Current Final

Category: Politics

  • ‘Ban Aurat March’: Religious Affairs Minister tells PM Khan to allow no one ‘to mock Islamic rituals’

    ‘Ban Aurat March’: Religious Affairs Minister tells PM Khan to allow no one ‘to mock Islamic rituals’

    Federal Minister for Religious and Minority Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri has written a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asking to put a ban on the Aurat March.

    Qadri, in a letter to the premier, wrote that March 8 should be observed as “International Hijaab Day” rather than Aurat March.

    The federal minister further stated that no one should be permitted to mock Islamic rituals, values, or the wearing of Hijaab on Women’s Day by organising Aurat March or any other event.

    It is pertinent to mention here that every year on March 8, the world observes “Women’s Day” while women activists and other organisations in Pakistan refer to this day as Aurat March.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman, taking to Twitter and sharing the letter from the federal minister to the PM Khan regarding the ban of Aurat March, questioned: “What will you prove by banning Aurat March?”

    “International Women’s Day is named after women of all classes. International Women’s Day aims to raise awareness in the society against gender stereotypes and prejudices against women,” said the PPP leader.

    “You are conspiring to deprive women of their freedom and rights on International Women’s Day,” tweeted Rehman.

  • Minister for Religious Affairs requests PM Khan that Pakistan observe Hijab Day on March 8

    Minister for Religious Affairs requests PM Khan that Pakistan observe Hijab Day on March 8

    Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has reportedly written a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and proposed to observe International Hijab Day on March 8 which is also celebrated as International Women’s Day, reports Jang.

    The minister also sent a copy of his letter to President Dr Arif Alvi.

    The letter states that Hijab Day would draw the world’s attention towards the discrimination happening against Muslim women in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK) and India.

    On the occasion of March 8, several women’s rights organisations organise Aurat March in form of rallies across the country to talk about the issues faced by women in the communities of Pakistan.

  • ‘Overseas Pakistanis ki maujain’: Cabinet approves separate judicial system for expats

    ‘Overseas Pakistanis ki maujain’: Cabinet approves separate judicial system for expats

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has approved a separate judicial system for Overseas Pakistanis.

    Fawad shared that the cabinet has approved the formulation of a separate judicial system for the expats for summary trial.

    The minister further said that the implementation of the laws will come in accordance with PM Khan’s vision to facilitate overseas Pakistanis, who are a precious asset of the country.

    The federal minister further revealed that a similar judicial system will also be established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, where PTI is in power.

    Fawad said that the administrative issues of courts should be dealt with in line with the view of the government.

    “Pakistan is facing an administrative crisis due to stay orders given by the courts,” said Fawad, adding that lawsuits are “cheaper in Pakistan than in the world”.

  • Court reserves decision on PTI’s Faisal Vawda’s appeal against lifetime disqualification

    Court reserves decision on PTI’s Faisal Vawda’s appeal against lifetime disqualification

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its decision on the maintainability of an application filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Faisal Vawda against his lifetime disqualification from parliament, reports Dawn.

    Last week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Vawda as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and ordered him to withdraw the notification appointing him as senator for concealing his dual nationality.

    Later, the PTI leader approached the IHC. In his appeal, he stated that Section 8C of the Elections Act, 2017 allowed the ECP to conduct an election but did not empower it to disqualify a candidate. According to him, the commission was directed by the court to “probe the issue of falsity or otherwise of the affidavit expeditiously as per a judgment of the Supreme Court (SC)”.

    The commission said Vawda had submitted a “false affidavit” when submitting nomination papers. However, Vawda’s lawyer, Wasim Sajjad argued in the court that his client [Vawda] did not submit a false affidavit.

    Sajjad maintained that Vawda cancelled his United States (US) passport and acquired a certificate from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and said that he [Vawda] is only a Pakistani citizen.

    Vawda secured the National Assembly seat (NA-249) in July 2018 and got elected as a Senator last year.

    As per the commission, Vawda can approach the Supreme Court (SC) against its verdict.

  • Gun blazing Journalist Mohsin Baig attacks FIA officials, resists arrest over remarks on PTI’s Murad Saeed

    Gun blazing Journalist Mohsin Baig attacks FIA officials, resists arrest over remarks on PTI’s Murad Saeed

    The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing and the police arrested Daily Jinnah and Online news agency Editor Mohsin Jamil Baig on Wednesday.

    According to details, the FIA Cybercrime wing raided the journalist’s house in the federal capital along with the police and took him into custody, confirmed Baig’s son.

    Baig’s son told Geo News that FIA officials in plainclothes came to the house earlier today and arrested his father.

    “Initially, we thought that they (FIA personnel) are thieves and opened fire in the air but later they introduce themselves as law enforcers. We also asked them to show arrest warrants but they didn’t have any. Meanwhile, a police party also came to our house.”

    It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued a show-cause notice to News One for airing “derogatory/demeaning remarks” about federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed “without any editorial check” in a programme, ‘G for Gharidah’. Baig was part of the panelists on the show.

    The panelists were discussing the premier’s awarding of certificates to the top ten ministries over their performance in which Saeed’s ministry was awarded the first rank.

    Baig is blamed for initiating a debate on a television show with obscene references towards Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Murad Saeed.

    Anchorperson Gharida Farooqi asked the panelists on her show: “The Prime Minister seems satisfied with Murad Saeed. He is in the top position, what could be the reason?”

    Analyst Mohsin Baig responded, “The reason [for Murad Saeed being at the top place] is written in Reham Khan’s book. I don’t really know about the projects.”

    Meanwhile, it is being reported that Mohsin Baig was arrested after Murad Saeed filed a complaint against him.

    Renowned journalist Hamid Mir shared pictures of Baig’s house in the morning when the police and FIA officials surrounded his home in Islamabad, adding that Baig’s “arrest is a sign of weakness not strength of @ImranKhanPTI”.

    Journalist Hamza Salam tweeted, “Without any warrants or due cause, former PTI supporter #MohsinBaig has been arrested by FIA Cyber Crime reflecting the panic of the government in the wake of criticism.”

    Journalist Munizae Jahangir said, “We condemn the government for using law enforcement agencies to attack journalists in this manner.”

  • PPP announces party’s long march schedule towards the capital

    PPP announces party’s long march schedule towards the capital

    Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) on Tuesday announced the schedule of the party’s long march, which is set to take place on February 27.

    PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will start the long march from Karachi and will reach the capital in 10 days.

    According to the schedule, the long march will start from Karachi’s Mazar-e-Quaid on February 27.

    The marchers’ will reach Multan on March 3, where they will be hosted by former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

    The march will reach Lahore on March 6 . The last stop of the march will be Islamabad on March 8.

    The PPP, however, has not disclosed the final venue where the participants will stay after reaching the capital from all over the country.

    PPP office-bearer, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that the leadership would decide the duration of the stay in Islamabad after seeing the response of the masses and assessing the situation. However, he said, many party leaders believed that the past history showed that indefinite sit-ins staged by political parties had never remained successful.

  • Govt drops petrol bomb, average car’s 35 litres now costs Rs 5,600 per litre

    Govt drops petrol bomb, average car’s 35 litres now costs Rs 5,600 per litre

    The government has increased the price of petrol by Rs12.03/litre, diesel Rs9.53/litre, kerosene Rs10.08/litre and light diesel oil (LDO) by 9.43/litre. The new rates will be effective from today (February 16) and will be revised at the end of the month.

    As per the press release issued by the Government of Pakistan’s Finance Division, the prime minister has considered the recommendation to increase the prices of petroleum products in line with changes in the international oil prices.

    The previous price of petrol was Rs147.83 per litre.

    According to Reuters, oil prices jumped to a seven-year high on Monday when the United States (US) warned that Russia could soon invade Ukraine.

    Russia is one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, and fears that Russia could invade Ukraine have driven the rally in oil closer to $100 per barrel, a level not seen since 2014.

    Last month, PM Imran Khan rejected the summary of increasing prices of petroleum products in the public interest.

  • Is Hamza Shehbaz going to be JKT’s new best friend? PML-N claims contact with Jahangir Tareen group

    Is Hamza Shehbaz going to be JKT’s new best friend? PML-N claims contact with Jahangir Tareen group

    Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz said: “We are in contact with everyone (including the Jahangir Khan Tareen group) as our sole target is removing Imran Khan.”

    When asked about Minis­ter for Water Resources Moonis Elahi’s statement that his party (Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid) stood with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Hamza said: “The Opposition is working on its plan to send the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government home and it will succeed.”

    The Jahangir Tareen group held a meeting at the residence of the chief minister’s former adviser, Awn Chaudry.

    In a conversation with the media after the meeting, disgruntled PTI leader Jahangir Tareen said that the political meeting was important in light of the current political situation in the country.

    Shedding light on the meeting, Tareen said that the current political situation and inflation came under discussion.

    “Politicians keep contact with each other, and these contacts will continue to exist,” he added. He also said that the politicians would consult each other on the country’s situation.

    Talking about the no-confidence motion, Tareen said: “No discussions regarding the no-trust motion took place as it’s too early to talk about it.”

  • TV host Iqrar-ul-Hassan accuses Intelligence Bureau of torturing him

    TV host Iqrar-ul-Hassan accuses Intelligence Bureau of torturing him

    Television host and journalist Syed Iqrar-ul-Hassan on Tuesday accused officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of detaining him, members of his team, and subjecting them to extreme torture.

    Pictures of Hassan in bloodied, torn-up clothes, receiving medical treatment on a hospital bed were shared on Twitter. Later, journalist Waseem Badami shared pictures and videos of him visiting Hassan at the hospital.

    Talking about the incident, Iqrar said that he and his team members were “stripped naked, blindfolded and tortured for exposing the corruption of an IB inspector”. He alleged that IB officials also shot videos of him after stripping him and his team members naked.

    Speaking with ARY News, a channel where he works and hosts his show TV programme  ‘Sar-e-Aam’, Iqrar said that an officer of IB was taking bribe at the gate of the agency’s office and “we tried to report him to the high-ups, but senior IB officer Rizwan Shah manhandled the ‘Sar-e-Aam’ team and kept beating us”.

    “We were treated as a mole working for a foreign country,” he added.

    Hassan claimed he and his team were held hostage for more than three hours. “I got almost 8-10 stitches on my head due to the torture”.

    He said a few members of his team were even given electric shocks to “sensitive” body parts. “I want to bring [to light] the video we shot at the IB office, but I learned that it has been discarded by the agency officials.”

    Following the incident, Deputy Director General IB Iftikhar Nabi Tunio issued a notification suspending five officials “for mistreatment of ARY News team and mishandling the situation”, reports Dawn.

    The suspended officers were Syed Mohiuddin Rizwan (Director, BPS-19), Mehmoob Ali (stenotypist), Inam Ali (stenotypist), Rajab Ali (sub-inspector) and Khawar.

    Hassan responded to the development, saying: “I am thankful to the federal government for taking prompt action and suspending five officers involved in the incident.”

  • PM Khan says his five-year term will be successful if he ends poverty

    PM Khan says his five-year term will be successful if he ends poverty

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday launched Raast person-to-person payment system for instant digital transactions.

    PM Khan, while addressing the audience, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) got a second chance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) because the party ended poverty in the province.

    “After five years, we were given a chance again in a province which provides a second chance to no one. A report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) suggested that KP ended poverty the fastest,” said the premier, adding that we were given votes again because we ended poverty.

    “I will consider myself successful by the end of 2023 when my tenure is evaluated if I have ended poverty and lifted the poor,” said PM Khan.

    Sharing features of Raast, the premier said it would create ease for the common man, especially those who were afraid of going to banks because now they would be able to transfer money instantly through their mobile phones.

    In addition, the digital payment system would bring people into the formal economy, he said. “A country progresses when the saving rate increases, we have amongst the lowest,” he said, adding that people would have to become part of the formal economy if the country was to progress and the tax to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio would have to be increased.

    PM Imran said the government was reaching more people to bring them into the tax net, warning defaulters, “We are about to reach you because we are getting data very quickly.”

    Raast is part of Prime Minister Imran’s Digital Pakistan vision to include the poor segments of society in the formal economy. It has been developed by the SBP in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Karandaaz, Pakistan.