FactFocus

Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan Jalal Sikandar Sultan Raja is receiving hefty rent every month from an influential businessman for two vacant plots in Abdalian Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS), despite there being no construction or business activity at the site, while declaring the income as lease income in his tax returns.  @Ahmad_Noorani reports for FactFocus storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

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An unbelievably huge mansion is being constructed by the Chief Election Commissioner in Phase-8, T-Block of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Lahore. The covered area is more than 9,000 square feet, whereas the open area, including lawns etc, is around 10,000 square feet. The mansion has roads on three of its sides while on the fourth side, there is an alley. It is one of the very few palaces in the DHA which has roads on all its four sides. Read full report storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

Team FactFocus visited the residential area to inspect the plots of Chief Election Commissioner in Abdalian Cooperative Housing Society. There is no construction whatsoever on plot no 7-C and 8-C in Block-C, Phase-I of ACHS. There is a boundary wall without a door, while the plots are closed from all other sides. No activity is taking place and wild plants can be seen all around the land area of these plots. In addition to the already unresolved issue of the questionable commercialization of these residential plots, questions were raised as to how the country’s chief election commissioner was taking monthly rent from a businessman for such a long time for this land and there is no activity on the site. Real full report storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

Saeed Mehdi is one of the most influential bureaucrats in Pakistan’s history. A District Management Group (DMG) officer, Mehdi served in very important positions. He served as principal secretary to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his second tenure as prime minister. Saeed Mehdi was widely regarded as being close to Nawaz Sharif and was often viewed as part of his trusted bureaucratic circle. Although currently ignored by the ruling PML-N, his apparent sympathies and association remained with Nawaz Sharif. It is a known fact in Pakistan’s bureaucratic circles, that Saeed Mehdi has always managed postings and transfers of Sikandar Sultan Raja. However, later Siknadar established direct connections with the top PML-N leadership. Read full report by @Ahmad_Noorani storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

FactFocus investigations and onsite visits have established that the said businessman never launched any business operations during the last two years at the site of these two plots owned by the country’s chief election commissioner yet continue to pay a hefty rent for commercial activities. “These two plots were residential and were illegally commercialized by the previous management of the society more than two years ago. We reversed the decision of commercialization in March this year,” is the viewpoint of members of the current management committee of the Abdalian Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS) Lahore. Right after this, the Punjab government came to the rescue of the chief election commissioner, and the Cooperatives Department pressured the current management of ACHS to withdraw its orders and revert Sikandar’s plots to commercial status once again. Full report by @Ahmad_Noorani storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

From Grass to Goldmine: How Pakistan’s Chief Election Commissioner Turned Barren Residential Plots into Commercial Goldmines My latest for FactFocus @FactFocusFF storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

From Grass to Goldmine: How Pakistan’s Chief Election Commissioner Turned Barren Residential Plots into Commercial Goldmines @Ahmad_Noorani reports for @FactFocusFF storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

From Grass to Goldmine: How Pakistan’s Chief Election Commissioner Turned Barren Residential Plots into Commercial Goldmines @Ahmad_Noorani reports for FactFocus storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…

Press freedom is under threat worldwide. Hear from the journalists risking their lives to bring you their stories. Don't miss our special #WorldPressFreedomDay coverage➡️ buff.ly/MKd4BkL @UN_News_Centre

On #WorldPressFreedomDay, CPJ’s call to protect the press is more urgent than ever. More journalists and media workers were killed in 2025 than in any other year since CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago. At least 130 journalists and media workers were killed, two-thirds of them by Israel. Read CPJ’s #2025KilledReport: ow.ly/v8xo50YSQtt

To mark #WorldPressFreedomDay, CPJ is spotlighting journalists around the world who have been imprisoned for their work. Publisher and CPJ awardee Jimmy Lai is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Hong Kong on anti-state charges. We call for his immediate release. Learn more: cpj.org/data/people/ji… #FreeJimmyLai #PressFreedom #JournalismIsNotACrime

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تحقیقاتی رپورٹس شائع کرنے والی ویب سائٹ 'فیکٹ فوکس' کی ایک حالیہ رپورٹ میں یہ بات سامنے آئی ہے کہ پاکستان میں 400 سے زائد نوجوان لڑکوں اور لڑکیوں کے خلاف توہینِ رسالت اور توہین مذہب کے قوانین کے تحت مقدمات چلائے جا رہے ہیں۔ تحقیقاتی صحافی احمد نورانی کی اپنی رپورٹ سے متعلق گفتگو۔

#Pakistan: CPJ has joined @RSF_inter and Free Press Unlimited in calling on Pakistan’s Prime Minister @CMShehbaz to end the intensifying harassment, arbitrary arrests, and deportations of Afghan journalists living in exile in Pakistan. #Afghanistan #PressFreedom cpj.org/2026/03/cpj-pa…

PAKISTAN: It’s been nearly one year. Five Baloch activists, Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Zehri, Beebow Baloch, Shah Jee Sibghat Ullah and Gulzadi Baloch, remain in unlawful pretrial detention on trumped up charges simply for their peaceful activism. Inside Hudda Jail, Quetta, the activists are facing a secret trial in prison. They are also being denied adequate healthcare, with Mahrang’s health deteriorating significantly in detention. Amnesty International calls on the Balochistan authorities to immediately release all Baloch activists and drop all charges against them. 👉 Join our call for urgent action. 📝 amn.st/BalochActivist #ReleaseMahrangBaloch #ReleaseBalochActivists

On 9th March 2025, FactFocus reported that Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka, Additional Sessions Judge (East) Islamabad, appointed as the special judge for PECA cases was guilty of misconduct and had demonstrated bias in blasphemy related cases, where the only punishment is the death penalty. He was caught red-handed tampering with court records to expedite trials of individuals accused of blasphemy. On January 24, 2026, the same judge Afzal Majoka sentenced human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to prison, with reports citing a combined 17-year sentence on accusations of "anti-state" social media posts. @ImaanZHazir @AdvHadiali Read detailed report by @Ahmad_Noorani storage.googleapis.com/qurium/factfoc…