Mob vandalizes, burns down a shrine of Hindu saint in KP's Karak
A mob vandalized the samadhi (shrine) of a Hindu saint and subsequently set it on fire in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, locals and police officials confirmed.
The incident took place in a far-flung area of Karak's Teri town, with police saying law enforcement personnel dispersed the mob after the violence. "More than a thousand people led by some local elders of a religious party held a protest and demanded the removal of the Hindu place" of worship, a local resident present at the site during the violence told DawnNewsTV, adding that after delivering speeches, they moved towards and attacked the shrine, which was built before 1920.
He said that the mob that was chanting slogans set the shrine on fire before demolishing it as well as an under-construction house owned by a member of the Hindu community.
Trump's pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law: UN
United States President Donald Trump’s pardon of four American men convicted of killing Iraqi civilians while working as contractors in 2007 violated US obligations under international law, United Nations human rights experts said on Wednesday. Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter, over the incident in which US contractors opened fire in busy traffic in a Baghdad square and killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.
The four contractors, who worked for the private security firm Blackwater owned by the brother of Trump’s education secretary, were included in a wave of pre-Christmas pardons announced by the White House. “Pardoning the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families,” Jelena Aparac, chair of the UN working group on the use of mercenaries, said in a statement.
Hadiya Hashmi and Hadiqa Kiani are all geared up for a fiery collaboration
What happens when Pakistan's brightest young nightingale and a veteran melodious star come together? A power-packed performance with some fiery vocals, which we're anticipating will blow the audience away. Fans are looking forward to one such collaboration between 9-year-old Hadiya Hashmi and superstar Hadiqa Kiani, as they work on an upcoming music video together. The song called Ilahi, with a motivational ring to it, is composed and produced by none other than Azaan Sami Khan, popular for his recent number Haye Dil Bechara from Parey Hut Love.
Speaking to Images, Hadiqa shared the pleasure of having worked with the team, as the little one brought her amazing range on set, and the two share a special bond. "Hadiya reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger because I would perform at these competitions on PTV as well when I was a child," said the Rung singer. Featuring alongside the duo will be newcomer Ali Tariq, with the video directed by Shahzaib, all set to release on December 31.
Previously, lauding the absolute masterpiece that Nescafe Basement's Bol Hu is, musician Sonu Nigam took to social media to reawaken the audience's love, jamming to little Hadia's vocals at home. "After so many days, something has touched my heart. Ooff, what a song, what lyrics, what composition!" he exclaimed. Feeling visibly overwhelmed, the singer couldn't stop praising the work, the lyrics, the sound, and the final product that left him mesmerized.
"I did not imagine that to this date, there would be a song that could have the potential to make you cry a river," he said emotionally, sending prayers and best wishes to the little champ.
Nawaz Sharif's passport to be canceled on February 16: Sheikh Rashid
Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday announced that PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's passport will be canceled on February 16. Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, he said the opposition had been "exposed" as money launderers and people who obtained iqamas (work permit) because they were not honest with the country. "Why did all these people use to take iqamas? If I as the interior minister obtain an iqama, it means there is something fishy and I don't have faith in my land," he said.
The minister said all the "thieves" got united when their wealth obtained through money laundering and corruption was exposed and claimed that they were being victimized.
Asked by a reporter "who is next" after PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif's arrest on Tuesday, Rashid said it wasn't yet known but added: "[We] will cancel Nawaz Sharif's passport on February 16." He did not provide any details.
Nawaz has been living in London since November last year after he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment. Earlier this month, the PML-N leader was declared a proclaimed offender in two cases — Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia — by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before the court. The same day, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar said that United Kingdom authorities had been asked to deport the convicted former prime minister from their country.
He said Pakistan had written a letter to the UK to cancel the visa of Nawaz which was issued for medical treatment after taking an undertaking. A highly placed source in the UK had told Dawn last month that a top Pakistani official met his British counterpart in October to convey that Nawaz is “no longer a soft issue” between the UK and Pakistan and failure to deport him could result in strained ties between the countries.
Prime Minister Imran Khan in October said he would contact British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, if needed, to discuss his deportation and his adviser Akbar wrote a letter to British Home Secretary Priti Patel on October 5 urging her to deport the former premier whom he said is “responsible for pillaging the state”.
In Nawaz’s case, the government of Pakistan is hoping to persuade UK authorities to bring about a “forced removal”, sometimes called “administrative removal” — a scenario in which the Home Office enforces an individual’s removal from the UK if they don’t have leave to remain i.e. if their application has been declined or if their leave to remain has expired, Dawn reported.
While the Nawaz case is exceptional in that it involves a major political personality, it has come to the UK Home Office at a time when it is under fire at home for being a haven for foreign nationals accused of corruption.
Journalists and rights groups in the last few years have criticized the policies of the British government, which they say have made the UK “a safe haven for corrupt wealth”. Transparency International had called for the British government to launch an investigation into Nawaz’s London properties in 2018 when he was convicted in the Avenfield case and subsequently sentenced to 10 years.
Over 200 complaints made against UK channel over ‘deepfake’ Queen’s speech
A computer-generated Queen dancing across TV screens on Christmas day seems to have sparked controversy among British viewers. The fake address was screened right after the Queen delivered her traditional yearly address.
In times of widespread misinformation, as reported by CNN, the channel seemed to offer "a stark warning about the advanced technology that is enabling the proliferation of misinformation and fake news in a digital age".
The speech included jokes about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's move to the US, and an affirmation surrounding the Duke of York’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The fake Queen in the alternate message also spoke about watching movies on Netflix and perfecting moves on TikTok. Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, confirmed receiving 214 complaints about the broadcast, according to The Independent. A spokesperson from the regulator added: "We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."
When in power, PML-N will file treason case against Imran for bargaining on Kashmir: Ahsan
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal addresses a gathering of party workers at Kashmir House Islamabad on the occasion of the PML-N Kashmir's founding day.
Senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday vowed that if his party came to power, it would "file a treason case against Imran Khan Niazi for bargaining away Kashmir".
Addressing a gathering of party workers at Kashmir House Islamabad on the occasion of the PML-N Kashmir's founding day, Iqbal said after the formation of Pakistan, India had "occupied the land of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters" but the United Nations had designated it as a disputed territory.
"Since then, no Indian government had the courage to change the disputed status of the territory. But on Aug 5, 2019, [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi's government unilaterally changed it. [Before this] Pakistan had seen democratic governments, dictatorships [and] caretaker governments but India had never gotten the courage to change the status."
Iqbal questioned whether Pakistan's defense system had been "weakened so much" that Modi annexed the territory, alleging if that was not the case then Prime Minister Imran Khan had "bargained away" Kashmir in a meeting with United States President Donald Trump.
He further said that the armed forces of both countries kept track of the movement of troops in the others' territory and the PM had been informed of India's plans but he did not act on the advice of "intelligence agencies".
"We have information that our intelligence agencies informed Imran that India had sent 200,000 troops into Kashmir and that [he] should tour Muslim countries and stop this atrocity but he did not since he was told flying overseas would bring him bad luck."
Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval himself went to occupied Kashmir to oversee the situation before the annexation, Iqbal said, adding that India had also sent away all tourists from the occupied valley two months prior to the annexation. "They knew some operation was going to be carried out. Why did Imran Khan's government keep quiet?" he asked.
"They kept being deaf and dumb and allowed India to annex [the territory]," claimed the PML-N leader.
He vowed that the PML-N would not bargain on the Kashmir issue.
"We will fight, our children will fight until we gain independence for Kashmir.
"[Imran Khan] Niazi is a traitor to Kashmir, he is a bargainer. I promise if we come into power, we will file a treason case against Niazi for bargaining away Kashmir," he added.
The PML-N leader also repeated allegations that the 2018 elections were rigged, saying that "Punjab voted for PML-N but the vote was thrown in the wastebasket and [Chief Minister Usman] Buzdar's government was installed".
Iqbal claimed that if the PML-N would have remained in power, there would have been nine industrial zones in the country today but "an inefficient government was brought into power and today economy, foreign policy and Pakistan's poor have been destroyed."
"We have to stop Pakistan from destruction. That's why we have to separate this Niazi from Pakistan's government," he added.
'India strikes because of weak Govt'
Speaking after Iqbal, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz expressed sympathy with the people of Kashmir, saying that "when your sons are martyred, our souls are hurt." "When due to Imran Khan's ineptitude and incompetence, Kashmir falls into Modi's lap, and Pakistan loses cases of Kashmir, then the whole of Pakistan is wounded."
She claimed that it was because of Imran Khan's "weak government" that India had gotten the courage to annex the disputed territory. "When a weak prime minister comes into power who doesn't come with people's power and votes [...] when there is a weak government, then an enemy like India strikes.
"When there is a government like that of Mian Nawaz Sharif then someone like Modi himself walks and comes [to Pakistan]. This is the difference between a real and fake prime minister. This is why it is necessary to give respect to the vote." The PML-N vice president alleged that Prime Minister Imran had her arrested days before she was to leave for Kashmir after he "lost your case" because he was "afraid Maryam will expose my incompetence". The reference for the case in which I was arrested has still not been filed, she added.
She said that her father and party supremo Nawaz's voice had been "muffled" but his "struggle and his narrative" along with the people's support had spread awareness of his message to every corner of the country. "Nawaz Sharif is not just an ideology. His voice is booming in Pakistan today because behind his ideology is a history of service and actions."
Maryam said that "God was proving Nawaz truthful and Imran Khan and his selectors are facing embarrassment on everything".
'No one speaking against army'
Maryam alleged that "no one speaks against the army because it is our institution". She added that Prime Minister Imran had said he would "not allow anyone to speak against the army and file cases" against those who did.
"If you want to make a case on anyone speaking against the army, then there is Imran Khan's history of 12 years. With what face do you say we [and] Nawaz talk against the army?" she questioned. The country was prosperous when Nawaz was the prime minister, she said, adding that he had vowed to eliminate terrorism from the country and told the army "not to worry about money because the country was generating it".
"The soldier at the frontier was content knowing that if I am sacrificing my life then the stove at my house will continue to burn. "There are many honest and patriotic people in the Pakistan Army. Not all are Papa John's, not everyone has haram income," Maryam said.
"There are a great number of our soldier brothers who subsist only on their salaries [...] This is such an unjust government that perhaps for the first time the salaries of soldiers have not been raised," she added.
'Sell-out of Kashmir'
This is not the first time that an opposition party has accused the PTI-led government of Imran Khan of "selling out Kashmir". Days after India's annexation of Kashmir, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif accused the premier of selling the future of Kashmir and alleged that he was having members of the opposition arrested to distract attention from the Kashmir issue.
However, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Ali Mohammad Khan, refuted the allegations and said Modi had flown to Pakistan to attend the wedding of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter. "It was not Imran Khan who had invited Modi, but you," he added.
Earlier this year, opposition members also raised objections to the absence of Prime Minister Imran from a national consultation on the Kashmir situation at the Foreign Office. Talking to Dawn after the meeting, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman had regretted that the prime minister had been missing since last August and he did not have time to attend the meeting that had been called by the government itself to discuss an important national issue on the eve of August 5.
"Is Kashmir not an important enough issue for the prime minister?" she asked.
Residents of illegally constructed houses at Kidney Hill Park issued eviction notices, SC told
Karachi Commissioner Navid Ahmed Shaikh informed the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday that the residents of Farhan Society, which has been built on the illegally occupied land of the Kidney Hill Park in Karachi, had been notified to vacate their houses within 30 days. Besides, he said, the residents of shacks built on illegally encroached land of the park had also been given seven days to vacate their dwellings.
The matter came up during the hearing of a case, pertaining to encroachments on the park’s land, at the SC’s Karachi registry. During the hearing, Shehri CBE — a citizens rights foundation— informed the court that 24 houses in Farhan Society were illegally constructed on four plots of Kidney Hill Park and that part of the park’s land was also illegally occupied by the Overseas Co-operative Housing Society.
The foundation told the court that former Karachi commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani had also prepared a report on the matter.
When Shaikh told the court that evacuation notices had been issued to the residents of the illegally constructed houses, the court questioned, “Orders for evacuation were issued earlier. Why are the [evacuation] notices issued now?”
Rebuking the commissioner, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed remarked, “All of you have colluded on the matter.”
He warned that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against the relevant authorities if they failed to evacuate the illegally occupied land of the park within the stipulated time.
The court sought an implementation report from the commissioner on the evacuation of the park’s land and issued notices to Farhan Society and Overseas Co-operative Housing Society.
At an earlier hearing of the case the previous day, the apex court had directed that all encroachments be removed from Kidney Hill Park and a report be submitted to it on Wednesday (today).
The lawyer for the Karachi Municipal Corporation had, however, contended that houses had been built on the park’s land and it would be difficult to remove the encroachments by Wednesday, upon which the court gave time until the next date of hearing but directed that an initial report be submitted on Wednesday.
Besides, the court inquired from the commissioner about the removal of encroachments from Shahrah-e-Quaideen.
Shaikh informed the court that encroachments on the road had been removed and shops that had been illegally constructed there had been demolished.
Computerization of land records
The court also directed the relevant authorities to end the illegal occupation of state property across Sindh. It further issued orders for the restoration of green belts, removal of encroachments from parks and playgrounds, and ending the illegal occupation of land owned by the forest and irrigation departments across the province.
Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Qazi Shahid Parvaiz submitted a report, sought by the court at a previous hearing, pertaining to the computerization of land records.
Following that, the CJP asked Parvaiz whether any state land was left in Sindh. The SMBR admitted that state property was encroached in the province, adding, however, that an anti-encroachment drive was underway.
Irked by his response, the CJP remarked: “Go and visit the Super Highway where 10-story buildings have been [illegally] constructed. Encroachments abound government lands, where entire cities have been [illegally] established.”
At this, the SMBR assured the court that efforts were being made for the removal of encroachments.
The CJP, however, continued his rebuke. He pointed out that 1,000 acres of illegally occupied state land had been evacuated in Malir in recent days. Referring to the previous day's hearing pertaining to encroachments on the Karachi Circular Railway land, the CJP said it had emerged that a building had been constructed on land owned by the government.
When the SMBR said that action had also been taken against mukhtiarkars on the matter, the CJP sought details of land owned by the government in Sindh and directed him to remove illegal structures wherever they had been built on state land.
The SMBR further informed the court that 70 million land records had been computerized in Sindh.
However, the court refused this claim, commenting that cases of fake land records were still being filed in the Sindh High Court.
Parvaiz maintained, however, that the issue had been resolved to a large extent. He elaborated that the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation had been engaged in the preparation of land documents and each page of the document had a printing ID. Besides, all land records kept by mukhtiarkars are matched with those in the revenue department, the SMBR added.
At this, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah pointed out that there was a large number of irregularities in the records of properties in Thatta.
Briefing the court on the matter, the SMBR said that a committee formed by the SC had identified fake land ownership entries in large numbers. Of those, over 1,000 fake entries had been removed, he told the court, adding that over 1,100 of those entries were under judicial review. He said more than 240,000 fake entries had been identified since 1985.
‘Plant mangroves’
Moreover, the apex court again directed the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) authorities to plant mangroves on land previously allotted for the construction of a housing society after the counsel for the KPT submitted a report.
In February this year, the court had declared the allotment of land on both sides of Mai Kolachi Road for the Karachi Port Trust Cooperative Housing Society illegal, besides ordering the plantation of mangroves on the said land within two months.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by the CJP, had observed that the land was provided to the KPT only for the purpose of management and operations of the port and any lease made in favor of its trustees or employees was illegal.
As the court reiterated its directive on Wednesday, further ordering that the height of the land be brought to the sea level, the KPT counsel requested for more time to start the plantation of mangroves.
“Be as fast at planting the trees as you sold the plots,” the court stated in return, seeking a report within two months after the completion of the plantation drive.
When the counsel for the persons who were allotted the plots prayed the SC to rethink its decision, the SC stated that they may file a civil suit to get compensation.
Non-supply of water to Clifton, DHA
Besides, the Clifton Board Cantonment (CBC) chief executive (CEO) officer drew the court’s ire on the matter of non-supply of potable water to the residents of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton.
The court expressed annoyance when he said that the CBC relied on the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) for water supply.
“You rely on the KWSB and how is it treated,” the court reprimanded the CEO, adding that a major would visit the board’s office in case of suspension of water supply and give threats of closure. It further commented that on the other hand, water was always available for even the lawns and gardens in the houses of persons from the armed forces.
The court sought a comprehensive report from the CBC on water supply, including details of DHA residents’ water requirements, within two days.
5 people arrested in India's Madhya Pradesh for attempting to damage mosque: report
Five people were arrested in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday for attempting to damage a mosque in Dorana village of district Mandsaur a day earlier, Indian media reported. According to Indian publication The Print, the incident occurred when people from right-wing organizations took out a rally in the village to inform residents about a fund for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya — being built on the ruins of the Babri Mosque destroyed by a mob in 1992.
Videos shared on social media showed participants carrying saffron flags and raising slogans surrounding the mosque. Some of the participants also climbed atop the mosque. A police official told The Print that some of the participants also damaged the houses of Muslims in the area. No residents were injured because they fled into surrounding fields, he added. More people aside from the five already arrested are being identified from the videos on social media. Those arrested have been charged under sections related to rioting, criminal intimidation, and obscene acts, the official said.
Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Siddharth Chaudhary said the mosque was not damaged in the incident. The publication reported another such incident in Indore on the same day. The people who had taken out the fund-raising rally allegedly tried to damage a mosque and recite Hanuman Chalisa — a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, a popular Hindu god — outside it.
Police said it resulted in stone-pelting and gunshots which injured some people participating in the rally. Four first information reports (FIRs) were registered and 27 people were detained in connection with this incident, police added.
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