Saturday, August 31, 2019
#Pakistan #PPP - Former Pak President Zardari's Daughter Alleges Manhandling on Her Visit to Meet Ailing Father
Aseefa, during a press conference on Friday, said that the health condition of her father required him to stay in the hospital for further tests and treatment.Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari's daughter has alleged manhandling by police when she went to meet him in hospital, saying that she was not allowed to meet her father who was sent back to jail despite being seriously ill, according to a media report.
Zardari, 64, was shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from Adiala Jail for medical checkup on Thursday after his son Bilawal Bhutto blamed the Imran Khan government of denying him medical facilities in the prison. However, Zardari, who is also the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman, was shifted back to the jail.
Aseefa, during a press conference on Friday, said that the health condition of her father required him to stay in hospital for further tests and treatment, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Three of his arteries are completely blocked. He is suffering from severe spinal issues and other ailments, she said.
"Denial of medical right is denial of human rights and justice. It is political victimisation, she said. Aseefa later tweeted that she went to see her father with a court order but hospital doors were locked and no patients were allowed in or out, the report said. Finally managed to enter only to find police blocking stairs and elevators. Waited for my father at the elevators when police decided to form a chain to stop me for seeing him. Stopped, Pushed, manhandled by police, she tweeted.
Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, who accompanied Aseefa to the hospital, said "If something happened to Mr. Zardari, then we will hold the selected government accountable.
Zardari's son Bilawal Bhutto, who visited his father and paternal aunt Faryal Talpur earlier this week in the jail, accused the government of "attempting to kill" Zardari by denying him medical facilities in the prison.
Zardari, husband of the country's first woman prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a corruption case on July 1. He was shifted to Adiala jail earlier this month.
According to NAB, Zardari is being investigated for his alleged involvement in extending loans and other misappropriation by Parthenon Private Limited, Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others.
The 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 has denied any link with the fake accounts. He has said the allegation was part of a vilification campaign by Imran Khan-led ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to malign the Opposition leaders.
https://www.news18.com/news/world/former-pak-president-zardaris-daughter-alleges-manhandling-on-her-visit-to-meet-ailing-father-2292003.html
#Pakistan #PPP - Aseefa Bhutto expresses concern for her father’s life
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari on Friday told journalists that her father Asif Ali Zardari has again been shifted to prison from the hospital.
Addressing a press conference here at Zardari House, Aseefa said when she visited her father in hospital Friday morning, doctors informed her that they are being pressurized to shift back former president Zardari to jail whereas his condition requires that he should stay at the hospital for further tests and treatment. “Two medical examinations were conducted, one by NAB authorities and other by judicial authorities. Both examinations show that Zardari needs immediate medical attention,” she said. “One of the reasons is that three arteries in his heart are blocked. He also suffers from severe spinal issues as a result of 11-and-a-half years of unlawful incarceration. Due to such issues, he needs immediate medical attention,” she observed.Aseefa Bhutto said that her family and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) demand that former president Zardari is immediately shifted back to hospital to receive proper medical treatment. “This is his right as a citizen of Pakistan and also as former president and head of a political party and sitting MNA. Denial of his right is denial of human rights as well as justice. This is political victimisation. He is the only former president not running away from the courts and from the country,” she said. “We will like to reiterate PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s statement that it clearly shows the intent of the selected government to endanger Zardari’s life to achieve its own agenda,” she said, and warned that if anything happens to her father, the family and the party will hold the ‘selected’ government responsible and accountable. Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that government doctors have advised to keep Zardari in hospital for treatment but this government is not providing him health facilities, and demanded to shift him to the hospital immediately. Former senator Farhatullah Babar said that on the day when ‘selected PM’ was asking people to protest against human rights violations in Kashmir. he himself violated the basic rights of a former president of Pakistan. Senator Sherry Rehman said there will be consequences if ‘selected’ government does NOt give up its conduct, and warned that the government will have to face resistance by the PPP. https://dailytimes.com.pk/457147/aseefa-bhutto-expresses-concern-for-her-fathers-life/
#ShiaGenocideInPakistan - Shia Doctor shot dead in Karachi's Gulshan-i-Iqbal area
A doctor belonging to the Shia community was shot dead in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Friday, said police.
According to police, Dr Haider Askari, 58, was gunned down by two armed pillion riders at KDA Market, Block- 3, near Disco Bakery, while he was driving his car.
According to Gulshan SP Shahnawaz Chachar, the incident occurred at around 12:30pm when the doctor, a cardiac specialist, was on his way to his Gulshan-i-Iqbal residence after getting off from work at a government hospital in Korangi.
He sustained a single bullet wound on his left shoulder and was taken to Aga Khan University Hospital where he died during treatment. Later on, his body was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) to fulfil legal formalities.The Gulshan SP said investigators were focusing on two possible motives behind the murder: sectarian killing or a robbery bid.The officer opined that since the victim belonged to the Shia community and owing to the timing — with the month of Muharram around the corner — they could not rule out sectarianism as a possible motive behind the incident.
The killing might also be the outcome of an attempted robbery, he said.
SP Chachar quoting witnesses said that armed pillion riders had instructed Dr Askari — who had been driving alone — to stop his car. As he accelerated in an attempt to escape, the suspects fired a single shot. The investigators collected one spent bullet casing fired from a 30-bore pistol from the crime scene.
This was the second murder of a doctor in the city this week.
Dr Ayesha, an expatriate Pakistani, was gunned down ostensibly for resisting a house robbery by four armed men in Gulistan-i-Jauhar area.The victim had come to the city to attend the marriage ceremony of a relative when she was murdered.
MWM condemns sectarian killing
Meanwhile, Majlis-i-Wahdat Muslimeen condemned the incident, terming it a "targeted killing".
"The sectarian killing of a Shia community member in Karachi prior to Muharram-ul-Haram is regrettable," said Allama Baqar Zaidi, expressing fear that such an incident might trigger a wave of such killings.
The MWM urged the federal and provincial governments to take notice of the matter and apprehend the killers immediately.
Outrage in Punjab over Sikh girl’s ‘abduction’ in Pakistan, Amarinder wants Imran to act
CHITLEEN K SETHI
Akalis issue ultimatum to Pakistani govt that Sikhs in Pakistan will protest in Lahore Saturday if the girl is not released by Friday night.
There is outrage in Punjab over allegations that a Sikh girl has been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam through marriage in Pakistan.
While Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has demanded strict and firm action against the perpetrators, the Akalis have given an ultimatum to the Pakistani government that if the girl is not released by Friday night, Sikhs in Pakistan will protest in Lahore Saturday.
The minor Sikh girl, Jagjit Kaur, was allegedly abducted and forced to change her religion. She is from Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and is the daughter of granthi (head priest) Bhagwan Singh of Gurdwara Sri Tambu Sahib.
The incident has drawn the attention of Sikhs worldwide and sparked anger in the community.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has taken up the issue with Foreign Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar. Terming the act as being shameful, Harsimrat said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan should immediately take action against the perpetrators.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who led a delegation to meet officials in the foreign affairs ministry Friday said Sikhs will hold a protest in front of the Governor’s house in Lahore where an international conference is being organised.
“I have received telephonic calls from the father and the brother, Manmohan Singh, of the abducted girl as their family is in trauma,” Sirsa said. “They want the safe return of the girl.”
He said Indian officials were in touch with the acting High Commissioner of Pakistan on the issue.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India has shared its concerns with Pakistan over the issue.
“The ministry has received a number of representations from various quarters of civil society in India, including Sikh religious bodies in India, at the reports of the incident of abduction and forced conversion of a minor Sikh girl in Pakistan. We have shared these concerns with the Government of Pakistan and asked for immediate remedial action,” he said.
CM wades into row
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has also urged the foreign affairs minister to take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest.
“Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped & forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan,” he tweeted. “Call upon @ImranKhanPTI to take firm and immediate action against the perpetrators. Request @DrSJaishankar to strongly take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest.”
Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped & forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. Call upon @ImranKhanPTI to take firm and immediate action against the perpetrators. Request @DrSJaishankar to strongly take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest.
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A video of the girl’s purported wedding to a Muslim boy Zulfiqar Ali has gone viral. In the video, she is saying that she has married the boy without any pressure and has adopted Islam on her own volition.
Sirsa, however, alleged that the video was clearly made under duress and the girl has been forced to give her consent to the marriage.
Not only the Hindu girls are forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan but SIKH Girls also. A daughter of a Granthi of #GurdwaraTambuSahib in #Nankana Sahib was missing for past 3 days has surfaced on Thursday after marrying a Muslim man & embrassing Islam . @MEAIndia @HMOIndia
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The girl’s family also released a video regarding the incident Thursday alleging that the girl was forcibly picked up from their house. Manmohan Singh, the girl’s brother, said the persons who had come to pick up the girl threatened her that in case she refused, the entire family would be forced to convert to Islam. He requested the Prime Minister Imran Khan and the army chief General Qamar Bajwa to intervene in the matter and return the girl safely back to her family.
#BREAKING: Family of Sikh Girl Jagjit Kaur who was abducted in Pakistan and forcibly converted to Islam speaks out. Family calls upon @ImranKhanPTI and Pakistan Army Chief to act or else the incident could impact both #KartarpurCorridor and Kashmir.
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Friday, August 30, 2019
#Pakistan - Govt accused of playing with lives of Nawaz, Zardari
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party have accused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government of not providing adequate health facilities to their leaders — Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari — saying ‘selected’ Prime Minister Imran Khan will be responsible if anything happens to them.
Expressing concern over the government’s apathetic attitude towards the health of Nawaz Sharif, PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif alleged that the PTI government was not providing adequate health facilities to the former prime minister and even denied him cardiac ambulance.
“This is the worst kind of political revenge. Depriving a patient of treatment is tantamount to killing him,” he said, adding that Imran Niazi would be responsible if anything happened to Nawaz Sharif.
PML, PPP warn that if anything happens to their jailed leaders, ‘selected’ PM will be responsible
Dr Adnan Khan, a personal physician of the former prime minister, has written to the Punjab chief secretary, asking the provincial government to provide Mr Sharif specialised medical care round the clock. He said Mr Sharif had not been provided adequate “medical facilities to cope with multiple co-morbidities which cannot be treated from within the jail premises”.
Dr Khan said the Punjab Prisons Department cognizant of the inadequate medical facilities had sought a specialised cardiac ambulance from government institutions which was denied. He cited a media report saying “a request of the Punjab Prisons Department seeking a specialised cardiac ambulance has been denied by two government hospitals [Punjab Institute of Cardiology and Services Institute of Medical Sciences] due to excessive medical cover that is being provided to VIPs, VVIPs, foreign delegations and honorable members of the provincial assembly, and judiciary and their families”.
“Mr Sharif’s multiple co-morbidities include ischernic heart disease, cardiac conduction defects (LBBB/heart blocks), chronic kidney disease (stage 3), extracranial carotid and vertebral artery disease (carotid artery stenosis), extracardiac atherosclerotic vascular disease (renal artery stenosis/PAD), diabetes mellitus, hypertension and pathological lymphadenopathy. And he requires constant medical attention and the jail authorities must be prepared to tackle any cardiac/medical emergency he may encounter,” Dr Khan said.
He said Mr Sharif’s health could be affected during imprisonment. “Restrictions on access to proper medical care during incarceration are violative of his constitutional rights to life, dignity and equality. It is requested that proper medical facilities and care be provided to Mr Sharif,” he demanded.
PPP secretary general Nayyar Hussain Bokhari and information secretary Dr Nafisa Shah expressed concern over former president Asif Zardari’s health and said he should be under medical care immediately.
They said the PTI government should not play with someone’s life. The court should take notice of this mistreatment as ‘selected’ PM Khan was misusing his authority by targeting his political opponents.
“Selected PM wants PPP chairman Bilawal’s voice to be silenced as he always speaks the truth which is why the PTI government is concerned. This is not the first time that the PPP leadership has suffered in jails and that this will only strengthen the party’s resolve to fight tyranny,” Ms Shah said.
Nawaz Sharif is serving seven-year imprisonment in Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case, while Asif Zardari is on judicial remand in Adiala jail in the fake bank accounts case.
#Pakistan #PPP - Govt trying to 'murder' Zardari by denying medical facilities: Bilawal Bhutto
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Isnaf (PTI)-led government is trying to “murder” incarcerated Zardari by outright depriving him of medical facilities in jail.
Speaking to media outside Adiala Jail after meeting Asif Ali Zardari, he expressed that his father has been attempted to kill by disobeying doctors’ advice and denying him medical facilities in the prison. “Will act on our principles and won’t give in to the pressure of ‘puppet’ PM”, he added. Bilawal said that these nominated people will be responsible if something happens to Zardari.
PPP Chairman asserted that human rights were being flouted in the country whereas all of this is just a spectacle. “Every slogan and every promise has turned out to be false,” he added. “Poor are being economically killed and we won’t stay quiet”.
Scion of the Bhutto dynasty maintained that Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with US President Donald Trump, has bargained over Kashmir but he will fight them on every front.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari went on to say that PM Imran can’t break the opposition. He raised the question that why corruption is not getting eliminated from the country even when Zardari and Nawaz are incarcerated. “Imran Khan is incapable of running the country and I will expose them on every front”, he added.
#Pakistan #PPP - Aseefa Bhutto Zardari barred from meeting father at PIMS Hospital
Former president Asif Ali Zardari’s daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was barred from entering PIMS Hospital in Islamabad on Friday when she went to meet her father.
“Women police officers manhandled me and didn’t allow me to see my father,” Aseefa told the media.
She went on to say that her father saw her and struggled to get out of his wheelchair and let her in. “He brought me to his room, but the officers kept coming in and telling me to leave” she said. “Bibi get out, they said.”
.@AseefaBZ stopped and manhandled by police as she reached to visit her ailing father at PIMS hospital with the court permission in her hands. The fascists have now resorted to attacking daughters! Pakistan reliving Zia times.
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Aseefa said she refused to leave because she had taken permission from the court to meet Zardari on Friday. “The jail authorities were not present for me to speak to,” she added. Zardari was not allowed to speak to his lawyers either, Aseefa said.
Zardari was shifted to PIMS Hospital Thursday morning. He already suffers from heart, back and spinal problems.
Adiala Jail authorities say he was shifted to PIMS on the recommendation of a medical board. The board sent its recommendation last week. The PPP co-chairperson has been ill for the past few days.
He is in jail as part of an investigation into the fake accounts case. He and several others, including his sister Faryal Talpur and close aide Anwar Majeed, are being investigated for their alleged role in laundering money through fake accounts at three local banks.
He was sent to Adiala Jail on August 16 after a court changed his physical remand to judicial remand. He will be presented before the court again on September 5.
PPP leaders like chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Senator Sherry Rehman had urged the authorities to shift the former president to the hospital. Bilawal had tweeted that the authorities weren’t shifting Zardari to the hospital despite the recommendations of the medical board. He said if anything happened to his father, the government would be to blame.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
US to reduce troops in Afghanistan by 5,000
President Trump has revealed plans to cut the number of US troops deployed to Afghanistan but he did not provide a timetable for the drawdown. The announcement comes amid talks between the US and the Taliban in Qatar.
US President Donald Trump announced plans on Thursday to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan by more than 5,000 troops.
"We're going down to 8,600 and then we'll make a determination from there as to what happens," Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio. "We're reducing that presence very substantially and we're going to always have a presence."
The statement comes as the United States and Taliban have been talking over the last year in an effort to find an end to the 18-year conflict, the US' longest-ever war.
The two sides have been in talks in Qatar in recent weeks and there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel as a Taliban spokesman said a deal is "close."
Reducing the US troops to 8,600 would bring the total down to approximately the same level it was at when Trump arrived in the White House in January 2017. It had reached a peak of about 100,000 in 2011.
If terror groups ever attacked America from Afghanistan again, "we will come back with a force like they've never seen before," Trump said.
Al-Qaida militants maintained bases in Afghanistan, where they planned the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. US troops invaded Afghanistan a month later and have been deployed there ever since.
After the United States, the biggest military presence in Afghanistan by some distance, aiding the NATO mission, are Germany, with 1,300 troops, and the UK, with 1,100, according to figures issued by the military alliance in June.