Here’s your daily dose of Digestible News covering the death of Dina Wadia, JI’s criticism of co-education in KPK, Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan, and much more!
Dina Wadia, Jinnah’s only child passes away in New York
Digestible News No.1: Dina Wadia, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Rattanbai Petit’s daughter, and only child passed away at the age of 98 in New York on Thursday. Having last visited Pakistan in 2004 to visit her father’s mausoleum, Dina reportedly had a strained relationship with Jinnah following her marriage to Indian Parsi, Neville Wadia when she was 17. After visiting the mausoleum of her father, she had written in the visitors’ book: “ This has been very sad and wonderful for me. May his [Jinnah’s] dream for Pakistan come true.”
Girl born in Amritsar prison released to Pakistan along with 12 other prisoners
Digestible News No.2: Born in an Amritsar prison, 11-year-old Hina along with 12 other Pakistani prisoners who were mostly fishermen arrived in Pakistan after India released and handed them over to Pakistan’s authorities across the Wagah border on Thursday.
Hina was born in captivity to Fatima Rahman who along with her sister Mumtaz and mother Rashida was sentenced to ten and a half years on drug-trafficking charges- a period that ended in 2016. However, the prisoners did not have money to secure their bail till a charity organization took up their case to pay the fine for their early release even though the court extended their sentence till 2018.
JI leader criticizes K-P government’s decision to implement co-education system: Peshawar
Digestible News No. 3: Calling it a “ticking time bomb” for the youth, Jamat-i-Islami (JI) Provincial Chief Mushtaq Ahmad criticized the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government over its decision to implement co-education system in degree colleges and schools. “ We will never tolerate a boy and girl sitting together as it will fragment our societal values,” Ahmad remarked while addressing a student convention on Thursday arranged by the party’s student wing – Islami Jamiat-e-Talba. “ We will never accept Americanisation or Westernisation in the education system” , he added.
Pakistan calls out Dhaka for “undiplomatic language” used in video controversy
Digestible News No.4 : The High Commissioner of Bangladesh was summoned by the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Thursday to register protest against the use of “undiplomatic language” following a video controversy on Wednesday when Bangladesh’s foreign ministry protested against a video posted on the Pakistan High Commission’s webpage that reportedly “distorted historical facts” about Bangladesh’s independence. The Foreign Office statement read: “ Pakistan desires to move forward in accordance with the Tripartite Agreement of 1974 wherein the prime minister of Bangladesh desired that the people of Bangladesh should forget the past and make a fresh start.”
Nawaz Sharif back in Pakistan, set to appear in accountability court today
Digestible News No.5: On Thursday former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan after less than a month in London and is set to appear in front of an accountability court today in connection with the corruption references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in September 2017. Court summons could not be served by the waiting NAB officials at the airport but was later served at the Punjab House where PML-N leader Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also submitted surety bonds worth Rs1 million to secure bail for Sharif as arrest warrants had been issued for him by a court on October 26, 2017.
2600 Sikh pilgrims arrive in Pakistan to celebrate Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary
Digestible News No. 6 : Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Siddiqul Farooq along with several officials welcomed over 2600 Sikh pilgrims arriving at Wagah Station on Thursday to participate in celebrations of the 549th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Jee- the founder of the religion of Sikhism. Security and accommodation have been guaranteed by the ETPB as well. The issuance of visas to the pilgrims is “in line with the Pakistan government’s efforts to promote religious tourism and people-to-people interactions ,” a Foreign Office statement read. “We are always welcomed [in Pakistan] with love and it is a true example of Sikh-Muslim friendship ,” said group leader Sardar Gurmeet Singh.
Names of 20 terror groups shared with Pakistani officials by the US
Digestible News No. 7: The United States has reportedly shared with Pakistani officials the names of twenty terrorist groups operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan and has rejected the notion that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave a list of 75 terrorists to Pakistani officials when he visited Islamabad last week, diplomatic sources told Dawn. While in Islamabad Tillerson said that the information given to Pakistan by the US delegation goes “beyond just names of individuals” and also expected “to receive information ” from Pakistan that would be useful in targeting militants”.