Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Nawaz Sharif attracts over 30 electables to PML-N camp

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has successfully garnered the support of more than 30 influential electables from Balochistan, Geo News reports.

    The seasoned politician, who recently returned to Pakistan after a four-year self-imposed exile, orchestrated the feat during his visit to Quetta.

    Accompanied by PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz, Nawaz engaged in discussions with leaders from various political factions during his visit to Balochistan.

    Following these deliberations, over 30 individuals from diverse backgrounds, including Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Balochistan National Party–Mengal (BNP-M), National Party (NP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) joined the ranks of PML-N.

    From BAP, former Balochistan chief minister Jam Kamal Khan, Mir Saleem Khosa, Noor Mohammad, Baba Buledi, Sardar Masood Luni, Rubaba Buledi, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, Shoaib Nosherwani, Ramin Jan Muhammad Hassni and Muhammad Khan Lehrijoined the PML-N ranks.


    PPP leaders Saeedul Hassan Mandokhail, Sardar Fateh Muhammad, and Faiq Jamali jumped ship to join the PML-N.
    From the National Party, Mujib Mohammad Hassni and former senator Dr Ashok Kumar, while Zeenat Shahwani of BNP-M and PTI’s Muhammad Jamali and Sardar Atif Sanjrani also joined the PML-N.

    The PML-N delegation, which held discussions with a BAP delegation led by Nawabzada Khalid Magsi, also marked a noteworthy reconciliation between the historically contentious parties. BAP, founded in 2018, has roots in political dissidents from both PML-N and the PML-Q.

    To strengthen its position in the province, PML-N is reportedly exploring electoral alliances, including with the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F).

    Talks suggest that, if successful, the parties may jointly contest the general elections, with a shared decision on the chief minister’s candidacy.

    Sources said that the JUI-F has also put forward the name of Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri conditioning their support if he is made the province’s chief executive.

    The development comes as earlier this month the PML-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) announced their electoral alliance to jointly contest the upcoming general elections in Sindh.

    In response to these developments, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari offered a suggestion to Nawaz Sharif, urging him to “focus on Lahore,” on Tuesday.

    “Mian sahab has been adviced to visit other provinces. I would suggest that he should stay in Lahore and focus on its problems,” said the PPP chairman during a presser in Mithi, calling on PML-N to do politics on its own and stop relying on others.

  • Israeli soldiers going door to door in Shifa Hospital for patient interrogation 

    Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, which was surrounded by Israeli armed forces for the past few days, is now being raided by Israeli soldiers.

    BBC spoke to a journalist inside Al Shifa hospital who has told that Israeli soldiers are checking through all the areas and interrogating people.

    Al Jazeera also reported that the Israeli military has stormed into the hospital’s main buildings “under the cover of heavy gunfire and tank shells”. They are reportedly inside the emergency department, the specialised surgeries department and the maternity ward.

    Israeli soldiers are doing search operations “room by room, corridor by corridor, interrogating doctors and medical staff individually.”

    Israel is basing and justifying their operation on the claims that al-Shifa Hospital is being used by Hamas, however, this has not been proven with any evidence as yet.

    The Israeli army has also set up electronic checkpoints at multiple doors of the main buildings of the hospital and they are calling people inside including medical team, patients, the injured — to “officially” interrogate everyone in the premises.

    Gaza’s health ministry has reported that there are about 2,500 people inside the hospital at the moment. Apart from medical teams and patients, there are 600 wounded people and 36 neonates as well as displaced people seeking shelter.

  • Imran Khan recognized selecting Usman Buzdar as CM Punjab was mistake: Zulfi Bukhari

    Imran Khan recognized selecting Usman Buzdar as CM Punjab was mistake: Zulfi Bukhari

    In a candid discourse at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, a close aide to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, publicly acknowledged that appointing Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister of Punjab was a monumental mistake for the party, as per Geo News.

    Speaking on the theme of “Democracy in Crisis,” organized by the SOAS Pakistan Discussion Forum, Bukhari delved into the intricacies of PTI’s nearly four-year tenure, addressing critical questions from the student audience.

    Bukhari disclosed that Imran Khan himself recognized the misstep in selecting Usman Buzdar for the pivotal role of Punjab Chief Minister.

    “There was Aleem Khan group and other power groups. There would have been a war within the PTI if Buzdar was removed and Imran Khan did the right thing by sticking to him, to avoid the war within,” said Bukhari.

    The former special assistant to the Prime Minister, now residing in London and active in advocating for Imran Khan’s case on international media, expressed his reservations about Buzdar’s performance.

    He asserted that Buzdar’s incapacity to deliver effectively was evident

    He said: “I don’t think he was a good chief minister and was able to perform and deliver. By the time calls against Buzdar grew after two years, it was too late and changing him after a year or two would have made the post a revolving door. Nobody would say Usman Buzdar was a good decision but we supported his decisions.”

    Addressing recent controversies, Bukhari distanced himself and PTI from Farah Gogi, best friend and confidante of former first lady Bushra Bibi. He emphasized that if allegations of Gogi’s corruption were true, she should face strict legal consequences.

    Responding to questions about Imran Khan’s defense of Gogi in the media, Bukhari clarified that Khan was unaware of Gogi’s business dealings and that investigating her was not within his purview.

    The former special assistant to PM also condemned the May 9 attacks on military installations.

    “We have condemned all forms of violence, especially the attack on Jinnah House which has a sacred value. We have always stood against violence. Ordinary people say things in the heat of emotions. It’s the job of the leadership to positively tunnel their emotions towards a democratic process to bring about a real change. We are the biggest stakeholder being the biggest political party and we will get more losses than others in any such scenario,” said Bukhari.

    Imran Khan’s former special assistant claimed that over 13,000 activists were arrested after May 9 and put in dire conditions but the rest have been released and around 7,000 remain in jails.

    Acknowledging PTI’s mistakes during their governance, Bukhari asserted that with a different leadership in place, those errors would not be repeated if given another chance.

    He expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with all political parties, including PML-N and PPP, for the betterment of elections and democracy.

    “We want them to sit with us and talk about elections and democracy,” said the PTI leader.

    He also revealed that things were initially fine between PTI and the army but issues started later on.

    He said: “As far as General Bajwa is concerned, he could have suggested things to the PM and not dictate.”

    Answering a question, Bukhari said that two people closest to Imran Khan during the PTI govt were behind making a false case against him.

    “The Ring Road case against me was framed by two people who were then closest to Imran Khan: one of them (Azam Khan) has now become an approver against Khan and another (Shehzad Akbar) has left Pakistan. The purpose was to campaign against me. I resigned from my position and didn’t return to the government after that.”

  • Deadly attacks, decomposing bodies, lack of services: What we know about day 39

    Deadly attacks, decomposing bodies, lack of services: What we know about day 39

    Deadly weapons used against Gaza

    The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has revealed that Israel has dropped more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives on the Gaza Strip since October 7, equivalent to two nuclear bombs.

    In comparison, the United States dropped the Little Boy nuclear bomb on Hiroshima during World War II, yielding 15,000 tonnes of high explosives and wrecking everything within a 1.6km (1-mile) radius.

    Plan to bury decomposing bodies in Al Shifa compound

    Reuters reported that a doctor Ahmed Al Mokhallalati and Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra have claimed in separate telephone interviews that more than 100 dead bodies are presently unburied and have begun to decompose, “creating an acute sanitary crisis”.

    “We are planning to bury them today in a mass grave inside the Al Shifa medical complex. It is going to be very dangerous as we don’t have any cover or protection from the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), but we have no other options, the corpses of the martyrs began to decompose,” said Qidra. “The men are digging right now as we speak.”

    Qidra claims the number of bodies accumulated at Al Shifa at about 100 whereas Mokhallalati said it was about 120.

    More than half of Gaza hospitals non operational

    According to the World Health Organization, 22 of 36 hospitals in Gaza are out of service “due to lack of fuel, damage, attacks and insecurity”.

    While calling for an immediate ceasefire, the UN’s health agency also warned that the remaining 14 hospitals “have barely enough supplies to sustain critical and life saving surgeries and provide inpatient care, including intensive care”.

    Water supplies on hold due to lack of fuel

    The United Nations reported that infrastructure for the operation of water and waste management in southern Gaza is no longer functioning.

    “Due to lack of fuel, public sewage pumping stations, 60 water wells in the south, the two main desalination plants in Rafah and the Middle Area, the two main sewage pumps in the south, and the Rafah wastewater treatment plant have all ceased operations,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated, citing the organisation’s Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

    “Coupled with the shutdown of municipal sanitation work, this is posing a serious threat to public health, increasing the risk of water contamination and the outbreak of diseases.”

    At least 42 journalists killed since October 7

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has revealed that at least 42 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7 as Israel intensified its attacks, stating that the period was the most deadly for journalists since the CPJ’s data collection began in 1992.

    Credits: Al Jazeera

  • Genocide in Sudan: What is happening?

    Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, has been home to 6,000,000 people. This year, on April 15, a confrontation ensued between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

    The rise in hostilities in April 2023 stemmed from weeks of strain between the RSF and the SAF over “security force reform during negotiations for a new transitional government”. The RSF and SAF had jointly upended Sudan’s transitional government in October 2021.

    In the course of a few short days that very month, more than 4,000 people were wounded and 500 people were killed.

    In addition to the casualties, 40 out of 59 hospitals have been bombed and are now out of service.

    Resultantly, there is an extreme dearth of water, food, and fuel since the fighting has continued to escalate as powerful weapons, airstrikes and artillery have been used. The civilians, on the other hand, are ensnared in the crossfire.

    Since April, Action on Armed Violence has noted 102 incidents of explosive violence in Sudan and 1,830 civilian casualties, making 2023 Sudan’s deadliest year since 2010.

    However, the United Nations humanitarian chief revealed in October that since April, the paramilitary group has killed up to 9,000 people and created “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history”. Similarly, in November, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project recorded over 2,800 political violence incidents and more than 10,400 fatalities.

    Additionally, over 300,000 refugees have reportedly fled Sudan’s war seeking safety and refuge in Chad where already 580,000 displaced people reside.

    The situation in Sudan is now exacerbating with serious concerns for women and children being abducted, chained, and held in “inhuman, degrading slave-like conditions” in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur.

    Brief background

    The Darfur war goes back to its origins of alienation of non-Arab tribes by Khartoum’s policies, paving a path for grievances. The trouble spiralled on February 26, 2003, when a newly-founded group known as the Darfur Liberation Front (DLF) — later called the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) — claimed an attack on Golo, the headquarters of Jebel Marra District.

    Along with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the group then instigated a revolt to protest the Sudanese government’s discrimination against its non-Arab population, and sought bipartisanship within the Arab-ruled Sudanese state.

    The-then President, Omar al-Bashir, countered the situation by backing and arming Arab militias known as Janjaweed to fight the insurgency in Darfur.

    Named the Popular Defence Forces, they operated in alliance with Sudanese government forces to exterminate the African Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa ethnic groups which produced the rebels.

    And even though a ceasefire was called in 2004 and African Union (AU) troops deployed, the UN revealed that the conflict and the leading humanitarian crisis (callous attacks, disease, and hunger) had killed 300,000 people by 2007 and displaced 2.5 million.

    Mediation attempts in Abuja (2006), Tripoli (2007) and Doha (2009) were unsuccessful in resolving the friction between Khartoum and the rebel forces in Darfur.

    The United Nations Security Council had permitted a joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission in July 2007 but after its exit in 2019, the local armed groups took up from where they left.

    Children of Sudan

    Currently, 19,000,000 (19 million) children are out of school in Sudan while 10,400 schools have been shut down.

    They are vulnerable to the present and long term perils such as displacement, sexual violence, war recruitment, and death.

    Moreover, without resources, illnesses such as cholera are also at an all time high.

  • Bilawal Bhutto advises Nawaz Sharif to focus on Lahore

    Bilawal Bhutto advises Nawaz Sharif to focus on Lahore

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has advised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to focus on Lahore, just as the latter makes his way to Balochistan. Bilawal also said that Nawaz Sharif should do something for his party, which is facing problems in Punjab.

    “Mian sahab has been adviced to visit other provinces. I would suggest that he should stay in Lahore and focus on its problems,” said the PPP chairman during a presser in Mithi, calling on  PML-N to do politics on its own and stop relying on others.

    The former foreign minister passed the remarks after PML-N declared its intention to collaboratively participate in the elections with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P).

    Nawaz is visiting Balochistan to meet several political leaders, including from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). There is also a possibility of a seat adjustment agreement with the party.

  • ECP rejects PTI’s claim of appointing retired officers as DROs, ROs in election 2024

    ECP rejects PTI’s claim of appointing retired officers as DROs, ROs in election 2024

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) claims that the electoral body is appointing retired officers as district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) for the upcoming general elections on February 8 next year.

    On Monday, ECP’s Media Coordination and Outreach Wing said in a statement that the electoral watchdog didn’t take any such decision.

    “All media reports regarding the appointment of District Returning Officers/ Returning Officers are baseless and contrary to the facts. The media ran misleading news about the appointment of retired officers as District Returning Officers/Returning Officers. The commission is yet to take any such decision,” the ECP spokesperson said.

    He also stated that ECP has written a letter to provincial chief election commissioners and asked for the list of DROs and ROs to finalise the names. He also mentioned that the matter is in process and ECP will appoint the best candidates to make the general elections free, fair, and transparent.

    “It is being looked at from different angles so that the general elections are fair and transparent. The Election Commission is well aware of all its constitutional responsibilities,” the Election Commission said.

    On the other hand, PTI leader Omar Ayub tweeted on X (previously Twitter) that ECP is appointing retired officers as DROs and ROs to make the upcoming polls controversial. PTI’s Core Committee warned that the people will resist if their election mandate was stolen.

  • Nawaz on ‘Quetta’ mission; Tension in PMLN over toughest election – What is happening?

    Nawaz on ‘Quetta’ mission; Tension in PMLN over toughest election – What is happening?

    In the run-up to the February 8 general elections in Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif is embarking on a two-day visit to Balochistan, following the party’s strategy to form alliances in all provinces.

    The move aligns with the recent invitation extended by senior MQM-P leaders to the party to forge an alliance against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh.

    Sources reveal that during a visit to Lahore, Balochistan leaders urged Nawaz Sharif to visit Quetta and align with them for the upcoming polls, as per Dawn.

    “Since some of the BAP leaders earlier remained with the PML-N and incumbent Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, a former member of BAP, had a good working relationship with PML-N, the party of Sharifs may not face much problems in exploring strategic partners in Balochistan ahead of the polls,” they said.

    The party is eyeing at least 25 sardars/electables from Balochistan, crucial players in the region’s elections.

    PML-N Balochistan chapter president Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail said Mr Sharif would hold meetings with PkMAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, National Party President Dr Malik Baloch, former CM Jam Kamal and BAP leaders, including Nawabzada Khalid Magsi, Sardar Muhammad Saleh Bhootani and some of the party’s senators, ex-MNAs and MPAs.

    Nawaz Sharif will also attend an event in which various ‘electables’ will announce joining PML-N, including former MNAs and MPAs belonging to BAP.

    Tension arises in PMLN

    Meanwhile, in Muzaffargarh, internal tensions arise within the PML-N as former municipal committee chairman Akram Chandia and his brother Ajmal Chandia join the party, potentially securing tickets for the upcoming elections.

    The move has irked former PML-N MPA Hamad Nawaz Tipu, who announced his candidacy, vying for both MPA and National Assembly seats.

    On the National Assembly seat, he lost to PPP’s Mehr Irshad Sial, who received 53,054 votes, with the runner-up being Jamshed Dasti securing 50,566 votes. Mr Tipu stood third with 47,642 votes. The MPA election also witnessed a close contest where winner Abdul Hayee Dasti received 17,686 votes, followed by Ajmal Chandia with 17,669 votes and Mr Tipu with 16,358 votes.

    Ajmal Chandia was a candidate for PP-270 as a candidate of Jamshed Dasti’s party in the 2018 elections and stood as the runner-up behind Abdul Hayee Dasti.

    While Mr Tipu and the Chandia brothers are in contention for the PML-N ticket, former MPA Chunnu Laghari has also announced joining the PML-N, and he is unlikely to face any resistance in obtaining an MPA ticket under Basit Sultan’s National Assembly constituency in Jatoi tehsil.

    ‘Toughest elections’

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shehbaz said the Feb 8 polls were going to be the most difficult ones in the country’s history.

    Talking to journalists in Lahore on Monday, the PML-N leader said all parties should work together to steer the country out of crisis.

    In reply to a question about the role of the establishment and the PML-N’s relations with it, he said it was a good sign if the establishment supported the government.

    “It is also a good thing if there are cordial relations with the establishment,” Hamza added.

    Asked whether Nawaz Sharif was new blue-eyed of the military establishment, Hamza said: “When I was in the opposition, the people would call Imran Khan their blue-eyed.”

  • Jail trial in £190 million settlement case increasingly likely for Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s trial in the £190 million state money settlement case will probably take place in Adiala Jail, where the former Prime Minister is already incarcerated in the cypher case.

    A day earlier, when an accountability court in Islamabad issued Khan’s arrest warrants in the Al-Qadir Trust and Toshakhana cases, the PTI chairman was arrested within the jail premises.

    A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team visited Adiala jail today and implemented arrest warrants through the jail superintendent.

    On the other hand, journalists asked Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir whether Imran Khan will face a jail trial as a notification is being passed in the matter.

    On this, judge Bushir responded that NAB can tell where the PTI chairman will be presented as there is a possibility of a jail trial after notifications’ approval.

    “Will you also go to Adiala jail then?” the judge questioned the journalists present in the court.

    The journalists replied that they are not even allowed to enter and report inside Adiala jail.

  • Senate passed resolution against Supreme Court decision on civilian trials in military courts

    The Senate of Pakistan passed a resolution on Monday against the Supreme Court’s decision on civilians’ trial in the military courts, urging that the implementation of the judgment be stopped “unless it is considered by a larger bench.”


    A five member bench of Supreme Court (SC) last month unanimously declared civilians’ trial in military courts null and void.


    “Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing the trials of civilians and accused persons, being around 103 persons […] shall be tried by criminal courts of competent jurisdiction established under the ordinary and/or special law of the land in relation to such offences of which they may stand accused,” the short order read.


    Independent Senator Dilawar Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) moved the resolution on Monday, stating that the decision is legally flawed as the larger bench did not announce the verdict and should not be implemented.
    The resolution observed with “apprehension that the invalidation of the jurisdiction of army courts is likely to facilitate vandals and abettors of terrorism and anti-state activities”.


    “The Senate of Pakistan calls upon the apex court to reconsider its decision, urging alignment with the national security paradigm and sacrifices of the martyrs in order to address the concerns raised regarding the ramifications of the judgment on the security and stability of the nation.”