After Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Federal Minister for Communications Murad Seed has also confirmed that parliamentary leaders had met the military leadership and discussed matters related to the country, to which the army had stressed that it should be kept away from political parties’ matters.
“They target institutions and then ask for time for meetings,” Saeed said, referring to opposition leaders. He had said that the clear message from the military leadership was to “not involve the military in politics”.
According to reports, the military had conveyed clearly that the army was “not involved, directly or indirectly, in any political process of the country”.
“If the need arises, the army will stand with the civilian government,” a senior military official had told parliamentary leaders in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed. Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) administrative affairs were also on the meeting’s agenda.
The military leadership had told the civilians that the army was not involved in either electoral reforms or problems related to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other political matters. It had also told them that it was the responsibility of the political leadership to work out such matters between themselves.
A gang of half-naked robbers consecutively looted five houses in one night spreading panic among residents of Khushab.
Police said five half-naked dacoits have robbed five houses in the city’s Azeem Town, Gulshir Town, Shehzad Town, and Canal Rest House areas last night.
“The gang applied mustard oil on their bodies to escape the police arrest.”
In a CCTV video shared on media, they can be seen firing in the air after the robberies.
Police further said that cases have been registered against the culprits and that a search to apprehend them is underway.
A girl in Gujranwala, who had approached the police for the registration of a case against at least two men who assaulted her, was allegedly raped by the assistant sub-inspector (ASI) responsible to serve justice.
According to media reports, the incident took place when the girl, along with her father, approached Aroop police in Gujranwala to lodge a complaint against two men who had torn her clothes while assaulting her on September 9.
ASI Mubashar was appointed as the inquiry officer to look into the matter. The cop, however, instead of initiating legal action against the accused, sexually assaulted the woman.
“He kept calling me ‘sister’ and raped me,” the survivor said in a statement, adding that it was followed by the force pressurising her family and her to not pursue the matter.
Having lost faith in the local police, the survivor’s family has now approached Gujranwala city police officer (CPO), who has reportedly ordered a probe.
While the victim and her family continue to allege that senior police officials are also trying to save the ASI, The Current has learnt that Cantonment Superintendent of Police (SP) Hafeezur Rehman has vowed prompt justice.
“The case will be investigated on merit and departmental action will be initiated against the policeman if he is found guilty of rape,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani has also reportedly taken notice of the incident and directed the officials concerned to submit to him a detailed report.
Medical reports of the girl were awaited by the time this report was filed.
A conference of the mainstream opposition parties, dubbed as the All Parties Conference (APC), was held Islamabad on Sunday to devise a unanimous strategy to oust the government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Addressing the conference through video-link, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, who stayed in the background for more than a year, thanked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for “love with which he spoke to him a day earlier”, saying he would not forget it.
“I am thankful to the organisers of the conference for giving me the opportunity to talk. Even though I am away from my country, I know very well what condition the country and the people are in. I believe this is a decisive turn; it is necessary to protect democracy […] and take fearless decisions,” he said.
In an all-encompassing address, which centred on criticising the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Nawaz spoke on the “poor state” of Pakistan’s economy, “deteriorating” international relations, “muzzling” of media and “corruption within the PTI”. Similarly, Zardari criticised the government in his welcome note for not “allowing” Nawaz’s speech to be broadcast, he said they showed former president Pervez Musharraf’s interview.
“The country’s leader keeps harping on about accountability but he himself is involved in raising sugar prices. Will no reference be filed against him?” the former PM asked.
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He also repeated the opposition’s allegation that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), with the connivance of PTI, was carrying out only “selective accountability”.
Sharif has been residing in London since November last year on the pretext of medical treatment and has since maintained a distance from political activities. His party insists that despite being summoned by the courts, who declared him a proclaimed offender in a corruption probe, the former premier will only return after the completion of his medical treatment.
“If we do not do it [take a step] today, when will we?” asked Nawaz. “I agree with Maulana [Fazlur Rehman, chief of JUI-F] that we need to make this conference purposeful or people will be disappointed.”
“Pakistan has been constantly deprived of a democratic system […] When the vote is dishonoured, the entire democratic system becomes meaningless. When it is decided before the election process as to who will win and who will lose, then it can be guessed how the public is betrayed and how the public’s mandate is stolen,” he added.
Nawaz also hinted at the presence of a parallel justice system. “When a dictator was first brought into the courtroom for violating the Constitution, you saw what happened,” he said.
“Court gave dictators the right to play with the Constitution and acquitted someone who broke the Constitution twice […] Whereas the ones who follow the Constitution are still in jail,” he added.
The PML-N supremo said that former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani once pointed to “a state within a state” in Pakistan. “It is saddening that the situation has escalated to a state above the state. This parallel government illness is the root cause of our problems,” he said.
Speaking about the 2018 general elections, Nawaz said that the primary reason for the current problems were those people who “hijacked the people’s mandate by putting inexperienced people in power”. “This is a violation of the Constitution. Has anyone given a thought to what a grave crime it is to steal the people’s mandate?” he asked.
“Can I ask why the Results Transmission System (RTS) was closed for hours during the election, why polling agents were thrown out during counting? Why was rigging done, on whose saying and why? The secretary of election commission should answer and all those responsible will have to answer,” he remarked.
Nawaz alleged the government has enforced a “martial law”. “Criminals are allowed to make amendments to the Constitution […] the people’s premier is expelled and his family is insulted. This conference should bring forth a concrete plan of action for saving democracy, a concrete policy should be made for solving the problem of ‘a parallel state’,” he said.
“Our foremost priority should be removing this selected government and this system. Our struggle is not against Imran Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country,” Nawaz said. “If change is not brought, it will bring irreversible loss to this country. It is very important that our armed forces stay away from our governmental system according to our Constitution and the Quaid’s speech, and not interfere with the people’s choice. We have made this country a joke in our own eyes and internationally as well.”
“I again urge this all-party conference to go beyond its traditional ways and form a plan of action,” he added.
Concluding his speech, the former PM once again thanked the PPP and reminded the leaders that now was the time to unite.
“We have to decide that we are one and if the APC is succeeded in doing so, then this conference is successful,” he added.
Three men drowned in a huge pond while making a TikTok video in Karachi’s Rais Goth on Sunday.
According to reports, three friends, residents of Kemari Town, went to Rais Goth for a picnic where they decided to film a TikTok video at the bank of a pond situated near a stone crushing plant in the area.
One of the friends slipped and fell into the pond. His friends then jumped into the pond to rescue him but unfortunately, they all drowned.
After receiving emergency calls, police and rescue officials hurried to the spot and recovered their bodies from the pond which were then shifted to the hospital for medico-legal formalities.
The deceased were identified as Shehzad, Sajjad and Zubair.
Earlier on July 21, a boy had drowned in the Khanpur Dam while trying to take a selfie. The 20-year old was taking a selfie at the edge of the dam. According to details, a 20-year-old was attempting to take a selfie while standing at the edge of the dam when he suddenly lost his balance and fell into the dam.
A study published in Oxford University Press’ Journal of Public Health has found that 36% of Karachi’s residents have coronavirus antibodies and if current trends continue, there is lower chance of a second wave hitting the city due to the masses having achieved herd immunity.
Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection from a contagious disease that occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through vaccination or previous infections, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection for individuals who lack immunity.
Herd immunity develops when a significant chunk of the population has developed antibodies of a disease following infection, thereby reducing the chance of passing it on to others, which the researchers say is 60-70% of the population.
According to the study, conducted between May and July, if 36% of the adult population of Karachi is supposed to be seropositive (positive for COVID-19), then it can be assumed that in the next two-to-three months “∼60% of general population will become seropositive”.
“This assumption or theory if proven right then it will reduce the chance of a second wave in Karachi and increase the possibility of acquiring herd immunity,” the paper adds.
Anadolu Agencyquoted lead researcher, Dr Samreen Zaidi, as saying that further studies show that the seroprevalence rate has reached 60%, as was expected.
“We, on the basis of a gradual drop in cases, and other relevant factors, assume that there are low chances of a second wave of coronavirus,” Zaidi told Anadolu Agency.
However, she acknowledged: “Assumptions are assumptions.”
“The only limitation of this study is that our sample size is small. Therefore, we have recommended further and wide-ranging research on the government level to double-check the results of this study,” she said.
Hematologist and head of NIBD, Dr Tahir Shamsi, also claimed that the country has “almost” attained herd immunity, indicating that there are low chances of a second wave of the pandemic.
“The data this study shows is until July. We are in September now, and the latest statistics, and testing results suggest that the seroprevalence or immunity rate is almost 60% now,” Shamsi told Anadolu Agency.
He said the latest findings would be published after a month.
Pakistan’s young and talented paceman Shaheen Afridi has scripted history by claiming four wickets in four balls.
During Sunday’s Vitality Blast — professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties — fixture between Hampshire and Middlesex, the left-arm pacer took a wicket with each of his last four balls as he finished with figures of 6-19 from his four overs.
It’s just the sixth time in T20 history that a bowler has taken four wickets in four balls, which is known as a double hat-trick, and Afridi’s figures are the best ever by a Hampshire bowler and the equal-third best by a Pakistani.
Chasing 142 to win, Middlesex were in with a chance of victory when Afridi started his fourth and final over, with the visitors needing 23 to win from 18 balls with four wickets in hand and No.5 John Simpson on 47 not out.
But having conceded a single from each of his first two balls of the over, Afridi shattered Simpson’s stumps with an in-swinger from over the wicket before he set his sights on the Middlesex tail.
Switching to around the wicket, he cleaned up Steve Finn first ball with a nearly unplayable yorker before he secured the hat-trick as No 10 Thilan Walallawita had a swipe across the line and was also bowled.
Afridi then produced another full delivery that knocked over Tim Murtagh’s middle stump to finish the match and ensure his final act in his stint with Hampshire was a memorable one.
An All-Parties Conference (APC) took place on Sunday. Hosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the moot was attended by all major opposition parties.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif addressed the conference via video link. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mahmood Khan Achakzai of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Mohsin Dawar and several other opposition leaders also participated.
It was, however, Nawaz’s speech that set the tone, reflecting in the APC’s joint resolution.
Just days ago, the APC was being dismissed as just another show without much substance but the former prime minister’s speech changed that perception. The foremost reason why the APC was being dubbed a mere show was due to the opposition’s failure in the Senate (no-confidence move) and the passage of the recent FATF bills in the joint session despite protests. The opposition may not have been successful in these two endeavours but they seem to be on a mission now and they want to do it before the Senate elections in March 2021.
Nawaz said their struggle is not against Imran Khan but against those who brought Imran Khan to power by manipulating the elections. He said there is now a parallel government because there is “a state above the state now”.
The 26-point charter of demands by the APC announced the formation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which will be an anti-government movement. APC resolution states that the establishment’s role in politics must end. All state institutions should stay within their constitutional limitations. It also mentions how media is facing the worst censorship, the opposition demands that accountability of Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa be ensured, among other things.
The way the government has reacted to the APC and especially Nawaz’s speech shows there is panic among their ranks. From calling the APC “a flimsy attempt to put pressure on the government to back off on accountability” to asking institutions to take notice of Nawaz’s speech, it is quite evident that the opposition has unnerved the government.
The opposition has also given a roadmap and an action plan for the future. From countrywide protests starting soon to resignations from assemblies to vote of no-confidence to a long march in January, the opposition says all democratic options to get rid of the government are on the cards.
It seems that the opposition has decided to finally get serious. It remains to be seen how it all pans out and whether they will give real tough time to the government in the coming weeks and months. But the opposition cannot be written off.
Numerous men allegedly gang-raped a woman in her husband’s presence in Kala Shah Kaku, town of Sheikhupura, on Friday.
According toreports, the couple had arrived in Lahore from Rawalpindi on September 16 to find employment. The couple was sitting outside the Minar-e-Pakistan after they ran out of money when an unknown man promised to help them and took them to his village.
The couple said that the suspect trapped them with the promise to find jobs for them and a place to stay. However, when they reached Kala Shah Kaku, they were held hostage and four to five men, according to the woman, gang-raped her in front of her husband.
Police said that a case had been registered and an investigation is underway while six suspects have been arrested.
The woman’s DNA samples have been collected by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency, said the Sheikhupura DPO.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued a scathing verdict on increasing crime, abductions and land-grabbing activities in the federal capital, saying that government ministries and state institutions are involved in “illegal real estate business”.
IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah issued the remarks in a five-page order pertaining to the rise in said cases in Islamabad.
It also noted that the involvement of state institutions and ministries in real estate business raised “questions of conflict of interest”.
“Land-grabbing crimes are on the rise in Islamabad,” said the IHC top judge in the verdict, adding that reports were indicating how much corruption had made its way into the system.
He warned that the system was on the “verge of collapse”.
“Islamabad’s powerful elite is directly responsible for flouting laws,” said Justice Minallah. He added that there was no harm in saying that the “state has failed” to protect the common citizens.
The verdict also said that an alarming law and order situation in Islamabad was “unacceptable”.
“Institutions set up to protect fundamental rights of citizens are directly or indirectly involved in breaking the law,” noted the court.
