Pakistan military rejects report on alleged human rights abuse

Pakistan’s military has rejected a BBC report that documented alleged human rights abuses in the tribal areas of the FATA region, terming the report a “pack of lies”.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the report “implicates the Pakistan Army without any proof”, adding that it is “in violation of journalistic ethos”.

The BBC report, published on June 2 and titled Uncovering Pakistan’s Secret Human Rights Abuses, looks into the country’s long-standing battle with militants as part of the post-9/11 “war on terror”.

A day after the provincial wildlife department confiscated python skin shoes meant for PM Imran Khan, its creator paid a fine of 50,000 Pakistani rupees to get the footwear back.

The department took action against Nooruddin Shinwari, who made the popular “Kaptaan Chappal”, after pictures of the shoes went viral on social media. “I will present it to the PM as an Eid gift,” Shinwari said.

PM Khan has cancelled the appointment of a minister’s sister to the National Counter Terrorism Authority as it was done out of turn. The story doesn’t end there. Shabnam Gul, the sister of climate change minister Zartaj Gul, is being accused of actions she did not commit.

Reports claimed Gul hadn’t completed her PhD and confused her story with another academic Shabnum Gul, who had been disqualified on plagiarism charges at Punjab University. Zartaj’s sister was never a student of Punjab University. She was studying for a PhD in political science at Lahore College for Women University.

Shabnum Gul, of Punjab University, has been busy fighting her own grim battles. In 2008, she was able to get her name cleared of the charge of plagiarism after an inquiry ruled that she had been punished in a one-sided probe.

First Published: Jun 05, 2019 11:30 IST