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.

  • ‘A conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media not controlled’: CJ Lahore High Court

    ‘A conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media not controlled’: CJ Lahore High Court

    Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Muhammad Qasim Khan, while hearing a case on offensive content on social media, observed that a conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media was not controlled.

    CJ LHC asked if a person could be tried in Pakistan for uploading hate material on social media from abroad or if a person was killed in Britain, could a trial be held in Pakistan. According to a report in The News, when the petitioner’s lawyer said that the law does exist under which a person could be tried in Pakistan for uploading objectionable material on social media while sitting abroad, CJ Qasim Khan got angry. He asked the lawyer to complete his preparation before coming up with arguments.

    CJ LHC observed that people can be instigated to rebel if social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram were not controlled.

    In April, CJ Khan had observed that civil servants should submit details of their cellular numbers and social media accounts to their relevant departments. He also asked departments to make a code of conduct for civil servants for social media use. He was hearing a petition against running a social media campaign against the judiciary after the arrest of an assistant commissioner on the orders of a civil judge in Sahiwal. Back in February, CJ LHC had ordered the director general FIA to constitute a committee to examine all YouTube channels as well as other social media accounts with videos against the judiciary and asked that proceedings against them should be initiated.

  • ‘Mild symptoms and quick recovery are because of vaccination’: Shafqat Mahmood

    ‘Mild symptoms and quick recovery are because of vaccination’: Shafqat Mahmood

    Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday said that he has tested negative for the coronavirus and has resumed work from today.

    The minister shared the news on Twitter: “By the grace of Allah, I have fully recovered. My latest two tests are negative. Going back to work today.”

    “The mild symptoms and quick recovery are without a doubt because of the vaccination,” Mahmood tweeted. He stressed that “vaccines work and are the best defence against this horrible disease”.

    Last month, Shafqat Mahmood tested positive for coronavirus.

  • Know of water theft in Sindh? WhatsApp here

    Know of water theft in Sindh? WhatsApp here

    Sindh Irrigation Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal has shared a WhatsApp number for the masses, ARY News reported on Tuesday. This was done in order to tighten the noose around the people involved in water theft by the Sindh Irrigation Department.

    Siyal, while releasing the WhatsApp number of the Irrigation Department, urged the masses to record videos of water theft and share them with the Sindh Irrigation Department.

    The video, along with the date and time highlighting the irrigation water theft, should be forwarded to 03330291781, the minister said.

    Siyal ensured that action would be taken against the guilty within three days.

    Last week, Sindh Irrigation Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal met with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.

  • Woman who complained to PM Khan gets justice

    Woman who complained to PM Khan gets justice

    Ayesha Mazhar, a resident of Lahore, had explained her ordeal to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday when the premier was taking live calls from citizens to hear about their issues and concerns.

    Ayesha received her Rs 472,000 from the brother of a police officer who was unwilling to pay pending rent and maintenance expenses, Punjab Police said on Monday, after the institution helped her resolve this issue.

    A video shared by the Punjab Police on Twitter said both parties had reached an agreement, and the person has paid the outstanding amount and agreed to withdraw the case against her.

    https://twitter.com/OfficialDPRPP/status/1399352217623269376

    While talking to PM Imran Khan over the phone, Ayesha said SSP Zeeshan Asghar’s  [former Lahore SSP Investigation who is now posted in Balochistan] brother, Imran Asghar, was not paying her the due amount, and police were not taking action against him either.

    She said Imran first illegally occupied her house and then refused payment of rent. She said her mother, who was pursuing the case, developed cancer and she (Ayesha) took up this challenge and used to travel from Quetta to Lahore to seek help from local politicians and respective police officers but to no avail.

    A tweet from the Punjab Police said Ayesha, back in December 2020, had lodged a complaint with the police about her tenant Imran Asghar regarding the illegal occupation of her house and non-payment of rent.

    “On the very next day, the house was vacated. However, the tenant did not pay her rent and damages to the house amounting to Rs 5,00,000,” the tweet said.

    Punjab Police said the lady submitted an application to the police regarding the recovery of her remaining rent, but the other party went to a civil court and obtained a stay order. “Her issue to the extent of payment of rent is still pending due to the stay issued by the court …. IGP Punjab will personally try to resolve it.”

    During the live telephonic call, the woman asked PM Imran Khan to take up the matter with the Chief Justice of Pakistan as to why courts were granting ‘unnecessary’ stay orders in such cases.

  • Punjab govt to give monthly stipend to transgender persons

    Punjab govt to give monthly stipend to transgender persons

    The Punjab government has decided to pay a monthly stipend to transgender persons under a new programme by its social protection authority.

    As per reports, this was announced by Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan while talking to the media with Punjab Social Protection Authority Vice Chairperson Jamal Nasir Cheema in Lahore.

    Transgender people are a part of society and will be given a monthly stipend, she said.

    Dr Firdous said that the ‘Ehsaas Punjab Masawaat Programme’ was a unique programme under which transgender people were being facilitated.

    Read More: Pakistan’s first transgender-only madrasa breaking barriers

    She told that under this programme, disabled transgender persons between the age of 18 and 40 were giving Rs2,000 per month, while transgender persons above 40 years were paid with Rs3,000 per month.

    She said that the government is prioritising the less privileged section of society in all its projects.

    She said that CM Usman Buzdar announced a package of Rs9 billion in Bhakkar and brought the people of Bhakkar in the mainstream of development.

  • ‘I still can’t believe my sister is gone,’ says Mayra’s brother

    ‘I still can’t believe my sister is gone,’ says Mayra’s brother

    In a recent interview given to BBC, the family of Mayra Zulfiqar, a young woman from London, murdered in Pakistan, appeals for justice.

    “I still can’t believe that my sister is gone. It seems like a nightmare, that I am going to wake up and hug her,” says Moiz Muhammad, brother of Mayra.

    https://twitter.com/SecKermani/status/1395068432220045314

    “Everyday I wake up and I just can’t believe my sister is gone,” says Moiz, sobbing.

    Her brother added that Mayra had dreams and she wanted to help the poor. “She was a caring person,” he said.

    Muhammad Zulfiqar, Mayra’s father with tears in his eyes questioned, ” What have these terrible people done to her? Why have they behaved so awfully? What wrong did she ever do ?”

    With eyes filled with pain and tears rolling down his cheeks, Zulfiqar appeals from the premier’s of both Pakistan and London to help him bring justice to his daughter. “I’m running between different offices. The police aren’t listening to me properly,” says Zulfiqar.

    In report published by Samaa, Zahid Jadoon, a resident of Lahore, has confessed to murdering a British-Pakistani woman on May 3.

    Mayra Zulfiqar, 24, was found in a pool of blood in a flat in Lahore.

    The law graduate from London had been threatened by two men who both wanted to marry her but she had rejected both of them.

  • Pakistan to host World Environment Day on June 5: PM Khan

    Pakistan to host World Environment Day on June 5: PM Khan

    Addressing a ceremony in Haripur in connection with the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan will be hosting World Environment Day on June 5.

    “This is a great honour and acknowledgment of the fact that Pakistan is among a handful of countries trying to reduce the impact of climate change and global warming,” said PM Khan.

    PM Khan said that his government had taken steps to protect the environment, adding that it was a worrying sign that Pakistan was included in the list of 10 countries that are worse affected from climate change.

    Earlier this month, Pakistan was chosen to host the World Environment Day 2021 in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on June 5.

    This will be the first time in history that the country will be officially hosting the day.

    The day will be celebrated across the world through various events and activities under Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    The theme for the day this year will be ecosystem restoration, with a special focus on creating a good relationship with nature.

  • ‘Not answerable to Maryam or Nawaz’: Bilawal

    ‘Not answerable to Maryam or Nawaz’: Bilawal

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that the PPP was not answerable to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz or PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and that his perspective remained unchanged.

    Addressing a press conference in Badin, the PPP chairman acknowledged that he had torn the show-cause notice and there was no change in his point of view on the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    “We are not answerable to Maryam or Mian Sahab. We are answerable to the PPP and the PPP’s workers and we think the real joy will be in doing politics together with the PPP’s workers,” says Bilawal.

    Bilawal said that Shehbaz Sharif was the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and the PML-N president, thus the PPP would consider his opinion and statements to be official PML-N policy and conduct its politics according to that.

    “Instead of opposing the PPP, our friends in the opposition should target the government,” added Bilawal.

    In response to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s concerns about the worsening law and order situation in Sindh, Bilawal said that the law and order situation in Sindh has improved, a move that has been made possible with the help of police.

    “Sindh police have the full potential to restore peace in the province,” Bilawal said. “The interior minister [Sheikh Rasheed] is ready to give a lecture about another province but is not ready to protect journalists in Islamabad.”

    Bilawal also condemned the attack on Islamabad-based journalist Asad Toor a day ago and said that journalists in Sindh are also being targeted for speaking the truth.

    “We demand the highest level of investigation into the attack on journalists,” said Bilawal. 

  • Israeli Iron Dome shoots down own drones during intense fighting

    Israeli Iron Dome shoots down own drones during intense fighting

    Israel’s Iron Dome accidentally shot down an Israeli military drone during Hamas missile interceptions in the Gaza strip, Israel Defence Force (IDF) told local media.

    “As part of the round of fighting in Gaza and as part of the defence of the country’s skies, an IDF skylark drone was shot down by Iron Dome,” said an IDF spokesperson, adding that the incident is under investigation.

    Skylark drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that IDF use for intelligence, surveillance and examination missions. The report also stated that IDF is now worried and questioning whether the defence system is capable for long-term fighting without harming their resources.

    Iron Dome has intercepted thousands of rockets fired from Hamas and managed to take down drones from the enemy. Designed in 2011 to prevent rockets, artillery and mortar rockets, the Iron Dome was made by a company called Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Aerospace Industries with US support.

    The Israel Ministry of Defence, earlier this year, announced that they upgraded the Iron Dome, which will let the country fight and defend in skirmishes in future. The upgrades were tested against a huge number of rockets, missiles and unmanned weapons.

    The system defended almost 90% of the rockets fired by the Qaseem brigade of Hamas, which significantly reduced human loss in Israel. In retaliation, IDF launched 1,500 airstrikes that killed 243 people in Palestinian.

  • Pakistan to open vaccine registration for citizens aged 19 and above

    Pakistan to open vaccine registration for citizens aged 19 and above

    Pakistan will start registering persons aged 19 and above for coronavirus vaccination from tomorrow, May 27.

    Asad Umar tweeted that National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to open vaccination registration for all citizens aged 19 and above.

    Registration will start tomorrow. “So now registration will be open for the entire national population which is approved by health experts for Covid vaccination,” tweeted Asad Umar.

    Registration for citizens aged 30 and above started on May 16.