Category: Others

  • VIDEO: ‘Even my mother-in-law was looted in Karachi,’ regrets Sindh IG

    VIDEO: ‘Even my mother-in-law was looted in Karachi,’ regrets Sindh IG

    A video of Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kaleem Imam regretting how his own family members, including his in-laws, have also been looted in Karachi, is going viral over the internet.

    “My mother-in-law was looted… my nephews were looted, my sister and brother were also looted, but I am still smiling in front of you,” the IGP can be heard as saying in the video of his address at a seminar on community policing in Karachi.

    “Just imagine how my married life would be after my mother-in-law was forced to give up her jewelry,” he said, adding that unemployment and illiteracy were to be blamed for street crime in the port city.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://youtu.be/fAd89B2JuSo

    The IGP then claimed that police have largely overcome the menace of serious crimes in Karachi and it was now working hard to eliminate street crime.

    According to a recent survey, at least 31 people have been killed and 282 injured while resisting robberies in Karachi so far this year.

  • Pakistan Railways continues charging dams fund on train tickets

    Pakistan Railways continues charging dams fund on train tickets

    Despite setbacks and disinterest of the people in contributing to the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams fund, Pakistan Railways (PR) is continuing to charge passengers with a surcharge of up to Rs10 on all tickets.

    As per the details, the said surcharge was implemented by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in September last year so as to collect money for the construction of dams while fearing a water crisis in the near future.

    PR had earlier decided to increase fares for all classes to contribute to the fund and the surcharge on tickets was imposed on the directives of Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed.

    The authorities had decided to charge Rs1 on Rs100 economy class tickets and Rs2 on tickets worth more than Rs100. An additional amount of Rs10 is being charged on air-conditioned class tickets as no category has been exempted from the surcharge.

  • VIDEO: Sheikh Rasheed claims discussing ‘nuclear attack’ with ISPR chief

    VIDEO: Sheikh Rasheed claims discussing ‘nuclear attack’ with ISPR chief

    Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has claimed having discussed with Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor what “fireworks” to use and when.

    “In Beijing, I told [the] ISPR DG that I wittingly made the statement regarding the use of quarter or half kilogram fireworks when the time comes,” he said while speaking to journalists on Saturday.

    The minister had earlier warned India that Pakistan “even has small nuclear bombs weighing 125-250 grams”, which can hit and destroy targeted areas.

    “We know if we want to use our 1-inch, 2-inch or half an inch [atomic bombs],” the minister had said last month, leaving netizens all cracked up.

    “My information is more accurate than most of the people… and Pakistan doesn’t want war. But I stand by my words that it would be the last war. I told Asif Ghafoor that I understand better as to what is to be said in public,” he said Saturday.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://youtu.be/uKS4uO0DaDc

    He further said that the nation cannot remain silent while Indian atrocities continue in held Kashmir. “We’re standing with Kashmiris. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is standing with Kashmiris and so are the country’s armed forces.”

    “India committed two blunders. The first one was carrying out atomic explosions while presuming that Pakistan would not do so and secondly, it scrapped special status of Kashmir on August 5 this year, believing Kashmiris won’t react”, the minister had said last month.

    His statements had come as tensions started to soar on either side of the border ever since New Delhi on August 5 revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution, robbing the people of the troubled valley of their autonomous state.

    India has since kept Kashmir under lockdown.

  • ‘PTI illegally amassed $3 million from offshore firms in 2014,’ founding member

    ‘PTI illegally amassed $3 million from offshore firms in 2014,’ founding member

    A founding member of the Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) party, Akbar S. Babar, had filed a case in 2014, alleging that the party had collected nearly $3 million in illegal foreign funds through two offshore companies, Dawn reported.

    Akbar alleged that money was sent through illegal ‘hundi’ channels from the Middle East to certain accounts of “PTI employees” and that the foreign accounts used to collect the funds were not mentioned in the annual audit reports submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

    For investigation in this matter, a scrutiny committee was formed in March last year to complete an audit of PTI’s funding sources in one month. Its mandate was later extended for an indefinite period.

    After the beginning of the probe, PTI submitted four applications to the ECP seeking secrecy during the scrutiny of its foreign funding sources.

    However, the ECP rejected all four applications of PTI and instructed the scrutiny committee to continue its work and instructed PTI representatives to appear before the committee on Oct 14.

    Foreign Funding Case

    Akbar S. Babar had filed the foreign funding case before the ECP in 2014 after he developed differences with PTI Chairman Imran Khan over alleged internal corruption and abuse of laws governing political funding.

    For over a year, the proceedings of the case were delayed in the ECP as the PTI had filed a writ petition in October 2015 in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking to restrain the ECP from scrutinising its accounts.

    Later in February 2017, the IHC had remanded the case back to the ECP for a fresh review of its jurisdiction. On May 8 of the same year, a full bench of the ECP had once again declared its complete jurisdiction over the matter and stated that the PTI had failed to produce any evidence that the petitioner had been expelled from the party and hence lost the right to question the PTI’s accounts.

    In March 2018, a scrutiny panel had been formed to look into PTI’s foreign funding accounts to search for any wrongdoing.

  • Warned Nawaz against fighting establishment, but he didn’t listen: Shehbaz

    Warned Nawaz against fighting establishment, but he didn’t listen: Shehbaz

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif has criticised his elder brother and jailed former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif “for picking fights with the establishment and not paying heed to his advice”, SamaaTV reported.

    Reports quoted Shehbaz as saying at a party meeting on Thursday that he had told Nawaz during his last stint “to stop fighting with the establishment and serve the people”.

    “[I] advised him [Nawaz] to not remove General (r) Jahangir Karamat and General (r) Pervez Musharraf as army chiefs, but my brother didn’t listen.”

    “Tayyip Erdogan had served his country for 15 years, that’s why people came out in his support [and foiled the coup]”, he said, adding that if the PML-N government had completed another two or three terms, people would have come out in their support as well.

    “We suffered major losses at a crucial time because my brother didn’t listen to me,” Shehbaz said further.

    “I also advised him against joining the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Azadi March later this month. We cannot fight and always end up hurting ourselves.”

    SHARIF BROTHERS DIVIDED:

    However, Nawaz while speaking to reporters during his hearing at an accountability court in Lahore on Friday said that he fully supported the forthcoming JUI-F rally against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    “Our viewpoint is the same as that of Maulana [Fazlur Rehman],” the former premier said.

    He recalled that Rehman had called for resignations and protest after the 2018 general elections and added, “But [now] I feel that his argument was solid.”

    “Not paying heed to Maulana’s call for the march would be a mistake,” he said.

    “I have already written a letter to Shehbaz in this regard, detailing the future course of action of the party and the PML-N president would brief the media soon.”

  • ISPR chief defends Indian pooja of new jet, trolls neighbours for their ‘incompetence’

    ISPR chief defends Indian pooja of new jet, trolls neighbours for their ‘incompetence’

    With India finally receiving the first unit of Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Rafale fighter jet from France, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Asif Ghafoor has defended Indian defence minister’s “weapon worship”, but also trolled the neighbours for their incompetence.

    The French-made aircraft was acquired by the IAF at a handover ceremony in Merignac where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performed “shastra pooja” on Rafale.

    The act was severely criticised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BRP) rival Indian National Congress (INC) as opposition leaders questioned the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led government for “saffronising” the handover.

    With Pakistani Twitterati also taking to the microblogging site to call out their neighbours over Singh’s move, the ISPR chief has said that there was nothing wrong in it.

    “Nothing wrong in #RafalePuja as it goes by the religion and that must be respected [sic],” Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor wrote.

    He, however, also trolled Indians over their incompetence in words that appeared to be hinting at the aerial standoff between airforces of the two countries from earlier this year.

    “Please remember… it’s not the machine alone which matters but competence, passion & resolve of the men handling that machine. Proud of our PAF [Pakistan Air Force] Shaheens. #PAFtheMenAtTheirBest [sic].”

  • Textile industry marks record growth after 10 years

    Textile industry marks record growth after 10 years

    The textile industry in Pakistan has achieved a record increase of 26% growth in quantitative terms after 10 years, according to a statement issued by All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

    APTMA states that the growth did not directly reflect in dollar amounts due to a substantial worldwide decrease in textile prices, however, if this growth in quantity had not been achieved the exports would have been less than $ 8.5 billion as the international prices have now recovered.

    Further records reveal that the profits of companies were over 5% and that the companies have posted a turnover of $ 16 billion out of which $ 13.3 billion was exported and $ 2.8 billion were sold in the domestic market.

    The industry has contributed a total of Rs40 billion to the exchequer through income tax as well as various other indirect taxes and levies of over Rs 35 billion.

    As a result of the profits posted, the industry has strong balance sheets and an equity fund of $ 1 billion earned directly from the international market. These funds can be leveraged to invest at least $ 4 billion in the next year alone.

  • Nawaz’s assets jumped from Rs2.7 million to Rs1.8 billion in 20 years of politics: report

    Nawaz’s assets jumped from Rs2.7 million to Rs1.8 billion in 20 years of politics: report

    Ousted prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s assets jumped from Rs2.7 million to Rs1.82 billion in twenty years of his political career from 1993 to 2013, media reports have revealed.

    As per the details, Nawaz owned assets worth Rs 261.6 million in 2012, but that saw a six-fold increase and reached Rs 1.82 billion in 2013 — the first year of his third stint as the country’s chief executive, making him a declared billionaire for the first time.

    His assets in 2014 crossed the Rs2 billion-mark, but in 2015 declined slightly to Rs1.96 billion. Earlier in 2011, he owned assets worth Rs166m.

    According to the statements of assets of lawmakers, released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in 2017, the value of his assets further declined to Rs1.72 billion in the year that ended on June 30, 2016.

    The former premier, however, only owned assets worth Rs2.7 million by the year 1993, media reports said.

    Citing the details submitted to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the assets beyond known sources of income and money laundering cases against the Sharif family, a private media outlet claimed that Nawaz’s total assets in 1986 stood at a bit over Rs0.13 million.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The assets kept on increasing over the years, the report said, adding that Nawaz’s assets rose by only Rs23,319 in 1986. “According to FBR records, the same swelled by Rs98,588 in 1987.”

    These assets also included those owned by his children, the report claimed.

  • Azadi March: PML-N asks PTI govt to provide container, tents and biryani

    Azadi March: PML-N asks PTI govt to provide container, tents and biryani

    A lawmaker of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has submitted in the Punjab Assembly a resolution demanding a container, tents and biryani from the government for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) forthcoming Azadi Marchi.

    “Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had promised giving opposition parties a container, tents and biryani for their sit-in after his election as the country’s chief executive,” PML-N’s Uzma Bukhari stated in the resolution submitted to the secretariat of the provincial house.

    Speaking to journalists earlier this year, the premier had said if the opposition wanted to stage a protest, his government was “ready to provide them a container at D-Chowk”.

    “We [the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] staged a sit-in for 126 days, let’s see for how many days can the opposition protest,” he had said, challenging his rivals to launch a movement.

    The resolution in the Punjab Assembly comes after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s announcement to set out on a long march against the government on October 31, which will culminate in the capital, where the party also plans to hold a sit-in.

    With Fazl repeatedly reminding the government of its promise to provide the protesters with said facilities, the resolution by the PML-N leader has also demanded the same.

  • Resolution in Punjab Assembly wants Sarfaraz fired

    Resolution in Punjab Assembly wants Sarfaraz fired

    A day after Sri Lanka humiliated Pakistan with a 3-0 win in the T20 series marking the former’s return to the country ever since the 2009 bus attack, a resolution in the Punjab Assembly has sought skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s removal from the national cricket team.

    “The team that tops the global T20 rankings, has lost from a team that sits at the eighth spot,” read the resolution submitted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Malik Zaheer Iqbal.

    Seeking Sarfaraz’s removal from the team, the resolution further demanded an investigation into Pakistan’s whitewash against a comparatively inexperienced team like Sri Lanka.

    Earlier, head coach, chief selector and former national cricket team captain Misbahul Haq conceded that the defeat had been a “wake-up call for the team”.

    Pakistan have been humbled thrice in Lahore, losing the first game by 64 runs, the second by 35 and the third by 13 runs, to a Sri Lankan side missing some of their top players, such as Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews.

    “This was an eye-opener for us and you as well. The way we go after the seniors, and what we did in the World Cup. We forget their performances,” said Misbah at a presser in Lahore as he appeared to blame the team’s naivety and struggles against spin bowling the reason for the defeat.

    Sarfaraz, who came in to bat at number four and scored 17 off 16 balls before throwing away his wicket, appeared to pin the responsibility of the failed run chase on his partner Haris Sohail.

    He has earlier been trained guns at also for his poor performance at the 2019 World Cup, which was followed by a campaign seeking his removal as the captain.