He said when tourist industry grows the economy of the country grows consequently. The day is being celebrated since September 27, 1980 by the World Tourism Organization. It was established at the Third Session of the UNWTO General Assembly in Torremolinos, Spain, in the September of 1979. The purpose of this day is to display the awareness that tourism is vital to the international community and to show how it affects the social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.-SANA

He said these buses would be exempted from all kind of taxes. He announced separate bus stands would also be built for women. The transporters will be provided special packages and services, Ali said, adding all other arrangements including purchase of new buses have been finalized.-SANA

She, however, said that the working of the mission’s visa section and a similar application centre in the port city of Karachi were unaffected by the move. Asked when the centre would be reopened, she said, “Once we are satisfied that we have fully assessed the threat and there is no longer a danger we will open the centre once again.”

Many Western countries have reduced the strength of the staff in their missions in Islamabad owing to threats of terrorist violence. Several countries such as the US do not permit their diplomatic staff to bring along their families to Pakistan.-SANA

Mr. Ashraf also directed to reconstitute the board of directors of the PTDC with major participation of private sector. He emphasized the need to devise a rationale mechanism and arrange guided tours to attract both domestic and foreign tourists in Pakistan. He was of the view that the PTDC should develop tourist facilities in areas which have tourism potential.

He also directed the PTDC to prepare a plan for designing of a tourist village to be linked with the international tourism club and organizations to keep a close liaison with international tourists as well as to construct a Budgeted Hotel in the Federal Capital to generate tourist activities both domestically and internationally. Tourists village should have mini Disney Land for children, provincial pavilions and other recreations facilities through public private partnership.

Earlier, the MD, PTDC gave a detailed briefing on the objectives and functions of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). He apprised the Minister that the vision of the PTDC was to promote and develop the tourist activities in the country and to make Pakistan as tourist friendly country to attract tourists both domestic and international. It was also informed that the arrangements are being finalized for a Day Tour with the diplomats and the tourist loving people.

The Minister while appreciating the efforts of the PTDC urged for creating an enabling environment for Pakistan Tourism industry to provide world class facilities that commensurate with our rich cultural heritage with the private sector and protecting a soft image of the country as according to him Pakistan is a charming and beautiful country having great and rich culture and heritage with scenic sights, and through devising simple and viable planning, a large number of tourists could be attracted, he added. He opined that first we should develop the infrastructure and turn the existing motels as profit making to attract more tourists in this regard. He also said that revolutionary steps with collective efforts are required to promote tourism in the country.-SANA

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Robert Brinkley said, “We’re urging all our visa applicants to be on their guard against these sorts of scams. Our visa service is one of the quickest of any Western mission in Islamabad, and no-one except the Entry Clearance Officer has any influence over the decision to grant or refuse a visa application. We would ask any applicant who is approached by someone claiming to be able to secure a visa decision in return for payment to inform the High Commission immediately.” Applicants can report their suspicions by e-mail to rauisb@fco.gov.uk or phone 051 201 2487.

The High Commission takes the integrity of the visa system extremely seriously. Recently it announced that any applicant found trying to cheat the system with forged documents or by lying on their application would be refused, and barred from applying for a UK visa for up to ten years. “We will take swift action against anyone trying to cheat the UK visa system,” Mr Brinkley said. “Mostly, that means agents providing false documents, or applicants trying to use them in their application. But we will also act where we find instances of internal fraud. Following a recent investigation into allegations of corruption within the visa section, some staff have resigned and several others face disciplinary action.”-SANA

Both my parents and their forefathers came from Lahore. While my father’s family was from Lahore proper, my mother’s family came from Sheikhupura, near Lahore. While my father and his parents migrated in 1920’s due to my grandfather’s Government job, my mother’s side came during partition. I would sit down with my Nanaji for hours discussing his childhood and youth. I still remember him picking up the Hindustan Times with a story on the terrorist training camps for the Khalistanis in 1980’s with a map of the various places where those camps were and pointing those places to me. “Here I played my first hockey match”… and “Here I went to college”.. etc. He had travelled wide and well in that land and was fluent in Farsi and Urdu (oral and written).

After all these decades, the Internet had accomplished me to do another thing. Sort of close the loop that had been left open - a young girl from Lahore finally brought that whiff of that city - which has a special place in Punjabiyat of South Asia - to our home.

She, unbeknownest, returned something to my family that we had left “back there”. Lahore’s persona.

Internet is a great equalizer. It can bring two completely different people with different histories together. They may not agree but the platform’s “maryada” or the value system, provides you with a certain serenity to accept divergence that you may not have accepted otherwise. I have disagreed with many and yet learned from them. The process goes on.

A close friend once told me that he does not judge people, for he may lose out on another’s perspective on the same issue and maybe he could learn from it! I cannot say I am as good as he is, but I am learning. I am quite sure that I might see the world differently than many but the important thing is that despite that we still look at each other. As friends.

Rubab has furthered my education in that process of such acceptance. She may not agree with my views always but she accepts me as another perspective. And in the end, I believe, that is what Lahore was really about. It brought passionate people of all hues who were tied to each other through one thread - of acceptance and love born out of that acceptance. I am not using the word “Tolerance” for it is negative and a compromise. Acceptance is not a compromise. It is a positive way to open your arms and bring people into your world as one. In accepting you become complete. This young lady from Lahore made me complete.

She is currently residing in Gujranwala a adjacent city to Lahore, but breezes come from the same direction that is Pakistan.

The addition of the 140 seater, single aisle aircraft will enable Etihad to increase the number of flights to its Gulf destinations and improves transfer times to its global network. James Hogan, Chief Executive Etihad Airways, said: “Narrow-body aircraft are ideally suited to our growing Middle East and short-haul network and it will allow us to redeploy the wide body aircraft, currently in use on these routes, to our long haul destinations.”

Etihad’s first A320 will have two passenger cabins with 120 seats in economy and 20 in business class. Tehran will be the first city to be served on 1 September from Abu Dhabi. A further fleet of two A320s will arrive in October after the new aircraft will operate on Etihad’s routes to Karachi, Beirut, Dammam, Muscat, Bahrain, Cairo, Doha, Kuwait, Amman, Damascus and Tehran, he added.

Etihad currently has a fleet of 27 wide-body aircraft and it placed a 2.2 billion dollars order with Airbus for 12 new wide-body aircraft in June. Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in Abu Dhabi. Currently the airline offers flights to 45 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.-SANA