Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Fact check: Have three popular TV anchors been taken off air?

    Fact check: Have three popular TV anchors been taken off air?

    Claim: Imran Riaz Khan, Irshad Bhatti and Maleeha Hashmy have been sacked by Geo News, Samaa TV and Public News for their political biases

    Fact: Maleeh Hashmy was fired, Irshad Bhatti still works at Geo News and Imran Riaz Khan did not respond

    Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari in a tweet expressed her displeasure over the silence of journalists representative bodies and human rights organisations against the sacking of three journalists and TV show hosts/analysts, Imran Riaz Khan, Irshad Bhatti and Maleeha Hashmi.

    “Samaa News sacked Imran Riaz Khan. Geo News sacked Irshad Bhatti while Public News sacked Maleeha Hashmi. Not a word of condemnation came from the media, journos & all other self-proclaimed human rights defenders,” the minister wrote in a tweet.

    Were they all really fired from their jobs? We find out.

    Irshad Bhatti- Geo News

    Truth: He is on leave until Monday April 11, 2022

    Social media reports started circulating yesterday, suggesting that Irshad Bhatti has been sacked from Geo News. Shireen Mazari in her tweet also said the same. However, Bhatti in his reply to Mazari clarified that he has not been taken off-air and he is on leave for three days. He further said that he will be back on-screen on Monday.

    Imran Riaz Khan- Samaa TV

    Truth: He has not confirmed whether he was actually fired from Samaa TV.

    Imran Riaz Khan is a Current affairs host at Samaa TV. He has not confirmed the news yet.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill in his tweet said that Imran Khan has been off-aired from Samaa Tv. However, no official statement has been issued from the channel.

    Maleeha Hashmi- Public Tv

    Truth: She has been fired

    Maleeha Hashmi used to host a tv show on Public News. Yesterday, the news of her being fired off from Public News, started circulating on social media. Later, she confirmed the news on Twitter. “Public News has OFF AIRED me because I REFUSED to ATTACK Imran Khan & Defend the Culprits of the foreign conspiracy,” she wrote. The channel is yet to give an official statement.

    Verdict: PARTIALLY FALSE

  • Saudi Arabia to allow one million Hajj pilgrims for 2022

    Saudi Arabia to allow one million Hajj pilgrims for 2022

    Saudi Arabia has increased the Hajj pilgrimage limit in the country to one million compared to last year’s 60,000 domestic pilgrims.

    To combat the coronavirus pandemic, attendance at the Islamic event was drastically reduced in the past two years due to travel restrictions.

    As per the latest notice, Pilgrims must be under the age of 65 and have received COVID-19 vaccinations that have been approved by the Saudi health ministry.

    All pilgrims must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report within three days (72 hours of departure time).

    The move intends to accommodate the greatest number of pilgrims to perform Hajj while retaining the Kingdom’s health improvements in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the ministry.

    Furthermore, the directives noted that the expansion will be based on the quotas decided for nations that will follow the Kingdom’s mandatory health recommendations.

    As per the official figures, 58,745 pilgrims performed Hajj in 2021. The number of Hajj pilgrims often surpassed the two million count before the Covid-19 outbreak.

  • Indian actor-activist showers praise on Pakistani Supreme Court

    Bollywood actor and activist, Swara Bhasker took to her Twitter account and shared her opinion on the ongoing situation in Pakistan. She is famous for giving controversial statements about both India and Pakistan.

    She penned down, “Looks like the Supreme Court of Pakistan stood up for its country and citizens and not their government.. so apparently, it is possible. Sigh!.”

    She indirectly highlighted that the Indian apex court could do similar actions to safeguard India and its citizens. Many Indian trolled to compare the situation of Pakistan with India.

    One user said, “Looks like Swara Bhaskar of Pakistan stood up for its country and citizens and not their government.. so apparently it is possible. Sigh!.”

    Swara Bhasker is currently in the United States (US) to attend a seminar at the School of Information symposium on ‘Social Media Influencers and New Political Economy in South Asia & Africa’.

    Another user threatened to stay over there and not return to India.

    She said, “Imran Khan is not stopping himself from appreciating India. Look at this shameless woman. Let God stop her to return to India and stay where she is currently now.”

    A user threatened to apply for Pakistan citizenship so it would be easy to reach out Pakistan Supreme Court.

    In past, Swara Bhasker was trolled by Pakistani netizens over her insensitive remarks about the Shariah Laws in Pakistan over banning her film, Veere Di Wedding in Pakistan in 2018.

  • Will Bilawal Bhutto become the next foreign minister?

    Will Bilawal Bhutto become the next foreign minister?

    Amidst all the political crisis in the country, all eyes are on the National Assembly (NA) where the fate of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is going to be decided today. As everyone anticipates a decision today, people are speculating who will get the top positions in the new government.

    The positions which holds the most importance is that of prime minister and president, which is reportedly going to PMLN’s Shehbaz Sharif and JUIF’s Maulana Fazalur Rehman respectively, the question of who will be the foreign minister under the new government is also important.

    According to rumours, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is likely to be appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, the PPP leader while giving an interview to Independent Urdu said that the decision regarding the ministership will be taken by his party.

    Bilawal said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has made the foreign ministry and National Security Committee (NSC) controversial.

    The present Foreign Minister of Pakistan is Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

  • Hamza Shehbaz challenges transfer of Punjab IG, chief secretary in LHC

    Hamza Shehbaz challenges transfer of Punjab IG, chief secretary in LHC

    Leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly and PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz filed a petition in the Lahore Court High against the transfer of the Punjab Inspector General and chief secretary.

    Hamza Shehbaz moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the “unlawful” removal of Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan.

    LHC Chief Justice Amir Bhatti has taken up the petition and will hear it on April 11.

    In developments that happened late on Friday, the federal government decided to transfer the chief secretary and IGP after they allegedly refused to ‘sort out’ the PTI dissidents to stop them from voting for the opposition candidate in the Punjab Assembly (PA).

    The provincial assembly has to elect the new leader of the house after Usman Buzdar resigned last month. PML-Q’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and PML-N’s Hamza, who has secured the support of PTI’s dissident lawmakers — the Jahangir Khan Tarin and Aleem Khan groups — are expected to go head to head in the race to become the next chief minister.

    In the petition Hamza named the Government of Punjab, chief secretary, and the IGP as respondents.

    It stated that Buzdar’s resignation was accepted on April 1 and, since then, the powers he assumed are that of the caretaker chief minister.

    “The postings and transfers of the officers such as Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police of the province can only be made in consultation with the provincial government.

    “It is also an admitted position that the provincial cabinet does not exist, therefore, essentially no provincial government exists. Hence such appointments/postings/transfers are without lawful authority,” Hamza argued.

    Axe falls on Punjab SC, IGP

    Sources told Dawn that both Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal and IGP Rao Sardar Ali Khan were summoned by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday.

    The chief minister, flanked by PML-Q leaders, insisted that they should round up the PTI dissident MPAs and ensure that they should not vote for the opposition’s CM candidate.

    The chief secretary and the IGP are said to have refused to indulge in the illegal activity and the PML-Q leaders demanded that they both be replaced.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan had himself assured Parvez Elahi of all possible help needed ahead of his election as chief minister, during his one-on-one meeting a few days ago at the Governor House, Lahore.

    Sources said the chief minister had moved two summaries for the prime minister to replace the chief secretary and the IGP. For the chief secretary’s replacement, the chief minister had given the names of former principal secretary Tahir Khurshid, Yousaf Bashir Khokhar and Planning and Development Board chairman Abdullah Khan Sumbal.

    Sumbal, however, immediately requested that his candidature might be withdrawn.

    Similarly, the chief minister moved a summary for the appointment of a new IGP while giving a panel – Lahore CCPO Fayyaz Dev, former IG Islamabad Amir Zulfiqar Khan and former Punjab IGP Inam Ghani.

  • Amid spiralling out crisis: Sri Lankan opp threatens govt of no-confidence motion

    Amid spiralling out crisis: Sri Lankan opp threatens govt of no-confidence motion

    The main Opposition party in Sri Lankan parliament on Friday asked the government to resolve the raging economic crisis or face a no-confidence motion, as leaders of businesses from garments to tea and other industries warned that exports could fall up to 30% this year.

    The heavily indebted country has little money left to pay for imports, which has led to crippling shortages of fuel, power, food, and increasingly, medicine. Street protests have gone on nearly non-stop for more than a month, despite a five-day state of emergency and a two-day curfew.

    Timeline of a crisis

    President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is running his administration with only a handful of ministers after his entire cabinet resigned this week, while the opposition and even some coalition partners rejected calls for a unity government to deal with the worst crisis in decades.

    At least 41 lawmakers have walked out of the ruling coalition to become independents, though the government says it still has a majority in parliament.

    “The government needs to address the financial crisis and work to improve governance, or we will move a no-confidence motion,” Sajith Premadasa, leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya Opposition group, said in parliament.

    “It is imperative that Sri Lanka must avoid a disorderly debt default. The government must work to suspend debt and appoint financial advisers to start off the process of restructuring debt.”

    Parliament proceedings were suspended twice in the morning as rivals heckled each other, with two members temporarily removed from the chamber on the orders of the speaker.

    Nearly two dozen associations, representing industries that collectively employ a fifth of the country’s 22 million people, together urged the government to quickly seek financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

    “We need a solution within weeks or the country will fall off the precipice,” Rohan Masakorala, director-general of the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers And Exporters of Rubber Products, told a news conference.

    RESERVES PLUNGE

    Rajapaksa is struggling to find a new finance minister to hold talks this month with the IMF for emergency loans, after Ali Sabry submitted his resignation having spent just a day in office. A ruling party lawmaker said Rajapaksa had yet to accept Sabry’s resignation.

    “We are pushing the government and opposition to establish political stability as soon as possible and give us a way forward,” Masakorala said. “IMF should have happened yesterday.”

  • Gold loses shine, price drops by Rs2,000 to Rs132,300 per tola

    Gold loses shine, price drops by Rs2,000 to Rs132,300 per tola

    Gold prices fell sharply in the local market on April 8, following the US dollar’s loss of value versus the rupee.

    The price of precious yellow metal dropped by Rs2,000 to Rs132,300 a tola (11.66 grams). Similarly, the cost of 10 grammes of gold decreased by Rs1,715 to Rs113,426. On the flip side, it jumped from $6 to $1,933 per ounce (28.3 gram) on the global market.

    The yellow metal in Karachi is reportedly selling for as low as Rs129,400, while 10 grams is being sold at Rs110,940. This rate for 24K gold announced by the Sarafa Bazar Association is also followed by the majority of gold markets in cities including Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, and Karachi.

    The Pakistani rupee (PKR) gained Rs3.50 yesterday against the US dollar, making it the greatest single-day gain since April 2020. The local currency is currently trading at Rs184.68.

    During inter-day trading on April 7, the domestic unit crossed the Rs189 threshold, notwithstanding the political uncertainty. However, following a Rs2.5 depreciation, it concluded at Rs188.18.

    The gold correction had been overdue for a long time, since the political turmoil had created widespread panic, and individuals were transferring their capital to gold, as various rules had made it difficult for everyone to buy dollars.

  • Journalist, seven others stripped naked for questioning BJP leaders

    Journalist, seven others stripped naked for questioning BJP leaders

    A picture has gone viral on social media, in which a group of men, can be seen stripped to their underwear inside a police station in Madhya Pradesh. The eight men were seen standing against the wall with their hands clasped in front. They were kept in the custody for 18 hours.

    The eight men were seen standing against the wall with their hands clasped in front. The arrested journalist runs a YouTube channel, he and his cameraperson were arrested on April 2, when they went to a local police station to inquire why theatre artiste Neeraj Kunder was arrested. Kunder was allegedly arrested for making “indecent remarks” against BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla Shukla and his son Kedar Guru Dutt Shukla on social media.

    In this regard, two officers in Madhya Pradesh have been sent to the police lines.

    As per Indian media, there is one journalist among others. The SHO while explaining the reason said that it was for the “accused’s safety”. He said that the arrested accused were stripped of their clothes in the lock-up so that they don’t commit suicide.

  • Hafiz Saeed jailed for 31 years in more terror-financing cases

    Hafiz Saeed jailed for 31 years in more terror-financing cases

    The imprisoned Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was sentenced to 31 years in jail collectively in two more cases of terror-financing by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore on Friday.

    ATC Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar convicted the 70-year-old cleric in the cases filed against him by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Lahore and Sahiwal officials.

    The court awarded him rigorous imprisonment of 16 years and a half in the case No.90/19 and 15 years and a half in the case No.21/19.

    The court announced the verdict after hearing final arguments from both defence and prosecution sides and recording evidence.

    According to Aljazeera News, a Pakistani court has sentenced Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the armed group blamed by the United States and India for the deadly 2008 Mumbai siege, to 31 years in prison in two cases of terrorism financing.

    The Aljazeera quoted the verdict that court documents show Saeed was found guilty of multiple breaches in the two cases, but it was not immediately clear how much jail time it would entail given his current incarceration and the sentences’ running concurrently.

    “The sentences awarded to convict Hafiz Muhammad Saeed run concurrently of this case and of previously awarded, if any,” said a court order dated April 7.

    The judge ordered the authorities concerned to take over a mosque and a Madressah built using the funds collected by Hafiz Saeed.

    The JuD chief was arrested in July 2019 in connection with terror financing while he was on his way from Lahore to Gujranwala. Earlier in 2020, he was convicted in two cases of terror-financing when a Lahore anti-terrorism court awarded him 15 years in prison and a fine of Rs15,000 in each case.

  • Olympian Talha Talib tested positive in dope test, likely to get ban

    Olympian weightlifter, Talha Talib has tested positive for taking prohibited substances to improve performance. The tests were carried out under the authority of the International Testing Agency along with International Weightlifting Federation on Friday. It was conducted in two cities Gujranwala and Lahore for all Pakistani weightlifters.

    According to the reports, some substances of prohibited drugs were found in the blood of three weightlifters including Talha Talib. He has been banned from taking participating in the Birmingham Commonwealth games and the Olympics. In addition, Talha Talib could a face ban for at least four years.

    It is to be mentioned here that Talha Talib won the country’s first-ever medal at the World Weightlifting Championship last year in Uzbekistan by winning a Bronze in the snatch event in the 67kg category.

    He has come into the limelight when he missed two points to get a medal for Pakistan in the last Olympics. Many celebrities and politicians lauded his debut performance in Olympics.