COLOMBO: Pakistan on Friday donated computers and printers to the Sri Lankan army to equip its recently established Peacekeeping Training Center, the embassy said in a statement.
Pakistani High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Maj. Gen. (R) Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat, presented the computers and printers to Sri Lankan Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake at a ceremony held at the army’s headquarters on Friday.
In a speech thanking the government of Pakistan, Senanayake said the donation would help improve IT facilities at the Peacekeeping Training Center and help in training hundreds of berets in the years to come.
“Both countries will continue to make efforts for nurturing new vistas of cooperation in the years ahead,” Hashmat said in a speech at the ceremony, expressing his appreciation over the role of the Sri Lankan armed forces in UN peacekeeping operations.
“Pakistan has been the most significant and consistent contributor to the UN peacekeeping around the world with the participation of over 150,000 troops since 1960,” the Pakistan embassy in Colombo said in a statement. “Pakistani peacekeepers have left no stone unturned in the noble cause of helping humanity, building peace and bringing stability across the regions, under the banner of United Nations.”
In an earlier statement, the high commissioner said:
“Sri Lanka and Pakistan inherit a rich cultural heritage and strong cultural relations which are deep-rooted in history. The mutual love between the two people, transcending any other consideration, is the foundation of special relationship that is further cemented by the commonality of eternal values of universal peace and love for humanity, espoused both by Buddhism and Islam.”
Last month Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Colombo said Islamabad would award 1,000 scholarships to Sri Lankan students in various fields, and the two countries were in talks to set up a world-class university in Sri Lanka with Pakistani help.
South Asian nations have always had friendly relations. In the past, Pakistan has supplied high-tech military equipment to the Sri Lankan army to use in its civil war against the Tamil Tigers. Trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan stands at less than $400 million a year but Pakistan said in 2016 it would re-invigorate efforts to reach a target of $1 billion “at the earliest”.
Pakistan donates IT equipment for new Sri Lankan army training center
Pakistan donates IT equipment for new Sri Lankan army training center
- Pakistani High Commissioner to Sri Lanka appreciates role of Sri Lankan armed forces in UN peacekeeping operations
- Sri Lankan Army Commander says donation will help improve IT facilities at the Peacekeeping Training Center
Two Pakistani men indicted in $10 million Medicare fraud scheme in Chicago
- Prosecutors say defendants billed Medicare and private insurers for nonexistent services
- Authorities say millions of dollars in proceeds were laundered and transferred to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani nationals have been indicted in Chicago for allegedly participating in a $10 million health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurers, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury charged Burhan Mirza, 31, who resided in Pakistan, and Kashif Iqbal, 48, who lived in Texas, with submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided, according to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medicare is the US federal health insurance program primarily serving Americans aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities.
“Rooting out fraud is a priority for this Justice Department, and these defendants allegedly billed millions of dollars from Medicare and laundered the proceeds to Pakistan,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“These alleged criminals stole from a program designed to provide health care benefits to American seniors and the disabled, not line the pockets of foreign fraudsters,” he added. “We will not tolerate these schemes that divert taxpayer dollars to criminals.”
Prosecutors said that in 2023 and 2024, the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators used nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers to bill Medicare and private health benefit programs for nonexistent services.
According to the indictment, Mirza obtained identifying information of individuals, providers and insurers without their knowledge and used it to support fraudulent claims submitted on behalf of shell companies. Iqbal was allegedly linked to several durable medical equipment providers that filed false claims and is accused of laundering proceeds and coordinating transfers of funds to Pakistan.
Mirza faces 12 counts of health care fraud and five counts of money laundering. Iqbal is charged with 12 counts of health care fraud, six counts of money laundering and one count of making a false statement to US law enforcement. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
Three additional defendants, including an Indian, previously charged in the investigation, have pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.
An indictment contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
