The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) is getting closer to uncovering the person behind the threatening letters sent to judges of the Supreme Court and various high courts, Geo News reported on Monday.
Geo sources say that CTD has been actively following key developments in the investigation since they received the forensic report on the handwriting in the letters.
The investigation department matched the letters written to judges in the Supreme Court, Islamabad, and Lahore High Courts. According to forensic reports, the same person wrote the letters to judges in all three courts under the names Resham, Reshaman, and Gulshad Khatun. The letters were also sent through the same post office.
“There is a single mastermind behind sending threatening letters to judges,” sources within CTD told Geo News, adding that arsenic found in the letters to the judges was also bought by the same person.
Defence Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Asif took to X, formerly Twitter, to post an interesting thing about Pakistan’s economy or rather ‘pakora economy’. It described how the country could save $9.5 million a month if people avoid pakoras in Ramadan.
The Minister’s post got some very passionate responses from the people, to say the least.
A user on X quoted his post and said, “RAW has assassinated 20 high-profile targets in Pakistan. Meanwhile our defense minister.”
Another user wrote, “Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issuing important messages to the nation while performing Umrah.”
The Minister’s post said, “Pakora Economy: A standard 13 gram Pakora absorbs 3 grams of oil during frying. Let’s say 50million people at home have at least 1 pakora for Iftar. This translates to 150 tons of oil/day. Oil is Rs600/ltr. So its Rs 90 Million or $316 K/day of oil, $9.5 million a month. Avoid Pakora and save $9.5 million a month.”
It also said at the end, “O believers, fasting is compulsory not pakoras.”
We think Khwaja Asif was joking, but who knows, he may actually be serious.
A pro-Khalistan British Sikh organisation’s leader revealed that a well-known reporter of Geo and The News from London, Murtaza Ali Shah, received life threats from the Indian state for covering the Khalistan movement in Britain and other western countries.
In an interview on the Sikh Channel Akaal TV, Sikh Federation UK’s leader, Dabinderjit Singh, revealed that London police are aware that Shah is facing life threats. The Sikh organisation also tweeted about the issue on X (formerly Twitter).
Dabinderjit Singh, who is a retired civil servant, also said that senior reporter Murtaza Ali Shah is on the hit list in India due to his coverage of Sikh issues in London.
“Murtaza Ali Shah covers Sikh issues for Geo TV but is not a Sikh. In particular, Murtaza Shah has been covering the Khalistan Referendum organised by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in the UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Italy. He has been reaching to these places from London for coverage,” he said, linking his journalistic work to the threat.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Latif Khosa has affirmed the claim of fellow party members that Imran Khan will be released from Adiala jail soon, confidently claiming that the former prime minister will likely be free from jail this month.
“I am saying this for sure that the PTI founder will be released in [this] April,” he said while speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan on Sunday.
Earlier, several party members, including chairman PTI Gohar Ali Khan, made similar claims that the jailed PTI founder will be released very soon.
Khosa stated that labeling the release of the PTI founder as a result of any deal would be unfair.
He also said that Imran Khan doesn’t believe in the politics of revenge, as he is only in favour of the supremacy of the constitution.
Speaking about the cases against the PTI founder, Khosa downplayed Khan’s conviction in cipher and un-Islamic nikkah case, stating: “In the cipher case, the court has already observed ‘where is the cipher’, while Iddat case is shameful.”
Update: Local police on Saturday booked a reporter and a cameraman of a private TV channel for “illegally” recording and broadcasting on social media the interviews of the three in-custody suspects in the Maria murder case, reports Dawn.
In the First Information Report (FIR) complainant Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Hasan stated that the private TV channel’s reporter Rana Khalid Mahmood and cameraman Ali Ahmad violated the law by recording video statements of the suspects in custody, without permission of the concerned authorities.
However, no arrest has so far been made in the case.
Meanwhile, journalists’ organizations have expressed concern over the registration of the case under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) declaring it beyond the Punjab police’s domain to book any media person. They also urged Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take notice of the alleged violation of law by the Punjab police and warned the government that journalists would be forced to stage protests if the “illegal” FIR against the two media persons was not dismissed.
The TV reporter, Rana Khalid, claims his lawyers had filed his pre-arrest bail plea before the court who refused to hear it with the remarks that the cases under PECA should be heard by a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) court.
However, in the case, BOL News is claiming that the brother who filmed the murder, Shehbaz, and his wife Sumera have been convicted by the court for hiding the murder of 22-year-old Maria under section 201 of the penal code of Pakistan. They have been sent to jail on judicial remand.
Previously, in the Toba Tek Singh’s Maria murder case, the brother, Faisal, who was seen murdering the sister in the video, and the complicit father, Abdul Sattar, lying on a bed beside him have alleged that the brother who filmed it raped her. The two were talking to the media when they said that.
The matter of the brutal murder and it being filmed was discussed by Zarar Khuro, Wusatullah Khan, and Shahzaib Jillani in their show Zara Hat Kay. The reporter Sultan Sidhu explained that a four day remand has been taken again and shocking revelations have been made in the case as the alleged complicit duo of father and son have told the police that Shehbaz the brother who filmed it was raping Maria and not them.
https://youtu.be/6jh5M4ybXd4?si=OEGBT7zHEYu_F4CK
Previously, lawyer Kamran Zafar, Maria’s elder brother Shehbaz’s lawyer announced the withdrawal of his advocacy in the case.
The lawyer announced the withdrawal of his letter of attorney in Toba Tek Singh, citing he cannot advocate for “beasts”
Maria,22, murder case was heard in a local court of Toba Tek Singh. The main accused Faisal and his father were presented before the court. During the hearing, the police requested 14 days remand of the accused in the case, however, the magistrate approved a four-day remand.
Lawyer said Shahbaz and his wife were misleading, and he could not represent such “beasts” before the court, reports ARY News.
Meanwhile, the family of Maria alleged that lawyer after taking Rs 400,000 decided to help the police.
Moreover, the elder sister of deceased Maria Bibi revealed shocking details and demanded justice from the authorities in an interview with ARY News.
The statement of the deceased Maria Bibi’s elder sister, Kosar, has come to light in which she stated that her brother informed her at 1 am that Maria’s condition had deteriorated but when she arrived home she was already dead. “She was subjected to severe torture and brutally murdered as she saw blood flowing from Maria’s nose, said Kosar.
Background
The horrific video of the murder of a 22-year-old girl in Toba Tek Singh has gone viral in which one of her brothers strangled her while being encouraged by their father while the other brother was filming. The father and the brother who killed the girl have been accused of allegedly raping the victim.
The video of the gruesome murder of Maria in 477 JB, a suburb of Toba Tek Singh, has invoked horrified reactions on the internet. The video, filmed inside what looks like a room in a rural home, shows Faisal strangling Maria while her father Abdul Sattar is lying down, seemingly not bothered by his daughter’s death. The other brother’s wife Sumaira can also be seen standing in the room in the video. Meanwhile the brother who was secretly filming the incident, Shehbaz, filmed the clip on the pretext of talking to a friend on the phone.
A two-day physical remand of the victim’s brother Faisal and father Abdul Sattar, arrested on the charge of murder, has been obtained, while the other brother of the victim, Shehbaz, who made the video, and the sister-in-law Sumaira, who is seen in the video, have also been made part of the investigation, as per the police.
The neck bone of the girl is broken, reveals the preliminary investigation.
Relatives of the victim and the neighbours say that the three of them- father and sons- killed the girl and tried to hide the crime by burying her and declaring her death to be natural.
The father and son strangled Maria together between the nights of March 17 and 18, according to the police report. The brother who made the video, Shehbaz, has accused his brother and father of killing the victim after she complained of rape.
https://youtu.be/a3M40PEV_XQ?si=yFCPQ2rgsv3KU2Mj
In the video, Maria’s brother Shehbaz could be heard suggesting to his father and younger brother Faisal to free the sister.
Reporter Geo News Sajid Majeed explained that Shehbaz instantly informed the police but no action was taken. Consequently, his lawyer shared the video in various groups and made it viral on social media. This prompted the police to arrest the two murderers.
Shahbaz said that when he tried to rescue Maria, his brother and father threatened to kill his daughters too.
“I cannot resist for the sake of my daughters but I recorded the murder from my mobile pretending to be speaking on a phone call,” he added while talking to Samaa News.
https://youtu.be/USGwB0im1uA?si=xNYEUw3b0VjNN5Qj
Shahbaz asked the police to register the case on his complaint, not on behalf of the state, reports 24 News.
Maria’s sister-in-law has said that when they entered the room, Maria’s hands and feet were tied.
DPO Ibadat Nisar Toba Tek Singh has said that DNA tests of the three fathers and sons are being conducted while the samples have been sent for forensics after the exhumation and post-mortem of the victim.
Swiss sheep farmers on Saturday dumped the bodies of animals killed by wolves in front of a regional government building, demanding more action against the predators, Swiss media reported.
Around a dozen breeders came from the Saint-Barthelemy area in the western Swiss canton of Vaud to lay out the carcasses of 12 sheep in front of the regional government headquarters in Lausanne, the Chateau Saint-Maire.
“These sheep were killed last night,” Eric Herb, a member of a Swiss association demanding the regulation of big predators, was quoted as saying by the Keystone-ATS news agency.
“It is really time to act.”
“We are sick of this. We want the wolf killed,” agreed Patrick Perroud, a farmer and butcher from the nearby municipality of Oulens.
“Cohabitation is not possible. Our territory is too small,” he told Keystone-ATS.
The protesters told the news agency that wolves had killed 17 sheep in the same area late last month, two earlier this week and 13 overnight to Saturday.
“The breeders have played nice until now, but this time it was too much,” Herb said.
The protesters were planning to increase the pressure on the Vaud government environment minister, Vassilis Venizelos of the Green Party, he said.
One of the protesters’ banners read: “Vassilis step down”, Keystone-ATS reported.
The breeders had briefly negotiated with regional police before being allowed to lay down the animal carcasses on tarpaulin in front of the Chateau.
Participants in the protest, which was supported by the regional chapter of the far-right Swiss People’s Party — Switzerland’s largest party — lamented that they were losing sleep.
“We have to check on our animals every night,” one was quoted as saying.
After being wiped out more than a century ago, wolves have in recent decades begun returning to Switzerland and to several other European countries.
Since the first pack was spotted in the wealthy Alpine nation in 2012, the number of packs swelled to 32 last year, with around 300 individual wolves counted.
Nature conservation groups have hailed the return as a sign of a healthier and more diverse ecosystem.
But breeders and herders complain of attacks on livestock and have been ramping up demands to cull more wolves.
Swiss authorities last year relaxed the rules for hunting the protected species, and decided to allow large preventative culls in the most affected cantons but swift legal actions put those plans partially on ice.
The debate in several parts of Europe about wolves rose up the political agenda in September.
In an open letter to the European Commission, eight leading conservation groups said there were ways to make coexistence easier between humans and large wild animals like wolves.
“Damage to livestock is often linked to the lack of adequate supervision and/or physical protection,” they said. They pointed to strategies such as “the training of dogs to protect herds, education of herders, tools and technical solutions to deter wolves”.
Update: In a sad turn of events the wife of the man who allegedly poisoned the tea has expired along with another child. Six of the family have died and the post-mortem report is awaited.
https://youtu.be/fd3f5_24r68?si=EJNj9q58ZckJbHwP
Background
A domestic fight took a lethal turn in Chak 520 GB of Toba Tek Singh when a man identified as Asghar poisoned tea following an altercation with his wife and then fled the house, reports The Express Tribune.
His wife Nadia, along with her husband’s daughter from a previous marriage, Iqra, 12, their children Saniha, 17, Madiha, 18, and Ali Hassan, 7 fell critically ill after consuming the tea.
Nadia informed Rescue 1122 about the altercation and poisoning. Rescue teams provided initial medical aid to all affected family members. They were then transferred to DHQ Hospital Toba Tek Singh for further treatment. However, the four children Iqra, Saniha, Mediha, and Ali Hassan lost their lives, succumbing to the effects of the poison, while the condition of the remaining family members remains critical.
Due to the severity of their condition, Nadia and one of her daughters have been referred to Allied Hospital, Faisalabad.
Preliminary investigation by the police suggests the consumption of poison. Financial constraints and frequent domestic disputes between the husband and wife are believed to have contributed to the tragic incident. The Toba Tek Singh Police have registered an FIR against Asghar and initiated an investigation.
Amidst rumors of internal rifts within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), party leader Shehryar Afridi recently said that there were some “hypocrites” inside the party.
Recently, all the portfolios were taken back from the popular leader Sher Afzal Marwat –who emerged as a famous leader after the incarceration of PTI founder Imran Khan.
Addressing a public gathering in Kohat on Friday, Afridi said: “We are sending a message to the party members that the workers and loyalists of the party should be supported, those who are the foundation of the party.”
Afridi criticised the party leadership even saying there were “snakes” who had become a part of the PTI.
The rifts between the party leadership have been increasing with many members divided on different matters related to party.
Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the Chairman of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, was stopped from entering into Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa’s courtroom on April 3 by plain-clothed individuals.
Azaz Syed, a renowned journalist, reported from court premises about the incident. He stated in a video, “This is Mehmood Khan Achakzai behind me and he has been stopped from entering Room no 1 Courtroom.”
When Achakzai was asked by Syed to relate the entire incident he said, “We submitted our ID cards and were issued passes to enter the courtroom.” He then also said that a person in plain clothes came up and did not allow him and his companions to enter the premises.
It should be noted that inside the courtroom Suo Moto case hearing was being conducted on the issue of Islamabad High Court judges’ letter alleging blatant meddling by intelligence agencies in judicial matters.
Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz has announced the establishment of transgender schools at the division level. Additionally, she directed the relevant officials to provide educational facilities to special children in at least one government school in each district.
Dawn reports that these decisions were taken at a meeting held to review proposed school education reforms in the province.
While chairing the review meeting, CM Nawaz said: “Schools for transgender [community] will be established at divisional level.”
PTI-initiated Transgender schools
Nine of the 11 divisions in Punjab already have schools for the transgender community. The initiative was taken by the previous PTI government under the supervision of the then Punjab Minister for School Education Murad Raas.
Trans Educational School System, Multan, Principal Alisha Sherazi told Dawn that no one from the government had contacted them for the establishment of transgender schools, as such schools already existed in different cities of Punjab like D.G. Khan, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Multan and Bahawalpur. Only the one established in Lahore was later closed, she added.
Transgender schools
Alisha Sherazi, a transgender and a former consultant of UNDP who did her MPhil in Education, Planning and Management from Burhanuddin Zakariya University, explained that three of the schools including D.G. Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur were giving vocational training to members of the transgender community. Four labs for IT, stitching, cooking and make-up classes were established in those schools, while other schools were focusing on academics, according to the principal.
The government did not have the exact figures of transgender community’s population in the Punjab, Alisha added.
At the meeting, CM Maryam Nawaz directed relevant authorities to implement a new comprehensive procedure.
