Current Final

Category: National

  • Strict penalty for schools that don’t get buses for students

    Strict penalty for schools that don’t get buses for students

    Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled on December 30 that the registration of schools that do not follow bus policy should be suspended.


    While hearing petitions for the mitigation of smog in the city, LHC ordered all private schools to re-register after a month and said that all the registrations of schools that do not follow the bus policy will be suspended.


    Justice Shahid Karim heard petitions of citizen Haroon Farooq and others for smog abatement after which he ruled that all schools should re-register after a month. He then sought a traffic plan from the DG Lahore Development Authority for the buses.


    Secretary of Schools Education Department Khalid Nazir Watto appeared before the court to state that they have made a policy as per the court’s orders that only those schools that have buses will be registered. To this, Justice Shahid Karim remarked: “You should make rules immediately as the matter of school buses is very serious, and school owners have a lot of money, so do not waste more time on the issue of the environment”.


    The court also asked the Secretary of schools if Aitchison falls under the jurisdiction of the Higher Education Department (HEC). To this the court was informed that the mentioned school does come under the HEC. 


    Additionally, Justice Shahid directed the Punjab government’s lawyer to inform Aitchison School about the issue of buses in order to acknowledge the severity of matters.
    He expressed displeasure over the non-compliance with traffic rules at bus stands and housing societies on Multan Road. 


    Earlier on November 25, LHC had ruled that schools should provide transport to children after the winter vacations.

  • Journalist reveals which former general gifted TTP chief a bulletproof Lexus

    Journalist reveals which former general gifted TTP chief a bulletproof Lexus

    Renowned journalist Azaz Syed on December 30 revealed on his YouTube channel “Talk SHOCK” that former spymaster Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid gifted a bulletproof Lexus car to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud in Kabul during Imran Khan’s tenure.

    According to Syed, Gen Faiz asked the TTP Chief to form better relations with Pakistan to which Mehsud replied: “You have made Pakistan into a prison [reference to fenced borders with India, Afghanistan and Iran].”

    Azaz Syed revealed that Gen Faiz Hameed agreed to resettle TTP terrorists back into Pakistan in that particular meeting in Kabul where several high-ranking Afghan Taliban officials were present as well.

    Gen Faiz, who was the chief of Pakistan’s premier spy agency ISI at the time, asked the TTP chief about his preference for cars: “It is my wish to gift you a car, so tell me, which one do you like,” he reportedly said. After that, Gen Faiz arranged a bulletproof car from Kabul for the TTP head.

    According to Azaz Syed, another meeting was held the next day, but the TTP chief did not arrive in the gifted car. Gen Faiz then asked him the reason for not using the car, to which Mehsud replied: “What do you think that I would use that gift personally? I have submitted the car to our organisation’s Toshakhana.”

    Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have turned sour as Pakistan consistently blames Afghan authorities for inaction over TTP within its territory.

    Pakistan targeted TTP camps on December 24 with airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, reportedly killing and wounding multiple suspected terrorists.

    Dawn News reported that Pakistani fighter jets targeted TTP camps in the Murgha and Laman areas of the Bernal district in Afghanistan.

    Interestingly, the strikes came on the same day that a Pakistani delegation, led by Special Representative Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, met Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi in Kabul to resume diplomatic dialogue after a year.

    The Pakistani cross-border strike also followed the martyrdom of sixteen Pakistan Army soldiers on December 21, when terrorists attacked a checkpost in Makeen, South Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    Since 2022, Pakistan has experienced a sharp rise in terrorist attacks across the country, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    This is the second time in 2024 that Pakistan has targeted TTP camps inside Afghanistan. Previously, it launched two airstrikes into Afghanistan’s Paktika and Khost provinces in March, targeting multiple terrorist hideouts.

    After the recent surgical strike carried out by Pakistan, tensions ran high as Afghan Taliban forces targeted “several points” in Pakistan, according to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence.

    The Afghan Defence Ministry’s statement did not specify that Pakistan was hit but said the attacks were conducted “beyond the ‘hypothetical line’” – an expression used by Afghan authorities to refer to the internationally recognised border Durand Line.

  • ‘House arrest instead of jail possible if Imran Khan does not challenge system’

    ‘House arrest instead of jail possible if Imran Khan does not challenge system’

    Senior journalist and analyst Ansar Abbasi has claimed that the government could consider offering Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan the option to stay under house arrest instead of Adiala Jail if he “does not challenge the current system”.

    According to the veteran journalist, key members of the government’s negotiations team are of the view that if the jailed former premier puts an end to agitational politics, he can be moved to his residence in Bani Gala from the jail in Rawalpindi.

    However, he added, there would be no compromise on May 9 consequences or the demands against coalition government completing its five-year term.

    It merits a mention that neither the government nor the PTI has so far openly or formally discussed the possibility of house arrest for Khan, and the reports are rooted in an informal mention of the same by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s aide Rana Sanaullah.

    In a conversation with reporters after meeting their brother in jail, Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan and Noreen Khan have also rubbished these claims besides quoting their brother as determined to not consider it an option till political prisoners belonging to the PTI were freed.

    “The proposal I received for a deal was: negotiate with us, and we will give your party ‘political space’, but you will be placed under house arrest and moved to Bani Gala. My response was that all other political prisoners must first be released. I would rather stay in jail than accept any deal. I will neither go into house arrest nor to any jail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [sic],” read a Dec 27 post on the incarcerated former premier’s X account.

    Abbasi, in his report, also quoted sources as saying that in the Jan 2 meeting between the negotiating teams of the PTI and the ruling coalition, the government was likely express that all individuals facing serious charges, including Khan, would have to get themselves cleared from court.

    PTI, on the other hand, would come up with a formal demand for the release of all workers and leaders, primarily Khan, the report said.

    While the same could result in yet another deadlock, Senator Irfan Siddiqi, who is a part of the government’s negotiating team, told a private media outlet said that he was not aware of any proposal regarding shifting Khan to Bani Gala. 

    He said the PTI committee had been told that a majority of the current government’s members were imprisoned during the PTI government, and all of them were released through judicial process instead of an executive order.

  • Winter vacations extended in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Winter vacations extended in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has on December 30 extended winter vacations in schools across the province. 


    The government issued a notification stating that all government and private schools in the province will remain closed until January 6.


    Earlier, the provincial education department had announced that winter vacations will continue until December 31.


    The previous notification stated that winter vacations in the plain areas of the province will last from December 23 to December 31, while in the mountainous areas from December 23 to February 29, 2025.

    The winter vacation schedule for other provinces is given below.

    Punjab

    In Punjab, vacations will last 20 days, unlike previous years. 

    The revised notification states that the winter holidays will begin on December 23 instead of December 20. Schools will reopen on January 13, 2025.

    Sindh


    Sindh School Education Department announced that all the public and private schools and colleges across Sindh will remain closed for winter vacations from December 22, 2024 (Sunday) to December 31, 2024 Tuesday.

     
    Schools and colleges are expected to reopen on January 1, 2025 (Wednesday).

    Balochistan


    Balochistan government has also announced winter vacations for educational institutions across the province, which also varies for schools in cold and warm regions.


    Schools in cold regions will remain closed from December 16 to February 28 and will reopen on March 1, 2025. 


    Meanwhile, in the warmer regions, the vacations will begin on January 1 and conclude on January 10.


    Keeping the harsh conditions in check, Bolan Medical College (BMC) in Quetta has also declared winter vacations in an official announcement. The college will remain closed for teaching purposes from December 16 until February 28, 2025.

    However, the teaching and administrative staff is required to ensure their presence. 

  • Imran Khan all praise for ‘mujahids’ convicted by military courts

    Imran Khan all praise for ‘mujahids’ convicted by military courts

    Former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Khan has quoted her brother as praising party workers’ determination despite military courts’ conviction, terming the convicts of May 9 riots as ‘mujahids’.

    “They [convicted PTI workers] have shown great patience. I am proud of them. They are Mujahids,” Noreen, while speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail, quoted her brother as saying.

    Military courts had on Dec 21 awarded prison sentences to at least 25 PTI workers and leaders for attacking state installations on May 9, 2023. On Dec 26, Noreen’s son and nephew of the incarcerated former premier, Hassaan Khan Niazi, was among 60 others who were awarded jail terms for their involvement in the May 9 riots.

    While several PTI supporters and leaders remain undertrial in military as well as anti-terror courts for their involvement in the violent protests that had erupted following Khan’s arrest, PTI maintains its innocence, continuing to demand a judicial probe into the riots.

    Terming civilians’ conviction by military courts as “baseless”, Noreen said that all demonstrators had done on May 9 was exercise their right to protest. “They had not killed anyone,” she said.

    Describing her recent visit to Kot Lakhpat jail, Khan’s sister said that all convicted were “happy”. “My son Hassaan Khan Niazi was also happy… and nobody was disappointed with their sentence.”

    Meanwhile, Aleema Khan, who accompanied Noreen outside Adiala, reiterated PTI’s claim that scores of party workers were missing since after violent November demonstrations. She went on to claim that her brother feared the protesters had been “killed and buried”.

    Aleema added that Khan had categorically denied the government’s proposal for house-arrest, adding that her brother had vowed to face cases come what may.

    She further said that incarcerated Khan refused to strike any deal. “Why would he enter a deal after already spending a year and half in prison?” she said and quoted her brother as rejecting any offers for his release.

    “The PTI founder said that his cases have been wrapped up,” Aleema said, adding that Khan continued to reiterate his two demands – the formation of a judicial commission comprising three senior-most Supreme Court judges to probe May 9 and November 26 events, and the release of all political prisoners.

    Earlier, PTI Senator Shibli Faraz also rubbished the “false perception” that Khan was seeking relief for himself in negotiations with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government.

  • Pakistan second only to Myanmar in having most  internet shutdowns

    Pakistan second only to Myanmar in having most  internet shutdowns

    A recent study conducted by the Top10VPN collecting and aggregating data on internet disruptions around the globe ranked Pakistan second by the long hours of shutdowns in year 2024 at 1,861 hours, marking it the second country with the most shutdowns, behind Myanmar. 


    The shutdowns cost Pakistan an estimated 351 million dollars-second only to Myanmar. 
    Astoundingly, the study reveals that Pakistan has 83 million users and only over 40 percent are accounted for paving way for Pakistan to be in top 15 most vulnerable countries.


    The report also revealed that the duration of internet shutdowns surged 619 percent from 259 hours in 2023 — rising up five notches from seventh place globally in the previous years.


    Accompanying costs also increased by an additional 114million dollars.


    Notably, in a statement given by Pakistan Software House Association’s (P@SHA) Chairman Sajjad Syed claimed that each hour of internet outage costs one million dollars. 


    Dawn’s Mutaher Khan quoted Cloudflare which claimed that the country has seen an annual decline in web traffic for most of 2024. Over this period, Pakistan’s peak growth was three percent, compared to global 17 percent.


    It is worth mentioning that the average download speed in Pakistan in the past one year was around 22MBps, lagging well behind countries like the Philippines (97MBps), Bangladesh (37MBps) and Indonesia (31MBps).


    Meanwhile, Syed Sajid Mehdi, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Division, urged people to use the internet “less” and for “important matters only”. 


    His unique suggestion was a solution to recurrent internet shutdowns and slow speed in Pakistan.


    The parliamentary secretary also disapproved of the claim that internet slowdowns were causing financial losses to the IT sector of the country.


    “We have not been told officially that the shutdown has caused financial losses. Nobody has filed any requests or complaints about financial losses.


    “If anyone has suffered personal losses, then that is a different matter entirely,” he said.


    However, addressing the longstanding concerns, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has confirmed the laying down of a major undersea cable that is expected to enhance connection speeds in the country.

  • Price reveal of Maryam Nawaz’s dress from nephew’s wedding

    Price reveal of Maryam Nawaz’s dress from nephew’s wedding

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz often makes headlines for her outfits, and this time, the provincial chief executive is in the news for the lilac-coloured outfit she wore to her nephew’s wedding.

    As per the details, viral videos and pictures from a wedding function of Zaid Hussain Nawaz, son of Hussain Nawaz, have shown CM Maryam in an elegant purple dress. The dress, designed by famous Pakistani fashion brand Muse Luxe, cost a whopping PKR 360,000, Geo News reported.

    Earlier, pictures also showed CM Maryam’s henna patterns and the gold necklace as well as earrings she wore.

    The dress that her daughter, Mahnoor Safdar, wore was also designed by Muse Luxe, reports said. According to the Muse’s website, Mahnoor’s light pink dress cost PKR 280,000.

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    Separately, CM Maryam wore Indian fashion designer Sabyasachi on her nephew’s Nikkah ceremony. According to Geo, the dress cost INR 495,000 (or PKR 1.6 million).

    It may be noted that Zaid Hussain Nawaz on Dec 25 got married to Ayman Habib, the daughter of former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s close friend Sheikh Habibur Rehman.

  • Gen Bajwa sent me to jail, not Imran: Khawaja Saad Rafique

    Gen Bajwa sent me to jail, not Imran: Khawaja Saad Rafique

    Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday accused former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar of being involved in his imprisonment during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government.

    Addressing a seminar to commemorate his father Khawaja Muhammad Rafique’s death anniversary in Lahore, Rafique said, “It was not Imran Khan who sent me to jail but General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Saqib Nisar.”

    While questioning why their names were not highlighted, the senior PML-N leader, in the same breath, answered that their names should be addressed. “It’s not acceptable that politicians face [accountability], but the ex-army chief, after creating all the mess, keeps playing golf,” he added.

    Highlighting political polarisation in the country, Rafique accused founder PTI Imran Khan, ex-CJP Saqib Nisar, and former COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa, of turning the charter of democracy upside down, adding that the trio have “changed the direction of the country.”

    Moreover, He took aim at PTI for believing in the politics of long marches, saying, “We neither toppled the PPP government, nor PPP topple our government through long marches.”

    Commenting on ongoing negotiations between PTI and Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif-led government, the PML-N leader expressed optimism about the success of the dialogue.

    He praised the incumbent government’s effort to prevent the country from economic meltdown, adding, “The government and Pakistan army have made a joint effort to prevent the country from defaulting.”

    The former Minister of Railways and Aviation explained that the newly elected United States (US) administration of Donald Trump has no interest in former premier Imran Khan’s release, noting that the US is concerned about Pakistan’s atomic programme and ballistic missiles programme.

    Earlier, PML-N bigwig Khawaja Saad Rafique hit back at US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Envoy for Special Missions, Richard Grenell, over his persistent social media posts advocating for the release of Imran Khan.

    In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Rafique called out Grenell over his hypocrisy, saying, “His [Richard Grenell] conscience has been sleeping since the 2018 election theft to the dark period of political revenge and long imprisonment of opposition leaders.”

    The PML-N leader, who remained imprisoned during Imran Khan’s tenure, reminded Grenell that the elected government of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan was overthrown by the “collusion of the establishment, the judiciary and Imran Khan’s party.”

  • 15 killed as Pakistan foils joint infiltration bid by Afghan Taliban, Khawarij

    15 killed as Pakistan foils joint infiltration bid by Afghan Taliban, Khawarij

    Pakistani security forces on Saturday morning successfully foiled a joint infiltration attempts by Fitna al Khawarij (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) and the Afghan Taliban through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Kurram district and North Waziristan regions.

    According to reports, 25 Khawarij, in coordination with Afghan Taliban, initiated an unprovoked attack on Pakistani posts using heavy weaponry. They were met with a strong response from the Pakistani side, resulting in the killing of 15 infiltrators. Multiple others were wounded.

    The operation compelled the Afghan Taliban to abandon six posts along the border, reports said, adding that no fatalities were reported on the Pakistan side but at least three paramilitary personnel were injured.

    Pakistan has witnessed a spike in terrorist attacks since the Afghan Taliban-led administration took control in Kabul.

    After repeatedly urging Taliban authorities in Kabul to not allow the use of Afghan soil for terrorism in Pakistan, Islamabad on Tuesday night launched an intelligence-based operation (IBO) targeting Khawarij camps in Afghanistan’s Paktika province.

    Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday confirmed that Pakistan had conducted the operations in border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terrorist groups.

    “Our security and law enforcement personnel conduct operations in border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terrorist groups. These counterterrorism operations are carefully selected and based on accurate intelligence,” the FO spokesperson said in a statement.

    The FO reiterated that there were “threats posed by terrorist elements to Pakistan and its citizens”.

    This is Pakistan’s second airstrike in Afghanistan since March of this year, when similar attacks targeted Khawarij hideouts in the border region.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, while addressing a cabinet meeting on Friday, also addressed the issue pertaining to cross-border terrorism. “We desire good ties with them [Kabul], but Fitna al Khawarij should be stopped from killing our innocent people [….] This is our red line,” he said.

    Separately, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in a media briefing also said that the country was resolute in eliminating threats to its citizens.

    “Networks operating from Afghan soil continue to target Pakistan, and we are resolute in eliminating them,” the chief of military’s media wing said. He added that Pakistan had fought a long war against terrorism and the same was still ongoing.

    “Pakistan has rendered highly valued sacrifices in this fight,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.

  • Negotiating with Taliban is establishment’s policy, not Imran Khan’s: Najam Sethi

    Negotiating with Taliban is establishment’s policy, not Imran Khan’s: Najam Sethi

    Senior analyst Najam Sethi has stated that negotiating with Taliban and resettling terrorists back in the country was the military establishment’s policy, not Imran Khan’s.

    “From 2008 to 2018, at least fourteen negotiations or settlements were made with the Taliban. There is a history of Pakistan’s capitulation when dealing with these terrorists. If you remember, there was also a time when the Taliban were referred to as good but misguided Muslims,” stated Sethi on Samaa News. 

    “Imran Khan was simply the spokesperson of the establishment, and these were the establishment’s policies. Khan couldn’t have done anything about it,” concluded Najam Sethi.

    Sethi’s statement comes right after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday: “The entire nation is paying the price with its blood for the policy of bringing back and settling in Afghanistan under its own stubbornness, but such a person is still incapable of learning from his mistake.”

    Pakistan has consistently blamed its neighbouring country, Afghanistan, since 2022 due to a stark increase in terrorism in the country. 

    “Terrorist outfits are being provided sanctuaries and support and are allowed unrestrained activities on Afghan territory,” stated the DG ISPR.

    “All evidence related to terrorism can be traced back to the safe havens enjoyed by terrorists in Afghanistan. The army chief has a clear and straight-forward stance on this: that Pakistan has reservations on banned organisations’ sanctuaries, support, and unrestrained activities on Afghan territory,” he asserted.

    The DG ISPR also added: “From September 2023 till now, 815,000 illegal Afghan citizens have gone returned [to their Afghanistan].”

    Pakistan targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) camps late Tuesday night with airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, reportedly killing and wounding multiple suspected terrorists. Dawn News reported that Pakistani fighter jets targeted TTP camps in the Murgha and Laman areas of the Bernal district in Afghanistan.

    An X post by the Afghan Defence Ministry also confirmed Pakistan’s targeted attack. However, it claimed that the fatalities from Pakistan’s airstrikes included a number of children and other civilians.

    “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this a brutal act against all international principles and blatant aggression and strongly condemns it,” the ministry said.

    This is the second time in 2024 that Pakistan has targeted TTP camps inside Afghanistan. Previously, it launched two airstrikes into Afghanistan’s Paktika and Khost provinces in March, targeting multiple terrorist hideouts.