Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Another police operation planned at Zaman Park on Eid, claims Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday that he fears the government may launch another “operation” during Eid ul Fitr holidays at his Zaman Park residence in a bid to arrest him.

    “There is risk of bloodshed,” he claimed.

    A two-member bench of the high court recommended that Imran Khan’s petition be placed before a larger bench against the registration of similar cases and disciplinary proceedings against him.

    The bench, comprising of Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Farooq Haider, sent the file to the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court.

    Khan testified in court that despite court orders, the police had previously damaged his home during the Zaman Park operation, adding that the court had ordered the police not to launch an operation in Zaman Park, yet it had happened.

    “Now during the holidays, they will launch an operation. I have credible reports that they will launch an operation. The court must stop them,” Khan urged, adding that the “law of the jungle” prevails where people are first arrested and then they are informed about the accusations.

    “I am just informing you about the threats beforehand,” Khan said and returned to his seat.

  • Pervez Ashraf warns Supreme Court not to interfere in politics

    Pervez Ashraf warns Supreme Court not to interfere in politics

    Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) Raja Pervez Ashraf has taken a strong stance against what he has termed “interference” by the Supreme Court in the affairs of the parliament.

    In an interview, the Speaker said that if the Parliament is restricted to legislating only what the Supreme Court wants, then what is the need for elections.

    Ashraf said that “[the superior judiciary] should take over the legislative business if parliament’s lawmaking authority is unacceptable.”

    He also warned the top court against intruding in the parliament’s domain, saying “others will also try to enter your domain”.

    He asserted that parliamentarians themselves should resolve all political matters in the parliament or at any other forum on their own.

    Referring to alleged differences between Supreme Court judges, the former Prime Minister (PM) said: “Division in politics is necessary, but division in Supreme Court is dangerous.” He said the Supreme Court can’t function if it is divided.

  • ‘Election won’t be held on May 14’: Rana Sanaullah

    Contrary to the Supreme Court’s (SC) order to hold elections in Punjab on May 14, federal Minister for Interior, Rana Sanaullah has said that polls will not be held on the said date.

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that elections would be “held together” throughout the country, under a caretaker setup.

    “If elections are not held in May, then October is not too far away either,” said Sanaullah.

    Calling Khan a “fitna”, Sanaullah said that he had been brought to power through a “conspiracy”. “Their [PTI’s] policies over four years created a crisis for the country.”

    “It was [Imran Khan’s] government that signed the agreement with the IMF, not us. The difficulties are only due to the previous government’s agreement.”

    Sanaullah also said that party supremo Nawaz Sharif would reach the country as soon as electoral preparations begin, adding that he would supervise the party’s election campaign.

    “The PML-N has always taken the country out of the crisis,” he emphasized.

  • ‘You are not safe here’: Former MPA asks Imran to leave Pakistan

    ‘You are not safe here’: Former MPA asks Imran to leave Pakistan

    Former Member of Punjab Assembly (MPA) Mian Jalil Sharaqpuri has suggested that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan should leave Pakistan.

    Addressing the former Prime Minister directly during a press conference, he said: “You are not safe here. If something happens to you, the country will break up.” He also said that “all religious parties trust you”.

    “No institution can shield you anymore. The nation has high hopes since you are alive,” the former legislator added.

    About the uncertainty of elections, Sharaqpuri said he does not see general election in the next two years and asked what the Supreme Court could do in such a situation.

    He also claimed that the incumbent government wants to destroy Pakistan like Iraq and Libya.

    In the 2018 general elections, Sharaqpuri won an MPA seat on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket, however, after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly he formally joined PTI.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the former ruling party has repeatedly claimed that its chief’s life is in danger. Back in November 2022, Imran Khan survived an assassination attempt after a gunman opened fire on his convoy in Wazirabad.

  • Balochistan Chief Minister says he will not use bulletproof cars anymore

    Balochistan Chief Minister says he will not use bulletproof cars anymore

    Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has refused to utilise bulletproof and bombproof vehicles for his own personal use.

    Bizenjo has also declared that no one in his government will get VIP treatment, prohibiting his cabinet and senior officers from using any of these vehicles.

    The decision took place in the backdrop of multiple provincial security forces recently losing their lives in terrorist attacks.

    “In many incidents, security duty officers were targeted by terrorists but we [civilians] use our own bulletproof vehicle,” Balochistan CM said.

    It is pertinent to mention that Balochistan is the most vulnerable province of Pakistan in terms of man-made disasters especially terrorism and civil unrest.

  • ‘Ill-informed, ignorant, wanted to blame Pakistan for Pulwama’: Former Indian Governor on Modi

    ‘Ill-informed, ignorant, wanted to blame Pakistan for Pulwama’: Former Indian Governor on Modi

    Satya Pal Malik, the last governor of the now Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) before it was divided has claimed that Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is extremely “ill-informed’.

    Malik, who was governor during the Pulwama terror attack of February 2019 and during the scrapping of Article 370 in August the same year, said that Modi is “ignorant” about Kashmir and told him [Malik] not to speak about the Union home ministry’s lapses which led to the killing of dozens of paramilitary troops in India-held Jammu and Kashmir.

    He said removing Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood was a mistake and it should be restored immediately. He said, “Modi mast hain apne mein – to hell with it! This is his attitude.”

    Conversing with acclaimed Indian journalist Karan Thapar, Malik said during the interview with The Wire, that he immediately realised that Modi wanted to use the Pulwama attack to blame Pakis­tan for the benefit of his government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    The former Indian governor said, “Mein safely keh sakta hoon Prime Minister ko corruption se bahut nafrat nahin hain” (‘I can safely say the PM has no real problem with corruption’). 

    He further revealed that the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama was a result of “incompetence” and “carelessness” by the Indian system, specifically the CRPF and the home min­i­­stry. Malik gave details of how the CRPF had asked for aircraft to transport its personnel, but was refused by the home ministry.

    He said all of these lapses were raised by him directly when Modi called him from outside Corbett Park, shortly after the Pulwama attack. He said the prime minister told him to keep quiet about this and not tell anyone.

  • Japan in shock after Prime Minister attacked in daylight

    Japan in shock after Prime Minister attacked in daylight

    Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida is unharmed after being attacked by a smoke bomb on Saturday while he was campaigning for a ruling party candidate, leaving the country in shock.

    A video of the attack showing white smoke rising after a blast right before the Prime Minister was about to speak, is doing the rounds on social media.

    A witness said that he saw an object flying through the air and it gave him a “bad feeling, so he ran away unbelievably fast”.

    After the attack, the prime minister resumed campaigning.

    The incident comes just nine months after former PM Shinzo Abe was assassinated last year while campaigning for a parliamentary election.

    The latest attack also comes as Japan is set to host the 49th G7 summit from May 19-May 21 in Hiroshima.

  • No more deals with TTP; army determined to get rid of terrorism

    The army’s top brass has vowed to eliminate terrorism, extremism and instability in Pakistan by following a “whole-of-the-system” approach which was approved by the government on Friday.

    In a Corps Commanders’ Conference held in Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir said that military leadership is cognizant of the full spectrum of the challenges posed by terrorism and it “resolves to shoulder its constitutionally mandated responsibilities with the support of the resilient people of Pakistan”.

    The top tier of the army reiterated the commitment of military forces to fully support national responses against internal and external threats. 

    A day earlier, in a briefing given to the members of the National Assembly (NA), COAS Munir said that negotiations with militants in the past helped terrorists regroup in the country, referring to the Imran Khan government that signed a ceasefire with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

    Earlier, National Security Committee (NSC) also decided to kickstart an all-out comprehensive operation against militant outfits. 

    Since government talks with the TTP broke down in November, the militant group has intensified its attacks across Pakistan including attacks on the police.

  • ‘Imran Khan wanted to stay in power till 2035’: Asif Zardari

    ‘Imran Khan wanted to stay in power till 2035’: Asif Zardari

    Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday alleged that former Prime Minister Imran Khan had wanted to stay in power till 2035 and was planning on doing so.

    Speaking on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, Zardari told Hamid Mir, “They had very different planning. They wanted him to stay in power till 2035. And to counter this move, we [Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)] brought in the no-confidence motion against him [Khan].”

    Recalling a conversation with the then Chief of Army Staff, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the PPP leader said that he wanted the opposition to go for elections while he will convince Khan to resign. “But amidst this conversation, he kept giving us hints that he would impose martial law. Bajwa sahab said that he can impose martial law in five minutes,” revealed Zardari.

    The PPP leader went on to say that it is easy to climb onto a lion’s back but getting off is very difficult. “We told Gen Bajwa to go ahead with it, you run the country and we will go and continue with agriculture, that’s when he backed off.”

    Talking about general elections, Zardari said that they should be held at the same time across the country, as the federal government and Supreme Court are in a virtual standoff over holding the polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    “The problem is not that we are afraid of elections,” he said, adding that his party did not have an objection to the poll but its “timing”. The PPP leader maintained that his party had joined the National Assembly with just 14 seats in the past.

    Slamming Khan, the PPP leader said that the political workers stage protests but they do not pick up weapons. He claimed that Khan was not a popular leader, saying that he paid the people.

    The PPP leader revealed that he and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had asked Bajwa not to seek resignation from Khan.

  • After federal govt, Punjab also gives five days off for Eid

    After federal govt, Punjab also gives five days off for Eid

    The Punjab government on Friday announced that holidays will extend from April 21 to 25 on account of Eid ul Fitr.

    On Thursday, the federal government had also announced a five-day holiday for Eid.

    The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee is set to meet on April 20 for sighting of the Eid ul Fitr crescent moon, a statement from the religious affairs ministry said on Tuesday.

    This year, the holy month of Ramazan started on March 23.