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  • Sheep sentenced to three years in prison for killing a woman

    Sheep sentenced to three years in prison for killing a woman

    A sheep has been sentenced to three years in prison for killing a 45-year-old woman in Africa’s South Sudan, reports NDTV.

    The woman named Adhieu Chaping was attacked by the sheep repeatedly which eventually killed her.

    According to the Indian media outlet, the sheep will spend its sentence in a military camp. Moreover, the court directed the owner of the sheep to give five cows to the family of the victim.

    The police spokesperson said, “The owner is innocent and the sheep is the one that committed the crime so it deserves to be arrested. Later on, the case shall be forwarded to customary court where the case can be handled amicably.”

    It has been reported that according to customary laws, the sheep will be given to the victim’s family as compensation after serving its sentence.

  • ‘No reappointment or extension’: NA passes bill to amend NAB Laws

    ‘No reappointment or extension’: NA passes bill to amend NAB Laws

    The joint session of Parliament that took place on Thursday passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2021 with a majority in National Assembly (NA).

    The bill will be presented in the Senate today for approval. Once passed from the Upper House, the bill will apply to all cases, being probed by NAB since 1999. The key points of the bill are as follows:

    1- The NAB chairperson’s term has been reduced from four years to three years and will not be eligible for reappointment or an extension.

    2- Consultation for the chairperson of NAB will begin two months prior to the retirement of the previous chairperson.

    3- If the leader of the House and Opposition do not agree on a name for a chairperson, then the matter will go to a parliamentary committee. That too is now time-bound and the committee has 30 days to recommend a name.

    4- A closed inquiry cannot be reopened without permission from the courts and all inquiries by NAB have to now be completed within six months.

    5-People who initiate false or fabricated cases will now be punished with imprisonment of either five years or a fine.

    Federal Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar presented this bill. Speaking about the NAB law, he said it had been used to influence politicians, adding that “judges had also said that the NAB was used to corner politicians”.

    Supreme Court asks how cabinet members make amendments to law for own benefits

    Following the news of amendments in the NAB law and Election Act taking place in the House, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) took notice of the situation.

    The apex court inquired how could federal cabinet members make amendments benefitting themselves and directed the government to present the details of the cabinet members whose names have been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL).

    The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial asked Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf, “At whose behest did the Cabinet amend the rules pertaining to people involved in corruption and defaulters. Did the federal Cabinet approve the amendment in rules?”

    Responding to it, AGP Ausaf said that he would present the minutes of the Cabinet meeting for approval.

    Similarly, SC Justice Mazhar Naqvi was of the view that the cabinet members benefited from the amendment they approved.

    The AGP maintained that he would find out if the members who were on the no-travel list were part of the committee that approved the amendments or not.

    Justice Mazhar also observed how a minister facing allegations could make amendments to benefit himself.

    No electronic voting machines will be used in elections: Assembly passes bill

    The NA also passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 on Thursday with a majority, seeking to remove the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming general elections.

    Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi presented the bill, which was only opposed by Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). The bill is expected to be sent to the Senate today.

    GDA lawmaker Ghous Bakhsh Mehr said that Pakistan should at least try using EVMs. “If not the whole country, then use them in some areas,” he said.

    Under the new bill, two amendments were being made to Sections 94 and 103 of the Election Act:

    1- In Section 94, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) may conduct pilot projects for voting by overseas Pakistanis in by-elections to ascertain the technical efficacy, secrecy, security, and financial feasibility of such voting and shall share the results with the government, which shall, within 15 days from the commencement of a session of a house after the receipt of the report, lay the same before both houses of parliament.

    2- In Section 103, the ECP may conduct pilot projects for the utilisation of EVMs and biometric verification system in the by-elections.

    Azam Nazeer Tarar said that these amendments will ensure free, fair, and transparent elections. He added that ECP had also raised objections to the use of EVMs.

    About the matter of Overseas Pakistanis’ vote, the federal minister said, “Overseas Pakistanis are a precious asset of the country and the government does not believe in snatching their right to vote.”

    Similarly, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) argued that the amendments will not deprive Overseas Pakistanis of their voting right.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s Focal Person on Digital Media Abubakar Umer also issued a clarification via Twitter on the matter. He said, “The overseas Pakistanis voting right remains intact. Only voting through EVM has been discarded due to ECP objections on some technical aspects.”

    The details of the expenses for the upcoming general elections were also presented in the NA session. The elections would cost approximately Rs47.41 billion, of which around Rs15 billion would be for ensuring security.

  • Fact Check: All Confucius Chinese learning centers except NUML are shutting down

    Fact Check: All Confucius Chinese learning centers except NUML are shutting down

    Claim: All Confucius Chinese learning centers have shut down in Pakistan in the wake of the University of Karachi bomb blast in which three Chinese nationals were killed.

    Fact: All Confucius Chinese learning centers except the one in NUML are shutting down as most Chinese educators have gone back to China. Remaining classes for the current session have been shifted online.

    On May 15, right-wing activist and journalist Orya Maqbool Jan with 477.2K followers on Twitter, shared a tweet claiming that all five Confucius centers in Pakistan are being shut down in the aftermath of the University of Karachi bombing by Shari Baloch. The female suicide bomber targeted three Chinese nationals working at the Confucius Institute of the University of Karachi.

    On May 17, The News posted an article quoting Zhang Heqing, the Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, stating that all centers are operating and that China will continue to increase educational support sent towards Pakistan. After the article in the English daily, social media users started “fact checking” Orya Maqbool Jan, including Naya Daur andUrdu News, using The News’ article to back up their claim that none of the Confucius centers are shutting down.

    Team Current decided to verify this widely spread news and we discovered that except for the Confucius center inside National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, all other centers – in Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi and Bahawalpur, are on their way to shutting down for the foreseeable future.

    We got in touch with Babar Saleem, the accounts officer at the University of Karachi Confucius center, who confirmed on call that outside these five centers the Chinese government had set up a few classes in PItaro as well. But since all Chinese educators have already gone back to China, the current session in these centers have been changed from in person to online and after the current session ends, all activities at the center have been cancelled.

    Verdict: 90% TRUE (since the learning center at NUML will remain open)

  • Govt considering gas import contract with countries including Russia

    Govt considering gas import contract with countries including Russia

    Pakistan is in talks with multiple countries, including Russia, to sign a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import agreement in order to alleviate the country’s ongoing energy supply crisis.

    According to Bloomberg, the Ministry of Energy will go for the ‘most favourable deal’ and is considering government-to-government contracts for importing the gas.

    This action came as Pakistan battles blackouts caused by a fuel crisis caused by long-term suppliers’ failure to deliver shipments. To keep the lights on, the government previously resorted to purchasing LNG on the spot market, incurring debt that endangers worsening inflation on a massive scale.

    The government of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, which took office on April 11, hopes to capture a new long-term LNG contract to help reduce fuel costs. Long agreements are remarkably affordable than existing spot pricing, while market participants also anticipate that this will provide some relaxation to the government.

  • Toyota Pakistan to launch first-ever locally assembled Hybrid crossover

    Toyota Pakistan to launch first-ever locally assembled Hybrid crossover

    Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC), Pakistan’s most prominent automaker, is upgrading its manufacturing plant in preparation for the start of local production of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) by 2023.

    Toyota IMC CEO Ali Asghar Jamali revealed that the locally assembled Toyota Corolla Cross will be available in 2023. It is worth noting that this crossover will be the first ever locally assembled Hybrid vehicle by the Japanese manufacturer in Pakistan.

    He stated that the company intends to launch its hybrid crossover SUV in the Rs5 to Rs7 million price range, which may not be possible given the country’s economic and overall situation. Experts predict that the Crossover will be priced between Rs9-10 million.

    Given the current economic situation and the government’s plan to raise car taxes, Toyota IMC will reveal its final price next year.

    Jamali also discussed the company’s plans for overall HEV localization. He stated that Toyota has already invested $100 million in Pakistan to produce HEVs and plans to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) in the future when the country is ready for this technology.

    Jamali emphasised that HEVs are a midterm solution before EVs because Pakistan lacks the infrastructure for the latter, and that converting all cars to HEVs could reduce Pakistan’s oil imports by up to 50%.

    As most of Pakistan’s electricity is produced using fossil fuels, EVs will increase local LNG, coal, and crude oil imports, while investment in improving distribution and creating a charging infrastructure will also be required, according to Jamali.

  • Minor girl raped in front of father, five-year-old brother in Punjab

    Minor girl raped in front of father, five-year-old brother in Punjab

    A 15-year-old girl was raped in front of her father in Pattoki on Thursday while she, her father and five-year-old brother were on their way to home from a marriage ceremony, reports ARY News.

    According to details, Zahoor Ahmed, the father of the rape survivor told police that they were stopped at the Pattoki-Chunian Bypass by dacoits.

    Ahmed said that the dacoits led him to the fields, tied him with a rope, and then raped his daughter right in front of his eyes.

    “Later, when they saw some bystanders, they panicked and fled, leaving their motorcycle behind,” he added.

    Saddar police officers arrived at the scene and transported them to the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital, where the girl’s medical test revealed that she had been raped.

    A case has been filed against unidentified individuals. Meanwhile, the Punjab Inspector General (IG) has taken notice of the matter and summoned a detailed report from Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sheikhupura and directed him for the immediate arrest of the culprits. He has also directed the District Police Officer (DPO) to remain in touch with the family of the survivor.

  • PTI Azadi March: SC says Khan did not commit contempt of court

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Thursday disposed off the federal government’s contempt of court plea against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan over his violation of the apex court’s orders during PTI’s ‘Azadi March’.

    The government had filed the plea this morning after the PTI went against the SC’s orders, announcing to hold a rally at D-Chowk in Islamabad. A five-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, was present at the court.

    “We will issue the verdict in the case which will serve as an example in the future,” CJP remarked, adding, “Don’t forget that this party [PTI] has held several rallies.”

    At this, Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf maintained that strict security was provided to all PTI rallies since the dismissal of the party’s government.

    “Whatever happened yesterday was unfortunate. It shattered SC’s trust in political parties,” CJP Bandial remarked, adding that the court doesn’t want to continue hearing the case.

    Bandial said that the court “going beyond its authority, had given orders for the security of people […] directed the political parties to hold negotiations”.

    The attorney general then requested the court’s permission to play a video recording of Khan’s address to his supporters, which was granted.

    AGP Ausaf argued that Khan told his supporters the SC had granted permission to protest at D-Chowk. The chief justice questioned what happened after the PTI chairman’s statement.

    “Imran then asked his workers to reach D-Chowk,” Ausaf replied.

    “It is possible that the message was not delivered to Imran Khan properly,” CJP Bandial remarked. “The entire issue is [related to] a conflict. Judicial proceedings cannot be based on assumptions.”

    The attorney general argued that the PTI was granted permission to protest after assurances that the Azadi March would be peaceful.

    During the hearing, the CJP inquired about the number of people injured yesterday. At this, the AGP informed that 31 police officials were injured.

    “Citizens would also have been wounded. The crowd was highly charged,” CJP Bandial said, adding that only the PTI leadership could have controlled the situation.

    He said that PTI should understand its responsibility toward citizens. The party should have become an example, he added.

    SC directs govt to provide PTI with ground between H-9, G-9 areas to hold jalsa

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Wednesday directed the federal government to provide the PTI with the ground between the H-9 and G-9 areas of Islamabad to hold its public gathering.

    The directives came during a hearing of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) plea against the government’s decision to block roads to stop PTI’s “Azadi March” in the federal capital.

    A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Ahsan, was hearing the plea. Islamabad chief commissioner and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan appeared before the court during the hearing.

    Today’s hearing saw two breaks before the apex court issued the final order of providing the space to the PTI for the jalsa.  

    When the hearing resumed after the second break, the Attorney-General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali told the three-member bench that the ground, which will be given to the PTI, only had the capacity to accommodate 10,000 people. 

    During the hearing, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan asked PTI’s lawyer Babar Awan when the gathering will be held.

    “Till when will the gathering go on for?” asked Justice Ahsan. To this Awan, replied that the decision is for the political leadership to take.

    In response, Justice Ahsan remarked that the apex court can change its order, amend or take it back. He added that the bench will be monitoring the developments.

    “Talks between the government committee and PTI committee should be held at 10pm tonight at the chief commissioner’s office,” said the court. It directed the deputy commissioner, interior secretary, and inspector-general Islamabad to make sure the meeting take place.

    “Arrested political leadership and workers should be freed at once,” said the court. It also ordered the government to follow the point agreed between the JUI-F and PTI during the former’s 2019 long march.

    “Any new clause should be included in the agreement through mutual consultation and the court should also be informed about it,” said the bench.

    Before the break, the court had directed the authorities concerned to hold consultations over permission for the PTI rally on H9 ground and update the court on the outcome. The bench then adjourned the hearing of the case till 9:30am tomorrow. 

    SC orders provision of alternative venue for PTI rally

    Earlier the court ordered the authorities concerned to provide an alternative venue to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for Azadi March.

    The court directed the authorities concerned to hold consultations over permission for the PTI rally on H9 ground and update the court on the outcome.

    The directive came during a hearing of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) plea against the government’s decision to block roads to stop PTI’s ‘Azadi March’. A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Ahsan, was hearing the plea. Islamabad chief commissioner and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan appeared before the court during the hearing.

    Justice Ijazul Ahsan directed the Islamabad chief commissioner to prepare a traffic plan for the PTI rally and submit a report after compliance with orders by 2:30pm.

    “Let them protest and then go home,” Justice Ahsan said. “We expect the government to remove barricades.”

    He also directed PTI’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry to “sit at the negotiating table” with the administration officials and gave him time to get instructions from the party leadership in this regard. The court also directed authorities to provide complete protection to PTI leaders for the negotiations.

    “If the PTI fears arrests, it should provide us with a list. We will protect those who fear arrests,” Justice Ahsan said.

    Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf told the SC that the government did not allow the PTI to hold its Azadi March on Islamabad’s Srinagar Highway because there was a “threat” to Khan’s life according to reports from security agencies.

    “The permission to gather at Srinagar Highway was denied due to the security situation. Imran Khan’s life is in danger as per reports of security agencies. Security agencies have raised fears of a suicide attack on the former prime minister.”

    The administration should present a complete plan of action which allows the protest, but keeps roads open so that the protesters can reach peacefully and go back home afterward,” Justice Ahsan said.

    The judge sought assurance from the authorities that there won’t be any violence and that roads will not be closed. Moreover, the court directed PTI’s counsel to give names if the party fears arrest.

    Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi remarked that the Islamabad IGP and Interior secretary should review their policies.

    The judge warned the IGP to understand his responsibilities and fulfill them. “You have been appointed four days ago. Stay within your limits as you already have enough burden of cases and allegations,” Justice Naqvi said.

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered police and the administration to stop harassing PTI leaders and workers following a crackdown by the Punjab Police last night.

    The court then asked PTI’s lawyer if he could provide an affidavit stating that no incident would take place during the sit-in and that the counsel would be responsible if an unfortunate incident occurred.

    “If you cannot provide an affidavit then how can the court issue a general order?” the judge asked.

  • Fact Check: Did the federal government shut down the internet?

    Fact Check: Did the federal government shut down the internet?

    Claim: Internet was shut down for people in various parts of Pakistan in order to suppress the coverage of Imran Khan’s PTI rallies

    Fact: The internet was not shut down but there is evidence of internet ‘throttling’ by internet service providers throughout the country

    On May 25, several social media users took to Twitter to condemn the government’s “draconian” decision to shut down the internet. Popular personalities came out on Twitter, with their verified accounts with millions of followers and announced that the federal government has decided to shut down the internet, in light of the escalating tensions in Islamabad and to avoid social media coverage of Imran Khan’s rally.

    Internet throttling is when your internet service providers limit the speed or bandwidth of your internet without taking your consent or informing you. In some cases, throttling also helps manage an unusual amount of traffic on the internet in order to equally distribute the bandwidth.

    However, this is false.

    Several people also tweeted that they had internet services available. However, everyone noted varying speeds at different times in the day. At The Current Check‘s office, we faced internet slowdowns throughout the day, but it was never shutdown.

    Hija Kamran, digital rights advocate working at Media Matters for Democracy, tweeted asking people in Pakistan to confirm whether their internet is working fine and several people reported operational internet in Karachi and Islamabad, others claimed that they were facing issues in internet speed.

    An internet observatory organization called Net Blocks released a report on the same day confirming “disruptions” in the internet across Pakistan. However, according to their report these disruptions only lasted for two hours within the whole day, which does not even come close to the claim that the internet was shut down.

    In their report, NetBlocks confirms that disruptions were faced by multiple internet service providers across Paksitan after 5pm on Wednesday, May 25. The service was restored within two hours, following the surge in complaints being posted on social media about the internet being throttled by ISPs across the country.

    NetBlocks used “diffscans”, a tool which allowed them to map the IP address space of Pakistan in real time and display corresponding internet connectivity levels and outages, which are represented in the graph attached in their tweet.

    Verdict: FALSE

  • 914 road accidents reported in Punjab during last 24 hours

    914 road accidents reported in Punjab during last 24 hours

    During the last 24 hours, at least eight people were killed and 962 were injured in 914 road accidents across all 37 districts of Punjab.

    577 people were seriously injured and taken to various hospitals, while 385 people with minor injuries were treated on the spot by rescue medical teams. Once again, Lahore remained at the top in reporting highest number of accidents.

    According to the findings, 450 drivers, 27 underage drivers, 104 pedestrians, and 388 passengers were killed in traffic accidents. The road accidents involved a considerable number of two-wheelers as it involved 807 motorcycles, 82 auto-rickshaws, 74 motorcars, 22 vans, 11 buses, 17 trucks, and 100 other types of auto vehicles and slow-moving carts.

    Considering the statistics, 239 road accidents were reported in Lahore, affecting 238 people, putting the provincial capital at the top of the list, followed by 80 in Faisalabad with 85 victims and 53 in Multan with 50 victims.

  • ‘Sir thora sa Islami touch bhi de dein’: PTI’s Suri instructs Khan during speech

    ‘Sir thora sa Islami touch bhi de dein’: PTI’s Suri instructs Khan during speech

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Qasim Suri instructed PTI Chairman Imran Khan to use the ‘Islamic touch’ in his speech during the party’s Azadi March towards the federal capital.

    Suri can be seen standing next to Khan along with other party members.

    He said, “Sir thora sa Islami touch bhi de dein.” [Sir give some Islamic touch to your speech.]

    Khan immediately acted in accordance with Suri’s words and said, “I am a follower of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”

    Khan addressed the protesters at Islamabad’s 9th Avenue and gave a six-day deadline to the government for announcing elections and dissolving assemblies.

    “I had decided that I will sit here until the government dissolves assemblies and announces elections, but of what I have seen in the past 24 hours, they (govt) are taking the nation towards anarchy,” he said, claiming that the government was also trying to create a divide between the nation and the police.