Tag: Fawad Chaudhry

  • Government demands resignation of Chief Election Commissioner

    Seeking disbanding of the election watchdog, the ruling party has called on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to resign for “failing to hold the recently-held Senate elections in a transparent manner”.

    “It was a longstanding demand of the prime minister that the power of money should not be used to influence elections,” said Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood while addressing a press conference alongside Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.

    “For this purpose, the premier wanted the Senate elections to be held via an open ballot.”

    Mahmood said it is the sole responsibility of the ECP to ensure transparent polls are held. He said that the government had told the ECP to implement a system wherein it would not be possible for corrupt practices to take place.

    The minister called on the election commission to be disbanded, alleging that it had failed to meet up to the standards required of it.

    “To ensure transparent elections are held is the responsibility of the election commission. This responsibility was not fulfilled,” he said. “The election commission failed to act as a neutral umpire hence it should resign,” added Mahmood.

    Explaining the government’s demand for the ECP to be disbanded, Mahmood said the PTI was the most popular political party in the country yet it did not have confidence in the ECP. He claimed the ruling party was not the only one which didn’t trust the ECP.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had also taken a dig at the CEC, saying: “It is unfortunate that he is increasingly creating a partisan image of the ECP which erodes its credibility as well as [the] credibility of future elections under its supervision.”

    The minister had alleged that the CEC was partial and added that “instead of supporting PM & PTI’s demand for open ballot to ensure transparency in Senate elections, PDM’s opportunism & CEC’s partisan approach prevented fair, free and transparent Senate elections”.

    “CEC must take prime responsibility for this sorry state of electoral affairs.”

  • Fawad Chaudhry defends expelled couple

    Fawad Chaudhry defends expelled couple

    Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has stepped in to defend the couple, who were expelled from a private university in Lahore for publicly expressing their love.

    “Every girl has the right to marry whoever she wishes,” said Fawad in a tweet. “Marrying with one’s own choice choice is the fundamental right given to women in Islam.”

    “The university administration should re-think their decision,” asserted the minister, adding “Treating women like property is against Islam.”

    Other prominent personalities who criticised the university for its decision included PPP’s Sharmila Faruqi, Shehzad Roy, Yasir Hussain and Shaniera Akram.

    https://twitter.com/ShehzadRoy/status/1370705950479355906?s=20

    The University of Lahore, on Friday, allegedly expelled two students for publicly expressing their love and proposing on university grounds. In a video that went viral on social media and created a stir online, a girl could be seen getting down on one knee and asking her partner to marry him with a bouquet of roses. The proposal ended with the two hugging each other.

    According to a notification, dated March 12, the two students were expelled for “[being] involved in gross misconduct and violation of university rules and were called to appear before the special disciplinary committee [but] failed to appear.”

  • Mustafa Khokhar, Musadik Malik to be billed for Senate wiring: Fawad

    Minister for Science Technology Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Dr Musadik Malik will be sent a bill of Rs 54,000 for tearing out the wiring in the Senate Hall in their quest for ‘spy cams’.

    The minister made these comments in a press conference as well as Geo’s show Jirga.

    On Friday just before the Senate Chairman elections, both Khokhar and Malik found hidden cameras installed inside and around the polling booth in Senate.

    According to Senator Khokhar, Chaudhry’s tweet led him to another spy camera that was found in a screw.

    Chaudhry also tweeted on Friday that an investigation committee should be formed before Khokhar and Malik tear down the entire wiring system in the Senate.

    Sadiq Sanjrani won the polls amidst the opposition’s protest regarding the seven votes that were in favour of PDM candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani but were rejected by the presiding officer.

    After Gilani’s defeat, Chaudhry tweeted that had the opposition spent 25-30 per cent of their time in telling their people on how to vote correctly, they would not be crying now. He also added that the opposition should pay heed to Prime Minister Khan’s suggestion of an open ballot in the Senate so as to avoid such issues in the future.

  • ‘Kiskay vote ko izzat dein,’ asks Samina Peerzada

    ‘Kiskay vote ko izzat dein,’ asks Samina Peerzada

    Samina Peerzada, in a recent tweet, expressed her confusion over the recent Senate Elections.

    Referring to Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) slogan “Vote ko izaat do,” Samina wrote: “Kis kay vote ko izat dein (Whose vote should we respect)?”

    Earlier, the veteran actor had said: “Kya hum vote jorr torr karnay kay lie detay hain ya mulk ki behtari kay lie (Do we vote for manipulation or for the betterment of the country)?”

    Earlier on Friday, before the voting for the Senate Chairman began, senators Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Dr Musadik Malik of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) stated that they found spy cameras in the polling booth in Senate. Senator Khokhar and Dr Musadik, in a series of tweets, posted pictures of cameras they found and a series of allegations started on Twitter by Mustafa, Malik and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.

    While the government alleged that the opposition installed the camera to create a ruckus, the Pakistan Democratic Movement accused the government of installing them to tamper votes. Senator Mustafa alleged that Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani was seen leaving the Senate building early morning at 5:30 am on the eve of the elections.

    It is still unclear who installed the cameras but it is worth mentioning that the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman are critical for both the government and the opposition.

    Meanwhile, government’s candidate for the Senate chairmanship Sanjrani won after getting 48 votes, beating Gilani with a lead of six votes.

  • ‘Spy cameras’ discovered in polling booth ahead of Senate chairman polls

    Senators Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Dr Musadik Malik of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) have stated that they found spy cameras in the polling booth in Senate on the day of the Senate Chairman election.

    The opposition alliance has fielded Yousaf Raza Gilani as the joint candidate for Senate chairman while the government has fielded Sadiq Sanjrani.

    Senator Khokhar and Dr Musadik, in a series of tweets, posted pictures of cameras they found.

    https://twitter.com/DrMusadikMalik/status/1370235911255031808

    Responding to these tweets, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that those cameras were “in all likelihood CCTV” cameras and not spy cameras.

    Senator Khokhar thanked Chaudhry for the lead and said “we will check for those too”.

    A few minutes later, Senator Khokhar tweeted he found a similar screw that the minister had mentioned and thanked Chaudhry for the lead. In response to this, Fawad wished Senator Mustafa good luck.

    Senator Khokhar questioned why a screw was there.

    Senator Musadik Malik also tweeted the same.

    https://twitter.com/DrMusadikMalik/status/1370270961136713728

    A video available with The Current shows the whole saga of uncovering the screw:

    https://twitter.com/TheCurrentPK/status/1370276132986179587

    Meanwhile, the government accused the opposition of planting those cameras.

    Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar tweeted that credible sources in Senate staff have disclosed that Sadiq Sanjrani left the Senate building at 5:30am in the morning.

    Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Secretary Senate should form a committee to investigate the cameragate before Dr Musadik and Mustafa Nawaz destroy the entire wiring system in the Senate.

    Meanwhile, Twitter has dubbed the duo of Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Dr Musadik Malik as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.

    While those behind the installation of cameras are still unknown, it is worth mentioning that the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman are critical for both the government and opposition.

    Later, in a press conference Senator Mustafa and Dr Malik, detailed the events that transpired in the Senate as they discovered the hidden cameras.

    https://youtu.be/JIssfV4EJNc

  • Fawad Chaudhry wants an inquiry against creators of fake Aurat March video

    Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has asked for an inquiry against those who committed the ‘grave offence’ of editing a fake Aurat March video, being widely circulated on social media.

    “Those who edited the video have committed a grave offence,” he wrote, “FIA should proceed against those responsible a trail will help agencies to trace who originated the fake video.”

    Meanwhile, female journalists and supporters are demanding a ‘public apology’ over ‘disinforminformation’ spread by some people.

    A document that is signed by female journalists and activists demands :

    1. “A public apology and immediate retraction by all the journalists and media houses who have shared disinformation about the Aurat Marches and that this is put out on the social media accounts, newspapers, television shows, etc”
    2. “That individual journalists and media organisations desist from spreading false and malicious information endangering the lives of Aurat March organisers and participants.”
    3. “That media houses stop inviting individuals with a history of repeatedly and deliberately spreading disinformation on their platforms”

    “These tweets with false information were shared by Ovais Mangalwala, Ansar Abbasi, and Orya Maqbool Jan,” stated the document.

    The hashtag #ApologizeToAuratMarch is trending on social media :

  • Fawad Chaudhry pays tribute to inventor of audio cassettes

    Fawad Chaudhry has paid a rich tribute to Dutch engineer Lou Ottens, who passed away in his hometown of Duizel last weekend.

    Read more – Pakistan to get its own version of Netflix

    Responding to the news of his demise, the Minister for Science and Technology, in a tweet, said: “RIP Lou Ottens. You will be remembered as an iconic inventor.”

    “Cassettes and CDs were part of our lives till 2008/2010,” said Chaudhry further, adding: “[The] inventor of cassette and later CD was the man who filled our lives with so many colours and sounds.”

    According to details, the Dutch engineer who developed the cassette tape at Philips in 1963 died on Saturday at the age of 94.

    Ottens joined Philips in 1952 and rose to become head of product development by 1960. He wanted to create a portable tape recorder because he “got annoyed with the clunky, user-unfriendly reel-to-reel system,” he explained years after he invented the cassette. His invention transformed the way people listened to music.

    The Philips “compact cassette” was unveiled at a 1963 electronics fair in Berlin, boasting it was “smaller than a pack of cigarettes.” On the 50th anniversary of its creation, Ottens told Time magazine that it was a “sensation” from day one.

    Later, Ottens struck a deal with Philips and Sony that saw his model confirmed as the patented cassette after a number of Japanese companies reproduced similar tapes in a number of sizes.

    Ottens was also involved in the development of the compact disk, and more than 200 billion of those have been sold worldwide to date.

    In 1982, when Philips showed off a production CD player, Ottens said: “From now on, the conventional record player is obsolete”.

    He retired four years later. When asked about his career, he said his biggest regret was that Sony and not Philips had created the iconic cassette tape player, the Walkman.

  • ‘With you Captain’: Celebs extend support to PM Imran Khan

    ‘With you Captain’: Celebs extend support to PM Imran Khan

    After Pakistan Democratic Movement’s candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani emerged victorious against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the Senate Elections, Prime Minister Imran Khan in an address to the nation announced that he is going to seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Saturday. The premier said the vote of confidence will be held through the show of hand and that he will have no objection if any member of his party does not trust him, adding that his party would sit on opposition benches if they lose this time.

    Following his decision to seek a vote of confidence, celebrities including Shaan Shahid, Rohail Hyatt, Imran Abbas and Omair Rana have extended their support for the prime minister.

    “Whether you are in power or in opposition, the voice of truth, the voice of the people of Pakistan will always be spoken by you,” said Shaan. “Some battles lost cannot predict the outcome of the war.”

    “May you win the war of truth, honesty, hope and justice,” he added.

    Ace musician Rohail Hyatt expressed his faith in PM Khan said: “In my lifetime I have only had the privilege of calling one person my leader. This person is Imran Khan.”

    “Honestly outweighs everything else IMO. Setbacks aside, I am certain he will succeed in his mission IA,” he added.

    Hyatt further said that he got his “yess moment” after watching PM Khan’s address to the nation.

    Omair Rana of Pyar Ke Sadkay fame lauded PM Khan’s decision of taking the vote of confidence saying: “To hide behind a hypocrite one has to be smaller than him. Imran Khan is too big for these sell-outs and buyouts.”

    “With you my Captain,” he added.

    Other celebrities who extended their support include Veena Malik, Imran Abbas, Khadija Shah, Bilal Maqsood, Salman Ahmed and Farhan Saeed.

    https://twitter.com/khadijah_shah/status/1367732648341364742?s=20

  • ‘ECP should ask IT Ministry, not PTA for phone data,’ says Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘ECP should ask IT Ministry, not PTA for phone data,’ says Fawad Chaudhry

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has approached the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to share the call record data of the 20 presiding officers who went ‘missing’ during the Daska by-polls in NA-75, The News has reported.

    Last week, the ECP had announced that new elections in the entire constituency will be held in NA-75 (Daska) after its returning officer alleged irregularities during the by-polls in a report submitted to the commission. Government sources told The News that the PTA has asked the government whether to share the data with the ECP or not.

    Speaking to The Current, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that the ECP has all the right to secure phone data though it “should ask the IT Ministry and not PTA under rules of business”.

    According to the story published in The News, the government may be uneasy about the phone data as it could reveal who had planned and supervised the Daska by-poll rigging. The phone records “will not only establish the whereabouts of these 20 presiding officers during the time when they were missing but will also uncover those they were in contact with”.

    On February 22, Prime Minister Imran Khan had tweeted that as he had always struggled for fair and free elections, he would ask the PTI candidate in NA-75 to ask for re-polling in the 20 polling stations that had become controversial. But the ECP later called for new elections in the entire constituency.

    The PTI has now decided to challenge the ECP’s decision for re-polls.

  • Senate Election on March 3 will be conducted as per past practice: ECP

    Senate Election on March 3 will be conducted as per past practice: ECP

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday said that it deliberated on the order/opinion of the Supreme Court passed yesterday in Presidential Reference and has “decided to implement it in letter and spirit”.

    In a statement, the ECP said that it is taking all possible steps and measures to fulfil its constitutional duty to check that corrupt practices in the Senate Elections are guarded against.

    The ECP has decided to constitute a committee in this regard so that they can give their recommendations regarding the use of technology in the Senate Elections within a period of four weeks.

    The ECP has decided that “due to time constraint, ensuing Senate Election scheduled for March 3, 2021 will be conducted as provided in the Constitution and Law as per past practice”.

    https://twitter.com/profaltafkhan/status/1366629264746020866

    In a short order issued yesterday, the Supreme Court observed that the Senate Elections are held in accordance with the law and the Constitution, saying it “is the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to protect the polls from the menace of corruption”.

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that though the Supreme Court’s opinion on the matter was different, the ECP’s decision to delay the use of technology till the next Senate polls was astonishing.

    He added that both the apex court and ECP are respectable for him.

    All eyes will be on former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s election tomorrow.

    He is contesting as the joint candidate of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against PTI’s Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh.

    The election between Gillani and Sheikh is important as a Gillani win would prepare the ground for a no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran.

    Meanwhile, the premier is taking this contest quite seriously and is leading the Senate campaign for the government. He held back-to-back meetings with lawmakers on Monday and will also host a luncheon today for National Assembly lawmakers.