Tag: apology

  • CJP offers apology over delay of justice to murder convict

    CJP offers apology over delay of justice to murder convict

    Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa has ordered the immediate release of a man scheduled to be set free six years ago.
    Advocate Ahmad Shuja Butt, the convict’s lawyer, told the appellate bench that Mohammad Akram, a resident of Khanewal who was convicted in 1997 of murder, was still in jail six years after the reconciliation of both parties.

    Justice Isa offered an apology for the Apex Court’s inability to serve justice.
    In its order, the five-member Shariat appellate bench stated that the conclusion took time to reach due to the lack of proper assistance.

  • ECP, PTI approach Supreme Court on reserved seats verdict

    ECP, PTI approach Supreme Court on reserved seats verdict

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has moved the Supreme Court to review its decision in the reserved seats case involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni-Ittehad-Council.
    The petition stated that’ ‘’Primary relief has been granted to the PTI.’’

    With his counsel Salman Akram Raja, PTI chairman barrister Gohar Ali Khan approached the apex court to restrain ECP from allocating reserved seats to other parties.

    “Such reserved seats belong to PTI and its candidates whose names are present in the list presented before ECP in accordance with the judgement of the Supreme Court dated 12-7-2024. Candidates may be declared elected to the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims,” the petition read.

    On July 12, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the former ruling party was eligible for the reserved seats. After implementing the decision, PTI will become the largest parliamentary party.

  • Meta issues apology for labelling pro-Palestinian users as terrorists on Instagram 

    Meta issues apology for labelling pro-Palestinian users as terrorists on Instagram 

    Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has issued an apology for an incident where the term “terrorist” was added to the profile bios of certain Instagram users identifying themselves as Palestinian.

    The issue arose when the word “Palestinian” was written in English on their profiles, along with the Palestinian flag emoji and the Arabic phrase “Alhamdulillah” (which translates to “Praise be to God”). 

    Upon auto-translation to English, the phrase read: “Praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.”

    “We fixed a problem that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations in some of our products. We sincerely apologise that this happened,” a Meta spokesperson said.

    This translation error was pointed out by a TikTok user, khanman1996, who tested various combinations and found that they all translated to “terrorist.” It’s worth noting that @khanman1996, although not Palestinian himself, discovered this issue after being informed by a Palestinian friend. 

    Meta has acknowledged and rectified the problem, stating that it was a technical error rather than an intentional action. Additionally, the platform has faced accusations of suppressing content expressing support for Palestinians, particularly during the Israel-Gaza conflict.

    Some users reported being “shadow banned,” a practice where posts are intentionally made less visible to others, allegedly due to their pro-Palestinian content. 

    Meta responded to these accusations, clarifying that a bug affecting Stories (a feature on Instagram) occurred, reducing the reach of posts, but insisted that it was unrelated to the content’s subject matter.

    The company stated that new measures have been implemented to tackle harmful content on their platforms, particularly during times of conflict, and denied deliberately suppressing anyone’s voice.

    This follows previous accusations of Instagram suppressing pro-Palestinian content, raising concerns about social media platforms’ handling of sensitive political topics. 

  • ‘Sorry’: Elahi apologises for remarks against Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘Sorry’: Elahi apologises for remarks against Fawad Chaudhry

    Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Thursday apologised for criticizing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry who was arrested on Tuesday morning.

    Elahi took to Twitter to apologise for his comments, stating that he has old ties with Fawad’s family. He added that his remarks hurt the sentiments of Fawad’s family for which he is sorry.

    Elahi took a jibe on Thursday at the close aide of the PTI chief Imran Khan. Talking about Chaudhry’s recent arrest, he said it would have been better had he been arrested earlier.

    Addressing an event, Elahi said: “Imran Khan’s close aides struck at the roots of PTI. One out of four or five people, who are close to Khan, has been arrested. Things would have been better had he been arrested earlier. Moonis takes good thing about him but well I speak the truth.”

    Elahi also said that had his government been allowed to continue for a full year, the politics of their archrivals, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, would have been buried.

  • Daily Mail apologises to PM Shehbaz for ‘error’ in 2019 article

    Daily Mail apologises to PM Shehbaz for ‘error’ in 2019 article

    Daily Mail tendered an apology to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif while withdrawing all allegations of corruption against him and his son-in-law Imran Ali Yousaf.

    In an article published on July 4, 2019 Daily Mail had accused the Premier of “stealing British foreign aid money”.

    The British publication also removed the said article, written by David Rose, from all platforms of Mail publishers.

    The United Kingdom-based publication has failed to prove the allegations levelled by its journalist David Rose in an article against Premier Shehbaz about the alleged misappropriation of public funds.

    Since the publication of the report, Shehbaz Sharif has maintained that he was not involved in any wrongdoing and also approached a court in the United Kingdom (UK) challenging the allegation — resulting in an apology from the newspaper.

    Apology from the Daily Mail

    In a clarification published on its website today, the British publication said: “In an article concerning Mr Shahbaz Sharif entitled ‘Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds meant for earthquake victims’ published on 14 July 2019 we reported on an investigation by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau into Mr Sharif and suggested that the money under investigation included a not insubstantial sum of British public money that had been paid to the Punjab province in DFID grant aid.”

    It said that the premier “has never been accused by the National Accountability Bureau of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money or DFID grant aid”.

    “We are pleased to make this clear and apologise to Mr Sharif for this error,” Daily Mail added.

    What did the article say in 2019?

    In July 2019, UK’s Daily Mail newspaper accused Prime Minister Shehbaz of “embezzling tens of millions of pounds of public money and laundering it in Britain’”

    The report, quoting Pakistani investigators, claimed that “some of the allegedly stolen money came from DFID-funded aid projects”.

    The report — titled “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds meant for earthquake victims, asks DAVID ROSE” — said the newspaper was given exclusive access to “some of the results of a high-level probe ordered by [then] prime minister Imran Khan”.

  • ‘Willing to apologise’: Khan again avoided unconditional apology for his controversial remarks against female judge

    ‘Willing to apologise’: Khan again avoided unconditional apology for his controversial remarks against female judge

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a contempt of court case against him, saying he had realised he “Might have crossed a line” in his controversial remarks regarding Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

    However, it is pertinent to mention that, for the third time now, Khan has avoided tendering an unconditional apology to the court.

    The affidavit says: “Imran Khan realised that during these proceedings before the Honourable Court, he might have crossed a red line while making a public speech on August 20, 2022.”

    According to the document, it was never his intention “To threaten the honourable judge of the district court and there was no intention behind the statement to take any action other than a legal action.”

    He said he wanted to assure the IHC that he was willing to explain and clarify before Judge Chaudhry that “Neither he nor his party seeks/sought any action“ against her and he was willing apologise to her “If she got an impression that the deponent (Imran) had crossed a line”.

    Khan assured the IHC that he would “Never do anything in future” that would hurt the dignity of any court and the judiciary, especially the lower judiciary.

    The next hearing of the case is scheduled for October 3, when IHC will review Khan’s response.

    Prior to this, Khan went to the court of Zeba Chaudhry to apologise for his remarks against her at a public rally. She was on leave at the time.

    Earlier this month, the high court decided to frame charges against Khan in a contempt of court case registered against him for his controversial remarks about Zeba.

    However, after many delays, Khan apologised to the high court, saying, “Mai khaatoon judge se zaati taur pe maafi maangta hoon”, (I personally apologise to the female judge).

    Following this, the high court remarked that it would not be appropriate to conduct contempt proceedings against Khan.

    In August, Khan addressed a party rally to express solidarity with then-arrested PTI’s Shahbaz Gill and threatened Chaudhry. He said, “Zeba! Be ready, we will take action against you”.

  • Imran Khan expresses ‘deep regret’ over threatening female judge, dodges unconditional apology

    Imran Khan expresses ‘deep regret’ over threatening female judge, dodges unconditional apology

    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, expressed “deep regret” over his “unintentional utterances” in an additional reply in response to the show-cause notice issued to him by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for threatening a judge Zeba Chaudhary during a rally in Islamabad on August 20.

    However, the submitted reply fell short of offering an unconditional apology.

    IHC on August 31 had directed the former Prime Minister to resubmit his response, giving him seven days to hand in the new draft.

    During the proceedings, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had said he was “disappointed” by the written response submitted by Khan. He asked him to review it and submit it once more.

    In a 19-page-long document, Khan told the court that it should discharge the notice based on his explanation and follow the Islamic principles of forgiveness.

    “That the purpose of the contempt law is not to punish anyone but to uphold the majesty of law. The respondent [Khan] believes in the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution,” the response said.

    “The respondent takes this opportunity to express his deep regrets over his unintentional utterances during the course of his speech at a rally which was taken out in response to the shocking news of the physical torture of Shahbaz Gill.”

    PTI’s Chief of Staff, Shahbaz Gill, has been under arrest since August 9 for allegedly inciting mutiny within the Pakistan army. Gill has alleged that he was tortured while in custody.

    In his resubmitted reply, Khan said that the utterances were “unintentional” and not meant to be directed towards the female judge for whom he has “a lot of respect”.

    Khan said that he never meant to hurt her feelings and if her feelings have been hurt, it is deeply regretted.

    “The respondent neither meant to threaten the lady judge nor could he think of doing so. The respondent has respect for the judiciary including the Subordinate judiciary and he believes that judges of the Subordinate/ District judiciary should be strong and independent in order to dispense justice to the common man,” the response added.

    In the end, the PTI chairman appealed to the court to discharge the contempt notice issued to him.

  • Fawad Chaudhry says Khan will not apologise in contempt case

    Fawad Chaudhry says Khan will not apologise in contempt case

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry has said that former prime minister Imran Khan will not tender an apology to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a contempt of court case.

    Fawad said that it was “really sad” that a full bench was hearing the contempt of court case. He said that PTI leader Dr Shahbaz Gill was tortured and the IHC directed the IGP to hold an inquiry despite confirmation of a medical board that Gill was indeed tortured.

    Fawad said that Gill’s “private parts were given electric shocks and they [police] should feel ashamed of such barbaric acts”.

    He called on the political forces to play their part in making Pakistan a truly democratic country. Fawad added that PTI, during its tenure, had made it clear that institutions should reduce their interference in the government.

  • Passports, CNICs of PTI supporters to be blocked if involved in heckling, warns Rana Sanaullah

    Passports, CNICs of PTI supporters to be blocked if involved in heckling, warns Rana Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah tweeted on Tuesday that a “so-called political party” and its leader “who suffers from insanity” have started a campaign based on hate and malice. Rana advised everyone, especially Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supporters, that if any supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) heckle them, they should make their videos from their mobile phones instead of responding to them.

    “Make a video so that the hecklers can be identified and send it to Director FIA Cybercrime Wing through mail, or WhatsApp or tag FIA on social media after posting the video. Proper action will be taken against them, including blockage of passports and/or identity cards so that people’s right to freedom of movement under Article 15 is protected.”

    Rana further added that if the hecklers start physical fights, the law permits self-defence.

    In response to Rana Sana’s series of tweets, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that Rana Sanaullah is a “scarecrow” who is being used by someone else.

    Chaudhry said that Rana “has the support of someone else”, which is why he is using this type of language.

    Rana Sana justified his tweets and stated: “Let me make it clear that as public representatives, politicians are accountable to people and there is absolutely no restriction on asking questions. But action will be taken if any politician is harassed in the name of freedom of speech.”

    Read more- ‘Remorse and embarrassment’: Ahsan Iqbal says family who harassed him apologised

    PTI Chairman Imran Khan addressed a rally in Lodhran on Tuesday where he justified the heckling of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

    “You must have seen on social media that Ahsan Iqbal went to eat at McDonalds. He claims that Imran Khan has taught people to misbehave. O Ahsan Iqbal, you lying Aristotle. This is not misbehaviour, this is the truth: you’re a thief.”

    Last week, a pro-PTI family hurled ‘chor chor’ at Iqbal at a restaurant on the Motorway. The family later apologised to Iqbal for their misbehaviour and visited him at his residence in Narowal.

  • MQM apologises for May 12 tragedy after 15 years

    MQM apologises for May 12 tragedy after 15 years

    Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui apologised for his party’s “misjudgement” during the May 12 tragedy that saw around 50 people lose their lives to riots back in 2007 in Karachi.

    “MQM should have tendered an apology and I apologise for that. And this apology is for making a wrong judgement,” said Siddiqui.

    “We had been used and we regret that but that was not our intention and this is not how we function as a party,” he insisted.

    Siddiqui admitted that MQM-P had a “slightly weakened ideologically”. However, he expressed hope that his party would again produce a new crop of young leaders who will “prove to be the future of the country”.

    “We were accused of hatching a conspiracy and holding a Jinnahpur map and we were also called traitors. If this was the reality, then why was the MQM not banned?” he asked.

    On May 12, 2007, overthrown Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, was scheduled to visit Karachi and take part in a function organised by the Sindh High Court Bar Association.

    Members of civil society, including lawyers, were not allowed to reach the airport to welcome the then chief justice, thus leading to clashes between the supporters of the judge and the then-MQM member. Nearly 50 people lost their lives and hundreds of others were wounded that day.