Category: Uncategorized

  • Senate passed resolution against Supreme Court decision on civilian trials in military courts

    The Senate of Pakistan passed a resolution on Monday against the Supreme Court’s decision on civilians’ trial in the military courts, urging that the implementation of the judgment be stopped “unless it is considered by a larger bench.”

    A five member bench of Supreme Court (SC) last month unanimously declared civilians’ trial in military courts null and void.

    “Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing the trials of civilians and accused persons, being around 103 persons […] shall be tried by criminal courts of competent jurisdiction established under the ordinary and/or special law of the land in relation to such offences of which they may stand accused,” the short order read.

    Independent Senator Dilawar Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) moved the resolution on Monday, stating that the decision is legally flawed as the larger bench did not announce the verdict and should not be implemented.
    The resolution observed with “apprehension that the invalidation of the jurisdiction of army courts is likely to facilitate vandals and abettors of terrorism and anti-state activities”.

    “The Senate of Pakistan calls upon the apex court to reconsider its decision, urging alignment with the national security paradigm and sacrifices of the martyrs in order to address the concerns raised regarding the ramifications of the judgment on the security and stability of the nation.”

  • South Asia worst in world for water scarcity: UN

    New Delhi (AFP) – More children in South Asia are struggling due to severe water scarcity made worse by the impacts of climate change than anywhere else worldwide, the United Nations said Monday.

    “A staggering 347 million children under 18 are exposed to high or extremely high water scarcity in South Asia, the highest number among all regions in the world,” the UN children’s agency said in a report.

    The eight-nation region, comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is home to more than one-quarter of the world’s children.

    “Climate change is disrupting weather patterns and rainfall, leading to unpredictable water availability,” the UN said in its report.

    The report cites poor water quality, lack of water and mismanagement such as over-pumping of aquifers, while climate change decreases the amount of water replenishing them.

    “When village wells go dry, homes, health centres and schools are all affected,” UNICEF added.

    “With an increasingly unpredictable climate, water scarcity is expected to become worse for children in South Asia.”

    At the UN COP28 climate conference in December in Dubai, UNICEF said it will call for leaders “to secure a livable planet”.

    “Safe water is a basic human right,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF chief for South Asia.

    “Yet millions of children in South Asia don’t have enough to drink in a region plagued by floods, droughts and other extreme weather events, triggered increasingly by climate change”.

    Last year, 45 million children lacked access to basic drinking water services in South Asia, more than any other region, but UNICEF said services were expanding rapidly, with that number slated to be halved by 2030.

    Behind South Asia was Eastern and Southern Africa, where 130 million children are at risk from severe water scarcity, the report added.

  • Arrest warrants issued for Imran Khan in two more cases

    Arrest warrants issued for Imran Khan in two more cases

    An Accountability Court in Islamabad on Monday issued arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in cases pertaining to the Toshakhana and 190-million-pound Al-Qadir Trust. 

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed an application to comply with the arrest warrants of Chairman PTI.

    Judge Mohammad Bashir conducted the hearing on the two cases where NABfiled an application seeking Khan’s arrest warrants.

    Judge Bashir approved the issuance of the warrants while directing the jail superintendent to take measures to ensure the warrants were complied with.

    Deputy Prosecutor General NAB Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi, Prosecutor Irfan Bhola, Investigation Officers Mohsin, Waqarul Hasan, Mian Umar Nadeem, and others appeared before the court.

    The court asked the prosecutor what the High Court did in these cases.

    To which the prosecutor replied that the matter was pending, mentioning that the court neither suspended the order nor issued a standing order.

    The warrants are expected to be complied with in jail today. Imran Khan will be provided with a copy of the warrant as well as briefed about the reasons for his arrest.

    Sources said that the NAB has decided to immediately arrest Khan after the issuance of his arrest warrants, as per Aaj News.

    The anti-graft body is likely to arrest the PTI chief today from Adiala jail where a team including investigation officers of the Bureau will arrive to ensure compliance with the warrants, they added.

    The former prime minister is currently being held in Adiala jail after his arrest from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5.

    He was moved to the prison on September 26 from Attock jail where he was initially kept after his arrest.

    Bushra Bibi in trouble

    Earlier today, former First Lady Bushra Bibi was summoned by NAB in a £190 million case, and as per media reports her arrest could be on the cards.

    Bushra was summoned at 2 pm to the NAB office in G-6 in Islamabad. Farhat Shahzadi, alias Farah Gogi, a former close aide of Bushra, has also been summoned in the same case today.

    Moreover, NAB also provided Bushra Bibi with an 11-point questionnaire in the Al-Qadir Trust case. 

    During her appearance in the NAB office, Bushra Bibi was questioned about Farah Gogi.

    The questionnaire given to her also included queries about her relations with Farah Gogi, the reasons for creating Al-Qadir Trust, whether she took any courses in jurisprudence or pedagogy, whether she continued to receive benefits from Al-Qadir Trust as a teacher, whether she was satisfied with Farah Gogi’s financial affairs and if Malik Riaz himself showed interest in Al-Qadir Trust or she contacted him. 

  • Al-Shifa staff unable to bury 100 decomposing bodies: What we know about day 38

    There are presently around 650 patients, 500 healthcare workers, and an estimated 2,500 displaced people inside al-Shifa Hospital, reports Mohammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza.

    Al-Shifa staff unable to bury 100 decomposing bodies

    Wafa news agency has reported that according to Gaza’s Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila, the staff of Al-Shifa Hospital are not able to bury the remains of at least 100 people who were killed in recent days as Israel continued its attacks in Gaza.

    hospital workers also have to deal with increasing medical waste accumulation inside the hospital compound. Now, Al-Shifa Hospital is not allowing in new patients, “even as it continues to deal with thousands of refugees who are also taking shelter there”, reports Al Jazeera.

    It has also been revealed that Israeli snipers have been firing at anyone near the hospital.

    At least 32 al-Shifa patients dead

    Over the past three days, at least 32 hospital patients in al-Shifa Hospital have died, claims Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al Qidra.

    Among the dead are three premature babies whose incubators were shut off after fuel stocks finished. 

    After the hospital ran out of fuel on Saturday, operations were also suspended.

    Credits: Al Jazeera

  • ‘My married life is no one’s business’: Reham Khan shuts down divorce rumours

    ‘My married life is no one’s business’: Reham Khan shuts down divorce rumours

    British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan has addressed rumours that she has divorced her husband Mirza Bilal. Speaking in a six-minute video, Reham confirmed that the news is fake, criticising trolls for being invested in her personal life.

    “Whether I get married 12 times or get divorced 12 times, it’s none of your bloody business,” Reham said. “If you gave this much attention to your own life, career and your children, you would be so much better.”

    Her husband was seated next to her.

    “Whoever’s sleep got disturbed because of our marriage, first of all I want to tell them they can sleep now peacefully. Whoever was upset they don’t need to stay worried any longer, we have taken care of our issues.”

    Reham tied the knot with Mirza Bilal in an intimate ceremony in Seattle last year, and revealed the news on social media by calling it the happiest day of her life by marrying someone “who will be around me in my darkest hour”.

  • Angelina Jolie ‘saddened’ by forced deportation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan

    Angelina Jolie ‘saddened’ by forced deportation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan

    Angelina Jolie has always been one for speaking her mind. The Hollywood A-lister and UNHCR ambassador won hearts globally when she openly criticised the Israeli regime for air strikes on Gaza which has claimed countless innocent lives. Now, she has spoken out against the deportation of 1. (www.enov8.com) 4 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

    Reporters have said that they are banned from taking pictures of detention centres or to speak with any of the captives, and several families have reported that their children were being picked up despite having a birth certificate.

    Sharing clips of Afghan families and children stranded at the border, Angelina called this an example of “the backsliding in human rights globally,” on her Instagram.

    “Pakistan has been a supporter for many Afghan refugee families for decades. I am saddened they would so abruptly push back refugees who face the impossible realities of trying to survive in today’s Afghanistan, where women have again been deprived of all rights and the possibility of education, many are being imprisoned, and there is a deep humanitarian crisis.

    It is yet another example of the backsliding in human rights globally, and is a new tragedy in the long history of the suffering of Afghan people – who have experienced nothing but war and conflict and displacement for over forty years, and are being abandoned by the world after all the promises that were made of a better future for the Afghan people.”

  • Jail trial of Imran Khan in Cipher case approved by caretaker cabinet

    Jail trial of Imran Khan in Cipher case approved by caretaker cabinet

    The caretaker federal cabinet has given the green light for the jail trial of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, as per Geo News.

    The decision comes in response to security concerns, prompting the Ministry of Law to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the trial on August 29, following requests from the Interior Ministry and Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain.

    The Ministry of Law emphasized that the jail trial for the PTI chairman was deemed necessary due to security considerations.

    This approval sets the stage for an intra-court appeal filed by Imran Khan against the trial, scheduled to be heard by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on November 14. The court has invited arguments from the attorney general.

    Imran Khan, who was ousted from the prime minister’s office in April last year through a no-confidence motion, initially contested the jail trial through a petition in the IHC.

    However, the court’s single bench, led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, dismissed the appeal on October 16, citing no apparent malice in conducting the jail trial and advising Khan to address his concerns in the trial court.

    The cipher case, invoking the Official Secrets Act 1923, was registered against Khan and Qureshi in August of this year by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), using Section 5 of the aforementioned law.

    The case revolves around a missing diplomatic cable allegedly containing a threat from the United States to overthrow the PTI government, according to the former ruling party.

    Both Imran Khan and Qureshi face allegations under the Official Secrets Act 1923 in the cipher case, related to a missing diplomatic cable, and are currently detained in Adiala jail.

    The IHC had earlier suspended Imran Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case on August 29.

  • New survey: Large number of Pakistanis boycotting pro-Israel brands

    New survey: Large number of Pakistanis boycotting pro-Israel brands

    People across the world have been calling for a boycott of brands and companies affiliated with Israel as the onslaught on Gaza continues.

    The purpose of boycotting the Israel-affiliated brands is to economically hurt its government that is committing what many experts have now termed a genocide.

    Pulse Consultant conducted a survey to deduce the response of Pakistanis towards the boycott — to judge how many are willing to stop buying such products.

    Titled the ‘Consumer Sentiments Sway Towards Boycott’, the survey revealed that eight out of 10 respondents (83%) in the top 12 cities of Pakistan “agreed with the appeal of boycotting brands of those companies who are allegedly supporting the occupied army”.

    Amongst those who agreed to boycott, 79% claimed that they did it. Additionally, the females (85%) ratio is higher than males (78%).

    The survey is based on more than 1200 respondents, both genders, with age groups of 16-55+.

    The interviews were conducted through Computer Assisted Telephonic facility, from November 5th to 11th.

  • Ayeza Khan apologises for her previous post on the Palestine genocide

    Ayeza Khan apologises for her previous post on the Palestine genocide

    Actress Ayeza Khan was caught in a controversy over a social media post addressing her silence on the war on Palestine. Several users criticised the actress for writing that praying daily is better than pointing fingers and blaming others.

    “Because I know that praying daily is more powerful than posting daily, please pray for the world as much as you can and avoid pointing fingers and blaming each other on this platform. We all have children and loved ones, and we can all feel the pain. We cannot imagine how painful it is for them, but I’m keeping my faith in Allah, and very soon, Allah will bring justice, Ameen.”

    After severe backlash, Khan deleted the statement and apologised by clarifying her support for Palestine:

    “I would like to take a moment to address an issue that has been misinterpreted and circulated. I won’t attempt to justify or explain because God knows that my intentions were not malicious, but I may have failed to articulate it well. I take full responsibility for this, both personally and on behalf of my team. I sincerely apologize to those who were hurt by my statement. I appreciate you all for bringing this matter to my attention, as I, too, am only human. I take full responsibility and assure you nothing of such sort shall ever happen again.”

    “While my awareness may not bring on immediate resolution,” the Chupke Chupke actress further penned, “I maintain faith in Allah in the possibility of change through prayer. Therefore, alongside our continuous awareness efforts, let us unite in prayer to end this cruelty. For indeed, we need Him and His divine help. My prayers are with the Palestinians.”

  • Al-Shifa under attack; several at risk of dying: What we know about day 36

    On Saturday, Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 39 children, including babies in incubators in the ICU of Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza are at risk of dying at any moment as there is no oxygen to keep them alive. Simultaneously, hospital premises has been targeted with heavy air and artillery bombardment by Israeli forces.

    Al Jazeera spoke to Gaza Deputy Health Minister Dr. Youssef Abu Alreesh who was inside al-Shifa Hospital while Israeli forces surrounded the facility.

    “No one is able to move around the compound, snipers are stationed all over the place in addition to the drones that target and kill any moving person.

    Part of the hospital was shelled and part of the building caught fire, we fear it will engulf the whole compound,” he said.

    He also said that when some families tried to leave, they were targeted by Israeli forces, resulting in their bodies lying outside the hospital that staff have not been able to retrieve.

    Israeli army used white phosphorus on al-Shifa: Palestine health minister

    Palestinian health minister, Mai al-Kaila, claims that Israel used white phosphorus shelling on Al -Shifa.

    “This is an internationally banned weapon. We are wondering who is responsible for holding Israel to account for shelling al-Shifa Hospital with white phosphorus,” she told a news conference in Ramallah, adding that Israeli forces were committing a “genocide” in Gaza.

    “Inevitable death has become the fate of patients in Gaza hospitals – and we hold Israel, the United Nations and the international community responsible for that.”

    Internally displaced Gazans

    In conversation with Al Jazeera, the communications director of the UN’s Palestine relief agency UNRWA, Juliette Touma, said between 50,000 and 80,000 have left their homes since November 4, fleeing from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.