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Category: National

  • Pakistan asks UN to take notice of rights violations in occupied Kashmir, fulfill plebiscite promise

    Pakistan asks UN to take notice of rights violations in occupied Kashmir, fulfill plebiscite promise

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the United Nations and its member states to take notice of atrocities in occupied Kashmir while reminding the world body of its promise of holding an impartial plebiscite in the region.

    The PM said Pakistan would stand with the Kashmiri people till the realisation of their right to self-determination, adding that on Jan 5, 1949, the UN “guaranteed the right to self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir through an impartial plebiscite”.

    “We observe this day as a reminder to the UN and its member state of their unfulfilled commitment to the Kashmiri people.”

    In a statement shared by the APP, the PM said: “Being a direct party to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Pakistan will continue to underscore the imperative of holding a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

    According to the PM, the importance of the right to self-determination has been acknowledged in various human rights conventions and decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. However, due to the “Indian intransigence, the Security Council has failed to fulfill its pledge to the Kashmiri people”.

    The PM said that Pakistan calls on the international community to take against the well-documented human rights violations being committed by the Indian occupation forces against Kashmiris and ensure that they get their right to self-determination.

  • Due to zero political interference, NAB recovered Rs389bn in two years: PM

    Due to zero political interference, NAB recovered Rs389bn in two years: PM

    Prime Minister Imran Khan said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) managed to recover more money in the first two years of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government as compared to the entire tenures of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    In a tweet, PM Imran said that the reason NAB was able to recover money during his government was the fact that it was functioning “independently” and without any sort of “political interference”.

    “Total recoveries by NAB in 2019 & 2020 amount to Rs.389 bn in comparison to previous 10 yrs (2008-2018) recoveries of Rs.104 bn,” the prime minister said.

    Imran also appreciated the performance of Punjab’s Anti-Corruption Establishment, saying it recovered Rs206bn in 27 months of Buzdar-led government, whereas it had only managed to recover Rs3bn during the two tenures of PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif.

    He said the money recovered by the two accountability watchdogs show that accountability worked best when institutions are independent. Imran went on dub the tenures of the PPP and PML-N as “dark ages under corrupt rulers”.

    The opposition leaders, on the other hand, accuse NAB of political victimisation. They claim that NAB is working to target the rivals of PM Imran Khan. Similar remarks were also made by the Islamabad High Court in a graft case against PML-N leader Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique.

  • Cuteness overloaded: Maryam’s toy shopping on video call with granddaughter goes viral

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has been spotted speaking to her granddaughter while looking for toys, a video of which has gone viral over the internet.

    In the video, reportedly shot at a rest-stop on the Bahawalpur-Lahore route, the PML-N leader was seen speaking to granddaughter Serena, telling her what she had bought for her and asking what else did she want.

    “I got red chips for you,” Maryam was seen telling the kid on a video call. “You want to see?” She is then seen heading over to a wall where a toy doctor set is hanging. “Look… look at this doctor’s set Serena. You want this one?” “You want the doctor’s set or do you want the bus?” she asks before reciting the nursery rhyme “Wheels on the Bus”.

    “Maryam Nawaz specially stopped at a rest area on her way back to Lahore from Bwp to get things for her granddaughter Serena… Showing her toys on a video call,” PML-N’s Sania Ashiq wrote while tweeting the video.

    “The pleasures and joy of being a Nano,” Maryam said while reacting to it. On May 6, 2018, Mehrunisa, Maryam’s daughter and the granddaughter of former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, gave birth to the baby girl. A picture of the baby in Maryam’s arms had also gone viral later.

  • PIA plane flies with only one passenger on board

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flew its plane from Islamabad to Manchester with only one passenger on board. According to reports, the plane which had a capacity of 371 passengers carried only one passenger to the destination.

    While Geo News has reported that the flight took off from Islamabad, journalist Murtaza Ali Shah said that the plane flew from Manchester to Islamabad.

    In the video posted by Shah, a PIA’s staffer, while pointing towards other empty 370 passenger seat, remarks that the passenger on board is the “lucky” one. The only passenger on the flight was a native of Gujrat.

    Read more – Imran govt likely to rid PIA of Rs500 billion debt

    Meanwhile prominent aviation journalist Tahir Imran Mian said PIA’s flight was not the only one that flew empty.

  • Punjab govt ‘temporarily’ shuts down free WiFi service

    Punjab govt ‘temporarily’ shuts down free WiFi service

    In a bid to save money, the Punjab government has decided to shut down the free WiFi service in public spaces for an indefinite period.

    The decision was taken by the provincial government led by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to save Rs190 million that the project was costing.

    The WiFi service launched by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in 2017 was available in several cities of Punjab, such as Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan. The government had created at last 200 hotspots to provide free internet to the residents. It was also available at airports, railway stations, metro stations, colleges, and universities.

    Chief Minister’s aide Firdous Ashiq Awan was reported as saying that the service has been shut down temporarily and it will be resumed soon. However, she didn’t give any specific date.

    In 2019, the government had halted the free internet service due to a lack of funds. According to a report in Dawn, the service was stopped after the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) failed to pay Rs150m to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

  • Rape cases: LHC declares ‘two finger test’ illegal, discriminatory

    Rape cases: LHC declares ‘two finger test’ illegal, discriminatory

    The Lahore High Court has declared “two finger test and hymen test carried out for the purposes of ascertaining the virginity of a female victim of rape or sexual abuse” discriminatory and against the constitution of Pakistan.

    In a ruling issued in response to a plea filed by women activists seeking a ban on the discriminatory practice, the court said: “It is declared that two finger test and the hymen test carried out for the purposes of ascertaining the virginity of a female victim of rape or sexual abuse is unscientific having no medical basis, therefore it has no forensic value in cases of sexual violence.”

    The plea had argued that the virginity tests are “neither necessary nor reliable or relevant for the purpose of investigation into the incident of rape or sexual abuse”.

    The court said the test “offends the personal dignity of the female victim and therefore is against the right to life and right to dignity enshrined in Article 9 and 14 of the constitution”. It further said the hymen test also discriminates against women as it is carried out on the basis of gender.

    The judgement written by Justice Ayesha Malik noted that the hymen test can be carried if it is “warranted medically or for treatment purposes” and the medical officer must “stipulate the reasons” for carrying out this test.

    In a reference to a recent anti-rape ordinance by the federal government, the court said: “Notwithstanding the promulgation of 2020 Ordinance
    which specifically prohibits the two finger test by way of Section 13, the federal government has taken no steps to enforce the requirements of the 2020 Ordinance or any steps to create awareness and training in order to change the habits of the medico-legal officers in carrying out the virginity test.”

    It said the practice is ingrained in the processes of the medico-legal examination which cannot be ended without proper training and awareness. According to the LHC, the federation and provincial government should take necessary steps to ensure that virginity tests are not carried out in medicolegal examination of the victims of rape and sexual abuse.

  • Punjab schools to open from Jan 18, universities from Feb 1: minister

    Punjab schools to open from Jan 18, universities from Feb 1: minister

    Amid the second wave of coronavirus, the Punjab government has decided to open educational institutions in phases from Jan 18.

    According to provincial education minister Murad Raas, the government has decided to open schools and universities in three phases. In the first phase on Jan 18, schools will resume classes for students of matric and intermediate. In the second phase, the primary and middle schools will resume class on Jan 25.

    In the third phase, the government will reopen universities on Feb 1. The minister said the educational institutions “will have 50 per cent students on alternate days as before”.

    Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood had announced in November that all schools across the country will close down from 26th to January 10, 2021, to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

    Before this, the schools remained closed from March till September amid the first wave of coronavirus. But due to an increase in the infections in the students, the schools were shut down again.

  • Islamic State claims responsibility for attack that killed 11 Hazaras in Balochistan

    Islamic State claims responsibility for attack that killed 11 Hazaras in Balochistan

     Islamic State, aka Daesh, has claimed responsibility for an attack on Sunday that killed 11 miners from minority Shia Hazaras in Balochistan.

    Reuters reported that the attack took place early in the morning in the Mach area of Bolan district, killing the miners who were in a shared residential room near the coal mine where they worked.

    “The throats of all coal miners have been slit after their hands were tied behind their backs and (they were) blindfolded,” a security official told Reuters. A video clip of the victims making the rounds on social media showed three bodies lying outside the room and the rest inside in pools of blood.

    The incident that shook the country drew criticism from all quarters. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the killings, calling them “a cowardly inhuman act of terrorism”. “Have asked Frontier Constabulary to use all resources to apprehend these killers and bring them to justice,” he said in a tweet.

    Following the attack, the members of the Hazara community held a protest in Quetta. The protesters blocked the western bypass and burnt tyres to protest the killings.

    It is not the first time that the minority community has faced attacks from radical Islamist outfits, such as the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. In April, a market suicide bombing killed 18 people, half of whom were Hazaras. In 2013, three bombings killed more than 200 people in Hazara neighbourhoods in Quetta.

  • KP govt approves funds to buy Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor’s ancestral homes

    Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan has approved Rs 23.56 million to purchase the ancestral houses of two Bollywood legends Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in Peshawar.

    As per reports, the value of Raj Kapoor house is Rs 15 million, while Kumar’s home is worth Rs 8.56 million. Both houses will be converted into museums after restoration work.

    The owner of the Kapoor Haveli Hajji Ali Qadir had earlier demanded at least two billion rupees for the mansion in Qissa Khawani Bazaar from the government. The province’s archaeology department at the time had said that it will use legal powers to purchase the Kapoor Haveli as well as Dilip Kumar’s house if needed.

    The department had earlier declared the two houses as national heritage sites that were recognised internationally.

    Earlier, Kumar himself took to social media to express his excitement over the government’s decision. The legendary actor asked his fans living in Peshawar to share photos of his ancestral house on Twitter.

    Not only Kumar but his wife, Saira Banu also appreciated the government’s move to conserve the actor’s house.

  • Five Islamabad policemen arrested for killing youth in cold blood

    Five officials of Islamabad Police have been arrested after they gunned down a 21-year-old youth, Usama Satti, in cold blood near Srinagar Highway, G-10 sector in the federal capital.

    Unconfirmed reports say that the policemen who belonged to the Anti-Terrorist Squad fired 22 shots at the vehicle on Friday night, killing Satti on the spot. According to reports, shots were fired from the front and hit him mostly on the face and upper body. No weapons etc discovered from the boy’s car, they added.

    A source in the capital police said that the ATS officials and the youth had an argument on New Year’s Eve when the police officials stopped his vehicle for checking. The source claims that the police officials stopped the guy even though they were off-duty at the time. This altercation between the cops and the youth may have resulted in this killing, the source claimed.

    A departmental inquiry has already been initiated against the arrested police officials, with Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed vowing to deliver justice in the case.

    The IGP has also taken notice of the incident and formed an investigation team to probe the “suspicious shootout”.

    In 2017, a policeman had shot dead a youth in I-10 sector after he had failed to stop at a checkpoint. The policeman who had opened fire had claimed that the deceased failed to stop at the checkpoint despite his signal.