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Category: Politics

  • Politics on Murree tragedy: Opposition criticises PTI for negligence, incompetence

    Politics on Murree tragedy: Opposition criticises PTI for negligence, incompetence

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, condemning the massive tragedy in Murree said, “What a massive tragedy Murree is turning out to be! Heartbroken to learn about the loss of so many precious lives.”

    Taking to Twitter the PMLN leader wrote, “My profound condolences & sympathies are with the bereaved families.”

    Criticising the government for its negligence and not ensuring the safety of the people, Shehbaz tweeted, “Where do you pin the responsibility of these deaths? Where was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with such an influx? Incompetence is fast turning into criminality.”

    “Prior arrangements & round the clock supervision were the normal SOPs in the past,” said Shehbaz.

    PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz paying her respects to the ones who have lost their lives said, “The tragic death of entire families in Murree, helpless in the snow, has shaken my heart.”

    “There is no point in cursing the government because this dead conscience government has died long ago,” further wrote Maryam.

    Reminding the government of its negligence, Maryam said, “The job of governments is not only to count tourists but also to make advance arrangements and security measures for them.”

    “These deaths are not due to snowfall, but due to government negligence,” tweeted Maryam.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted, “Heartbreaking, Govts surely need to be more vigilant about the flood of tourists on the Galiat routes in extreme weather.

    “Instead of seeking more tourists, Govt should have given a warning for jammed roads. This is the norm in perilous weather in all such destinations,” said Sherry.

    Meanwhile, the federal government has deployed the Pakistan Army and other civil-armed forces for rescue operations after 16-19 tourists died in their vehicles in Murree due to heavy snowfall in the hill station.

  • PM Khan likely to attend Beijing Olympics 2022 in China next month

    PM Khan likely to attend Beijing Olympics 2022 in China next month

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan could well be one of the leading dignitaries watching the Winter Olympics, which start in Beijing on February 4.

     The government of China and China Sports Authority are looking forward to Pakistan’s PM Khan’s attending the opening or the closing ceremony or attending during the event. The invite was sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board, reports The News.

     “Yes, we are in contact with the Chinese authorities and have received a communication. We have forwarded that to the foreign ministry through the official channel,” said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official.

    The United States, Britain, Australia, and Canada have announced a diplomatic boycott of the event, while North Korea was the latest country to pull out, citing the pandemic.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Khalid Mansoor, a couple of days back, had revealed the prime minister’s plan to visit Beijing early next month.

  • ‘If law can apply to Nawaz Sharif, why not Imran Niazi?’ Shehbaz demands action against PM

    ‘If law can apply to Nawaz Sharif, why not Imran Niazi?’ Shehbaz demands action against PM

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday demanded legal action and “daily court proceedings” against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    In a series of statements shared by the party’s official Twitter account, “A person who hides facts, steals, and lies, cannot hold constitutional, governmental or political office,” said Shehbaz.

    Shehbaz asked, “if the law can apply to a popular leader like Nawaz Sharif, why not Imran Niazi?”

    “If a Panama Papers JIT can be formed against Nawaz Sharif, and can be overseen by the honourable judges of the Supreme Court (SC), then why can this not be done for Imran Niazi?” he further questioned.

     “Under the Constitution of Pakistan and its laws, “no thief can be a prime minister. Imran Niazi, who has been proven a thief and a liar under the law, must resign,” he added.

     

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president demanded that a probe be initiated against PM Imran Khan and his case be heard on a daily basis — like against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

    He said equal treatment under the Constitution and law is a fundamental principle of Pakistan’s laws and one that must be fulfilled.

    “The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP’s) scrutiny committee has charged Imran Niazi and his party under the law,” he said.

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hid 53 bank accounts and funds worth millions of rupees from the ECP.

    The report of an ECP scrutiny committee probing the party’s funds revealed the following details.

    The committee’s report showed that the PTI had only disclosed 12 out of its 65 accounts, which are registered with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

  • PM Khan ‘stopped’ NAB chairman from attending parliamentary meeting that the chairman had called himself

    PM Khan ‘stopped’ NAB chairman from attending parliamentary meeting that the chairman had called himself

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan stopped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal from attending the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Thursday which was convened by the chairman himself, reports The News.

    The chairman had asked for an in-camera meeting to present the figures on the recovery from NAB proceedings and its utilisation. Instead of appearing, the chairman asked NAB Director-General (DG) to represent him which resulted in the dismissal of the meeting as a protest.

    It has also been reported that PM Khan also barred the chairman from appearing in any parliamentary committee meeting.

    Opposition members blasted the NAB chairman over his non-attendance and even asked PAC chairman Rana Tanveer to move a privilege motion against him in the National Assembly (NA).

    Tanveer argued that the chairman was accountable to the parliament and he would have to be accountable for the money he had spent during his tenure.

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Saleem Mandviwala said, “NAB is the worst department of Pakistan. It is destroying Pakistan’s economy.”

    This is not the first time that the NAB chairman has avoided such meetings. Last year in December, he appeared before the PAC for the first time but requested to convene an in-camera meeting to review the performance of his organisation.

  • Is ‘jahaz owner’ Jahangir Tareen hinting at joining PML-N?

    Is ‘jahaz owner’ Jahangir Tareen hinting at joining PML-N?

    The wedding ceremony of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Khawaja Saad Rafique’s daughter took place in Lahore which was attended by disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen.

    In an informal conversation with reporters on the occasion, Tareen said that Saad Rafique is a brother and we are like a family. “Friendship with PML-N is old and will continue like this,” said Tareen.

    When a reporter asked If Tareen’s plane could ever go towards the PML-N, Tareen responded by saying “Jahaz tou hur jagah ja sakta hai [The plane can go anywhere]”.

    Jahangir Tareen was all smiles when the reporter asked him about joining PML-N, to which PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq said that “whether it was Jahangir Tareen or some other PTI leader, everyone except Imran Khan are smiling.”

  • Twitter welcomes first female Supreme Court Judge of Pakistan

    Twitter welcomes first female Supreme Court Judge of Pakistan

    History has been made as a divided Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the nomination of the first woman judge to join the Supreme Court (SC).

    Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha A. Malik’s nomination was secured by a majority of five to four during a heated JCP session that lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours, reports Dawn.

    She may even have a chance to become the first woman to be Chief Justice (CJ) of Pakistan. If she is elevated following approval from an eight-member bipartisan parliamentary committee, Justice Malik will remain a judge of the SC until 2031.

    The justice gave her landmark judgment back in June, when she had declared virginity tests for examination of sexual assault survivors “illegal and against the Constitution of Pakistan”. She was called upon as an expert witness in family law cases conducted in England and Australia involving issues of child custody, divorce, women’s rights, and constitutional protection for women in Pakistan.

    Following the news, congratulations are in order and people have shared their happiness on Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1479122512785072129?s=20

  • Opposition confused? Bilawal plans February protest in Islamabad, Maulana in March

    Opposition confused? Bilawal plans February protest in Islamabad, Maulana in March

    The season of ‘the long march’ is back on in Pakistani politics. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday announced that he will lead a “long march” against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government from Karachi to Islamabad on February 27.

    Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Bilawal said that the nation wants to get rid of the “selected” government and a transparent election is the only solution.

    Bilawal lashed out at the government and said that their “intentions are clear to get it approved by force” in Parliament.

    Terming the “mini-budget” as an “anti-state bill”, the PPP chairman said that we will protest in front of the Parliament House on the day voting is held.

    Contrary to the PPP, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is determined to hold a long march on Pakistan Day, March 23.

    The Opposition alliance pledged to reach Islamabad on March 23 and warned the authorities against any attempt to use force to prevent the marchers from entering the federal capital. The announcement was made by Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, president of PDM, in December 2021.

    While talking to the media and PPP’s former alliance with the Opposition’s PDM, Bilawal said that PPP is not a part of PDM anymore.

    “Now it is up to them whether they resign from parliament or not,” he said, adding, “PDM has not consulted with us on its long march against PTI.”

    Reportedly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz is yet to decide whether she will be marching along with Maulana or not.

  • Factcheck: Sindh is not closing down schools, offices because of Covid

    Factcheck: Sindh is not closing down schools, offices because of Covid

    A notification circulating all over social media stating that schools and offices are being closed until January 31 is fake. The notice was allegedly issued by the provincial government. However, the spokesperson of the Sindh government, Murtaza Wahab has denied that the provincial government issued any notification on the lockdown and closure of schools.

    Murtaza Wahab also said previously, in a high-level meeting, that the provincial government does not want to take strict action and requested people to follow precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the virus.

    The emergence of cases related to the omicron variant of coronavirus have exceeded 50 percent in the province, especially in Karachi.

    Meanwhile, the Sindh Minister for Health, Dr Azra Pechuho said on Thursday that the lockdown could be imposed after assessing the cases of omicron variant which is increasing steadily day by day.

    She also revealed that 500 cases have been reported during the last 24 hours which shows a widespread increase of the new strain of coronavirus.

  • Door-to-door vaccination for women to start as Omicron spreads in Karachi

    Door-to-door vaccination for women to start as Omicron spreads in Karachi

    In view of the rapid spread of Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant in Karachi, the Sindh government has decided to deploy lady health workers (LHWs) and female vaccinators for door-to-door vaccination in the province. The government took the decision when it was discovered that most stay-at-home women are still unvaccinated, officials said on Thursday.

    “We have decided to send LHWs and female vaccinators to each and every house in Sindh to vaccinate people, especially women, against Covid-19 because most of the non-working women in Karachi, as well as other major cities and rural areas of Sindh, have been found to be unvaccinated,” MPA Qasim Soomro, Parliamentary Health secretary in the provincial assembly, told The News.

    Soomro ruled out any discussion within the government about tough measures and Covid-19-related curbs as they were placed during previous waves of the pandemic but called for an aggressive vaccination campaign to avoid harsh measures.

    “Vaccination of women against Covid-19 has largely been ignored by the heads of their families, especially those women who are housewives and don’t work in public and private sector offices and businesses. This section of the population is most affected due to Covid-19, especially the Omicron variant, which is targeting unvaccinated population very easily.”

    “Training of LHWs and female vaccinators is underway, and hopefully, they will be trained in vaccinating people by the end of this week. Door-to-door vaccination against Covbid-19 will hopefully commence by the start of next week.”

  • PM Khan says he hasn’t decided whether COAS Bajwa will get an extension in November

    PM Khan says he hasn’t decided whether COAS Bajwa will get an extension in November

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan during a one-on-one meeting with Dunya TV Islamabad Bureau Chief Khawar Ghumman, said that he had so far not thought about an extension in the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General (Gen) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    “The current year has just started and November is far away. Then why there is worry about extension in the tenure of the army chief,” said PM Khan.

    When asked about rumours of a possible deal between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the establishment to send Khan’s government packing and whether he felt threatened in any way, the PM said he personally was not under any kind of pressure. He added that he enjoyed the support of government allies and expressed the confidence that his government would complete its mandated five years.

    Terming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) defeat in the recent local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) “a big loss”, and when asked how the PTI planned to ensure electoral success in local government elections in Punjab, the prime minister showed confidence in Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Usman Buzdar and hoped that his party would have a better showing when polls were held in Punjab.

    Talking about his party’s quest for accountability, the PM said major Opposition figures had not yet been tried on corruption charges and still walked free because of weak prosecution.

    He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) take cases before the court but they were not being prosecuted.