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.

  • Israel reportedly attacks Iran

    Israel reportedly attacks Iran

    Iranian state media has stated that the country’s air defence systems brought down three drones over the central city of Isfahan.

    According to latest development, the Iranian news agency Tasnim has cited “informed sources” as saying that “there are no reports of an attack from abroad against Isfahan or any other part of Iran”.

    Separately, an Iranian analyst argued on state television that mini-drones were flown by “infiltrators from inside” the country, according to Al Jazeera.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency says it can confirm that there has been no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites.

    Meanwhile, US media, citing senior US officials, also reported that Israeli missiles had hit an Iranian site.

    Iranian air defence systems were activated and flights across several areas including Tehran and Isfahan were suspended.

    Regional tensions rose following Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel after an attack on its diplomatic premises in Syria.

    There are fears of all-out confrontation after Iran had been warning Israel that it would respond strongly to any aggression.

  • Terrorist attack on Japanese citizens in Karachi; all foreign nationals safe

    Terrorist attack on Japanese citizens in Karachi; all foreign nationals safe

    A terrorist attack targeted Japanese citizens after their vehicle was attacked by a suicide bomber in Karachi’s Landhi area. The foreign nationals remained safe while two terrorists involved in the barbaric attack were killed, according to the police.

    Deputy Inspector General (DIG) East Azfar Mahesar told Dawn that the incident took place near Murtaza Chorangi in Landhi, adding that the five foreign nations were travelling in a Hiace van.

    “All five Japanese remained safe. However, the private security guard with them was injured,” he said, adding that one terrorist was killed.

    “The Japanese nationals were on the way to Export Processing Zone from their residence in Zamzama, Clifton,” he said.

    There was another suicide bomber who was there for ‘backup’. He was gunned down by the Sharafi Goth police party patrolling the area.

    Some users on X (formerly Twitter) pointed out that the Japanese nationals might have been mistaken as Chinese since terrorists in Pakistan have been increasingly targeting Chinese nationals, most recently in Shangla where five Chinese nationals lost their lives.

    “No one has claimed responsibility so far,” the DIG said, adding that the vehicle carrying the Japanese nationals was bullet-proof.

  • Nawaz ‘was not’ ready to become prime minister for fourth time, says senior PML-N leader

    Nawaz ‘was not’ ready to become prime minister for fourth time, says senior PML-N leader

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Senator Irfan Siddiqui has said that former prime minister and party supremo Nawaz Sharif wasn’t ready to become prime minister for the fourth time.  

    “It was Nawaz’s own decision to not become the prime minister,” Siddiqui said while speaking on Geo News’ programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath on Wednesday.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif became the country’s prime minister for the second time following the party’s nomination after Nawaz decided against running for the coveted post after returning to the country following a four-year self-imposed exile from London.

    The party eagerly awaited the veteran politician’s return and built its election campaign around him. They portrayed him as a saviour who could tackle the country’s problems and guide it to prosperity.

    After the February 8 polls, where major political parties like PML-N, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidates, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) didn’t win enough seats for a clear majority in the National Assembly, PML-N chose Shehbaz as their candidate for prime minister.

  • Finance Minister Aurangzeb meets Donald Lu in Washington DC

    Finance Minister Aurangzeb meets Donald Lu in Washington DC

    Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb held a high-level meeting with the United States State Department Assistant Secretary Donald Lu at World Bank headquarters in Washington to discuss financial reforms that Pakistan is planning to implement.

    The meeting was held in the background of the Finance Minister’s visit to Washington in order to finalize talks about the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package.

    Aurangzeb and the US official focused on upgrading economic partnerships, with emphasis on alternate energy, agriculture, climate resilience and technology.

    Aurangzeb was positive about the investment opportunities by America in information technology, renewables, agriculture and minerals extraction.

    He also pledged close collaboration with the US International Development Finance Corporation and Exim Bank for mutual development.

    Aurangzeb has been conducting high-level meetings with top officials in the US on the sidelines.

  • President Zardari will address joint Parliament session today

    President Zardari will address joint Parliament session today

    The joint session of the two houses of Parliament will be held today in Parliament House under the presidency of Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq.

    President Asif Ali Zardari will address the parliament today at 4 pm. All arrangements have been made for what will be the first joint session of Parliament after the formation of the 16th National Assembly.

    The President of the State called the joint session of the Parliament to exercise the powers conferred under Articles 54(1) and 56(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

  • Non-formal education will be provided to out-of-school children in Sindh, says Sindh education minister

    Non-formal education will be provided to out-of-school children in Sindh, says Sindh education minister

    Sindh Minister for Education and Mines & Minerals, Syed Sardar Ali Shah, announced on Wednesday that out-of-school children in the province will be provided a facility to complete their studies through a non-formal education strategy. Geo reported on Wednesday.

    A non-formal education authority will be established, which will work with the collaboration of UNICEF and through public-private partnerships. 

    The remarks came during a meeting on Wednesday in Karachi with Education Secretary Sindh Zahid Ali Abbasi and other officials.

    Education minister explained that through a non-formal strategy, a child who is out of school will complete his/her education up to eighth grade within four years. He also said that almost two million children in Sindh will be able to get benefit from the facility.

    He also stated that Sindh is the only province that will take initiatives for out-of-school children in the form of non-formal education.

    He stated that non-formal education centres will be established in areas where the number of out-of-school children is high.

  • I was told to quit PTI by Western ambassador, claims Shandana Gulzar

    I was told to quit PTI by Western ambassador, claims Shandana Gulzar

    Shandana Gulzar, a senior member and elected MNA of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), recently appeared on a talk show with Hamid Mir and claimed that a foreign ambassador advised her to quit the party.

    She stated that this matter is directly concerned with the 2022 vote of no confidence brought against former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Shandana said, “I was called by many people including an ambassador of a Western country who asked me to think about my future and leave Khan because our party [PTI] is ending.”

    The MNA replied to the ambassador that the reason why she’s not quitting PTI is because it is a matter of “honour” for her.

    Gulzar further emphasized that the entire process of VONC was “stupid” and “botched up”. And that it could have been done with finesse and elegance rather than being so clumsy.

    An X user @DanMir_musings posted an old video of Shandana where she claimed that she was not told explicitly to quit PTI and Imran Khan. The user wrote, “Shandana Gulzar has already backtracked on this lie of hers that she was called by an embassy after VONC motion and was told to leave PTI and Imran.”

  • Army orders to investigate EX-ISI chief Faiz Hameed, journalist Kamran Yousaf reports

    Army orders to investigate EX-ISI chief Faiz Hameed, journalist Kamran Yousaf reports

    Pakistan army has formed a high-level inquiry committee to investigate alleged accusations to investigate former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Faiz Hameed for allegedly misusing power while serving as the director-general of ISI, journalist Kamran Yousaf has reported.

    People familiar with the development said that the investigation has been conducted at the directions of the Supreme Court (SC) and the Ministry of Defence.

    Faiz Hameed was appointed as DG-C in ISI and later became the head of the intelligence agency. His name was involved in multiple controversies, including the Faizabad Dharna case. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also accused him of engineering his removal from office in 2017.

    However, the Pakistan Army has decided to investigate the case through a high-level inquiry committee. “A high-level inquiry committee has been constituted under a Major General, which will look at every aspect related to this matter in detail.”

    ‘There is a strict and highly transparent system of self-accountability in the Pakistan Army, and by promoting this system, all such allegations are investigated with great seriousness, and those responsible are also given severe punishment so that the self-accountability of the Pakistan Army is maintained,” Express TRIBUNE reported.

  • NAB clears Nawaz Sharif in Toshakhana reference

    NAB clears Nawaz Sharif in Toshakhana reference

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has cleared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif of any wrongdoing in the Toshakhana vehicle reference.

    The anti-graft body has requested the accountability court to clear the former prime minister of any charges. The court directed NAB to include PML-N leaders in the investigation.

    The court may acquit Nawaz Sharif from the Toshakhana reference, as the watchdog stated in its report submitted before the court today, highlighting that the car in question was not a part of the Toshakhana at the time of purchase by the former prime minister.

    The anti-corruption body found that the Saudi government gave a car to then-Prime Minister Nawaz in 1997, which he deposited in Toshakhana.

    The report stated that in 2008, then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani offered Nawaz Sharif to buy the same car.

    Therefore, the PML-N head didn’t buy the car from Toshakhana. Instead, he bought it from the federal transport pool. According to the NAB report, Nawaz Sharif didn’t use a fake account to buy a car.

  • Interior Ministry ordered banning of Twitter in Pakistan

    Interior Ministry ordered banning of Twitter in Pakistan

    The Ministry of Interior, headed by Mohsin Naqvi, has accepted that it directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ban X, formerly Twitter. The Ministry revealed this information in a reply to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), after the court had asked why the social media platform had been shutdown.

    In its reply to the IHC, the Ministry quoted the controversial 2021 social media rules stating that Twitter had not registered itself in Pakistan nor signed any MoU with the government of Pakistan.

    The reply to IHC said, “As a foreign entity operating in Pakistan, Twitter/X is subject to the regulatory framework of the country, including the compliance with legal directives issued by the Government of Pakistan.”

    It further said, “The ban on Twitter/X serves as a necessary step to address this regulatory vacuum and compel the platform to respect the sovereignty and legal jurisdiction of Pakistan.”

    The Ministry’s reply also said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has forwarded numerous requests to Twitter/X through PTA to block those accounts involved in a defamatory campaign against CJP Qazi Faez Isa and criticized the lack of cooperation from Twitter/X.

    It also mentioned that TikTok was also banned for a while by Pakistan, after which the company signed an MoU to abide by local laws, address content moderation issues, and enhance cooperation with Pak authorities.

    Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court (SHC) also directed the Ministry of Interior to revoke its letter regarding the suspension of X within one week.

    “What are you [interior ministry] achieving via shutting down trivial things […] The world must laugh at us,” said SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi.

    As of now, X/Twitter has been inaccessible in Pakistan for the last two months.