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.

  • Taliban secretly escorted Americans to Kabul Airport in deal with US

    Taliban secretly escorted Americans to Kabul Airport in deal with US

    The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in members of the militant group escorting clusters of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, two defence officials told CNN.

    One of the officials also revealed that US special operations forces set up a “secret gate” at the airport and established “call centres” to guide Americans through the evacuation process. One of the military officials said the arrangement with the Taliban “worked beautifully”.

    Americans involved in an unofficial network dedicated to helping Americans and vulnerable Afghans said there were problems — particularly in the beginning — as the Taliban turned away US citizens and legal permanent residents the militant group was supposed to allow through.

    The two US defence officials said Americans were notified to gather at pre-set “muster points” close to the airport where the Taliban would check their credentials and take them a short distance to a gate manned by American forces who were standing by to let them inside amid huge crowds of Afghans seeking to flee. The US troops were able to see the Americans approach with their Taliban escorts as they progressed through the crowds, presumably ready to intervene in case anything happened.

  • Fully armed Taliban stand by Afghan anchor during political debate

    Fully armed Taliban stand by Afghan anchor during political debate

    A video went viral on Twitter a few days ago when Mirwais Haqdost, Afghanistan Television (TV) presenter, was seen conducting a debate in the presence of fully armed Taliban soldiers standing behind him.

    A total of eight soldiers were present on the show, fully armed when the TV host presented his set of news.

    Talking to an Afghan television later, the presenter said, ” When the program was broadcast, some threatened me by saying you mocked Mujahiddin.”

    “Although I gave the questions and they wrote the answers on paper before the program,” added Haqdost.

    Twitter reacted to the video questioning the freedom that the Taliban promised saying that people could live and work in Afghanistan without any fear and threats.

    A journalist said, “Free press. Taliban’s version of it.”

    Journalist Suzanne Kianpour tweeted, ” During which he’s asking the Afghan people to work together with the ‘Islamic Emirate’… flanked by armed Taliban soldiers #Afghanistan.”

    Anti-Modi activist and feminist, Kavita Krishnan tweeted, “The world over, parody is dead because reality has killed it. Do not be afraid, the anchor tells viewers as armed Taliban soldiers stand behind him, careful to show themselves on camera to the viewers.”

    She further added,”This scene would make for a brilliant semiotics class.”

  • Father of Asma Rani pardons his daughter’s murderer

    The father of the medical student Asma Rani, who was killed in 2018, has ‘pardoned’ the murderer of his daughter, Samaa has reported.

    “They wronged my daughter but I have decided to pardon the culprit for the sake of Allah’s blessings,” said Asma’s father.

    “I was also receiving threats in connection with the case and I was also told that ‘we are in the government, so you should consent to the settlement’ but I was adamant that I will see Asma’s killer at the gallows,” Dastageer said.

    Police say Dastageer pardoned the death sentence of Mujahid Afridi at a Jirga and the formal declaration of the settlement would be announced on September 5.

    However, the the member of Marwat Qaumi Jirga has said that they had turned down the request of Asma Rani’s father to attend the meeting that will take place at Kohat’s Tableeghi Markaz, Dawn has reported.

    Timeline:

    January 2018: Asma Rani was shot dead in Kohat in January 2018 for refusing a marriage proposal. She was taken to a nearby hospital after being shot thrice. In her last video, Asma named her murderer Mujahid Afridi. The video caused outrage in the country. Later, the accused fled the country.

    March 2018: Afridi was arrested from Dubai.

    April 2018: The trial was transferred from Kohat to Peshawar on the directives of the Peshawar High Court in April 2018.

    25 June 2021: District and Sessions Court in Peshawar handed over the death sentence to Mujahid Afridi.

  • 20 years of war ends as US forces leave Afghanistan

    20 years of war ends as US forces leave Afghanistan

    Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the war-torn country following the withdrawal of the last United States (US) troops, ending 20 years of war.

    Speaking to reporters from Kabul airport on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “We do not have any doubt that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a free and sovereign nation.”

    “America was defeated… and on behalf of my nation, we want to have good relations with the rest of the world,” he said.

    Officials said the last C17 aircraft took off with the US ambassador onboard after midnight local time on Tuesday.

    They added that the diplomatic mission to assist those unable to leave before the deadline would continue.

    The US and its allies have mounted the biggest air evacuation in history, bringing 114,000 of their own citizens and Afghans who helped them over 20 years of war in Afghanistan, but they will still leave behind thousands of Afghans who helped Western countries and might have qualified for evacuation.

  • Pakistan on UK Red List because of Nawaz Sharif, says PTI’s Ali Nawaz Awan

    Pakistan on UK Red List because of Nawaz Sharif, says PTI’s Ali Nawaz Awan

    Speaking to anchorperson Gharidah Farooqi on ‘G For Gharidah’, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Assistant on Capital Development Authority (CDA), Ali Nawaz Awan, said: “Pakistan is on United Kingdom’s (UK) Red List because of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif.”

    Awan said that despite providing all the data and information required by the UK, Pakistan suffered due to Nawaz.

    Awan said that the government was very hopeful that Pakistan would be taken to the amber list but then thrice elected former prime minister Nawaz Sharif attached his fake medical reports along with his extended stay application. Hence the UK decided that if a three-time prime minister can lie, they cannot trust Pakistan and have thus kept us on hold.

    Awan’s argument left the panel laughing. Anchorperson Gharida Farooqi asked Awan as to what connection did the former prime minister’s health have with Pakistan staying on the Red List.

    Awan stressed again that the UK is looking at the fake reports submitted by Nawaz Sharif.

  • Nawaz Sharif modifies milli naghma to make a point against establishment

    Nawaz Sharif modifies milli naghma to make a point against establishment

    At the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) jalsa in Karachi on Sunday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif blamed “a few hundred thousand” of hijacking the country’s democratic system. Sharif was addressing the PDM jalsa from London via video link.

    Nawaz vowed he would not stay silent anymore.

    Reciting a few lines from the milli naghma (national song) ‘Yeh watan tumhara hai’, Nawaz Sharif changed a few lines to: “Yeh watan tumhara hai, hum hain khawamkhah iss mein [This country is yours and we are living in it for no reason].”

    “Ai chand lakh logo, yeh watan tumhara hai, baaqi 21 crore hain khawamkhah iss mein [Dear few lakh people, this country is yours, the rest of the 21 crore people are living here for no reason],” further added Nawaz.

    “It’s a crime to stay silent under the current circumstances,” said Nawaz.

    “A few generals and elite of the society have made this democratic system a hostage. We remained silent when the elected prime minister was thrown out. We stayed silent when votes were snatched and blue-eyed people were imposed over the country to rule. We stayed silent when honest and God-fearing judges were implicated in false cases,” said Nawaz.

    The PML-N leader said, “We stayed silent when the RTS [results transmission system] collapsed [in 2018 elections] and we stayed silent when the country’s poor segment of society was deprived of food. Now you have to decide that whether you want to stand with those who are suffering and scared or with those who raise their voice against injustice.”

  • ‘Pakistan moving forward in criminalising enforced disappearances’: Shireen Mazari

    Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari on Monday said that Pakistan was “moving forward” in its commitment to criminalise enforced disappearances, and emphasised that such acts did not have a place in a democracy.

    As the world celebrates International Day of the Disappeared on August 30, Dr Mazari tweeted that the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior approved a bill on enforced disappearances last week.

    “Sadly, time [was] lost because no previous government moved on enforced disappearances,” said Mazari.

    “In our first meeting at the Ministry of Human Rights, we had the then PPP chair of the Senate human rights committee participate. Once introduced in NA it was available on NA website so to say no one knew the content is absurd. No one objected on the floor of the NA or in the committee,” she said.

    She also said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had met Baloch families of “disappeared” persons who provided details about their missing family members. “Some have returned home while others are being traced,” the minister said.

    The minister also hit out at former governments for their lack of response on the issue. “[I] can’t recall any PML-N or PPP prime minister in the last two governments even recognising enforced disappearances, let alone meeting with these families.”

  • More Afghans killed from American firing than blast at Kabul airport: Reports

    More Afghans killed from American firing than blast at Kabul airport: Reports

    A recent report by BBC has revealed that a significant number of those killed during the attack on Kabul airport were shot dead by the US forces in the panic after the blast.

    The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant- Khorasan (ISIL/ISIS-K) group’s suicide attack on the Kabul airport on Thursday killed around 175 Afghans and 13 United States (US) troops.

    Journalist Secunder Kermani of BBC, sharing his special report on Twitter, wrote: “Many we spoke to, including eyewitnesses, said significant numbers of those killed were shot dead by US forces in the panic after the blast.”

    https://twitter.com/SecKermani/status/1431517279859224579

    In the video, an eyewitness said, “It was doomsday for us, I saw American soldiers and some Turkish soldiers, the fire came from the bridges, and towers from the soldiers.”

    Another eyewitness holding the identity card of his relative said, “He has served the US army for years, he wasn’t killed by Taliban, he wasn’t killed ISIS. He died from the shelling.”

    “How can you be so sure?” questioned Secunder.

    “Because of the bullet, it went right through his neck, he doesn’t have an injury.”

    American forces launched a drone strike in Kabul on Sunday targeting a suicide bomber in a vehicle who was aiming to attack the airport, US officials said, as the US nears the end of its military presence in the city.

    The strike is the second carried out by US forces in Afghanistan since a militant Islamic State (IS) group’s suicide bomber struck the airport on Thursday.

    US President Joe Biden was briefed on the rocket attack at the Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul and was informed that operations at the airport were not interrupted, the statement said.

    “National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chief of Staff Ron Klain have briefed the President on the rocket attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport,” it added.

    As many as five rockets were fired at Kabul’s international airport but were intercepted by a missile defense system, a US official told Reuters earlier.

    US and allied forces are hurrying to evacuate their remaining citizens and at-risk Afghans before completing their own withdrawal by Tuesday to meet a deadline agreed between the Taliban and Washington.

  • Watch: Indian anchor loses cool on show, becomes a global meme

    Watch: Indian anchor loses cool on show, becomes a global meme

    In a video that resurfaced on social media, an Indian journalist, Deepak Chaurasia, of the News Nation TV is seen constantly shouting at one of his panelists.

    The anchorperson is seen shouting at the top of his voice, dominating one of the panelists and not giving him a chance to answer back.

    The journalist loses his cool because the panelist is from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

    The journalist can be seen getting hysterical in his prime time show ‘Khoj Khabar’. Ignoring cameras, Chaurasia got up from his seat and walked towards JNU Students Union leader Sunny Dhiman. Before Dhiman could understand anything, Chaurasia started shouting at him. “Aap log (JNU students) jatein JNU hai, taxpayer ka khaatay hai aur gaatay Pakistan ka (You students go to JNU on taxpayer’s money but sing praises of Pakistan).”

    “Apko sawaal poochna chahiye” (You should ask questions), Dhiman shouted back in response.

    Disregarding his answer, Chaurasia jabbed his finger at Dhiman, “Aap jaise log jo yeh mansikta phela rahein hai, aap jaise desh drohion ne ikhata kiya Pulwama mein” (You are responsible for spreading this mentality, all anti-nationals had gathered in Pulwama).

    Twitterati reacted to the Indian journalists’ way of communication and schooled him on basic ethics, who soon became a laughingstock among netizens.

    BBC journalist Stephen Sackur took to Twitter and wrote, “I watched this and realised I’ve been doing @BBCHARDtalk all wrong…”

    Research Fellow, South Asia at The Heritage Foundation, Jeff Smith wrote, “My goodness. If a TV anchor ever jabbed his finger in my face like that he’d wake up in a different time zone.”

    Journalist Mehdi Hasan, mocking the resurfaced video, tweeted, “Watch the faces of the other three panelists. Amazing.”

    A Twitter user wrote, “It happens nowhere in the world except India.”

    Another person retweeting the video wrote, “This is truly a disease spreading in India.”

    A Twitter user mocking the debate wrote, “Comedy show Hai yeee? [Is this a comedy show?]”

    Seeing the Indian journalist shout on television, a Twitter user wrote, “They forgot to take blood pressure (BP) tablets??”

    Tagging the anchorperson one Twitter user wrote, “Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument”

  • Govt employees forbidden to use social media platforms

    Govt employees forbidden to use social media platforms

    In an apparent bid to prevent the leak of official information and documents, the government has barred all government employees from using social media platforms, reports Kalbe Ali for Dawn.

    A notification issued by the Establishment Division on August 25 says no government servant can participate in any media platform without the permission of the government.

    The notification gave detailed instructions to government employees under Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964, governing the participation of government servants in different media forums including social media platforms for compliance.

    Screenshot of the notification available to The Current

    “Rule 18 of the Rules bars a government servant from sharing official information or document with a government servant or a private person or press,” the notification added.

    “Referring to Rule 22 of the Servant Rules, the Establishment Division says that it restrains a government servant from making any statement of fact or opinion which is capable of embarrassing the government in any document published or in any communication made to the press or in any public utterance or television programme or radio broadcast delivered by him or her,” read the notification.

    The notification warned all government servants that violation of one or more of these instructions would be tantamount to misconduct and lead to disciplinary action against the delinquent government servant under Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020. Besides, it said, disciplinary proceedings would also be held against the serving government servants in case they were administrators of a social media group where any violation had been committed.

    “They (government employees), while using different social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microblogging, etc, to air their views on a host of subjects and sometimes indulge in actions or behaviour that does not conform to the required standards of official conduct, as envisaged in the Rules,” the notification added.