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.

  • Social media rages over feudal lord who cut off camel’s foot

    Social media rages over feudal lord who cut off camel’s foot

    Update

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Anny Marri has confirmed that the wounded camel subjected to cruelty is being taken care of by a non-profit organisation Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS).

    She posted on X (formerly Twitter): “So grateful to @CDRSWORLD for stepping up to the help the injured camel who is now in khi. Sarah Jehangir and her team of volunteers remind us of the good in the world. 24/7 doctors at present & a prosthetic once the camel heals, is the plan of action.”

    CDRS describes itself as the “Top non-profit organization and charitable, registered in the United States and Pakistan for disaster relief and projects on human and social development. CDRS responds to human suffering in emergencies and disasters, as well as serves in the development of communities in need, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class, location, or background.”

    For animal rescue and shelter, the organisation has the “Benji Project for Animal Welfare and Rescue” dedicated to this task.

    Previously

    A heartbreaking incident took place in Mandh Jamrao area of Sanghar, Sindh when a camel wandered onto the agricultural land of an influential feudal lord. The angered man then told his employees to torture the animal, ending with cutting off its leg.

    Social media is seething with rage at the inhumane act of cruelty. A widely shared video on social media shows the animal screaming in pain while a photo shows a man holding the leg in a room.

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Anny Marri wrote on X that the injured camel is being treated in an animal welfare sanctuary.

    The owner of the camel, Somer Bhan, reached Press Club Sanghar with a severed leg in a protest against the cruel act. He stated, “The tyrant cut off the leg of a speechless animal just because it passed through his fields.”

    Sanghar police registered a case against “unknown persons” instead of filing the case against the person responsible.

  • Sahiwal hospital tragedy: 11 children lost, Maryam Nawaz’s orders thwarted by YDA-Police clash

    Sahiwal hospital tragedy: 11 children lost, Maryam Nawaz’s orders thwarted by YDA-Police clash

    In an unfortunate incident on June 8, a fire broke out in the pediatric ward of the Sahiwal Reading Hospital that claimed the lives of 11 children, most of them newborns.

    After the incident, the hospital’s spokesperson Dr. Farrukh Shahzad stated that the fire was caused by a short circuit in an air conditioner in the nursery ward after which the hospital staff moved the children to the emergency room and the surgery ward; the hospital even denied reports of children’s deaths in the incident.

    However, Information Minister Punjab government Azma Bokhari spoke with BBC Urdu, and said, “Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has rejected the report presented by the hospital and has conducted her own inquiry. Action has been ordered against officers of the hospital administration.”

    During the CM’s visit to the hospital, it was found that fire extinguishers had expired since April and had not been maintained which is against safety protocols.

    The CM was outraged at the hospital’s management for failing to provide fire extinguishing equipment even after the fatal incident.

    CM Maryam Nawaz dismissed the hospital’s MS Akhter Hussain, Deputy MS Dr Usman Anwar, Assistant MS Dr Umer and Sahiwal Medical College Principal Prof Dr Imran Hasan.

    However, when the Sahiwal police tried to arrest the doctors on CM’s orders, a clash took place between the police, hospital doctors and paramedics. The clash allegedly resulted in injuries to two dozen doctors and 30 paramedics.

    The Young Doctors Association (YDA) led the protest, criticising the CM’s decision to arrest the senior doctors. It threatened to shut down all emergencies of public sector hospitals across Punjab if the detained doctors were not released.

    The YDA has demanded the withdrawal of the suspension of senior doctors and action against the police officers involved in the baton charge.

    District Police Officer (DPO) Sahiwal Faisal Shehzad held rounds of negotiations with the senior doctors and released all the doctors on orders of the Punjab government.

    Maryam Nawaz also replied to a social media user on X (formerly Twitter) complaining of the government’s high-handed action against the doctors.

  • Court grants bail to Kashmiri poet Ahmad Farhad

    The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High court has granted post-arrest bail to Kashmiri poet Ahmad Farhad on Friday.

    The court approved the poet’s plea against a surety bond worth Rs200,000. AJK High Court Chief Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja announced the verdict.

    Last week, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared Farhad a “missing person” and described his arrest as “illegal.”

    According to the court order, the poet has been missing since May 15, and the First Information Report (FIR) against his disappearance was filed at Lohebher Police Station in Islamabad under Sections 427 and 365 PPC.

    AJK Chief Justice said in his remarks during the hearing that, “Ahmed Farhad should only write poetry, not journalism”.

  • PTI ready for talks or not – The puzzle no one can solve

    The story of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) holding talks with other stakeholders in power corridors has turned into a roller coaster with plenty of twists and turns.

    PTI senator Shibli Faraz, considered a close aide to party’s defacto head Imran Khan, said on April 28, 2024, that the party is always ready to talk but only with those who have real power, hinting towards the willingness to talk to the establishment.

    He then stated that the current atmosphere is not suitable for dialouge.

    A week after Shibli Faraz’s remarks, incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan told journalists at Adiala jail on May 4 that his party will only be ready to talk with its toughest opponent- the security establishment.

    Both these statements were enough to establish that PTI definitely did want dialogue, but only with the army.

    In contrast, PTI Chairman, Barrister Gohar Khan had said on April 2024 that his party is ready to talk with everyone, including political forces, adding that a committee had been formed to negotiate with other political parties on multiple issues.

    During a press conference held on April 29, Gohar said that PTI is not negotiating with anyone through the backdoor.

    However, on June 12, multiple media outlets reported that former Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to talk with the government for the sake of the country’s development.

    Moreover, PTI decided to choose Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai to negotiate with President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharif to reduce political tension in the country.

    Analysts say that either PTI has decided to include politicians in its sphere of powers that need to be talked to, or the security establishment did not agree to talking to PTI, leading the party back towards political powers.

  • Arrest warrants issued for Khawar Maneka and son

    Arrest warrants issued for Khawar Maneka and son

    An anti-corruption court has issued arrest warrants for Khawar Maneka, the ex-husband of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and his son Musa Maneka, for not appearing in court in a land grab and tax evasion case.

    Special Judge Asif Bashir directed the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Okara to arrest both suspects and present them in court on July 9.

    Khawar and his son both failed to appear in two court hearings, after which the judge issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for them.

    Per the prosecution, Maneka had allegedly illegally constructed 26 shops and a marriage hall on a four-kanal piece of land meant for Pir Islam Graveyard in Haveli Lakha without map approval.

    Tax evasion allegations have also been levelled against Khawar Maneka , and after the registration of the case, Khawar Maneka tried to flee the country from Lahore airport.

  • Shehbaz Sharif meets Maulana Fazal ur Rehman to cool animosity

    Shehbaz Sharif meets Maulana Fazal ur Rehman to cool animosity

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif reached Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazal ur Rehman residence in Islamabad on Thursday to meet him.
    The Premier took the initiative to improve relations between both the parties that witnessed growing animosity after February, 2024 general elections.   

    Shehbaz praised Maulana’s role in strengthening democracy in the country and acknowledged his services for religion.

    PM Shehbaz proposed a committee to make relations better for the sake of the country’s development.

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on May 2, rejected the general election’s results and demanded fresh polls.

  • Sargodha ATC Judge alleges harassment by ISI; LHC Chief Justice summons IGP & others

    Sargodha ATC Judge alleges harassment by ISI; LHC Chief Justice summons IGP & others

    Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan on Wednesday summoned Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar and other officials on a complaint by a judge of an anti-terrorism court of Sargodha alleging harassment by intelligence agencies.

    According to the summons, District & Sessions Judge (D&SJ) Muhammad Abbas, on the first day of his new charge as the judge of ATC Sargodha, received a message from an ISI official requesting to meet the judge in his chamber; the judge, however, refused to meet him.

    Ever since, according to ATC judge Abbas, he had been facing a string of harassment incidents, including damaging his house’s sui-gas meter, extra-ordinary electricity bill which was fake, harassment of judge’s relatives and even an incident of firing outside the main gate of ATC which damaged the electricity transformer.

    In his summons, the Chief Justice of LHC stated that Judge Abbas is an “Honest and hardworking Judicial Officer of this institution.”

    “The threats and harassment given to the said Judicial Officer [Judge Abbas] and his family has caused restraint in his judicial work,” stated the summons by LHC.

    The chief justice also converted the judge’s complaint into a contempt petition and issued a notice.

  • PPP will not join coalition government, confirms Qamar Zaman Kaira

    PPP will not join coalition government, confirms Qamar Zaman Kaira

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira has denied media reports that his party will join a coalition government, terming them “baseless.”

    Rumors about PPP joining the treasury benches emerged after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal’s meetings with Kaira and Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti.

    Kaira claimed while talking to Geo News that he met with Ahsan Iqbal and discussed his constituency’s developmental projects.

    “I did not discuss anything about joining the government with Ahsan Iqbal,” Kaira said.

  • 17.6 percent hike in defence budget in new budget

    17.6 percent hike in defence budget in new budget

    The federal government on Wednesday allocated Rs 2.12 trillion for the armed forces in the upcoming fiscal year 2024-2025, a substantial increase of 17.6 percent compared to last year’s budget.

    This is the second-largest hike in the defence budget in six years and marks the second consecutive year of increased funding for the armed forces.

    Last year, there was a 15 percent increase in defence budget – different from the traditional 11 percent annual increase which took place over the last decade.

    Interestingly, according to budget figures presented to the NA by the government, it has been revealed the armed forces exceeded last year’s allocated budget of Rs 1.8 trillion, in reality spending Rs 1.83 trillion.

    The significant hike in defence spending highlights Pakistan’s priorities in a region marred by geopolitical tensions.

  • ‘Naqvi is the biggest beneficiary of favouritism,’ Khan lashes out at interior minister Mohsin Naqvi

    ‘Naqvi is the biggest beneficiary of favouritism,’ Khan lashes out at interior minister Mohsin Naqvi

    Founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Monday strongly criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and the federal interior minister Mohsin Naqvi saying, “Naqvi is the biggest beneficiary of favouritism.”

    Khan was responding to Naqvi’s remarks about the need for “surgery” in the national cricket team after its poor performance in the Pakistan vs India T-20 match.

    Khan also condemned the government over the deteriorating security situation in the country saying, “Our soldiers are being martyred, and robberies are occurring in Islamabad, yet they do not care.”

    The former Prime Minister also alleged that efforts are being made to silence him and cover up election rigging, chastising the authorities for action against PTI leaders across Punjab for holding conventions.