Current Final

Category: Politics

  • ‘He was a really innocent man’: Wife of Sri Lankan manager asks Pakistan for justice

    The wife of Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan national working in Pakistan who was lynched to death by a mob in Sialkot, has made a request to leaders of Pakistan and Sri Lanka to serve justice.

    “I got to know about the brutal murder of my husband from the news, later I saw this on the internet as well. He was a really innocent man” said the wife of Priyantha Kumara while talking to BBC.

    She continued by saying, “I request leaders of Sri Lanka and Pakistan to ensure justice for my husband and two children, by bringing the perpetrators to justice.”

    Priyantha Kumara was tortured to death on Friday by a mob after being accused of blasphemy. Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the incident and has said that justice will be served.


    Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed confidence in PM Imran Khan’s commitment to punishing all those involved.
    The police have arrested more than 100 people involved. Some of those involved gave interviews to local news channels, taking pride in the murder.

  • 99% of his body burnt, Postmortem report of Sri Lankan reveals how he was murdered

    99% of his body burnt, Postmortem report of Sri Lankan reveals how he was murdered

    The postmortem report of Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan national working in Pakistan, has revealed that he died as a result of injuries on his head and face. The report also revealed that 99 per cent of Kumara’s body has been burned. The report also shows that except for his feet, all the bones of his body had been broken.

    As per the report, Priyantha’s liver, stomach and kidney were also affected.

    Priyantha Kumara was tortured to death on Friday by a mob after being accused of blasphemy. Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the incident and has said that justice will be served.

    The police have arrested more than 100 people involved, and one of the main culprits, Farhan Idrees has been arrested. Farhan gave an interview to local news channels, taking pride in the murder he committed

  • ‘Aag laga de gaye’: PML-N Rana Sanaullah warns government

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said if the government tries to hold the upcoming elections using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) he will burn them.

    In a press conference on Friday, Sanaullah while talking about foreign loans stated, “Pakistan has gone bankrupt. The entire economy including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been handed over to International Monetary Fund (IMF).”

    He said, “Electronic machine par intekhaab hua toh machino ko polling station se nikal kar aag laga de gaye” (We will try every strategy against EVMs. If the election is held through this [EVMs], we will take out the machines from polling stations and set them on fire.)

    Talking about PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s leaked audio, he claimed that the government is exaggerating about the relevance of the audio.

    Prior to this, Rana talked about EVMs in a show and said if the government tries to force the elections through EVMs, the party would be left with no option but to follow the TLP way of protesting.

  • ‘If state doesn’t take action against those accused of blasphemy, such incidents will happen’: Maulana Fazl

    ‘If state doesn’t take action against those accused of blasphemy, such incidents will happen’: Maulana Fazl

    Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, holding the state responsible for the lynching incident in Sialkot, said, “If the state does not take action against the ones accused of blasphemy then such incidents will happen.”

    Taking his outrage to Twitter, Maulana wrote, “The incident in Sialkot is reprehensible and shameful. There should be a comprehensive investigation.”

    “In the past, there have been similar backlash against government-sponsored fugitives accused of blasphemy,” wrote Maulana.

    “Under the guise of such incidents, the international establishment conspires against the religious class and to make the Islamic provisions of the constitution controversial,” further tweeted Maulana.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal, disagreeing with Maulana Fazl tweeted, “Respectfully Maulana Sahib such incidents should be unconditionally condemned – Islam does not allow such fanaticism and illegal killings by mobs in any case.”

    “The nation expects the scholars to guide the nation in this matter,” tweeted Iqbal.

    Twitterati too reacted to Maulana’s statement.

  • Sindh lowers passing score to 50 per cent for medical admissions due to doctor shortage

    Sindh lowers passing score to 50 per cent for medical admissions due to doctor shortage

    The Sindh Cabinet has decided to lower the passing percentage in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) from 65 per cent to 50 per cent for the session of 2021-2022.

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah confirmed the news and said, “This decision would not only provide an opportunity to the provincial candidates to seek admission in medical and dental colleges/universities of Sindh but the seats which were going to be unfulfilled/vacant would be utilised.”

    It was reported, that last year with a passing percentage of 60 per cent, 8,287 students passed in Sindh out of which 2,900 took admissions in the public sector. Of the remaining 5,387 students, only 800 took admissions in private medical and dental colleges as the remaining 4,587 were not able to get admission mainly because they could not afford it.

    With this drop in admissions, Sindh will reportedly face a severe shortage of about 10,000 doctors in the next five years. CM said that World Health Organsiation (WHO) recommended one doctor for 850 people but Sindh has one doctor for 3,200 people. “Hence this gap of doctors will worsen if the situation persists,” he added.

    According to Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) conducted a computerised MDCAT in October 2021. She said, “The test from the federal curriculum puts Sindh students at a disadvantage and resulted in a low pass percentage.”

    The reduction of percentage will not affect the merit as it would remain the same as prescribed under the PMC Act.

  • Pak Embassy in Washington ran out of funds to pay salaries for four months: report

    Pak Embassy in Washington ran out of funds to pay salaries for four months: report

    The Embassy of Pakistan in the United States (US) had reportedly run out of funds and was unable to pay salaries of four months to the embassy’s locally recruited contractual staffers, reveals The News’ sources in a report by Journalist Wajid Ali Syed.

    It was reported that a total of five staffers faced delays and non-payment of their monthly wages from August onwards. One staffer, who had been working there for the past ten years, resigned in September because of the on-going pay crisis.

    Several sources disclosed that the Pakistan Community Welfare (PCW) fund, from which these unpaid staffers were paid out collapsed last year because the money was diverted to purchase ventilators and other medical equipment last year, after the pandemic. The embassy had to borrow money from other account-heads to keep up with the monthly salaries for the staffers hired locally.

    As a result of this, the staffers wrote to the Pakistani ambassador in October. The ambassador repeatedly raised the issue with the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad and managed to secure all salaries just last week. The embassy’s spokesperson confirmed that “currently there is no salary-related issue being faced by the Embassy staff.”

    These local staffers’ salaries range from 2,000 to 2,500 dollars per month. They do not get the perks and privileges that FO employees enjoy. The domestic staffers are usually hired to help with the ‘Consular section’ that provides visa, passport, notarization and other consular services.

  • ‘Confident that PM Khan will keep his commitment to bring justice’: Sri Lankan PM

    ‘Confident that PM Khan will keep his commitment to bring justice’: Sri Lankan PM

    Sri Lankan Prime Minister (PM) Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed shock at the brutal Sialkot lynching of a Sri Lankan national but expressed confidence in PM Imran Khan’s commitment to punishing all those involved.

    PM Mahinda Rajapaksa took to Twitter and wrote, “Shocking to see the brutal and fatal attack on Priyantha Diyawadana by extremist mobs in #Pakistan. My heart goes out to his wife and family.”

    He said that Sri Lanka and her people are confident that PM Imran Khan will keep to his commitment to bring all those involved to justice.

    Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said he is in contact with his Sri Lankan counterpart and has assured him of justice to the victim’s family.

    “Sri Lanka has appreciated Pakistan’s response towards the incident,” Qureshi said, adding that the family has also been approached and “we will satisfy them completely”.

    Priyantha Kumara, working as a manager at a private factory in Sialkot, was tortured to death on Friday by a mob after being accused of blasphemy.

  • AGP asks Rana Shamim to arrange delivery of his ‘original affidavit’ to Pak High Commission in London

    AGP asks Rana Shamim to arrange delivery of his ‘original affidavit’ to Pak High Commission in London

    Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan asked Rana Shamim, the former chief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan, to arrange the delivery of his ‘original affidavit’ to the Pakistan High Commission in London, reports Dawn.

    The AGP asked Shamim to arrange the delivery of his affidavit “at the earliest” so that it could be forwarded to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) registrar through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The High Court had observed that in case the original affidavit was not produced on the due date, it would raise an assumption of its non-existence.

    The AGP forwarded a copy of his letter to Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary and the country’s High Commissioner in London.

    Meanwhile, United Kingdom (UK) oath commissioner Charles Guthrie, who authenticated the affidavit of Shamim, has claimed the affidavit’s authenticity, and also said that he was ready to appear before at any legal forum, including the IHC, for confirmation.

  • NAB arrests Speaker Sindh Assembly after Supreme Court rejects bail

    Speaker of Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in front of the Supreme Court (SC) after his bail hearing, reports Geo Urdu.

    Durrani was arrested for allegedly accumulating assets worth Rs1.6 billion through illegal means.

    He approached the SC after Sindh High Court (SHC) rejected his bail in assets beyond means case.

    Earlier today, it was reported that the apex court ordered him to surrender before NAB.

    During Durrani’s hearing, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah observed that the SHC rejected Durrani’s bail plea on the basis of merit.

    “Supreme Court cannot conduct a hearing on this plea without the high court’s verdict,” he said.

    SC ordered Durrani to turn himself in, saying: “First comply with the SHC’s order and surrender before NAB and then the court will conduct a hearing on this case next week.”

    The apex court also rejected Durrani’s request to restrict NAB officials from arresting him from the courtroom.

    Justice Bandial, who was heading the hearing, directed Durrani to first surrender before NAB.

    “We had given you concession earlier as well. There is a high court order against you. We will not interfere in NAB’s matter,” the judge stated.

  • Sri Lankan factory manager tortured to death in Sialkot over alleged blasphemy

    Sri Lankan factory manager tortured to death in Sialkot over alleged blasphemy

    Trigger warning : This article contains graphic content.

    A Sri Lankan factory manager has been tortured to death on the charges of blasphemy. As per social media reports, he was working as a manager at a private sportswear manufacturing factory.

    As per District Police Officer (DPO) Umar Saeed Malik, the man was murdered by factory employees. According to the DPO, the police have arrived at the place of incident.

    In the video shared on social media, it can be seen that the man’s body was burnt publicly after he was murdered.

    According to sources, the Sri Lankan national allegedly tore posters off a wall in the factory, which had religious text written on it. He removed it from the wall as the wall was not a place where posters were allowed. After taking down the poster, hundreds of people gathered, dragged him outside, killed him and then burnt his body.

    His name was Priyantha Diyawadana. He joined the factory in 2010 and has been here since.

    TW: The video contains content that can be disturbing for some viewers.

    https://twitter.com/saboohsyed/status/1466694258199465987?s=21

    According to journalist Rabia Mehmood, “Factory workers Talha, Furhan complained and decided on the spot to kill the SriLankan national.”

    She shared a picture of the two men who claimed to be part of the lynch mob and complained against the manager and then “dragged him out to burn him to death, and are using Tehreek Labbaik’s violence inciting narrative to justify why they did it”.

     Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar have termed the incident as “horrific”. Buzdar has also instructed IG Police to investigate the incident.

    People on social media are condemning the incident: