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.

  • PTI chief updates on Imran Khan’s health in jail

    PTI chief updates on Imran Khan’s health in jail

    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Khan said on Tuesday that former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was in good health after doctor teams examined him.

    A team from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), including an ENT specialist and a medical specialist, visited Adiala Jail Rawalpindi and inspected Imran Khan’s health condition.

    Barrister Gohar Khan on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “We were informed a while ago that Alhamdulillah, Khan Saab is in good health and had exercised for an hour today. We shall get medical reports from them soon, and I will share with you, InshaAllah.”

    He also conveyed his appreciation to the PTI workers and supporters who had shown concern for the party founder’s well-being.

    The development came after PTI leadership postponed the protests at Islamabad amid the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit at the federal capital after the assurance of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi that the doctors would examine the founder of PTI.

    In another tweet, the party chairman wrote, “He is otherwise fit & healthy and does not need any further medication at the moment.”

    However, the PTI founder’s personal physician, Dr Asim Yusuf, was not allowed to meet Imran Khan after waiting outside the Adiala jail for more than one hour and despite submitting their credentials to the security staff.

  • Punjab College ‘rape’ case: CM Maryam forms investigation committee

    Punjab College ‘rape’ case: CM Maryam forms investigation committee

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz has formed a high-level seven-member committee to investigate the alleged rape of a student at Punjab College in Lahore.

    The investigative committee chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman has been tasked to present findings of the alleged rape incident before the CM within 48 hours.

    The other members of the committee include the Secretary of Home Affairs, the Advocate General of Punjab, the Secretary of Higher Education, the Secretary of Special Education, and the Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education.

    According to the notification, the committee will examine all elements, including the college administration’s initial response and the manner in which the police managed the situation.

    Earlier, social media reports claimed that a student of Punjab College’s Campus 10 in Lahore was subjected to rape by a college guard named Aun, prompting mass protests across the city.

    Meanwhile, In the wake of this incident, celebrities from the entertainment industry, such as Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Maya Ali, Dure Fishan Saleem, Yumna Zaidi, Bilal Abbas Khan and Amar Khan, stepped up to voice their concern. They all shared on their Instagram stories to support the protesting students and demand accountability from the authorities.

  • ‘You are in hiding, yet asking workers to come out’; Ali Amin Gandapur lambasts Hammad Azhar

    ‘You are in hiding, yet asking workers to come out’; Ali Amin Gandapur lambasts Hammad Azhar

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Hammad Azhar and Chief Minister (CM) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur exchanged fierce words on the decision to call off a party protest scheduled for October 15 in Islamabad, Geo News has reported.

    During a political committee meeting, Hammad Azhar insisted on holding the protest at Islamabad’s D Chowk during the SCO summit. In response, Ali Amin Gandapur said, “You are in hiding yet are telling workers to come out for the protest,” the Chief Minister reportedly said.

    “I came to Islamabad two times, but PTI’s Punjab leadership was out of sight. Our members of the provincial assembly are in custody, and provincial workers had to be saved,” Gandapur said.

    “Don’t blame us; hold the protest. I will lead from the Punjab side,” Hammad Azhar aggressively responded.

    The party’s senior members were divided on Sunday on the scheduled protest at Islamabad D Chowk on the same day on which the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was to begin.

    Saner elements in the PTI group, including Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur and party Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, were in favour of calling off protests at Islamabad amid the SCO summit in Pakistan, Ansar Abbasi told Geo News.

    Moreover, former Speakers of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, Hamid Khan, Raoof Hassan, and Ali Muhammad Khan, were also against holding the protest on October 15 in Islamabad.

    Hammad Azhar, Shehbaz Gill, Khalid Khurshid, and Hafiz Farhat remained adamant about holding a protest at D Chowk, while Advocate Salman Akram Raja also endorsed the idea of protest.

    Shehbaz Gill and Hammad Azhar alike used the party’s social media to criticise the PTI groups who were resisting the decision to hold protests in Islamabad’s red zone.

    Chairman Barrister Gohar officially said that on the assurance of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, peaceful protests had been called off.

  • KP govt to implement Pashtun Qaumi Jirga demands: CM

    KP govt to implement Pashtun Qaumi Jirga demands: CM

    Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur has said that the provincial government will fully implement the demands of Pashtun Qaumi Jirga that fall within the domain of the constitution.

    Speaking on the provincial assembly floor on Monday, Ali Amin Gandapur said that Jirga’s recommendations will be discussed in the Full House Committee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, The News reported.

    One by one, Pahtun Qaumi Jirga’s points would be discussed before before being sent to the federal government for implementation, the Chief Minister added.

    “We will not play politics or resort to point scoring but implement it for the sake of peace, prosperity and stability of our people and province,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Awami National Party (ANP) has made a recommendation unanimously before the Special Parliamentary Committee for deliberations to rename Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to “Pakhtunkhwa”, which neither political party rejected amidst the session.

    Earlier, President ANP KP Aimal Wali Khan claimed: “Khyber is our district and our Pass, and we value it, but a district’s name is linked to the province’s name.”

    “We don’t have any problem with it, however, since we were given an [Pashtun] identity so we should not be identified as KP or KPK,” he concluded.

  • ‘Judges advising political party to prepare for upcoming elections’

    ‘Judges advising political party to prepare for upcoming elections’

    Speaker of Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan claimed that certain senior judges are advising one political party to prepare for elections.

    Speaking at a press conference at the old assembly building on Monday, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly said, “There is evidence that certain august members of the judiciary are encouraging a political party to prepare for elections.”

    “I have evidence that why a few articles of the constitution were suspended to benefit a party,” he added.

    Responding to the role of politics in judiciary, he said that politics in judiciary should end now.

    “There was lopsidedness in the court of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial as a specific five-man bench would take up all important cases. There was lopsidedness in the another ex-CJP Saqib Nisar’s court,” Khan added.

    Lambasting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership for holding protests on the same day as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is going to be held Today (Tuesday), he alleged that PTI’s protest has a foreign agenda.

  • Nawaz Sharif hopeful about meeting Narendra Modi soon

    Nawaz Sharif hopeful about meeting Narendra Modi soon

    Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday expressed his desire to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the near future to advocate for better relations with the neighbouring country.

    During an interview with an Indian journalist, Barkha Dutt, ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad, Sharif said, “It would have been a great thing if PM [Narendra] Modi had also attended the SCO summit. I do hope that he and us will have an opportunity to sit together in the not-so-distant future.”

    Pak-India relations have gone through upheavals over the last few decades but the 2019 Indian decision to revoke the ‘special status’ of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir downgraded diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    Since then, Pakistan has made it a condition to reverse the decision before any talks of normalisation of relations between the two countries.

  • ‘PTI to continue protesting till Imran Khan’s release’

    ‘PTI to continue protesting till Imran Khan’s release’

    Information Advisor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has said that his party’s protests will continue until the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, is released and charges against him are dropped.

    Express News reported that the Advisor declared that peaceful protest is their democratic and constitutional right.

    Lambasting the incumbent government, he states that an illegitimate government is trying to extend its rule by turning PTI protests into something like the Model Town incident of 2014.

    He emphasised that the country’s economic progress is impossible under authoritarianism and declared the national economy at a standstill mode.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, in a press conference in Islamabad said that the terrorism in Karachi and the ‘political terrorism’ of PTI are similar.

    Meanwhile, PTI has set conditions for calling off its protest on October 15, asking that their leaders should be allowed a meeting Imran Khan, and his personal physician should be allowed to check up on him.

  • Nine cops suspended for assaulting Karachi protesters

    Nine cops suspended for assaulting Karachi protesters

    Nine officials, including Eid Gah Station House Officer (SHO) Zaheer Ahmad, have been suspended on Monday after violent baton charges against peaceful protesters, journalists and civil society members at Karachi Press Club (KPC).

    A notification issued by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza stated that police officials were aggressive toward protestors upon which they were suspended, as proven by CCTV footage evidence, Geo News has reported.

    The notification further read, “They are also shifted to suspended men’s Coy: Headquarter Garden, South Zone Karachi, where they shall attend daily roll call/parade. They shall draw pay and allowances as admissible under the rules.”

    Police on Sunday confronted protesters for defying section 144 during a demonstration against the extra-judicial killing of blasphemy suspect Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar and “extremism in Sindh.”

    As videos of Sindh police’s brutality against protestors surfaced on social media, big-wig politicians condemned the incident, including leaders from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

    Senator Sherry Rehman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I apologise on behalf of the party. Am told that TLP was advancing from the other side and the police were on hair trigger alert after the recent attacks on foreigners and the advise to not protest until SCO is over, but still, the situation could have been handled differently.”

    “We are a democratic party, and the rights of citizens have to be protected and respected even if they were in violation of today’s 144. I have spoken on the phone from Islamabad to many who were mistreated, and I apologised and appreciate their understanding. Because this is important. Many of us are sorry and shamed. Will inform the leadership as well,” Sherry Rehman further noted.

    PPP leader Shazia Atta Marri was disheartened by the incident that took place outside Karachi Press Club.

    She claimed on X (formerly Twitter), “Deeply hurt by Yesterday’s events. The images are haunting. The young girl could be any one of our daughters. Surely this was too high a price to pay for raising your voice for peace. Yes 144 was imposed & yes it’s is important to maintain order but this was no way to disperse ppl.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari noted, “We all condemn & we are all disgusted and ashamed of the violent treatment against peaceful protesters. Home Minister has ensured probe & action will be taken against all those involved in such unprovoked, inexcusable & unjustifiable brutality.”

  • Sindh police clashes with protestors, journalists for violating section 144

    Sindh police clashes with protestors, journalists for violating section 144

    Police on Sunday confronted protestors for defying section 144 during a demonstration against the extra-judicial killing of blasphemy suspect Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar and “extremism in Sindh.”

    The demonstrators had gathered outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), for a protest organised under the “Sindh Rawadari March”, to condemn the murder of Dr Shahnawaz, who was shot dead by the police in Mirpurkhas on September 19 under blasphemy accusations, Dawn News reported.

    The Sindh Rawadari March brought together progressive voices from all over the province, including human rights defenders, trade unions and feminist movements.

    According to Tribune, the confrontation between law enforcement officials and protestors led to the arrest of over 100 individuals outside KPC, Metropole hostel and Jinnah Hospital.

    The Karachi police also cracked down on journalists, stopping them from covering the peace march.

    Simultaneously, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) organised a counter-protest at KPC, and police halted them at Teen Talwar, near Capri cinema.

    President Karachi Press Club Saeed Sarbazi claimed, “Police closed all routes leading to the press club with containers and buses, and even reporters and camera persons were not allowed entry.”

    Karachi South Deputy Commissioner (DC) Altaf Sario stated that section 144 was imposed due to the risk of riots and violence not only in Karachi but also in other parts of Sindh.

    Meanwhile, Senator Sherry Rehman apologised for the police crackdown on protestors outside KPC on behalf of her party.

    She wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I apologise on behalf of the party. Am told that TLP was advancing from the other side and the police were on hair trigger alert after the recent attacks on foreigners and the advise to not protest until SCO is over, but still, the situation could have been handled differently.”

    “We are a democratic party, and the rights of citizens have to be protected and respected even if they were in violation of today’s 144. I have spoken on the phone from Islamabad to many who were mistreated, and I apologised and appreciate their understanding. Because this is important. Many of us are sorry and shamed. Will inform the leadership as well,” Sherry Rehman further noted.

  • PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan urges party to call off protest for SCO summit

    PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan urges party to call off protest for SCO summit

    Ali Muhammad Khan, a central leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has expressed opposition to his party’s call for a protest at D-Chowk during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which is to be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.

    “In my personal opinion, there should not be a protest during the SCO meeting. However, if we are continually pushed against the wall, then we will have no option left,” he told Rahman Azhar on Express News’ program Center Stage.

    On the other hand, the PTI political committee announced a protest at D-Chowk in Islamabad on October 15 last night.

    The meeting was held without the presence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Ali Ameen Gandapur, yet the Secretary of Information Sheikh Waqas Akram, in a statement, confirmed that a large-scale protest will be held at D-Chowk on October 15.

    He instructed all organisational heads, from the central committee to the regional level, to prepare for the protest.

    Additionally, the party has rescheduled protests across the Punjab province in the wake of the D-Chowk demonstration, emphasising that this protest is against the “illegitimate rulers”.

    It was claimed in the recent party meeting that PTI founder Imran Khan, currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail, is being subjected to a new wave of brutality.

    Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while visiting Police Line Headquarters, addressed the media and slammed PTI as a “chaos-monger”.

    “The Islamabad police foiled the fanatic group’s deadly plan,” Shehbaz asserted. “In 2014, these chaos-mongers rioted day and night for seven months at D-Chowk, forcing the government to postpone the visit of our close friend, Chinese President Xi Jinping,” he said, alluding to PTI’s 2014 sit-in.