Current Final

Category: Politics

  • ‘I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt’: PM Khan

    ‘I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that he has initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan representing multiple ethnic groups.

    In a statement shared on Twitter, the premier wrote, “After meetings in Dushanbe with leaders of Afghanistan’s neighbours and especially a lengthy discussion with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan government to include Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks.”

    In another tweet, the premier wrote, “After 40 years of conflict, this inclusivity will ensure peace and a stable Afghanistan, which is in the interest not only of Afghanistan but the region as well.”

    The prime minister had emphasised the same point during his address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) summit on Friday.

    “The Taliban must fulfill the pledges made, above all for an inclusive political structure where all ethnic groups are represented. This is vital for Afghanistan’s stability,” he had said.

    The Afghan Taliban had announced an interim government, comprising 33 members, earlier this month.

  • US apologises for killing civilians, children in Kabul drone attack

    US apologises for killing civilians, children in Kabul drone attack

    Head of the US Central Command General Frank McKenzie, has apologised for a drone strike in Kabul last month at Hamid Karzai Airport that killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children.

    “Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake,” McKenzie told reporters. Earlier, while defending the attack, the US had said that the strike was targeting a suicide bomber of the militant Islamic State group and had described it as “righteous”, reports Al Jazeera.

    The US general offered his condolences to the families of the victims and stated that those who were killed had no connection with local Islamic State affiliates or posed any direct threat to US forces.

    Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the drone strike had killed a civilian, Mr Ahmadi, who worked for a non-profit called Nutrition and Education International.

    “They were innocent, helpless children,” Aimal Ahmadi, whose nieces and nephews were killed in the attack, told Al-Jazeera.

    Ahmad Naser who was among the victims had been a translator for the US forces. The youngest child, Sumaya, was just two years old, as per BBC.

    Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, confirmed at the time that the strike had killed seven people.

  • Shehbaz Sharif proposes new names for vacant ECP posts

    Shehbaz Sharif proposes new names for vacant ECP posts

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif proposed names for the appointment of new provincial members in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in response to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s letter suggesting names for the ECP members.

    Shehbaz suggested the names of Justice (retd) Tariq Iftikhar Ahmed, Justice (retd) Mushtaq Ahmed, Muhammad Javed Anwar, Khalid Masood Chaudhry, Irfan Qadir, and Irfan Ali for Punjab.

    While the names of Syed Afsar Shah, Sardar Hussain Shah, and Sohail Altaf have been suggested for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, by the Opposition leader.

    Earlier on August 27, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry had said that Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote a letter to Shehbaz Sharif for the appointment of members to the ECP.

  • India spied on Pakistan and China, says US-based intelligence company

    India spied on Pakistan and China, says US-based intelligence company

    Texas-based Exodus Intelligence believes India used its “zero-day” security vulnerabilities, which hackers can use to attack systems, to spy on Pakistan and China, according to a report published in Forbes.

    Exodus Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder Logan Brown said that after an investigation, he believes India handpicked one of the Windows vulnerabilities from the feed—allowing deep access to Microsoft’s operating system—and Indian government personnel or a contractor adapted it for malicious means.

    The Exodus CEO maintained that India was subsequently cut off from buying new zero-day research from his company in April and it has worked with Microsoft to patch the vulnerabilities.

    Earlier this year, researchers at Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky witnessed a cyberespionage campaign targeting Microsoft Windows PCs at government and telecom entities in China and Pakistan.

    Aspects of the code looked like some the Moscow antivirus provider had previously seen and attributed to a company it gave the cryptonym “Moses”.

    Beyond the two zero-days already abused, according to Kaspersky, “at least six vulnerabilities” made by Moses have made it out “into the wild” in the last two years. Also according to Kaspersky, another hacking crew known as DarkHotel — believed by some cybersecurity researchers to be sponsored by South Korea — has used Moses’ zero days. South Korea is not a customer of Exodus.

    “We are pretty sure India leaked some of our research,” Brown said. “We cut them off and haven’t heard anything since then . . . so the assumption is that we were correct.”

  • Covid-19: UK removes Pakistan from Red List

    Pakistan has been removed from UK’s Red List. British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, has confirmed.

    “Pleased to confirm [that] Pakistan is off the red list”, wrote Turner in a tweet. “I know how difficult the last 5 months were for so many who rely on close links between,” he added.

    Turner further added that the UK will continue to work closely with Pakistan to ensure data sharing and safeguard public health in both countries.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, has welcomed the decision of the British government. “Great news for those wanting to travel,” wrote Dr Faisal in a tweet. “I am grateful to Christian Turner and others in the UK gov who engaged with our team for an in-depth understanding of our epidemic response and systems as well as the ongoing sharing of data and information to enable disease security,” he added.

  • Conspiracy behind NZ tour cancellation, says Sheikh Rasheed

    Conspiracy behind NZ tour cancellation, says Sheikh Rasheed

    Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed in a press conference said, “The New Zealand (NZ)authorities do not have substantive proof of threat in Pakistan.”

    “New Zealand took a unilateral decision to cancel the Pakistan tour despite the country’s tight security arrangements for the team,” said Rasheed.

    The interior minister said NZ team’s security in-charge spoke to government officials in the morning and informed them of a threat. When the officials asked for further details, the NZ security in-charge “did not have any”, he added.

    Pakistan had deployed commandos from Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG), soldiers, and 4,000 policemen for the matches in Rawalpindi, Sheikh Rasheed said.

    “We also tried to convince them to play the match without spectators. But they did not agree to it,” he disclosed.

    “None of our intelligence agencies, which are among the best in the world, have any information about a threat. Pakistan is playing a major role in the region and they do not want us to prosper.”

    Indian media was “defaming Pakistan”, said the interior minister, adding that its designs would be foiled.

    “We have sacrificed before and peace will prevail here at all costs,” he stressed.

    Following this, the Pakistani officials spoke to Prime Minister Imran Khan — who is currently in Tajikistan.

    “The prime minister was briefed on the matter. He then called New Zealand Prime Minister [Jacinda Ardern] and assured her that there was no security threat,” the interior minister said.

    However, Ardern said the NZ government had “received intelligence that the team could be attacked when it steps out to go to the stadium”, Sheikh Rasheed added.

    “It is their decision. We had deployed heavy security for the team. Pakistan is a peace promoter in the world. And this tour was cancelled through a conspiracy. It is their (NZ’s) problem and what they decide.”

  • Ahsan Iqbal issues show-cause notice to Mian Javed Latif

    Senior journalist Mohammad Malick tweeted on Friday, “Ahsan Iqbal issues show-cause notice to Javed Latif for accusing ‘muffamat’ group in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of ‘assignment’ from someone. This was one of the key demands of the angry half of sharif equation now let’s see what happens to the main demand of Mian Nawaz Sharif truly empowering Shehbaz Sharif as president.”

    Prior to this, an exclusive report by Dawn’s Zulqernain Tahir revealed that Javed Latif has become a bone of contention between the Sharif brothers because Nawaz Sharif did not agree with Shehbaz Sharif to issue Mian Javed Latif a show-cause notice for his serious allegations against the younger Sharif and his group.

    According to the report, a party insider revealed that as a mark of protest, Shehbaz did not attend two back-to-back divisional level meetings of the party in Lahore, which were attended by his elder brother [Nawaz]. Hamza Shehbaz also did not attend these meetings, supporting his father’s stance.

    The former prime minister had asked his brother to wait for a while. After this, Shehbaz did not challenge his elder brother’s opinion but he chose to register a silent protest by not attending the meetings he was supposed to preside over, the insider claimed.

    When contacted by Dawn, Malik Ahmad Khan, the newly appointed spokesperson for the party’s president, admitted that Mr Latif had violated party discipline.

    Latif, who had come close to Maryam Nawaz after going to jail, had told a private news channel that four to five leaders in the PML-N were on an ‘assignment’.

    According to him, four or five leaders in the party got assignments from those who did not believe in law and the constitution. “These leaders must remember the fate of Chaudhry Nisar,” he had warned.

    Maryam Nawaz’s response

    Vice President of PML-N Maryam Nawaz denied the reports, urging the party workers not to pay attention to the propaganda by the enemy saying Nawaz and Shehbaz ‘are one’.

    While addressing a gathering of workers from the Bahawalpur division she said, “This is a democratic party. Differences in opinion may exist. This does not mean that one raises questions pertaining to party leadership. When it comes to the party leadership, everyone agrees with Nawaz Sharif as well as Shehbaz Sharif.”

    Earlier, Mian Javed Latif had claimed that Nawaz Sharif would come to Pakistan this year. Later, Marriyum Aurangzeb contradicted his statement and said, “He will only return to Pakistan when doctors will give a clean bill of health allowing him to travel and when the party decides.”

  • ‘Zahir Jaffer’s statement has no legal standing,’ says parents’ lawyer

    Khawaja Harris, who is representing Zahir’s parents — Zakir Jaffer and Ismat Adamjee — read out the confessional statement of Zahir Jaffer today in Islamabad High Court, Geo News has reported. The lawyer was presenting his arguments during a hearing on their bail application.

    The statement made by the suspect in police custody, according to Harris, has no legal standing. He stated that the suspect’s statement must be recorded in front of a magistrate.

    In his arguments, Harris said that one sentence changes the shape of the whole case. “What was the role of the father? Only the recovery is mentioned in the memo of recovery, so how did his statement get included,” Khawaja Harris asked.

    The case, according to Harris, was not that complicated.

    Earlier, during a hearing on September 6, Zahir asked police officials to keep media persons out of the courtroom. “We have privacy, keep the media out of the courtroom.”

  • ‘We will continue to support a stable, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan will continue to support a stable, sovereign, and prosperous Afghanistan. He was addressing the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) Summit in Tajikistan.

    “Pakistan had suffered a lot due to the spillover of conflict and instability in the neighbouring country [Afghanistan]”, he said.

    Moreover, he urged the international community to stand with the Afghans as it is a rare opportunity that the 40 years war has finally ended and this moment should not be squandered. He commended the United Nations secretary-general and UN agencies for mobilising support for ‘humanitarian assistance’.

    PM Imran said, “A new reality had been established after the Taliban’s takeover and withdrawal of foreign troops. That all this happened without bloodshed, without civil war, and without a mass exodus of refugees, should be a matter of relief. It is now in the international community’s collective interest to ensure that there is no renewed conflict in Afghanistan and the security situation is stabilised.”

    We must remember that the previous govt [Ashraf Ghani’s] depended heavily on foreign aid and its removal could lead to economic collapse.”

    ‘Taliban must fulfil promises’

    “The Taliban must fulfill the pledges made, above all for an inclusive political structure where all ethnic groups are represented. This is vital for Afghanistan’s stability,” PM said.

    Furthermore, Khan added that it is also important for the Taliban to ensure respect for the rights of all Afghans make sure that the country is never again a safe haven for terrorists.

    Talking about terrorism threats

    While talking about the 9/11 incident, PM Imran said, “Associating one religion with terrorism has enabled far right, populist and supremacist groups around the world to propagate, multiply and accumulate influence.”

    He assured that Pakistan will continue to be a reliable and willing partner of the international community in the fight against terrorism and extremism. According to him, addressing threats to international and regional peace is a topic of vital interest for the SCO.

    Proposed a five-point way forward

    “We must also advance the agenda of regional connectivity. In this regard, taking the process forward, Pakistan would like to host a conference on the theme ‘Transport Connectivity for Regional Prosperity’ in a virtual mode in 2022,” the premier announced.

    Imran Khan arrived in Tajikistan on Thursday for a two-day visit and was received by Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzod at the airport.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf, and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry were also present alongside the PM.

  • ‘Unilateral decision to offer amnesty to TTP an insult to victims of terrorism’: Bilawal Bhutto

    ‘Unilateral decision to offer amnesty to TTP an insult to victims of terrorism’: Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday took to Twitter to express his disapproval of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for offering to pardon Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members if they renounce violence and respect the nation’s Constitution.

    Bilawal tweeted, “The unilateral decision to offer amnesty to terrorist groups within Pakistan is an insult to the thousands of victims of terrorism.”

    “Imran’s policy of appeasement to religious fascism within Pakistan as well as on our eastern & western borders will haunt us in-times to come,” added Bilawal.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, Khurram Dastgir Khan, while speaking on Dawn News programme “News Eye”, said, “It is shameful and reprehensible of the President and the Foreign Minister to hint at a general amnesty for the TTP.”

    “Terrorists in Pakistan have martyred children, women, the elderly, young and our soldiers. We cannot forget this,” said Dastgir.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in an interview with The Independent said that the government would be “open to giving” a pardon to members of the banned TTP if they promise not to get involved in terrorism and follow the Constitution of Pakistan.

    The minister’s comments came after President Arif Alvi said, if anyone wants to leave the ideology of the banned TTP and work as per the Constitution of Pakistan, the government may consider a general amnesty.