Day: June 24, 2021

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Punjab University spokesman finds conspiracy behind liquor bottles

Lahore, June 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):A Punjab University spokesman has stated that a conspiracy has been hatched to defame Punjab University through transportation of liquor bottles at PU’s entry gate, which were held at the gate due to strict security SoPs. In a press statement, he said that recently, a good news regarding improvement of PU’s international ranking had arrived which was acknowledged at the international level. However, he said, some elements could not digest it and had made another attempt to defame the university through such cheap tactics.

In support of his stance, the spokesman elaborated that whenever PU improved ranking in the past three years, the incidents of clashes surprisingly happened during the same days just to tarnish the achievements of the university whenever the ranking institutions issued rankings. The spokesman said that baseless propaganda regarding usage of prohibited material in university was being fanned instead of appreciating the staff which took action and remained vigilant as per SoPs of their duty.

He said that it was an important question that how a person could deliver liquor in such an open style on a motorcycle bearing the 20 liquor bottles in a common shopping bag at a place where there is tight security mechanism and he has to pass through security checkpoints at the entry gates? He said that the way the incident has happened revealed that the planners of the conspiracy wanted that the bottles to be checked and held at the university and thus the university could be defamed.

The spokesman said that some elements were trying to damage the peaceful atmosphere of PU but the administration always took action against such elements as per law. The spokesman said that the university administration would not allow any such effort to succeed which was aimed at defaming the university.

For more information, contact:
Registrar,
University of the Punjab
Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-99231102
Fax: +92-42-99231103
E-Mail: registrar@pu.edu.pk
Website: http://pu.edu.pk/

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Senate proposes 114 recommendations on Finance Bill, 2021

Islamabad, June 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Senate passed a motion to adopt 114 recommendations on the Finance Bill, 2021, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Daily Factsheet on Thursday.

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 7th sitting of 312th session:

Members’ Participation

The House met for five hours and 15 minutes; however, the proceedings remained suspended for 20 minutes due to prayer break.

The sitting started 04:05 pm against the scheduled time of 04:00 pm.

The chairman presided over the proceedings for an hour and 20 minutes, while the remaining sitting was chaired by the deputy chairman.

The leader of the House attended the entire sitting.

The leader of the opposition was present for an hour and 45 minutes.

As many as 45 lawmakers (45 percent) were present at the outset and 10 (10 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.

The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, PTI, JI and MQMP attended the sitting.

Two out of four minority lawmakers were also present.

Output

Chairman Standing committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs presented the report of the committee on the Finance Bill, 2021, containing the annual budget statement.

The House proposed 114 recommendations to the National Assembly on the Finance Bill, 2021. Similarly, the House also approved 180 recommendations on the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP).

The House witnessed introduction of three bills including the International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2021; the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment of Section 4) and the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Amendment of Section 7). All these bills were referred to the relevant committees for further consideration.

Representation and Responsiveness

Eleven lawmakers participated in the budget discussion consuming four hours and 40 minutes of the proceedings.

Order and Institutionalization

The House was adjourned to meet again on Friday, June 25, 2021 at 10:30 am.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.

The attendance of Senators is available on Senate website.

For more information, contact:
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)
FAFEN Representative
FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2211026
Fax: +92-51-2211047
Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188
Email: media@fafen.org
URL: www.fafen.org

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KP Assembly concludes debate on provincial budget 2021-22

Islamabad, June 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly concluded the general discussion on Provincial Budget for the financial year 2021-22, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Thursday.

Following are key observations of the proceedings during 5th sitting of the 19th session:

Members’ Participation

The Assembly met for three hours and eight minutes.

The sitting started at 02:20 pm against the scheduled time of 01:00 pm.

The speaker presided over the entire sitting.

The deputy speaker was also present.

The leaders of the House (Chief Minister) and the opposition did not attend the sitting.

Fifty-one legislators (35 percent) were present at the outset and 61 (42 percent) lawmakers at the adjournment of the sitting.

The parliamentary leaders of BAP and PML-N attended the proceedings.

Three minority lawmakers attended the sitting.

Representation and Responsiveness

Fifteen lawmakers spoke on the provincial budget for an hour and 50 minutes.

The Provincial Minister for Finance concluded the discussion on budget and spoke for an hour and 10 minutes.

Order and Institutionalization

The House was adjourned to meet again on Friday, June 25, 2021 at 02:00 pm.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ is available for the legislators, observers and the media.

Attendance of the lawmakers is not available for the observers and the media.

For more information, contact:
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)
FAFEN Representative
FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2211026
Fax: +92-51-2211047
Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188
Email: media@fafen.org
URL: www.fafen.org

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Prime Minister must apologise for remarks linking rape to women’s attire

Karachi, June 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):At a press conference held earlier today, 16 civil society organisations – including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the Women’s Action Forum, Tehrik-e-Niswan, Aurat March, and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, among others – have strongly condemned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s troubling remarks linking women’s attire to the incidence of rape.

This is the second time that the Prime Minister has reduced sexual violence to an act of ‘temptation.’ This is dangerously simplistic and only reinforces the common public perception that women are ‘knowing’ victims and men ‘helpless’ aggressors. For the head of government – a government that claims to defend the rights of women and vulnerable groups – to insist on this view is simply inexcusable. It is equally disheartening to see that several women members of the ruling party have jumped to the Prime Minister’s defence and justified his comments in vague, illogical terms.

Even a cursory glance at the news should make it painfully clear that survivors of sexual violence can include women, girls, men, boys, and transgender persons and that such acts can occur in schools, workplaces, homes, and public spaces. Gender, age and attire do not ‘prevent’ rape any more than the time of day or the relationship between survivor and perpetrator. The Prime Minister would do well to understand that rape is an act of power, not lack of sexual control.

We demand an immediate public apology from the Prime Minister and assurances that his highly flawed perception of how and why rape occurs does not inform the government’s attempts to tackle what is a serious and prevalent crime in Pakistan.

On behalf of:

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Joint Action Committee

Siaasi Aurat Tehrik

Women’s Action Forum, Karachi

Sindh Commission on the Status of Women

Tehrik-e-Niswan

Aurat March

Pakistan Institute for Labour Education and Research

Peace and Development Organisation

Aurat Foundation

Women Democratic Front

Home-Based Women Workers Federation

Democratic Youth Front

Sindhu Vaas Foundation

Gender Interactive Alliance

Bait ul Momneen Church

First Church for Eunuchs

Legislative Watch Group

For more information, contact:
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
Aiwan-i-Jamhoor, 107-Tipu Block,
New Garden Town, Lahore-54600
Tel: +92-42-35864994
Fax: +92-42-35883582
Email: hrcp@hrcp-web.org
Website: www.hrcp-web.org

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PPP will not support the government’s legislation to facilitate Kulbhushan Jadhav: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Islamabad, June 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari talking to media at the Parliament House Islamabad on Thursday, has said that PPP will not support the government’s legislation that is being brought to facilitate Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Responding to a question about the shortage of gas in Sindh, Chairman Bilawal said that the crisis of energy sector which is looming on Pakistan will have to be borne by the common people of Pakistan. It is a very unfortunate situation as it was avoidable but because of the failure of the government, the common people will have to suffer. The PPP always fights for its rights and we think that production orders of every member should be issued for the budget session. No one can be stopped from representing their constituency.

Due to the continued incarceration of Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, the people of Sukkur are deprived of their representation. If the speaker does not fulfil his responsibility, then you are sending a message that the members will not be able to exercise their right, be it stopping the budget or casting their vote for the no confidence motion. This is a very disputed and anti-people budget, if the House is not complete and there is no representation of Waziristan and Sukkur, then as we say, the entire budget process is illegal. The speaker should take note of the decision of Islamabad High Court into account for issuing production orders of Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah. The opposition leader has sent in writing to the speaker for the production order of Khursheed Shah. I have also sent a letter to the speaker today.

Regarding the unfortunate death of Usman Kakar, Chairman Bilawal said that we have great respect for Usman Kakar and he was an honourable colleague, we will miss him in the Parliament. We tried our best but unfortunately, we lost him. We will do according to the demands of his family and his party. The government should also address those demands.

Regarding Afghanistan, he said that he had a point in his budget speech about it, because Pakistan has been dealing with this situation since1980. Whatever happens in Afghanistan will impact the entire region and the world. We would have to face the consequences for decades for the decisions we make about Afghanistan now. This is why we demanded that the ministries and institutions which are involved in negotiations should bring the negotiation on record.

PPP has a viewpoint and it should be heard. We will hear them out but the way our government and international powers are handling the situation, is not making things easy for Pakistan and Afghanistan and our coming generations. We have to address this issue. As far as giving airbases to the United States, it is up to the government, and we hope that the decisions taken will be in the interest of Pakistan. We do not trust the prime minister because he takes u-turns and we are concerned that he might take a u-turn on this as well.

Addressing the Kashmir elections, Chairman Bilawal said that he is starting the campaign from tomorrow. About the political activities in the Punjab, he said that not only Punjab, but in the entire Pakistan the situation for PPP is going to improve and President Zardari’s role is very important in all this. He is the only politician in the country who can unite all politicians.

President Zardari had gone to Lahore to consult his doctors and we are thankful to Pervez Ilahi who visited him to enquire about his health, and whoever has ever worked with the PPP, we want to work with them. These meetings with President Zardari are only the beginning and a lot will happen in the coming days. We will keep trying to form government in the centre and every province of Pakistan. We think that we can solve the problems through a progressive manifesto of the PPP.

About the forced conversions in Sindh, Chairman Bilawal said that crimes take place everywhere, but we have to see what the response of political parties on such issues. The Pakistani community is very patriotic, and most of them live in Sindh and forced conversions are an issue for us but PPP is always at the forefront of minority, women and the rights of the downtrodden masses. It is unfortunate that the legislation on the issue is not up to the mark. Sindh is the only province which banned underage marriages. Unfortunately, some judicial decisions violate this law but we are trying to protect every citizen.

Regarding the bill on Kulbhushan Jadhav, he said that the government brought the bill in the darkness of the night for this individual, but he did not take advantage of this bill. Now, they are bringing this bill to the assembly. We will oppose this bill because we were not taken into confidence. PPP will not become a party in facilitating Kulbhushan Jadhav. If Imran Khan wants to facilitate him, he can do so. However, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PPP will not support it.

Answering a question about Manzoor Watto, Chairman Bilawal said that Watto says that he never left PPP so we think that we should work with everyone. The people who have always been sincere to the PPP, they will be dealt differently and we will also work with the old comrades who are coming back. PPP’s doors are open for everyone who raised the slogan of Jeay Bhutto. We want to form a progressive government in this country and for this, we will take along whoever is ready to work with us.

Regarding Shahbaz Sharif’s proposed APC, he said that we are ready to cooperate with the opposition leader on every effort to unite the opposition. The people in the government from my province were more passionate in their speeches because the PPP had defeated them badly in their cities. They are not able to tolerate their defeat.

PTI used to say that Karachi is their city, we brought them down from the first to the sixth position. The PPP jiyalas badly defeated them in Matli, Badin. They will remember it for their whole life. They should take out their frustration on their own Prime Minister Imran Khan who did not care for them. Hence, they lost from Badin to Karachi to Kashmir. I will ask the PPP jiyalas to not adopt their language and attitude and work coolly and solve peoples’ problems.

For more information, contact:
PPP Media Cell (Sindh)
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
Peoples Secretariat Shikarpur Colony,
Behind Mazar-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Karachi, Pakistan
Cell: +92-305-3370383
Email: contact@ppp-tu.com
Website: https://www.ppp.org.pk

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Balochistan PA approves 21 supplementary demands for grants

Islamabad, June 24, 2021 (PPI-OT):The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan approved as many as 21 supplementary demands for grants of various ministries and departments on Thursday, observes Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet.

Following are key observations of the House proceedings during fifth sitting of the budget (40th) session:

Members’ Participation

The House met for 17 minutes.

The sitting started at 04:55 pm against the scheduled time of 03:00 pm.

The speaker presided over the entire sitting, while the deputy speaker was also present.

The leader of the House (Chief Minister) was absent.

The opposition leader did not attend the sitting.

As many as 17 MPAs (26 percent) were present at the outset and 21 (32 percent) at the adjournment of the sitting.

The parliamentary leaders of BNP-A, ANP and HDP attended the proceedings.

As many as one out of three minority lawmakers was present.

Representation and Responsiveness

The House approved 21 supplementary demands for grants related to various ministries and departments.

Order and Institutionalization

All opposition members remained absent from the proceedings of the House.

The House was adjourned to meet again on Friday, June 25, 2021 at 03:00 pm.

Transparency

‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and others.

The attendance of lawmakers was not available to the observers and media.

For more information, contact:
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN)
FAFEN Representative
FAFEN Secretariat 224, Margalla Road F-10/3 – Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-2211026
Fax: +92-51-2211047
Cell: +92-321-5017355, +92-301-8549188
Email: media@fafen.org
URL: www.fafen.org