Current Final

Category: National

  • New pro-IMF State Bank law would leave country bankrupt, lead to Pakistan’s collapse: prominent economist

    Renowned economist Dr Kaiser Bengali has warned that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Ordinance, which is likely to be introduced soon, is anti-national and could lead to no accountability of central bank officials besides ultimately resulting “in the collapse of the country”.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, he said that the law would leave the federal government and subsequently the state paralysed.

    “There would be no money to pay salaries because the top priority would be paying back loans for which new loans will be sought,” Dr Bengali said.

    To a query by host Asma Shirazi, he said the law had no parallel in the modern world, however, a similar one dating back to the Ottoman Era played a key role in the downfall of the House of Osman.

    “They didn’t have any money to fight wars or deal with the rebellion after handing control of all the money to the central bank.”

    “This would dissolve Pakistan because there won’t even be enough money to pay the police,” Dr Bengali maintained, adding that it was a bleak picture.

    “The opposition alliance should put its other demands on hold and work towards stopping this legislation,” he concluded. The same was stated by him in a tweet as well.

    Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal also claimed the government was enacting such a law which would hand over the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) control to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions.

    Addressing a press conference, he said that with the new legislation, the SBP would not be accountable to the parliament, the prime minister or any institution of the country and it would only be answerable to the international institutions.

    He said National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) or any other institution would not be able to ask the SBP governor and other officials for any corruption.

    “If the prime minister of Pakistan can appear before NAB, then why can’t the SBP governor?” Ahsan said adding it was only to mortgage Pakistan’s economy with the international institutions.

  • VIDEO: Turkish military band plays ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s’ theme song at Pakistan Day celebrations

    VIDEO: Turkish military band plays ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s’ theme song at Pakistan Day celebrations

    The Pakistan Day celebrations at Parade Avenue in Islamabad were a grand affair. The event which takes place on March 23 every year to mark Pakistan Resolution Day was rescheduled to March 25 due to bad weather conditions.

    While everything was taking place as per the norm, what caught everyone’s attention was the Turkish band’s performance of Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s theme song. As per Radio Pakistan, the Turkish military band also presented different tunes including Dil Dil Pakistan during the parade.

    To reaffirm the strong bond between Pakistan and Turkey, a Turkish fighter jet also presented a whole range of dazzling maneuvers.

    The Turkish band was holding three flags, white red and green.The white flag represented peace, red represented Ottoman Empire and the green represented Islam.

    Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi, who was the chief guest at the occasion, said: “Pakistan is laced with capabilities to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, categorically stating that any misadventure will receive a befitting response.

    The President added that Pakistan is a strong nuclear power and “apart from making progress in the socio-economic sectors, the country has achieved self-reliance in defence”. He also expressed satisfaction that Pakistan is also exporting its defence products.

    The floats of Ministry of Science and Technology and the front-line healthcare workers against Covid-19 were also part of the parade.

    Performers from Pakistan also participated in the parade. Ali Hamza from Noori the band and Young stunners were also performing.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the Prime Minister Imran Khan was unable to attend the parade because he had tested positive for coronavirus last week.

  • Pakistani who attacked French magazine’s office says PM Imran, Khadim Rizvi influenced him

    The Pakistani man who attacked the former offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, last September was radicalised by videos of preachers in his home country and anti-France demonstrations at the time, AFP reported, citing a local newspaper.

    According to Le Parisien, police investigation has revealed the 26-year-old had spent the days leading up to his knife attack watching extremist preachers on YouTube and TikTok denouncing France and Charlie Hebdo.

    “I couldn’t eat. I was crying watching the videos,” Zaheer Hassan Mahmood told investigators.

    Weeks before, the magazine had republished sketches of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which were considered blasphemous by Muslims, to mark the start of a trial of men linked to a 2015 attack on its offices.

    Mahmood said he did not realise the magazine had moved offices after the 2015 attack and presumed the two people he slashed with a meat cleaver were employees of the publication, the report said.

    Both victims, who worked for a TV production company with no links to Charlie Hebdo, sustained serious injuries.

    Mahmood, from the village of Kothli Qazi in Punjab province, had entered France with false papers showing him as an unaccompanied minor, enabling him to claim asylum.

    Islamist groups organised demonstrations in Pakistan in September against Charlie Hebdo and French President Emmanuel Macron, who defended freedom of expression and blasphemy, which is legal in France.

    Mahmood watched videos by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the late founder of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, and other radical preachers.

    He was also influenced by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who accused Macron of “attacking Islam”, the newspaper said.

    Blasphemy is a criminal act in Pakistan, where laws allow death penalty for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic personalities.

    Mahmood said he initially intended to damage the office building, rather than attack people, and has offered to apologise to his victims.

    Investigators have found a video he sent to a friend the day before his attack which called for the decapitation of blasphemers, and he received a call from Greece the same day which appeared to refer to a pre-meditated assault.

    He has been charged with “attempted murder with relation to a terrorist enterprise”.

  • Police file case against four-month-old boy

    Police file case against four-month-old boy

    Police in Chiniot have registered a case against a four-month-old boy for violating the sound system act.

    According to reports, a few religious scholars had delivered their speeches at an event in Chiniot on loudspeakers.

    After the event, the police had registered a case against dozens of people, including a four-month-old boy named Hasnain Shehzada, under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

    The police refused to remove the child’s name from the FIR when they were told about the child’s age.

    On Wednesday, his father submitted the papers in the court for interim bail.

  • Nearly 100,000 trees cut down in Multan to pave way for DHA?

    Nearly 100,000 trees cut down in Multan to pave way for DHA?

    Netizens are fuming ever since it was claimed that over 90,000 trees were cut down in the City of Saints to pave way for Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Multan.

    However, it has emerged that the trees were chopped and mango orchards destroyed but not for the military-run locality.

    According to a report by BBC Urdu, the multiple videos doing the rounds on social media were recorded last year when culling actually took place. It was carried out by the City Housing Society near Bosan Road among other locations.

    Another media outlet reported that the Mango Growers Cooperative Society had also then demanded a complete ban on mango orchard cutting as the growers were perturbed by the rapid annexation of thousands of acres of mango plantation in the district.

    But with the videos going viral over the internet with the false claim, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) among others, including activists and senior journalists, has expressed grave concern over reports of denuding of mango orchards and conversion of them into an urban property over the past years by DHA, and sought a transparent inquiry into the matter.

    “Reckless conversion of mango orchards and farmlands into urban property will have a disastrous impact on agriculture, food security and the environment,” said PPP secretary general and former senator Farhatullah Khan Babar in a statement.

    “Food security is far more important than building housing authorities,” Babar said while calling for a transparent inquiry into these reports.

  • Here are all the celebrities who were honoured with a Civil Award this year

    Here are all the celebrities who were honoured with a Civil Award this year

    It’s that time of the year when notable Pakistanis are recognised for their contributions in different fields at an investiture ceremony at Aiwan-i-Sadr. Despite rising cases of COVID-19, this year was no different and on March 23, 2021, President Dr Arif Alvi conferred top civil and military honours upon various personalities, including those from the entertainment industry.

    According to Radio Pakistan, President Alvi presented various awards to 88 recipients including six Nishan-e-Imtiaz, three Hilal-e-Imtiaz, 24 Sitara-i- Shuja’at, eight Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 14 President’s Award for Pride of Performance, one Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam, one Sitara-e-Khidmat, one Tamgha-i-Pakistan, 22 Tamgha-i-Shuja’at and eight Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.

    Prominent personalities who received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz include Sadiqain Naqvi (Art), Abida Parveen (Singing), Ahmad Faraz (Literature) while Bushra Ansari (Art), Syed Farooq Qaiser (Art) and Sultana Siddiqui (Art) received the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Maulana Tariq Jameel (Religious Scholar), Muhammad Ali Shehki (Singing), Resham (Acting), Humayun Saeed (Acting) and Ali Zafar (Singing) were conferred the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. Meanwhile, Zaiba Shehaz (Acting) and Faisal Edhi (Public Service) were awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.  

    Check out the list of celebrities who were honoured at Pakistan Day:

    Bushra Ansari and Sultana Siddiqui (Sitara-e-Imtiaz)

    Imran Quershi (Sitara-e-Imtiaz)

    Abida Parveen (Nishan-e-Imtiaz)
    Resham (Pride of Performance)

    “Allah has turned my dream into a reality,” wrote Resham along side a picture of her with the medal.

    Humayun Saeed Khan (Pride of Performance)
    Ali Zafar (Pride of Performance)
    Sakina Samo (Pride of Performance)
    Maulana Tariq Jameel (Pride of Performance)

  • ‘Apni dukaan pr baith k ehtijaaj kaisay karoo?’: Firdous Ashiq on not getting paid

    Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister (CM) on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has revealed that she is not getting paid.

    “How can I protest at my own shop?” she said when suggested to do so by host Muhammad Shoaib during a rather light-hearted interview that aired on Wednesday morning.

    Firdous and the host were seen having quite a day with jet-skiing among other water-related activities in Karachi.

    The government official was also spotted sailing a boat and taking digs at the opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHu2TG4dnkA

    “It has run out of fuel like the PDM,” she could be heard as telling the host when her jet ski stopped working.

    Firdous also spoke about how Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan didn’t have any favourites, she wanted to do parasailing but the winds were too strong, and she has been quite a lot into water sports since forever.

  • Gill dismisses report claiming he is ‘earning billions by importing COVID-19 vaccine’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s aide on political communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill, has rubbished reports claiming that he is earning hefty profits by importing vaccine for COVID-19.

    “Some people are making false claims that I have imported coronavirus vaccine. This news is fake. I have nothing to do with it,” he tweeted, urging people to stop spreading it.

    The government has now allowed Gill’s company to import Russian vaccine with a profit of Rs7,000 on each dose, the report had alleged.

    It went on to claim that Gill’s company had ordered 200,000 Sputnik-V vaccines in the first consignment, keeping a net profit of Rs1.40 billion — with Rs8,500 for every Rs1,550 dose — in one consignment and that too with the permission of the government.

    In another tweet, Gill said the fake WhatsApp forward regarding him cracked him up.

    The news and its dismissal comes days after the government capped the maximum retail price of Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccine injections imported by the private sector.

    The government has fixed the maximum sale price of Sputnik-V vaccine at Rs8,449 for two doses and China’s Convidecia at Rs4,225 per injection, showed the summary of the National Health Services and Regulations Ministry.

  • Modi writes to Imran with ‘desire for cordial relations with Pakistani people’

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said to Prime Minister Imran Khan that “as a neighbouring country, India desires cordial relations with the people of Pakistan”.

    The above was said in Modi’s Pakistan Day message to the premier, wherein he extended his greetings to the people of Pakistan who celebrated the anniversary of the Lahore Resolution across the country.

    The message was conveyed to PM Imran by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad through the Foreign Office (FO).

    “For this, an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is imperative,” Modi said in the message. He also sent his wishes to the prime minister and the people of Pakistan, who were facing a “difficult time for humanity” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    “Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration,” the message concluded.

    Modi’s comments come days after Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, speaking during the Islamabad Security Dialogue, said that lasting peace in the sub-continent will remain elusive until the resolution of the Kashmir issue, stressing that it was time for Pakistan and India to “bury the past and move forward”.

    The army chief had noted that stable Indo-Pak relations were the key to unlocking the potential of South and Central Asia by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia.

    But this potential has always remained hostage to the disputes and issues between the two “nuclear neighbours”, he said.

    “The Kashmir issue is obviously at the heart of this. It is important to understand that without the resolution of Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, [the] process of sub-continental rapprochement will always remain susceptible to derailment due to politically motivated bellicosity.”

    “We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward,” he said, adding that the onus for meaningful dialogue rested with India. “Our neighbour will have to create a conducive environment, particularly in occupied Kashmir.”

    It is worth mentioning here that recently Bloomberg reported that the government of United Arab Emirates (UAE) was facilitating the development of a four-step “roadmap for peace” between Pakistan and India.

    The report cited the surprise joint statement by directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India on February 25, that agreed to end Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire violations (CFVs) as the outcome of the talks brokered by the Emirati government months earlier.

    The report also stated that progress on the Pakistan-India “peace” process had been discussed during Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed’s meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during the former’s visit to New Delhi on February 26.

  • Twitter blunder: PTI dates Lahore Resolution (1940) as a 1947 event in Pakistan Day post

    Twitter blunder: PTI dates Lahore Resolution (1940) as a 1947 event in Pakistan Day post

    In yet another Twitter blunder from political quarters, the official Twitter handle of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday-Tuesday midnight mistakenly dated the Lahore Resolution of 1940 as a 1947 event, which was passed seven years before actual independence.

    “23rd March: Pakistan Resolution Day Back in 1947, our ancestors resolved on this day to lay the foundation of Pakistan. On this day, once again we resolve to save our homeland from corruption and rebuild Pakistan!” read a tweet that was deleted after netizens pointed out the blunder.

    Here’s the new tweet:

    LAHORE RESOLUTION:

    The Lahore Resolution was a formal political statement of declaration of independence of Pakistan adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session in Lahore from March 22–24, 1940.

    The resolution called for independent states as seen by this statement:

    That geographically contiguous units are demarcated regions which should be constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North Western and Eastern Zones of (British) India should be grouped to constitute ‘independent states’ in which the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign.

    Today marks 81 years since its adoption that was followed by creation of Pakistan seven years later in 1947.