Current Final

Category: Politics

  • ISPR confirms abductions at mobile tower site in Kurram Tribal District

    ISPR confirms abductions at mobile tower site in Kurram Tribal District

    On June 26, 2021, more than 16 labourers, working at a mobile tower site in Kurram Tribal District, were abducted by unknown terrorists, said a statement released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

    On June 27, 10 out of 16 labourers were released and the body of one labourer was found. To rescue the remaining abducted labourers, security forces launched a series of Intelligence Based Operations on highly inhospitable terrain under extreme weather conditions, read the statement.

    Terrorists were continuously tracked and pursued.

    In an Intelligence Based Operation on July 13, 2021, three terrorists were killed and Captain Basit Ali and Sepoy Hazrat Bilal were killed during the rescue operation.

    Security forces continued the pursuit and on July 15, 2021, during another exchange of fire, successfully rescued five abducted labourers. The operation is still underway to apprehend/eliminate the remaining terrorists.

    “Security Forces are consistently endeavouring to ensure the security and well being of our innocent civilians who have been wholeheartedly supporting the security forces in fighting the menace of terrorism,” stated the ISPR.

    Earlier, there were speculations that telecom workers were held hostage by the alleged Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISKP) leader in the region.

  • Fact Check: Is this picture from Bilawal’s recent trip to the US?

    Fact Check: Is this picture from Bilawal’s recent trip to the US?

    Claim: During a recent trip to the US, Bilawal Bhutto followed the queue in New York city airport but not in Pakistan

    Fact: These pictures were from his 2018 election campaign

    Recently a picture the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, went viral on social media on Wednesday. Bilawal was seen wearing a blue shalwar kameez, standing in a queue while using his cell phone.

    Many people criticised him, stating that this picture was from his recent trip to New York, asking that why the chairman was standing in line in the US but wasn’t standing in line in Pakistan.

    The Current has confirmed from its sources that the photographs circulating were from the election campaign in 2018 and that the PPP chairperson was taking a flight from Lahore and so it is false to say that these pictures show Bilawal Bhutto at the New York city airport.

    VERDICT: [OUT OF CONTEXT]

  • Shah Mahmood says Dasu incident ‘accident’, Fawad Chaudhry says ‘terrorism can’t be ruled out’

    Shah Mahmood says Dasu incident ‘accident’, Fawad Chaudhry says ‘terrorism can’t be ruled out’

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi that the initial investigation into the bus tragedy near Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not a consequence of a terrorist attack, according to a statement on China’s foreign ministry website reports Dawn.

    Nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives on Wednesday in a blast that took place on the bus that was taking them to their workplace. They were going there for an ongoing project, as per a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). 

    “The Chinese side is shocked by the serious Chinese casualties in Pakistan, hoping that the Pakistani side could quickly find out its cause, conduct rescue and treatment work at all costs, deal with the aftermath in time, and prevent similar incidents from happening again,” read the statement.

    “If it is a terrorist attack, the criminals must be immediately arrested and severely punished,” said the Chinese ministry.

    Qureshi, on behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan, expressed sincere condolences to the Chinese side over the heavy Chinese casualties. He said that the preliminary investigation shows that the incident was “an accident and no background of terrorist attacks has been found.”

    However, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said, “Initial investigations into Dassu incident have now confirmed traces of explosives, terrorism cannot be ruled out,” contradicting the statement by his party’s Foreign Minister.

    “Prime Minister Imran Khan is personally supervising all developments, in this regard Govt is in close coordination with the Chinese embassy we are committed to fighting the menace of terrorism together,” read the tweet.

  • Afghanistan may seek India’s military assistance if talks with Taliban fail: Afghan ambassador

    Afghanistan may seek India’s military assistance if talks with Taliban fail: Afghan ambassador

    The government of Afghanistan may, at some point in the future, seek India’s military assistance if talks with the Taliban fail amid the withdrawal of US troops from there, Afghan Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, has said in an interview to NDTV.

    “Should we not get to a stage in the peace process with the Taliban, then maybe a time (will come) where we would be seeking India’s military assistance, more military assistance in the years ahead,” said Farid.

    “We are not seeking India’s assistance with sending troops to Afghanistan. Their footprint in Afghanistan to fight our war would not be needed at this stage,” he clarified.

    The current situation in Afghanistan is “very dire” and “very problematic”, with the government forces actively fighting the Taliban in around 150 of the 376 districts, the Ambassador said.

    In another interview given to The Indian Express, Farid said, “We are faced with economic hardship,” reports Khaleej Times.

    “The Covid-19-induced lockdowns and the crisis had made deteriorating life even more jeopardised for the general public. We are going through a very difficult time,” he added.

    “Messages that India would continue to support Afghanistan should Taliban become part of the mainstream society again,” he explained. “India would continue to assist Afghanistan in education, politically, diplomatically. Those would go a long way I hope with the Taliban,” added Farid.

    Mamundzay avoided responding to queries related to tensions between India and Pakistan and its spillover in Afghanistan. He said Afghans were to a large extent independent and they decided for themselves.

    “But Pakistan holds a considerable amount of influence and leverage with the Taliban, who again is part of Afghan society,” explained the diplomat.

    “And our requests to Pakistan have always been to use, and productively utilise their influence to bring Taliban to the negotiating table, to make them agree to a process which would make this region prosper. We understand that Pakistan may not fully control the Taliban, but they have a good influence over them. And that influence should be used for, at least, on making this region peaceful and prosperous.”

  • Taliban snatch three billion Pakistani rupees from Afghan forces

    Taliban snatch three billion Pakistani rupees from Afghan forces

    The Taliban have snatched three billion Pakistani rupees that they found at checkposts of Afghan security forces along a Pak-Afghan border crossing, reports Geo News.

     A statement released by the Afghan Taliban said that around Rs3 billion in Pakistani currency was found from the checkposts of the Afghan forces in the Spin Boldak area of ​​Kandahar, which was evacuated by the Afghan security forces.

    “The (Taliban) Mujahideen have captured an important border town called Wesh in Kandahar,” Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement.

    Read More: ‘No smoking, shaving’: Afghan Taliban’s first orders

    “With this, the important road between (Spin) Boldak and Chaman and Kandahar customs have come under Mujahideen control.”

    Pakistan security forces confirmed the Taliban had captured the crossing. The Afghan defense ministry said it was checking developments.

    Analysts say the Rs3 billion amount was reportedly given by smugglers as a bribe to the Afghan forces. They say the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, used the money to pay terrorists to plan attacks in Pakistan.

  • ‘No smoking, shaving’: Afghan Taliban’s first orders

    The Taliban issued their first orders in the form of letter to a local imam after capturing a remote district in Afghanistan’s north, which says that women cannot go to the bazaar without a male companion, among other directives, AFP has reported.

    As per Sefatullah, 25, a resident of Kalafgan district, the letter said “women can’t go to the bazaar without a male companion, and men should not shave their beards,” adding that whoever breaks the rules “will be seriously dealt with”.

    Last month, the Afghan Taliban took Shir Khan Bandar, a northern customs post that connected the country to Tajikistan over a US-funded bridge that spanned the Panj river.

    Sajeda who worked in a local factory told AFP that after Shir Khan Bandar fell, the Taliban “ordered women not to step out of their homes”.

    “There were many women and young girls doing embroidery, tailoring and shoe-making … The Taliban’s order has now terrified us,” she added further.

    The letter issued in the name of the Taliban’s cultural commission says, “All imams and mullahs in captured areas should provide the Taliban with a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters.”

    However, the Taliban denied issuing any such letter.

    “These are baseless claims,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban.

  • Pakistan denied US the chance to demand air bases: Moeed Yusuf

    Pakistan denied US the chance to demand air bases: Moeed Yusuf

    National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf has said that Pakistan has not given a chance to the United States (US) to demand airbases after withdrawal from Afghanistan, reports The News.

    In an interview with a private news channel, Moeed Yusuf said it was quite understandable that the US would be in search of airbases after leaving Afghanistan.

    He said an article appeared in New York Times about the issue at hand and Pakistan had to clarify its position.

    Yusuf said Pakistan’s position is that it cannot provide airbases to the US.

    In an interview with Jonathan Swan of HBO Axios, Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the use of military bases and categorically stated that Pakistan will “absolutely not” allow the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to use bases on its soil for cross-border counter-terrorism missions after American forces withdraw from Afghanistan.

    Moeed said the New York Times story was not a coincidence as it created an atmosphere and Pakistan had to clarify its position on the issue.

    The NSA said the world should not consider Pakistan ‘free for all’.

    However, earlier this week, a senior western diplomat said that the US has “at no stage or at any level even asked” Pakistan for military bases, as its forces depart from Afghanistan.

    “Nobody in the entire US administration asked for bases, and yet there is so much focus on the issue in Pakistan,” said the official.

  • Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate crosses 5 per cent

    Pakistan’s Covid positivity rate crossed 5 per cent for the first time after nearly two months.

    The current infection rate stands at 5.2 per cent with a continuous spike in the cases.

    National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data from Thursday shows that 48,910 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours and 2,545 of them came back positive for coronavirus.

    With 47 new fatalities from the virus, the national death tally soared to 22,689.

    NCOC chief Asad Umar warned: “Indian variant has caused devastation in countries in the region.”

    Umar asked everyone to follow the directives necessary in relevance to Covid protocol and said, “Do not risk your own and others lives.”

  • 12 dead as a bus carrying Chinese workers plunged into ravine

    12 dead as a bus carrying Chinese workers plunged into ravine

    Nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives on Wednesday. Chinese workers and accompanying Pakistani staff were proceeding to their workplace for an ongoing project, as per a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). 

     “The bus plunged into a ravine after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast. Further investigations are underway,” said MoFA.

    “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely in contact with the Chinese Embassy for coordination and facilitation,” read the foreign affairs ministry’s statement.

    The ministry added, “The Government and people of Pakistan extend sincere condolences to the families of Chinese and Pakistani workers who lost their lives in the incident. We also pray for quick recovery of the injured.”

    The Foreign Office said Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of “Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan”.

  • ‘Those who have not read a book in their life will now decide the future of children in Punjab’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘Those who have not read a book in their life will now decide the future of children in Punjab’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Tuesday said, ” I am amazed that those who have not read a book in their life will decide the future of children in Punjab.”

    Fawad expressed concerns over the news that the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) confiscated an Oxford University Press (OUP) Social Studies book for grade 7 on Monday for including Malala Yousufzai’s picture. He said that when he looked into the matter, he came to know that the Punjab Assembly has formed a board to look into such matters.

    The minister said removing Malala’s image is not a problem of a political party, instead, it is a reflection of the division in society.

    “It is quite unfortunate that this division exists,” he added.

    “Political parties are not the issue,” said Chaudhry. “Every political party has some conservative voices that have a negative approach owing to the prevalent syllabus being taught in the country,” he added.

    Highlighting the Punjab government’s decision to remove a chapter on reproduction, Chaudhry said that in this way, we will mentally impair the next generation.

    “We already have many conservative individuals around us. And in the future, if we don’t pay attention to our curriculum and teachers, social problems will increase,” said Fawad. He further added, “Extremism is already high in Pakistan.”

    Reacting to the removal of Malala’s book from Peshawar University during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) last tenure, Fawad stressed that governments should not submit to pressure.

    “This depends on individuals and their mindsets, as conservative mindsets lead to extremist trends,” added the minister.

     Fawad said that such conservative decisions by individuals will make Pakistan lose the position it has created for itself while fighting the war on terror.