In contradiction to Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed’s claims, Pakistan Railways (PR) has suffered a loss of Rs28.62 billion within the first eight months of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, it was revealed Friday.
Just last month, Rasheed had claimed that PR has generated a profit of Rs43 billion ever since he was handed the reins of the department.
However, according to a report submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways, the department’s total expenditure stands at Rs72 billion, while six of the 10 new trains inaugurated by Rasheed are suffering losses.
The trains running to further ruin the crippling department include Dhabeji Express, Shah Latif Express, Mohenjodaro Express, Rohi Passenger Train, Thal-Mianwali Express, Faisalabad Non-Stop Train and Rawalpindi Express.
An Indian soldier has been arrested for passing information
on troop movements and military exercises to an alleged Pakistani spy, who “honey
trapped” him on social media.
Honey trapping is an investigative practice that uses
romantic relationships for political or monetary gains.
According to India Today, the 26-year-old havildar, posted in an infantry battalion in Madhya Pradesh, was reportedly charmed into sharing the information by a Pakistani woman whose profile claimed she was an international journalist.
As they chatted “regularly” on Facebook and WhatsApp, he
began supplying her with sensitive information on military maneuvers,
eventually even receiving assignments regarding what information to provide.
The soldier was finally arrested on Thursday after six
months’ surveillance by military intelligence.
There has been a surge in the number of Indian soldiers that
are tricked by Facebook accounts being operated from within Pakistan into revealing
sensitive information, including troop and tank movements.
According to a CNN report, Indian soldiers are “honey trapped” into giving sensitive information to fake Pakistani Facebook accounts which highlights the widespread “catfishing” problem facing India’s military.
Televangelist Aamir Liaquat Hussain has claimed that Bermuda
Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is “actually the right eye of Dajjal
(Antichrist)”.
Liaquat revealed the “reality” behind the loosely-defined region
of the North Atlantic Ocean while hosting a Ramzan show on Pakistan Television
(PTV).
A number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under
mysterious circumstances in the area.
While the TV host — also an elected representative — is
not the first person to have such a theory about the region, most reputable
sources dismiss the idea that there is any mystery.
Several people believe that the Bermuda Triangle and the
surrounding areas are either haunted or occupied by aliens.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif has applied for political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK), a private media outlet reported on Wednesday night.
According to BOL News, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, who is facing multiple National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases of corruption and misuse of power as Punjab chief minister, has applied for political refuge.
Soon after the report was aired, other media outlets made similar claims as another popular channel explained why one seeks humanitarian protection outside his or her home country.
Social media was abuzz with conflicting reports when Shehbaz’s spokesperson Attaullah Tarar took to Twitter to clarify the situation.
میاں شہبازشریف سے متعلق جو خبریں گردش کررہی ہیں کہ انہوں نے برطانیہ میں سیاسی پناہ کیلیے درخواست دی ہے یہ بالکل جھوٹی اور بے بنیاد خبریں ہیں یہ شہبازشریف صاحب کے مخالفین کی خواہش تو ہوسکتی ہے مگر اس میں کوئی صداقت نہیں.@TararAttaullahpic.twitter.com/7Fn6J89weO
Rubbishing the claims, Tarar said Shehbaz will be returning to Pakistan before the budget session for the fiscal year 2019-20 in the National Assembly and Senate on May 24.
He said that the younger Sharif had an appointment with a cancer specialist on May 8 in London and another one on May 14. “It is likely that he may be suggested a few more tests after which he will be returning to Pakistan,” he said.
Earlier, Shehbaz himself had also said he would be back in Pakistan in a matter of days.
“I have a few medical check-ups to attend to in the next few days and I will be returning to Pakistan after that. It could be much sooner than the budget session,” he had told a media outlet earlier this month.
Shehbaz, a cancer patient, has been in London for over three weeks now. He has reportedly undergone various tests as part of his medical check-ups, especially for the pain he had developed while in NAB custody.
Despite the ire that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has drawn for its economic policies and questionable performance of some of its lawmakers, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar has outperformed all his counterparts.
According to the latest survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan, CM Buzdar has topped performance charts against the chief ministers of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh.
The survey was conducted on the holistic performance of all
chief ministers in the previous year. As many as 37 per cent people termed CM Buzdar’s
performance good, followed by KP CM at 34 per cent, Balochistan CM at 30 per cent
and then Sindh CM at 27 per cent.
A total of 60 per cent of Pakistanis (those who voted for him
as very good, good and appropriate) are satisfied with CM Buzdar’s performance.
A large chunk (65 per cent) of youngsters are among those satisfied
with the Punjab CM.
‘WE LOVE IMRAN KHAN’:
Meanwhile, a majority of Pakistanis have a favourable
opinion of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s performance after his first nine
months in power.
According to the same survey, 58 per cent people are
satisfied with his individual performance as prime minister.
The survey, however, showed that the performance of the PTI
government in the field of economy was weaker than the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) government. According to 51 per cent people, the PML-N government’s
performance in the field of economy was better than the current government.
Former finance minister Asad Umar has reportedly refused to comment on the financial bailout package by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying he doesn’t have anything to do with it anymore.
“Ask me about samosa and pakora prices instead,” he said when questioned about the IMF programme during a recent media interaction.
The former minister said he was no longer a part of the government and was only a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member. “So whatever is happening, ask about it from advisers and ministers concerned,” he added.
“What does it have to do with me now?”
Pakistan and the IMF on Sunday reached an agreement under which the global lender would provide $6 billion to Islamabad over a period of three years. The loan is to help the country make its way out of the prevailing economic crisis.
Umar had played an important role in negotiating the deal as the finance minister. However, on April 18, he had announced to quit his portfolio after being told to do so by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.
The Senate has passed a resolution to allow aspirants of Central Superior Services (CSS) to take their examinations in Urdu alongside English.
The resolution, passed on Monday with majority, was moved by
Jamaate Islami (JI) Senator Sirajul Haq.
In defence of his resolution, the JI chief said that Article 251 of the Constitution clearly directed to implement Urdu as the official language, however, it could not have been executed even after 45 years.
Taking the floor, State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said if the decision was implemented in haste, the drop out percentage in the exams would increase.
“Students should be given an option to attempt the exams in their
preferred language,” he added while assuring the upper house of implementation.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sassui Palijo, on the
other hand, opposed the resolution and said English was an international
language.
“Countries like China, France and Germany, who were so concerned about their languages, are also promoting English to prepare their people to compete at the international level,” she added.
Palijo further said that it would not be wise to “confine talents
to Urdu language”.
Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry
has revealed that he was earning way more as a television anchor and by practicing
law in the past than at present as a minister.
“A minister’s salary is Rs345,000, out of which the house rent is Rs90,000. We are paid Rs255,000 after that,” he tweeted while replying to a person who had asked him his salary amid massive budget cuts by the government.
Minister ki Tankhaw 3,45,000 hai 90 hazar house rent jata hai so 2 lakh 55 hazar miltay hein https://t.co/1JwJVbDoZz
His salary at present is way less than the one he received as a television anchor for a private media outlet, as a known fact is how stalwarts like Fawad earn in millions while hosting shows.
The same has been confessed by Fawad himself earlier. Speaking to a private media outlet in October 2018, he had said his income as a minister is way less than what he was getting as an anchor.
When asked if he has any regrets after assuming office as a
minister now that he doesn’t get any time to perform other duties, Fawad had said,
“It is true that we have hefty engagements as ministers but our salaries are
also very low.”
An image has been shared multiple times on social media alongside the claim it shows Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi dining with his Pakistani counterpart, Imran Khan.
The claim is false as PM Imran’s photo has been doctored to make it appear as though Modi is sitting beside him, reported AFP Fact Check, a blog that focuses on fact-checking in response to the multiplication of disinformation online.
The post’s Hindi language caption translates to English as:
“The one with the green cap looks a little familiar.”
Meanwhile, another picture breaking the internet showed Indian National Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Modi’s place.
The Hindi language caption of that image translates to
English as: “Who is this eating chicken biryani beside Miya Imran? Now the
people will judge. This is Pappu’s condition.”
Miya is an honorific for Muslim males, while Rahul Gandhi is
often referred to as “Pappu” – which means “fool” or
“simpleton” in Hindi – by supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP).
A reverse image search on Google found the image was doctored from this photo, which was posted on Twitter on July 5, 2015. The photo shows PM Imran dining with his then-wife Reham Khan.
Modi’s BJP has been accusing the Congress of playing for Pakistan.
It has even claimed that Islamabad “wants to fix the polling results in favour
of Congress”.
Things, however, took an unexpected turn after PM Imran said
there was better chance of peace between the neighbouring countries if
hardliner BJP was elected to power.
The statement was not very well received by a majority of
people right before the general polls in world’s largest democracy. Congress said
Pakistan had “now officially allied” with Modi and voting for him was “a vote
for Imran Khan”.
Seeking votes in national defence’s name and aggression towards Pakistan ahead of elections is not new to Indian politicians. The outcome of the 2019 general polls will also give a verdict on Modi’s hyper-Hindu nationalism that raised his nationalist BJP to power in 2014.
Indian National Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has praised Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for remembering the King of Mysore, Tipu Sultan, on his death anniversary, Hindustan Timesreported.
The Lok Sabha member took to Twitter to praise PM Imran for the interest he shows in the history of the subcontinent.
“One thing I personally know about Imran Khan is that his interest in the shared history of the Indian subcontinent is genuine and far-reaching,” he tweeted.
“He read; he cares. It is disappointing, though, that it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero on his punyathithi,” Tharoor added.
One thing i personally know about @imranKhanPTI is that his interest in the shared history of the Indian subcontinent is genuine & far-reaching. He read; he cares. It is disappointing, though, that it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero on his punyathithi. https://t.co/kWIySEQcJM
The tweet came after the premier paid a tribute to Tipu Sultan on his death anniversary on May 4.
Today 4th May is the death anniversary of Tipu Sultan – a man I admire because he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than live a life of enslavement.
“Today 4th May is the death anniversary of Tipu Sultan – a man I admire because he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than live a life of enslavement,” PM Imran had tweeted.
