Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Pakistani journalist Murtaza Ali Shah is on Indian hit list for covering Khalistan movement

    Pakistani journalist Murtaza Ali Shah is on Indian hit list for covering Khalistan movement

    A pro-Khalistan British Sikh organisation’s leader revealed that a well-known reporter of Geo and The News from London, Murtaza Ali Shah, received life threats from the Indian state for covering the Khalistan movement in Britain and other western countries.

    In an interview on the Sikh Channel Akaal TV, Sikh Federation UK’s leader, Dabinderjit Singh, revealed that London police are aware that Shah is facing life threats. The Sikh organisation also tweeted about the issue on X (formerly Twitter).

    Dabinderjit Singh, who is a retired civil servant, also said that senior reporter Murtaza Ali Shah is on the hit list in India due to his coverage of Sikh issues in London.

    “Murtaza Ali Shah covers Sikh issues for Geo TV but is not a Sikh. In particular, Murtaza Shah has been covering the Khalistan Referendum organised by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in the UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Italy. He has been reaching to these places from London for coverage,” he said, linking his journalistic work to the threat.

  • Is Imran Khan going to be released this month?

    Is Imran Khan going to be released this month?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Latif Khosa has affirmed the claim of fellow party members that Imran Khan will be released from Adiala jail soon, confidently claiming that the former prime minister will likely be free from jail this month.

    “I am saying this for sure that the PTI founder will be released in [this] April,” he said while speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan on Sunday.

    Earlier, several party members, including chairman PTI Gohar Ali Khan, made similar claims that the jailed PTI founder will be released very soon.

    Khosa stated that labeling the release of the PTI founder as a result of any deal would be unfair.

    He also said that Imran Khan doesn’t believe in the politics of revenge, as he is only in favour of the supremacy of the constitution.

    Speaking about the cases against the PTI founder, Khosa downplayed Khan’s conviction in cipher and un-Islamic nikkah case, stating: “In the cipher case, the court has already observed ‘where is the cipher’, while Iddat case is shameful.”

  • Sheharyar Afridi says there are ‘snakes’ inside PTI

    Sheharyar Afridi says there are ‘snakes’ inside PTI

    Amidst rumors of internal rifts within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), party leader Shehryar Afridi recently said that there were some “hypocrites” inside the party.

    Recently, all the portfolios were taken back from the popular leader Sher Afzal Marwat –who emerged as a famous leader after the incarceration of PTI founder Imran Khan.

    Addressing a public gathering in Kohat on Friday, Afridi said: “We are sending a message to the party members that the workers and loyalists of the party should be supported, those who are the foundation of the party.”

    Afridi criticised the party leadership even saying there were “snakes” who had become a part of the PTI.

    The rifts between the party leadership have been increasing with many members divided on different matters related to party.

  • Achakzai stopped from entering CJ’s court room by plain clothed officials

    Achakzai stopped from entering CJ’s court room by plain clothed officials

    Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the Chairman of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, was stopped from entering into Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa’s courtroom on April 3 by plain-clothed individuals.

    Azaz Syed, a renowned journalist, reported from court premises about the incident. He stated in a video, “This is Mehmood Khan Achakzai behind me and he has been stopped from entering Room no 1 Courtroom.”

    When Achakzai was asked by Syed to relate the entire incident he said, “We submitted our ID cards and were issued passes to enter the courtroom.” He then also said that a person in plain clothes came up and did not allow him and his companions to enter the premises.

    It should be noted that inside the courtroom Suo Moto case hearing was being conducted on the issue of Islamabad High Court judges’ letter alleging blatant meddling by intelligence agencies in judicial matters.

  • India accepts it will kill people inside Pakistan

    India accepts it will kill people inside Pakistan

    India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently passed controversial remarks about the Guardian article on Indian extra-judicial killings inside Pakistan in defiance of International rules and norms, stating that if a person commits crimes in India and then runs to Pakistan for safety then, “we will enter their home and kill them there.”

    Interestingly enough, India’s ministry of external affairs denied all allegations put forth in the Guardian article and condemned the “false and malicious anti-India propaganda.” Yet the defence minister’s statements are in stark contrast with the official statement.

    Internet users reacted by condemning the minister’s statements and many users on X, formerly Twitter, pointed out that the Indian General Elections 2024 is taking place so such empty bravado was expected of a BJP minister.

    An Indian account replied, “The mere statement will take Modi beyond 400 seats.” Similarly, someone else wrote “Why are you hell-bent on helping Modi and BJP?” while another user said “Not the India Nehru dreamt of.”

    It must be underscored that the defence minister’s statement is highly irresponsible and begets a rogue state that does not believe in international norms.

    The Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan strongly condemned Singh’s statement: “India’s ruling dispensation habitually resorts to hateful rhetoric to fuel hyper-nationalistic sentiments, unapologetically exploiting such discourse for electoral gains.”

    The BJP government is often accused of heating up the pot with Pakistan before the elections, for instance the 2019 Balakot event happened before the elections.

  • The hero cop who refused to surrender to militants

    The hero cop who refused to surrender to militants

    According to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) police, a police personnel deployed on the security of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) of Polio team was martyred in Ragzai, South Waziristan, KPK.

    LQAS is a global standard practice to check the efficacy of any immunization campaign conducted in the region. Since Polio campaigns are regularly implemented across the country, LQAS procedure is being conducted as well to check the quality of polio vaccination campaigns.

    Rahemullah Mehsud was surrounded by militants when they asked him to give up and lay down his weapons, however the brave son of the soil refused to surrender and said people of Waziristan would remember him as a coward if he did so and laid down his life in the line of duty. The story has been posted on X by journalist Iftikhar Firdous.

    According to KPK Police, during the last year, the number of martyred police personnel was 137 – a grim reminder of the country’s worsening security situation.

  • Is PTI getting cozy with the establishment again?

    Is PTI getting cozy with the establishment again?

    Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Ali Amin Gandapur visited Corps Commander House Peshawar on an Iftar invitation and received a security briefing on the province from military officials.

    Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Advisor to the Chief Minister KPK on Information, clarified to Geo News that it was an iftar invitation and denied rumors on social media that the provincial government held a cabinet meeting at Corps Commander House.

    After the Iftar, mutual discussion on the security situation was held between them.

    More importantly, according to Geo News, Imran Khan was apprised of the said meeting and taken into confidence. Imran Khan displayed complete trust in Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

    Party leadership, especially CM Gandapur, is being criticized by their devout followers on social media for attending this meeting.

  • PM Shehbaz set to visit Saudi Arabia for two days  

    PM Shehbaz set to visit Saudi Arabia for two days  

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will depart for a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia for Umrah on Saturday night. During his stay in Jeddah, he will also meet his Saudi Arabian counterpart, The News reported on Friday.

    The Premier will discuss various projects during a meeting with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

    Shehbaz Sharif will also invite MbS to visit Pakistan soon.

    During his stay in Saudi Arabia, both countries will finalise multiple development projects, and continue bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including agriculture. 

    The sources of The News claimed that Saudi Arabia will also invest $1 billion in the Reko Diq project.

    The schedule for PM Shehbaz’s visit will be finalised on Friday (today), said the sources.

  • Arsenic found in suspicious letters sent to judges

    Arsenic found in suspicious letters sent to judges

    The Counter Terrorism department (CTD) has obtained a forensic report of the powder found in the suspicious letters sent to judges of the High Court and Supreme Court (SC).

    At least four SC judges and judges of the high court—eight of the Islamabad High Court and six of the Lahore High Court—received the letters, creating fear among the judiciary.

    Justice Ali Baqar Najfi of Lahore High Court (LHC) was the last judge to receive a letter filled with white powder.

    The CTD registered two FIRs against unknown people and initiated an investigation into the matter.

    The report revealed that arsenic was mixed in powder found in the letters. The sources of GEO also uncovered that 10 percent arsenic was mixed in the powder, as a higher amount of arsenic could be “very poisonous” and harmful to the human body.

    The investigators have obtained videos of the CCTV cameras installed near the letterboxes in the sub-divisional post office in Satellite Town, Rawalpindi.

  • PM vows to uphold 18th Amendment

    PM vows to uphold 18th Amendment

    Agreeing with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to transfer all relevant ministries and departments back to provinces – which are constitutionally under the purview of provinces.

    The Prime Minister stated that the federation will strengthen the provinces by devolving all relevant ministries under the 18th Amendment and national expenditures will be minimized to cut loss.

    During the campaign for the general elections, Bilawal suggested that if his party were elected, then the federation would eliminate 17 federal ministries to save the taxpayers’ Rs.300 billion.

    Similarly, the former foreign minister has suggested that 17 federal ministries should be devolved to provincial authorities.

    The 18th Amendment, passed on April 8, 2010, was a landmark bill that gave provinces autonomy. It devolved multiple federal ministries and powers to provinces. It divested the president of all his executive authority and made him a ceremonial head of the state.