Author: newsdesk

  • New deal on the table? Proposed NAB law can undo Nawaz and Maryam’s conviction

    New deal on the table? Proposed NAB law can undo Nawaz and Maryam’s conviction

    Amid government’s efforts to amend the 18th Amendment that turned Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic, which the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cannot do without the support of opposition parties owing to its strength within the parliament, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in collaboration with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has prepared a draft of proposed changes in NAB Ordinance and shared it with power brokers which, if incorporated, will undo the conviction of former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for now.

    According to The News, a Lahore-based businessman who was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) until recently, is a go-between in this process as he is equally close with the power brokers. In a meeting arranged at his place on April 24, a draft was prepared. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi represented PML-N and Farooq H Naek was from the PPP side.

    While Abbasi says he did not attend any such meeting, a picture of the same showed him present there. It has also been learnt that Nawaz is not up for amendments and insists on scrapping the anti-graft body altogether.

    Former premier Abbasi has not only confirmed the preparation of a new draft, but also said that he offered a set of recommendations aimed to reform NAB and they were incorporated in the draft. However, he dispelled the impression that the draft has either been shared with apolitical players or is being used as a bargaining ploy on the 18th Amendment.

    A PML-N leader, however, was quoted as saying that Abbasi has been given the task at his own desire to mend the fences through a common friend as the channel used during the amendment to the Army Act had now become dysfunctional.

    According to reports, the draft indicates that it will be beneficial for the entire political class in general and for Nawaz in particular — Nawaz, who was thrown out as the country’s chief executive through the instrument of disqualification. The proposed amendment under question is related to section 15 of the ordinance dealing with disqualification. In sub-section (a), reads the proposed change, the words “forthwith cease to hold public office” shall be omitted and substituted by “cease to hold public office after the appeal process against his conviction has been exhausted”.

    Presently, disqualification comes into effect with conviction from a trial court whereas the proposed change suggests it be actualised only after the entire appeal process is exhausted.

    In addition, the burden of proof has been proposed to be shifted on NAB, unlike the present practice where the accused has to prove that the allegations leveled against him or her are untrue. Likewise, the proposed change requires that an offence should form part of NAB jurisdiction only when public money equivalent to Rs1 billion or above is involved. Remand duration has been proposed to be limited to 14 days instead of making it extendable up to 90 days.

    Among other proposed rules, NAB chairman’s power has also significantly been curtailed in the proposed draft. His term has also been cut to three years from four.

    The arrest of an accused has been linked with his/ her non-cooperation and it has been proposed that the chairman’s power to order arrest should be delegated to the court along with prescribed criteria as to when arrests can be ordered by a judge. NAB is required to formally inform an accused about the nature of charges along with a set of questions the investigators want him/ her to answer, according to the proposal.

    Likewise, entire interrogation shall be video-recorded and the accused is entitled to have an attorney of choice during the course of interrogation, according to the proposed amendment. NAB is required to focus on the charges it leveled instead of opening new fronts and there must be no supplementary challan unlike the present practice, the draft revealed.

    Public office holders have also been proposed to be redefined as this definition should be limited to those holding executive powers; parliamentary secretaries and lawmakers must not fall in this jurisdiction. As per the proposal, decisions made by the cabinet or a statutory policy-making body can’t be called into question by NAB that would also be required to complete any investigation within a period no longer than six months.

    Likewise, NAB can’t recommend placing anyone on the no-fly list once the accused has been granted bail.

  • Flight from UAE carries 104 coronavirus patients to Pakistan

    Flight from UAE carries 104 coronavirus patients to Pakistan

    The Rawalpindi district administration on Monday said that 104 passengers who were flown in from Abu Dhabi have tested positive for coronavirus.

    “Out of 209 passengers, 104 tested positive for COVID-19,” the district administration said, adding that the flight carrying the passengers had arrived in Islamabad on April 28.

    Following the SOPs prepared by the government, all the passengers were screened at the airport and were shifted to the quarantine centre at Fatima Jinnah Women University.

    With the country having blocked all international commercial flights since mid-March — a ban that’s now set to continue for an indefinite period of time — many of the country’s residents have struggled to find a path back to their homeland, making government repatriation flights a necessity.

    On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 22 more fatalities from novel coronavirus as the death toll in the country has reached 471. The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients jumped to 20,725 while over a thousand cases were reported in 24 hours.

    According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center, Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

    Till now 7,882 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 7,646 in Punjab, 3,129 in KP, 1,218 in Balochistan, 415 in Islamabad, 364 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 71 in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).

    Earlier in the day, it was reported that three crew members of a special PIA flight from Australia had also tested positive for COVID-19.

    The PIA staffers had performed duties on the flight from Melbourne to Lahore.

  • Police arrest culprits involved in murder of rapper Ghani Tiger’s father

    Police arrest culprits involved in murder of rapper Ghani Tiger’s father

    Ghani Tiger is among the first singers and rappers in Pakistan who got famous through TikTok. Hailing from Pasrur near Sialkot, Ghani is one of the most followed Tiktokers of Pakistan. The rapper recently took to social media to tell how his father was brutally murdered.

    In a video message, he explained the incident of his father’s murder. Ghani told how a group of men came with rods and pistols and murdered his beloved father. They also shot his brother who is now in the hospital.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whcyUzKc1hA&feature=emb_title

    He accused his city’s organization of ATI Pasrur and named the culprits involved. According to Ghani, almost 50 to 60 people beat up his father. He urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice of the incident. Ghani said he would not be quiet until his appeal was heard among the highest official ranks.

    Soon after he posted, the video went viral and #JusticeForDawoodButt started trending. Zara Noor Abbas also condemned the incident and demanded justice for Dawood.

    Fortunately, Punjab police took immediate action against the culprits and have claimed to have arrested three culprits involved in the incident. However, further inquiry is still in progress.

  • Punjab govt gives 25-acre army land to 47 civilian officials

    Punjab govt gives 25-acre army land to 47 civilian officials

    An approval has been given for the allotment of up to 25 acres of state land, which was meant for the families of the martyred soldiers and war veterans under the Army Welfare Scheme (AWS), to 47 civilian government officials instead.

    According to Dawn, the Punjab government has made the allotments without legal sanction on the orders of former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf in contravention of merit and law. The report also quoted two officials at the Chief Minister’s (CM) Secretariat also confirming this on the condition of anonymity.

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had cancelled the allotment, which had been ordered by the former dictator during January 2004 and May 2008 in alleged violation of the Colonisation of Government Land (Punjab) Act 1912 and the allotment policy framed in 1962 under it for the AWS.

    After the cancellation order, the PML-N government had also rejected multiple summaries put up to former CM Shehbaz Sharif for ratification. The land branch of General Headquarters (GHQ) had first approached the Punjab government in April 2009 to not revoke the allotments. The military was of the opinion that the “allotments made to the civil officials may be treated as closed chapter” and offered to work out allotment modalities for the future in consultation with the provincial government and the provincial Board of Revenue (BoR). However, Shehbaz had not obliged.

    CM Secretariat reportedly said that around 837 acres of the AWS land had been allotted to civilian officials without consulting the provincial government. The land had been allotted in districts of Bahawalpur, Pakpattan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan and Sadiqabad.

    The former CM rejected another summary prepared by the BoR in February 2012, as the then Punjab chief secretary noted that it didn’t augur well for the civil service and the overall good governance.

    According to the fresh summary approved by the Usman Buzdar government to restore and validate the allotments, the Shehbaz government had cancelled the allotments and retrieved the allotted land from the beneficiary officials in 2010, because the land was actually allotted to the military for a specific purpose under the law.

    Those who had sold the land allotted to them were told by the Shehbaz administration to deposit the sale proceeds to the provincial treasury. The provincial officials who had benefited from the GHQ’s decision were suspended while the matter of the three DMG officers who got the land was sent to the Establishment Division. Apparently, the Establishment Division did not take any action against them.

    The prominent beneficiaries include DMG officers – Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera (currently the federal cabinet division secretary), Dr Faisal Zahoor and Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah. Ex-PCS officials who will benefit from the government decision include Mohammad Zahid Ikram, Sikandar Ali Bokhari, Syed Najaf Abbas Bokhari, Malik Mohammad Ramzan, Mohammad Ashraf Yousufi, Abdul Ghafoor Virk, Dur Mohammad Khan, Irshad Mohyuddin, Syed Zahid Hussain Jilani, Mohammad Ashfaq, Mohammad Akram Bhatti, Amir Karim Khan (currently PSO to CM Buzdar), Mushtaq Ahmed Anjum and Mohammad Azam Khan. The remaining officials mostly included district revenue officials.

    Eight beneficiary officers then filed a petition with the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the cancellation order of the Punjab government. In June 2013, the court directed the BoR member (colonies) to set aside the cancellation order and decide the matter afresh in accordance with the law after considering all the legal and factual submissions made by the parties and after following the due process as per law.

    The GHQ then cancelled the allotments in October 2013 in its papers.

    Officials at the CM Secretariat said as long as Shehbaz was there, no one dared to bring the matter up again.

    Later in November 2019, the DG Lands at GHQ wrote to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government led by Usman Buzdar for the restoration of the allotments, stating that “all the orders of president/chief executive of Pakistan were subsequently given constitutional protection and also upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the Tikka Iqbal case”.

    Strangely enough the DG Lands did not mention that the said judgement was overturned by a 14-member bench in July 2009 in the PCO Judges case.

    Two days after the receipt of the DG Lands’ letter, the BoR member (colonies) initiated a fresh summary for the Punjab CM, requesting Buzdar to “take an explicit decision whether to withdraw the order cancelling the impugned allotments”. The CM referred the matter to the standing committee of the cabinet on legislative business that in February endorsed the viewpoint of the DG Lands, GHQ.

    The CM later approved the allotments “as recommended by the standing committee subject to ratification by the cabinet” given last week.

  • Quarantine turns Adnan Siddiqui into Wolverine

    Quarantine turns Adnan Siddiqui into Wolverine

    We’ve seen Adnan Siddiqui essay a lot of roles on our TV screens but we never thought we’d see him as Wolverine from X-Men.

    Adnan’s son Zayd recently dressed up his father as Wolverine and the actor couldn’t resist showing off his son’s skills on social media.

    “This is the best time we can spend with our kids, how about letting them use their creativity on you,” wrote the actor.

    “Here’s Zayd’s depiction of Wolverine (X-Men) on yours truly. Master Zayd, making his debut in direction, styling, hair and photography,” he further said. “Liked his debut?”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_uniaeH077/

    Read more – Adnan Siddiqui regrets being on Aamir Liaquat’s show

    Last week, Adnan was involved in a controversy after television show host Aamir Liaquat made a callous remark on the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Sri Devi. After the clip of their exchange went viral on social media, Adnan regretted being on the show and apologised to the families of both the late actors for Liaquat’s remarks. Later, Aamir also apologised for his comments and said that he didn’t realise he was being insensitive.

  • PIA pilot, flight attendants, who brought 200 Pakistanis back from Australia, get coronavirus

    PIA pilot, flight attendants, who brought 200 Pakistanis back from Australia, get coronavirus

    One pilot and three flight attendants of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), who had performed duties on a special flight from Melbourne to Lahore, have tested positive for the new coronavirus — COVID-19.

    As per the details, the national carrier last month ran a one-off flight from Melbourne to Lahore to help hundreds of Pakistanis return home from Australia.

    With the country having blocked all international commercial flights since mid-March — a ban that’s now set to continue for an indefinite period of time — many of the country’s residents have struggled to find a path back to their homeland, making government repatriation flights a necessity.

    A PIA Boeing 777-200LR first flew from Lahore to Melbourne on Friday, April 24. PK8962 departed Pakistan at 5 pm local time, reaching Melbourne the next day at 10:30 am after a journey of 12 hours and 30 minutes.

    Allowing time for the crew to rest before the return leg, the Melbourne-Lahore flight, PK8972, departed at 1 pm on April 26, reaching the provincial capital of Punjab at 9 pm the same day, 13 hours after wheels-up.

    PIA’s Boeing 777-200LR jets can normally accommodate up to 310 passengers, but this repatriation service from Melbourne was capped at 250 passengers.

    Over a week on, reports say that three crew members of the special flight have tested positive for coronavirus.

    The crew members of PIA were earlier awaiting their COVID-19 test results and have now been shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Lahore. Among them are flight attendants Waqar Farooqui, Sofia Shaikh and Ahmed Ammad as well as first officer Shakil Akram.

  • Saba Qamar shares her fondest memory with Irrfan Khan

    Saba Qamar shares her fondest memory with Irrfan Khan

    Saba Qamar, who had the honour of working with Irrfan Khan in the film Hindi Medium, in a recent interview opened up on her time with the actor on set and shared that he sang a song for her the first time they met.

    “I’ve learned a lot from Irrfan,” said Saba. “Working with him was nothing less than a fan moment for me throughout. As an actor, I believe that acting is actually behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. And I actually saw that in him.”

    Saba said that her on-set memories with the late actor were all about “fun conversations.”

    “There was never a dull moment when he was around. We used to crack jokes with each other all the time. He always used to make me learn new things and give pro tips on life,” she said, adding that he was also very philosophical.

    Recalling one her fondest memories with him, Saba shared that on their first meeting, Irrfan sang a song for her.

    “When I entered the room where he was sitting, he started singing the song Badan Pe Sitaray…for me. I’ll always cherish the entire time I’ve spent with him.”

    Read more – Saba Qamar ‘deeply disturbed’ at Irrfan Khan’s death

    Saba further said that she wished that “things were better between our countries.”

    “I am of the belief that acting is a form of blended art that shouldn’t be restricted to a particular type or even a country. It should be assorted in such a way that even we enjoy it and so do our fans and audiences. It is this assortment which I miss. I’d love to do more movies for my fans if I get any opportunity.”

  • Quiz – Which lockdown type are you?

    Quiz – Which lockdown type are you?

    Edit quiz
  • DIYs to give dry skin soothing relief from constant hand washing

    DIYs to give dry skin soothing relief from constant hand washing

    As we wash our hands for so many times in a day and work through multiple bottles of sanitizer, here are a few home remedies to give your hands soothing relief from constant washing and sanitizing.

    Moisturize

    An easy way to counter the dryness that arises from excessive washing is by always making sure to moisturize hands after washing and sanitizing. Coconut oil is gives relief to dry skin and massaging it onto the hands before bedtime can be very useful.

    The ritual also has the added benefit of relieving tension from either household chores or work from home. Just press the middle of your palm, stretch out your fingers by interlocking them in and out and rotate your wrists inwards and outwards for added relaxation.

    DIY scrub for hands

    As all the salons are shut down until further notice and we cannot get any manicure. Home beauty treatments are a great way to self pamper and a good distraction from the daily stress and lockdown tension.

    DIY scrub is also easy to make. All you have to do is just mix ground coffee with honey and lemon and massage your hands with the mixture, leave for a few minutes and rinse.

    Read More: Hand care in the time of corona

    Step-by-step guide for a manicure at home

    Step 1: Add warm water to a tub-like vessel with salt, along with a few drops of almond oil (you can substitute this with any oil, or even aloe vera gel). Drop-in some mint leaves and some hand-wash liquid. Soak your hands for at least 20 minutes.

    Step 2: Wipe your hands and follow with scrubbing with a pumice stone. Rub a little bit of an alcohol solution after the scrub (you can use sanitizer for its antibacterial properties) and rinse it with water.

    Step 3: Clip your nails or file them as you prefer.

    Step 4: Use a moisturizer or specialized hand creams to complete, then neatly paint your nails

  • Did Sindh governor pass on coronavirus to an assistant commissioner?

    An assistant commissioner of Sindh’s Matiari district has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to lab reports.

    Saeedabad AC Ammar Hussain Rizvi was among the officials who had performed duties during the visit of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, who tested positive for the virus earlier this week, to Matiari on April 22, Dawn reported.

    Rizvi, who is originally a resident of Hyderabad, has been quarantined in a facility located in his own office, an administration official said.

    Unconfirmed reports said he had come into contact with some pilgrims as well aside from being a part of the governor’s visit.

    Earlier, Governor Ismail confirmed on his Twitter account that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

    “I have just been tested Covid 19 positive, Allah Kareem inshallah will fight it out. @ImranKhanPTI taught us to fight out the most difficult in life and I believe this is nothing against what we are prepared for. May Allah give strength to fight this Pandemic inshallah,” he tweeted.

    The tweet was followed by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan wishing hi a speedy recovery.

    “Praying for Governor Imran Ismail’s speedy recovery from COVID19. May Allah grant him the strength to fight this,” the premier had tweeted.