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Khawaja Asif says PM Shehbaz didn’t consult Nawaz on COAS appointment

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that no decision regarding the appointment of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) has been made as yet.

When asked if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif was not being consulted on the matter, the minister said: “Consultations have not yet taken place on the army chief’s appointment. These are just newspaper reports”, reports Geo News.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has just returned home from Britain after having several meetings with his brother Nawaz. It was being widely reported that the two brothers were holding consultations on who should be the next head of the armed forces.

Speaking with journalists outside the National Assembly, Khwaja Asif said: “The prime minister has discretion regarding the appointment of the COAS; therefore, he will make the decision on the appointment.”

Responding to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s interview with Financial Times where he said he “no longer blamed the US” and wants “dignified” ties with the country if he comes back to power, Asif sarcastically asked if this was the first time Khan was taking back his words.

“He turns away from everything, how many things have been said in the last four years? Has Imran Khan stood by anything he says,” the minister asked.

November 14, 2022
PTI submits petition to Supreme Court to look into attack on Imran Khan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has on Monday approached five registries of the Supreme Court (SC) in different cities across the country to seek the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the assassination attack on PTI chief Imran Khan in Wazirabad, the secret recording of PTI Senator Azam Swati and his wife and the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

In the plea filed in the Lahore registry, former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar is the applicant.

The petition about the assassination attempt on Imran Khan maintains that following the incident, another “grave injustice” continues to fester as the police have “refused to register the FIR according to the request submitted by the complainant”.

After the former Prime Minister was shot at during his party’s Long March, an First Information Report (FIR) was not registered. Imran Khan had nominated PM Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah and Major-General Faisal Naseer as the conspirators behind the firing incident. However, later, on the SC’s orders, an FIR was registered by the Punjab police on November 8. PTI rejected the report as it did not contain the names of the people whom Khan wanted to nominate.

The petition also sought the formation of a judicial commission into the “illegal private video recording” of Senator Azam Swati and his wife which was allegedly recorded while they were staying at an official rest house in Quetta.

Additionally, the party has also raised the matter of slain journalist Sharif’s murder with the court. The petition said it is crucial that an independent commission inquires about the circumstance that compelled Sharif to flee the country and eventually end up in Kenya.

In a press conference after submitting the petition to the SC’s Lahore Registry, PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi also made an announcement regarding the petitions.

He hoped that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Umar Ata Bandial, would consider his party’s pleas.

In Karachi, PTI leaders Ali Zaidi and Imran Ismail along with other party members reached the SC registry to file the petition. Meanwhile, former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri and others moved the plea in Quetta.

Earlier, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif had also written letters to the CJ to form judicial commissions on two issues — the attack on Khan and Arshad Sharif’s murder.

November 14, 2022
Gaddafi Stadium to turn pink for breast cancer awareness

In order to raise awareness about breast cancer, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will be turned pink on November 16 during the third Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Ireland.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took the decision as part of its social business responsibility.

“Both team captains, players, match officials and commentators will wear pink ribbons over the course of the match and awareness messages will be displayed inside the stadium,” the PCB said in a press release.

“The stumps will also be branded pink. The backdrop for the post-match ceremony will be coloured pink.

“Entrance for matches is free for spectators with four enclosures – Imran Khan, Rajas’, Fazal Mahmood and Saeed Anwar – open to the public. The PCB also encourages fans to wear pink for the Wednesday’s fixture,” the statement said.

Pink coloured shirts will also be distributed to spectators in various stands during the match, PCB said.

Pakistan has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in Asia. According to Pink Ribbon, 109 women die of breast cancer every hour in the country. That takes the total tally of deaths from breast cancer to 40,000 annually while over 90,000 new cases are reported each year.

In 2017, Faisal Mosque and the National Assembly in Islamabad were also lit up in pink in solidarity with breast cancer patients.

November 14, 2022
‘It is over, I want good relations especially with the US’: Khan on his removal

Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has said that he no longer “blames the United States (US)” for engineering the Vote of No Confidence that resulted in his government’s ouster, and wants “dignified” ties with the country if he comes back to power.

Referring to the alleged conspiracy which the former Prime Minister has insisted upon since April of this year, Khan said that “it was over”, in an interview with the Financial Times.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over; it’s behind me. The Pakistan I want to lead must have good relationships with everyone, especially the United States,” he said.

“Our relationship with the US has been as of a master-servant relationship, or a master-slave relationship, and we’ve been used like a hired gun. But for that I blame my own governments more than the US,” the former premier added.

The former prime minister also termed his visit to Moscow on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia as “embarrassing”. He, however, added that trip was organised months in advance.

About the role of the military, he said the army could play a “constructive role” in his future plans for Pakistan.

The former premier asserted that there should “be a balance” in civil-military ties as “you cannot have an elected government which has responsibility given by the people, while the authority lies somewhere else”.

November 14, 2022
Former PCB medical chief criticises medical panel for putting Shaheen Afridi’s career at risk

At the MCG, England defeated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 final match, however Pakistan put up a good fight despite scoring a low score. They strongly desired that their top pacer Shaheen Afridi bowl his entire allotment, but this did not happen and it became a subject of debate after the final.

Afridi was spotted in severe pain when he injured his knee while attempting a running catch to knock Harry Brook.

Shaheen returned to bowl after the impact, but he was only able to produce one delivery, which was far from his best effort.

The fast bowler entered the World Cup after undergoing an expedited recovery from a knee ligament injury he sustained in July. Experts in medicine say that if he experiences another fright during the final, his career, at the age of only 22, may be in jeopardy.

“If the injury doesn’t result in more injuries, it would take Shaheen three to four months to recover,” former Pakistan Cricket Board chief medical officer Dr Sohail Salim told Dawn.

“If the PCB’s medical board chooses to treat it through surgery, Shaheen will be out for six, seven months.”

In any case, Shaheen’s expected absence from two major upcoming home Test series versus England and New Zealand, according to Sohail, raises concerns about the effectiveness of the PCB’s existing medical team.

“An inquiry should be held to determine if the PCB medical panel went wrong in their approach to treat Shaheen’s injury,” said Sohail.

Shaheen may become available again soon, however, Sarfraz Nawaz, a former fast bowler for Pakistan, regretted the PCB’s selection of the pacer for the World Cup team despite the fact that he had not had any match practise beforehand.

“You have put him in directly in the high-profile World Cup without him playing any match since July,” Sarfraz told Dawn.

“His fitness could have been better judged if he played a game before the World Cup and he shouldn’t have been selected without proving it.”

Sarfraz believed the tri-series in New Zealand ahead of the T20 showpiece was a good chance to test Shaheen.

November 14, 2022
Pressure the govt to release Joyland: here is how to do it

The government of Pakistan has stopped the release of Saim Sadiq’s Oscar contender “Joyland” for containing “highly objectionable” material.
An order dated Nov. 11 from Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says that the country’s censor board had granted a censor certificate to the film on Aug. 17. But it has since reversed the decision.

“Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of ‘decency and morality’ as laid down in Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979,” the order states. “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 9(2) (a) of the said Ordinance and after conducting a comprehensive inquiry, the Federal Government declares the feature film titled ‘Joyland’ as an uncertified film for the whole of Pakistan in the cinemas which fall under the jurisdiction of CBFC with immediate effect.”
The ban has caused outrage on social media with citizens denouncing the decision.

Actor Nadia Jamil has shared things we can do to put pressure on the government to help Joyland:

Use the hashtag #releasejoyland on Twitter every time you tweet about the film.

Tag the following accounts on Twitter every time you post: @MoIB_official (ministry of information and broadcasting) @marriyum_A (Marriyum Aurangzeb)

Call Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and demand that they stand up to pressure from people looking to malign the film. 051 9103557 9211800 9213649.

November 14, 2022
SSGC cuts gas supply to industries in Karachi to facilitate domestic customers

Owing to the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited’s (SSGC) decision to stop supplying gas to several industries throughout the city, the gas crisis in Karachi appears to have gotten worse.

“In adherence to the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) gas load management plan, that places domestic and commercial customers on top of the priority list, it has been decided to suspend gas supply to all general industries from November 15 to February 28, 2023,” a statement issued by the gas company read.

The decision, according to the statement, is intended to accommodate the rising demand from domestic customers in Sindh and Balochistan.

It should be remembered that due to a gas shortage, all CNG stations in Sindh have already been closed for two and a half months.

According to Geo, the SSGC delivered notices last week that gas will be shut off for more than three months over the winter to the city’s industries, but they rejected the notices, claiming that gas interruptions would result in large layoffs and the closing of firms.

“The industries are in a state of shock to receive SSGCL’s notices of gas closure starting from November 15, 2022, to February 28, 2023,” according to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

“The gas closures can not be proved good for the economy, especially this year, as no special arrangements have been made by the government to purchase RLNG to inject in the system.”

The committee, established by KCCI, stated that it expected the government to take the proper steps to ensure gas supply to the city’s industries rather than completely cutting off gas, which would cause a significant drop in exports and revenue, the closure of industries, and job losses.

The committee had suggested to the government that the gas supply be shut off every 12 hours for two days each week during the winter.

November 14, 2022
Sharing dreams not grounds enough for blasphemy: LHC

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has said that the law can not prosecute anyone on the basis of them sharing something they saw in their dream, reports Dawn.

The Honourable Court was hearing a case pertaining to a first information report (FIR) filed by the Saddar Police Station of Mianwali against a petitioner in accordance with Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The petition was declared invalid by Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh.
The complaint was filed by an ex-member of the Mianwali district council in August 2021. He said that in his dreams, the petitioner saw Allah and several of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) companions as well as being able to fly.

“The complainant further alleged that the petitioner had made similar statements before a crowd where two prosecution witnesses were also present. He claimed that such propagation hurt the community’s religious feelings and was likely to incite violence,” the petition alleged.

A petitioner’s attorney claimed that the first information report (FIR) was politically motivated and dishonest. The only specific allegation against the petitioner was that he told a group of people about his dreams and claimed to have seen God and certain holy personages. “Such narration is not an offence under Section 295-A PPC,” the counsel added.
“We find that the offence under section 295-A PPC is not made out”, said Justice Sheikh before discussing the merits of the case.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the petitioner intended to offend or harm the religious sensibilities of the complainant or any other person with his statements,” the judge maintained.

November 14, 2022
Blockbuster reunion: Farhan Saeed, Iqra Aziz set to romance in Hashim Nadeem’s ‘Mannat Murad’

Actor Iqra Aziz recently grabbed headlines for refusing to work with Feroze Khan amid his domestic violence case. The talented artist opted out of Sanwal Yaar Piya co-starring Feroze and Imran Ashraf.

Syed Wajahat Hussain, the director of Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3, has now roped in Iqra for another project. The new drama is titled Mannat Murad, written by Nadia Akhtar.

Aziz’s Suno Chanda co-star Farhan Saeed will play the male lead in the show. It is a Ramadan play that will be created for the next year under the production of ‘7th Sky Entertainment’.

As soon as the news came out, netizens started pouring in comments for the couple.

Aziz is also working on another project for Express Entertainment which will be directed by her husband Yasir Hussain.

November 14, 2022
Govt to spend Rs40 billion to uplift 20 backward districts

In order to initiate rehabilitation projects across 20 backward and underprivileged districts over the course of 60 months in four provinces, the Ministry of Planning has announced a special development project worth Rs40 billion.

The federal and provincial governments are expected to split the project’s estimated cost 50:50. The project has received approval from the Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal-led Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

According to DAWN, the project has already been given a budget of Rs18 billion for PSDP 2022–23. Eleven districts from Balochistan, five from Sindh, three from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one from Punjab are among the 20 districts that were chosen based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) ratings. The recent flood calamity, notably in Balochistan and Sindh, has severely damaged many of these districts.

Sherani, Kohlu, Jhal Magsi, Barkhan, Killa Abdullah, Zhob, Musakhel, Dera Bugti, Jaffarabad, Ziarat, and Killa Saifullah are among the 11 districts in Balochistan. Sujawal, Thatta, Tharparkar, Kashmore, and Badin are five in Sindh; Torghar, Shangla, and North Waziristan are three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and Rajanpur is one district in Punjab.

The tentative interventions in these districts will be in the areas of connectivity via roads, access to broadband services and the internet, solarization of off-grid areas, establishment of LPG terminals, development of the agri-livestock and mineral value-chain, tunnel framing, dairy farming, fish farming, etc., establishment of common border markets, investments in skill development, and student scholarships.

Additionally, the provincial and federal governments will choose sub-projects based on a thorough analysis of the requirements of the marginalised population in their respective regions. These initiatives will be approved by the relevant federal and provincial forums. Steering committees at the federal and provincial levels will oversee the sub-projects.

“This is the first of its kind project in the economic history of Pakistan where the federal government is undertaking a national intervention to uplift the poorest districts and address the disparity in economic development,” said the planning minister in a statement released on Saturday.

With the assistance of the UNDP, the MPI survey was finished in 2017–18, allowing for the first time ever to map poverty at the district level nationwide.

Through targeted investments in infrastructure and the development of human capital in the nation’s poorest regions, the project’s principal goal is to promote inclusive growth and equitable development. One of the main cornerstones of the proposal is investments in human capital development, especially for young people and women.

According to Pakistan’s MPI estimation for 2017–18, 38.3 percent of Pakistan’s population (87,089,000 people in 2020) will be multidimensionally poor, and a further 12.9 percent will be vulnerable to multidimensional poverty (29,353,000 people in 2020).

The initiative seeks to significantly contribute to eliminating regional inequality and enhancing national integration and peace in the nation in line with Pakistan Vision 2025 and the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Youth Development Program, which the project is a part of, was introduced last month.

November 14, 2022