Tag: cases

  • PTI’s Shaukat Tarin booked for allegedly sabotaging IMF deal

    Former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has been booked in a sedition case by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for allegedly sabotaging negotiations between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader landed in the center of controversy in August last year when telephonic conversations between him and two provincial finance ministers surfaced. A voice, allegedly Tarin’s, was heard telling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) finance minister Taimur Jhagra and Punjab finance minister Mohsin Leghari, both of the PTI, to tell the coalition government in the centre and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus in light of the monsoon floods.

    The leaked audio came to light when the international lender’s executive board was scheduled to consider Pakistan’s request of releasing the $1.2 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

    On Monday, the coalition government also allowed the FIA to arrest the former finance minister after the agency sought the interior ministry’s nod to detain him.

    PTI lawmakers protested in Senate against the possible arrest of Tarin on the same day.

    Interestingly, senior leader of arch-rivals Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, lent support to Tarin, stating that there should be a trial and he shouldn’t be arrested.

    He pointed out that many arrests took place when Imran Khan was PM and that now the incumbent government shouldn’t follow in his footsteps.

  • Bajwa wants to respond to Khan but can’t: Journalist Ansar Abbasi

    Bajwa wants to respond to Khan but can’t: Journalist Ansar Abbasi

    Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa cannot respond in public to the claims and accusations made against him by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan because of “codal limitations”, writes journalist Ansar Abbasi for Jang.

    The journalist revealed on Monday that it was not General (retd) Bajwa, but Imran Khan who controlled National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when he was the prime minister as he was paranoid about the Opposition and wanted to see them behind bars.

    Khan himself asked the ex-COAS to get a number of his opponents arrested. When Bajwa asked how he could take such a step, Khan gave reference of General Pervez Musharraf and his way of dealing with his political opponents. Upon hearing this, Bajwa reportedly reminded Imran that Musharraf was a dictator. Ansar Abbasi also disclosed that Bajwa told Khan to give him these orders in writing. However, Khan did not do that.

    The former army chief also warned Khan, advising him instead to focus on the economy instead of the Opposition.

    Abbasi has also written that “During his government’s tenure, Imran Khan himself has been heard complaining about the fear of NAB and its negative impact on the economy and civilian bureaucracy. But his urge to fix the opposition did not let him reform NAB.”

    Abbasi however does admit that General (retd) Bajwa is mostly blamed for keenly pursuing what is generally referred to as the “Imran Khan project”.

    He writes that when General (retd) Bajwa will speak, “what he tells will be no different from what former DG FIA Bashir Memon had alleged.” Memon claimed to have been pressurised by Khan to arrest his opponents.

    It is pertinent to mention that since his ouster, Khan has blamed the establishment and criticised them for being “neutral”. However, after General Bajwa retired in November, Khan has taken to criticising him directly. He has taken the name of General (retd) Bajwa on several occasions, saying that the retired army chief is responsible for ousting him.

    Days before retirement, General Bajwa, without taking any name, responded to Khan’s allegations.

    In what seemed like a criticism of Imran Khan, General (retd) Bajwa said that a false narrative was built and a campaign was started against the Pakistan army.

    “Many sectors used very inappropriate and undignified language while making the army the target of severe criticism. To criticise the army is the right of political parties and the people, but they should select their language carefully,” he said.

  • PTI’s Azam Swati shifted to Islamabad after court’s order that no cases should be registered against him

    PTI’s Azam Swati shifted to Islamabad after court’s order that no cases should be registered against him

    Senator Azam Swati — who has been in detention since November 27 over his controversial tweets about senior military officials— has been shifted to Islamabad and taken into police custody. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was brought to the capital via a special plane from Sukkur.

    On Thursday, Sindh Prosecutor General Faiz H Shah informed the Sindh High Court (SHC) of the development. During the hearing, the high court ordered that no cases should be registered against him.

    A two-member SHC bench, comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, took up the plea.

    The prosecutor general informed the bench at the hearing that Swati had been transferred to Islamabad and all cases registered against him in Sindh were being disposed of as C-Class, which means disposal of the case for being non-cognisable.

    “Consequently, all FIRs will now become ineffective,” he said.

    Speaking to the media after the hearing, Swati’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor Khan said that 34 cases were registered against his client in Sindh and all have now been categorised as “C class”.

    Swati was initially booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Islamabad over a “highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets against state institutions” and subsequently arrested by the agency.

    Later, multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against him in Sindh and Balochistan for using “derogatory language” and “provoking the people against the army”.

    Earlier this month, PTI chairman Imran Khan slammed Quetta police’s decision to take Swati from Islamabad despite his health concerns.

  • ‘Agar mulk chalana hai toh NAB ko khatam karey’: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    ‘Agar mulk chalana hai toh NAB ko khatam karey’: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has demanded the abolishment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), blaming the watchdog institution for the ongoing crisis in the country.

    While speaking outside an accountability court in Islamabad after attending a hearing in the LNG case, he said, “Agar mulk chalana hai toh is idaray [NAB] ko khatam karain (If you want the country to progress, this institution [NAB] should be abolished).

    He said the “so-called” accountability was aimed at defaming only politicians. “The so-called process of accountability operates just to ridicule politicians,” he added.

    Lambasting ex-chairman of NAB, Javed Iqbal, the former premier said that he should confess who told him to register false cases.

    It is pertinent to mention that PML-N has repeatedly criticised NAB and said that false cases were made against party leaders.

    In August, the National Assembly passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, which sought to exclude private transactions from the scope of NAB.

    Under the amended bill, the pecuniary jurisdiction of NAB had been fixed to only take action against mega scandals. Furthermore, it had been proposed that supplementary references can only be filed with the permission of the court to expedite the proceedings of the court within one year.

  • Inquiry initiated in ‘500 dead bodies on Multan hospital rooftop’ case

    Inquiry initiated in ‘500 dead bodies on Multan hospital rooftop’ case

    A six-person team has been assembled by the South Punjab Health Department on Thursday to look into the matter of hundreds of remains that were found on the roof of Multan’s Nishtar Hospital.

    According to reports on social media, up to 500 bodies were allegedly found on the rooftop of the hospital, however, the exact number remains unknown.

    Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister’s Advisor, Chaudhry Zaman Gujjar, visited the hospital and discovered numerous putrid bodies on the hospital roof. He ordered health authorities to take action against the concerned staff and instructed that the abandoned bodies be cremated.
    Dawn was informed by a student at Nishtar Medical University that the students were using the bodies for medical research. He claimed that the victims had already been put to use in these experiment and had been left on the roof so that bones and skulls could be removed for future medical study.

    Moonis Elahi shared a message from the Head of Department (HOD) of Anatomy at Nishtar Medical University Multan.

  • 21,900 women raped in Pakistan in four years

    21,900 women raped in Pakistan in four years

    Almost 21,900 women were reported to have been raped in Pakistan from 2017 to 2021, Zahid Gishkori has reported for Samaa. The data has been complied by SAMAA TV Investigation Unit (SIU) from the Punjab home department and Ministry of Human Rights (MoHRs).

    This meant that approximately 12 women were raped every day, or one every two hours, throughout the country.

    As many as 305 rape cases were reported nationwide in 2022, in media, while 57 cases were reported in May, June (91), July (86) and August (71).

    According to media reports, approximately 350 rape instances were recorded in Punjab, between May 2022 and August 2022, however there was no information available for the first four months of the year.

    The Current records the tally of rape cases that are reported in news outlets on a daily basis to highlight the alarming situation. We have used many different sources as listed. When will it stop?

  • FBR establishes new section to investigate corrupt tax officials

    In order to ensure the prompt resolution of all disciplinary cases and inquiries against tax employees engaged in corruption and dishonest activities in field formations, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) established a new Section on Friday called “Discipline/Inquiries.”

    A new Section with the nomenclature “Discipline/Inquiries” is hereby created in the Admn/HR Wing, FBR (HQ), Islamabad with immediate effect in order to ensure proper follow-up of all disciplinary cases/inquiries of officers (BS-16 and above) of FBR (HQ) and IR field formations with a view to ensuring timely disposal of such cases, according to an office order issued by the FBR on Friday.

    According to Brecoder, a secretary or second secretary who works for the specified Section will be in charge and reporting to the Chief (HRM-IR), FBR.

    The FBR has also been ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to fully abide by the guidelines of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020 when taking disciplinary action and conducting investigations against dishonest tax officers.

    The FBR chairman has directed the Revenue Division/FBR to rigorously adhere to the following instructions in all disciplinary processes and inquiries launched against the officers, in accordance with the directives of the prime minister:

    The Civil Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 2020, Rule 10 read with Rule 12 shall govern how the chosen inquiry officer would conduct the inquiry processes. The same must be finished within sixty (60) days of the date the inquiry order was issued, or within any further time the authority may provide.

    All Directors General, Chief Commissioners, Chief Collectors, Commissioners, and Collectors of FBR shall keep the relevant case record in safe custody while forwarding the recommendation to begin disciplinary proceedings against any officer(s) or official in order to ensure safe custody of the record in an inquiry.

    In accordance with the guidelines outlined in Rule 8 of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020, all heads of field offices shall also see to it that pertinent records of the case and other related documents are timely provided to the inquiry officer or the inquiry committee, as the case may be, through the designated departmental representative (DR). This must be done within seven days of the date of the inquiry order.

  • ‘Threatened govt officials’: FIR registered against Rana Sanaullah for spreading terror

    A case was registered by the Punjab police against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday on charges of terrorism under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). A complainant named Sheikh Aslam registered a First Information Report (FIR) at the Industrial Estate police station of Gujrat.

    In the FIR, Aslam stated that Rana Sanaullah appeared on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’ on August 21. During the show, Aslam said that the anchor [Shahzad Iqbal] ran some old clips and statements of Sanaullah that were aired on different TV channels on April 16, 2021 and January 29, 2022, respectively.

    In the clips, the minister had threatened the judiciary, the Punjab chief secretary, commissioner, other government officials and their children with dire consequences. Moreover, the FIR stated that Sanaullah threatened to kill government officials’ children and said they wouldn’t get any help from the judiciary.

    “Rana Sanaullah’s statement was to terrorise the judiciary, chief secretary and other government officials so they can’t do their job and fulfil their legal responsibilities”, added the FIR.

    The development was confirmed by Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar. In a tweet, the home minister said that the charges levelled in the FIR are serious and action would be taken in accordance with the law.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi also shared a copy of the FIR: “You [Sanaullah] make false cases against Imran Khan, now the Pakistani nation has registered a true case against you.”

    An official source told Dawn that the complainant was “wanted” by the Islamabad Police in some cases lodged with Kohsar and Aabpara police stations. The police had already issued him notices and they have initiated the process to declare him a proclaimed offender.

     

  • PM wants collective efforts to eradicate polio, three cases in two months

    PM wants collective efforts to eradicate polio, three cases in two months

    Pakistan reported its third polio case this year, a few months after Pakistan marked one year of being polio-free.

    Addressing a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication in Islamabad on Wednesday, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif urged for a concerted effort to eradicate polio in Pakistan. The meeting was informed that three polio cases were reported in North Waziristan during the months of April and May this year but no polio case was reported in the period between February 2021 and March 2022. PM Shehbaz expressed his concern about recent polio cases in the country and stated that the federal government will provide all available assistance and cooperation in the fight against the illness.

    He said that all parties, including federal departments, provincial governments, and international organisations, had contributed significantly to the country’s polio eradication campaign. PM kickstarted a polio campaign today (May 18).

    Read more- Pakistan reports two polio cases, girl and boy paralysed

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • 46% of Pakistanis are fully vaccinated against Covid-19

    National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Cheif Asad Umar has revealed 46 per cent of Pakistan’s eligible population has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

    In a tweet, the federal minister said, “Amongst the federating units, Islamabad leads with 77 per cent fully vaccinated persons. Punjab is at 51 per cent, Gilgit-Baltistan 46 per cent, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 45 per cent, Balochistan 42 per cent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 41 per cent, and Sindh at 37 per cent.”

    Umar also confirmed that 63 per cent of the country’s population has been administered the first dose of the vaccine.

    The country reported over 500 covid cases in a day on Friday, positivity rate stands at one per cent.

    Health experts have linked the rise in Covid-19 cases with the Omicron variant as nearly 89 cases of the new strain have been reported alone in Karachi.