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Author: News Desk

  • More audio leaks of judges coming soon, claims journalists

    More audio leaks of judges coming soon, claims journalists

    Veteran journalists Azaz Syed and Umar Cheema have claimed on their YouTube show “Talk Shock” that more audio leaks which have the potential to plunge the country into further crisis, might surface soon.

    The two journalists discussed the recently leaked audio recordings which allegedly feature former Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Pervaiz Elahi talking about a sitting Supreme Court (SC) judge. The two journalists said that according to their well-informed sources, there are some audio leaks that may release soon.

    Syed said that some of the recordings are also related to former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar.

    However, both of them clarified that the information is not confirmed yet.

    Azaz added that judges’ phones are not being taped and highlighted that the recording of someone’s call is highly immoral and condemned the audio leaks.

    Moreover, they thoroughly discussed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s heavy criticism of the judiciary, claiming that government might know about the contents of the upcoming audio leaks.

  • Indian-Pakistani couple brought together by Ludo ends up in jail

    Indian-Pakistani couple brought together by Ludo ends up in jail

    Married couple Muhammad Singh Yadav from India and Iqra Jeewani from Pakistan were both arrested in Bangalore for forging fake documents and citizenship cards to help Jeewani stay in the country.
    Yadav (21) was working as a security guard at an IT organization in Bangalore, while Jeewani was a student from Hyderabad, Pakistan. Both met in 2020 while playing the online game Ludo where they fell in love, and then were in a long distance relationship.
    However during this time, Jeewani was being pressurized by her parents to get married, but the two of them knew that given the political tensions between India and Pakistan, they won’t be able to be together.
    Both Jeewani and Yadav decided to travel to Nepal together where they got married in a Hindu ceremony, according to the police.
    In order to help Jeewani stay in India with proper documents, Yadav got her a fake Indian citizenship card so that she may stay with him in Bangalore.
    The police informed BBC that they had traced the couple after Jeewani made a lot of calls during the day to her mother in Pakistan. After further investigation, Jeewani was declared guilty and handed over to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office on 20 January. She was deported back to Pakistan in February while Yadav is still in jail.
    The BBC got in touch with Yadav’s family, who said that the couple had committed no crime, but had only fallen in love.
    “We don’t care if she’s Muslim or Pakistani, she’s our daughter-in-law. We’ll take good care of her,” said Yadav’s mother.
    Meanwhile, Jeewani’s family had confirmed that their daughter had reached home, but refused to speak further on the matter.

  • Election date suo moto: Things you can’t miss in today’s Supreme Court hearing

    At the outset of Friday’s hearing, the Attorney-General told the court that the copy of the court order had not been received which is why all parties did not appear today.

    At this, CJP Bandial remarked that the purpose of today’s hearing was to inform the relevant authorities about the suo motu notice.

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government asked Supreme Court’s Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi to “recuse themselves” from the larger bench that is hearing suo motu proceedings regarding the delay in the announcement of a date for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    The request was presented in a joint statement by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamat-e-Ulema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F), read by lawyer Farooq H Naek, on behalf of the three parties when the nine-member bench resumed the hearing of the suo motu notice today. 

    At this point, Naek appeared before the bench and read out a joint statement of the PPP, JUI-F and PML-N regarding their objections over the bench.

    The lawyer said that both judges had made their observations on the matter when they heard Ghulam Mahmood Dogar’s plea against his removal as the Lahore police chief.

    The counsel also shared the dissenting note of Justice Mandokhail.

    Naek stated that they were objecting to the two judges’ inclusion in the “interest of justice, fair play and to protect the fundamental right to a fair trial and due process as guaranteed under Article 10A”.

    At this, Justice Minallah asked the lawyer if he felt there was a need to form a full court for the case.

    “[The] matter of elections is of public [importance] so there should be [a] full court on this,” responded Naek and formally appealed for a full court to hear the suo motu notice on the delay in elections.

    Meanwhile, the counsel for Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed said that the judiciary is being ridiculed on social media since yesterday and urged the court to look into this matter.

    At this, CJP Bandial said that this matter will be looked into later. “Prepare for the case,” the CJP told the attorney general.

    However, Naek interjected that the matter pertaining to the bench formation and the objections surrounding it should be resolved first.

    “The decision was made on February 16 and the notice was taken on February 22,” said the CJP, adding that taking suo motu notice falls under the chief justice’s jurisdiction. He said that the petitions by Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly speakers are clubbed with the suo motu.

    The court is also looking into the questions raised in the petitions filed by the speakers, he added.

    Justice Mandokhail said that political matters should be resolved in Parliament. “Tell your political parties why should the court hear these cases?” he added.

    Referring to a PML-N rally held on Friday, he said that “derogatory remarks” were hurled at the judiciary in that public gathering.

    Justice Mandokhail said that political matters must be settled in the Parliament. “Go to your parties … why should the court hear this matter?”

    At that, Naek said that he would seek direction from his party on the matter. He also requested the court to first hear the government’s objection on the bench.

    Justice Bandial said that in normal circumstances, citizens knocked on the door of the court. “But today, the Constitution of Pakistan has knocked on our doorstep.”

    Subsequently, the court observed that it will decide on Monday whether to form a full-court bench to hear the case.

    “The court will also hear the objection raised against the two judges on Monday,” CJP Bandial remarked.

    “Today the Constitution knocked on our doors which is why we took the suo motu notice,” remarked the CJP as he adjourned the hearing till 11:30am on Monday.

  • ‘1970s Ittefaq Group was so big kay yeh Tata Birla waghera ka tou pata he nahi tha’: Suleman Shehbaz

    ‘1970s Ittefaq Group was so big kay yeh Tata Birla waghera ka tou pata he nahi tha’: Suleman Shehbaz

    Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, appeared on a podcast where among other matters, he discussed the history of Ittefaq Group, the Sharif family business.

    As a clip of the show went viral, Twitter had objections to Suleman Shehbaz’s version of history.

    He said that the Sharif family prioritised business first and politics second.

    “In 1970’s Ittefaq Group (Family business of Sharif family) was so big that no one knew about Tata and Birla in the region,” said Suleman to the host.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Tata Group was founded as a private trading firm in 1868 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata.

    Twitter had all kinds of reactions to Suleman’s statement.

    https://twitter.com/Aadil_Jillani/status/1629075777189822464?s=20
  • ‘Cabal of five’: Maryam Nawaz doesn’t hold back in criticising judiciary

    ‘Cabal of five’: Maryam Nawaz doesn’t hold back in criticising judiciary

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Thursday criticised two sitting judges of the Supreme Court, listing them as members of a “cabal of five” who conspired against her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

    Addressing a public rally in Sargodha, she put up a video screen showing pictures of the five people she held responsible, saying: “The people of Sargodha should also see the ones behind the conspiracy”.

    The pictures included ex-Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, former chief justices Asif Khosa and Saqib Nisar, and two sitting Supreme Court judges: Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who are currently part of a top court bench hearing a suo motu case to determine who has the constitutional responsibility and authority to announce the date for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    The PML-N leader said that even the country’s bar councils had protested against the inclusion of the two judges in the bench hearing the suo motu case.

    One of the two serving judges shown on the screen, Maryam said, was part of the bench that disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case. “He is dreaming of becoming the chief justice. It has been five to six years since Nawaz was disqualified but he is still sitting as a judge in every case against Nawaz,” said Maryam Nawaz in a thinly veiled reference to Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

    The PML-N leader claimed that when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) 2014 sit-in failed, ex-chief justice Asif Khosa told PTI chief Imran Khan to bring the Panama case before him so that Nawaz could be disqualified.

    She alleged that ex-spy chief Faiz Hameed is “still sitting somewhere and operating,” behind the scenes.

    Maryam also played the audio purportedly featuring former Punjab chief minister Elahi and one of the top court judges.

    Maryam further said that the two top court judges had taken notice of the transfer of the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Dogar and “brought back Imran’s man”.

  • Sampling campaign to monitor drug addiction among students launched in Lahore

    Sampling campaign to monitor drug addiction among students launched in Lahore

    The District Administration has initiated a campaign of random sampling in the provincial metropolis to monitor drug addiction among students. According to Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider, a total of 215 samples were collected from public and private schools and sent to the health department for analysis.

    The samples were taken from various educational institutions, with 50 from Tehsil City, 50 from Shalimar, 50 from Raiwind, 52 from Model Town, and 13 from Cantt.

    Haider has directed ADC (G) Zeeshan Ranjha to ensure strict monitoring and better coordination. She also informed that an awareness lecture was conducted during the sampling process, and drug dealers were under surveillance, apart from random sampling. In addition, monitoring of shops around educational institutions was being carried out, and any suspicious activity should be reported immediately.

    DC Lahore expressed that the young generation is the future and should be safeguarded from drug addiction, which poses a threat to both life and the country’s future. Meanwhile, the District Administration Lahore was actively preparing for the seventh digital census in the city. The DC chaired a meeting where it was reported that thousands of tablets were being distributed for the census, with 1271 tablets already distributed in Tehsil City, 168 in Cantt, 253 in Cantonment, 808 in Tehsil Model Town, 725 in Shalimar, and 382 in Raiwind.

    The DC was informed that tablet distribution was completed 100 per cent in Lahore Cantonment, 92 per cent in Raiwind Tehsil, 86 per cent in City, 85 per cent in Walton Cantonment, 71 per cent in Model Town, and 75 per cent in Lahore Cantt and Shalimar, respectively. All necessary steps were being taken to ensure a 100 per cent success rate for the online census, with officers evaluating performance in the field themselves. The concerned officers were directed to speed up the delivery of the remaining modern tablets.

  • Shoaib Akhtar again lands in controversy after mocking Kamran Akmal on live TV

    Shoaib Akhtar again lands in controversy after mocking Kamran Akmal on live TV

    Shoaib Akhtar again lands in controversy after mocking Kamran Akmal on live TV

    After facing criticism over his remarks about Babar Azam, former speedster Shoaib Akhtar has again landed in controversy after mocking former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for his pronunciations. “Sakreeen Nahi screen hota hai,” (It is called screen, not sakreen) Akhtar told Akmal on a live television show.

    Akhtar, who holds the record for the fastest delivery in the history of cricket, has several times found himself being criticized for his remarks.
    Earlier this week, Akhtar said about Babar Azam that to be a brand, he must speak well, adding that the batting superstar will not be a brand until he improves his spoken English. “Playing Cricket is one thing and handling media is another thing,” he said.
    Social media users bashed him for the statement.

    While offering an explanation of his comments, he said: “I did not intend to disparage Babar Azam but he needs to improve himself if he wants to be a big brand.”

  • PSL 8: Karachi emerges as potential host city amid bill dispute

    PSL 8: Karachi emerges as potential host city amid bill dispute

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued an ultimatum to the Punjab government regarding the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight matches scheduled to be held in the province.

    Sources indicate that the PCB is contemplating relocating the Punjab-leg of PSL 8 to Karachi after receiving a bill of Rs450 million from the provincial government, which the PCB and PSL franchises have unanimously decided not to pay.

    If the bill is not waived before the deadline tomorrow, the matches will be officially moved to Karachi. A meeting between PCB and the Punjab government is scheduled for later today to address the matter.

    The PCB has reportedly started preparations for holding additional matches in Karachi, and the revised schedule has been discussed with the franchises. The deadlock may also result in white-ball matches between Pakistan and New Zealand in April and May being moved out of Punjab.

    Currently, Rawalpindi is set to host 11 fixtures and Lahore nine matches, including the closing ceremony, playoffs, and the final. The victorious team will not only lift the Supernova Trophy but will also receive a cheque of Rs120 million, while the runners-up will receive Rs48 million.

    Lahore Qalandars will attempt to achieve a back-to-back title win, while Islamabad United will strive to become the most successful side by winning the trophy for the third time.

  • Famed Baloch folk singer Wasu Khan passes away

    Famed Baloch folk singer Wasu Khan passes away

    Famed Baloch singer Wasu Khan passed away Friday morning. According to his family, the singer was suffering from a prolonged illness and was admitted to a private hospital in Sukkur where he died.


    Khan was known for his collaborations with pop singer Shehzad Roy for the show ‘Wasu Aur Mein’ on Geo which explored how the two met. Roy first stumbled across Wasu’s viral Youtube video in 2012 and then began collaborating on songs with him.


    The ‘Laga Re’ singer dedicated a post to Khan and called him someone with ‘great political intellect’, and shared a clip of their song ‘Apney Uloo’.


    “Wasu Khan passed away this morning. He was unable to read and write, but had great political intellect and wrote political satire. We will miss him. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un #WasuKhan”

  • ‘Do not create controversies’: Khawaja Asif’s lashes out at judiciary on NA floor

    ‘Do not create controversies’: Khawaja Asif’s lashes out at judiciary on NA floor

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday demanded that the Supreme Court (SC) form a full court bench to hear the case pertaining to provincial elections and review past cases, starting with the Panama case in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life.

    In a fiery speech on the floor of the National Assembly (NA), Khawaja questioned why some judges were not criticised and raised concerns about judges intervening in parliament’s jurisdiction.

    The minister said he doesn’t want to cross the line in criticism and added that the election date suo motu case should be heard by the full court.

    “It has complained that parliamentarians criticise judges by naming them. I want to ask why some judges are not criticised?”

    Asif said that when judges intervene in the parliament’s jurisdiction, politicians will raise questions about it.

    “Why former justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Khosa are criticised and not Justice Nasir ul Mulk and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani’s name should be raised as well?” he asked.

    Taking a jibe at PTI’s Jail Bharo Tehreek, Khawaja said Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son came to bail his father out one day after his arrest. 

    “No one came for us when we were arrested for several days. We were sent to 90 days remand. PM and his daughter served jail sentences for numerous days. No one got bail for this. On the other side, they [PTI] get instant bail,” said the minister. 

    “They carry out photo sessions in front of a police van and then leave for home. Jail Bharo Tehreek has flopped. Now it should be doob maro film (Drown in Shame),” said Asif.

    “Imran does not come out of his home, gets pre-arrest bail and then directs his party workers to offer their arrests. Imran’s medical record has not been done yet as he went to his own hospital,” said Asif. He added that the PTI chief considers the people of Pakistan fools. 

    Khawaja questioned how the treatment meted out to Nawaz Sharif justified.

    “Rewriting the Constitution is not the judiciary’s job. This is the outcome of the way Article 63 was rewritten. The way Nawaz Sharif’s government was removed was unfair.”

    Asif urged the judiciary to “prove its gracefulness”. 

    “I would say, correct the mistakes of the past which you have made so that the structure of the state could rely upon a strong foundation that no one can ever dare to challenge it. Do not generate controversies. Do not rewrite Article 63. If such would continue to happen God forbid, an unfortunate incident could take place,” warned Asif.