US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Friday said that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was not visiting the country on US government-sponsored travel. Omar, who made history as one of the first two Muslim women elected to the US Congress, arrived in Islamabad earlier this week on a visit to Pakistan. The Congresswoman will stay in Pakistan till April 24.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan CJP Umar Ata Bandial has said that the country has to be taken towards a “mature democracy.” The remark came during the hearing of the presidential reference seeking the interpretation of Article 63(A) of the Constitution. He observed that the votes of the dissidents should not be counted to ensure national interest and to end the scourge of shifting loyalties.
Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan was on Wednesday named the Leading T20 Cricketer in the World by the Wisden Almanack. The 29-year-old had a prolific run in 2021, becoming the first-ever cricketer in the history of T20 cricket to amass over 2,000 runs in a calendar year. In 45 innings, the right-hander amassed 2,036 runs at a fine average of 56.55.
The National Security Committee (NSC) has said that there was no foreign conspiracy to topple the Imran Khan-led government. Reportedly, the NSC examined the “contents of the communication” shared by the ambassador and “reaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting”. The meeting of the NSC, which is the highest forum for coordination on security issues, was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Ex-prime minister Imran Khan on Monday responded to the Toshakana controversy and said they were his gifts, so it was his choice whether to keep them or not. “Mera tohfa, meri marzi [my gift, my choice],” the PTI chairman told reporters during an informal conversation. “Whatever I took from Toshakana is on record. I purchased the gifts after paying 50% of the cost,” Khan said.
An Anti-Terrorism court in Lahore has sentenced six people to death after convicting them for their roles in last year’s vigilante killing of a Sri Lankan factory manager accused of committing blasphemy. The court also gave life sentences to nine people, five years’ jail to one, and two-year sentences to 72, according to a statement from the public prosecutor. Eight of those sentenced were juveniles.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has administered the oath to federal ministers and ministers of state, who will form the cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Thirty-one federal ministers and three ministers of state and as many advisers to the PM took the oath. The oath-taking ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran at the President House.
Pakistan, formed in 1947, featured in their first-ever Olympics at the London 1948 Summer Games. However, it took the country eight years to win its first Olympic medal. Pakistan has won 10 medals at the Summer Olympics. However, only two of these are individual medals. Pakistan’s Hockey team has won eight of these medals, including the only three golds under the country’s name.
After weeks of economic turmoil, the island nation of Sri Lanka announced default on all of its $51 billion external debt after running out of foreign exchange for imports. Colombo called the move a “last resort.” The nation is grappling with its worst economic downturn since independence, with regular blackouts and acute shortages of food and fuel.
After its Foreign Office Minister Lord Zac Goldsmith tweeted in support of Imran Khan, the UK government distanced itself from his stance saying that Goldsmith’s remarks did not represent the UK government’s position. Downing Street stopped short of rebuking the Tory peer for his comments, but confirmed that UK government “would not get involved in the domestic political affairs” of Pakistan.