Category: Politics

  • UK asked to speed up Shahzad Akbar’s handover to Pakistan

    UK asked to speed up Shahzad Akbar’s handover to Pakistan

    The government of Pakistan has requested the United Kingdom to speed up the process of extraditing Shahzad Akbar, who served as an Advisor to former PM Imran Khan, to Pakistan, The News reported.

    Shahzad is accused in multiple cases in Pakistan and he fled the country in 2022 shortly after Imran Khan lost his government through a vote of no-confidence.

    On the orders of the Interior Ministry, the FIA contacted Interpol to issue a red warrant to bring Shahzad Akbar to Pakistan.

    However, a year has passed but no major progress could be made in this case.

    The News reported the investigators of the case registered under Sections 420, 468, 471, 385, 396, 389, 500 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code had requested Interpol for help in arresting Shahzad Akbar.

  • Kabul to cooperate with Pakistan in probing Bisham terror attack

    Kabul to cooperate with Pakistan in probing Bisham terror attack

    The Foreign Office of Pakistan on Friday stated that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had assured Pakistan of their cooperation in the investigation into the Bisham suicide attack in which five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed.

    “The Afghan side has agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and to work with Pakistan to take the investigation to its logical conclusion,” said the FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a press briefing.

    This development came after the visit of a high-level delegation led by Interior Secretary Khurram Agha to Kabul.

    China also welcomed the progress in the investigation and urged Pakistani authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

    In recent years, tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have flared up as Pakistan blames Afghanistan for letting their territory be used by TTP against Pakistan.

  • Two suspects arrested for murdering babrbershop workers in Gawadar

    Two suspects arrested for murdering babrbershop workers in Gawadar

    Balochistan Home Minister Zia Ullah Langau announced on Friday that two suspects involved in the murder of barbershop workers in Gawadar have been arrested.

    Seven barbershop workers from Punjab were killed when they were sleeping in their apartment near the Gwadar Fish Harbour in the Surbandar area of the coastal town earlier this month. One worker was injured in the incident.

    “I congratulate all our institutions who fulfilled their responsibility and the government’s orders with their efforts, and we have arrested two killers of the Gwadar labourers,” Langau said while addressing a press conference in Quetta.

    The arrested suspects revealed during the investigation that they had been ordered to kill any labourer from Punjab.

    Zia Ullah Langau also stated that millitants targeted innocent citizens, worsening the peace and security situation in Balochistan.

    “Terrorists have nothing to do with our rights. We will go the extra mile for those speaking up for the rights of Balochistan,” Langau added.

  • Marwat says won’t compromise on self-respect, can’t work in PTI

    Marwat says won’t compromise on self-respect, can’t work in PTI

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) maverick Sher Afzal Marwat posted on X (formerly Twitter) to complain about the treatment handed out to him by his party and said, “No one should expect me to beg for duties because my self-esteem has been hurt.”

    A social media user commented under Marwat’s post asking what the PTI leadership is doing in getting Khan out of jail to which Marwat replied, “The party has relieved me of all my responsibilities. Clearly, this has been done under Khan Sahib’s instructions. Now, I have no responsibilities and have decided to spend my time as I please.”

    Marwat seemed to get some closure with an almost emotional response after saying that his self-esteem had been hurt due to the treatment meted out to him by the party leaders.

    He even admitted, “I can be a little unusual and psychotic in certain situations but of all things, self-respect is at the top of my list of priorities. I was once publicly ignored, humiliated, disgraced and disrespected by the very people I fought for.”

    Sher Afzal Marwat concluded by saying that he wouldn’t participate in any party activities until Imran Khan himself asked him to do so.

  • PTI legal team charged under anti-terrorism law for attacking Khawar Maneka

    PTI legal team charged under anti-terrorism law for attacking Khawar Maneka

    The Police on Thursday filed an anti-terror case along with other charges against a group of lawyers who allegedly attacked Khawar Maneka, ex-husband of former First Lady Bushra Bibi, on court premises as he was leaving the site after appearing in the Iddat case, Dawn reported.

    However, an FIR was not lodged by the victim but an inspector of the capital police, Imtiaz Ahmed. The FIR nominated six lawyers and 20 to 25 unknown people, including women.

    As per the FIR, a lawyer threatened and attacked Maneka when he came outside of the courtroom along with other lawyers and as a result he fell down on the ground.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Amir Masood Mughal said the registration of a “false terrorism case” against Imran Khan’s legal team was a conspiracy hatched by the “illegitimate” government.

    He said that police had registered an anti-terror case against the PTI legal team because an “unknown person” slapped Khawar Maneka.

  • Naswar is drug of poor, not forbidden in Sharia: KP Agriculture Minister

    Naswar is drug of poor, not forbidden in Sharia: KP Agriculture Minister

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) agriculture minister Major (ret) Sajjad Khattak has said that the provincial government has imposed a tax on tobacco used in Naswar, adding that the usage of Naswar is neither a sin nor a reward.

    The provincial agriculture minister told the provincial assembly that Naswar is the drug of the poor and it is not even forbidden in Sharia.

    Opposition members of the KP assembly, including Sobia Shahid and Ahmad Kundi, tabled a bill demanding more tax on Naswar and cigarettes, as they are luxuries, and that the tax on private schools should be abolished.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sobia Shahid said that the tax on tobacco exports should be increased, and that it should be abolished in schools and colleges.

  • Imran Khan’s X account being handled from USA, Rauf Hassan reveals  

    Imran Khan’s X account being handled from USA, Rauf Hassan reveals  

    PTI in confusion: Who is running Khan’s social media?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Makhdoomzada Muhammad Zain Hussain Qureshi recently gave an interview to journalist Asma Shirazi on Hum News where he backtracked from his party’s recent narrative and clarified that Khan’s social media account is, indeed, not being operated from abroad.

    Qureshi stated, “There is no such thing as [someone] from outside the country handling Khan’s social media but is being operated according to Imran Khan’s instructions and party policy.”

    Zain clarified, “It is obvious that he [Imran Khan] can’t use his own account because he is imprisoned so the party has the responsibility and it is done on his instructions.”

    Qureshi’s contrasting statement clashes with PTI leader Raoof Hasan’s claim that Imran Khan’s social media accounts were being handled from America.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Rauf Hassan revealed on Thursday to Kashif Abbasi on ARY News, that PTI founder Imran Khan’s official X (formerly Twitter) account was being handled from abroad. The head of PTI’s official social media team is based in the USA, Hassan confirmed.

    Rauf Hassan also stated that he will investigate who uploaded the video about former Bangladesh president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the PTI founder’s official X account. PTI workers shared the video from Khan’s account in their personnel capacity, Rauf Hassan added.

    The PTI spokesperson also said that he didn’t even see the video. 

    The development came when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) started an investigation into the circulation of the video.

    However, sources in Adiala jail confirmed to Aaj News that the former prime minister refused to meet the FIA team in Adiala jail.

  • Fact Check: No hospital renamed in Maryam Nawaz’s honour, Punjab government clarifies

    Fact Check: No hospital renamed in Maryam Nawaz’s honour, Punjab government clarifies

    Social media was full of speculations after an alleged notification from the Punjab Health Department went viral, with many claiming that the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore had been renamed the “Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases Lahore.”

    Multiple accounts on X (previously Twitter) posted viral tweets with the notification and severely criticised the Punjab government for changing the name of the under-construction project.

    Most of the accounts that were spreading fake news were handled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers.

    According to the viral notification, the name of the under-construction building of Jinnah Institute of Cardiology will be changed to honour Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, but later on, the Punjab government clarified that the issued notification was not real.


    In a rapid move, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bohhari clarified in a post on X that the notification was fake and there were no intentions to change the name of the under-construction building.


    Bokhari further confirmed that no hospital’s name was being changed.

  • PTI in hot waters as Khan’s controversial post invites FIA investigation

    PTI in hot waters as Khan’s controversial post invites FIA investigation

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan refused to see the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime team when it arrived at Adiala Jail late Thursday night to investigate his recent controversial social media post.

    “I will answer any question in the presence of lawyers,” said Khan, refusing to become a part of any investigation by the FIA, Geo News reported.

    Recently, Khan’s social media handle on X (formerly Twitter) posted a video regarding the breakup of East Pakistan and putting the blame on the military establishment for committing atrocities which led to the country’s separation.

    The development came after FIA’s cyber crime wing decided on Thursday to initiate action against Khan over his controversial tweet on social media.

    Interestingly, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan tried to distance his party from the post saying it should be seen “in political context” and that Khan did not know the contents of the post that was uploaded.

    Geo News reported that FIA’s cyber wing will investigate four people including Khan, Gohar, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, and Secretary-General Omar Ayub for the “propaganda videos”.

  • Murtaza Solangi calls Imran Khan’s claims about prison conditions complete lies

    Murtaza Solangi calls Imran Khan’s claims about prison conditions complete lies

    Former Caretaker Minister for Information and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi took to Twitter to criticise Imran Khan’s recent interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, calling it a lie.

    “The biggest lie is that the disgraced and sacked former PM is in solitary confinement. Far from it,” wrote the ex-caretaker minister.

    He said, “Imran is staying in a complex of 7 rooms with access to all of them. Yes, he doesn’t have an AC but does have a room cooler. He can walk in the corridor whenever he wants. He is provided with a Bike Machine to keep him fit.”

    Solangi stated that the former Prime Minister “Gets three meals cooked by a special cook for him. Each meal is inspected by the doctor who also checks him three times a day. He also has a TV and a Refrigerator in his room and is also provided books.”