Category: Politics

  • Jail reforms: Bakeries to be established in Punjab prisons

    Jail reforms: Bakeries to be established in Punjab prisons

    The Punjab care-taker government has decided to decision has been made to establish bakeries in prisons across Punjab to enroll the inmates in different courses.

    The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi.

    During the meeting, it was decided to initiate a program for setting up bakeries in prisons with the cooperation of volunteers.


    During the meeting, it was decided that in the initial phase, a bakery will be established in Lahore’s Camp Jail.

    According to the decisions made in the meeting, the duration of monthly telephone calls for prisoners has been increased to 300 minutes.

    Modern kitchens, laundry rooms, meeting rooms, and facilities will be built in 16 jails.


    Toyota and the Jail Department have also reached an agreement to provide technical courses to prisoners in 10 more jails.

    Chief Operating Officer of Toyota, Ahmed Khawar, and Inspector General of Prisons, Farooq Nazir, have signed the agreement.

    Under this agreement, prisoners in 10 additional jails in Punjab will undergo 16 Toyota courses.

    Upon completion of the courses lasting from 3 to 6 months, prisoners will be awarded certificates, and leniency may be granted in their sentences.

  • Police to include Imran Khan as accused in GHQ attack case

    The police have decided to include Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as an accused in the May 9 case of the attack on the General Headquarters’ (GHQ) gate and the office of a sensitive institution, Samaa has reported. According to sources, Chairman PTI will be named as an accused in light of the statements of the suspects under investigation.

    Sources say that the decision to nominate Imran Khan was taken after consulting legal experts.

    Cases of attacks on GHQ gate and buildings are registered at RA Bazar police station and Newtown police station.

    It should be noted that more than 100 accused have been arrested in the GHQ attack case; three female accused have been identified so far; one suspect has obtained bail from the court; and the case has been registered under the Terrorism Act.


    Former provincial minister Raja Basharat is also named as an accused in the case.

  • Modi accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism at SCO Summit

    Modi accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism at SCO Summit

    This year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit was hosted by India, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched thinly veiled accusations against Pakistan, saying “some countries” are “terror havens“.

    Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in attendance, along with other SCO member countries leaders, such as Xi Jingping and Vladimir Putin.

    The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organisation, which unites China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and, as of yesterday, Iran. It’s currently the world’s largest regional bloc in terms of geographic scope and population.

    Addressing the online summit, Dawn reports Modi to have said, “Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies, provide shelter to terrorists. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations. There should be no place for double standards on such serious matters.”

    India claims that a part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor passage passes through a ‘disputed’ region. Modi told leaders that “terrorism has become a major threat to regional and global peace. Dealing with this challenge requires decisive action. Regardless of its form or manifestation, we must unite in our fight against terrorism.”

    Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif responded in turn, saying that the SCO stands for observance of the UN principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and people’s right to self-determination, considered a reference to the Kashmir dispute.

    “UNSC resolutions offer us a workable framework for the resolution of longstanding disputes in the region,” Dawn reported Shehbaz to have said. “These must be addressed immediately and settled amicably before it is too late.”

    Kashmir has been a contentious point between the two countries since partition, but especially since India abolished Articles 370 and 35A in 2019. These articles were decades-old and provided a measure of autonomy to the disputed Muslim-majority region.

    In the earlier SCO summit in May, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto criticised India’s decision to scrap the special status of the disputed region of Kashmir, saying New Delhi’s unilateral move in 2019 had undermined the possibility of holding talks between the neighbours.

    India has also accused Pakistan’s military of backing Kashmiri rebels, a claim Islamabad has denied.

  • Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli airstrikes, raids in occupied Palestine

    Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli airstrikes, raids in occupied Palestine

    Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned raids and airstrikes by the Israeli armed forces in Jenin. Up to 10 Palestinians were killed and 50 were injured in the attacks.

    “Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the raids and airstrikes carried out by the Israeli occupation forces since yesterday in Jenin in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, which killed 10 Palestinians and injured some 50 others,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement, “This latest episode of violence against the occupied people of Palestine by the occupying power must end immediately.”

    The spokesman repeated Pakistan’s calls for the international community to raise its voice against these brutal and unlawful actions by the Israeli armed forces to ensure the protection of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people.

    Pakistan reasserted its strong and unwavering support for the justifiable struggle of the people of Palestine for the complete realisation of the basic human rights of freedom and self-determination.

  • Nationwide protests on Friday against Holy Quran desecration in Sweden

    Nationwide protests on Friday against Holy Quran desecration in Sweden

    The federal government has announced a nationwide protest on Friday, July 7, against the recent incident of dishonouring the Holy Book in Sweden.

    A man burned a copy of the Holy Quran publicly outside a mosque in the capital of Sweden. This hateful act of public burning in Stockholm has hurt the sentiments of Muslims all over the world.
    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided in a meeting on Tuesday to stage nationwide protests over the incident. He appealed to all the political parties and the nation to take part in the rallies.


    “Speaking with one voice, the whole nation will give a message to the evil minds,” said the premier. He added that the nation will observe the “Youm-e-Taqaddus Quran” on Friday.


    The prime minister has also decided to call a joint session of parliament to frame a national strategy.
    Earlier today, the United Nations Human Rights Council announced it would hold an urgent session to address Islamophobia and religious hatred at the request of Pakistan.

  • Chief Justice of Pakistan’s salary increased from Rs1.02 million to Rs1.2 million

    Chief Justice of Pakistan’s salary increased from Rs1.02 million to Rs1.2 million

    Acting President and Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani has issued an order, raising the monthly salary of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other judges of the Supreme Court. The salaries have been increased to 12 lacs 29 thousand 189 rupees and 11 lacs 61 thousand 163 rupees, respectively.

    The order, issued on July 3, states that the monthly salary of the Chief Justice of Pakistan would be 12 lakh 29 thousand 189 rupees and the other judges of the Supreme Court would take 11 lakh 61 thousand 163 rupees.

    According to a previous order issued last month by the President, the salary of the Chief Justice of Pakistan was 10 lakh, 24 thousand, 324 rupees, and the salaries of the other judges of the Supreme Court were 9 lakh, 67 thousand, 636 rupees.

    After the new order was issued by Sadiq Sanjrani, the previous order was cancelled.

  • Lahore-Canada flight turns back after hydraulic dysfunction

    Lahore-Canada flight turns back after hydraulic dysfunction

    A Pakistan International Airline (PIA) aircraft enroute to Canada has returned back to Pakistan midway due to hydraulic dysfunction during the trip, The News has reported.

    The technical problem was discovered when flight PK-797 was flying over Russia, forcing the plane to return to Allama Iqbal International Airport.

    The aircraft took off from Lahore at 4:30 a.m. on Monday and landed back at 1:30 p.m at the same airport.  

    According to the PIA spokesman, due to delays in repair, the passengers of the flight would be sent to Toronto on an alternative flight.

  • Terror activities remain a huge hurdle for peace in the region: Shehbaz at SCO Summit

    Terror activities remain a huge hurdle for peace in the region: Shehbaz at SCO Summit

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif advised India at the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday to not use terrorism for diplomatic point scoring. The Premier emphasized that terror activities remain a huge hurdle for peace in the region.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the current chair of the SCO, invited Shehbaz Sharif to attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

    The PM noted that all the members of the SCO have shared interests in maintaining peace and economic stability in the region.

    “The hydra-headed monster of terrorism and extremism, whether committed by individuals, societies, or states, must be fought with full vigour and conviction,” the premier said.

    Earlier, Narendra Modi said that the SCO should stand together to fight terrorism and condemn the countries that support it. He also added that Afghan soil should not be used to destabilise the peace and stability of the neighbourhood.

  • Imran Khan gets relief from Islamabad High Court in Toshakhana case

    Imran Khan gets relief from Islamabad High Court in Toshakhana case

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday declared the Toshakhana case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, Imran Khan, inadmissible.

    Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, Justice Aamer Farooq, announced the verdict while accepting Imran Khan’s plea against the trial court’s decision.

    The court has ordered the trial court to reconsider the arguments presented by Khan’s lawyer. IHC has also ordered the trial court to take a decision on Imran Khan’s plea within seven days.

    It is worth mentioning that investigations are underway against Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), where he will today appear before the NAB inspection team in Islamabad.


  • Nawaz Sharif will be our next candidate for PM: Ishaq Dar

    Nawaz Sharif will be our next candidate for PM: Ishaq Dar

    Financial Minister Ishaq Dar has said on Monday that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) head, Nawaz Sharif, will be the party’s next candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming general elections.

    While speaking on Geo News’ programme Aaj Shahzaib Khanzada Kay Sath, Dar said that Nawaz Sharif is in London for medical treatment and will return to his home country after the completion of the same.

    He also said that now there is no hurdle for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to participate in the upcoming elections after parliament recently passed an amended election law that limits the disqualification period to a maximum of five years.

    Dar gave his statement a day after Nawaz said that inflation will be wiped out in the country if the PML-N won the upcoming elections, adding that his party will resolve all the problems in the country.

    Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz arrived in the United Arab Emirates for Eid, and held meetings with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) top leaders, including Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto.