Author: newsdesk

  • Not going to take part in  upcoming elections, says Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    Not going to take part in  upcoming elections, says Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    Former Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has revealed in an interview with Nadeem Malik on Samma TV that he is not going to take part in the upcoming elections in the current political environment.

    The senior politician said that he is unable to give a final word on elections as he has not consulted the people of his constituency on this matter.

    Abbasi emphasized that he asked Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to find a solution for the bad economic situation in the country.

    “I have told Nawaz Sharif that all political leaders can sit together and solve the country’s problems,” he added.

    The former prime minister stated that PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Vice President Maryam Nawaz are not his leaders. “Nawaz Sharif is my leader,” Abbasi firmly stated.

  • Nawaz Sharif to come back via special flight

    Nawaz Sharif to come back via special flight

    Sources have confirmed that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif is all set to head back to the country via special flight named ‘Umeed Pakistan’. There is enough space for 150 individuals in this flight.

    Sharif will leave for Saudi Arabia tomorrow from London and perform Umrah there. The stay will last for a week and will include meetings with significant Saudi leadership.

    He is expected to reach Dubai on either 17 or 18 of October. Several meetings are scheduled there as well and this stay will last for three days.

    This journey will hit the crescendo when the PML-N leader will reach Islamabad from Dubai on October 21, accompanied by party members and journalists. With a layover of half an hour in Islamabad, the whole entourage will take off for Lahore where Nawaz Sharif will address the procession in Minar-e-Pakistan.

  • No chance of Nawaz Sharif’s arrest, says Ishaq Dar

    No chance of Nawaz Sharif’s arrest, says Ishaq Dar

    Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former finance minister Ishaq Dar has said that there is no chance of the party supremo Nawaz Sharif getting arrested on his return to Pakistan.

    In an interview with Asma Sherazi, Ishaq Dar said that Nawaz Sharif will arrive in Saudi Arabia and perform Umrah. After performing Umrah, the PML-N chief will reach Pakistan on October 21.

    He continued, “There is no chance of arresting Nawaz Sharif on his return as he will take protected custody and transit bail on return”.

    The former finance minister also mentioned that it’s a standard judicial practice to face the courts.

    Dar also stated that PML-N will clearly get a clear majority in the next election, and PML-N’s agenda is the recovery of the economy.

    The former finance minister said that the truth commission on the characters of Project Imran is included in our agenda, “however we do not want to take any action that smells of revenge,” he added.

  • Indian journalists slam govt for not giving visas to Pakistani correspondents

    Indian journalists slam govt for not giving visas to Pakistani correspondents

    Senior Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai expressed disappointment on his government’s continuous delay in issuing visas for Pakistani journalists, stating that if Pakistan is playing the World Cup in India, visas cannot be denied to journalists.

    Rajdeep Sardesai asked why should journalists be politically demotivated. “We should adopt the attitude of good hosts,” he remarked, saying that he will expect the same from Islamabad in the future.

    Read More: World Cup 2023: Pakistani cricket presenter Zainab Abbas sent back from India due to safety concerns

    It should be noted that the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Zaka Ashraf, contacted Foreign Secretary Cyrus Sajjad Qazi in regards to the issuance of Indian visas to Pakistanis for the cricket World Cup.

    Here are some more reactions of Twitter users:

  • ECP reserves decision on PTI election symbol

    ECP reserves decision on PTI election symbol

    A five-member bench headed by chief election commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja heard a petition filed by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s (IPP) leader Auwn Chaudhry regarding the withdrawal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) election symbol.

    During the hearing, Aun Chaudhry’s lawyer said that PTI should not be given the bat symbol, on which the CEC said that PTI has already been given the bat symbol.

    The Election Commissioner also said that the case related to the PTI election symbol is already under hearing in the ECP, to which one of the petitioner’s lawyers asked to link their application with the same case.

    Later, the ECP reserved its decision regarding the election symbol of PTI.

  • ‘Imran Khan can’t talk to his sons’: Jailer

    ‘Imran Khan can’t talk to his sons’: Jailer

    The incarcerated chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has been denied permission to speak with his sons while in detention at Adiala Jail. The superintendent of the jail conveyed the decision to a special court during a hearing on Tuesday.

    Referring to security concerns and the specific nature of the cipher case under the Official Secrets Act, the jailer cited the two as the basis of his refusal to let Imran Khan speak to his sons.

    The presiding judge, Abual Hasnat, acknowledged the jail superintendent’s stance and requested the Adiala Jail’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) concerning telephone communication between inmates and their relatives. The case hearing has been adjourned until October 18, pending further review.
    It is pertinent to mention that Imran Khan is currently detained at Adiala Jail in connection with the cipher case, a transfer that was ordered by the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court after his initial incarceration at Attock Prison.

    Imran Khan and the PTI vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, are facing charges related to the alleged deliberate mishandling of a diplomatic cipher. The special court announced that PTI leaders will be indicted in the cipher case on October 17.

  • Sadaqat Ali Abbasi leaves PTI, holds Imran Khan responsible for May 9

    Sadaqat Ali Abbasi leaves PTI, holds Imran Khan responsible for May 9

    Former Member of Parliament, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, has announced that he is not part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) anymore in a controversial interview with Adil Shahzeb, aired on DAWN News. He held PTI Chairman Imran Khan responsible for the events of May 9, when PTI supporters attacked state installations.

    Abbasi said that during a meeting held on May 4, Imran Khan planned a rally for May 6 near military installations in Rawalpindi.

    “He wanted to send a message that if I’m arrested, then the party’s target would be military installations,” the former PTI leader said, adding that Khan repeatedly stressed that the PTI’s “actual war was against the establishment”.

    “I announce that I am leaving the PTI, the office of the PTI’s North Punjab president, and politics,” the former member of the National Assembly (MNA) said during the interview.

    “I also fear the law […] there are a lot of FIRs registered against me. I do have the pressure of facing cases in court. There is no other pressure on me,” the ex-PTI leader said.

    Sadaqat Abbasi had been “missing” for a month when he appeared at DAWN for the interview.

    Abbasi was seen in a video circulating on social media, breaking down in tears as he hugs his mother after returning home.

    He met his family when the anti-terrorism court approved his pre-arrest bail until October 10.

    “Due to the narrative that has been built […] I cannot continue as a PTI member. I have no plans of staying in politics anymore,” Abbasi said.

  • Climate Change causing bird populations to deplete in Pakistan

    Climate Change causing bird populations to deplete in Pakistan

    In the tragic saga of climate change in Pakistan, it is not just humans but birds too that are affected.

    While the avian population has nothing to contribute to the phenomenon of climate change, they are paying the price for it with their lives. According to a State of the World’s Birds report, nearly half of all bird species are in decline with more than one in eight at risk of extinction.

    The situation is not any better in Pakistan. Not just the indigenous species are at risk but the ones migrating to the plains of Pakistan are severely decreasing as well. The research by wildlife expert Dr Azhar has come out at a time when the world is fighting with a challenge as magnanimous as global warming. Scientists have warned that if the temperature increases 3.5 degrees above the current one by 2100, almost 600-900 species would be killed off.

    A significant decrease in the number of birds in tropical regions has been noticed, including the endangered northern snowbird. Even the number of common sparrows is plummeting as declared by the International Convention for Conservation of Nature. For instance, a loss of three billion birds in North America alone posing a threat to biodiversity. Simultaneously, sparrows are being put on a ‘Red List’ in Greater London after a loss of 70 per cent of sparrows was recorded between 1994 and 2001.

    The reason it has not been done in Pakistan, as expressed by renowned ornithologist Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, is because nobody has actually attempted to count the number of these birds at present, implying that they are surely less than before. He warned that it is going to be even worse in the future because of the scarcity of food, changes in habitat, earlier egg-laying time, higher rate of disease transmission and frequent season changes.

    It is explicitly clear that birds’ populace is an indicator of the environmental health around us. The staggering decrease is alarming on many levels. It also demands extensive research and policy making to protect biodiversity. The areas may include the changing weather patterns disturbing the timing of migration to egg-laying and sizes and controlling extreme urbanization to provide for their natural habitats.

  • Husband kills wife for demanding divorce

    Husband kills wife for demanding divorce

    A man shot and killed his wife at his in-law’s house in Lahore after she asked for a divorce. Closed-circuit cameras recorded him opening fire and killing the woman.

    The incident took place in the area of Hanjarwal. Nasreen, who had been upset with her husband, Yusuf, and was staying at her parent’s house, had asked for a divorce a few days ago. The husband, in response, had refused.
    He then went to his in-laws house from Faisalabad, called his wife outside and then shot her dead.
    Relatives reveal that Nasreen was a mother of three children.

    Police have registered a case and started an investigation.

    SP Investigation Aqeela Naqvi says that the suspect is absconding since the incident but he will be arrested soon.

  • Wondering what Imran Khan is doing in jail? His sister has all the updates

    Wondering what Imran Khan is doing in jail? His sister has all the updates

    Speaking to the media after paying a visit to Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan in Adiala Jail, Aleema Khan said her brother is doing just fine.

    “There is a glow on his face,” she said. “He has finished the Quran four times by now.”

    Aleema said Imran Khan has read a lot of books in jail and that he is “gaining a lot of knowledge”.

    When a reporter referred to the conflicting claims regarding Khan’s health and statements issued by his lawyers, Aleema laughingly said that there is no contradiction and it’s just that while losing weight and body fat is considered ‘healthy’, some people think it’s unhealthy and the other person has gotten ‘weak’.

    A reporter asked that his opponents are claiming Imran Khan is ‘breaking’, Aleema responded: “Go read up on hybrid warfare.”

    “You all are saying that Imran Khan has gotten weak, that’s not how it is.”

    “All prisoners are allowed to walk and exercise in prison according to international law. They thought that by disallowing him (Imran Khan) of these liberties, he would break.”

    She indirectly alluded to his opponents, saying that they should give up because Khan “will not break no matter how many false stories you publish”.