Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Hindu temple attack: CJP reprimands authorities over no arrests

    Hindu temple attack: CJP reprimands authorities over no arrests

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed rebuked the Punjab Police chief for failing to take action to protect the Hindu temple from a mob in Rahim Yar Khan. The CJP directed him to arrest all culprits involved in the incident.

    Justice Gulzar had shown concern over the tragic incident and summoned Chief Secretary Punjab and IG Punjab to appear at the apex court and submit a report on the incident.

    During the hearing today, the CJP expressed anger over the incident and criticised the officials. “Three days have passed, but no one has been arrested.”

    He said the police acted as a silent spectator while the mob vandalised the temple. “What were the police and administration doing?” the CJP questioned.

     IGP Inam Ghani informed the court that terrorism clauses have been added in the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against the mob.

    CJP added, “If the deputy commissioner and the DPO cannot perform their duties, they should be fired.”

    Justice Amin said police have failed to perform their duty.

    “Had there been professional officers in the force, the issue would have been solved by now.”

    “Think, how would Muslims have reacted if a mosque was attacked,” CJP Gulzar remarked, adding that one should think about how the incident would impact Pakistani Hindus.

    The Supreme Court ordered the officials to submit a report on the next hearing on August 13.

    On Wednesday, hundreds of people reportedly vandalised a Hindu temple in Bhong town and blocked the Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5) after a nine-year-old Hindu boy, who allegedly urinated in a local seminary.

  • ‘Nigeria chota ghareeb sa mulk’, Twitterati reacts to Faisal Vawda’s comment

    ‘Nigeria chota ghareeb sa mulk’, Twitterati reacts to Faisal Vawda’s comment

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda, on live television, called Nigeria a ‘chota ghareeb sa mulk’ [a small poor country].

    Twitterati immediately started drawing comparisons between Pakistan and Nigeria, trying to school the senator with facts.

    A Twitter user wrote, “Imagine the embarrassment for the Foreign Office (FO) if the Nigerian Ambassador lodges a formal protest with them tomorrow.”

    https://twitter.com/BuffetKh0r/status/1423321667292602369

    Sports journalist Faizan Lakhani reacted to the comments by posting a video of Prime Minister Imran Khan face-palming himself.

    Journalist Shiraz Hassan wrote, “I don’t know in what context he said that but we know that Nigeria has already won two medals in #Tokyo2020 – both by women athletes.”

    Another Twitter user wrote, “Pakistan 2020 GDP: $263.6B, Nigeria 2020 GDP: $432B. How Mr. Vawda came to the conclusion that Nigeria is ‘small and poor’ really escapes me.”

  • British authorities turn down Nawaz Sharif’s request for extension of visit visa

    British authorities turn down Nawaz Sharif’s request for extension of visit visa

    Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo, Nawaz Sharif’s request for an extension in his visit visa has been turned down by British authorities, reported Geo News.

    Nawaz’s six-month visit visa has expired, after which he had put in a request with the United Kingdom (UK) Home Office to grant him an extension on health grounds.

    The request, however, was denied by the immigration department.

    PML-N leader has two ways to go about this recent development in relevance to his stay: to appeal the decision with the department, and in the event, it is turned down, he can approach British courts.

    Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said, “Nawaz cannot travel anywhere with his expired Pakistani passport.”

    Rasheed further added that Nawaz’s visa had expired on February 16 and that he is “no longer a citizen of Pakistan”.

    PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb took to Twitter and tweeted that the British home department in their response has stated that Nawaz can appeal the decision with an immigration tribunal.

    She said Nawaz’s lawyers had therefore filed an appeal with the tribunal, his medical records will be included in it as well.

    “Nawaz Sharif can legally reside in Britain until the decision,” she said.

    The PML-N spokesperson while talking to Geo News said that Nawaz “has not and will never seek political asylum”.

    “These people [government] have nothing better than to do than to speak lies about Nawaz Sharif every day,” she said.

  • Citizens call Adiala jail to stop preferential treatment for Zahir Jaffer

    People on social media are demanding Adiala jail authorities to stop giving preferential treatment to Zahir Jaffer, the key accused in Noor Mukadam’s murder case. The Instagram account named “Justice or Noor” requested citizens, to call Adiala Jail authorities and request them to not give special treatment to Zahir.

    The post also mentioned the contact number to register the complaint: “0515133115”.

    Actor and Digital creator Shahanajan also took to her Instagram account to request citizens to register the complaint.

    Zahir Jaffer, was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad on Wednesday afternoon with a headache, according to doctors at the hospital. People on social media are demanding the end of special treatment towards the alleged murderer.

  • ‘Not a software update, a special chip has been inserted’: Faisal Vawda on Tareen group’s split

    ‘Not a software update, a special chip has been inserted’: Faisal Vawda on Tareen group’s split

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda, while taking at a jibe at the recent split in the Pro-Tareen group, took to Twitter and tweeted, “This is not a software update, but a special chip has been created and inserted to a specific section.”

    https://twitter.com/FaisalVawdaPTI/status/1423224794116509698

    Faisal also hit upon PTI MNA Raja Riaz, who is also a member of the PTI faction saying, “Another such chip is ready for Raja Ji [Raja Riaz] as well. It just needs to be installed.”

    Faisal’s comment’s come as a reply to PTI’s MNA Amir Dogar, who while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Capital Talk’ said that there has been a “group-wide software update” and that Nazir Chohan has “found his way back”.

    Yesterday, Punjab MPA Nazir Chohan, a loyalist of PTI stalwart Jahangir Khan Tareen (JKT), quit Tareen’s PTI faction, saying “Jahangir Tareen used him.”

    Earlier in May,  Faisal Vawda downplayed the significance of the leaders who supported JKT, saying they can be handled by a station house officer (SHO) alone.

    Faisal Vawda criticised Jahangir Tareen on a talk show on ARY News, ‘Off The Record’, saying, “There is no doubt that Jahangir Khan Tareen is an intelligent and successful person. But he is not Imran Khan, for sure.”

  • Public sector and military hospitals should be open to general public: Justice Qazi Faez Isa

    Public sector and military hospitals should be open to general public: Justice Qazi Faez Isa

    Supreme Court judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa has suggested that public sector and military hospitals should be open to the general public, reported Dawn.

    Justice Isa had recently contracted Covid-19 despite being vaccinated. His statement comes in relevance to the grave situation with the surging cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan.

    In a statement, Justice Isa said: “Since we are in a situation no less grave than a war, all public sector hospitals, including combined military hospitals and other armed forces hospitals, should be opened immediately to serve the people.”

    “Otherwise, class and social divides will further be exacerbated and people continue to suffer and die because of an unequal system,” said Justice Isa.

     “My wife and I were one of the initial lucky few in the country who were fully vaccinated as both of us were above 60; courtesy of the Chinese government. We took every precaution, including always wearing masks in public places, yet contracted the highly infectious Delta variant of the disease,” read the statement.

    “Even with the vaccination, I still had to be hospitalised. I am receiving excellent treatment from very competent doctors and attendants at the Quaid-i-Azam International Hospital. Such treatment is not within the reach of most [people],” added Justice Isa.

  • Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir: Pakistan highlights Indian oppression in IOK

    Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir: Pakistan highlights Indian oppression in IOK

    Pakistan is observing Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir today to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, as August 5 marks two years of Indian Occupied Kashmir’s (IOK) military siege by the Modi regime in India.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a series of tweets, said: “Today marks two years since India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 Aug 2019 in IIOJK. In these two years, the world has witnessed unprecedented oppression in IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) by Indian Occupation forces. It is also witnessing Indian efforts to force demographic change and destroy Kashmiri identity.”

    PM Khan further said that the government and the people of Pakistan salute their Kashmiri brothers and sisters for their “sacrifices in their determined & legitimate struggle” for their inalienable rights.

    The Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR), the military’s media wing, quoted Cheif of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa as saying that the “continuation of an inhuman military siege, machinations to bring demographic changes and gross violations of human rights and international laws are perpetuating humanitarian and security crises in IIOJ&K” that imperil regional security.

    Speaking to a rally arranged to salute the bravery and courage of Kashmiri brothers and sisters in Islamabad, President Arif Alvi said no Pakistani will rest until occupied Kashmir, under Indian military siege is liberated. 

    “Pakistan will liberate occupied Kashmir,” he said. “Let me warn India that Pakistan is a strong nation.”

    President Arif Alvi addressing a rally in Islamabad. -Radio Pakistan

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan will continue to support oppressed Kashmiris. 

    Events have been arranged in order to call out India’s unilateral, illegal actions against the Kashmiri people. Solidarity walks of one mile have been planned in all the main cities, including the federal capital. 

     A one-minute silence was observed across the country while traffic was also halted for a minute, and sirens were sounded.

    Two years ago, on August 5, 2019, the Narendra Modi government revoked the special status of the people of Kasmir. The Indian government rushed through a presidential decree and abolished Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave a measure of autonomy to the Muslim-majority Occupied Kashmir.

  • Hindu temple vandalised in Rahim Yar Khan

    Hindu temple vandalised in Rahim Yar Khan

    A video clip of a mob attacking a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan (RYK) is doing the rounds on social media. People are urging Prime Minister Imran Khan to take action against the mob.

    Hundreds of people reportedly vandalised a Hindu temple in Bhong town and blocked the Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5) after a nine-year-old Hindu boy, who allegedly urinated in a local seminary, was granted bail by a local court on Wednesday.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill, said in a tweet that the PM Office had taken notice of the sad and unfortunate incident.

    He said that the prime minister had directed the district administration to probe the matter and take strict action against the culprits.

    Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed has also taken notice of the attack on the Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan and has set a hearing in relevance to the matter tomorrow.

    Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari tweeted, “The act was a violation of the Constitution and the basic human rights of Pakistanis. Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) is in touch with RYK police since yesterday to ensure action against perpetrators – got a report – following up – our Parl Secy going to visit today.”

    There are reports of some old monetary dispute between Hindu and Muslim groups in the area, which was stated to be the actual cause of the unrest.

    A small town close to the River Indus and Sindh-Punjab border, Bhong houses a number of gold traders who originally hail from Ghotki and Dehrki (Sindh).

  • Zahir Jaffer has headache, moved to and then discharged from PIMS hospital

    Zahir Zakir Jaffer, the main accused in the July 20 murder of Noor Mukadam, was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad on Wednesday afternoon with a headache, according to doctors at the hospital, Arab News reported.

    “Zahir Jaffer was brought to the PIMS emergency room today afternoon for a checkup,” Khawaja said. “He was checked for a headache and his blood pressure and temperature were also noted, which were found to be normal.”

    A doctor at PIMS, Waseem Khawaja, confirmed this to Arab News saying that Jaffer was brought to the hospital but was discharged after a brief check up.

    “Nothing to be worried about, he was found to be in good health,” the doctor added.

    Deputy Executive Director Dr Zulfiqar Ghauri, also confirmed the news to Arab News.

  • Biden says New York Governor Cuomo should resign over sexual harassment report

    Biden says New York Governor Cuomo should resign over sexual harassment report

    American President Joe Biden has called on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after a report by the New York state attorney general’s office found that he had sexually harassed 11 women, reports The Guardian.

    After the publishing of the official report, the president told reporters that the governor should resign. “I understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach. I don’t know that for a fact. I’ve not read all that data.” he added.

    The New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that the reports showed Cuomo engaged in unwanted groping, kissing, and hugging and made inappropriate comments to multiple women.

    According to news network CNN, the third-term Democratic governor has denied touching anyone inappropriately and vowed to continue as governor.

    “I do kiss people on the forehead, I do kiss people on the cheek,” he said, in a video response. He also showed a couple of photos of him kissing and hugging both men and women and said his behavior was “unremarkable” for a politician.

    Investigators spoke to 179 people including members of his executive staff and reviewed more than 74,000 pieces of evidence including emails, texts, audio files, and pictures.

    The first allegations were made earlier this year in February when two former aides accused the governor of sexually harassing them. Later, several other women came forward with their own accounts of misconduct.

    Once a rising star in the Democratic Party, the 63-year-old can now can face possible criminal prosecution.

    Cuomo has been serving as the governor of NY state since 2011 and was previously married to famous American politician Robert F. Kennedy’s daughter, Kerry Kennedy.