Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Despite partial lockdown in Punjab, over 4,000 COVID cases reported in 24 hours

    Despite partial lockdown in Punjab, over 4,000 COVID cases reported in 24 hours

    Pakistan reported 4,062 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours in country for the first time in seven days.

    According to National Command Operation Center (NCOC), a total of 63,161 COVID-19 tests were taken on Thursday, out of which 84 people lost their lives to the deadly virus, pushing the toll to 26,497. 

    All Punjab educational institutions were closed last week due to the high spike in cases. Punjab government has also imposed lockdown in various areas of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad.

    Currently, the country is fighting against the fourth wave of the global pandemic and the average daily case count has been fluctuating between 3,000-4,000 range for almost a week.

    The positivity rate now remains at 6.43%. Moreover, Pakistan is reporting 3,778 new infections on average each day.

    Last week, the country averaged about 1,192,780 administered vaccine doses each day.

  • ‘I apologise to the Afghan people’: Ashraf Ghani

    ‘I apologise to the Afghan people’: Ashraf Ghani

    Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in a statement posted on Twitter, said: “It is with deep and profound regret that my own chapter ended in similar tragedy to my predecessors — without ensuring stability and prosperity. I apologise to the Afghan people that I could not make it end differently.”

    “Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life, but I believed it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her six million citizens,” said Ghani.

    “If I stayed, there was a risk of the same horrific street-to-street fighting the city had suffered during the Civil War of the 1990s.”

    Refuting the allegations that Ghani had fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash, he said, “These charges are completely and categorically false.”

    “Corruption is a plague that has crippled our country for decades, and fighting corruption has been a central focus of my efforts as president,” he said, adding that he and his Lebanese-born wife were “scrupulous in our personal finances”.

    “I have publically declared all my assets. My wife’s family inheritance has also been disclosed and remains listed in her home country of Lebanon,” said Ghani.

    “I welcome an official audit or financial investigation under United Nations (UN) auspices or any other appropriate independent body to prove the veracity of my statement,” added Ghani.

    He appreciated the sacrifices the Afghans had made over the past 40 years of war in their country.

  • ‘TTP may be considered for general amnesty, provided they follow constitution of Pakistan’: Arif Alvi

    ‘TTP may be considered for general amnesty, provided they follow constitution of Pakistan’: Arif Alvi

    President Dr Arif Alvi has said that if anyone wants to leave the ideology of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and work as per the Constitution of Pakistan, the government may consider a general amnesty.

    Speaking on Dawn News programme, ‘Khabar se Khabar’, President Alvi said, “The TTP is a threat to us. We have been told that they will stay with them [Afghan Taliban] but do nothing against Pakistan.”

    “It’s one step, Pakistan will consider general amnesty, if anyone surrenders,” further added Alvi.

    Earlier, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid had said in an interview that TTP is not a problem of Afghanistan but of Pakistan, so it is Pakistan’s job to formulate a strategy in this regard.

    “If TTP believes in our followers and our Amir-ul-Mominin, then they [TTP] will have to follow them as well,” added Mujahid.

    The detailed interview of the president is yet to be aired on Dawn News. A short teaser of the show was aired by the channel on Wednesday.

    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    ‘Not necessary,’ Afghan women to be banned from playing sports by Taliban
    
			
    

    The Taliban spokesperson has said that the Afghan women, including the country’s women’s cricket team, will be prohibited from participating in sports under the new Taliban regime, The Gurdian has reported. 
    




    Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy chairman of the Taliban’s culture commission, claimed in an interview with Australian network SBS that women’s sport was neither appropriate nor required.
    




    “I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because it is not necessary that women should play cricket,” Wasiq said. “In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this”.
    




    “It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate [Afghanistan] do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed.”
    




    On September 7, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced members of the new interim government in Afghanistan. Afghanistan will be led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund while the group’s co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the deputy Afghan leader.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Afghan journalist confuses Aamir Liaquat as dead Pak Army soldier in Panjshir
    
			
    Afghan journalist confuses Aamir Liaquat as dead Pak Army soldier in Panjshir
    
			
    

    An Afghan journalist, Noor Quraishi, claimed that Pakistani commando Colonel Adil was killed in Panjshir Valley and shared a picture of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Aamir Liaquat.
    




    He shared the picture on his Twitter account, claiming that he [Amir Liaqat] was killed in the clashes with anti-Taliban forces. His tweet translated to, “The first casualty of Pakistani commandos: Colonel Adil died during the fighting in Panjshir.”
    



 




    Shortly after the tweet, netizens started mocking the journalist for a faux pas.
    



 



 



 




    Fake and misleading news regarding Pakistan’s involvement in Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has been making rounds on social media.
    




    Earlier, a Twitter user had shared a picture of a fighter jet, claiming that a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plane was shot down in Afghanistan’s Panjshir valley. Later, a fact check by Dawn showed that the picture is actually from 2018 in the United States.
    




    Apart from this, Indian News Channels, Republic TV and Zee Hindustan, ran footage from a video game Arma-3 as visuals stating that it was the PAF attacking the anti-Taliban fighters.
    




    


    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    48 per cent Pakistanis happy with PTI’s performance
    
			
    48 per cent Pakistanis happy with PTI’s performance
    
			
    

    Seven in 10 Pakistanis believe that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will complete its five-year term, according to a survey.
    




    




    A survey, ‘Gallup Pakistan’ was conducted with over 1200 respondents across urban and rural areas, covering over 100 districts in the country. The sample comprised a cross-section of age and socio-economic classes.
    




    The survey conducted was based to evaluate the performance of the PTI government.
    




    Performance of PTI:
    




    Public opinion is split on the issue of performance of the PTI government with slightly more than 48 per cent saying performance is good over the past three years. A sizeable 45 percent believe the performance has been bad.
    




    




    In the largest province of Punjab, a majority are unhappy and say that Imran Khan’s government’s performance isn’t good. Highest support in Balochistan at 74 per cent rating positively and KP where 62 per cent rated Imran Khan’s performance positively.
    




    Who is better Imran Khan vs Nawaz Sharif:
    




    When the survey crafted a comparison between Khan’s Rule vs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif rule?
    




    Public Opinion split equally with 37 per cent each saying Imran Khan rule is better and 37 per cent saying Nawaz Sharif rule was better. 18 per cent of people believe that the performance of PM Khan’s government is the same as that of Nawaz’s.
    




    




    Economy:
    




    When it came to the economy, 45 per cent said they were satisfied with where it stands, whereas 44 per cent expressed dissatisfaction.
    




    




    Prevention of corruption:
    




    In efforts to prevent corruption, 48 per cent were of the view that the government has been successful, whereas 40 per cent were of the view it has failed.
    




    




    Performance on Foreign Affairs:
    




    A majority of Pakistanis, 58 per cent, have also indicated they are satisfied with the government’s foreign policy efforts. Of these, 18 per cent said the performance has been “very good”, while 40 per cent said it has been “good”.
    




    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    ‘Shehbaz makes a decision, his party says it’s personal’, Bilawal slams PMLN
    
			
    ‘Shehbaz makes a decision, his party says it’s personal’, Bilawal slams PMLN
    
			
    

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing his party workers in Multan said that “ [Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz President] Shehbaz Sharif is the party president, his decision should be final.”
    




    According to the chairman, whenever Sharif makes a statement, party members say that it is his own “personal decision”, reports Geo.
    




    Furthermore, he argued that “If Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had stayed, it could hold a long march, and before reaching Lahore, they could have made [Chief Minister of Punjab] Usman Buzdar resign, and [Prime Minister] Imran Khan would have resigned before the march reached Islamabad. Shehbaz  was aware of all the formulas.”
    




    Bilawal, adding that his party had sincerely wanted to oust the government through PDM said that “The PDM leadership started talking about our resignations instead of the Punjab chief minister and the prime minister’s resignations.”
    




    Earlier this month Sharif suggested the formation of a national government. He said, “It needs collective wisdom and requires collective efforts to fix [the problems of Pakistan]. That’s why I think we should have a national government in place to sort out these huge tasks. Even if we [PML-N] win a majority, we can’t fix it alone.”
    




    Upon this Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made his comment while talking to The News by saying that, “There is no option for ‘national govt’ in Constitution. 
    




    “Our party has already made it clear that Shehbaz did not talk about it [national government] and he was misquoted by some circles”, he added.
    




    Moreover during the rally Bilawal taunted the government by saying that the Centre was proposing to roll out electronic voting machines when there is persistent load shedding in the country.
    




    In early June both PPP and Awami National Party (ANP) left PDM by saying that the leaders of the fragmented anti-government alliance appear to be “confused and divided”.
    




    




    




    




    




    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Maryam Nawaz to appoint new lawyer for Avenfield reference case
    
			
    Maryam Nawaz to appoint new lawyer for Avenfield reference case
    
			
    

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said that her lawyer Amjad Pervez has recused himself from the case because of his health condition after he had contracted Covid-19.
    




    


    




    “I told him to contest my case, and until he recovers, I will arrange another counsel for my case,” said Maryam.
    




    A journalist questioned Maryam whether Pakistan should recognise the new Taliban government in Afghanistan.
    




    Maryam responded, “Pakistan must accept the will of the Afghan people and refrain from imposing its decision on Afghanistan.”
    




    The PML-N leader said Afghanistan was a sovereign country and insisted that Pakistan must not interfere in the internal matters of the neighbouring country.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    HRW lauds Pakistan for its first woman Supreme Court justice
    
			
    HRW lauds Pakistan for its first woman Supreme Court justice
    
			
    

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its latest report welcomed the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
    




    The appointment of a woman to the Supreme Court would be a significant step in reforming the gender inequity in Pakistan’s legal profession, says HRW.
    




    Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has nominated Justice Ayesha A. Malik for the elevation to the Supreme Court.
    




    Pakistan is the only nation in South Asia to have never had a female Supreme Court judge.
    




    As per the HRW report, “Only about four per cent of Pakistan’s High Court judges are women. Of the 3,005 Pakistani judges in the lower and higher courts, only 519 – or 17 per cent – are women.”
    




    While some women head district courts, none have yet been appointed to the Supreme Court.
    




    Pakistan has produced women lawyers of international renown such as Hina Jilani and the late Asma Jahangir, the Pakistan Bar Council – which regulates lawyers – has never had a woman member. Jahangir remains the only female lawyer to have been elected as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
    




    Pakistan’s constitution, consistent with international law, provides that all citizens are equal under the law and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. 
    




    Women having less representation in the legal profession is due to harmful societal attitudes, harassment in the workplace, and structural barriers such as the opaque appointment process for judges.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Journalists question absence of women from Taliban’s ‘all male interim cabinet’
    
			
    

    Taliban announced the formation of its interim government on Tuesday. There was not even one woman among the 33 members.
    




    In their first press conference after the takeover of Kabul, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said the group would honour women and assured that it was ready to provide them with the opportunity to be “present in different government (structures) according to Islamic law and in accordance with our cultural values”, reports Dawn.
    




    In late August, the group had also said that they wanted an inclusive government (inclusion of other Afghan parties and groups) in the country.
    




    Later, International and Pakistani journalists started questioning the absence of women, with most not expressing any surprise.
    



 



 



 



 



 




    The acting body is stacked with veterans of Taliban’s hardline rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the US.
    




    Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a reward of up to $10 million, has been appointed to the key post of interior minister.
    




    The country will be led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund who is on a UN sanctions list and was previously the foreign minister and then deputy prime minister during the Taliban’s last stint in power from 1996-2001.