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.

  • Punjab CM Usman Buzdar served food with expired masala at inauguration ceremony

    Punjab CM Usman Buzdar served food with expired masala at inauguration ceremony

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar, at a recent gathering, was served food with expired masala, leading to action against the caterer, local media reported Friday.

    According to reports, the incident took place in Tibba Sultanpur town of Vehari where Buzdar, as well as several others, had arrived for the inauguration of a building of Danish School.

    Besides the provincial chief executive, among others served food with expired ground spices were Punjab parliamentarians, including Education Minister Murad Raas and Transport Minister Jahanzeb Khan Khichi; Multan Commissioner Javed Akhtar Mehmood, Vehari Deputy Commissioner Capt (r) Waqas Rasheed and journalists.

    While the incident has raised a question mark on the efficiency of the Punjab Food Authority (PFA), action is reportedly being taken against the caterer and his restaurant without any names being revealed.

    Earlier, speaking to the media, CM Buzdar had said that Danish School is a state of the art institution which has been built at a huge cost.

    “With the establishment of the school, the children of Vehari and nearby districts will be able to seek quality education,” he had said, announcing the construction of new Danish Schools in Bhakkar and Taunsa as well.

    He announced Honihaar Punjab Programme to encourage good performing students and said students will be encouraged to excel in academic, sports, fine arts, science and technology fields.

  • ‘Police in Pakistan now have an anti-eggary unit to save kids from eating too many eggs’

    ‘Police in Pakistan now have an anti-eggary unit to save kids from eating too many eggs’

    Senior journalist Kamal Siddiqui has poked fun at the police for “having an anti-eggary unit to save our children” by making sure that “they do not eat too many eggs”.

    “So in Pakistan, we have a special police unit that saves children from eating too many eggs,” he jokingly wrote while tweeting a picture of an anti-beggary unit mobile minus the ‘B’.

    “Let’s save our children” could also be seen inscribed on the Sindh police vehicle.

    CRACKDOWN ON BEGGARS IN SINDH:

    In line with Sindh cabinet’s ban on child beggary and directions to the social welfare department to pick up children begging at traffic intersections and in streets and rehabilitate them at welfare centres, the aim of the anti-beggary unit is to tackle beggary, especially in the port city of Karachi.

    According to the findings of a committee on the issue of beggary, there are enough laws available to deal with the issue such as Section 7 of the West Pakistan Vagrancy Ordinance 1958 that prohibits beggary.

    A 2018 report of the committee said that beggars have also been seen with children who they use to create empathy in the givers’ eyes. This is a violation of Section 49 of Sindh Child Act 1955.

    It pointed out that in 2011, the Sindh assembly had passed the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011 which called for ensuring the rights of the children in need of special measures and to provide matters ancillary thereto.

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah, in consultation with the cabinet, had earlier decided to ban beggary all across the province. He had also directed the Social Welfare Department to launch a special drive against child beggary.

    He had directed the district administration and the police to help the Social Welfare Department in the drive and round up the child beggars and send them to Sweet Home and Street Children Centre, Korangi, where they would be rehabilitated.

  • ‘Motorway rapists left Rs1,000 on dashboard of survivor’s car, which was for police bringing petrol’

    ‘Motorway rapists left Rs1,000 on dashboard of survivor’s car, which was for police bringing petrol’

    Journalist Fereeha Idrees, who has extensively been covering the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang-rape case and is also reportedly in contact with the survivor, has made a shocking revelation that has added to people’s doubts regarding the alleged involvement of law enforcement in the incident.

    Speaking to The Current during a live session on Monday night and separately to a private media outlet, Fereeha revealed that one of the accused left Rs1,000 on the dashboard of the survivor’s vehicle. The amount was meant for police upon their arrival at the spot after she had called the emergency helpline when her car ran out of fuel en route Gujranwala at midnight.

    The journalist quoted the survivor as saying that when she reached the toll plaza, she paid toll tax and asked for the nearest petrol station. “After covering some distance, her car ran out of fuel and she called the motorway helpline. They apologised but gave her the local number.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Over the phone, a person sought her exact location via WhatsApp and then asked her to wait, she said.

    Further quoting the victim, Fereeha said the woman was also asked as to how much petrol did she need, to which she requested for fuel worth Rs1,000. “She then waited for over an hour and a half before she was attacked and later raped in nearby fields off the main road.”

    When the woman was found by the police and her belongings were retrieved, eyewitnesses say there was a Rs1,000 currency note on the dashboard, Fereeha said and added that it was left by the attackers.

    “Apparently, the attackers wished that she would go home and not tell anyone. But is it a coincidence that she had said she needed fuel for at least Rs1,000 to reach home and that was exactly the amount the attackers left behind?”

    Did one of them go back to put it there as they took her purse with them?

    THE INCIDENT:

    A woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am.

    She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while Motorway Police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has surrendered. His co-accused is still at large.

  • Imran approves tabling of bill to remove rapists’ testicles

    Imran approves tabling of bill to remove rapists’ testicles

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to bring to parliament a bill to punish rapists with castration — the process of removal of testicles of a man or animal, ARY News quoted sources in the government as saying.

    According to reports, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has approved legislation to castrate rapists once proven guilty, and government bodies will soon be introducing it in the parliament.

    Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda has reportedly been delegated with the task of furnishing the draft bill that proposes neutering sex offenders.

    “After the castration bill, the government will also table a bill for the hanging of such criminals,” Vawda was quoted as saying.

    The development comes hours after senior journalist and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada quoted the premier as saying that criminals such as those involved in the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape should be hanged at public squares.

    According to the journalist, the premier made the statement while speaking to him during an interview that will air tonight (Monday) on 92 News.

    The interview comes days after a mother of three was raped by two men after her car ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway past midnight.

    As per the details, the woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am.

    She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

    Amid a strong reaction by the public and countrywide protests, at least one of the two culprits has been identified.

    PUBLIC HANGINGS:

    While a number of people are demanding public hanging of the accused such as sought for serial child rapist and killer Imran Ali of Kasur, the premier’s belief contradicts that of federal science and technology minister and his government’s former spokesperson, Fawad Chaudhry.

    A day earlier, Fawad had said that calls for hanging and burning the rapists alive from prominent members of his party and the educated faction were a reflection of the society’s violent thinking.

    The minister’s comments had come after two members of the ruling party, namely Senator Faisal Javed and Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, called for extreme punishments for those behind the gang-rape and the rape and murder of minor Marwah in Karachi.

  • PM welcomes children back to school, deletes tweet after realising schools are re-opening tomorrow

    PM welcomes children back to school, deletes tweet after realising schools are re-opening tomorrow

    Confusing days and dates once again, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Monday tweeted to welcome children back to school after a long coronavirus break, only to delete the post after realising that educational institutions won’t be re-opening until tomorrow.

    As per the details, the premier took to Twitter and wrote:

    While he deleted the tweet soon after, in a subsequent tweet PM Imran said:

    “Tomorrow we will welcome millions of children back to school. It is our priority and collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn. We have worked to ensure that school operations are aligned with public health safety rules on #COVID19,” he wrote.

    This isn’t the first time that the premier, on top of several verbal blunders, has confused the dates.

    Earlier this year, he had asked Muslims “to offer special Nuwafil prayers and seek Allah’s blessings and forgiveness on the occasion of Shabe Baraat tonight”, later deleting his tweet when people had told him the night had already been observed a day ago.

    Mid-Sha’ban or Shabe Baraat is a holiday observed by Muslim communities on the night between 14 and 15 of the Islamic month of Sha’ban. It is regarded as a night when the fortunes of individuals for the coming year are decided and when Allah forgives sinners.

    Twitterati, as usual, had not let go of PM Imran’s faux pas easy.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Identity of motorway gang-rape suspect revealed

    EXCLUSIVE: Identity of motorway gang-rape suspect revealed

    With authorities’ failure to protect the mother of three, who was gang-raped on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway on Tuesday night, drawing a strong reaction from the masses, the police have revealed the identity of one of the suspects behind the gruesome incident that shook the nation.

    As per the details, the individual, namely Abid Ali and a resident of Haroonabad town of Punjab’s Bahawalnagar district, is a proclaimed offender and has been nominated in multiple cases earlier as well.

    While accomplice of the 27-year-old is still unidentified and both the suspects are at large, it has been announced that Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat will shortly address a press conference to share further details.

    Reports, however, have cited sources as saying that the name of Abid’s accomplice is Waqar.

    IDENTIFICATION:

    Earlier in the day, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) had announced that one of the culprits had been identified following DNA testing and will soon be apprehended.

    Taking to Twitter to share the news, Dr Gill had congratulated Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh and the entire team.

    “DNA matched. The arrests will also soon be made. The people should know that Usman Buzdar, the IGP and the [Lahore] CCPO were in a meeting until 4 am. The CM himself has monitored the entire case,” he had tweeted.

    The tweet had followed a vaguely-worded tweet wherein Dr Gill said thanked Allah for his help and for listening to the prayers of the people.

    LAHORE-SIALKOT MOTORWAY RAPE CASE:

    On Tuesday night, it was reported that two robbers had gang-raped a mother of three on the Motorway within Gujjarpura police’s jurisdiction.

    The woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the Motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am. She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

  • Over a dozen Pakistani Hindus, who went to India for a better future, return with shattered dreams

    Over a dozen Pakistani Hindus, who went to India for a better future, return with shattered dreams

    At least 14 members of the country’s Hindu minority community returned from India after six months, saying their dreams of better economic prospects in the neighboring country had been shattered, Anadolu Agency reported.

    Speaking to reporters at the Wagah border crossing, Kanhaya Lal and Nanak Ram, the heads of the families, said they went to India hoping for better economic prospects, but it was a “farce” and they suffered great hardships.

    India recently passed a contentious law allowing Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to apply for fast-track citizenship.

    Last month, a family of 11 Hindus, migrated from Pakistan, was found dead in a rented farmhouse in the city of Jodhpur in India’s Rajasthan state.

    The daughter of one Budha Ram, who was among those killed, had registered a case with Shahdadpur police station, accusing India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for the crime. The first information report (FIR) revealed Ram had decided to return to Pakistan to expose spy traps offered by the Indian spy agency.

    “I knew that family, and most of them were educated. But there are no opportunities for any outsiders in India,” Lal told Anadolu Agency.

    “The fact is they were living in miserable conditions and suffered from extreme poverty and there were dangerous threats to their lives,” Lal said.

    He said more than 28,000 Pakistan Hindus are stranded in Jodhpur waiting to return home.

  • Imran, a strong opposer of dual national public office holders, rejects criticism against his dual national teammates

    Imran, a strong opposer of dual national public office holders, rejects criticism against his dual national teammates

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, who had until a few years earlier been strongly against dual nationals holding public offices, has now rejected criticism against his own team members holding dual nationalities, which has led to people calling it “another U-turn”.

    “I don’t know why people say that dual nationals cannot get any public office and cannot become a minister and why they [people] move courts every other day,” Dawn quoted Imran as saying while launching the Roshan Pakistan Digital Account (RPDA).

    RPDA will provide innovative banking solutions to millions of non-resident Pakistanis seeking to undertake fund transfers, bill payments and investment activities in Pakistan.

    Expressing displeasure over criticism of dual nationals holding public office, the premier stressed the need for tapping what he called “resource pool” of Pakistani experts and professionals living abroad for uplifting of the country.

    “We do not have a bigger asset than that [overseas Pakistanis]. The best minds, professionals and entrepreneurs are outside the country. When we will create [conducive] conditions in the country, this big resource pool can return to the country,” he said, adding that when he established Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, it created an opportunity for overseas Pakistani experts and they returned to run the hospital.

    His statements, however, were not very well received by Twitterati, who pointed out that Imran, back in opposition days, himself was strictly against the practice of handing public offices to dual nationals.

    Here’s what they had to say:

    The premier and members of his cabinet holding dual nationality recently came under severe criticism when the assets and status of dual nationality of all non-elected cabinet members — special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM) and advisers — were made public.

    SAPM on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus resigned from her post due to the criticism levelled against her and the government because of her dual citizenship. In a tweet, Aidrus, who also holds Canadian nationality, had said, “Criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan.”

    What do you think of the netizens’ reaction? Let The Current know in the comments below.

  • ‘I was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight’: Khadija Siddiqi shuts up Lahore CCPO

    ‘I was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight’: Khadija Siddiqi shuts up Lahore CCPO

    Barrister Khadija Siddiqi, who was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight in Lahore, has reminded Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh of what happened in her case, shutting him up for his statement blaming the motorway gang-rape survivor for travelling alone with her three kids past midnight.

    “I was stabbed 23 times in broad daylight! Don’t tell us that ‘time’ is directly connected to the commission of offense!” she tweeted while also asking as to under what authority could the CCPO set “time limits” on women’s travel.

    The officer, who is also supposed to be leading the investigation of the motorway rape case, is being criticised for using language that tantamounts to victim-blaming.

    “I am shocked… you are a mother of three and the only driver late at night… [she] should have taken the GT [Grand Trunk] Road instead, which is densely populated,” CCPO Sheikh had said while speaking to Dunya News.

    He went on to say that the woman should “at least have checked her fuel before taking the motorway”.

    THE INCIDENT:

    On Tuesday night, it was reported that two robbers had gang-raped a mother of three on the Motorway within Gujjarpura police’s jurisdiction.

    The woman, along with her three children, was driving to Gujranwala in her car when she was forced to stop at the Gujjarpura section of the Motorway after running out of fuel at around 1:30 am. She immediately called a relative and sent him her location. He asked her to also dial the Motorway Police helpline 130 but she was reportedly refused help.

    In the meantime, two robbers approached the car, broke the window and took the woman and her children to nearby bushes where they raped her repeatedly in front of the children. They also snatched her purse that had cash around Rs100,000, one bracelet, car registration and three ATM cards. 

    The Gujjarpura police have registered a case, while motorway police spokesperson said they had not been able to take action as the incident did not occur in the limits of Motorway Police.

  • VIDEO: Pangong Lake of ‘3 Idiots’ fame now a part of China?

    VIDEO: Pangong Lake of ‘3 Idiots’ fame now a part of China?

    Amid the ongoing border standoff between Chinese and Indian soldiers in Ladakh, it is being speculated that the Pangong Tso area under Indian control, and of Bollywood flick ‘3 Idiots’ fame, has been taken over by China.

    As per the details, a video clip of Chinese tourists enjoying a boat ride purportedly at the Pangong Tso Lake, which among many others was also shared by Indian National Congress (INC) leader Salman Nizami, has gone viral.

    Pangong Tso is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas. Situated at an elevation of 4,225 metres, it is 134 kilometres long and extends from Ladakh in India to the Tibetan Autonomous Region in China. Line of Actual Control (LAC) between China and India also passes through the Pangong Lake, effectively dividing it into two parts.

    India controls the 45 km-long western portions of the 135 km-long lake while the rest is under Chinese control. The picture-perfect lake is also the place where 3 Idiots’ ending with Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and co was shot.

    “Chinese tourists in Ladakh’s Pangong Lake. Can someone ask ’56 inch’ Chowkidar [offensive comment apparently against Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi] if Indians now need a visa to visit Pangong Lake?” Nizami tweeted.

    National convener of INC’s social media department, Saral Patel, also shared the video.

    It was retweeted by INC spokesperson Shama Mohamed with the comment, “Chinese tourists are apparently vacationing at Pangong Tso & PM [Narendra] Modi is still in agreement with China’s lie that there have been no incursions or annexation of Indian territory.”

    While there have been no official statements over the status of the lake from Beijing or New Delhi, it is likely that the videos being circulated have been shot on the Chinese side of the lake, which is reportedly open for tourists.

    Earlier, an advertisement video shared by some Twitter users had claimed that China will facilitate the return of international tourists to Pangong Tso.

    The 45-second footage on Twitter showed the scenic landscape of the Pangong Tso.

    The ad video, which has received several retweets, was uploaded by users who used both Mandarin and Chinese as the medium of communication. Although they appeared to be handles managed by Chinese nationals, it could not be confirmed as none of the accounts were verified by Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/evazhengll/status/1301555381810991111

    “You only need to take a Chinese visa to enjoy cold air, flocks of birds and blue water. We have also placed a monument on a place where movie 3 idiots was made. Come, visit and enjoy China,” one of the users tweeted.

    https://twitter.com/CNPakWW/status/1301557920472141828

    Even though the video appears to have been produced in China, it could not be ascertained whether the clip is new or old.

    However, Shen Shiwei, a Chinese journalist working for state-owned CGTN, tweeted that the lake was open for tourists for quite a long time.

    “Pangong Tso in China is open to tourists at home and abroad for quite a long time. The lake is near the Chinese national highway and is a good place for self-driving travel. We have a resort on the lake here,” he said.