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  • PML-N Senator Mushahidullah passes away at 68

    PML-N Senator Mushahidullah passes away at 68

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Mushahidullah Khan, 68, passed away in Islamabad in the wee hours of Thursday.

    The PML-N senator was not well for quite some time; however, the cause of his death was not immediately clear. Senator Mushahidullah’s funeral prayers will be held after Zuhr in Islamabad’s Sector H-11 on Thursday, according to his family.

    The death of the senator was shared by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz in a tweet. She prayed tribute to the senator’s services, calling him the “loyal and exceptional companion” of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

    “I am shattered to hear the sad news. Will never be able to forget his fatherly affection and love. Huge, huge loss,” she said.

    As per a report in Dawn, Mushahidullah had remained a trusted comrade of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ever since the latter was forced into exile after the military coup in 1999. First appointed party information secretary and later made a senator in 2009, he also served as the party spokesperson for many years.

    The PML-N leader was also awarded a ticket to contest the upcoming Senate elections on a general seat.

    The senior PML-N leader also was the chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation and a member of the Council of Chairpersons and various others standing committees. He was also part of the parliamentary committees on Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, Kashmir, and National Security.

  • 2018 vs 2020: Is Karachi done with Imran’s PTI?

    After a rather troubled polling day, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has managed to secure a comfortable win in Karachi’s PS-88 Malir by-election for a seat in the Sindh Assembly, unofficial results issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have revealed.

    But does that mean that the people of Karachi are done with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) amid economic among other challenges faced by the country?

    According to journalist Ajmal Jami, that might be the case, at least in Malir, and here’s why…

    The PPP was the only party that not only retained the number of votes received in the 2018 general election, but went on to secure even more.

    The PPP secured 24,251 votes in the 2021 by-election as compared to 22,561 in 2018, whereas the PTI and its allied Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) received merely 4,870 votes against 2018’s 16,386 and 2,635 votes against 5,207, respectively.

    Hardliner Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which had received 7,694 votes in 2018, bagged only 6,090 this year.

    Earlier, polling for the PS-88 by-election — that was slated to be a hot contest between the PPP and PTI — was marred by allegations of vote rigging, violence and intimidation as all contesting parties traded charges against each other.

    The winning candidate, PPP’s Yousuf Murtaza Baloch, is the son of Murtaza Baloch, the former minister for human settlement.

    The seat fell vacant after Murtaza died of COVID-19 in June last year.

  • Families of two accident victims pardon Kashmala’s son

    Families of two accident victims pardon Kashmala’s son

    Families of two out of four men who lost their lives after being hit by a vehicle of Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women Kashmala Tariq on the Srinagar Highway, pardoned her son and driver on Tuesday.

    According to the media reports, the families submitted affidavits to the court of Additional District and Session Judge, Mohammad Sohail Fazil during the hearing of a plea for bail-before-arrest obtained by Ms Tariq’s son.

    The investigators had asked the court to cancel the bail and give physical remand of the accused but the counsel for the accused borrowed time till afternoon and brought the families of the two deceased, Farooq Ahmed and Adil, who submitted affidavits separately.

    As per the information on affidavits, “The car was driven not by Ms Tariq’s son but by the driver. They do not want any legal action against her driver and her son.”

    It further added, “For the sake of Allah, we have no objection over the release of her driver and son on bail, quash the case and discharge them from the case.”

    Later, the court issued an order stating that parents of deceased Farooq Ahmed and Adil Abbasi got their affidavits submitted.

    During the hearing, they were asked to come up one by one, and contents of the affidavits were read and explained to them in Urdu. All of them verified the contents and thumb impression on it.

    The parents had firmly stated that they had pardoned the accused and have no objection if they are released on bail.

    To nullify the case completely, affidavits from the families of the other two deceased and the two injured persons are also required, said the judge.

  • Bakery owner kills labourer, burns his body in bakery oven

    Bakery owner kills labourer, burns his body in bakery oven

    Police on Tuesday found the bones of a missing man from the oven of a bakery.

    As per the details, the 40-year-old labourer, namely Syed Jan Agha Kochi, was murdered, after which his body was burned in a huge oven at a bakery owned by suspect Malik Safeer near Dari Chowk in Khalabat Township.

    Police recovered the victim’s bones from the kiln and arrested the bakery owner Safeer.

    According to reports, the victim worked at a junkyard. He went missing on Sunday evening. His family registered a complaint at a police station and also posted on social media.

    Saddar Circle DSP Sajjad Khan constituted a team under Khalabat SHO Ali Farman to start the search for the missing man. Police found out Kochi’s daily routine after speaking his family, neighbours and shopkeepers close to his junkyard.

    All the clues hinted that somehow the baker was involved.

    A police team searched the bakery and its premises. To their horror, they found human bones inside the kiln, SHO Farman said.

    Police arrested the bakery owner and took him to the police station for the inquiry. Safeer confessed to his crime after police interrogated him, saying it was a monetary clash.

    Safeer had first shot and killed the victim and then stuffed the body inside the huge oven in which he used to bake bread, buns and biscuits. He kept using the same oven that had a corpse in it for making bread and then selling it to his customers.

    The suspect also told the police about the murder weapon. The police squad found a pistol and an empty shell. They also found the victim’s cellphone and other belongings.

    SHO Farman said that samples of the remains of the body will be sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Peshawar for DNA test. The forensic experts will also give a report on the murder weapon, he said.

  • Matric-pass MPA to head KP’s law ministry

    Matric-pass MPA to head KP’s law ministry

    After the resignation of Sultan Muhammad Khan from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has appointed Akbar Ayub Khan, who already holds the local government portfolio, as the new law minister of the province.

    Sultan, who had joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after quitting the Qaumi Watan Party, was asked to step down from his post by Prime Minister Imran Khan and the KP CM after he was seen in a leaked video taking bribes ahead of Senate 2018 elections.

    Akbar Ayub now has two portfolios. But the problem with this appointment is the minister’s educational qualification: he has not studied beyond grade 10. Geo reported that Akbar Ayub was given the additional charge of the law ministry because of his “vast experience in parliamentary politics”.

    KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai reportedly said that Akbar is a veteran politician who knows how to run a ministry. “I am sure he will do well as the law minister,” Yousafzai added.

    This is not the first time Yousafzai had to defend his colleague over the latter’s academic credential. Last year, he defended the appointment of Ayub as the education minister, saying: “One should not question Ayub’s capabilities solely due to the fact that he had not studied beyond matriculation level.”

    Last year in Jan, Akbar was made the KP education minister. According to reports at the time, KP provincial assembly’s official website showed that Ayub’s educational qualification was matric. The same had been listed in an affidavit submitted by the minister, which also stated his occupation as a businessman and a landlord.

  • Pakistan, IMF agree on reforms for release of $500m

    Pakistan, IMF agree on reforms for release of $500m

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan on Tuesday reached a staff-level agreement over reforms that will lead to the release of around $500 million in funds, the IMF and the finance ministry said.

    The package strikes an appropriate balance between supporting the economy, ensuring debt sustainability and advancing structural reform, the fund said in a statement.

    “Pending approval of the Executive Board, the reviews’ completion would release around US$500 million,” the IMF said.

    Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also confirmed the agreement on Twitter, saying that “overcoming the challenges created by the pandemic has required concerted effort”.

    “This is a good development for Pakistan,” he added.

    In a statement, IMF said that Pakistan’s progress under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) had been temporarily disrupted by the shock of the pandemic.

    “The Pakistani authorities remain committed to ambitious policy actions and structural reforms to strengthen economic resilience, advance sustainable growth, and achieve the EFF’s medium-term objectives,” the statement noted.

    Last month, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir had said that Pakistan was in talks with the IMF to put the financial support programme back on track.

    “We hope to have good news for the market and the world that we are putting the programme back on track,” Baqir had said.

    Last year, staff from the IMF and Pakistani authorities reached an agreement to pave the way for a disbursement of $450m in IMF funds pending approval from the global lender’s executive board.

    Pakistan and the IMF have been working to implement IMF-supported economic reforms, in particular tax collection, aimed at stabilising the economy and shoring up a yawning fiscal deficit.

    Pakistan entered a $6 billion IMF programme in 2019.

  • What will happen to PTI govt if Gillani wins Senate seat?

    What will happen to PTI govt if Gillani wins Senate seat?

    Senate elections are just round the corner and all parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have finalised their candidates.

    The PTI is eyeing a majority in the Senate after the polls while the opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), is seeing these elections as an opportunity to topple the Imran-led government.

    Both are hoping to bag the Senate seat from Islamabad for which voting will be held in the National Assembly — lower house of parliament dominated by the PTI and its allies. PTI has fielded Hafeez Sheikh, whereas the opposition has nominated Pakistan People’s Party leader Yousaf Raza Gillani for the seat.

    The competition between Gillani and Sheikh is of great significance: if Gillani wins the seats — for that he would need to woo at least 15 lawmakers of the ruling alliance — then this would prepare the ground for a no-trust vote against the PM. This would be the victory of the PPP as well because out of all the PDM parties, only the People’s Party favours the no-confidence move against Imran Khan.

    The PDM parties also look hopeful. They believe Gillani, who had served as the prime minister during PPP’s tenure, will be able to secure the seat for two reasons: his personal standing as a politician and the disgruntled allies of the ruling PTI.

    According to reports, the PTI lawmakers and allied parties’ lawmakers are not happy with the PM’s decision to award ticket to his aide on finance and many see him as a “parashooter” in the PTI ranks. The observers believe that the opposition will be able to cash in on these grievances if Gillani runs the campaign seriously. A senior journalist also claimed that at least 20 members of the PTI are going to vote for Gillani in case of secret ballot.

    If Gillani wins, the opposition will ask the prime minister to resign. And as PPP’s Kaira says it would be a mere formality because the PTI nominee’s defeat in the Senate election would pave way for Imran’s ouster.

    NUMBERS GAME:

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies have an advantage of around 15 votes. The PTI has 156 votes, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has five MNAs, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has seven MNAs, the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has three, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has five MNAs and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed’s Awami Muslim League has one. They will be supported by an independent lawmaker, Aslam Bhootani from Balochistan. All these members put together come to 179, as per The News.

    On the other hand, the PML-N has 83 seats, the PPP has 54 lawmakers, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) or Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has 15 MNAs, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) has four seats, and the Awami National Party (ANP) has one lawmaker in the lower house. Three independents, including PTM’s Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir, along with another independent lawmaker, are likely to back the PDM candidate. So, Gillani is supported by 160 members.

  • Pakistani climber becomes first Asian to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in 20 hours

    Pakistani climber becomes first Asian to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in 20 hours

    Pakistani mountaineer Asad Ali Memon became the first Pakistani and Asian to summit Mount Kilimanjaro the highest peak (5,895 meters or 19,341 ft) in the continent of Africa within 24 hours.

    Posting a picture on Instagram, the mountaineer wrote, “Alhumdulillah, I became the only Asian & Pakistani to climb [Mount] Kilimanjaro in less than 24 hours,”.

    Memon shared that it took him only 20 hours to summit and return to the gate of Africa’s highest mountain.

    The young climber started his push for the summit from the Umbwe Gate (start point) early Monday morning and went for the most challenging route to the summit, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Tanzania.

    “His mission to traverse the summit and return within one day (24 hours) has been achieved well within the time limit despite being a snowy and rainy weather during the day,” the statement said.

    The high commission said: “His solo summit of Uhuru peak will contribute to opening new vistas of collaboration in adventure sports and tourism between Pakistan and Tanzania.”

  • Woman arrested for using minor sons to peddle drugs

    Lahore police have arrested a woman on suspicion of peddling drugs by putting them in the bags of her school-going sons.

    According to reports, the minors, aged eight and 10, were carrying about 9kg of drugs in their schoolbags. Police said their mother Shamim, an alleged drug peddler, used her sons as drug mules to evade the law enforcement agencies.

    In March, Karachi police had arrested a woman along with her partner from Sohrab Goth over charges of providing ice drug to posh areas and universities using an auto-rickshaw.

    As per reports, the woman used to sell ice and other types of drugs through rickshaw that was usually driven by her husband or son so that she could not be caught by the police. The arrested woman, Gul Bibi, and her accomplice identified as Inayat used to smuggle ice drug from Balochistan.

  • Court acquits couple accused of blackmailing NAB chief

    Court acquits couple accused of blackmailing NAB chief

    An accountability court Tuesday acquitted the couple accused of blackmailing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson.

    According to journalist Zahid Gishkori, the two suspects, namely Tayyaba Gul and Farooq Nol, were acquitted over lack of evidence.

    In connection with the leaked scandalous audio-video tapes being associated with its chairman, NAB had filed a reference in an accountability court in 2019 against a gang allegedly involved in blackmailing several people, Justice (r) Javed Iqbal.

    In the 630-page reference, NAB had nominated Gul, the woman seen and heard on the tapes, and her husband, Nol, as the main suspects.

    According to The Express Tribune, the graft buster stated in the reference that the couple had defrauded several citizens of around Rs24.4 million.

    It added that NAB had received six complaints against Gul and Nol and 36 witnesses had recorded their statements against them.

    On May 23, News One had aired the purported conversation of the NAB chairman with a woman. However, it was left red-faced and had to tender a public apology after the bureau denied the story.

    The NAB issued a statement, rejecting the report and saying that all such reports were baseless, contrary to facts, fabricated and part of a false propaganda.

    “This is work of a group of blackmailer, who want to tarnish reputation of NAB and its chairman. Disregarding all the pressure and blackmailing, NAB has not only arrested two members of the group but also approved a reference against them,” the statement read.

    The channel admitted that it had not done due diligence and therefore needed further substantiation regarding the videos. The channel management also apologised for any inconvenience caused to the NAB chairman.

    NAB had said there were a total of 42 FIRs registered against members of the racket in different parts of the country.

    “The group is involved in blackmailing, kidnapping for ransom, scamming and looting of billions of rupees from government servants as well as private individuals by impersonating FIA personnel and NAB has evidence in this regard,” it said.

    It said the report was a tactic to escape a NAB reference through blackmailing. According to the statement, the kingpin of the group, Farooq, is currently incarcerated at Kot Lakhpat Jail.