Current Final

Tag: home-politics

  • Twitter lauds Pakistani troops for rescuing flood-affected Hindu pilgrims

    Twitter lauds Pakistani troops for rescuing flood-affected Hindu pilgrims

    Pakistan’s paramilitary troops have successfully rescued dozens of Hindu pilgrims trapped near Gandawa in Balochistan after a flood hit the area on late Saturday night.

    According to the details, over 150 Hindu pilgrims were rescued through helicopters and shifted to safe places.

    The personnel of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps (FC), Levies Force and Provincial Disaster Management  Authority (PDMA) took part in the operation launched on the directions of Balochistan chief minister.

    The successful operation was widely lauded by Twitterati. Here’s what they had to say:

    https://twitter.com/CallSignONE/status/1117428543284228096
    https://twitter.com/WA_twets/status/1117678146327851008
  • ISPR chief trolls Indian leader for copying Pakistan’s Defence Day anthem

    ISPR chief trolls Indian leader for copying Pakistan’s Defence Day anthem

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor has trolled a leader of India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for stealing the composition of a song released earlier this year by the media wing of Pakistan’s military.

    As per the details, Raj Singh of Narendra Modi’s party copied the song ‘Zindabad Pakistan’ and recorded it by changing it to ‘Zindabad Hindustan’. He also dedicated the song to Indian armed forces.

    https://twitter.com/TigerRajaSingh/status/1116612649972719617

    “Glad that you copied. But copy to speak the truth as well. #PakistanZindabad,” the ISPR chief tweeted while sharing the clip that later went viral over the internet.

    Here’s the original version:

  • VIDEO: PM Imran Khan spotted with Pakistan’s ‘nuclear launch codes’

    VIDEO: PM Imran Khan spotted with Pakistan’s ‘nuclear launch codes’

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has been spotted with “Pakistan’s nuclear launch codes”, a foreign journalist claimed Tuesday.

    Earlier this week, PM Imran was interviewed by BBC’s John Simpson. The interview that came following heightened tensions with India, discussed future ties of the two neighbouring countries.

    With the premier walking away after the interview, he was followed by an officer carrying a briefcase that Simpson revealed held “nuclear codes”.

    “Following him [Imran Khan], I was told, the officer carrying the briefcase that holds Pakistan’s nuclear codes,” he said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    While what the briefcase really holds remains a mystery, here’s what Twitterati have to say.

    https://twitter.com/MrBubbyy/status/1116019019994341376
    https://twitter.com/meetdspartan/status/1115979217609478144
  • Another PIA hostess ‘goes missing’ in Paris

    Another PIA hostess ‘goes missing’ in Paris

    The air-hostess of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight has “gone missing” in France.

    According to the administration of the flag carrier, 30-year-old Shazia Saeed was part of the crew on PIA’s April 6 Sialkot-Paris flight.

    “She was found missing when the Paris-Lahore flight was scheduled to leave for its destination on Tuesday. The PIA station manager in Paris reported the matter to the authorities there,” a PIA spokesperson was quoted as saying.

    According to Dawn, the Lahore-based hostess may seek asylum in Europe and in that case, PIA may remove her from service.

    The disappearance of PIA flight crew members in Europe and North America is not new as in September 2018, a hostess, Fareeha Mukhtar, who was earlier barred from traveling on international routes, went missing in Canada.

    Mukhtar was suspended from service in 2015 over allegations of smuggling currency and mobile phones.

    She was later traced in Toronto where she was staying with former air hostess Mahira who had also disappeared two years ago.

  • Here’s what you can buy with Bahria Town’s Rs460 billion

    Here’s what you can buy with Bahria Town’s Rs460 billion

  • ‘This isn’t LHC,’ Supreme Court warns lawyers against raising voice for ‘favourable verdicts’

    ‘This isn’t LHC,’ Supreme Court warns lawyers against raising voice for ‘favourable verdicts’

    A day after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz was granted pre-arrest bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) amid much drama, the Supreme Court (SC) has taken an apparent jibe at its subordinate court.

    As per the details, a three-member bench of the top court was hearing a case regarding lease of government land to private petrol pumps when Justice Azmat Saeed warned lawyers against raising their voice in the courtroom.

    “This is not LHC where you can create ruckus to get the desired decision,” he remarked.

    Upon this, veteran lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan reminded the top court judge that he too was a part of the LHC once.

    “The existing court is not the one I left behind,” Justice Saeed said while reacting to Ahsan’s comment and cautioned him against the tone in which he was arguing before the bench.

    While Justice Saeed did not clarify his remarks about the LHC, Twitterati believe the observation points towards Hamza’s bail that came amid a standoff between police and party workers.

    As the PML-N leader’s counsel had sought an extension in his bail on Monday, dozens of party loyalists had gathered outside the court and left the premises only after the petition had been approved and National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) barred from arresting Hamza till April 17.

    NAB is after Hamza for the past six months for allegedly accumulating assets beyond known sources of income. The claim, however, has repeatedly been denied by the lawmaker himself.

  • 33 ‘criminals’ in Punjab Assembly

    33 ‘criminals’ in Punjab Assembly

    With the democratic process continuing in the country for the third consecutive tenure, revelations are being made about the national and provincial assemblies’ lawmakers who are currently representing the people of their respective constituencies.

    As per these revelations, as many as 33 Punjab Assembly members of three political parties are facing criminal proceedings in different courts across the country, while the assembly also houses four billionaires. The case in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan assemblies is quite similar as well.

    According to Free & Fair Election Network’s (FAFEN) “Parliament Monitor”, here is all you need to know about your provincial representatives.

    Punjab Assembly:

    Nearly one-third (123) legislators in the Punjab Assembly have declared that they possess assets of a cumulative worth between Rs11 million to Rs50 million, while 18 per cent own assets ranging between one million rupees to Rs10 million. The worth of around 16 per cent legislators’ assets ranges from Rs101 million to Rs500 million while 12 per cent legislators have assets of worth between Rs51 million to 100 million rupees.

    There are four billionaires in the Punjab Assembly with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sheikh Allauddin being the richest with assets worth more than Rs1 billion. On the other hand, six and three legislators belonging to PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), respectively, have assets worth less than a million.

    Moreover, as many as 33 (9%) incoming legislators of Punjab have mentioned in their affidavits that they have criminal cases pending against them.

    18 of these lawmakers belong to PTI, 14 to PML-N and one to Pakistan Rah-e-Haq.

    Sindh Assembly:

    As many as 59 legislators have declared that they possess assets of cumulative worth between Rs11 million to Rs50 million. 30 per cent have assets that range from Rs1 million to Rs10 million. The worth of around 15 per cent legislators’ assets ranges from Rs101 million to Rs500 million, while 11 per cent legislators have assets between Rs51 million to 100 million.

    The richest declared legislator in the Sindh Assembly is Pakistan People’s Party (PPP leader) Mukesh Kumar Chawla, who owns assets worth Rs550 million while four legislators – two of PTI, one each of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) – have assets worth less than a million rupees.

    Meanwhile, 20 (12%) legislators have criminal cases pending against them. Half of these lawmakers with pending criminal cases belong to PPP, four to Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), three to PTI and two to MQM-P while one is an independent lawmaker.

    KP Assembly:

    One-third (45) lawmakers have declared that they possess assets of cumulative worth between Rs11 million to Rs50 million while 20 per cent have assets of worth ranging from one to Rs10 million. The worth of around 9 per cent legislators’ assets ranges from Rs101 million to Rs500 million.

    As many as two PTI legislators own declared assets worth more than a billion including the incumbent Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who is the richest among provincial legislators with assets more than Rs2.5 billion. In addition, four legislators have assets of worth less than a million.

    Out of the total number of incoming legislators, eight (6%) mentioned in their affidavits that they have criminal cases pending against them. Five of these belong to PTI while three to Awami National Party (ANP).

    Balochistan Assembly:

    At least 22 legislators have declared the cumulative worth of their assets between Rs11 million to Rs50 million, while 21 per cent have assets of worth ranging between one to Rs10 million. The worth of around 8 per cent legislators’ assets ranges between Rs101 million to Rs500 million and as many as three Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and two independent legislators own declared assets worth more than Rs100 million.

    Nawabzada Tariq Magsi is the richest legislator of the Balochistan Assembly, with assets more than Rs324 million. Two legislators have assets of worth less than a million rupees.

    As for the criminal cases, 10 (15%) legislators have criminal proceedings pending against them. At least three of these legislators belong to BAP, two to ANP, and one each to PTI and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). Three alleged criminals are independent legislators.

  • 600,000 Pakistanis to be unemployed by July 2019?

    600,000 Pakistanis to be unemployed by July 2019?

    As many as 0.6 million Pakistanis “will lose their jobs by July 2019”, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mohammad Zubair Umar has claimed amid questions being raised over the government’s efforts for the uplifting of the country’s economy.

    “Unemployment is rising by the day and it is expected that by end of the fiscal year, 600,000 Pakistanis will have lost their jobs,” Zubair said in a statement issued after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government completed 200 days in centre.

    Due to the poor economy, he added, more than four million people “will also go below the poverty line”.

    WATCH THE VIDEO INSTEAD:

    The claims, however, were refuted by Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar, who termed Zubair’s statement “the worst case of inaccurate numbers and half-truths”.

    “Pure conjecture. With private sector borrowing up and exporters gearing up for higher productions and foreign investors showing unprecedented interest, Pakistan is readjusting for investment and employment-led growth,” Azhar said.

    He further stated the most comprehensive and consolidated poverty alleviation programme was being developed by the government and there was no truth to Zubair’s statement regarding millions of people going below the poverty line.

    With the row between members of the ruling PTI and PML-N continuing, The Current reached out to a Lahore-based political economist and public policy professional Rahema Hasan for the validity of either side’s claims.

    “People may not be losing their jobs by the end of the fiscal year, but it’s the number of people entering the labour force annually, which will add to the unemployment rate,” she said.

    “Unemployment figures are high for Pakistan, but estimations need to be made on concurrent information and not perceptions,” she said and added that such claims could discourage private sector investment confidence and put pressure on public resources.

    On the other hand, the government needs to put down estimations of how much employment is expected out of the investment coming to Pakistan; for example, 1,000 jobs per every $100 million invested in the agriculture sector, Rahema said further.

    “Perception is a key to economic decision making, however, necessarily based on incomplete and unverified information, it is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior,” she said.

    Rahema was of the view that mere assumptions and political gimmicks could have devastating effects on economic decision-making.