Pakistan armed forces magazine gets a women’s edition; Imran Khan’s China agenda to focus on CPEC & agriculture.
Supreme Court acquits Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges
The Supreme Court of Pakistan Wednesday acquitted a Christian woman on death row, ordering Asia Bibi’s immediate release, Dawn has reported. A three-judge bench headed by chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar announced the verdict.
The order came on an appeal filed by Asia Bibi in 2015 against a 2014 verdict of the Lahore High Court, which had upheld the death sentence handed to her by a trial court in 2010.
Ahead of the order in the highly sensitive case, Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad was put on high alert Tuesday night.
Asia Noreen was declared guilty of blasphemy for allegedly making three “defamatory and sarcastic” remarks against Prophet Mohammed on 14 July 2009. Three Muslim women alleged she had made the remarks while working with them in a field, after they cited Islamic tenets to refuse to drink water from the same vessel as her.
The case emerged as a highly emotive issue in Pakistan, where there’s significant public support for death sentence for blasphemy. When former Punjab governor Salman Taseer spoke in her favour in 2011, he was shot dead in public in Islamabad.
Read the 56-page long report of the Supreme Court verdict here.
Pakistan armed forces magazine has a women’s edition now
The monthly bilingual magazine of the Pakistan armed forces has come out with a women’s edition, Hilal for Her. This is reportedly the first time an edition of the magazine has focused on women’s achievements.
Apart from talking about women empowerment and how they are excelling in different sectors, the magazine also discusses the role of female soldiers in the Pakistan military and in shaping the country after independence.
Hilal had launched a children’s edition, Hilal for Kids, in August.
CPEC, agriculture priorities as Imran Khan heads for China
Imran Khan’s adviser on commerce and industries, Abdul Razak Dawood, said Tuesday that the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to China will broaden the scope of cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), reported The News International.
The minister was addressing a ceremony organised to promote business cooperation between the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and All Pakistan Chinese Enterprisers Association. “Pakistan and China are time-tested friends, having longstanding trade ties which have been further strengthened after implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he said.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan, while heading a meeting on agriculture at the PM’s office in Islamabad, said Pakistan could gain significantly from China’s expertise in the agricultural sector, reported The News International.
According to the report, Khan also mentioned that “strengthening of cooperation with China in agriculture” would be a priority agenda on his four day trip, which starts 2 November.
Five former PMs under the lens for corruption
The National Accountability Bureau, Pakistan’s top corruption watchdog, is investigating five former Pakistan prime ministers — Nawaz Sharif, Shaukat Aziz, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — for alleged corruption and misuse of authority, reports Pakistan Today.
The bureau reportedly also has a list of 71 government officials, top politicians, bureaucrats, and public office-holders who are suspected to have indulged in corruption.
Former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif’s brother who is currently in jail, is among them.
PM Imran Khan’s principal secretary Azam Khan and special assistant Khan Zulfiqar Bukhari also feature on the list.
Interesting tweet
The anonymous spoof Twitter account Jungjoo Gernail took a dig at the Taliban as the Statue of Unity, said to be world’s tallest, was inaugurated Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/GernailSaheb/status/1057315848539516932
Journalist schools brides in nikhanama
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a journalist, film-maker and activist, has undertaken a seven-month project called ‘Aagahi’ that aims to educate women about their rights through videos, Dawn reported.
The latest video, third in the series, is a three-minute-long animation film titled “Know Your Nikahnama”, and seeks to underscore the sections of the Islamic wedding certificate that every bride must be aware of before she signs it. The provisions a nikahnama allows women include the “right to divorce”, and the “right to a predetermined monetary allowance” from one’s husband.