Current Final

Category: Politics

  • UN Security Council condemns ‘heinous and cowardly’ terrorist attack in Peshawar

    UN Security Council condemns ‘heinous and cowardly’ terrorist attack in Peshawar

    The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the “heinous and cowardly” terrorist attack in Peshawar at a mosque on Friday (March 4). The attack was claimed by the Islamic State-Khurasan (IS-K).

    The statement on Sunday said that the UNSC members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and the Pakistani government.

    “I condemn the horrific attack on a mosque in Pesh­awar during Friday prayers. My condolences to those who lost loved ones, and my solidarity with the people of Pakistan,” UN Secretary Gene­ral António Guterres tweeted on Friday.

  • Suspects involved in Peshawar blast identified: Sheikh Rasheed

    Suspects involved in Peshawar blast identified: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, in a video message, has revealed that all three suspects involved in the suicide blast inside an Imam Bargah in Peshawar have been identified by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police and investigation agencies.

    He said the police and agencies are closing in on the suspects and they would be arrested in the next two to three days.

    Earlier, the minister hinted at the involvement of foreign forces in the attack.

    A suicide bomb attack hit Peshawar resulting in 63 deaths on Friday.

    According to CCTV footage of the attack, a man dressed in a traditional shalwar kameez shot two policemen as he entered the mosque.

    AFP reported that the militant Islamic State group had claimed the suicide bombing. According to reports, the investigators are checking the biometric data of people who had recently entered Pakistan from Afghanistan.

  • British government calls off Pakistan’s visit to the UK over stance on Russia

    British government calls off Pakistan’s visit to the UK over stance on Russia

    The British government called off National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf’s United Kingdom (UK) visit on Friday without giving a reason, reports The News.

    According to a report, the visit was called off because of Pakistan’s policy towards the Russia and Ukraine war.

    Previously, the European Union (EU) ambassadors in Islamabad issued their reply to Pakistan’s neutral response after United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, saying that Pakistan should condemn Russia. In response, the spokesman for the Foreign Office (FO) Asim Iftikhar said, “We expressed concern over the statement because as I said that is not the way diplomacy should be practised, and I think they have realised.”

    While replying to a query that the NSA visit cancellation was linked to the expression of its reservations about the rejoinder to the EU envoys, Iftikhar termed it “baseless”.

    In the UNGA emergency session on Wednesday, Pakistan abstained from voting to censure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

  • Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani makes first public appearance

    Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani makes first public appearance

    Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also heads the feared Haqqani Network, was photographed openly for the first time Saturday at a passing-out parade for new Afghan police recruits.

    “For your satisfaction and for building your trust… I am appearing in the media in a public meeting with you,” he said in a speech at the parade.

    Before the Taliban’s return, Haqqani was the most senior of the three deputies to leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

    Haqqani heads a powerful subset of the Taliban blamed for some of the worst violence of the past 20 years.

    The Haqqani Network, founded in the 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani, was heavily supported by the CIA during the Mujahideen war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

    Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is believed to be in his 40s, is his son and succeeded him following his death in 2018.

    Sirajuddin was blamed for the deadly 2008 attack on Kabul’s Serena Hotel that killed six people, as well as at least one assassination attempt against former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

    He is reported to have been the target of several US drone strikes — in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and in the rugged terrain between them that is the heartland of the Haqqani Network.

    He was also credited as the author of a New York Times opinion piece in 2020 titled “What We, the Taliban, Want”, sparking controversy that the newspaper had given “terrorists” a public platform.

  • Pakistan finds EU diplomats’ letter to condemn Russia ‘unacceptable’

    Pakistan finds EU diplomats’ letter to condemn Russia ‘unacceptable’

    The Pakistan Foreign Office has taken a strong exception to a statement by European Union (EU) envoys on Pakistan’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine War in a weekly press briefing.

    A few days earlier, envoys of 22 countries — including EU member states — to Pakistan had jointly asked Pakistan to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the resolution which was brought in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) emergency session.

    “As heads of mission to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, we urge Pakistan to join us in condemning Russia’s actions,” said a joint statement signed by envoys from 22 countries.

    However, Pakistan abstained from voting to censure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

    A spokesperson of the Foreign Office, Asim Iftikhar, said that this showed an “unacceptable attitude” by EU diplomats.

    He said, “This attitude is unacceptable and Pakistan has conveyed its concern to the embassies.”

    He clarified that Pakistan pursued a clear-minded foreign policy and that the country wants balanced and broad-based relations with all countries, including the United States and Europe.

    He also stated that the Pakistan embassy in Ukraine is working to facilitate Pakistani nationals, including students, to evacuate them to secure places.

  • ‘I forgive you’ Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari hugs Samaa drone operator who accidentally injured Aseefa

    ‘I forgive you’ Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari hugs Samaa drone operator who accidentally injured Aseefa

    A drone camera hit PPP’s Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari in the face when she was standing on a container during PPP’s jalsa in Khanewal. The drone was being piloted by news channel Samaa TV’s crew.

     After the police arresting the crew, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto released the staff from police custody and called the operator and said ‘I forgive you’ and hugged him.

    SAMAA TV reported that TV drones are operated by remote controllers, but in the PPP march, the signal disconnected from the drone and the operator’s remote controller, which was left with a blank screen. The crew did not have control over the drone at that time.

    Bilawal confirmed that his sister was wounded after being hit by the drone.

  • ‘Pervaiz Elahi’s sherwani ready, he will soon take oath as CM Punjab’: PPP

    ‘Pervaiz Elahi’s sherwani ready, he will soon take oath as CM Punjab’: PPP

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has said that there is a big surprise in store for Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. PPP has revealed that Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi would become the chief minister of the province.

    Punjab PPP General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza said, “Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s sherwani (the dress traditionally worn by politicians on formal occasions) is ready. He will soon take oath as the Punjab chief minister. Just wait for the final announcement.”

    “The government’s allies are in contact with the PPP. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will soon be dented, like those claiming the government as theirs will not be with it,” said Murtaza.

    Murtaza also dared PM Khan to come into public space without protocol to know his ‘real popularity’ among the people of Punjab.

    The PPP general secretary further added that the future of Imran Khan was bleak, with his allies ready to give him ‘a big surprise’. The PTI was not a party, but a group of people who had gathered for their personal interests, he claimed.

  • ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Israel a “potential ally” of Riyadh, in an interview with a United States (US) monthly magazine, The Atlantic.

    “But we have to solve some issues before we get to that,” he added.

    “We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together,” the prince said. Talking about the Palestine-Israel issue, he said that Riyadh hopes that the conflict between them is solved.

    Interestingly, the prince also opened up about Iran, he said, “They are neighbours. Neighbours forever. We cannot get rid of them, and they can’t get rid of us.”

    “Hopefully, we can reach a position that’s good for both countries and is going to create a brighter future for them and Iran,” he added.

    About the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, the prince said that he was unfairly blamed for it.

    “Why would I do it?” he asked, saying that accusations that he ordered the killing “hurt me a lot”. He claimed that he never read a Khashoggi article in his life.

    “In any case, if that’s the way we did things, Khashoggi would not even be among the top 1,000 people on the list,” added the prince.

    The Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but the two countries are believed to have ties. In 2020, Israel’s then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia raised speculations.

    Under Mohammed bin Salman, a series of progressive developments have been made in Saudi Arabia, women were allowed to drive for the first time in 2018 in the Kingdom.

    In 2020, two Gulf countries— Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalised ties with Israel.

  • At least 57 dead and several injured in Peshawar’s mosque blast

    At least 57 dead and several injured in Peshawar’s mosque blast

    At least 57 people have lost their lives and more than 190 have been injured in an explosion that took place during Jumma (Friday) prayers at a mosque in Peshawar’s Kocha Risaldar, one of the densely populated areas in the city.

    The injured have been moved to the Lady Reading Hospital. Police teams are at the site of the explosion and have sealed off the area.

    According to Capital City Police Peshawar, policemen on duty were shot at by the attackers.

    Officials are yet to confirm the nature of the explosion.

    This is a developing story.

  • ‘Great people’: Indians praise Pakistan Embassy for assisting their students in evacuation from Ukraine

    Pakistan has won the hearts of Indian citizens after assisting their students in evacuation from Ukraine.

    Indian students were left alone as they could not find any Indian embassy officials who could help them evacuate safely from war zone areas.

    According to media reports, Indian nationals have been facing discrimination in Ukraine since India abstained from the right to vote against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    When Indian students reached Lviv, a town 70 kilometers away from Poland, they did not find any Indian embassy officials to facilitate them.

    A Sweden-based Professor, Ashok Swain, shared a video in which a student has described the current situation sitting with other Pakistani nationals in a dining hall of a building at the Romanian border.

    He said, “Only four of us are Indian. The rest of them are Pakistanis. You can see. There were many people when we reached Lviv yesterday from Kharkiv. There were no officials from Indian Embassy. We have tried many times to find them.”

    https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1498958498809454594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1498959548731830274%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samaaenglish.tv%2Fnews%2F2022%2F03%2Fpakistan-indians-students-ukraine-help%2F

    Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also confirmed the news about the facilitation given to Indian students from Pakistan Embassy in Ukraine.

    He said that Pakistani embassy officials helped Indian students in Ukraine on humanitarian grounds as they were in distress.

    Indian Twitter user, Gaurav Sabnis, appreciated the gesture shown by the Pakistani Embassy staff.

    He said, “First with that vandalized temple reconstruction and now this, the Pakistani government is showing that it has a much better grasp on the concept that doing the right thing can actually be good for your public image too. That you can ‘win’ with generosity.”

    Another Indian has shared his experience of hospitality when some Pakistanis helped him in the United Kingdom.