Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Taliban stop at least four planes from leaving Afghanistan: Report

    Taliban stop at least four planes from leaving Afghanistan: Report

    At least four planes chartered to evacuate several hundred people trying to escape the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan have not been successful in leaving the country for days, reported TIME.

    Contradictory reports are emerging about why the flights weren’t able to take off as pressure builds upon the United States (US) to help those left behind to flee.

    An Afghan official at the  Mazar-e-Sharif airport said that the would-be passengers were Afghans, many of whom did not have passports or visas, and thus were unable to leave the country. He said they had left the airport while the situation was sorted out.

    Residents of Mazar-e-Sharif also said the passengers were no longer at the airport. At least 10 families were seen at a local hotel waiting, they said, for a decision on their fates. None of them had passports or visas but said they had worked for companies allied with the US or German military. 

    Republican Michael McCaul of Texas told Fox News Sunday that American citizens and Afghan interpreters were being kept on six planes.

    “The Taliban will not let them leave the airport,” he said, adding that he’s worried “they’re going to demand more and more, whether it be cash or legitimacy as the government of Afghanistan.” He did not offer more details.

    The US State Department has no reliable way to confirm information about such charter flights, including how many American citizens might be on them, since it no longer has people on the ground, according to a US official, reported AP.

  • ‘We should export Burnol to India after seeing their jealousy over Afghanistan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘We should export Burnol to India after seeing their jealousy over Afghanistan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    “Seeing India’s jealousy over the situation in Afghanistan, we should export Burnol to them,” said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1434458264553639936

    Regarding Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency’s director-general Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed’s visit to Kabul, Chaudhry said, “General Faiz is not the first intelligence chief to visit Kabul. Earlier, according to the United States (US) media, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief, Turkish and Qatari intelligence chiefs had visited Kabul as well.”

    “Pakistan’s efforts to evacuate foreigners from Afghanistan are immense and we will continue to do so,” added Fawad.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1434444791580868608

    “It would not be fair to say that we should not care for the people who did not leave Kabul,” added the minister.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1434444791580868608

    The federal minister further said, “Unconventional contacts are necessary for discussion on various issues at a time when there is a power vacuum in Afghanistan.”

    “There’s no government in Afghanistan at present and there’s a power vacuum there. In such a situation, who should a leader from the political setup of Pakistan meet there? The prime minister and foreign minister will meet their counterparts [who are not there],” said the minister.

  • ‘Zahir Jaffer was an alcoholic, not a lunatic’: CEO Therapy Works

    Therapy Works CEO Dr Tahir Zahoor, while addressing a press conference on Saturday, said that Zahir Jaffer is an alcoholic who has been playing lunatic after murdering Noor Mukadam.

    “We went to a medical scene, not a crime scene,” he added.

    “We were interested only in getting the boy out safely. We had no crime scene before us. It could be confirmed by the servants and the CCTV [footage]. He (Jaffer) was completely normal before the police arrived. As soon as the police entered, he started the drama,” Zahoor said.

    Dr Tahir Zahoor also said that when they called Zahir’s father to inform him about Noor’s dead body, he said that maybe Zahir murdered her because of over-drinking. He added that the reaction of Zahir’s father was normal, Hum News has reported.

    Earlier, during a police investigation, it was revealed that Jaffer informed his father on July 20 about what he had done to the victim, and in response, the suspect’s father contacted Therapy Works, seeking its help in getting his son out of the house.

  • ISI Chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed arrives in Kabul on invitation of Taliban Shura

    ISI Chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed arrives in Kabul on invitation of Taliban Shura

    Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed arrived in Kabul this morning, leading a delegation of senior Pakistani officials.

    Gen Faiz Hameed is in Kabul to hold talks with the Taliban’s top leadership, including Mullah Baradar, who is tipped to head the Taliban’s future government.

    Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.

    “All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government,” one Taliban official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.

    Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan, including the Panjshir Valley where opposition forces had been holding out, three Taliban sources said on Friday as heavy celebratory gunfire was heard in the Afghan capital.

  • Taliban have taken control of Panjshir: Sources

    Taliban have taken control of Panjshir: Sources

    Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan, including the Panjshir Valley, three Taliban sources said on Friday, reported Dawn.

    “By the grace of Allah Almighty, we are in control of entire Afghanistan. The troublemakers have been defeated and Panjshir is now under our command,” said one Taliban commander.

    Former vice president Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the opposition forces, told Tolo News that reports he had fled the country were lies.

    Meanwhile, the Taliban are due to form a government within days despite fighting in Panjshir Valley.

    China confirmed the country will be keeping its embassy in Kabul open.

    “We hope the Taliban will establish an open and inclusive political structure, pursue moderate and stable domestic and foreign policy and make a clean break with all terrorist groups,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

  • Taliban paint over mural demolishing art in Afghanistan

    Taliban paint over mural demolishing art in Afghanistan

    Activist Omaid Sharifi took to Twitter to share how the Taliban have started painting over murals in Afghanistan.

    He tweeted, “And it begun. The Taliban have started painting over our murals.”

    They started with the historic one that marked the signing of #DohaDeal. #BaradarKhalilzadMural is no more. Instead, the black and white message says don’t trust the enemy’s propaganda, quoting Mullah Haibatullah,” read the tweet.

    Twitter reacted when Omaid shared the pictures on the platform.

    Journalist Magda Gad tweeted, “Staden förändras varje dag [The city changes every day].”

    Journalist Amie Ferris-Rotman tweeted, “First they whitewashed images of women. Now they’re going for the art.”

    A Twitter user wrote, “These Taliban terrorists are intent on destroying joy. They want to extinguish everything that makes us human.”

    Journalist Lyse Doucet tweeted, “The face of the city is changing .. the colour and character of #Kabul erased #Afghanistan.”

    Prior to this, images of women were covered up or vandalised on storefronts around Kabul. One of the salons in Kabul was whitewashed to cover up advertisements pasted on its outdoor walls, showing the faces of smiling women in bridal regalia.

  • US refuses to acknowledge claim that Pakistan involved in Taliban attack on Kabul

     The United States (US) State Department distances itself from former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s claim that 10-15,000 Pakistanis had joined the Taliban attack on Kabul, reported Dawn.

    US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, when asked to comment on Ghani’s claim, said, “I’m just not in a position to comment on that, to confirm those reports.”

    “If we have anything more, we’ll provide it,” said Price when asked if he would comment on another claim that the Taliban forces now in Kabul include foreign troops.

    “We’re enormously grateful to the huge network of countries that have provided critical assistance for our evacuation efforts,” said Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.

    Praising the countries, she named Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE among the countries that supported the evacuation. She also named America’s key European allies – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and others – “who have helped transit Americans and others to safety”.

    “Our close coordination with our allies and partners remains critical both on evacuation and relocation, but also as we begin to scope our ongoing relationship with the Afghan people and with the Taliban,” she said.

  • Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry faced a hard time in the committee as members demanded to see the draft law of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), reported Kalbe Ali for Dawn.

    Spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, demanded that the draft of the law should be presented for the establishment of the authority instead of a verbal briefing by the minister.

    Adding to her point, Aurangzeb said, “The attitude of the information minister was dictatorial.”

    Fawad Chaudhry said that some people did not want to have any regulations in the media industry, adding that Pakistan cannot turn a blind eye to conspiracies being formulated against it.

    “It is important to regulate the media,” the minister said, adding: “We have studied the laws of the United Kingdom (UK), India, Australia, Singapore, and European nations before formulating the draft PMDA law.”

    “But most of all, there will be no compromise over the rights of media workers and against floating of fake news and there was a severe pressure against the Authority regarding these two things,” said Fawad.

    After reflection on the proposed PMDA, the chairman of the committee PML-N’s Mian Javed Latif decided to form a subcommittee, which will be headed by Aurangzeb with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Kanwal Shauzab and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Nafisa Shah as its members.

  • ‘Prove that I called anyone,’ Saleem Safi shares his banned politician list

    ‘Prove that I called anyone,’ Saleem Safi shares his banned politician list

    Senior Journalist and Talk Show Host Saleem Safi, while speaking to The Current, revealed that he has a banned list for his show ‘Jirga’ on Geo News.

    “I have a ‘banned list’ on my show and I am very particular who I call on my show,” said Safi.

    The banned list includes Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Dr Shahbaz Gill, Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Afridi,  Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan and Minister for Prisons, Punjab, as Official Spokesperson for the Government of Punjab, Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chohan. From Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the list includes (PML-N) Talal Chaudhry and MNA Javed Latif.

    “I do not shake hands with SAPM Dr Shahbaz Gill and Minister of Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz,” added Safi.

    “Provide me with proof that my team or I contacted or called any of these people on my show, and I am ready to face the consequences,” said Safi.

    Clarifying his stance, Safi informed The Current, “I did not call Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on my show till he became a minister. It became a necessity to call him then.”

    Safi’s comments come after Fawad Chaudhry commented on the former’s program, saying that, “Meray elawa apka koi phone nahi uthata [No one attends your call except for me]”

    To which Safi replied, “Meiny kisi aur ko phone kiya hi nahi hai kabi [ I have not called any one before].”

  • Senate Committee approves Anti-Rape bill, abolish virginity test

    Senate Committee approves Anti-Rape bill, abolish virginity test

    The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice, chaired by Senator Syed Ali Zafar, on Wednesday approved the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trail) Bill, 2021 stipulating the formation of special courts to hear rape cases.

    The National Assembly passed the bill on June 10 after that it was moved by Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem on June 15. It will now be tabled in the Senate for approval, as per DAWN.

    The bill has the following clauses:

    The provision of the virginity test has been removed.

    If one is proven guilty, they could face a death sentence, life imprisonment, or undergo chemical castration.

    Investigation officials could also face a penalty if they tried to mislead case proceedings in any capacity.

    The suspects will be provided facilities to prove their innocence.

    Instead of retired ones, serving judges will be appointed to the special courts.

    Opposition reaction

    PPP’s Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar suggested that the parliament must monitor the performance of special courts means that the legislature could make changes to the law if issues continue to transpire.

    His party mate Raza Rabbani said he didn’t believe that constitution of special courts was required for hearing rape cases.

    Furthermore, Azam Nazeer Tarar of the PML-N said similar courts were also established in the past, but they didn’t very helpful.

    Prior to this last year after the motorway incident, President Arif Alvi approved the anti-rape ordinance and had said that special courts would be established throughout the country for speedy trials of sexual assault suspects. The courts would have to wrap up the cases within four months.