Category: Politics

News stories of Politics, for the topics that matter the most to young professionals and college students, political news reported with a different angle.

  • PMLN, PPP ki dosti? MQMP k sath PMLN elections mein? What is happening?

    PMLN, PPP ki dosti? MQMP k sath PMLN elections mein? What is happening?

    Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari have agreed to collaborate for the betterment of the country during a recent telephonic conversation, Geo news has revealed.

    The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expressed their commitment to jointly tackle crucial issues affecting the nation.

    Zardari reportedly extended congratulations to Sharif on his return to Pakistan on October 21 after spending four years in self-imposed exile in London.

    Both leaders underscored the significance of the participation of all stakeholders in the collective effort to steer the country towards stability and progress, according to reliable sources.

    Acknowledging the pressing concern of inflation, the leaders also discussed plans to alleviate the burden on the public. In light of their discussion, it is anticipated that a high-level meeting will soon be convened to deliberate on crucial matters.

    The timing of their conversation coincided with the directive given to their respective party workers to gear up for the forthcoming general elections scheduled for February 8.

    Notably, the PPP and the PML-N were previously coalition partners in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government, which came into power following the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    However, while the news of the conversation has been making rounds, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari downplayed its significance, emphasizing that the PPP remains open to collaborating with all political parties.

    Contradicting earlier reports, PPP Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi denied any direct communication between Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, urging the public to verify the authenticity of such claims before spreading them.

    He took to X (former Twitter) and said, “I would like to clarify that the news of Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif contacting President Asif Ali Zardari is false and holds no truth. We urge everyone to verify information before spreading it.”

    In related developments, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) on Tuesday announced that they would be jointly contesting the upcoming general elections scheduled to take place on February 8, 2024.

    The development comes following a meeting of an MQM-P delegation led by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar, and Syed Mustafa Kamal with the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in Lahore at the party’s Model Town secretariat.

    Later, speaking to the media, senior PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said, “It has been decided that both parties will contest February 8 polls jointly”.

    Amidst escalating political activities, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and President Arif Alvi have reached an agreement to hold the general elections on February 8, adhering to the Supreme Court’s directives following a case regarding the delay of elections.

    Following the electoral alliance between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has said that he welcomes his opponent’s intention to stand in elections.

    “We will stand against our opponents that are coming in elections and we welcome them,” Zardari said while addressing party works in Ghotki’s Khangarh. 

    The former president was of the view that when people who oppose each other contest elections then the competition among them delivers the “best results”. 

  • Explosive material found near Adiala jail

    The police on Tuesday found a bag containing an explosive device in Gorakhpur near Adiala jail, where the hearing of the cipher case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled for today.

    According to police, the bomb disposal squad also confirmed that the bag had explosive material.

    “The suspicious bag was packed with high-grade explosives of 1,500 grams,” the bomb disposal squad said.

    The explosive device was defused by the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) experts. Senior police officers of Rawalpindi police were present at the spot.

    The bag with explosives material was found one kilometre away from Adiala jail, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan is imprisoned.

    The incident came to light during a period when the country is facing terrorist threats from both internal and external extremist organisations, including the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

    According to the report of Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), at least 386 security officials lost their lives in first nine months of 2023.  

  • ‘Imran will lead the nation from jail’: PTI Core Committee

    ‘Imran will lead the nation from jail’: PTI Core Committee

    Former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has declared its intention to participate in the upcoming general elections across all constituencies in the country.

    The decision was made following a key meeting of the party’s core committee.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had previously confirmed that the general elections will take place on February 8, 2024, after the Supreme Court’s instructions.

    The announcement followed consultations with President Arif Alvi in response to the apex court’s directives.

    The Imran Khan-led party, in its statement, reiterated its determination to take part in electoral politics, adding that “Coercion and fascism will not deter [PTI] from contesting the elections.”

    Addressing former prime minister and party chairman Imran Khan’s incarceration, the statement said: “The PTI chairman will lead the nation after being released [from Adiala jail]”.

    “If the chairman is kept incarcerated, [then] he will lead the nation from the jail,” it added.

    As per Imran Khan’s instructions, the party is set to actively engage in the national and provincial assembly elections, undeterred by any form of coercion or suppression, the core committee affirmed.

    The committee paid glowing tributes to the party chairman for demonstrating “unparalleled courage, resilience, and determination”.

    Imran Khan stands as an embodiment of struggle, resistance, maturity, determination, and perseverance in the pursuit of genuine liberation for the nation, the committee noted, highlighting the chairman’s “unwavering resolve” despite his nearly 100-day “unjust incarceration”.

    Members of the committee highlighted that Imran Khan’s “bravery and unwavering commitment” to not compromise on the true freedom of the nation serve as a wellspring of inspiration for the 240 million Pakistanis.

    The PTI also plans to release a ‘White Paper’ outlining the alleged failures of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the caretaker government, which, they claim, have contributed to the country’s economic crisis.

    Notably, the PTI has voiced concerns about the lack of a level playing field in the upcoming elections, a sentiment echoed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Both parties have alleged biased treatment favoring the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    Meanwhile, as political parties gear up for the elections, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the PML-N, has directed party members to begin their preparations for the upcoming polls during a recent meeting in Lahore.

  • ‘I walked to my home, spent a week in silence, biggest moment of my life’: Trump claims Khan was delighted about Iran operative death

    ‘I walked to my home, spent a week in silence, biggest moment of my life’: Trump claims Khan was delighted about Iran operative death

    Former American President Donald Trump is revealing about the killing of Iran’s master operative General Qassem Soleimani in 2020 just before COVID took over the world.

    Trump said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan ‘rejoiced’ at the killing.

    “There was a Khan, a great cricket player, he became the head of Pakistan, he said it was the single biggest thing I can ever remember happening in my life when Soleimani was killed,” Trump said.

    He further claimed that Khan said, “I left my office, I walked to my home, I stayed in my home in solitude for one week, It was the biggest event that ever happened to me. He was the biggest cricket player. That’s like being a great NFL player or a great baseball player. He was said to be just about the best handsome guy. He became the boss, Pakistan.”

    Trump was addressing a campaign rally in Houston, Texas, a city with a large Pakistani diaspora population.

    However, Trump’s claim of Imran Khan going into seclusion seems to be untrue. Journalist Omar Warraich pointed out in a X thread that Khan addressed a rally in his hometown Mianwali, the very next day and did not mention Soleimani’s assassination in the speech.

    Trump’s claim that Imran Khan walked from his office, the Prime Minister Secretariat, to his home, Bani Gala, also seems to be untrue. It has never been reported that Khan ever walked home, a distance of roughly 15 kilometers.

    The United States assassinated Qasem Soleimani with a drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. Soleimani was an Iranian general, the country’s most powerful commander, widely considered to be the most important person in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

    Soleimani was the leader of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, a pivotal figure in managing Iran’s campaign to drive U.S. forces out of Iraq, and built up Iran’s network of proxy armies across the Middle East. Washington accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region.

  • What is olive harvesting season in Palestine?

    You have probably come across posts about the olive harvest season in Palestine. But do you know what it is?

    A festive season in Palestine, olive harvest falls every year in the months of October and November.

    In 2021, Al Jazeera reported that about 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinian families financially depend upon the olive harvest which includes more than 15 percent women.

    Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) reported that the olive sector was worth $160m and $191m.

    But over the years, strict Israeli control, settler attacks and a poor capitulation due to harsh climate has affected the festivity.

    ‘The olive season in Palestine is much more than an economic practice, it’s a palpable example of one of Palestine’s many “cultural ecosystem services.”’, writes Dr. Yara Dahdal, projects manager at Nature Palestine Society in a blog post.

    Cultural ecosystem services, as Dr. Dahdal explains, are the “intangible benefits that people gain from ecosystems through recreation, tourism, intellectual development, spiritual enrichment, reflection, and creative and aesthetic experiences”.

    These have “positive impacts on human health and social ties, and solid cultural connections to identity. In this sense, the olive harvesting season in Palestine is an integrated socio-ecological system, extending its benefits beyond the total number of tons of harvested olives each year”, she adds.

    History

    As Palestine has been harvesting olives for thousands of years, olives became a symbol of their resilience against Israeli occupation.

    In 2008, the United Nations revealed that almost half of all cultivated land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza is planted with approximately 10 million olive trees.

    Whereas in 2019, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported that about 177,000 tonnes of olives were pressed, producing 39,600 tonnes of olive oil – roughly 30,000 litres (7,925 gallons).

    Jenin, Tubas and Northern Valleys produced the highest quantity of olive oil, followed by Tulkarm and Gaza.

    Israeli attacks

    A 2012 study published by The Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) revealed that Israeli authorities have uprooted 800,000 Palestinian olive trees in the West Bank since 1967.

    Data by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed that in a single year alone (August 2020 – August 2021), more than 9,300 trees were wrecked in the West Bank.

    In addition to the destruction, Palestinian farmers in the West Bank need Israeli permits to access their land in restricted areas near illegal Israeli settlements.

    Israeli settlements are Jewish communities built illegally on Palestinian land. Today, between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers live in at least 250 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

    In most cases, Palestinian farmers are, in fact, prohibited to access most of their land close to settlements.

  • Terrorists attack police station in Dera Ismail Khan

    Terrorists attack police station in Dera Ismail Khan

    Suspected terrorists attacked a police station on Monday in Dera Ismail Khan, the third terrorist attack in the district since Friday. The militants attacked the Gul Imam police station in Tank area. 

    One police official was injured as a result of attack.

    Police Constable Waheed Gul was injured in the exchange of firing. He was then urgently shifted to District Headquarters Hospital in Tank.

    With reinforcement personnel,District Police Officer (DPO) Tank Iftikhar Ali Shah reached the spot immediately, and then a search operation was started to wipe out militants.

    On Sunday evening, another policeman was injured in a terrorist attack on a checkpost in the Roori area of the Kulachi tehsil.

    Earlier, At least six people were killed and 20 injured after a blast in Dera Ismail Khan targeting a police van on Friday.

  • He’s gone, but Supreme Court to decide death penalty case against Musharraf

    He’s gone, but Supreme Court to decide death penalty case against Musharraf

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan is set to begin hearing a series of appeals on November 10, including those filed by the late former President, retired General Pervez Musharraf, in an attempt to overturn his death sentence, as per Dawn.

    A four-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, along with Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Aminud Din Khan, and Justice Athar Minallah, will preside over the hearings.

    Represented by his counsel Salman Safdar, the late General filed an appeal requesting the annulment of the conviction, citing a trial process that was conducted in violation of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1898.

    The appeal seeks a suspension of the judgment in the interest of justice and fair play.

    The petition highlights Musharraf’s military career and claims that the trial for a constitutional crime was conducted in an unconstitutional manner.

    In a separate development, the Sindh High Court Bar Association contested the Lahore High Court’s decision on January 13, 2020, which deemed the Special Court’s decision unconstitutional.

    The association has appealed to the Supreme Court to reinstate the conviction for subverting the Constitution.

    Presented by counsel Rasheed A. Razvi, the appeal argues that the high court’s verdict is legally flawed, alleging a misinterpretation of evidence and failure to appreciate the material presented by the prosecution during the trial.

    Additionally, the appeal asserts that the high court neglected to acknowledge that the material presented by the prosecution before the Special Court was not denied by Gen Musharraf at any stage of the case.

    It further argues that the verdict contradicts established principles of the Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order, stating that unchallenged facts are deemed admitted by the parties and do not require further proof.

    The petition asserts that the high court’s decision contradicts the precedent set by superior courts and the Supreme Court, referencing the 2019 Lahore High Court Bar Association case.

    A special court in Islamabad found former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf guilty of high treason and handed him a death sentence under Article 6 of the Constitution on December 17, 2019.

    This was the first time in Pakistan’s history that a military chief has been declared guilty of high treason and handed a death sentence. The verdict was split 2-1.

    Article 6 of the Constitution says: “Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or hold in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance the Constitution by use of force or show force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.”

    The three-member bench of the special court was headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and comprising Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

  • Security forces successfully prevent terrorist attack at PAF Air Base Mianwali

    Security forces successfully prevent terrorist attack at PAF Air Base Mianwali

    During the early hours of Saturday, security forces successfully prevented a terrorist attack on the Pakistan Air Force ( PAF) Mianwali Training Air Base, as reported by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Three militants were neutralized in the operation.

    According to the military’s media wing, “On 04 November 2023, in the early hours of the day, Mianwali Training Air Base of Pakistan Air Force came under a failed terrorist attack which, Alhumdolliah, due to the swift and effective response by the troops, has been foiled and thwarted, ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets.”

    Three terrorists were eliminated as they attempted to enter the base, while the remaining three were contained and isolated due to the swift and effective action of the troops, who displayed remarkable bravery.

    “However, during the attack, some damage to three already grounded aircraft and a fuel bowser also occurred,” the statement read.
    “Pakistan Armed Forces remain committed to eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country at all costs,” said the ISPR.

  • PTI leader Asad Qaiser arrested

    PTI leader Asad Qaiser arrested

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser has been arrested in Islamabad.

    Former National Assembly Speaker’s brother, Abdul Waheed, posted on his Facebook account, “My brother has been abducted from Banigala House.”

    Waheed claimed that Qaiser was arrested by men dressed in plain clothes

    As per Taaha Ahmed, coordinator at ARY News, “@AsadQaiserPTI has been arrested by Anti Corruption Team, from Bani Gala, Islamabad. Asad Qaiser is nominated in a corruption case for purchasing of medical equipment for Gaju Khan Medical College Swabi, KPK.”

  • ‘Kisi media walay ko elections mein doubt hai to apni biwi ko bataye, awam ko nahi’: Chief Justice

    ‘Kisi media walay ko elections mein doubt hai to apni biwi ko bataye, awam ko nahi’: Chief Justice

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, issued a firm warning to the country’s media during a hearing of multiple pleas seeking timely elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies.

    “If media raises suspicions about the elections, they will be committing a violation of the constitution,” he remarked, adding that journalists cannot simply grab a microphone and say there are doubts about the elections.

    “An anchor or reporter cannot raise doubts about whether the elections will happen or not,” he stated.

    Faez Isa warned that if rumors or speculations are spread about the elections, action will be taken by PEMRA.

    The head of the apex court stressed that, “Media outlets should know that they do not have the right to lie. Media freedom has been granted in the constitution.”

    He further said that if a media person has suspicions about the elections, he will not tell the public, but he can tell his wife.

    The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the government to ensure the conduct of general elections on February 8, a day after President Arif Alvi and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja unanimously agreed on the aforementioned date during a meeting held at the President’s House.

    A three-member bench headed by CJP Isa and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan heard the case.

    The court, in its order, mentioned that the notification of the general election date has also been issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), stating that no party has any objection to holding elections on February 8.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa asked everyone in the courtroom as well as the Attorney-General for Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, if they had any objection to the election date, but all replied in the negative.

    “After all the requirements are fulfilled, the Election Commission should announce the election schedule,” CJP Isa said.
    The chief justice said: “Elections will definitely be held on February 8, God willing.”