Sunday, 21 August, 2022 I 22 Muharram, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 52 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Imran urges ‘neutrals’ to stand wIth people, not ‘thIeves’ g
says torture on gill is show of Power by those who think they’re above the law
ISLAMABAD
F
staff report
orMer prime minister and Pti chairman imran khan on saturday urged the “neutrals” — a tacit reference to the establishment — to stand with the people and justice instead of thieves. “i want to tell my neutrals that this is a problem of Pakistan [hence] it’s imperative for you to stand with people and justice instead of thieves,” he said while addressing the supporters at a rally in islamabad. he also questioned the conduct of establishment, saying, “are you really neutral as you told us ‘we are neutral’ when foreign
g
vows to register cases against igP, other officials for violating law
conspiracy was being hatched and you refused to interfere”. imran said when they approached the islamabad police and adiala jail authorities to inquire as to who was involved in torturing gill. “they told us that they were receiving orders from the ‘top’.” imran also announced that the party would register cases against ig and Dig of islamabad police and magistrate who granted physical remand of gill despite the fact that he was subjected to “torture”. “we are also going to supreme court against this brutality as it’s the duty of supreme court to uphold rule of law and ensure its implementation,” he added.
imran said the alleged torture on gill is a show of power by those who think they are above the law. the Pti chief also compared the incumbent rulers with ruthless Mongol emperor genghis khan, saying, “he would build tower of skulls to spread fear among people… likewise same is being done today to scare the masses”. imran challenged the rulers, saying no matter what intimidation tactics they employ to silence the dissident they would not be able to stop the ‘sea of people’. “those who will try to stop sea of people will be washed away with it as people want real freedom.” he also asked the people not to be scared of government’s crackdown on social media, saying this is a defining moment in the country’s history and asked not to bow down to “idol of fear”. “Dictators enslave people by silencing their voices and put restrictions on media freedom. we all have to fight against this oppression,” he added. imran said the objective of spreading terror is to impose “thieves and cabal of crooks” upon the country, who he claimed came to power through ‘foreign conspiracy hatched by us’. the Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf took out the rally from the federal capital’s Zero Point to f9 Park in support of incarcerated leader shahbaz gill, who the party said subjected to “gruesome torture” in police custody. former prime minister and Pti chairman imran khan led the rally to record protest against “blatant fascism prevalent under imported regime”.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
Marriyum debunks ‘instigator’ Imran’s propaganda about Gill’s custodial torture ISLAMABAD staff report
Marriyum aurangzeb has said that a graphic video shared by Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) leaders was “fake” and being used as a “ploy to raise false narratives in a bid to distract from Pti leader shahbaz gill’s controversial statement”. During a press conference in islamabad, she also shared a ‘recent video’ purportedly showing gill standing up and looking healthy despite claims made by former prime minister imran khan and other Pti leaders that he was tortured and sexually abused. “shahbaz gill has not been tortured and only fake propaganda is being spread in this re-
gard. when he (gill) comes in front of the camera, he starts acting,” she said. Marriyum said that a video of a rapist in chakwal, who was tor-
tured by the locals after he sexually assaulted a child, is being attributed to gill. “they are only playing one half of the video and saying that
it is shahbaz gill’s video and he has been subjected to sexual violence. Playing fake videos and pictures falls under cybercrime. efforts are being made to connect this propaganda with freedom of speech,” she added. the information minister said that an inquiry is being conducted on court’s order and all the evidence will be presented in front of the media by the interior minister soon. she lashed out at the misbehaviour being conducted on social media on the pretext of the alleged fake video of gill. “this narrative was initiated by imran khan and his aim is to change the story entirely.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
Govt departments reluctant to share information under RTI law ISLAMABAD staff report
centre for Peace and Development initiatives (cPDi), in collaboration with Pakistan information commission (Pic) organised a one-day dialogue on “right to information: implementation status, achievements and challenges”. objective of the dialogue was to share findings of the rti assessment report and generate informed debate among stakeholders about the challenges and hurdles posed in the implementation of rti laws in Pakistan. the panelists of the dialogue included Mukhtar ahmad ali, executive Director, cPDi, senator taj haider, Muhammad azam, chief information commissioner, (Pic), fawad Malik, information commissioner, Zahid abdullah, information commissioner, farah hamid khan, chief information commissioner kP, naeema kishwar, MPa kP assembly, Ms. kanwal Pervaiz ch, MPa, Punjab assembly and Mr. anwar yousafzai, executive Director c-gPa. the event was attended by Public information officers (Pios) of the federal Ministries, journalists, csos’ personnel and lawyers’ fraternity. consultant, cPDi amer ejaz, shared the findings of a study titled “assessment of right to information implementation (Proactive & reactive Disclosure)”. the study identifies gaps regarding proactive disclosure of information, implementation of specific institutional measures, and responses to rti requests. Monitoring the results of the implementing the right to information legislation in Pakistan demonstrated that public bodies do not follow the requirements of the right of access to information act, 2017 in letter and spirit. the study found that the ministries and departments have failed to impart training to Pios and sensitise them about the legal requirements of the right to information. none of the selected ministries or departments has developed any plan for rti implementation. only a couple of ministries have placed the guidelines prepared by the information commission on their websites. Mukhtar ahmad ali, eD cPDi, explained the importance of information and said that the essence of rti revolves around online/offline proactive disclosure of information by government departments. he appreciated that rti laws have been enacted in provinces and federal level whereas implementation remains a question especially in sindh and balochistan. the state should disclose information about their actions and steps proactively. resultantly the respect of departments can be increased, added senator taj haider. he offered his service to improve the federal and sindh rti laws in terms of maximum disclosure of information procedures to be simple and easy. MPa, kP assembly naeema kishwar said that Proactive disclosure of information through websites in the digital age can decrease the burden of information commissions in terms of access to information.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
Army Chief directs Balochistan Corps to assist flood affectees RAWALPINDI staff report
chief of army staff (coas) general Qamar Javed bajwa on saturday called commander balochistan corps and directed him to assist the provincial government in rescue and relief operations in flood-affected areas. according to the inter services Public relations (isPr), the army chief directed the balochistan corps commander to get an update on flood situation and undertake all measures to assist the balochistan for rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts on emergency
basis in coordination with the civil administration. “unprecedented rains have caused devastation to human life and communication infrastructure, especially in balochistan,” the coas said. he further directed utilization of army resources to help affected population and restore critical communication infrastructure as immediate temporary measure. “Pakistan army stands with flood affected population in this difficult testing time and shall undertake this assistance effort as national obligation,” the coas said. Meanwhile, Pakistan army troops
reached to affected areas of sindh including karachi with flood relief equipment on saturday as the incessant rains wreak havoc in the province, the military said. “army rescue teams have started dewatering operation and ration distribution in affected areas of district Dadu, thatta, badin and Jamshoro,” the interservices Public relations (isPr) said in a statement. the reserve rescue teams are on a high alert to meet any emergency situation in the wake of continuous rains and urban flooding in karachi and interior sindh, it added.