Tag: Top News

  • PM Shehbaz chairs CCI meeting to discuss 2023 census

    PM Shehbaz chairs CCI meeting to discuss 2023 census

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is presiding over a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) to decide the destiny of the 2023 census. There is a disagreement between the coalition partners on the issue.
    All of the chief ministers and senior members of the federal cabinet reportedly attend the council’s crucial meeting.

    According to reports, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has informed the federal government that all formalities have been fulfilled and census results are ready for CCI approval.

    Elections would likely be postponed by a few months if the CCI adopts the census findings since the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would need more time to redo the delimitation exercise.

    According to the legislation, the ECP is required to organise elections based on new data if a new census is announced.
    It is important to note that the National Assembly will be prematurely dissolved on August 9 — three days before its term ends — by the ruling coalition, giving the electoral body 90 days to hold elections.

  • It’s “undeclared martial law” in Pakistan: Imran Khan

    It’s “undeclared martial law” in Pakistan: Imran Khan

    Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has said while talking to BBC HARDtalk that there is “undeclared martial law” in Pakistan, adding that “fascists” are leading the country and taking it into “dark ages”.

    Imran was elected in 2018 and ruled the country for four years. He was removed from office with a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year.

    According to Imran Khan, a free and fair election is the only solution for political stability in Pakistan.

    Stephen Sackur, the presenter, asked Imran Khan if it was true that there was the involvement of the army in the 2018 election.

    In response, Imran Khan said that it’s not true, asking that if there was involvement of the army establishment, then how did Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) clean sweep in by-elections.

    “How come, despite the establishment openly going against us, trying to dismantle us, how come after we are out of government, we won 30 out of 37 by-elections?”

    He also said that the establishment thinks that my removal from the government can weaken my party, “Normally, it happens when you’re out of power for quite a while. But instead, what happened was that the party’s popularity kept growing”.

    He also stated that PTI workers were not involved in the violent protests of May 9 and that there should be a fair investigation into this matter.

    Imran Khan also said, “They have tried everything. They have put 10,000 people in jail, including women and peaceful protesters.”

    He repeated that “The only solution to Pakistan is free and fair elections. That’s the only way we will get out of this mess.”

  • PM Shehbaz has huge announcement for youth

    PM Shehbaz has huge announcement for youth

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Digital Youth Hub Portal’ has been launched on Thursday.

    The portal unites all of the initiatives the government has initiated to support the youth’s development.

    At the ceremony, Sharif gave his word that the government will use all of its resources and try everything in its power to empower young people.

    He claimed that through the initiative, easy-to-repay loans are given to high-achieving girls and boys so that they may support themselves. To date, 30 billion rupees in loans have been given to deserving, talented youth.

    The Premier pointed out that the government is also providing laptops to deserving students as part of the scheme, while millions of rupees worth of computers have already been handed to young people so they can pursue higher education.

    The current administration has allotted 80 billion rupees for youth development throughout the course of the current fiscal year.

    Shehbaz Sharif stated that young people can register on the Digital Youth Hub Portal to receive financial aid and benefit from government initiatives aimed at improving their well-being.

    Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs, said that the portal
    will integrate all the steps and programmes launched across the country for youth development.

  • 7 horses worth Rs10 lacs each die under mysterious circumstances

    7 valuable horses in a Gujrat camp have sadly died, leaving both the owner and officials perplexed, while the status of fifteen others remains critical, Samaa has reported.
    According to the authorities, preliminary investigation indicate that the horses died as a result of “consuming something poisonous.”

    The owner of the horses, well known in the are for competing in prestigious javelin events, took great care of the horses, each of which was worth an astounding Rs10 lacs.
    A thorough investigation is under way after local authorities opened a case in relation to the event.

  • NA passes bill proposing up to three years jail for involvement in anti-state activities

    NA passes bill proposing up to three years jail for involvement in anti-state activities

    The National Assembly has on Tuesday passed amendments to the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill 2023 which suggests a three year jail sentence for involvement in anti-state activities.

    Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, presented the bill named “Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023”.

    According to the bill, a person who creates a problem of public order or intentionally acts against the policies of the state would be guilty of the offence.

    Action will also be taken against the person who will try to gain unauthorised access to documents or information to act against the security interests of the state within or outside the country.

    These offences are punishable with three years in jail and a fine of Rs10 lacs or both.

    According to the bill, intelligence agencies can enter any place without a search warrant. The investigation officer will be the officer of FIA.

    Under the Official Secrets Act, the accused will be tried in a special court, and the special court will give it’s verdict after completing the hearing within 30 days.

  • SC reserves verdict on new plea for full court on civilians in military courts case

    SC reserves verdict on new plea for full court on civilians in military courts case

    A six-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a new plea seeking formation of a full bench to decide the fate of the case pertaining to military trials of civilians.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha A. Malik were part of the bench.

    Senior Counsel Faisal Siddiqi had submitted the fresh plea on Monday at the behest of civil society members, asking that “all judges willing and available” be included in the bench.

    The Supreme Court reserved its verdict after discussing the matter during the hearing with other petitioners.

    During the hearing, Justice Naqvi said the law did not give permission to “pick and choose”, asking why the inquiry against civilians was not brought on record. Justice Bandial asked if Faisal Siddiqi was “hiding”, upon which he was told that the lawyer had stepped outside for some work and would be back soon.

    The apex court has already once disposed of the government’s plea to formulate a full bench.

    The reserved verdict will most likely be announced tomorrow.

  • ‘War not an option’; PM says he’s willing to talk to India

    ‘War not an option’; PM says he’s willing to talk to India

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said on Tuesday that Pakistan has “nothing against anybody” and he is willing to talk to India for regional development.

    We are prepared to talk with everyone, even with our neighbour, provided that the neighbour is serious to talk serious matters on the table because war is no more an option,” the prime minister said, addressing the inaugural session of the Pakistan Minerals Summit in Islamabad.

    Ties between the two arch-rivals have been suspended since the annexation of Jammu and Kashmir by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2019.

    Mentioning the three major wars between the two countries, Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan is a nuclear power but only for its defence.

    “If there is any nuclear flashpoint, who will live to tell what happened? So (war) is not an option,” he said, stressing that India should understand the same.

    Shehbaz Sharif also said that the two countries cannot become “normal neighbours” unless abnormalities are removed and unless our serious issues are understood and addressed through peaceful and meaningful discussions.

  • PM meets Fazal and MQM-P to discuss caretaker set-up

    PM meets Fazal and MQM-P to discuss caretaker set-up

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming caretaker set-up in the country.

    According to the sources of Geo News, the PM will conduct a final meeting with all the political parties in the ruling alliance after Muharram 10 (Ashura).

    PM Shehbaz will meet with the leader of the opposition, Raja Riaz, at the beginning of next month in the National Assembly. The opposition leader will present three names for the position of caretaker PM.

    The PM also held a meeting with the MQM-P leaders at the Governor’s House, where the latter lodged a “strong protest” against the performance of K-Electric and the recent increase in power tariff.

    The PM also met with MQM-P leaders at the Governor House in Karachi. Shehbaz Sharif assured the MQM-P delegation that the final decision regarding the caretaker PM would be made after consulting all the coalition partners in the government.

    Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of the PPP, Akhtar Mengal of the BNP-M, and Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti of the Jamhoori Watan Party had all already met with PM Shehbaz.

  • Ishaq Dar, Khwaja Asif in the committee formed by PM to hold consultations for caretaker setup

    Ishaq Dar, Khwaja Asif in the committee formed by PM to hold consultations for caretaker setup

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a five-member committee of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to hold consultations with allies on the upcoming caretaker setup in the country, Geo News has reported

    The provincial assemblies of Sindh and Baluchistan will also be dissolved next month, in August, along with the National Assembly.

    Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Muhammad Asif are members of the committee tasked with consulting with allies on the upcoming caretaker setup.

    According to sources in PML-N, the panel will start its work right away. PM Shehbaz has also advised other parties to form such panels, as it will be helpful in the matter of caretaker setup.

    According to multiple sources, one of the major parties in the ruling alliance wants the caretaker PM of its choice.

    Interestingly, the government is not consulting political forces outside the parliament.

    Earlier, the vice president (VC) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shah Mehmood Qureshi, had complained that PTI has not been kept in the loop in the matter of the caretaker setup.