Tag: PTI government

  • Naya Pakistan: Matric pass PTI MPA becomes new chairperson of Punjab Education Foundation

    The recent “election” of the new chairperson of the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has attracted widespread social media attention after it was revealed that he himself holds only a matriculation or secondary school certificate.

    Established in 1991, PEF is an autonomous statutory body to encourage and promote education on non-commercial/non-profit basis. Since then, it has come a long way to arrange free quality education for the deserving children at their doorsteps.

    On July 27, the first meeting of the newly-constituted Board of Governors (BoG) of the PEF was held in which the members, through consensus, elected Sardar Aftab Akbar as the new chairperson.

    According to the Punjab Assembly’s official website, the academic qualification of Akbar, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA from PP-23 (Chakwal-III), is matriculation. He has served as the tehsil nazim in Chakwal from 2005 to 2010, while still serves as a member of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare as well as Committee on Privileges of the Punjab Assembly.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the PEF has been in the limelight these days for non-payment to its partner schools across Punjab. The owners and teaching and non-teaching staff of PEF partner schools had protested recently outside the Punjab Assembly and the Governor House. They had even tried to reach Zaman Park over the non-payment issue that has made them unable to pay salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff besides clearing building rents and utility bills etc.

    Punjab School Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, with regard to non-payments, says that PEF had already paid 50 per cent of the payment to the schools and remaining payment would be made only after verification of the students enrolled in these schools. He said previously some 250,000 fake enrolments were detected at many PEF partner schools and since millions of rupees were to be paid to the schools, verification of students was a must.

    The minister said many PEF partner schools were in fact beneficiaries of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the government would not waste public money on fake enrolments. He said the PEF initiative was aimed to bring out of school children into schools and not to financially support fake enrolments. Dr Muard Raas further said he had also apprised Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan about the issue in a recent meeting who had assured full support.

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 30): ‘Sciencedaan Fawad Chaudhry’ to ‘Imran Khan k aglay 6 maah ki ahmeeyat’

    KYA BOLA? (Jul 30): ‘Sciencedaan Fawad Chaudhry’ to ‘Imran Khan k aglay 6 maah ki ahmeeyat’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 30, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Sciencedaan Fawad Chaudhry’

    It was reported by Daily Jang that Ruete Hilal [Moon-Sighting] Committee Chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman has said, “Fawad Chaudhry ko calendar banaa kr denay walay humaray members hain. Hum 25 saal se Ruet chalaa rahay hain, Fawad Chaudhary kahaan se sciencedaan aa gaye?”

    The statement comes days after yet another war of words erupted between the cleric and the science and technology minister over moon-sighting, this time for the Islamic month of Zil Hajj.

    ‘Tania Aidrus aur Zafar Mirza’

    According to Daily Jang, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said, “Wazire Azam shayad Zafar Mirza k kaam say mutmayin nahi thay. Dono isteefo’n ka dual nationality se koi taaluq nahi tha.”

    A day earlier, special assistant to the prime minister on health, Dr Zafar Mirza, and on digital Pakistan, Tania Aidrus, had announced having submitted their resignations, saying it was over criticism following the assets and dual nationality report of PM’s aides. Pundits had, however, hinted at possible trouble in Islamabad and said that there was more to the resignations.

    ‘Imran Khan k aglay 6 maah ki ahmeeyat’

    Senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir, in his column for Daily Jang, has said,“Imran Khan ne 2 saal tou jaisay taisay mukamal kr liye lekin Eid k bad inka asal imtehaan shuru honay wala hai. Agly 6 maah in k liye aham hain aur buhat mushkil bhi… yeh 6 maah nikal gaye to Imran Khan k liye paanch saal mukammal krna asaan hojayega.”

  • Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    — While Tania Aidrus has resigned amid criticism for holding dual nationality, Dr Zafar Mirza has stepped down over ‘negative discussion about the role of SAPMs’

    Dr Zafar Mirza and Tania Aidrus, special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM) on health and e-governance, respectively, stepped down from their posts on Wednesday.

    The resignations come days after the Cabinet Division made public the details of the assets and dual nationalities of 20 advisers and special assistants, rocking the country’s political landscape.

    In a tweet, Aidrus, the head of the much-touted Digital Pakistan Vision initiative, cited recent criticism levelled against her and the government due to her dual nationality as the reason behind her decision to resign.

    “[The] criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan,” she said, adding that she was resigning “in the greater public interest”.

    In the resignation letter, Aidrus stated that she had returned to Pakistan with the “singular intent to contribute and develop the vision of a Digital Pakistan”.

    “I always was and shall be a Pakistani,” she wrote, adding that “it is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such [dual nationality] issues”.

    While the letter points to criticism on Aidrus’ foreign nationality being the chief reason for her resignation, reports say that the former Google executive was in fact forced to resign.

    READ: What we know about Tana Aidrus’s resignation

    Meanwhile, Mirza also took to Twitter to announce stepping down.

    He said that he had come to Pakistan on the personal invitation of the premier after leaving the World Health Organization (WHO).

    “I worked hard and honestly. It was a privilege to serve Pakistan. I am satisfied that I leave at a time when COVID-19 has declined in Pakistan as a result of a grand national effort,” Mirza said.

    He added that he had made the decision over the “negative discussion about the role of SAPMs and criticism of the government”.

    “Pakistani people deserve better healthcare. I have worked sincerely to contribute to this cause. Pakistan will Inshallah emerge out of COVID-19 with a stronger healthcare system.”

    While PM Imran has not yet accepted the resignations, rumour has it that another aide of his will shortly be resigning.

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 29): ‘Bilawal k jawaan kandhay’ to ‘Coronavirus k khilaf Allah ki ghayebi maddad’

    KYA BOLA? (Jul 29): ‘Bilawal k jawaan kandhay’ to ‘Coronavirus k khilaf Allah ki ghayebi maddad’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 29, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Bilawal k jawaan kandhay’

    It has been reported by Daily Jang that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in a press conference with opposition bigwig Shehbaz Sharif, said,“Ab Shehbaz Sharif tandrust hain aur hukoomat mukhalif tehreek ki inqalabi qiyadat krnay k liye tayaar hain.” Shehbaz, in response to this, said, “Bilawal k jawaan kandho par zimadari dali hai… yeh humein lead karein ge.” 

    While opposition alliance is once again gearing to get rid of the government, many believe this attempt too wouldn’t be successful for the PPP and the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) won’t be able to work together.

    ‘Ab kya gul khilayga?’

    According to Daily Jang, Punjab Information Minister Punjab Fayazul Hasan Chohan has termed the meeting between Shehbaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazulur Rehman as the between “political orphans”. “Sindh mein Maulana ki Asif Ali Zardari aur Bilawal se mulaqaat ka chand Ziaur Rehman ki bataur deputy commissioner tayinaati ki surat mein charrha tha… ab dekhein Maulana ki Shehbaz se maulaqaat kia gul khilati hai.”

    Fazl’s brother had been appointed the deputy commissioner of Karachi’s District Central despite not being a qualified CSS officer. Amid severe backlash and criticism, the federal government on Monday approved a letter by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government requesting the repatriation of his services back to the province.

    ‘Coronavirus k khilaf Allah ki ghayebi maddad’

    Daily Dunya has quoted the Corona Expert Advisory Group as saying that, “Corona cases aur amwaat mein kami Allah ki ghayebi maddad hai kyun k kami ki hatmi waja samnay nahi aa saki.”

    The statement comes as both COVID-19 cases and deaths in Pakistan continue to drop over the past three weeks. While some are praising the government for its efforts aimed at curbing the outbreak, others believe lower testing and people choosing to stay back home is the actual reason.

  • ‘Army chiefs should serve as president of Pakistan after retirement’

    ‘Army chiefs should serve as president of Pakistan after retirement’

    Twice former prime minister (PM) of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) region Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan has suggested that every chief of army staff (COAS) should be allowed to serve as the country’s president after retirement so as to enhance Pakistan’s foreign policy while keeping in view the defence and strategic significance of the country.

    “Pakistan has a lot of enemies and our politicians are unable to realise that the country’s defence is a lot more important than economy or democracy,” he said while speaking to a private media outlet.

    Ahmed said that the current parliamentary system had failed and it needed to be fixed while enhancing cooperation between different institutions. “Army’s help is sought every time the country faces any major challenge. The difference between help and interference must be made clear.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    He maintained that the constitution should be amended so as to help the executive branch and accompany any elected PM with a president who is an ex-army chief.

    “I believe the chemistry between the serving and the now-president-for-four-years army chiefs would benefit Pakistan’s defence and foreign affairs,” Ahmed said and also cited the example of former United States’ (US) secretary of state Colin Luther Powell.

    An American politician, diplomat and retired four-star general, Powell served as the 65th US state secretary from 2001 to 2005.

    Ahmed also said such steps were needed to strengthen the constitution and not individuals.

    While many differ on the ex-AJK PM’s statement, it merits a mention that experts believe the military is already continuing to shape Pakistan’s security and foreign policies.

    According to a forecast report released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and cited by Dawn in November last year, Pakistan Army was likely to continue shaping the country’s foreign and security policy while the government was expected to largely amenable to this arrangement.

    While the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) boasts of civil-military relations in Pakistan being at their historic best — a claim verified by the military’s media wing as well — the report had also outlined Pakistan’s political and economic outlook for the period of 2020 to 2024 and forecast that the PTI would serve its full term while opposition parties would remain in a state of disarray owing to legal challenges facing their leaders.

  • Bureaucracy in Naya Pakistan: Deputy commissioner ‘tortures’ subordinates over ‘poor performance’

    Bureaucracy in Naya Pakistan: Deputy commissioner ‘tortures’ subordinates over ‘poor performance’

    Despite Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan telling bureaucrats that they need to change their mindsets because “there is no room for ancient practices in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Naya Pakistan”, The Current has learnt details of the harrowing experience of a group of junior bureaucrats who were “subjected to torture” by their boss in Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab.

    According to sources, at least four of the said junior bureaucrats — currently serving as assistant commissioners (ACs) in different parts of the district — were subjected to torture by the deputy commissioner (DC) who “robbed” them of their official vehicles on late Saturday night and forced them to walk back to their posts over “poor performance”.

    “The ACs included those of Toba Tek Singh, Kamalia, Pir Mahal and Gojra tehsils,” they said and added the junior bureaucrats were ridiculed in front of lower staff of the DC Office as well as that of their own. “Reprimanding your juniors over unsatisfactory performance is one thing but mistreating them, the way it was in this case, is outrageous.”

    Speaking to The Current, one of the ACs, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that they had been subjected to torture as the DC, besides taking away their official vehicles, had also mistreated them by forcing them to stand outside the office as a punishment until around 1 am when they were told to walk back home. “We managed to make arrangements for our commute but three of us were women, and family members of my colleagues believe the mistreatment has scarred their daughters for life.”

    “This is not at all acceptable and we want the government to take action but it can cost us our careers,” said the AC, to which sources said that the victims feared calling their boss out or approaching high-ups because their immediate superior, which in this case is the DC, is responsible to evaluate them in the annual confidential report (ACR) that is a performance evaluation of a public servant.

    Toba Tek Singh tehsil AC, on the other hand, rejected his own colleagues’ claims. “It was just a routine meeting and nothing happened,” he said. When informed that his colleagues had already confirmed the claims regarding their mistreatment, the AC said “the DC can say anything to her officers”.

    “It was a meeting between the DC and her officers and we, under ethics of the service, are bound to obey the orders of our seniors.”

    Contrary to Toba Tek Singh AC’s beliefs, several other public servants and locals privy to the development are of the view that the DC “must be transferred for the sake of the people of the district as Eidul Azha and Muharram amid the coronavirus pandemic are around the corner and local authorities under such a supervisor cannot give their best at a sensitive time”.

    “There is a difference between running a tight ship and stooping as low as the DC did,” they say, urging Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar to take action.

    Repeated attempts were made to contact Toba Tek Singh DC as she was informed of the claims made by her subordinates but she did not comment.

    Attempts were also made to contact Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan to ask him about the government’s reaction to the incident and progress on its promise of revamping bureaucracy for better governance, but he too was unavailable.

    Meanwhile, PTI Toba Tek Singh President Dr Waheed Akbar Chaudhry and local leader as well as Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar’s brother, Chaudhry Muhammad Ramzan, have “appreciated” the DC over her treatment of the ACs.

    “People are always complaining about these officers for doing nothing. Whatever the DC has done was the right thing to do and we hope she will continue discharging her duties diligently and without any leniency,” they said in a statement.

  • PM talks about rumours that govt wants to ban social media

    PM talks about rumours that govt wants to ban social media

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, who is known for having social media as his primary source of information, has said the government will not impose a ban on any social media application.

    “But at the same time, we also can’t let anyone insult or spread false information about government organisations or the people working for them,” the premier pointed out in a statement.

    PM Imran also took notice of the delay in the preparation of social media regulations by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and Ministry of Information Technology.

    He instructed the departments to present a report regarding it within this week.

    The PTI government has been criticised for its decisions regarding monitoring and regulating content on social media. This came after the government placed a temporary ban on popular online game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and issued a warning to TikTok.

    The premier had in February also said that new rules were being introduced only to protect citizens and regulate social media in the country, which had come days after the PTI government led by him decided to impose restrictions in the name of citizens’ protection and national interest.

    Presiding over a meeting to review the social media rules, PM Imran had said that the new rules were not prepared to curb freedom of expression or victimise political opponents. He had claimed that the United Kingdom (UK), Singapore and other countries were also introducing such laws to protect their citizens.

    However, no action for the implementation of the proposed rules had followed.

  • Banning books

    Banning books

    German poet Heinrich Heine once warned, “Where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people.”

    In Pakistan’s case, we may not be burning books, but we are banning them. From banning online apps to games, from media censorship to censoring books, Pakistan is on a downward spiral. According to Geo, the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) banned a hundred school books in a single day for containing content deemed “anti-national” and “blasphemous”.

    “We are currently examining over 10,000 books being taught in private schools,” said PCTB Managing Director Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir. “So the banned textbooks could be in thousands once we are done.”

    Rai is taking these steps under the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act, 2015, which was passed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. It seems that both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the PML-N do not value critical thinking and fundamental freedom.

    This policy is a complete disaster. We saw what happened under the Zia regime back in the 1980s when our curriculum was infused with extremist ideology. It changed our society and led to intolerance. Now we are seeing a repetition of something along the same lines. Rai Manzoor has a problem with a book of mathematics where counting concepts were explained to the young students showing pictures of pigs. He also has a problem with Gandhi’s quotes being taught in another book. Gandhi was India’s founding father but he fought for the rights of Muslims in India and was consequently killed by an RSS extremist for propagating peaceful co-existence with the Muslim minority. Are we demonising someone just because we want to see him from the prism of animosity towards India?

    If we want to keep our children isolated in a globalised world by teaching them only about ourselves, and not any non-Pakistanis, the solution was not to ban books with Gandhi’s quotes but probably to add more quotes from Pakistani historical figures. Do we not want to teach our children about the struggles of Nelson Mandela, who is quite often quoted by Prime Minister Imran Khan? Banning books or taking out quotes of non-Pakistanis is ridiculous at best and dangerous in the long term. The path we are taking today will impact our coming generations.

    The power of deciding curriculum and books is a grave power. For it to be in the hands of someone who is no Chomsky or any other learned figure, we must raise our voice at this grave injustice that is being inflicted upon our future generations. Our national interests are not so weak that they will be endangered by some quotes from non-Pakistanis. But it seems that we want to ban critical thinking. We want to ban the foundation of learning, i.e. asking questions and being inquisitive. We want to produce robots instead of intelligent human beings. We must resist this type of indoctrination. Closed minds cannot lead this country to progress. Stifling freedom of expression and censoring books will push Pakistan back by decades. Let us not go down this dark path. 

  • People want Waqar Zaka to be PM after court orders to lift PUBG ban

    People want Waqar Zaka to be PM after court orders to lift PUBG ban

    With the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordering Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to immediately lift the ban imposed on popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Pakistanis are taking to social media to praise VJ-turned-television host Waqar Zaka’s efforts in this regard and seek his election as the country’s prime minister (PM).

    Pakistan’s ban on PUBG had been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) by Zaka who had taken to social media to express his outrage as well as “expose” some shady conspiracy theories behind the ban.

    According to the YouTuber, the ban on PUBG, which the authorities said had come after PTA received “numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it was stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of children”, was “actually to prevent Pakistani youth from excelling in e-sports”.

    “These are the same people who don’t want our children to become famous around the world, who don’t want our country to generate revenue online, who want to send out a message to the e-sports providers around the world to prevent them from setting up their business here – reason why YouTube never did. These people will not allow us to evolve, a digital revolution needs to be brought,” Zaka had said in a video message.

    With the popular television personality continuing to raise his voice against the ban and separately the IHC on Friday finally ordering PTA to lift it, here’s what people have to say as ‘#ThankYouWaqarZaka’ trends on Twitter in Pakistan.

    https://twitter.com/Qasim6tweets/status/1286562678362779648

    On June 23, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed had recommended a ban on the online game.

    The CCPO had taken up the matter with the higher authorities through a letter referring to the death by suicide of a teenage boy, who was an ardent player of the game. It had led to a temporary ban on the game, which was followed by a PTA statement on Thursday, according to which the ban was to stay in place.

  • Islamabad High Court orders govt to lift ban on PUBG

    Islamabad High Court orders govt to lift ban on PUBG

    The Islamabad High Court on Friday ordered the government to lift the ban on the popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Geo reported.

    The decision to lift the ban was announced by Justice Amir Farooq while hearing a petition filed against the banning of the game. 

    The decision comes a day after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had announced that PUBG will remain blocked in Pakistan. 

    In a statement released on Twitter, the telecom watchdog and internet regulator said it reached the decision to keep the game banned after a detailed hearing conducted at the PTA premises on July 9 on the directions of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

    It said the hearing was attended by other interested parties also.

    The PTA said it also approached the PUBG management to share data about PUBG sessions and users in Pakistan and controls in place by the company. The response from PUBG is awaited, it said.

    On July 1, the PTA announced the decision to temporarily suspend the PUBG game in the country after it received multiple complaints from different segments of society.

    The authority said it received numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it was stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time, and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of the Children.

    According to recent media reports, cases of suicide attributed to PUBG game have also been reported.

    The LHC also directed the PTA to look into the issue and decide the matter after hearing the complainants.

    The authority had also solicited views of the public to reach any decision about the online game.