Author: newsdesk

  • Court ends ‘assets beyond means case’ against Dar after five years

    Court ends ‘assets beyond means case’ against Dar after five years

    An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday ended proceedings in an assets beyond means case against Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Ishaq Dar.

    During the hearing, Judge Mohammad Bashir remarked that “After the [National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022], this case does not fall under the jurisdiction of this court.”

    “We can neither announce a decision in favour of NAB nor can we issue a decision in favour of the suspect. The trial against Ishaq Dar ends here,” Judge Bashir said.

    In August, the National Assembly passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, which sought to exclude private transactions from the scope of NAB.

    Following the amendment, accountability courts withdrew 50 major corruption cases, including the case against Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, and former Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Hamza Shahbaz.

    The case

    In 2017, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) registered a case against Dar, accusing him of possessing assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income.

    Following the case, he went to London and remained there for five years until September when he returned to Pakistan and took up charge of the finance ministry.

  • ECP decides to hold local govt polls in Karachi, Hyderabad on Jan 15

    ECP decides to hold local govt polls in Karachi, Hyderabad on Jan 15

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday has announced that local bidy government (LG) elections would take place on January 15, 2023, in Karachi and Hyderabad.

    Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja — who headed the five-member bench, announced the verdict that the commission had reserved on November 15.

    LG elections in the two divisions were originally scheduled for July 24, but have been put off thrice since then, primarily because of the Sindh government’s request that it didn’t have required police officials as they were busy with flood relief operations.

    The polls were first put off to August 28, then to October 23, and then indefinitely, before the Sindh government on November 10 said it had postponed the polls on its own for 90 days prompting criticism from the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

    Today’s development comes days after the Sindh High Court (SHC) had instructed the electoral watchdog to issue the schedule for local body elections in Karachi and Hyderabad within 15 days, adding that the polls should preferably be conducted within 60 days.

  • Twitter may introduce different colour checks for organisations and individuals

    Twitter may introduce different colour checks for organisations and individuals

    Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, announced on Monday that the social media platform is delaying the resumption of its blue check subscription service, deviating from his initial tentative timetable to do so.

    “Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation,” Musk said in a tweet.

    “Will probably use different color check for organisations than individuals.”

    Earlier, only verified accounts of prominent figures including journalists, legislators, and well-known people could display the coveted blue check mark.

    But earlier this month, Twitter launched a membership option that is available to anybody willing to pay in order to increase income as Musk battles to keep advertisers.

    Due to the proliferation of bogus accounts, Twitter stopped the newly introduced $8 blue check membership service and indicated that it will resume on November 29.

    Musk noted in another tweet that the 1.6 million new users on Twitter during the last week were “another all-time high.”

    As they adjust to the new leader, Twitter advertisers, including major corporations like General Motors, Mondelez International, and Volkswagen AG, have suspended their campaigns.

    According to estimates, hundreds of Twitter employees left their jobs last week after Musk gave them until Thursday to sign up for “long hours at high intensity” or go.

  • Toshakhana case: Court records ECP official’s statement against Imran Khan

    Toshakhana case: Court records ECP official’s statement against Imran Khan

    A District and Sessions court in Islamabad on Tuesday heard the statement of an official of the Election Commission Pakistan’s (ECP)—District Election Commissioner Waqas Malik—during the hearing of a Toshakhana reference against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    The proceedings were initiated on an ECP complaint after the commission found him guilty of “false statements and incorrect declaration” in his election papers and disqualified him for concealing information about Toshakhana gifts he received during his tenure as prime minister.

    During the hearing, the district election commissioner said he had been authorised to pursue the case. He added that the ECP is an independent institution that functioned under the Constitution and ensured that corrupt practices are curtailed.

    Malik further said members of the National Assembly submitted their returns to the ECP annually. Similarly, Khan also submitted his returns from 2018 to 2021, he said.

    After listening to the statement, the court adjourned the hearing till December 8.

    Last week, the ECP sent the reference to court, asking it to proceed against Imran under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister. The commission seeks a three-year jail term and imposition of fine as the punishment.

  • COAS appointment notification to be issued by Nov 26 says Khawaja Asif

    COAS appointment notification to be issued by Nov 26 says Khawaja Asif

    Khawaja Asif, Minister for Defence, said Monday that the notification for the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS) would be issued by November 26 before the end of the tenure of the outgoing chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa – who retires on November 29.

    Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly (NA) on November 21, Asif said his ministry had received a letter from the Prime Minister, asking for initiation of the appointment process on Monday, which had been forwarded to General Headquarters.

    He said the summary, along with the service dossiers of the senior-most lieutenant generals proposed for elevation and appointment as chief of army staff and chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, was likely to be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office within two days.

    Appearing on Geo News programme “Capital Talk” on November 21, the minister said, “The appointment process for the highest offices in the Pakistan Army has commenced today.”

    “Once the matter [the appointment issue] is settled, the political leaders should join hands, sit together, and talk so that the appointment is not politicised in the future,” he emphasised.

    When senior journalist Hamid Mir asked Khawaja Asif as to why Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), chose November 26 as the date for his long march, the minister stated that Khan might be considering that President Dr Arif Alvi would not approve PM Shehbaz’s recommendation for the COAS.

    Lashing out at Imran Khan for “causing damage” to the honour and prestige of state institutions after being ousted from office, Asif said, “Today, an institution [army] is categorically stating that it has decided to give up its political or unconstitutional role and has made the announcement that it will play its constitutional role of defending the motherland, but Imran Khan has made their neutrality a curse.”

  • 25% Pakistanis die due to unnecessary use of antibiotics

    25% Pakistanis die due to unnecessary use of antibiotics

    Almost 70 per cent of patients in Pakistan are using unnecessary antibiotics, the National Institute of Health has revealed.

    According to the federal Institute, frequent use of antibiotics has led to bacterias developing resistance against the drugs.

    NIC has said that 25 per cent of the deaths that occur every year are due to the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

    A walk was held in Islamabad to raise awareness regarding use of antibiotics.

    Health experts say that patients should not take any medicine without doctor’s instructions. They have also said that the use of antibiotics is unnecessary in case of cold, flu, cough, sore throat or viral infection.

    Doctors say that continuous use of antibiotics can lead to long-term diseases.

    Drug-resistant microbes, including bacterias and viruses, have become a global health challenge. Human healthcare providers and veterinarians are facing an endemic of ‘superbugs’ that do not respond to traditional first and second line drugs, leading to complications and even fatalities.

  • Govt aims to resolve issues of the business community: Finance Minister

    Govt aims to resolve issues of the business community: Finance Minister

    Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar said that the goal of the current administration is to facilitate the business community and maintain the trajectory of the nation’s economy.

    According to a press release, he said this while speaking with a team from the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) led by its chairman, Asim Ghani Usman.

    Senior officers from the Finance Division as well as Federal Ministers for Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud, National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema, SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, Chairman FBR, Vice Chairman PSMA Iskander M. Khan, and Vice Chairman PSMA Ahmed Ebrahim Hasham attended the meeting.

    The Finance Minister was informed about the sugar industry’s contribution to the nation’s overall economic development by PSMA Chairman Asim Ghani Usman.

    He also gave a presentation to the group on the problems the sugar sector is having with the GST, stock availability, and sugar export.

    Senator Ishaq Dar, the minister of finance, highlighted the need of sustaining sugar prices and strategic reserves in order to provide the greatest amount of comfort to the general populace.

    He told Chairman PSMA that the current administration is aware of the problems that Pakistan’s sugar sector and sugar cane farmers are now facing.

    Dar promised the group he would deal with their concerns and find a solution as soon as possible. He also offered them his complete support and collaboration.

  • England hires chef ahead of Pakistan tour to maintain the quality of food served

    England hires chef ahead of Pakistan tour to maintain the quality of food served

    In the early stages of Brendon McCullum’s time as head coach, the England Test team has been letting go of support personnel. A chef, however, has been added to the group for their impending visit to Pakistan.

    The appointment follows a recap of the limited-overs team’s seven-match T20I series experiences in the country. Players and support personnel said that the cuisine, especially at match locations, was not that good, and a few experienced stomachaches at various points during the tour.

    The difficulties experienced were by no means severe; nobody fell ill for a protracted length of time, and England went on to win the thrilling series 4-3. But given the demands of a Test match, not to mention the back-to-back format of the three-match series over 21 days in three different cities (Rawalpindi, Multan, and Karachi), having someone oversee food preparation and customise menus in accordance with specific needs and preferences felt necessary to control.

    While on the T20 trip, Moeen Ali, playing the role of interim captain, made light of the rivalry between Lahore and Karachi’s culinary traditions “I’ve been a little let down by Lahore’s cuisine. Karachi was quite pleasant.” Those who want to try the regional cuisines may relax knowing that Lahore is not on the schedule this time around and Karachi will host the third Test.

    According to ESPNcricinfo, Omar Meziane, who served in a comparable capacity with the England men’s football team at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020, will fill the position.

    The change by the Test squad will satisfy picky diners while also putting Jack Leach at rest. The left-arm spinner has Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, and must follow a rigorous diet in addition to taking immunosuppressant medicine to treat his condition.

    Leach experienced serious food illness on a visit of New Zealand in November 2019, which led to his hospitalisation and sepsis. Despite being able to go for the next South African Test tour, he was unable to participate in any of the activities due to the consequences of the earlier sickness and had to leave the trip early.

    The ECB has previously provided food when travelling, even though this may be the first time they have deliberately hired a chef for a trip. The Sydney Morning Herald obtained a file titled “Test catering criteria” that was provided to all hosting venues prior to the dismal 2013–14 Ashes.

    The 82 pages, which included 194 recipes for everything from protein-rich “banana and peanut bars” to Moroccan spiced griddled chicken fillets with lime and coriander mayo, were dubbed “modern pretentious” by the Herald. It didn’t help England in their humiliating 5-0 loss.

  • Bahawalnagar woman raped in front of her children: report

    Bahawalnagar woman raped in front of her children: report

    Trigger warning: Rape/sexual violence

    A woman in Bahawalnagar was allegedly raped and beaten in front of her children. As per details the horrific incident took place on Monday in the city’s Khadimabad Colony, reports ARY.

    The suspect has been identified as Arsalan, who has also been accused of beating the woman when she resisted the assault. The accused then fled from the spot when the condition of the woman deteriorated.

    The woman was taken to hospital in critical condition. The rape survivor’s father has launched a complaint against Arsalan.

    Almost 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in Pakistan from 2017 to 2021, Zahid Gishkori has reported for Samaa. The data has been compiled by SAMAA TV Investigation Unit (SIU) from the Punjab home department and Ministry of Human Rights (MoHRs).
    This meant that approximately 12 women were raped every day, or one every two hours, throughout the country.

  • Wasim Akram opens up about ‘match fixing tag’

    Wasim Akram opens up about ‘match fixing tag’

    The Sultan of Swing, Wasim Akram, has opened up about a charge that has followed him for much of his career.

    In in an interview with Wide World of Sports, the left-arm great talked about the allegations of match fixing that were levelled on him while he was still playing.

    Revealing that the charges drove him toward penning his autobiography, Sultan: A Memoir, Akram said, “In Australia, England, West Indies and India, when they talk about the World XI, when they talk about the best bowler in the world, my name pops up. But in Pakistan, this generation, this social media generation, they are the one who come down, every comment they send, they say, ‘Oh, he is a match fixer’, not knowing what it was.”

    “I have passed that stage in my life where I have to worry about people,” he emphasized.

    Earlier, in an interview with The Times he gave sensational details of his battle with cocaine addiction after his playing career came to an end. In his book Akram incorporated memories from both his personal and professional lives. He also discussed Imran Khan and the 1992 World Cup in the book. The cricketer is said to have disclosed some significant but previously unreported cricket-related incidents