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.

  • ‘International lobby working against Pak but won’t be successful’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘International lobby working against Pak but won’t be successful’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said that the government will consult lawyers regarding legal action that can be taken against the New Zealand and England cricket boards for abandoning Pakistan cricket series.

    “PTV has incurred huge financial loss due to the cancellation of New Zealand and England cricket series. [We] will consult lawyers about legal action against the two boards. A specific foreign lobby is busy [in activities] against Pakistan but those wishing to make us bend will never be successful,” tweeted Fawad.

    The  England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday announced that it has reluctantly decided to withdraw both men’s and women’s teams from their tour to Pakistan. Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja tweeted that he was “disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment & failing a member of their Cricket fraternity when it needed it most”.

    “The ECB Board convened this weekend to discuss these extra England Women’s and Men’s games in Pakistan and we can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip,” an ECB statement read.

  • Al Qaeda militants arrested from Lahore

    The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested four alleged members of Al Qaeda from Lahore, the CTD spokesperson has confirmed according to Samaa News. An FIR has also been registered at the CTD police station and the police has started interrogation from the suspects.

    The law enforcement authorities received “credible source information” about the presence of members of the banned organisation near Lahore’s Mohlanwal Road.

    Four men, identified as Muhammad Mushtaq, Sami Ullah, Adil Jamal, and Usama Khalid, were arrested, in a raid on Tuesday morning. “They were orchestrating an attack on law enforcement agencies in the city,” the CTD spokesperson told Samaa.

    Earlier in August, the CTD arrested two alleged members of banned organisation Al Qaeda at Jallo Pind.

  • KP Assembly to set daycare centre for parliamentarians

    KP Assembly to set daycare centre for parliamentarians

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly has become the first legislature in the country for setting up a baby feeding and daycare centre to facilitate women parliamentarians, reports Dawn.

    Members of the Women Parliamentary Assembly, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), and health and planning and development departments were present when Speaker Mushtaq Ghani inaugurated the daycare centre.

    Ghani said that as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, women were being empowered by ensuring their presence in the legislating process.

    The Speaker appreciated the opening of the daycare facility stating that the female parliamentarians would not have to leave their infants at home for attending assembly sessions or committees’ meetings.

  • ‘Pakistan provided more security to New Zealand’s team than their armed forces combined’: Sheikh Rasheed

    ‘Pakistan provided more security to New Zealand’s team than their armed forces combined’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Monday commented that Pakistan tasked more security personnel to ensure the safety of the New Zealand cricket team than their armed forces combined.

    Sheikh Rasheed’s comments come after New Zealand decided to unilaterally abandon the Pakistan series at the eleventh hour.

    Referring to the five-nation intelligence report on the basis of which the New Zealand government called the tour off, Rasheed questioned, “Where were these five countries that issued the threat alert when the security experts were visiting Pakistan and the team was practising on the same ground?”

    Rasheed informed the media that Pakistani intelligence agencies are one of the strongest agencies in the world.

    Responding to the Opposition’s criticism on the cricket series being cancelled, the minister said: “Don’t throw stones at others while living in a glasshouse. A day will come when all international teams will come to play in Pakistan.”

  • ‘The ones who do the big talks’, Sheheryar Afridi criticises US women while in New York

    ‘The ones who do the big talks’, Sheheryar Afridi criticises US women while in New York

    Chairman of the Parliamentary Com­mittee on Kashmir, Sheh­r­yar Khan Afridi’s video has gone viral on social media, where he can be seen criticising the women of the United States (US) for their culture.

    Afridi, while leisurely walking in Times Square, New York, wearing a Levi’s t-shirt, lectures American women for their cultural choices and draws a comparison with Pakistani women.

    “The religion we follow, whether we are a Baloch, Sindhi, Punjabi, immigrant, Siraki or Pushtun, we respect our women. See, she is an American woman. She too is someone’s sister or daughter. This is Manhattan,” says Afridi.

    Afridi further added, “These people are advocates of human rights, these aren’t just political slogans. This is the reality.”

    “The ones who do the big talks and lecture us should come and see what the condition of their women is,” said Afridi.

    Afridi received a lot of backlash on his video and Twitterati reacted strongly to Afridi’s problematic comments.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal tweeted, “Ridiculous. [The] US has its own culture & values & it is none of our business to lecture them on women issues while we have seen some serious crimes against women recently at home.”

    Journalist Alia Chugtai tweeted, “11 rape cases are reported a day in Pakistan. No one actually knows how many in reality. An unaccounted number of little boys and men raped – and here is a ruling party member trying his hand at dissing how women in America are treated.”

    Journalist Secunder Kermani tweeted, “One minute and one second of pure facepalm as this Pakistani politician, in a rather tight t-shirt, sermonises about the state of American women.”

    Educationist Taimur Bandey wrote, “All those patriots worried about the image of Pakistan hope you are as embarrassed today as you usually are over everything else.”

    Political activist questioning the government tweeted, “What is this @ShireenMazari1? Why your party people are so brainless? If he does not like [the] US why is he going at first place and wearing T-SHIRT and jeans and cursing their culture? This is disgusting they should not behave childish.”

  • US right-wing journalist praises PM Khan for saving Afghan’s lives

    US right-wing journalist praises PM Khan for saving Afghan’s lives

    A right-wing television presenter, Glenn Beck has thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan in a series of tweets for his support in getting Afghans out from the war-torn country.

    Beck, who has a charity organisation called Mercury One, has been assisting with evacuations from Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover, revealed that Pakistan’s leadership helped with the release and departure of three flights.

    In a tweet, he stated that, “We reached out and asked numerous leaders in political and civil society around the world for help. The silence was shocking as was the outpouring of help on a humanitarian basis. We received an immediate response to our requests from PM Imran Khan of Pakistan who then acted on his willingness to assist.”

    “Pakistan has once again proven to be a valued partner in all seasons for the United States, despite recent criticisms from some sections of US media,” he added.

    While stressing that the US should recognize Pakistan’s assistance at this point, he tweeted, “We will not forget this support that has enabled America and its allies to make good on their promises to those who helped them without pause or reflection.”

    “Let no one fool you, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) female athletes are out because of you and Imran Khan”, he concluded in his last tweet.

    Earlier, there were reports that six chartered planes by Beck’s charity were seeking to evacuate at least 1,000 people, including more than 100 Americans. During his efforts, his supporters praised him for doing “more for Americans than all of Biden’s supporters combined.” 

    According to the statement made by Pakistan Foreign Office in early September, 12,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan with the help of Pakistan.

    Beck is one of the most controversial media figures in the US and quite well-known among conservative circles. 

  • Sindh govt decides to arrest unvaccinated people

    The Sindh Government has decided to arrest unvaccinated people in the province, following the new directions from the National Commands and Operation Centre (NCOC), Business Recorder has reported.

    Travellers on motorways would require to get vaccinated by September 20, as per a notification issued by the Sindh Home Department in light of fresh directives issued by the NCOC.

    The notification further added that if a company’s employees are proven to be unvaccinated, its buses and other equipment will be confiscated.

    Unvaccinated employees would be barred from working in hotels and restaurants, including those who provide home delivery services.

    Pakistan recorded 2167 number of Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 4.22 per cent.

  • ‘Shehbaz Sharif’s watch a gift from his father,’ PML-N responds to Shibli Faraz

    ‘Shehbaz Sharif’s watch a gift from his father,’ PML-N responds to Shibli Faraz

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan on Sunday said that Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz’s comments regarding Shahbaz’s expensive watch are ridiculous and there’s a limit to telling lies.

    Shibli said that while the Opposition Leader always complains about inflation in the country, he himself wears a wristwatch worth Rs10.5 million.

    Responding to Shibli’s comments, Khan said, “There is a limit to telling lies, Shehbaz Sharif has been wearing the wristwatch for the last 50 years out of respect and attachment for his late father.”

    “The wristwatch was bought by late Mian Muhammad Sharif in the 1970s during a trip to Germany,” Shehbaz’s spokesperson said, adding that at the time, the worth of the watch was just Rs2,000.

    “Being the son of [famous Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz], it’s not suitable for you to resort to mudslinging,” Khan said to Shibli. “In terms of performance, you should acknowledge that you have no comparison with Shehbaz Sharif.”

  • Arnab Goswami’s lie about Pak army backfires, becomes Twitter meme

    Arnab Goswami’s lie about Pak army backfires, becomes Twitter meme

    Indian journalist Arnab Goswami was once again caught spreading fake news about Pakistan but was called out for it by his Pakistani guest. Goswami lied about the presence of the Pakistan Army officers in Kabul Serena to fight in Panjshir Valley.

    Goswami claimed that the Pakistan Army officers were staying on the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel in Kabul but did not know that Kabul Serena only has two floors above ground level.

    In his programme ‘The Debate’ on Republic World TV last week, Goswami had invited an Indian analyst as well as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Abdul Samad Yaqoob, to represent Pakistan, in a discussion on what the channel termed a “big split” within the Taliban.

    Goswami addressed Yaqoob and said: “You go and check today … on the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel, I am telling you, please check, the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel in Kabul, how many Pakistani army officers are there?”

    “I am giving you. [Do] you want more details? I’ll tell you which room, or is this enough? [On the] fifth floor of the Serena Hotel, Kabul, how many Pakistani officers are there. Okay? I can also tell you what they ordered for dinner, so don’t question my intelligence sources.”

    Yaqoob countered Goswami’s claims and said, “What I got to know from my sources [is that] Serena has only two floors. There are no third, fourth or fifth floors.”

    The Indian anchor had no logical answer and sought to draw attention away from his faux pas. 

    Netizens from around the world called out Goswami for making false claims, making him a Twitter meme once again.

    A Twitter user from India wrote, “Dear #ArnabGoswami this is Sarena hotel Kabul I am still unable to find out [the] fifth floor?”

    https://twitter.com/Dilsedesh/status/1439528467465322498

    Indian journalist, Kanishka Raj Singh tweeted, “Finding information on the fifth floor of a building that has only two floors requires great journalism and brilliant sourcing.”

    Journalist Om Thanvi tweeted, “According-to-sources journalism and its own laughter!”

    Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei too exposed Goswami’s claims by sharing images of the hotel.

    One user rotated a picture of the hotel and mused that Goswami was perhaps counting its floors vertically.

    PTI spokesperson too tweeted a picture with “Arnab’s Intelligence Source” as its caption.

  • ‘I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt’: PM Khan

    ‘I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that he has initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan representing multiple ethnic groups.

    In a statement shared on Twitter, the premier wrote, “After meetings in Dushanbe with leaders of Afghanistan’s neighbours and especially a lengthy discussion with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan government to include Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks.”

    In another tweet, the premier wrote, “After 40 years of conflict, this inclusivity will ensure peace and a stable Afghanistan, which is in the interest not only of Afghanistan but the region as well.”

    The prime minister had emphasised the same point during his address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) summit on Friday.

    “The Taliban must fulfill the pledges made, above all for an inclusive political structure where all ethnic groups are represented. This is vital for Afghanistan’s stability,” he had said.

    The Afghan Taliban had announced an interim government, comprising 33 members, earlier this month.