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Tag: Pakistan

  • IMF should protect low-income people in Pakistan’s economic crisis: Human Rights Watch

    IMF should protect low-income people in Pakistan’s economic crisis: Human Rights Watch

    International Monetary Fund (IMF) should collaborate with the government of Pakistan to protect the economically disadvantaged by expanding social protection systems and minimizing reforms that may have adverse effects on the most vulnerable population, according to Human Rights Watch.

    The country is currently grappling with pressing issues such as inflation, poverty, inadequate governance, limited reserves, and high unemployment. Pakistan initiated discussions with the IMF on February 1st to formulate a plan to revive the economy, including securing the ninth tranche of $1.1 billion in loans from the $6.5 billion bailout.

    “Millions of Pakistanis have been pushed into poverty and denied their fundamental social and economic rights,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

    In addition, she emphasized that the IMF and the Pakistani government have a duty to manage this crisis in a manner that prioritizes and safeguards the well-being of low-income individuals.

    According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), foreign exchange reserves have reached their lowest level at $3.09 billion, a decrease of 16%, sufficient to cover less than three weeks of imports.

    Pakistan is currently experiencing its highest inflation rates since 1975, with the cost of perishable food items rising by over 60% in January. In response to IMF demands, the government of Pakistan recently raised prices of petrol and diesel by Rs35 and removed the cap on the dollar, as it was a crucial condition of the IMF and the dollar should be market-driven.

    The ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are aimed at concluding the ninth review of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility, designed to support countries facing balance-of-payments challenges.

    The completion of this review would provide the necessary clearance for the IMF’s bailout installment, which would alleviate the severe shortage of foreign exchange and enable access to additional funding sources, including from multilateral and bilateral donors.

  • Wikipedia is now working in Pakistan

    Wikipedia is now working in Pakistan

    A two-day-old ban on Wikipedia was reversed by the Pakistani government after outrage on restricting the online encyclopaedia.

    The ban was put in place by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) due to “unlawful” content.

    The website is now working in Pakistan.


    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered the PTA to restore the online encyclopedia with “immediate effect”.


    “Blocking the site in its entirety was not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable content,” a statement issued by the PM’s office read.
    “The unintended consequences of this blanket ban, therefore, outweigh its benefits,” it added.


    PTA blocked Wikipedia in the country last week for not removing sacrilegious content from the website.

  • General Musharraf laid to rest in Karachi

    General Musharraf laid to rest in Karachi

    The funeral prayer of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was performed in Malir Cantt, Karachi, after which he was laid to rest with full military honours.

    Former Army Chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Gen (R) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani attended the prayer, among others.

    On February 5, Musharraf passed away in Dubai.

    Gen Musharraf’s body will be flown to Pakistan today

    A day earlier, it was reported that Musharraf’s body would be repatriated to Pakistan today from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he passed away on Sunday.

    Musharraf died at the age of 79 after a prolonged illness.

    The Pakistani embassy in the UAE had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the repatriation of Musharraf’s body to Pakistan at the request of his family.

    According to reports, Musharraf’s mortal remains were to be flown to his homeland at 11:30 am, Pakistan time. However, there has been a delay and the special jet will leave for Pakistan in the afternoon.

  • ‘Miracle moment’: Indian man walking to Makkah reaches Pakistan after waiting months for visa

    ‘Miracle moment’: Indian man walking to Makkah reaches Pakistan after waiting months for visa

    A 29-year-old Indian man named Shihab Chottur arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday through the Wagah border during his journey to Makkah to perform the Hajj.
    The Keralite had begun his walking 8,640-kilometer trek from Malappuram on June 2, 2022. He had been waiting for a Pakistani visa in Amritsar since the previous four months in order to continue his journey. .

    Shihab has so far walked 3,300km, covering seven states from Kerala to Punjab.
    In September last year, he was denied entry to Pakistan since there is no agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad about transit visas for people travelling on foot.

    Chottur decided to remain in a school in Amritsar while he awaited the visa.


    He was granted a two-day transit visa for Lahore and is presently in Pakistan.

    While sharing videos on his instagram, Chottur wrote, “Miracle Moment” to describe his arrival in Pakistan.

  • ‘Sports minister Wahab Riaz ka bhi lehaz nahi kiya’: Twitter lauds Iftikhar for hitting six sixes in an over

    ‘Sports minister Wahab Riaz ka bhi lehaz nahi kiya’: Twitter lauds Iftikhar for hitting six sixes in an over

    Iftikhar Ahmed hit six sixes in a row in a Wahab Riaz over during an exhibition match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in Quetta on Sunday. He scored 94 runs in 50 balls at Nawab Akbar Bugti Stadium in Quetta.

    Wahab Riaz, while lauding Iftikhar’s performance wrote on Twitter, “Wonderful display of batting by @IftiAhmed221. Unbelievable shots and the command he has shown was amazing. I’m disappointed but happy for you brother. Keep going.”

    In a video shared by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Wahab and Ahmed can be seen bantering post match.

    Twitter is appreciating Ahmed’s brilliant batting display in the exhibition match.
    Have a look at the Twitter reactions:

    https://twitter.com/penduProduction/status/1622156939726655489
    https://twitter.com/MustafaSays_/status/1622450167575384065

    https://twitter.com/taimoorze/status/1622156994714144769

  • Wikimedia Foundation requests PTA to unblock Wikipedia

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced on Friday that it was blocking access to Wikipedia on grounds of refusal to remove sacrilegious content, after restricting the website for 48 hours.
    Now, Wikimedia Foundation has released a statement on their official Twitter account, giving their side of the story.

    “On 1 February, we received a notification from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority stating “the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours” for failure to remove content deemed “unlawful.” As of 3 February, our data shows this has extended into a full block.”

    The Foundation emphasized that the right to access to knowledge was for everyone, and in restricting Wikipedia, PTA was denying a country with the 5th largest population in the world that right. They urged the Pakistani government to remove the block and allow Wikipedia to function freely within Pakistan.

    “We believe that access to knowledge is a human right. A block of @Wikipedia in Pakistan denies the 5th most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository. If it continues, it will also deprive everyone access to Pakistan’s history and culture. We hope that the Pakistan government joins us in a commitment to knowledge as a human right and restores access to @Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects promptly, so that the people of Pakistan can continue to receive and share knowledge with the world.”

  • Five years jail and arrest without warrant for criticising army and judiciary in new draft bill: Dawn

    Five years jail and arrest without warrant for criticising army and judiciary in new draft bill: Dawn

    A bill has reportedly been prepared by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) led government where up to a five-year imprisonment sentence can be given to “whoever scandalises or ridicules the Pakistan Army and judiciary through any medium”, reports Riazul Haq for Dawn.

    It is to be noted that the bill is to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)

    The newspaper has reported that the summary and the bill will be forwarded to the federal cabinet soon.

    It says that whoever makes, publishes, circulates any statement or disseminates information, through any medium, with an intention to ridicule or scandalise the judiciary, the armed forces or any of their members will be found guilty. And the punishment may extend to five years or with a fine which may go as high up as Rs 1 million or both.

    Moreover, it says that the offender will be arrested without a warrant and the offence will be non-bailable and non-compoundable and can only be challenged in a sessions court.

    Dawn also reached out to PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who said that he had not seen the draft but there had to be “some limit” to defaming someone.

    “Everywhere in the world there is a defamation law and this does not happen that anyone comes up willy-nilly and says whatever they want,” he was quoted saying by Dawn.

    However, later he denied his comments in a tweet as reported by Dawn, and said that he “simply cannot lend support to any draconian legislation”.

    “I believe that Pakistan needs defamation laws with financial recourse to protect everyone from unsubstantiated accusations,” he explained.

    PML-N’s Rohail Asghar also made it clear that no such laws should be passed by the government as he believed that there should be space for criticism.

  • 97% of nikahnamas in past six years have not given women the right to divorce in Punjab

    97% of nikahnamas in past six years have not given women the right to divorce in Punjab

    Sixty per cent of the “nikahnamas” (marriage registration forms), registered in Punjab from 2016 to 2022, were found to be incomplete, according to a diagnostic study titled “Protecting Women’s Marriage Rights in Pakistan”, The News has reported.


    The Inter-Provincial Working Group on Protecting Women’s Marriage Rights conducted its first working group meeting on Thursday, during which the study’s conclusions were addressed.
    The third meeting in a series of working groups was held to address regional variations in Pakistani law and the framework for its implementation.

    “The diagnostic study shows that the bride’s CNIC number was missing in 48 per cent of the total ‘nikahnamas’ out of which 75 per cent of bride’s were marked as between the age of 16-18. Only 8 per cent of ‘nikahnamas’ contained the right of monthly allowance, 39 per cent had ‘nan nafqah/haq maher’ documentation column crossed out or left blank and 97 per cent of the ‘nikahnamas’ did not give delegation of right of divorce out of which 40 per cent had the column crossed or left blank. In addition, 51 per cent of the forms did not contain any special conditions,” read The News report.


    “There are different laws and policies such as Article 11-3 and Article 25 A of the constitution which give a differing interpretation of the age of child. There should be uniformity and consensus in federal and provincial laws,” said Chairperson NCHR Rabiya averi Agha while emphasising the importance of focusing on the ‘nikkahnama’ as a legal document to ensure protection of women marriage rights.”

  • ‘How we find new ways to embarrass ourselves internationally’: Twitter not happy with Wikipedia ban

    ‘How we find new ways to embarrass ourselves internationally’: Twitter not happy with Wikipedia ban

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday blocked Wikipedia in the country for not removing sacrilegious content from the website.

    “Action was taken because some of the content is still available on Wikipedia after the expiry of a 48-hour deadline,” wrote Bloomberg while quoting a spokesperson of the telecom regulator.

    Earlier this week PTA restricted access to Wikipedia for Pakistanis for 48 hours.

    In a series of tweets from its official Twitter account, PTA has said that the free online encyclopedia had “sacrilegious” content, despite being asked by PTA to remove it.

    The access to the website will be resumed in Pakistan after the removal of the sacrilegious content.

    Twitter is reacting to the ban, with most people criticising the ban on one of the world’s largest crowd-sourced platforms.

    Have a look at the reactions:

    https://twitter.com/nmemon2004/status/1621802574893518848
  • Govt to launch ‘groundbreaking’ mental health app in March

    Govt to launch ‘groundbreaking’ mental health app in March

    The Government of Pakistan is planning to launch a mental health app named ‘Humraaz’, Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, Salman Sufi has said in a tweet on Wednesday.

    Sufi called upon Psychologists/Psychiatrists to be a part of the initiative, which he termed “groundbreaking”.

    Sufi, while talking exclusively to The Current, said that the app will be launched in March.

    He added that Humraaz will give access to help in case a citizen has suicidal thoughts or a mental health emergency. Humraaz can also be used to make appointments with psychiatrists and psychologists.


    “Also they will be able to share issues they face in confidentiality,” he added.

    Sufi further said that the application is being launched on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.