Current Final

Category: National

  • Senate Election: After Gillani’s video, Sindh minister’s alleged audio suggests horse-trading

    Senate Election: After Gillani’s video, Sindh minister’s alleged audio suggests horse-trading

    As lawmakers elect colleagues to the upper house of the Parliament amid controversies, Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah has purportedly been heard in a leaked audio making assurances to ruling party lawmakers.

    The audio clip being reported as a conversation between Punjab MPA Ali Haider Gillani and Shah emerged shortly after a video of former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gillani’s son instructing a lawmaker on how his vote can be wasted in the Senate election went viral on social media.

    In the audio, two people can be heard talking about offers of millions of rupees to PTI lawmakers ahead of the Senate polls.

    Ali can allegedly be heard saying that he spoke to Shah, who asked him to bring down the “offer”. An assurance is given in the audio that development work will be done in constituencies as per the wishes of PTI lawmakers.

    “We could carry out uplift projects worth around Rs100 million,” said a voice being attributed to Ali.

    The son of the Senate candidate allegedly said it would be difficult to carry money if payments are made in cash as it would attract attention.

    The same voice further said that ‘friends’ (PTI lawmakers) were standing with him and wanted to talk to the provincial information minister.

    “Tell four of them that they would be taken care of,” another man responded. The voice is said to be of Shah.

    The provincial information minister has denied that the voice is his.

  • Vawda resigns from National Assembly after casting his Senate vote

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday reserved its judgement in the case seeking Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda’s disqualification. Prior to this development, Vawda cast his vote for the Upper House and resigned from his National Assembly seat, The Express Tribune has reported.

    Read more – Aamir Liaquat trolls Vawda over award of Senate ticket

    A single bench of the IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq was hearing the petition moved against the federal minister by Barrister Jahangir Jadoon. During the hearing, Vawda’s counsel argued that the case against him in the court stands ineffective following his resignation.

    However, Jadoon objected to the argument, stating that several members of the assembly resigned from their seats and joined the parliament again in the past. He added that a person remains a member of the assembly unless the Speaker of the National Assembly accepts the resignation.

    Faisal Vawda was a dual national at the time of filing nomination papers for 2018’s General Election and concealed his American citizenship by falsely declaring on the oath he submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

  • Two-headed baby born in Badin, mother and child doing well

    Two-headed baby born in Badin, mother and child doing well

    A woman gave birth to a two-headed baby at a private hospital in the city of Badin, Sindh on Tuesday.

    According to the doctors who were a part of the delivery, the mother and child are both “healthy” and out of danger. Doctors stated that the baby’s heads were separated after a surgical procedure. The family belongs to Sujawal district’s Mirpur Bathoro area.

    Senior gynaecologist Dr Nusrat Babu Khati says that an ultrasound report of the baby obtained after delivery, shows that the baby’s brain is split and is visible in both heads.

    The newborn’s condition is stable, she added, cautioning that more tests would be conducted after consulting senior doctors. The parents will be given advice and training on how to take care of their baby.

  • ‘I was there’: Ali Haider Gillani reacts to leaked video

    With less than 24 hours to go, another controversy has come to the fore regarding the Senate elections.

    A leaked video of Ali Haider Gillani – son of former Prime Yousaf Raza Gillani – was aired by ARY News, where he is heard talking about how to waste Senate vote.

    It seems that the other person is from the ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). According to reports, the video was recorded a week ago.

    Addressing a press conference after the leaked video was aired, Ali Haider Gillani admitted the video was real and that he met more than one MNA over the course of campaigning for his father.

    He said he was not buying votes but was telling PTI member of how to waste his vote as that member did not want to vote for his own party.

    “Where do I talk about money in the video? I did no wrong. This is to distract us.”

    The Election Commission of Pakistan has taken notice of the video and Gillani’s response and will be taking up the issue.

    https://twitter.com/profaltafkhan/status/1366783802849296386?s=21

    Yousaf Raza Gillani will face Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in the Senate elections.

  • Indian plane makes emergency landing in Karachi after passenger dies on board

    Indian plane makes emergency landing in Karachi after passenger dies on board

    An Indian Airline flying from Sharjah to Lucknow made an emergency landing in Karachi after a passenger died during the flight on Monday.

    According to reports, IndiGo Airline’s Flight Number 6E1412 entered Pakistani airspace around 4:00 am via Iran when the passenger fell ill. The captain then contacted the air traffic control and requested an emergency landing on humanitarian grounds at the Karachi airport.

    After the approval of the request, the airline made an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport at 5:30 am.

    The Pakistani medical team said that the passenger had fallen sick and passed away due to cardiac arrest.

    This is not the first time that Pakistan has allowed an Indian plane to make an emergency landing in Karachi. In November last year, an Indian plane flying from Saudi Arabia made an emergency landing in Karachi as a passenger aboard the flight died of a heart attack.

    As the plane touched the ground, a doctor at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport was requested to attend to him but the man died before he could be administered medical aid.

  • ‘ECP should ask IT Ministry, not PTA for phone data,’ says Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘ECP should ask IT Ministry, not PTA for phone data,’ says Fawad Chaudhry

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has approached the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to share the call record data of the 20 presiding officers who went ‘missing’ during the Daska by-polls in NA-75, The News has reported.

    Last week, the ECP had announced that new elections in the entire constituency will be held in NA-75 (Daska) after its returning officer alleged irregularities during the by-polls in a report submitted to the commission. Government sources told The News that the PTA has asked the government whether to share the data with the ECP or not.

    Speaking to The Current, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that the ECP has all the right to secure phone data though it “should ask the IT Ministry and not PTA under rules of business”.

    According to the story published in The News, the government may be uneasy about the phone data as it could reveal who had planned and supervised the Daska by-poll rigging. The phone records “will not only establish the whereabouts of these 20 presiding officers during the time when they were missing but will also uncover those they were in contact with”.

    On February 22, Prime Minister Imran Khan had tweeted that as he had always struggled for fair and free elections, he would ask the PTI candidate in NA-75 to ask for re-polling in the 20 polling stations that had become controversial. But the ECP later called for new elections in the entire constituency.

    The PTI has now decided to challenge the ECP’s decision for re-polls.

  • VIDEO: PTI members wrestle each other in Sindh Assembly

    VIDEO: PTI members wrestle each other in Sindh Assembly

    Just a day before the Senate Elections, lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided to wrestle each other in the Sindh Assembly creating havoc.

    As per details, PTI’s disgruntled MPAs – Aslam Abro, Shehryar Shar and Karim Bakhsh Gabol – were beaten up by their own party members during a session of the Sindh Assembly.

    The three MPAs had earlier said that they will not vote for PTI candidates in the Senate polls. The fighting match that ensued can be seen in the tweets shared by journalists Murtaza Ali Shah and Gharidah Farooqi.

    https://twitter.com/MurtazaViews/status/1366702520467415042

    Later, a video of PPP MPA Sharmila Faruqi running out of the assembly emerged and the lawmaker clarified that she was running to get security.

    When asked about this incident by journalists outside the Sindh Assembly, PTI’s Haleem Adil Sheikh started shouting at them.

    He said that he is very sad that today, some senior journalists are posing as PPP workers and also called them lifafa sahaafi (journalists who take money). He also raised slogans against journalists.

    Responding to Sheikh’s comments, senior journalist Asma Shirazi asked why is it that whenever tough questions are asked, PTI members resort to attacks on journalists.

  • VIDEO: Bushra Bibi makes rare public appearance, visits Panah Gah in Lahore

    Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi made a rare public appearance and visited a Panah Gah (shelter home) in Lahore to inspect the facilities given to the people residing there.

    Pictures and videos of her ‘surprise visit’ were shared on PM Khan’s official Instagram account with the caption: “Bushra Begum paying a surprise visit to see if the needy in Panah Gah are being looked after.”

    “The staff, the cleanliness and the arrangements were good but she was not happy with the quality of the food. We will now ensure the quality of food is improved,” added the statement.

    During the visit, while responding to a reporter about her contribution as the “woman behind Imran Khan’s successes”, Bushra Bibi said: “Behind every successful man, there’s his wife, right? Isn’t that right? Then?”

    Read more – PM Imran’s love for wife Bushra, who has ‘great wisdom’, melts hearts

    Later, talking to the media, she also praised the PTI government saying: “[The] government has given shelter to people sleeping under the open sky.”

    “Funds will be provided on a priority basis for the necessary repairs to shelter buildings,” she added.

  • Senate Election on March 3 will be conducted as per past practice: ECP

    Senate Election on March 3 will be conducted as per past practice: ECP

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday said that it deliberated on the order/opinion of the Supreme Court passed yesterday in Presidential Reference and has “decided to implement it in letter and spirit”.

    In a statement, the ECP said that it is taking all possible steps and measures to fulfil its constitutional duty to check that corrupt practices in the Senate Elections are guarded against.

    The ECP has decided to constitute a committee in this regard so that they can give their recommendations regarding the use of technology in the Senate Elections within a period of four weeks.

    The ECP has decided that “due to time constraint, ensuing Senate Election scheduled for March 3, 2021 will be conducted as provided in the Constitution and Law as per past practice”.

    https://twitter.com/profaltafkhan/status/1366629264746020866

    In a short order issued yesterday, the Supreme Court observed that the Senate Elections are held in accordance with the law and the Constitution, saying it “is the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to protect the polls from the menace of corruption”.

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that though the Supreme Court’s opinion on the matter was different, the ECP’s decision to delay the use of technology till the next Senate polls was astonishing.

    He added that both the apex court and ECP are respectable for him.

    All eyes will be on former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s election tomorrow.

    He is contesting as the joint candidate of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against PTI’s Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh.

    The election between Gillani and Sheikh is important as a Gillani win would prepare the ground for a no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran.

    Meanwhile, the premier is taking this contest quite seriously and is leading the Senate campaign for the government. He held back-to-back meetings with lawmakers on Monday and will also host a luncheon today for National Assembly lawmakers.

  • Malala dreams to see Pakistan and India as ‘good friends’

    Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has expressed her desire to see Pakistan and India as ‘good friends’.

    Read more – Ceasefire, at last

    Talking about her book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban on the last day of the 14th Jaipur Literature Festival, Malala said: “It is my dream to see India and Pakistan become true good friends and that we can visit each other’s countries. You can continue to watch Pakistani dramas, we can continue to watch Bollywood movies and enjoy cricket matches.”

    “You are Indian and I am Pakistani and we are completely fine, then why is this hatred created between us? This old philosophy of borders, divisions and divide and conquer… they just don’t work anymore. As humans we all want to live in peace,” said Malala.

    The young activist added that the real enemies of both countries are “poverty, discrimination and inequality”.

    She also stressed upon the importance of giving rights to minorities in both countries.

    “Minorities are at risk,” said Malala. “Minorities’ rights are not given to them. Be it Hindus and Christians in Pakistan, Muslims, Dalits and other minorities in India… Palestinians, Rohingya refugees. It is not [just] religion. It is the exploitation of power, it is just elites vs the poor and minorities.”

    Talking about her cause of girls’ education, Malala said that she also dreams of the day when every girl would get to go to school and have access to quality education.

    Malala, who was shot in the head by the Taliban as she was returning home from school in Swat Valley, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children’s rights in 2014. The young activist recently also graduated from Oxford University.

    Read more – US Congress passes ‘Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act’ for Pakistani women

    She is now internationally known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children.