News

Provincial, federal govts lock horns over appointment of new IG Sindh

Mar 16 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

KARACHI: The provincial government locked horns with the federal government over who to appoint as the new Inspector General of Sindh, Express News  reported on Sunday.

The position of the top cop in the province has been vacant for almost a month since former IG Sindh Shahid Nadeem Baloch retired from the post on February 20.

Afghan elections a boon for city printers

Mar 16 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune
PESHAWAR: It’s not just the political stalwarts who predict the future of an electoral candidate. There are other predictors, which follow the money, the lobbies, and the machinery in place, to spot a winner.

With the Afghan presidential elections, a simple trail to follow would be the printers and publishers whose presses are churning out posters, flags, badges, panaflex posters – in Peshawar. Ink runs fast through the machines in Mohallah Jangi, a street known for its printing business.

LB by-polls in Balochistan 5 districts underway

Mar 16 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The News International

QUETTA: Local Bodies by-polls in the five districts of the province of Balochistan are being held today (Sunday), Geo News reported.

 

Provincial Election Commissioner, Syed Sultan Bayazed told that polling arrangements have been made at 39 polling stations of 32 wards in the LB by-polls underway at Pishin, Loralai, Qila Saifullah, Musakhel, and Kalat.

 

The re-polling started at 8.00 A.M. this morning to continue until 5.00 P.M. without break.

 

Heavy security arrangements have been made for smooth polling and to avert any untoward incident.

If offered, I will accept KPK Governorship: ArbabKhizir

Mar 16 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The News International

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N)’s senior leader Arbab Khizir Hayat Sunday said that no one’s name has yet been finalized for the Khyber Pukhtunkhaw Governor, Geo News reported.

 

He said that the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif after consultations would decide about the nomination for the Governor slot.

 

Talking to the media here, Arbab Khizir Hayat denied the existence of any difference in PML-N over the name of Governor in KPK and added whatever be the decision of the party leadership would be acceptable to all.

 

TTP Shura welcomes new govt committee: Prof Ibrahim

Mar 15 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune
NOWSHERA: Key policymakers of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) endorsed the freshly constituted government peace committee on Friday, describing its members as experienced hands who were well acquainted with the culture of the tribal belt, said the group’s intermediary Professor Muhammad Ibrahim.

Prof Ibrahim was speaking at a news conference in Akora Khattak on Friday after returning from North Waziristan, where he and two other colleagues Maulana Yousaf Shah and Maulana Abdul Hai met members of the political council of the TTP.

Appointment of CEC: ‘G-B lawmakers want to be consulted’

Mar 15 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune
GILGIT: Lawmakers of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) demanded on Friday that the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) in G-B should be made in consultation with the leader of the house and opposition and that elections are held only after the five-year term is completed.

The demands were made through two separate resolutions tabled and passed with a majority in the session chaired by deputy speaker Jamil Ahmed.

Balochistan parties protest delay in local council polls

Mar 14 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune
QUETTA: Balochistan’s ruling coalition partners and opposition groups protested n Thursday against the extraordinary delay in the final phase of the local council polls whose first two phases were held more than three months ago.

Balochistan National Party-Mengal, JUI-Nazariati, Hazara Democratic Party and Awami National Party voiced their concern over what they termed as ‘unnecessary delays’ in announcing the mayor, deputy mayors and chairman of district committees in the province.

Govt committee to directly talk to TTP shura: Maulana Samiul Haq

Mar 14 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Noting progress in talks with the Taliban on Friday, Maulana Samiul Haq said that the next stage in talks, for the government peace talks committee to directly negotiate with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership, had been green-lighted.

Haq briefed the media in Akora Khattak after being briefed behind closed doors by Professor Ibrahim and Maulana Yousuf Shah (TTP nominated peace talks committee).

Prof Ibrahim and Maulana Shah had returned on Friday after having met the Majlis-e-Shura of the Taliban in Waziristan.

Peace engagement: Crucial phase of talks set in motion

Mar 14 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune
ISLAMABAD / MIRAMSHAH: As members of the Taliban-nominated committee reached North Waziristan Agency on Thursday, the head of the Pakistan Ulema Council appealed for the release of all non-combatant prisoners during a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Setting the second phase of the talks in motion, the TTP intermediaries arrived in the agency’s headquarters Miramshah via a helicopter at around noon.

PPP Sindh Council has confidence in CM

Mar 14 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune
KARACHI: The Sindh government’s blunder in Tharparkar and the consequent deaths of more than 100 children has yet to dent its popularity within the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) ranks.

In the PPP Sindh Council meeting on Thursday, the members expressed their confidence in the chief minister to lead the province. This reassurance comes at a time when Qaim Ali Shah is facing pressure from all quarters to resign. The members did, however, criticise the relevant ministers for failing to resolve the problems of the people.

Women representation in Balochistan cabinet demanded

Mar 12 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
Dawn News

QUETTA: Speakers at a seminar here have urged the Balochistan government to ensure their representation in the provincial cabinet by inducting a female minister or adviser.The seminar was held by the Department of Women Development in connection with the International Women Day.

The provincial government is a coalition of three parties and the cabinet comprises of 15 ministers and five advisers. However, there is no woman in the cabinet.

No proposal under consideration for Taliban office

Mar 11 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

ISLAMABAD: Neither is there any proposal under consideration nor any request made for an office for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the upper house of parliament was informed a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan said that no such move will be made without consultation of the federal government.

The issue was brought to the limelight by a call attention notice by senators of the Awami National Party (ANP) regarding the offer to the Taliban to set up an office in Peshawar by Minister of Health Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Yousufzai.

I returned to politics to save ANP’s philosophy: Nasim

Mar 11 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

SWABI: Awami National Party-Wali (ANP-W) Chairperson Begum Nasim Wali Khan claimed she has made a political comeback in her 70s only to save the philosophy of the late Bacha Khan and Wali Khan.

The widow of ANP leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan was speaking at a ceremony at the Shah Mansoor Judicial Complex in Swabi on Monday. She was accompanied by ANP-W General Secretary Farid Toofan and other office bearers of her party.

A trip down memory lane

Thar drought dominates entire agenda of APC

Mar 10 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

KARACHI: The death of numerous children in the ongoing drought in Thar dominated the entire agenda of the All Parties Conference called by the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to discuss Sindh’s issues.

The participants agreed that the drought took so many lives due to poor governance and corruption of Sindh’s ruling elite. The representatives of most political parties based in the province gathered at Avari Towers on Sunday afternoon to voice their opinion on the ongoing issues of Sindh. Needless to say, the massive death toll in Tharparkar was the biggest concern.

LG elections: JUI-F, PPP and ANP alliance extended to Hazara

Mar 10 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

ABBOTABAD: The opposition’s tripartite alliance for local government (LG) polls will also extend to Hazara, the three parties announced on Sunday.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) shared the decision after a meeting at the residence of Pir Alamzeb Shah, JUI-F’s local leader, on Sunday.

Equal rights: Speakers demand better treatment of working women

Mar 08 2014
Pakistan
Source: 
The Express Tribune

KARACHI: Gender equality within the workplace is still a far-off goal in Pakistan even though it has ratified United Nations convention and has passed legislation in this regard. Women working in different industries in the country still face wage discrimination, economic insecurity and often have no say in decision-making.

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