Current Final

Category: Politics

  • PTI presents three years’ performance charter

    PTI presents three years’ performance charter

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) released the party’s performance since it came into power three years ago. The party under its manifesto of ‘Justice, humanity, and selflessness’ claims to have served the people of Pakistan.

    Diplomacy:

    From prioritising economic diplomacy to highlighting Kashmir’s cause on all international forums, Pakistan witnessed an increase in its global and regional relevance in the past three years.

    PTI in its past three years has been countering Islamophobia. The party has been a long-term facilitator of the peace process in Afghanistan.

    The party claims to be aggressively active in exposing the Hindutva Agenda.

    Ehsaas programme:

    The Ehsaas programme has emerged as the largest social protection programme in history by benefiting almost half of the country’s population. ‘Ehsaas Emergency Cash’ has been declared as the third largest social protection programme in the world.

    The World Bank has listed the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme among the top four social protection interventions globally in terms of the number of people covered. The programme distributed cash among 15 million underprivileged families after they suffered financially due to Covid-19 related lockdowns.

    Education:

    As per PTI’s claims, the government has done revolutionary initiatives for the education sector.

    A uniform education system has been introduced in the country under the Prime Minister’s auspices. The Single National Curriculum (SNC) has been approved and made functional in the country for students from Grade 1 through 5. One system of Education for all, in terms of curriculum, medium of instruction, and a common platform of assessment so that all children have fair and equal opportunities when it comes to receiving a high-quality education.

    Climate Change:

    In the climate change battle, Pakistan has emerged as an inspiration to the world over the course of the last three years. Pakistan has devised peculiar strategies to deal with environmental challenges.

    Under the supervision of the Ministry of Climate Change, the PTI government has been devoted to protecting the environment. From working on ‘Pakistan Clean Air Program’ to ‘Sustainable Forest Management’, PTI praised itself for the work it has done in this department.

    Pakistan launched a number of initiatives including a landmark “10-Billion Tree Tsunami” project that earned global acclaim.

    Reformation:

    Completing its three years in power, PTI claims to have done tremendous work for the restoration of green belts of ICT, Anti-Encroachment Drive, enhanced capacity of Panah Gahs, online token tax payment, and claim that they are some of the major achievements of the Interior Ministry.

    Digital Pakistan:

    Taking credit for the digital transformation of state media project, initiated by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in view of the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan for a Digital Pakistan, PTI states to have done landmark work towards the digitalisation and modernisation of state media.

    Electoral reforms:

    Electoral reforms, electronic voting, and the voting process for overseas Pakistanis have been major projects spearheaded by PTI. The party has successfully launched electronic voting to aid the process of having smooth and transparent elections.

    To promote transparency and prevent fraud in the elections, the government has developed a model of the electronic voting machine and submitted it for testing.

    The government states that it has done historic work to address the problems of overseas Pakistanis.

    Covid-19:

    Shining through its three years, PTI’s Ministry of Science and Technology helped manufacturing of agricultural and police drones, locally manufactured ventilators, PPAs, sanitisers, diagnostic kits, and biomedical equipment for Covid-19 protection.

    National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) led by Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar did a commendable job combating the deadly virus. Covid-19 exposed the terrible state of the health sector but NCOC managed to prop up systems on a war-footing to cope with the emergency.

  • ‘Ashamed and pained’: PM Khan reacts to the Minar-e-Pakistan incident

    ‘Ashamed and pained’: PM Khan reacts to the Minar-e-Pakistan incident

    Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke about the assault of a female TikToker by hundreds of men near Minar-e-Pakistan earlier this month. He said that he was “ashamed and pained” by what happened, citing the lack of proper upbringing as a vital reason for the destruction we are seeing in society.

    While addressing the Punjab Education Convention 2021 in Lahore, the premier said the incidents of harassment and the sex crimes that were taking place now were “not a part of our culture or religion”.

    “When I was growing up, nobody could have thought that acts like this would happen [in Pakistan]. I have been to the entire world; the respect for women I saw while growing up existed in Muslim countries but not in the West. A big reason for the destruction we’re seeing is that our children are not being brought up properly,” he added.

    PM Khan praised the Punjab government for doing what no other province is doing. He termed the provincial government’s work in the education sector very important, saying education had not been a priority for previous governments.

    Recalling his educational journey, from the time when he graduated from Aitchison College and went to England for higher studies, he remarked, “I was made an English public-school boy, not a Pakistani. I was distanced from my culture and my religion through that educational system.”

    “The English medium [system] evolved in such a way that there was less emphasis on education and more emphasis on creating desi vilayati (local foreigners). The attitudes and mental slavery of another culture were absorbed.”

    Criticising the use of English in functions, the premier said, “An entire function was held in English because of two ambassadors and it was being aired on TV, which was being watched by the common man. How big of an insult it is to our people who don’t know English.”

    English should not be a “status symbol”, the premier stressed.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin calls PM Imran Khan

    Russian President Vladimir Putin calls PM Imran Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan received a telephone call from Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (August 25).

    The two leaders exchanged views on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and bilateral relations.

    PM Khan stressed that a peaceful, secure, and stable Afghanistan was vitally important for Pakistan and regional stability. Besides ensuring safety, security, and protection of rights of Afghans, an inclusive political settlement was the best way forward.

    PM Khan also underscored that the international community must stay positively engaged in support of the people of Afghanistan, to help address humanitarian needs and ensure economic sustenance.

    PM Khan said highlighted the importance of coordinated approaches in addressing the evolving situation and noted that Pakistan attached high importance to the role of the Troika Plus format.

    PM Khan expressed satisfaction at the upward trajectory of Pakistan-Russia relations, with increased high-level exchanges and growing cooperation in diverse fields.

    He reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to strengthen trade relations as well as bilateral collaboration in the energy sector, including the early realisation of the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project.

    The two leaders agreed to closely cooperate within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for promoting regional peace and security.

    PM Khan reiterated his invitation to President Putin to visit Pakistan.

  • “Human Rights Watch’s statement based on gossip”, Pakistan challenges report on media bill

    “Human Rights Watch’s statement based on gossip”, Pakistan challenges report on media bill

    Pakistan responded to a dispatch by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Associate Asia Director, Patricia Gossman, on the proposed media bill. Pakistan condemned the claims of the organisation and termed the statement “factually incorrect”.

    “The statement of Human Rights Watch is factually incorrect as there is no plan to introduce the regulatory body through an ordinance,” read the letter from Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington DC.

    The letter further added, “HRW is misled and its statement is based on hearsay and gossip.”

    “In the public interest, like other developed countries, we need to introduce holistic policy responses to the challenges of fake news, disinformation, hate speech, abusive content, privacy issues, copyright violations on the emerging information communication technologies.”

    The letter further states, “Hence, as per global best practices and independent regulatory body – Pakistan Media Development Authority is under consideration for addressing challenges and requirements for convergent media of the 21st century to make Pakistan a major global center for multimedia information and content services.”

    Patricia Gossman took to Twitter and wrote, “Wow. You have identified no inaccuracies in our article and you have failed to provide a draft of the law. What are you hiding?”

    https://twitter.com/pagossman/status/1430426802049196036

    Meanwhile, in its statement, HRW said, “The government claims an ordinance setting up the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) would replace the ‘fractured’ regulatory environment and fragmented media regulations currently in place. The proposed PMDA would bring all media in Pakistan – print, television, radio, films, and digital media – under one regulator.”

    The proposed law would also increase government control by allowing government officials to be appointed to key positions.

    With journalists under relentless attack for doing their jobs, the Pakistan government needs to stop trying to control reporters and instead start protecting media freedom, added HRW.

  • Malala remembers how she is still recovering from one Taliban bullet nine years later

    Malala remembers how she is still recovering from one Taliban bullet nine years later

    Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, penned down a heartfelt piece reminding the world of her dreadful experience nine years ago, when she was shot by the Taliban for raising her voice for girl’s education.

    “In October 2012, a member of the Pakistani Taliban boarded my school bus and shot one bullet into my left temple. The bullet grazed my left eye, skull, and brain – lacerating my facial nerve, shattering my eardrum and breaking my jaw,” wrote Malala.

    “The emergency surgeons in Peshawar, Pakistan removed my left temporal skull bone to create space for my brain to swell in response to the injury. Their quick action saved my life.”

    Malala at the hospital post her surgery in 2012

    “Days later I still couldn’t speak, but I started to write things in a notebook and show them to everyone who came to my room. I had questions: What happened to me? Where is my father? Who is going to pay for this treatment? We don’t have money.”

    Remembering her experience nine years ago, Malala wrote, “I tried to stay calm. I told myself, When they discharge me, I will find a job, earn some money, buy a phone, call my family, and work until I pay all the bills I owe to the hospital.”

    “I touched my abdomen; it felt hard and stiff. I asked the nurse if there was a problem with my stomach. She informed me that when the Pakistani surgeons removed part of my skull bone, they relocated it in my stomach and that, one day, I would have another surgery to put it back in my head.”

    “But the UK doctors eventually decided to fit a titanium plate where my skull bone had been, reducing the risk of infection, in a procedure called a cranioplasty. They took the piece of my skull out of my stomach. Today it sits on my bookshelf,” wrote Malala.

    Malala’s skull bone, residing on her bookshelf

    “A few months after the nerve surgery and with regular facial massage, my symmetry and movement had improved a little. If I smiled with my lips closed, I could almost see my old face. I covered my mouth with my hands when I laughed – so people wouldn’t see that one side didn’t work as well as the other. I avoided staring in the mirror or watching myself on video. In my own mind, I thought I looked fine. I accepted the reality and was happy with myself,” says Malala.

    “On August 9 in Boston, I woke up at 5:00am to go to the hospital for my latest surgery and saw the news that the Taliban had taken Kunduz, the first major city to fall in Afghanistan. Over the next few days, with ice packs and a bandage wrapped around my head, I watched as province after province fell to men with guns, loaded with bullets like the one that shot me,” wrote the activist.

    Malala after her recent surgery in Boston

    “As soon as I could sit up again, I was making phone calls, writing letters to heads of state around the world, and speaking with women’s rights activists still in Afghanistan. In the last two weeks, we’ve been able to help several of them and their families get to a safe place. But I know we can’t save everyone,” writes Malala.

    “Nine years later, I am still recovering from just one bullet. The people of Afghanistan have taken millions of bullets over the last four decades. My heart breaks for those whose names we will forget or never even know, whose cries for help will go unanswered,” wrote Malala Yousafzai.

  • Islamabad police arrest boy who posed in front of Quaid’s portrait

    Islamabad Police have arrested the boy who posed in front of Quaid’s portrait on Expressway Islamabad. Journalist Waseem Abbasi shared the picture of the boy. As per details, the accused name Zulfiqar is a resident of Lahore, and he will be taken to Islamabad.

    People on social media are criticising the police for arresting the boy:

    Earlier this month, police registered a case against a couple for a photoshoot in front of Quaid-e-Azam’s portrait in Islamabad under Section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The case was registered on the complaint of Rashid Malik.

    The photoshoot sparked outraged on social media after journalist Ansar Abbasi requested Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqat to arrest the models “who displayed extreme obscenity in public.”

  • No public transport after Oct 15 unless fully vaccinated: Asad Umar

    Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar has said those who have not been fully vaccinated will not be allowed to use public transport from October 15.

    Asad Umar while addressing a press conference with Dr Faisal Sultan said that that all passengers, domestic and international, travelling by air must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by September 30.

    Asad Umar further said that school teachers and staff will not be allowed to work after October 15 if they are not fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, students aged 17 and above were also given a deadline to get at least one dose of the vaccine by September 15 and the second dose before October 15.

    Full vaccination has been also made compulsory to use public transport after October 15.

    He also added that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to attend marriage ceremonies, go to shopping malls and hotels after September 30.

    As per the National National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 4,075 cases of Covid-19 in the country.

  • CIA director secretly meets the head of Taliban in Kabul, reports WaPo

    CIA director secretly meets the head of Taliban in Kabul, reports WaPo

    United States (US) President Joe Biden sent off America’s top spy to meet the head of the Taliban on Monday, reported The Washington Post.

    This high-level diplomatic encounter comes prior to the deadline of August 31 set to airlift Americans and their allies out of Afghanistan.

    Biden warned that the evacuation was going to be “hard and painful” and much could still go wrong. US troops might stay beyond an August 31 deadline to oversee the evacuation, he said.

    Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns met Taliban Leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday as the Biden administration continues efforts to evacuate US citizens and other allies amid chaos at the airport in Kabul.

    “Biden’s spymaster is also his most seasoned diplomat. For Baradar, playing counterpart to a CIA director comes with a tinge of irony 11 years after the spy agency arrested him in a joint CIA-Pakistani operation that put him in prison for eight years,” writes journalist John Hudson.

    However, the CIA declined to comment on the secret meeting.

  • SAPM on Finance resigns due to differences with Shaukat Tarin: Sources

    SAPM on Finance resigns due to differences with Shaukat Tarin: Sources

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance and Revenue Dr Waqar Masood resigned on Tuesday over growing differences with Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, reported Geo News.

    Reportedly, the differences between the two grew over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

    While Masood wanted the government to implement the IMF conditions as per the money lender’s programme, the finance minister was of the view that Pakistan will not be able to implement these conditions.

    Tarin, sources said, is in favour of negotiations with the IMF to obtain some relaxation from the money lender.

    It is being said that the dejected Masood is of the view that his recommendations as a special assistant on revenue are being ignored. He sent his resignation to the prime minister Tuesday, and until it is accepted, will continue to work in his official capacity.

  • Miftah Ismail steps down as PML-N Sindh General Secretary, blames ‘badmash tola’

    Miftah Ismail steps down as PML-N Sindh General Secretary, blames ‘badmash tola’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Sindh General Secretary Miftah Ismail has resigned from his party post arguing that politics became difficult in the presence of ‘badmash tola’ (mafia) in Karachi. According to details, Miftah resigned after no action was taken over vandalism by party workers at PML-N House in Karsaz.

    Dunya News reported that a few weeks ago, enraged workers of the PML-N in Karachi stormed into their own provincial party office and vandalised the facility, smashed windows, and tore posters of the party’s provincial leadership, in protest over “unjustified” distribution of party tickets for the upcoming local government elections in cantonment boards in the metropolis. 

    Reportedly, Miftah Ismail has tendered his resignation to the top leadership of the party due to the presence of “a gang of goons” who were making politics difficult for the former finance minister. He also contested the by-election in NA-249 in Karachi recently and lost a close contest to Qadir Mandokhel of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).