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Category: Politics

  • KFC, Pizza Hut, Hyundai under fire in India for pro-Kashmir posts

    KFC, Pizza Hut, Hyundai under fire in India for pro-Kashmir posts

    Major Indian brands are facing calls for ban and boycott by Indian nationalists after the social media handles linked with the brands in Pakistan posted messages of solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

    Some of the major brands that are facing backlash include KFC, Pizza Hut and Hyundai.

    Have a look at the posts that resulted in a backlash:

    A screenshot of a 2021 post from KFC Pakistan expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir went viral on Indian social media.

    A screenshot of an Instagram post of Pizza Hut is also being widely shared. However, it is not clear if the post is from 2022.

    Similarly, a post by Hyundai Pakistan is also being shared by Indian nationalists calling for a ban on the company.

    After the backlash, and calls for boycott, Hyundai India, KFC India and Pizza Hut have issued statements.

    Pizza Hut also issued a statement saying “it does not condone, support or agree with the contents of a post circulating in social media”. 

  • 80 per cent of people want us to leave government alliance due to rising inflation: Faisal Sabzwari

    80 per cent of people want us to leave government alliance due to rising inflation: Faisal Sabzwari

    Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Senator Faisal Sabzwari while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Jashn-e-Cricket’, said that 80 per cent of people want them to leave the government alliance.

    “Due to rising inflation in the country, 80 per cent of people want us to leave the government alliance,” said Sabzwari.

    Faisal Sabzwari advised the incumbent government not to panic, adding that his party has not received any signal yet to leave the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while speaking on  Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’, said that the government is not worried about any motion and “we completely trust our allies and partners stand with the government”.

    “I’m sending a clear message to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that their meetings to depose the prime minister are nothing more than table talk,” said Qureshi.

    It is worth noting that the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met MQM-P delgation.

    Addressing a press conference along with MQM-P Deputy Convenor Amir Khan and other party members, Shehbaz said, “Today’s ally can become tomorrow’s rival.”

    Meanwhile, Amir Khan said, “The kind of problems people are facing because of the federal government in the provincial capital, we are facing the similar kind of torture and oppression in Sindh because of them.”

  • Faisal Vawda no more a Senator, ECP disqualifies in Dual Nationality Case

    Faisal Vawda no more a Senator, ECP disqualifies in Dual Nationality Case

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday disqualified Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Vawda as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) over his dual nationality at the time of contesting the NA election on a Karachi seat in the 2018 general elections.

    The commission said Vawda had submitted a “false affidavit” when submitting nomination papers.

    The ECP also declared him ineligible for holding the seat of a senator and ordered to withdraw the notification appointing him as senator.

    However, Vawda can approach the Supreme Court (SC) against the verdict, said the ECP.

    ECP had reserved the verdict on Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhel’s plea seeking Vawda’s disqualification on December 23, 2021.

    During the last hearing, Mandokhel and Vawda had appeared before an ECP bench. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja had asked Mandokhel whether he wanted to present more documents or give additional arguments.

    Mandokhel had said it was the 30th hearing of the case but he could not get the answers to his questions. The PPP leader had said, “ECP has been issuing warnings for the last one-and-a-half years.”

    Mandokhel was of the view that Faisal Vawda had held United States (US) nationality at the time of filing his election nomination papers. He said that the concerned residing officer (RO) was not punished as he had rejected his papers instead of disqualifying Vawda.

    The PPP leader said that Vawda had falsely declared in an oath to the ECP that he did not hold any foreign nationality. The PTI leader had concealed his dual nationality during the scrutiny of his nomination papers, said Mandokhel.

    Vawda’s counsel rejected the allegations, saying that his client had never applied for another country’s nationality. He said Vawda was born in the US and that his client had cancelled his American passport.

    After hearing the arguments of both sides, the ECP reserved its verdict in Vawda’s disqualification case.

    The News reported in January 2020 that Vawda was a dual national at the time of filing his nomination papers to the ECP to contest the 2018 general elections. Vawda submitted his nomination papers on June 11, 2018, which were approved by the election body a week later on June 18, the report said.

    However, the Vawda applied for the renunciation of his nationality with the US consulate at Karachi four days after his nomination papers were approved act on June 22, 2018, the report revealed.

  • Big win for women: Senate passes child custody bill, after mother, ‘nani’ will get custody

    Big win for women: Senate passes child custody bill, after mother, ‘nani’ will get custody

    The Senate passed three bills on Monday, including the Guardians and Wards (Amendment) Bill 2020. The bill gives mothers the right of custody of minors in case of separation between parents. The ‘real’ mother’s right to custody of her children is addressed in section 19-A, which has been added alongside sections 19-B through 19-G.

    PPP Senator Farooq H Naek introduced the bill in the upper house of Parliament. Despite the government’s reservations over the non-inclusion of the Council of Islamic Ideology’s recommendations in the proposed legislation, it was passed by a majority vote.

    Naek said the proposed amendment bill would ensure custody of male and female children to divorcee/widow mothers, up to the age of seven and 16 years respectively.

    According to the bill, “In absence of the real mother, or if she renounces her right or her right is legally held to have lapsed, the custody of her son less than seven years of age and of her daughter who has not attained the age of puberty or 16 years shall vest successively in the female relatives in the following order: maternal grandmother however so high in degree, paternal grandmother however so high in degree, full sister, uterine sister, consanguine sister, full sister’s daughter, uterine sister’s daughter, consanguine sister’s daughter, mother’s sister and father’s sister.”

    “When none of the women, eligible for custody under sections 19A and 19B, are available or willing to accept it or such a woman is disentitled to Hizanat, the male relatives shall then become eligible for the custody of the child in the following order: father, maternal grandfather however so high in degree, paternal grandfather however so high in degree, full brother, uterine brother, consanguine brother, full brother’s son, uterine brother’s son and consanguine brother’s son.”

    The bill from the Senate, will now go to the National Assembly for a vote to be passed into law.

  • ‘Today’s ally can become tomorrow’s rival,’ says Shehbaz as PML-N meets MQM-P delegation

    ‘Today’s ally can become tomorrow’s rival,’ says Shehbaz as PML-N meets MQM-P delegation

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P) delegation.

    Addressing a press conference along with MQM-P Deputy Convenor Amir Khan and other party members, Shehbaz said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is not concerned about the problems of the people but is only “concerned about the Opposition”.

    “Today’s ally can become tomorrow’s rival,” said Shehbaz, adding that the delegation discussed all issues highlighted during the meeting with their party leadership in Karachi.

    “Life has become hard for the people due to additional taxes, rising electricity prices, etc,” said Shehbaz.

    “The kind of problems people are facing because of the federal government in the provincial capital, we are facing the similar kind of torture and oppression in Sindh because of them,” said Amir Khan.

    “There are no two opinions about the devastating economic conditions of Pakistan,” said Amir, adding that the MQM-P also has reservations regarding the rising inflation.

    “Inflation has become unbearable and a solution needs to be found as soon as possible,” asserted Amir.

    It is pertinent to mention here that MQM-P is one of the allies of the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

  • ‘India should stop harassing journalists’: Human Rights Watch

    ‘India should stop harassing journalists’: Human Rights Watch

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released its report to address the unlawful arrest of journalists in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK). According to the report, so far at least 35 journalists in IoK have faced police interrogation, raids, threats, physical assault, or fabricated criminal cases for their reporting.

    The recent arrest of Fahad Shah, an editor-in-chief of a leading Kashmir-based news site The Kashmir Walla, has led to condemnation from several journalism organisations including United States (US)-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

    South Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, “Instead of ensuring justice for security force violations in Kashmir, the [Indian] government is more interested in silencing those who bring these abuses to light.”

    Ganguly also demanded Indian authorities in Kashmir to release Shah and all journalists, activists, and critics jailed on “politically motivated charges” and stop harassing them with draconian laws.

    Furthermore, HRW has stated a number of journalist names who are behind bars on baseless grounds. Last month, the police arrested another journalist at the Kashmir Walla.

    In September, the police raided the homes of four Kashmiri journalists and confiscated their phones and laptops. Not only this, the Indian authorities give threats to journalists with jail if their work criticises them and pressured them to self-censor, says the HRW report.

    It states that India has placed over 40 people, including 22 journalists, on lists to stop them from travelling abroad.

  • PM Khan, army chief reach Balochistan’s Naushki to spend a day with troops

    PM Khan, army chief reach Balochistan’s Naushki to spend a day with troops

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa arrived in Balochistan on Tuesday to pay tribute to the martyrs in Panjgur and Naushki.

    The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the army chief will spend the day with troops and also meet those who repulsed the attack on February 2.

    “COAS will be given [a] detailed update on [the] security situation in the area and operational preparedness of the formation to counter terrorist activities,” it said, adding that the army chief will also “meet troops who participated in repulsing [a] terrorist attack on Feb 2.”

    It was reported that PM Khan will visit Naushki where he will be briefed about the operation against terrorists. The PM will meet Balochistan chief minister and the governor in Quetta and will preside over a meeting on security issues.

    On Saturday, the security forces had completed the clearance operations, which were launched after terrorists attacked their camps in Panjgur and Nushki districts on Wednesday evening.

    At least 20 terrorists were killed during the operations while nine security personnel embraced martyrdom, the military’s media wing had added.

    In Naushki, the ISPR had said, nine terrorists were killed while four security forces personnel, including an officer, embraced shahadat during the “shootout with terrorists while repulsing the attack”. In Panjgur, the security forces had repulsed the terrorist attack after an intense exchange of fire during which some terrorists fled the area, it had added.

  • Zardari meets Chaudhry brothers to discuss no-confidence motion

    Zardari meets Chaudhry brothers to discuss no-confidence motion

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari met Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and the current Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to seek support from them regarding the no-confidence motion against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    According to Dawn , PML-Q agreed that primarily it had reservations with the government, but it could not become a part of any “political misadventure”.

    PML-Q also questioned the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders’ seriousness about a no-confidence motion and the numbers required in parliament to support it.

    However, it is expected that the PPP and PML-Q leadership will meet once again in the next few days, as per Geo News.

    PML-Q is a key ally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Centre and Punjab. Despite the Opposition approaching PML-Q for the no-confidence motion, the party has reassured its support to the ruling party.

    PPP and PML-Q meeting was held two days after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari attended a luncheon meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and other (PML-N) leaders, including Maryam Nawaz in Lahore.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is expected to meet Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) today (Tuesday).

  • Court dismisses petition against PM Khan’s marriage, terms it ‘absurd and derogatory’

    Court dismisses petition against PM Khan’s marriage, terms it ‘absurd and derogatory’

    The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Monday dismissed a petition seeking an order against the marriage of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on the basis of ten questions related to Islamic laws and constitutional provisions, reports Malik Asad for Dawn.

    A three-member FSC bench declared the petition as non-maintainable with an observation that the petition was “not filed in accordance with the Federal Shariat Court (Procedure) Rules 1981”.

    The court order mentioning the 10 questions asked by the petitioner stated that some questions were “absurd, derogatory and absolutely irrelevant”, while two questions that were related to Nikkah were “ambiguous, inconceivable and not understandable, rather [they] were not supposed to be framed at all.”

    The questions put forward in the petition were in relevance to Khula and the dissolution of marriage.

    The order stated that the petitioner had “not specified any specific provision of law being repugnant to the injunctions of Quran and Sunnah as required by the Constitution, as elaborated in the Federal Shariat Court (Procedure) Rules, 1981. Subse­quen­t­­ly, it dismissed the petition declaring it as non-maintainable”.

  • PM Khan says people have no better option than PTI, party set to launch election campaign

    PM Khan says people have no better option than PTI, party set to launch election campaign

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Monday said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will contest Punjab’s local bodies elections.

    While chairing the Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) meeting, the premier decided to speed up and mobilise people at the grassroots level.

    The premier has decided to hold public gatherings in different parts of the country to mobilise workers and voters of the ruling PTI for the upcoming local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [second phase] and in Punjab, expected to be held in May.

    PM Khan during the CEC meeting said that the people of Pakistan have “no better option than the PTI”. It is being reported that during the meeting, the distribution of tickets during the elections and considered recommendations for mayors in major cities was also discussed

    During the meeting, the PM said that the organisational structure of the party would be formed. “Our workers are a valuable asset to the party and the tickets will be distributed on the basis of merit.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that the two Opposition parties — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) — have united towards achieving their common goal of sending the government packing.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif hosted PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at his Lahore residence on Saturday, January 5, to discuss the present political situation.

    Speaking after the lunch, Shehbaz said, “Broken hearts can be united again. Both PPP and PML-N are united to take Prime Minister (PM), Imran Khan, out.”