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Tag: Pakistan

  • Punjab College ‘rape’ case: CM Maryam forms investigation committee

    Punjab College ‘rape’ case: CM Maryam forms investigation committee

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz has formed a high-level seven-member committee to investigate the alleged rape of a student at Punjab College in Lahore.

    The investigative committee chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman has been tasked to present findings of the alleged rape incident before the CM within 48 hours.

    The other members of the committee include the Secretary of Home Affairs, the Advocate General of Punjab, the Secretary of Higher Education, the Secretary of Special Education, and the Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education.

    According to the notification, the committee will examine all elements, including the college administration’s initial response and the manner in which the police managed the situation.

    Earlier, social media reports claimed that a student of Punjab College’s Campus 10 in Lahore was subjected to rape by a college guard named Aun, prompting mass protests across the city.

    Meanwhile, In the wake of this incident, celebrities from the entertainment industry, such as Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Maya Ali, Dure Fishan Saleem, Yumna Zaidi, Bilal Abbas Khan and Amar Khan, stepped up to voice their concern. They all shared on their Instagram stories to support the protesting students and demand accountability from the authorities.

  • ‘You are in hiding, yet asking workers to come out’; Ali Amin Gandapur lambasts Hammad Azhar

    ‘You are in hiding, yet asking workers to come out’; Ali Amin Gandapur lambasts Hammad Azhar

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Hammad Azhar and Chief Minister (CM) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur exchanged fierce words on the decision to call off a party protest scheduled for October 15 in Islamabad, Geo News has reported.

    During a political committee meeting, Hammad Azhar insisted on holding the protest at Islamabad’s D Chowk during the SCO summit. In response, Ali Amin Gandapur said, “You are in hiding yet are telling workers to come out for the protest,” the Chief Minister reportedly said.

    “I came to Islamabad two times, but PTI’s Punjab leadership was out of sight. Our members of the provincial assembly are in custody, and provincial workers had to be saved,” Gandapur said.

    “Don’t blame us; hold the protest. I will lead from the Punjab side,” Hammad Azhar aggressively responded.

    The party’s senior members were divided on Sunday on the scheduled protest at Islamabad D Chowk on the same day on which the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was to begin.

    Saner elements in the PTI group, including Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur and party Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, were in favour of calling off protests at Islamabad amid the SCO summit in Pakistan, Ansar Abbasi told Geo News.

    Moreover, former Speakers of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, Hamid Khan, Raoof Hassan, and Ali Muhammad Khan, were also against holding the protest on October 15 in Islamabad.

    Hammad Azhar, Shehbaz Gill, Khalid Khurshid, and Hafiz Farhat remained adamant about holding a protest at D Chowk, while Advocate Salman Akram Raja also endorsed the idea of protest.

    Shehbaz Gill and Hammad Azhar alike used the party’s social media to criticise the PTI groups who were resisting the decision to hold protests in Islamabad’s red zone.

    Chairman Barrister Gohar officially said that on the assurance of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, peaceful protests had been called off.

  • ‘Judges advising political party to prepare for upcoming elections’

    ‘Judges advising political party to prepare for upcoming elections’

    Speaker of Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan claimed that certain senior judges are advising one political party to prepare for elections.

    Speaking at a press conference at the old assembly building on Monday, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly said, “There is evidence that certain august members of the judiciary are encouraging a political party to prepare for elections.”

    “I have evidence that why a few articles of the constitution were suspended to benefit a party,” he added.

    Responding to the role of politics in judiciary, he said that politics in judiciary should end now.

    “There was lopsidedness in the court of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial as a specific five-man bench would take up all important cases. There was lopsidedness in the another ex-CJP Saqib Nisar’s court,” Khan added.

    Lambasting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership for holding protests on the same day as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is going to be held Today (Tuesday), he alleged that PTI’s protest has a foreign agenda.

  • ‘PTI to continue protesting till Imran Khan’s release’

    ‘PTI to continue protesting till Imran Khan’s release’

    Information Advisor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has said that his party’s protests will continue until the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, is released and charges against him are dropped.

    Express News reported that the Advisor declared that peaceful protest is their democratic and constitutional right.

    Lambasting the incumbent government, he states that an illegitimate government is trying to extend its rule by turning PTI protests into something like the Model Town incident of 2014.

    He emphasised that the country’s economic progress is impossible under authoritarianism and declared the national economy at a standstill mode.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, in a press conference in Islamabad said that the terrorism in Karachi and the ‘political terrorism’ of PTI are similar.

    Meanwhile, PTI has set conditions for calling off its protest on October 15, asking that their leaders should be allowed a meeting Imran Khan, and his personal physician should be allowed to check up on him.

  • Nine cops suspended for assaulting Karachi protesters

    Nine cops suspended for assaulting Karachi protesters

    Nine officials, including Eid Gah Station House Officer (SHO) Zaheer Ahmad, have been suspended on Monday after violent baton charges against peaceful protesters, journalists and civil society members at Karachi Press Club (KPC).

    A notification issued by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza stated that police officials were aggressive toward protestors upon which they were suspended, as proven by CCTV footage evidence, Geo News has reported.

    The notification further read, “They are also shifted to suspended men’s Coy: Headquarter Garden, South Zone Karachi, where they shall attend daily roll call/parade. They shall draw pay and allowances as admissible under the rules.”

    Police on Sunday confronted protesters for defying section 144 during a demonstration against the extra-judicial killing of blasphemy suspect Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar and “extremism in Sindh.”

    As videos of Sindh police’s brutality against protestors surfaced on social media, big-wig politicians condemned the incident, including leaders from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

    Senator Sherry Rehman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I apologise on behalf of the party. Am told that TLP was advancing from the other side and the police were on hair trigger alert after the recent attacks on foreigners and the advise to not protest until SCO is over, but still, the situation could have been handled differently.”

    “We are a democratic party, and the rights of citizens have to be protected and respected even if they were in violation of today’s 144. I have spoken on the phone from Islamabad to many who were mistreated, and I apologised and appreciate their understanding. Because this is important. Many of us are sorry and shamed. Will inform the leadership as well,” Sherry Rehman further noted.

    PPP leader Shazia Atta Marri was disheartened by the incident that took place outside Karachi Press Club.

    She claimed on X (formerly Twitter), “Deeply hurt by Yesterday’s events. The images are haunting. The young girl could be any one of our daughters. Surely this was too high a price to pay for raising your voice for peace. Yes 144 was imposed & yes it’s is important to maintain order but this was no way to disperse ppl.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari noted, “We all condemn & we are all disgusted and ashamed of the violent treatment against peaceful protesters. Home Minister has ensured probe & action will be taken against all those involved in such unprovoked, inexcusable & unjustifiable brutality.”

  • Will the government allow PTI leaders to meet Imran Khan?

    Will the government allow PTI leaders to meet Imran Khan?

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has set a condition for calling off its protest on October 15, which coincides with the day Pakistan is set to host the SCO summit.

    PTI’s condition is that their leaders should be allowed a meeting with the party founder, Imran Khan, and allow his personal physician to check up on him.

    Geo News reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rejected the proposal, with its Senator Talal Chaudhry emphasising: “The call for protest is merely an effort to blackmail the government.”

    Meanwhile, there are also reports that through some backchannel contacts, the government may allow Barrister Gohal Ali Khan and Hamid Raza to meet Khan today to withdraw the protest call.

    PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan wrote a request to the Interior Ministry to allow him and Hamid to meet with Khan three days before the protest call.

    In the letter, it was written, “It is to invite your attention to the subject matter that the last time Imran Khan was visited by our lawyers in Adiala Jail was October 3, 2024. Since then, no one has been allowed to visit Imran Khan. There is grave concern amongst the political leadership and workers of PTI about the health concern and wellbeing of Imran Khan.”

    There has also been internal opposition within PTI to postpone the protest in the greater interest of the country, with those opposing including CM KP Ali Amin Gandapur and Gohar Ali Khan, while Hammad Azhar, Salman Akram, and others advocated for holding the protest.

  • Sindh police clashes with protestors, journalists for violating section 144

    Sindh police clashes with protestors, journalists for violating section 144

    Police on Sunday confronted protestors for defying section 144 during a demonstration against the extra-judicial killing of blasphemy suspect Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar and “extremism in Sindh.”

    The demonstrators had gathered outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), for a protest organised under the “Sindh Rawadari March”, to condemn the murder of Dr Shahnawaz, who was shot dead by the police in Mirpurkhas on September 19 under blasphemy accusations, Dawn News reported.

    The Sindh Rawadari March brought together progressive voices from all over the province, including human rights defenders, trade unions and feminist movements.

    According to Tribune, the confrontation between law enforcement officials and protestors led to the arrest of over 100 individuals outside KPC, Metropole hostel and Jinnah Hospital.

    The Karachi police also cracked down on journalists, stopping them from covering the peace march.

    Simultaneously, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) organised a counter-protest at KPC, and police halted them at Teen Talwar, near Capri cinema.

    President Karachi Press Club Saeed Sarbazi claimed, “Police closed all routes leading to the press club with containers and buses, and even reporters and camera persons were not allowed entry.”

    Karachi South Deputy Commissioner (DC) Altaf Sario stated that section 144 was imposed due to the risk of riots and violence not only in Karachi but also in other parts of Sindh.

    Meanwhile, Senator Sherry Rehman apologised for the police crackdown on protestors outside KPC on behalf of her party.

    She wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I apologise on behalf of the party. Am told that TLP was advancing from the other side and the police were on hair trigger alert after the recent attacks on foreigners and the advise to not protest until SCO is over, but still, the situation could have been handled differently.”

    “We are a democratic party, and the rights of citizens have to be protected and respected even if they were in violation of today’s 144. I have spoken on the phone from Islamabad to many who were mistreated, and I apologised and appreciate their understanding. Because this is important. Many of us are sorry and shamed. Will inform the leadership as well,” Sherry Rehman further noted.

  • Pakistan security forces repel Afghan Taliban aggression

    Pakistan security forces repel Afghan Taliban aggression

    Pakistan security forces successfully foiled an attempt at aggression by Afghan Taliban forces at the Naushki-Ghazni sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

    Afghanistan forces opened fire at Pakistan security forces, who in response targeted Afghan checkpoints in its counteraction, security sources told Dawn News.

    Fire was exchanged while Pakistan security forces were doing fence repair work; Pakistan’s effective retaliation resulted in heavy casualties among the Afghan troops.

    The Afghan forces had carried out border violations in the past, as last month, the Afghan Taliban initiated heavy firing targeting Pakistani checkposts from the Afghan region of Plosi.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan forces on Wednesday killed two terrorists who were trying to enter a camp of Frontier Corps (FC) in the Zhob district of Balochistan.

    Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, claimed that terrorist Umar alias Umari, who was involved in numerous activities against security forces as well as innocent civilians, including the recent attack on a convoy of Deputy Commissioner Sherani, has also been killed in retaliation.

    However, the military media wing stated that one soldier was martyred.

  • Were Bilawal Bhutto’s remarks on Justice Mansoor Ali Shah misrepresented in a video clip?

    Were Bilawal Bhutto’s remarks on Justice Mansoor Ali Shah misrepresented in a video clip?

    A partial video clip of Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto was circulating online, giving the impression that he said that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the Supreme Court wouldn’t be able to control the other top court judges.

    Appearing on Dunya News programme, ‘Dunya Meher Bokhari Kay Sath,’ he actually remarked, “I don’t have the confidence that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will be able to control the other judges, Some of whom have shown a tendency that be it in the 63A case, be it in the original practice and procedure case whatever their position may be today, they have time and time and time again proved that they willing to go beyond the constitution to achieve a political aim.”

    He further said, “PPP respects both Chief Justice Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah,” and added that some judges have attempted several times to go beyond the 63-A Practice and Procedure case to achieve their political objectives.

    Bilawal claimed that for the first time in history, a chief justice “shared his authority” with another judge, and this happened during the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa’s tenure.

  • Next target is Shehbaz Sharif’s bedroom if Khan allows: Ali Amin Gandapur

    Next target is Shehbaz Sharif’s bedroom if Khan allows: Ali Amin Gandapur

    Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur addressed lawmakers in the KP Assembly yesterday, claiming, “If Imran Khan allows, we will reach Shehbaz Sharif’s bedroom next time.”

    Gandapur has recently come under fire from his party members and supporters for his mysterious role in last week’s PTI rally when he disappeared on October 5 in Islamabad, only to resurface in the KP Assembly a day later.

    “However, Imran Khan has ordered us to remain peaceful and follow the law, and we proved that last week in our protest,” said Gandapur told the KP Assembly.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Talal Chaudhry, while speaking on Geo News, stated: “This isn’t a Bani Gala bedroom where anyone can enter and exit. We know how to protect our state institutions, our leaders and most of all our country.”