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  • Today’s by-elections: Your candidates and predictions

    Today’s by-elections: Your candidates and predictions

    How many seats are there in Punjab by-elections?

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-seated 25 dissident members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in May. Out of these, five seats were reserved. Later, ECP notified PTI members on all five reserved seats while there will be by-elections on the rest of the 20 seats today (Sunday, July 17).

    Why is it important?

    The results of the by-elections will decide the fate of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Hamza Shehbaz as the Supreme Court ordered a run-off poll for CM Punjab on July 22, five days after the by-polls are held. The magic number required to be the Punjab CM is 186.

    Four Lahore Constituencies:

    There are a total of four constituencies in Lahore.

    1- PP-158

    In PP-158, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rana Ahsan Sharafat will contest against PTI’s Mian Akram Usman. The constituency falls under NA-129, where PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq is a Member of the National Assembly (MNA). PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s former close aide Aleem Khan won the constituency as a PTI candidate in 2018 but in these elections, he will not contest and will instead support the PML-N candidate.

    Areas: Garhi Shahu, Dharampura, Gulberg, Jail Road

    by-elections PP-158
    2- PP-167

    In PP-167, PML-N’s Nazir Chohan will contest against PTI’s Shabbir Gujjar. In 2018, Chohan won the constituency as a PTI candidate. The constituency falls under NA-133, where PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik is MNA.

    Areas: Mainly Johar Town

    by-elections PP-167
    3- PP-168

    In PP-168, PML-N’s Malik Asad Ali Khokhar will be against PTI’s Malik Nawaz Awan. In the 2018 general elections, Khokhar won from this constituency. The constituency falls under NA-133 and NA-131, where PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik and PML-N’s Saad Rafique are MNAs respectively.

    Areas: Walton, Cavalry, Kot Lakhpat, Kainchi

    by-elections PP-168
    4- PP-170

    In PP-170, it will be PML-N’s Muhammad Amin Zulqarnain versus PTI’s Zaheer Abbas Khokhar. Previously, in 2018, Zulqarnain won this constituency as a PTI candidate. The constituency falls under NA-134, where PML-N’s Rana Mubashir Iqbal is MNA.

    Areas: Wapda Town, Valencia, Township, and some rural areas of Lahore

    by-elections PP-170
    Who will win Lahore?

    Talking to The Current, senior journalist Majid Nizami said that the PTI claims that it will win three seats out of the four in Lahore in the upcoming Punjab by-polls. They think that the PML-N will win PP-168. Similarly, the PML-N also claims that it will win three out of four seats in Lahore. They think that PTI will win PP-170. According to Nizami, it is quite likely that both parties will win two seats each. From PML-N, Khokhar in PP-168 and Nazir Chohan from PP-167 are the strong candidates. From PTI, Mian Akram Usman from PP-158 and Zaheer Abbas Khokhar from PP-170 are likely to give a tough time to their competitors.

    5- Multan: PP-217

    In Multan, PML-N’s Salman Naeem is standing against former Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son Zain Hussain Qureshi. The constituency was previously won by Naeem in 2018 when he defeated Shah Mahmood and became a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA).

    According to Majid Nizami, Naeem is likely to become MPA again this time.

    by-elections PP-217
    6- Sahiwal: PP-202

    Three candidates are contesting against each other in PP-202. From PML-N, there is Malik Nauman Ahmad Langrial who is fighting against PTI’s Major Ghulam Sarwar and Independent Candidate Adil Saeed Gujjar. The constituency falls under NA-149, where PTI’s Murtaza Iqbal is MNA. PTI has a chance of winning this seat.

    Areas: Chichawatni Tehsil

    7- Bahawalnagar: PP-237

    Under this constituency, there are two candidates. PML-N’s Fida Hussain Wattoo will fight PTI’s Syed Aftab Raza, who is contesting for the first time. It is pertinent to mention that Wattoo earlier won this constituency in 2018 as an independent candidate. He later joined the PTI. Despite the fact that in the past Wattoo was elected MPA thrice in a row, Majid Nizami says that there is going to be a tough competition between these two.

    Areas: Minchinabad

    8- Lodhran: PP-224

    PTI’s Amir Iqbal Shah will contest against PML-N’s Zawar Hussain Warraich, who won the constituency in the 2018 general elections. Zawar is also considered close to Jahangir Tareen. This seat is likely to fall in the hands of the PTI.

    Areas: Dunyapur

    9- Lodhran: PP-228

    PML-N’s Nazir Ahmed Baloch, PTI’s Captain Retired Izzat Javed Khan and Independent Candidate Pir Syed Rafi Bukhari are contesting. Baloch already won the constituency in 2018. The constituency falls under NA-161, where PTI’s Mian Muhammad Shafiq is MNA. Reports indicate that the PTI is in a tight position here. The tough competition will take place between Pir Syed and Baloch.

    Areas: Rajapur

    10- Rawalpindi: PP-7

    PML-N’s Raja Sagheer Ahmed who won the constituency in the 2018 elections is going to fight against PTI’s Lt. Col. Shabbir Awan. The constituency falls under NA-57, where PTI’s Sadaqat Ali Abbasi is MNA. In this constituency, the PML-N is ahead of PTI.

    Areas: Kahuta and Kallar Syedan

    11- DG Khan: PP-288

    The son of PTI MNA Amjad Farooq Khan Khosa, Abdul Qadir Khosa, is contesting on the ticket of the PML-N. He will be against PTI’s Saif-ud-din-Khosa who is ahead in the race.

    Areas: Tehsil DG Khan, Shah sadar din and Ghaus Abad.

    12- Khushab: PP-83

    In PP-83, PML-N’s Ameer Haider Sangha is going to lock horns with PTI’s Hasan Aslam Awan and Independent candidate Malik Asif Bha. In this constituency, there is going to be a three-way fight.

    Areas: Jauharabad, Khushab city and Hadali

    13- Layyah: PP-282

    Tahir Randhawa, on a PML-N ticket, is now fighting against PTI candidate Qaiser Abbas Magsi. Magsi contested the 2008 and 2013 elections on a PML-N ticket and won as MPA. Despite this, Randhawa is ahead of Magsi.

    Areas: Chowk Azam and Chaubara Tehsil

    14- Muzaffargarh: PP-272

    Syeda Zehra Bukhari will be against PTI’s Moazzam Khan Jatoi. Zehra is the wife of PTI MNA Basit Sultan Bukhari and she won in 2018 from this constituency. Meanwhile, Jatoi is a former minister and MNA. Syeda Zehra has a stronghold.

    Areas: Shaher Sultan

    15- Muzaffargarh: PP-273

    PML-N’s Muhammad Sibtain Raza is going to be up against PTI’s Yasir Arfat Jatoi. Raza won the constituency as a PTI candidate in the previous elections. However, this time Jatoi is likely to become MPA.

    Areas: Ali pur Tehsil

    by-elections PP-273
    16- Bhakkar: PP-90

    PML-N’s Saeed Akhbar Khan Nawani will fight against PTI’s Irfan Ullah Khan Niazi who just joined the party. Nawani won as an independent in 2018 and later joined the PTI. Here, Nawani is said to be ahead of Niazi.

    Areas: Darya Khan Tehsil

    by-elections PP-90

    17- Faisalabad: PP-97

    The former Provincial Minister in Punjab, PML-N’s Ajmal Cheema is up against PTI’s Ali Afzal Sahi in Faisalabad. Although, Cheema won the constituency in 2018, Sahi is likely to win this seat. Sahi is the son of the former speaker of the Punjab Assembly Muhammad Afzal Sahi.

    Areas: Chak Jhumra Tehsil

    by-elections PP-97
    18- Jhang: PP-125

    PML-N’s Faisal Hayat Jabboana will be competing against PTI’s Mian M. Azam Cheela and Independent candidate Iftikhar Ahmad Khan Baloch. Jabboana won as an independent in 2018 and later joined the PTI. PML-N candidate is likely to leave his contenders behind.

    Areas: Athara Hazari Tehsil

    by-elections PP-125
    19- Jhang: PP-127

    In PP-127, PML-N Mehr Aslam Bharwana is going to fight against M. Nawaz Bhawarana. In 2018, Aslam Bharwana won as an independent candidate. There is going to be a tough competition between the two.

    Areas: Jhang Tehsil

    by-elections PP-127
    20- Sheikhupura: PP-140

    PTI’s Khurram Virk is going to fight against Mian Khalid Mehmood who won the MPA seat from this constituency in 2018. The constituency falls under NA-121, where PML-N’s Javed Latif is MNA. However, Virk is likely to win this seat. It is pertinent to mention that according to Majid Nizami, a TLP candidate is also contesting against these two and has a pretty strong position.

    Areas: Sheikhupura city

    by-elections PP-140
  • Stay away from Punjab by-elections, Sheikh Rasheed warns establishment

    Stay away from Punjab by-elections, Sheikh Rasheed warns establishment

    Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Saturday asked the establishment to stay away from the by-elections in Punjab that are being held on Sunday, July 17.

    “Today I want to say something very important to the establishment. Tomorrow is a very important day. I have never witnessed such an election ever in Pakistan’s history,” said Sheikh Rasheed in a video message.

    “I wish to request them to stay away from the elections. The nation will not tolerate any kind of rigging or bullying. You have to prove in tomorrow’s elections that you are impartial,” he added.

    “If its path is blocked, this country will witness an inferno that will engulf everyone. This is why tomorrow is a test for Pakistan’s political stability,” Rasheed said.

    “The people must be granted the right to [elect their own leaders] and no one must interfere.”

  • IMF board to approve Pakistan’s $1.17 billion tranche in August

    IMF board to approve Pakistan’s $1.17 billion tranche in August

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board’s approval for the release of $1,177 million to Pakistan is expected in the third or fourth week of August, according to Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail.

    “Most probably August 26 is the date of board approval,” he said.

    A staff-level agreement (SLA) was achieved between the IMF team and the Pakistani government on Thursday to conclude the Extended Fund Facility’s (EFF) combined seventh and eighth evaluations, according to Brecorder.

    As per IMF’s statement, “Subject to Board approval, about $1,177 million (SDR 894 million) will become available, increasing the total disbursements under the Programme to approximately $4.2 billion.” The agreement also included a nine-month extension of the EFF programme and an additional $1 billion.

    The federal government stated that the administration has already performed all of the preliminary steps necessary for approval. “Therefore, after the staff-level agreement, the approval from the board could be considered a formality,” he said.

    The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), among others, may all provide finance as a result of the development, he claimed.

    “Pakistan can easily borrow money from multilateral institutions,” he said.

    While discussing commodity pricing, Miftah remarked that the people will also profit from the falling costs of goods like edible oil and wheat on the world market.

    The administration made difficult choices, the finance minister continued, to prevent the nation from going into debt and to help it from its current economic crisis.

    He said that the government is exerting every effort to address the circular debt and poor governance problems.

  • Pak vs Sri Lanka: first Test match begins

    Pak vs Sri Lanka: first Test match begins

    The first match of a two-match Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka has started today. Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first.

    Leg-spinner Yasir Shah and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz have been recalled to Pakistan’s lineup for the first Test match. The Pakistani side is playing with three fast bowlers, under the leadership of Babar Azam.

    In a squad meeting before the start of play on Saturday, batting coach Mohammad Yousuf gave all-rounder Salman Ali Agha his maiden Test cap.

    Sri Lanka made two changes to the team that beat Australia in a series. Dhananjaya de Silva and Oshada Fernando replaced Kamindu Mendis and Pathum Nissanka.

    Teams

    Sri Lanka: Oshada Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha

    Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (capt), Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah

    Pakistan is playing in Sri Lanka despite a state of emergency in the country. Sri Lanka imposed a state of emergency on Wednesday after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country due to massive protests.

  • Covid-19: Pakistan reports 10 deaths in the last 24 hours

    Covid-19: Pakistan reports 10 deaths in the last 24 hours

    According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 10 people have lost their live to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. It is the highest number of deaths reported in four and a half months.

    In addition, 737 cases of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of 3.28 per cent were reported in Pakistan on July 15. A total of 22,451 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

    In April, Pakistan reported zero Covid-19-related deaths for the first time since the breakout of the pandemic in the country.

    In March this year, the government announced the closure of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). The body was set up in March 2020 to deal with Covid-19.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on June 19 urged Pakistanis to follow Covid-related standard operating procedures (SOPs) amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

  • Elon Musk’s father, Errol has a ‘secret child’ with his stepdaughter

    Elon Musk’s father, Errol has a ‘secret child’ with his stepdaughter

    Elon Musk’s father Errol Musk has confessed that three years ago, he and his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout had a secret love child.

    He added that the second baby was unplanned but he was living with Ms Bezuidenhout after his birth. The child was born in 2019.

    Errol, 76, and his stepdaughter also share a five-year-old boy.

    Elon Musk’s father Errol Musk has admitted to having a “secret” second child with his 35-year-old stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout. 

    He, in an interview with The Sun, said, “The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce.”

    Errol Musk shockingly welcomes second child with his stepdaughter

    Errol Musk, 76, and Ms Bezuidenhout also share a five-year-old boy named Elliot Rush, who was born in 2017. He, now, has a total of seven children including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

    Jana Bezuidenhout is the daughter of Errol Musk’s second wife Heide Bezuidenhout, whom he married after splitting with Elon Musk’s mother Maye Haldeman Musk in 1979. From this marriage, he has three children – Elon, Kimbal, and Tosca.

    Errol Musk and Heide Bezuidenhout were married for 18 years. They have two children together. 

  • Women journalists from KP bag international awards

    Women journalists from KP bag international awards

    Five women journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have won the grand jury and first runner-up prizes at the Women’s Empowerment and Religious Freedom Film Competition in Washington DC, USA.

    For her movie, “She Stood Against Religious Extremism”, Peshawar-based journalist Zeenat Khan won the main jury prize at the festival, with a $3,000 cash reward.

    Khalida Niaz won the first runner-up prize, and won a cash prize of $1,500 for her movie “Peace Promoters”.

    Talking to The Current, Khalida said, “Peace Promoters is a network established by two Muslim sisters who belong to Pesahwar. They have 200 members, which include Hindus, Muslims, Christians and people from other religions too. They go to places of worship of different religions to promote peace and religious harmony. They also try finding commonalities in different religions.”

    Khalid further said that although she has got the second position, this award is very precious to her as it made her feel rewarded for her nine-year long struggle in journalism.

    “This award is an example that women journalists can do reporting on every subject,” she said. “I believe this award will inspire other women of my area to do what they want.”

    “The area from where I come from is really backward. Women were not even allowed to study here for a long time, but things are gradually changing.”

    “When women of our area see someone getting recognition for their work, it gives them hope for their future.”

    “I want to dedicate this award to every woman, women who are working in different fields or women who are sitting at their homes but want to do something in their lives.”

  • Ethnic tensions increase in Sindh after murder of Hyderabad boy

    Ethnic tensions increase in Sindh after murder of Hyderabad boy

    A 35-year-old man, Bilal Kaka, was murdered at a hotel in Hyderabad on July 12. Ethnic tensions increased as a result of the incident.

    According to details, Bilal went to a hotel near Hyderabad Bypass for dinner. He was allegedly murdered when a fight broke out between the hotel owner’s son and Bilal and his friends.

    The murder has led to clashes between Sindhis and Pashtuns in the province. There are media reports of groups of people forcing restaurants and tea shops owned by Pashtuns to close down. 

    In a video being shared on social media, dozens of people can be seen harassing a Pashtun immigrant and forcing him to shut down his tea stall.

    https://twitter.com/AshrafEhsaas/status/1547424465973399552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1547424465973399552%7Ctwgr%5Ehb_1_10%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aaj.tv%2Fnews%2F30292403

    Several political parties, including JI, MQM-Pakistan, Awami National Party, and nationalist leaders Jalal Mehmood Shah and Ayaz Latif Palijo have issued statements, urging both Sindhis and Pashtuns to demonstrate restraint. They also demanded the government take prompt action to defuse the tensions.

    Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah denounced the Hyderabad incident during a speech at the Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) on Thursday.

    The chief minister stated that the responsibility for the incident cannot be laid on a single community as a whole.

  • Daler Mehndi arrested, sentenced to two years in Jail for Human Trafficking

    Daler Mehndi arrested, sentenced to two years in Jail for Human Trafficking

    A Patiala court on Thursday announced a two-year jail term for Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi in a human trafficking case that dates back to 2003.

    A district court in Patiala on Thursday upheld a 2018 verdict by a trial court in a 19-year-old trafficking case where Mehndi and his brother were accused of illegally sending people abroad disguised as members of his dance crew.

    Judge HS Grewal ordered an immediate arrest of the singer.

    The first case was filed in September 2003 at the Patiala Sadar police station by Bakshish Singh, alleging that the Mehndi brothers took two troupes to the US in 1998 and 1999, including 10 people for illegal migration, the report added.

    “They took ₹ 13 lakh from me to send me to Canada,” Bakshish Singh told ANI today. “Neither did they send me abroad, nor did they return my money. At that time they used to do this work of sending people abroad.”

    Back in 2013, an FIR was registered at the Sardar Patiala police station, and the singer was booked under sections 406, 420, 120B, 465, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Indian Passport Act.

    In 2018, a judicial magistrate held both the brothers guilty and sentenced them to two years in jail. However, they were granted bail minutes after the conviction. They later filed an appeal in the Sessions Court.

    Daler can now appeal to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the reports further suggest.

  • Twitter is back after a 40-minute downtime

    Twitter is back after a 40-minute downtime

    Following a brief outage that was reported in Pakistan and around the world on Thursday, the microblogging website Twitter was once again operational.

    Around 8:05 AM ET, problems with the service began to surface. Many users reported receiving “over capacity” and even “this page is down” error messages. The problems impacted Twitter on the web, on mobile devices, and even in the TweetDeck app.

    Thousands of Twitter problems were reported by Downdetector, yet Twitter’s own status page stated that “all systems operational.” Many users were unable to log in or access tweets even when the main Twitter.com URL loaded.

    Around 8:40 AM ET, Twitter began to come back to life, and many users were able to tweet and access the service once more.

    During the outage, Twitter also tweeted that “Twitter and we’re working to get it back up and running for everyone.”

    This is the first significant outage on Twitter since the social network began experiencing issues in February. In February, Twitter went offline twice in a single week, rendering users in certain US regions unable to use the service owing to a technical problem that was blocking timelines from loading and Tweets from posting.