Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Govt mouthpieces jump in to defend Buzdar amid rumours of his removal

    Govt mouthpieces jump in to defend Buzdar amid rumours of his removal

    With rumours of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar’s removal going rife, information ministries of both Centre and Punjab have jumped in to defend the chief executive of Pakistan’s most populous province.

    Reports, after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa among others, had earlier this week claimed that Buzdar’s removal was on cards.

    While it wasn’t the first time such claims were made regarding the fate of CM Buzdar, the rumour has been shot down by Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz as well as Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan.

    In a tweet, the federal minister said the Punjab CM wasn’t going anywhere.

    Meanwhile, Chohan, who has been vocal even against senior leaders of his own party for criticising Buzdar, said that the Punjab CM would complete his tenure.

    In a statement, he said that Buzdar was not going anywhere and those involved in looting people were spreading such rumours in failed attempts to affect the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Defending his boss, who has recently come under criticism for his “below-par” performance, Chohan said that Buzdar had been delivering on his responsibilities with ease.

    “Usman Buzdar is serving the people at his own pace without making any decisions in a hasty manner,” he was quoted as saying.

    Earlier, a few members of the opposition had claimed that the Punjab government had failed in fulfilling its promises to the people and that PM Imran was looking for Buzdar’s replacement.

    Senior journalists had also claimed that Punjab was on the verge of “getting a new CM”.

    However, the information ministers’ statements suggest that the premier’s faith in Buzdar has restored if it had ever taken a blow at all.

  • Is coronavirus ending in Pakistan?

    Is coronavirus ending in Pakistan?

    The first three weeks of June saw not only a rapid spread of the new coronavirus but deaths attributed to the COVID-19 also stood at around a daily average of 100.

    While the country, since the last week of June, has witnessed a significant decrease in the number of coronavirus infections amid conflicting claims regarding what has led to the drop, Pakistan has an optimistic recovery rate as 67.5% of people who had contracted the virus have so far recovered.

    While it is still unclear if the virus has already peaked in Pakistan or not, testing, active cases and the recovery rate are the major factors proving helpful in estimating not only the spread of the virus but also the pandemic situation.

    So far, July hasn’t been as bad as last month as government statistics from the first two weeks show there has been an increase in COVID-19 recoveries while the number of new cases has also dropped significantly.

    While the reason behind the sudden drop still remains unclear as government boasts of its successful strategy and experts attribute the decline to Pakistanis’ better immunity due to exposure to various vaccinations, it cannot be denied that the drop has been led to also because of lower testing as compared to the month of June.

    People are realising that they would recover if they have mild symptoms and only need to isolate themselves without actually heading out to get tested, surveys suggest.

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Heath Dr Zafar Mirza has also confirmed that not many people are voluntarily showing up to get tested anymore. “We are unable to conduct as many tests as we were earlier, despite having a daily capacity 60,000. Pakistan has set up more than 125 labs for COVID-19 testing but we need human resources to run those labs as the testing capacity needs to continuously be enhanced.”

    Meanwhile, a majority of people are also making use of telehealth services by consulting their doctors over the phone or contacting the government’s coronavirus helpline (1166). According to a doctor working at a COVID-19 helpline centre, she alone receives around 40 calls a day for medical advice.

  • Clean chit for Cynthia Ritchie as Interior Ministry says American blogger won’t be deported

    Clean chit for Cynthia Ritchie as Interior Ministry says American blogger won’t be deported

    Islamabad-based American Blogger Cynthia Ritchie’s stay in Pakistan has been cleared by the government as the Interior Ministry has said that she won’t be deported.

    “Cynthia Ritchie can stay in the country till August 31,” the Interior Ministry said in an order, a written copy of which was submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) during the hearing of the blogger’s case on Friday.

    “I’m surprised that the petitioner is not present in the court today,” Ritchie said while speaking to the media outside the court. “In America, it’s compulsory for both the petitioner and defendant to be present in court for every hearing.”

    The blogger said that she was happy that the ministry had passed a decision in her favour, which comes a month after an additional district and sessions judge on June 15 directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to file a case against her for passing defamatory remarks about the late former prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto on social media.

    Ritchie had approached the IHC, challenging the ruling, while naming the justice of peace — lower court judge –, the FIA and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents in the case.

    READ: Cynthia Ritchie denies working for intelligence; adds to allegations, drags PML-N through the mud

    Former Punjab governor and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Latif Khosa has, however, said that he was not satisfied with the decision and will be challenging it. “This is an attempt to mislead the court by the secretary of the Interior Ministry,” he remarked.

    The interior ministry’s report has tried to dismiss PPP’s plea as it says that Ritchie has a visa and she’s not involved in any criminal activities, Khosa said. “We will prove the reality behind Ritchie and make sure that she’s deported.”

    He added that his party had lost faith in the federal government which was why they had approached the court.

    The tussle between the blogger and the PPP continues ever since Ritchie had made derogatory remarks against the former and current leadership of the PPP. She had later also accused PPP stalwart and former interior minister Rehman Malik of raping her, and former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani of manhandling her in 2011.

    The accusations have been denied by the PPP leaders.

  • American Federal Aviation Administration downgrades Pakistan to category 2

    American Federal Aviation Administration downgrades Pakistan to category 2

    America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded Pakistan’s safety rating to category 2, which foreign media reports say is a serious but not unexpected blow to a country with a scandal-plagued aviation sector.

    As per the details, the FAA’s decision that follows a fatal Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crash in Karachi in May and more recently, the aviation minister claiming up to one-third of Pakistan’s commercial pilots hold “dubious” licenses, means that no Pakistani airlines can establish new services to the United States (US) or codeshare with US airlines.

    While the decision has effectively locked PIA out of the US, the ruling only impacts new services to the country. The national carrier does not fly across the Atlantic to the US and as far as can be ascertained, no US airline operates codeshare or interline agreements with PIA either.

    Longstanding security issues have thwarted PIA’s ambitions to access the US. While PIA had tentatively planned a service to begin between Islamabad and New York earlier this year, the downturn in travel derailed that. Now, safety issues are joining the list of concerns.

    It merits a mention that the decision on Thursday came despite Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a day earlier having to face embarrassment at the hands of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that said all commercial pilot licences (CPL) and airline transport licences (ATPL) issued by the authority were genuine and validly issued.

    Earlier, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) had suspended PIA operations as well, while several Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines had also been grounded.

  • PML-N lawmaker in Punjab seeks action against men with fashionable beards, their barbers

    PML-N lawmaker in Punjab seeks action against men with fashionable beards, their barbers

    Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Rukhsana Kausar has tabled a resolution in the provincial house of Punjab seeking a ban on beard styling and action against men with fashionable beards as well as their barbers.

    According to Kausar’s resolution, beard is the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and legislation to decide strict action against those who shape beards in fashionable styles is needed.

    The resolution contends that any kind of styling of the beard is a “grave sin”, and it is an “insult to the beard”. The resolution calls for strict action against those “who make fun of beard”.

    “When I see youngsters on the streets and in the markets with different designs of beard in the name of fashion, I feel hurt, because that is against the teachings of Islam,” she told a private media outlet.

    Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry has also reacted to the resolution in the Punjab Assembly.

    This is not the first time that beard designing has been a priority of the ruling elite as barbers have time and again been “strictly barred” from styling customers’ beards in different shapes or clipping them into designs in areas of rural Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

    KP police in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda had in 2019 detained at least four barbers for styling customers’ beards during an unofficial ban imposed by a local traders’ union that had termed such beards “un-Islamic”.

  • Trump interested in buying PIA-owned luxurious New York hotel govt wanted to sell

    Trump interested in buying PIA-owned luxurious New York hotel govt wanted to sell

    United States (US) President Donald Trump had expressed interest in acquiring the Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) Roosevelt Hotel in New York, it was revealed on Wednesday during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation.

    The 19-storey hotel with 1,025 rooms plus allied facilities in New York City, with some of the suites being among the most luxurious available in Manhattan, is considered a valuable property that also carries cultural significance for Pakistan.

    tandingg on the corner of 45th Street and Madison Avenue, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the hotel bears a quintessentially American name in honour of former United States (US) President Theodore Roosevelt, who had previously been the governor of New York State.

    According to The News, the managing director of PIA Investments Limited informed the lawmakers that Trump had expressed interest in acquiring the iconic hotel in the past and was “still keen on purchasing it”.

    “The government has tried 10 times to sell the hotel,” he added.

    Briefing the members, Privatisation Minister Muhammad Mian Soomro said the government was not selling the property but rather planning to lease it out or work in a joint venture with the private sector.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif said that the parliament should be taken into confidence over the privatisation matter.

    “We are not against privatisation but we must wait for a better time to get a good price,” Asif added.

    “Don’t make a decision now and instead wait. Right now, neither PIA would be sold nor the hotel.”

    Earlier this month, opposition parties had slammed the ruling party when it was reported that the government is considering selling the Roosevelt Hotel.

    The plan was shelved due to stiff opposition and the coronavirus pandemic.

    In a meeting on July 2, the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) decided that the Roosevelt Hotel would be run under a joint venture with a third party.

    The said hotel was acquired by PIA Investment Limited on lease during the year 1979 with an option to purchase the property. PIA had purchased the hotel against $36.5 million against a demand of $59.5 million by contesting a lawsuit against the owner in 1999. The Interstate Hotel and Resort is managing the Roosevelt Hotel since 1997.

  • New heights of friendship: Turkish Airlines to manage Pakistan’s fruit, vegetable exports after PIA ban

    New heights of friendship: Turkish Airlines to manage Pakistan’s fruit, vegetable exports after PIA ban

    As Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight operations in Europe remain suspended, Turkish Airlines has offered its services to transport fruit and vegetable exports to other countries, Profit reported.

    According to fruit and vegetable exporters, Turkish Airlines will charge lower freight charges for transport of Pakistani fruits and vegetables to England, Germany and other western countries and has assured that it will facilitate the promotion of the same. 

    Earlier the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) imposed a six-month ban on PIA’s flight operations to Europe after reports emerged that several PIA pilots held dubious flying licences. 

    Among other issues, the ban created problems for the export of Pakistani fruits and vegetables. In this regard,  the Pakistani Embassy in Istanbul Commercial Counselor Bilal Khan Pasha met with Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci who assured that Turkish Airlines will resume its flight operation in Pakistan and will help in the export of fruits and vegetables to the European Union (EU).

    Moreover, a delegation of exporters led by Waheed Ahmed, the head of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) met with Turkish Airlines General Manager (GM) Gurhan Sozen.

    READ: Embarrassment for aviation minister as Civil Aviation Authority says all licences issued are real

    According to Waheed Ahmed, PIA had recently reduced freight charges in order to assist exporters to reduce cost of export shipments, however, after the six month ban on PIA, exporters will have to use the services of foreign airlines who might charge higher freight charges.

    According to exporters, during the meeting with Turkish Airlines GM the need for reduction in freight charges and provision of special handling facilities for perishable cargo to facilitate the export of Pakistani fruits and vegetables to Europe, the UK and Canada was stressed.

  • Embarrassment for aviation minister as Civil Aviation Authority says all licences issued are real

    Embarrassment for aviation minister as Civil Aviation Authority says all licences issued are real

    Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday had to face embarrassment at the hands of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that said all commercial pilot licences (CPL) and airline transport licences (ATPL) issued by the authority were genuine and validly issued.

    Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines as well as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have now for weeks been unable to discharge their duties amid bars by the international community following the aviation minister’s claims of dubious licences.

    His statements on the floor of the National Assembly had led to grounding of several Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines besides the suspension of the national carrier’s operations in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) as well as the United States (US) over safety concerns.

    READ: US bans PIA

    According to reports, the Aviation Division secretary, who is also serving as the director general (DG) of Pakistan CAA has told the DG of Civil Aviation Regulation of Oman that all CPL and ATPL licenses issued by his office are genuine and validly issued.

    In a letter, a copy of which is available with The Current, he wrote that his office had cleared or verified 96 pilots licenses out of 104 names received from various CAAs or foreign airlines. This includes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Vietnam Airlines, Bahrain Air, Civil Aviation Malaysia, Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and Turkish Airlines.

    READ: Army to finally launch Askari Airline?

    The remaining licenses will be cleared by next week, he maintained and added that the matter had been “misconstrued and incorrectly highlighted” by media as well as netizens on social media.

  • Islamabad admin at odds with Navy over construction of elite sailing club

    Islamabad admin at odds with Navy over construction of elite sailing club

    Islamabad administration has issued a notice to the Pakistan Navy Sailing Club to halt its illegal construction.

    It has been reported that the club near the Lake View Park was inaugurated on July 10.

    The Capital Development Authority (CDA), in a notification on July 13, said that the club was told to halt construction on September 17, 2019, and February 24, 2020.

    “It has once again come to notice that illegal construction has resumed and the club has been made functional,” a notification read. “This is sheer violation of the CDA laws and it needs to be halted immediately.”

    The CDA has instructed the club owners to stop the construction work. If, however, they fail to comply then the authority has threatened to “take action” over the demolition of the structure at the club’s risk and cost.

    On the other hand, according to a letter written by the deputy chief of naval staff to the CDA chief in response to the authority’s first notice, it was informed that Navy Sailing Club was established in 1992 on the directives of then prime minister (PM).

    The letter also annexed three directives of the PM Office but it is pertinent to clarify here that none of them confirms the formal allotment of land to Pakistan Navy. The first notification issued in 1991 states that chief of naval staff is appointed as patron in chief of all water sports in Pakistan. The second letter issued in 1992 was regarding the premier’s directions to develop water sports centres at six different locations of the country including Kunhar River, Tarbela Lake, F-9 Park, Rawal Dam, River Ravi in Lahore and Sukkur Barrage.

    The third letter by the PM Office issued in 1994 is relatively more specific to the subject in which the premier has approved the development of a water sports centre at Rawal Lake. The letter states further that the centre will be developed by the chief of naval staff in his capacity as patron in chief for all water sports in Pakistan.

    The finance division will provide the funds while cabinet division will authorise provision of land at Rawal Lake for the purpose, it adds.

  • PTI leader seeks blasphemy case against Khawaja Asif for stressing equal rights for minorities

    PTI leader seeks blasphemy case against Khawaja Asif for stressing equal rights for minorities

    A local leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from Narowal has filed a complaint seeking registration of a blasphemy case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Khawaja Asif, who has been accused of “speaking against Islam” on the floor of the National Assembly (NA).

    Asif, while speaking on a point of order last week, had said that a “planned campaign against minorities” was being run on social media in retaliation to the Indian atrocities against Muslims in occupied Kashmir. “If minorities don’t feel safe in Pakistan then it is a matter of shame for us. It is our responsibility to protect their places of worship,” he had said while claiming that some objectionable caricatures had been made on social media targeting the minorities.

    He had also discussed the construction of Islamabad’s first Hindu temple, which has for now been halted, leading to a debate in the Lower House.

    “His words are against the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah, and are tantamount to blasphemy against Islam,” Advocate Qamar Riaz stated in his complaint to Zafarwal police against Asif, whom the complainant claims said that no religion was superior to the other.

    “This is a grave crime according to the Shariah, in which he [Asif] has declared Muslims and infidels equal,” Riaz stated.

    The PTI leader quoted a few verses from the Holy Quran in his application too. “Asif committed blasphemy in the light of those verses and hurt the sentiments of all Muslims,” he said, requesting the police to register a case against the PML-N lawmaker.

    According to reports, the police have not yet registered a case and orders from Narowal DPO Zulfiqar Ahmed are awaited.

    Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry has supported the stance of Khawaja Asif regarding construction of temple in Islamabad, saying that Pakistan’s constitution guarantees equal freedom to all religions.

    “Those who are issuing Fatwas on Khawaja Asif’s statement are projecting the thinking of Indian extremists and [Indian Prime Minister] Modi, which needs to be rejected outright,” he said.