Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives of Pakistan, Ahsan Iqbal, became the victim of pickpocketing as he lost his mobile phone while he was attending the funeral of party leader Rana Afzaal Hussain who passed away on August 26.
The Minister went to Sheikhupura to attend the funeral prayers of the late brother of Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain.
Dunya News reported that Iqbal was offering the funeral prayers when his mobile was stolen.
The police have launched an investigation into the incident and are working to trace the minister’s phone.
A founding member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Abdul Samad Yaqoob, revealed on Mansoor Ali Khan’s August 25 podcast that former ISI chief Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed was Imran Khan’s choice for the next Army chief, calling it “an open secret.”
On August 12, Gen Faiz was taken into custody by the military over allegations of misuse of authority and court martial proceedings were started against him.
The former Prime Minister had repeatedly stated that he did not intend to appoint Gen Faiz as the next army chief even though the duo had good relations.
Yaqoob stated, “Would Khan have nominated Gen Asim Munir for the chief position if he were the Prime Minister? No, he would not have chosen him. It is an open secret.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for national unity and a firm stance against terrorism, emphasising the need to recognise and confront the nation’s enemies.
During a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad, he stressed that there is no room for weakness in addressing terrorism.
Sharif expressed the government’s willingness to engage with individuals in Balochistan who respect Pakistan’s constitution and flag, but warned that those who act as enemies while pretending to be allies will face no leniency.
He described recent terrorist attacks as deeply troubling and underscored the government’s resolve to overcome these challenges.
The Prime Minister highlighted that terrorist groups aim to disrupt the country’s progress and sabotage the development of Balochistan. He called for decisive action to eliminate these threats and ensure the security and stability of the nation.
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) will be appointed on seniority basis, rejecting rumors that Qazi Faez Isa might get an extension in his tenure.
Speaking on the Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, he said, “Seniority will be of paramount importance in appointing a new chief justice. The senior-most judge will be the chief justice.”
He also said that ordinary legislation cannot bypass the appointment of the CJP, as enshrined in Article 175-A(3) of the constitution.
Tarar further stated that the top judge will retire on October 25, 2024, and has “no interest” in getting an extension. Senior Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will replace Qazi Faez Isa as CJP.
Imran Khan, the founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), while talking to journalists on August 26 in Adiala Jail, warned that if something happens to his life, the Army Chief Gen Asim Munir and ISI Chief Gen Nadeem Anjum would be held responsible.
The former prime minister also claimed that he is being held in harsh conditions, saying, “My cell is hot as an oven, so I am sweating, yet I do not want any relief.”
He emphasised that he has no contact with the military establishment while stating that any future communication, if it were to occur, would be for the country’s rule and law.
Khan lashed out at the Interior Minister and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, calling him a “crony” who has destroyed the country’s sports.
He accused Naqvi of having $5 million worth of property in Dubai registered under his wife’s name while questioning his qualifications.
Khan also expressed concern about his wife, Bushra Bibi’s living conditions, stating that her room is infested with rats.
After the humiliating defeat in the first Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, former World Cup-winning captain and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan shared his thoughts.
While speaking to journalists in Adiala Jail, Khan pointed out that cricket is the only sport watched on national television and that Mohsin Naqvi has ruined cricket.
Khan said that powerful people are behind Mohsin Naqvi, adding that in the T20 World Cup, the national team did not rank among the top eight teams. He also mentioned that yesterday, the team lost to Bangladesh and set a new record.
He further claimed that Naqvi’s five-million-dollar property is registered in his wife’s name in Dubai, that he is involved in the wheat scandal, and that he conducted the country’s biggest fraudulent election, questioning his merit. Khan asserted that Naqvi has also destroyed cricket.
Mohsin Naqvi is currently the Chairman of the PCB and has also served as Federal Interior Minister.
A special central court of Lahore has ordered the blocking of former Chief Minister (CM) Punjab’s Chaudhary Parvez Elahi son Moonis Elahi’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) and passport, along with those of six other suspects, in an alleged money laundering case.
The court, presided over by judge Tanveer Ahmed Shaikh, also directed that the names of other proclaimed offenders (POs), including Farasat Ali Chatha, Imtiaz Ali Shah, Amir Sohail, and Aamir Fayyaz, be included in the ECL.
The court also ordered freezing Moonis’ bank account and assets, including 26 kanal acres in Kasur, a plot, and a house in Gulberg, Lahore.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) alleged that Parvez Elahi’s son and daughter-in-law committed money laundering through a peon, Qaiser Iqbal Bhatti, an employee of the Punjab Assembly.
FIA stated that the suspects were arrested after an unexplained transaction of millions of rupees in Bhatti and Mooni’s accounts.
A local court on Monday acquitted a man who was arrested for spreading misinformation that reportedly provoked riots in the UK earlier this month.
The decision came less than a week after Farhan Asif, a 32-year-old web developer and so-called journalist, was arrested in a raid on his home in Lahore. He was charged with cyberterrorism by Lahore police.
After a hearing on Monday (today), the judge ordered Farhan’s acquittal in the case. He told the judge that he deleted his social media post only six hours after realizing that it was not correct.
Rana Rizwan, a defence lawyer, told reporters that the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) told the judge that they had no evidence to prove that he was guilty of intentionally spreading misinformation.
Farhan Asif was taken into custody from Lahore for being involved in spreading fake news, which sparked far-right racist riots in the United Kingdom a few weeks ago after a fatal stabbing incident at a children’s dance class resulted in the death of three young girls in Southport, England.
Background
On August 8, BBC’s Marianna Spring reported about the involvement of a Lahore man in spreading misinformation regarding the Southport stabbing.
The BBC report was followed by an ITV report stating that Farhan Asif was the owner of the website which misquoted the name of the stabber as Ali Al-Shakati and declared him an immigrant from Syria, who had arrived in the UK on a boat. Later, a UK court announced that the name of the teenager charged with the murders was Axel Rudakubana, who turned out to be a British national.
ITV said that they couldn’t find out who is the real owner of the website but Farhan Asif has “a significant role in a network of news websites that have promoted falsehoods.”
Dawn’s sources in Pakistan said that the person identified in the ITV report was a freelancer working for Channel3Now, which collects crime-related news from the UK and the USA and republishes the stories for the sake of clicks and advertisements.
The BBC report also cracked down on people attached to Channel3Now and asserted that it was actually “a commercial operation attempting to aggregate crime news while making money on social media”. The analysis of the website also showed that all the the freelance writers were recruited from several countries, including Pakistan and India.
The BBC report elaborated that there are “more than 30” people in the US, UK, Pakistan and India who work for the site, which usually recruits freelancers.
According to ITV, Channel3Now regularly publishes sensational news stories under the garb of being an American-style TV channel.
However, BBC quoted Kevin as saying that Farhan Asif in particular was not involved in the false Southport story, which the site has publicly apologised for, and blamed there UK based team for that.
Wider disinformation network
Even though the report speculated that the website had links with Russia, it could not come up with a proof for that. Marianna Spring stated, “I did not find any evidence to substantiate claims that Channel3Now’s misinformation could be linked to the Russian state. [A] person claiming to be from Channel3Now‘s management told me that the publication of the false name “shouldn’t have happened, but it was an error, not intentional”.
Atika noted that there are chances of website be linked to Srivastava Group, an Indian company that ran a vast network of anti-Pakistan fake news websites, which was unearthed by the EU DisinfoLab in a 2019 investigation.
Veteran journalist Azaz Syed has revealed why Geo News and Dawn News were shut down in 2018, a tale full of revelations about what happened at the time.
Speaking on Absar Alam’s talk show, Mere Sawal, Syed said that he, along with other journalists, was briefed on the situation regarding the Geo News shutdown.
He said, “Former spymaster Faiz Hameed and former Director General Inter Service Public Relation DG (ISPR) Asif Ghafoor made four demands from the Geo News administration, one of which was to call former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif a thief.”
“The second demand was to highlight founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s campaign, and the third demand was not to criticise any remarks made by the judiciary,” he added.
Syed stated, “The fourth demand was to either expel some journalists from Geo News or bar them from saying anything critical.”
Former Chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Absar Alam said Geo News and Dawn News were shut down to “capture the policy.”
Responding to halt the distribution of The News and Jang Newspaper, Alam claimed, “These newspaper distributions were barred in the Cantonment and Defence Housing Society (DHA).”
While visiting the shrine of Ali Hajveri on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated that Pakistan can progress if “invisible hands” do not pull the rug from under the government.
Dar recalled that Pakistan became a nuclear power during Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s era, vowing that the government will make the country an economic power as well.
“(We) can work wonders and make the country great, treading fast on the path of progress provided the invisible hands do not again pull the legs (of the government),” stated the senior PML-N leader.
Ishaq Dar also stated that when PML-N was elected in 2013, the country’s economy and international standing were poor, but the PML-N government worked wonders in just four years.
According to Dar’s claim, Pakistan became the 24th economy in the world at the time, and it was soon to join the G-20 club when the Nawaz government was toppled.
He then criticised the PTI government, which, according to him, pushed the country to 47th rank economy-wise.
