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.

  • Norway removes Pak from terror threat assessment list

    Norway removes Pak from terror threat assessment list

    The Norwegian government has removed Pakistan from the National Threat Assessment List which is published by the country’s Police Security Service.

    Pakistan’s inclusion in the list poses significant challenges for Pakistani students and researchers who want to pursue their studies or careers in Norway.

    The decision came about after active diplomacy from Islamabad in persuading Norwegian authorities to remove its name from their list of nations of “security concern,” reported the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

    “Pakistan’s diplomatic initiatives bore fruit, leading to its removal from the list,” the report read.

    “The announcement came through the latest report issued by Norway’s Police Security Service, which holds responsibility for intelligence and security matters within the country.”

    The terror threat assessment is a crucial report that identifies potential threats to Norway’s national security including Espionage, Proliferation, Terrorism, and threats to government officials.

  • PTI requests postponement of Senate chairman, deputy chairman polls

    PTI requests postponement of Senate chairman, deputy chairman polls

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has asked on Monday for the postponement of the election for Senate chairman and deputy Senate chairman until polls for the upper house are conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Senator Saifullah Niazi from PTI submitted an application to the Senate secretary, stating that the true count of Senate members is 96.

    Last week, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed the KP Senate elections because the MPAs elected to reserved seats hadn’t taken their oath. As a result, the upper house is now lacking 11 members.

  • CTD makes ‘progress’ in threatening letters case

    CTD makes ‘progress’ in threatening letters case

    The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) is getting closer to uncovering the person behind the threatening letters sent to judges of the Supreme Court and various high courts, Geo News reported on Monday.

    Geo sources say that CTD has been actively following key developments in the investigation since they received the forensic report on the handwriting in the letters.

    The investigation department matched the letters written to judges in the Supreme Court, Islamabad, and Lahore High Courts. According to forensic reports, the same person wrote the letters to judges in all three courts under the names Resham, Reshaman, and Gulshad Khatun. The letters were also sent through the same post office.

    “There is a single mastermind behind sending threatening letters to judges,” sources within CTD told Geo News, adding that arsenic found in the letters to the judges was also bought by the same person.

  • Defence Minister wants us to stop eating pakoras

    Defence Minister wants us to stop eating pakoras

    Defence Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Asif took to X, formerly Twitter, to post an interesting thing about Pakistan’s economy or rather ‘pakora economy’. It described how the country could save $9.5 million a month if people avoid pakoras in Ramadan.

    The Minister’s post got some very passionate responses from the people, to say the least.

    A user on X quoted his post and said, “RAW has assassinated 20 high-profile targets in Pakistan. Meanwhile our defense minister.”

    Another user wrote, “Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issuing important messages to the nation while performing Umrah.”

    The Minister’s post said, “Pakora Economy: A standard 13 gram Pakora absorbs 3 grams of oil during frying. Let’s say 50million people at home have at least 1 pakora for Iftar. This translates to 150 tons of oil/day. Oil is Rs600/ltr. So its Rs 90 Million or $316 K/day of oil, $9.5 million a month. Avoid Pakora and save $9.5 million a month.”

    It also said at the end, “O believers, fasting is compulsory not pakoras.”

    We think Khwaja Asif was joking, but who knows, he may actually be serious.

  • Pakistani journalist Murtaza Ali Shah is on Indian hit list for covering Khalistan movement

    Pakistani journalist Murtaza Ali Shah is on Indian hit list for covering Khalistan movement

    A pro-Khalistan British Sikh organisation’s leader revealed that a well-known reporter of Geo and The News from London, Murtaza Ali Shah, received life threats from the Indian state for covering the Khalistan movement in Britain and other western countries.

    In an interview on the Sikh Channel Akaal TV, Sikh Federation UK’s leader, Dabinderjit Singh, revealed that London police are aware that Shah is facing life threats. The Sikh organisation also tweeted about the issue on X (formerly Twitter).

    Dabinderjit Singh, who is a retired civil servant, also said that senior reporter Murtaza Ali Shah is on the hit list in India due to his coverage of Sikh issues in London.

    “Murtaza Ali Shah covers Sikh issues for Geo TV but is not a Sikh. In particular, Murtaza Shah has been covering the Khalistan Referendum organised by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in the UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Italy. He has been reaching to these places from London for coverage,” he said, linking his journalistic work to the threat.

  • Is Imran Khan going to be released this month?

    Is Imran Khan going to be released this month?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Latif Khosa has affirmed the claim of fellow party members that Imran Khan will be released from Adiala jail soon, confidently claiming that the former prime minister will likely be free from jail this month.

    “I am saying this for sure that the PTI founder will be released in [this] April,” he said while speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan on Sunday.

    Earlier, several party members, including chairman PTI Gohar Ali Khan, made similar claims that the jailed PTI founder will be released very soon.

    Khosa stated that labeling the release of the PTI founder as a result of any deal would be unfair.

    He also said that Imran Khan doesn’t believe in the politics of revenge, as he is only in favour of the supremacy of the constitution.

    Speaking about the cases against the PTI founder, Khosa downplayed Khan’s conviction in cipher and un-Islamic nikkah case, stating: “In the cipher case, the court has already observed ‘where is the cipher’, while Iddat case is shameful.”

  • Sheharyar Afridi says there are ‘snakes’ inside PTI

    Sheharyar Afridi says there are ‘snakes’ inside PTI

    Amidst rumors of internal rifts within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), party leader Shehryar Afridi recently said that there were some “hypocrites” inside the party.

    Recently, all the portfolios were taken back from the popular leader Sher Afzal Marwat –who emerged as a famous leader after the incarceration of PTI founder Imran Khan.

    Addressing a public gathering in Kohat on Friday, Afridi said: “We are sending a message to the party members that the workers and loyalists of the party should be supported, those who are the foundation of the party.”

    Afridi criticised the party leadership even saying there were “snakes” who had become a part of the PTI.

    The rifts between the party leadership have been increasing with many members divided on different matters related to party.

  • The hero cop who refused to surrender to militants

    According to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) police, a police personnel deployed on the security of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) of Polio team was martyred in Ragzai, South Waziristan, KPK.

    LQAS is a global standard practice to check the efficacy of any immunization campaign conducted in the region. Since Polio campaigns are regularly implemented across the country, LQAS procedure is being conducted as well to check the quality of polio vaccination campaigns.

    Rahemullah Mehsud was surrounded by militants when they asked him to give up and lay down his weapons, however the brave son of the soil refused to surrender and said people of Waziristan would remember him as a coward if he did so and laid down his life in the line of duty. The story has been posted on X by journalist Iftikhar Firdous.

    According to KPK Police, during the last year, the number of martyred police personnel was 137 – a grim reminder of the country’s worsening security situation.

  • Is PTI getting cozy with the establishment again?

    Is PTI getting cozy with the establishment again?

    Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Ali Amin Gandapur visited Corps Commander House Peshawar on an Iftar invitation and received a security briefing on the province from military officials.

    Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Advisor to the Chief Minister KPK on Information, clarified to Geo News that it was an iftar invitation and denied rumors on social media that the provincial government held a cabinet meeting at Corps Commander House.

    After the Iftar, mutual discussion on the security situation was held between them.

    More importantly, according to Geo News, Imran Khan was apprised of the said meeting and taken into confidence. Imran Khan displayed complete trust in Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

    Party leadership, especially CM Gandapur, is being criticized by their devout followers on social media for attending this meeting.

  • PM Shehbaz set to visit Saudi Arabia for two days  

    PM Shehbaz set to visit Saudi Arabia for two days  

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will depart for a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia for Umrah on Saturday night. During his stay in Jeddah, he will also meet his Saudi Arabian counterpart, The News reported on Friday.

    The Premier will discuss various projects during a meeting with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

    Shehbaz Sharif will also invite MbS to visit Pakistan soon.

    During his stay in Saudi Arabia, both countries will finalise multiple development projects, and continue bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including agriculture. 

    The sources of The News claimed that Saudi Arabia will also invest $1 billion in the Reko Diq project.

    The schedule for PM Shehbaz’s visit will be finalised on Friday (today), said the sources.