Pakistan Diary

Pakistan Diary is a brief collection of events in Pakistan on a daily basis

30 December 2019: Reputed Pakistani film-maker Jamshed Mahmood Raza has accused the Chief Executive Office of English-language newspaper Dawn of raping him 13 years ago. In a series of tweets, Raza accused Dawn CEO Hameed Haroon of the assault and said his allegations were in no way related to the newspaper but to give strength to other victims of sexual assault. Jami tweeted: “I’m ready now. Are you ready to print this @dawn_com?”

04 December 2019: The National Assembly’s session began with heated speeches by both opposition and government members over the Kashmir issue. Opposition members criticized the government for its”failure” to highlight the Kashmir crisis. Both PPP and PML-N asked the government to declare a “diplomatic emergency”. In response, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the opposition not to “minimise” Pakistan’s efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue around the world.

26 November 2019:Pakistan Supreme court on Tuesday suspended the government notification for the extension of army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure until a hearing on Wednesday. The court also issued notices to the defence ministry, the federal government and Gen Bajwa, who is due to retire on November 29. During the court proceedings, the chief justice said that “apparently the summary and approval of army chief’s extension is not correct”.READ MORE

26 November 2019: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday filed a supplementary reference against former president Asif Ali Zardari and 24 other suspects, including a son-in-law of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, for having connections with various companies of Omni Group and Zardari Group. Presently Mr Zardari is in custody and the names of 172 accused have been placed on the Exit Control List.

24 November 2019: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday reiterated that America’s stance on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would have “no impact” on the project. He was referring to a recent statement by Wells, who is in charge of South Asia affairs at the US State Department, in which she had “warned” that CPEC would further add to Pakistan’s debt burden. She had said the multi-billion-dollar CPEC would take a toll on Pakistan’s economy at the time of repayments and dividend in the coming years.

16 November 2019: The Lahore High Court by a two-judge bench, comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem on Saturday allowed former premier Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for four weeks for medical treatment, saying the duration could be extended based on medical reports.

15 November 2019: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has directed his party’s protest organisers to end their sit-ins across the country at night due to cold weather and in order to facilitate the public.

6 November 2019: Military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor says there is no link between Pakistan’s initiative to open the Kartarpur Corridor for India’s Sikh pilgrims and the oppression being committed by India in occupied Kashmir. He was responding to a question about the opposition’s criticism of the government for opening the Kartapur Corridor at a time when the people of occupied Kashmir are under siege.

5 November 2019: MARYAM NAWAZ-The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday granted bail to PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz who was arrested on August 8 in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case.

3 November 2019: JUI-F Azadi March led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman has decided to give the government an extension in the previously set “two-day deadline” for the prime minister to resign until a final decision by opposition members is taken during an All Parties Conference (APC).

2 November 2019: In the Core Committee meeting of the ruling PTI has decided to move the courts against JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman for allegedly “instigating the public” against the government. Defence Minister Pervez Khattak said that Rehman had announced that the public will detain Prime Minister Imran Khan at his residence to force him to resign, which the minister said was tantamount to instigating the people and a “mutiny”.

1 November 2019: KARTARPUR-Sikhs pilgrims to Kartarpur won’t need passport PM Imran Khan Twitted,”for Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off two requirements: i) they won’t need a passport-just a valid ID; ii)they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee to be charged on day of inauguration and on Guruji’s 550th birthday.”

17 October 2019: China on Thursday indicated that its bilateral ties with India should be treated as independent of its relationship with Pakistan, reiterating foreign minister Wang Yi’s recent statement that Beijing’s bilateral links with South Asian countries could run parallel to each other without being influenced by a third party.

17 October 2019: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided in principle that Pakistan will remain on its grey list till next February and directed Islamabad to take ‘extra measures’ for ‘complete’ elimination of terror financing and money laundering.

16 October 2019:Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today announced that Imran Khan-led government decided to “engage with Fazlur Rehman” in response to the JUI-F chief’s declaration to march on Islamabad on October 31. Punjab Bar Council, Islamabad Bar Council and Rawalpindi Bar Council all announced their support for the JUI-F march.Again the chairman of the Pakistan Awami Raj Party, Jamshed Ahmed Dasti, also declared his support for the march today.

16 October 2019: DG ISPR @OfficialDGISPR twitted today by saying that COAS visited troops along LOC. Briefed on situation, Indian CFVs deliberately targeting civilians & response. “Kashmiris in IOJ&K are bravely facing Indian atrocities under continued siege. We shall never leave them alone and play our rightful role at whatever cost”, COAS.

15 October 2019: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned recent statements made by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during election rallies in Haryana, as he said,”You divided India into two pieces as part of the two-nation theory in 1947,” he was quoted as saying by India Today. “But in 1971, your country was divided into two pieces again. And if the situation persists, then no power can stop Pakistan from being broken up further.”

14 October 2019:Taking U-tern from a key promise of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) manifesto, Minister For Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry asked the public not to look towards the government for jobs. Earlier Chaudhry himself had said in January that 10 million new jobs would be created while 500,000 houses would be constructed for the poor as promised by the PTI government.

15 September 2019: Pakistan`s public debt is officially projected to shoot up to Rs45.57 trillion by 2023-24 from Rs31.79tr at the end of 2018-19. Meanwhile, debts rose to Rs32.24tr in two months at the end of August.In the first two months of 2019-20, the government borrowed $1.62bn, including $321.5m from commercial banks.

08 September 2019: Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told reporters that Indian security forces were prepared to deal with any eventuality. He further told that it has ‘information’ that Pakistan is trying to infiltrate terrorists into India to carry out attacks.

03 September 2019: Pakistan denies Indian president’s request to use its airspace for overflight was approved by Prime Minister Imran Khan in view of India’s abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and turned it into two separate Union Territories.

03 September 2019: Due to severe crisis, ban on import of Indian medicines lifted by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), however, Pakistan Statutory regulatory orders (SROs) issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Textile state that the ban on trade with India shall continue.

02 September 2019: Pakistan will not be able to invoke the ICJ’s jurisdiction regarding Kashmir dispute due to conditions imposed by India in connection with Article 36(3) of the ICJ Statute.

02 September 2019: Pakistan will never ever start war with India: Imran Khan.

01 September 2019: Kulbhushan Jadhav of India will get counselor access on September 2, as per the verdict delivered by Vienna Convention and International Court of Justice (ICJ). “Consular access for Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and RAW operative, is being provided on Monday, 2 September 2019,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said in a tweet.

30 August 2019: PM Imran criticizes the world community for silence over Kasmir Issue.

29 August 2019: Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr. Mohammad Faisal on Thursday said, “India concurred to Pakistan’s proposal and the technical meeting on Kartarpur Sahib corridor is being held on August 30 at Zero Point and Pakistan remains committed to completing and inaugurating the Kartarpur Sahib corridor as announced by our prime minister”

26 August 2019: US President Donald Trump Monday said he had no need to help mediate between Pakistan and India over tensions in the Kashmir because Prime Minister Narendra Modi felt he had it “under control“.

26 August 2019: On August 26, President Alvi tweeted a video showing a protest rally over the Kashmir issue and then Twitter sent a notice to the President of Pakistan and said, “we have not taken any action this time.”

25 August 2019: Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of UAE awarded Modi the “Order of Zayed” on Saturday. In that event, Modi said his government scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution to end the isolation that had kept Jammu and Kashmir underdeveloped “to serve the vested interests of a few.”

25 August 2019: There will be a complete ban on purchase of all types of vehicles in Pakistan.

23 August 2019: The Asia-Pacific Group of the global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering has put Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Blacklist)

21 August 2019: Buying rate of US dollar in open market was Rs 158.50 while selling rate of USD was Rs 159.00 in Pakistan.

19 August 2019: The UAE will give the highest civilian award to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Gulf state next week, The Hindu reported Monday.

16 August 2019: Abolition of 370 is an internal matter: Indian envoy asserted after a closed-door meeting in UNSC

Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, addresses the media after the closing of a ‘Close Door Meeting‘ by saying that-

“Our national position was and remains that matter related to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is entirely an internal matter of India”.