Category: National

Renowned journalist Umar Cheema has alleged in a recent YouTube vlog that the then DG-ISI Lt Gen Asim Munir was removed from the spy agency’s top post in 2019 after expressing grievances about property tycoon Malik Riaz to then-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Cheema was referring to recent developments as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cautioned the public on Tuesday against investing in Bahria Town’s new real estate project in Dubai. It also added that the Pakistani government was reaching out to the United Arab Emirates to seek Malik Riaz’s extradition.

“Malik Riaz is the reason why then DG ISI Gen Asim Munir was transferred as Corps Commander Gujranwala and it was Malik Riaz that became the point of contention between Imran Khan and Gen Asim Munir,” claimed Umar Cheema.

Malik Riaz is co-accused in the infamous Al-Qadir Trust case in which Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were recently convicted with sentences of fourteen and ten years respectively.

Last year in May, Malik Riaz posted a cryptic social media post stating that he was facing “pressure” to take a political side but vowed not to be used as a “pawn for political motives”.

After the recent statement by NAB cautioning the public about Malik Riaz’s new real-estate project in Dubai, the property tycoon issued a strong statement on his social media handles, stating: “This was my decision yesterday and this is my decision today, no matter how much you oppress me, Malik Riaz will not testify!”

Malik Riaz in a long X post, yesterday, issued a mysterious warning: “Today’s deplorable press release by NAB is actually a new demand for blackmail. I am resisting, but I am sitting with a storm in my heart. If this breaks, then everyone’s illusion will be put into reality. Let’s not forget that all the secrets of the last 25/30 years are safe with evidence.”

Journalist Umar Cheema while discussing the recent post by Malik Riaz, revealed: “Malik Riaz has a very interesting trade that throughout his life whenever he’s given something to any person, he brings it on record in front of a few people. He is famous for never keeping a secret.”

Cheema revealed the reason behind the controversy with Malik Riaz, stating: “The main problem is that Malik Riaz has sucked out maximum profits from real estate schemes in Pakistan. Now he isn’t as dependent on Pakistan given the new project starting in Dubai. What is worrisome for the agencies and the government is that people are shifting their capital to Dubai following Malik Riaz’s new project there.”

Cheema opined: “We used to hear about Pakistan’s capital shift towards Portugal, Saudia Arabia, Turkey and United Kingdom. In fact, I’ve personally investigated the UK properties and Pakistanis are in the top three property owners in the UK. Haider Naqvi reported a few days ago that security agencies of Pakistan collaborated in data integration with some of the countries mentioned and now whenever Pakistanis buy properties in these countries, it raises a flag among Pakistani authorities.”

Journalist Umar Cheema also claimed that those people who are investing in Malik Riaz’s Dubai project in have been warned by Pakistan’s security agencies.

An infotainment TV channel, Discover Pakistan, recently interviewed a senior Frontier Corps (FC) official who revealed that the Pakistan Army has grown Asia’s largest pine nut orchard in North Waziristan, earning around Rs2 billion in revenue last year.

“We collect the pine nuts and supply them all over Pakistan. The quality of pine nuts in this area is very good, and they are also exported out of the country. The total area of pine nut forest spans around 650 to 700 square kilometres, which earned around two billion rupees in revenue last year,” stated Lt Colonel Waqar of FC Corps.

Pine nuts, also known as chilgoza in the local language, are famous for their creamy flavour. The very expensive commodity is  an important source of income for local communities. Pakistan continues to be one of the top producers of pine nuts in the world.

“This area where we are standing is Shawal Valley. Its area spans around 800 square kilometres, and it is one of the most beautiful valleys in Pakistan. Shawal Valley is on the boundary between North and South Waziristan, and it is around 18 kilometres away from our international border with Afghanistan,” explained the security official.

The interviewer asked the Colonel whether the local population, which was displaced after military operations, had been settled back in their native area, to which he replied: “Yes, the area where we are standing right now is known as Turiali. The population of this area is around seven to eight thousand people, and during Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the native people were shifted to Baka Khel camps near Bannu.”

The Colonel clarified that the Shawal Valley used to be a hard area, but after the army conducted grand anti-terror operations, peace and stability returned to the area.

It merits a mention that Shawal Valley used to be a no-go area many years ago because it was under the control of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In 2016, then-Army Chief Gen Raheel Shareef gave the green light for the initiation of the final phase of operation Zarb-i-Azab in the Shawal Valley region of North Waziristan.

In a hearing on the bail application of an accused in a rape case, the Lahore High Court summoned Inspector General Punjab Police Usman Anwar, asking him if reports claiming that a rape occurs every 15 minutes in the province are true.

A three-member full bench headed by Chief Justice Lahore High Court Justice Alia Neelam heard the bail plea of an accused in a rape case filed by Wajid Ali, who was arrested on charges of adultery.

The full bench also included Justice Faruq Haider and Justice Ali Zia Bajwa.

Advocate General Punjab Khalid Ishaq, Prosecutor General Punjab Syed Farhad Ali Shah and IG Punjab, along with FIA officers, appeared in the court order.

Advocate Ishaq told the court that 150,000 cases have been registered since the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 was enacted. To this, Justice Bajwa quoted Advocate’s report which read that “a rape is happening in Punjab every fifteen minutes.”

He further remarked that “According to your calculations, we have surpassed India as it is in third place on the list and here a rape is happening every fifteen minutes now.”

To this, Advocate General Punjab responded that all the cited cases are not of rape as many are lodged on false allegations. According to his claims, women officers are deployed in every center of Punjab for such cases, while medical officers are also being trained. 

30 percent of false rape cases were registered, as per the report. 

Advocate Ishaq assured the court that action is being taken against those who file false cases, while Justice Ali Zia Bajwa ruled that strict measures must be taken against such individuals.

Media reports reveal that rape cases are very high in Pakistan, whereas police’s report assure that action is also being taken against the cited cases.

Chief Justice Lahore High Court, however, again quoting the report, stated that rape cases are being reported the most, nonethtless, followed by drug and murder cases, asserting on the lack of implementation of the Anti-Rape Act. 

“There are three stages of the Anti-Rape Act and they should be read before filing a case,” he added.

Justice Alia Neelam ruled that a trauma column in the form for investigating gender-based violence cases needs to be added. 

The court appreciated IG Punjab’s work, but also reiterated the need to train the officers investigating these cases.

Prosecutor General Punjab Farhad Ali Shah told the court that no police officer less than grade less than 17 can investigate these cases.

IG Punjab Usman Anwar told the court that a virtual police station has also been established with the help of the Safe City Authority in which rape victims can file a complaint through email, call or WhatsApp. 

2100 women have been recruited who have undergone special training, 880 investigation officers have been recruited whose minimum education is graduation. He noted that an investigation officer deals with an average of 53 cases.

However, Justice Farooq Haider remarked that some amendments are needed in the rules and this should be brought to the notice of the government. 

Later, the Lahore High Court summoned the Attorney General, Advocate General, Prosecutor General and IG Punjab again on February 10.

Senator Mushahid Hussain claimed on ARY News on January 20 that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lobby within President Donald Trump’s administration is stronger than the Pakistani government’s lobby, signalling hope for the possible release of incarcerated party leader Imran Khan.

“Donald Trump is not a traditional politician, and he won’t accept some file being given to him about Pakistan from the State Department. He considers his likes and dislikes only. When he sees Pakistan, he only remembers Imran Khan,” stated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator.

Social media blew up when Donald Trump’s close aide and envoy, Richard Grenell, demanded the release of former Prime Minister Khan in multiple X (formerly Twitter) posts.

Grenell’s multiple posts on December 16 last year calling for Khan’s release garnered hundreds of thousands of views.

The narrative gained further momentum when Matt Gaetz, another Republican and a former Trump nominee for attorney general, also wrote, “Free Imran Khan”.

The support was seen as a positive development for PTI, which had been lobbying and advocating for their leader’s release from prison since August 2023.

Many commentators and political analysts pointed out the irony of PTI trying to lobby the US to help out Imran Khan after Khan had accused Washington of conspiring against his government in 2022.

Khan’s government was removed from office in April 2022 after nearly four years in power, following a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

“I believe that Trump becoming the President of the United States is good news for everyone. He has exposed the deep state or the establishment in his country. He has made a ten-point plan for the demolition of the deep state, and by deep state, he means the CIA. Things like killing people in other countries or conducting regime changes, this is all work of CIA, which Trump is against,” stated the Senator.

He added that 25 years ago, the US President visited Pakistan to release his friend, Nawaz Sharif, “As history witnessed, Nawaz Sharif was indeed released during the Musharraf regime.”

The senator was referring to former US president Bill Clinton’s visit to Pakistan in 2000, after General Pervez Musharraf had removed Nawaz Sharif from power through a coup.

Show host Waseem Badami asked if Imran Khan would agree to remain silent without coming to power, similar to Nawaz Sharif’s decision. In response, Mushahid Hussain said, “President Trump may become the guarantor of Imran Khan’s behaviour. He could be the dealmaker.”

Senior journalist Ansar Abbasi has claimed that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, during his meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership, told party chairman Barrister Gohar that he won’t get involved in political issues.

According to the journalist, the army chief heard Gohar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur out, but refused to be involved in political matters.

The details have emerged as Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif was briefed on the details of the “unscheduled” meeting between the PTI and Gen Munir. After discussing law-and-order meeting with different political leaders, reports quoted sources as saying, the army chief was approached by CM Gandapur for an exclusive meeting.

The premier was told that the army chief obliged them but when the PTI leaders talked about issues facing the PTI, they were told to take up political matters with the government. The COAS also told them that he would not get involved in such matters.

Last Thursday, PTI chief Gohar, after denying earlier reports, finally confirmed that he had called on the army chief along with Gandapur. He admitted to this only after PTI founder Imran Khan told media persons that the two party leaders had met Gen Munir during the latter’s recent visit to Peshawar.

Khan added that Gohar presented all matters and demands of the party directly to the army chief. Gohar, however, later said that security issues were discussed in the meeting without explaining how a security meeting between the army chief and provincial chief executive concerned him.

The PTI founder had termed direct negotiations with the establishment a positive step towards resolving the ongoing issues.

While an official confirmation of the exact agenda of the sudden meeting remains under wraps, it has been followed by the government’s refusal to accept the PTI’s primary demand for negotiations to continue.

Government’s negotiation committee spokesperson Senator Irfan Siddiqui has also disapproved of the PTI’s meeting with top military leadership. “Negotiations cannot be conducted simultaneously through multiple channels,” he said.

However, the meeting itself was not the reason for the government’s refusal to accept PTI’s demand for the formation of a judicial commission to probe May 9. The government has raised objections, saying that the matter was sub-judice.

A judicial commission can only be formed in cases that are not pending before a court, reports quoted government sources as saying. They added that in case of May 9, several cases pertaining to the violence were being heard by different courts, whereas some accused had also been committed by military courts.

Amid reports of negotiations between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hitting yet another roadblock, former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan has given a seven-day ultimatum for the formation of a judicial commission on May 9 and November 26 incidents.

As per the details, the federal government has reportedly finalised its response to PTI’s charter of demands. In the response, the government is reportedly planning to refuse one of the opposition party’s two critical demands, which pertains to the formation of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 incidents.

Reacting to reports, PTI founder Khan has given the government seven days to form the commission for the ongoing dialogue process to continue, party chief Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said while addressing a presser outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

On Monday, it was reported that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government had prepared responses to the PTI’s demands, which were finally handed over to the government in writing ahead of the third round of talks last week.

The government has raised objections to the demands, reports said and added that reason behind its refusal to form a judicial commission on May 9 was the fact that the matter was sub-judice.

A judicial commission can only be formed in cases that are not pending before a court, reports quoted sources as saying. They added that in the case of May 9, several cases pertaining to the violence were being heard by different courts, whereas some accused had also been committed by military courts.

In reference to another demand of the PTI, the government will be seeking names and details of the party workers who have been “missing” and are believed to have been arrested in connection with November 26 protests. “How can any step be taken for their release without their names and other relevant information?” reports quoted sources as questioning in response to the demand.

In the government’s response, reports added, the PTI will also be asked to provide details of the alleged deaths that took place during crackdown on Nov 26 protesters in Islamabad.

Response to the PTI’s demands will be handed over to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq within a few days, upon which he will summon the fourth meeting between the negotiation committees of the government and opposition, reports said.

Amid these reports, Gohar on Tuesday urged the government not to push ongoing negotiations into a delay.

Referring to a statement by the government’s negotiation committee spokesperson, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who disapproved of the PTI’s meeting with top military leadership. “Negotiations cannot be conducted simultaneously through multiple channels,” he had said.

Siddiqui’s remarks came after Gohar’s confirmation about a “positive and direct” meeting between him, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur, and the chief of army staff (COAS) where they “presented all matters and demands of the party directly to General Asim Munir”.

The incarcerated former premier had also confirmed to reporters regarding the meeting a few days ago, mentioning that his party had long been trying to get the other side on the negotiation table.

However, the PTI chief clarified that their meeting [with the army chief] was held on law and order situation, therefore, no one should create an issue on it.

“We want to continue dialogue with the government, however, we have a condition that a judicial commission should be formed,” Gohar announced categorically to clarify PTI’s stance after holding three rounds of talks with the government members.

He said that the incarcerated PTI founder told them not to hold the fourth meeting if a commission was not constituted within seven days, and added that his party was waiting for the government’s progress in this regard.

The PTI lawmaker asserted that negotiations would be meaningless if the government failed to fulfil the opposition’s demand for a commission.

It merits a mention that the development comes days after the PTI, following party founder Imran Khan’s approval, submitted its demands to the government in writing. Earlier, the negotiations between the two sides had hit a roadblock amid government’s insistence and the PTI’s reluctance to do so.

PTI’s first demand for headway in talks is the formation of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 and Nov 26 incidents that saw widespread violent protests, resulting in a crackdown on its supporters and leadership across the country.

The former ruling party’s other demands pertain to the release of political prisoners from jail and unearthing of facts surrounding the alleged death of party workers at the hands of law enforcement during protests.

Days after former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case against them, senior journalist and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada has alleged ‘foul play’ at the hands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister (CM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) loyalist Ali Amin Gandapur.

Former premier Khan and his wife were on Friday sentenced to 14 years and seven years in prison, respectively, as Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the much-delayed verdict in the case pertaining to misappropriation of funds recovered by the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Crime Agency (NCA).

According to reporters present at the makeshift courtroom in Adiala Jail when the verdict was announced, Khan, who was “prepared for a conviction”, seemed uneasy over his wife’s sentencing that “came as a surprise”.

Reacting to eyewitness accounts of Khan’s reaction to the verdict, journalist Moeed Pirzada has said that Bushra’s conviction caught Khan off guard, going on to allege that it was a result of KP CM Gandapur using his influence to get rid of the former first lady.

“I have verified from multiple sources that this is actually what happened,” Pirzada said in a video, claiming that Khan had been conveyed the conditions of an alleged deal to avoid conviction in said case, but he also had the “assurance” that his wife won’t be sentenced.

“According to my source, KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur was at the helm in getting her [Bushra] sentenced. He wanted her to get locked up… away from limelight, because she was causing him headaches.”

He went on to claim that while all this put an end to speculations regarding Bushra Bibi’s alleged involvement with the establishment, the reason behind Gandapur’s alleged drastic step was the former first lady repeatedly challenging him and his decision-making.

“Their rift was also witnessed during the PTI’s November march on Islamabad when Bushra Bibi refused to call off or redirect the rallies until she had spoken to Imran Khan. At the protests, CM Gandapur’s guards were also seen using foul language for Bushra Bibi, which showed what Gandapur thought of her,” he claimed, adding that the KP chief executive believes he can control the province’s politics better in Bushra’s absence.

Pirzada went on to say that the PTI should initiate discussion to address the alleged rift and disclose the details of the situation.

It merits a mention that political pundits have long been claiming cracks within the PTI in jailed Imran Khan’s absence, saying that the party had divided into groups led by different leaders, including Khan’s family.

The government also claims that at least one of said groups want to keep the ousted former premier in jail so as to hijack the party.

Weeks after Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar’s concerns hinted at possible dissent within the quarters of the Supreme Court (SC), more judges of the apex court have openly expressed discontentment in a letter to the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP).

As per the details, Justice Shah, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi have written to the top judge, saying they were “surprised and disturbed” that their cases were not fixed for hearing on Monday despite a judicial order being issued in this regard last week.

“On 16.1.2025, the Bench stood reconstituted and one of the members (Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, J.) being the author of the impugned judgment, when he was at the High Court of Sindh, could not hear the matter. Therefore, we directed the office to fix the case before the earlier bench on Monday, the 20th January, 2025 at 1:00 pm,” read the letter.

It went on to say that on Monday, they were informed that the bunch of cases had not been fixed.

“We have also been informed that the matter was taken up by the Committee constituted under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 (“Committee”) on 17 January 2025 at 12 noon. One of us (Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah), being a member of the Committee, verbally communicated to the Chair of the Committee that as he has passed the judicial order, his view is on the record which may be considered as it is and he need not be personally present in the meeting.”

“We are surprised and disturbed that inspite of a judicial order, the cases have not been fixed for hearing before any bench today i.e. 20.01.2025 It is noted with concern that a three member bench had already been constituted to hear the case by the Committee which heard the case on 13.01.2025. On 16.01.2025 the new Bench could not hear the case due to the reason explained above and the Court simply directed that the earlier Bench, constituted by the Committee, to hear the matter on 20.01.2025 being part heard, In this background there was firstly no need for the Committee to take up the matter as the office was to simply fix the case before the earlier bench as it was a part heard matter. Even if the Committee took up the matter, it could have once again constituted the same Bench as constituted earlier and as mentioned in the judicial order and fix the case for 20.01.2025. Or the Committee could have reconstituted the Bench by a third member instead of Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi,” read the letter.

The judges went on to say that the committee, in any case, could not ignore the dictate of a judicial order and was bound to fix the case for hearing.

“We are not aware of the order passed by the Committee and nothing has been communicated to us. We have also noticed that the cause list of our Bench for the entire week has been changed where all the cases fixed by the Court has been removed from the cause list without there being any order passed to this effect,” it added.

The letter expressed concern over how the failure to comply with a judicial order “undermined the institution’s integrity” and defied the law against administrative orders taking away jurisdiction of the bench concerned. “It also raises serious concerns about the independence of the Benches,” it said, adding that such non-compliance constituted as contempt of court while eroding public confidence in the judiciary.

The judges also went on to demand compliance with the January 16 judicial order to “maintain independence, transparency, comity of judges, and smooth functioning of the court”.