Current Final

Category: National

  • Govt officer commits suicide ‘due to NAB harassment’

    Govt officer commits suicide ‘due to NAB harassment’

    A senior government official, who was named in a corruption reference, committed suicide on Tuesday owing to the alleged harassment by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

    Geo News reported that the deceased, a BS-22 officer, was upset because of NAB’s ongoing investigation against him and others for months. According to the report that quoted a family friend of the deceased, the officer killed himself because he was “deeply stressed” due to NAB.

    A NAB spokesperson rejected the allegations. According to NAB, the deceased was not even in its custody. It added that the case was filed six months ago and it’s sub-judice at present.

    Reportedly, the deceased was named in a case pertaining to the alleged embezzlement of Rs1.657 billion after the Benazir Income Support Programme high-ups awarded an illegal contract to an advertising agency.

    NAB has been accused of pressurising suspects on multiple occasions, and this is not the first time that someone has committed suicide to escape its clutches.

    It is to mention here that former Military Intelligence officer and prominent defense analyst Brig (r) Asad Munir committed suicide after the emergence of media reports that NAB had decided to file a reference of abuse of office against him. His body was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment in Diplomatic Enclave on March 16, 2019.

    Furthermore, former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran also compiled data which claimed that “NAB custody is worse than the United States’ (US) infamous military jail, the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp”.

    The scattered data of alleged rights violations by NAB was compiled by Kamran in a brief she reportedly sent to Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari among other authorities concerned earlier this year.

    According to the brief, 11 NAB suspects have lost their lives while in custody or “as a direct result of the harassment by the agency”.

  • Hassan Nisar under fire for trying to shout down Reema Omer on-air

    Senior journalist Hassan Nisar is under fire for trying to shout down his fellow panelist Reema Omer after she asked him to let her finish her point during the broadcast of Geo’s Report Card programme.

    Nisar and Reema disagreed over the way politics is done in Pakistan. According to Hassan Nisar, in Pakistan politics was solely dependent on how much money you want to make, calling it a business. Reema Omer disagreed and said this practice was prevalent all over the world, not just in Pakistan, and gave examples of India and Bangladesh.

    At this, Nisar “rudely” interrupted her, saying “he doesn’t think so”. Reema told Nisar that he speaks so loudly and if he could let her finish her point. Nisar responded that he was “deaf that’s why he speaks loudly”. At this Reema responded: “Well, I am not [deaf], so I find it strange.”

    Nisar replied that he didn’t care if he was too loud. Reema retorted that the “viewers also think that you often try to shout me down during the show; it is not good optics”.

    The clips of the debate started making rounds on social media, prompting debates on whether the senior journalist was rude to his fellow journalist. Reema also commented on these tweets, saying that some clips were “edited” and people were being misled by those.

    The host of the show also tried to dispel the impression that Reema wasn’t given enough to make her point.

    Some Twitterati stood in solidarity with Reema Omer, appreciating the way she handled Nisar for his rude behaviour, while others supported Nisar for standing up to a narrative that allegedly endorses corruption.

    The supporters of Nisar think he was right.

  • New COVID strain detected in three UK returnees

    Pakistan has reported three cases of the new strain of coronavirus that first emerged in the United Kingdom, prompting countries to ban travel with the UK.

    This new strain, called the B.1.17 lineage, may be 70% more infectious than the previous strain going around in the UK. According to the Sindh Health Department, three passengers who had arrived from the UK had been infected with this variant of the coronavirus.

    The health department said it took samples of 12 people who had returned from the UK for genotyping, out of which six tested positive for the coronavirus. “Three showed the new variant for the COVID-19 in the first phase of testing,” said the statement of the department quoted by Geo News.

    It said that the samples will be sent to the 2nd phase of genotyping. The health department has already begun tracing the people that these patients had come into contact with.

    Last week, reports that a new strain of coronavirus, similar to the one wreaking havoc in the United Kingdom, had also surfaced in Karachi. Coronavirus Task Force head Dr Attaur Rehman had said that the authorities discovered a new strain of coronavirus in the port city that is similar to the one spreading in Europe.

  • PPP says will not quit assemblies, won’t take ‘dictation’

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to oppose the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) decision to submit mass resignations, saying it would provide the government with an opportunity to undo democratic legislation.

    The decision was made during a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Committee that had met to mull the options of mass resignations and long march towards Islamabad.

    The PPP leadership said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government could repeal the 18th Amendment and other laws that strengthened democracy.

    It further said the party was open to discussing this option but after the return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. It may be noted here that Nawaz is in London for the past year on account of frail health.

    The PPP said it will stand by the commitments it made with the PDM leadership, but it will not take dictation from other parties.

    On Sunday, the PPP co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, made a similar statement, wherein he had said that the PDM parties needed to change their tactics and stop dictating each other on how to put up a fight against the government.

    According to reports, the top PPP leadership wasn’t happy with PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s decision to skip the Larkana gathering held to commemorate Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary.

    “Maulana Fazlur Rehman did not attend Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary due to local politics,” a report in Geo News claimed. Fazl didn’t attend the key PPP rally, but he still wanted the party to quit assemblies on his call, the report quoted the participants of the CEC as saying.

    Meanwhile, the PDM will hold an important meeting later this week to discuss the future course of the anti-government alliance.

  • Khawaja Asif arrested; ‘had a bag packed already’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif was on Tuesday arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from Islamabad, a spokesperson for the bureau and PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed.

    As per the details, Asif was taken into custody in the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into allegations of him possessing assets beyond known sources of income to the tune of whopping Rs260 million.

    Aurangzeb said he was arrested from near PML-N general secretary Ahsan Iqbal’s house.

    He has been taken to the NAB Rawalpindi office, Geo News reported citing sources. Reports said that a consultative session of the party is currently underway to debate whether PML-N will take part in senate elections.

    Asif left the meeting and was moments later arrested near Iqbal’s residence. Aurangzeb said Asif will be presented before an accountability court tomorrow for remand.

    While PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz among other party leaders are lauding Asif for his “undeterred support for Nawaz Sharif”, senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir on his show Capital Talk said that the former foreign minister knew he would be arrested and had even made preparations beforehand for what he considered an “eventuality”.

    “He had prepared a bag as well and would say that the NAB would arrest him soon,” said Mir.

    When prompted by the anchor to comment whether Asif’s arrest was a “reactionary move” to Maryam Nawaz’s speech in Larkana on Sunday, Muhammad Zubair, who had also left the meeting to appear on the show, said, “Of course. When the popularity and impact [of the PDM] is on the rise, we knew that they would react in some way. And today, we have seen that reaction.”

  • Opp putting ‘pressure on army’ for NRO: PM Imran

    Opp putting ‘pressure on army’ for NRO: PM Imran

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the Pakistan Democratic Movement, a joint opposition alliance, was putting pressure on the Pakistan Army for NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] after he refused to give them relief.

    Speaking during a meeting of the party spokespersons, the prime minister said he would never give an NRO to the opposition parties and they cannot blackmail him into doing so either.

    If the opposition was serious in its quest for free and fair polls, it should have supported the government in bringing about electoral reforms, he said, adding that the opposition has “always used parliament for their personal interests”.

    The opposition didn’t take part in legislation over the past two years, the PM added. He further said that they could never misguide the masses by telling lies. The premier said that the opposition would have stopped protesting had he accepted their proposals to amend the accountability laws.

    On Saturday, PM Imran had claimed that a forward bloc would be formed in the opposition parties if they tried to resign from the assemblies. “I can give you in writing that there will be a forward bloc in opposition if they move to resign from assemblies,” he had said while speaking to media persons in Chakwal.

  • PPP’s Mustafa, PTI’s Faraz apologise to each other, have coffee after on-air fight

    PPP’s Mustafa, PTI’s Faraz apologise to each other, have coffee after on-air fight

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Information Minister Shibli Faraz, who exchanged heated words on Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk, have apologised to each other after the show and even shared a cup of coffee together.

    The lawmakers had coffee together at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as they tried to make up after the verbal altercation on live TV, The Current has learnt.

    During the TV show, Faraz took offence when Senator Khokhar accused the prime minister of nepotism. Khokhar said PM Imran apparently rewarded Dr Humayun, who had handled his “hair transplant”. “Same goes for certain Mr Gilani, whose restaurants are frequently visited [by PM Imran],” claimed Khokhar.

    However, Faraz cut him off at this, saying that the PPP lawmaker shouldn’t bring up “personal things” during the TV show. “Is it not true,” asked Senator Khokhar. To which, the minister said it wasn’t true at all.

    Mustafa Khokhar also didn’t take lightly to remarks made by the minister, saying he was challenging the minister to take action against him. “You can do whatever you want, I am right here,” said Senator Khokhar, prompting an intervention from the host, Hamid Mir, asking the lawmaker to calm down.

    “I treat you as my elder brother and is this how you are going to treat me,” said Khokar, asking Shibli to take action against him if he was saying something that was wrong. Shibli responded that Khokhar shouldn’t have brought up personal things on live TV.

  • EU refuses to lift ban on PIA, seeks safety audit of CAA

    EU refuses to lift ban on PIA, seeks safety audit of CAA

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has decided to retain a ban on the Pakistan International Airlines, saying it will not be lifted until a complete safety audit of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

    In response to a request by PIA CEO Arshad Malik, wherein he sought temporary suspension of the ban, the EU agency said the CAA will have to fulfill the pre-conditions if it wanted the ban to be lifted.

    Profit reported a letter by EASA as saying: “Regarding a lack of confidence in certification and oversight activities performed by the Pakistani CAA, which was the second aspect that led to the suspension of Third Country Operator Authorisation, the investigation performed by the European Commission and by the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] has not yet been concluded.”

    “Consequently, as all preconditions to lift the suspension are not met and, as an audit will be necessary, the agency decided not to revoke your Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation but to extend the suspension period by additional three months.”

    On Saturday, Ghulam Sarwar, the aviation minister, had claimed that the ban on PIA flights to Europe would be lifted soon. The EU banned the PIA flights in July after claims that the PIA pilots had fake licences.

  • ‘Kids half Imran’s age giving him sleepless nights’

    ‘Kids half Imran’s age giving him sleepless nights’

    Recalling that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had dismissed her and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as “kids”, Maryam Nawaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has said that the same are now giving the premier “sleepless nights”.

    “These kids are half your age but they are turning you around their little finger [and] have given you sleepless nights,” she said as leaders of the 11-party opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Sunday gathered in Larkana on the occasion of the late ex-PM Benazir Bhutto’s 13th death anniversary for another power show as part of its anti-government protests.

    According to Dawn, Maryam once again hit out at the government over inflation and allegedly hiding behind the establishment, telling PM Imran he was not fighting the PDM but the entire population of Pakistan.

    “Your war is not with PDM but with the 220 million people of Pakistan whom you have struck like lightning,” she said while addressing the premier, adding that the people had “won” this war.

    Maryam said when Bilawal was unable to attend the PDM rally in Mardan, PM Imran was “jumping around with elation” believing there had been a rift within the opposition. She alleged he will say the same about today’s rally which Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman did not attend.

    She alleged that whenever these “kids” called him out, Prime Minister Imran hid behind his “elders” and asked them to rescue him.

    “These kids’ biggest qualification is that the people of Pakistan are standing with them,” she said, adding that the premier’s alleged dream of creating a rift within the PDM “will never be fulfilled”.

    The PML-N leader paid tribute to Benazir’s struggle for democracy, recalling that the Charter of Democracy signed by her father Nawaz Sharif and Benazir “wasn’t just a few pieces of paper; this was a decision for turning the course of Pakistan’s political history that I, Bilawal and all of Pakistan’s political leadership will take forward and advance”.

    She said when the PPP government was formed in 2008, many elements wanted it to be brought down but Nawaz “crushed that suggestion even within his own party” and favoured allowing the government to complete its tenure.

    “When political parties started completing their terms, some forces to whom ‘divide and rule’ suited started getting restless. Then we saw [former ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja] Pasha set up a party by collecting political trash named the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, and that party was then used in dharnas and conspiracies against your elected government,” Maryam alleged.

    She said while politicians were given death sentences and faced character assassinations, those who committed much severer offences such as “breaking the country and the Constitution, losing Siachen and the Kashmir cause, violating one’s oath to interfere in politics, having political rivals killed, and committing corruption worth billions” were not held accountable.

    “But remember, ideology cannot be hanged or exiled,” she added.

    Accusing former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf of being “the murderer of the Constitution and of Benazir Bhutto”, she said no one even talked about bringing him back to the country.

    “The court that sentenced Musharraf to death [in the high treason case] was hanged itself,” Maryam alleged.

    She said although Musharraf could not return to the country, the “brave decision” of the judge who led the bench that handed guilty verdict to him, late Peshawar High Court chief justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, to uphold the Constitution “will not only be remembered by the Pakistani people but also kept alive”.

    Maryam also thanked the people of Sindh for their hospitality and Bilawal and his family members for welcoming her early in the morning at their residence in Naudero.

    Earlier, Bilawal also delivered a fiery speech wherein he criticised the government and its policies among accusing it of rising to power with the support of the security establishment.

  • Lahore CCPO in hot water for criticising LHC

    Lahore CCPO in hot water for criticising LHC

    The chief justice of the Lahore High Court has ordered a review of interviews of Lahore police chief Umer Shaikh over his remarks against the judiciary, wherein he implicitly blamed the courts for an increase in the crime rate.

    Reacting to the statement of the CCPO Shaikh in which he said the criminals detained by the police were given bail by the courts, the chief justice said the suspects are granted bail in line with the constitution. He said such statements by CCPO Shaikh were akin to committing contempt of court and asked the Punjab advocate general to give details of his interviews in 15 days.

    He said the Lahore police chief boasted that he would curb the crime rate in the provincial capital in three months, but it seems the robberies and streets crimes are on the rise despite his posting.

    He further added that the courts will not tolerate unfounded criticism by the police officer and if he has a complaint against the bail granted to the accused, he could approach the relevant forum in this regard.

    This is not the first time that Sheikh has made headlines for all the wrong reasons as soon after his posting, he had landed in hot water for victim-blaming after the horrific motorway gang-rape incident. The Lahore CCPO had remarked that the rape survivor should have been more careful and taken a safer route.

    In Sept, a trainee sub-inspector Fahad Iftikhar Virk submitted his resignation after he was abused by CCPO Umer Sheikh for speaking in English.

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Shoaib Dastgir was also removed amid much controversy after a standoff with Sheikh after the latter asked his subordinates to ignore the IG’s order.