Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Maryam Nawaz elected as CM Punjab

    Maryam Nawaz elected as CM Punjab

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz has been elected as Punjab’s Chief Minister (CM) on Monday afternoon after Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) boycotted the electoral process in the assembly.

    Maryam, who has become the first-ever female chief minister in Pakistan’s history, won the elections after receiving the backing of 220 MPAs in the provincial assembly.

    Her opponent, Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) candidate Rana Aftab Ahmad, didn’t get any votes because his party boycotted the electoral process for CM.

    “The votes have been counted according to which Maryam has obtained 220 votes and SIC candidate Rana Aftab Aftab secured zero votes,” said Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan while presiding over the session.

  • Ali Amin Gandapur to contest independently for CM KP position

    Ali Amin Gandapur to contest independently for CM KP position

    Ali Amin Gandapur, a prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and perhaps the next Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has opted out of joining the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

    Instead, he has chosen to contest independently for the top provincial post, backed by PTI members aligned with the SIC, as reported by The News on Monday.

    Following general elections, independent winners supported by PTI from KP have affiliated themselves with the SIC to secure designated seats for women and religious minority representatives.

    However, Gandapur, who secured victory from Dera Ismail Khan, will pursue the PTI’s provincial presidency and is actively involved in the party’s intra-party elections scheduled for March 3, having submitted his nomination papers accordingly.

    In parallel, Ali Asghar, another PTI member, has submitted his papers for the position of provincial general secretary, while Aqibullah Khan, nominated by PTI and the brother of senior leader Asad Qaiser, will compete for a KP Assembly office position under the SIC banner.

    The announcement of KP cabinet members is pending final approval from PTI’s founding chairman, Imran Khan, following extensive consultations. Additionally, the PTI is deliberating over several candidates for the deputy speaker position, with the chosen individual’s identity expected to be disclosed imminently.

    On the opposition front, parties have resolved not to concede ground to PTI and have declared intentions to nominate candidates for chief minister, speaker, and deputy speaker roles. The opposition plans to finalize consensus candidates following an imminent meeting.

    Abdul Jalil Jan, the spokesperson for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), confirmed that neither Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nor Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have initiated talks with their party regarding the election of KP Assembly officials.

    With the inaugural session of the KP Assembly scheduled for February 28, the assembly will witness the swearing-in of newly elected members, followed by the election of the speaker, deputy speaker, and chief minister.

    Meanwhile, Ali Amin Gandapur expressed his commitment to democratic principles and serving the people during interactions with elected members, party workers, and various stakeholders.

    He expressed these views during meetings with the members-elect of the national and provincial assemblies, party workers and people from different walks of life, including scholars and lawyers, at the Speaker’s House.

    Gandapur spoke about improving the province’s law and order situation as well as adding health cards, langar khana, shelter homes and police reforms would be restored. He said that the people would be provided with a uniform education system, while the lack of resources would not be a hurdle in the completion of this great mission.

  • Maryam Nawaz set to become Punjab’s First female CM today

    Maryam Nawaz set to become Punjab’s First female CM today

    The Punjab Assembly will likely elect new a chief minister of the province today (Monday). Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz is expected become CM Punjab as her party has the majority in provincial assembly after February 8 elections.
    Maryam Nawaz will be the first female chief minister of the province in history.
    The session has been summoned to meet at 11am and will be presided by newly-elected Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan.
    The PML-N has support of 224 MPAs in the provincial assembly.

    The candidate fielded by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Aftab Ahmad Khan, who is a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has the support of 103 MPAs. Maryam will face him as her opponent.
    Aftab has served as a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA thrice in the Punjab Assembly in 1988, 1993 and 2002. He joined PTI in 2013 and is now serving his fourth term.

  • FIA grills Asad Toor for hours in probe into anti-judiciary campaign

    FIA grills Asad Toor for hours in probe into anti-judiciary campaign

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) interrogated vlogger Asad Ali Toor for hours about a social media campaign that criticized the superior judiciary. This happened after the Supreme Court (SC) made a decision regarding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ‘bat’ symbol, as reported by The News on Saturday.
    A five-member joint investigation team (JIT) of the FIA has been conducting an inquiry to ascertain the facts behind an ongoing “malicious” campaign against the honourable judges of the apex court.

    JIT sources said on Friday that two bloggers, Asad Ali Toor and Imran Riaz, were found to be trolling judges of the top court, particularly Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.


    “Asad Toor was rounded up for investigation on Friday and his statement was recorded about his motives behind the malicious campaign against the judges,” the sources said, adding that the journalist remained with the JIT at the FIA (Cybercrime Wing), along with his counsel and human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir.


    Imaan Mazari posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying that Toor and his legal team left the FIA Friday evening after his detention the same morning at 10:50am.

  • Know all about the lunch menu for members of Sindh Assembly

    Know all about the lunch menu for members of Sindh Assembly

    Newly elected members of the Sindh Assembly took oath today (Saturday) with a lavish lunch, reports Geo.


    The dishes include fish, chicken boti, BBQ, puri paratha, chicken korma, roghani naan, tea, and cold drinks.


    Apart from this, Kehwa was served to the members after the meal.

    @timesofkarachi Various dishes have been prepared for the food and drink of the newly elected members of the Sindh Assembly. Fish, chicken korma for lunch. Mutton Kadhi. Naan and cold drinks are included in the menu. Coffee, tea, coffee will also be served after the meal. #TOKAlert #SindhAssembly #Karachi ♬ original sound – Times of Karachi


    However, the session started with a delay of 40 minutes under the chairmanship of Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by Naat and an oath-taking ceremony.


    Agha Siraj Durrani administered oath to the newly elected members of the Sindh Assembly. Among those who took the oath were the nominated Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Faryal Talpur, Sharjeel Memon, Nasir Hussain Shah, and others. Members of the Sindh Assembly took oath in Urdu, English, and Sindhi.


    Out of 168 members of the Sindh Assembly, 114 belong to the Pakistan Peoples Party while 36 members belong to MQM-Pakistan.

  • Imran Khan confirms writing letter to IMF

    Imran Khan confirms writing letter to IMF

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has said on Friday that he has written a letter to International Monetary Fund (IMF), asking to look at the matter of poll rigging in Pakistan.

    “The letter to the IMF has been written and will be dispatched today. If the country gets a loan in such a situation, then who will return it,” Khan asked the media during a hearing of the £190 million reference at Adiala Jail.

    The former prime minister warned that taking the loan would cause more poverty, adding that unless the country invests in itself, its loans will continue to rise. 

    Khan’s update about the letter comes a day after PTI senator Ali Zafar announced that the party founder had decided to write a letter to the global lender, urging it to call for an audit of the February 8 election before it continues talks with Islamabad for a new loan programme.

    IMF has previously never commented on rigging allegations, nor is probing rigging part of its mandate. The Fund has reportedly said on Friday that it looks forward to working with the new government.

  • Barrister Gohar Khan “removed” as PTI chairman over unsatisfactory performance

    Barrister Gohar Khan “removed” as PTI chairman over unsatisfactory performance

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat said on Friday that Barrister Gohar is not the chairman of PTI anymore as his performance was not satisfactory.

    Marwat announced the party’s decision a day after Barrister Gohar announced that the next party chairman will be Barrister Ali Zafar. However, PTI’s intraparty elections are scheduled to take place on March 3.

    The former ruling party’s top post had been lying vacant for more than a month after not only the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), but the Supreme Court also declared its intra-party elections unlawful and stripped the party of its iconic bat symbol. 

    Talking to Geo News, Marwat said: “Incompetence and poor performance are the reasons behind Gohar’s removal as chairman. Barrister Gohar is a gentleman, but his performance was not satisfactory.”

    The PTI leader also said that Barrister Gohar failed to meet the expectations of party workers.

  • ‘Made false allegations for the money, offer from PTI leader’, Rawalpindi commissioner says he lied about election rigging

    ‘Made false allegations for the money, offer from PTI leader’, Rawalpindi commissioner says he lied about election rigging

    Liaqat Ali Chatha, the ex-Rawalpindi commissioner, who made explosive allegations about the alleged manipulation of the February 8 polls in favour of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates but later withdrew them, has now claimed that PTI’s top leadership planned the entire rigging propaganda.

    He said in his official statement on Thursday that “After the incident of May 9, 2023, as with other leadership of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI), the said prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) also absconded from courts, was declared as a Proclaim Offender (PO) and has been hiding. Throughout this time, I had direct contact with him, and I kept on discreetly helping him on various issues. Consequently, my relationship with the prominent Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) leader evolved into a very close friendship based on a high level of trust.”

    Further adding that he also stated, “After the General Elections (“GEs”) of 2024, on 11February 2024 I secretly and discreetly travelled to Lahore and held a meeting with him. It was in this meeting, that he made an offer to me that if I played a role in supporting the Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf’s (PTI) ongoing narrative of rigging in general elections (“GEs”) and maligning state institutions, he would ensure a lucrative position for me in future. He informed me that this entire plan had been formulated after consultation and approval of the senior leadership of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI).”

    He goes on to elaborate that the two had a detailed discussion on the proposed press conference. “He conveyed to me the general direction which was needed to be adopted. Initially it was proposed by me that I would write the entire narrative and submit the same as part of my resignation. However, this proposal was dropped by the said prominent Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) leader as such written resignation would not create any sensations for their narrative building. After detailed discussions, it was agreed that a press conference would be conducted by me at a time and date to be conveyed after consultation and approval of the senior leadership of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI).

    He further mentioned that “The primary aim of this proposed press conference was to create sensations and drama augmenting false narratives being built by the Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI).”

    “The name of the Chief Justice of Pakistan was taken with the aim of creating mistrust in general public against him. The Chief Justice of Pakistan did not have any role in the entire election process. However, I was specifically asked by said prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) to name the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). He told me that he had been specifically asked by his top leadership to do so. The aims behind naming the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) were manifold. I was told that it would help in creating the momentum of this entire narrative as Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) had already been sowing seeds of doubts and distrust in the public minds against the Chief Justice of Pakistan  (CJP),” the ex-Rawalpindi commissioner added.

  • Imran Riaz is missing again: Three possible reasons why we don’t know where he is right now

    Imran Riaz is missing again: Three possible reasons why we don’t know where he is right now

    Youtuber Imran Riaz Khan is under arrest once again and Pakistanis have a lot to say

    The reason for YouTuber Imran Riaz Khan’s arrest is currently disputed. The journalist was arrested Thursday night.

    Here are three possibilities behind his arrest:

    1. Earlier, Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing had summoned Khan and journalist Asad Toor, for allegedly being a part of an anti-judiciary campaign on social media platforms, calling them to appear on February 23.

    2. According to court reporter A. Waheed Murad, Imran Riaz has been summoned by Lahore court to present his defence for taking the Darabi Lake contract along with his father in Lahore court.

    3. While his detention is being condemned, he is being criticised for recently resharing an inflammatory post on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s decision to grant bail to a member of Ahmadiyya community which sparked severe backlash.

    Khan is being criticised for further inciting hate and violence by resharing a hateful post.

    Even though the original post was deleted, his apparent endorsement remains condemnable.

  • Imran Khan to write letter to IMF asking not to give loan to Pakistan over poll rigging

    Imran Khan to write letter to IMF asking not to give loan to Pakistan over poll rigging

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Ali Zafar said on Thursday that PTI founder Imran Khan will write a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bring attention to alleged rigging in the general elections held on February 8.

    “IMF, European Union, and other organisations have their charter that says these organisations will work in a country where there is good governance. For good governance, a country needs to have democracy that requires free and fair elections,” Ali Zafar said while speaking to media outside Adiala Jail.

    The PTI leader and lawyer also alleged that the people’s mandate was stolen, and those who were losing on February 8 were declared winners the next morning.

    “Democracy cannot be run with this fake mandate,” he said, adding that “no organization can give loans to a country where elections are rigged.”

    The prominent lawyer also said that, through a letter, the PTI founder will request that the IMF to send a monitoring team to look at the matter of poll rigging first and then give loans to Pakistan.

    He also mentioned that “any loan to the government that doesn’t have people’s mandate will not be in favour of Pakistan.”