Tag: Jirga

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govt plans to remove most checkposts

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govt plans to remove most checkposts

    Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur has announced the removal of several checkpoints across the province.

    Citing the convenience of the people, he stated that the KP government intends to demolish the majority of check posts and urges the public to cooperate in maintaining law and order.

    He also clarified that the government plans to reinstate the elder jirga system in KP after reaching a consensus at district-level meetings.

    In response to Afghan Acting Consul General Muhib Ullah Shakil and his aide’s refusal to stand for Pakistan’s national anthem at the Peshawar conference, Gandapur stated, “It is their policy not to stand before any anthem that includes music.”

    However, Afghan Consulate Peshawar spokesperson Shahid Ullah clarified, “The Consul General did not stand due to the music in the anthem. We have even banned our own national anthem for the same reason.”

  • Imran is still being facilitated by traces that Faiz Hameed left: Maryam Nawaz

    Imran is still being facilitated by traces that Faiz Hameed left: Maryam Nawaz

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior Vice President and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz, while talking exclusively to Geo News’ programme “Jirga with Saleem Safi” shed light on the ongoing political crisis and emerging differences between her and the party’s senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    Claiming that the new setup in the establishment is neutral, Maryam Nawaz said that there are elements associated with Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed that are helping Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan because their interests are interlinked.

    She said that due to this support, Khan doesn’t appear before the court despite being called numerous times.

    Maryam deemed the content of the alleged audio leaks of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as “bench fixing”.

    “I said long ago that bench fixing is happening. Elahi’s leaked audio is its evidence,” she stated.

    All set for elections, says Maryam Nawaz

    Reflecting upon the provincial elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, which is the core demand of PTI, Maryam said that she and her party are all set for elections.

    When asked if the party was avoiding polls, Maryam stated: “Who said [we are] running away from elections? I am in front of the public and preparing for the polls.”

    She added that all the places that she has visited recently are a part of the election campaign. “We are preparing for the polls. Everyone wants a ticket from PML-N,” she claimed.

    The party’s chief organiser said that there is a list of people who wants PML-N’s tickets from all four provinces.

    Shahid Khaqan’s departure from PML-N would be an insult to me: Maryam Nawaz

    Addressing the rumours of a rift between her and former PML-N senior vice-president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Maryam said that she had a detailed conversation with him for two and a half hours about his resignation.

    Maryam said that Abbasi’s departure from the party will be an “insult to me, not to him”; however, Khaqan told her that she is like a sister to him. “He wanted to give me some space. I will not let Abbasi go, nor is he going anywhere,” she maintained.

    Don’t believe in revenge: Maryam Nawaz

    When asked that there are apprehensions that Maryam might take revenge when she comes to power, the PML-N senior vice president said, “I don’t have to do anything, they already are suffering because of their own deeds.”

    She said that she doesn’t believe in revenge and won’t do what Khan’s government did in the past to her party. Moreover, she said that now both the establishment and Khan are busy exposing each other.

    Maryam assures Nawaz’s return

    Maryam again assured party followers that her father, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, will come back. She said: “This is Nawaz Sharif’s homeland and he will return to the country.”

    “Fake cases were lodged against him and he not only appeared before the law [judiciary] but also accepted the victimisation with dignity in the larger interest of the country,” she said.

  • Gang-rape victim commits suicide after police does not register case

    Gang-rape victim commits suicide after police does not register case

    A woman who was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped on Thursday in Mehran Soomro village in Tharparkar has committed suicide.

    The woman was left at an isolated place near her village after the sexual assault. She remained unconscious for many hours before her relatives found her and took her to a hospital.

    After regaining consciousness, she gave a statement to the police, narrating the incident. She said she was kidnapped on her way to Hyderabad to get documents for her father’s pension.

    After her suicide, her brother registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the suspects, stating that the family was forced to take the matter to a jirga and not go to the police.

    He also said that area police were reluctant to register the case under the influence of certain local figures. Already traumatised by the rape, his sister could not bear her helplessness and took the extreme action of killing herself, he added.

    Later, on Monday, two nominated suspects were booked by the police. Station House Officer (SHO) Ali Hassan Chang of the Kaloi police station said that an investigation into the matter has been started.

  • Masjid Nikkah, no fireworks, no dancing: Swat Jirga issues code of conduct for weddings

    Masjid Nikkah, no fireworks, no dancing: Swat Jirga issues code of conduct for weddings

    A code of conduct has been made for wedding celebrations in Swat’s Mangalore village after a jirga on Sunday decided to eliminate unnecessary wedding customs.

    The jirga decision says that weddings would be simple and nikkah would be performed only in mosques. In addition, the ‘haq mehr’ (dower) from the husband’s family would be only seven tola gold. The bride’s father will not provide money or food to the groom’s family and the dowry list would be modest and brief.

    Chairman Qaumi Jirga Fazal Ghaffar stated that his own daughter’s wedding was simple and convenient for both families.

    As per the new code of conduct, the wedding ceremony attendees would only be given dates; bridal gowns would not be overly expensive, and the groom would only provide the bride with 10 suits.

    Walima or other marriage functions would be simple and will be held according to the financial resources of both families.

    Fireworks and dances would not be permitted at weddings or other celebrations.

  • ‘Pakistan is still under influence of the US’: Moeed Yusuf

    ‘Pakistan is still under influence of the US’: Moeed Yusuf

    National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf has made a statement that Pakistan’s foreign policy is still not free from the influence of the United States (US).

    In Geo News programme “Jirga”, the advisor said, “It [Pakistan] is still not [free from US influence] and I doubt that there is any country which is free from it.” He added that Pakistan does not have financial and economic independence as it does not have enough assets to meet the requirements of the increase in population.

    “When we cannot fulfill the demands, we seek foreign loans. When you procure loans, your economic sovereignty is compromised,” the national security adviser said.

    Moreover, he said that this affects a country’s foreign policy and when foreign policy is affected, you cannot run the affairs of the country properly.

    Responding to a query about Pakistan-India relations, he said that Islamabad wants to improve ties with New Delhi, but had to halt diplomatic contacts due to India’s on-seriousness and extremist attitude.

  • ‘PM Khan’s phone does not have messages of Gujarat massacre like Modi’: Fawad

    ‘PM Khan’s phone does not have messages of Gujarat massacre like Modi’: Fawad

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while speaking on Geo News’ programme ‘Jirga’, said, “Two days prior to the story of Pegasus spyware being published, I received a letter from The Guardian revealing that there was a list of phone numbers that had been hacked. Three numbers previously used by Prime Minister Imran Khan were also in the list.”

    Fawad said that the letter further added that he needed to confirm whether the numbers included in the list belonged to PM Khan or not.

    Fawad said that a team was being put together by the government, who would do the forensics to verify whether the premier’s phone was hacked or not. Only then will the government be able to tell if the attempt to hack the phone was successful or not.

    “It is confirmed that an attempt to hack the phone was made,” said Fawad.

    On being asked by Saleem Safi that if the phone was indeed hacked and the Indians did get the data from the premier’s phone, what implications would it have for the country, Fawad replied, ” PM Khan’s phone did not have messages of Gujarat massacre like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His phone does not have any orders of murder in it.”

    Fawad condemned how Modi and his government had hacked the phones of Indian journalists, judges, his own government officials, and other world leaders and said that the United Nations must intervene in this regard.

    Fawad Chaudhry added that the Foreign Office has taken notice of India’s use of Israeli spyware, Pegasus, to hack Prime Minister Imran Khan’s phone and had already said: “We call on the relevant UN bodies to thoroughly investigate the matter, bring the facts to light, and hold the Indian perpetrators to account.”

    When questioned about the meeting between Imran Khan and Narendra Modi before he came into power and whether it was discussed with the then government, Fawad responded that PM Khan’s meeting was public and the media was present. Fawad criticised Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with Afghan National Security Adviser (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib in London and said this was news shared with the Afghan media.

    “I won’t call Nawaz Sharif a traitor but it was a very irresponsible act by him,” added Fawad.

    Earlier this week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif was met by Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib and State Minister for Peace Sayed Sadat Naderi.

    The National Security Council of Afghanistan (NSCA) gave an update about the meeting on Twitter Saturday, saying that the Afghan state minister for peace and NSA discussed “matters of mutual interest” with the former Pakistan prime minister.

    Nawaz Sharif’s meeting faced extreme criticism from the government.