Tag: politics-stories

  • Fawad Chaudhry has asked SUPARCO to help in providing internet to Kashmiris

    Fawad Chaudhry has asked SUPARCO to help in providing internet to Kashmiris

    More than 100 days have passed since the Indian Government revoked Article 370 and imposed curfew in Indian occupied Kashmir and there is no information as to when the curfew will be lifted.

    In a recent media talk, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that he has reached out to Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) to provide internet to the people of Kashmir via satellite.

    “Internet is considered a fundamental right nowadays. I have asked SUPARCO to check the feasibility of providing internet to caged citizens of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir via satellite,” said Fawad, adding that his ministry is ready to help out SUPARCO wherever they need help.

    Fawad highlighted the plight of the Kashmiris and said that they have every right to have access to the internet.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1195003818125221890
  • UNESCO’s Education Commission elects Shafqat Mehmood as President

    UNESCO’s Education Commission elects Shafqat Mehmood as President

    Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood has been unanimously elected as President of UNESCO’s prestigious Education Commission in Paris.

    The Minister was recently in Paris for the 40th session of UNESCO’s General Conference which he also addressed.

    Speaking at the event, Mahmood said that at least 1.5 million Kashmiri students were not able to attend schools since the “unilateral and illegal revocation” of Kashmir’s autonomy by India on 5th August.

    Mahmood called upon UNESCO to use its moral authority to persuade the Indian government to lift restrictions and restore the fundamental rights of the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He also expressed his dismay at the decision of the Babri Masjid.

    More so, the minister also shared that Pakistan is taking concrete steps to deliver universal quality education in the country.

    Speaking after the election, the Minister termed it as an honour for Pakistan and an acknowledgment of its commitment to UNESCO’s work in the field of education.

    The Minister said being the President of UNESCO’s Education Commission, he would work closely with all delegations in a constructive manner in pursuance of UNESCO’s objectives.

    Meanwhile, when a Twitter user commented that Mahmood will now direct all his energies towards working for UNESCO, the Minister told him that the position was “voluntary” and without any salary or any other perk.

  • Lahore High Court, not govt or NAB, to decide Nawaz’s fate

    Lahore High Court, not govt or NAB, to decide Nawaz’s fate

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday rubbished both the government and National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) concerns as it ruled that former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s plea seeking unconditional removal from the Exit Control List (ECL) was admissible.

    According to Geo, The two-member bench — headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi and comprising Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem — resumed the hearing of the case, where the federal government and NAB submitted their replies.

    During the hearing, the federal government urged the court to maintain its condition of seeking a security bond worth Rs7 billion from the former premier.

    Appearing on behalf of the federal government, Additional Attorney General Ishtiaq A Khan objected to the maintainability of the petition and requested that the petition be dismissed for being “non-maintainable”.

    He contended that Nawaz should approach the Islamabad High Court (IHC) instead for removal of his name from the ECL, as the federal government had placed his name on the list and the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the plea.

    The government in its 45-page reply opposed the removal of Nawaz’s name from ECL without a security bond.

    It argued that the PML-N supremo was convicted, which is why he should not be allowed to leave the country without submitting a security bond.

    In Friday’s hearing, NAB also submitted its four-page reply to the court. Following the submission of the response, the court took a recess for an hour to allow the petitioner’s counsel to read the responses.

    Nawaz counsel Amjad Pervez stated that the LHC could hear the petition as the NAB was a federal institution. The counsel argued that the condition of furnishing Rs7.5 billion surety bonds was not based on any provision of law.

    He added the government’s condition carried no legal standing as the petitioner had been granted bail in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case by the LHC and his sentence in Al-Azizia reference had been suspended by the IHC.

    He contended that Nawaz’s name was placed on the ECL in the wake of pending cases against him. Pervez pointed out that the former prime minister had sent an application to the interior ministry for removal of his name from the ECL but the federal government issued the impugned order on Nov 13, allowing Nawaz to proceed abroad for treatment only after furnishing indemnity bond.

    He further said that Nawaz had the fundamental rights under Article 4 & 15 of the constitution to move freely.

    The court then asked the attorney general to tell whether the fine imposed by the government was part of the accountability court verdict.

    Responding to the query, the additional attorney general said the federal government had sought surety bond equivalent to the fine imposed by the Islamabad accountability court on Nawaz.

    Nawaz’s counsel also admitted that the amount of indemnity bond sought by the government was equivalent to the fine imposed on the petitioner in Al-Azizia reference by an accountability court.

    The law officer added that the PML-N leader’s sentence was only suspended in Al-Azizia reference and not set aside. The bench observed that the IHC apparently suspended the sentence of the petitioner and not the fine. Justifying the government’s move to seek surety bond, he argued that if a person allowed to travel abroad did not come back, the federal government would be held responsible, as had happened in Pervez Musharraf case.

    “Does the ECL ordinance give the Centre authority to give permission for a one-time visit abroad?” asked the court.

    To this Pervez said the impugned order of November 13 was not based on any provisions of Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance 1981 and Exit from Pakistan (Control) Rules 2010, empowering the federal government to impose extra conditions for his one-time permission to travel abroad especially after he had been granted bail by two different high courts.

    He added Nawaz was seriously ill and the medical board had suggested his treatment abroad. The counsel said the courts were there to take action if the petitioner violated their orders of bail and suspension. The government has no role in the whole matter, he added.

    The law officer sought time to verify when asked whether the impugned order of the government for the indemnity bond was a result of any consensus or whether the petitioner had been placed on the ECL on the recommendation of Lahore or Islamabad office of the NAB.

    The law officer also sought time to file para-wise comments to the petition, which the bench duly allowed. The bench also asked the law officer to assist it on a legal point as to whether the government had the power to put any condition for removing the name from the ECL if there was an order by the court.

    The case was adjourned till Monday as the court decided that the plea was admissible.

  • VIDEO: India all-praise for Lahore cops for catching thief who stole Indian woman’s bag

    Indian media has praised Punjab police in Pakistan for providing best security to Sikh pilgrims who visited Kartarpur last week.

    An Indian media report praising Lahore’s Dolphin Force was tweeted by Punjab police on Friday. It came after Dolphin cops caught two thieves who had stolen a bag from one of the Sikh pilgrims visiting Lahore’s famous Anarkali Market.

    The belongings were safely returned to the pilgrim.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://twitter.com/OFFICIALDPRPP/status/1195287214374182912

    Indian media has also praised Punjab police for having helped an Indian Sikh woman reunite with her family after getting separated in Pakistan.

  • Arrested child rapist’s father boasts of ‘connections in army’

    Father of the suspected child rapist, who was arrested on Tuesday and confessed to having abused at least 30 children, has said that he would fight his son’s case while boasting of his family’s connections within the army.

    Rawalpindi police on Tuesday arrested Sohail Ayaz from the city’s Rawat area for allegedly running a child pornography group and live-streaming videos of the sexual assaults over the dark web.

    Ayaz is suspected to have kidnapped and raped multiple children.

    In a viral video that started doing rounds over the internet following Ayaz’s arrest, Sohail’s father was seen complained that his son’s face had not been hidden by the police, which had brought shame to his family.

    He said that he would fight his son’s case to the very end, adding that he had connections in high places. “We have around two dozen high-profile army officers in the family,” the suspect’s father can be seen telling the person recording the video.

    “The police’s press conference brought shame to the family,” he added.

    He also denied the claim that he had disowned his son and maintained the police must have “tortured him into confessing to the crimes”.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    According to Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Captain Faisal Rana, the alleged sexual predator has confessed to raping at least 30 minors and was earlier deported from both Britain and Italy after serving jail sentences for similar crimes.

    CPO Rana noted that the suspect was employed at a child protection institution in Britain and it was there that he started sexually abusing children. Pictures and videos were recovered from the arrested suspect.

    The latest of Ayaz’s crimes was when he raped a labourer’s daughter, police have said, stressing that more confessions were expected from him. Some reports indicate that he drugged and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy for four days and filmed the traumatic ordeal to threaten the child.

    Further, Rawalpindi Police citing CPO Rana mentioned on Twitter that police would register cases of child abuse on its behalf if the survivors’ parents were unable to do so due to societal pressure.

    Rana added that they also approached federal law enforcement agencies to recover the children’s explicit videos and pictures from the possession of the suspect.

  • Imran criticises himself ‘for not running country right’

    Imran criticises himself ‘for not running country right’

    In what appears to be criticism for his own government, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said the manner in which Pakistan is being run, cannot lead to progress and the country will face severe financial difficulties if steps are not taken to enhance the tax revenue.

    According to The News, the premier on Wednesday took the top hierarchy of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) into confidence over the proposed reforms plan for converting it into the Pakistan Revenue Authority (PRA) and assured them that no action plan would be implemented without consultations.

    PM Imran urged the officers to speak out and said that people will be eager to pay tax if they are assured that their money will be spent on public welfare instead of lavish lifestyle of rulers.

    He said currently, the government has no money to spend on masses as it inherited record deficit and instructed the FBR officials to take measures to restore the confidence of the business community by addressing its grievances regarding the tax machinery.

    The premier said that the collection of Rs8 trillion tax was not difficult if all stakeholders considered it their national responsibility and the country could not run on the old pattern as his government had inherited the biggest financial deficit and current account deficit.

    “Half of the tax collection in the first year was spent on debt servicing,” he said and added that Pakistan had huge potential in terms of its young population. “If they [the youth] are provided with opportunities, the country can progress on the path of prosperity.”

  • Rift in ruling coalition? PML-Q urges Imran to withdraw ‘unjustified’ demand to Nawaz

    Rift in ruling coalition? PML-Q urges Imran to withdraw ‘unjustified’ demand to Nawaz

    Leaders of the ruling Pakistan Terhreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) major coalition partner, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), have advised Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to withdraw the “unjustified” condition set for ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s foreign travel.

    The development comes at a time when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has already taken the government to the Lahore High Court (LHC) over its demand for an indemnity bond worth Rs7 billion, which it called “unconstitutional” and a “ransom”.

    PML-Q is the major ally of the PTI government in both Punjab and the Centre and the Chaudhry brothers, Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi, have urged PM Imran not to listen to those were creating hurdles in the departure of Nawaz Sharif.

    Shujaat said, “PM Imran has to overcome the storm which has started over Nawaz Sharif’s departure,” referring to a barrage of statements coming out in the favour of Nawaz after the government placed its condition for the permission to fly overseas.

    The PML-Q president urged PM to focus on important issues, such as rising inflation and unemployment, adding that “People in power should only spend their energy on ending inflation and unemployment,” PML-Q added.

    Similarly, speaker Pervaiz Elahi has also urged the federal government to withdraw its demand of the surety bond, saying that if something happened to Nawaz, the issue would haunt the incumbent PM for the rest of his life.

    While the PTI government is facing immense pressure to not let former premier to go abroad without a financial guarantee, it seems a rift has appeared between two allies over Nawaz’s health issue.

  • Nov 15: News you need to know before heading to work

    Nov 15: News you need to know before heading to work

    PML-N moves court for Nawaz’s treatment abroad

    • The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has petitioned the Lahore High Court (LHC) to request the removal of former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s name from the no-fly list.
    • PML-N wants ailing Nawaz to leave the country for medical treatment abroad, but the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wants him to submit indemnity bonds worth Rs7 billion first.
    • PML-N leadership, including chief Shehbaz Sharif, have decided against the government’s condition.

    Fazl warns govt as JUI-F launches ‘Plan B’

    • Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has launched his much-awaited “Plan B” after ending the 14-day sit-in in the federal capital.
    • He has now launched countrywide protests against what he calls the “illegitimate” PTI government that rose to power after “stealing the mandate” of the people of Pakistan in the 2018 general election.
    • Continuing to demand PM Imran Khan’s resignation, he has now warned the government that his party would go even further than blocking highways across the country.
    • Security has been beefed up across the country as JUI-F activists block entrances and exits of almost all provinces

    Smog force shuts schools across Punjab

    • Punjab education department decides to keep all public and private schools in Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad closed on November 15 and 16 due to poor air quality.
    • It has also prohibited holding any outdoor activities in both public and private schools across the province till December 20 because of dense smog amid the government’s failure to curb the menace.
    • Lahore’s air quality remains even far beyond the hazardous level as it becomes the second most polluted city in the world, according to Air Visual, which records air pollution levels across the globe in real-time.

    Test cricket set to return to Pakistan

    • Sri Lanka to play its World Test Championship matches in Pakistan in December after the team expresses satisfaction over security arrangements made during its October matches in Karachi and Lahore.
    • According to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Sri Lanka will now play two test matches from December 11-15 at Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi and December 19-23 at National Stadium in Karachi.
    • Fans overjoyed over news while a few express concern over the possible road closures that spelled misery for commuters earlier this year amid beefed up security.
  • ‘Army says Monal built on its land, wants it back now’

    ‘Army says Monal built on its land, wants it back now’

    Islamabad’s famous Monal Restaurant is built on military land in the Margalla Hills that the army now wants back, a Capital Development Authority (CDA) official has reportedly told a parliamentary committee.

    According to Dawn, Dr Shahid Mahmood on Wednesday told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change that 15 years ago, the CDA “did not know it was building the restaurant on military grasslands until the army started claiming it”.

    The committee was told that the 22,000 acres of land — that are now a part of the Margalla Hills National Park — were actually owned by the Punjab government.

    Around 5,500 acres of the said land was allocated to the army, he said, although the exact year the allocation was made, was not stated. The CDA now owns 16,500 acres.

    The latest survey conducted by the authority revealed that the land allotted to the army is right in the centre of the national park, and Monal has been built on it.

    Monal Restaurant was built in 2005 and was a CDA property. The operation of the restaurant was leased for a 10 year period, Dr Mahmood told the committee, adding that the space was now being vacated and handed over to the army.

    However, Committee Chairperson Munaza Hassan was more interested in finding out who had permitted the construction of a large restaurant inside the national park protected by the law to conserve its natural environment and wildlife.

    Dr Mahmood said the CDA board at the time had permitted the restaurant’s construction, offering to share the board decision with the committee. He said several inquiries were undertaken to hold officials accountable for allowing the restaurant to be built, but none had been successful.

    The committee chair then demanded that CDA shared information regarding the construction of Monal Restaurant on protected land.

    Climate Change Joint Secretary Suleman Warraich said the government was unable to implement environment protection laws due to confusion over the demarcation of state land overlapping with private property. “Margalla Hills National Park was last mapped in the 1960s,” he said.

  • Twitter spat after Faisal Vawda’s ‘money first for criminals’ post

    Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda and Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter in law are exchanging responses on Twitter after the minister posted a picture of former premier Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz among others playing Roulette in a casino.

    Faisal Vawda on Wednesday posted this picture on his Twitter handle and wrote, “Alhamdolilah with every scheme thrown at the govt by all champions IK stands out as a winner in exposing Sharifs politics. If it’s life & death for NS then why denying surety bonds. For criminals it’s MONEY FIRST. I thank PM for giving us a chance to expose them yet again”.

    https://twitter.com/FaisalVawdaPTI/status/1194594491950387201

    Replying to this tweet Zi Suleman Sharif from her Twitter handle wrote, “Faisal Vawda a pathetic cartoon himself, You are exposing yourselves not anyone — lagay raho”.

    They both later shared a few responses.

    In the end, the minister wrote, “Don’t talk too much, ask your wanted family members to return stolen public money and submit surety bond, Where’s your husband Mr. TT??”.