Here’s what is happening across the border: Sikh anchor hired for first time in a news channel, and a 69-year-old former bureaucrat readies to contest election.
Taliban announces new leader after Fazlullah
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) elected Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud as their new leader after the group confirmed for the first time that their leader Maulana Fazlullah was shot dead by a US drone last week, reported News Week.
Its news leader, 40-year-old Mehsud is a respected Islamic scholar and belongs to the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan district. He had previously served as the Pakistani Taliban’s chief justice and deputy of TTP founder Baitullah Mehsud. During his career he also authored a book on the assassination former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
“With the appointment of Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud the leadership of TTP has returned to Mehsud tribe in its home base South Waziristan as Fazlullah was from Swat,” Rahimullah Yusufzai, a journalist and expert on the Taliban told AFP.
Pakistani channel hires Sikh anchor
Newly launched private news channel, Public News, has created history by appointing a Pakistani-born Sikh Harmeet Singh as a newscaster, Propakistani reported.
The channel shared a video Sunday from their official Twitter handle to introduce the new anchor.
Pakistan’s 1st Sikh News Anchor Harmeet Singh only on #PublicNews pic.twitter.com/dw3Z7R3wJW
— Public News (@PublicNews_Com) June 24, 2018
Harmeet Singh comes from Chakesar, a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reported Gulf News. He completed Masters in Journalism from Federal Urdu University Karachi and has won several awards for best columnist and reporter.
Military warns public against fake telephone calls
The military wing of the Inter-Service Public Relations Monday issued warnings against fake calls by imposters posing as army men. It said, “Fake telephone calls are being made to the general public by individuals impersonating as officials of the Pakistan Armed Forces,” reported Dawn.
The warning cautioned the public against callers asking for personal information like CNIC number and bank account details which should not be shared and instead be reported on their helpline.
Last month, the military’s media wing issued a similar warning against a malicious email”.
Pakistan Blind Cricket Council to train 32 women
The country’s blind cricket council, shortlisted 32 women players to teach them the rules, techniques and method of cricket, reported Radiotv.
The training will be supervised by the head coach of the women’s blind cricket team Nafees Ahmed at Abbottabad and will be held from 30 June to 5 July. According to the press release, nine coaches will be joining the training camp in its first phase.
A group of 35 players are expected to join the training in the second phase of the camp in Lahore, September.
Twitter lauds 69-year-old woman for contesting elections
Senior bureaucrat Ali Begum has taken Twitter by storm by announcing that she will contest for a seat in the National Assembly from Upper Kurram’s NA-46 constituency, reported Duniya News.
The 69-year-old retired civil servant will be up against 23 male contenders in the remote, conservative and male-dominated area.
Being a lonely female candidate from newly merged #Fata, i have stepped forward to contest the upcoming #GE2018 for National Assembly Seat from #NA46 #Kurram as an independent candidate, with campaign focused on health, education and women’s rights.
— Ms. Ali Begum Khan (@Mrs_AliBegum) June 11, 2018
Various members of Twitter came out in full of support of Begum as she was lauded for her courage and progressive policies regarding women empowerment.
Begum was the first woman from Parachinar who joined the civil service and served at key positions across the country. Pakistani by birth, she also had US citizenship which she has now given up to contest elections from her hometown.
In her speeches, Begum has promised to improve education and health services, security, and bring peace to the terror-stricken area.
National squash players denied Indian visas
The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has approached the World Squash Federation (WSF) to ensure participation of Pakistan players in the World Junior Championship 2018 to be held in India. The body also requested to cancel the game in India, as the country has refused to give visas to the Pakistani players, reported Dawn. The World Junior Squash Individual & Team Championship to be held in Chennai from 18 to 23 July.
According to the newspaper, a squash team of six players and three officials were returned their passports and told that they cannot be given visas without stating any substantial reason to visit India. PSF secretary Tahir Sultan said that PSF had applied for the visas in April ahead of the High Commission of India requirement of minimum 35 days for granting visa.
“The PSF has always ensured that every foreign player, wishing to participate in squash events, must be given preference in visa process. Similarly, PSF has always helped Indian players also, in getting the visas like Miss Sachika Ingale and her mother who were not only given preference in visa process but were always given VIP treatment during their stay in Pakistan,” he added.
The junior squash championship is conducted by WSF every two years for players aged 19 and below. In 2016, Pakistani junior team won the championship after defeating Egyptian team in Poland.
HRCP condemns constant harassment of human rights defenders
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has condemned attack and harassment of citizens, citing the ransacking of the house of journalist and Council member Marvi Sirmed, it said in a press release.
“Our council member Marvi Sirmed’s long-standing record as a human rights defender speaks for itself in an environment that is increasingly hostile to criticism, much less dissent. This is not the first time that Ms Sirmed has been harassed in connection with her human rights work. That this follows on the heels of several incidents involving the intimidation of other human rights workers is not something the state can afford to ignore. HRCP condemns any action by state agencies or actors to harass human rights defenders in Pakistan and obstruct their work,” said the statement.
Sirmed’s house in Islamabad was ransacked 22 June with two laptops, one smartphone, passports of family members among other travel documents taken, her husband Sirmed said.
On return from Lahore after Eid found our home in Islamabad broken into, creating panic all around. Third time our mine, @RwailSirmed laptops & @MarviSirmed 's valuables looted.
— Sirmed Manzoor (@sirmedmanzoor) June 21, 2018
Pakistanis least protected against terrorism
A report by the US-based World Justice Project (WJP) has said Pakistani citizens are the least protected against terrorism and conflict, reported Pakistan Today. In its Rule of Law report, Pakistan ranked lowest in the Order and Security performance indicator and listed it at 105 out of 113 countries in the overall classification.
Contributors: Sharanya Munsi, Priyamvada Grover, Hansa Kapoor, Manisha Mondal, Alind Chauhan, Prateek Gupta, Rupanwita Bhattacharjee and Anagha Deshpande.