Tag: Top News

  • President Arif Alvi approves Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill

    President Arif Alvi approves Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill

    On Tuesday, Pakistan’s president Dr. Arif Alvi approved the Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill, 2023, to be enacted as law. 

    Under the Bill, women employees of both public and private departments under the federal government’s administrative control will be entitled to avail maternity leave with full pay three times during service.

    The times have been stipulated thus: 180 days for the first time, 120 days for the second, and 90 days for the third. 

    Working men now also have the right to spend their first month as a father on paternity leave with full pay. However, male employees will only be entitled to a leave of 30 days three times during their employment period. 

    If a company is found in violation of the Bill, there is a risk of imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 100, 000 rupees, or both.

    The bill was passed by Pakistan’s parliament last month, and had been in the works for several years after being initially moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Quratulain Marri in 2018. 

    The President gave his assent to the bill under Article 75 of the Constitution, which states that bills sent to the president are formally enacted as laws after his approval.

  • No Holi festival in universities anymore

    The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has banned Holi celebrations in educational institutes throughout the country, citing a deviation from the sociocultural values and Islamic identity of Pakistan. The notification regarding the ban was issued by HEC on Tuesday.

    According to the notification, students are prohibited from observing the festival to uphold sociocultural values.

    “While there is no denying the fact that cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity leads towards an inclusive and tolerant society, that profoundly respects all faiths and creeds; albeit it needs to be done so in a measured manner without going overboard. The students need to be apprised to be aware of the self-serving vested interests who use them for their own ends far from the altruistic critical thinking paradigm.”

    The decision comes a few days after Holi celebrations were held on June 12 by students at Quaid-i-Azam University. The notification, while referring to the event, said that “it has caused concern and has disadvantageously affected the country’s image.

  • Firdous Ashiq Awan lists out ‘Usman Buzdar ki corruption kay chand karnamy’

    Firdous Ashiq Awan lists out ‘Usman Buzdar ki corruption kay chand karnamy’

    Firdous Ashiq Awan, Central Information Secretary of the newly launched Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) has in a tweet accused former Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar of doing corruption during his tenure as CM.

    Awan has listed out Budzdar’s alleged involvement in the following corruption scandals:

    •          5 billion to Farah Gogi’s account

    •          Encroachment of 9 kanals on government land

    •          50 Crore fraud in Multan City Housing

    •          30 lakh per capita from the shopkeepers of Taunsa

    •          420 million in bribes in commissioner and deputy commissioner appointments

    Awan further said that more cases of Buzdar’s corruption will be revealed soon.

    Last week, Aleem Khan made startling revelations in a TV show about former Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Firdous Ashiq Awan has served as special assistant to the former CM Punjab. Buzdar and Awan both have left the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Firdous Ashiq Awan left PTI on May 26, accusing Imran of using people like tissue papers, and later throwing them away. Usman Buzdar has also left PTI after the May 9 riots.

  • HumSabKiBenazir: Twitter remembers Benazir Bhutto Shaheed on her 70th Birthday

    HumSabKiBenazir: Twitter remembers Benazir Bhutto Shaheed on her 70th Birthday

    Former Prime Minister and Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is being remembered today on her 70th birth anniversary.
    She was born on June 21, 1953 and passed away on December 27, 2007, at the age of 54.

    Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, the daughter of Benzair Bhutto, wrote in a tweet, “Shaheed Mohatarma Benazir Bhutto led Pakistan through its darkest hours, and her legacy can guide us out of darkness today.”

    PPP leaders, members and Twitter users are remembering the trailblazer on her on her 70th Birthday:

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  • ‘Banging sounds’ heard underwater in search for missing Titanic submersible 

    ‘Banging sounds’ heard underwater in search for missing Titanic submersible 

    In a frantic search for the missing OceanGate Titan submarine, a Canadian maritime surveillance aircraft is reported by Al-Jazeera to have detected ‘banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes.’ 

    On Sunday, the submersible went missing in the North Atlantic Ocean 100 minutes into its voyage to see the wreck of the Titanic. Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood are onboard the vessel.

    The United States Coast Guard said that one of the Canadian aircrafts involved in the search for the deep-sea vessel has detected “underwater noises in the search area”. 

    Remotely operated vehicles  (ROVs) were then relocated “in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises”, the coastguard said on Wednesday, Al-Jazeera reports.

    So far, the ROVs have “yielded negative results”, said the coastguard in a tweet. Still, they are continuing their search.

    Rolling Stone magazine, citing internal US government communications, was the first to report the news of what was described as “banging sounds in the area every 30 minutes”. 

    The magazine cited an internal email sent to U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials. “Four hours later additional sonar was deployed and banging was still heard,” the magazine reported.

    The oxygen supply on OceanGate’s Titan will run out by Thursday morning, according to officials. 

    A foreseeable tragedy?

    The former director of marine operations for OceanGate, David Lochridge, had previously raised safety concerns about Titan before being fired from his position.

    Lochridge’s concerns about the safety of the missing submersible are still contained in a response he filed to the lawsuit that OceanGate brought against him for breaching a non-disclosure agreement.

    Lochridge wrote an engineering report in 2018 that said the craft under development needed more testing and that passengers might be endangered when it reached “extreme depths”. 

    According to his claim, he learned the vessel was built to withstand a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate planned to take passengers to 4,000 meters, CBS news reports.

  • Latif Khosa terminated for crossing ‘red line’

    Latif Khosa terminated for crossing ‘red line’

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Punjab president, Rana Farooq Saeed, has terminated party membership of former Governor of Punjab, Latif Khosa, over crossing what the party has dubbed a “red-line”.

    PPP Punjab president accused Khosa of blackmailing party leadership when his plea to appoint his son as Attorney-General of Pakistan (AGP) was denied.

    Rana Farooq Saeed, while addressing a press conference on Tuesday, said that Latif Khosa wanted to see his son Khurram Khosa as attorney-general, however, when his demand was not met due to certain reasons, he resorted to “blackmail”.
    “We don’t want Latif Khosa and his son to cross the red line of the party and Khurram should stop saying (unfounded) big things (against the party), otherwise, they will be paid back in the same coin,” he warned.

    Latif Khosa had said in a news conference at Lahore High Court on June 17 that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should not be part of Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet.

    Separately, PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan and Sardar Latif Khosa met Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandial on Tuesday to discuss important legal matters.

    On June 15, unidentified persons attacked the residence of Latif Khosa, in the Defense area of Lahore.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Monday visited Khosa’s residence demanding strict action against those involved in the attack.

  • Modi fan Elon Musk says Tesla will be in India soon

    Modi fan Elon Musk says Tesla will be in India soon

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla and the world’s richest man Elon Musk, in New York on Wednesday.

    “Great meeting you today @elonmusk! We had multifaceted conversations on issues ranging from energy to spirituality,” Modi wrote in his tweet along with a picture of Musk.

    Musk retweeted Modi’s quote and wrote, “Great conversation with Narendra Modi.”

    “I am confident that Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible,” Musk told reporters after meeting Modi.

    “We do not want to jump the gun on an announcement but I think it is quite likely that it will be a significant investment in our relationship with India,” he said. “I would like to thank the prime minister for his support and hopefully we will be able to announce something in the not so distant future.”

    Read more: Former Twitter CEO says Modi Govt threatened to shut down platform in India

    In a different statement, Musk as reported by Indian Express, said that he was a fan of Modi, and that “India has more promise than any large country in the world. He (PM Modi) really cares about India because he is pursuing us to make significant investments in India.”

    India is great for solar energy investment, the American magnate said, describing his talks with the prime minister as “excellent.”

    The Indian PM’s meeting with Twitter’s CEO comes a few days after Co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, in an interview with YouTube channel Breaking Points talked about censorship requests he received from the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    A reporter asked for Musk’s reaction on Jack Dorsey’s statement to which he replied, “Twitter does not have any choice but to obey local governments”

    “We will do our best to provide the freest speech that is possible under the rule,” he added.

    The Indian Prime Minister is on a four-day visit to the US.

  • Andrew Tate indicted on human trafficking and rape charges in Romania

    Andrew Tate indicted on human trafficking and rape charges in Romania

    Andrew Tate, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian associates, are facing criminal charges of rape, human trafficking, and leading an organised crime group for the sexual exploitation of women.

    According to the indictment presented to a Bucharest court, the four defendants are accused of forming an organized criminal group in 2021 with the aim of engaging in human trafficking in Romania, as well as the U.S. and the U.K.

    The indictment names seven alleged victims who state they were deceived by the Tate brothers on false promises of love and marriage.

    All the defendants have denied the allegations. The Tate brothers were initially arrested at their Bucharest home in December and were later granted house arrest in March by a Romanian judge.

    The judge now has a 60-day period to review case files before sending it to trial. There are also ongoing investigations into other alleged crimes such as money laundering and trafficking of minors, which may result in separate indictments.

    Assets belonging to the accused, including properties, cars, and over $300 million in cryptocurrency, have been seized. However, the trial is not expected to begin immediately and is likely to last several years.

    Andrew Tate, a British-American former kickboxer, gained notoriety in 2016 when he was expelled from the British TV show Big Brother due to a video showing him apparently assaulting a woman. Despite a temporary ban from Twitter for controversial comments blaming women for sexual assault, he later had his account reinstated.

    Andrew Tate has amassed a substantial following among young men, due to his flagrant display of hyper-masculinity and a luxurious lifestyle.

  • Government mulling handing over Karachi Ports to UAE

    Government mulling handing over Karachi Ports to UAE

    In a last-ditch attempt to raise much needed foreign exchange, Pakistan’s government is planning to finalise a deal to hand over Karachi’s port terminals to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    This move may constitute the first intergovernmental transaction under the Intergovernmental Commercial Transactions Act, a law which was enacted last year in 2022. This law is aimed at selling state assets on a fast-track basis to raise funds.

    Last year, Pakistan’s coalition government created the effective-immediately bill to raise emergency funds.

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions on Monday. A decision was made to set up a committee that would negotiate a commercial agreement between the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and the UAE government, as reported by The Express Tribune.

    The negotiation committee constituted to finalise a framework agreement will be headed by the Minister for Maritime Affairs, Faisal Sabzwari. Committee members include the additional secretaries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, the special assistant to PM Jehanzeb Khan, the Chairman of the Karachi Port Terminal (KPT), and the general managers of the KPT.

    The UAE government had shown interest in acquiring the Karachi port terminals that were under the administrative control of Pakistan International Containers Terminals (PICT) last year. However, for now, PICT will maintain operational control over the ports.

    The Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MoMa) released the following statement, as reported by Dawn: “KPT was of the view that they couldn’t operate the terminal due to lack of time and resources and interface with the clients/shipping lines and the timeframe for bidding had lapsed and the events have created an unforeseeable situation where the time limits laid down for open or other methods of procurement cannot be met.”

    The MoMA said and went on to report that “the (KPT) has, therefore, recommended that in the given circumstance only PICT is in a position to provide management services to keep the terminal operational”.

    According to The Express Tribune, sources indicate that the government needs to be extra careful when finalising a deal with the UAE, considering it is the first transaction of its kind and the outgoing operator is posing some challenges.

    Pakistan’s IMF loan of $6.5 billion was signed in 2019 and is set to terminate on June 30. Its termination date drawing closer has sent panic through the Pakistani government. Already suffering one of the worst economic crises Pakistan has faced, the threat of the country defaulting looms ominously near.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with the ambassadors the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Sharif wants to rouse support for the revival of Pakistan’s stalled deal with the IMF.

    The prime minister stressed that the government was keen to get at least the $ 1.2 billion IMF loan tranche out of the remaining $2.6 billion, which is attached with the completion of the pending 9th review of the program, according to sources at The Week.

  • ECP decides to indict Imran, Fawad and Asad in contempt case

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to indict former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry and former finance minister Asad Umar in a contempt case.

    As per ECP’s verdict, the three political leaders would be indicted on July 11, with the body ordering them to appear before the panel in personal capacity.
    Nisar Durrani, a member of the ECP from Sindh, presided over the four-person commission that heard the contempt case and announced its reserved verdict regarding the PTI’s objections.

    The ECP last year issued contempt notices, in exercise of its powers of contempt, against PTI chief Imran Khan and party leaders for allegedly using “intemperate” language against the chief election commissioner and ECP. The electoral body asked them to appear in person or through their counsels before the commission to explain their position.

    PTI leaders, instead of appearing, challenged the verdict in various high courts, before The Supreme Court (SC) in January this year, allowed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to continue its proceedings against the PTI leaders.