Pakistan News World

Prior to every general election, political parties come out with a manifesto, a document which is meant to inform the populace about the parties’ aims and policies, for when they are in power; however, once in power, the objectives laid down in the manifesto become just mere words on paper. Whether it is the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which formed a government in the centre in 2008, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), which formed the federal government in 2013, or the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which came to power in 2018, all three made various promises through their respective manifestos prior to being elected; and all three failed to fulfil those promises. Be that as it may, manifestos are still useful to evaluate the performance of a party when in power and see if they can walk the talk, as per Chairman of the Political Science Department of the Punjab University, Dr Erum Khalid. “Unfortunately in Pakistan, the politics of emotions and personalities reigns supreme, theref...

The Qomi Awami Tehreek (QAT), a political party headed by Ayaz Latif Palijo, will contest the upcoming general elections from the platform of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) which Palijo once led as its General Secretary before resigning in April, 2022. A meeting of the QAT's central committee in Hyderabad on Sunday opted to ally with the GDA, which is headed by Pir Pagara Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi, for the February 8, 2024, elections. Palijo had quit the alliance's position after holding it for over six years. He had cited the GDA's lethargic activism on the issues concerning Sindh. He was also dismayed that the 15-point agenda which was submitted to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI's) government in December, 2019, was not pursued. However, the political opponents of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, among others are joining forces. And, the GDA is not ...

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on all political parties on Wednesday to set differences aside and stand united against the growing challenge of terrorism. Addressing lawyers of the high court bar in Peshawar, the PPP scion condemned yesterday's terrorist attack in DI Khan. Bilawal said that terrorism was rising in the country, and it can only be fought together, reiterating that no single party can fight it alone. “If we continue to fight each other, the enemy will keep taking advantage of it,” he added. The former foreign minister maintained that Pakistan had made unparalleled sacrifices to root out terrorism, and commended the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for bearing the most amount of sacrifices in the country's war against terrorism. “We had eliminated terrorism and the world was admitting that Pakistan had brought terrorism under control,” the PPP leader stated. “But then, without the approval of the parliament, and taking the p...

A seminar on Pakistan's malnutrition challenges on Tuesday proposed actionable political solutions for integration into the election manifestos and broader developmental plans of political parties, aiming to uplift the country's nutritional status. The seminar, jointly organised by the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Civil Society Alliance (CSA) Pakistan and Nutrition International, called for recognising food and nutrition security as a fundamental constitutional right, addressing underlying causes of malnutrition like poverty, food insecurity, sanitation, and education, as well as allocating more public funds and investments for effective nutrition programs. Other recommendations included enacting or revising nutrition-related laws such as mandatory food fortification and breastfeeding protection and promotion laws, scaling up life-saving nutrition services for vulnerable groups, particularly in hard-to-reach areas affected by floods, and reinforcing governance and accountability ...

Former federal minister and senior politician Muhammad Ali Durrani has proposed that the heads of major political parties should pave a way for the formation of a national unity government by stepping aside from the prime ministerial race. “Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Imran Khan should not aspire to become prime minister and instead play their role for the formation of national unity government in the country,” Durrani said in an interview. He said the leaders of PML-N, PPP, and PTI should put forth their respective candidates for the position of prime minister. Durrani has initiated the process of political reconciliation in the country amidst corrosive impact of divisive politics that has erected formidable barriers to the progress and uplift of the masses. On Nov 15, the former minister presented the plan for the formation of an elected national unity government in the country after the general elections. He quoted examples from Britain, Ireland, and South Afric...

Senior Deputy Convenor of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Dr Farooq Sattar has said that the PPP and PTI have a secret nexus as the PTI prime minister had never spent a day in Karachi. He was speaking at the inauguration of his party’s election office in Sector 5-E of New Karachi on Saturday. “Empowered district governments, strong local bodies, and a strong Karachi can guarantee a strong Pakistan,” he said. “If Karachi is allowed to progress, then Pakistan will progress.” Sattar further said that his party has decided to open 100 election offices in the city by December 15 because they do want to use the old offices of the MQM. Read MQM-P says elections means to reach destination Sattar came down hard on the PPP, saying that the party has not done anything for the city during its 15-year rule in Sindh. Sattar also sought to snub political pundits who talked about the irrelevance of his party. “If the MQM is a dead horse, then it has to be buried. You should play the ...

Women’s participation in Pakistani politics has, regrettably, remained on the periphery of the national discourse. Despite the implementation of affirmative action, which introduced women quota seats to legislatures since 2002, the full realisation of women’s participation and performance has eluded political stakeholders. One of the primary concerns is the pervasive male dominance within the political arena, including political parties and the formal structures governing the country. Generally, parties use superficial lip service about women’s issues on their platforms that perpetuate gender disparities. According to ECP’s data of enlisted parties, only 6% of women hold leadership positions, and those in important roles often have familial ties with the male leadership. Moreover, many political parties lack internal accountability mechanisms controlled by male leaders, further contributing to a culture of harassment and discrimination. Faced with these challenges, women leaders and pa...

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost another senior leader on Saturday after former planning minister Asad Umar resigned from the party’s basic membership, announcing to quit politics too. Asad had earlier resigned as the party’s secretary general following the May 9 riots. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the former minister wrote, “After more than one decade in public life, I have decided to completely quit politics.” Having once been a close aide to PTI chairman Imran Khan, the former minister also announced letting go off his basic membership of the PTI. After more than one decade in public life, I have decided to completely quit politics. As i had already stated publicly earlier that i disagree with the policy of confrontation with state institutions, and such a policy has led to a serious collission with state institutions,… — Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) November 11, 2023 Umar is the latest in a series of PTI leaders who have resigned from the party following a nationwide cra...

Nawaz Sharif has ended his second exile. He is back to “blow a new life” into his eponymous faction of Pakistan Muslim League. His party has been struggling to rally support after its brief but disastrous stint in power together with its cohorts in Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The PDM ousted the PTI’s government through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022 to “avert an economic collapse”, but ended up pushing the country to the brink of “economic default”. The foreign exchange reserves touched rock bottom, inflation broke all previous records, the rupee shed more than 60% of its value against the US dollar. All this happened within 15 months, dwarfing the “economic mismanagement” of their predecessors. The PTI was riding the sympathy crest generated by its successful peddling of “foreign conspiracy narrative”. The disappointing economic performance of PDM turned out to be a godsend. The Sharifs’ party, being the face of the PDM government, bore the brunt as it lost the “politic...

  A delegation from the Punjab government embarked on a visit to a cutting-edge milk processing facility and an advanced one-window administrative system in Yinchuan. The delegation included Provincial Ministers SM Tanveer, Amir Mir, Azfar Ali Nasir, Ibrahim Hasan Murad, and Finance Secretary Mujahid Sherdil. During their extensive four-hour tour, the provincial ministers delved into the operations of the China First Deep Processing Enterprises and explored the One Window System in Yinchuan City. They closely inspected various departments within the China First Deep Processing Factory and gained insights into the intricate milk processing procedures. Additionally, they were briefed on the value-added processes for milk, cheese, proteins, and other products at the modern facility in Nangxia. The ministers were also apprised of the measures implemented for the streamlined high-speed one-window operation in the heart of Yinchuan city. They witnessed first hand the provisions made for ...

France's highest administrative court is to rule on Thursday whether a school ban on abayas, traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women, is legal. President Emmanuel Macron's government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools, saying it broke the rules on secularism in education that have already seen Muslim headscarves banned on the grounds that they constitute a display of religious affiliation. But an association representing Muslims filed a motion with the State Council, France's highest court for complaints against state authorities, for an injunction against the ban on the abaya and the qamis, its equivalent dress for men. The association argued the ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred against Muslims, as well as racial profiling. The State Council has been examining the motion, filed by the Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM), since Tuesday, and said it would rule on Thursday. France's Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), est...

While commenting on the domestic scene, it is hard to find something that has not been commented upon, analysed threadbare and not known. There are no unknown knowns. While keeping the optimism on ventilator, something very disturbing lurks in the shadows on our national scene with far-reaching social, psychological, political and economic implications. And that is ‘apolitical apathy’ in all its ugly forms. This apathy afflicts our body and soul, and our state and society, and it manifests itself in weird ways. At societal level, people, for example the bike mafia in particular, pay no heed to any rules, regulations, laws and courtesies when on road, and the traffic cop haplessly and hopelessly shrug in despair, frustration and apathy. Teachers willfully avoid teaching in schools to encourage students to come to their private academies for exam-specific and marks-oriented tuition, and not to be educated per se. Doctors over-prescribe tests for commission in the laboratory fees. Lawyers...

Google-owned US cybersecurity firm Mandiant said on Thursday it had seen increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct manipulative information campaigns online in recent years, though the technology's use in other digital intrusions had been limited so far. Researchers at the Virginia-based company found "numerous instances" since 2019 in which AI-generated content, such as fabricated profile pictures, had been used in politically-motivated online influence campaigns. These included campaigns from groups aligned with the governments of Russia, China, Iran, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, and El Salvador, the report said. It comes amid a recent boom in generative AI models such as ChatGPT, which make it far easier to create convincing fake videos, images, text, and computer code. Security officials have warned of such models being used by cybercriminals. Generative AI would enable groups with limited resources to produce higher...

The Punjab Police has issued a stern warning against the display of party flags instead of national flags on the Independence Day, while simultaneously launching a renewed crackdown on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers allegedly involved in the May 9 clashes at Zaman Park, including cases of hurling petrol at police personnel. The actions have been prompted by the upcoming political gathering sought by the PTI leadership on the occasion of Independence Day. In a bid to manage security and curb potential unrest, the Punjab Police has revisited records and reactivated cases previously filed against the accused. A comprehensive list encompassing more than 4,082 suspects and 1,082 proclaimed offenders (PO) associated with registered cases of confrontations with law enforcement has been compiled. Over the past two days, more than 100 raids have been conducted across various locations. PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi had earlier announced a rally for National Day, following which the po...

Who would have thought that there would be a time when students are sad and frustrated with the news of cancellation of examinations rather than celebrating the idea that they don’t have to sit for examinations? The issues that have developed in the in the education system in the last few years are not just frustrating but also exhausting for students who study the whole year to gain marks in specific subjects, but then without much notification, their scheduled examinations are cancelled, and future of their studies hangs with either projected marks or an overall average of other subjects. In the last four years, almost everyone in Pakistan has suffered because of COVID-19. Thousands were laid off. The future of the young became stagnant with examination cancellations. In 2020, students who were trying to go abroad faced difficulties because of predicted marks. Many were deprived of the chance to get into the universities for which they had prepared. The situation worsened this year w...

The infamy of May 9, 2023 would go a long way in the institutional memory and political history of Pakistan, when rioters from Punjab, the core of Pakistan, approached and forced a retreat on the serving Corps Commander, also from Punjab, ransacked and vandalised Jinnah House, the property of the founder of Pakistan, now the residence of the Lahore, the provincial Corps Commander. There are hundreds of ways to control a mob without resorting to deadly violence and any military leader worth his training knows it well, but the worthy commander decided to use none and let the crowd get away with trophies from his house, while his family was still inside. Contrary to other cities, not a single aerial shot was fired to disperse the mostly gullible crowd led by non-so gullible leaders. This is command failure is spectacular, monumental, and shameful. It begets an inquiry and consequences that such situations demand. This anti-army violence was immature, emotive, and politically suicidal. Whe...

The chairman Senate on Thursday wrote separate letters to the leader of the house and the opposition to nominate members from both the treasury and opposition benches to constitute a special committee for holding political dialogue. In the letter, Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani said that both leaders, Senator Ishaq Dar and Dr Shahzad Waseem, are requested to provide the names of four members for inclusion in the special committee within two days. Sanjrani stated that the Senate of Pakistan, House of Federation, being a stabilising factor of the federation is constitutionally bestowed with the responsibility of protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest. Read PM Shehbaz speaks to JI chief amid ongoing political crisis Chairman Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani has written seperate letters to both the Leader of the House in the Senate, Senator Ishaq Dar and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Dr. Shahzad Waseem to nominate ...

Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri has said that as far as new elections are concerned in Pakistan, for the sake of the integrity and the interest of the country, all the stakeholders should hold a grand dialogue. In a statement issued here on Friday, she said that the country’s stability lies in the supremacy of the Constitution as Pakistan cannot afford any political chaos and unrest. She observed that the national and provincial assemblies’ elections should be held at the same time. The government and the opposition should sit together and make better decisions for the country, she said. Senator Zehri added that the solution to the current problems was only in dialogue. All problems can be resolved by sitting on the negotiation table. The elected members of the government and the opposition should sit at a table and solve the country’s problems through negotiations, she maintained, adding that the elections for national and provincial assemblies should be held at the same time, as the coun...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday urged the national political leadership to forge unity in an effort to address the pervading challenges of economic instability and poverty, without letting the situation to further deteriorate. The prime minister, addressing the Senate’s special session marking its golden jubilee celebration, said economic stability without political stability was an unfulfillable dream. He said by assuming the government in tough economic conditions, the coalition parties had sacrificed their politics for the sake of the state. He told the session, also attended by the diplomatic corps, that the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was expected to reach soon as the country had accepted even the toughest conditions. The delay in the agreement, he said, was also due to the disorder created by the political opponents. “A leader is poised to ruin the country, which cannot be allowed. We will not allow it,” he said and clarified that du...

The superior courts are facing a battle of perception in a polity that is being increasingly gobbled up by unsparing political polarisation. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is more comfortable approaching the Lahore High Court (LHC) rather than Islamabad High Court (IHC) to get relief in matters of political and sensitive nature. Dozens of petitions have been filed in LHC against the caretaker government’s decisions. LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti has constituted a larger bench to hear those petitions. LHC’s Justice Jawad Hassan is also taking up a PTI petition seeking direction for the concerned authorities for the announcement of a date for the elections of the Punjab Assembly. On the other hand, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government is uncomfortable over the composition of benches as well as the fixation of cases. Since the elevation of Justice Athar Minallah to the Supreme Court (SC), PTI supporters are criricising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq for not gi...