Category: Politics

  • Marriyum Aurangzeb says date for dissolution of assembly not finalised as yet

    Marriyum Aurangzeb says date for dissolution of assembly not finalised as yet

    Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has in a tweet denied that the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly has been finalised.

    “The date [of dissolution] will be decided in consultation with the PDM and other allied parties. The decision on the date of dissolution of the National Assembly will be officially announced,” she wrote.

    Earlier in the day, Geo News reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the two major partners in the ruling coalition, have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8, a few days before the end of the assembly’s tenure.

  • National Assembly will be dissolved in August; PPP, PML-N agree

    National Assembly will be dissolved in August; PPP, PML-N agree

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the two major political parties in the ruling coalition, have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8, Geo News has reported.

    However, Information Minister Mariyum Aurangzeb has tweeted that the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly has not been decided yet.

    “The date [of dissolution] will be decided in consultation with the PDM and other allied parties. The decision on the date of dissolution of the National Assembly will be officially announced,” she added.

    The National Assembly is completing its tenure on August 12 at midnight, but it seems like the lower house is going to be dissolved before time. According to sources, August 9 and 10 also came under discussion, but both major political parties agreed on August 8 to dissolve the National Assembly.

    “A general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved,” Article 224 of the Constitution states.

    In the previous week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said, “Next month, our government will complete its tenure. We will leave before the completion of our tenure, and an interim government will come”.

  • Judge in Toshakhana case denies he posted against Imran Khan on his Facebook page

    Judge in Toshakhana case denies he posted against Imran Khan on his Facebook page

    Justice Humayun, the judge presiding over the Toshakhana trial, has disowned anti Imran Khan posts made on his Facebook page when he was sensationally shown the social media material by the former Prime Minister’s lawyers.

    Imran Khan’s lawyer, Gohar Ali, showed the Facebook posts in court to argue that the Judge should not be hearing the case. In reply, Justice Humayun admitted that the Facebook page was his, however, he denied making the posts.

    He also asked the PTI lawyer if he thought that a judicial inquiry should be made about the Facebook posts.

    Gohar Ali replied that it was upto the judge to send the posts through a judicial inquiry, but stressed that it was appropriate if the court did not continue to hear the case.

    The court reserved it’s verdict on the plea as well as another plea by Imran Khan to exempt him from in-person hearings.

  • Khan, Bushra Bibi to go to court in two days over illegal Nikkah case

    Khan, Bushra Bibi to go to court in two days over illegal Nikkah case

    A District and Session Court of Islamabad has declared the alleged illegal nikkah case of Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi admissible on Tuesday.

    According to the details, notices have been issued to Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to appear in court on July 20.

    Civil Judge Qudratullah handed down the decision, deeming the case worthy of further investigation.

    The court announced its reserved decision today.

    Earlier, on May 13, the court reserved its judgement and then announced that the petition was “inadmissible”.

    The petitioner’s lawyer, Rizwan Abbasi, revealed that the marriage of PTI Chief Imran Khan with Bushra Bibi had taken place during her Iddat, which is not permissable according to Sharia and Islamic tradition.

    It is alleged in this case that Bushra Bibi’s iddat was not completed when she married former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

  • America, Pakistan both agree: Taliban need to make sure Afghanistan isn’t used for deshatgardi

    America, Pakistan both agree: Taliban need to make sure Afghanistan isn’t used for deshatgardi

    The United States of America has reiterated that the Taliban administration is responsible for ensuring that Afghanistan is not used for terrorist activities against other countries.

    The development comes as Pakistan blames the Taliban government of harbouring terrorists linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

    “Taliban has the responsibility to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a safe haven for launching terrorist attacks,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing.

    Earlier, in an unusual statement, the Pakistan Army slammed the sanctuaries available to TTP in Afghanistan for harming Pakistan’s security.

    At the 258th Corps Commanders Conference (CCC) under the chairmanship of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, the army noted that the TTP had obtained access to the latest weaponry due to their sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

    The military also threatened to take an “effective response” after 12 soldiers were martyred in two attacks.

  • ‘Ask Javed Sahib,’ Khaqan Abbasi says doesn’t know when Nawaz will return, hints at staying away from politics

    ‘Ask Javed Sahib,’ Khaqan Abbasi says doesn’t know when Nawaz will return, hints at staying away from politics

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said in an interview with ARY News that he is not going to take part in the upcoming general elections.

    “I don’t want to be a part of such a system, perhaps I will work better outside of it,” Abbasi said. “It is my personal assessment that current politics won’t resolve national issues,” he added.

    “This reality seems to me, at least my contesting the election won’t bring any solution,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said.

    “I would not contest an election if all stakeholders would not sit together. What will I will do by contesting election in the absence of thinking to resolve the national problems,” he questioned.

    The PML-N leader said that no party can be fragmented, and we should also learn from past experiences.

    On a question about his theory party head Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan, the former prime minister said that “This is Javed Latif’s department, contact him”. “I also used to ask Javed Sahib about the date of Nawaz Sharif’s return,” he said. “This department remained with Ayaz Sadiq for some time, but now Javed Latif is fully in charge”, he added.

  • Ready to hold elections in 60 or 90 days: ECP Secretary

    Ready to hold elections in 60 or 90 days: ECP Secretary

    Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Umar Hamid has said while talking to SAMAA TV that ECP is ready to hold election in 90 or 60 days after the end of the tenure of the coalition government.

    The ECP secretary said that holding election in 60 or 90 days is a prerequisite of the constitution of Pakistan.
    “ECP has been trying to hold polls, whether the assemblies are dissolved or complete their term,” he added.

    He further added that “The government will tell whether the assemblies will complete their term or not.”

  • Caretaker prime minister should be a politician: Qamar Zaman Kaira

    Caretaker prime minister should be a politician: Qamar Zaman Kaira

    Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Monday that the incoming caretaker prime minister should be a politician, adding that political people should be in political offices.

    The PPP leader gave the statement after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the government’s tenure is going to end next month, in August 2023.

    He also said, if the national assembly dissolves before time, then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will fix a date in the next 90 days for general elections. On the other hand, if the government completes its tenure, the Election Commission of Pakistan will be bound to conduct an election in 60 days.

    The senior PPP leader has said that political offices can only be run by politicians.

    He added that the most elevated political office of the country is that of prime minister. “If a judge, general, bureaucrat, technocrat, journalist, or any corporate sector employee is appointed to it, it will be a disgrace to the post and cannot work.”

    He further asked, “Can I be appointed, on the seat of a judge in a high court or the Supreme Court is vacant? How will I be able to do justice there?”

  • Defiant Pervez Khattak forms political party, names it ‘PTI Parliamentarians’

    Defiant Pervez Khattak forms political party, names it ‘PTI Parliamentarians’

    Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s once-trusted aide Pervez Khattak has formed a new party ‘Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Parliamentarians’, Geo News has reported.

    The former Chief Minister announced the name of his party days after being thrown out of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for allegedly asking members to ditch the party.

    According to the sources in The News, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has also joined PTI Parliamentarians. According to the report, 57 ex-assembly members have joined the party.

    Former provincial ministers have also joined the new party, in which Ishtiaq Armar and Shaukat Ali are included.

    Khattak was largely credited for forming a PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in 2013, becoming a powerful chief executive of the province and jump starting Imran Khan’s eventual ascent to the Prime Minister’s office in 2018.

    However, the mercurial politician had often been at odds with his party head, most notably when the two clashed in 2018 after Imran Khan chose Mahmood Khan to head the province.

  • PTI should also be taken into confidence over electoral reforms: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    PTI should also be taken into confidence over electoral reforms: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said on Monday that his party was not being taken into confidence over electoral reforms, emphasizing that PTI is an important stakeholder.

    In a media talk, he said that “Section 9 of the Election Act 2017 is very vague.”
    Criticising the leading government coalition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Qureshi said the party is suffering from instability.
    “The PTI chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has gotten relief from the courts despite the fact that the government is fabricating cases against him,” he said.
    Speaking on the matter of dissolving the National Assembly, Quershi remarked: “It seems that the government is leaning towards 90-day elections. However, the date of the election has to be been given by the Election Commission of Pakistan.”