Politics

Imran defends his remarks on female journalist’s harassment

Published

1 year ago

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Statement about female journalist not taken out of context, says Khan.
Men are to be blamed if they do anything, he says.
We have brilliant women journalists doing great job, says Khan.

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that his statement regarding journalist Gharidah Farooqi was not taken out of context and that in a society like Pakistan’s, “if you put yourself in that position, you are going to be vulnerable”.

The former premier was talking in an interview with The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner published on Sunday, February 5, titled ‘Imran Khan’s Double Game’.

During the Zoom interview, which covered wide issues from Afghan Taliban and Pakistan’s support of the PTI and its relations with the establishment to Imran Khan’s views on women’s education, the former premier was also asked about his comment regarding Gharidah Farooqi.

While in a response to the question — “Was it taken out of context that you said, about the journalist Gharida Farooqi, who was harassed at a PTI event: what does she expect if she, a journalist, forces her way or goes into male spaces?” — Imran responded with: “No. No. No. It wasn’t out of context”.

The PTI Chairman explained that “it was just in one particular rally where they were all men, and she was right in the middle of this male crowd… anyone who knows Pakistani society, or most sorts of societies like India or Pakistan — if you put yourself in that position, you are going to be vulnerable. It’s just common sense”.

Agreeing that men were to be blamed “if they do anything” he stated: “But also it works two ways… in our society, normally, people would avoid putting themselves in that position. It’s as simple as that”.

Answering the question regarding how this could be applied to a woman who’s a journalist trying to cover a story, Khan said: “We have brilliant women journalists in this country. They are doing a great job. But they don’t have to put themselves in positions…”

While he expressed a universality about basic political rights, in social spaces women are treated, whether girls are educated, etc, he did not remain as universal. The PTI chairman chose to respond with an explainer on arranged marriage and the boundaries of Western journalism: “Sometimes the problem with Western journalism is that they go into our countries and expect that it should be exactly what it is like in your country.”

“It’s not like that. Let me just make you understand something. In Pakistan, by far the bulk of marriages are arranged. And arranged marriages are between families. So it’s not a question in this country of going to a nightclub or discos or whatever and girl meets boy. The families put the marriages together. And also the reputation of families matters here. So, when the families are looking to propose, they always look at the reputation of the family and the girl or the boy”, he added.

Regarding his previous statements on how if a woman wears very few clothes, it will ‘have an impact on the man unless they’re robots’, Imran Khan told the interviewer: “How can anyone blame women for rape? …The rapist is always to be blamed… In the case of a woman getting raped, she’s marked for life. But even worse is when children get abused; that stays with them for the rest of their life.”

“The ideas that came forward were, one, that we must bring down the level of temptation in our society because you have a lot of frustrated people”, he remarked.

The former prime minister said, on being asked further on how to bring down the temptation: Temptation is social media. On our mobile phones children now have access to information. But, at the same time, the level of pornographic stuff on a mobile phone, which is available to children of seven and eight years old — never in human history have children been exposed to that.”

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CM Maryam Nawaz responds to the death of a PML-N employee in Narowal

Published

21 hours ago

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The chief minister of Punjab promised in a statement that hooliganism would not be tolerated and that people who use politics to incite violence and make personal assaults are the country’s adversaries.

In contrast to bigotry and violence, CM Maryam Nawaz said that politics was supposed to serve the people and bring about reforms.

It is important to note that earlier today, during the by-election, a PML-N worker was struck in the head during a fight with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The worker subsequently died.

Raids were underway to apprehend the other suspects in the man’s death in Narowal, according to police, who also reported that at least three people had been apprehended.

Read more: Voting in the 2024 by-election starts in the midst of intermittent violence

Twenty-one National and Provincial Assembly seats are up for grabs, with 239 candidates in total. There will be by-elections in the National Assembly’s constituencies in two constituencies each for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.

Twelve seats were allocated to the Punjab Assembly, and two seats each were allocated to the assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

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After taking an oath to lead JI, Hafiz Naeem declares an anti-government movement.

Published

4 days ago

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The JI’s headquarters, Mansoora, hosted an oath-taking ceremony that was attended by workers, party leaders, and former chief of the party Sirajul Haq, Liaqat Baloch, and others from around the nation.

Speaking at the event, Hafiz Naeem—who was elected as the JI’s sixth Ameer—reaffirmed the party’s commitment to advancing its principles and goals and stated that he believed the JI would lead the nation as a whole.

He added that his party would start a broad campaign against the “fake democratic” process and Form 47, which the government “imposed.” He went on, “Workers should get ready for the movement.”

Hafiz Naeem further urged the JI to collaborate with like-minded groups who feel that the public mandate was “stolen” on February 8.

Hafiz Naeem succeeded Maulana Abul Ala Maududi (1941–72), Sirajul Haq (2013–2024), Qazi Hussain Ahmed (1987–2008), Munawer Hassan (2008–2013), and Mian Tufail Muhammad (1972–87) as the sixth individual to occupy the top spot in the party.

Sirajul Haq was replaced as Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan by Hafiz Naeem, who was elected earlier on April 4.

Voting was done by some 45,000 party members nationwide, according to the election commission that the JIP’s Majlis-e-Shura created.

Approximately 6,000 female party members participated in the election process, according to the election commission. There was a registered turnout of 82 percent overall.

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Hamid Raza says Nawaz Sharif used the Faizabad sit-in to criticize institutions.

Published

4 days ago

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The individual asserted that they had proof of the PML-N’s betrayal during the 2017 Faizabad sit-in, citing knowledge of the protest from both General Faiz Hameed (Retd) and former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (Retd).

The PML-N workers in Rawalpindi were instructed to make sure that people participated in the sit-in, while the then-Punjab administration assisted in organizing it, according to Hamid Raza.

The head of the SIC said that while the goals of the Faizabad sit-in were correct, the event was deliberately planned to include individuals who carried signs criticizing government agencies.

During the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) sit-in, he said, workers for the PML-N were also among those who received money.

Remember that the investigation commission cleared former spy chief Faiz Hameed of all charges when it was established to look into the 2017 sit-in at the Faizabad Interchange in Islamabad.

To protest the changes made to the Election Act of 2017, which changed the word “oath” to “declaration,” the TLP staged a sit-in at the Faizabad junction on November 8, 2017.

In a submission to the Supreme Court, former PEMRA chairman Absar Alam said that pressure was applied to the media regulating body during the Faizabad sit-in by former ISI commander Faiz Hameed.

After the Fact-Finding Committee report was rejected by the Supreme Court, the federal government formed an inquiry commission led by retired Inspector General Akhtar Ali Shah.

The probe panel, however, handed the former intelligence head the clean pass in its 149-page report, which was released Thursday.

Faiz Hameed was granted authorization for the arrangement, according to the commission, by the then-DG ISI and Army Chief. Additionally included in the article was the inclusion of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and then-Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the arrangement.