Tag: Pakistan

  • Japan opens doors for trained Pakistani labourers

    Japan opens doors for trained Pakistani labourers

    Islamabad and Tokyo have signed a memorandum of cooperation, under which trained Pakistani labourers would be provided with employment opportunities in Japan, Profit reported.

    The agreement was signed in the presence of Special Assistant to PM on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfiqar Bukhari, Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Kuninori Matsuda, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and other high-level officials.

    “The newly signed memorandum will help the trained Pakistani labourers get employment in Japan,” said a statement issued by the ministry. “This is a major milestone that will further enhance bilateral ties between both countries.”

    Addressing the ceremony, the Japanese envoy termed the agreement a “special occasion” for both nations, saying that it would play a key role in strengthening the existing ties between Pakistan and Japan.

    “Japanese language and technical expertise are essential for employment in Japan; the country needs approximately 340,000 trained labourers,” he added.

    Speaking on the occasion, Zulfiqar Bukhari highlighted that 65 per cent of the Pakistan population was below the age of 35, adding that employment opportunities were present in 14 sectors of Japan.

    He urged the youth to especially focus on the information technology sector citing future needs.

    On December 20, the Japanese ambassador had met Zulfiqar Bukhari for a pre-discussion on the agreement which is signed on Monday (today).

    According to a statement issued by the ministry, the two sides had discussed a wide range of issues related to trade, tourism and manpower.

    The envoy had informed that Japan would build a network, in collaboration with language universities in Pakistan, and carry out 3 to 6 months language proficiency course with e-learning facilities for far-flung areas so as to accommodate the maximum number of Pakistanis to work in Japan.

    Acknowledging their diligence and social conduct, the ambassador showed his highest gratitude towards 25,000 Pakistanis residing and working in Japan.

  • VIDEO: Teenage Shah speaks of dedicating five-wicket haul to late mother

    VIDEO: Teenage Shah speaks of dedicating five-wicket haul to late mother

    Fast bowler Naseem Shah who took a five-wicket haul in the last Test match against Sri Lanka, got emotional during a press conference while telling about how he wanted to dedicate this achievement to his mother but since she has recently passed away, he will now be dedicating it to his father.

    Naseem Shah has become the youngest fast bowler to claim five wickets in a Test match. He picked up the wickets of Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dilruwan Perera, Lasith Embduldeniya and Vishwa Fernando to finish with 5/31 in 12.5 overs.

    Pacer Shah — aged 16 year and 311 days — has also surpassed his countryman Mohammad Amir who had in 2009 claimed five wickets against Australia at the age of 17 years 257 days at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

    Pacer Naseem’s mother had passed away in November while he was in Australia awaiting his Test debut. Shah later decided not to fly back home and stayed in Australia after consulting with his family members who advised him not to come back.

    Pakistan on Monday had claimed an historic 263-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi and it took the team only three overs and just 15 minutes to wrap up the game.

    It was Pakistan’s first Test victory on home soil in over 13 years; their last victory in Pakistan also came in Karachi, against West Indies in November 2006.

  • Pakistan wrap up historic series win at home in just 15 minutes

    Pakistan wrap up historic series win at home in just 15 minutes

    Three overs on the final day was all it took for Pakistan to seal a 263-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi on Monday, International Cricket Council (ICC) reported.

    It was Pakistan’s first Test victory on home soil in over 13 years; their last victory in Pakistan also came in Karachi, against West Indies in November 2006.

    Naseem Shah, the 16-year-old, resumed the day on 3/31, and went on to dismiss Lasith Embuldeniya and Vishwa Fernando in his consecutive overs to seal the victory, with Yasir Shah claiming the big wicket of Oshada Fernando, the opener, who finished on 102.

    The two wickets meant Shah ended with 5/31 – his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket – and with Shaheen Shah Afridi, the 19-year-old, claiming a five-for in the first-innings, the Test has been a good one for the young Pakistani pacemen.

    Sri Lanka were in the Test for the first two days. They bundled out Pakistan for 191 in the first innings, and then posted a lead of 80. However, thereafter, it was all Pakistan.

    Centuries from Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam helped the home side post 555/3 declared in the second innings, and bogged down by the weight of runs, the Sri Lankan batsmen crumbled.

    They were reduced to 212/7 by stumps on the fourth day, with Oshada’s century and Niroshan Dickwella’s half-century their only displays of resistance, and on resumption on the fifth morning, they just weren’t allowed to muster a fightback.

    The series victory means Pakistan move up to No 3 on the ICC World Test Championship table, with 80 points from their four matches. Sri Lanka are level on points after four matches as well, but are fourth on the table due to their inferior runs-per-wicket ratio.

  • ‘No lenient view permitted’: BZU teacher sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’

    ‘No lenient view permitted’: BZU teacher sentenced to death for ‘blasphemy’

    A former university lecturer in Multan, who was booked on blasphemy charges and arrested by police on March 13, 2013, was on Saturday sentenced to death by a district and sessions court, Dawn reported.

    Formerly a visiting lecturer at the Department of English Literature of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, Junaid Hafeez, according to Amnesty International, was charged with blasphemy over Facebook uploads.

    He was also in the process of getting a graduate degree in English Literature when he had been accused of blasphemy and arrested. The trial of the case had started in 2014.

    On Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge Kashif Qayyum sentenced Hafeez to death and imposed a Rs0.5 million fine under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC); in case of default he will undergo further imprisonment of six months.

    He was also sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 295-B, and 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs100,000 under Section 295-A of the PPC.

    According to the court’s short judgement, “All the sentences shall run consecutively and the accused would not be entitled to the benefit of Section 382-B CrPC because in case of blasphemer, this court has got no circumstance for taking [a] lenient view and it is also not permitted in Islam.”

    Under Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code, the period of detention of a prisoner has to be considered in the prison term when a person is convicted by a trial court.

    Hafeez has been lodged in the high-security ward number 2 of New Central Jail Multan.

    His previous lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was shot dead in May 2014 in his office.

    Hafeez’s parents had earlier this year appealed to former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa to look into their son’s case. They sought justice for their son, fearing for his mental and physical health.

    They had said their son had been languishing in solitary confinement in a cell of the Central Jail, Multan, for the last six years on the false charge of blasphemy.

    “Due to transfer of many judges, delaying tactics of prosecution witnesses, and difficulties finding adequate legal counsel for the defence because of the sensitive nature of the case, our son continues to await justice in a fabricated case,” Junaid’s parents had said in a written appeal to the chief justice.

    Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence. Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

    Rights groups have said the blasphemy laws are routinely abused to seek vengeance and settle personal scores.

  • The Current Quiz: Which chief justice of Pakistan are you?

    The Current Quiz: Which chief justice of Pakistan are you?

    With Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khan Khosa retiring and Justice Gulzar Ahmed being sworn in as the new top judge, The Current brings for you a personality quiz to find out which of the most popular CJPs are you.

    Edit quiz
  • Muslim world should build its own market, technologies: Malaysian PM at summit skipped by Imran

    Muslim world should build its own market, technologies: Malaysian PM at summit skipped by Imran

    Muslim-majority countries should build their own markets and produce their own technologies to become self-sufficient, Malaysian Prime Minister (PM) Mahathir Mohammad has said during the ongoing Kuala Lumpur Summit that was skipped by Pakistan.

    “There are 1.7 billion Muslims. Obviously this is a big market if we decide to source our needs from Muslims and Muslim countries. Then we enrich ourselves,” he said while stressing the importance of technological and industrial progress in national development.

    According to Anadolu Agency, the Malaysian premier said that Muslim countries did not have enough products by themselves and had to source most of their needs from other countries, as a result of which money flowed out.

    “When money flows out, we become poor. But if we source, the things that we need from Muslim countries, then obviously our wealth will stay within the Muslim community, and we become richer,” he said.

    “That is why among the things that should solve problems of Muslims is to build a market and produce the things and source them from each other but it is important we learn how to produce our own things,” he added.

    He underlined that Muslim nations “will forever be playing catch-up” with the rest of the developed world “if we do not start creating and developing our own technologies.”

    “We have no choice but to start working on this,” he said.

    The three-day Kuala Lumpur Summit is ongoing in the Malaysian capital with the attendance of hundreds of government officials and representatives from civil society and business sectors from across the Muslim World.

    While the Malaysian premier’s statements are much similar to those made by his Pakistan counterpart, Imran Khan, Islamabad has pulled out of the conference over concerns it could “divide” the Muslim world.

    Pakistan’s Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had earlier expressed reservations over the country joining the summit, following which Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had confirmed that neither he nor PM Imran would be attending the summit.

    “Pakistan pulled out of the summit due to concerns by Saudi Arabia that the meeting could create a new bloc that would rival the existing 57-member state Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),” he had said.

  • South Africa to visit Pakistan for T20 series in March

    Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced that it will be sending its team to Pakistan for the T20I series in March next year, a private news outlet has reported.

    According to the details, the news was revealed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Wasim Khan, during a press conference ahead of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka’s 2nd Test match in Karachi.

    The T20 series between Pakistan and South Africa is expected to take place after the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

    Wasim Khan said, “The CSA has accepted our invitation and agreed to send their team to Pakistan next year to play three T20Is, most probably in March immediately after the PSL”.

    Wasim also hoped that all the top South African players will visit to the country with the team and expects good news in the next few weeks’.

    The official schedule is yet to be announced by the cricket board.

    He further informed that Australia will be touring Pakistan in 2022 for a two-match Test series, however, the board is trying to convince Cricket Australia to play three matches instead of two.

  • ‘If found dead, Musharraf’s corpse should be dragged to D-Chowk, hanged for three days’

    ‘If found dead, Musharraf’s corpse should be dragged to D-Chowk, hanged for three days’

    The special court that had earlier found former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf guilty of high treason, on Thursday issued its detailed verdict, an excerpt of which has left Twitterati stunned.

    “We direct the Law Enforcement Agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict [Musharraf] and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad and hanged for three days,” read the excerpt.

    Here’s what Twitterati have to say about it:

    https://twitter.com/SameenaERana/status/1207595507004170242

    The dooming excerpt was, however, a part of the dissenting opnion of one of the three judges, Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth. This was also confirmed by lawyer Reema Omer.

    A copy of the detailed verdict has been handed to an official of the Ministry of Interior.

    READ FULL VERDICT:

    On Tuesday, the court had sentenced Musharraf to death for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, adding that it had found him guilty of high treason in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

    The case was heard by a bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC).

    The special court, in its detailed verdict authored by Justice Seth, stated that Musharraf “has been afforded more than his due share of fair trial” and “given every opportunity to defend himself”. The court said that “the facts of the case are well documented” and “clearly demonstrate the guilt on the part of the accused”.

    “It proves beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt all the charges of High Treason levelled against the accused by the State,” the verdict adds.

    “We, with the majority of 2 as to 1, allow the complaint and hold the accused guilty of high treason as defined at Article 6 of the Constitution and pass punishment under section 2 High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973. Thus, the convict be hanged by his neck till he is dead,” it reads.

    It was a majority verdict, with two of the three judges giving the decision against Musharraf. 

  • Fate of Muslims not in UN Security Council members’ hands: Erdogan at Kuala Lumpur Summit

    Fate of Muslims not in UN Security Council members’ hands: Erdogan at Kuala Lumpur Summit

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said that the fate of the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims was no longer in the hands of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

    According to Anadolu Agency, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Kuala Lumpur Summit in the Malaysian capital, Erdogan reiterated that the world was bigger than the five permanent UNSC members, whose veto power could prove catastrophic for smaller nations.

    “The world is bigger than five” is a famous slogan repeatedly used by Erdogan to criticise the permanent council members that are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US).

    He also said that Turkey did not bow to pressure to silence it, including a coup attempt, economic terror and slander. “As they try to silence Turkey, we insist on calling attention to Palestine, Gaza, the Rohingya, Libya, Somalia, and Syria.”

    Earlier at the opening ceremony, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as well as the host, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, delivered speeches.

    Hundreds of government officials, businessmen, representatives of civil societies and experts from different sectors across the Muslim world, except Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, are taking part in the summit.

    Islamabad reportedly decided not to participate in the moot after being told so by Riyadh.

  • VIDEO: Musharraf terms death penalty verdict as ‘personal vendetta’

    VIDEO: Musharraf terms death penalty verdict as ‘personal vendetta’

    Former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf has said that the special court’s death sentence verdict against him was based on “personal vendetta”.

    Musharraf in a recent video message released on Wednesday said, “I heard the special court’s verdict against me on television,” adding that “There is no example of such a verdict in the past where neither the defendant nor his lawyers were given permission to speak in his defence.”

    Former dictator said that he had earlier offered to give his statement to a special commission if they visit him in Dubai, where Musharraf is currently undergoing medical treatment adding that “his request was ignored”.

    Musharraf said that he respected the Pakistani judiciary and that, similar to Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, he also believed that everyone was equal before the law.

    “I call this verdict suspicious because supremacy of the law was ignored from the start to the end during the hearings of this case,” he added.

    Musharraf said, “However, in my opinion, CJ Khosa showed his intentions and his determination to the public himself by saying that he ensured a speedy verdict in this case. How can the judges who gained personal benefits during my tenure issue a judgement against me?”

    He thanked the Pakistani citizens and the country’s Armed Forces for remembering his services for the country.

    “This is the biggest honour for me, which I will take to my grave,” he said, adding that he will announce his plan of action regarding the case after consulting his legal team.