Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Chaman border is now closed after reports of the Taliban capturing the crossing on the Afghan side

    Chaman border is now closed after reports of the Taliban capturing the crossing on the Afghan side

    The Afghan Taliban have claimed that they have captured the important Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan, reports Geo News.

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

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

    “The Taliban have taken control of the Afghan side of the Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing,” a Pakistani security source told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

    “They have raised their flag and removed the Afghan flag.”

    “The Pak-Afghan border at Chaman is on high alert,” said Levies officials. “Additional security has been deployed at the gate.” Pakistan has also suspended activities at the Chaman crossing point.

    “We are in contact with the local leadership of the Taliban on resuming trade and movement of people,” said Levies officials.

    Earlier this week, after seizing about one-third of Afghanistan’s districts, the Taliban swept through the northeastern Badakhshan province, reaching the mountainous border with China’s Xinjiang region.

  • Absence of a woman member in the Council of Islamic Ideology questioned by the court

    Absence of a woman member in the Council of Islamic Ideology questioned by the court

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has raised questions over the absence of a woman member in the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), reports Samaa.

    A petition was filed by a citizen named Maham Ali Khan in this regard. The IHC has ordered the Law secretary and the CII chairman to submit a response to the petition.

    The lack of inclusion of women in the constitutional body that advises the legislature whether or not a certain law is in accordance to the Quran and Sunnah is against Article 228 of the Constitution of Pakistan, Maham’s counsel Zainab Janjua told IHC judge Amir Farooq during a hearing on Tuesday.

    The CII can’t have more than 20 or less than eight members. The counselor said that currently there are 12 members in the body but none of them is a woman.

    The petitioner has requested that a woman member be included in the council.

  • We are most affected by the ‘wife’ clause, says PPP’s Naveed Qamar

    We are most affected by the ‘wife’ clause, says PPP’s Naveed Qamar

    The Parliamentary Committee on Legislative Business witnessed objections over a clause of the Electoral Reforms Bill, which calls for disclosing the number of wives with parliamentarians saying they will take it up in the relevant Senate Committee for necessary amendments, reports The Express Tribune.

    Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who was part of the parliamentary meeting, questioned: “We are asked how many wives you have. What is this? What have wives got to do with this?”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Naveed Qamar, too, raised questions over the Electoral Reforms Bill.

    Naveed Qamar said that the PPP was the most affected by the wives’ clause.

    A committee had been set up by Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri to approve the bills. A no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker was moved by the Opposition after which Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser formed a committee to review the bills.

    Ayaz Sadiq said that if the House is to be run, the bills should be brought to the committee. “We should create terms of reference, important legislation should be made in this committee. If the minister or member has introduced the bill, he can withdraw it in the House.”

    Abbasi said, “Twenty-one days have passed and according to the law, we cannot change it.”

  • PM Khan informed about a serious rift in his cabinet

    PM Khan informed about a serious rift in his cabinet

    Serious disagreements between cabinet members have led to problems at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has been informed about the current rift, reports The News.

    Important facts were brought to light in Geo News Programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. According to reports, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is worried about the interference of Asad Umar and Ali Zaidi.

    Asad Umar, Minister of Planning Commission and Special Initiatives heads the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE), and Ali Zaidi, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, is its member.

    Reportedly, Special Assistant to PM Khan Tabish Gauhar has lodged a complaint with the premier, pleading that the two cabinet members were interfering in the affairs of the Ministry of Energy.

    Sources say that Hammad and Tabish are in favour of using the full capacity of the existing terminals. However, they are being pressured in the cabinet to sign the Sui South gas pipeline agreement with the new terminals rather than the old Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals.

    Asad Umar gave a tough time to the Energy Ministry for arranging LNG at a higher cost and for the dry docking of the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) at the Engro Terminal. 

    The decisions forced the country to face a gas-electricity crisis, subjected the government to the wrath of the Opposition, and triggered a backlash from the masses.

    In the CCOE meeting, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, along with Umar and Zaidi, objected to the delayed dry-docking from June 29 to July 5 and why it wasn’t done earlier in 2019. Tarin wanted an inquiry in this regard and ordered Railway Minister Azam Swati to lead the inquiry. Sources have revealed that Tabish was trying to put an end to the inquiry.

    However, Gauhar is currently not attending the CCOE meetings. Sources said that despite protests from Gauhar, the inquiry will go ahead since it is part of the written procedures of the CCOE and has been ratified by the federal government.

    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    More than half a million vaccine doses administered for first time on July 12, says Asad Umar
    
			
    

    Asad Umar in a tweet has said that 525,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered yesterday. 
    




    “For the first time we crossed half a million doses of vaccination yesterday. 5 lakh 25 thousand doses were administered yesterday,” Asad Umar tweeted.
    




    “Highest ever first dose was also achieved yesterday with 3 lakh 90 thousand first doses administered. The pace will increase further inshallah,” he added. 
    




    


    




    As per the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 1,590 cases of Covid-19 yesterday with the positivity rate  of 3.63 per cent.
    




    


    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    US has never asked for military bases within Pakistan,’ says senior western diplomat
    
			
    US has never asked for military bases within Pakistan,’ says senior western diplomat
    
			
    

    The United States (US) has “at no stage or at any level even asked” Pakistan for military bases, as its forces depart from Afghanistan, a senior western diplomat has said, reports The News.
    




    “Nobody in the entire US administration asked for bases, and yet there is so much focus on the issue in Pakistan,” said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak publicly on the subject.
    




    “The recurring debate and the hashtag ‘Absolutely Not’ campaign in Pakistan has left everyone scratching their heads in Washington,” he said.
    




    Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview with Jonathan Swan of HBO Axios, in June, reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the use of military bases and categorically stated that Islamabad will not allow it.
    




    The prime minister was again asked by the US media for his comments on giving access to the CIA to military bases.
    




    “Will you allow the American government to have the CIA here in Pakistan to conduct cross-border counter-terrorism missions against Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban?” Swan asked the premier.
    




    “Absolutely not,” PM Khan responded.
    




    Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said earlier that Pakistan wants a stable Afghanistan, but there are some elements who do not want peace in the region.
    




    The FM had categorically stated that Pakistan has refused to give military bases to the US and added that he had told all the political parties in a briefing that they have no such intention.
    




    “Search for bases could be their wish. There’s no question of giving them bases, we have to see our interest.”
    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Tourism banned in Neelum Valley to curb Covid-19 spread
    
			
    

    Tourism has been banned in Neelum Valley from July 19 to July 29 amid the sharp increase of Covid 19 cases in the country, ARY News has reported. 
    




    The decision came after Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Services, Dr Faisal Sultan announced on Monday that only vaccinated people will be allowed to visit tourist resorts during the Eid holidays from July 20 till July 22.
    




    People can travel once they are fully vaccinated. Dr Sultan stressed that it is necessary to have a vaccination certificate to travel during the Eid holidays.
    




    While talking to the media, he appealed to all citizens to follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and to get vaccinated.
    




    Dr Sultan said that in the last few days, the positivity rate of Pakistan’s Covid-19 cases has jumped from two percent to four percent. The main cause of this surge is violation of SOPs, and the Delta Variant.
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Malala’s picture in Punjab textbook causes uproar
    
			
    

    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 alongside that of 1965 war hero Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed in a list of significant personalities, Dawn News has reported.
    




    Malala’s picture was published on page 33 of the book among other personalities, which includes, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, national poet Allama Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Liaqat Ali Khan, legendary philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, Nishan-e-Haider recipient Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed.
    




    The book has already been distributed in various educational institutes across Pakistan.
    




    As per Dawn News’ sources, police and other agencies were conducting raids on shops across the city late at night to confiscate copies of the book for publishing Malala’s picture besides that of Aziz Bhatti.
    




    A team of officials conducted a raid at OUP office located in Gulberg, Lahore, and confiscated the entire stock of the book that had Malala’s picture in it, giving the reason that the book had not been issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC).
    




    One of the publishers, while talking to Dawn, said, “The Oxford University Press has published the book despite not being issued the NOC.”
    




    
https://twitter.com/arshdchaudhary/status/1414586420233134083?s=21

    




    




    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Afghan Taliban want China’s friendship, say will not interfere in Chinese affairs
    
			
    

    After seizing about one-third of Afghanistan’s districts, the Taliban this week swept through the northeastern Badakhshan province, reaching the mountainous border with China’s Xinjiang region, reports The Wall Street Journal.
    




    These days, the Taliban go out of their way to ease China’s concerns, eager to secure Beijing’s acquiescence to their rule.
    




    “The Taliban want to show China goodwill,” said Qian Feng, head of research at the National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University in Beijing. “They hope that China can play a more important role, especially after America pulls out its troops.”
    




    With the American military withdrawal nearly complete, China is also becoming increasingly powerful in the Central Asian states that border Afghanistan to the north.
    




    “We care about the oppression of Muslims, be it in Palestine, in Myanmar, or in China, and we care about the oppression of non-Muslims anywhere in the world. But what we are not going to do is interfere in China’s internal affairs,” said a senior Taliban official in Doha, Qatar.
    




    Another official, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, pointed out that the Islamist group pledged in the February 2020 Doha deal with Washington to not let the country’s territory be used against other nations and to not accept any refugees or exiles outside the framework of international migration law.
    




    “We will not allow anyone whether it is an individual or an entity — to use the soil of Afghanistan against the United States, its allies, or any other country, and that includes China,” Shaheen said.
    




    While caring about the plight of the Uyghurs of Xinjiang, the Taliban will seek to help their fellow Muslims through political dialogue with Beijing, he added. “We do not know the details. But if we have the details, we will show our concern,” he said. “If there are some problems with the Muslims, of course, we will talk with the Chinese government.”
    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    NAB Karachi recommends registering reference against Hafeez Shaikh
    
			
    NAB Karachi recommends registering reference against Hafeez Shaikh
    
			
    

    National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi on Monday recommended the NAB headquarters to register references against former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, former Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Abdullah Yousuf, and others in a case related to alleged abuse of power.
    




    Shaikh and Yousuf are accused of causing a loss of $11.125 million to the national kitty while being in power, reports ARY News. 
    




    The decision to recommend reference against Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Abdullah Yousuf was taken in a regional board meeting of NAB Sindh. It was recommended that the registration of the two corruption references and the transformation of two complaints into inquiries.
    




    Shaikh is facing alleged corruption charges in a case pertaining to illegal payment of US$10 million from the national exchequer during his previous tenure as the finance minister.