Here’s what’s happening across the border: Imran Khan hits back at critics who made fun of his ‘poultry plan’, and Human Rights Watch asks Pakistan to not execute mentally challenged prisoners.
Two girls beat up their harassers on busy Peshawar street
A video of two girl students beating up two men for allegedly harassing them on the streets of Peshawar has gone viral on social media, reports The Express Tribune.
In the video that was shared widely, one of the girls wearing hijab could be seen slapping a man repeatedly until he managed to escape from her. The second girl then thrashed the other man, seated on a bike, as a crowd gathered at the scene.
None of the onlookers, however, cared to intervene in the matter.
RT junaidraza01 "RT TNNEnglish: A girl student slappped two boys n public aftr they inappropriately touched & harassed her in Dabgari #Peshawar.Contrary to #Pashtun culture,the men present at the site were laughing and helping the #harassers run aw… pic.twitter.com/R68ZV9Nwuh"
— Engr. Hasham khalid ? (@hashamkhalid786) November 30, 2018
A shop owner in the area said that the two men had been name-calling and harassing the girls for the past few days.
“Today, when the men tried to intercept the women, they reacted angrily, snatched the keys of the motorcycle they were riding and started slapping them right in the middle of the market,” he was quoted saying.
Imran Khan hits back at critics who made fun of his ‘chicken plan’
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday called his critics who mocked him for his suggestion to invest more in the poultry industry, “colonised minds”, reports Geo TV.
Speaking at an event marking his government’s first 100 days in office, Khan had said that his government would provide eggs and chicken to rural women to help them set up their own poultry business.
“The project has been tested and the government will provide injections to them for raising the chickens faster. This way they will have nutrient food for eating and more chickens and eggs to sell,” he was quoted as saying.
His suggestion had met with severe criticism from the opposition and was heavily trolled by Pakistani netizens.
But on Saturday, Imran Khan hit back at people who censured him by calling them “colonised minds”. He tweeted, “For the colonised minds when desis talk about chickens combating poverty they get mocked, but when ‘walaitis’ talk about desi chicken and poverty it’s brilliance!”
Khan shared a Business Insider article which talked about Bill Gates’ mantra of how poverty can be tackled in developing countries by harnessing the poultry industry more efficiently.
For the colonised minds when desis talk about chickens combating poverty they get mocked, but when "walaitis" talk about desi chicken and poverty it's brilliance! https://t.co/bjvQQIVoRv
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 1, 2018
His party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to his defence earlier Saturday by sharing a 2016 BBC article where it mentioned how Gates had launched a campaign in sub-Saharan Africa by donating chickens to poor families.
PTI said, “Propagandists really can’t rise above their hate!”
Microsoft founder @BillGates launched a campaign to help extremely poor families in Africa by giving them chickens.
However, when PM Imran Khan talks about it, it becomes an issue.
Propagandists really can't rise above their hate! https://t.co/9QiGwpCeAA— Tehreek-e-Insaf (@InsafPK) November 30, 2018
HRW urges Pak to not award death penalty to mentally challenged prisoners
Human Rights Watch has requested Pakistan to remove its mentally-ill prisoners from death row as this violates the “country’s international obligations”, reports Pakistan Today.
In a statement, HRW said the United Nations Human Rights Committee and UN officials have determined that execution of a person with a psychosocial disability violates the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.
The statement has come after a medical board presented a report to the Lahore’s district and sessions court regarding the case hearing of Saleem Ahmad, a prisoner suffering from chronic schizophrenia.
Ahmad, 50, was scheduled to be hanged in November 2017 but a court suspended his execution, directing a medical board to study his medical health. He was charged with murder and has been imprisoned for more than 17 years.
Referring to this matter, HRW said: “This is a scathing indictment of Pakistan’s criminal justice system and should be used as an opportunity for reform. While the death penalty is inherently cruel and should be abolished, executing an individual with psychosocial disabilities violates Pakistan’s international legal obligations.”
Dollar reaches all-time high of Rs 144, but PM says ‘don’t worry’
Pakistan PM Imran Khan said his government is taking adequate measures to ensure that shortage of dollars does not happen in future, The Daily Times reports.
“I have been receiving calls since morning about the hike in the dollar price. I want to tell everyone not to worry about the hike. There is an adjustment taking place,” he said Friday.
“We are taking steps which will ensure that there won’t be a shortage of dollars in Pakistan,” he added.
Addressing an event, Khan said the biggest problem Pakistan faces is the deficit of current account, which stands at almost $18.5 million.
He said efforts are being made to attract foreign investments and reduce the deficit.
Imran Khan’s sister faces court case over undeclared property
The Supreme Court of Pakistan Thursday directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to present property and tax amnesty details of Aleema Khan, PM Imran Khan’s sister, reports The Nation.
The court was hearing a suo motu case on foreign properties owned by Pakistani nationals.
Reacting to the court order, Aleema Khan, who is touring Japan to raise funds for NUML University in Pakistan said, “I am being asked tough questions because I am in the headlines these days.”
“I am answerable to God and when the court summons me I will respond to their questions as well.”
She claims that the money she owns is her inheritance from her family and has legitimate sources.
Chief of Justice of Pakistan, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, took suo motu notice of Aleema’s property in Dubai on 28 November.
According to officials, Aleema paid 25 per cent of the total estimated amount of her luxurious flat, ‘The Lofts East-1406’, in taxes and 25 per cent fine charges.
The PM’s sister was slapped with a double penalty (taxes and fine) because she did not disclose said property worth around Rs 74 million.
Visually challenged Pak cricketer marries American woman
Visually impaired Pakistani cricketer Mujeebur Rehman married an American blind woman, Brittney Montgomery, Thursday in Punjab province’s Bahawalpur city, reports The News International.
According to the report, Brittney, an American national, “embraced Islam” in 2016 after befriending Rehman on Facebook. She reached Pakistan Wednesday and married the cricketer the next day.
Rehman is a fast bowler and has been an important asset to his Bahawalpur Blind Cricket Team.
Pakistan Blind Council spokesperson said: “This time instead of winning a cricket match, Mujeeb won the heart of an American girl”.