Latest news with #NawazSharif
News18
14 hours ago
- Business
- News18
After 20 Chinese Killed In Pakistan In 4 Years, PM Sharif Now Promises Protection
Chairing a meeting on Tuesday, Sharif underlined that the confidence of Chinese companies in Pakistan's economy is 'extremely" important for his country's future. He said that the CPEC, which has now entered its second phase, is a crucial project for both countries, Dawn reported. Calling China a 'friendly country," the Pakistani premier said that the protection of Chinese citizens was a top priority of his government. Pakistan claimed that special security arrangements have been made for Chinese nationals, including security escort facilities for their travel. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was formally launched on April 20, 2015, when Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and China's President Xi Jinping signed 51 agreements valued at around $46 billion. The CPEC is one of the largest investment schemes launched under the multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. Thousands of Chinese citizens are working on project sites of the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and major infrastructure projects across regions such as Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and have been frequently targeted in attacks launched reportedly by militants, the BLA and Pakistani Taliban. According to official data from Pakistan's anti-terrorism body, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), at least 20 Chinese nationals have been killed and 34 injured in 14 terrorist attacks across Pakistan since 2021. What China Said On These Attacks?
Express Tribune
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PML-N disbands overseas youth wings
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif disbanded all the independent international youth wings and withdrew the authority for notifying office-bearers of the party wings in international chapters, said a notification issued here on Tuesday. The notification, signed by PML-N president on July 12, 2025 stated that the new notification superseded all the previous notifications and directives the matter. It added that all future international notifications would be issued only with the approval of the party president. "All notifications issued to-date regarding the establishment and appointment of independent youth wings and its office bearers in the International Chapters are hereby cancelled, disbanded and withdrawn with immediate effect," the notification stated. "From the date of this circular, notifications for all wings (including youth) internationally shall only be issued, with prior approval of the undersigned by President, PML-N, International Affairs and Overseas Pakistanis," it added.
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
‘Apni Chhat Apna Ghar' programme: Over 51,000 families get loans
LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif presided over an important meeting regarding 'Apni Chhat Apna Ghar' programme in which progress being made with regard to ongoing programme was reviewed. So far, the dream of more than 51,000 families has become a reality through this programme. The Chief Minister directed to further accelerate the pace of ongoing development work regarding 'Apni Chhat Apna Ghar' programme. A detailed briefing was given on the current status of the project. It was informed in the briefing that loans have been provided to 51,911 poor families from the platform of 'Apni Chhat Apna Ghar' programme. A substantial amount worth Rs65 billion has been distributed under the 'Apni Chhat Apna Ghar' programme. So far, 45,178 houses are under construction while 6,160 houses have been completed. The CM outlined, 'Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of every decision is focused on the development, protection and convenience of the people.' She highlighted, 'It is the vision of Quaid PML-N Nawaz Sharif and my pledge as well to provide shelter to the poor and homeless people of Punjab.' She vowed, 'The day a poor gets a house, the state becomes successful in its noble mission. The era of doing traditional politics has been done away with and the time of rendering public service has started during the tenure of PML-N government.' She emphasized, 'Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar is not just a project of constructing bricks and walls, but the beginning of a new life for the impecunious strata of society. It has happened for the first time in the history of Pakistan to provide shelter to the poverty-stricken people across Punjab.' She added, 'Practical steps are being taken to provide shelter to the poor and homeless families on such a massive scale. I am striving day and night to ensure that no citizen of Punjab remains shelterless.' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
12-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
202 female computer teachers under FDE jobless
ISLAMABAD: Around 202 female computer teachers working in girls' schools and colleges under Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) have been rendered jobless after the completion of a project, it was learnt on Saturday. The computer learning project was started during the last PML-N tenure of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif. According to the official notification available with Business Recorder, the Universal Service Fund's computer labs project, which aimed to provide Information Technology (IT) education to girls, officially ended on June 30, 2025, terminating the teachers' contracts. The affected teachers have appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for extending job contract or employment on a regular basis. They recounted their successful contributions to the project and seek urgent intervention to resolve the matter on humanitarian grounds. The 202 teachers were hired to enhance digital literacy in Islamabad's schools and colleges. The notification states that decision has been conveyed to the concerned teachers with appreciations and best wishes for their priceless contribution to successfully complete project titled 'Sustainability of Computer Labs' established by the Universal Service Fund. 'As the said project has now been successfully completed on 30.06.2025, the requirement for teaching services under this initiative has ceased. Accordingly, the services of the teachers engaged under this project will no longer be required with effect from 01.07.2025,' notification further stated. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
A blowback of narrative engineering
Listen to article The recent move by National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency to seek a court order against 27 YouTube channels marks yet another chapter in the state's long and complicated history with controlled narratives, political engineering and use of media as a weapon. Most of the YouTubers targeted in this latest crackdown are being accused of promoting an "anti-state" narrative. But to understand how we got here, one must revisit the not-so-distant past, where the voices that are now being criminalised were the chorus, singing praises of the state's chosen political order. Before the fall of Imran Khan's government, many of these journalists aka Youtubers were the darlings of the power elite. One of the now-banned YouTubers, who has since fled abroad, proudly broke the news of Nawaz Sharif's disqualification on his channel. His tone was celebratory, his posture triumphant. That moment symbolised the height of their influence These individuals were not just reporting the news — they were creating it, packaging it to build two carefully crafted perceptions. First, that Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N were inherently corrupt. Second, that Imran Khan was the only saviour who could rescue Pakistan from this swamp of corruption. Even the PPP was not spared. Despite Asif Ali Zardari being one of the most compliant presidents in Pakistan's history — tolerating the removal of his Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, and quietly recalling Ambassador Hussain Haqqani during the Memogate scandal — he was forever branded as "Mr 10 Percent." The 2014 sit-in at D-Chowk, jointly orchestrated by PTI and Tahir-ul-Qadri's PAT, was celebrated, not critiqued, by the same YouTubers now under scrutiny. Their content was a mix of sensationalism and state-sanctioned propaganda, camouflaged as patriotism. But what the state failed to grasp — or perhaps chose to ignore — is that narratives, once unleashed, are not easily controlled. The same platforms that were cultivated to malign one set of political actors eventually turned their gaze elsewhere. When the hybrid model began to crack — when the promised "Naya Pakistan" failed to deliver, when Imran Khan's governance proved hollow, compromised and confused — these same YouTubers pivoted. Some began questioning the very institutions they had once idolised. Others, aligned with Imran Khan's political ideology, refused to toe any new line that emerged after the regime change. With Khan now in the opposition, the institutional support that once helped shape his image into that of a messiah vanished. But the media warriors did not stop. They turned their criticism toward the invisible hands that had orchestrated not just his rise but also his fall. The state, which once weaponised these voices to sow division and discredit democratic parties, now finds itself at the receiving end of the same vitriol. The poison allowed to ferment in the political ecosystem has not dissipated — it has simply changed direction. And now, rather than being used to destabilise political opponents, it is being wielded against the very architects of that destabilisation. Many of the banned YouTubers now live in exile. Others have been jailed or are facing intimidation. Some have lost jobs and rely solely on their YouTube earnings to support their families. This isn't just a story of censorship; it's a case study in narrative collapse. When journalists are nurtured as political tools, when they are paid to promote disinformation and ideological conformity, it does not end with a controlled message. It ends with chaos. Intelligence agencies must realise that domestic political manipulation is a dangerous game. Their role is to protect the state, not to distort the democratic process or create media mouthpieces. If they wish to project a positive image of Pakistan, there are countless international platforms through which to build the country's narrative. But when they entangle themselves in local political rivalries — by nurturing one party and discrediting another — they not only delegitimise democracy, they erode institutional credibility. Pakistan is not suffering from a crisis of political leadership alone, but from a systemic refusal to let institutions function independently. Whether it's manipulating elections, engineering alliances or scripting media narratives, the long-term cost has always outweighed the short-term gain. The fallout is not just political instability but also widespread public distrust, deepening polarisation, and a media industry that lurches from sycophancy to rebellion. The crackdown on YouTubers is not a solution; it is a symptom. A symptom of a state struggling to rein in the chaos it once helped unleash. If the state truly wants stability, it must start by ending the practice of nurturing journalists as touts and stop interfering in the political process. Let the media hold power accountable — whichever party is in power. Let institutions operate within their constitutional limits. And let the people, not power brokers, decide who governs them. Until then, every narrative engineered in the shadows will eventually break free — and when it does, it will haunt its creators far more than its targets.
