Tag: Pakistan

  • VIP protocol for Maryam Nawaz in Islamabad

    VIP protocol for Maryam Nawaz in Islamabad

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz was given VIP protocol upon her arrival in Islamabad, Dunya News reported on Friday.

    According to media reports, the security plan was designed under the supervision of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Parliament Lodges through which 16 security personnel, including police and FC, were appointed outside the are where Maryam Nawaz was staying.

    Security personnel were strictly prohibited from using their mobile phones during duty hours. The Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) was also tasked with managing parking and traffic flow outside Parliament Lodges during Maryam Nawaz’s stay.

    On January 3, Maryam was appointed as the party’s “Chief Organiser” and “Senior Vice President”. Later, she returned to the country from London, to take charge of her new responsibilities after a three-month absence.

  • Maryam Nawaz stops Safdar from speaking on behalf of party

    Maryam Nawaz stops Safdar from speaking on behalf of party

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz has reportedly stopped her husband—Captain (retired) Safdar—from delivering any ‘policy statement’ after he criticised the party’s leadership in an exclusive interview with ARY News.

    According to media reports, the senior vice president made it clear that no party leader, including her husband, should give any statement that goes against the party’s policy.

    She also warned the party that strict action would be taken against those who deviate from the directives.

    ‘Don’t see Maryam Nawaz becoming PM in near future’: Capt Safdar

    Earlier, Safdar said that he doesn’t see his wife becoming the Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan in the near future.

    He said, “I don’t see Maryam Nawaz becoming PM in near future”, adding that if PM Shehbaz Sharif gets elected in 2025, the country will prosper.

    He said the ‘vote ko izzat do‘ narrative of the party was buried on the day when PML-N decided to vote in parliament in favour of an extension to the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa. Safdar said he thinks whoever voted for Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension except for Pervaiz Rasheed, are “criminals”.

    Replying to a question about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dissident leaders, Safdar said the parliamentarians should not change their loyalties. “It is not right to win elections on PTI’s tickets and later change your loyalties for power,” he maintained.

    Safdar was of the view that elections in Punjab and KP shouldn’t be held now and went on to say to hold general elections in 2025 after the recovery of the economy.

    In a turn of events, he also regretted his personal attacks on his party rival, Imran Khan, and said that political rivalry should remain political, not personal.

    Talking about PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi—who recently resigned from his position as the party’s vice president after Maryam’s elevation— Safdar said that Shahid doesn’t need a position and praised him.

    On January 3, Maryam was appointed as the party’s “Chief Organiser” and “Senior Vice President”. Later, she returned to the country to take charge of her new responsibilities after a three-month absence.

  • Gen Bajwa ‘denies’ Javed Chaudhry’s assertion that he called Imran Khan dangerous for Pakistan

    Gen Bajwa ‘denies’ Javed Chaudhry’s assertion that he called Imran Khan dangerous for Pakistan

    Former retired Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has denied calling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan “dangerous for Pakistan”.

    Javed Chaudhry, in a column published in Express News, had written that he questioned Bajwa how his decision of not saving Khan’s government was right. Chaudhry then quotes Bajwa’s response, “Our reading was that they [PTI] were dangerous for Pakistan. If they stayed [in power] the country would not be able to function.”

    Senoir journalist Mansoor Ali Khan in his vlog discussed Gen Bajwa’s denial. Mansoor, quoting the retired army chief, said that he got a call from him [Gen Bajwa] where he told Mansoor that he had not said anything of the kind to Javed Chaudhry. “Gen Bajwa said he has never said such a thing to Chaudhry and never had any understanding of the sort Chaudhry has written about,” said Mansoor.

    He further stated that Gen Bajwa has directly denied this one statement written in the column. However, Mansoor did say that the other information mentioned in the column by Chaudhry is almost 99 per cent accurate.

    Gen Bajwa has also sent his point of view to Javed Chaudhry so that the columnist may rectify his words.

  • Najam Sethi wants Wahab Riaz to take oath as Punjab sports minister after PSL

    Najam Sethi wants Wahab Riaz to take oath as Punjab sports minister after PSL

    Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi has called Punjab caretaker Chief Minister (CM) Mohsin Naqvi to request him to delay the oath-taking ceremony of left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz as the caretaker Sports Minister of Punjab.

    The chairman was of the view that Riaz needs concentration as he is the only bowler to complete a century of wickets.

    Subsequently, Naqvi accepted Najam’s request, hence Riaz will take oath after the PSL’s eighth edition, which is going to start on February 13.

    Wahab Riaz is the new Punjab sports minister

    Last month, Riaz was named as the sports minister.

    The left-arm bowler has 237 wickets in 156 matches across cricketing formats. It is important to note that the 37-year-old bowler played for his country in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy

  • PTA barred from block websites without consulting IT Ministry

    PTA barred from block websites without consulting IT Ministry

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has to consult with The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications before blocking any website in the country, a ministerial committee meeting has decided.

    Syed Aminul Haque, the minister of information technology, served as the meeting’s chair. Following PTA’s blocking of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, the committee was created by the prime minister on February 6.

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    The Pakistan government on February 06 reversed the ban on Wikipedia after outrage on restricting the online encyclopedia.

    The ban was put in place by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) due to “unlawful” content.

  • PM Shehbaz says Pakistan will never leave Turkey, Syria alone in these circumstances

    PM Shehbaz says Pakistan will never leave Turkey, Syria alone in these circumstances

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced that the federal government has allocated Rs10 billion to help Turkey’s earthquake relief efforts.

    The premier said that Pakistan will never leave alone Turkey in these circumstances, urging the nation to pray for the victims of the earthquake in Friday prayers today.

    “I believe that the people of Turkey and Syria will come out of this difficulty,” he said, adding that Pakistan assured Turkey of assistance on the very day the tragedy took place.

    “A committee has been formed to send funds to Turkey. 1,486 tonnes of relief goods are being sent to Turkey and Syria,” he added.

    The premier said that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will purchase relief items — such as tents, clothes, blankets and dry food — from the fund and dispatch them to Turkiye.

    “Destruction of such magnitude is seldom seen, where parents have lost their children and infants have become orphans […] there are dreadful visuals everywhere,” he noted.

    However, the prime minister asserted that under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the people of Turkiye would emerge out of the crisis. “And so will our brothers in Syria,” he said.

    More than 21,000 people have died in Turkiye after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck the region in the early hours of Monday morning. The hope of pulling out survivors from underneath the rubble diminishes as the days pass and freezing temperatures continue unabated.

  • US sees TTP as a threat to Pakistan

    US sees TTP as a threat to Pakistan

    Counselor of the United States (US) State Department, Derek Chollet, has said that his country sees the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a threat to Pakistan.

    While talking to ARY, Chollet said, “We have seen [TTP] in a terrible way a threat to Pakistan. The US considers any terrorist act as unexpectable.”

    The Counselor will pay an important visit to Pakistan during the ongoing week to explore possibilities of coordinating efforts to combat terrorism.

    He was also of the view that there is a great opportunity to further improve the relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

    The US diplomat said that Pakistan and US are working together to deal with the threats of terrorism.

    Since government talks with the TTP broke down in November, the militant group has intensified its attacks across Pakistan including attacks on the police.

    According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018.

    Most recently, more than 100 people lost their lives during a suicide attack at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines. The TTP initially claimed responsibility for the attack, however, it later backtracked and claimed that they did not perpetrate the bombing.

  • IMF should protect low-income people in Pakistan’s economic crisis: Human Rights Watch

    IMF should protect low-income people in Pakistan’s economic crisis: Human Rights Watch

    International Monetary Fund (IMF) should collaborate with the government of Pakistan to protect the economically disadvantaged by expanding social protection systems and minimizing reforms that may have adverse effects on the most vulnerable population, according to Human Rights Watch.

    The country is currently grappling with pressing issues such as inflation, poverty, inadequate governance, limited reserves, and high unemployment. Pakistan initiated discussions with the IMF on February 1st to formulate a plan to revive the economy, including securing the ninth tranche of $1.1 billion in loans from the $6.5 billion bailout.

    “Millions of Pakistanis have been pushed into poverty and denied their fundamental social and economic rights,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

    In addition, she emphasized that the IMF and the Pakistani government have a duty to manage this crisis in a manner that prioritizes and safeguards the well-being of low-income individuals.

    According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), foreign exchange reserves have reached their lowest level at $3.09 billion, a decrease of 16%, sufficient to cover less than three weeks of imports.

    Pakistan is currently experiencing its highest inflation rates since 1975, with the cost of perishable food items rising by over 60% in January. In response to IMF demands, the government of Pakistan recently raised prices of petrol and diesel by Rs35 and removed the cap on the dollar, as it was a crucial condition of the IMF and the dollar should be market-driven.

    The ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are aimed at concluding the ninth review of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility, designed to support countries facing balance-of-payments challenges.

    The completion of this review would provide the necessary clearance for the IMF’s bailout installment, which would alleviate the severe shortage of foreign exchange and enable access to additional funding sources, including from multilateral and bilateral donors.

  • Wikipedia is now working in Pakistan

    Wikipedia is now working in Pakistan

    A two-day-old ban on Wikipedia was reversed by the Pakistani government after outrage on restricting the online encyclopaedia.

    The ban was put in place by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) due to “unlawful” content.

    The website is now working in Pakistan.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered the PTA to restore the online encyclopedia with “immediate effect”.

    “Blocking the site in its entirety was not a suitable measure to restrict access to some objectionable content,” a statement issued by the PM’s office read.
    “The unintended consequences of this blanket ban, therefore, outweigh its benefits,” it added.

    PTA blocked Wikipedia in the country last week for not removing sacrilegious content from the website.

  • General Musharraf laid to rest in Karachi

    General Musharraf laid to rest in Karachi

    The funeral prayer of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was performed in Malir Cantt, Karachi, after which he was laid to rest with full military honours.

    Former Army Chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Gen (R) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani attended the prayer, among others.

    On February 5, Musharraf passed away in Dubai.

    Gen Musharraf’s body will be flown to Pakistan today

    A day earlier, it was reported that Musharraf’s body would be repatriated to Pakistan today from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he passed away on Sunday.

    Musharraf died at the age of 79 after a prolonged illness.

    The Pakistani embassy in the UAE had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the repatriation of Musharraf’s body to Pakistan at the request of his family.

    According to reports, Musharraf’s mortal remains were to be flown to his homeland at 11:30 am, Pakistan time. However, there has been a delay and the special jet will leave for Pakistan in the afternoon.