Tag: home-politics

  • ‘Maryam distances herself from NAB judge’s scandalous video’

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has informed the Supreme Court (SC) that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President (VP) Maryam Nawaz has “distanced herself” from the video scandal of ex-accountability court judge Arshad Malik, Express Tribune reported Thursday.

    Maryam on July 6 had presented to journalists a secretly recorded video of judge Arshad Malik and claimed that he was “forced to give the verdict against Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference case”.

    According to latest reports, FIA presented before the court a 105-page report, wherein it said that Maryam has now distanced herself from the video and placed burden of the details and specifics of the video upon Nasir Mehmood Butt.

    Butt is the person who reportedly recorded the conversation during which Malik had allegedly confessed convicting Nawaz under pressure.

    The FIA report further said that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has also distanced himself from the videotapes.

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had on July 12 removed Malik as a judge and directed the registrar to repatriate him to his parent department, the Lahore High Court (LHC).

  • Pak-India social media war ensues as India tries to ban Pakistani anchor

    Pak-India social media war ensues as India tries to ban Pakistani anchor

    There’s something fishy going on Twitter. Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that they have contacted Twitter after the social media forum blocked over 150 Pakistani accounts for raising their voice for the Kashmiri people. PTA also said that Twitter “blocked Pakistani accounts under the influence of Indian lobbies”.

    PTA’s press release via Twitter

    The PTA made clear to Twitter that 178 accounts had been blocked for “advocating Kashmiri rights and condemning Indian forces’ atrocities in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” and also said that, “It appears that the Twitter administration is under influence of Indian lobbies is depriving Pakistani users.”

    ARY’s prime time anchor, Arshad Sharif, also faced Indian social media aggression when India tried to get Twitter to ban his account.

    ARY Anchor Arshad Sharif gives details on Twitter

    The notice said that Arshad had been posting content that violates the law of India and requested him to remove the content.

    Notice from Twitter to ARY Anchor Arshad Sharif

    Arshad refused to do so and his Twitter account is banned in India.

  • PIA, Railways among other state entities’ losses rose to record Rs191.5bn under PML-N

    PIA, Railways among other state entities’ losses rose to record Rs191.5bn under PML-N

    Net losses faced by Pakistan’s State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) rose to mammoth Rs191.5 billion during the fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, The News has reported.

    According to reports, during FY2014-15, Pakistan’s SOEs were running into net profits of Rs52 billion, but they later turned into net losses of Rs44.7 billion during FY2015-16, followed by whopping losses of Rs191.5 billion — witnessing a record surge by over 330 per cent — in just one year.

    A report, prepared and released by the Ministry of Finance, admitted that among the top loss-making public sector entities were the National Highway Authority (NHA) by incurring that of Rs 133.488 billion, followed by Pakistan Railways (PR) with losses worth Rs40.702 billion and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with Rs39.5 billion.

    Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), that is now being revived through a public-private partnership, also clinched a spot among the top ten loss-making SOEs for suffering those worth Rs 14.852 billion during FY2016-17.

    Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO), Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) and Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) were also among the entities that faced the most losses.

  • Govt begins revival of Pakistan Steel Mills, aims to boost production to 3 million tonnes

    Govt begins revival of Pakistan Steel Mills, aims to boost production to 3 million tonnes

    The government has initiated the revival process of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and is aiming to enhance its production capacity from 1.1 million to 3 million tonnes a year, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

    According to the details, the government, under the new revival plan, wants to make PSM a profitable organisation through public-private partnership.

    For the purpose, the government is inviting applications for PSM’s new chief executive officer (CEO) and is looking for a dynamic, results-oriented leader with immaculate credentials and experience.

    Currently, PSM is the largest industrial mega-corporation. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had put PSM on the privatisation list, but the government had later decided against it and initiated the process of reviving the steel mills through a public-private partnership.

  • Moeed Pirzada gets robbed in London; loses passport, travel bags

    Moeed Pirzada gets robbed in London; loses passport, travel bags

    Renowned anchorperson and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada has been robbed on his London trip, a tweet by the journalist revealed Wednesday.

    “I was in London, experienced a high street robbery, lost travel bags & passports, just reached back after getting travel documents, will resume TV programs from Friday, Insha Allah [sic]!” he tweeted when asked by a follower about his absence from the micro-blogging website.

    Sharing if he had ever experienced such an incident in Pakistan, Pirzada wrote:

    “Had you ever experienced such a thing in Pakistan?” another user had asked.

  • VIDEO: ‘No one drives cars as old as our jets,’ Indian air chief says

    VIDEO: ‘No one drives cars as old as our jets,’ Indian air chief says

    Indian Air Chief Birender Singh Dhanoa has exposed the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) weakness by saying that they are still flying 44-year-old MiG-21 fighter jets “when no one even drives cars that old”.

    Addressing a seminar on the modernisation and indigenisation of the IAF, he said even the Russians were not flying the MiGs, but the IAF was because they had “overhauling facilities”.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Dhanoa also said the basic version of the Russian fighter jet would be phased out this year, “Hopefully, I will fly the last sortie in September, subject to visibility”.

    Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and later taken into custody in February this year, was also flying the MiG-21 fighter jet.

    Abhinandan’s jet called MiG-21 Bison, however, was an upgraded version of the aircraft.

  • Breaking all records, Railways generates revenue of Rs54.60 billion

    Breaking all records, Railways generates revenue of Rs54.60 billion

    Pakistan Railways (PR) has registered over a 10 per cent increase in its annual revenue during the first year of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government by generating record Rs54.60 billion.

    According to the one-year performance report of the PTI released Monday, PR has generated the highest-ever revenue during the fiscal year 2018-19 against last financial year’s Rs49.5 billion.

    The government claims that through special initiatives, PR has managed to generate additional revenue of Rs10 billion that helped reduce its annual deficit by Rs4 billion.

    The report further said that PR has added 24 new passenger trains — refurbished locally at PR installations in Lahore and Islamabad — besides increasing the number of rail passengers to 70 million (travelling by trains in a year) and retrieving 383 acres of encroached land worth Rs30 billion among other reforms.

  • Army chief dismisses serving major for misusing authority

    Army chief dismisses serving major for misusing authority

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has dismissed a Pakistan Army major from service for misusing authority, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement issued Tuesday.

    “The court adjudged the accused officer guilty of misusing his authority. Pakistan Army, alive to its institutional accountability system has dismissed the officer from service and sent him to jail  for life,” the statement read.

    The sentence, passed after the officer was tried by a field general court-martial, was confirmed by COAS Gen Bajwa.

    Earlier, a three-star retired general had been sentenced to 14 years in jail and a retired brigadier awarded the death sentence by field general courts-martial on charges of espionage and leaking “sensitive information” to foreign agencies.

  • Over 40 Azad Kashmir residents stranded in India after authorities ‘refuse to open border’

    Over 40 Azad Kashmir residents stranded in India after authorities ‘refuse to open border’

    As many as 42 residents of Pakistan’s Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) region have been left stranded in India after authorities reportedly refused to open “Rah-e-Milan” gate on the Line of Control (LoC) for the weekly bus service.

    The bus service that runs across the LoC — between AJK’s Rawalakot and Indian occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) Poonch district — is the brainchild of former IoK chief minister (CM) Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

    “Every Monday the weekly bus service operates between Rawalakot and Poonch via Chakan da Bagh, but this week it didn’t,” Indian media reports quoted an Indian official as saying.

    Out of 42 AJK residents left stranded in Poonch, 27 were due for their return today and taken to the gates at the LoC around 11 am on Monday, but Pakistani authorities didn’t let them pass forcing their return to Chakan da Bagh crossing point.

    “We conveyed the message to Pakistani authorities but they didn’t respond and hence the bus service could not operate,” the official said.

    Tensions are running high on either side of the border ever since New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of its constitution to rob the disputed valley of its autonomy.

    The disruption in cross border travel follows Pakistan’s decision to suspend operations of Samjhauta Express between Wagah in Pakistan and Attari in India along with Thar Express that used to connect Khokhrapar in Pakistan with Munabao in India’s Rajasthan state.

    Earlier this month, the Lahore-Delhi bus service was also suspended.

  • VIDEO: Indian cops beat each other up for front seat in patrol vehicle

    VIDEO: Indian cops beat each other up for front seat in patrol vehicle

    A video of two Indian cops in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) state of the country, which shows them beating each other up “for the front seat of the patrol vehicle”, has gone viral over the internet.

    According to Times of India, the video was shot as the two Police Response Vehicle (PRV) constables fought for the front seat in the vehicle that was to patrol around the Bithoor town of UP’s Kanpur district.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvBDWl8PKao

    The footage, shot by a passerby on August 18, also shows a third cop trying to bring his colleagues to peace.

    The UP police have reportedly suspended the constables for their inappropriate behaviour on duty.