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Category: National

  • VIDEO: Warden, who beat up youth, suspended for snatching woman’s phone

    VIDEO: Warden, who beat up youth, suspended for snatching woman’s phone

    Lahore Chief Traffic Officer has suspended a traffic warden for snatching phone of a woman who was filming the traffic police officials as they beat up a motorcyclist in the provincial capital.

    This incident filmed by the woman who claimed to be a media professional took place near MAO College, Rivaz Garden. In the video, two officials of the Lahore traffic police are seen manhandling a youth over alleged misbehaviour with a rickshaw driver.

    https://youtu.be/wNxx8K4QxfA

    The wardens also tried to snatch the mobile phone of the woman recording the incident. As a warden, who has now been suspended, tried to grab her phone, the woman resisted, saying she’s a media professional.

    But the traffic warden managed to take away her phone, garnering an angry response from the woman, who can be seen wearing a black shirt in the video shot by another phone.

    The woman lashed out at the police official and asked her what gave him the authority to censor her voice. The second warden was seen trying to calm the woman down but without any avail.

    https://youtu.be/I_dUEJOgUp4

    Taking notice of the incident, the Lahore CTO suspended the police official for snatching the phone of the woman. About the youth who was being beaten up by the traffic police officials, the wardens said that the youth tried to assault and misbehave with a rickshaw driver.

  • VIDEO: Man posing as policeman arrested for uploading TikTok video with PTI leader

    VIDEO: Man posing as policeman arrested for uploading TikTok video with PTI leader

    Police arrested a man in Peshawar who was posing as a policeman with PTI leader Taimoor Hassan Khan in multiple TikTok videos.

    As per reports, the man is employed as a private bodyguard with Sahibzada Taimur Hassan. The accused posted many videos on social media, which were pointed out by the Capital City Police social media team.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ZSBLJwdBI

    Fake cards, police uniforms and weapons were recovered from the bodyguard. A case has also been registered against the Sahibzada Taimoor Hassan.

    https://youtu.be/XmuzJRkoxC4
    https://youtu.be/E8pMBjd-FPA
  • Here’s how you can file your income tax in Pakistan

    Here’s how you can file your income tax in Pakistan

    One of the major reasons behind tax gap due to a lower number of tax filers, especially in Pakistan, is lack of awareness as there are numerous benefits of being a filer that most self-employed and salaried individuals don’t know about.

    Do you wish to avail better services at airports or excise offices? Want to buy a new car at an affordable price?  Or even that top-tier piece of real estate at a lower rate? Want to enjoy a minimal withholding tax on all your banking transactions? Or did you recently suffer a loss in your business and are in dire need of a tax waiver?

    If your answer to even any one of these questions is ‘yes’, you immediately need to start filing your tax returns and wealth statement.

    You might have thought of becoming a filer but later changed your mind because:

    • It’s a very complexed process
    • “My employer deducted it, so why should I even bother?”
    • Lack of knowledge and awareness regarding this matter
    • “We are already paying tax through indirect mean”
    • “Who cares? It’s Pakistan”

    Being a tax illiterate can hold you back from getting so many benefits, this article will surely get you on your way to becoming a filer.

    Filing your tax returns and wealth statement is beneficial for both you and your government.

    And here’s how you can start doing so.

    Step 1: Know FBR’s Instructions for Filing Taxes in 2020

    Before we get to how to register online as a tax filer and submit your returns, it is important to go through the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) recent instructions on how to file your tax return.

    Take a look of the tax slabs for salaried person for tax year 2020/2021

    Step 2: Get Registered with FBR E-Enrollment System Online

    You can get registered with FBR here and start filing your tax returns online. Previously, FBR used to have separate portals for individuals and companies. But now, they have simplified it further for everyone.

    To get enrolled, you only need to click on “Registration for Unregistered Person” or “E-Enrollment for Registered Person“. It will ask for your CNIC number and phone number (which has to be registered under your own name).

    Step 3: Prepare and Submit Your Tax Documents

    Once signed up, you’ll see a few categories on the left. Go to the registration document in the drafts folder and fill it. When you have filled it and submitted it, FBR will confirm your account and you will be able to submit your tax returns and wealth statements.

    If going online is not an option for you, then you can manually file your returns on paper at Taxpayer Facilitation Counters of your respective Regional Tax Office. Paper Return Form can be downloaded from FBR’s website as well or you can file your tax return through Tax Asaan App.

    You can also consult this video for any further details.

    There are few things you need to know before becoming a filer, watch this video to know about all those things:

    What happens if you don’t file your taxes?

    Your Income Tax Returns will not Be Entertained if:

    Under section 182(1), individuals and companies need to make sure that they don’t fill in wrong details in their forms, failing which will result in penalties for the concerned parties.

    • CNIC should not be missing or incorrect or invalid
    • Mandatory fields marked by * shouldn’t be empty
    • Returns should be duly signed by the taxpayer or his representative (as defined in section 172 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001)
    • Returns should be filed in the prescribed form and format

    As announced by the government in a press conference, the due date for all income-tax return (ITR) for FY 2019-20 has been extended from July 31, 2020, and October 31, 2020, to December 8, 2020.

    This guide is not meant to be used as an exhaustive resource, however, it does explain the first step for people who are looking to contribute to Pakistan’s well-being and become responsible citizens.

  • Justice Isa reference: SC judge for criminal proceedings against Shahzad Akbar, others

    Justice Isa reference: SC judge for criminal proceedings against Shahzad Akbar, others

    The federal government tried to remove Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa through illegal means, said a dissenting note in a case pertaining to “mala fide” presidential reference against the top judge.

    In a dissenting note, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah questioned the intent of the government behind filing the reference and its methods to locate the properties owned by Justice Isa’s family, as he sought criminal cases against the government officials.

    He questioned: “Are we governed by the constitution and the rule of law or can the government of the day conveniently get off the constitutional rails to suit its ends and come prying into the private lives of its citizens in disregard of their constitutional rights?”

    The judge said the complainant could only have approached the constitutional forums provided under Article 209(5), adding that the very act of approaching the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) was per se unconstitutional and illegal.

    “It is noted with concern and suspicion that how did the complainant, a citizen of this country, plan on filing the complaint against a constitutional court judge before the ARU, which had no public
    interface or the legal mandate…”

    Instead of approaching the forum concerned, the complainant’s decision to move the ARU against the judge “raises eyebrows about the credibility of the complaint”. “It is no rocket science to put the facts together to discern that the complainant was fed the information to generate the complaint,” the note commented on the complainant being a “journalist”.

    “The establishment of the ARU was, therefore, absolutely without lawful authority, and is hereby so declared. In the absence of any legal status of the ARU, its Chairman and Members also have no legal position or status,” the judge wrote.

    The judge said that the ARU chairman and legal expert “procured the information regarding the UK properties by offending the fundamental rights…without the sanction of any law”, going on to call these actions criminal.

    For indulging in unlawful practices to gather data on the SC judge, the dissenting note said that the authorities concerned “must initiate criminal and disciplinary proceedings against the ARU chairman, legal expert and [its] members, as well as, the defaulting officials of FBR [Federal Board of Revenue] and NADRA [National Database and Regulatory Authority] under the IFTA, ITO and NADRA Ordinance, 2000”.

    ‘MALICE AND ILL-WILL AGAINST JUDGE’

    Justice Maqbool Baqir also penned a dissenting note, wherein he said that the “respondents have violated all of the above and carried covert surveillance of the petitioner and his family without any rhyme or reason, wholly illegally”.

    Criticising the presidential reference sent to the SJC, he said: “Had the president applied his mind
    independently, he would have readily and surely appreciated that reliance of the chairman ARU, the law minister and the prime minister, on a purported report obtained by the chairman ARU was
    wholly unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, inappropriate, misconceived and mala fide.”

    “The reference springs from actual malice and ill-will harboured against the petitioner by the concerned state functionaries on account of the Faizabad dharna judgment and a common desire to ensure his absence from the review thereof,” the judge wrote.

    JUSTICE ISA CASE:

    In June this year, the SC dismissed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and referred the matter to the FBR for further probe.

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa is an SC justice who took oath as a judge of the top court in September 2014. He is scheduled to become the chief justice in August 2023 for thirteen months.

    His landmark cases include the Faizabad Sit-in judgment in 2019, the Quetta Massacre Commission in 2016 — when he headed an inquiry commission to find out what happened when a suicide attack in August 2016 killed 74 people — and the Memogate Commission in 2012, a case where an alleged memo was delivered to an American official at the behest of former ambassador to the United States (US), Husain Haqqani, in May 2012.

    In May 2019, media started reporting that references were being filed against SC judges Reports became so rampant that Justice Isa approached President Arif Alvi, complaining that information being leaked to the media amounted to character assassination, which would hinder his right to a fair trial. He also asked the president if a reference was being filed against him by the president in the SJC.

    There was no reply by the president and soon, a notice was sent to the federal government by the SJC that a reference was being filed against him and another judge, accusing them of concealing assets.

    Justice Isa then wrote another letter, in which he said that he could’ve handled the inquiry against him and his family but it seemed that the independence of the judiciary was being undermined and that a judge had to preserve and protect the constitution as he had sworn to do.

    He then asked the SC that a full bench be constituted, a plea that was accepted by then CJP Asif Saeed Khosa, and after a months-long trial, a full bench of the apex court on Friday dismissed the petition against him.

  • Lawyer, allegedly a PML-N supporter, submits application for treason case against Fawad Chaudhry

    Lawyer, allegedly a PML-N supporter, submits application for treason case against Fawad Chaudhry

    A lawyer, who is allegedly a supporter of opposition’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has submitted an application seeking the registration of a treason case against Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry over the latter’s Pulwama remarks from last week.

    According to reports, the application has been submitted to Civil Lines police station in Lahore by Advocate Rohail Asghar, a picture of whom with PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has now gone viral over the internet.

    Fawad had in a faux pas on the floor of the National Assembly last week mentioned 2019’s Pulwama attack in held Kashmir, which had killed 40 paramilitary troops and brought the two countries to the brink of war.

    Speaking of Pakistan’s swift response to its air space being violated by India following the said terrorist attack, Fawad had mistakenly named Pulwama, drawing strong reactions.

    READ: ‘Pulwama attack’: Fawad says Indian media twisted his words to malign Pakistan

    While Pakistanis had called out the minister for carelessly making the statement that he went on to clarify later on, Indians, including Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and several journalists, had added fuel to fire by extensively reporting it.

    In a formal statement, the minister had said that the Indian media “acted with gross irresponsibility by misrepresenting the context of the speech” he delivered during a session of the National Assembly.

    Wednesday’s development comes as a series of treason cases between members of the government and opposition continues.

    READ: ‘Abhinandan’s release’: Banners calling Ayaz Sadiq ‘traitor’ surface in Lahore

    Last week, former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq had landed in hot water for his remarks regarding Abhinandan’s release by Pakistan soon after he was captured.

    The controversy surrounding his statements had led to the military also clarifying the situation, which was followed by the government announcing how the parliamentarian could face legal action.

  • Karachi has worst transportation system in world: report

    Karachi has worst transportation system in world: report

    Karachi has one of the worst public transport systems in the world, with roads littered with potholes and traffic signals barely functional.

    Bloomberg, in a report on Karachi’s attempt to modernise its transport system, said public transport serves about 42 per cent of the commuters in decades-old buses that use the roof as a second deck for passengers at time.

    The report said that MA Jinnah Road, which connects central Karachi to the port, constantly faces severe traffic jams due to the absence of transportation infrastructure.

    Multiple attempts have been made to bring modern transportation to the port city, but they have hit a snag for lack of funds among other reasons.  “Multiple bus projects have been announced over the years but either they never started or were unable to sustain for more than a few years,” the news report said.

    Adam Weinstein, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington, said: “Karachi was once well-connected by a circular railway but corruption and mismanagement in the transportation sector brought the city to a grinding halt in the 1990s.”

    Many of the railway tracks have become illegal slums, where people have settled from smaller towns, he added.

    “Karachi, despite its importance, is a political orphan,” said Arsalan Ali Faheem, a consultant at Development Alternatives Incorporated, an international company that advises on development projects.

    A development project valued at Rs162 billion was announced in March last year by Prime Minister Imran Khan, but the city officials reported that no funds were released. The federal government in response said that it has spent Rs24.65 billion, and an allocation of Rs17.9 billion has been made for the current fiscal year.

  • 24 hours: Over three billion images, 0.7 million hours of video… can you spot the fake ones?

    24 hours: Over three billion images, 0.7 million hours of video… can you spot the fake ones?

    Over the past few days, Twitter has tagged as “manipulated” a video showing United States (US) Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden supposedly forgetting which state he’s in while addressing a crowd.

    Biden’s “hello, Minnesota” greeting contrasted with prominent signage reading “Tampa, Florida” and “Text FL to 30330”.

    A fact check by the Associated Press (AP) confirmed the signs were added digitally and the original footage was indeed from a Minnesota rally. But by the time the misleading video was removed it already had more than one million views, The Guardian reported.

    If you use social media, the chances are you see (and forward) some of the more than 3.2 billion images and 720,000 hours of video that are shared daily. When faced with such a glut of content, how can we know what’s real and what’s not?

    While one part of the solution is increased use of content verification tools, it’s equally important we all boost our digital media literacy. Ultimately, one of the best lines of defence — and the only one you can control — is you.

    Misinformation (when you accidentally share false content) and disinformation (when you intentionally share it) in any medium can erode trust in civil institutions such as news organisations, coalitions and social movements. However, fake photos and videos are often the most potent.

    For those with a vested political interest, creating, sharing and/or editing false images can distract, confuse and manipulate viewers to sow discord and uncertainty (especially in already polarised environments). Posters and platforms can also make money from the sharing of fake, sensationalist content.

    Only 11-25% of journalists globally use social media content verification tools, according to the International Centre for Journalists (ICJ).

    Consider this photo of rights champion Martin Luther King Jr:

    This altered image clones part of the background over King Jr’s finger, so it looks like he’s flipping off the camera. It has been shared as genuine on Twitter, Reddit and white supremacist websites.

    In the original 1964 photo, King flashed the “V for victory” sign after learning the US Senate had passed the civil rights bill.

    Beyond adding or removing elements, there’s a whole category of photo manipulation in which images are fused together.

    Earlier this year, a photo of an armed man was photoshopped by Fox News, which overlaid the man onto other scenes without disclosing the edits, the Seattle Times reported.

    https://twitter.com/ZanderYates/status/1271620044837941250

    Similarly, the image below was shared thousands of times on social media in January, during Australia’s Black Summer bushfires. The AFP’s fact check confirmed it is not authentic and is actually a combination of several separate photos.

    Cropping can greatly alter the context of a photo, too.

    We saw this in 2017, when a US government employee edited official pictures of Donald Trump’s inauguration to make the crowd appear bigger, according to The Guardian. The staffer cropped out the empty space “where the crowd ended” for a set of pictures for Trump.

    Opposition parties in Pakistan have also time and again been accused of using these tactics.

    A historical example of another technique — using colour adjustment tools — is when in 1994 Time magazine’s cover considerably “darkened” sportsman and murder accused OJ Simpson in his police mugshot.

    This added fuel to a case already plagued by racial tension, to which the magazine said that “no racial implication was intended by Time or by the artist”.

    Follow this link to fact check like a pro.

    Data Compiled By: The Conversation

  • ‘It’s private’: Information commission refuses to reveal asset details of NAB chief

    ‘It’s private’: Information commission refuses to reveal asset details of NAB chief

    The Pakistan Information Commission has refused to release the asset details of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal and its directors, citing privacy concerns.

    In its decision, PIC Commissioner Zahid Abdullah said disclosing assets details of the NAB officers and their families would “compromise their privacy”.

    He further said that the commission will also not reveal the details of directors, assistant directors, and regional director generals of the accountability watchdog for the same reasons. The PIC commissioner also said that the issue didn’t pertain to the public interest.

    The PIC decision came after a citizen, Asadullah, approached NAB, seeking assets details of the NAB officials. However, the bureau refused to provide these details prompting Asad to move the PIC against the NAB decision.

    In a plea, the petitioner urged the commission to release details of the NAB officers before and after their induction in NAB.

    NAB, the apex accountability body, was established through a presidential ordinance in 1999 by military dictator General Pervez Musharraf one month after taking office as a result of a military coup. The purpose of the watchdog was to investigate and prosecute officials involved in corruption.

    However, it has come under increasing criticism for acting against the critics of the Imran Khan-led government during the past couple of years.  

    On July 20, 2020, Pakistan’s Supreme Court, in an 87-page decision, ruled that the National Accountability Bureau had violated the rights to a fair trial and due process in the arrest of two opposition politicians, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Salman Rafique, whom the NAB detained for 15 months without reasonable grounds.

    Subsequently,  the Human Rights Watch said that Pakistani authorities should follow up on a recent Supreme Court decision and cease using the NAB to detain critics of the government. NAB, however, says it is independent in its decision-making process.

  • VIDEO: Buzdar’s decision to sack Chohan takes him by surprise

    VIDEO: Buzdar’s decision to sack Chohan takes him by surprise

    Former Punjab information minister Fayyazul Hassan was removed from his post without prior intimation, as the minister appeared clueless when a journalist asked him about his removal.

    In a video, a journalist asked the provincial minister to comment on the latest changes in the Punjab cabinet that saw him lose his portfolio. At this, Chohan feigned ignorance and said he had no idea what the journalist was talking about.

    “Sir, we have just received information that Firdous Ashiq Awan has been appointed special assistant to the chief minister and the portfolio [of information minister] has been taken from you,” says another reporter.

    “I don’t know anything about this,” responds Chohan. “Bhai, I am telling you, I don’t know anything about this,” reiterated the minister.

    Firdous Ashiq Awan, who was prime minister’s special assistant on information, replaced Chohan as the Punjab CM’s mouthpiece on Monday. According to reports, Awan was appointed by CM Usman Buzdar on the directives of PM Imran Khan after his visit to the provincial capital last week.

    Chohan, however, will remain in the cabinet as Minister for Colonies. This is the second time that Chohan has been removed as minister for information. He was sacked by the CM last time for making remarks against the minority Hindu community.

    In a tweet on Tuesday, Chohan commented on his removal and said whatever happens it happens for the best. According to Chohan, his removal “must have made the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and India’s Major (r) Guarav happy”.

    He said he was unfazed by the sacking and would continue to call out the opposition over its alleged corruption.

  • Youngster commits suicide for not getting a smartphone

    Youngster commits suicide for not getting a smartphone

    This incident took place on Monday, in the village of Daanto of Nangar Parkar Tuluka. A 20-year old boy committed suicide after the refusal of parents on buying a new smartphone.

    According to details, the young boy was the son of Dewji Kohli. The young boy, Hashim decided to end his life by hanging himself when his wish to buy a new smartphone was denied by his parents. Hashim’s father told the reporters that he wasn’t able to meet the demands of his son. This resulted in Hashim taking his own life. The police have handed over the body of the young man to the parents after completing all the legal formalities.