Tag: Sherry Rehman

  • Former High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan passes away

    Former High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom (UK), Wajid Shamsul Hasan, has passed away. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwart Wajid Shamsul Hasan was a veteran journalist and a columnist. He was seriously ill and critical for the past few days.

    Condolences and tributes poured in for the deceased’s soul.

    PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Wajid Shamsul Hasan was a national asset.

    Aseefa Bhutto Zardari in a tweet said, “He was a brave man who held to his convictions and has stood by three generations of our family”.

    PPP leader Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted, “He spent a lifetime of devotion to democracy, human rights, free press and the PPP. What a loss! Heartfelt condolences to his family and the broader civil society community he was deeply involved with.”

    Member of Parliament for Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman Chishiti, tweeted about Wajid Shamsul Hasan’s death. He also shared a picture of him with Benazir Bhutto.

    Ziauddin Yousafzai in a tweet said that Wajid Shamsul Hasan had been a great support to their family when they moved to the UK.

  • Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    As journalists continue with sit-in outside of the Parliament House, against the government’s proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), prominent leaders from political parties, student unions, and members of the civil society also joined in to show solidarity.

    The protest began on Sunday and is said to continue until President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament on Monday.

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Sec­retary Marriyum Aurangzeb, and MNA Mohsin Dawar, among others, visited the protest site on Sunday night to extend their support.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, Shehbaz Sharif speaking on the media authority bill termed it as “black law” and expressed solidarity with journalists. He said the media had fought a war for its freedom and no one could snatch it. 

    https://twitter.com/pmln_org/status/1437373043542736902

    “The government doesn’t have the guts to pass it and we won’t allow it,” added Shehbaz warning the government against passing the “black law” or bear the consequences.

    He tweeted in solidarity with the protestors and said, “PTI government is demolishing every institution that represents democracy. We support journalists in their struggle against PMDA.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Monday slammed the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMDA), saying that the proposed bill is an “attack on the freedom of media and judiciary.”

    The PPP chairman vowed his party will not let the government get away with snatching livelihoods from the masses. He showed solidarity with journalists who have been attacked, saying that the PPP “will not be satisfied till they [journalists] are not satisfied.”

    “Even if they manage to have this black law passed, journalists will [struggle to] have it abolished,” he added.

    Bilawal warned the government that if it tried to have the PMDA law passed via force, the PPP will challenge it in the courts. The PPP chairman said he feared the government will try to pass the bill during a joint sitting of the Parliament.

    Bilawal said his party will attend the joint sitting of the Parliament with a two-point agenda; to advocate for the rights of 20,000 government employees who were sacked and to campaign for freedom of speech.

    PPP leaders, Senator Sherry Rehman and Raza Rabbani, visited the protest camp and addressed the protesters.

    “We have repealed all the ordinance regarding media censorship, whether it was Ayub Khan or Zia-Ul-Haq. This is why the government won’t bring this on the Parliament floor because we will repeal the PMDA bill and they are scared”

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, along with PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, also visited the protest site on Monday.

    Addressing the protesters, Iqbal criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for “attacking and attempting to muzzle” the media.

    Referring to the PMDA bill, he called it a “conspiracy” and said if the bill was passed, “democracy will die in this country”.

  • Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Pakistan paid a befitting tribute to the country’s armed forces, as it observed Defence Day with traditional spirit and enthusiasm.

    This year’s Defence and Martyrs’ Day theme is “Our martyrs our pride, a salute to all the relatives belonging to Ghazis and Shaheeds.”

    The day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals.

    In his message on Defence Day, President Arif Alvi vowed that Pakistan would never compromise its integrity.

    “Today we are actively fighting a hybrid war being waged against us. I commend the security agencies for their relentless efforts towards exposing the enemy carrying out covert activities,” he added.

    “We stand by the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination guaranteed under the UN Security Council resolutions,” said the president.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan also paid tribute to the brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army. “The Armed Forces must fight the enemy with unparalleled fearlessness in the world. Our brave officers, soldiers, pilots, and sailors have proved to the world that they are always ready to defend every inch of the homeland. Even if they have to pay a price for it.”

    Stressing the need for peace, PM Khan wrote, “On this occasion, I want to make it clear once again that our desire for peace should never be seen as our weakness, but should be answered in the same positive way for the prosperity and betterment of the people of the region.”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter and said, “Today the people & armed forces of Pakistan came together to defend their motherland against the Indian military aggression.”

    “We will always remember the sacrifices of our brave soldiers!”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the sacrifices of the martyrs, the unwavering determination of the soldiers, and the invincible unity of the people of Pakistan is our strength and the guarantee of our bright future.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, paying a tribute to the families of our martyrs, tweeted, “Today, in the names of martyrs.”

    Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari tweeted, “Today is a day to remember & pay our respects to our martyrs esp the soldiers for whom there’s not to reason why and the families they leave behind.”

    PPP leader Sherry Rehman tweeted, “On this #DefenceDay, we pay tribute to our valiant heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect our country and people. We forever owe their families a forever debt.”

  • Politicians, journalists mark #WorldPressFreedomDay

    World Press Freedom Day is observed every year on May 3 and this year’s theme is ‘Information as a Public Good’. To mark the day, politicians, journalists and other key figures have stepped forward to call for freedom of press and media.

    United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was also among those who marked this day. In his message, Guterres urged all governments to do everything in their power to support a free, independent and diverse media.

    Politicians and journalists from Pakistan including Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry and Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Information and culture Firdous Ashiq Awan also shared messages to mark the day and paid rich tributes to journalists.

  • Race for leader of opposition in Senate

    Race for leader of opposition in Senate

    Reports indicate that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are fighting over the slot of leader of opposition in the Senate. On March 8, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Information Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the media that it has been decided that the candidate for deputy chairman Senate would be from JUI-F and leader of the opposition in the upper House would be from the PML-N. Yousaf Raza Gillani was the PDM’s joint candidate for Senate chairman.

    Sources say the PPP is now vying for this position as they have reservations over the nomination of newly elected Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar by the PML-N. Tarar is a senior lawyer and is representing two accused police officers in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. When he was asked about these reservations in Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Tarar said that he has his own professional commitments [as a lawyer] and he was representing the two police officers who were being tried for negligence in BB murder case. “These two have no role in the assassination but are being tried for negligence related to washing the crime scene.”

    As per media reports, Sherry Rehman will be PPP’s candidate for leader of opposition but she has denied that she is the candidate for the position.

  • Sherry Rehman says the new rape ordinance makes minors ‘more vulnerable’

    Sherry Rehman says the new rape ordinance makes minors ‘more vulnerable’

    Senator and senior PPP leader Sherry Rehman has disapproved of the new laws against rapists approved by the cabinet, earlier this week. The new laws call for strict punishment, including chemical castration of the rapist.

    Replying to The Current’s post, which includes the tally of rape cases being reported every day (acquired from various sources), Sherry expressed her displeasure over lowering the statutory age for rape to 13 from 16.

    “The age of alleged ‘consent’ has been moved to 13 from 16 in the new ordinance, which is terrible,” commented the lawmaker. “How will an adolescent be responsible for ‘consent’. This makes younger children even more vulnerable.”

    She also expressed her concern over the matter on Twitter.

    A total of 127 rape cases have been reported from October 12 to November 27 (today).

  • Cracks once again emerge among opposition ranks before being able to take on Imran govt

    Cracks have yet again emerged among opposition leaders before they could execute their plans of giving a hard time to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    According to reports, this time it wasn’t the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), differences among which have led to the opposition’s failure to take on the ruling party ever since the formation of the current government.

    But this time, Sunday’s all parties conference (APC) witnessed an unpleasant situation when Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who had earlier played a pivotal role in bringing both the PML-N and PPP to talks table, registered a protest for not airing his speech.

    “The government used to censor my speech but now in the APC my speech was also censored and this is highly unreasonable,” he complained.

    PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari clarified it was on the request of a JUI-F lawmaker as they kept it an in-camera session and would hold a press conference later on; however, Maulana was not convinced.

    Senator Sherry Rehman of the PPP said the party was told to arrange for an in-camera address by the JUI-F leader, to which Maulana said, “We did not make such a request.”

    Later on during the presser, PPP senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Maulana’s address was streamed on social media and electronic media may air it by extracting it from the internet.

  • Sherry Rehman calls Irrfan Khan ‘one of Pakistan’s best’

    Sherry Rehman calls Irrfan Khan ‘one of Pakistan’s best’

    The sudden and unexpected death of Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has sent the world into a shock. The actor, who was only 53, passed away in Mumbai after battling a medical complication arising from a colon infection.

    Read more – Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan passes away

    Tributes and condolences for the actor poured in from all over the world, including Pakistan. Among those who expressed their sadness and offered condolences was Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Senator Sherry Rehman. However, she ended up calling Khan “one of Pakistan’s best.” Though Sherry later deleted her tweet, it was not before screenshots were taken.

    Khan, whose international movie career included hits such as Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and The Amazing Spider-Man was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in 2018. He spent most of 2018 and 2019 battling the disease in London. However, he was admitted to a Mumbai hospital earlier this week with a colon infection which ultimately took his life.

    “Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him,” his publicist said in a statement. “Surrounded by his love, his family for whom he most cared about, he left for heaven, leaving behind truly a legacy of his own. We all pray and hope that he is at peace. And to resonate and part with his words he had said, ‘As if I was tasting life for the first time, the magical side of it’.”

    Khan was last seen in Angrezi Medium, a sequel to 2017’s superhit Hindi Medium, in which he shared the screen with Saba Qamar.

    While tributes for the actor poured in from all over the world, members of the Pakistan film fraternity also took to express their grief. Among those who expressed their sadness over the actor’s death include Meera, Sajal Aly, Shaan and Vasay Chaudhry.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_jolalFwjJ/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_jpi25DrhH/

  • Celebrities, politicians destroy Khalil ur Rehman Qamar for misogyny, demand boycott

    Celebrities, politicians destroy Khalil ur Rehman Qamar for misogyny, demand boycott

    Khalil ur Rehman Qamar, who is rather infamous for his misogynist views both on and off the screen, has stirred a storm once again by abusing journalist and rights activist Marvi Sirmed on live television.

    According to details, Qamar on Tuesday appeared on a talk show to discuss the aftermath of a petition against the forthcoming Aurat March being trashed by the Lahore High Court (LHC). The petition calling the march “un-Islamic” with a ” hidden agenda to spread vulgarity” was wrapped up by the court that said it couldn’t be banned under the law of the land.

    Qamar appeared to have a problem with the slogan, ‘Mera jism, meri marzi‘ and was commenting on it when Marvi murmured the same. This irked Qamar who started abusing her.

    VIDEO: Khalil ur Rehman Qamar abuses journalist Marvi Sirmed on live TV

    While some say the slogan ‘mera jism, meri marzi’ is “vulgar” and is used by women marchers in “an attempt to westernise the Pakistani society”, the marchers themselves say it pertains to “the right of choice and that to safety of women and even minor girls who are subjected to sexual assault in this very society”.

    Qamar’s comments did not go down well with celebrities, politicians, journalists and other members of the civil society, who called for a boycott on the writer.

    https://twitter.com/KhoosatSarmad/status/1235112910591942656?s=20

    Others criticised the anchor, Ayesha Sohail, for not managing the situation better.

    Meanwhile, some people hoped that Geo, who had recently signed a contract with the writer for four plays and a movie, would reconsider their decision to work with him.

  • Sherry Rehman defends Aurat March, slams JUI-F’s Maulvi Faiz

    Sherry Rehman defends Aurat March, slams JUI-F’s Maulvi Faiz

    Despite being an annual event, every year when the date of the Aurat March approaches, people begin to lose their calm and begin to target the march, its organisers and women in general. This year, the march’s posters were torn down and a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the march. The petitioner had claimed that the march was ‘anti-state’ and ‘anti-Islamic’. However, the LHC disposed of the petition.

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator and senior member Sherry Rehman, while condemning the outrage against the march, slammed JUI-F’s Maulvi Faiz Muhammad who had remarked that “Mera jism meri marzi azaadi nahi, awargi hai (My body, my choice is not freedom, it is obscenity).”

    Rehman not only defended the march but also slammed Maulvi Faiz for his comments on the march.

    Human rights lawyer, Nighat Dad took to Twitter to support the powerful response.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the PPP, including Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, has thrown its weight behind the march and are supporting it.

    Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari also tweeted her support for the march.

    The Aurat March is scheduled to take place on March 8 to commemorate International Women’s Day. Last year, women from all across Pakistan came together to participate in the march.