Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Prime suspect of motorway rape case escapes police again; this time after pushing cops away

    Prime suspect of motorway rape case escapes police again; this time after pushing cops away

    The prime suspect of the motorway gang-rape case has once again managed to avoid arrest after dodging the cops, this time in Nankana Sahib, The Current has learnt.

    “Abid Ali was visiting his sister-in-law in Nankana Sahib on Thursday afternoon when local authorities received information about his whereabouts and cordoned off the area,” police sources said, adding that suspect Abid Ali, however, managed to escape.

    According to Dunya News, this was the fourth occasion within the past 10 days when Abid managed to escape.

    “He was present at a park with his sister-in-law, and despite intel, the police responded after a delay of at least 30 minutes. When they tried to nab him, he pushed the cops and fled,” sources said.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Abid managed to avoid being arrested when a heavy contingent of police and other law enforcement agencies raided Raja Jang area of Kasur.

    According to reports, police had received information about Abid’s arrival but he disappeared into nearby fields amid suspicion over heavy cop presence.

    The incident was followed by a five-hour search operation in vain and the arrest of five of Abid’s relatives from Kasur for interrogation.

    Meanwhile, Abid’s ID card has been blocked to keep him from fleeing abroad.

    The statement of the gang-rape survivor, on the other hand, has also not yet been recorded.

    THE INCIDENT:

    A woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the Lahore-Sialkot motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am last week.

    She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards.

    READ: ‘We took her kids to the bushes to make her follow us,’ says man who gang-raped mother of three

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while Motorway Police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has surrendered. Abid is the arrested individual’s co-accused.

  • India in flames as govt moves to change status of Gilgit-Baltistan with representation in parliament?

    India in flames as govt moves to change status of Gilgit-Baltistan with representation in parliament?

    The Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government plans to make Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) the country’s fifth province, two years after powers of the Islamabad-controlled council for the region were transferred to a local assembly.

    The government’s plans have been outlined by Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, who said the region will be accorded the status of a full-fledged province with constitutional rights such as representation in both houses of the parliament.

    “After consultation with all stakeholders, the federal government has decided in principle to give constitutional rights to GB,” he said, adding that the government has decided to deliver on the promise it made to the people there.

    PM Imran is expected to visit the region soon and make a formal announcement about the change, Gandapur said.

    While there has been no immediate reaction to the minister’s remarks from Indian officials, New Delhi has consistently opposed changes made in the region by Pakistan because it claims GB as part of Jammu and Kashmir.

    Gandapur also said that subsidies and tax exemptions for the region wouldn’t be withdrawn after the grant of constitutional rights. “Until the people there stand on their feet, they will continue to enjoy this facility,” he said.

    The minister contended that the deprivation faced by the people of GB for 73 years would end with the change. “Besides constitutional rights and a provincial setup, important steps are being taken for developing the region.”

    People familiar with developments told The Current that people concerned, including those a part of the establishment, had been in touch with political parties regarding the changes.

    “The PTI is backing changes with an eye on upcoming elections in GB so that it can make political gains and form the next government in the region,” an official told this scribe on the condition of anonymity.

    Preparations for the elections that are likely to take place in November are complete, and the distribution of tickets by the PTI will begin soon, they added.

  • ‘Police in Pakistan now have an anti-eggary unit to save kids from eating too many eggs’

    ‘Police in Pakistan now have an anti-eggary unit to save kids from eating too many eggs’

    Senior journalist Kamal Siddiqui has poked fun at the police for “having an anti-eggary unit to save our children” by making sure that “they do not eat too many eggs”.

    “So in Pakistan, we have a special police unit that saves children from eating too many eggs,” he jokingly wrote while tweeting a picture of an anti-beggary unit mobile minus the ‘B’.

    “Let’s save our children” could also be seen inscribed on the Sindh police vehicle.

    CRACKDOWN ON BEGGARS IN SINDH:

    In line with Sindh cabinet’s ban on child beggary and directions to the social welfare department to pick up children begging at traffic intersections and in streets and rehabilitate them at welfare centres, the aim of the anti-beggary unit is to tackle beggary, especially in the port city of Karachi.

    According to the findings of a committee on the issue of beggary, there are enough laws available to deal with the issue such as Section 7 of the West Pakistan Vagrancy Ordinance 1958 that prohibits beggary.

    A 2018 report of the committee said that beggars have also been seen with children who they use to create empathy in the givers’ eyes. This is a violation of Section 49 of Sindh Child Act 1955.

    It pointed out that in 2011, the Sindh assembly had passed the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011 which called for ensuring the rights of the children in need of special measures and to provide matters ancillary thereto.

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah, in consultation with the cabinet, had earlier decided to ban beggary all across the province. He had also directed the Social Welfare Department to launch a special drive against child beggary.

    He had directed the district administration and the police to help the Social Welfare Department in the drive and round up the child beggars and send them to Sweet Home and Street Children Centre, Korangi, where they would be rehabilitated.

  • ‘Motorway rapists left Rs1,000 on dashboard of survivor’s car, which was for police bringing petrol’

    ‘Motorway rapists left Rs1,000 on dashboard of survivor’s car, which was for police bringing petrol’

    Journalist Fereeha Idrees, who has extensively been covering the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang-rape case and is also reportedly in contact with the survivor, has made a shocking revelation that has added to people’s doubts regarding the alleged involvement of law enforcement in the incident.

    Speaking to The Current during a live session on Monday night and separately to a private media outlet, Fereeha revealed that one of the accused left Rs1,000 on the dashboard of the survivor’s vehicle. The amount was meant for police upon their arrival at the spot after she had called the emergency helpline when her car ran out of fuel en route Gujranwala at midnight.

    The journalist quoted the survivor as saying that when she reached the toll plaza, she paid toll tax and asked for the nearest petrol station. “After covering some distance, her car ran out of fuel and she called the motorway helpline. They apologised but gave her the local number.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Over the phone, a person sought her exact location via WhatsApp and then asked her to wait, she said.

    Further quoting the victim, Fereeha said the woman was also asked as to how much petrol did she need, to which she requested for fuel worth Rs1,000. “She then waited for over an hour and a half before she was attacked and later raped in nearby fields off the main road.”

    When the woman was found by the police and her belongings were retrieved, eyewitnesses say there was a Rs1,000 currency note on the dashboard, Fereeha said and added that it was left by the attackers.

    “Apparently, the attackers wished that she would go home and not tell anyone. But is it a coincidence that she had said she needed fuel for at least Rs1,000 to reach home and that was exactly the amount the attackers left behind?”

    Did one of them go back to put it there as they took her purse with them?

    THE INCIDENT:

    A woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am.

    She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while Motorway Police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has surrendered. His co-accused is still at large.

  • ‘We took her kids to the bushes to make her follow us,’ says man who gang-raped mother of three

    ‘We took her kids to the bushes to make her follow us,’ says man who gang-raped mother of three

    Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape accused Shafqat, who has confessed to his role in the horrific incident along with absconding co-accused Abid, has made shocking revelations regarding the incident such as how did they force the survivor to follow them into the bushes off the main road.

    According to reports, the accused, while detailing the entire episode, said that key suspect Abid called him and one Bala Mistri to reach Lahore for some criminal activity.

    “All three of us left to commit a robbery but Bala ditched us on the way.”

    Confessing to the robbery and rape, Shafqat told investigators that they were intoxicated at the time of the incident and initially had planned to only commit a robbery.

    “Abid smashed the windows and injured his hand in the process,” he said, adding that after looting the victim they decided to sexually assault her.

    “We decided to bring her off-road and after stiff resistance, took away her children to the nearby bushes so she would follow.”

    “As expected, the woman followed us off the main road where we raped her,” Shafqat said and added that they have committed various crimes at the same spot.

    According to his statement to the police, he further said that they spent the next day in the Qila Sattar Shah area of Sheikhupura district. “Then I went to Dipalpur while Abid went to meet his father in Manga Mandi.”

    “We last spoke to each other three days ago,” he confessed.

    Since it was not their first such criminal activity, Shafqat told the investigators during the probe that they also tried to sexually assault a woman during a robbery in Sheikhupura, however, the attempt was foiled after police reached the site of the incident.

  • VIDEO: PML-N takes credit for construction of Sialkot motorway while talking about gang-rape

    VIDEO: PML-N takes credit for construction of Sialkot motorway while talking about gang-rape

    President of the former ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif, has sought credit for his party and brother, former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, for the construction of the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway while mentioning the gang-rape that took place there last week.

    “I request that an investigation be carried out… the motorway… because this horrible incident took place on the Sialkot motorway, I think it won’t be inappropriate to mention that it was also constructed under the leadership of Mian Nawaz Sharif,” Shehbaz said on the floor of the National Assembly (NA).

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Earlier, Monday’s session of the NA saw heated arguments between members of the government and opposition over the horrifying incident of gang-rape of a mother of three after her car ran out of fuel on the motorway past midnight last Tuesday.

    As per the details, the woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am.

    She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    The authorities’ failure to protect the masses has drawn a strong reaction from the public as countrywide protests demand that justice is served at the earliest.

  • Imran approves tabling of bill to remove rapists’ testicles

    Imran approves tabling of bill to remove rapists’ testicles

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to bring to parliament a bill to punish rapists with castration — the process of removal of testicles of a man or animal, ARY News quoted sources in the government as saying.

    According to reports, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has approved legislation to castrate rapists once proven guilty, and government bodies will soon be introducing it in the parliament.

    Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda has reportedly been delegated with the task of furnishing the draft bill that proposes neutering sex offenders.

    “After the castration bill, the government will also table a bill for the hanging of such criminals,” Vawda was quoted as saying.

    The development comes hours after senior journalist and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada quoted the premier as saying that criminals such as those involved in the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape should be hanged at public squares.

    According to the journalist, the premier made the statement while speaking to him during an interview that will air tonight (Monday) on 92 News.

    The interview comes days after a mother of three was raped by two men after her car ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway past midnight.

    As per the details, the woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am.

    She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has been identified.

    PUBLIC HANGINGS:

    While a number of people are demanding public hanging of the accused such as sought for serial child rapist and killer Imran Ali of Kasur, the premier’s belief contradicts that of federal science and technology minister and his government’s former spokesperson, Fawad Chaudhry.

    A day earlier, Fawad had said that calls for hanging and burning the rapists alive from prominent members of his party and the educated faction were a reflection of the society’s violent thinking.

    The minister’s comments had come after two members of the ruling party, namely Senator Faisal Javed and Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, called for extreme punishments for those behind the gang-rape and the rape and murder of minor Marwah in Karachi.

  • Criminals like motorway rapists should be hanged at public squares: PM Imran

    Criminals like motorway rapists should be hanged at public squares: PM Imran

    Senior journalist and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada has quoted Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as saying that criminals such as those involved in the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape should be hanged at public squares.

    According to the journalist, the premier made the statement while speaking to him during an interview that will air tonight (Monday) on 92 News.

    “PM Imran Khan thinks that criminals like the ‘motorway rapists’ should be hanged at public squares; watch an explosive discussion with PM Imran Khan, in Hard Talk Pakistan, 92 News, 8:03 pm tonight,” Pirzadatweeted.

    The interview comes days after a mother of three was raped by two men after her car ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway past midnight.

    As per the details, the woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am. She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has been identified.

    PUBLIC HANGINGS:

    While a number of people are demanding public hanging of the accused such as sought for serial child rapist and killer Imran Ali of Kasur, the premier’s belief contradicts that of federal science and technology minister and his government’s former spokesperson, Fawad Chaudhry.

    A day earlier, Fawad had said that calls for hanging and burning the rapists alive from prominent members of his party and the educated faction were a reflection of the society’s violent thinking.

    The minister’s comments had come after two members of the ruling party, namely Senator Faisal Javed and Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, called for extreme punishments for those behind the gang-rape and the rape and murder of minor Marwah in Karachi.

  • Ex-foreign minister Khawaja Asif under fire for glorifying Taliban

    Ex-foreign minister Khawaja Asif under fire for glorifying Taliban

    As United States (US)-Taliban talks continue with the aim of achieving peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif has glorified the fundamentalist political movement and military organisation in a statement that drew strong criticism.

    “You may have the power, but God is with us… Allah is great,” he wrote while tweeting a picture of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

    His statement wasn’t very well received by netizens who trained guns at the ex-foreign minister for having forgotten how the Taliban not only brutalised the people of Afghanistan but also harboured militants who targeted many, including Asif’s boss and former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.

    https://twitter.com/ZahirMoein/status/1305395808439799808

    Meanwhile, after nearly two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands, peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban have opened in Doha.

    Key speakers at the opening ceremony at a hotel included Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Chairperson Abdullah Abdullah, Mullah Baradar and Pompeo.

    The negotiations, where the two warring sides will sit face-to-face for the first time, will start today (Monday).

    For his part, Abdullah on Saturday spoke about seeking a dignified and lasting peace.

    “I believe that if we give hands to each other and honestly work for peace, the current ongoing misery in the country will end,” Abdullah said, calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire”.

  • PM welcomes children back to school, deletes tweet after realising schools are re-opening tomorrow

    PM welcomes children back to school, deletes tweet after realising schools are re-opening tomorrow

    Confusing days and dates once again, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Monday tweeted to welcome children back to school after a long coronavirus break, only to delete the post after realising that educational institutions won’t be re-opening until tomorrow.

    As per the details, the premier took to Twitter and wrote:

    While he deleted the tweet soon after, in a subsequent tweet PM Imran said:

    “Tomorrow we will welcome millions of children back to school. It is our priority and collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn. We have worked to ensure that school operations are aligned with public health safety rules on #COVID19,” he wrote.

    This isn’t the first time that the premier, on top of several verbal blunders, has confused the dates.

    Earlier this year, he had asked Muslims “to offer special Nuwafil prayers and seek Allah’s blessings and forgiveness on the occasion of Shabe Baraat tonight”, later deleting his tweet when people had told him the night had already been observed a day ago.

    Mid-Sha’ban or Shabe Baraat is a holiday observed by Muslim communities on the night between 14 and 15 of the Islamic month of Sha’ban. It is regarded as a night when the fortunes of individuals for the coming year are decided and when Allah forgives sinners.

    Twitterati, as usual, had not let go of PM Imran’s faux pas easy.