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Pakistan national security adviser resigns

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Here’s what is happening across the border: Lahore High Court creates history by appointing first blind judge, country gears up for female boxing debut at Asian Games.

‘Differences with caretaker government’ drive Naseer Janjua to resign

National security adviser Lt Gen Nasser Janjua (Retd) resigned Wednesday on account of differences with Pakistan’s caretaker government, reported Dawn.

His resignation was accepted by caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk. Janjua, appointed with the aim of revitalising the national security division, had assumed charge as NSA in 2015, succeeding economist and strategist Sartaj Aziz.

Janjua was the second military person to hold the post after Major General Mehmood Durrani (Retd). He had worked in collaboration with India on ‘Azm-i-Nau’, a military exercise.

‘Only living person’ with information on Bhutto’s killing denies links

One of the country’s most wanted terrorists, Ikramullah, has denied the Taliban’s involvement in former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s 2007 assassination, reported The News.

He is believed to have been the back-up suicide bomber, who was supposed to explode his vest if the first attack didn’t succeed.

In a video released by a faction of the Pakistan Taliban and obtained by BBC, Ikramullah denied that he was involved in or aware of the conspiracy to kill Bhutto, who was reportedly targeted ahead of the 2008 general election over her plans to crack down on terrorists.

However, former interior minister Rehman Malik said Ikramullah was lying. According to a source, “until recently he had proudly claimed his involvement in the assassination”. “But last year he was attacked by other rival Islamists in Afghanistan, and his family received threats from the Pakistani security services,” the BBC reported.

Ikramullah has been named in court as the second suicide bomber.

Female boxing debut from Pakistan at Asian Games

Pakistan will make its female boxing debut at the Asian Games in August, reported The Express Tribune, as the country fields two women.

Pakistan Boxing federation (PBF) secretary Nasir Ijaz Tung said, “We will be sending two women to mark our debut in female boxing at the Asian Games. We are not expecting medals but this is a beginning and we’ll want to see them perform well.”

The PBF is training a team of 18 male boxers and five female boxers and plans to send them to Iran next month for preparations.

Country gets its first blind judge

Pakistan made history Tuesday as visually impaired lawyer Yousaf Saleem took oath as a civil judge in the Lahore High Court, reported Geo TV. Saleem was among 21 civil judges sworn in.

The Punjab University law graduate was earlier denied the position due to his disability despite clearing the exam but was later reconsidered after the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), Mian Saqib Nisar, intervened.

In its order, the CJP had invoked the UN Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Saleem had previously worked as an assistant director (legal) in a department of the Punjab government. The son of a chartered accountant, Saleem was born blind. Two of his four sisters are also blind, but pushing the envelope seems to be a family trait. In 2007, one of his siblings became the first blind person to pass the civil service exam.

The disadvantages Pakistani scholars face in global education

A column in Dawn pointed to the narrowing scope of academic excellence for Pakistani students, listing India’s refusal to grant visas to students as just one of several difficulties.

The writer drew a comparison between India and Pakistan, saying Indian students had many more options to take educational or career loans. Lack of co-operation between India and Pakistan has prevented the sharing of ideas on economy, policy, social sciences and STEM subjects, the writer adds.

The writer also flagged the Higher Education Commission-funded (HEC) scholarship programmes for mandating students to come back to the country for a PhD and “yanking” them out of the global market.


Contributors: Sharanya Munsi, Priyamvada Grover, Hansa Kapoor, Manisha Mondal, Alind Chauhan, Prateek Gupta, Rupanwita Bhattacharjee and Anagha Deshpande.

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