Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Not going to take part in  upcoming elections, says Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    Not going to take part in  upcoming elections, says Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    Former Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has revealed in an interview with Nadeem Malik on Samma TV that he is not going to take part in the upcoming elections in the current political environment.

    The senior politician said that he is unable to give a final word on elections as he has not consulted the people of his constituency on this matter.

    Abbasi emphasized that he asked Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to find a solution for the bad economic situation in the country.

    “I have told Nawaz Sharif that all political leaders can sit together and solve the country’s problems,” he added.

    The former prime minister stated that PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Vice President Maryam Nawaz are not his leaders. “Nawaz Sharif is my leader,” Abbasi firmly stated.

  • Hamas calls for Muslims to stand with Palestine on Friday: what we know about Day Four

    Hamas calls for Muslims to stand with Palestine on Friday: what we know about Day Four

    In the latest update, Hamas has called on people all over to come out in solidarity with the Palestinian cause coming Friday.

    Flee to Egypt

    The Israeli military has suggested the Palestinians flee to Egypt to escape air attacks in the Gaza Strip.

    Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht, chief military spokesperson of Israel addressed foreign media, stating, “I am aware that the Rafah crossing (on the Gaza-Egypt border) is still open. Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out,”

    Soon after this, news came in that the Rafah border was closed.

    1,500 bodies of Hamas fighters with Israel

    The Israeli army has claimed to have about 1,500 bodies of Hamas fighters that they found in Israel and Gaza Strip.
    According to Hecht, control over the border has “more or less” been restored along the besieged Gaza Strip.

    200 areas in Gaza bombed

    The Israeli military has bombed more than 200 targets in Gaza Strip including an alleged weapons storage site inside a mosque as well as an apartment used by Hamas’s antitank guided missile forces.

    Situation in Gaza ‘extremely worrying’: UNRWA

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees has revealed in an interview with Al-Jazeera that thousands of people in Gaza who left their homes to escape the Israeli attacks have been “unable to access basic services”.

    “It is extremely damaging for people. For us, it is extremely worrying that they cannot access any of these basic services,” al-Rifai said.

    14 of UNRWA distribution centres have been bombarded while on the other hand, at least 137,000 people have been displaced and seeking shelter since Saturday.

    Israeli forces ‘taking revenge’ by killing civilians

    The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor posted on social media that Israeli forces are committing “mass killing crimes against civilians” in Gaza.

    “The Israeli forces are taking revenge on Palestinian armed factions by committing mass killing crimes against civilians,” the group said of Israel’s relentless bombardment of densely populated areas, as it posted a photo on social media of a levelled neighbourhood.

    “Even in cases of military necessity, Israel must adhere to provisions of international humanitarian law in its attack on Gaza.”

    “We will purify the area and attack terrorists wherever they are,”

    The Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, held a press conference, in which he stated that Hamas terrorists are in Israel, and that Israeli troops are on a hunt and killing them.

    “We will purify the area and attack terrorists wherever they are,” he says.

    Spain and France oppose blockade of aid to Palestine

    On Monday, EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi’s announced that payments from the development programme for Palestinians would be “immediately suspended”.

    This, however, was followed by rejection of the suspension from Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg.

    The EU then reconsidered its approach.

    “This cooperation must continue; we cannot confuse Hamas, which is in the list of EU’s terrorist groups, with the Palestinian population, or the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations’ organisations on the ground,” said Spain’s acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

    Similarly, the Foreign Ministry in Paris said, “We are not in favour of suspending aid that directly benefits the Palestinian people, and we made this clear to the European Commission yesterday,”

    Courtesy: Al-Jazeera News

  • Nawaz Sharif to come back via special flight

    Nawaz Sharif to come back via special flight

    Sources have confirmed that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif is all set to head back to the country via special flight named ‘Umeed Pakistan’. There is enough space for 150 individuals in this flight.

    Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia tomorrow from London and perform Umrah there. The stay will last for a week and will include meetings with significant Saudi leadership.

    He is expected to reach Dubai on either 17 or 18 of October. Several meetings are scheduled there as well and this stay will last for three days.

    This journey will hit the crescendo when the PML-N leader will reach Islamabad from Dubai on October 21, accompanied by party members and journalists. With a layover of half an hour in Islamabad, the whole entourage will take off for Lahore where Nawaz Sharif will address the procession in Minar-e-Pakistan.

  • No chance of Nawaz Sharif’s arrest, says Ishaq Dar

    No chance of Nawaz Sharif’s arrest, says Ishaq Dar

    Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former finance minister Ishaq Dar has said that there is no chance of the party supremo Nawaz Sharif getting arrested on his return to Pakistan.

    In an interview with Asma Sherazi, Ishaq Dar said that Nawaz Sharif will arrive in Saudi Arabia and perform Umrah. After performing Umrah, the PML-N chief will reach Pakistan on October 21.

    He continued, “There is no chance of arresting Nawaz Sharif on his return as he will take protected custody and transit bail on return”.

    The former finance minister also mentioned that it’s a standard judicial practice to face the courts.

    Dar also stated that PML-N will clearly get a clear majority in the next election, and PML-N’s agenda is the recovery of the economy.

    The former finance minister said that the truth commission on the characters of Project Imran is included in our agenda, “however we do not want to take any action that smells of revenge,” he added.

  • ECP reserves decision on PTI election symbol

    ECP reserves decision on PTI election symbol

    A five-member bench headed by chief election commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja heard a petition filed by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s (IPP) leader Auwn Chaudhry regarding the withdrawal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) election symbol.

    During the hearing, Aun Chaudhry’s lawyer said that PTI should not be given the bat symbol, on which the CEC said that PTI has already been given the bat symbol.

    The Election Commissioner also said that the case related to the PTI election symbol is already under hearing in the ECP, to which one of the petitioner’s lawyers asked to link their application with the same case.

    Later, the ECP reserved its decision regarding the election symbol of PTI.

  • ‘Imran Khan can’t talk to his sons’: Jailer

    ‘Imran Khan can’t talk to his sons’: Jailer

    The incarcerated chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has been denied permission to speak with his sons while in detention at Adiala Jail. The superintendent of the jail conveyed the decision to a special court during a hearing on Tuesday.

    Referring to security concerns and the specific nature of the cipher case under the Official Secrets Act, the jailer cited the two as the basis of his refusal to let Imran Khan speak to his sons.

    The presiding judge, Abual Hasnat, acknowledged the jail superintendent’s stance and requested the Adiala Jail’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) concerning telephone communication between inmates and their relatives. The case hearing has been adjourned until October 18, pending further review.
    It is pertinent to mention that Imran Khan is currently detained at Adiala Jail in connection with the cipher case, a transfer that was ordered by the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court after his initial incarceration at Attock Prison.

    Imran Khan and the PTI vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, are facing charges related to the alleged deliberate mishandling of a diplomatic cipher. The special court announced that PTI leaders will be indicted in the cipher case on October 17.

  • Sadaqat Ali Abbasi leaves PTI, holds Imran Khan responsible for May 9

    Sadaqat Ali Abbasi leaves PTI, holds Imran Khan responsible for May 9

    Former Member of Parliament, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, has announced that he is not part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) anymore in a controversial interview with Adil Shahzeb, aired on DAWN News. He held PTI Chairman Imran Khan responsible for the events of May 9, when PTI supporters attacked state installations.

    Abbasi said that during a meeting held on May 4, Imran Khan planned a rally for May 6 near military installations in Rawalpindi.

    “He wanted to send a message that if I’m arrested, then the party’s target would be military installations,” the former PTI leader said, adding that Khan repeatedly stressed that the PTI’s “actual war was against the establishment”.

    “I announce that I am leaving the PTI, the office of the PTI’s North Punjab president, and politics,” the former member of the National Assembly (MNA) said during the interview.

    “I also fear the law […] there are a lot of FIRs registered against me. I do have the pressure of facing cases in court. There is no other pressure on me,” the ex-PTI leader said.

    Sadaqat Abbasi had been “missing” for a month when he appeared at DAWN for the interview.

    Abbasi was seen in a video circulating on social media, breaking down in tears as he hugs his mother after returning home.

    He met his family when the anti-terrorism court approved his pre-arrest bail until October 10.

    “Due to the narrative that has been built […] I cannot continue as a PTI member. I have no plans of staying in politics anymore,” Abbasi said.

  • Parliament enacted legislation with ‘good intentions’, says Chief Justice Isa

    Parliament enacted legislation with ‘good intentions’, says Chief Justice Isa

    The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Qazi Faez Isa, while hearing petitions filed against the Practice and Procedure Act (2023), remarked that the Parliament has enacted the legislation with good intentions. “If a patient is dying, can a person with medical understanding allow the patient to die just because he is not a doctor? Parliament is told that the number game should be complete, but one person comes and makes Parliament a rubber stamp,” he said.

    A full court headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa is hearing petitions against the Practice and Procedure Act (2023) in the Supreme Court.

    During the hearing, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan remarked that Parliament cannot make rules or legislate to make rules; only the Supreme Court has the authority to change the rules within the scope of the existing law.

    The CJP said that the Constitution says that the Supreme Court is authorised to make its own rules of practice and procedure.

    Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan said that the Constitution already binds the Supreme Court to make rules in accordance with the Constitution and the law, while the Chief Justice of Pakistan, while talking to the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Abid Zubairi, said that time is short, asking what difference does it make to the option.

    Abid Zubairi said in his arguments that even if the words of making rules according to the constitution and law are removed from the constitution, it will not make a difference, to which CJP Isa said that it is fine; the answer has come.

    Abid Zubairi said that when the Supreme Court made the rules, they could not be changed by law, and the CJP said that the hearing has to be completed today, as he wanted to hear the lawyers.

  • Israel announces ‘complete siege’ on Gaza

    Israel announces ‘complete siege’ on Gaza

    Gaza Strip, an already besieged area, will now face a “total” blockade from Israel including a ban on food and water.

    On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated that authorities are to cut electricity and block food and fuel as part of “a complete siege” on Hamas-run Gaza which consists of a population of 2.3 million people — one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

    “We are putting a complete siege on Gaza … No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed,” Gallant said in a video statement.

    Israel-Hamas war

    On October 7, in an unexpected turn of events, Hamas fighters attacked Israeli bases and settlements.

    Hamas launched dozens of rockets into Israel as part of ‘Operation Al Aqsa Storm’ against illegal settlements in the occupied territory.

    From Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif gave a statement, stating, “Today the people are regaining their revolution,” he said in the recorded message, as he called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight and “expel the occupiers and demolish the walls.”

    “We must set the earth on fire under the feet of the occupiers,” Deif added.

    He also claimed to have fired over 5,000 rockets into Israel.

    On the contrary, Israel has declared a “state of readiness”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “We are at war and we will win”

    “Our enemy will pay the type of price which it has never known,” Netanyahu said in video statement.

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  • Notices issued to Bajwa and Faiz over ‘controversial’ interviews

    Notices issued to Bajwa and Faiz over ‘controversial’ interviews

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notices to former Army Chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa and former ISI Chief Lieutenant General (retired) Faiz Hameed over allegations of violating rules by giving interviews after their retirement, where they are accused of misrepresenting events.

    The notices were issued in response to a complaint filed by a private citizen named Atif Ali.

    The petition says that journalists Shahid Maitla and Javed Chaudhry conducted interviews with Bajwa and Faiz for the sake of viewership which had a “negative impact” on society. The petitioner said that he had been taken aback when he saw the articles as they could “pollute” society. It added that the garb of freedom of expression was used for a “criminal act”.

    The petition further alleges that events were misrepresented in the interviews and that the “criminal act” was conducted through connivance between the journalists and the generals.

    The petition says that the interviews portrayed a negative image of the institution and tried to create a rift between it and the people of Pakistan. Copies of the articles have also been attached to the petition.

    In addition to Gen. Bajwa and Lt. Gen. Hameed, notices have also been issued to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the Press Association of Pakistan. Two journalists, Shahid Maitla and Javed Chaudhry, who conducted the interviews in question, have also been summoned by the court.

    Islamabad High Court’s Chief Justice, Aamer Farooq, in a written order issued on Monday, expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for not responding to the petitioner’s repeated requests to file a complaint.