Tag: govt of pakistan

  • Govt stops PCB from organising T10 league

    Govt stops PCB from organising T10 league

    The government of Pakistan has stopped the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from organising a T10 league.

    PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf had planned to organise the T10 league, initiating discussions with English cricket county Middlesex and planning for exhibition matches in Rawalpindi from January 24 to 26.

    A 40-member delegation consisting of men and women cricketers and officials from England was likely to come to Pakistan for the event.

    According to the website ‘Cricket Pakistan’, a detailed project briefing was presented to the Inter-Provincial Coordination Division (IPC) Ministry by a five-member delegation in Islamabad. Later, the budget for exhibition matches was reduced to Rs28 crores.

    However, at the same time, the ministry sent a letter to the PCB headquarters in Lahore, directing them to limit the activities to day-to-day matters, including banning the installation of chairs, solar panels, and fans in stadiums.

    The ministry has also imposed restrictions on signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with any cricket board. Meanwhile, Zaka Ashraf will chair the PCB Management Committee meeting on Tuesday. During this meeting, a new governing board will be established with four representatives from each of the four departments and regions. Former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif nominated Zaka Ashraf and Mustafa Ramday as government candidates.

    The first meeting of the governing board is expected within a week during which possible objections to the chairmanship nominations will be cleared and heard. After that, the final list of candidates will be announced. Despite the traditional trend of the Prime Minister’s nominee taking over the chairmanship, the current situation deviates from this norm.

  • PTI says they now respect next Supreme Court Chief Justice Faez Isa who they had taken to court

    PTI says they now respect next Supreme Court Chief Justice Faez Isa who they had taken to court

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has said in an interview that the party respects Justice Qazi Faez Isa who is set to become the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) later this year.

    In an interview with WE news, he said, “We have a relationship of respect with Justice Faez Isa”, adding that he disapproved the idea of filing a reference against the top judge.

    He said when the current government files a reference against the judiciary, it means they want to put the judges under pressure.

    “The government must allow the judiciary to function independently,” he asserted.

    In 2020, Justice Faez was accused of concealing assets and PTI filed a reference against him. Justice Isa then asked the Supreme Court that a full bench be constituted, a plea that was accepted by then CJP Asif Saeed Khosa and after a months-long trial, a full bench of the apex court dismissed the petition against him.

    Later, Khan himself accepted his mistake of filing a presidential reference against the judge.

    During the interview, Fawad Chaudhry once again said that the former ruling party is ready for talks. He mentioned that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has also talked about the consensus but as of yet no effort has been made.

    Talking about PM Shehbaz, Chaudhry said that he is running from the elections and is being “non-serious”.

    He claimed that “they [government] want martial law in the country”.

  • Lashkar-e-Khorasan claims responsibility for killing two intelligence officers

    Lashkar-e-Khorasan claims responsibility for killing two intelligence officers

    Lashkar-e-Khorasan, a relatively unknown terrorist group allied with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for killing two intelligence officers who were martyred on Tuesday in Khanewal, journalists have reported.

    The two officers, who were part of the counter-terrorism department of the intelligence service, were known for arresting members of the TTP and other militant organisations. They also had a formidable reputation for solving complicated terrorism cases including bombings.

    Both officers were shot as they were parking their vehicle outside a roadside restaurant in Pirowal where they reportedly planned to have tea.

    Terrorist incidents across the country are on the rise after a ceasefire pact with the government ended in November.

    Defense Minister Khwaja Asif had said on Monday that the recent spate of attacks were being staged by Pakistani Taliban hiding in Afghanistan. He asked the Taliban administration in the neighboring country to stop the attacks emanating from their soil.

  • Govt to ask Court to review acquittal of Shahzeb’s murderer

    Govt to ask Court to review acquittal of Shahzeb’s murderer

    The Federal government on Tuesday announced that it would file a review petition over Shahrukh Jatoi’s acquittal for the murder of Shahzeb Khan.

    “This is despite the instant case having already been adjudicated to be one of constitutional importance by the Supreme Court, which mandates seeking the assistance of the Attorney-General – as has been sought previously in petitions pertaining to the same matter,” the statement issued by Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali read.

    The letter further stated that the AGP’s Office had already declared that the case was related to terrorism after Jibran Nasir and other activists approached the SC against a Sindh High Court (SHC) ruling that overturned the death penalty for Jatoi and other defendants in the murder case, adding that the SHC’s decision was a “violation of the SC’s order.”

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday acquitted Shahrukh Jatoi and others in Shahzeb Khan’s murder case.

    Shahzeb was murdered in Karachi in 2012.

    An Anti-Terrorism Court handed Jatoi a death sentence in 2013. However, in 2017, the complainants had ‘pardoned’ Jatoi under the country’s Qisas and Diyat law.

  • PM Shehbaz talks with Palestinian President in Arabic

    PM Shehbaz talks with Palestinian President in Arabic

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif—who is currently in Kazakhstan—interacted with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Arabic at the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit.

    In the brief talk, PM Shehbaz said that he is extremely grateful for the country’s help during the flood crisis in Pakistan. To which the Palestinian president said, “Pakistan is our home and Pakistanis are our brothers and sisters”.

    The PM also assured Abbas that Pakistan will continue to raise its voice in the support of Palestine.

    The video is gaining attention, leaving viewers amazed at the Prime Minister’s proficiency in Arabic.

    Earlier, The Current reached out to PM’s Focal Person on Digital Media, Muhammad Abubakar Umer, to confirm exactly how many languages can the premier speak.

    He said that the premier is fluent in German, Arabic and English along with Punjabi and Urdu. According to him, PM Shehbaz can speak basic level Turkish, Chinese, Russian, Pashtu and Sindhi.

    The focal person revealed that PM Shehbaz learned Arabic formally while in exile during former President General Pervez Musharraf’s era. To our surprise, we also got to know that the premier holds a diploma in Arabic.

    Exclusive: You will not believe how many languages PM Shehbaz Sharif can speak

    PM Shehbaz has been the talk of the town since a video went viral in which he can be heard speaking in German with a family.

    In the video, shared by the Government of Pakistan, the PM was talking to a German family in their own language. The family was rescued during floods in Swat. Twitter was stunned at the Premier’s fluency in the language.

    After the video went viral, social media started speculation that Shehbaz Sharif might know more languages.

    According to Abubakar, PM Shehbaz knows a total of ten languages.

    “He learned Chinese and Turkish during his tenure as Chief Minister (CM) Punjab from 2013 to 2018 as at the time he had to engage with Chinese and Turkish officials for China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” said Abubakar.

    He learned German and Russian during the 1970s and 80s for his business dealings. “At the time, he was not in government”, said Abubakar.

    Abubakar also revealed that before going to any foreign country PM Shehbaz hires an instructor who informs him about the cultural aspects of the country, how people greet each other and what social norms are appreciated there.

  • ‘Matter of justice’: UN chief appeals to the world to support Pakistan

    ‘Matter of justice’: UN chief appeals to the world to support Pakistan

    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday, September 10, urged the international community to support disaster-hit Pakistan as the country needed massive financial help to overcome post-flood crises.

    “It is not a matter of generosity, but a matter of justice,” he said reiterating the United Nation’s commitment, strong support, and solidarity with the flood-affected populace of Pakistan.

    Guterres said that huge damages and losses were caused to human lives and properties. The Secretary General further said that the UN absolutely supported Pakistan and requested richer nations to generously help the country so that it could face the future challenges of climatic changes and save its people.

    He stressed that the international community must realize the serious impacts of greenhouse emissions as nature was striking back in the form of natural calamities.

    He continued that greenhouse gases had accelerated climatic changes and that nations with larger greenhouse emission footprints must understand these issues. Citing scientific estimates, the UN secretary-general emphasized that now was the right time to reduce greenhouse emissions.

    He said it was also a fact that they were living in a climatic changing era and have to make efforts to rebuild communities and to enable countries to resist and face future disasters that could be wrought by the natural calamities.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, provincial ministers, and the relevant authorities were present on the occasion.

    Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah gave a detailed briefing on the damages and loss of lives in the province.

    He said during the current monsoon season, different districts of the province had received unusual rainfall never witnessed in the past.

    He said that 30 districts of the province were affected, displacing about 12 million, adding that a total of 578 people lost their lives. A total of 3 million houses were destroyed and crops grown on an area of about 3.3 million acres were damaged while 500,000 livestock had been swept away.

    Earlier, the prime minister along with the UN secretary general and the federal ministers took an aerial review of the flood-affected areas of the Sindh province.

  • PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal invites PTI’s Asad Umar to ‘farewell dinner’

    PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal invites PTI’s Asad Umar to ‘farewell dinner’

    The newly-appointed Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has written a letter, inviting his predecessor former Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar to a farewell dinner “on a date and time of the Umar’s convenience.”

    The federal minister said that in the meeting he would “like to be briefed on the developmental initiatives of greater public importance” that the PTI government “had started and which should be continued in the public interest”.

    “I look forward to a positive response from you. My office will coordinate with your personal staff to schedule the proposed farewell dinner/meeting with you at the earliest,” the letter further reads.

    However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader is yet to make a comment on this invitation.

    The PML-N’s leader move, however, has been widely appreciated by social media users.