Pakistani tycoon takes investors heli skiing to prove Pakistan is safe
In the northern snow-capped peaks of Pakistan, Zia Chishti disembarked off a helicopter and skied downhill on a mission to convince investors, clients and company executives that the nation once called by The Economist “the world’s most dangerous place” is now safe for business.
Top Pakistani channel Geo News fined Rs1m for comments against army
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has imposed a Rs1 million fine on Geo News for airing comments against the Pakistan Army, saying the channel had reportedly accused the country’s armed forces of ‘institutional corruption’. According to a statement issued by the authority, Pemra had approved the recommendations of the Councils of Complaints (CoCs) of Karachi and Lahore which had sought a Rs1 million fine for Geo News for repeatedly airing “comments against armed forces” in connection with “institutional corruption” during a TV programme, “Aapas ki Baat”, which aired on January 9, 17, 24 and 25.
Pakistani woman on death-row for blasphemy nominated for Sakharov Prize
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) presented their nominations for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought — including Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in 2010 under Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy law. She was convicted and sentenced to hang over an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water. Bibi has been on death row for almost seven years and her appeal to the Pakistan Supreme Court has been deferred to an undetermined date. She has been nominated for the prize for her “behaviour in prison, the dignity she has shown during all these years is the best proof of her being able to represent the dignity of a defender of human rights in the face of the worst fate.”
Reports of Karachi jail prisoners being recruited for IS rejected
While 17 inmates belonging to banned militant outfits were shifted from Karachi Central Prison to a jail in Sukkur on Wednesday, a provincial minister insisted that “not a single” prisoner had been recruited by the militant Islamic State group in the correctional facility. The prisoners were shifted for “security reasons” in light of some recent development in which law enforcement agencies reportedly carried out another raid at the Karachi Central Prison during which a couple of inmates were taken into custody for allegedly being involved in recruiting other inmates for IS.
Hamza Shahbaz returns to Pakistan after short ‘exile’ in London and US
MNA Hamza Shahbaz, son of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who was allegedly separated from Kulsoom Nawaz’s NA-120 by-poll campaign by Maryam Nawaz, returned to the country on Wednesday after about one-and-a-half month stay in London and the US. It was rumored that Hamza had a falling out with his family when he was accused of being the one giving orders to some Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz members who allegedly turned inactive when the party’s campaign was in full swing. A close aide to Hamza, however, denying the allegations said party leaders active in NA-120 had been “picked up by unknown people”, a reference to intelligence agencies.
Abraaj invests in Cinepax to improve entertainment options
Abraaj Group announced an investment in Cinepax Ltd, one of the leading cinema operators in the country on Wednesday, in a venture that will enable Cinepax to establish international standard multiplex cinemas at new and upcoming locations and improve entertainment options for Pakistan’s young and middle-class population. Cinepax Board Chairman Arif Baig Mohamed called the move an opportunity to extend the company’s core cinema business into “new related opportunities, including the digital video space.”
Pakistan pursues zero-tolerance approach against all militants, Asif tells Tillerson
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif raised the issue of United States’s South Asia Policy with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and told him that Islamabad has pursued a zero-tolerance and indiscriminate approach in its campaign against “all terrorist and militant groups”, read a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Wednesday.