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Category: Politics

  • Opposition concerned over ex-SC judge heading Broadsheet scandal investigation panel

    Opposition concerned over ex-SC judge heading Broadsheet scandal investigation panel

    Two of the country’s major opposition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have expressed reservations on the investigation panel that is to be headed by former Supreme Court (SC) justice, Azmat Saeed, to investigate the Broadsheet scandal.

    Speaking to a private media outlet on Thursday, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal pointed out that the former SC judge was part of the bench in the Panama Papers case that disqualified then prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.

    “He was later invited by PM Imran Khan to join the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital’s Board of Governors after his retirement.”

    Ahsan also pointed out that during the Musharraf regime, when the asset recovery agreement was signed with Broadsheet, Justice Azmat was part of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

    Meanwhile, PPP Secretary General Nayyer Bukhari said the PTI’s dishonesty had been exposed by the nomination of committee head. “It seems that the government wants to put all the blame on the previous governments.”

    Bukhari said the PPP has reservations on the committee, adding, “it is a sensitive matter which should be investigated in a transparent manner.”

    According to the Supreme Court’s website, Justice Azmat was the anti-graft watchdog’s deputy prosecutor general in Islamabad in the year 2000 for a period of one year and was later appointed NAB special prosecutor in 2001 to prosecute cases before accountability courts at Attock Fort and in Rawalpindi.

    However, it is not clear if the former judge had played a role, if any, in the formulation and signing of the asset recovery agreement and/or its eventual termination.

    It was reported earlier on Thursday that Azmat will lead the inquiry commission to examine the circumstances relating to the Broadsheet agreement and subsequent arbitration proceedings that resulted in substantial loss to the national exchequer.

    The announcement was made by Information Minister Shibli Faraz.

    Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry also said that “PM Imran Khan has appointed Justice (r) Azmat Saeed as head of the Broadsheet inquiry committee”, adding that the remaining members of the committee would be appointed with Justice (r) Azmat’s consultation.

  • PM says doesn’t want to disrespect masses by talking in English

    PM says doesn’t want to disrespect masses by talking in English

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he doesn’t use English phrases in public because it would be disrespectful to the majority of Pakistani citizens who don’t speak or understand the language.

    The PM said he has an objection to using English as a language of communication because most people do not speak this language. “I would be fine with addressing events in English if everyone would speak the language,” the PM added.

    The remarks by the prime minister came a day after a much controversial video went viral on social media wherein the owners of a posh cafe in Islamabad were seen ridiculing their restaurant manager for his inability to speak English.

    Uzma and Diya, who own Cannoli Café Soul in Islamabad, have been at the receiving end of outrage for mocking and ridiculing their restaurant manager for his English speaking skills. In the video, the two women explained how their manager has been working at their café for nine years and has taken three language courses until now. 

    They then asked him to introduce himself in English and when he struggled with speaking fluent English, they made fun of him by commenting on the manager’s salary. The manager, Owais, was visibly uncomfortable in the video.

    They also issued a half-hearted apology after strong backlash.

    ‘INHERITANCE CERTIFICATES’:

    Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday, the PM announced that inheritance certificates would now be issued within 15 days to make life easier for a common citizen. In past, it would take two years to get this letter issued, but now it will be done in two weeks.

    According to Radio Pakistan, the law ministry has devised a mechanism to establish Succession Facilitation Units in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates within 15 days of initiation of the application by the legal heirs of the deceased.

    The PM also emphasised on reforming the civil procedure court, criminal justice system and ensuring women’s inheritance rights. “People friendly law reforms were being considered crucial by the present government aimed at ensuring justice through people-friendly legislation.

  • ‘Retro Bernie’: Bernie Sanders memes flood internet after Biden inauguration

    ‘Retro Bernie’: Bernie Sanders memes flood internet after Biden inauguration

    The oath-taking ceremony of President Joe Biden, though a low-key affair due to the coronavirus and security concerns, was still a star-studded and historic event.

    Donald Trump finally out of the White House; the US getting its first Black-South Asian, woman vice president; and Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga mesmerising the crowds: the US citizens had more than one reason to celebrate. But this wasn’t the headline of the event, at least on the internet.

    Shortly after the ceremony, tons of memes featuring Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — who was spotted sitting alone and bored (at least that’s how we see it) started flooding the internet. And we don’t want you to miss them!

    Bernie is friends with Deadpool?

    https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1352116679816454145

    He’s least bothered by what’s happening at The Capitol

    When you like work from home too much

    Simba won’t be happy

    Bernie will be there for you…

    https://twitter.com/BernieMemes2021/status/1352184130910482433

    Bernie giving moral support to Raj and Simran

    Retro Bernie

  • Biden rolls back Trump policies on Muslims, climate, health

    Biden rolls back Trump policies on Muslims, climate, health

     US President Joe Biden signed 15 executive actions shortly after being sworn on Wednesday, undoing policies put in place by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and making his first moves on the pandemic and climate change.

    Signing several actions in front of reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, Biden said there was “no time to waste” in issuing the executive orders, memorandums and directives.

    “Some of the executive actions I’m going to be signing today are going to help change the course of the COVID crisis, we’re going to combat climate change in a way that we haven’t done so far and advance racial equity and support other underserved communities” said Biden. “These are just all starting points”

    Aides said the actions the Democratic president signed included a mask mandate on federal property and for federal employees, an order to establish a new White House office coordinating the response to the coronavirus, and halting the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization.

    Biden signed a document to begin the process of re-entering the Paris climate accord and issued a sweeping order tackling climate change, including revoking the presidential permit granted to the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline.

    Among a raft of orders addressing immigration, Biden revoked Trump’s emergency declaration that helped fund the construction of a border wall and ended a travel ban on some majority-Muslim countries.

    The Day One plans were just the start of a flurry of executive actions Biden would take soon after entering office, said his press secretary, Jen Psaki.

    “In the coming days and weeks, we will be announcing additional executive actions that confront these challenges and deliver on the president-elect’s promises to the American people,” Psaki said.

    Further actions would include revoking the ban on military service by transgender Americans, and reversing a policy that blocks U.S. funding for programs overseas linked to abortion.

    On the economic front, Biden asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to extend a moratorium on evictions until the end of March, and the Department of Education to suspend student loan payments until the end of September.

  • A new President

    Today, all eyes were on Joe Biden being sworn in as the 46th US President. #InaugurationDay was trending at No. 1 on Twitter in Pakistan.

    Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first female, first Black and first South Asian VP.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated President Biden in a tweet:

    “I congratulate President @JoeBiden on his inauguration. Look forward to working with @POTUS in building a stronger Pak-US partnership through trade & economic engagement, countering climate change, improving public health, combating corruption & promoting peace in region & beyond.”

    Biden took the oath of office from US Chief Justice John Roberts. He said that “democracy has prevailed” and it was a day of “history and hope”. Biden said his whole soul is in “putting America back together again”.

    It was interesting to see that former US President Donald Trump did not attend the inauguration ceremony.

    Here are some tweets that sum up the inauguration.

    https://twitter.com/thejessiewoo/status/1351939282076901376?s=21

  • Waziristan at par with Pakistan after PM launches 3G, 4G services; ‘olive revolution’ also announced

    Waziristan at par with Pakistan after PM launches 3G, 4G services; ‘olive revolution’ also announced

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has announced that 3G/4G internet services will become operational in Waziristan from today (Wednesday).

    PM Imran shared that the news with the people of Waziristan while addressing a Kamyab Jawan Programme’s cheque distribution ceremony in Wana.

    “We are trying to resolve your problems. From today, 3G and 4G services will become functional,” he said, adding that it was the demand of the youth of the area that they had 3G and 4G services.

    The premier shared that 3G and 4G services were not available in the region earlier as the government feared that it might be used for terrorism. He added that he spoke to the army leadership about the issue and was informed that it was a need of the youth of the area.

    “I spoke to the army and we decided that we will provide this facility,” said PM Imran.

    The premier assured the people that the government will also allocate more scholarship for the people of the area.

    He also told the people that he will bring an olive revolution to the area, as the product is commonly grown there.

    “Olive will bring a lot of money to the area,” he said, announcing that a dam will also be built in the area to resolve water woes of the locals.

    The PM assured the people that his government will work on uplifting the poor segments of the society and backward areas including the tribal districts.

  • Facing crush of crises, Biden to take helm as president today

    Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, assuming the helm of a country beset by deep political divides and battered by a raging coronavirus pandemic.

    Biden, 78, will become the oldest US president in history at a scaled-back ceremony in Washington that has been largely stripped of its usual pomp and circumstance, due to both the coronavirus pandemic as well as security concerns following the Jan. 6 assault on the US Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump.

    With only a small number of attendees present, the Democrat will take the oath of office before US Chief Justice John Roberts just after noon (1700 GMT), placing his hand on an heirloom Bible that has been in the Biden family for more than a century.

    His running mate, Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, will become the first Black person, first woman and first South Asian to serve as vice president after she is sworn in by US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Latina member.

    The ceremony will unfold in front of a heavily fortified Capitol, where a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building two weeks ago, enraged by his false claims that November’s election was stolen with millions of fraudulent votes. The violence prompted the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives to impeach Trump last week for an unprecedented second time.

    Thousands of National Guard troops were called into the city after the siege, which left five people dead and briefly forced lawmakers into hiding. Instead of a throng of supporters, the National Mall will be covered by nearly 200,000 flags and 56 pillars of light meant to represent people from US states and territories.

    Biden, who has vowed to “restore the soul of America,” will call for American unity at a time of crisis in his inaugural address, according to advisers.

    In an early sign of his plan to reach across the political aisle, Biden has invited top congressional leaders, including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, to join him at church on Wednesday morning.

    In a break with more than a century and a half of political tradition, Trump plans to depart the White House ahead of the inauguration, declining to meet with his successor and affirm the peaceful transfer of power.

    Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and both McCarthy and McConnell are all expected to attend Biden’s inauguration ceremony.

    Trump, who has grown increasingly isolated in the waning days of his tenure, has still not formally conceded the Nov. 3 election. He will hold a sendoff event at Joint Air Force Base Andrews in the morning, although top Republicans, including Pence, are not expected to attend.

    TRUMP PARDONS 140 PEOPLE ON LAST DAY:

    President Donald Trump pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of his White House term that benefited more than 140 people, including rap performers, ex-members of Congress and other allies of him and his family.

    The last-minute clemency, announced Wednesday morning, follows separate waves of pardons over the past month for Trump associates convicted in the FBI’s Russia investigation as well as for the father of his son-in-law.

    Besides Bannon, other pardon recipients included Elliott Broidy, a Republican fundraiser who pleaded guilty last fall in a scheme to lobby the Trump administration to drop an investigation into the looting of a Malaysian wealth fund, and Ken Kurson, a friend of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner who was charged last October with cyberstalking during a heated divorce.

    Among them were rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, both convicted in Florida on weapons charges.

    Other pardon recipients include former Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican who served three years for corruption, money laundering and other charges, and former Rep. Duke Cunningham of California, who was convicted of accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Cunningham, who was released from prison in 2013, received a conditional pardon.

    Trump also commuted the prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who has served about seven years behind bars for a racketeering and bribery scheme.

  • ‘That’s why he prayed for Modi’s victory’: Imran accused of receiving funding from India’s BJP, Israel

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership has accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of receiving funding from India and Israel, as Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has also drawn a link between the claim and the premier hoping Narendra Modi won the 2019 election to become his Indian counterpart.

    Ahead of the Indian general election, Imran had expressed his wish for Indian hardliner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the election as “they were more prone to holding dialogue with Pakistan”.

    Addressing a protest demonstration in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday, Maryam demanded that PM Imran came clean if there were no skeletons in his closet.

    “Imran Khan received funding from India and Israel in his own and in the bank accounts of his friends, and through ‘Hundi’ also,” she added.

    Maryam further said that one of the BJP leaders, Andarjeet Dosal, and an Israeli person transferred funds to Imran’s accounts that he used to operate with his own signatures.

    She said that having received funds from the BJP, Imran prayed for victory of Narendra Modi in 2019 elections and was hopeful of his success.

    Now, she maintained, Imran was saying that he had no knowledge of transfer of funds and the same was done by some agents. “Either he is foolish or trying to make a fool out of the people.”

    The PML-N leader said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) disclosed 23 secret accounts of Imran he used to operate with his signatures, and the same were kept secret from the ECP as well.

    PM Imran should also tell as to who were the agents who brought him in power and imposed him on 220 million people of Pakistan, Maryam said, alleging that the ECP scrutiny committee denied releasing facts about the case because Imran did not permit it. “The one who called us thieves turned out to be the biggest thief himself,” she added.

    She said that a long list of Imran’s crimes came to light before the ECP’s scrutiny committee, but it had been instructed to go slow on him and that was why the scrutiny committee had been investigating the matter for three years.

    Maryam said the shocking revelations should have prompted a decision within three days. “During the 80 hearings of the case, Imran sought a stay of proceedings 30 times, requested four times to keep the proceedings secret, and also moved the high court six times while challenging authority of the ECP,” she said.

    Maryam said the public knew who imposed him on the people. “Pakistan has changed now and you cannot commit dacoity on the votes of its people anymore,” she added.

    She said now that Imran had confessed to his crime, ECP should announce the punishment for him.

    PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman also severely criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership, and repeated the allegations levelled by the PML-N leader. “Imran Khan is an agent of Jews and he contested elections while using funding from India and Israel,” he claimed.

    Fazl said he had always told the people of Pakistan that Imran Khan was a Jew agent.

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the Imams of mosques in Islamabad had refused to receive Rs10,000 per month stipend from the government, adding those might be Indian and Israeli funds. “Those are Hindus and Jews who are supporting the Imran government,” he added.

    The PDM president said some institutions had brought the country to such a bad state of affairs, saying the ECP was facing severe pressure and was serving its own interests.”

    “Those powerful selected a fool person so that they should actually rule while sitting behind the scenes,” he added.

    Other leaders of the anti-government alliance also delivered fiery speeches against the current government setup.

  • Banigala police station staff removed on PM’s complaint

    At least 20 police officials, excluding the station house officer, of Banigala police station were removed by the Islamabad police chief after a complaint by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    According to Dawn, there were several complaints against the staff of the police station. The cops were reportedly involved in facilitating land grabbers, drug dealers, and taking money from vehicles transporting construction material.

    In addition to over a dozen staffers, three sub-inspectors and three assistant sub-inspectors were also among the officials removed over misconduct.

    The development followed days after Islamabad IG Qazi Jamilur Rehman called on the PM. During their meeting, the PM had told the IG that the Banigala policemen extorted money from a truck driver. The driver was traced and but he couldn’t identify the policemen who extorted money from him.

    According to the newspaper, Banigala and three other police stations were declared Model Subdivision in Sept 2019 in line with the PM’s vision of the police reforms.

    As per the reforms aimed at effective administration of the police stations, assistant superintendents of police would work as station house officer for effective administration.

  • Naqeeb’s brother says Sindh govt trying to save ‘encounter specialist’ Rao Anwar

    Naqeeb’s brother says Sindh govt trying to save ‘encounter specialist’ Rao Anwar

    The Sindh government is helping former Malir SSP Rao Anwar to get a clean chit in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case by pressurising the witnesses, alleged Naqeeb’s brother Alam Sher.

    In a press conference alongside his attorney Jibran Nasir, the younger brother alleged that the witnesses were turning hostile at the behest of the Sindh government and the prosecution.

    “The case was registered on behalf of the state, not from the family and if the charges were not proved in the court, the state will lose,” said the attorney.

    Jibran also criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for ignoring an application filed by the family of Naqib to look into the assets of Rao Anwar. “The US and UK have frozen the assets of Anwar besides imposing travel restrictions on him due to human rights violations, but still NAB has refused to investigate the former police officer,” he added.

    Instead of being detained in a jail, he was confined for a short time in the comfort of his own home and given the protocol of a federal minister, Jibran said. If top politicians, like Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Asif Ali Zardari, could be sent to jail then why can’t they send Anwar to prison, he asked.

    On January 13, 2019, Mehsud and three others were killed in a fake encounter carried out by a police team headed by then Malir SSP Anwar in Karachi. On January 17, his body was handed over to his relatives at the Chhipa Welfare Association morgue in the metropolis.

    The fake encounter had sparked countrywide protests against extrajudicial killings in the country and to bring Anwar to justice.

    Subsequently, the former SSP and around 20 of his subordinates were charged with killing Naqeebullah. In March 2019, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had framed charges on Anwar and others for the alleged murder of Naqeebullah and implicating him in bogus cases.

    In Dec 2019, On International Human Rights’ Day, Anwar was also blacklisted by the United States for engaging in “serious human rights abuse” by carrying out alleged fake police ‘encounters’ in which scores of individuals including Naqeebullah Mehsud were killed.