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 passes bill to protect Islam; crackdown on printing presses, publishers, book stores to follow

    The Punjab Assembly has passed the Punjab Tahaffuze Bunyade Islam Bill 2020, which Law Minister Raja Basharat says will prevent blasphemy of Holy Prophets (AS), Companions (RA) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Ahle Bait (RA) and Umhatul Momineen (RA).

    According to the minister, it will also prevent blasphemy of holy figures of other religions and the holy personalities of all religions beside helping to eradicate sectarianism and religious hatred.

    The printing and publication of objectionable material have been prohibited under the bill that also bars publishers, editors or translators from printing or publishing any books and material that consists of photographs or pictures of suicide bombers, terrorists, except as required by law enforcing agencies for purposes of investigation.

    Moreover, the new law has also made it mandatory that “the blessed name of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) be preceded by the title Khataman Nabiyyin or Khatamun Nabiyyin followed by ‘Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam’ in Arabic text”.

    The law has also empowered Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) to visit and inspect the premises of printing presses, offices of publication houses and book stores.

    After the passage of the bill in the Punjab Assembly, Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said it was a historic one. “I am highly thankful to Almighty Allah on its passage. This bill will prove a milestone in the protection of Islam and its supremacy. The federation and provinces should follow us in this regard. A similar one should also be passed by Centre and all provinces, and enforced all over Pakistan. The Section Number 3/F of this bill should be Article 295 of Pakistan Penal Code 1860,” the speaker said.

    He also thanked National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for taking personal interest in this matter while praising Hafiz Ammar Yasir as well as Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz among other provincial lawmakers who played their full role in the passage of the bill.

  • Naya Pakistan: US report says Pakistan ‘most improved’ country in nuclear security

    Naya Pakistan: US report says Pakistan ‘most improved’ country in nuclear security

    A leading United States (US) non-proliferation watchdog has ranked Pakistan as the most improved in the security of those countries holding nuclear materials, improving its overall score by seven points.

    In its annual report, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) said, “Pakistan’s improvements in the Security and Control Measures category are significant because strengthened laws and regulations result in durable boosts in Pakistan’s score as well as provide sustainable security benefits.”

    The NTI Nuclear Security Index is a public benchmarking project of nuclear security conditions on a country-by-country basis in 176 countries. Laura Kennedy, a former American diplomat, also commended Pakistan’s improvement in security ranking.

    “One welcome bit of news reported by #NTIindex is that #Pakistan ranked as most improved in security of those countries holding nuclear materials,” she tweeted.

    The report stated that the majority of Pakistan’s improvements are in the Security and Control Measures category because of its passage of new regulations. The country also improved in the Global Norms category.

    It said that Pakistan improved its score with the passage of time with eight points in 2014, two in 2016, and six in 2018 owing to new regulations for on-site physical protection.

    “In 2016, it passed new cybersecurity regulations. In 2018, it improved its insider threat protection. Its newest regulations mark a much larger shift.”

    The report further stated that Pakistan’s score improvement for regulatory measures is the second-largest improvement for regulations in the Index since 2012.

    Among countries with weapons-usable nuclear materials, Australia ranked first for the fifth time. It also ranks first in the sabotage ranking for the third time. Despite its repeated position at the top of the ranking, Australia continues to better its score, improving by +1 in both rankings.

    The report stated that among countries with weapons-usable nuclear materials, Canada and Switzerland tie for second, Germany is fourth, and the Netherlands and Norway tie for fifth.

    Among countries with nuclear facilities in the sabotage ranking, Canada, Finland, and the United Kingdom rank second, third, and fourth, respectively, and Germany and Hungary are tied for fifth.

    New Zealand and Sweden tie for first in the theft ranking for countries without weapon-usable nuclear materials, followed by Finland (third), Denmark and South Korea(tied for fourth), and Hungary and Spain (tied for sixth).

    In the ranking for 153 countries and Taiwan without materials, New Zealand and Sweden tie for first.

  • VIDEO: Journalist Matiullah Jan goes missing

    VIDEO: Journalist Matiullah Jan goes missing

    Journalist Matiullah Jan, who is a vocal critic of the government among other quarters, has gone missing from Islamabad, his family said on Tuesday, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

    According to Jan’s wife, Kaneez Sughra, who was speaking to Independent Urdu, his car was found with keys still inside.

    Jan was due to appear in the Supreme Court (SC) this week after it took suo motu notice of a contemptuous tweet by the journalist.

    Amnesty International South Asia called for authorities to “establish [Jan’s] whereabouts immediately”.

    In a tweet, the organisation said it was “extremely concerned for the fate and wellbeing” of the journalist, who it said has been the subject of “physical attacks and harassment for his journalism”.

    Meanwhile, a CCTV footage showed Jan’s car being intercepted. It also showed a scuffle breaking out between the journalist and the reportedly armed men who took him away.

    He can also be shown throwing his phone away, which a woman was seen handing over to one of the unidentified men.

    Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz, later in the day, said the government was aware of the abduction and efforts were underway for the journalist’s safe return. The development was also confirmed by Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, who said that she was in contact with the capital city’s police in this regard.

    Chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), on the other hand, has reportedly taken notice of the abduction and directed authorities to present Jan before the court on Wednesday.

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 20): ‘Opposition Corona Ka kirdar ada na kary’

    KYA BOLA? (Jul 20): ‘Opposition Corona Ka kirdar ada na kary’

    Following are some of the best snippets from Urdu newspapers on July 20, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    “Tamam Amla un sy zubani hadayat aur akhkamat leta hai“

    It is reported by Daily Jang  (20 July 2020) that Farogh Naseem who resigned as law minister last month, still sits in the law minister’s office and runs the ministry informally “Tamam Amla un sy zubani hadayat aur akhkamat leta hai” . He had resigned in June to represent the government in the Supreme Court (SC) in the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

    “Opposition corona ka kirdar ada na kary”

    It is reported by Daily Dunya (20 July 2020) that Governor Punjab, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar  said,”opposition Corona Ka kirdar ada na kary” .

    WATCH: The Current Life with Chaudhry Sarwar

    “Hukmaron ko jagany key liye horn bajana kafi nahi…”

    It is reported by Daily Jang (20 July 2020) that, Journalist Hassan Nisar said that ” Hukmaron ko jagany key liye horn bajana kafi nahi is k liye Sur- e-israfil phoonk dia jaye tab bhi shayad na jagain”.

    WATCH: WHERE DOES HASSAN NISAR LIVE?

  • Friendship ended with India, now China is Iran’s best friend?

    Friendship ended with India, now China is Iran’s best friend?

    After being “dropped” from a key rail project in southeastern Iran along the border with Afghanistan, India is also set to lose an ambitious gas field project in the country that had been in the pipeline for the past 10 years. 

    India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said in a statement that Tehran would develop the Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf region “on its own” and might engage India “appropriately at a later stage”.

    Last week, Masoud Karbasian, managing director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told reporters that a new operator had been roped in to develop the gas field, replacing India’s ONGC.

    The field, estimated to possess 21.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, 12.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 212 million barrels of gas condensates, was discovered in 2008 by a consortium of three Indian companies — ONGC, Oil India Limited and Indian Oil Corporation.

    According to the deal, the Indian side was supposed to develop the field but they abruptly stopped work in 2012, following the intensification of sanctions against Iran.

    After sanctions were eased in 2015 following the signing of a nuclear deal between Iran and Western countries, India showed its willingness to return to the project.

    However, things again fell apart amid the reinstatement of US sanctions on Iran in May 2018, which further “discouraged” India from making headway in the project, said sources familiar with the issue who requested not to be named.

    “By May 2018, the two sides had made tremendous progress and agreed on key details of the project,” the sources said. “However, the US sanctions played the spoilsport.”

    The two sides had disagreements among themselves as well, particularly on the number of pipelines to be laid and financial investment in the development plan, according to reports.

    In May 2019, Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said his ministry had devised a plan to finance the development of the Farzad-B gas field.

    The NIOC had asked the Indian side to submit a financial plan for the field’s development. However, Tehran was “not impressed” with the plan and asked for a new one, said the sources. India had reportedly made a $5.5 billion investment plan

    In August 2019, after slow progress by the Indian side to submit a new plan, Karbasian said Iran would proceed with another operator for the project.

    India’s External Affairs Ministry, however, said the “follow-up bilateral cooperation” was impacted by “policy changes on the Iranian side”.

    This was, however, not the only blow that Iran has served to India as just earlier this week it had “dropped” India from a rail project after the Indian side showed reluctance to start work due to US sanctions.

    The memorandum of understanding to construct the 628-kilometre railway line from the port city of Chabahar to Zahedan was first discussed between the two sides in May 2016.

    It came on the sidelines of the signing of a trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan to develop a transport and trade corridor from India to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port in southeast Iran. The port has been operational since 2016 and has been exempted from US sanctions.

    India’s External Affairs Ministry dismissed the reports that Iran excluded it from the rail project as “speculative,” saying Tehran was to “nominate an authorised entity to finalise outstanding technical and financial issues”. The matter, it said, was “still awaited”.

    “IRCON was appointed by [the] Government of India to assess the feasibility of the project. It was working with CDTIC, an Iranian company under their Ministry of Railways in that regard. IRCON has completed the site inspection and review of the feasibility report,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday, referring to the state-run Indian infrastructure firm undertaking the project.

    “Detailed discussions were thereafter held on other relevant aspects of the project, which had to take into account the financial challenges that Iran was facing. In December 2019, these issues were reviewed in detail at the 19th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting in Tehran.”

    An official from Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation has also denied the reports. However, he said Iran “has not inked any deal with India” for the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railroad.

    Both the developments come amid China-India tensions over a territorial dispute in the Ladakh region and as Beijing, sensing America’s internal political difficulties amid social justice protests and poor COVID-19 response, reportedly approves a $400 billion economic and security deal with Tehran.

    In addition to massive infrastructure investments, the agreement envisions closer cooperation on defense and intelligence sharing, and is rumored to include discounts for Iranian oil. If finalised, China would gain massive influence in this geopolitically critical region.

    The US is likely to push back against this partnership, which threatens its security and energy interests in the Middle East and Eurasia. According to Forbes, it is an open secret that Washington’s foreign policy interests constantly clash with those of Tehran and Beijing.

  • American Federal Aviation Administration downgrades Pakistan to category 2

    American Federal Aviation Administration downgrades Pakistan to category 2

    America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded Pakistan’s safety rating to category 2, which foreign media reports say is a serious but not unexpected blow to a country with a scandal-plagued aviation sector.

    As per the details, the FAA’s decision that follows a fatal Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crash in Karachi in May and more recently, the aviation minister claiming up to one-third of Pakistan’s commercial pilots hold “dubious” licenses, means that no Pakistani airlines can establish new services to the United States (US) or codeshare with US airlines.

    While the decision has effectively locked PIA out of the US, the ruling only impacts new services to the country. The national carrier does not fly across the Atlantic to the US and as far as can be ascertained, no US airline operates codeshare or interline agreements with PIA either.

    Longstanding security issues have thwarted PIA’s ambitions to access the US. While PIA had tentatively planned a service to begin between Islamabad and New York earlier this year, the downturn in travel derailed that. Now, safety issues are joining the list of concerns.

    It merits a mention that the decision on Thursday came despite Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a day earlier having to face embarrassment at the hands of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that said all commercial pilot licences (CPL) and airline transport licences (ATPL) issued by the authority were genuine and validly issued.

    Earlier, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) had suspended PIA operations as well, while several Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines had also been grounded.

  • PML-N lawmaker in Punjab seeks action against men with fashionable beards, their barbers

    PML-N lawmaker in Punjab seeks action against men with fashionable beards, their barbers

    Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Rukhsana Kausar has tabled a resolution in the provincial house of Punjab seeking a ban on beard styling and action against men with fashionable beards as well as their barbers.

    According to Kausar’s resolution, beard is the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and legislation to decide strict action against those who shape beards in fashionable styles is needed.

    The resolution contends that any kind of styling of the beard is a “grave sin”, and it is an “insult to the beard”. The resolution calls for strict action against those “who make fun of beard”.

    “When I see youngsters on the streets and in the markets with different designs of beard in the name of fashion, I feel hurt, because that is against the teachings of Islam,” she told a private media outlet.

    Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry has also reacted to the resolution in the Punjab Assembly.

    This is not the first time that beard designing has been a priority of the ruling elite as barbers have time and again been “strictly barred” from styling customers’ beards in different shapes or clipping them into designs in areas of rural Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.

    KP police in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda had in 2019 detained at least four barbers for styling customers’ beards during an unofficial ban imposed by a local traders’ union that had termed such beards “un-Islamic”.

  • New heights of friendship: Turkish Airlines to manage Pakistan’s fruit, vegetable exports after PIA ban

    New heights of friendship: Turkish Airlines to manage Pakistan’s fruit, vegetable exports after PIA ban

    As Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight operations in Europe remain suspended, Turkish Airlines has offered its services to transport fruit and vegetable exports to other countries, Profit reported.

    According to fruit and vegetable exporters, Turkish Airlines will charge lower freight charges for transport of Pakistani fruits and vegetables to England, Germany and other western countries and has assured that it will facilitate the promotion of the same. 

    Earlier the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) imposed a six-month ban on PIA’s flight operations to Europe after reports emerged that several PIA pilots held dubious flying licences. 

    Among other issues, the ban created problems for the export of Pakistani fruits and vegetables. In this regard,  the Pakistani Embassy in Istanbul Commercial Counselor Bilal Khan Pasha met with Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci who assured that Turkish Airlines will resume its flight operation in Pakistan and will help in the export of fruits and vegetables to the European Union (EU).

    Moreover, a delegation of exporters led by Waheed Ahmed, the head of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) met with Turkish Airlines General Manager (GM) Gurhan Sozen.

    READ: Embarrassment for aviation minister as Civil Aviation Authority says all licences issued are real

    According to Waheed Ahmed, PIA had recently reduced freight charges in order to assist exporters to reduce cost of export shipments, however, after the six month ban on PIA, exporters will have to use the services of foreign airlines who might charge higher freight charges.

    According to exporters, during the meeting with Turkish Airlines GM the need for reduction in freight charges and provision of special handling facilities for perishable cargo to facilitate the export of Pakistani fruits and vegetables to Europe, the UK and Canada was stressed.

  • Embarrassment for aviation minister as Civil Aviation Authority says all licences issued are real

    Embarrassment for aviation minister as Civil Aviation Authority says all licences issued are real

    Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday had to face embarrassment at the hands of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that said all commercial pilot licences (CPL) and airline transport licences (ATPL) issued by the authority were genuine and validly issued.

    Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines as well as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have now for weeks been unable to discharge their duties amid bars by the international community following the aviation minister’s claims of dubious licences.

    His statements on the floor of the National Assembly had led to grounding of several Pakistani pilots working with foreign airlines besides the suspension of the national carrier’s operations in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) as well as the United States (US) over safety concerns.

    READ: US bans PIA

    According to reports, the Aviation Division secretary, who is also serving as the director general (DG) of Pakistan CAA has told the DG of Civil Aviation Regulation of Oman that all CPL and ATPL licenses issued by his office are genuine and validly issued.

    In a letter, a copy of which is available with The Current, he wrote that his office had cleared or verified 96 pilots licenses out of 104 names received from various CAAs or foreign airlines. This includes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Vietnam Airlines, Bahrain Air, Civil Aviation Malaysia, Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and Turkish Airlines.

    READ: Army to finally launch Askari Airline?

    The remaining licenses will be cleared by next week, he maintained and added that the matter had been “misconstrued and incorrectly highlighted” by media as well as netizens on social media.

  • KP chief minister’s adviser removed over corruption allegations as PM orders investigation

    KP chief minister’s adviser removed over corruption allegations as PM orders investigation

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ajmal Wazir was on Saturday removed from the post of adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister (CM) on information over corruption allegations that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has ordered a probe into.

    Wazir was replaced by PTI lawmaker in the KP Assembly Kamran Bangash, who said that evidence of corruption was found against his predecessor following which the premier has ordered a high-level inquiry against the former spokesperson.

    “The CM has written a letter to the chief secretary for the inquiry and until then Wazir has been removed from the post,” Bangash, who was given the additional charge of the portfolio of Information and public relations in addition to his office of special assistant to the CM on local government, elections and rural development, told a private media outlet.

    Bangash said that an audio recording of Wazir and the owner of an advertising agency regarding commission from a deal had surfaced and was presented to PM Imran after which the orders were issued.

    A forensic report of the audio recording will also be prepared by the probing team.

    Earlier it was reported that Wazir was resigning from his post due to personal reasons. “I am unable to dispense my duties as the information adviser, therefor I am resigning from my post,” Wazir had said, adding that he had already sent his resignation to CM Mahmood Khan.

    Wazir, who belongs to Shakai valley in South Waziristan, was appointed as the adviser to the CM for information earlier this year.  He had joined the PTI just before the July 2018 general election and was earlier a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML).