Tag: politics-stories

  • VIDEO: Trump says he’s ‘honoured to be with one of greatest athletes, very popular PM Imran’

    VIDEO: Trump says he’s ‘honoured to be with one of greatest athletes, very popular PM Imran’

    United States (US) President Donald Trump has described Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as “one of the greatest athlete and a very popular PM”, and jokingly said that he would help him get re-elected.

    “It’s my great honour to have the very popular and, by the way, great athlete — one of the greatest — but very popular prime minister of Pakistan,” Trump said while welcoming PM Imran to the Oval Office for the two leaders’ maiden meeting.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    PM Imran is currently on a three-day official visit to the
    US on Trump’s invitation. This is his first visit to the country since coming
    to power last year.

    During the more than 40 minutes meeting, the two leaders
    spent time with the media — responding to a volley of questions. The mood and
    atmosphere in the Oval Office was quite comfortable.

    PM Imran appeared to be at ease and confidently answering questions. During the unusually lengthy question and answer session with the media, wherein they gave almost all the Pakistani journalists present an opportunity to ask questions — the two leaders appeared to have forged good chemistry instantly, laughing and joking several times.

    “We should be doing tremendous business together. So, I look
    forward to it,” Trump said as he concluded his welcome remarks for PM Imran. “InshaAllah,”
    Khan said, adding that he has been looking forward to this meeting since he
    assumed office of the country’s chief executive.

    Trump described it as a “very important meeting”. “I think
    the potential with Pakistan and likewise, the opposite way, I think we have not
    even come close to meeting it. There is tremendous potential between our country
    and Pakistan.”

    In fact, in response to a question, Trump said that he would
    love to visit Pakistan, but he has not received an invitation yet. “Well, I
    can’t say that yet because, so far, he has not extended me an invitation,” he
    said.

    In response to another question, Trump said he would help PM Imran in his re-election. “I’m going to campaign for you. I’m going to help him win his campaign,” said the US president.

  • PTI senator’s tax details, property papers ‘stolen from Islamabad residence’

    PTI senator’s tax details, property papers ‘stolen from Islamabad residence’

    Important documents of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shibli Faraz have been stolen from his residence in Islamabad, a private media outlet reported.

    According to Faraz, the documents, allegedly stolen from his residence in the F-7 sector of the federal capital, include details of his tax returns, property papers and records of the Ahmed Faraz Trust.

    The senator said that the house had been empty for the past few years and he had recently shifted the documents from his office.

    Terming the alleged robbery an attempt to malign him, Faraz said the episode took place only to blackmail him on the basis of the lost documents. “Stunts like these will not deter me or my party,” he said.

    A complaint into the robbery has been registered.

  • ‘Won’t let Nawaz enjoy AC, TV in jail’: Imran at ‘largest’ gathering of Pakistani-Americans

    Claiming that former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif eats homemade food in his air-conditioned jail cell with television, PM Imran Khan has said that he will ensure the “criminal” does not receive such treatment.

    The premier, who is currently in the United States (US) on a three-day official trip, said this while addressing around 30,000 Pakistani-Americans at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena.

    The gathering was termed as the “largest” in the community’s history by those present at the jampacked venue with 20,000 official seating capacity.

    “Nawaz Sharif wants food from home in jail, he wants air conditioning in jail. But in a country where half the population has no air conditioning or TV, what kind of punishment would this be?”, the premier questioned.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “When I return, I’ll make sure there is no air conditioning or TV for Nawaz Sharif who is a criminal. I know Maryam [Nawaz] Bibi will make some noise, but I say to her, return the money. It’s as simple as that,” he added.

    Continuing his tirade against Nawaz, PM Imran alleged that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was “propped up” by a military dictator.

    “Nawaz was propped up by military dictator. Shehbaz Sharif was propped up because he was his brother. Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal became leaders on the basis of some piece of paper that left the party behind to them. Similar stories with other parties,” he said.

    Targeting his political rivals, the premier reiterated that the government had started seizing their undeclared properties because they had “looted the country when they were in power”.

  • Viral video shows PTI MPA proudly presenting ‘sariyay wala seth’

    Viral video shows PTI MPA proudly presenting ‘sariyay wala seth’

    A video of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Haleem Adil Sheikh, wherein he is proudly presenting the party’s “sariyay [iron rod] wala seth“, went viral over the internet on Saturday.

    The video shows Adil using the term to refer to his colleague and Sindh Human Rights Focal Person Mir Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Lund.

    Earlier this month, Lund’s appointment by the Human Rights Ministry had sparked a debate on social media since he is accused of violating his driver by inserting an iron rod into his rectum.

    “The poor don’t matter to them…” Adil says while criticising an unnamed entity in the video breaking the internet. “The thing is if they learn their lesson with batons… it’s good… [else] we have sariyay wala seth with us now,” he says as he holds Lund’s hand and the entire room breaks into laughter.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    According to a Human Rights Ministry notification dated July 10, Minister Shireen Mazari appointed Lund as a focal person on the issues of human rights in Sindh.

    “He shall assist the office of the federal minister on the issues of human rights while keeping liaison with relevant stakeholders,” the notification read.

    While the appointment is “purely voluntary without the ministry bearing any expenses”, the news took the internet by storm owing to the gross violation allegedly committed by Lund in April.

    THE ASSAULT:

    As per the details, a van driver named Allah Rakhio was allegedly assaulted and meted out inhumane punishment in Sindh’s Ghotki district on the orders of his employer, Lund, and his three relatives.

    According to the victim’s son, Zahid Hussain Rakhio, his father had a disagreement with Shafiq Lund, following which he was called to Iftikhar’s residence where he was mercilessly beaten up by Shafiq, Rafiq Lund and Mumtaz Ali Lund in Iftikhar’s presence.

    Injured Rakhio called Hussain, who took him to the hospital, where he received eight stitches on his private parts. A video of Rakhio lying on his back on a stretcher and narrating his ordeal was also widely shared over the internet.

    FIR AGAINST LUND:

    A First Information Report (FIR) against Iftikhar, Mumtaz, Shafiq and Rafiq on the victim’s complaint was filed at the Khanpur Mahar police station.

    The FIR was filed under sections 324 (attempt to commit qatle amd), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour a person), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 143 (punishment for being a member of unlawful assembly).

    Hussain claims that police have not yet made any arrests and are trying to brush the incident under the carpet, while party sources say the issue was resolved in an out of court settlement as the driver forgave Lund and his accomplices.

  • In historic first, two women contest ex-FATA election

    In historic first, two women contest ex-FATA election

    Two women have stepped up to contest the provincial election being held in ex-Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Geo News reported.

    FATA was finally merged into KP in May 2018 after then president Mamnoon Hussain signed the 25th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law.

    People of the tribal districts on Saturday are casting a ballot for the first time to elect members of the provincial assembly on sixteen seats up for grabs in seven newly-merged districts.

    In the 16 constituencies up for grabs, almost all contestants are men; however, two women from the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaate Islami (JI) have stepped up to give them a tough time.

    Naheed Afridi from the ANP is hoping for a win in Khyber district’s PK-106. There are a total of 148,470 voters in this constituency, of which 65,652 (44 per cent) are female.

    JI’s Malasa Bibi, on the other hand, is running for PK-109 of the Kurram district. In her constituency, there are 187,844 voters in all, of which 82,560 are women.

    The two women are breaking barriers by contesting the election in extremely conservative tribal districts where women have not always been allowed to even cast their votes.

  • Mad King

    Mad King

    From intimidating accountability watchdogs, telling the judiciary how to do its job, to placing increasingly fascist restrictions on press, Imran Khan has reached levels of desperation that seem unprecedented

    We have been here before. A government, drunk on its
    newfound power, now finds itself in unfamiliar territory where it has to lead a
    nation and not just tear down all that holds that country upright.

    An opposition, being oppressed, harassed and victimised for
    speaking to the aspirations of the people, at whose will, it serves. It’s not
    new. It’s a vicious cycle that has revisited this country one too many times
    now.

    The 2018 general election was among the most tainted in this
    country’s history, the impact of which the nation now suffers. The country is
    in the grip of an economic crisis that can only be described as a financial
    Armageddon, corruption is ironically at its peak, a glimpse of which has been
    seen in the recent report put forth by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the
    Peshawar BRT project.

    In the Prime Minister’s (PM) House, our own version of the
    Mad King has begun to unravel. In an attempt to distract everyone from how the
    country’s economy has continued to unravel under his watch, he has decided to
    demolish every institution we hold dear in the country.

    From threatening and intimidating the country’s accountability watchdogs, telling the judiciary how to do its job, to placing increasingly fascist restrictions on the press in Pakistan, Imran Khan has reached levels of desperation that seem unprecedented.

    Why though? Why this sudden surge in desperation on the part
    of the PM?

    Nawaz Sharif has been unfairly put behind bars. The top tier
    leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is being threatened day
    in day out with mala fide cases in an attempt to shut them up.

    Why is the government so spooked that it continues to up the
    ante and show its ill intent when despite its reservations and grievances over
    the election process, the opposition has on various occasions declared its
    intentions to let the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) remain in power and
    complete its term?

    What perturbs the government is that it can see the writing
    on the wall. Going forward, electoral politics will revolve around the next
    generation of voters — the youth — and at present, no one has shown to
    connect with the youth of this country quite like Maryam Nawaz.

    People know her as the current force that has kept the party
    going in her father’s absence, but what people do not realise is that she has
    been there for quite some time now.

    When Nawaz was in exile during Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf-led
    military rule, it was Maryam who pushed and encouraged her father to return to
    the country because she believed the people needed her father’s leadership. Now
    she is burdened with the responsibility to fight for her family and her party.

    She has been burdened with the responsibility to fight for
    all of us… for the very democratic soul of the country.

    The Mad King fears his government will fall apart once and
    for all as his false claim of representing the youth nears collapse. It is for
    this very reason that his government is going to ridiculous lengths to try and
    harass the opposition.

    What he needs to remember is that we have been here before.
    And inevitable is that authoritarians have time and time again fallen from
    their positions of power and been forced to feel the unforgiving wrath of the
    will of the people.

    That wave, let’s call it a tsunami, is building up, making its way to sweeping away the PTI government and its politics.

    Any author’s views do not reflect that of The Current

  • PTI leader installs VVIP bathroom at ministry

    PTI leader installs VVIP bathroom at ministry

    Despite slogans of austerity and claims of bringing an end to Pakistan’s VIP culture, ministers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government have installed biometric machines outside bathrooms of the Ministry of Industries and Production for top-ranking officers. The ministry comes under Abdul Razak Dawood who is Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan for Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production, and Investment of Pakistan.

    According to reports, only an additional secretary or an officer above the rank can use these ‘VVIP’ bathrooms. Those who are of the same rank from another ministry can also use these washrooms.

    Meanwhile, the bathrooms for the rest of the people working there allegedly don’t even have soaps or other basic toiletries.

  • From grade VI geography to ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience’; five books PM Imran should read

    From grade VI geography to ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience’; five books PM Imran should read

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s reading habits recently made headlines when The Current cited sources as saying that he is an avid reader who prefers books over television.

    Since the premier is a fan of non-fiction and is currently reading “The Silk Roads: A New History of the World” by Peter Frankopan, here are five books that we think he should give a read.

    1. Grade VI Geography:

    No, we’re not kidding. The world broke into laughter when PM Imran said, “…on the border region of Germany and Japan” while addressing a gathering in Tehran.

    https://twitter.com/ZakirKhan012/status/1120779290889469953

    While a lot of people argued that the idea of Germany and Japan sharing a border was just a slip of tongue, we don’t think taking a look back at those geography lessons from grade VI is a big deal.

    2. ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience: The Mahatma in Indian Politics’

    The Salt March of 1930 was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi.

    Since the PM, before coming to power, was somewhat a civil disobedience fan, we think he might enjoy this one by Judith M Brown.

    3. Grade VIII Physics:

    It is hard to forget how the premier once said that the Chinese are working on a train that travels not at light ki speed, but “speed ki light”. We’re sure it was yet another slip of tongue, but…

    Maybe PM Imran can give grade VIII’s physics book a quick look before making such a claim again.

    4.How Democracies Die

    This one is not that important since we might not be there yet. But every political leader should read “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.

    In the book, the Harvard University political scientists explain how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power.

    5. Trump: The Art of The Deal

    PM Imran will soon be leaving for the United States (US) on his maiden visit to the country since being handed the reins of the country.

    Since the premier will be meeting President Donald Trump, giving this book a read to know him better appears to be a good idea.

    The book, credited to Trump, talks about the US president’s childhood. It also describes his early work, building The Trump Organization as well as his actions and thoughts.

  • Meet Capt Qadeer, who went undercover as a beggar and assisted Jadhav’s arrest

    Meet Capt Qadeer, who went undercover as a beggar and assisted Jadhav’s arrest

    Twitter in Pakistan has burst with praise for Pakistan Army’s late Captain Qadeer Ahmed, who went undercover as a beggar for three long years to arrest Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

    Commander Jadhav — an Indian Navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan while entering Pakistan from Iran.

    A day after the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) verdict in the Jadhav case, Pakistanis took to Twitter to praise Capt Qadeer for his role in the Indian spy’s arrest.

    According to reports, working with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Captain Qadeer spent more than three years in Balochistan as a beggar, attired in dirty tattered clothes, and kept an eye on Jadhav’s activities.

    He slept on the pavement and scoured dustbins while keeping a watch. Pictures of the young captain in his beggar avatar are also doing rounds on social media.

    Despite being born to a wealthy family, Qadeer chose a military career against his family’s wishes.

    He passed away on June 2, 2018, while his car was on way to Khuzdar from Quetta. A female relative sitting on the passenger seat sustained injuries in the accident in Lakoran area, while the officer died on the spot.

    He was reportedly on his way home from an undercover duty to see his baby daughter who was ill.

  • PTI govt reluctant to get Peshawar BRT investigated

    PTI govt reluctant to get Peshawar BRT investigated

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has opposed the formation of a committee to investigate the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) has reported.

    As per the details, treasury members of the KP Assembly have
    opposed the opposition’s proposed suggestion to form a house committee to probe
    the long-pending project.

    The chair, however, has admitted the question for a full
    debate under Rule 48 of Assembly Procedure, reports said.

    “The government would not form a parliamentary
    committee unless it was aimed to facilitate people and provide them
    relief,” KP Law Minister Sultan Khan said on the floor of the provincial
    assembly during question hour.

    He rejected the allegations of corruption in BRT and said
    that public funds had been utilised on the project in a “judicious and
    transparent” way.

    The minister was responding to a question raised by Pakistan
    People’s Party (PPP) legislator Nighat Orakzai, who argued that public money
    had been “deliberately misused” in the project.

    According to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released
    earlier this month, the KP government significantly deviated from the original,
    agreed design and used inferior quality material in the Rs70 billion Peshawar
    metro bus project putting lives and assets at risk in the process.

    The inferior quality construction could damage the project’s reputation at the international level, warned the lender that had approved a $335 million (Rs53 billion) loan for the project in mid-2017.

    PESHAWAR METRO:

    The Peshawar metro is rather infamous for its incompletion as
    the authorities concerned have failed to meet deadlines time and again. The government
    has now issued yet another deadline for completion of the much-delayed project,
    saying that it will be operational by the end of current year.

    The KP government and the project’s execution agency had earlier promised to open the project, launched in October 2017, within six months on April 20, 2018. However, the deadline was missed.

    The project managers kept changing the launch dates from May
    20 to June 30 to December 31 in 2018 to March 23, 2019. The project’s cost has
    also jumped to Rs68 billion from earlier Rs49 billion.