Category: National

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  • Bank official fired, arrested after sexual harassment video goes viral

    Bank official fired, arrested after sexual harassment video goes viral

    A private bank official, who was caught harassing a woman on camera has been arrested and removed from his position following a backlash on social media prompted by the video of the incident.

    In a video that went viral on social media, the bank official was seen harassing a woman. The video had prompted a strong response, with people asking the government to initiate action against the bank official.

    Subsequently, Usman Gohar, who is a credit initiation unit manager at a private bank in F-10 Markaz, was issued a “letter of dismissal” from service, confirmed Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari in a tweet.

    Islamabad DC Hamza Shafqaat said Gohar has been dismissed from service by the bank over harassment. “He cannot be hired by any other bank as per State Bank regulations,” he added.

    Following the arrest, the deputy inspector-general of police for operations had noted that “further legal action [was] being taken”.

    Faysal Bank also issued a clarification, distancing itself from the official. Usman Gohar “has been terminated effective immediately” but stressed that though an employee, he was not a branch manager.

    In the statement, the bank termed the harassment an “individual act” that goes against the standards set by the bank.

  • Federal and provincial companies owe K-Electric Rs170 billion

    Federal and provincial companies owe K-Electric Rs170 billion

    Federal and provincial corporations’ failure to pay K-Electric (KE) has resulted in outstanding dues of Rs170 billion.

    The huge receivables have made the country’s sole vertically integrated power provider financially unviable, and affected its future investment plans, said KE’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Muhammad Aamir Ghaziani.

    The company has declared an approximate Rs2.96 billion loss in FY-2020, primarily due to soaring receivables and higher debt servicing cost.

    “Financial viability is critical for continued investment. If KE is rendered financially unviable, sustainable investments may be constrained,” he said.

    Responding to a query, he answered that KE’s total receivables from government entities, including Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB), National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC), and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), are close to Rs170 billion.

    KE owes a principal amount of Rs13.7 billion to SSGC while the remaining is markup which is still awaiting final adjudication by the court. He said KE has honoured its payment obligations to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs), although it has declared a loss of Rs2.96 billion for FY-2020.

    “If the long-standing receivables issue continues to remain unresolved, KE’s ability to serve Karachi’s growing power needs would be constrained with serious implications for citizens and industries,” he added.

    The financial statements showed that the company had been driven back into financial losses after eight years of profitable operations on account of a 166% increase in financing cost and an exponential surge in borrowing to bridge working capital requirements in the wake of unpaid dues.

  • Nawaz naming Gen Bajwa in Gujranwala jalsa ‘shocked’ Bilawal

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has distanced himself from a statement by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif accusing Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa of “hijacking elections”.

    The PPP chief alluded to remarks made by Nawaz during a rally in Gujranwala held by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) last month. During the speech, the former PM had called out Gen Bajwa and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for alleged manipulation of election results.

    In an interview with BBC Urdu, Bilawal said the statement “shocked” him because the use of such language during the public gathering was unprecedented. “But if Nawaz Sharif names these generals, he must have evidence to back these claims up,” said the PPP chief, adding that hopefully, the PML-N supreme leader would bring forward relevant evidence.

    The PPP chief said the PDM was not in favour of naming generals, so a consensus was reached to use the term “establishment”. However, it is Nawaz Sharif’s right to call these people out if he wants to, added Bilawal.

    He said the deployment of the military inside and outside the polling was wrong, so was the dam fund campaign of former chief justice Saqib Nisar in the lead-up to the polls. “So, due to the prevalence of such activities, we can not say Imran was brought to power by an individual.”

    The PPP chief also shot down reports regarding his party’s lack of interest in the PDM. He said the PPP stood by the commitments made at the time of the formation of the joint opposition alliance.

  • Troubled Tareen returns to Pakistan ‘after assurance on ongoing issues’

    Estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Jahangir Khan Tareen, whose sugar mills were allegedly involved in corrupt practices, has returned to Pakistan after spending five months in London.

    Tareen, once a close confidant of PM Imran Khan, had a falling out with the prime minister and party leaders after he was named in an inquiry ordered by the PM over hike in sugar prices. The report made public by the government had named other politicians as well.

    A news report claimed that Tareen took this decision to end his self-imposed exile after Imran assured him a free trial about the ongoing issues among other things.

    Speaking about his return at the airport, the PTI leader said that he was staying in London for medical reasons. He also rejected the inquiry report that named him for manipulating sugar industry to make profits, saying that he was ready to face all these accusations.

    Earlier this year, following the shortage of wheat flour in the country and the subsequent price hike, sugar had also gone missing from the market. Taking notice of the situation, the premier had formed a committee to find out those responsible for the crises.

    The inquiry report subsequently had named PTI bigwig Tareen, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Moonis Elahi and a relative of then minister for national food security Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar as the beneficiaries of the price hike.

  • ‘Relax, it happens,’ former senator of ‘grape’ fame tells Donald Trump

    ‘Relax, it happens,’ former senator of ‘grape’ fame tells Donald Trump

    Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran of “grape” meme videos fame has made headlines for telling United States (US) President Donald Trump to relax as the latter raises concerns over his looming loss in the race to White House.

    By the time this report was filed, Democratic challenger Joe Biden, according to Associated Press’ (AP) data, had secured 264 electoral votes against Trump’s 214. For a majority, 270 electoral votes are needed.

    With Trump taking to Twitter to launch a tirade against his opponent and cast doubts over the electoral process while adding to his laid groundwork for refusing to concede a loss now expected, the former parliamentarian from Pakistan has told him to relax.

    “Relax, it happens,” she wrote in response to a tweet by the incumbent American president.

    The former senator from Pakistan had earlier also tweeted to wish Trump’s rival Biden good luck.

    ‘GRAPE’:

    In September, Sehar responded to the viral clips doing the rounds on social media where some schoolchildren were seen telling what they would do for their country at an Independence Day event.

    The clips had gone viral on TikTok and not just in Pakistan. Sehar was seen encouraging the children in the clips and adding clarity to their statements — all in the spirit of patriotism.

    Speaking to NayaDaur, Sehar had said that the clips are from Pakistan International School in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia of which she was the principal ten years ago.

    “Everyone has the right to express their affection for the country and this is what my students at Pakistan International School Jeddah and I were doing in the video clip,” she said.

    One particular clip in which a child says that he would get into the army and “destroy India” had turned into memes and Sehar’s reaction to the student’s comment, “strong army, wow!”, had also taken the internet by storm.

    While a lot of people had also criticised her for “teaching the kids to promote hate”, another reaction of hers, “great”, had broken the internet as “grape”.

  • VIDEO: Warden, who beat up youth, suspended for snatching woman’s phone

    VIDEO: Warden, who beat up youth, suspended for snatching woman’s phone

    Lahore Chief Traffic Officer has suspended a traffic warden for snatching phone of a woman who was filming the traffic police officials as they beat up a motorcyclist in the provincial capital.

    This incident filmed by the woman who claimed to be a media professional took place near MAO College, Rivaz Garden. In the video, two officials of the Lahore traffic police are seen manhandling a youth over alleged misbehaviour with a rickshaw driver.

    The wardens also tried to snatch the mobile phone of the woman recording the incident. As a warden, who has now been suspended, tried to grab her phone, the woman resisted, saying she’s a media professional.

    But the traffic warden managed to take away her phone, garnering an angry response from the woman, who can be seen wearing a black shirt in the video shot by another phone.

    The woman lashed out at the police official and asked her what gave him the authority to censor her voice. The second warden was seen trying to calm the woman down but without any avail.

    Taking notice of the incident, the Lahore CTO suspended the police official for snatching the phone of the woman. About the youth who was being beaten up by the traffic police officials, the wardens said that the youth tried to assault and misbehave with a rickshaw driver.

  • Here’s how you can file your income tax in Pakistan

    Here’s how you can file your income tax in Pakistan

    One of the major reasons behind tax gap due to a lower number of tax filers, especially in Pakistan, is lack of awareness as there are numerous benefits of being a filer that most self-employed and salaried individuals don’t know about.

    Do you wish to avail better services at airports or excise offices? Want to buy a new car at an affordable price?  Or even that top-tier piece of real estate at a lower rate? Want to enjoy a minimal withholding tax on all your banking transactions? Or did you recently suffer a loss in your business and are in dire need of a tax waiver?

    If your answer to even any one of these questions is ‘yes’, you immediately need to start filing your tax returns and wealth statement.

    You might have thought of becoming a filer but later changed your mind because:

    • It’s a very complexed process
    • “My employer deducted it, so why should I even bother?”
    • Lack of knowledge and awareness regarding this matter
    • “We are already paying tax through indirect mean”
    • “Who cares? It’s Pakistan”

    Being a tax illiterate can hold you back from getting so many benefits, this article will surely get you on your way to becoming a filer.

    Filing your tax returns and wealth statement is beneficial for both you and your government.

    And here’s how you can start doing so.

    Step 1: Know FBR’s Instructions for Filing Taxes in 2020

    Before we get to how to register online as a tax filer and submit your returns, it is important to go through the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) recent instructions on how to file your tax return.

    Take a look of the tax slabs for salaried person for tax year 2020/2021

    Step 2: Get Registered with FBR E-Enrollment System Online

    You can get registered with FBR here and start filing your tax returns online. Previously, FBR used to have separate portals for individuals and companies. But now, they have simplified it further for everyone.

    To get enrolled, you only need to click on “Registration for Unregistered Person” or “E-Enrollment for Registered Person“. It will ask for your CNIC number and phone number (which has to be registered under your own name).

    Step 3: Prepare and Submit Your Tax Documents

    Once signed up, you’ll see a few categories on the left. Go to the registration document in the drafts folder and fill it. When you have filled it and submitted it, FBR will confirm your account and you will be able to submit your tax returns and wealth statements.

    If going online is not an option for you, then you can manually file your returns on paper at Taxpayer Facilitation Counters of your respective Regional Tax Office. Paper Return Form can be downloaded from FBR’s website as well or you can file your tax return through Tax Asaan App.

    You can also consult this video for any further details.

    There are few things you need to know before becoming a filer, watch this video to know about all those things:

    What happens if you don’t file your taxes?

    Your Income Tax Returns will not Be Entertained if:

    Under section 182(1), individuals and companies need to make sure that they don’t fill in wrong details in their forms, failing which will result in penalties for the concerned parties.

    • CNIC should not be missing or incorrect or invalid
    • Mandatory fields marked by * shouldn’t be empty
    • Returns should be duly signed by the taxpayer or his representative (as defined in section 172 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001)
    • Returns should be filed in the prescribed form and format

    As announced by the government in a press conference, the due date for all income-tax return (ITR) for FY 2019-20 has been extended from July 31, 2020, and October 31, 2020, to December 8, 2020.

    This guide is not meant to be used as an exhaustive resource, however, it does explain the first step for people who are looking to contribute to Pakistan’s well-being and become responsible citizens.

  • Justice Isa reference: SC judge for criminal proceedings against Shahzad Akbar, others

    Justice Isa reference: SC judge for criminal proceedings against Shahzad Akbar, others

    The federal government tried to remove Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa through illegal means, said a dissenting note in a case pertaining to “mala fide” presidential reference against the top judge.

    In a dissenting note, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah questioned the intent of the government behind filing the reference and its methods to locate the properties owned by Justice Isa’s family, as he sought criminal cases against the government officials.

    He questioned: “Are we governed by the constitution and the rule of law or can the government of the day conveniently get off the constitutional rails to suit its ends and come prying into the private lives of its citizens in disregard of their constitutional rights?”

    The judge said the complainant could only have approached the constitutional forums provided under Article 209(5), adding that the very act of approaching the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) was per se unconstitutional and illegal.

    “It is noted with concern and suspicion that how did the complainant, a citizen of this country, plan on filing the complaint against a constitutional court judge before the ARU, which had no public
    interface or the legal mandate…”

    Instead of approaching the forum concerned, the complainant’s decision to move the ARU against the judge “raises eyebrows about the credibility of the complaint”. “It is no rocket science to put the facts together to discern that the complainant was fed the information to generate the complaint,” the note commented on the complainant being a “journalist”.

    “The establishment of the ARU was, therefore, absolutely without lawful authority, and is hereby so declared. In the absence of any legal status of the ARU, its Chairman and Members also have no legal position or status,” the judge wrote.

    The judge said that the ARU chairman and legal expert “procured the information regarding the UK properties by offending the fundamental rights…without the sanction of any law”, going on to call these actions criminal.

    For indulging in unlawful practices to gather data on the SC judge, the dissenting note said that the authorities concerned “must initiate criminal and disciplinary proceedings against the ARU chairman, legal expert and [its] members, as well as, the defaulting officials of FBR [Federal Board of Revenue] and NADRA [National Database and Regulatory Authority] under the IFTA, ITO and NADRA Ordinance, 2000”.

    ‘MALICE AND ILL-WILL AGAINST JUDGE’

    Justice Maqbool Baqir also penned a dissenting note, wherein he said that the “respondents have violated all of the above and carried covert surveillance of the petitioner and his family without any rhyme or reason, wholly illegally”.

    Criticising the presidential reference sent to the SJC, he said: “Had the president applied his mind
    independently, he would have readily and surely appreciated that reliance of the chairman ARU, the law minister and the prime minister, on a purported report obtained by the chairman ARU was
    wholly unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, inappropriate, misconceived and mala fide.”

    “The reference springs from actual malice and ill-will harboured against the petitioner by the concerned state functionaries on account of the Faizabad dharna judgment and a common desire to ensure his absence from the review thereof,” the judge wrote.

    JUSTICE ISA CASE:

    In June this year, the SC dismissed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa and referred the matter to the FBR for further probe.

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa is an SC justice who took oath as a judge of the top court in September 2014. He is scheduled to become the chief justice in August 2023 for thirteen months.

    His landmark cases include the Faizabad Sit-in judgment in 2019, the Quetta Massacre Commission in 2016 — when he headed an inquiry commission to find out what happened when a suicide attack in August 2016 killed 74 people — and the Memogate Commission in 2012, a case where an alleged memo was delivered to an American official at the behest of former ambassador to the United States (US), Husain Haqqani, in May 2012.

    In May 2019, media started reporting that references were being filed against SC judges Reports became so rampant that Justice Isa approached President Arif Alvi, complaining that information being leaked to the media amounted to character assassination, which would hinder his right to a fair trial. He also asked the president if a reference was being filed against him by the president in the SJC.

    There was no reply by the president and soon, a notice was sent to the federal government by the SJC that a reference was being filed against him and another judge, accusing them of concealing assets.

    Justice Isa then wrote another letter, in which he said that he could’ve handled the inquiry against him and his family but it seemed that the independence of the judiciary was being undermined and that a judge had to preserve and protect the constitution as he had sworn to do.

    He then asked the SC that a full bench be constituted, a plea that was accepted by then CJP Asif Saeed Khosa, and after a months-long trial, a full bench of the apex court on Friday dismissed the petition against him.

  • Lawyer, allegedly a PML-N supporter, submits application for treason case against Fawad Chaudhry

    Lawyer, allegedly a PML-N supporter, submits application for treason case against Fawad Chaudhry

    A lawyer, who is allegedly a supporter of opposition’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has submitted an application seeking the registration of a treason case against Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry over the latter’s Pulwama remarks from last week.

    According to reports, the application has been submitted to Civil Lines police station in Lahore by Advocate Rohail Asghar, a picture of whom with PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has now gone viral over the internet.

    Fawad had in a faux pas on the floor of the National Assembly last week mentioned 2019’s Pulwama attack in held Kashmir, which had killed 40 paramilitary troops and brought the two countries to the brink of war.

    Speaking of Pakistan’s swift response to its air space being violated by India following the said terrorist attack, Fawad had mistakenly named Pulwama, drawing strong reactions.

    READ: ‘Pulwama attack’: Fawad says Indian media twisted his words to malign Pakistan

    While Pakistanis had called out the minister for carelessly making the statement that he went on to clarify later on, Indians, including Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and several journalists, had added fuel to fire by extensively reporting it.

    In a formal statement, the minister had said that the Indian media “acted with gross irresponsibility by misrepresenting the context of the speech” he delivered during a session of the National Assembly.

    Wednesday’s development comes as a series of treason cases between members of the government and opposition continues.

    READ: ‘Abhinandan’s release’: Banners calling Ayaz Sadiq ‘traitor’ surface in Lahore

    Last week, former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq had landed in hot water for his remarks regarding Abhinandan’s release by Pakistan soon after he was captured.

    The controversy surrounding his statements had led to the military also clarifying the situation, which was followed by the government announcing how the parliamentarian could face legal action.

  • Karachi has worst transportation system in world: report

    Karachi has worst transportation system in world: report

    Karachi has one of the worst public transport systems in the world, with roads littered with potholes and traffic signals barely functional.

    Bloomberg, in a report on Karachi’s attempt to modernise its transport system, said public transport serves about 42 per cent of the commuters in decades-old buses that use the roof as a second deck for passengers at time.

    The report said that MA Jinnah Road, which connects central Karachi to the port, constantly faces severe traffic jams due to the absence of transportation infrastructure.

    Multiple attempts have been made to bring modern transportation to the port city, but they have hit a snag for lack of funds among other reasons.  “Multiple bus projects have been announced over the years but either they never started or were unable to sustain for more than a few years,” the news report said.

    Adam Weinstein, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington, said: “Karachi was once well-connected by a circular railway but corruption and mismanagement in the transportation sector brought the city to a grinding halt in the 1990s.”

    Many of the railway tracks have become illegal slums, where people have settled from smaller towns, he added.

    “Karachi, despite its importance, is a political orphan,” said Arsalan Ali Faheem, a consultant at Development Alternatives Incorporated, an international company that advises on development projects.

    A development project valued at Rs162 billion was announced in March last year by Prime Minister Imran Khan, but the city officials reported that no funds were released. The federal government in response said that it has spent Rs24.65 billion, and an allocation of Rs17.9 billion has been made for the current fiscal year.