Tag: politics-stories

  • ‘Govt wants a deal but opposition isn’t willing’, claims minister

    ‘Govt wants a deal but opposition isn’t willing’, claims minister

    Sindh Minister for Information Saeed Ghani has said that the federal government wanted a deal under the current political situation, but the opposition wasn’t willing to give it any relief, Samaa reported.

    According to the details, the provincial minister while speaking to the media in Karachi said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was making all-out efforts to convince the opposition to make a deal with it.

    “But the opposition has decided not to give any kind of relief to the government,” Ghani added.

    He also criticised the government for poor economic conditions in the country, adding that if there is no corruption in PTI’s tenure then the question rises why the economy is declining instead of improving.

    “There is no example of such a decline in the 71-year history of the country, apart from the past one year,” Saeed Ghani said.

    Saeed said that the incumbent government made a record by collecting revenue less than the past year and made a record of cutting salaries of the people for the first time.

    He added, “They have increased taxes on petrol and diesel, despite having previously claimed to reduce them.”

  • Art exhibition depicting Rao Anwar’s alleged encounters forcefully shut down

    Art exhibition depicting Rao Anwar’s alleged encounters forcefully shut down

    An installation titled ‘Killing Fields of
    Karachi’ by artist Adeela Suleman presented at Karachi’s Frere Hall as part of
    the Karachi Biennale 2019 was forcibly shut down.

    As per details, the art piece also included a video showing Naqeebullah Mehsud’s father and the scene where Naqeebullah, a model and shopkeeper from South Waziristan, along with two others was murdered allegedly in a fake police encounter led by former SSP Malir Rao Anwar in Karachi in 2018.

    A press conference of lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir was also interrupted by the DG Parks, who snatched mics and forced him to stop the presser.

    While talking to the media, DG Parks Afaq Mirza said, “making graves is not art but vandalism”.

    He further said that the park was for the public but not for any political activities, which should be conducted anywhere in the city but not on government properties.

    A very sweet gesture by the art students who tried to restore the artwork which was destroyed.

    While talking to The Current, Jibran Nasir said that at first the artwork was sealed and then it was destroyed. Later, art students restored the artwork but it was again destroyed by LEA personnel. Jibran Nasir said that he along with some art students are reviving it once again.

    Meanwhile, Karachi Biennale took to social media to respond to the situation.

    Speaking to The Current, artist Adeela Suleman said that she is an artist and was just trying to depict ecology of violence. “We could talk about how we have harmed air or degraded the environment but when we discuss how we have affected humanity, our work gets censored.”

  • ‘Pemra should not suppress individual’s rights,’ PTI leaders slam new order

    ‘Pemra should not suppress individual’s rights,’ PTI leaders slam new order

    Senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have slammed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on a new order that had banned TV anchors from appearing on talk shows hosted by other anchors.

    Former finance minister Asad Umer, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari and Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chauhdry have expressed their dismay over Pemra’s decision and urged the media watchdog to do a better job.

    Asad Umar took to Twitter and wrote that “Pemra should be doing a better job and asked it to take action against fake news rather than suppress individual’s rights to express their opinion”.

    Human rights minister Shireen Mazari also weighed in on the order and tweeted that, “Do I need a degree in politics to be an expert on politics? I have no degree in “human rights” so should I go on TV to discuss “human rights” issues?”

    Agreeing with the Shireen Mazari, Fawad Ch termed the Pemra order illogical, unnecessary and uncalled for.

    Moreover, several journalists including Shahzeb Khanzada, Mansoor Ali Khan, Fereeha and Shahzad Iqbal have criticised the move and urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice.

    The regulatory authority on Sunday, through a notification, banned regular TV talk show anchors from appearing in other talk shows and warned those indulging in “inappropriate and biased analyses and negative propaganda” of action.

    According to a Pemra’s notification, under its regulations, anchors are liable to host the show impartially and objectively without giving verdict on any issue.

  • PTI minister’s daughter accuses govt of plotting Nawaz’s murder

    PTI minister’s daughter accuses govt of plotting Nawaz’s murder

    Imaan Hazir Mazari, the daughter of Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, has accused the federal government of trying to “kill” former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.

    Taking to Twitter Imaan in a post termed the recent bails and former PM’s transfer to the hospital “last-minute damage control” owing to potential backlash.

    “They tried to kill NS & now they’re trying last-minute damage control because they realize the public will eat them alive if he dies on their watch”, Imaan said, adding that whatever happens to NS – and my prayers are for his recovery – the State still has to answer: why & how did it get to this point?”

    The health of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo, who is undergoing medical treatment at the Services Hospital for the last five days, is still critical with fluctuation in his platelets and an angina attack making the condition worse.

    According to his multiple medical test reports, Nawaz has been suffering from diabetes, stress, kidney complications, heart disease, and thrombocytopenia.

  • VIDEO: Inside Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s bombproof container

    VIDEO: Inside Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s bombproof container

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman kicked off his Azadi March from Karachi on Sunday. Elaborate preparations are in place for the march as the opposition attempts to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government.

    Among those elaborate arrangements were the bombproof containers of Maulana Fazlur Rehman which were specially imported from Japan for the march.

    Several media outlets have shared videos that show the inside of the container. The container has been equipped with all the things Maulana will be requiring on his march. The special container is air-conditioned, has a kitchen with a stove and an oven, a bedroom for Maulana Fazlur Rehman, washrooms as well as a meeting room. The container can accommodate up to 12 people.

    Meanwhile, as the ‘Azadi’ caravan was moving from Karachi to Hyderabad, the container that Maulana was travelling in, got stuck at an overhead bridge. According to reports, the 40 feet long and 10 feet wide container was too tall to pass beneath the bridge.

    Senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) leader Senator Faisal Javed Khan poked fun at the incident and said that the containers for their dharna were “tailored according to the height of all the bridges across Pakistan.”

  • Zardari sicker than Nawaz, but still serving prison like a common man: Sheikh Rasheed

    Zardari sicker than Nawaz, but still serving prison like a common man: Sheikh Rasheed

    Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed has said that former president Asif Ali Zardari was sicker than Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif but he was still serving time in prison, like the common man, Geo News reported.

    According to the details, the federal minister while addressing an event lashed out at the Sharif brothers and said that whenever former premier Nawaz Sharif fell ill, attempts were made to take him abroad.

    Rasheed said that Shehbaz was a bigger thief than Nawaz, adding that Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, “is not marching for Islam, he’s marching for Islamabad”.

    “If Imran gives NRO right now, all movements would die down”, Rasheed said.

    Nawaz was allowed bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case on Friday based on medical grounds. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid had said that the government would obey the court’s orders if it allowed Sharif to fly abroad for medical treatment.

    She had also said that a plane was ready to fly in any doctor the Sharif family wanted from abroad to treat Nawaz.

  • ‘Nawaz denied my father med treatment in jail,’ PPP leader hints at karma

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Sharmila Farooqi has recalled her own father’s ordeal during his incarceration by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif.

    Sharmila through her Twitter handle on Thursday sent PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz a message wishing former premier Nawaz Sharif “good health and long life”.

    She lamented that her father Usman Farooqi, the former chairman of the Pakistan Steel Mills, was denied medical treatment by the PML-N government adding that he was sent back to jail after three days of having open-heart surgery.

    “I used to cry for his life and health…Never got any respite from Nawaz Sharif but I still wish him good health and long life…I feel for Maryam Nawaz too,” the PPP leader wrote.

    Sharmila’s tweet comes a day after news of Nawaz’s deteriorating health hit the media.

    Nawaz Sharif is suffering from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) disease, called ITP for short, and doctors claim that it is treatable in Pakistan.

  • Pakistan’s senior-most bishop destroys Modi govt over minorities’ persecution

    Pakistan’s senior-most bishop destroys Modi govt over minorities’ persecution

    Rt Reverend Bishop Dr Azad Marshall of the Church of Pakistan has destroyed the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led Indian government for actively promoting saffron terror as persecution and violence against all religious minorities reach a new high across India.

    “It’s high time the world takes notice of the brutal violence being perpetrated against the Kashmiris and other religious minorities in the name of Hindu nationalism,” Pakistan’s senior-most bishop said while addressing a presser in Lahore on Friday.

    After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to power, the attacks on India’s minority communities have risen significantly.

    “Over 1,400 incidents of persecution against Christians, that include rapes, communal violence, forced conversions, have been reported,” the bishop said, adding that such occurrences were becoming common day by day due to the ruling BJP’s hateful rhetoric.

    “No one but Hindus feel safe in India due to the intolerant Hindutva ideology and hijacking of Indian state by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),” Dr Azad added.

    “Indians can only be Hindu, so goes this extreme form of nationalism.”

    He added that every month of 2019 saw more incidents of persecution against Christians in India than they did in 2018.

    “Pakistani Christians demand the international community to press India to immediately lift the curfew and lockdown in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir region and allow Kashmiris as well as other religious minorities living across the country to live in peace,” he said.

    Dr Azad further said that Pakistani Christians were standing firmly behind the armed forces of the country and fully supported the government’s efforts to highlight the Kashmir crisis on global forums.

    SUPPORT TO GOVT OVER AZADI MARCH:

    Extending his support to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) forthcoming Azadi March, he said that the Church of Pakistan would “not support any effort to destabilise the government at this critical juncture in Pakistan’s history”.

    “I urge Maulana Fazlur Rehman and all other political leaders to resolve their issues through dialogue and desist from any sort of violence. Any political upheaval at this time will only damage the Kashmir cause and affect efforts to turnaround Pakistan’s economic situation,” he said.

    CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN:

    Speaking of the issues faced by the Christian community in Pakistan, Bishop Azad admitted that the church had not played its due role in effectively addressing the religious and social issues of their congregations.

    “Crucial issues such as proposed amendments to the Christian Marriage and Divorce Act and the recent ruling of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) allowing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to take over the church-owned historical Edwardes College, calls for unified and concerted efforts by the church, political leadership and the community at large,” he said.

    “In light of the recent issues, I have decided to reach out to all mainstream churches and masses to persuade them to sit together in the larger interest of the community.”

    Dr Azad said the Christian community in the country needed to put its own house in order to address the broader challenges it faces.

    “The first step towards reformation of the church is realising the internal problems we are facing. I’m confident that all church leaders will rise beyond our differences and work together for the uplift and empowerment of our people,” he added.

    Bishop Azad also hoped that coordinated efforts with the government could help in resolving other challenges facing Pakistani Christians, such as quality education, better healthcare facilities, unemployment, forced conversions and provision of fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution.

  • Bail granted to ailing ex-PM Nawaz

    Bail granted to ailing ex-PM Nawaz

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday granted bail on medical grounds to former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who has been admitted to the hospital ever since a precarious decrease in his platelet count.

    According to reports, ailing Nawaz’s bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case came after the prosecution and defence concluded their arguments and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not challenge the plea.

    A two-member bench, headed by Justice Baqar Najafi, had heard the petition. The anti-corruption watchdog’s prosecutor told the court that “every life, including that of Nawaz Sharif, is precious”, adding that the former premier’s condition was treatable.

    After a struggle of three days, a six-member medical board, headed by Services Hospital Principal Ayaz Mahmood, had on Thursday diagnosed the reason for Nawaz’s declining health.

    “It is acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a bleeding disorder, in which the immune system destroys platelets,” a board member had told Dawn. “We are hopeful that his condition will improve in a few days.”

    Doctors have said that the disease is treatable.

    On Friday, Dr Ayaz submitted a detailed medical report of the former premier. He told the court that a medical board, which also includes Nawaz’s personal physician, meets twice every day to discuss the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo’s condition.

    Earlier in the day, Nawaz’s lawyer Ashtar Ausaf told the court that the former premier’s condition was “extremely serious”.

    Dr Ayaz told the court that Nawaz’s platelet count was constantly reducing, adding that the hospital had conducted tests to see if Nawaz was suffering from dengue.

    “We inject platelets every day but they destruct every day,” Dr Ayaz said and added that something or the other was destroying the ex-PM’s platelets.

    He said that steroids will have to be injected in order to treat Nawaz.

    “We have to conduct a bone marrow test but we cannot inject a needle in Nawaz Sharif’s bone.”

    Dr Ayaz informed the court that Nawaz is a diabetes patient and is suffering from several other ailments as well.

    The bench told the doctor to apprise the court about Nawaz’s recent condition by 12 pm and adjourned the hearing until later in the day.

    An accountability court had earlier this month granted NAB a 14-day physical remand of Nawaz in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. The remand expired today.

  • Murad Saeed’s Pakistan Post to serve over Rs100 million blow to exchequer: report

    Murad Saeed’s Pakistan Post to serve over Rs100 million blow to exchequer: report

    The state-owned postal service, Pakistan Post, has awarded the contract for running its Centralised Software System at a high cost of Rs130 million per annum — almost double than the actual cost — to a single bidder, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to reports, the postal service has rejected offers of several other IT firms, including that of an old service provider that ran a similar project at a cost of Rs70 million per annum for seven years till 2018.

    The move, reports said, will result in a loss of around Rs100-120 million to the national exchequer over the next two years.

    IT experts, familiar with the services provided by Pakistan Post, have said that the competitive bid should not exceed Rs80 million in any case and it was higher by Rs50 million per year.

    According to reports, the rest of the technical bids were deliberately rejected to avoid price comparison and allow the remaining one technically qualified bidder to demand the amount as it liked.

    Furthermore, established IT players with more experience of running similar projects have complained that the contract was awarded to a new and unknown entrant called AIMS without any proper comparison of experience.

    The rest of the IT firms were of the view that if the tender was floated again and was fairly evaluated, a maximum cost of close to Rs80 million would have to be borne, and it would have saved the national exchequer around Rs100 million over the two-year validity period of the contract.