LAHORE, OCT 29: PTI chief Imran Khan has dubbed the recent joint press conference by the chiefs of the country’s premier spy agency and military’s media affairs wing “foolish”, claiming that only “lies and half-truths” were told in it.

He made these remarks an interview with BBC Urdu on Friday night after the start of his protest march in Lahore.

When asked if he had made the army chief the offer to extend his tenure indefinitely, Imran said he was quoted out of context.

The former prime minister, who is currently leading his party’s anti-government long march towards Islamabad, has been increasingly critical of the army since his ouster as the country’s chief executive through a no-confidence vote in April.

On Thursday, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum joined Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar spoke to the media and addressed Imran’s confrontational narrative against the military, among other issues.

During the explosive press conference, Lt Gen Anjum claimed that Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa was given a “lucrative offer” in March for an extension in his tenure, but it was rejected.

While the ISI chief did not elaborate any further on this subject, it is being perceived that the said offer was made by then-prime minister Imran to seek the army chief’s intervention and survive the opposition’s no-confidence vote.

When BBC Urdu asked Imran about it, he said: “Things have been taken out of context that we made an offer for an extension. Did they tell which side made the offer? In what context the discussion took place? If they tell the whole story, it would be very embarrassing for them.”

The former prime minister went on to describe the press conference as “very sad” as the ISI chief had never before held a press conference in such a manner. “I can respond to it point by point, which could be very embarrassing for the army.”

He continued, “But we don’t want any harm to our institution of the army as our enemies want the army to weaken and in turn, Pakistan weakens.”

Imran was also asked about the DG ISI highlighting contradictions in his statements about the army chief.

Without naming anyone, LT Gen Anjum had said: “If you see him as a traitor, then why do you meet him through the back door? […] Don’t do this where you meet quietly at night through the back door and express your unconstitutional wishes but call [the army chief] a traitor in broad daylight.”

In reply, the PTI chief said, “We will praise when they will do good.

“It is childish to [think] that if we praise you, you will always be good. You also appreciate your children but also criticise them when they do something bad. It was actually a very foolish press conference.”

The ISI chief’s press conference was the first instance in Pakistan’s history of the head of the country’s spy agency directly addressing the media. During it, the ISPR chief had also announced that the military establishment had decided that it would restrict itself to its constitutional role.

But Imran has raised questions on the press, saying that if institutions were apolitical what was the purpose of holding a “political presser”.

In the interview with BBC Urdu, Imran also clarified that he “does not want to come to power because of the establishment’s approval”.

Answering a question about his ties with the establishment, he insisted that his party’s win in 2018 elections was not engineered by the military.

The PTI chief said that the purpose of his protest march was free and fair elections and that was why his party wanted to introduce electronic voting machines. But the “two big parties and the [chief] election commissioner, who takes orders from elsewhere, did not let it happen,” he regretted. “As a result, our election will always be controversial and chances of interference will remain.”

He elaborated that while the long march was aimed at free and fair elections, the broader purpose of the PTI’s struggle for “Haqiqi Azadi” (true freedom) was that “Pakistan’s decisions be taken inside Pakistan.

“That nobody dictates us from outside … I want an independent foreign policy.”

Moreover, the PTI chief continued, “I want the supremacy of law”.

“Here, there is the law of jungle,” he lamented, decrying people being picked up, them being subjected to torture, restrictions on the media and the treatment of journalists in the country.

Imran also called on Gen Bajwa to take action against the alleged custodial torture of PTI Senator Azam Swati.

“If he wants to protect the image of the institution of the army, Gen Bajwa should take action,” the PTI chief urged.

Regarding his long march, he said, “The way people will gather in Islamabad will be unprecedented in Pakistan’s history. This is my prediction. I am aware of people’s pulse.”

Long march day 2: Marriyum rules out negotiations with Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD, OCT 29 /DNA/ – Fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists, in general area Darazinda, District Dera Ismail Khan.

Own troops effectively engaged the terrorist’s location. During intense exchange of fire, Naik Sajid Hussain (age 33 years, resident of Khushab) & Sepoy Muhammad Israr (age 26 years, resident of Attock) having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat.

Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area.

LAHORE, OCT 29: ‘We are humans, not sheep’: Imran kickstarts day 2 of long march with fiery speech. Long march remains peaceful so far; minister warns against entering Red Zone; convoy expected to reach capital by Nov 4.

On day two of his party’s long march, PTI chair Imran Khan while addressing his supporters said that he is there to tell them what freedom is.

“Free men rule the world,” he told his supporters at Lahore’s Shahdara.

The PTI leader reiterated the alleged torture inflicted upon party leaders Shahbaz Gill and Azam Swati. “First they tortured Shahbaz Gill and then the 75-year-old senator,” he said.

“I want to convey a message that we are humans and not sheep,” said Khan.

Islamabad, OCT 29 /DNA/ – How do Pakistanis feel towards each other, towards people who are like them, and towards people who are unlike them? Do Pakistanis trust their various institutions? What are their values, beliefs and attitudes? Are they able to achieve their ambitions? Do they feel safe on the streets? What are their views about the governance and political system in the country? What are community life and informal sociability like in Pakistan? What is the state of volunteerism and civic involvement? And most importantly, what do Pakistanis consider as their identity? The PIDE-BASICS survey covers these twelve areas to understand the basics of Pakistanis.

According to the Press Release issued from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), in the supervision of PIDE’s Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Durre Nayab, PIDE-BASICS nationwide survey was carried out. The research results shows, In spite of the fact, seemingly straightforward questions elicit very complex responses. Usually, we perceive the identity in singularity i.e. we are Pakistanis. We are Muslims. However, the study uncovers that in context of Pakistan Identity is a multi-layered phenomenon with the majority not perceiving it in singularity. Identities are linked to: i.e. religion; ii. Nationality; iii. ethnic background; iv. caste, for instance, Rajput, Kakar, Achakzai or Gujjar; v. being a human; vi. biological, that is the sex of the person; vii. relationship, with reference to someone like being a mother, father, son or daughter; and viii. One’s profession.

Additionally, at national level 61.5% reveled multi-layer identity. And, its prominent among the inhabitants of ICT (Islamabad Capital Territory) followed by GB (Gilgit Baltistan). On the other hand, single identity (religion) was dominant among the people of Punjab. Up to par, both at national and regional level religious identity is most prevailing. Subsequently, being a Pakistani as single identity is not strong one at any level (national, regional and provincial). Thus, the finding compels me to cerebrate, why some regions are deemed as patriotic and some are blamed for the lack of loyalty? It’s a wonder, among the four provinces, the largest proportion is in Balochistan which considers being a Pakistani as part of their identity, followed by Sindh and KP.

Furthermore, the population of Punjab has the smallest proportion including nationality as a layer of their identity. Anyway, being a human is an identity kept by some, but many more give importance to caste as their single identity. It is a rather thought-provoking finding that more than ethnicity it is caste, a narrower ascribed characteristic, which is contemplated as indispensable by Pakistanis.

The study revealed that a lot of confusion exists about the language of the people of Pakistan as most surveys ask this question in a very imprecise way, and then use it as a proxy for ethnicity in the country. This is totally misleading. To have a better understanding of the issue, PIDE-BASICS Survey asks three questions in this regard: the mother tongue of the father, the mother tongue of the mother and the language commonly used for informal day-to-day communication. We examine in the study that Urdu is used much more often by people in ICT, AJK and Punjab than what the mother tongues would suggest. Among the four major provincial languages, Punjabi is most frequently switched to Urdu.

To sum up, in the context of Pakistan Identity is a multi-layered phenomenon with the majority not perceiving it in singularity. The finding rejects our assumptions of Pakistanis identity either Pakistani (National) or being Muslim (religious). And, rejects the perceptions we have developed regarding different regions of the state (for instance Balochistan is blamed for being non-patriotic). Moreover, the dynamics vary with regions and many other demographic characteristics. All in all, majority of the population are neither calling themselves Pakistanis, nor Muslims.

WASHINGTON: The U.S. has announced an additional $30 million in aid for the victims of recent floods that displaced hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

The aid was announced by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome during his visit to flood-hit areas in southern Sindh province, the hardest-hit region, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday.

Washington’s total assistance to Pakistan for flood response, food security, disaster preparedness, and capacity-building efforts now stands at $97 million.

The new funding will expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling the United States Agency for International Development to reach more than 4 million people, said a U.S. Embassy statement.

“The United States is deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life and livelihoods throughout Pakistan. We stand with the people of Pakistan during this difficult time,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Washington for the latest “humanitarian assistance,” noting that the challenges of food, health, and shelter remain as winter approaches.

In a tweet, he urged the international community to “promptly” contribute to a UN aid appeal for $816 million to help mitigate the devastation caused by massive floods.

Ravaging floods, following torrential downpours inundated a third of Pakistan, aside from killing over 1,700 people since mid-June.

They have also caused over $30 billion in losses to the country’s already struggling economy, mainly in housing, infrastructure, and agriculture.