Tag: home-politics

  • How much did the ‘Azadi March’ cost the government?

    How much did the ‘Azadi March’ cost the government?

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ‘Azadi March’ which took place from October 31 to November 13 cost the government over Rs240 million, Rs248 million to be exact.

    According to a report in Dawn, this amount is payable to contractors/vendors whose services were hired for security and other arrangements which included lodging, meal and transportation of police called from other districts.

    As many as 5,000 from the capital police along with 3,000 Frontier Constabulary, 1,500 Punjab Constabulary, 2,000 from KP police and 500 from Kashmir and railway police were deployed in Islamabad during the sit-in. 550 containers were also arranged to block roads as a part of security measures and 105 vehicles, including 88 buses, were used to transport the security personnel.

    The rent of a 40-foot container was Rs20,000 a day and Rs14,000 for a 20-foot container. On the other hand, the rent of a bus was Rs25,000 per day and Rs15,000 of a wagon/truck. The fuel for these vehicles cost the police Rs 20 million.

    The capital police also purchased anti-riot gears to deal with confrontations, though none took place in the 13-day sit-in.

    Other expenses included the rent of nine buildings hired for the force requisitioned from other provinces.

    Meanwhile, Rs695.6 million were spent during PTI and PAT’s dharna in 2014.

  • What did PM Imran and President Trump talk about over the phone?

    What did PM Imran and President Trump talk about over the phone?

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday had a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump.

    According to PTI’s official Twitter account, PM Khan had a telephone conversation with President Trump, during which bilateral and regional issues were discussed.

    PM Imran conveyed that the release of Western hostages in Afghanistan was a positive development and Pakistan was happy that they were safe and free. President Trump thanked the PM for Pakistan’s efforts in facilitating this positive outcome.

    The Prime Minister re-affirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the advancement of Afghan peace and reconciliation process for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. Both leaders agreed to continue to work together for the promotion of this shared objective.

    The Prime Minister apprised President Trump of the current situation in IOJ&K, underscoring that over 8 million people remained under siege for over 100 days now.

    Appreciating President Trump’s continued engagement as well as mediation offer, PM Imran stressed that the President must continue his efforts for facilitation of a peaceful solution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

    Recalling their conversations in Washington and New York, the two leaders agreed to deepen bilateral collaboration, including in relevant multilateral fora.

    The two leaders further agreed to remain in close contact.

  • Nov 21: News you need to know before heading to work

    Nov 21: News you need to know before heading to work

    Nawaz undergoes check-up at hospital in London

    • Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif met with doctors after he arrived in London via an air ambulance for medical treatment late on Tuesday. 
    • Shehbaz Sharif took Nawaz Sharif to Guy’s hospital today for check-up, along with Hasan and Hussain Nawaz.
    • Nawaz will be treated at Hasan Nawaz’s flat and a room has been reserved for him, equipped with the necessary equipment as advised by doctors.

    PM tells govt spokespersons not to react to CJP’s remarks: report

    • In a meeting with government spokespersons, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, “The government decided to send Nawaz Sharif abroad on humanitarian grounds and after consulting doctors’ reports” and directed them not to react or respond to CJP remarks.
    • Imran Khan also reportedly said that people were watching Nawaz’s activities in London. He said that the PTI would not play politics over Nawaz’s health.
    • Talking about the foriegn funding case the premier reportedly told participants of the meeting,”No need to worry about the foreign funding case. PTI’s audit reports are there for all to see”.
    • PM reportedly said that opposition parties were using the case to keep their politics alive and build a narrative against the PTI.

    NA approves Shehbaz Sharif’s resignation as PAC chairperson

    • Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif had earlier stepped down reportedly owing to his personal engagements and now PML-N’s Rana Tanveer is likely to be nominated as the PAC chairperson in place of Shehbaz.
    • The PAC primarily oversees the public expenditure and, in case of a suspicion of malpractice or corruption, the committee has the authority to investigate the matter and refer the issue to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
    • Shehbaz’s nomination was unanimously supported after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came into power. 

    Pakistan beat India to qualify for ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup final

    • Pakistan on Wednesday qualified for the final of ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2019 after beating India by three runs in the first semi final in Dhaka.
    • Pakistan — who were defending a total of 267 — restricted India to 264 for eight in 50 overs, as Pakistani bowlers displayed great control on nerves and outstanding death-overs skills.
    • Pakistan’s opponent in the Saturday’s final of ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup will be decided after the second semi final between Afghanistan and Bangladesh on Thursday.
  • VIDEO: BJP leader thrown out for disrupting Suri’s speech at Asia Pacific Summit

    VIDEO: BJP leader thrown out for disrupting Suri’s speech at Asia Pacific Summit

    Vijay Jolly, an Indian politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was escorted out by the security at the Asia Pacific Summit 2019 after he tried to disrupt the speech by Pakistan’s National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.

    Deputy Speaker Suri was speaking about Kashmiris’ right to self-determination and Indian atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir at the summit in Cambodia when Jolly angrily got up from his seat and walked in front of the hall saying, “I want to protest.”

    Security officials quickly swung into action and grabbed Jolly. They then escorted him out of the summit as Suri continued with his speech.

    Suri highlighted the atrocities by India in Occupied Kashmir.

  • Indian police raids Amnesty International’s offices to quash reporting on Kashmir

    Indian police raids Amnesty International’s offices to quash reporting on Kashmir

    Indian officials have raided the offices of renowned human
    rights group Amnesty International (AI) on trumped up charges of foreign
    funding from the United Kingdom that violate local law, Geo News reported.

    According to the details, it is widely believed that the
    investigation into the funding sources of the respected human rights group is a
    pressure tactic being employed by the government of Indian Prime Minister (PM)
    Narendra Modi to stop the group from highlighting grave human rights violations
    in Indian held Kashmir (IoK).

    Reports revals that officials from the Central Bureau of
    Investigation (CBI) raided the offices of AI India in Bengaluru and New Delhi
    after direct complaints from the home affairs ministry. Amnesty was accused of
    the same offence last year.

    The Amnesty group in a statement said, “Over the past
    year, a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty International
    India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India”, referring
    to their campaigns for IoK. 

    Back in September, Amnesty International had launched the “LetKashmirSpeak”
    campaign and called on Indian PM Modi to lift the inhumane military curfew in held
    Kashmir that has crippled the lives of millions of Muslims since August.

    New Delhi had earlier revoked the constitutional autonomy of
    IoK on August 5 this year and imposed a military curfew in the area,
    imprisoning millions of people. Thousands of ordinary citizens were detained
    after the move.

    The detained included former chief ministers and the mayor
    of Srinagar. Widespread allegations of torture and abuse of these detainees by
    the Indian security forces were published by the international media in the
    following weeks, as India showed no signs of easing restrictions.

  • DG ISPR thanks Lala for praising his efforts for Pakistan

    DG ISPR thanks Lala for praising his efforts for Pakistan

    Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) took to social media to thank Shahid Khan Afridi aka lala for praising his efforts for Pakistan.

    In a recent interview with The Current, the interviewer asked Shahid Afridi ‘one word for DG ISPR’, to which lala replied “My relation with Asif Ghafoor is quite old and Asif bhai is doing a great job MashaAllah. He is a patriotic man. There should be people like him. And i think it is a good thing how he interacts with the public. I think it is a good thing”

    https://twitter.com/peaceforchange/status/1195043876467290112

    Watch the complete interview here:

  • Railways staff destroys all my hard work: Shiekh Rasheed

    Railways staff destroys all my hard work: Shiekh Rasheed

    Federal Minister for Railways Shiekh Rasheed has blamed the railway staff for destroying his efforts that he has done for the betterment of railway, Geo reported.

    According to the details, the minister has said that due to increasing number of accidents, railway staff always waste his efforts, adding that such accidents should be avoided.

    He said, “I had done a lot about education in Pakistan, adding that soon there will be four universities in Rawalpindi.

    At least 74 people were killed and dozens injured on Thursday after cooking gas cylinders exploded near Rahim Yar Khan’s Liaqatpur area.

    The Tezgam train was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when the gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, killing and injuring passengers. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class carriages and one business class carriage.

    The railways minister had also announced a Rs1.5 million compensation for the families of the deceased in the Tezgam incident and Rs0.5 million for those injured.

  • What could be in Nawaz Sharif’s air ambulance?

    What could be in Nawaz Sharif’s air ambulance?

    Lahore High Court (LHC) has allowed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for four weeks for medical treatment, saying the duration could be extended based on medical reports.

    As per reports, an air ambulance will arrive on Tuesday morning to transport Nawaz Sharif to London. Nawaz’s physician, Dr Adnan Khan took to social media to announce that the former premier was scheduled to travel to London within 48 hours once he’s clinically stabilized.

    What is an air ambulance?

    Air ambulance is an aircraft that is equipped to fly as an intensive care unit (ICU).

    A
    medically staffed and equipped air ambulance provides medical care in flight
    while a non-medically equipped and staffed aircraft simply transports patients
    without a care in flight. All medical equipment and medications are selected to
    fit the needs of the patient that is being transported so it can differ from
    patient to patient.

    Common equipment for air ambulances includes medications, ventilators, ECGs (a test that measures the electrical activity of the heartbeat) and monitoring units, CPR equipment ( a life-saving technique that is used when someone is suffering from any emergency issue such as cardiac arrest, heart attack or drowning), and stretchers.

    The equipment in each air ambulance can include everything from breathing apparatus and monitoring systems, pacemakers and defibrillators (devices that restore a normal heartbeat by sending an electric pulse or shock to the heart) to blood transfusion equipment and a comprehensive supply of medication. The flight crew includes pilots and a medical team that will be able to meet patient needs.

    What Nawaz Sharif’s air ambulance will include?

    Dr Adnan tweeted that Nawaz’s ambulance would be equipped with a fully functional and staffed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as well as an operation theater. A team of doctors and paramedics headed by an Intensivist would also be there for Nawaz.

  • ‘Help me’: Altaf Hussain looks towards Modi for support

    ‘Help me’: Altaf Hussain looks towards Modi for support

    Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has reportedly requested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help him by giving him and his companions asylum and financial help.

    According to a report in The News, Hussain made his request in his first ever public speech after the police relaxed his bail conditions.

    In the speech, watched online by thousands of people, the MQM leader said he would like to travel to India because his forefathers are buried there.

    “If India’s Prime Minister Mr Modi allows me to come to India and provides me asylum with my colleagues, I am ready to come to India along with my colleagues because my grandfather is buried there. My grandmother is buried there and thousands of my relatives are buried there in India. I want to go to India to their graves.”

    Hussain, in his speech, alleged that his assets, house and offices were taken over in Karachi after August 22, 2017. He asked the Indian PM to help him with money if he could not provide him asylum.

    In fact, Altaf even supported the decision of the Indian Supreme Court in the disputed Babri Mosque case saying that Modi’s government has the “right to establish Hindu Raaj (rule)” and if Indian politician Asaduddin Owaisi and others did not like India, they should migrate to Pakistan.

    On October 10, Hussain was charged by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Services with the terrorism offence in a case related to his incendiary speech relayed from the UK to his followers in Pakistan in 2016.

    He is due to stand trial in June 2020 and passport remains with the UK police as part of his bail conditions and he is not allowed to apply for any travel document unless permitted by the court.

    Lawyers were now assessing whether Hussain has breached his bail conditions by asking Modi to let him stay in India while he awaits the trial of his case.

  • REVEALED: How much does SAPM Firdous Ashiq Awan make in a month?

    REVEALED: How much does SAPM Firdous Ashiq Awan make in a month?

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, may not be an official minister but her income is close to one’s.

    According to Geo News, details of Firdous’ salary and benefits were disclosed in the parliament on Friday, after questions were raised about it.

    The cabinet division revealed that Firdous receives a monthly salary of Rs406,000 along with an additional Rs93,700 as she has not been allotted a house from the government. This means that her total monthly income amounts to Rs499,700. Almost five lakh rupees!

    Meanwhile, federal ministers and advisers are paid a monthly salary of Rs448,000. Those who are not allotted a house by the government are provided with an extra Rs100,003 per month.

    Ministers and ministers of state are also provided cars and security guards for their use or for the use of their families.

    The cabinet division also shared that Firdous is not the in-charge of the ministry of information and broadcasting but is appointed in accordance with the status of a minister of state.