Here’s what’s happening across the border: PML-N members visit Sharifs in jail, and Twitter accounts of some Balochistan leaders suspended
Pakistan government bans discretionary funds
In a move aligned with its austerity drive, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government announced Friday that it has decided to do away with the discretionary funds of the president, premier and members of national assembly (MNAs), reported Dawn.
The decision was announced by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, who claimed that the previous government used up Rs 51 billion in discretionary funds in the last year alone. Of this, Rs 21 billion was used up by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif while Rs 30 billion was given for MNAs’ expenditure.
Chaudhry also said Imran Khan would not be using the special plane that is provided to premiers for foreign visits, and even on flights, he won’t travel first class. All ministers of Pakistan will also travel via ‘club class’ only from now on, said Chaudhry. He further requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to do the same.
Survivor of Peshawar school attack aces GCSE exams
Ahmad Nawaz, a survivor of 2014 Taliban attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, has scored six A* and two A in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams, reported Geo TV.
Thanking his parents and others for their support, Nawaz tweeted Thursday, “This is a big success for me and takes me many steps closer to my admission to the Oxford University.”
My International GCSE exam result just came out and I am very proud to announce that I got
“ 6A*s & 2As “ in my All eight(8) exams
Thanks to my parents and all of you for supporting me.
This is a big success for me and takes me many steps closer to my admission in Oxford Uni. pic.twitter.com/mDkw6ONdnD
— Ahmad Nawaz (@Ahmadnawazaps) August 23, 2018
Nawaz’s post garnered attention within Pakistan.
Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted, “You made us all proud and defeated evil forces through your courage, determination and power of education.”
Congrats and well done dear @Ahmadnawazaps. You made us all proud and defeated evil forces through your courage, determination and power of education. Good luck for your future pursuits. Stay blessed. https://t.co/p2Ar0hkeg6
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) August 23, 2018
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai also congratulated Nawaz.
Congratulations @Ahmadnawazaps on your outstanding performance!
(FYI @lmhoxford is the best college in Oxford and PPE is the best degree ☺️) https://t.co/gOmakZ2Br0
— Malala (@Malala) August 24, 2018
Journalist Mehr Tarar, Gharidah Farooqi, and Sarah Munir also wished Nawaz for his achievement.
Super proud of you, super boy! Reach Oxford. Be a super man! ✨💕 https://t.co/IO7icJWFS5
— Gharidah Farooqi (@GFarooqi) August 24, 2018
Bravo! This champ was seriously injured in the terrible Army Public School attack in Peshawar, in which so many of his schoolmates were murdered. https://t.co/TkQGBJ9W7L
— Sarah O. Munir (@SarahMunir1) August 24, 2018
So proud of you, young man.
Wishing you all the best for all you do now and in future https://t.co/5iewRCruF6
— Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) August 24, 2018
On 16 December 2004, Nawaz was attending his classes in APS when the school came under attack. He was shot in the arm but survived the attack by playing dead. However, he lost his younger brother, and best friend in the massacre in which 141 people were killed, including 132 children.
PML-N workers chant anti-Imran Khan slogans as leaders meet Sharifs at Adiala
Leaders of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) met the party president Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi Friday, reported The Nation.
At least 47 leaders were given permission to meet the Sharifs in jail. On the occasion, PML-N workers chanted slogans against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the news daily, two leaders among the visitors, Khawaja Asif and Maiza Hameed, pointed out to the media that there was no animosity between Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif and any kind of propaganda cannot separate the brothers.
Last month, Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain Muhammad Safdar Awan (Retired) were jailed in the London Avenfield Luxury flat case. Sharif was jailed for 10 years, Maryam for seven and Safdar for one.
Interesting tweets of the day
Protestors against power outages were fired upon by security forces in Miran Shah today. And while MNA @mjdawar is on the ground visiting the injured. It's not news for any of our media channels. #PashtunLongMarch #DaSangaAzadiDa pic.twitter.com/8dTSFo5FpI
— Imran Khan (@iopyne) August 24, 2018
Pakistani citizen Imran Khan comments on media apathy towards protestors who were fired upon in Miran Shah Friday.
Women out there..listen up!
A divorced woman is NOT a failure.
She doesn't put up with what is unacceptable to her.
Getting married & staying married is NO achievement.#WomenRights
— Reham Khan (@RehamKhan1) August 23, 2018
Imran Khan’s ex-wife Reham Khan tweets about women rights saying a divorced woman is not a failure and there’s no achievement in getting or staying married.
Will not travel in first class, instead will prefer business class, says Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Watch Live: https://t.co/WzGiFMYqsz #DunyaNews #DunyaUpdates@PTIofficial @pmln_org pic.twitter.com/yTPKKYaNXc
— Dunya News (@DunyaNews) August 24, 2018
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tells reporters that to support the government’s austerity drive, he will not travel in first class, instead will prefer business class.
Before rushing to tweet in response to social media commentators ensured Punjab govt would take action against all the guilty. PM Khan and the govt are categorical about protecting all citizens and acting against all law breakers. https://t.co/AspFDLxwrA
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) August 24, 2018
Pakistan Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari finally reacts to the Faisalabad incident where an Ahmedi mosque was set on fire Friday injuring at least 31 people. The incident took place as a result of a dispute between two groups.
Twitter suspends multiple Baloch handles
In a clampdown that came days after Pakistan telecom authority threatened to ban the microblogging platform for not taking action against objectionable content, Twitter suspended the official handles of some of Baloch leaders late Thursday, reported The Balochistan Post.
The suspended handles include @ChairmanKhalil, the official handle for Khalil Baloch, chairman of Baloch National Movement (BNM), and @DrAllahNizar, the official handle of Allah Nazar Baloch, a Baloch separatist leader.
The telecom authority didn’t provide details of what constitutes as an objectionable item. However, it appears that the authority was referring to Baloch users on Twitter. Journalists, activists and other leaders have reportedly been using their handles to share details that raised security concerns.
How the culture of shame in Pakistan worsens the problem of sexual abuse
Pakistan has seen a recent spike in abduction, rape and even murder of children, and many times these incidents aren’t addressed due to the stigma of shame attached to them, wrote Atika Raza in an opinion piece in The Nation.
According to a study Raza quoted in her opinion, nearly 11 children are sexually abused every day in Pakistan. “These kids are often not even taken for a medical exam or hospitals for treatment unless they are in a very severe life threatening state. The reason is the same, people will ask questions and/or it will be shameful for the family and the child,” she wrote.
Raza stressed upon the severe lack of officially available data as well as legal aid. The lack of data leads to the government relying on privately collected data. “It does not give any proper picture of the problem resulting in the false analysis which leads to insufficient or no measures or legal reforms that could eliminate the problem,” Raza wrote.
Contributors: Rupanwita Bhattcharjee, Manisha Mondal, Alind Chauhan and Priyamvada Grover.