Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Turkey with Pakistan on Kashmir: president

    Turkey with Pakistan on Kashmir: president

    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has assured Turkey’s support for Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir dispute, President Dr Arif Alvi has said.

    According to a statement by the President’s Office, the two counterparts held a telephonic conversation in which they “exchanged Eidul Azha greetings” besides discussing the Kashmir issue and the coronavirus pandemic.

    President Alvi said that occupation regimes were continuing their “extreme repression” in Palestine and Indian occupied Kashmir even during the coronavirus pandemic.

    “[The] Turkish president assured that his country would continue to support Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir as both brotherly countries have similar goals.”

    Erdogan also invited Alvi to visit Turkey after the end of the pandemic.

    While congratulating Erdogan on the reopening of Istanbul’s historical Hagia Sophia as a mosque after nearly nine decades, President Alvi “reiterated Pakistan’s steadfast support to Turkey on its legitimate interests and assured that Pakistan will continue its policy to provide Turkey with all possible support”.

    The Turkish leader also called Prime Minister Imran Khan and the two leaders shared their views on a range of issues.

    The prime minister too felicitated Erdogan on reopening of the Hagia Sophia for prayers and told him that “millions of Pakistanis watched it live on television”, according to a tweet by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    During their conversation, Prime Minister Imran recalled Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan for the sixth session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) in February and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to “further fortify bilateral cooperation” in all areas.

    “Pakistan deeply appreciates Turkey’s steadfast support for the just cause of Kashmir, which President Erdogan reaffirmed during his address to the joint session of parliament in February 2020,” the PMO said.

    Erdogan’s contact with the Pakistani leadership comes days before the world marks one year since India revoked the semi-autonomous status of occupied Kashmir and split it into two federal territories, causing further determination in New Delhi’s ties with Islamabad.

  • Army called to assist govt in dealing with Karachi flooding

    Army called to assist govt in dealing with Karachi flooding

    Pakistan Army has been called to assist the civil administration in dealing with the urban flooding situation in the business hub of the country, announced the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

    According to the military’s media wing, the armed forces have been summoned in the city to assist the civil administration in dealing with the urban flooding situation.

    Separately, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan tasked him to clean rain-hit Karachi.

    According to the CM House spokesman, the meeting was also attended by Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.

    They discussed the situation developed in the city in the aftermath of the two-day rainfall that saw urban flooding in parts of the city.

    It is pertinent to mention here that  Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday asked NDMA to extend help in cleaning rain-battered Karachi.

    Taking to Twitter, the prime minister directed the NDMA chairman to reach Karachi immediately and oversee the cleanliness drive.

    “I have asked the Pak Army to also help in cleaning up the city,” he said.

    Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani at that time responded to the move saying that he does not know why the premier has asked Pakistan Army to assist the cleanliness of the metropolis.

  • Naya Pakistan: Matric pass PTI MPA becomes new chairperson of Punjab Education Foundation

    The recent “election” of the new chairperson of the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has attracted widespread social media attention after it was revealed that he himself holds only a matriculation or secondary school certificate.

    Established in 1991, PEF is an autonomous statutory body to encourage and promote education on non-commercial/non-profit basis. Since then, it has come a long way to arrange free quality education for the deserving children at their doorsteps.

    On July 27, the first meeting of the newly-constituted Board of Governors (BoG) of the PEF was held in which the members, through consensus, elected Sardar Aftab Akbar as the new chairperson.

    According to the Punjab Assembly’s official website, the academic qualification of Akbar, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA from PP-23 (Chakwal-III), is matriculation. He has served as the tehsil nazim in Chakwal from 2005 to 2010, while still serves as a member of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare as well as Committee on Privileges of the Punjab Assembly.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the PEF has been in the limelight these days for non-payment to its partner schools across Punjab. The owners and teaching and non-teaching staff of PEF partner schools had protested recently outside the Punjab Assembly and the Governor House. They had even tried to reach Zaman Park over the non-payment issue that has made them unable to pay salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff besides clearing building rents and utility bills etc.

    Punjab School Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, with regard to non-payments, says that PEF had already paid 50 per cent of the payment to the schools and remaining payment would be made only after verification of the students enrolled in these schools. He said previously some 250,000 fake enrolments were detected at many PEF partner schools and since millions of rupees were to be paid to the schools, verification of students was a must.

    The minister said many PEF partner schools were in fact beneficiaries of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the government would not waste public money on fake enrolments. He said the PEF initiative was aimed to bring out of school children into schools and not to financially support fake enrolments. Dr Muard Raas further said he had also apprised Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan about the issue in a recent meeting who had assured full support.

  • Elderly blasphemy accused shot dead in court

    Elderly blasphemy accused shot dead in court

    An elderly man was killed during the hearing of a blasphemy case against him at the Peshawar Judicial Complex on Wednesday.

    A case had been registered against the deceased under blasphemy laws. The accused was brought to court from Peshawar Central Jail.

    Tahir Ahmed Naseem, 47, a resident of Pishtakhara, appeared before the court of Judge Shaukatullah when a man barged in and opened fire on him.

    He was a US citizen and the US State Department’s Twitter account for South Asia tweeted about the incident.

    https://twitter.com/State_SCA/status/1288668684936974337?s=19

    “During the hearing of the case, the complainant said that the accused was an Ahmadi and asked him to recite the Kalima-e-Tayyaba,” according to a lawyer who was present in the courtroom at the time of the incident. He added that the complainant then fired at the elderly man and killed him.

    The 24-year-old shooter, Khalid, was arrested by the police on the spot. He is said to be a resident of Board Bazaar.

    The judicial complex is situated in a high-security zone on the main Khyber Road in the cantonment area where the provincial assembly building, the Peshawar High Court, chief minister’s secretariat and Governor House are also situated. Security at the main gate and inside the judicial complex is also high.

    Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur and SSP (Operations) Mansoor Aman visited the courtroom where the man was killed.

    “At the moment we have little information but we have started investigation into the killing,” the CCPO said. Aman added that the weapon has also been recovered.

    Police shifted the body of the deceased to the Khyber Medical University for post-mortem.

    They said a first information report (FIR) had been registered against the deceased in 2018.

    According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that the deceased belong to the Ahmadi community and “befriended him on Facebook” and in subsequent conversations, claimed that he was the “fourteenth Mujaddid”.

    “He then invited me to have a discussion with him at a mall in the city where he started talking about his belief,” the complainant said in the FIR, going on to make more allegations.

    The deceased was charged under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), Section 295-B (defiling etc. of the Holy Quran), Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad PBUH) and Section 298 (uttering words etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

  • Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    — While Tania Aidrus has resigned amid criticism for holding dual nationality, Dr Zafar Mirza has stepped down over ‘negative discussion about the role of SAPMs’

    Dr Zafar Mirza and Tania Aidrus, special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM) on health and e-governance, respectively, stepped down from their posts on Wednesday.

    The resignations come days after the Cabinet Division made public the details of the assets and dual nationalities of 20 advisers and special assistants, rocking the country’s political landscape.

    In a tweet, Aidrus, the head of the much-touted Digital Pakistan Vision initiative, cited recent criticism levelled against her and the government due to her dual nationality as the reason behind her decision to resign.

    “[The] criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan,” she said, adding that she was resigning “in the greater public interest”.

    In the resignation letter, Aidrus stated that she had returned to Pakistan with the “singular intent to contribute and develop the vision of a Digital Pakistan”.

    “I always was and shall be a Pakistani,” she wrote, adding that “it is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such [dual nationality] issues”.

    While the letter points to criticism on Aidrus’ foreign nationality being the chief reason for her resignation, reports say that the former Google executive was in fact forced to resign.

    READ: What we know about Tana Aidrus’s resignation

    Meanwhile, Mirza also took to Twitter to announce stepping down.

    He said that he had come to Pakistan on the personal invitation of the premier after leaving the World Health Organization (WHO).

    “I worked hard and honestly. It was a privilege to serve Pakistan. I am satisfied that I leave at a time when COVID-19 has declined in Pakistan as a result of a grand national effort,” Mirza said.

    He added that he had made the decision over the “negative discussion about the role of SAPMs and criticism of the government”.

    “Pakistani people deserve better healthcare. I have worked sincerely to contribute to this cause. Pakistan will Inshallah emerge out of COVID-19 with a stronger healthcare system.”

    While PM Imran has not yet accepted the resignations, rumour has it that another aide of his will shortly be resigning.

  • Everything we know about Tania Aidrus’s resignation

    Everything we know about Tania Aidrus’s resignation

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus has resigned from her post amid growing criticism for holding dual citizenship.

    “Growing criticism is a distraction to my ability to execute on the long-term vision for a Digital Pakistan. It is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such issues,” said Tania, who holds Canadian and Singaporean nationality, in her resignation letter.

    Furthermore, she stated that her Canadian nationality was a consequence of her birth and “not an acquisition of choice”.

    TANIA & TAREEN:

    According to media reports, appointments of Tania and Khurram Jamali, who formerly worked under Tania at Google, was facilitated by Jahangir Khan Tareen.

    In April 2020 when the sugar scandal rose its ugly head and a subsequent probe into it led to the damning report that said Tareen prioritised his sugar mills over national interest, PM Imran Khan was disillusioned.

    This led to a rift between the premier and Tareen, who, according to reports, are no longer on talking terms.

    While Tareen has left the country for the time being and does not hold any direct or indirect power in the government, people cannot help drawing links between the rift and Tania’s resignation.

    DIGITAL PAKISTAN INITIATIVE AND DIGITAL PAKISTAN FOUNDATION CONFLICT:

    Despite the existence of Digital Pakistan Initiative, Tania formed a nonprofit organisation called Digital Pakistan Foundation to attract foreign expatriates and talent to facilitate the digitisation process in Pakistan.

    According to Tania, the government’s Digital Pakistan Initiative had no Federal Budget assigned to it, neither was it under the ambit of the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) or Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), leaving it stalled and dry.

    However, reports say, Shabahat Ali Shah, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the National IT Board (NITB), and Tania were not getting along well since day one.

    Both Shah and Tania were working for the IT Ministry and there had been an overlap of their work, leading to turf wars.

    Taking advantage of Tania’s vulnerability, Shah allegedly want her sacked as the SAPM. To that end, the Digital Pakistan Foundation scandal was reportedly intentionally hyped up and leaked to a journalist, whose thread about the scandal was later picked up by various media outlets.

    Meanwhile, Tania says she will continue serving in Pakistan through public and private initiatives and will always be available for the cause of ‘Naya Pakistan’.

  • Bilawal wants Rehman Malik to explain his meeting with Gen Bajwa

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said he will seek an explanation from Senator Rehman Malik over his meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    “I will seek an explanation from Rehman Malik Sahib,” said Bilawal when a reporter asked him about the meeting between Malik and General Bajwa on Monday.

    He added that the senator may have met the army chief as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Interior. “But I will certainly ask him,” said Bilawal while speaking to reporters with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

    On Monday, PPP’s Senator Rehman Malik met the army chief in Rawalpindi. According to the military’s media wing, the two men discussed “matters related to defence and internal security”.

    “Rehman Malik appreciated Pakistan Army’s success in bringing peace to the country and pledged support of the Senate Committee on Internal Security towards consolidating the gains,” the army said a statement.

    Meanwhile, Bilawal on Tuesday had a busy day in Lahore as after meeting Fazl, he also went to see Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

    Among other things, the two discussed the current political situation in the country and the opposition’s plans of launching another anti-government campaign after Eid.

  • ‘Army chiefs should serve as president of Pakistan after retirement’

    ‘Army chiefs should serve as president of Pakistan after retirement’

    Twice former prime minister (PM) of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) region Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan has suggested that every chief of army staff (COAS) should be allowed to serve as the country’s president after retirement so as to enhance Pakistan’s foreign policy while keeping in view the defence and strategic significance of the country.

    “Pakistan has a lot of enemies and our politicians are unable to realise that the country’s defence is a lot more important than economy or democracy,” he said while speaking to a private media outlet.

    Ahmed said that the current parliamentary system had failed and it needed to be fixed while enhancing cooperation between different institutions. “Army’s help is sought every time the country faces any major challenge. The difference between help and interference must be made clear.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    He maintained that the constitution should be amended so as to help the executive branch and accompany any elected PM with a president who is an ex-army chief.

    “I believe the chemistry between the serving and the now-president-for-four-years army chiefs would benefit Pakistan’s defence and foreign affairs,” Ahmed said and also cited the example of former United States’ (US) secretary of state Colin Luther Powell.

    An American politician, diplomat and retired four-star general, Powell served as the 65th US state secretary from 2001 to 2005.

    Ahmed also said such steps were needed to strengthen the constitution and not individuals.

    While many differ on the ex-AJK PM’s statement, it merits a mention that experts believe the military is already continuing to shape Pakistan’s security and foreign policies.

    According to a forecast report released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and cited by Dawn in November last year, Pakistan Army was likely to continue shaping the country’s foreign and security policy while the government was expected to largely amenable to this arrangement.

    While the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) boasts of civil-military relations in Pakistan being at their historic best — a claim verified by the military’s media wing as well — the report had also outlined Pakistan’s political and economic outlook for the period of 2020 to 2024 and forecast that the PTI would serve its full term while opposition parties would remain in a state of disarray owing to legal challenges facing their leaders.

  • Bureaucracy in Naya Pakistan: Deputy commissioner ‘tortures’ subordinates over ‘poor performance’

    Bureaucracy in Naya Pakistan: Deputy commissioner ‘tortures’ subordinates over ‘poor performance’

    Despite Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan telling bureaucrats that they need to change their mindsets because “there is no room for ancient practices in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Naya Pakistan”, The Current has learnt details of the harrowing experience of a group of junior bureaucrats who were “subjected to torture” by their boss in Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab.

    According to sources, at least four of the said junior bureaucrats — currently serving as assistant commissioners (ACs) in different parts of the district — were subjected to torture by the deputy commissioner (DC) who “robbed” them of their official vehicles on late Saturday night and forced them to walk back to their posts over “poor performance”.

    “The ACs included those of Toba Tek Singh, Kamalia, Pir Mahal and Gojra tehsils,” they said and added the junior bureaucrats were ridiculed in front of lower staff of the DC Office as well as that of their own. “Reprimanding your juniors over unsatisfactory performance is one thing but mistreating them, the way it was in this case, is outrageous.”

    Speaking to The Current, one of the ACs, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that they had been subjected to torture as the DC, besides taking away their official vehicles, had also mistreated them by forcing them to stand outside the office as a punishment until around 1 am when they were told to walk back home. “We managed to make arrangements for our commute but three of us were women, and family members of my colleagues believe the mistreatment has scarred their daughters for life.”

    “This is not at all acceptable and we want the government to take action but it can cost us our careers,” said the AC, to which sources said that the victims feared calling their boss out or approaching high-ups because their immediate superior, which in this case is the DC, is responsible to evaluate them in the annual confidential report (ACR) that is a performance evaluation of a public servant.

    Toba Tek Singh tehsil AC, on the other hand, rejected his own colleagues’ claims. “It was just a routine meeting and nothing happened,” he said. When informed that his colleagues had already confirmed the claims regarding their mistreatment, the AC said “the DC can say anything to her officers”.

    “It was a meeting between the DC and her officers and we, under ethics of the service, are bound to obey the orders of our seniors.”

    Contrary to Toba Tek Singh AC’s beliefs, several other public servants and locals privy to the development are of the view that the DC “must be transferred for the sake of the people of the district as Eidul Azha and Muharram amid the coronavirus pandemic are around the corner and local authorities under such a supervisor cannot give their best at a sensitive time”.

    “There is a difference between running a tight ship and stooping as low as the DC did,” they say, urging Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar to take action.

    Repeated attempts were made to contact Toba Tek Singh DC as she was informed of the claims made by her subordinates but she did not comment.

    Attempts were also made to contact Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan to ask him about the government’s reaction to the incident and progress on its promise of revamping bureaucracy for better governance, but he too was unavailable.

    Meanwhile, PTI Toba Tek Singh President Dr Waheed Akbar Chaudhry and local leader as well as Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar’s brother, Chaudhry Muhammad Ramzan, have “appreciated” the DC over her treatment of the ACs.

    “People are always complaining about these officers for doing nothing. Whatever the DC has done was the right thing to do and we hope she will continue discharging her duties diligently and without any leniency,” they said in a statement.

  • PM talks about rumours that govt wants to ban social media

    PM talks about rumours that govt wants to ban social media

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, who is known for having social media as his primary source of information, has said the government will not impose a ban on any social media application.

    “But at the same time, we also can’t let anyone insult or spread false information about government organisations or the people working for them,” the premier pointed out in a statement.

    PM Imran also took notice of the delay in the preparation of social media regulations by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and Ministry of Information Technology.

    He instructed the departments to present a report regarding it within this week.

    The PTI government has been criticised for its decisions regarding monitoring and regulating content on social media. This came after the government placed a temporary ban on popular online game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and issued a warning to TikTok.

    The premier had in February also said that new rules were being introduced only to protect citizens and regulate social media in the country, which had come days after the PTI government led by him decided to impose restrictions in the name of citizens’ protection and national interest.

    Presiding over a meeting to review the social media rules, PM Imran had said that the new rules were not prepared to curb freedom of expression or victimise political opponents. He had claimed that the United Kingdom (UK), Singapore and other countries were also introducing such laws to protect their citizens.

    However, no action for the implementation of the proposed rules had followed.