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Category: National

  • ‘Dictator Maryam’ blamed for PDM’s downfall

    ‘Dictator Maryam’ blamed for PDM’s downfall

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president and key leader of the opposition alliance, Maryam Nawaz has been accused of having a “dictatorial attitude” that has also been cited as the reason behind the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) downfall.

    As per the details, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders travelled to Wali Bagh, the residence of Awami National Party (ANP) head Asfandyar Wali on Thursday and held talks with him and other party leaders on the evolving political situation in the country.

    The PPP and ANP are the two parties with which the PDM is having differences ever since ex-premier Yousuf Raza Gilani’s election as the Senate opposition leader — a move deemed as betrayal by other parties of the opposition alliance.

    The ANP has already announced to quit the PDM, saying the show-cause notices over voting for Gilani were an insult to the party.

    Briefing reporters after the meeting, Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the PPP would take the decision of whether or not to quit the PDM at its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting scheduled later this month.

    They blamed the “dictatorial attitude” of Maryam Nawaz for the disintegration of the alliance.

    “The split in the PDM began with the issuance of the show-cause notice,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain said, adding, it was an insult to ANP and couldn’t be tolerated.

    Meanwhile, Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said the PPP had proposed Maulana Fazlur Rahman as the PDM head but the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief adopted “a step-motherly attitude” towards the PPP. 

    “PPP is not subordinate to any political party.”

    He said that the PPP was ready for the “long march” to Islamabad and wanted to use resignations from the assemblies as the last option.

  • ‘Vaccination registrations for all ages to open after Eid’

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that the government plans to open registrations for COVID-19 vaccination for citizens of all age groups after Eid, which is around mid-May.

    According to a report in Gulf News, the minister made these remarks while talking to senior media persons in a press meet. He also said that Pakistan will be able to vaccinate more than 125,000 people per day after Eid.

    “We began a phase-wise approach at the beginning [and are expanding it now],” said Umar during the meeting, adding that the coming five to six weeks are very critical for Pakistan in the fight against coronavirus.

    The minister said that the private sector had also started vaccinations and so far 14,000 people have been vaccinated through that, while 1.1 million were inoculated as part of the government campaign.

    Umar also relayed that China was Pakistan’s “primary source” for vaccination and that the CanSino vaccine would also be available in the country after Eid.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan is all set to start manufacturing the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V locally in collaboration with Russia in the coming months.

    Vaccinations of people 60 and above commenced on March 10, while registrations for people above 50 started from March 30.

    Pakistan is currently battling with its third wave of COVID-19. According to the NCOC, Pakistan has recorded 5312 cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and 105 people have lost their lives to the deadly virus.

  • PPP, several others, including PTI’s Fawad, against criminalising criticism

    PPP, several others, including PTI’s Fawad, against criminalising criticism

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has said that it rejects any attempts to further gag the fundamental right of freedom of expression in the name of preventing defamation and disrespect of the armed forces.

    In a statement, Senator Farhatullah Babar expressed grave concern over a bill moved by a PTI MNA and approved by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior seeking to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) to send anyone to jail for two years with fine Rs 500,000 or both for what has been described as ‘defamation of the army”.

    He said that Section 500 of the PPC already provides punishment for the defamation of anyone, and the addition of Section 500-A is aimed only at gagging freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the constitution in name of national security. It is not acceptable and will be opposed at every platform he said.

    “The nation has witnessed enough of how behind the facade of ‘national security’ citizens have disappeared mysteriously, national resources diverted, internment centres set up, ex-tribal areas made a no-go area, foreign and security policies hijacked and security establishment’s business and commercial empire expanded exponentially.”

    Section 500-A is liable to be grossly misused in the name of national security as Section 295-C has been misused in the name of religion, he said.

    “Defence forces working within their constitutional limits are universally admired and do not need any legislation to protect their honor and respect. Similarly, no legislation can stop people from questioning those who transgress their limits with impunity,” he said.

    While the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reportedly tried to block the bill from approval by NA Standing Committee on Interior, saying it was a violation of right to freedom of expression, some government members have also expressed concern.

    While Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari had earlier blocked a similar bid to curb criticism, Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry has now said it was an “absolutely ridiculous idea”.

    In a tweet, he said he strongly felt that instead of introducing new laws to quell criticism, the laws dealing with contempt of court “should be repealed”.

    He was seconded by Mazari.

    “Totally agree. Cannot state it strongly enough,” she wrote.

  • Punjab govt rushes to Tareen’s support amid reports of rift with PTI

    The Punjab government has said that disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen is an important pillar of the party and had worked hard to form the government of Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar.

    Speaking to Geo News, Special Assistant to Punjab CM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had come to power on the manifesto of the supremacy of law and a corruption-free Pakistan.

    Awan, while responding to a question on accountability, said all those PTI leaders and ministers who were accused of corruption had returned to their positions after getting themselves cleared from the charges.

    The spokesperson dismissed media reports claiming that the government is taking revengeful action against Tareen.

    Tareen is facing charges of corruption in the sugar scandal and multiple cases have been filed against him.

    Amid his ordeal, reports had claimed the sugar baron was defecting to rival Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    While the claims have been rubbished, any truth to the same could serve a severe blow to the ruling PTI, especially in Punjab where Buzdar is in power owing to the support of a number of loyal-to-Tareen MPAs.

    The PTI leader, after appearing in court on Wednesday, had said that his loyalty to PM Imran was being tested, but that he is not parting ways with the PTI.

    While responding to a question, Awan said that Tareen would never take a step that would harm PTI and that he had played an important role in forming the Buzdar government and taking forward the policies of the PTI government.

    “Jahangir Tareen will never want to see PTI getting weak on the political front. In pursuance of PM Khan’s mission he was active as a soldier,” she added.

    Meanwhile, the Punjab government has reportedly prepared a list of the PTI members who were in contact with Jahangir Khan Tareen.

    CM Buzdar is set to hand over the list to the premier, which would be followed by a final decision on said lawmakers’ fate.

    Tareen loyalists maintain that he also played a major role in securing PM Imran the recent vote of confidence and without his support, the government is struggling owing to a thin majority in Punjab.

  • Police arrest boy for stealing brake plates from moving train in Sukkur

    Police arrest boy for stealing brake plates from moving train in Sukkur

    Police claim to have detained a teenager from Sukkur for stealing iron from a moving train.

    As per reports, a video of a boy hanging from one side of the train’s locomotive engine, allegedly stealing brake plates of the engine, did the rounds on social media a few days back.

    The police filed a case against the boy after the video went viral and conducted a raid at a house in Sukkur where they managed to nab the suspect identified as Sarfaraz Sheikh.

    After the video of him stealing from a moving train aired on TV, the police said that Sheikh altered his appearance to escape arrest.

    According to the police, the train, the boy was seen clinging to, was the Hazara Express and was travelling to Karachi.

  • Leopard on the loose sparks fear in Abbottabad

    Residents of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are panicking after a leopard strayed into the town.

    As per reports, a leopard is on the loose in the area a week after a big cat was killed in the city’s Khushi Kote Palak Union Council.

    The leopard entered Bakote town creating panic and fear among locals who said the animal also attacked the livestock of the area.

    The locals have also requested to the wildlife department to capture the leopard as soon as possible.

    Earlier the residents of Malkot village next to  Ayubia town captured and killed a leopard that attacked their valley. Three persons were charged under Wildlife Act 2015 for allegedly killing the leopard.

  • Inflation and other troubles: 73% Pakistanis believe country headed in wrong direction

    A recent survey by IPSOS Pakistan has revealed that nearly 73 per cent people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

    At least 1,000 people from all over the country participated in the latest survey that was conducted during the third week of March.

    Inflation has become the biggest issue for Pakistanis, as two-thirds of survey participants described the current economic situation as bad with increasing skepticism about any betterment in their conditions.

    Nearly 23 per cent found nothing wrong in the policies of the incumbent government while around 70 per cent expressed concern.

    Some 38 per cent of the participants believed there wouldn’t be any improvement in economic conditions in the next six months while 29 per cent viewed the same time period as one during which good news on the economic front will be here.

    33 percent maintained their moderate perspective on this.

    Inflation and unemployment were among the greatest concerns of the people in almost all parts of the country.

  • High hopes for Pakistan with aim to start local manufacturing of Sputnik V vaccine

    High hopes for Pakistan with aim to start local manufacturing of Sputnik V vaccine

    Pakistan is all set to start the local manufacturing the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in collaboration with Russia in the coming months.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday, said Pakistan was looking forward to Russian collaboration for the local production of the Sputnik V vaccine.

    The Russian FM said his government had provided 50,000 doses to Pakistan and intended to provide more than 150,000 doses in the coming weeks.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had arrived on Tuesday for a two-day visit in Islamabad, where he was received by Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

    FM Lavrov also expressed satisfaction over an increase in bilateral trade that reached $790 million over the last year.

    Earlier, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had approved the emergency use of the Russian vaccine.

    Two doses of it are currently being administered across private facilities in major cities for around Rs13,000.

    It has an efficacy rate of over 91%.

  • Police arrest two suspects for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine in KP

    Police arrest two suspects for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine in KP

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Wednesday claimed to have detained two suspects for selling fake COVID-19 vaccine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    As per reports, FIA’s Deputy Director Abdur Rehman, during the hearing of a case relating to COVID-19 vaccine price at Peshawar High Court, said that they have recovered a huge quantity of fake medicines and coronavirus vaccine from their possession.

    Rehman told the court that the investigation agency also traced a factory manufacturing fake COVID-19 vaccine and other medicines used for the deadly disease in Lahore. The deputy director added that relevant authorities had already left for Lahore to seal the facilities.

    Meanwhile, last year in March, the police had arrested an alleged doctor selling a COVID-19 vaccine. According to details, police carried out a raid at a fake clinic where the doctor claimed to have COVID-19 vaccine. The police arrested him and shifted to an unknown place for an investigation into the matter.

    According to SSP South, the man arrested was a dentist by profession and was identified as Dr Dedar.

    “He is booked under various sections of Pakistan Penal Code for fooling people,” the officer had said.

  • ‘The onus is on men’: Jemima schools Imran on rape

    Prime Minister Imran Khan’s former wife Jemima Goldsmith has schooled him on the topic of rape, saying that the “onus is on men”. PM Imran in an interactive session with the public on Sunday had blamed rising rape cases on “vulgarity” when asked what his government is doing to curb the surge in rape cases and sexual violence, especially against children.

    Pakistanis had strongly criticised the premier and told him that rape is an act of violence and has nothing to do with the way a person dresses.

    PM Khan’s words made it to international publications and now Jemima has criticised him for his remarks.

    Sharing a report, Jemima quoted an ayat with which she wrote: “The onus is on men.”

    Goldsmith added: “I’m hoping this is a misquote/ mistranslation. The Imran I knew used to say, ‘Put a veil on the man’s eyes not on the woman’.”

    Responding to Jemima’s comments, Focal Person to the Prime Minister on Digital Media Dr Arslan Khalid said that PM Khan “never engaged in victim blaming”.

    “DailyMail has misinterpreted his comments about purdah which in Islam is for both male and female,” said Dr Khalid. “Rest he talked about how society must act against trends that harmfully influence young minds and turn them into sexual predators.”

    Dr Khalid also shut down other media outlets and said that they are reporting a “total misrepresentation of what he said.”

    Later, a spokesperson of the government said that misperceptions are being created about PM Khan’s comment regarding the incidence of rape in the country.

    The spokesperson said that while expressing deep concern about it, the Prime Minister spoke about the societal responses and the need to put our efforts together to eliminate the menace of rape completely. Unfortunately, part of his comment, consciously or unconsciously, has been distorted to mean something that he never intended.

    The statement further said: “The Prime Minister said that our strict anti-rape laws alone will not be able to stem the rise in sex crimes. The whole society has to fight it together including lowering exposure to temptation.”

    “Prime Minister emphasised a holistic solution with the society and the stringent legal remedies, which are already in place, working together to eliminate the scourge. Plucking a line out of the statement would always distort the perspective and would not serve the narrative of the actual comment.”

    “PM Imran Khan remains fully committed to utilise all avenues at the government’s disposal to tackle the incidence of rape. He believes that all of us have a role to play in the fight and hoped that we would do so,” concluded the statement.

    Meanwhile, Pakistanis have all sorts of reactions to Jemima’s statements with some asking her if she still loves PM Khan and others rallying for her to become Prime Minister.

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