Tag: Azad Kashmir

  • Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    The moon-sighting issue in Pakistan is a socio-religious challenge as many religious events(Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) are directly related to it. In a bid to put an end to the moon sighting controversies around key festivals like Eid, the Pakistan government is imposing a three years imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine for anyone who announces the false moon sighting before the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan introduced the Pakistan Ruet Hilal Bill 2021 on behalf of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri.

    The proposed bill mainly aims to tackle the formation of a Federal Ruet Hilal committee, led by recognised Ulema and scholars from all sects and schools of thought which has a history of announcing Eid and the start of Ramazan.

    The bill authorises only the chairperson of the federal committee or his nominee to make an announcement regarding the sighting of the moon. The bill proposes a fine of up to Rs50,000 for anyone violating the law.

    The federal committee, according to the bill, will comprise 16 members, including the chairperson. The federal committee will consist of two Ulema from each province and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir; a grade-20 officer from Met Office, a science and technology expert and a representative of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and an officer of the level of director general from the Ruet Hilal Affairs division of the ministry, who will act as the secretary of the committee.

    The bill has suggested a complete ban on any other committee formed by individuals under any name for sighting of the moon for commencement of each Islamic Hijri calendar month.

  • Pakistan condemns Modi for not allowing India-based foreign journalists to visit Pakistan

    Pakistan condemns Modi for not allowing India-based foreign journalists to visit Pakistan

    India has refused permission to allow five India-based international journalists to travel to Pakistan via Wagah.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi pointed out how the Indian government’s decision indicated that the space for free speech and independent journalism was shrinking in India under a “dictatorial regime”. Qureshi said the five journalists were to travel to Pakistan and were also to visit the Azad Kashmir Assembly.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry also condemned New Delhi for refusing permission to the international journalists to visit Azad Kashmir. 

    The minister took to Twitter and questioned India for its freedom of expression.

    National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf said these “are the actions of an insecure government that has much to hide”.

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari questioned whether the foreign journalists will expose the growing myth of Indian democracy under the fascist Modi regime.

    Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar tweeted, “We want the world to see what is happening in Azad Kashmir and they want to hide what is happening in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The difference between right and wrong cannot get more stark than this.”

    A request by Pakistan to allow a group of five India-based foreign journalists to travel to Islamabad through Wagah has been declined by Indian authorities as the border crossing is virtually closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Times of India.

    The report stated that Pakistan planned to take the journalists for interactions with top political leadership and senior officials on the overall situation in Afghanistan.

    “One of the persons familiar with the development said the visit was planned from August 3 to 7,” read the report.

     

  • Maryam Mujtaba becomes first woman commercial pilot from Azad Kashmir

    Maryam Mujtaba becomes first woman commercial pilot from Azad Kashmir

    Maryam Mujtaba, a resident of Muzaffarabad has become the first female commercial pilot from Azad Kashmir.

    Talking to the media, Mujtaba said that flying planes always attracted her and she wanted to become a part of the aviation industry.

    AJK President Sardar Masood Khan praised her contributions to the field and has called her a role model for other young women.

    Mujtaba joined Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) back in 2011 as a cadet pilot. After getting the training from academies in Rawalpindi and America, she completed her flying hours through numerous domestic flights.

    Read more – Sindh appoints first-ever Hindu female Deputy Superintendent

    She was just promoted as a first officer by the national flag carrier after she finished her designated flying hours. Mujtaba currently operates the PIA Airbus A-320 aircraft in various countries of the world.

    Recalling her journey, she said her inspiration was captain Ayesha Rabia, who was also a captain in PIA. 

    “When I was a child, I was very excited to see a woman flying planes and I told my father that girls can fly planes too,” the pilot remembered, adding that it wasn’t always smooth sailing, but things turned out in her favour.

    She attributed her success to her family, friends and colleagues.

    Mujtaba encouraged women who want to become pilot and those who want to pursue other fields.

    Mujtaba highlighted that confidence is the “key to success.”

    “You should always be confident about what you are doing and take charge of your responsibilities,” the pilot advised.

  • Farhan Saeed lauds polio workers

    Farhan Saeed lauds polio workers

    Farhan Saeed has lauded polio workers for their dedication and hard work.

    Sharing a video of female polio workers walking in blankets of snow to deliver the vaccine to the children of Azad Kashmir, Saeed said: “All heroes don’t wear capes, some wear yellow vest[s].”

    Agreeing with the Suno Chanda star, his followers couldn’t stop praising the efforts of these women.

    Read more – Farhan Saeed, Urwa Hocane lash out at opposition for holding jalsas amid a pandemic

    Pakistan’s first polio vaccination campaign for 2021 started on Monday, January 11. The national polio immunization drive will last for five days and aims to vaccinate over 40 million children under the age of five across Pakistan.

  • Three ex-army generals, Azad Kashmir PM among Nawaz loyalists booked for ‘conspiring against state’

    Three ex-army generals, Azad Kashmir PM among Nawaz loyalists booked for ‘conspiring against state’

    Deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, three former army generals, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister (PM) Raja Farooq Haider, as well as over a dozen other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) loyalists, have been booked for “conspiring against the state and its institutions”.

    As per the details, a First Information Report (FIR), a copy of which is available with The Current, was on Monday registered against the PML-N supreme leader among others at Shahdara police station in Lahore, in which sections 120 A and B, 121 A and B, 123 A and B and 124 A and B have been imposed, among other provisions.

    The text of the FIR stated that Nawaz had conspired against Pakistan’s prestigious institutions by making provocative speeches while being in London. The purpose of those speeches was to declare Pakistan a “state of hooligans”, the FIR claimed.

    Among some prominent PML-N leaders nominated in the FIR were Maryam Nawaz, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Zubair, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Saira Afzal Tarrar and others, The Express Tribune reported.

    The three former generals are Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qayyum and Lt Gen (r) Salahuddin Tirmizi.

    A day earlier, Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar — the son-in-law of the PML-N supremo — was booked under sedition charges for “provoking the people against the state and its institutions”.

    While the PML-N has strongly reacted to the FIR, saying that it shows the government has been left “baffled”, the AJK premier says his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi “must be feeling elated”.

    “As an anti-India Kashmiri, I’m worried about my future now,” he tweeted.

  • Azad Kashmir president challenges Indian army chief to attack valley

    Azad Kashmir president challenges Indian army chief to attack valley

    Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has dared Indian chief of army staff (COAS) to attack the region, adding that the armed forces of the country were ready to avert any and all attacks against its soil.

    Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, in his maiden press briefing as the top Indian military commander, had on January 11 said that the forces were ready to take appropriate action to gain control over Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

    The statement had come five months after Indian Foreign Minister (FM) Subrahmanyan Jaishankar had said that he expected India to gain physical control over AJK one day.

    “Don’t forget what has happened in the past. The armed forces of Pakistan are always ready to give a befetting response to India,” Khan reportedly said on Saturday.

    Khan further said that if the United States (US) wanted to act as a mediator in resolving the Kashmir dispute, it would have to take action against the brutalities of Indian forces in held Kashmir first. “The troubled valley is a living hell. Youngsters are being imprisoned, people are being electrocuted and even kids are being labelled as enemies.”

    He also thanked China for playing its role in highlighting the issue in the United Nations (UN).