Tag: The Current

  • US responds to Khan’s acquittal in cipher case

    US responds to Khan’s acquittal in cipher case

    The United States of America has reacted to the acquittal of founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and the party’s vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case.

    US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller responded to a question about the case while addressing a press conference, saying that “The allegations against Imran Khan will be decided by Pakistan’s courts under their own laws.” 

    A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted the former Prime Minister and the former foreign minister in the cipher case. Both had been accused of leaking state secrets in public after Imran Khan, then the Prime Minister, took a diplomatic cable to a rally and narrated the contents for the public.

    IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Auranzeb heard the case and announced the short verdict.

    What is ciphergate?  

    The issue first came to light less than a month before Imran Khan’s removal from the prime minister’s office on March 27, 2022, when the PTI founder waved a letter addressing a public rally, claiming that it’s a cypher sent from a country that wanted Khan removed, later revealed to be the United States.

    The former prime minister claimed, while addressing the public, that the letter was the reason for his ouster as Prime Minister.

    Initially, Khan didn’t reveal the name of the country, but after a few days, he blamed the United States for plotting against him. The convicted former prime minister alleged that Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu was responsible for his removal.

    Since then, Imran and his party have blamed other people and forces for his removal, including former COAS General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Saudi Arabia.

  • NOT GUILTY: Khan vindicated in cipher case

    NOT GUILTY: Khan vindicated in cipher case

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquits Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and the party’s vice president Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cypher case on Monday.

    A two-member bench of the IHC, including Justice Aamer Farooq and Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, heard the petition filed by the PTI founder. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the verdict in the case against both politicians.

    The PTI founder and the party’s vice chairman were sentenced to ten years each in the case.

    What is cyphergate?

    The issue first came to light less than a month before Imran Khan’s removal from the prime minister’s office on March 27, 2022, when the PTI founder waved a letter addressing a public rally, claiming that it’s a cypher sent from a country that wanted Khan removed, which was later said to be the United States.

    The former prime minister claimed, while addressing the public, that this letter was the reason for his ouster as prime minister.

    Initially, Khan didn’t reveal the name of the country, but after a few days, he blamed the United States for plotting against him. The convicted former prime minister alleged that Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu was responsible for his removal.

  • SC full court to hear petition on reserved seats today

    SC full court to hear petition on reserved seats today

    A full court bench of the Supreme Court (SC) will hear the petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) today challenging the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision that denied it reserved seats for women and minorities. 

    As per the report of senior court reporter Hasnaat Malik, the apex court will also decide about the live streaming of today’s hearing in the reserved seats case.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa will lead the 13-member full court bench; however, Justice Musarrat Hilali will not be the part of  bench after falling ill.

    On May 6, the apex court suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to allocate SIC’s reserved seats to other parties.

  • PTI wants CJP Faez Isa to distance himself from cases against Imran Khan, PTI

    PTI wants CJP Faez Isa to distance himself from cases against Imran Khan, PTI

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called upon the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to distance himself from cases proceeding against PTI founder Imran Khan and his party workers.

    The PTI core committee expressed concerns on the proceedings, alleging that CJP Isa is biassed against Imran Khan and demanding that the Judge should recuse himself from the cases.

    The party alleged that CJP Isa’s hearing of their cases had a “negative impact” on a fair trial.

    The Supreme Court (SC) is scheduled to hear Sunni Ittehad Council’s reserved seats case on June 3. CJP Isa is leading the bench. Justice Musarrat Hilali will not hear the case due to illness.

    Three judges, including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Athar Minallah, suspended the verdict of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Peshawar High Court (PHC) regarding the allocation of reserved seats to other political parties.

  • Two suspects arrested for murdering babrbershop workers in Gawadar

    Two suspects arrested for murdering babrbershop workers in Gawadar

    Balochistan Home Minister Zia Ullah Langau announced on Friday that two suspects involved in the murder of barbershop workers in Gawadar have been arrested.

    Seven barbershop workers from Punjab were killed when they were sleeping in their apartment near the Gwadar Fish Harbour in the Surbandar area of the coastal town earlier this month. One worker was injured in the incident.

    “I congratulate all our institutions who fulfilled their responsibility and the government’s orders with their efforts, and we have arrested two killers of the Gwadar labourers,” Langau said while addressing a press conference in Quetta.

    The arrested suspects revealed during the investigation that they had been ordered to kill any labourer from Punjab.

    Zia Ullah Langau also stated that millitants targeted innocent citizens, worsening the peace and security situation in Balochistan.

    “Terrorists have nothing to do with our rights. We will go the extra mile for those speaking up for the rights of Balochistan,” Langau added.

  • Naswar is drug of poor, not forbidden in Sharia: KP Agriculture Minister

    Naswar is drug of poor, not forbidden in Sharia: KP Agriculture Minister

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) agriculture minister Major (ret) Sajjad Khattak has said that the provincial government has imposed a tax on tobacco used in Naswar, adding that the usage of Naswar is neither a sin nor a reward.

    The provincial agriculture minister told the provincial assembly that Naswar is the drug of the poor and it is not even forbidden in Sharia.

    Opposition members of the KP assembly, including Sobia Shahid and Ahmad Kundi, tabled a bill demanding more tax on Naswar and cigarettes, as they are luxuries, and that the tax on private schools should be abolished.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sobia Shahid said that the tax on tobacco exports should be increased, and that it should be abolished in schools and colleges.

  • Imran Khan’s X account being handled from USA, Rauf Hassan reveals  

    Imran Khan’s X account being handled from USA, Rauf Hassan reveals  

    PTI in confusion: Who is running Khan’s social media?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Makhdoomzada Muhammad Zain Hussain Qureshi recently gave an interview to journalist Asma Shirazi on Hum News where he backtracked from his party’s recent narrative and clarified that Khan’s social media account is, indeed, not being operated from abroad.

    Qureshi stated, “There is no such thing as [someone] from outside the country handling Khan’s social media but is being operated according to Imran Khan’s instructions and party policy.”

    Zain clarified, “It is obvious that he [Imran Khan] can’t use his own account because he is imprisoned so the party has the responsibility and it is done on his instructions.”

    Qureshi’s contrasting statement clashes with PTI leader Raoof Hasan’s claim that Imran Khan’s social media accounts were being handled from America.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Rauf Hassan revealed on Thursday to Kashif Abbasi on ARY News, that PTI founder Imran Khan’s official X (formerly Twitter) account was being handled from abroad. The head of PTI’s official social media team is based in the USA, Hassan confirmed.

    Rauf Hassan also stated that he will investigate who uploaded the video about former Bangladesh president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the PTI founder’s official X account. PTI workers shared the video from Khan’s account in their personnel capacity, Rauf Hassan added.

    The PTI spokesperson also said that he didn’t even see the video. 

    The development came when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) started an investigation into the circulation of the video.

    However, sources in Adiala jail confirmed to Aaj News that the former prime minister refused to meet the FIA team in Adiala jail.

  • Fact Check: No hospital renamed in Maryam Nawaz’s honour, Punjab government clarifies

    Fact Check: No hospital renamed in Maryam Nawaz’s honour, Punjab government clarifies

    Social media was full of speculations after an alleged notification from the Punjab Health Department went viral, with many claiming that the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore had been renamed the “Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases Lahore.”

    Multiple accounts on X (previously Twitter) posted viral tweets with the notification and severely criticised the Punjab government for changing the name of the under-construction project.

    Most of the accounts that were spreading fake news were handled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers.

    According to the viral notification, the name of the under-construction building of Jinnah Institute of Cardiology will be changed to honour Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, but later on, the Punjab government clarified that the issued notification was not real.

    In a rapid move, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bohhari clarified in a post on X that the notification was fake and there were no intentions to change the name of the under-construction building.

    Bokhari further confirmed that no hospital’s name was being changed.

  • Supreme Court rejects petition for live coverage of NAB amendment case

    Supreme Court rejects petition for live coverage of NAB amendment case

    The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s request for live streaming of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendment case hearing on Thursday, Geo News reported.

    The top court rejected the plea filed by the KP advocate general, with Justice Athar Minallah being in favour of live broadcasting of the case.

    “The [hearing of] case should be broadcast live since this was the case before as well,” the judge said.

    The development comes as the SC is hearing intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments against the NAB amendments struck down by the top court.

    Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi are part of the larger SC bench hearing the case.

  • Imran Khan acquitted in two more May 9 cases

    Imran Khan acquitted in two more May 9 cases

    The district and session court in Islamabad acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in two more cases related to May 9 violence, ARY News reported on Thursday.

    Judicial Magistrate Omar Shahab announced the decision on two May 9 cases registered against PTI founder at Shahzad town police station.

    The court cleared the former prime minister in both cases due to insufficient evidence. The prominent lawyers Mirza Aim Beg and Naeem Panjootha were representing Khan in both cases. 

    An unofficial person registered the FIR against Imran Khan and falsely accused him under Section 109, but Khan’s lawyers pointed out that the evidence is not sufficient to support the charge.

    However, Imran Khan’s lawyer and PTI leader Naeem Panjootha told the court that Khan’s sentence in the Toshakhana case has been suspended, but the court has yet to announce on the illegal marriage case and the cypher case.