Suspected Islamic State terrorist arrested in Karachi
A case has been lodged against Daesh (Islamic State) activist Khalilul Rehman who was arrested from Karachi’s Cantt area on charges of propagating hate and recruiting for terrorist groups through over 50 social media pages, the counter-terrorism department of the Federal Investigative Agency said on Thursday. Daesh flags and two mobile phones were recovered from the suspects’ possession, with the latter being sent to forensics for examination. Read here about the evolution of the term ‘Daesh’- an acronym used to describe the Islamic State.
Husain Haqqani’s portrait removed from Pakistan’s Washington embassy
The portrait of former ambassador Husain Haqqani has been removed from Pakistan Embassy in Washington. Portraits of all envoys who have served in Washington are on display in the Embassy but the picture of Haqqani was removed recently, allegedly over what the Pakistan government considers his role in anti-Pakistan lobbying in the US. Haqqani served as Pakistan’s Ambassador for over three years during the rule of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party from May 27, 2008, to November 22, 2011. He was later removed from the office amid the Memogate crisis.
Trans people can list guru as parent in national ID card
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) told Lahore High Court (LHC) this Tuesday that trans people will be able to list their gurus as parents in their computerized national identity cards (CNIC’s). The decision was announced after a transgender, Mian Asia, petitioned the court and won her case to renew her CNIC with the name of her Guru Muhammad Yousaf as it was initially documented in 2004. In a report of the case submitted to LHC later, NADRA also elaborated on a system devised to issue CNIC to transgender people that is similar to the registration of orphans with unknown parentage.
SC seeks documentation regarding Imran Khan’s property
A three-judge Supreme Court bench on Thursday asked Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan to provide documentation proving that his Bani Gala house was bought from money gifted by his former wife Jemima Khan. The court resumed hearing PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi’s petition seeking the disqualification of Imran Khan and secretary general Jahangir Khan Tareen over the non-disclosure of assets, the existence of off-shore companies owned by Khan and Tareen, as well as for PTI being a foreign-aided party.
Lawmakers enraged at Asif’s ‘put our house in order’ remark
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday slammed Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif for suggesting that the country must “put [its] house in order” while being interviewed during his trip to the United States for the United Nations’ General Assembly.
Members of the committee were of the view that Asif’s statement mocked the sacrifices made by the army in its fight against terrorism and also supported the new US policy on South Asia and its demand for Islamabad to “do more”.
Umar Akmal banned for 3 matches, fined Rs1 million
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Najam Sethi banned Umar Akmal from the next three matches, domestic or international, and fined him Rs1 million after a report confirmed that the batsman was in violation of several clauses of his central contract when he clashed with head coach Mickey Arthur and batting coach Grant Flower. Sethi said he was imposing the sanctions against Akmal “with a heavy heart” but hoped this would serve as an example for all cricketers to be mindful of their obligations.
PTI divided over Shah Mehmood Qureshi as NA opposition leader
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s efforts to clinch the office of the opposition leader in the National Assembly suffered a setback on Wednesday after differences emerged within PTI over the nomination of Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the key parliamentary slot and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) refused to support such a move.