Current Final

Category: Politics

  • ‘Will issue visa within 24 hours and pay for Nawaz Sharif’s ticket’: Sheikh Rasheed

    ‘Will issue visa within 24 hours and pay for Nawaz Sharif’s ticket’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Sunday said that if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif wants to return to Pakistan, he will issue a “visa” to him within 24 hours and will also “pay for his air ticket”.

    The interior minister said that Nawaz had left the country citing medical reasons but “never visited a doctor” once he reached England.

    Answering a question related to the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, Rasheed said: “Your threats will not affect us in any way; you should look at your own conduct. No one else has been as corrupt as you, so you cannot hold us accountable for anything.”

    Rasheed went on to say, ” Both the Sharif and Zardari families, are corrupt, so Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will continue to fight against their corruption till his last breath”.

    Reacting to Sheikh Rasheed’s statement, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said that the mere mention of Nawaz Sharif’s possible return to Pakistan “has sent alarm bells ringing” for the government, adding that once the PML-N supremo returns, “Imran Niazi, Rasheed, and their hired spokespersons will find no place to hide.”

    “The fear of Nawaz Sharif’s return is not letting him [Imran Khan] sleep,” he said. “Those responsible for causing a tsunami of inflation, incompetence, and corruption are screaming [out of fear now]. They can do whatever they want, but they will eventually have to leave.”

    “We have only one message for Imran Niazi and that is ‘bas aap ne ghabrana naheen hai’ (you must not worry),” said Sanaullah.

  • ‘She would have been a grandmother for the first time’: Bakhtawar, Bilawal remember mother

    ‘She would have been a grandmother for the first time’: Bakhtawar, Bilawal remember mother

    The 14th death anniversary of Benzair Bhutto Shaheed is being observed today. Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Billwal Bhutto and Bakhtawar Bhutto took to social media to remember their mother.

    Bilawal shared a picture of his mother and wrote, “Remember, remember, the 27th of December.”

    Bakhtawar re-shared Bilawal’s post and wrote, “Our mother Shaheed Benazir Bhutto missed more now than I did when I got my grades for college or whilst graduating, even when I was planning my wedding, marriage ceremony, months of pregnancy- now with my newborn – she would have been a grandmother for the first time this year.”

    Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007. She was elected as prime minister of Pakistan twice. She was the first woman to lead a Muslim country.

  • No transport for women travelling without hijab, male relative: Taliban

    Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership has announced that women who seek to travel long distances should not be offered transport if they are not wearing hijab and are not accompanied by a close male relative, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

    The guidance was issued on Sunday by the country’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The ministry spokesman Sadeq Akif Muhajir told AFP: “Women travelling for more than 72 kilometers (km) should not be offered a ride if they are not accompanied by a close family member.”

    Previously, the government had also called on women TV journalists to wear hijabs while presenting. They also directed people to stop playing music in their vehicles.

    Taliban also banned women from acting in dramas due to which they received immense backlash.

    Since August, the Taliban have been imposing severe restrictions for women in the country despite promising the fulfillment of their rights.

    However, activists hope that the Taliban’s battle to gain international recognition and get aid flowing back into Afghanistan will lead to them making concessions to women.

  • ‘Nawaz Sharif satisfied with script’: Is Nawaz Sharif coming back to Pakistan in 2022?

    ‘Nawaz Sharif satisfied with script’: Is Nawaz Sharif coming back to Pakistan in 2022?

    Speculations are rife that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif is returning to Pakistan.

    Senior journalist Saleem Safi took to Twitter and hinted at Nawaz Sharif’s return from London. Safi tweeted, “Mian Nawaz Sharif is planning to come back to Pakistan in January. According to the plan, he will go to jail on his return. Then he will appeal the courts for relief and removal of previous sentences.”

    “The transfer of DG NAB Lahore is linked to this chain of events while Nawaz Sharif is satisfied with the script,” tweeted Safi.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, without taking any names, took a jibe at the return of Nawaz.

    The minister tweeted, “Those who wait for deals to return home will always be dwarfs in politics.”

    “The PML-N should get ready to polish the boots, but the only difference is no one is putting the foot forward to get the boots polished,” tweeted Fawad.

    Fawad further said, “You are a reminder of the dark age of Pakistan. The direction of the winds is not on your side anymore. When there is light, the darkness disappears and this is what happened in Pakistan.”

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Shahbaz Gill tweeted, “Nawaz Sharif’s visa extension in the United Kingdom (UK) has been rejected – currently on appeal but he knows visa will be rejected and he will be deported. This is being presented as a political decision – cowards are never brave.”

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan during a meeting of the party spokespersons held in Islamabad on Friday questioned how a plan could be hatched to bring PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif back to the country.

    Talking about the Opposition parties, the premier said there have been rumours of ending former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s sentence. “How can the sentence of a convicted person be overturned?”

    The premier recalled that the court had disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Leaks case, and to date, he was unable to provide a money trail for his assets.

  • PM Khan lashes out at plan to make a ‘convicted person’ prime minister

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan during a meeting of the party spokespersons held in Islamabad, questioned how a plan could be hatched to bring Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif back to the country.

    Talking about the Opposition parties, the premier said there have been rumours of ending former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s sentence. “How can the sentence of a convicted person be overturned?”

    The premier recalled that the court had disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Leaks case, and to date, he was unable to provide a money trail for his assets.

    “How can a convicted person become the prime minister after having his sentence revoked?” he questioned, according to sources privy to the matter.

    The PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, while addressing a conference with party workers and leaders, yet again hinted at coming back to Pakistan and said, “Thank you all very much, see you soon in Pakistan.”

    Senior PML-N party leaders have also hinted at the same stance as that of their leader Nawaz Sharif.

    The PML-N supremo, who was diagnosed with an immune system disorder, left Pakistan for London in November 2019.

  • No difference between us and them’: PM Khan dissolves all PTI organisations

    No difference between us and them’: PM Khan dissolves all PTI organisations

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Friday announced that after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a huge setback in the first phase of the recently held local government (LG) elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the party has decided to dissolve its organisational structure.

    During the meeting of the party spokespersons, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was dissatisfied with the party’s performance in KP local body polls.

    “But the way tickets were awarded […] PTI does not believe in dynastic politics. PM Imran has never let his personal relations affect his mission,” informed Fawad, while addressing the media.

    Criticising how tickets were distributed, PM Khan said that candidates should be awarded party tickets on merit, which is the opposite of what happened in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    “If that culture seeps into the PTI, there will be no difference between us and them,” said the premier.

    The prime minister — after consulting with the party leadership — has decided to dissolve all organisations from the centre to the tehsils, Fawad said. “Chief organisers and all office bearers have been removed from their positions,” he said.

    “It has also been decided that the local leadership will not award party tickets when it comes to their relatives. A special committee will be formed where the case will be forwarded and it will decide whether or not to award the ticket.”

    Earlier, PM Imran Khan directed the Punjab government and PTI leadership to begin homework for the upcoming local government elections in the province, adding that he would personally oversee the preparations.

    “The government and party leadership should strictly select candidates on merit and avoid dynastic politics, which was exposed after causing damage to the party in KP,” said PM Khan.

    “The mistakes made in KP must not be repeated in Punjab,” he stressed. With candidates selected on merit, PM Khan said, the PTI would give a tough time to its opponents in the local government elections in Punjab.

  • President, PM extend their wishes to the Christian community on Christmas

    President, PM extend their wishes to the Christian community on Christmas

    President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have greeted the christian community on the occasion of Christmas.

    President and Prime Minister in separate messages, have assured that the government will continue to safeguard rights and privileges of all minorities living in the country, Radio Pakistan has reported.

    They also commended sincere and invaluable services rendered by the Christian community in the fields of defence, education, health as well as economic development of the country.

    They said that the government will empower the minorities to use their abilities for national development

  • PTI MNAs call for Hammad Azhar’s resignation, threaten to protest in NA

    PTI MNAs call for Hammad Azhar’s resignation, threaten to protest in NA

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Shakoor Shad has reportedly demanded Minister of Energy Hammad Azhar’s resignation over the gas crisis in Karachi.

    Shad said, “For the rights of Lyari people, I will protest in National Assembly (NA).” Apart from Azhar’s, he has also demanded the resignation of the Managing Director (MD) of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

    Another PTI’s MNA Captain (R) Jamil Ahmed Khan has threatened to protest in the House. He has written a letter to the federal minister that people from his constituency (Malir) are not happy because of the gas shortage.

    Prior to this, PTI’s Aftab Siddiqui also wrote a letter to the administration that Azhar’s behavior is discreditable and disclosed that the minister doesn’t even respond to messages. He warned that PTI can lose by-elections in Karachi as they did in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    On the other hand, Hammad said on Friday that he is aware of the gas crisis in Karachi but refused to accept any responsibility and blamed the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) restraining order.

    The provincial court restrained the Ministry and Sui Gas companies from giving any effect to the government’s notification of suspending gas supply to non-export general industries.

    In a press conference, Azhar said that for the past several years, the system has faced gas shortage in the winter season, while demand increases 3-5 times.

    While addressing the gas crisis in the country, the federal minister admitted that, “The government could not provide the fuel source through expensive imports beyond a limit and that the system has faced depletion of output with a 9 per cent reduction each year.”

    Azhar added that imported Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), which Pakistan has increasingly relied on in recent years, has become “extremely expensive”.

    “There is a stay on the provision of gas to priority areas. In the next hearing on December 30, we will bring it up,” he stated.

    Moreover, the minister assured, “SSGC and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) teams are working day and night to improve gas management despite rising demand and yearly decline in gas reserves.”

    SSGC has said that it currently faces shortages of around 250 to 260 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd), with demand in winter rising to 1,250 mmcfd.

    Due to the immense shortage, residents are forced to buy cylinders for regular chores not only in Karachi but all over Pakistan.

  • Putin says insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not artistic freedom

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) doesn’t count as an expression of artistic freedom. Putin made a bold plea for religious freedom and against the gross neglect of human rights. Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at people hurting the feelings of Muslims.

    Insults to the Prophet (PBUH) are a “violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam,”, Putin said on Thursday during his annual news conference, Russian News Agency TASS reported. 

    Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned placing Nazi photos that praised the Immortal Regiment of Russians.

    While admiring essence of freedom, nobody has the right to violate freedom of others, said Putin.

    Previously, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also called out Islamophobia.

    The premier said that the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy has recognised as an emerging threat, as it increases the tendency of right-wing, xenophobic, and violent nationalists, extremists, and terrorist groups to target Muslims.

    “We hope the Secretary-General’s report will focus on these new threats of terrorism posed by Islamophobes and right-wing extremists,” the prime minister said.

    “I call on the Secretary-General to convene a global dialogue on countering the rise of Islamophobia. Our parallel efforts, at the same time, should be to promote interfaith harmony, and they should continue,” he added.

  • ‘Will see you soon in Pak’: Nawaz Sharif hints yet again at coming back

    ‘Will see you soon in Pak’: Nawaz Sharif hints yet again at coming back

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has hinted at coming back to Pakistan.

    The PML-N leader while addressing a conference with party workers and leaders said, “Thank you all very much, see you soon in Pakistan.”

    Senior party leaders have hinted at the same stance as that of their leader Nawaz Sharif. Former Speaker National Assembly (NA) Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday said that Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan soon.

    Ayaz Sadiq said that the opponents of PML-N are afraid that Shehbaz Sharif might not leave for London. He went on to say that he has not seen any man more cowardly than PM Imran Khan in politics.

    He mentioned that the premier’s ‘good governance’ has turned into bad governance while Nawaz Sharif has left all his matters to Allah.

    PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah while talking to the media said, “The decision of Nawaz Sharif’s return before the election will be his own and he will come back whenever he wants.”

    “The party wants Nawaz Sharif to be assured of justice and the party has decided that he should not return unless he is assured of justice,” said Rana Sanaullah.