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Imran defends his remarks on female journalist’s harassment

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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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The bail petition of Parvez Elahi in the Jinnah House attack case has been rejected by the ATC.

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A bail application filed by Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, a leader of the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) party, in the Jinnah House attack case has been rejected by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on the grounds of prematurity.

ATC Judge Arshad Javed announced the decision during today’s hearing.

The counsel representing Parvez Elahi contended that there was a significant likelihood of his client being arrested in relation to the Jinnah House attack case. It was stated that the ex-Chief Minister had previously been held in custody on judicial remand in other cases.

The petitioner requested the court to authorise the release of Parvez Elahi on bail in the Jinnah House attack case.

Nevertheless, the prosecution argued that the bail petition did not meet the necessary legal criteria, emphasising that Parvez Elahi had not been apprehended in connection with the case.

Considering these considerations, the court rejected Parvez Elahi’s request for release, stating that it was premature since he had not been arrested in the Jinnah House attack case.

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Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, the former Prime Minister of AJK, has been apprehended by authorities.

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Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, the ex-prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has been apprehended by the Margalla Police in Islamabad.

Ilyas was apprehended by the authorities following the registration of a case against him at the Margalla Police Station, as stated by the police spokeswoman.

The police officials have accused Ilyas of committing six grave offences, which include assaulting the premises of a private enterprise.

The spokeswoman verified the arrest, stating that Ilyas was apprehended following a comprehensive investigation and subsequent legal actions.

This event follows the filing of a case against Ilyas, accusing him of being involved in the assault on a private company’s office.

The individual has been apprehended by law enforcement and will be subjected to investigation and subsequent legal procedures.

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Abbasi says that Pakistan’s functioning will not be efficient without implementing improvements in the system.

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11 hours ago

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Speaking to the media outside the accountability court in Karachi, he asserted that the country cannot function effectively without implementing significant reforms in the system.

He advocated for transferring authority to competent individuals to address the country’s issues.

He stated that no measures were implemented to address the violation of the constitution. If we want to recall the past, we must return to the year 1947.

“The government lacks a public mandate, and this arrangement has been established using the same method previously employed by the founder of the PTI to establish his government,” stated Shahid Khaqan.

According to him, political parties would traditionally establish themselves prior to elections with the aim of accomplishing specified objectives. “We discuss individuals’ issues, political parties have embraced this approach to secure power,” he stated.

“The court inquired about the offence.” The NAB has also stated that no pecuniary benefit was obtained in the case,” he remarked during the case hearing.

After several years of visiting courts, the NAB has been unable to provide any evidence. The previous Prime Minister said that they even neglect to specify which powers were improperly utilised. The former chairman of the NAB is obligated to provide a response for it.

According to him, the NAB has caused significant damage to the national economy.

Regarding his political party, he stated that the party will be established within the upcoming month and individuals from all regions of Pakistan will unite with it.

In an earlier hearing, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cleared Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail, Chairman Engro Hussain Dawood, Board member Abdul Samad Dawood, and others of any wrongdoing in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) issue.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) retracted the corruption accusation against the ex-prime minister, who has persistently advocated for the elimination of the anti-corruption agency due to allegations of political persecution.

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