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.

  • PTI to celebrate Youm-i-Tashakur in over 75 cities across all provinces today

    PTI to celebrate Youm-i-Tashakur in over 75 cities across all provinces today

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce that his party and supporters will celebrate Youm-i-Tashakur in over 75 cities across Pakistan after Isha prayers today.

    Khan’s announcement comes after Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday declared Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision on delay in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) polls null and void. 

    Khan said, “SC has stood with Constitution & put an end to Doctrine of Necessity, which is used in the absence of Rule of Law. This is also a huge step forward towards Haqeeqi Azadi.”

    The PTI chairman said that he will address and warn his people of the real danger that, despite the SC order, the ruling mafia will still not hold elections because they are petrified of losing.

    “We must be prepared to come out on the streets for peaceful protest in support & protection of SC, which is upholding Constitution,” tweeted Khan.

    The Supreme Court, in its verdict, declared the electoral body’s decision to hold polls on October 8 as “unconstitutional”.

    A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, announced that Punjab polls should be conducted on May 14.

    Regarding the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the three-member bench said during the course of the hearing nobody represented the provincial governor therefore the issue, only till this extent, will remain under debate.

  • Israeli police attack worshippers in Ramzan during Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

    Israeli police attack worshippers in Ramzan during Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

    Israeli police have attacked and arrested Palestinian worshippers in a violent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Ramzan.

    In a statement, police said they had “arrested and removed over 350 individuals that violently barricaded” themselves inside the mosque in the Old City of annexed East Jerusalem.

    According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, injuries were reported as a result of the raid but it was not clear how many were hurt. It was also said that medics were prevented from reaching the mosque by the Israeli forces. 

    “I was sitting on a chair reciting (Qur’an),” an elderly woman told Reuters while sitting outside the mosque. “They hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,” she said as she began to cry.

    The Israeli police claimed in a statement that they had to enter the mosque after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside with fireworks, sticks and stones.

    “When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the statement said, adding that one of the police officers was wounded in the leg.

  • Senators protest against same-sex family chapter in O-levels Sociology book

    Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, assured the Senate on Tuesday a letter is being written to Cambridge to remove the highly objectionable content (Same-Sex Family chapter) from the O-Level sociology book, reports The News.

    “We are immediately writing to Cambridge to either delete the related chapter or we shall not allow such books here. The government will also write to the provinces to take necessary measures in this connection,” the minister said.

    Rana Tanveer was responding to a calling attention notice moved by senators Mohsin Aziz and Faisal Saleem Rehman. The senators had raised objections terming the content being contrary to Islamic and cultural teachings and values of Pakistani society.

    Senator Mohsin Aziz said the chapter on “Same-Sex Family” could not be even discussed in the family system here in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

    “What kind of education is being imparted to a child, hardly 14, 15 and 16 years old”, he asked.

    He also read out some portions of the content. He regretted the terms lesbian and gays used in the chapter and wondered how such things were looked at by the authorities.

  • ‘Charge sheet against three-member bench’: Nawaz asks parliament to file reference against SC judges

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, urged the parliament to file a reference of misconduct against Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar following the recent Punjab polls verdict which he claims has “virtually disabled” the legislature and made it “redundant.”

    Calling the verdict a reflection of a “one-man show” in the judiciary, Nawaz argued that one individual should not be allowed to hold multiple functions, such as the prime minister, defence minister, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and above all, parliament.

    Nawaz said the verdict aimed to benefit one pampered person [Imran Khan] while immobilising the state.

    “This is a pity,” Nawaz said, adding: “This is the result of over 70 years of mismanagement and corruption in our political system. It is time for us to re-evaluate the way we run our country.”

    “It is a symptom of the larger problem plaguing our political system,” he stated.

    “For over 70 years, we have witnessed mismanagement and corruption that has eroded the trust of the people in their government. Punjab was earlier handed over to the PTI chief by declaring the MPAs disqualified and denying them the right to vote in the chief minister election.”

    Questioning the rejection of the demand to constitute a full court, Nawaz said, “What was the hurdle behind forming a full-court bench? This decision is a charge sheet against you. Why this insistence on a three-member bench? Daal mein kuch kaala hai, this decision could only have come from this bench.”

    The former prime minister also questioned why a suo moto notice was not taken in his case, stressing that the decision against him was incorrect and should have been reviewed by a constituted bench.

    Talking about how Nawaz was labelled “godfather” and part of the “Sicilian mafia” when he was the prime minister, he recalled an incident where Justice Azmat Saeed remarked in a case about the promotion of a government official that ‘the PM should know there is plenty of room in Adiala jail’.

    He appealed that the nation should wake up as certain people “are destroying Pakistan”.

  • Supreme Court reserves decision over postponement of Punjab and KP elections

    The Supreme Court has reserved its decision over Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elections and will announce the decision tomorrow (Tuesday).

    The hearing of the case has been going on for the past week with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanding immediate elections.

    On February 22, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial took a suo motu notice of the delay in elections, forming a larger bench to hear the case but later many top judges excused themselves from the hearing.

    Today, the hearing was headed by a three-judge bench comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Bandial.

    Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) lawyers Irfan Qadir and Sajeel Swati, PTI lawyer Ali Zafar, and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) counsel Farooq H. Naek were present in the courtroom.

    At the outset of the hearing, Naek came to the rostrum. Justice Bandial asked the lawyer if PPP had ended its boycott against the court hearing to which the latter replied that he had not boycotted the proceedings.

    Naek replied in the affirmative and said that “we never boycotted the hearing”.

    At one point during the hearing, the CJP noted that harmony among judges was crucial for the Supreme Court. He observed that while judicial proceedings were made public, consultations among judges were considered internal matters.

  • ‘We can be like Turkiye or become another Myanmar’: Khan chooses to stand with constitution

    ‘We can be like Turkiye or become another Myanmar’: Khan chooses to stand with constitution

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that Pakistan is at a turning point.

    “Today we stand at a turning point in our Constitutional history where we can be like Turkiye or become another Myanmar,” tweeted Khan.

    The PTI leader went on to say, “Everyone must choose whether they stand, as PTI does, with Constitution, Rule of Law & democracy; or with a corrupt mafia, law of the jungle & fascism.”

  • ‘Mai in logon ke sath nahi bethoonga, meri team bethegi’: Khan refuses to sit with govt for talks

    ‘Mai in logon ke sath nahi bethoonga, meri team bethegi’: Khan refuses to sit with govt for talks

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that he will not sit with the government for dialogue, asserting that if any talks are held, his team will participate instead of him.

    “I will not sit with the government. And if any dialogues are held on the issue of elections alone, my team, not me, will participate,” said the PTI chief.

    “The dialogues should only be held on elections alone. However, I will not sit with those to whom I use to call thieves and corrupt,” he clarified. “And if the talks don’t go towards holding elections, then there is no benefit of dialogues,” he added.

    Khan had hoped that after former Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa retired, there will be some change in the treatment given to his party, however, he claimed that matters have become even more difficult than they were before.

    “We were hoping that when Gen Bajwa leaves, and there is change of command there would be some change. However, we have seen no change. Everything is the same, or I should say that the policies have intensified,” said Khan in an interview to news website Urdu.com on Sunday.

    Khan said that he was not in contact with the establishment. He further said if talks are held on elections alone, his party will talk to anyone. When asked if the establishment has something personal against Khan, he said that he can’t say much about this but he knows one thing for sure that Gen (retd) Bajwa caused a lot of oppression on PTI. “We used to ask the police they would say that we have orders from higher ups,” he stated.

    Talking about forced disappearances, Khan said that he knew who was responsible for taking away PTI social media activist Azhar Mashwani.

    “We knew who took Azhar Mashwani. It was neither police who was involved nor FIA. We know which agency was behind it,” said Khan.

    “There are actually scared. They only want my complete blackout. They have banned me on media and now they’re after my social media presence,” said Khan.

  • TRIGGER WARNING- ‘If rape is imminent, then enjoy it’: PPP’s Nabil Gabol’s disgusting remarks once again get slammed on social media

    Trigger warning: rape jokes, kidnapping, assault, sexual harassment

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) politician Nabil Gabol has proved that one can be a legislator in the highest offices and yet resort to making extremely offensive, misogynist jokes whenever they can.

    Twitter users have decried PPP for claiming that they are a progressive party, but providing important positions to men like Gabol who make misogynist and degrading comments about women on public platforms. A clip from a YouTube podcast, The Pakistan Experience with host Shehzad Ghias, is going viral on Twitter where Gabol was a guest and where he said: “When rape is imminent, then just enjoy it.”

    To which activists like Soul Sister’s Founder Kanwal Ahmed responded with “Gross”.

    Journalist Zebunnisa Burki shared the clip on her Twitter page and lamented the fact that men in powerful positions are never held accountable for talking about women in a vulgar manner like he has.

    Founder of ‘Digital Rights Foundation’ and lawyer Nighat Dad criticized Gabol on her Twitter account for casually using rape as a punchline because of the way it malign’s the struggles of survivors of sexual violence, and especially called for politicians to be held accountable for their words because they hold positions of power and influence.

    Dad also shared a clip from Gabol’s previous interview with Youtuber Nadir Ali which took place in 2022, where the politician was seen making sexually suggestive comments about women politicians.

    In the same interview, a user shared a clip of Gabol openly claiming that he kidnaps girls and takes them under his possession.

    Recently, Gabol had given an interview to Nadir Ali, where a Twitter users shamed him for his sexual comments about the TikTok star Ayesha, and for asking for her number.

    Writer and columnist Fatima Bhutto shared the clip from Gabol’s interview with Ghias, and in the caption she condemned his comments for exposing the ‘criminal mindset of the Sindh government.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto, the sister of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, condemned Gabol on Monday morning in a tweet.

    His (repulsive) rhetoric belongs to his individual only & is in noway a representation of our party. Incase it wasn’t already abundantly obvious- we absolutely & unequivocally stand for the rights & protection of women. Misogyny has no space in our religion nor our party.”

    However, users demanded that Gabol be removed from the party, calling the tweet a tone-deaf response to criticism.

    Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman has responded to the controversy in a tweet saying that strict action was underway.

  • Nadra confirms data theft of Army Chief’s family

    Nadra confirms data theft of Army Chief’s family

    In a news report published on Sunday in The News, it was stated that the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) is set to finalise an inquiry identifying those behind a data leak involving the incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir’s family.

    Journalist Azaz Syed wrote that NADRA has issued a detailed statement confirming the data theft of Army Chief’s family, according to the same news outlet.

    According to the report, “Nadra finalises probe into illegal access to COAS family’s data, dated April 02, 2023, it is to clarify that the subject probe into illegal access to COAS family’s data is a continuation of Nadra’s stringent measures to protect the citizens’ data from unauthorised access, when he sought help from premier security agency upon assumption of charge as chairman Nadra in June 2021.”

    Multiple users of different organisations had accessed General Asim Munir’s data before he was appointed COAS. Other than Nadra, nine institutions, including law enforcement agencies, banks and housing authorities, accessed the COAS’s family data.

    About the ongoing inquiry, COAS’s family data was accessed in absence of Nadra Chairman Tariq Malik, who was on ex-Pakistan leave (on official assignment) in November 2022.

    Last November, illegally-accessed information was reportedly used in an attempt to block the appointment of the current army chief.

    In October 2022, five senior Lieutenant-Generals were contending for the position of Pakistan’s new army chief. During this time, a junior data entry operator at NADRA, Farooq Ahmed, allegedly accessed the data of a female family member of Gen Munir and collected the family’s details and identity card numbers.

    This data was later used in the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) to track international travel destinations the family had travelled to.

    The prime minister had an investigation launched into the data leak.

    As regards to the ongoing probe into the COAS family’s data, the NADRA chairman ordered the inquiry which is in the closing phase. Culprits, from DGs to the data entry operators, have been identified.

  • Nawaz to visit Saudi as royal guest

    Nawaz to visit Saudi as royal guest

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will perform Umrah in the last days of Ramzan on the invitation of the royal family.

    Nawaz is set to visit the Kingdom on the invitation of the Saudi ruler, with the former Prime Minister being a royal guest in the country.

    The news of Sharif’s planned visit to Saudi Arabia has led to speculation that he may use the opportunity to return to Pakistan. However, there has been no official confirmation from Sharif or his party about his plans to return.

    The PML-N supremo was granted an eight-week bail on medical grounds in October 2019, and, he was allowed to travel to London for treatment for four weeks. However, Nawaz has not returned since then.