Month: March 2023

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan accused the federal government of planning his arrest saying this is all part of a “London plan” to finish all cases against the country’s former premier Nawaz Sharif.

In a video message, Imran said, “This is part of the London plan and an agreement has been signed there to put Imran in jail, make the PTI fall and finish all cases against Nawaz Sharif.”
He further stated that he doesn’t understand the reason behind the attack on people as he had already assured that he will be present in court on March 18.

These comments came as the tension prevailed in Lahore in the early hours of Wednesday. More contingents were called to PTI chairman’s Zaman Park residence — where a stand-off between party supporters and law enforcers has been going on for more than 14 hours — for the former prime minister’s arrest.

Imran said to prevent any chaos, he had given an undertaking to the Lahore High Court Bar Association president who then attempted to forward it to the DIG who was coming to arrest the PTI chief but the latter did not meet the president.

“According to Code of Criminal Procedure Section 76, if this surety bond is given to the arresting officer, then I cannot be arrested,” Imran said.

The PTI chief said the DIG had no reason to not accept the undertaking and pointed to ill intentions.

The protests broke out in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Karachi after Imran called on his supporters to “come out” following police’s use of tear gas and a water cannon on supporters outside Zaman Park.

The Punjab police sought more water cannons on both sides of Canal Road and also fired tear gas shells at PTI workers, Samaa English reported.

In Peshawar, a large number of PTI supporters demonstrated outside the press club. After holding the demonstration, PTI workers blocked Sher shah Suri road and started marching towards the Governor House.

Islamabad police said PTI protesters had blocked Tarnol Road but timely action had been taken to reopen it for traffic. “A case has been registered in Tarnol Police Station against the PTI workers who blocked the road on the orders of Imran Khan,” a police officer said.

Chowrangi, Karachi, people staged a dharna by setting tires on fire against the atrocities being carried out by the police in Zaman Park.

Two non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for the PTI chairman on Monday after he failed to appear in courts in cases linked to the Toshakhana reference and threatened a woman additional district and sessions judge.

The 70-year-old ex-premier has been recovering from a gunshot injury from an assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year and has skipped hearings in several cases, the Dawn reported.

The PTI chief was supposed to appear before two district and session courts in Islamabad today but Imran’s lawyers filed petitions seeking an exemption from the hearings citing security reasons.

Imran has thrice skipped indictment hearings in the case. He is accused of concealing, in his assets declarations, details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana — a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept.

On March 7, the IHC suspended Imran’s non-bailable arrest warrants till March 13 and instructed him to appear before the sessions court.

At the outset of the proceedings on Tuesday, Imran’s counsel Khawaja Haris informed the court that his client would not be able to appear. “He is not refusing to appear, but due to security threats he cannot be present,” Imran’s lawyer said.

He recalled that the IHC had asked the sessions court to initiate legal proceedings against the PTI chief as per the law if he failed to appear before the court on March 13, the Dawn reported. (ANI)

Read More: http://13.232.95.176/

Simran Shaikh, the 21-year-old UP Warriorz middle-order batter, has faced a lot of struggles to make her way in the world of cricket. Hailing from Dharavi, one of the world’s biggest slum, she broke through the ranks to become a regular for UP Warriorz. In her childhood days, she was even scolded by people for playing cricket in the park. But now those very people cheer for her whenever she appears on their television screens.

While speaking to ANI, Simran’s father Jahid Ali reflected on her struggles, “When my daughter was small she was interested in playing cricket. Whenever she used to play cricket on the ground a lot of people used to scold her and say a lot of things. But my daughter ignored all the noises. She focused on cricket and continued to move forward,” Ali said.
It is a tough task for anybody to pursue cricket as a career path. But Simran is now playing in one of the biggest Women’s cricket leagues. Her father initially didn’t believe that she would be able to reach such a level.

“No, I didn’t think that. We are poor people and at that time we were not in a condition to help our daughter. But with God’s grace, she was able to move forward. I just want to say that the respect we get today is because of our daughter’s skill, hard work and God’s grace. A lot of people have supported us,” Simran’s father continued.

Even Simran’s mother Akhtari Bano didn’t believe that her daughter could play at such a level. “We didn’t believe that she would go on to play forward. I thank the coach as well as God who supported our daughter and us during hard times.”

Simran left her studies after 10th class and pursued cricket with everything she had. Now, she has made her parents proud and she has become a well-known cricket player in India. “Earlier she was known by our name but now people recognize us because of Simran. People come and say that she is the mother of Simran. This is a proud moment for me,” Simran’s mother said.

Akhtari Bano also describes2 the family’s emotions during the Women’s Premier League auction. “We switched on the television at 2 pm and we were waiting for her name to come up. She was anxious the whole time. But then her name suddenly came up and my family and even the whole society jumped in excitement,” Simran’ mother continued.

Till now, Simran has featured in four matches. She could feature in today’s match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. (ANI)

Read More: http://13.232.95.176/

Protests broke out in major cities of Pakistan on Tuesday at the call of PTI Chairman Imran Khan as police and party workers continued to clash outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore, Dawn reported.

Protests broke out in Islamabad, Peshawar and Karachi after Imran called on his supporters to “come out” following police’s use of tear gas and a water cannon on supporters outside Zaman Park.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, however, said that officials would arrest Imran in accordance with the court’s directives and produce him in court,the Dawn reported.

Videos shared by the PTI’s Karachi chapter showed workers gathered at Qayyumabad Chowrangi, II Chundrigar, Hassan Square and Sohrab Goth.

Police are only 50 yards away from Imran Khan’s residence and there are only 50-60 PTI workers left outside his residence as Police started arresting party workers.

Intense shelling is being reported at Zaman park. More police contingents have been deployed and internet services have been blocked in the area where Imran Khan’s house is located in the northeastern city of Lahore which is also the capital of Punjab province,the Dawn reported.

All routes leading to Zaman Park have been blocked.

In Peshawar, a large number of PTI supporters demonstrated outside the press club. After demonstrating at the press club, PTI workers blocked Sher shah Suri road and started marching towards the Governor House.

Islamabad police said that PTI protesters had blocked Tarnol Road but timely action had been taken to reopen it for traffic. “A case has been registered in Tarnol Police Station against the PTI workers who blocked the road on the orders of Imran Khan,” police said.

Chowrangi, Karachi, people staged a dharna by setting tires on fire against the atrocities being carried out by the police in Zaman Park.

Women protesting Stargate Karachi to support Imran Khan.

In a video message on Twitter, Imran said police had arrived at Zaman Park to arrest him. “They think that after I am arrested, the nation will fall asleep. You have to prove them wrong,” he said.

The PTI chairman said everyone should come out of their homes for their rights and “haqeeqi azaadi” (true freedom).

“If something happens to me and I am sent to jail or if I am killed, you have to prove that you will struggle without Imran Khan and not accept the slavery of these thieves and of the one person who has been making decisions for the country,” said the former premier, who has continued his confrontational rhetoric against the establishment since his ouster in April last year.

PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry also asked PTI supporters to gather in the streets in a show of solidarity with Imran.

Two non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday after he failed to appear in courts in cases linked to the Toshakhana reference and threatening a woman additional district and sessions judge.

The 70-year-old ex-premier has been recovering from a gunshot injury from an assassination attempt in Wazirabad last year and has skipped hearings in several cases,the Dawn reported.

The PTI chief was supposed to appear before two district and session courts in Islamabad today but Imran’s lawyers filed petitions seeking an exemption from the hearings citing security reasons.

The courts of Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal (hearing the Toshakhana case) and Senior Civil Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim (hearing the judge threatening case) issued arrest warrants for Imran and instructed the police to present him before the courts on March 18 and March 21, respectively.

The court of ADSJ Zafar Iqbal restored non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran in the Toshakhana reference. It instructed the police to arrest the PTI chief and present him in court by March 18.

Imran has thrice skipped indictment hearings in the case. He is accused of concealing, in his assets declarations, details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana — a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept.

The judge had then issued arrest warrants for Imran and adjourned the hearing till March 7.

On March 5, an Islamabad police team was sent to Lahore to arrest Imran with the court summons. However, it returned empty-handed after the PTI chief evaded the arrest.

Subsequently, Imran had approached the Islamabad High Court last week seeking the cancellation of his arrest warrants,the Dawn reported.

On March 7, the IHC had suspended Imran’s non-bailable arrest warrants till March 13 and instructed him to appear before the sessions court.

At the outset of the proceedings today, Imran’s counsel Khawaja Haris informed the court that his client was not able to appear today. “He is not refusing to appear, but due to security threats he cannot be present,” he said.

He recalled that the IHC had asked the sessions court to initiate legal proceedings against the PTI chief as per the law if he failed to appear before the court on March 13, the Dawn reported.(ANI)

Read More Article: http://13.232.95.176/

The area outside former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s residence at Zaman Park has turned into a battleground as police and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers clashed on Tuesday as the heavy armoured police in riot gear has reached to arrest Imran Khan.

Amid the chaotic scenes, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan has released a video message and asked the “kaum” to keep fighting.
Police is only 50 yards away from Imran Khan’s residence and there are only 50-60 PTI workers left outside his residence as Police started arresting party workers.

It appears that Police will be able to enter the residence and arrest him while there is also speculation that Imran Khan may court arrest. Intense shelling is being reported at Zaman park. More police contingents have been deployed and internet services at Zaman Park and the adjoining areas have been suspended.

All routes leading to Zaman Park have been blocked.

In the video message, Imran Khan asks the PTI workers to keep fighting. He said that the struggle should not stop if he is sent to Jail or killed, the people of Pakistan have to keep fighting for their rights and freedom.

“My dear Pakistanis, police are here to arrest me. They think that “kaum” will sleep when Imran khan will go to jail. You have to prove them wrong. You have to prove that it is an alive “kaum”.

“For your rights and freedom, you have to struggle and fight,” he added.

“I have everything thing by the grace of God, I am fighting a war for you. I have fought all my life and keep fighting. But if I’m put into jail or I’m killed, then you have to prove that this kaum will struggle without Imran khan also,” he said further.

Notably, while fighting for their “Freedom”, PTI workers injured Islamabad Police Chairman this evening.

A team of Islamabad police is in Lahore since yesterday to comply with the court orders that had directed authorities to arrest the Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf chief who is facing a number of cases filed against him in different cities.

On Monday, a district and sessions court in Islamabad restored the former prime minister’s non-bailable arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case. The Islamabad court had earlier reserved its verdict on a petition filed by him seeking an exemption from the hearing.

Last week, the IHC suspended the non- bailable arrest warrant for Khan issued by the local court issued due to the PTI chief’s continuous absence.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq accepted the PTI chief’s plea against Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal’s decision and directed Khan to ensure that he appears before the lower court.

Islamabad DIG injured as police and PTI supporters clash outside Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore, Dawn reported.

Islamabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) (Operations) Shahzad Bukhari was injured as police used a water cannon and tear gas to disperse PTI workers gathered outside party chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Shortly after 2 pm on Tuesday, armoured police vehicles had arrived outside Zaman Park residence in Lahore with the intention of arresting Imran but senior Islamabad police official had refrained from commenting on the case in which officials were acting against the PTI chairman.

However, almost an hour later, police used a water cannon and tear gas against PTI supporters that had gathered outside Zaman Park in droves.

Footage surfacing on Social Media showed police slowly inching toward the residence behind an armoured vehicle dispersing PTI supporters with a water cannon. Supporters could also be seen pelting stones at the policemen.

Footage also showed PTI supporters being teargassed as police arrived close to the main gate of Zaman Park. The workers, who had covered their faces with pieces of cloth and were carrying bottles of water, continued to pelt stones at officials.

PTI’s Shireen Mazari shared a video where tear gas could be seen entering Imran’s residence.

Amid the chaos, it emerged that Islamabad DIG (Operations) Bukhari — who is leading the police team — had been injured. Footage aired on TV showed the senior police official struggling to walk as two other officials helped him.

On Monday, an Islamabad district and sessions court again issued arrest warrants for Imran after he persistently skipped hearings in the Toshakhana case. The court had also directed police to present the ex-premier in court by March 18.

Speaking to the media outside Zaman Park after the police’s use of force, PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that he had come to talk to the Islamabad DIG (Operations).

“He says he came with an arrest warrant [but] I’m requesting him to not ruin the situation,” he said, adding that the PTI wanted to remain peaceful and did not want bloodshed.

“Meet me and talk to me. What are your orders? Deliver them to me, show me the warrant, I’ll read it and understand it and talk to my chairman and consult our lawyers.”

He said that the police action against PTI workers was “without reason” and called for it to stop immediately.

Qureshi said that Imran had been granted protective bail and questioned how police could want to arrest him. (ANI)

Read More Article: http://13.232.95.176/

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go 11,000 employees; first big tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs.

Facebook-parent Meta plans to lay off another 10,000 workers, marking the second round of significant job cuts announced by the tech giant in four months, CNN reported.
The latest layoffs, announced on Tuesday, come after Meta said in November that it was eliminating approximately 13 per cent of its workforce, or 11,000 jobs, in the single largest round of cuts in the company’s history, CNN reported.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the job cuts will take place “over the next couple of months.”

“We expect to announce restructurings and layoffs in our tech groups in late April, and then our business groups in late May,” he wrote. In a “small number of cases, it may take through the end of the year to complete these changes.”

“Overall, we expect to reduce our team size by around 10,000 people and to close around 5,000 additional open roles that we haven’t yet hired,” Zuckerberg said.

As of September 2022, Meta reported a headcount of 87,314, per securities filings. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced Tuesday, that would bring Meta’s headcount down to around 66,000, CNN reported. (ANI)

Read More Article: http://13.232.95.176/

Tibetans in exile across the world observed the 64th Tibetan National Uprising Day on March 10th, 2023. Tibetans and allies held demonstrations to mark the day and called on the international community to support the Tibetan people’s peaceful struggle and hold China accountable for the human rights violations it is carrying out in occupied Tibet.

China, in its attempt to legitimize its occupation of Tibet, has invented myriads of days and events to create a platform to dole out its propaganda. “Serfs’ Emancipation Day” on March 28 is one of those days. It was invented in January 2009, more specifically to counter the March 10th Tibetan uprising day. Ahead of March 28, the Chinese Communist Party is employing several tools including propaganda documentaries to spread its narrative, Tibet Rights Collective reported.
A new CGTN documentary “Daughters of Tibet” released ahead of International Women’s Day on March 10, claims to shed “light on the lives of a new generation of Tibetan women, highlighting the stories of five inspiring individuals, most of whom were born after 1995, who chase their dreams on the plateau while making meaningful contributions to their hometowns”. According to a report published in CGTN, the same “focuses on the lives of four elderly Tibetan women who survived feudal serfdom, shed light on the significant changes that have taken place in Tibet since the emancipation of the serfs”.

In the documentary available on YouTube, we meet a “bilingual Chinese-Tibetan lawyer, a clothing designer who has showcased her work on international stages, a clinical medical student from Fudan University, a representative inheritor of traditional Tibetan folk art, and a female entrepreneur from Nagqu”, Tibet Rights Collective reported.

The documentary opens with an old Tibetan woman, who was “a serf serving a noble family” talking at length about life in “modern Tibet” where she is “free to do whatever I want”. Earlier, she did not have the “time or opportunity” to go to school and did not have “proper clothing or anything to eat” – “A serf’s child was born a serf”.

As she shares her story of “serfdom” in old Tibet, her granddaughter heaves a sigh of relief. In 1955, she claimed to have gotten a job as a road-builder and then as a construction worker, “thanks to the Communist Party of China” and the granddaughter is finally seen smiling.

Dekyi Palmo is a bilingual Chinese-Tibetan lawyer who works in a law firm with Chinese lawyers who observe that their work pressure is increasing because “Tibet’s economy is booming” and take bilingual lawyers with them to courts to understand different dialects and if the communication happens in Tibetan. 52-year-old Wangsto runs a yak ranch where Tibetans who were not “eating well or dressing well” earlier are now “very free and very happy”, Tibet Rights Collective reported.

25-year-old Phuntsok Wangmo is an artist who is seen performing at the New Year gala organized by the Party, lives in a well-off home with the Party flag hung on the roof, and takes us through the Potala Palace where Tibetans are seen painting the Palace for the Lhabu festival, in an indication that religious rituals are being allowed to be carried out in occupied Tibet.

25-year-old Phuntsok Drolma is a freelance writer who writes stories of Tibetans from various walks of life, especially women who are “living a full life” in modern Tibet. Fashion designer Tashi Yongsto yearns to protect the cultural heritage of Tibet, Tibet Rights Collective reported.

The larger theme that the documentary tries to convey is that of choice. It tries to argue that in “modern” Tibet, women have choices and are given the freedom to choose. The attempt to show how across three generations, these changes have happened in Tibet is part of the larger “development” narrative that the CCP reiterates about Tibet.

Recent reports had suggested that in its attempts to interfere in the reincarnation debates of His Holiness the 14th Dalai lama and further Sinicize Tibetan Buddhism, the Chinese Communist Party has started propaganda TV productions.

“The just finished TV series Tashilhunpo on China Central Television gave a detailed account of the search for the reincarnations of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, who hold equal positions in Tibetan Buddhism”, reported Global Times. It reportedly emphasized that “this religious ritual has been supervised by the Chinese central government and conducted within Chinese territory since the late 13th century”, Tibet Rights Collective reported.

China has previously conducted seminars, exhibitions, social media posts welcoming people to visit “China’s Tibet” and foreign vloggers and influencers to paint a rosy image of occupied Tibet where human rights violations continue to happen.

The primary themes of Chinese propaganda about Tibet are that Tibet has “always” been a part of China. Any narrative about “Tibetan independence” or a Chinese “invasion” of Tibet is dubbed false by China and its propaganda media. Another critical narrative is that the traditional Tibetan social system was a “dark, cruel, savage, feudal hell on earth” from which Tibetans welcomed their liberation by the CCP.

It goes on to claim that China has selflessly assisted Tibetan social and economic development ever since while taking nothing from Tibet. CCP handles are also celebrating fancy GDP growth rates in Tibet, but this does not reflect the real condition of Tibetans inside Tibet. While CCP falsifies economic figures of Tibet’s GDP growth, it hides the actual situation inside Tibet.

Such documentaries are gross misrepresentations of a happy and prosperous Tibet, just like they use smiling, dancing Uyghurs to (mis)represent happy Uyghurs, who are, in reality, subject to gross abuse of human rights. This needs to be called out. (ANI)

Read More Article: http://13.232.95.176/