Category: Politics

  • Nawaz Sharif will address gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan on October 21, Rana Sanaullah confirms

    Nawaz Sharif will address gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan on October 21, Rana Sanaullah confirms

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former interior minister Rana Sanaullah disclosed on Tuesday that party head Nawaz Sharif will address a rally after arriving in the country on October 21 at Minar-e-Pakistan, Lahore.

    While addressing a press conference in Lahore, Sanaullah said, “Nawaz Sharif will arrive in Lahore on October 21 at 5:30 p.m.”

    Pakistan needs an experienced leader to take the country out of the crisis, the former federal minister emphasized in the presser, adding that Nawaz Shaif is coming back to lead the country.

    While addressing speculations pertaining to any deal, Sanaullah maintained that Nawaz, “neither made a deal while leaving nor is coming back under any deal”.

    According to the former security czar, Nawaz Sharif’s legal team is ready to request prior bail from the court upon his return.

  • Ahsan Iqbal reveals what Gen Faiz Hameed wanted in Faizabad sit-in deal

    Ahsan Iqbal reveals what Gen Faiz Hameed wanted in Faizabad sit-in deal

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal has disclosed that former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen. (retired) Faiz Hameed had expressed a strong desire to be included as a signatory in the agreement reached during the Faizabad sit-in in 2017 with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

    Speaking on Monday on the Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’ hosted by Hamid Mir, Iqbal expressed that neither he nor the then Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi supported the idea of a high-ranking military official becoming a signatory to that agreement.

    However, the former interior minister said Gen. Faiz maintained that the protesting TLP would only agree to the accord if he was the guarantor.

    “When I read out the contents of the agreement to the prime minister, he also suggested that it would be better that General Sahib didn’t sign it,” said Ahsan Iqbal.

    He also stated that “I also conveyed to General Sahib that it wouldn’t be good for him and his institution to sign the agreement given its political nature.”

  • CJP Isa hints at winding up ‘Practice and Procedure’ Act case today

    CJP Isa hints at winding up ‘Practice and Procedure’ Act case today

    A full court bench comprising 14 judges headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has resumed hearing  petitions challenging the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act on Tuesday.

    State-run PTV is live-streaming the court’s proceedings.

    The full court bench includes CJP Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Musarrat Hilali.

    At the previous court hearing, the full panel of judges in the apex court had requested responses from all involved parties by September 25th.

    At the beginning of the hearing, Faez Isa said that the court will try to wind up hearings on the case today (Tuesday).

    There are many cases already pending in the court, CJP added.

    CJP Isa also directed the petitioner’s lawyer to end his arguments in 10 minutes.

    The CJP stated that this legislation does not diminish the authority of the chief justice; instead, it distributes these powers among the judges.

    He commented that this law will have a specific impact on the chief justice and the two most senior judges.

    “When martial law is imposed, everyone surrenders their weapons. There are many pictures [of judges] in this room who forgot their oath after the imposition of martial law,” CJP Isa remarked after the lawyer read out the judges oath in the court.

  • Fact check: Is this the cell in which Imran Khan is being detained?

    Claim: Multiple journalists including Sami Abraham and Sabir Shakir have implied in their tweets that Imran Khan is being held in a derelict jail cell, complete with a picture of a dark jail cell.

    Sara Taseer, daughter of late Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, also took to X (formerly Twitter) on October 1, writing:

    “This is what you call “zameen tang”. This inhumane treatment for the man you has given so much for the name fame betterment for #Pakistan I’m so ashamed to call myself Pakistani today. I never thought I’d ever feel this way. #ImranFightingForPakistan”

    The picture of the cell was quite disturbing, with peeling paint, a dark interior and derelict walls.

    Journalist Sami Abraham also tweeted the same picture.

    However, this is not actually Imran Khan’s cell.

    This photo was published by Jeannie Adams in ‘DOING TIME – MISSOURI STATE PENITENTIARY TOUR 26 JUL 2017’

    The cell picture shared by these accounts is actually in Missouri, from a now-closed facility where prisoners on suicide watch were detained.

    Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been recently shifted to Adiala Jail and is being tried for the Cipher case.

    True or False: The claim is false.

  • Security personnel are involved in cross-border smuggling, says Sarfraz Bugti

    Security personnel are involved in cross-border smuggling, says Sarfraz Bugti

    Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Monday in a press conference that security officials who are involved in cross-border smuggling would be court-martialed.

    Pakistan has escalated its crackdown on smugglers involved in the transportation of goods and dollars to Afghanistan.

    “If I say that security forces weren’t involved in [smuggling], it won’t be right as the [smuggled] items are transported via trucks, not camels,” Bugti said during a press conference in Islamabad.

    He also mentioned that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has told military officials that whoever is involved in cross-border smuggling will face the consequences.

    “Pakistan’s army chief had told his people very clearly: there won’t only be court-martials, but those involved in such activities would also be sent to jail,” the interior minister mentioned.

    Bugti also told the reporters that the Army’s accountability mechanism is not disclosed to the public; that’s why the general population doesn’t know much about it.

  • Kab aur kaisay a rahey hain Nawaz Sharif?

    Kab aur kaisay a rahey hain Nawaz Sharif?

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is all set to welcome back their leader to Pakistan and the stage is being set by his party leaders and members.

    If there are any doubts about his return, we have the details of his flight booking for you.

    Sources have said that the former premier will return to Pakistan on October 21 via a connecting flight. Sharif will land at Abu Dhabi International Airport from London on October 21 and on the same day, he will leave for Lahore.

    Mian Nawaz Sharif’s business class ticket for flight 243 on a private airline had been booked in advance. The PML-N supremo’s flight will land at the Lahore Airport at 6:25 PM.

    Nawaz Sharif was permanently disqualified in 2017 for not declaring an outstanding salary. After that, he went to London in 2019 for a medical checkup and hasn’t come back yet.

    The PML-N, with the assistance of its legal team, intends to petition the Lahore High Court (LHC) for Nawaz’s bail prior to his arrival in Pakistan. This decision has been made in order to prevent Nawaz from being arrested at Lahore airport, as he has been declared a proclaimed offender.

  • Imran, Qureshi to appear at court on October 4

    Imran, Qureshi to appear at court on October 4

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been summoned by a special court established under the Official Secrets Act on October 4 in the cipher case.

    The development occurred two days after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted a challan against Imran and Qureshi.

    Special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain has sent notices to respondents, stating that there are enough witnesses to call the suspects to court.

    Judge Zulqarnain directed the superintendent of Adiala jail to present the PTI chief and vice chairman in court on October 4.

    The FIA, in its charge sheet, stated that the former prime minister and former foreign minister were found guilty in the case and requested the court to sentence them in cipher case.

    According to the sources of Geo, the name of former finance minister Asad Umar is not on FIA’s list. On the other hand, Imran Khan’s principle secretary, Azam Khan, is a “strong witness” in the same case.

  • MoU signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to promote digital economy

    MoU signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to promote digital economy

    Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in communication and information technology, in a bid to promote the digital economy.

    According to Saudi Arabia’s official news agency SPA, the purpose of the memorandum is to establish cooperation in the fields of communication and information technology for digital transformation, promotion of innovation and development of digital infrastructure.

    This memorandum of understanding was signed by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Engineer Abdullah Bin Amir Al-Sawaha and Pakistan’s Caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Dr. Umar Saif.

    Under the MoU, the two countries will establish innovation hubs, centres of excellence and university branches for advanced technologies, as well as strengthen cooperation in the systems of small and medium-sized enterprises and emerging companies.

    They will also work on policies, technologies, systems and legislation in the field of digitization and electronic manufacturing.

    Both sides have pledged to focus on e-governance, smart infrastructure, e-health and e-education, the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, games and more.

  • ‘Nawaz Sharif will start a new era of progress and peace’: Maryam

    ‘Nawaz Sharif will start a new era of progress and peace’: Maryam

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz has ended uncertainty about three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan by stating that he will return on October 21 with even greater strength.

    Maryam Nawaz further said that “He will start a new era of progress, peace, and employment for the youth and rid [the nation] of inflation.”

    “An individual is not returning on October 21, but the country’s progress and peace,” she added.

    Maryam Nawaz shared her thoughts while addressing a public gathering organised by the PML-N Youth Volunteer on Sunday.

    Last month, former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the date of his brother’s return to Pakistan, saying, “Nawaz Sharif will reach Pakistan on October 21.”

    The PML-N supremo got permanently disqualified in 2017 for not declaring an outstanding salary. After that, Nawaz Sharif went to London in 2019 for a medical checkup and hasn’t come back yet.

    The PML-N, with the assistance of its legal team, intends to petition the Lahore High Court (LHC) for Nawaz’s bail prior to his arrival in Pakistan. This decision has been made in order to prevent Nawaz from being arrested at Lahore airport, as he has been declared a proclaimed offender.

  • PML-N worker announces valuable prize for bringing people to welcome Nawaz

    PML-N worker announces valuable prize for bringing people to welcome Nawaz

    The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) is preparing for the return of party head and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October, ending a four year long stay in London.

    One of the PML-N’s workers has announced that a brand new Honda 125 motorcycle will be given to those individuals who bring more people to welcome their leader.

    A video that has gone viral on social media, shows an unidentified party worker making the announcement during a public event.

    While addressing a political gathering, he said, “This is a big announcement. I hope my team will win. You are all being told that whoever brings more people to welcome Nawaz Sharif on October 21 will get a Honda 125″.

    Furthermore, the unnamed party worker clarified the geographical scope of the prize by stating, “This is NA 135, and it covers two provincial constituencies.”