Current Final

Category: National

  • VIDEO: ‘Please keep your personal matters to yourself,’ journalist tells Gill after being called ‘second wife’

    Journalist Shahzad Iqbal has told Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s aide Dr Shahbaz Gill to “keep personal matters to himself” after the latter called Iqbal his “second wife” on live TV.

    As per the details, Gill, along with Dr Munir Baloch of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) besides businessman and ruling party loyalist Abdul Qadir, was talking to Iqbal on Geo News’ “Naya Pakistan” show when the premier’s aide was asked a question regarding Senate tickets.

    “Babar Yousafzai of your own party has accused Baloch of peddling money to be awarded a Senate ticket,” Iqbal said, to which Gill responded by saying it was a baseless allegation in absence of evidence.

    The anchor went on to say it would’ve been different had it been someone from the opposition leveling the accusations.

    “It is his [Yousafzai] right,” Gill said and accused Iqbal of being biased against the government, mentioning instances when the journalist hadn’t conducted shows on internal rifts during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) regimes.

    This was followed by Iqbal taking Gill head-on and warning him against leveling accusations. “Just say you don’t want to answer if you don’t like the question. But don’t assume what I did or didn’t do.”

    “You fight and shout a lot…”

    “Because this isn’t the right behaviour…”

    “It feels like you’re my second wife who is upset with me for prioritising my first wife,” Gill said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “Please keep your personal matters to yourself,” Iqbal hit back.

    The two then went on to cut each other off.

    It merits a mention that PTI central parliamentary board, headed by PM Imran, has withdrawn the party ticket awarded to business tycoon Abdul Qadir in Balochistan for the Senate election after strong opposition from the PTI provincial leadership and zonal heads.

  • Kaira leaves TV show after host calls Maryam, Bilawal ‘immature’

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Qamaruz Zaman Kaira walked out of a TV show after a minor argument with the show host Ehtesham Amiruddin and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry over their criticism of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

    During the show, Fawad termed the politics of Maryam and Bilawal “immature” and called them “kids” who were playing politics. “They have no idea of the Pakistani politics,” he said, adding both political parties have no future in the country.

    At this, Kaira, who had joined the show via telephone, clapped back at Fawad, saying he’s calling Maryam a “kid” when she is older than him. At this, Fawad said he meant that Maryam was not an experienced politician.

    Kaira responded that she might have more experience in politics than Fawad Chaudhry. Kaira also criticised the PTI for being a party of trolls. He said they resort to trolling in response to criticism against their party or to damage the stature of the opposition leaders.

    Fawad rebutted Maryam and Bilawal have no political standing and it was unfortunate that people like Kaira have to defend them. “Don’t worry, they are very good politicians,” Kaira responded.

    At this, the TV host tried to clarify, saying that what Fawad wanted to say was that both the PPP chairman and PML-N vice president were “politically immature”.

    Irked by the interjection, Kaira told the host that he didn’t need him to speak for Fawad as he knew very well what the PTI leader meant. “I understood what he meant… more than you,” Kaira told the host.

    The host then went on to say that he too agrees with Fawad that statements by Maryam and Bilawal that criticise the army were a sing of “political immaturity”.

    Kaira responded that the anchorpersons are supposed to moderate the shows, not give their “judgements”. At this, the host said it was not fair that his opinion was being considered as judgement, while Kaira can give his opinion without any problem.

    However, the things continue to go south and Kaira eventually left the show by disconnecting the telephone call.

  • Rawalpindi police foil jailbreak bid, suspect detained

    Rawalpindi police foil jailbreak bid, suspect detained

    Rawalpindi police have foiled a bid to break Adiala Central Jail and registered a case against the suspect who tried to smuggle in a hacksaw for the purpose.

    According to reports, stepson of a prisoner, Khalid Khan, came to visit his father in jail. The son, named Amaan Abbasi, had also brought food and other stuff for his father, but when the police official inspected his luggage before the meeting, they found a hacksaw and other such stuff in his box.

    Subsequently, the police officials took the visitors in the custody and also confiscated the hacksaw. A case has also been registered against Abbasi by the SHO of Saddar police station, Rawalpindi.

    According to Assistant Superintendent Jail Saqib Amin, the police have averted a major untoward incident by seizing the hacksaw before it could reach the hands of the prisoner.

  • COVID-19: Pakistan begins registration of senior citizens for vaccination

    COVID-19: Pakistan begins registration of senior citizens for vaccination

    The Head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar announced on Monday that the government has started registration for COVID-19 vaccination of citizens above 65. The vaccination drive for them will begin in March.

    “Pleased to announce that registration for getting COVID vaccine is now open for all citizens 65 and above,” wrote the minister on Twitter.

    Umar said those interested in getting themselves vaccinated can write down their CNIC number and send a message on 1166. 

    “InshAllah vaccinations for this age group will start in March,” he added.

    Read More – Here’s how you can register for COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Taimur Jhagra praised the NCOC, SAPM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and NCOC head Asad Umar for their efforts.

  • Aamir Liaquat trolls Vawda over award of Senate ticket

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aamir Liaquat has taken a dig at Faisal Vawda, who is also an MNA from Karachi, after he was named by the party as its Senate nominee from Sindh.

    Vawda, who is facing a case in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for allegedly lying about his dual nationality, might get disqualified from holding the NA seat. And many observers see his candidature as an attempt to circumvent the potential disqualification.

    In a jibe at the Senate ticket for Vawda, Aamir Liaquat in a series of tweet ranted about the former getting a nomination for the upper house even though he didn’t deserve it.

    The Karachi lawmaker also shared a picture of PM Imran Khan and Faisal Vawda that was captioned with a fictional dialogue between the two. “Only a Senate ticket… but you promised me tickets for provincial assemblies, Azad Kashmir Assembly, Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, and Lok Sabha ticket that Nawaz Sharif didn’t disclose in his documents. Not just these, you also promised to give me Green Line Bus ticket on a priority basis,” the PTI leader mocked his colleague.

    He also criticised PM Imran for giving ticket to Vawda.

    The PTI leadership in Sindh is not happy with Vawda either. According to reports, key party leaders from three zones of rural Sindh approached the Sindh governor on Sunday to express their displeasure over the award of the Senate tickets of Vawda and Saifullah Abro.

    The leaders who signed the letter included Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, brother of former Sindh chief minister Liaquat Jatoi, PTI Sukkur President Mubeen Jatoi, Allah Bux Unnar and Raja Khan Jhakrani, former provincial secretary general Mehfooz Usrani, a former candidate from NA-214 Shaheed Benazirabad Gul Muhammad Rind, former provincial minister Agha Taimoor Khan Pathan, Papu Khan Chachar and other party leaders.

  • Maryam accidentally tweets picture of Khadim Rizvi’s welcome, mistaking it for her own

    Maryam accidentally tweets picture of Khadim Rizvi’s welcome, mistaking it for her own

    In yet another faux pas, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has accidentally retweeted, and then deleted, a picture of welcome of the late Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) leader Khadim Rizvi, mistaking it for her own in.

    As per the details, Maryam retweeted the picture of Rizvi’s welcome at the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore, falling for the claim that the rose petals-covered roads were from Daska where she arrived on Saturday ahead of a by-election in the NA-75 constituency.

    The election on February 19 comes after the seat fell vacant following the demise of the PML-N’s Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah.

    “Alhamdulillah,” Maryam had written while retweeting the picture that can no longer be found on her Twitter.

    It wasn’t later when people, especially members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), pointed out what was wrong with the tweet.

    Earlier, Maryam said that the by-election in Daska was not just an election but a “battle”.

    The PML-N has given ticket to late MNA Shah’s daughter Nosheen Iftikhar.

    In her speech, Maryam blamed the government for rising inflation in the country.

    “When their ministers are told that inflation has increased and people are dying of hunger, they say decrease your expenses,” the PML-N leader said, referring to Information Minister Shibli Faraz’s recent statement.

    She added that the government had promised to create 10 million jobs in Pakistan but not a single man in Daska got any job.

  • Govt ‘tested tear gas on protesters’: Sheikh Rasheed draws flak over ‘cruel’ statement

    Govt ‘tested tear gas on protesters’: Sheikh Rasheed draws flak over ‘cruel’ statement

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed is under fire for making an insensitive statement regarding the use of tear gas against the government employees who were protesting at D-Chowk, Islamabad, last week for better wages.

    In a comment on the demonstration, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Rasheed said that the government gave a 25 per cent pay raise to the protesters and used some “tear gas” as well because it was “necessary”.

    “We have already tested the teargas during the protest of government employees last week in Islamabad. The test was necessary as these teargas shells had not been used for a long time,” he said in a warning to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    Last week, one policeman was killed and multiple injuries were reported after the protest organised by the government employees in Red Zone turned violent. The government had used tear gas and baton-charge to disperse the protesters.

    The remarks were criticised by the opposition leaders, civil society, and journalists who termed them “cruel” and “insensitive”.

    Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair said that a statement like this “would mean immediate firing of the minister”. However, the current government is “shameless” so the minister will retain his portfolio.

    A Twitter user said that the statement by the minister was “quite shameful”.

    https://twitter.com/AmirChaudhry_/status/1360947901850075141

    Senior journalist Murtaza Solangi pointed out that “many people got injured during the exercise and a cop died too”.

    The current government “keeps stooping lower and lower”, commented activist Tooba Syed.

    The interior of minister of Pakistan says that it was important to use tear gas on the protesting employees, wrote another journalist.

    Another Twitter user called the statement of the minister “criminal”.

  • VIDEO: CM Buzdar’s arrival in Cholistan straight out of a Hollywood movie

    VIDEO: CM Buzdar’s arrival in Cholistan straight out of a Hollywood movie

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday reached Cholistan in Bahawalpur via helicopter, with a 10-plus-vehicle motorcade receiving him at the landing site in the desert.

    Here’s a viral video of Buzdar’s convoy in Cholistan, which appears to be nothing less than one from a Hollywood flix.

    Earlier on Saturday, the provincial chief executive visited Tourism Development Corporation Punjab resorts.

    He inaugurated various development projects for Bahawalpur. He also participated in the ceremony of Cholistan Desert Rally 2021. He inaugurated TDCP Cholistan desert resort and double-decker bus service for the tourists for Bahawalpur. Usman Buzdar inspected the double-decker bus and purchased the first ticket worth Rs300.

    The route of double-decker bus includes SD High School, Commissioner House, DC Chowk, Bahawal Club, CMH Chowk, Museum, Central Library, BVH Hospital, Fawara Chowk, Noor Mehal, Ahmedpuri Gate, Darawar Gate, Farid Gate, Mori Gate, and zoo.

    Usman Buzdar announced to name after Civil Hospital Bahawalpur to Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi. Usman Buzdar said that tourism was very close to his heart, COVID-19 affected the tourist activities, now the same was being restored.

    He said that another promise made with the people of Bahawalpur had been fulfilled. Double-decker bus service was a gift for the citizens of Bahawalpur from PTI government. People would be able to visit tourist and historical places through this double-decker bus. Special rates had been fixed for the elderly and differently-abled people.

  • Good news for Gillani after arrival at ECP with two other prime ministers

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday approved former prime minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gillani’s application to transfer his vote to Islamabad; after he arrived at the election watchdog’s office with two other former premiers.

    Gillani is reportedly being fielded for the federal capital seat in the upper house of the parliament by the join opposition, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    The former premier’s vote has been registered at his address of Sector F-8 in Islamabad, making him eligible to contest the Senate elections from the federal capital.

    He had moved the ECP on Friday and arrived at the election watchdog’s office on Saturday with his successor Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    Earlier, Abbasi’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) announced to support Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Gillani in the Senate elections.

    The decision was taken after a meeting between Abbasi and Gillani to hold consultations to field a joint candidate of the PDM.

    The two former premiers, Ashraf and Abbasi, acted as the proponent and seconder in candidate Gillani’s papers.

    Meanwhile, Farhatullah Babar has been named as PDM’s joint candidate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

  • Lahore Zoo’s white tiger cubs reportedly died of COVID

    Lahore Zoo’s white tiger cubs reportedly died of COVID

    Two 11-week-old white tiger cubs that died in Lahore Zoo last month appear to have died of COVID-19, zoo officials have said.

    According to reports, the cubs died on January 30, four days after beginning treatment for what officials thought was feline panleukopenia virus, a disease that zoo officials said is common in Pakistan and targets cats’ immune system.

    But an autopsy found the cubs’ lungs were badly damaged and they were suffering from severe infection, with pathologists concluding they died from COVID-19.

    Although no PCR test for the new coronavirus was conducted, zoo deputy director Kiran Saleem told Reuters the zoo believes the cubs were the victims of the pandemic that has killed 12,256 people in Pakistan.

    “After their death, the zoo administration conducted tests of all officials, and six were tested positive, including one official who handled the cubs,” Saleem said. “It strengthens the findings of the autopsy. The cubs probably caught the virus from the person handling and feeding them.”

    Pakistan’s zoos regularly draw the ire of animal rights activists, who say hundreds of animals have died from poor living conditions there.

    “The last two white tiger cubs have died at Lahore zoo and once again the negligence of the management and authorities has come out,” said Zufishan Anushay, founder of JFK (Justice for Kiki) Animal Rescue And Shelter.

    “White tigers are extremely rare and need a specific habitat and environment to live a healthy life. By caging them in unhygienic conditions with no medical arrangements, we will keep witnessing these incidents,” she added.

    However, Saleem rejected the allegations of neglect at the zoo, saying that animal rights activists were welcome to visit and check the facility’s safety and hygiene protocols themselves.