Tag: government

  • ‘Do not try to be Nawaz Sharif,’ Maryam Nawaz tells PM Khan

    ‘Do not try to be Nawaz Sharif,’ Maryam Nawaz tells PM Khan

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz said that Prime Minister Imran Khan should not try to be Nawaz Sharif. Maryam was addressing the media after an appearance at the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

    “When Nawaz Sharif came up with the slogan, ‘Vote ko izzat do’ [give respect to the vote], he was an elected prime minister, a constitutional prime minister, he came to power from the votes of the people and he had a long constitutional struggle, which was not for himself,” said Maryam.

    “He [Nawaz Sharif] gave up prime minister office for the respect of the Constitution and people of Pakistan,” she said. “To give respect to vote, you need to go to prison, you need to say that you will not take dictation from anyone.”

    “Imran Khan’s identity is to conspire against the elected prime minister and to hold a 126-day sit-in,” she said. She was referring to the 2014 sit-in by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Islamabad.

    The PML-N leader went on to say that one does not simply become a lion by cloaking oneself in the creature’s hide.

    Maryam said PM Imran Khan’s identity is confined to “conspiracies” and that he has “nothing to do with the principles of law and democracy”.

    She said that the premier will have to “answer for his conspiracies”. Speaking further about the so-called “conspiracies”, she said that if the use of “magic” has yielded such success, then it should be put to use to alleviate the petrol, diesel, flour crises, reports Geo News.

    “If your magic is so successful, then why don’t you use it for the good of the people?”

    “Go ahead, revoke my bail, arrest me, so that the people can see how fearful you are,” she challenged the government.

  • Taliban ban barbers from trimming beards in Afghanistan

    Taliban ban barbers from trimming beards in Afghanistan

    The Taliban have banned hairdressers in Afghanistan’s Helmand province from shaving or trimming beards, saying it breaches their interpretation of Islamic law, reports the BBC.

    “Anyone violating the rule will be punished,” Taliban religious police say. Some barbers in the capital, Kabul have said they also received similar orders.

    The instructions suggest a return to the strict rulings of the group’s past tenure in power.

    In a notice posted at salons, Taliban officers warned that hairdressers must follow Sharia law for haircuts and beards.

    “No one has a right to complain,” the notice stated, which was seen by the BBC.

    “Stop following American styles,” said another hairdresser, who received a call from someone claiming to be a government official. 

    A barber said that although he has not received an official order, he stopped offering beard trims.

    “Customers don’t shave their beards because they don’t want to be targeted by the Taliban fighters in the streets. They want to blend in and look like them,” he said.

  • Pakistan should deny legitimacy to Taliban till they give rights to women, minorities: US

    The United States (US) has urged Pakistan that it should not recognise the Taliban government until it gives women their due rights and allows Afghans who want to leave the country to do so, reports Khaleej Times.

    Testifying before Congress on the Taliban victory in Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “What we have to look at is an insistence that every country, to include Pakistan, make good on the expectations that the international community has of what is required of a Taliban-led government if it’s to receive any legitimacy of any kind or any support.” He said the priorities included ensuring the Taliban let out people who want to leave Afghanistan and respect the rights of women, girls and minorities, as well as adhere to promises that the country not again become “a haven for outward-directed terror”.

    “Pakistan’s policies have been on many occasions detrimental to our interests, on other occasions in support of those interests. It is one that involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved harboring members of the Taliban … It is one that’s also involved in different points cooperation with us on counterterrorism,” Blinken said.

    “This is one of the things we’re going to be looking at in the days, and weeks ahead – the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years but also the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that,” he said.

    Commenting on the US-Taliban relationship, Blinken said, “We achieved our objectives in Afghanistan,” adding that it was time to end the two-decade-long war.

    “The US will continue to play its role to promote anti-terrorism in the region,” he said, adding that the Taliban had also promised to not let Daesh and Al-Qaeda use the country for militant activities. 

    Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the practice of human rights by the Taliban in Afghanistan was connected to economic pressures, reports Dawn.

    “Ensuring sustainable development and promoting respect for human rights requires political stability and peace in Afghanistan. And peace cannot consolidate unless Afghanistan is provided the necessary economic and fiscal space,” said Qureshi in a video statement made at the UN conference on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

  • Woman in Karachi fixes motorcycles to earn living

    Woman in Karachi fixes motorcycles to earn living

    A woman named Jameela fixes motorcycles to earn a living in Karachi, Shahjahan Khurram reported for Geo News.

    Jameela has set up a small shop near the popular Lakhpati Hotel where she sells and changes motorcycle engine oil for customers.

    “I have been doing this for the past 35 years,” she said. “I do it for my family — for roti, kapra and makaan,” she added.

    Jameela Khatoon said that her business is the only legacy of her deceased husband. Jameela’s husband died of cancer and she lost her adopted son to a disease, after which Jameela had to become the sole breadwinner of her house.

    Photo via Geo News

    She used to have six labourers at her shop to help her out.

    “But they wanted to take over my business by force. I could not let them do that,” she said

    The workers threatened her she would “die hungry” if she let them go.

    “I accepted their challenge and told them I will not let that happen. It is due to Allah’s will and His love for me that I am still earning my bread here.”

    Photo via Geo News

    Jameela Khatoon has to feed her four grandchildren and the widow of her adopted son.

    “Hum sab saath mein chalte hain (we do everything together),” she said.

    Life was easier when she had workers working for her. Now, she opens her shop at 10:30-11:00 am and works till midnight. Jameela Khatoon says people who come by to get their motorcycles serviced always treat her with respect.

    “They all address me as khaala (aunt), amma (mother), aunty,” she says, but recalls that she faced catcalls and harassment when she was younger.

    “It doesn’t happen anymore,” she added.

    Read More: Woman in Lahore wears clown costume to earn living

    She says that shopkeepers nearby do not bother her.

    “I don’t need their support — I give support to them,” she says, adding that if something were to happen to them, she would “stand by them like a wall”.

    Jameela wants the government to support her financially to help her set up a bigger shop for her business.

    “I wish the government would give me a loan or provide me a shop where I can carry out my work in a better way,” she says. “A shop where I can sell spare parts and fix punctures.”

    “If the government is watching this video, then I hope it shakes their conscience a bit,” she says.

  • PMDA: Why all the secrecy?

    PMDA: Why all the secrecy?

    The mystery shrouding the elusive proposed draft of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) is quite intriguing. Some consultations have been held with journalists, civil society members, and parliamentarians but without a copy of the proposed draft. Members of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Thursday demanded that the draft be shared instead of verbal briefings by the Information Ministry. Chairman of the NA standing committee Mian Javed Latif then formed a sub-committee, which will be headed by Marriyum Aurangzeb with Nafisa Shah and Kanwal Shozab as its members. Let’s see if the proposed draft will now be shared with the sub-committee. 

    Last month, representatives of media organisations issued a joint statement that rejected the proposed media authority. They said that it was unconstitutional and deemed it as a draconian law. It seems that this is yet another tactic by the government to curb media freedom. Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently also issued a statement on the PMDA saying that the Pakistani government is “seeking broad new powers to control the media as part of its crackdown on freedom of expression. Journalists, human rights activists, and political leaders across that country have raised the alarm about proposed legislation that would bolster powers of the government to censor and restrict the media.” The government reacted to HRW’s statement by issuing a rejoinder through the Pakistan Embassy in the US challenging the human rights organisation’s assertions on PMDA. Patricia Gossman, HRW’s associate director for the Asia division, asked for a draft, which has so far not been shared with anyone. 

    It is quite worrying that in a country where media freedom is already quite curtailed, where interviews have been stopped from going on air or stopped mid-way, where anchors have been taken off-air, where there are now so many red lines that media organisations have to tread very carefully, where attacks on journalists have become frequent and culprits are still at large, where online trolling of journalists has become a norm, where the government issues reports of social media trends and hashtags it deems anti-state, where government officials keep on targeting journalists and media organisations without any shred of evidence, a new media authority with immense powers is being proposed without sharing the details of the proposed law and/or taking the main stakeholders on board.

    We hope that the government will share the proposed draft with all stakeholders so that the mystery shrouding this media authority ends once and for all. There is already a lot of mistrust between the government and the media. We hope the government will listen to the legitimate concerns of media organisations and not dismiss them. A free and independent media is essential for any democracy. Pakistan is a democracy and we hope the government will not undermine it in any way. 

  • Taliban have taken control of Panjshir: Sources

    Taliban have taken control of Panjshir: Sources

    Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan, including the Panjshir Valley, three Taliban sources said on Friday, reported Dawn.

    “By the grace of Allah Almighty, we are in control of entire Afghanistan. The troublemakers have been defeated and Panjshir is now under our command,” said one Taliban commander.

    Former vice president Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the opposition forces, told Tolo News that reports he had fled the country were lies.

    Meanwhile, the Taliban are due to form a government within days despite fighting in Panjshir Valley.

    China confirmed the country will be keeping its embassy in Kabul open.

    “We hope the Taliban will establish an open and inclusive political structure, pursue moderate and stable domestic and foreign policy and make a clean break with all terrorist groups,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

  • Government’s priorities revolve around how to tease the Opposition: Maryam

    Government’s priorities revolve around how to tease the Opposition: Maryam

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, while speaking to the media on Wednesday said that “The sitting government is not concerned about lawlessness, inflation, or increasing crimes.”

    ” Its [Government’s] priorities revolve around how to tease the Opposition, silence the media, and how to plan the next rigging,” said Maryam.

    Lashing out at the performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) government, Maryam said that the parameters of performance are measured in good or bad.

    She described the incumbent government’s past three-year performance as “nothing short of destruction”. 

    In her opinion, the PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif was talking about a national consensus not a formation of a national government.

    “The country is in dire need of national reconciliation barring this government. All others parts must unite and think how the government should be ousted,” added Maryam.

    She commented on the Media Regulatory Authority, saying that the government is creating hurdles for the media, adding that the bill was a continuation of the draconian government’s incumbent policies aimed at censoring the media. 

    In response to a question on Nawaz Sharif’s return, she said: “There is no precedent for what the PML-N has endured. Nawaz Sharif has taken far more than was required.”

    “I would like to say again today that this is an illegitimate and incompetently imposed government. And what they are is not accountability but revenge,” reiterated Maryam.

    “Circumstances have changed a lot. Very soon, you will see a lot of things change. Nawaz Sharif will return to the country when it is necessary for him to do so,” said Maryam.

  • Govt employees forbidden to use social media platforms

    Govt employees forbidden to use social media platforms

    In an apparent bid to prevent the leak of official information and documents, the government has barred all government employees from using social media platforms, reports Kalbe Ali for Dawn.

    A notification issued by the Establishment Division on August 25 says no government servant can participate in any media platform without the permission of the government.

    The notification gave detailed instructions to government employees under Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964, governing the participation of government servants in different media forums including social media platforms for compliance.

    Screenshot of the notification available to The Current

    “Rule 18 of the Rules bars a government servant from sharing official information or document with a government servant or a private person or press,” the notification added.

    “Referring to Rule 22 of the Servant Rules, the Establishment Division says that it restrains a government servant from making any statement of fact or opinion which is capable of embarrassing the government in any document published or in any communication made to the press or in any public utterance or television programme or radio broadcast delivered by him or her,” read the notification.

    The notification warned all government servants that violation of one or more of these instructions would be tantamount to misconduct and lead to disciplinary action against the delinquent government servant under Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020. Besides, it said, disciplinary proceedings would also be held against the serving government servants in case they were administrators of a social media group where any violation had been committed.

    “They (government employees), while using different social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microblogging, etc, to air their views on a host of subjects and sometimes indulge in actions or behaviour that does not conform to the required standards of official conduct, as envisaged in the Rules,” the notification added.

  • ‘PM Khan not a press freedom predator’, says govt

    ‘PM Khan not a press freedom predator’, says govt

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has strongly rejected the Paris-based media watchdog’s report, which lists Prime Minister Imran Khan among the world’s 37 worst rulers when it comes to press freedom.

    The angry reaction from Khan’s government came in response to a report by Reporters Without Borders titled, “Press freedom predators gallery — old tyrants, two women, and a European,” reports Associated Press (AP).

    Pakistan’s Information Ministry in a statement on Tuesday rejected the allegations, saying Khan’s government believed in “freedom of expression and media independence”.

    In a statement, the ministry said it was surprising that Reporters Without Borders “has jumped to the conclusion” that media in Pakistan are under draconian censorship measures by Khan’s government. It said the government has been “taking all possible measures to create a congenial environment for journalists to perform their professional obligations”.

    “It appears that the report that (Reporters Without Borders) has issued is an attempt to malign the elected representative of the people of Pakistan, without any corroborative evidence,” the ministry said.

    The ministry said it hoped that the watchdog in the “future will avoid such irresponsible journalism”.

    Reporters Without Borders has published a gallery of grim portraits on its official website. It includes 37 heads of state or government who crack down massively on press freedom. Some of these “predators of press freedom” have been operating for more than two decades while others have just joined the blacklist, which for the first time includes two women and a European predator.

  • Zulfi Bukhari to send defamation notice to Bilawal Bhutto

    Zulfi Bukhari to send defamation notice to Bilawal Bhutto

    Former Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfi Bukhari says he has decided to move ahead with defamation proceedings against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari after consulting with his legal team.

    Bhukari tweeted, “His [Bilawal Bhutto’s] poor understanding about most things again made him blurt out things fed to him, provoking issues he knows nothing about.”

    Bilawal Bhutto had recently called on the government to bring “all the facts” about Bukhari’s alleged visit to Israel before the public.

    Speaking to reporters in the parliament, Bilawal Bhutto said it would be “very easy” for the government to make public the flight manifest and flight path of the airplane that allegedly carried Bukhari to Israel during those dates.

    “If the [airplane] did not pick up Zulfi Bukhari, then who was taken on board” he asked, adding that he felt “something is fishy.”

    After Bilawal Bhutto’s statement, Zulfi Bukhari shared a clip of Bilawal’s speech and asked: “Someone who called Jews ‘brothers’ is now asking me to answer rumours.”

    Earlier this week, an Israeli publication alleged that Bukhari paid a secret visit to Tel Aviv as a messenger of Pakistani leader, a claim that was instantly denied by the government and personally by Bukhari.