Tag: home-politics

  • Drugs awarded to Peshawar cops for good performance

    Drugs awarded to Peshawar cops for good performance

    The higher police officials in Peshawar have been alleged to have distributed drugs among the police constables as a gift for good performance.

    According to a recent newspaper clipping, the Peshawar police constables performed quite well over the past 6 months and managed to recover heavy amount of drugs from various places.

    So, in order to appreciate the raid team involved in recovering those drugs, the higher police officials distributed around “1-kilo drugs” (packets) to each of the raid team constables.

    However, CCPO (Capital City Police Officer) Karim Khan has directed SSP Coordination Sarfaraz Ali Shah to perform an inquiry on the matter and ordered a severe punishment for all those involved.

    Speaking on the matter SSP said, “we have visited all the areas specified in the news and have tried to gather evidence from people and police constables”, adding that we have not found any solid proof as of yet and the news seems fake.

    While talking on the morning show “Geo Pakistan” SSP Shah has requested the newspaper which published the story to provide any evidence (if they have any) on the matter and has asked them to help the authorities.

    “In case we found the news story to be fake or propaganda against the police, we will take strict action against the newspaper involved”, Shah added.

  • India irked by Pakistani writer of Bernie Sanders’ fiery Kashmir speech

    A Pakistani-American speechwriter Faiz Shakir, is said to be the author of Bernie Sanders’ fiery speech on Sunday, The Print has reported.

    Democratic presidential candidate for the US Elections 2020 Bernie Sanders in his speech expressed deep concerns over India’s “unacceptable” seizure of Kashmir and called the United States (US) to intervene for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

    According to the reports, many believe that Bernie’s campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, is the one who actually wrote Sanders’ Kashmir speech.

    Born to Pakistani immigrants in the US, Shakir has been deeply immersed in the world of activism and has managed to cultivate several important connections in the Democratic Party.

    He went on to study at Harvard and Georgetown Universities, and over the past decade, Shakir has developed a stellar resume by working with some of the biggest Democratic legislators and top-notch think tanks and civil liberties advocacy groups.

    After completing his education at prolific institutions, Shakir began working as a legislative aide to former Florida governor, Bob Graham. He then went to work as a junior staffer in the 2004 John Kerry presidential campaign.

    Following Kerry’s campaign, Shakir joined the liberal think-tank and advocacy group Centre for American Progress (CAP) in 2005 and worked there as a policy advisor.

    Later that year, Shakir helped CAP launch a news website called ThinkProgress, and worked there as the website’s editor-in-chief between 2007 and 2012. He helped turn it into a platform that garnered a lot of acclaim for its reporting on climate change.

    After his stint at CAP and ThinkProgress, Shakir joined prominent Democratic legislator Nancy Pelosi’s team as the “director, new media”. Pelosi is currently the majority leader of the US House of Representatives (lower chamber).

    After his stint with Pelosi, Shakir went on to work with esteemed Democratic Senator Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader between 2007 and 2015.

    In 2016 when Shakir joined Sanders’ presidential campaign team, he drew a lot of anger from his former boss Podesta, who was then managing Clinton’s campaign.

    After Sanders failed to win the Democratic primaries, Shakir joined civil rights advocacy group American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as its political director.

    Over the past two years, ACLU has been at the helm of legal and political resistance against the United States President Donald Trump’s policies, especially the “Muslim immigration ban”. ACLU is a major advocacy group and has over 12,00,000 members and more than $100 million at its disposal.

    Following Trump’s immigration ban, ACLU helped raise $24 million and Shakir played a big part in it. ACLU had also filed a lawsuit against Trump’s executive order, which led to a temporary stay on Trump’s immigration ban.

  • India sets up Hindu lord Ganesha’s military avatar amid tensions with Pakistan

    India sets up Hindu lord Ganesha’s military avatar amid tensions with Pakistan

    As tensions between Pakistan and India heighten following the latter’s revocation of Article 370 to rob occupied Kashmir of its autonomy, Hindu lord Ganesha has sported an army look on his birthday — Ganesha Chaturthi.

    Ganesha, a Hindu lord, is worshipped in the religion for several of his attributes, including the remover of obstacles. He is the patron of arts and sciences and the lord of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies.

    With Hindu devotees time and again erecting mighty statues of Ganesha sporting various looks across India, one that shows him in an Indian army uniform and holding a gun has garnered immense attention.

    While the move appears to be an attempt to boost the morale of Indian soldiers amid cross-border tensions and skirmishes across the Line of Control (LoC), it has not been very well received by netizens.

    Statues of Ganesha donning cricket jerseys during the ICC World Cup or other important tournaments is also a common sight in India.

  • Rana Sanaullah case: Shehryar Afridi backtracks on video claims

    Minister for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi has backtracked on his claims of having a video of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah’s arrest and the contraband recovered from his vehicle.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Afridi said that a team of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) followed Sanaullah for three weeks and “were not making a movie [that they’d have a video] when they arrested Rana Sanaullah”.

    The statement comes as a shock to many since the minister had earlier claimed that ANF had sufficient evidence against the PML-N lawmaker.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    But when asked about the video of the arrest, Afridi replied, “We have presented all the evidence and relevant details in the court”.

    The blunder isn’t the first of its kind, as previously, in a challan submitted before the court, ANF had claimed Sanaullah’s confession to involvement in drug smuggling.

    “I have been associated with drugs/narcotics smuggling for years. My expenditures swelled up soon after I entered into politics, but my income was not much. I developed links with drug smugglers after entering into politics, particularly after becoming Law Minister in the Punjab cabinet,” the PML-N leader was quoted as saying by the ANF.

    However, Sanaullah had denied all claims saying that he had not given any statement of confession to the ANF.

    “They took me to jail after arrest and not a single person spoke to me,” he had said.

  • ‘Nawaz, Zardari ready for plea bargain if Imran quits politics’

    ‘Nawaz, Zardari ready for plea bargain if Imran quits politics’

    Former jailed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari are ready to strike a deal for their release on the condition that PM Imran Khan leaves politics, senior journalist Dr Moeed Pirzada has said.

    Sharing a “theory doing rounds in political quarters”, while hosting “Hard Talk Pakistan” television programme on a private media outlet Monday night, the journalist said that the two incarcerated leaders were ready to pay even more than $10 billion, but do not want to plead guilty.

    “They are seeking plea bargains and might pay up to $20 billion, but are not ready to confess. They’re ready to leave the country but want a future for their children in politics,” he said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Rumours are rife for the past few days as several journalists claim an underhand deal allegedly being negotiated between political leaders jailed over corruption charges and the PM Imran-led government.

    No official statements have made headlines as of yet.

  • Kashmir crisis: India suffers major diplomatic defeat at European Union

    Kashmir crisis: India suffers major diplomatic defeat at European Union

    The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) has demanded the Indian government to immediately lift the 29-day curfew in occupied Kashmir, which has created a humanitarian crisis in the troubled valley.

    Expressing serious concern over the continued lockdown, suspension of all communication means and media blackout in the Muslim-majority region, the European Parliament strongly criticised India and condemned the Modi-led government for its brutal action that has brought life to a standstill in the held Kashmir.

    Raising their voice for the oppressed Kashmiris, the members also demanded India to begin a dialogue with Pakistan, adding that the European Union (EU) and the European Parliament should issue a reactionary statement on the situation in occupied Kashmir as soon as possible.

    BRITISH KASHMIRIS BOYCOTT INDIAN RICE

    Meanwhile, over a million Kashmiris in the United Kingdom (UK) have boycotted Indian rice in protest against New Delhi’s move to strip Kashmir of its special status.

    According to Radio Pakistan, 1.2 million British Kashmiris have boycotted the Indian product to send a message to the country against abrogation of Article 370.

    The report said that Indian rice has also been put on sale at lower prices due to the decrease in demand in the UK.

  • ‘CM Buzdar likely to lose his job’

    ‘CM Buzdar likely to lose his job’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has held one-on-one meetings with Punjab information and culture as well as higher education ministers, fueling rumours that Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar’s job might be at risk, Pakistan Today has reported.

    According to reports, Info Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Higher Education’s Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz are being considered for the slot of Punjab CM in Buzdar’s place.

    Some powerful circles in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are making efforts to elevate Iqbal to the top slot and it is quite likely that he will be appointed as the next provincial chief executive, reports said.

    “I talked to the PM about information technology and Iqbal must have talked to him about his own ministry,” the English daily quoted Yasir as saying. “The premier is satisfied with the provincial cabinet’s performance and there are no changes expected soon.”

    Meanwhile, sources also confirmed The Current that no such development was on cards.

    The representative of Dera Ghazi Khan’s PP-286 constituency since his 2018 electoral win, Buzdar was nominated as PTI’s candidate for the office of Punjab CM in August last year.

    His nomination by PM Imran had surprised many within the party and subsequent election as the provincial chief executive had left the opposition stunned. Despite criticism, PM Imran has time and again reiterated his support for CM Buzdar.

  • Information warfare: Indian army chief accepts defeat against Pakistan

    Information warfare: Indian army chief accepts defeat against Pakistan

    Expressing fear over Pakistan’s strategy on information warfare, Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat has admitted India’s defeat, Dunya News reported Tuesday.

    According to reports, days after operational information of the Indian army was leaked, Gen Rawat said that such incidents had compelled him to warn former army officials to be careful while using social media.

    An ex-general of the Indian Army, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) — military’s media wing — had “outclassed the Indian army in information war” by connecting with the masses.

    He said that India started losing the narrative in occupied Kashmir after ISPR smartly ensured detailed alienation of Kashmiris against Indian armed forces.

    “Our army has made several tactical mistakes over the past 30 years and using military operations for psychological warfare was India’s fatal mistake,” the former military general added.

  • India loses it after ISPR chief’s posters surface in held Kashmir despite curfew

    India loses it after ISPR chief’s posters surface in held Kashmir despite curfew

    Posters and handbills with pictures of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor have surfaced in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) despite a lockdown in the troubled valley.

    According to Kashmir Media Service, the posters and handbills with pictures of Pakistan army’s spokesperson popped up in the disputed valley with the message that Pakistan would continue fighting for Kashmiris till its last soldier and bullet.

    In the posters, pro-independence Hurriyat activists also announced that the people of majority-Muslim IoK would jointly push India out of their homeland, which is a paradise on earth.

    The posters are reportedly being removed by Indian security forces.

    The valley is under strict lockdown since August 5 when the Narendra Modi-led government stripped IoK of its special status by repealing Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and robbing the region of its autonomy.

    The occupation forces have converted the valley into a garrison by deploying hundreds of thousands of troops and paramilitary personnel in every street, line and by-lane to stop people from staging demonstrations against the abrogation of the special status of the territory.

  • Naya Pakistan: FBR collects Rs580bn, petrol price decreased by Rs4.59

    Naya Pakistan: FBR collects Rs580bn, petrol price decreased by Rs4.59

    In two rare but good developments, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs580 billion within the first two months of the new fiscal year whereas the price of petrol has been slashed by Rs4.59 after successive escalation over the past few months.

    As per the details, FBR collected Rs297.4 billion this month, despite 8-10 non-working days. “So far, FBR’s target for FY2019-20 has been achieved to the extent of 90 per cent. Rs580 billion against the target of Rs644 billion,” the FBR chief was quoted as saying.

    “The positive aspects for the two months of FY2019-20 are that imports during the two months decreased by $1 billion,” he said, adding that the positive effect is taken into account, collection during the past two months is in line with the target.

    Meanwhile, according to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry, the prices of high-speed diesel, kerosene oil and light diesel have been lowered by Rs5.33, Rs4.27 and Rs5.63 per litre, respectively.

    The notification (effective September 1) came amid confusing statements by some cabinet members. The government had earlier issued a notification, stating ‘mistakenly’ that the price of high-speed diesel has been reduced by Rs7.67.