The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has made significant strides in investigating Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Bukhari’s fake videos, which circulated online last week.
A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been formed, with Assistant Director Rana Shawaz leading the team and in charge of handling the case.
Samaa News reported that the JIT has successfully traced the culprits behind the video and they will be apprehended soon. The FIA also used sources of NADRA in identifying the social media accounts involved.
Meanwhile, the FIA’s cybercrime wing has summoned Falak Javed, an activist of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in connection with the case. However, she did not appear for questioning.
Student leaders rallied Bangladeshis on Saturday for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government weathered a worsening backlash over a deadly police crackdown on protesters.
Rallies against civil service job quotas sparked days of mayhem last month that killed more than 200 people in some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year tenure.
Troop deployments briefly restored order, but crowds hit the streets in huge numbers after Friday prayers in the Muslim-majority nation, heeding a call by student leaders to press the government for more concessions.
Students Against Discrimination, the group responsible for organising the initial protests, urged their compatriots to launch an all-out non-cooperation movement from Sunday.
“This includes non-payment of taxes and utility bills, strikes by government workers and a halt to overseas remittance payments through banks,” the group’s Asif Mahmud told AFP.
Mahmud’s fellow student leaders also said another round of nationwide rallies would be staged on Saturday.
“Please don’t stay at home. Join your nearest protest march,” Mahmud wrote on Facebook.
Students are demanding a public apology from Hasina for last month’s violence and the dismissal of several of her ministers.
They have also insisted that the government reopens schools and universities around the country, all of which were shuttered at the height of the unrest.
Crowds on the street have gone further, chanting demands for Hasina to leave office.
Hasina, 76, has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.
Her government is accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.
Demonstrations began in early July over the reintroduction of a quota scheme — since scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court — that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.
With around 18 million young Bangladeshis out of work, according to government figures, the move upset graduates facing an acute employment crisis.
The protests had remained largely peaceful until attacks on demonstrators by police and pro-government student groups.
Hasina’s government eventually imposed a nationwide curfew, deployed troops and shut down the nation’s mobile internet network for 11 days to restore order.
Foreign governments condemned the clampdown, with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell this week calling for an international probe into the “excessive and lethal force against protesters”.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters last weekend that security forces had operated with restraint but were “forced to open fire” to defend government buildings.
At least 32 children were among those killed last month, the UN said Friday.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) declared the Italian boxer Angela Carini as the Olympic champion despite being defeated by Algerian Imane Khelif in just 46 seconds of the first round game at the Paris Olympics.
President IBA Umar Kremlev has announced that the governing body will give Carini the fixed prize money for the gold medalist.
The IBA allocated $3.1 million in prize money for the 100 medalists of the May Olympics boxing event. The gold medal has a prize of $100,000, of which $50,000 will be given to the player, $25,000 to the coach, and $25,000 to the federation.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) official page on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, announced the cancellation of the basic party membership of maverick leader Sher Afzal Marwat for a “gross violation/ breach” of discipline.
In an interesting development, however, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has termed the notification “fake” even though the post still hasn’t been removed from the party’s social media platforms.
“The notification regarding cancellation of Sher Afzal Marwat’s membership is fake. It’s not possible,” stated Gohar, clearly signalling rifts within the party leadership over Marwat’s future.
In the notification, it was said that Marwat was on notice and was asked to “restrict himself, and his statements to within the limitation as outlined in the letter. A committee was setup to monitor his statements, media appearances and tweets.”
It further stated that if Marwat was an honourable person he would resign from the NA seat because he won as a nominated PTI candidate and seek re-election.
Meanwhile, Marwat has accepted the party notification on X, saying, “I respect the party’s decision, but let me make one thing clear: I was Khan’s soldier.”
He also stated that Khan had been misguided about him and that he would clarify his position in front of Imran Khan.
Asim Abbasi’s Barzakh, with big names including Salman Shahid, Fawad Khan, Mohammad Fawad Khan, and Sanam Saeed, has grabbed all the headlines since its release on Zee Zindagi’s YouTube. Fans can be found online discussing themes and episodes.
Recently television host Nadia Khan also shared her review. During her show ‘Kya Drama Hai’ on Channel 24,
Nadia said, “There are five reasons why you should watch the web series ‘Barzakh’. Firstly, it marks Fawad Khan’s comeback after a long time, which is a big deal. Additionally, the pairing of Fawad and Sanam is a hit and it’s been a while since we’ve seen them together. The theme of the series is also unique as it’s an international platform, which means there are no restrictions on language, clothing, or scenes. This makes it a relief for those who are tired of the usual saas-bahu and family dramas. Lastly, the series has a dark and mysterious tone with a murder mystery that will keep you engaged.”
Here is the link to what Nadia Khan said about Barzakh:
A report released by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) reveals an increase in gender-based violence across Pakistan.
The report also notes an increase in pending gender violence cases in the courts.
The number of pending gender violence cases rose from 21,891 to 39,665 in 2023.
In Punjab, the number of pending gender violence cases increased by 100 percent, while Sindh saw a three percent increase, KP experienced a 14 percent rise, Balochistan had a two percent increase, and Islamabad saw a one percent rise.
Most cases of gender-based violence involve sexual assault, and pending cases also include kidnapping, human trafficking, and murder of women.
Crimes committed using electronic means related to gender cases have also increased, while economically motivated crimes have decreased.
According to the report, the conviction rate for those involved in gender crimes is only five percent, and the acquittal rate for accused individuals in gender crimes is 64 percent.
Additionally, 480 special courts were established in 2019 to address gender-based crimes across the country.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid a surprise visit to Kahna police station in Islamabad, where he found drunkards sleeping in one of the rooms.
Geo News reported that Naqvi reached Kahna police station without informing police officials. There, he found investigating officers absent from the room where petitioners were seated. Upon inquiring about why the officers were absent, the sub-inspector could not answer any of his questions.
The interior Minister visited the front desk and lockup cell and asked questions about the cases of arrested people. He also expressed disgust over the smell of cigarette smoke in the front desk room.
In one of the rooms, he found two sleeping drunkards, and the interior minister tried to wake them up but couldn’t.
Mohsin Naqvi was angry upon seeing the condition of the police station and also suggested that there is no justification for parking so many motorcycles there; most should be returned to the owners.
The Interior Minister ordered the release of the four people arrested on charges of parking their cart in the wrong place after completing the necessary legal process.
Naqvi asked to address the requests of all the petitioners instead of making them wait that long.
The controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has intensified, with Hungarian boxer Luca Hamori shared insulting posts on Instagram before their match.
Later, she was forced to remove them from her social media account after being heavily criticized.
The Algerian Olympic Committee strongly protested against the issue and wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), stating, “The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee concludes to the knowledge of national and international public opinion, that follows the official complaint submitted today by our Olympic body to the International Olympic Committee, regarding the violation and serious violation of sport ethics and affecting the Olympic Charter, in the person of our champion Imane Khelif, by one of the participants in the boxing tournament for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 The International Olympic Committee has issued a final apology to violators with an order to delete every post that concerns our heroine Iman Khalif.”
“We reserve the right to prosecute everyone who participated in the heinous campaign against the heroine Imane Khelif. Good luck to our heroine, and long live.”
The fight between Algerian woman boxer Imane and Hungary’s Luca Hamori is scheduled today. In the first fight, Imane defeated Angela Carini in just 46 seconds after the Italian conceded, crying on her knees in the ring while refusing to shake her opponent’s hands.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Imane based on an unspecified test. But the Olympics committee has clarified that she is a biological woman but born with “elevated levels of testosterone.”
The government of Bangladesh has put a nationwide ban on Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube, and other social media owned by Meta, as well as YouTube, Global Eye News confirmed on X (Formerly Twitter).
This follows a previous shutdown of Meta’s platforms, like Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, from July 17 to July 31 due to protests about quota reforms.
Mobile internet was first turned off on July 17, and broadband was shut down on July 18. Broadband services started working again after five days, on July 23, while mobile networks stayed off for ten days and were turned back on July 28.
This new shutdown was announced shortly after Turkey banned Instagram.
