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Tag: Pakistan

  • Lahore High Court strikes down sedition law

    Lahore High Court strikes down sedition law

    Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday annulled Section 124-A, of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), dealing with sedition.

    The order of the court came on a set of petitions filed by citizens challenging sedition laws on grounds that the government used it against its opponents.

    It was stated in the petition that the Constitution of Pakistan gives every citizen the right to freedom of expression but still, Section 124-A is imposed for making speeches against the rulers.

    According to the petitioners, Section 124-A of sedition is being used for political purposes and should be struck down.

    What is Section 124-A of PPC?

    The law states: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Federal or Provincial Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”

  • BCCI sources say entire Asia Cup to be shifted to UAE or Qatar

    BCCI sources say entire Asia Cup to be shifted to UAE or Qatar

    Sources within Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have denied media reports that Pakistan will likely play their World Cup 2023 matches in Bangladesh.

    According to media reports, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has been continuously pressurised by BCCI to shift Asia Cup to a neutral venue, however Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has stuck to its stance that if they are deprived of hosting Asia Cup, then they will boycott the tournament and will not travel to India for World Cup 2023.

    PCB has dragged BCCI towards a ‘hybrid model” for the tournament.


    Under this proposed model, other teams would play their Asia Cup matches in Pakistan, while the Indian team would play their matches in another country. Now, according to media reports, Pakistan is also considering the possibility of playing their World Cup matches at a neutral location.


    However according to sources in BCCI that talked tto Press trust of India (PTI), these are just pressure tactics from PCB, while there is a probability of shifting entire Asia Cup to Qatar or United Arab Emirates.

    “We understand that this is a kind of pressure tactic applied by PCB because of the Asia Cup issue. But let me tell you, ultimately, Asia Cup will also be played in UAE or Qatar and probably Pakistan will also have to play its matches in one of these countries,” BCCI source said.

    “As far as Pakistan playing its Asia Cup games in Pakistan is concerned, the budget for the tournament is passed by the Asian Cricket Council. If ACC says that it’s not a commercially viable proposition to hold Asia Cup in two countries, how can Pakistan play its games at home? ACC, for all you know, might not pass the budget,” the BCCI source added.

  • ‘Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein’: Bilawal’s fiery speech on Khan

    ‘Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein’: Bilawal’s fiery speech on Khan

    In a fiery speech delivered on Wednesday on the floor of the National Assembly, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that for the past 30 years, “Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein”, referring to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    “This happens all the time,” he said in a speech that took aim at Imran Khan, the establishment and the judiciary. “Some Einsteins sit in our institutions; they make the decisions for the country. They manufacture these strategic assets, and then the assets come back to haunt the rest of us,” said Bilawal.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman reminded the members that the nation bravely fought against terrorists and eradicated terrorism from the country.

    It was unfortunate that the terrorism eliminated due to sacrifices of the Pakistan Army, police and common masses had been revived by Imran Khan, the minister remarked.

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who lost his mother- former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto – to a terrorist attack, also said that militants “played Holi” with the blood of the Pakistani nation for years yet the former prime minister pardoned the terrorists and brought them back to resettle them.

    “There is no example in the world of how our tribal people fought with terrorists,” he added.

    Taking aim at the former heads of Inter-Services Intelligence, the PPP head said that General Hameed Gul held [Imran’s] finger, while the role of General Pasha, General Zaheerul Islam, and General Faiz Hameed is obvious to everyone.

    “Dictatorship in the Supreme Court (SC) was started by Iftikhar Chaudhry, and he was also a part of this hybrid war, his aim was the end of the Constitution; General Faiz and General Pasha are gone but Imran remains,” he added.

    The foreign minister said that they have been talking about the supremacy of the Constitution and free media, but undemocratic steps were taken in response to their democratic step.

    He said that they did not do anything undemocratic by expelling an “undemocratic prime minister” and it is not appropriate to remain silent for the sake of democracy.

    “The nation must be told why such situations have happened,” he added.

    He further said that in response to the no-confidence motion, the then-prime minister, the-then speaker of the lower house, and the current president of the country “broke the Constitution”. “What did Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif do in response to this? If the constitution and law have been broken, file a case,” he demanded.

  • Petrol, diesel prices expected to decrease following decline in global crude oil prices

    Petrol, diesel prices expected to decrease following decline in global crude oil prices

    Petroleum product prices in Pakistan are expected to reduce from April 1st following a decline in international crude oil prices. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) estimated that the price of diesel could go down by Rs15-20 per litre, while the price of petrol is expected to decline by Rs4-5 per litre.

    However, industry sources suggest that the Finance Division may keep the prices unchanged.

    In its last fortnight review, the federal government had increased the price of petrol to Rs272 per litre, attributing the hike to the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar and an increase in the prices registered by Platts Singapore.

    The government raised the price of MS (petrol) by Rs5 per litre and hi-speed diesel by Rs13 per litre. The price of kerosene oil saw an increase of Rs2.56 by reducing the government’s dues, while the price of light diesel oil remained constant by adjusting the government dues.

    The new prices came into effect on March 16 and will remain in place until March 31. The Finance Division is expected to announce the new rates late on March 31, which will remain in place for the next 15 days.

  • Pakistan’s petrol relief proposal fails to convince IMF, causing further delays

    Pakistan’s petrol relief proposal fails to convince IMF, causing further delays

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistani authorities to provide additional information about a petrol relief package, which has caused further delays in the signing of a staff-level agreement.

    The petroleum ministry’s cross-fuel subsidy proposal was initially rejected by the Fund, which argued that more details are needed to verify its sustainability.

    The Ministry of Finance has distanced itself from the plan, which was announced without the IMF review mission’s knowledge, and has advised the Ministry of Petroleum to withdraw the proposal and work with the Ministry of Finance to iron out the policy details before approaching the IMF for the next review.

    According to The News, Minister of State for Finance, Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, has reportedly called the petrol subsidy plan “not workable” and clarified that there is no suggestion of subsidies on petroleum products. The Petroleum Division had suggested cross-subsidies on petroleum products, which is not feasible, she said.

    The talks with the IMF are ongoing, with the only remaining issue being the lender’s confirmation of external financing from bilateral countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which is currently underway.

    Pasha indicated that financial assistance is expected from bilateral friends soon, which will help finalize the staff-level agreement with the IMF.

  • No sweet, all sour: India sarr gaya as Pakistan owns Chicken Manchurian

    How will World War III break out? If Twitter had its way, then not because if water shortage or land dispute; but because of a plate of chicken manchurian.

    You’re probably wondering kya zalzala agaya tha TL pay. So let us breakdown the latest beef between Pakistan and India for you, since Pak Studies ka entire chapter is par anay walay talib-e-ilm ko rata marna parey ga.

    So basically the instigator was a Western source, like it always has been: The New York Times. The newspaper published a piece on the famous Chinese dish, Chicken Manchurian, and called it ‘a stalwart of Pakistani cooking’ that is widely served in Chinese restaurants across South Asia. The article never said that the dish was owned and created by Pakistanis.

    But dear students, this is where the Twitter feud exploded because Indians flooded the comments underneath the tweet pointing out that the dish was actually Indian, since it was invented by a third generation Chinese chef Nelson Wang, who lived in Calcutta. And Pakistanis retaliated as they do best- with hilarious memes. The dispute over the sweet n sour dish turned into the most hilarious Twitter exchange we have ever witnessed in our lives.

    Even Ali Gul Pir couldn’t hesitate to spread some fahashi

  • Dastaan, Kuch Ankahi: Drama OSTs Twitter users declare will remain top class

    It’s common knowledge that Pakistanis will disagree and kickstart phadda’s over every topic, but the one thing we can all agree on is that our drama OSTs will remain unmatched.

    When a new drama pops up on our screen, it might not manage to shake off the already established regressive stereotypes, but there is always a good chance that we get a fun new track to listen to for the next few weeks.

    Yesterday this Twitter user asked their followers about their favourite drama OST, and the responses were a like a tribute to our music industry.

    We’re adding these new recommendations to our listening list.

    Like always, we weren’t surprised to notice how the most popular response remained the Dastaan title track sung by Sohail Haider.

    https://twitter.com/Beimaaaaan/status/1640482389515182081?s=20

    Another popular verdict was the title track ‘Dildara’ sung by Azaan Sami Khan for ‘Kuch Ankahi’

    Another underrated but incredibly loved title song was from the drama ‘Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu’ which was sung by Bilal Khan.

    Giving you serious flashbacks to every single wedding you attended since the moment this song dropped online.

  • Pakistan received over $48 billion in bailout loans from China between 2008-2021

    Pakistan received over $48 billion in bailout loans from China between 2008-2021

    A study published on Tuesday revealed that China has spent $240 billion rescuing 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021. This amount has increased in recent years as more countries struggled to repay loans taken for the building of “Belt & Road” infrastructure.

    The researchers, from the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, AidData, and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, found that almost 80 per cent of the rescue lending was made between 2016 and 2021, primarily to middle-income countries such as Pakistan, Argentina, and Mongolia. However, lending has decreased since 2016 as many projects failed to generate expected financial dividends.

    The report also highlighted that Beijing’s ultimate objective was to rescue its banks, which is why it engaged in the risky business of international bailout lending. Chinese loans to countries in debt distress increased from less than 5 per cent of its overseas lending portfolio in 2010 to 60 per cent in 2022.

    Argentina received the highest amount of bailout money with $111.8 billion, followed by Pakistan with $48.5 billion and Egypt with $15.6 billion, while nine countries received less than $1 billion.

    According to Reuters, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) swap lines accounted for $170 billion of the rescue financing, including in Suriname, Sri Lanka, and Egypt. Bridge loans or balance of payments, supported by Chinese state-owned banks, amounted to $70 billion. Rollovers of both types of loans totaled $140 billion. However, the study criticized some central banks for potentially using the PBOC swap lines to artificially pump up their foreign exchange reserve figures.

    China is currently negotiating debt restructurings with several countries, including Zambia, Ghana, and Sri Lanka. However, it has been criticized for holding up the processes. In response, it has called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to offer debt relief as well.

  • PTI says they now respect next Supreme Court Chief Justice Faez Isa who they had taken to court

    PTI says they now respect next Supreme Court Chief Justice Faez Isa who they had taken to court

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has said in an interview that the party respects Justice Qazi Faez Isa who is set to become the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) later this year.

    In an interview with WE news, he said, “We have a relationship of respect with Justice Faez Isa”, adding that he disapproved the idea of filing a reference against the top judge.

    He said when the current government files a reference against the judiciary, it means they want to put the judges under pressure.

    “The government must allow the judiciary to function independently,” he asserted.

    In 2020, Justice Faez was accused of concealing assets and PTI filed a reference against him. Justice Isa then asked the Supreme Court that a full bench be constituted, a plea that was accepted by then CJP Asif Saeed Khosa and after a months-long trial, a full bench of the apex court dismissed the petition against him.

    Later, Khan himself accepted his mistake of filing a presidential reference against the judge.

    During the interview, Fawad Chaudhry once again said that the former ruling party is ready for talks. He mentioned that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has also talked about the consensus but as of yet no effort has been made.

    Talking about PM Shehbaz, Chaudhry said that he is running from the elections and is being “non-serious”.

    He claimed that “they [government] want martial law in the country”.

  • ‘Haramda’, PML-N’s education minister makes sickening remarks about Khan his father, wife

    Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain took to the floor of the house in the National Assembly (NA) yesterday and passed disparaging remarks in a speech directed at former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Talking about how police had forcefully entered the hotel room in which Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz was staying during Imran Khan’s tenure to arrest her husband, Captain (retd) Safdar, Tanveer said, “Wasn’t our daughter Maryam alone in the hotel when the doors of her room were broken? Why are there different standards for your [Imran Khan] wife [Bushra Bibi], did she not elope with you? This is far bigger family than you.”

    Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif can be seen in a video banging the desk and laughing on Tanveer’s comment.

    “You [Imran Khan] are the son of a corrupt man. I remember there was a wedding I [Rana Tanveer] attended and his [Imran Khan] father was there too. Imran Khan was sitting there too. A person asked his father if he was his son? Khan’s father replied that kehnay ko tu mera baita par hai haramda [Yes he is my son but he is illegitimate]. These were his [Khan’s father’s] words.”

    Twitter rebuked Tanveer and schooled the education minister, saying that he should give up his position in the government with due respect for passing such remarks.