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  • Naqeeb’s brother says Sindh govt trying to save ‘encounter specialist’ Rao Anwar

    Naqeeb’s brother says Sindh govt trying to save ‘encounter specialist’ Rao Anwar

    The Sindh government is helping former Malir SSP Rao Anwar to get a clean chit in the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case by pressurising the witnesses, alleged Naqeeb’s brother Alam Sher.

    In a press conference alongside his attorney Jibran Nasir, the younger brother alleged that the witnesses were turning hostile at the behest of the Sindh government and the prosecution.

    “The case was registered on behalf of the state, not from the family and if the charges were not proved in the court, the state will lose,” said the attorney.

    Jibran also criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for ignoring an application filed by the family of Naqib to look into the assets of Rao Anwar. “The US and UK have frozen the assets of Anwar besides imposing travel restrictions on him due to human rights violations, but still NAB has refused to investigate the former police officer,” he added.

    Instead of being detained in a jail, he was confined for a short time in the comfort of his own home and given the protocol of a federal minister, Jibran said. If top politicians, like Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Asif Ali Zardari, could be sent to jail then why can’t they send Anwar to prison, he asked.

    On January 13, 2019, Mehsud and three others were killed in a fake encounter carried out by a police team headed by then Malir SSP Anwar in Karachi. On January 17, his body was handed over to his relatives at the Chhipa Welfare Association morgue in the metropolis.

    The fake encounter had sparked countrywide protests against extrajudicial killings in the country and to bring Anwar to justice.

    Subsequently, the former SSP and around 20 of his subordinates were charged with killing Naqeebullah. In March 2019, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had framed charges on Anwar and others for the alleged murder of Naqeebullah and implicating him in bogus cases.

    In Dec 2019, On International Human Rights’ Day, Anwar was also blacklisted by the United States for engaging in “serious human rights abuse” by carrying out alleged fake police ‘encounters’ in which scores of individuals including Naqeebullah Mehsud were killed.

  • Former general replaces career diplomat as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

    Former general replaces career diplomat as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed Lt Gen (r) Bilal Akbar as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, removing Raja Ali Ejaz, a career diplomat.

    The outgoing Ejaz, who was on his first ambassadorial posting, had been given the assignment around two years ago.

    The latest change has brought Islamabad at par with Riyadh in one term that now both countries have envoys with a military background in each other’s capitals. 

    The Saudi ambassador in Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki was from the Royal Saudi Navy and retired as Rear Admiral. He had been appointed as the defence attaché of the Saudi mission in Islamabad and later elevated as the ambassador here four years ago.

    The sudden shuffling by Pakistan is being seen as significant amid reportedly weakening bilateral ties at a time when India’s relationship with the Kingdom is improving. 

    Amid the present scenario, key task of Lt Gen (r) Bilal Akbar, who retired as Pakistan Ordnance Factories chairman, would be saving the ties from further deterioration. 

    The former three-star rank lieutenant general also served as X Corps Rawalpindi commander, chief of general staff (CGS) at GHQ, Pakistan Rangers Sindh director general and the general officer commanding (GOC) of the 11th Infantry Division Lahore.

  • Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Weeks-old footage of Information Minister Shibli Faraz is making rounds on Twitter, in which the minister had claimed that the appointment of then Pakistan Television (PTV) chairman Naeem Bukhari was made in line with the Supreme Court verdict.

    Faraz, who had appeared on the Hamid Mir show, had said that the appointment of Bukhari was in line with the court order. He had added that the government wouldn’t take any risks and make an appointment against the SC verdict in the Ataul Haq Qasmi case.

    But, it seems the minister was lying through his teeth. Because a fortnight after the claim, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict had asked the federal cabinet to review the appointment of Bukhari because he was overaged for the post. The federal cabinet had subsequently removed him from the post.

    In the clip, Hamid Mir had asked Faraz about the appointment of the PTV chairman, alluding to the plea in the high court that had questioned the qualification of Bukhari for the post.

    At this, Faraz said that Bukhari was named as the PTV chairman after fulfilling all the requirements laid out by the top court in its judgement pertaining to the Ataul Haq Qasmi case. He also claimed that the journalist was being misled by some people who are making the appointment of Bukhari controversial.

    BUKHARI BECOMES PTV CHAIRMAN:

    In November 2020, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • PTI UK member claims Buzdar govt official told him to run Twitter campaign against Aurat March, critics

    In a first, a worker of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) United Kingdom (UK) wing has stepped forward with damning allegations against a key person of the Usman Buzdar administration, Azhar Mashwani.

    In a video message, Arslan Mushtaq, who was appointed as the deputy head of PTI UK Twitter in September last year, has accused Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Buzdar’s Focal Person on Digital Media Azhar Mashwani of telling him and others to run smear campaigns against critics of the PTI government and Aurat March participants among others.

    “I lead [PTI] UK’s Twitter. What do you do there? Have you not told us to run campaigns against people such as [journalist] Amber Shamsi and [Ahmad] Waqass Goraya? Did you not use to tell me what to tweet against Aurat March participants? Did you not use to send me voice notes, telling me what message to send in which groups?” Mushtaq asked as he confronted Mashwani in the video message.

    He went on to accuse the Punjab CM’s aide of seeking retweets and help to make videos against political opponents such as Maryam Nawaz of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) go viral.

    While the announced sequel of the video message has not yet been released, the claims are doing rounds over the social media, leaving users asking if campaigns against critics were “government-approved”.

    Twitter users in Pakistan have time and again been left shocked to find that most of the top trends on the popular microblogging site included such cuss words against journalists, activists and government critics, which cannot be reproduced here.

    Recently, a hashtag calling for the arrest of journalists briefly became the top Twitter trend in Pakistan, deepening concern over a shrinking space for dissent in the country.

    Many users accompanied such tags with a composite photograph of prominent journalists and TV anchors, some of whom regularly criticise the government led by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Women journalists have especially been targeted time and again. Months ago, the routine had prompted a group of well-known Pakistani women journalists and commentators to seek protection against what they termed “vicious attacks” directed at them through social media, allegedly by people linked to the ruling PTI government.

    While Baloch’s claims add weight to what several targets of online trolls seem to always have believed, the same have been rubbished by those he accused.

    Speaking to The Current, Mashwani called Baloch a “pathological liar”.

    “It’s funny that a pathological liar and imposter’s statement, who was exposed by me, is being quoted against me. That too without any evidence,” he said.

    Terming the claims as “totally baseless and ridiculous”, Mashwani has also not shied away from tweeting his side of the story.

    In conversation with The Current, Mohammad Kamran, the PTI’s social media head, said that an episode transpired on Twitter Sunday night between Mashwani and UK deputy head Baloch.

    “They had a fight in private, which led to a public fight on Twitter. Some things were said that were not true. The fight was settled and they deleted their tweets but as you know, once something goes on social media, it will be questioned. An inquiry against our deputy lead Baloch has been called by Overseas head Zeeshan.”

    Kamran further said he would send the case to the disciplinary committee. “It is our internal matter that will be heard by our disciplinary committee and then any needed action will be taken against whoever is at fault,” he added.

  • Kashmir Committee chief Shehryar Afridi ditches Kashmiris on UAE trip: report

    Kashmir Committee chief Shehryar Afridi ditches Kashmiris on UAE trip: report

    Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir Chairperson Shehryar Afridi ditched Kashmiris on his recent trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as he did not meet any Kashmiris living there and neither was the Kashmir issue mentioned in the press statement released by the Pakistan diplomatic mission in Dubai, it has emerged.

    According to a report by The News, Afridi visited the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai on Sunday but Kashmiris were not invited. Pakistan Consul-General to Dubai Ahmed Amjad Ali briefed Afridi about the consular services provided to Pakistanis and the COVID-19 operations for repatriation of Pakistanis.

    Kashmiri leaders, namely Sardar Shabbir, former adviser to the Azad Kashmir government Sardar Javed Yaqub, Azad Kashmir Assembly candidate Farooq Baniya among others, also raised the issue of Afridi’s inactiveness in meeting Kashmiris and discussing the region’s problems.

    They said Afridi heads the Kashmir committee, but unfortunately did not bother to meet or invite the “Kashmiri people”. 

    As the chief of the Pakistan Kashmir committee, Afridi could have informed the community and taken them in confidence about the efforts the government has been taking to resolve the Kashmir issue, the report quoted Shabbir as saying.

    Other Kashmiri leaders said many of their relatives had been living on the Line of Control (LoC) and facing unwarranted cross-border aggression by Indian forces. “We wanted to inform Afridi of this.”

    When asked about Afridi’s visit to the consulate and Kashmiris, Press Counsellor Shazia Siraj initially declined to comment. She later said if Kashmiris had shown interest to have a meeting with Afridi, the consulate could have arranged it.

    Siraj, however, did not comment on why Kashmir issue was missing in the consulate’s press statement.

    Afridi was appointed as the chief of the Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir in May 2020. The committee that comprises senior members of the National Assembly and the Senate, monitors human rights violations and atrocities being committed by Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir besides raising the same in all necessary forms.

    Other objectives of the committee include increasing awareness within as well as outside the country about the Kashmir issue, mobilisation of world opinion in support of the cause of right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir as well as the principle stand of Pakistan, and provision of political, moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in accordance with the United Nations (UN) resolutions.

  • Pakistan Army ranked 10th strongest in world

    Pakistan Army ranked 10th strongest in world

    Pakistan has become the tenth most powerful country in the world in terms of military power, according to the Global Firepower index 2021.

    According to a report published by Global Firepower, Pakistan has surpassed Iran, Indonesia, Israel and Canada among others in terms of military power.

    The Global Firepower ranked the armies of 138 countries by taking into consideration a number of factors including the diversity of each country’s weapons, manpower, population, geography and state of development.

    The Global Firepower ranking utilises over 55 factors to determine a country’s PowerIndex score. The formula allows smaller, more technologically advanced countries to compete with larger, less developed ones.

    A perfect PwrIndex score is 0.0000, which is realistically unattainable. The closer countries are to that number, the more powerful their military is.

    In the list released for the year 2021, Pakistan has improved five places — 15th to 10th.

    While India has retained the fourth slot, Angola, Bulgaria and Syria have declined in the ranking.

    Among other prominent militaries that Pakistan has beaten are Turkey, Italy, Egypt, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Australia.

  • Goswami WhatsApp chat proves Modi used Balakot strikes to gain popularity: PM

    Goswami WhatsApp chat proves Modi used Balakot strikes to gain popularity: PM

    Prime Minister Imran Khan said the leaked WhatsApp conversation between Indian journalist Arnab Goswami and another Indian senior media official proved that the Indian government led by Narendra Modi used the Balakot strikes for electoral gains.

    Imran was referring to WhatsApp conversations between Goswami and Pratho Dasgupta — the incarcerated head of ratings company Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

    According to the conversation that was a part of a chargesheet filed against Goswami in a ratings scam, the firebrand anchor knew about the strikes three days before the Indian air force bombed an alleged militant camp inside the Pakistani territory.

    In the conversation on Feb 23, 2019, Goswami said that ‘something big will happen’ and three days later, the Indian jets carried out a strike in Pakistan, bringing the two countries on the brink of a full-fledged war.

    The conversation had also suggested that the strikes were conducted to boost ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) popularity ahead of the national elections.

    In a comment on this conversation, PM Imran Khan made a series of tweet. He recalled that in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2019, he had told the international community that the ruling BJP had “used the Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains”.

    “Latest revelations from communication of an Indian journalist, known for his warmongering, reveal the unholy nexus between the Modi govt & Indian media,” he said, referring to Goswami having access to the “confidential information”.

    “Now India’s own media has revealed the dirty nexus that is pushing our nuclearised region to the brink of a conflict it cannot afford,” the premier said.

    “I want to reiterate that my government will continue to expose India’s belligerent designs towards Pakistan and Modi government’s fascism. Int(ernational) community must stop India from its reckless, militarist agenda before the Modi government’s brinkmanship pushes our region into a conflict it cannot control.”

    Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that India stood further exposed with the leaked chats revealing a “staggering new low”.

    The Foreign Office issued a statement on the issue as well. It said the anchorperson knowing the plan to attack Pakistan “further exposed India’s sinister designs and vindicated Pakistan’s long-held position”.

    In a statement on Sunday, the FO said: “The latest revelations further confirm… [that] BJP government stages ‘false-flag’ operations; maligns Pakistan with terrorism-related allegations; stokes hyper-nationalism in the country; claims to have launched so-called ‘surgical strike[s]’; and then deviously manipulates national sentiment in its bid to win elections.”

    REPUBLIC TV RESPONDS TO PAKISTAN STATEMENTS:

    Meanwhile, Republic TV issued a statement, rejecting the “allegations against Goswami” by the Pakistan government.

    “Goswami…as India’s leading journalist exposed every sinister design…. of the government of Pakistan and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence),” it said in response to the statements by the Pakistani officials. It also termed these statements as part of “deep conspiracy” to target Arnab Goswami.

    “The desperations with which government of Pakistan has attacked the Republic Media Network in an open forum today also lays bare the involvement of anti-India forces in the conspiracy,” it added.

    The statement also took a potshot at Congress, saying the opposition party should stop working in tandem with the government of Pakistan to spread lies against India’s interests.

  • ‘Koh-i-Noor’ goes on display at Pakistan museum

    A replica of Koh-i-Noor, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, has gone on display at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) in Islamabad.

    The disputed original diamond, which weighs 105.6 carats (21.12g), and is believed to have been mined from the Kollur mine, Golconda, India and was acquired by Alauddin Khalji, Sultan of Delhi, is part of the British Crown Jewels.

    The legendary diamond had also been part of the Mughal Peacock Throne (Takhat-e-Taoos) where it was lodged at the very top of the throne, in the head of a glistening gemstone peacock.

    Persian ruler Nadar Shah invaded Delhi in 1739 and took the Peacock Throne along with other treasures but removed the Tamur Ruby and the Koh-i-Noor to wear it on his armband.

    The diamond remained in Afghanistan for almost 70 years after which, in 1813, Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh won back all the Indian land and brought back the Koh-i-Noor to India.

    Today, the diamond is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London, where it is seen by millions of visitors each year.

    The governments of Pakistan, India, Iran and Afghanistan have all claimed rightful ownership of the Koh-i-Noor and demanded its return ever since India gained independence from the United Kingdom (UK) in 1947. The British government insists the gem was obtained legally under the terms of the Last Treaty of Lahore and has rejected the claims.

  • Naeem Bukhari removed as PTV chairman

    Naeem Bukhari removed as PTV chairman

    The government has removed Pakistan Television Chairman Naeem Bukhari after an order of the Islamabad High Court that asked the cabinet to review the decision taken in violation of a court order.

    According to Geo News, Bukhari, who was also PM Imran Khan’s lawyer in the Panama Papers case, was removed through a circulation summary. The cabinet also restored Aamer Manzoor as the managing director of the state-run television who was removed by the corporation’s board of directors on January 1.

    Earlier this week, the IHC said the appointment was made in violation of the Supreme Court ruling in a similar case pertaining to Ataul Haq Qasmi.

    During the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had said the government ignored the guidelines set by the SC in a decision pertaining to the posting in the said position. It had said there must be a clear reason for relaxing the upper age limit for 65-year-old Naeem.

    It had advised the counsel for the PTV chairman to peruse the decision of the top court that had set aside the appointment of Qasmi.

    It may be noted that the apex court had declared the appointment of Qasmi illegal in Nov 2018 over loopholes. It had said the government had failed to appoint a full-time managing director in accordance with the law.

    During today’s hearing, the IHC CJ said the cabinet did not take a clear decision to relax the age limit for the incumbent chairman. He said the matter will be referred to the federal cabinet so a decision could be taken in light of the SC decision.

    At this, the counsel said the cabinet had approved the summary for the appointment of Bukhari. “You should have informed the cabinet about the top court’s decision so that it could have avoided the embarrassment,” the IHC CJ said.

    The hearing was adjourned for two weeks.

    BUKHARI BECOMES PTV CHAIRMAN:

    In November, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • Babar Azam summoned by FIA over claims by ‘ex-girlfriend’

    Babar Azam summoned by FIA over claims by ‘ex-girlfriend’

    Cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has summoned Pakistan cricket team skipper Babar Azam over sexual and financial abuse accusations by the woman who claims to be his ex-girlfriend. 

    Babar, 26, was summoned on Thursday but excused from visiting the officials due to some engagements.

    The star batsman requested the FIA to reschedule the summons, after which he has been asked to appear before the agency next week.

    On Wednesday, he started net practice at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after missing out all the matches of Pakistan against New Zealand owing to thumb injury. Babar’s thumb was injured during net practice in Queens Town on December 12.

    Despite missing out on all the matches, Babar remained with the team in New Zealand.

    The New Zealand series was Babar’s first as Test captain and now he has to lead Pakistan in the home series against South Africa starting from January 26 with the first Test scheduled to be played in Karachi. The second Test is scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi from February 4 following which the two teams will play three T20Is in Lahore from February 11 to 14.

    CASE AGAINST BABAR:

    In December 2020, police had given a clean chit to Babar in the harassment case against him.

    According to reports, Additional Sessions Judge Nauman Naeem had taken up the petition of a woman, namely Hameeza Mukhtar, against the Pakistani skipper.

    The hearing had come after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director of Media and Communications Samiul Hassan said that the sexual violence allegations against skipper Babar were a personal matter and the board could not comment on it.

    According to Jang, the board’s spokesperson was responding to a question posed by the Urdu daily after a damning press conference by one Hamiza of Lahore, who claims to be Babar’s schoolfellow and neighbour.

    Addressing the presser, the woman had claimed that the young cricketer tricked her into love and marriage.

    “When I asked him to marry me, he tortured me,” she said.

    Hamiza said that she had financially supported Babar when he was struggling with his career, adding that she spent millions of rupees on him.

    “When I called the PCB to lodge a complaint, they said that it was a personal matter,” she continued.

    During the proceedings in the sessions court, the counsel of the petitioner sought time to submit documents in the court and said that the entire case was based on medical reports.

    Azam’s counsel, Barrister Harris Azmat, while requesting the court to reject the petitioner’s plea, said that Azam was a national cricketer and hero, adding that Hameeza had started blackmailing the national cricket team captain in 2016 whereas the police had cleared him in an investigation.

    Police also submitted an investigation report in the court, as per which the national cricketer was found innocent and the woman was leveling baseless allegations.

    “The court should reject the petitioner’s plea,” he had said.

    Barrister Azmat said that Azam’s case was being covered by Indian media and the woman may have targeted the national cricketer once again at the behest of someone.