Author: newsdesk

  • ‘Waqar and Khurram killed Arshad Sharif’: Rana Sanaullah

    ‘Waqar and Khurram killed Arshad Sharif’: Rana Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Khurram and his brother Waqar, who were hosting slain journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, conspired with local police to kill the newsman.

    “This is a joint conspiracy of Waqar, Khurram and five Kenyan police officers,” said the federal minister on Geo News programme “Geo Pakistan” adding that the murder was a “target killing”.

    The interior minister said that Sharif went to Kenya from Dubai on Waqar’s sponsorship and he was staying in his flat. He also said that Waqar helped Sharif in getting an online visa.

    It is pertinent to mention that when Sharif was shot, Khurram was with him, driving the car, however, he was not injured by police gunfire and remained unharmed.

    “We have the record of everything including why Sharif went to Waqar’s house and stayed as a guest,” claimed the minister. He also revealed that Waqar is not being named in the case because the commission has yet to go and look into these matters.

    During the interview, Sanaullah said that Sharif didn’t want to leave the country.

    The interior minister said that he would request Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to talk to the Kenyan president again because the Kenyan police are “not cooperating”.

    Earlier in the week, “On the Front” host Kamran Shahid unearthed details of the murder on his show, stating, “At eight o clock on the night of October 23, Arshad Sharif was shot while sitting in the car with Khurram, who drove him [Arshad Sharif] via a long route instead of the usual one on the day the anchorperson was martyred.”

  • PM Shehbaz announces Rs5 million for families of victims in PTI’s long march

    PM Shehbaz announces Rs5 million for families of victims in PTI’s long march

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has announced a compensatory amount of Rs5 million (Rs50 lac) for the families of each victim who died during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ongoing long march.

    In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, said that the PM has directed authorities to immediately complete the procedure and deliver the cheques to the families of the victims.

    A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said: “The Prime Minister, while expressing his grief over the tragic deaths during the recent long march of a political party, has been pleased to announce financial assistance of Rs.5 million each in favour of legal heirs of the deceased.”

    According to the PMO statement, the compensation would be extended to the next of kin of Moazzam Gondal, Sadaf Naeem, Samir Nawaz, and Hassam Baloch. Three of the four victims lost their lives after they were run over by PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s container and one was killed in the Wazirabad shooting where the PTI chief was attacked.

    “The Prime Minister has further been pleased to direct that the cheque(s) of financial assistance shall be handed over to the families of the deceased persons immediately after completing the procedural requirements,” the statement reads.

  • Who is Khurram Hameed Rokhri and why is PTI distancing itself from him?

    Who is Khurram Hameed Rokhri and why is PTI distancing itself from him?

    Estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Major (retired) Khurram Hameed Khan Rokhri revealed on Thursday the timeline of “backchannel talks” between the PTI and the establishment, as he denounced former premier Imran Khan’s allegations against senior intelligence official Major General Faisal Naseer.

    In an interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News, Rokhri recalled that a few days after PTI leader Dr Shahbaz Gill was arrested, a meeting was held in Bani Gala where it was discussed that a new intelligence officer had been posted in Islamabad with the aim to “eliminate PTI and Chairman Imran Khan’s narrative”.

    “When Gen Faisal Naseer’s name was taken, I said hold on a minute. Now I know Gen Naseer the same way you know other people in Geo News or anyone in the media” he told Mir.

    “[PTI leader] Salman Ahmed asked me then what was the narrative… the next day they were going to a rally in Jhelum and I told Salman to tell Khan this… I will cut things short here,” he revealed.

    “So Salman tells Khan that the opinion of a close aide of yours […] about Gen Faisal Naseer […] is not the same as what people around you say. When Khan asked him who that person was, Salman replied it is Maj Khurram,” he recalled. PTI chief asked Salman to direct Rokhri to confront the officer.

    “I called the Major General and told him I wanted to meet him. When I met him, I asked the general if he had been posted [in Islamabad] for this reason,” he said. Gen Naseer told him that he was posted the day Gen Sarfraz was martyred, some 20 days back, he confirmed.

    Rokhri then recalled Faisal Naseer’s reply, “I am a professional man… why would I want to do this… Imran Khan is the leader of the biggest political party of Pakistan… he is a hero of the country… why would I want this. And if someone is telling Imran this, please go and tell him that there is nothing as such.”

    “The PTI sent me the conditions for talks, which I forwarded to the persons being named. They agreed to meet but suggested a place other than theirs or ours.”

    Rokhri added that Salman later called him to Islamabad for meeting with Imran, but he could not meet the PTI chief despite a long wait. He was called again, according to Rokhri, but he could not meet the party chief. He added that he refused to meet when he was called for the third time after the attack on Imran.

    He said he wanted to normalise the situation but refused, telling them (PTI leaders) that he would not be part of the game they had started. He quipped, “Hasn’t Alvi Sahib arranged the meeting?”

    The PTI leader said he spoke the truth about the general officer on a TV channel, but the abusive brigade started targeting him. He added that Faisal Vawda was also sincerely trying to defuse the situation, but the “abusive brigade” went after him.

    At one point during the interview, the retired major also said that Khan was being “misled” by a few people who were “roaming around him”, adding that the one well-wisher the former premier had was his sister Aleema Khan. However, he regretted that the PTI chief never listened to her.

    He added that Khan was wrongly convicted in the Toshakhana refere­nce and asserted that Gen Naseer had nothing to do with the alleged custodial torture of Shahbaz Gill.

    Meanwhile, hours after Rokhri made the startling revelations, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry questioned who he was.

    “Yeah kon hein? [Who is this?]” asked the senior PTI leader in response to a clip of journalist Hamid Mir’s programme ‘Capital Talk’ with Rokhri.

    Shahbaz Gill tweeted, “Who is this, sir? Never seen or heard of him before. God knows who will emerge as the leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf in the future.”

    On the other hand, an account with Rokhri’s name on Twitter uploaded an image of him with Fawad. It was unclear if the account belonged to the retired army officer.

    However social media users had dug up pictures of Major Rokhri with multiple leaders of PTI including Imran Khan.

    https://twitter.com/masoodch6/status/1590802075927343104?s=20&t=6Yn2Ih0BIFXvSKoiLdH7Hw

    However, PTI suspended the membership of Rokhri after he debunked party chief Imran Khan’s allegation against a senior army officer.

    “After consultation with higher party leadership, basic party membership of Major (R) Khurram Hameed Khan Rokhart has been terminated,” PTI’s Mianwali President Saleem Gul Khan said in a notification.

  • Key person in Judge Arshad Malik’s scandal speaks up

    Key person in Judge Arshad Malik’s scandal speaks up

    Mian Saleem Raza, a key character in the Judge Arshad Malik’s video sandal, has said that a senior official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) met him in London in the first week of October 2019 asking him to make a false confessional statement against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif or face financial ruin including being added in the “most wanted terrorists” list, reports The News.

    When the video scandal first came to light, it was alleged by Shahzad Akbar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s former accountability minister, that it was Raza who had paid Rs.20 million to Mian Tariq to buy a secretly filmed private video of the accountability judge. Raza, however, rejected all allegations of blackmail against him made by the FIA and Shahzad Akbar.

    “I told him I cannot lie about Nawaz Sharif because he had no connection of any kind with Judge Arshad Malik’s video scandals. He threatened that I will meet a very horrible fate and that my whole family will suffer if I didn’t cooperate. He promised that I will pay a big financial price and will be added to the list of terrorists. Every threat he made was executed later on. When the FIA officer kept calling me, I switched off my phone as he was threatening me and causing me stress,” Raza narrated.

    “The same official (who followed me to London) had visited my house in Lahore in 2019 with two other FIA officials on July 7 and 8, after Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s press conference in Model Town with other PML-N leaders. The FIA officials told me they were prepared to organise a meeting with Shahzad Akbar if I agreed to become a witness against Nawaz Sharif,” shared Raza who has not returned to Pakistan since July 2019.

    Raza’s name was added to the “most wanted terrorists” list after one of the main accused Tariq told FIA on October 1, 2019, in an alleged confessional statement that he had sold out the immoral video of the former accountability court judge to Raza for Rs.20 million.

    Raza said that he told the FIA in Lahore that he had visited Nawaz Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail several times but all meetings were held in the presence of others and the ex-premier never asked him for anything, never gave him any task and never discussed anything about his legal cases.

    “I told the FIA that Nawaz Sharif knew me only as his follower who loved him, visited him in jail and followed him everywhere. The FIA didn’t like this factual statement and asked me to lie and say that he (Nawaz Sharif) had asked me and arranged money to pay to Mian Tariq but I told them this was not true. They told me that I should lie and have a comfortable life or else they will make my life difficult. They were asking me why I met Nawaz Sharif so many times in jail. They were not interested in the truth so I decided to flee from Pakistan to save my life,” he added.

    “Judge Arshad Malik visited my home in Lahore’s Dharam Pura on July 1, 2019, on his own accord with Mian Tariq in his official car but without his security protocol. I didn’t know that Tariq will bring a judge to my house, I found it was Malik after he entered into my house.”

    “Judge Arshad Malik openly told people whom he met that he was regretful and felt guilty that he had convicted Nawaz Sharif. He told the same to me when I met him. He told me that Nawaz Sharif was an innocent man who was wronged to manipulate elections and deprive him of power. Malik told me and others he could not sleep at night after convicting Nawaz Sharif wrongly and felt so guilty in conscience that he wanted to do a press conference to tell the world how he was blackmailed to convict Nawaz Sharif.”

    “Arshad Malik asked to convey his apologies and regrets to Nawaz Sharif during my next visit to jail but I told him that Nawaz Sharif will not like such a thing and I told him that it was not my place to convey such messages as this will upset Nawaz Sharif. He was insisting but I told him I was not in a position to do that. I never passed any message to Nawaz Sharif or anyone in the Sharif family. I had no other role or dealing with him as I had no other means to guide him on what to do. I have no idea how he got introduced to Nasir Butt,” he stated.

    “After the video scandal broke out, Mian Tariq was tortured in custody by the FIA and treated like a terrorist to the extent that half of his body was paralysed. He was tortured until he agreed to make a false statement against me to save his life. He took back his statement against me as soon as he was out on bail and told me that he was tortured to make the confessional statement. He has become a living tragedy and Shahzad Akbar was the one who ordered his torture to make Imran Khan happy,” he added.

    “I had never met any of them before but the FIA and Shahzad Akbar lied that I conspired with them. I had no relation with any videos, payments or anything like that.”

    Raza has called on Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to look into his case and hold an independent inquiry into the conduct of the FIA against him. “I request Rana Sanaullah and PM Shehbaz Sharif to look into my case and remove my name from the list of most wanted terrorists. I have not committed any crime. I want to visit my country and family as a free man and I need clearance. I have done nothing wrong by not lying about Nawaz Sharif,” he appealed.

    “The FIA didn’t spare my children even in school. I don’t blame the PTI government but I do want to ask Shahzad Akbar why he did this to me. What happened to me and other innocent people in this case is a crime against humanity. My family life and business are ruined just because I refused to lie and implicate Nawaz Sharif,” the former trader from Lahore said.

    Living in London ever since the video scandal, Raza said his own family and friends abandoned him after he got into difficulties and he was treated for depression and mental trauma in London. “I got courage after seeing what happened to Nawaz Sharif and how he had to pay a heavy personal and political price. I will request the government of Pakistan to look into my case and help me get justice,” he concluded.

  • Only seven women out of 110 world leaders in climate change conference

    Only seven women out of 110 world leaders in climate change conference

    Out of the 110 world leaders who showed up to discuss climate issues at the Climate change conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, only seven are women. This disproportionate representation was in stark contrast to the fact that women are most affected by the climate crisis.

    Former Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, Catherine McKenna thinks male leaders at COP27 should allow women to take their podium time.

    In an op-ed for Scientific American, McKenna, along with climate researcher Amy Myers Jaffe, said, “This is especially critical as attendees discuss how the countries of the Global North, responsible for most of the world’s carbon output, should help the Global South deal with the effects of that pollution. The perspectives of women, whose voices are underrepresented in climate discussions, are instrumental to solving the climate crisis in a more just and equitable fashion and can contribute powerfully to our understanding of climate action across the globe.”

    According to United Nations (UN) report, women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety.

    Seventy per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women. In urban areas, 40 per cent of the poorest households are headed by women. Women predominate in the world’s food production (50-80 per cent), but they own less than 10 per cent of the land.

  • Meera slams Mahira’s Punjabi in ‘TLOMJ’, claims she would have done a better job

    Meera slams Mahira’s Punjabi in ‘TLOMJ’, claims she would have done a better job

    Pakistani film actor Meera recently shared her take on superstar Mahira Khan’s craft in The Legend Of Maula Jatt. The veteran artist stated that Khan’s Punjabi in the film was “terrible”, while chatting with Fame Pakistan.

    Meera also added that she would have done a better job than the Raees star in the film.

    Earlier this year Meera claimed that the showbiz industry suffered a massive financial loss worth billions due to the “Dual Nikah” case against her.

    The Baaji actor, who is known for heaps of scandals delivered the statement during the hearing of the dual Nikah case at a local court in Lahore today.

    A local court conducted the hearing of the dual nikkah case against the Lollywood actor on Wednesday. The Inteha star appeared along with her counsel in the hearing.

    During the hearing, Meera broke into tears before the judge after approaching the rostrum.

    The actor told the judge that she was seeking justice for 10 years and was properly heard at the US court but justice was not delivered in Pakistan’s court.

    According to a report, after the Nazar actor started shouting in the courtroom, the judge Rai Ahmed Khan asked her to lower her voice otherwise get back to her seat.

    Later, the sessions court adjourned the hearing till October five and ordered the lawyers for arguments on the amended evidence in the case.

    While talking to the media, Meera said that a film’s shooting was being termed as her real Nikah. She claimed that the showbiz industry suffered a massive financial loss worth billion due to the case against her.

    It is pertinent to mention here that her alleged husband Atiq-ur-Rehman had accused Meera of entering into a Nikah with another person named Naveed when she was already married to him. This he said was a crime, as per law.

  • Afghan Taliban ban women from entering public parks, funfairs

    Afghan Taliban ban women from entering public parks, funfairs

    Afghan Taliban have banned Afghan women from entering Kabul’s public parks and funfairs.

    “For the past 15 months, we tried our best to arrange and sort it out – and even specified the days,” said Mohammad Akif Sadeq Mohajir, spokesperson for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue. “But still, in some places – in fact, we must say in many places – the rules were violated,” he told AFP.
    “There was mixing [of men and women], hijab was not observed, that’s why the decision has been taken for now,” he stated.

    Women and park operators, who have spent a lot of money creating the facilities, were shocked by the news.

    “There are no schools, no work … we should at least have a place to have fun,” said one woman, who asked to be identified only as Wahida, as she watched her children play in a park through the window of an adjoining restaurant. “We are just bored and fed-up with being at home all day, our minds are tired,” she told AFP.

    In May this year Taliban barred men and women from dining together and attending parks at the same time in the Western city of Herat, considered a liberal city in comparison to other cities of the country.

    “There are no schools, no work … we should at least have a place to have fun,” said one ewoman, who asked to be identified only as Wahida, as she watched her children play in a park through the window of an adjoining restaurant. “We are just bored and fed-up with being at home all day, our minds are tired,” she told AFP.

    In May this year Taliban barred men and women in the western Afghan city of Herat, from dining together and attending parks at the same time, according to an official.

    Herat is considered a liberal city in comparison to other cities of the country.

    Despite the international community stating that education for girls is a key demand for any future recognition of the Taliban administration, the group has barred Afghan girls from going to school beyond the seventh grade. Moreover, they have restricted women and girls from working and have limited travel for them unless accompanied by a close male relative.

  • Domestic users to experience 16-hour gas load shedding during winter

    Domestic users to experience 16-hour gas load shedding during winter

    Due to the requirement for a $37 per mmbtu subsidy, the federal government is unable to guarantee that domestic customers of both Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) will have uninterrupted access to eight hours of gas per day during cooking hours in the upcoming winters.

    A parliamentary panel was informed on Thursday by Captain Muhammad Mahmood (retired), Additional Secretary (Incharge) for the Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division, that neither the government nor the gas firms had the resources to severely subsidise the domestic gas consumers. The secretary said, “We can’t supply gas at $3 per MMBtu against a current purchase of $40 per MMBtu.”

    He made it clear that every effort will be taken to guarantee household gas supply for three hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, and three hours in the evening.

    In response to a query, he stated that the Sindh gas load-shedding was a result of the allocation of gas between home and industrial uses. He claimed that in Sindh, 60 per cent of gas was delivered to industry and the remaining 40 per cent to homes and other sectors, in contrast to KP where 80 per cent of gas was supplied to domestic users.

    Imran Maniar, the managing director (MD) of SSGC, informed the committee that Balochistan contributed 110 mmcfd while Sindh produced 740 mmcfd.

    He claimed that due to the 10 per cent annual depletion of domestic gas reserves and the 100 per cent dependency on imported gas in ten years, there will be no gas in the upcoming winter.

    He stated that it was anticipated that in three to four years, LNG prices would decline significantly and the government would be able to finish building the new LNG facilities as planned.

    Due to the high expense of security and the country’s continued political unrest, new corporations were not expressing interest in oil and gas exploration. “The investors are waiting as they would not invest when new general election will be held next year,” he said.

    He added that due to sanctions, the anticipated import of gas from Russia or Iran was not feasible.

    In response to a question, the secretary stated that the cost of storing gas in the nation was high and that industrialised nations lacked such facilities; nonetheless, during recent gas crises, Germany and England began developing gas storage facilities.

    The previous administration authorised a draught of a new Pakistan Upstream Regulatory Authority to separate policy from regulation, according to Director General (DG) PC, Petroleum Division Kashif Ahmed.

    Provinces disagreed with a few of the proposed regulatory authority’s provisions, though. He stated that the authority would have four members from four different provinces and one vice chairman. “After getting approval from the competent forum, it will take three to four years for the establishment of the regulator for the upstream sector,” he added.

  • ‘Divorce isn’t mutual, I condemn this’: Hasan Noman makes blasting revelations about divorce from Madiha Rizvi

    ‘Divorce isn’t mutual, I condemn this’: Hasan Noman makes blasting revelations about divorce from Madiha Rizvi

    Actor Madiha Rizvi recently announced her separation from her husband of nine years, Hasan Noman in a touching post. The couple tied the knot in 2013 and have two daughters.

    On Tuesday, the Parizaad star took to Instagram to announce her separation and Rizvi asked for privacy during this difficult time.

    “With much gratitude for our time together, Hasan and I have amicably finalised our divorce. We’ve been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us. And the final conclusion is to part our ways for the best,” she wrote.

    Madiha Rizvi and Hassan Noman announced their divorce

    “However, we are and will always be a family, as we continue to co-parent our two incredibly wonderful girls. Therefore, we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time. We’ve always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner,” Rizvi concluded.

    Hasan’s Statement

    Post the news went viral, the Sang-e-Mah star issued his official statement on the matter. He revealed that the split isn’t mutual.

    Noman noted: “I would like to announce that although our divorce has been finalized, but it was not through mutual consent.”

    He added, “I have been very concerned about our daughters to have a well rounded life experience and would want to reiterate that I strongly believe in the institution of marriage and did not want this divorce. Mostly because I do not want my daughters to go through life without both their parents.”

    Hassan Noman And Madiha Rizvi Celebrated Birthday Of Their Daughter | Reviewit.pk

    “Madiha exercised her right to divorce which resulted in this decision that I condemn as a Muslim,” his note concluded.

    After Hasan went public with his stance. Madiha posted a cryptic story on her Instagram handle.

  • IT minister announces new launch date for 5G

    IT minister announces new launch date for 5G

    The government is expected to introduce 5G in July 2023 instead of next month.

    Syed Amin ul Haq, the minister of information technology and telecommunications, said that the effort would help further expand the IT industry and its export at an exponential rate while announcing the new date.

    Speaking at a ceremony for the UBIT Career Fest 2022, which was put on by the University of Karachi’s Department of Computer Science, the minister expressed confidence that the new deadline for the introduction of 5G technology would be met without further delay.

    “Our IT industry has already witnessed robust growth,” he said. “As compared to the other 43 ministries of Pakistan, the highest increase in exports has been registered by the IT and telecommunication sector. The exports of other ministries increased by 2 to 3 per cent only over the last couple of years while the exports of IT and telecom jumped by 47.44 per cent during the same period. “It reflects the potential which we need to capitalise on,” the minister remarked.

    The young IT graduates can seize the expanding opportunities being offered by the IT companies amid huge funding of $373 million from the government for the startups, he claimed, demonstrating that future job needs can be met with the cooperation of industry and universities.