Current Final

Tag: Fawad Chaudhry

  • ‘Khana chordo’: Nausheen Shah wants Fawad Chaudhry to change his shape

    ‘Khana chordo’: Nausheen Shah wants Fawad Chaudhry to change his shape

    Actor Nausheen Shah appeared on Tabish Hashmi’s show TBH, on which the Pehli Si Mohabbat diva was asked to give suggestions to certain politicians.

    When the host asked her to give an advice for the Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the Dudugi star was quick to suggest that he should stop eating junk and change his shape.

    She elaborated that since he is not diagnosed with any disease he should be more mindful of his appetite.

    The Deewar-e-Shab actor concluded by mentioning that the politicians who are corrupt should be ashamed and rather die.

    ‘Uske bohat baray dant hain’: Nausheen Shah opens up on comparisons with Kareena Kapoor

  • Election Commission sends notice to Fawad Chaudhry and Azam Swati for controversial comments

    Election Commission sends notice to Fawad Chaudhry and Azam Swati for controversial comments

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has sent a notice to Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati and Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry.

    The ECP has decided to ask for proof from Swati as the latter accused the institution [ECP] of taking bribes and being on the payroll of ‘someone’.

    Last week, Swati said that the ECP was responsible for destroying Pakistan’s democracy and for rigging all elections. Swati added that such institutions should be “set on fire”. 

    Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry in a press conference said, “The ECP seems to be acting as a mouthpiece of the Opposition, so much so that it seems to have become the headquarters for Opposition parties”.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1436319497338621955

    The minister said that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) should “either take a look at his behaviour or join politics”.

    “You better not become a tool used by small political parties,” Chaudhry told the chief election commissioner.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1436322520362258440

    Fawad Chaudhry responding to the notice tweeted, “If a notice comes, will give a detailed answer.”

    In March, seeking to disband the election watchdog, the ruling party had called on the CEC to resign for “failing to hold the Senate elections in a transparent manner”.

    Federal Minister Shafqat Mahmood said, “To ensure transparent elections are held is the responsibility of the election commission. This responsibility was not fulfilled,” he said. “The election commission failed to act as a neutral umpire hence it should resign,” added Mahmood.

    On the other hand, the ECP has given dates to the politicians from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) and Pakistan Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) leaders’ pending cases, which are due tomorrow (Wednesday) i.e. September 15.

    Those who have been called by the ECP from PTI include Senator Faisal Vawda who has a total of three cases, MNA Farrukh Habib and Mian Asif Mehmood. From PPP, Qadir Ali Mandokhel and Nawabzada Ghazanfar Ali Gul among others have also been asked to appear.

  • ‘Media Martial Law’, Journalists sit in protest against proposed media authority bill

    ‘Media Martial Law’, Journalists sit in protest against proposed media authority bill

    Pakistani journalists are protesting in front of the Parliament House against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), which aims to muzzle media freedom. The on-going protest started on Sunday. Journalists marched from the National Press Club to the Parliament House and stayed overnight.

    They said the sit-in would continue till President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament, which is scheduled to assemble on Monday.

    DETAILS OF THE PROTEST

    Renowned journalists including Mazhar Abbas, Hamid Mir, Fahd Husain, Kashif Abbasi, Saleem Safi, Asma Shirazi, Gharidah Farooqi Imtiaz Alam, and Afzal Butt are participating in the protest, headed by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

    PFUJ general secretary Nasir Zaidi, while talking to Voicepk.net said, “Prior to this, we struggled against every law to control the press in the eras of dictators, and we will struggle against such laws even today.”

    Senior journalist Afzal Butt said, “Many attempts had been made in the past to silence the media by dictators, but journalists successfully fought for their rights and this time too, the journalist community would protect freedom of the press.”

    Journalist Imtiaz Alam stated that, “The government through the PMDA was trying to impose ‘media martial law’. “as per Dawn.

    Journalists and politicians are criticising the government. “Parliamentary reporters have banned from sitting in the press gallery of Parliament for joint session,” tweeted PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman.

    SUPPORT BY JOURNALISTS

    Other journalists have expressed their concerns and showed solidarity with fellow journalists on social media accounts.

    https://twitter.com/zburki/status/1436954006820118537

    INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION

    Pakistani journalists in Britain also condemned the Pakistan government’s plans to establish the PMDA.

    “The officials of the High Commission called journalists individually and asked them not to hold the protest outside the High Commission premises and also issued threats of serious consequences for organising the protest,” wrote Murtaza Ali Shah for Geo News.

    “The journalists particularly singled out the current information minister [Fawad Chaudhry] for first playing his role in the economic murder of journalists and now pushing through a black law to completely finish the private media which provides thousands of jobs to media workers,” he added.

  • Banned by govt, TLP actively takes part in Cantonment Board polls

    Banned by govt, TLP actively takes part in Cantonment Board polls

    Months after being banned by the government, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) fields 84 candidates in 17 of the 41 cantonments, reports Dawn.

    Polling will be held on Sunday (tomorrow) to elect general members of the Cantonment Boards.

    A list of candidates of all the 219 wards shows that the ultra-rightwing TLP has fielded the largest number of 57 candidates in nine cantonments of Punjab, followed by 24 in six cantonments of Sindh and three candidates in two cantonments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

    The party, however, has not fielded any candidate in any of the nine wards of the three cantonments in Balochistan.

    Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry, while speaking to Dawn, said that only the Supreme Court had the authority to disqualify a political party from contesting the elections.

    He was of the opinion that the ban placed on the TLP was an administrative step. “There are two phases — one is administrative and the other is judicial. Until the judicial phase is not complete, the party cannot be stopped from participating in the elections,” explained Fawad.

    However, the minister criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not holding any investigations to find TLP’s source of funding when the commission was swift enough to check the accounts of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the two major Opposition parties.

  • PTI reacts to report on false claims of ministers and govt officials

    PTI reacts to report on false claims of ministers and govt officials

    Journalist Benazir Shah’s exclusive report featured on Geo News highlighted the misleading claims of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) numerous ministers and government officials.

    Since the PTI came to power in 2018, its lawmakers and officials have made the most of ‘fake news’ and used it to discredit journalists, media organisations, and the party’s opponents.

    “The offending language is often used to distort the truth and to undermine journalism, which aims to keep the powerful in check. When in reality those handing out the label of ‘fake news’ have occasionally stumbled themselves, especially when communicating with the public. A large number of ministers and government officials from the ruling party have fallen for false and misleading claims. In some instances, clarifications are issued, but in others, no corrections have been made to date,” read the report.

    September 2021: Minister of State Ali Muhammad Khan claims that Quaid-e-Azam went to jail

    Claim: Minister of State, Ali Muhammad Khan while speaking on 92 News programme, ‘Hard Talk Pakistan with Moeed Pirzada’ said, “We made the country. In 1947, my grandfather, Muhammad Wakeel Khan, went jail with Quaid-e-Azam.”

    Truth: There is no claim to the fact that the founder of Pakistan was ever arrested.

    August 2021: The ministry of information released a report, which incorrectly flag pro-state tweets as ‘anti-state’

    Claim: A report was released by the Digital Media Wing (DMW) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting titled, ‘Anti-State Trends: Deep Analytics Report’. It was deeply misleading and based on assumptions instead of facts.

    “The purpose of this report was to ascertain factual data and to analyse social media trends that were anti-state, Data was collected after analysing Pakistan Twitter Panel from June 2019- August 2021. Those hashtags were marked for data collection where the content of tweets was planned and propagated through a network to spread anti-state trends,” General Manager of the Digital Media Wing (DMW), Imran Ghazali told The Current.

    Truth: The report seemed to declare all the users in the report as anti-state until one prominent journalist reached out to the government and they eventually added the disclaimer after the report was published.

    June 2020: Minister of State Zartaj Gul claimed that ‘Covid-19’ actually has 19-points, hence the name

    Claim: Minister of State for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul, while speaking on PTV said that Covid-19 actually has 19 points, which can be applied to any country to combat coronavirus.

    Truth: Covid-19 is actually a short form for Coronavirus disease.

    June 2020: Prime Minister Imran Khan misquotes Allama Iqbal 

    Claim: In a tweet, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan shared an image, which had poetry written on it along with Allama Iqbal’s picture, and wrote, “This poem by Iqbal reflects how I try to lead my life. I urge our youth to understand and absorb the poem of the great Iqbal and I guarantee them that it will release their great God-given potential that we all possess as His greatest creation Ashraf ul Mukhluqat.”

    Truth: PM Khan later tweeted, “I stand corrected – this is not Allama Iqbal’s poem but the message conveyed is what I have stood by and tried to follow.”

    May 2020: Minister Murad Saeed insists the governor of New York wants to follow Pakistan’s model of contact tracing

    Claim: Minister for Communication Murad Saeed, while addressing the National Assembly, said that the governor of New York wanted to follow Pakistan’s model of contact tracing after PM Khan gave the concept of smart lockdown.

    Truth: As per the report published on Geo, not a single briefing of the governor was found stating the claim made by the minister.

    September 2019: Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari shares incorrect video

    Claim: Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari shared an incorrect video on Twitter and wrote, “Indian occupation forces can’t even bare to see fruit trees live in IOJK – lest the Muslim Kashmiris eat the fruit. Such is the barbarism of the Rogue Modi Govt’s fascist hate-filled mindset. #Kashmir”

    Truth: The video shared was from Himachal Pradesh, 2018 when India, after a court order against illegal forest encroachment, ordered the trees to be chopped.

    May 2019: Minister Fawad Chaudhry claims that the Hubble telescope was sent into space by Suparco

    Claim: Fawad Chaudhry while speaking on Geo News programme, Naya Pakistan said that the Hubble telescope was sent into space by Suparco, the national space agency of Pakistan.

    Truth: Hubble was deployed by NASA.

    However, the ruling party reacted to the report.

  • ‘Army chief agrees fake news, disinformation a threat to national security’: Fawad

    ‘Army chief agrees fake news, disinformation a threat to national security’: Fawad

    Federal Minister for information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said, “Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while addressing the Defence Day function, said fake news and disinformation were a threat to national security.”

    Fawad wrote, “This analysis is based on the truth, and therefore the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) is being brought to deal with these threats, as yellow journalism happens to be the biggest threat to freedom of media.”

    Representatives of media organisations rejected the proposed PMDA and termed the concept as an unconstitutional and draconian law against the freedom of press and expression and a step toward imposing state control to regulate all segments of media under over-centralised body.

    The Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement said that as part of its crackdown on freedom of expression, the government of Pakistan is seeking broad new powers in the garb of the proposed PMDA.

    Information Minister faced a hard time as members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting demanded to see the draft law of PMDA.

    Spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, demanded that the draft of the law should be presented for the establishment of the authority instead of a verbal briefing by the minister.

    Adding to her point, Aurangzeb said, “The attitude of the information minister was dictatorial.”

    However, Fawad Chaudhry said that some people did not want to have any regulations in the media industry, adding that Pakistan cannot turn a blind eye to conspiracies being formulated against it.

  • Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Pakistan paid a befitting tribute to the country’s armed forces, as it observed Defence Day with traditional spirit and enthusiasm.

    This year’s Defence and Martyrs’ Day theme is “Our martyrs our pride, a salute to all the relatives belonging to Ghazis and Shaheeds.”

    The day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals.

    In his message on Defence Day, President Arif Alvi vowed that Pakistan would never compromise its integrity.

    “Today we are actively fighting a hybrid war being waged against us. I commend the security agencies for their relentless efforts towards exposing the enemy carrying out covert activities,” he added.

    “We stand by the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination guaranteed under the UN Security Council resolutions,” said the president.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan also paid tribute to the brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army. “The Armed Forces must fight the enemy with unparalleled fearlessness in the world. Our brave officers, soldiers, pilots, and sailors have proved to the world that they are always ready to defend every inch of the homeland. Even if they have to pay a price for it.”

    Stressing the need for peace, PM Khan wrote, “On this occasion, I want to make it clear once again that our desire for peace should never be seen as our weakness, but should be answered in the same positive way for the prosperity and betterment of the people of the region.”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter and said, “Today the people & armed forces of Pakistan came together to defend their motherland against the Indian military aggression.”

    “We will always remember the sacrifices of our brave soldiers!”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the sacrifices of the martyrs, the unwavering determination of the soldiers, and the invincible unity of the people of Pakistan is our strength and the guarantee of our bright future.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, paying a tribute to the families of our martyrs, tweeted, “Today, in the names of martyrs.”

    Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari tweeted, “Today is a day to remember & pay our respects to our martyrs esp the soldiers for whom there’s not to reason why and the families they leave behind.”

    PPP leader Sherry Rehman tweeted, “On this #DefenceDay, we pay tribute to our valiant heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect our country and people. We forever owe their families a forever debt.”

  • ‘We should export Burnol to India after seeing their jealousy over Afghanistan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘We should export Burnol to India after seeing their jealousy over Afghanistan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    “Seeing India’s jealousy over the situation in Afghanistan, we should export Burnol to them,” said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1434458264553639936

    Regarding Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency’s director-general Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed’s visit to Kabul, Chaudhry said, “General Faiz is not the first intelligence chief to visit Kabul. Earlier, according to the United States (US) media, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief, Turkish and Qatari intelligence chiefs had visited Kabul as well.”

    “Pakistan’s efforts to evacuate foreigners from Afghanistan are immense and we will continue to do so,” added Fawad.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1434444791580868608

    “It would not be fair to say that we should not care for the people who did not leave Kabul,” added the minister.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1434444791580868608

    The federal minister further said, “Unconventional contacts are necessary for discussion on various issues at a time when there is a power vacuum in Afghanistan.”

    “There’s no government in Afghanistan at present and there’s a power vacuum there. In such a situation, who should a leader from the political setup of Pakistan meet there? The prime minister and foreign minister will meet their counterparts [who are not there],” said the minister.

  • Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Fawad Chaudhry faces backlash, NA members demand draft of proposed media authority

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry faced a hard time in the committee as members demanded to see the draft law of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), reported Kalbe Ali for Dawn.

    Spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, demanded that the draft of the law should be presented for the establishment of the authority instead of a verbal briefing by the minister.

    Adding to her point, Aurangzeb said, “The attitude of the information minister was dictatorial.”

    Fawad Chaudhry said that some people did not want to have any regulations in the media industry, adding that Pakistan cannot turn a blind eye to conspiracies being formulated against it.

    “It is important to regulate the media,” the minister said, adding: “We have studied the laws of the United Kingdom (UK), India, Australia, Singapore, and European nations before formulating the draft PMDA law.”

    “But most of all, there will be no compromise over the rights of media workers and against floating of fake news and there was a severe pressure against the Authority regarding these two things,” said Fawad.

    After reflection on the proposed PMDA, the chairman of the committee PML-N’s Mian Javed Latif decided to form a subcommittee, which will be headed by Aurangzeb with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Kanwal Shauzab and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Nafisa Shah as its members.

  • ‘Prove that I called anyone,’ Saleem Safi shares his banned politician list

    ‘Prove that I called anyone,’ Saleem Safi shares his banned politician list

    Senior Journalist and Talk Show Host Saleem Safi, while speaking to The Current, revealed that he has a banned list for his show ‘Jirga’ on Geo News.

    “I have a ‘banned list’ on my show and I am very particular who I call on my show,” said Safi.

    The banned list includes Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Dr Shahbaz Gill, Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Afridi,  Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan and Minister for Prisons, Punjab, as Official Spokesperson for the Government of Punjab, Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chohan. From Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the list includes (PML-N) Talal Chaudhry and MNA Javed Latif.

    “I do not shake hands with SAPM Dr Shahbaz Gill and Minister of Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz,” added Safi.

    “Provide me with proof that my team or I contacted or called any of these people on my show, and I am ready to face the consequences,” said Safi.

    Clarifying his stance, Safi informed The Current, “I did not call Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on my show till he became a minister. It became a necessity to call him then.”

    Safi’s comments come after Fawad Chaudhry commented on the former’s program, saying that, “Meray elawa apka koi phone nahi uthata [No one attends your call except for me]”

    To which Safi replied, “Meiny kisi aur ko phone kiya hi nahi hai kabi [ I have not called any one before].”