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  • COAS Bajwa directs army officials to stay away from politics, avoid politicians: report

    COAS Bajwa directs army officials to stay away from politics, avoid politicians: report

    Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has issued fresh directives to all his commanders, and officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to stay away from politics and avoid interacting with politicians, reports Ansar Abbasi for The News.

    “These directions have been given in the wake of Imran Khan-led PTI propaganda against the establishment alleging certain ISI officials of having been involved in political engineering to manipulate the upcoming by-elections in Punjab to the disadvantage of PTI.”

    The security establishment is of the view that the PTI should share evidence of the claims they are making. The establishment claims that even if an iota of evidence is provided, strict action would be initiated against those responsible.

    Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted, “The desire of the army chief is commendable but in my personal opinion, the army needs to make a three-year project through which the army can separate itself from politics.”

    Director-General (DG) ISI, Lieutenant-General Nadeem Anjum, made it clear in February to all officials of the ISI that no interference in politics and political matters would be tolerated.

    The incumbent DG ISI decided soon after he joined the office to keep the institution away from politics.

    Lt-Gen Anjum had conveyed to all the concerned authorities not to release to the media his pictures or video footage taken during official meetings.

  • Islamabad residents paying up to Rs5,000 for private water tankers

    Islamabad residents paying up to Rs5,000 for private water tankers

    Residents of Islamabad’s sectors G-13 and G-14 are paying private tankers up to Rs5,000 to fetch water for their homes to meet their needs during the current summer season.

    Buildings and houses are being constructed in these sectors, but the availability of water continues to be a severe issue that has to be handled by the concerned authorities.

    When water is only occasionally—once a week or never—given, the locals are left at the tanker mafia’s mercy. The G13 sector has been one of the most severely impacted communities.

    According to The News, there was a plan to use Khanpur Dam to deliver water to these areas, but there were several obstacles, such as encroachment and the failure to acquire property for the supply lines.

    The civic agency began supplying water to certain sectors via tankers at discounted prices. At its G-10 facility, there were no fees for filling private water tankers, allowing the inhabitants of these two sectors to obtain water at subsidised prices.

    Since water at reduced rates was only provided once a week, eventually residents are compelled to buy water from tankers at outrageous prices.

    The locals reported that they are also having issues with their schools, crumbling roads, electrical shortages, a lack of parks, filthy conditions, and a lack of health care services.

  • The Minor’s age is 15, reveals medical board

    The Minor’s age is 15, reveals medical board

    A medical board appointed by a civil court in Karachi has revealed The Minor’s age to be 15 years. Previously, her age had been established by a medical board to be between 16 and 17, but the findings of the board had been challenged on a technicality. A six-member medical board conducted an age-determination test of The Minor over the weekend.

    “The Medical Board has verified the truth which the Parents have been telling for 2.5 months. As per Board The Minor is nearest to 15 yrs of age negating the previous medical report which placed The Minor at 17. This proves that NADRA documents are accurate & The Minor, in reality, is a 14yr child,” lawyer Jibran Nasir tweeted. He is representing The Minor’s parents in court.

    Read more- Are we obsessed with the Minor Girl’s case?

    “Offences of Kidnapping, Child Marriages & Rape/Sexual Offences all are attracted to a case where girl child is under 16. IGP Sindh should take immediate action to remove current I.O. of the case who has been telling media no case of Kidnapping is made & must immediately recover The Minor,” Jibran added.

    The Minor went missing on April 16 from Karachi. Three videos of The Minor also surfaced in which she can be heard saying that she married out of her own free will, and claimed that she is 18 years of age.

  • Are we obsessed with the The Minor case?

    Are we obsessed with the The Minor case?

    The Minor is a household name these days. A young girl, came into the limelight when a case of a missing minor girl was reported in Karachi. The missing or allegedly abducted girl was later found in Punjab where she had gotten married and was apparently living a happy life with her husband. This is where the case unravelled.

    The Minor happens to be underage and her marriage to her husband is not considered a legal one per law. A girl/boy getting married under the age of 18 years is considered to be illegal. Earlier this year, Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared any marriages under the age of 18 years unlawful even though each province has different legal age for marriage.

    The problem, in this case, is that no one is talking about the law here. The Minor is being dragged to the hospital every now and then to check her age through medical tests. Her parents come on television, record videos, and say how their daughter has been trapped. The Minor, on the other hand, keeps saying that she is happy and is not under any pressure. The court allowed her to decide who to stay with instead of keeping her in a government shelter until everything had been settled, under the law. Legal observers have raised another question including why a medical test, which is not accurate, is allowed when NADRA documents prove that she is a minor. Did the court not trust NADRA records and if not, why? These questions have so far not been answered.

    In this case, we have left the main issue, i.e. underage marriage behind and are only catering to the drama that is unfolding: the fact that she sat on a cushion during an interview or that she wore make-up. Why is no one talking about how important it is for parents to talk with their children? Why is no one talking about how this case will impact the minds of children whose television screens keep flashing The Minor and her husband, the crying mother, and sister of The Minor ? Why is no one talking about how traumatic all this is for girls and boys of this age? Why is no one talking about how two children — who are apparently underage — got married after meeting online? Why did the boy’s family agree when the girl was quite obviously a minor? Why is there silence around these issues?

    We hope that parents start to have open conversations with their children and create an environment where children can speak openly and a relationship of trust is built between them.

  • ‘Prove them traitors’: Bushra Bibi’s audio leak out

    ‘Prove them traitors’: Bushra Bibi’s audio leak out

    An alleged audio of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi has been leaked in which she is instructing Khan’s focal person for Digital Media Dr Arslan Khalid to make a statement against Khan’s opponents and run a campaign to ‘prove them traitors’.

    In the alleged leaked audio, Bushra Bibi can be heard saying, “Khan Sahib told you to run a hashtag of treason. I have been getting calls from people that your social media was very active but after a week, it is not. You should have been very active nowadays.”

    She also allegedly said that Aleem Khan and others will talk filth about Khan, her friend Farah and her as well. “They will make so much fuss and they will also give testimonies of the people but you don’t have to make any issue of it just link them all with treason,” says Bushra Bibi.

    In the audio clip, Bushra can be reportedly heard instructing Khalid to build a narrative that all the PTI dissidents had joined foreign conspirators to save themselves.

    The former first lady allegedly asks Khalid to direct his team to take up the issue of the government not buying oil from Russia and link it with how Imran Khan was being betrayed.

    “You cannot let this matter die down,” Bushra Bibi allegedly says to him, asking him to make a trend so people know that the country and Khan are being betrayed.

    “I am only telling you this, you don’t have to discuss this issue with anyone. They are after him [Imran Khan] because of this. But you have to link it with treason,” she concludes.

    Responding to Bushra Bibi’s audio, PTI’s Fayaz ul Hassan Chohan condemned saying that is it unethical. He further said that there is nothing wrong in it if Bushra Bibi has linked conspiracy to treason.

    This is not the first time an audio clip has surfaced on social media involving Bushra Bibi.

    Earlier this month, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders played an audio tape between Bahria Town chief Malik Riaz and his daughter, revealing how allegedly Farah Gogi “demanded a gift” for former first lady Bushra Bibi.

  • Govt announces five Eid holidays

    Govt announces five Eid holidays

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday approved a five-day public holiday from July 8 to July 12 (Friday to Tuesday) on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

    “Further action may be taken accordingly,” the letter from the PM Office read.

    Earlier, the Cabinet Division sent a summary to PM Shehbaz Sharif to get his approval for a three-day public holiday.

    The first day of Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated across Pakistan on July 10 (Sunday), Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad announced last week.

  • Pakistan Customs seizes a massive amount of methamphetamine and illegal goods

    Pakistan Customs seizes a massive amount of methamphetamine and illegal goods

    Pakistan customs department has seized illegal goods worth approximately Rs60 million in separate incidents over the past week, indicating that the campaign against the smuggling of contraband goods into and out of Pakistan is in full swing.

    The Exports Collectorate prevented an attempt to smuggle a sizable amount of drugs into Australia. The Exports Examination-PICT team has made a drug seizure of 47 kilogrammes of ice. Officials reported that Fida Hussain, a suspect, was detained by Customs authorities after they registered a case, according to Express Tribune.

    The Enforcement Collectorate Karachi team reportedly stopped two oil tankers close to the Mochko checkpoint and found 30,000 liters of Iranian diesel that had been smuggled. The seized tankers and smuggled diesel are estimated to be worth a total of Rs27.5 million.

    Another incident involved a trailer truck that was loaded with urea and was headed for Karachi when it was illegally crossed into Balochistan by the Enforcement Karachi at the Mochko checkpoint.

    Deputy Commissioner Keamari has received the truck and seized urea for further legal action. The truck hauling urea is estimated to be worth Rs29 million.

  • ‘There will be no place in hell to hide’: Feroze Khan grills Miftah Ismail for his recent remarks

    ‘There will be no place in hell to hide’: Feroze Khan grills Miftah Ismail for his recent remarks

    Actor Feroze Khan took to his Instagram stories to grill Finance Minister (FM) Miftah Ismail for his recent statement amidst the petrol hike. Khan is appalled at the comic remarks by Miftah Ismail on the recent inflation hikes.

    The Finance Minister recently mentioned in a speech that citizens rush to petrol stations whenever he appears on television. The Khaani hero feels his humorous remarks are insensitive and grilled the politician by saying that he will get no place in hell to hide.”

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday tweeted in support of Ismail. He further revealed that Ismail was facing immense criticism from within the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) because of the continuous increase in petrol prices.

    The Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3 star recently responded to a fan who termed his smile as ‘poison’. Feroze laughed it off and responded that “where does such phrases come from?”

    He recently appeared on Tabish Hashmi’s show TBH (To Be Honest) and he talked about his one insane female fan. The Khaani star recently hit back a troll who commented a derogatory remark on his picture.

    The Ishqiya star said that while he was the VJ for a show, he had an experience with a female fan when he had to use the washroom in the middle of the show.

    The Dil Tera Hogaya actor added: “I was going to the washroom with my team, they were escorting me to the place , later on, I sent the team back and went to the washroom, while I got back , I noticed the sound of someone walking behind me, when I saw around, it was the girl’s face whom I was watching for many months, the face was already fixed in my mind because I saw her a lot on my sets, she just used to come & watch me.”

    He kept on saying, “I asked to her, Yes ?, she said that she needs my number, she grabbed me from my collar and asked for it “, “I then gave my uncle’s number because I was stuck in a weird situation at that time, also I thought how can someone be so aggressive for the number”, said Feroze.

    “My uncle then called me and said someone called and asked about you, uncle smiled too”. Feroze further said that then another day he called and said “please settle this thing, it’s getting out of hands, she is desperately asking for your number from me.”

    Feroze stated that he loves the appreciation that his followers shower him with, but that devotion may be dangerous.

  • Video: Man marries alligator, kisses it after wedding

    Video: Man marries alligator, kisses it after wedding

    A man in Mexico has tied the knot with an alligator, Reuters has reported. In a vibrant wedding that took place in June, a Mexican mayor of a tiny town married his alligator bride.

    In video and pictures that have gone viral on social media, the man can be seen kissing the alligator. The seven-year-old alligator is referred to as ‘little princess’. It is thought to be a goddess who represents mother earth; her union with the local leader represents the union of people and the divine.

    “We ask nature for enough rain, for enough food, that we have fish in the river,” said Sosa, mayor of the small fishing village on Oaxaca’s steamy Pacific coast.

    “It gives me so much happiness and makes me proud of my roots,” said Elia Edith Aguilar, known as the godmother who organised the wedding.

    “It’s a very beautiful tradition,” she added.

  • ‘Miftah is facing immense criticism from within PML-N’: Khawaja Asif

    ‘Miftah is facing immense criticism from within PML-N’: Khawaja Asif

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday tweeted in support of Finance Minister (FM) Miftah Ismail. He further revealed that Ismail was facing immense criticism from within the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) because of the continuous increase in petrol prices.

    “FM Miftah is among the hardest working members of PM’s team, accessible to all stakeholders,” tweeted Khawaja Asif.

    “He is performing v. well under difficult circumstances, with immense criticism from vested interests – including, and unfortunately, from within PMLN. Time to show solidarity with Miftah.”

    Miftah Ismail had recently said that he was “not supposed” to appear on national television to announce an increase in the cost of petroleum products, but that he did so in response to a directive from Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    It is pertinent to mention here that PML-N’s supremo Nawaz Sharif’s close aide and former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed his return to Pakistan in July. He said that he is coming back on the directions of Nawaz and the decision was taken after the consent of PM Shehbaz.

    There was news circulating of Dar taking the charge of the finance ministry, to which he said he cannot decide this matter. “My party will decide.”

    Ismail is under pressure since the government announced multiple hikes in petroleum products and the delay in the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.