Blog

  • ‘Horse-trading video’: Ex-CM Khattak, Asad Qaiser exempted from probe

    ‘Horse-trading video’: Ex-CM Khattak, Asad Qaiser exempted from probe

    The committee set up by the prime minister to investigate horse-trading during the Senate election in 2018 — following a leaked video of lawmakers taking money — will not probe Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser because allegations against the duo are levelled by “liars”.

    This was stated by Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry while speaking to a local media outlet. According to Fawad, those who levelled allegations — Ubaidullah Mayar and Zahid Durrani-– have “sold their conscience”.

    Fawad is part of the three-member committee alongside Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and PM’s accountability aide Shahzad Akbar that would fix the responsibility in this case.

    “The PTI leaders will not be probed on the basis of allegations levelled by those who sold their conscience as their accusations are not worthy,” the federal minister quoted by The News as saying. The committee would investigate as to who was the beneficiary of these bribes.

    ‘LEAKED VIDEO’:

    On Tuesday, the video first released by ARY News showed lawmakers belonging to the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counting bundles of cash and then stashing the same in a bag.

    The video showed how, during the critical period, loyalties were switched by PTI’s 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers, all of whom were reportedly expelled by the party’s central leadership after an investigation. The money was dished out in Feb-March 2018, it was reported.

    A day after the video was leaked to the media, ex-PTI MPA Ubaidullah Mayar admitted to taking Rs10 million in bribe ahead of the elections in 2018 on the “directives of then chief minister Pervaiz Khattak”.

    Mayar had said the PTI government had paid Rs10 million to all the MPAs and then recorded it on camera without their knowledge. He said the video was shot at the residence of then KP Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser — the custodian of the National Assembly now.

    Khattak and Qaiser paid “us money and asked to vote for their candidates”. “At that time, Pervez Khattak had formed a committee of 17 MPAs and asked us to vote for them, paid us the money, and promised to give us party’s tickets,” he alleged

    Both Khattak and Qaiser had denied these allegations.

    It may be noted that the damning video comes at a time when Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expresses aims to hold Senate elections through open ballot in 2021 in a bid to eliminate horse-trading. Defending his party’s move to hold the elections through open ballot, the premier had last week spoken of bribes paid to buy loyalties, revealing that he himself had been offered some.

    On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot. But the Supreme Court is hearing a presidential reference in this regard and is expected to announce its decision on the secret ballot soon.

  • Govt allows private companies to import COVID-19 vaccine

    Govt allows private companies to import COVID-19 vaccine

    The government will allow private companies to import coronavirus vaccines and has agreed to exempt such imports from price caps as the world scrambles to secure supplies.

    The documents show the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination division had sought a special cabinet exemption to allow for such imports while excluding the imported vaccines from the strict price cap regime that is typically applied to all drug sales within the country.

    The federal cabinet, the documents suggest, has approved the proposal.

    State Minister of Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that the government still planned to inoculate its population for free and only a “small minority” who wish to pay for the shots will have that option in the open market.

    “Only those who wish to get it via private sector will pay anything,” he said. “Personally, my assessment is that when the vaccines are available and we have market competition, that will automatically set the prices.”

    Pakistan began rolling out the anti-coronavirus jabs last week after receiving half a million shots of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.

    As per the roll-out plan, the vaccine will first be made available to more than 400,000 doctors and frontline healthcare workers, teachers and social workers because they run the highest risk of exposure to the contagious disease.

    After that, the shots will be provided to citizens over the age of 65, who generally face a higher mortality risk from the virus.

    Pakistan received its first tranche of the Sinopharm jabs, given by China as a “gift”, on Tuesday last week. The shipment marked the first shots to be imported into the country where more than 550,000 cases of the disease have been reported since the outbreak in February last.

    In addition, the government is due to receive a further 1.1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by the end of this month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had announced late last month.

  • ‘Churails’ wins ‘OTT Show of the Year’ at British Asian Media Awards

    ‘Churails’ wins ‘OTT Show of the Year’ at British Asian Media Awards

    Made in Pakistan and released on Indian OTT platform ZEE5, Churails has won the ‘OTT Platform Show of the Year’ at the British Asian Media Awards (BMA).

    Sharing her thoughts on the win, Chief Business Officer at ZEE5 Global, Archana Anand said: “Churails with its rich, bold narrative and the globally relevant storyline has broken stereotypes and opened up the fresh conversation around gender equality not only in South Asia but also in other markets across the globe by putting strong women at the center of its story.”

    “Winning this award is a recognition of the tremendous impact that our content has created across key markets and how deeply it is resonating with the audiences,” she added.

    Read more – The ‘Churails’ are the superheroes we wish we had

    According to details, “The British Asian Media Awards (BMA) acknowledge the growing and persistent influence of different cultures and communities living in the UK.”

    The awards aims to help the industry develop by showcasing exceptional work and proving the value of Asian media to the wider market.

    Written and directed by Asim Abbasi and featuring, Sarwat Gilani, Yasra Rizvi, Nimra Bucha, Meher Bano and Omair Rana among others, Churails is the story of four self-proclaimed ‘Churails’ who come together to open a covert detective agency to expose cheating husbands amongst the city’s elite. As their operations expand, they come to be saviours of abused, harassed and mistreated women. The 10-episode series covers a myriad of issues such as child abuse, sexism, the domination of class and race and aims to challenge the hypocrisy of patriarchal societies.

    In October 2020, the show was banned for viewers in Pakistan. However, it was restored in less than 48 hours. According to Abbasi, the show was taken off after the streaming platform received complaints from authorities here.

    Meanwhile, in November 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan ordered all banks to block Pakistani users from subscribing to Zee5. Zee5 had commissioned five original web series from Pakistan. While two of them have released, three more are in the pipeline including Saba Qamar and Naumaan Ijaz’s Manjogi and Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly’s Dhoop ki Deewar.

  • Ali Xeeshan responds to criticism on ‘anti-dowry’ bridal campaign

    Ali Xeeshan’s latest collection ‘Numaish,’ which debuted at the Hum Bridal Couture Week 2021 last week, has created a bit of a storm on social media. The collection, aimed to highlight the burdening culture of dowry in our society, was designed in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan.

    While the campaign was well-intended, the designer received backlash on social media, with people criticising Xeeshan for the cost of his outfits and referring to Ali’s campaign as an act of hypocrisy.

    Responding to the criticism, Xeeshan said: “When I was developing it [the campaign], I was only looking into girls’ struggle but later I realised that dowry pressurises the parents more.”

    “I remember last year a client’s wedding was called off because one of the demands from groom side was to have a gold-plated shaving kit,” shared Xeeshan.

    He continued: “Many people say that you make expensive outfits, then why are you talking about this? These two are very different things – that [designing outfits] is my business and no one is compelled [to buy them].”

    “If you can afford my clothes please be my guests and if you can’t then don’t put yourself under the pressure,” added Xeeshan.

    The designer concluded by saying, “Agar meray say koi poochay keh mere kapray khareeday ya beti ko education de, toh beti ko education day dein. Mein kapray baich loon ga.”

  • Who ‘WhatsApp-ed’ Justice Qazi Faez Isa against PM Imran?

    Soon after claiming that it was the son of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) leader Chaudhry Shujaat who had “WhatsApp-ed” to inform Justice Qazi Faez Isa that he received development funds from Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, journalist Gharida Farooqi has tweeted a clarification.

    As per the details, Gharida on Thursday tweeted quoting sources that it was Ch Salik who had sent Justice Isa the details and proof of the premier sending him development funds.

    “The PM [had] today submitted [his] reply to the Supreme Court (SC) that the news regarding funds was fake,” she wrote while mentioning Thursday’s hearing of the apex court case over notice of Rs500 million uplift funds in light of the forthcoming Senate polls.

    It wasn’t later that the journalist once again took to Twitter and clarified that it wasn’t Salik.

    “I got a call from Ch Salik after my [earlier] tweet. He categorically denied it and said he didn’t even know Justice Isa. Whereas, Justice Isa said so in the SC today while referring to NA 65 [constituency],” she said.

    It may be noted that Ch Salik of the PML had been elected to the National Assembly from the said constituency in a 2018 by-election.

    While Gharidah’s clarification led to a spat between her and PM Imran’s aide Dr Shahbaz Gill, who said that the SC had dismissed the case, here’s what journalist Umar Cheema had to say:

    Earlier, the Supreme Court disposed of the case, declaring PM Imran’s response satisfactory.

    During the hearing, Justice Isa had inquired if it was the premier’s job to distribute envelopes of money to members of the National Assembly.

    The judge revealed he had received documents via WhatsApp indicating that heavy funds had been provided to a lawmaker from the ruling PTI’s coalition party from the NA-65 constituency, reports said.

    “Can funds be given to certain constituencies? Is it in accordance with the law to give funds for the road,” he inquired.

    The Attorney-General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan responded to the apex court judge, saying the WhatsApp documents “are your complaint and would be reviewed”.

    “I am not the complainant, I am just pointing [it] out; perhaps, you did not listen to me,” the judge replied.

    In response, the AGP said, “You have been sharing your observations for a long time. It is I who has not been heard. You received a message on your WhatsApp, so you are a complainant.”

  • Pakistan’s e-commerce market size increases to Rs96bn

    Pakistan’s e-commerce market size increases to Rs96bn

    Pakistan’s e-commerce marketing size has increased to Rs96 billion in the first quarter of the financial year 2021 as compared to Rs71 billion in the first quarter of the financial year 2020.

    This was informed during the fourth meeting of the National e-Commerce Council (NeCC), chaired by Abdul Razak Dawood, advisor to Prime Minister (PM) on commerce.

    NeCC is a body of representatives from the public and private sector, established under the National e-Commerce Policy approved by the cabinet in October 2019.

    According to officials, the NeCC discussed operationalisation of cross border e-commerce procedures, incentives to promote e-commerce, ways to introduce international payment services.

    Furthermore, deliberations on the mercantile stock exchange, digital on-boarding services, reports of the consultative committee on Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), e-commerce business facilitation portal, consumer protection councils, availability of broadband to remote areas, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) a digital transformation process, and collaboration with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) on e-commerce related matters were also discussed.

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) informed the meeting on the legal framework updates, including e-commerce rules regarding the mechanism of imports goods clearance, and return of goods policy.

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also gave a detailed presentation on efforts to promote cross-border e-commerce.

    The National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) informed the meeting that they are developing a payment solution for cross border/international payments in collaboration with the SBP through which people outside of Pakistan will be able to pay through Paypal, Google Pay and Apple Pay. Payments within Pakistan will be processed through the help.

    NIFT said that the payment system was to become functional by the end of 2020 but the diversion of efforts towards COVID affected the plan badly.

    Meanwhile, the sub-committee on financial inclusion and digitization shared its progress of conducting three webinars for freelancers, mobile wallets, account-based solutions and card-based payments.

  • Tariq Jamil says didn’t criticise PM Imran over violence against govt employees

    Tariq Jamil says didn’t criticise PM Imran over violence against govt employees

    Cleric Tariq Jamil has said that he has not criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan over the use of violence against the government employees who were protesting at D-Chowk for better wages.

    On Wednesday, the Islamabad police resorted to tear gas shelling near the Pakistan Secretariat as they tried to push back the workers, who are protesting for a pay raise. Several protesters were detained as well.

    In the backdrop of this violence, a tweet started making round on social media wherein the senior cleric was purportedly lashing out at the government for thrashing its employees.

    “I have nothing to do with this statement. This is fake news. For authentic news about me, stay connected to verified platforms,” tweeted the cleric, adding: “May Allah preserve us from spreading false news.”

    PROTEST AT D-CHOWK:

    Protesting government employees on Wednesday faced the wrath of authorities in Islamabad as they headed towards the Parliament House on Constitution Avenue. Demonstrators started bypassing the containers because of which the police once again had resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse them.

    At least two dozen protesting employees were taken into custody under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO).

    However, the government and the protesters reached an agreement on Thursday as PM Imran Khan agreed to give them a 25 per cent pay raise and release their employees.

  • Police bar female students from sitting in front passenger seats over harassment

    Police bar female students from sitting in front passenger seats over harassment

    After complaints of harassment, the Mansehra Traffic Police has barred female students from sitting in the front passenger seats of the public transport across the district.

    According to Express Tribune, the ban was imposed by the police in a bid to curb harassment. The women were subjected to harassment by the drivers as the front section of the Suzuki vans and pick-ups is entirely detached from the rear part of the vehicle.

    The windows in the front are also tainted and the driver could get away with harassment. The traffic police warned that cases could be registered against the public transporters if the ban was violated.

    Last month, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had announced the formation of district protection committees (DPC) for swift implementation of harassment law across the province, according to APP. These committees would be headed by a woman Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) to resolve disputes related to domestic violence or harassment at workplaces.

    In January last year, the provincial assembly had passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace (Amendment) Bill, 2020, targeting the incidents of workplace harassment.

    In case, parties did not agree to the proposed solutions, the case would be referred to District Sessions Judge or Additional District Sessions Judge to decide it within two months. And if any party did not agree with the court’s judgment then appeals against such decisions could be filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

    Under the new act, up to five years of prison time and a penalty or both could be handed. The court can also pass an interim order in such cases.  One-year imprisonment and up to Rs0.3 million fine could be handed in case of violation of the court orders.

  • IN PICTURES: Hania Aamir’s birthday bash

    IN PICTURES: Hania Aamir’s birthday bash

    You can always count on Hania Aamir to have the most exciting birthday bash ever. After last year’s ‘Stranger Things’-themed party, this year the actor went low-key with an intimate bash with her closest friends from the industry.

    Shazia and Wajahat Hussain hosted the party for Hania at their residence. Pictures from the star-studded celebrations were widely circulated on social media. Those in attendance included Iqra Aziz, Yasir Hussain, Ali Rehman Khan, Aashir Wajahat, Farhan Saeed, Shehzad Sheikh and his wife Hina Mir, Imran Ashraf, Danyal Zafar, Ali Ansari, Azam Khan, Walid Siddiqui and Mariam Ansari and husband Owais Khan.

    Check out pictures below:

    Later, the birthday girl shared a grid of her birthday cake and setup on her Instagram.

  • Senate elections: Vawda, Hafeez Sheikh, Sania Nishtar among PTI candidates

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalised most of its candidates for the upcoming Senate elections slated to be held on March 3.

    According to a list shared by Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the PTI has decided to field PM’s aide on finance Hafeez Sheikh and Fouzia Arshad on Islamabad seats. MNA Faisal Vawda, who is facing a disqualification case, will be PTI’s candidate from Sindh, while Abdul Qadir will contest the polls from Balochistan.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, outgoing senator Shibli Faraz, also the incumbent information minister, Sania Nishtar, Dost Muhammad, Mohsin Aziz and Farzana will be the nominees for the Senate slots. In Punjab, the party has decided to field Dr Zarqa, PTI senior leader Saifullah Niazi, and Barrister Ali Zafar as its nominees.

    Meanwhile, Saifullah Abro will be vying for the technocrat seat. Fawad said that the complete list of the PTI Senate candidates will be shared soon.

    SENATE ELECTIONS:

    Amid a controversy surrounding the Senate elections over the secret ballot, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced to hold the polls on the upper house seats on March 3. According to the ECP, the last date for filing of nomination papers is February 13, followed by a scrutiny process for the nominations.

    On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot. The opposition, however, has reservations on the move and vowed to oppose it.

    On the other hand, a presidential reference filed by the government in the Supreme Court seeking guidance on the Senate voting procedure is being heard to decide whether the government needs an amendment to end the secret ballot.

    Earlier this week, the SC had said that Article 226 allows secret ballot. The article reads: “All elections under the constitution, other than those of the prime minister and the chief minister, shall be by secret ballot.”