Current Final

Category: National

  • ‘Lahore CCPO sent home on forced leave’

    ‘Lahore CCPO sent home on forced leave’

    Journalist Adeel Raja on Wednesday claimed that the new chief of Lahore police, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh, who has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons since his appointment last month, has been sent home on forced leave.

    While The Current’s sources corroborate the journalist’s claim as they say that the Lahore top cop was sent home after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expressed displeasure over a viral audio clip in which the CCPO purportedly hurled abuses at a woman, a leave application by Sheikh suggests otherwise.

    READ: Bright cop resigns after CCPO Lahore abuses him for speaking English

    “It is submitted that I have to look after my ailing daughter admitted to hospital. Please allow me three days [of] casual leave from 21.10.2020 to 23.10.2020,” read the application, a copy of which is available with The Current.

    Sheikh further stated that during his leave, Lahore’s Operations Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Muhammad Ashfaq Khan will look after the charge of the post of CCPO in addition to his own duties.

    This was also endorsed by Punjab chief minister’s spokesperson in a tweet.

    Azhar Mashwani, while responding to Raja, claimed that CCPO will back after tending to his ailing daughter.

  • VIDEO: ‘Shoes, dresses and makeup don’t make you a leader,’ info minister to Maryam Nawaz

    VIDEO: ‘Shoes, dresses and makeup don’t make you a leader,’ info minister to Maryam Nawaz

    Going full sexist in his tirade against the opposition, Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz has trained guns at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz and said that “shoes, dresses and makeup do not make one a leader”.

    Addressing a press conference, Faraz, who is the top mouthpiece of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, said that Maryam owed her career to dynastic politics and thought of herself as the late prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto.

    “Benazir was a well-educated lady […] shoes, dresses and makeup do not make you a leader. To be one, you need to live like a common person,” he said while launching a verbal attack against thrice former PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, who has time and again been criticised for her luxurious lifestyle and rather expensive dresses, footwear as well as accessories.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The minister also spoke at length against opposition parties’ alleged corruption and misuse of authority during their respective tenures in the past.

  • ‘IG kidnapping’: Fawad mocks Bilawal for approaching Gen Bajwa instead of PM

    ‘IG kidnapping’: Fawad mocks Bilawal for approaching Gen Bajwa instead of PM

    Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry has criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for seeking the intervention of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa over the alleged involvement of the Sindh Rangers in the “kidnapping” of the provincial police chief, Mushtaq Mahar.

    In a Geo News show with Shahzeb Khanzada, the federal minister said the PPP chief talks about civilian supremacy all the time, but instead of approaching the prime minister — the chief executive of the country — Bilawal approached the military chief with his reservations.

    The minister said the appeal to the army chief was in contrast to the views propagated by the PPP chief. “If you are such a champion of democracy, then you shouldn’t drag state institutions in politics,” Fawad said.

    When asked whether the federal government would help the provincial government in the matter, Fawad said it was an “internal matter” of the Sindh government, but the Centre would be more than willing to help if approached.

    Earlier,  Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had requested Gen Bajwa take notice of the treatment meted out to the Sindh police chief by the Rangers. Bilawal said that every police officer in Sindh, from a station house officer to senior police officers, were wondering who had “surrounded IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s office at 2am on Sunday night”. “Who were the two persons who went inside the IG’s house at 2am and where was our IG taken at 4am in the morning?” he asked.

    Subsequently, Gen Bajwa ordered a probe into the alleged abduction of IG Mahar. According to a statement shared by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Bajwa has directed Karachi Corps commander to “immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible”.

  • VIDEO: Fear among residents after lion spotted on streets of Rawalpindi

    VIDEO: Fear among residents after lion spotted on streets of Rawalpindi

    A lion was reportedly seen wandering freely on the streets in the outskirts of Rawalpindi causing fear and panic among the residents.

    According to reports, the lion can be seen in different parts of Khanpur, a suburb village in Rawalpindi.

     “It was seen by residents in Tarnawa and other areas in Khanpur,” the report said.

    Residents have claimed that the lion attacked livestock, street animals and pet dogs used to guard houses and fields in the area.

    They have demanded wildlife authorities to take measures to catch the lion so that residents can move freely.


  • VIDEO: India loses it again, claims Sindh govt overthrown by army, civil war in Karachi

    VIDEO: India loses it again, claims Sindh govt overthrown by army, civil war in Karachi

    Amid the controversy surrounding Sindh police following Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (r) Safdar’s arrest in Karachi, India has once again lost it and is claiming that clashes are taking place between the army and provincial police as a civil war erupts in the port city.

    According to a report now retracted by News 18, Karachi is burning with shootouts between civil and military bodies after the army took over the provincial metropolis and the control of all police stations as well as government buildings.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Here’s a screenshot of the tweet that has now been deleted:

    This time, however, it isn’t just Indian media that is making baseless claims that will crack you up…

    READ: After police’s rebellion, army to probe ‘kidnapping’ of Sindh IG

    “10 police officers of Sindh police martyred during their line of duty of saving people of Karachi from atrocities of army [sic],” prominent Indian lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao claimed.

    https://twitter.com/ippatel/status/1318743674105233408

    He went on to say that the United States (US) Navy may enter Karachi port soon, drawing strong reactions from Twitterati, and not just those from Pakistan.

    READ: IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    “Indian disinformation accounts are exploiting Pakistan’s current political crisis and falsely claiming that the country is now experiencing urban warfare and other serious instability,” tweeted the deputy director of the Asia Program and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center, Michael Kugelman.

    “Dangerous and disturbing; several of these accounts are verified, with large followings. Ugh,” he added.

  • Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif has alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to harm him and his wife by using his political opponents.

    Speaking on a TV show, the PML-N leader claimed the prime minister wanted his rivals to hold a protest outside his residence, target him in a road accident, and harass his wife by forcing her out of the vehicle.

    Asif further alleged that the PM desired to get him beaten up or implicate in a narcotics case in order to teach him a lesson. He said that he wanted to raise these issues in the National Assembly, but he was not allowed by the NA speaker to talk. The lawmaker, however, said he has spent a lifetime on the opposition benches and will not cower down by such tactics.

    On Monday, the PM mocked Asif over his claim that he had called army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa over reports of rigging on the election night. Imran claimed that Asif called Gen Bajwa on election night in 2018, crying while fearing defeat, and seeking his help to win from the NA-73 constituency of Sialkot.

    “There’s a prominent rangbaaz [charlatan] from Sialkot who thinks highly of himself… makes tall claims… but it was revealed that on election night he called Gen Bajwa at 8 pm, weeping and seeking his help to win the election,” the premier said during an animated address to a Tiger Force convention in Islamabad.

    Calling him “Rangbaaz Khawaja”, PM Imran quoted Asif as appealing to the army chief that he would be destroyed if Gen Bajwa didn’t help him win the election against Usman Dar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

  • ‘Bakwas band karo’: PTI’s Waleed Iqbal threatens to hit PPP leader with glass on live show

    Senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Waleed Iqbal, who is also the grandson of 20th-century poet and philosopher Allama Iqbal, has threatened to hit former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Mukhtiar Ahmed Dhamrah with a glass on live television.

    As per the details, the two, along with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Khurram Dastgir, had appeared on senior journalist and analyst Nasim Zehra’s show when a war of words turned ugly after Iqbal was told to shut up.

    Speaking of Capt (r) Safdar’s “inappropriate” arrest for raising political slogans at the mausoleum of Quaide Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Iqbal quoted Bilawal as saying that it did not merit the door of PML-N leader’s hotel room being knocked down.

    “Does he not get it? Let’s see how he reacts if someone does this at the tomb of his grandfather [ex-prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto] or mother [ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto],” a visibly annoyed Iqbal said, which was met by a “bakwas band karein [shut up]” from the PPP leader.

    “You can’t talk about Bilawal’s grandfather. Talk about the topic at hand,” an angry Dhamrah told Iqbal, leading to an on-air spat between the two.

    It took an uglier turn when Iqbal picked up a glass and threatened to hit the PPP leader with it had he been present in the studio and not appearing via videolink.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The anchorperson was seen trying to tell both the politicians to calm down but to no avail.

  • After police’s rebellion, army to probe ‘kidnapping’ of Sindh IG

    After police’s rebellion, army to probe ‘kidnapping’ of Sindh IG

    As the controversy surrounding the arrest of Capt (r) Muhammad Safdar rages on, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered a probe into the alleged abduction of Police IG Mushtaq Mahar by the Sindh Rangers.

    According to a statement shared by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Bajwa has directed Karachi Corps commander to “immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible”.

    The probe announcement by the army chief came after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari demanded that Gen Bajwa take notice of the incident.

    Bilawal said that every police officer in Sindh, from a station house officer to senior police officers, were wondering who had “surrounded IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s office at 2am on Sunday night”.

    “Who were the two persons who went inside the IG’s house at 2am and where was our IG taken at 4am in the morning?” he asked.

    SINDH POLICE DEMORALISED:

    The pressure inflicted on the police to arrest Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader has demoralised the provincial police. In a leave application to the government, the IGP along with a dozen officers sought two-month leave over the treatment meted out to their department.

    This move prompted a visit of Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah and PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to the IG House. It seems that the visit was fruitful as the police high-ups decided to postpone their leave plan for 10 days. They said the decision was taken “in the larger national interest” and pending the conclusion of the inquiry into how the arrest of PML-N leader Mohammad Safdar unfolded.

    ARREST OF CAPT SAFDAR:

    Safdar was arrested from his hotel room in the early hours of Monday from his hotel room for raising slogans at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and jumping over the grill surrounding the grave. The Sindh government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had distanced itself from the matter soon after the arrest.

    Afterwards, the Sindh police tweeted that the arrest was lawful, but the tweet was deleted soon after it was put up. But after few hours, the tweet was updated again, wherein the police said that Safdar was arrested as per law.

  • ‘IG was kidnapped’: Hamid Mir takes a dig at Kamran Khan for contesting his claim

    ‘IG was kidnapped’: Hamid Mir takes a dig at Kamran Khan for contesting his claim

    As a leave request to the Sindh government by the high-ups of the provincial police strengthened the claim that the IG was detained by the Sindh Rangers for the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Capt (r) Safdar, senior journalist Hamid Mir took a dig at journalist Kamran Khan for trying to refute his claim about the police chief’s detention on the basis of “irrefutable sources”.

    The tweet by the Geo News anchorperson came on the heels of a news report which revealed that the high ranking officers of the service have sought a 60-day leave. An application signed by AIG Special Branch Imran Yaqoob, a copy of which is available with The Current, said that he submitted the request for leave after the police high command was “ridiculed and mishandled” leading to the demoralisation of all ranks of the Sindh Police.

    In his recent tweet, Mir was referring to a statement made by Kamran Khan wherein he contested his claim about the detention of IG Mushtaq Mahar by the Rangers to force him to sign Safdar’s arrest warrants.

    Following the arrest of Safar, Mir had tweeted: “Unfortunate incident. Sindh Govt informed PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair that IG [insector general] Sindh was kidnapped by Rangers at 4 in the morning he was brought in sector commander’s office where addnl IG was already present and were forced to issue the orders for the arrest of Cpt Rtd Safdar [sic],” Mir claimed in a tweet.

    At this, Kamran Khan, who is an anchorperson at Dunya News, said that the IG was “fully onboard with the arrest”. Maintaining that internal rifts were affecting the affairs of the joint opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Kamran Khan had quoted sources as saying that all claims regarding the IG’s arrest were not true.

    Alluding to the application by the Sindh police officials, Mir asked Khan that what does he have to say about it now. He went on to advise him not to “refute his future reports” on the basis of the so-called “irrefutable sources”. “These irrefutable sources also called me with this claim, but go and ask them what I told them,” he said.

  • IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    A day after it was reported that Sindh police was pressurised to register a case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (r) Safdar, high ranking officers of the force have sought a 60-day leave.

    According to reports, several senior officers, including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Mahar, have decided to go on leave.

    The officials also include the additional inspector general (AIG) of Karachi, Special Branch AIG and several deputy inspector generals (DIGs).

    An application signed by AIG Special Branch Imran Yaqoob, a copy of which is available with The Current, says that he submitted the request for leave after the police high command was “ridiculed and mishandled” leading to the demoralisation of all ranks of the Sindh police.

    A day earlier, soon after the “inappropriate” arrest of Capt (r) Safdar from his hotel room in Karachi, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Sindh government had distanced itself from the development.

    Amid criticism aimed at alleged rifts among the ranks of the joint opposition — the PPP purportedly going after allied PML-N — it was claimed that the provincial police chief had actually been forced to go after Capt (r) Safdar.

    Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday reportedly took notice of the incident.

    “Taking notice of Karachi incident, COAS has directed Karachi Corps commander to immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.