Tag: politics latest

  • ‘Babar Azam is Jinnah’s grandson’ among other statements attributed to JUI-F leader

    Ever since Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Mufti Kifayatullah has made a statement about Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s former wife, Jemima Goldsmith; that ‘Wiki of Wikileaks’ is her cousin, social media is flooded with funny quotes.

    Dr Farhan Virk, a social worker from Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) had recently started a Twitter trend called “KifayatQuote” after Wiki-Jamima blunder and asked its followers to come up with funny quotes that they can attribute to JUI-F leader.

    Soon after Dr Farhan began the trend by sharing a meme on his Twitter handle which said, “Kartarpur is the cousin of Faryal Talpur” and wrote, “Guys, Grab your keyboards and start trending KifayatQuotes as it is now time to pay a tribute to this great legend of social media and Azadi March”.

    Since then the Twitter users across Pakistan are sharing funny quotes and attributing all of them to Mufti Kifayat.

    One of the users wrote that Pakistan Cricket team’s skipper and batsman Babar Azam is the grandson of Quaide Azam.

    https://twitter.com/Shaziaa24/status/1193963917141262336

    Another wrote that “Babar Azam and PM Imran are cousins”.

    https://twitter.com/saadiraja183/status/1193963531957362691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1193963531957362691&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252Fsaadiraja183%252Fstatus%252F1193963531957362691%26widget%3DTweet

    While the rest of the users are making all kinds of random hilarious quotes and they are funny.

    https://twitter.com/umama86/status/1193965849750777856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1193965849750777856&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252Fumama86%252Fstatus%252F1193965849750777856%26widget%3DTweet
    https://twitter.com/qijalali/status/1193963853782102017
    https://twitter.com/Arman2k3/status/1193963690703433729

  • Koyi Shak, asks D.G. ISPR after report uncovers fake media outlets run by India

    EU Disinfo Lab, an independent non-governmental organization, has found that there are at least 265 “coordinated fake local media outlets” that were “designed to influence the EU (European Union) and the UN (United Nations) by repeatedly criticising Pakistan”.

    The report shows how the NGO investigated and found that Indian stakeholders are deliberately trying to influence countries against Pakistan by getting stories posted on sites like eptoday.com, which is “the website of a self-proclaimed magazine for the European Parliament in Brussels”. After investigating the site and the increasing anti Pakistan articles and op-eds, the Disinfo Lab found a pattern that matched 265 fake local media outlets, including timesofgeneva.com, “an online “newspaper” that is “approaching 35 years in business”. Strangely enough, Times of Geneva publishes the same type of content as EP Today and produces videos covering events and demonstrations criticising Pakistan’s role in the Kashmir conflict.”

    After the report was published, D.G. ISPR tweeted that koyi shak (any doubt), hinting that there was zero doubt that India is trying to influence the world against Pakistan by publishing fake news.

    RELATED: DG ISPR defends Neelum Muneer’s item song in ‘Kaaf Kangana’

    Other findings from the report include that most of the fake outlets are named after an outdated newspaper or are fake versions of real media outlets. They also republish content from agencies and have little original content. It also showed that the coverage was mostly of the same Indian-related demonstrations and events and also republications of the same anti-Pakistan content.

  • Shaikh Rasheed wanted Nawaz’s name off the no fly list

    Shaikh Rasheed wanted Nawaz’s name off the no fly list

    Even though Nawaz Sharif has rejected the conditional leave offer made by the government, prior to the offer and during a federal cabinet meeting on Tuesday, many ministers were against letting Nawaz go.

    RELATED: Govt allows Nawaz to travel abroad, for four weeks only

    The meeting was headed by Prime Minister Khan and lasted for four hours. According to GEO News, several ministers opposed letting Nawaz leave the country. They included Fawad Chaudhry and Faisal Vawda, who have publicly spoken against the move as well. They were joined by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur and Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari.

    But some ministers said that Nawaz’s name should be pulled off the no fly list, including Railways Minister Shaikh Rasheed.

    In an interview to ARY News Shaikh Rasheed said that Nawaz should take the deal and leave the country and if he doesn’t, he is just playing politics.

    Shaikh Rasheed’s comments on ARY News

  • Govt allows Nawaz to travel abroad, for four weeks only

    Govt allows Nawaz to travel abroad, for four weeks only

    Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem announced that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment. He added that Sharif can only go abroad for four weeks.

    “This permission will be subject to Nawaz or Shehbaz Sharif submitting an indemnity bond to the tune of roughly Rs7-7.5 billion to the satisfaction of additional secretary to the Ministry of Interior.”

    This will be one-time permission only.

    The law minister announced this on Wednesday at a press conference after a meeting of the federal cabinet’s sub-committee. The meeting has decided to remove Nawaz Sharif’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL) on the basis of his critical medical condition.

    Farogh Naseem and Shahzad Akbar making the announcement

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar said that it was the federal government’s responsibility to ensure a guarantee from Nawaz Sharif.

    “The bond is only over surety, not any political gain,” Akbar said the Ministry of Interior will issue the letter of permission. He reminded everyone that Mian Nawaz Sharif had been sentenced in a corruption case while an investigation is still underway in other cases.

    Nawaz had refused this conditional permission to
    travel abroad on Tuesday.

  • Maulana Dharna is over

    Maulana Dharna is over

    Maulana Fazalur Rehman has announced that he is ending the Azadi March dharna and is going ahead with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F)’s Plan B.

    Plan B consists of blocking highways across Pakistan, in every province and major cities.

    After the announcement of ending the sit-in, Azadi March participants have dismantled their tents and have started leaving the H-9 venue in Islamabad.

    Memories the Azadi Marchers are leaving behind

    Plan B has already begun as dharna protests have begun on the Quetta-Chaman highway. They are also planning to block highways in Lower Dir and the Indus Highway. In Punjab, they will be blocking G.T. Road. The motorway to Sukkur and the road linking Ghotki to Punjab will also be closed.

    The blocking of roads will officially start on Thursday at 2PM. JUI-F representatives say that they will not carry sticks and ambulances will be allowed to pass through.

  • Right to appeal: Army Act to be amended for relief to Indian spy

    Right to appeal: Army Act to be amended for relief to Indian spy

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Isnaf (PTI) government has decided to amend the Army Act so as to allow Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal against his conviction on charges of espionage before a civilian court, Dunya News reported.

    Jadhav of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was arrested from Balochistan three years ago. In 2017, he was convicted by a military court in Pakistan and sentenced to death on charges of espionage and terrorism.

    The punishment was awarded by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM), a military court consisting of Pakistan Army officers.

    While Jadhav had confessed to working for the covert agency to destabilise Pakistan, India had rejected the charges and maintained that he was a former Indian Navy officer “kidnapped by Pakistani forces”.

    The Indian spy’s death sentence had later been challenged in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

    After a long battle, the court, in its verdict, had rejected a number of Indian demands, including the annulment of the military court’s decision, Jadhav’s release and safe passage to India.

    It had, however, directed Pakistan to provide appropriate remedies to the spy, such as providing him effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentences according to its own justice system.

    The Army Act forbids any individuals or groups being tried in a military court from filing an appeal and seeking justice from a civilian court, but a special amendment is now reportedly being made for Jadhav.

  • ‘PTI govt recovers Rs10.8 bn looted in Hazara motorway construction,’ claims Murad Saeed

    Minister for Communication and Postal Services, Murad Saeed has claimed that the government has recovered embezzlement worth Rs10.8 billion in the Hazara motorway project done by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    Addressing the National Assembly (NA) session on Monday the minister said that PML-N made changes in the design of the motorway and added a suspicious bridge in the project that caused the delay and escalated the cost as well.

    Murad said that he requested the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to look into the matter and launched an inquiry, which led to recoveries of Rs10.8 billion.

    The minister informed the parliament that inordinate changes were also made in Hakala-Dera Ismail Khan, Sukkur-Multan, and Lahore Abdul Hakeem motorway sections.

    He later demanded an apology from those who caused substantial damages to the national exchequer and announced that the design changes have been completed, and the motorway will be open for the public on November 15.

    Watch Video:

  • VIDEO: ‘Peas being sold for Rs5/kg,’ claims Imran govt

    VIDEO: ‘Peas being sold for Rs5/kg,’ claims Imran govt

    As rising vegetable prices spell misery for people under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has claimed that peas are being sold in the market for only Rs5 per kilogram (kg).

    “Another grower, [Federal Minister for Aviation] Ghulam Sarwar Khan Sahab has told [me] that 20kg pea bags are being sold at the rate of Rs5/kg,” she said while addressing a press conference.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Statement from PM Imran Khan’s aide, who seems to be totally unaware of the persisting sky-high vegetable prices in the country, made headlines a day after the premier’s finance adviser, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, told reporters that tomatoes were being sold for as low as Rs17 per kg across Karachi.

    “In Karachi, in the sabzi mandi (produce market), tomatoes are being sold for Rs17 per kg”.

    When some of the reporters present at the scene told him that tomatoes were, in fact, being sold at Rs240 per kg, he refuted saying “people were lying”.

    “That’s what is being run on the television,” Imran’s adviser noted, to which one of the reporters said, “But on the TV, it says tomatoes are being sold for Rs240 a kg.”

    Another journalist responded with a fresh personal story, “Sir, I myself bought tomatoes for Rs300 a kg.”

    “Oh but I am agreeing that prices of many commodities need to be controlled. Agriculture [industry] has seasonality,” the PM’s adviser explained, as someone from behind persistently tried to stop the person holding the phone from recording the video.

  • 10,000 jailed inmates like Nawaz, want bail

    10,000 jailed inmates like Nawaz, want bail

    After news of Nawaz Sharif’s relief from the court spread across the country, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday referred a petition filed for the release of 10,000 sick inmates, like Nawaz Sharif, to Punjab chief secretary.

    Kot Lakhpat jail Lahore, where Nawaz was jailed

    The court asked the chief secretary to decide the plea after hearing the position of the petitioner. The petitioner had submitted that more than 10,000 ailing inmates were in different jails across the country and adequate health facilities and resources were not given to them .

    RELATED: Meat-lover Nawaz unhappy with ‘tasteless’ vegetarian meals in jail: report

    He also stated that since the constitution was equal for all, there should be no special service for Nawaz and if there was, other patients also have the same rights.

  • Azadi March Police Official slits his own throat

    Azadi March Police Official slits his own throat

    A policeman on duty at the Azadi march in Islamabad, slit his own throat with a blade when he was not given permission to go see his sick daughter in Swat.

    Head Constable Khan reportedly attempted to kill himself after his leave was rejected. He had gotten news that his daughter was seriously ill and asked his commanding officer for leave. The officer denied the leave and reportedly told Khan off for asking for leave during such a difficult time in the capital but Khan said that if he was in Swat with his daughter, he could get her the medical help she needed. He asked for leave again but was rejected once again and told that he could not go back to Swat until the Azadi March was over.

    RELATED: Azadi March: Police unhappy with govt over improper food, living conditions

    Upset, Khan went to the bathroom and slit his throat with a shaving blade. His roommates broke into the washroom after hearing him and and rushed him to the hospital. Express Tribune sources claim that although he has been operated on, his condition is still serious.

    A police probe has been initiated to investigate the issue.

    Khan was part of a police team that was called in from Swat to help monitor the Azadi March in Islamabad.