Current Final

Category: National

  • Army honours MMA fighter who defeated Indian opponent in 56 seconds

    Ahmed Mujtaba, who defeated India’s Rahul Raju in only 56 seconds in the first round of the mixed martial arts (MMA) competition ONE Championship, called on Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar.

    The chief military spokesperson presented him with a shield in honour of his achievement.

    In a tweet, Mujtaba said, “I am humbled by the encouragement and support. I request our youth to have faith in Allah & follow the principles of hard work and commitment.”

    Pakistan and India had earlier clashed in the championship in November 2019. Raju had won that match by submitting Pakistan’s Furqan Cheema in the second round.

  • 80-year-old man marries 75-year-old beloved after feuding families settle their dispute

    80-year-old man marries 75-year-old beloved after feuding families settle their dispute

    An 80-year-old man has married his 75-year-old beloved after two feuding families made peace with each other.

    According to details, Attar Mio married his childhood love Naziran Bibi proving that true love conquers everything. Both the citizens are from the village of Manurian in Kangangpur.

    Attar Mio and Naziran Bibi fell in love when they were young but could not get married due to strong opposition from Attar Mio’s family. Mio had to let go of his desire to marry his love at the time because of the intense feud between the families.

    After waiting all these years, he finally extended his proposal to Naziran Bibi’s family in 2021, following which the two got married.

  • PM announces putting Labbaik’s demands, including ratification of blasphemy bill, forward in parliament

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that following an agreement with the hardliner Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), their demands will be put forward in the parliament.

    According to reports, the premier, in a statement, said that the government spoke to TLP, and the party has decided to extend the “deadline” given to the government from February to April 20.

    The demands put forth by TLP include the French ambassador’s deportation, ratification of the blasphemy bill, and a ban on French goods after blasphemous caricatures were published in France that had sparked protests across the Muslim world.

    Late last year, hundreds of protesters in Pakistan, most of them led by TLP leaders, had burned effigies of France’s leader and chanted anti-French slogans, as President Emmanuel Macron had tried to send a message of understanding to Muslims around the world.

    Smaller demonstrations in Lebanon, Turkey and India followed on anti-France protests across the Muslim world last week that were mostly led by Islamist groups, reported AP news agency.

    The renewed protests had come after President Macron’s interview in which he said that he understood the shock Muslims felt at caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

    Macron was speaking with the Qatar-based Arabic TV station Al-Jazeera, where he also defended freedoms of expression and France’s secular values.

    Just days before TLP chief Khadim Rizvi’s death, the protests had also turned ugly in Rawalpindi-Islamabad.

  • More Punjab lawmakers to leave PTI soon, says MPA ‘close to Tareen’ after quitting party

    More Punjab lawmakers to leave PTI soon, says MPA ‘close to Tareen’ after quitting party

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Punjab lawmaker Khurram Laghari, who hails from Muzaffargarh, has parted ways with the ruling party over “the failure of the government to pay heed to the problems in his constituency”.

    According to Laghari, he was not satisfied with the performance of the PTI-led provincial and federal governments. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to make good on his promises; therefore, it was useless for him to stay in the PTI anymore.

    Lagahri claimed that there were some other MPAs who were disgruntled with the Buzdar-led government and they would soon bid goodbye to the PTI as well. “I joined PTI after winning the election on an independent seat,” he said, adding that the promises made to him remained unfulfilled.

    Laghari had joined PTI in July 2018 after winning the election after he was reportedly convinced by Tareen to join Imran-led party in Punjab.

    In Oct 2020, the Punjab lawmaker had quit his posts as adviser to chief minister and member of price control committee because of the alleged non-cooperation of the bureaucracy, Dawn had reported.

    However, it was alleged that Laghari was removed from the posts because of his contact with PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen. According to reports, Laghari said to be close to Ali Jahangir Tareen and visited him in Dubai thrice with Multan Sultan cricket team.

    It may be noted here that the lawmaker quit the party a month ahead of the Senate elections slated to be held on March 13. The government has introduced an ordinance to hold elections by open vote instead of the secret ballot.

    The opposition has challenged the ordinance in the courts, while, the Supreme Court, that is hearing a presidential reference with regards to the open ballot, said that it would have struck down the ordinance had it not been conditional.

  • Senate elections on March 3: ECP

    Senate elections on March 3: ECP

    Amid a controversy surrounding the Senate elections over the secret ballot, the Election Commission of Pakistan has announced to hold the polls on the upper house seats on March 3.

    According to the ECP, the last date for filing of nomination papers is February 13, followed by a scrutiny process for the nominations. The last date for filing of appeals against acceptance or rejection of papers is February 18, said a notification issued by the ECP.

    The date for disposal of appeals is Feb 19-20, whereas candidates can withdraw their applications by Feb 22 a day after issuance of the revised list of the contestants. The polling will start at 9am and end at 5pm on March 3.

    The Senate elections will be held on 48 seats: two in Islamabad (National Assembly); 11 in Punjab; 11 in Sindh; 12 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and 12 in Balochistan.

    On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot. The opposition, however, has reservations on the move and vowed to oppose it.

    On the other hand, a presidential reference filed by the government in the Supreme Court seeking guidance on the Senate voting procedure is being heard to decide whether the government needs an amendment to end the secret ballot.

    Yesterday, the SC had said that Article 226 allows secret ballot. The article reads: “All elections under the constitution, other than those of the prime minister and the chief minister, shall be by secret ballot.”

  • Justice Isa questions PM’s stance on grant of funds to lawmakers

    Justice Isa questions PM’s stance on grant of funds to lawmakers

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa has questioned Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s stance on the grant of development funds to members of the national and provincial assemblies as the Supreme Court (SC) took up a suo motu case to determine the Constitutional status of the move.

    On Tuesday, the apex court constituted a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, and served notices on the prime minister’s principal secretary, Cabinet Division secretary, finance secretary, federal and provincial advocate generals, and provincial chief secretaries.

    However, Justice Isa on Wednesday noted that a letter submitted by the premier’s principal secretary to the top judicial forum “did not contain the answers to the court’s questions”.

    “The letter does not have answers to the court’s questions. It seems the prime minister has not read the court’s order properly,” the judge said.

    In January, Prime Minister Imran announced a grant of Rs500 million for each member of the national and provincial assemblies under sustainable development goals to enable them to carry out development schemes for their voters.

    However, last week, Justice Isa took notice of the development, warning of legal proceedings if the move was found to be in contravention of the Constitution.

    On the occasion, he had asked Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan to update the court on the issue based on the government’s response.

    However, Khan responded he would update the court after receiving instructions from the government and further reassured that “whatever action is taken will be in the light of the law, Constitution and legal precedent.”Article continues after this advertisement

    Subsequently, Justice Isa referred the matter to the top judge for the formation of a bench.

    On Wednesday, all provinces submitted written replies to the court except for Sindh. When asked, the Sindh government’s counsel informed the court the provincial government had not given development funds to any lawmakers.

    “Sindh government should have submitted a written answer,” CJP Gulzdar replied.

    Meanwhile, AG Khan told the court the grant of development funds was “linked to the Constitution”, adding that the prime minister knew that “government funds cannot be used wrongly”.

    “No member of the National Assembly will be given money [directly],” he added.

    According to the procedure, the funds do not get issued to the individual MP or MPA. They get assigned to a project through a robust mechanism.

    Justice Isa questioned who had drafted the reply submitted by Principal Secretary Azam Khan. To this, Khan replied that it was “a matter between the lawyer and his client”.

    “The letter does not have proper English, it does not answer the court’s questions. It seems like the prime minister has tried to keep the door open for [granting] funds,” Justice Isa said.

    He also remarked that there was a “storm of information” from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting every day.

    “Either the prime minister should remain firm on what he said or admit he had made a mistake. Why is the prime minister hiding behind his secretary? The entire media published the news and the prime minister is silent,” the judge said.

    Khan replied if the prime minister “started refuting every news himself, he would not be able to do any other work”.

    The court ordered the Sindh government to submit its reply today.

    The bench also ordered the finance secretary to submit a clear answer to the court, directing that the report should also have the premier’s signature on it.

    The case was adjourned till Thursday (today).

  • ‘Books, not money’: PPP leader says leaked video is ‘edited’

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mohammad Ali Bacha, who is also seen in one of the videos where money was being dished out ahead of the Senate polls, has said that the video is edited.

    In a news beeper to Geo News, Bacha said that the stack of money could possibly be books instead of currency notes. When news anchor Wajih Sani probed Bacha about stack of notes in front of him in the video, Bacha said: “Paison ki gaddiaan nahi hai,” (these are not stacks of notes). He told Sani that they should check the closeup of the alleged notes, which could possibly be books or something else.

    https://youtu.be/UsHk2dZnpOk

    In Shahzeb Khanzada’s program, Bacha said that he is not in the videos where money is being given and being taken by people. When asked by Khanzada that there is money lying in front of him in the video where he is smoking a cigarette and what is the money doing in front of him, Bacha says that the video is doctored. “If you see the video, there are doors with glasses in the background. People can see in and out of the room. Why would someone pay money where others can see them?” Bacha said that the money was not in front of him but on his ‘side’, which may be edited.

    Shahzeb Khanzada then asks him if he was not distributing money, then how could the PPP get two senators elected when they had only 6 MPAs. He said that those PTI MPAs who were upset with their own party voted for PPP. Bacha said why has these videos been made viral now after 3 years, why not when they were made.

  • Protesting govt employees face authorities’ wrath in Islamabad

    Protesting govt employees face authorities’ wrath in Islamabad

    Protesting government employees on Wednesday faced wrath of authorities in Islamabad as they headed towards the Parliament House on Constitution Avenue.

    According to Geo News, the protesters have reached D Chowk while Islamabad authorities have blocked the way towards the Parliament with containers. Demonstrators have started bypassing the containers because of which the police once again resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse them.

    Because of the tear gas, some police and Rangers personnel also had to retract for a while, reports said.

    The protesters have demanded that the containers be removed or else they will remove it themselves.  

    The federal government employees are demanding a raise in their salaries and had gathered today after their leader Rehman Bajwa and nine others were arrested overnight.

    Following the arrests, the government workers in the federal capital had announced they will march towards the Parliament House from Pakistan Secretariat for their demands and the release of their leaders.

    The police had resorted to tear gas shelling after they made a move towards the parliament. The protesters at one point also encircled Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz.

    At another, the protesting employees also closed the doors to the secretariat bringing the government machinery to a halt.

    At least two dozen protesting employees were taken into custody under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO).

    The government employees were protesting against the income disparities between various federal government employees. They have been demanding a 40% increase in their salaries.

    The protesters have received support from government employees over grade 17, who have also demanded an increase in their salaries.

    The All Pakistan Clerks Association and government employees of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh are also supporting the protest.

    Speaking on the matter, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that the government dealt with the protesters “correctly” and it was the demonstrators who had backtracked on the agreement.

    “We dealt with this correctly we are increasing the salaries of 95% of employees at an average of 40%,” the minister told Geo News when asked about the situation.

    “The matter will be resolved [if] they go back to their initial demands,” said the interior minister.

    Geo also quoted sources as saying that a two-member committee, comprising interior and defence ministers, had been tasked with dealing with the protesters and was in contact with the finance ministry over the raise.

  • Did PM always know about MPAs selling their votes?

    Did PM always know about MPAs selling their votes?

    Prime Minister Imran Khan had claimed in April 2018 that he had a video of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers taking money ahead of the Senate election to vote against the party lines, but the video was released after a period of more than two years, only a day ahead of the Supreme Court hearing over the issue.

    The PM had said that he had proof of people selling their votes for money and he could show them the video where they were seen “counting money”.

    But if the PM had the video and knew about the people involved in horse-trading then what took the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) so long to release it and that too a day before the court hearing, Shahzeb Khanzada asked the federal minister for information on his show.

    As per Khanzada, another question that the video poses is the KP law minister, Mahmood Sultan, who stepped down from the post after the video emerged? If the PM had seen the video, as he has claimed multiple times in past, then why was Sultan made the minister in the KP cabinet? And if he didn’t know about it then why did he claim otherwise.

    Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the PM hadn’t seen the video, but he did know that something like that existed. “He was only aware of its existence,” he said, adding that the PM took the decision to sack the minister involved right away and this should be praised.

    Speaking during the show, Faraz asserted that the PM hadn’t watched the video, but trusted his “strong sources”. Shibli said that the government was trying to end the menace of corruption during the Senate polls and the media should support its cause.

    ‘LEAKED VIDEO’:

    On Tuesday, the video first released by ARY News showed lawmakers belonging to the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counting bundles of cash and then stashing the same in a bag.

    The video showed how, during the critical period, loyalties were switched by PTI’s 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers, all of whom were reportedly expelled by the party’s central leadership after an investigation. The money was dished out in Feb-March 2018, it was reported.

    It may be noted that the damning video comes at a time when Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expresses aims to hold Senate elections through open ballot in 2021 in a bid to eliminate horse-trading. Defending his party’s move to hold the elections through open ballot, the premier had last week spoken of bribes paid to buy loyalties, revealing that he himself had been offered some.

    He had further revealed that 20 members of the KP Assembly belonging to the PTI, likely the ones from the video, were paid Rs50 million each during the last Senate polls to vote in favour of certain candidates.

    On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot.

  • ‘Rs50 to Rs70 crores’: PM goes on to reveal corruption surrounding Senate polls

    ‘Rs50 to Rs70 crores’: PM goes on to reveal corruption surrounding Senate polls

    Continuing his tirade against secrecy in polls for the upper house of the parliament while his party also campaigns for election through open ballot, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has gone on to reveal further details of corrupt practices surrounding the vote.

    Speaking to journalists in Kallar Syedan, the premier said the rate for a single Senate vote in Balochistan ranged between Rs50 to 70 crores (Rs500 to Rs700 million), which was unfortunate.

    “The market of corruption in politics is on the rise, but no other party is willing to change it,” he said, regretting that in the past, people became senators by buying votes from members of national and provincial assembly votes.

    “Those involved in such extravagance will later recover by minting money from the public exchequer,” he said.

    PM Imran said that vote-purchase in Senate elections for the past 30 years was a big question mark over the credibility of politicians who supported a corrupt system and “traded conscience in the name of democracy”.

    “A big question lies ahead, whether to go for Senate polls with the old corrupt system or to act transparently instead,” he said in response to queries regarding the leaked videos showing politicians buying and selling votes before the 2018 Senate elections.

    The PM said that corrupt practices were revealed to him after he and his party members received offers from multiple sides for vote-selling before the 2018 Senate elections.

    He recalled that he was approached by different people for money and offered funds for Shaukat Khanum Hospital as another mode of bribe.

    “What kind of democracy is this where votes are sold? This is nothing, but a blot on democracy.”

    He recalled that he ousted 20 from his party who took money for votes in the last Senate elections, adding some of them also invoked the jurisdiction of the court against the action.

    He dismissed the allegations of the opposition for being in knowledge about the video way earlier, saying had he known about it, he would have presented it before the court.

    Training guns at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), he said the opposition alliance’s aim was to protect their corruption and ill-gotten money.

    To a question on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who advised Imran to learn politics from him, he said the JUI-F chief himself was the one who most benefited from secret ballot.