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Category: Politics

  • Politics edition: Five things Pakistanis don’t want to see in 2023

    Politics edition: Five things Pakistanis don’t want to see in 2023

    In 2022, we collectively experienced episodes that turned Pakistan upside down. Many incidents shook the entire nation, some of them worth condemnation. Significant happenings shook the world of politics, from Prime Minister Imran Khan getting removed through a no-confidence motion to the ugly fight between Pervaiz Elahi and Hamza Shehbaz for Punjab’s Chief Minister (CM) seat.

    After a year full of constitutional crises in Pakistan, we hope that we don’t witness another year full of drama.

    Another Prime Minister not completing his constitutional term

    For the first time in the history of Pakistan, a sitting prime minister was removed through a no-confidence motion. In April, PM Imran Khan was removed after being the head of government for more than three years. In the 75-year-long history of Pakistan, not a single Premier stayed for their full term. We hope that next time when the public chooses their leader, he or she gets to keep their promise and serve their full term.

    Politicians not getting harassed

    Right after the formation of a new government, in April, a group of Pakistani pilgrims accosted, heckled and chanted slogans against incumbent PM Shehbaz and his entourage at the Masjid-e-Nabwi in Madina during their three-day visit to Saudi Arabia. Such incidents continued happening throughout the year. Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was heckled at a coffee shop in London. Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal was harassed by PTI supporters at a restaurant while Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was heckled by unidentified people in Washington DC. It was observed that a particular party was being targeted. Whether these incidents happened because of a false narrative or not, no one has the right to harass someone.

    Not making public figures a target of gun

    This year, we also saw how some of our public figures remain targeted. In the second half of the year, two unfortunate incidents took place. On October 23, senior anchorperson Arshad Sharif was shot dead near Nairobi, Kenya, by the local police. The local law enforcing authorities termed the killing, calling it a case of ‘mistaken identity’. However, some termed it an assassination. Till now, authorities are unable to find the real culprits. Almost a week later, on November 3, Imran Khan survived an assassination attempt on day seven of PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Long March’ as his container moved through Punjab’s Wazirabad. Salman Taseer, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, Shahbaz Bhatti; how many assassinations do we have to witness?

    No more constitutional crisis

    We saw legislators getting into a brawl in Punjab Assembly over the CM seat. The beginning of summer wasn’t good for Pakistan as in April a scuffle between treasury and opposition benches in Punjab Assembly took place, resulting in PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi getting injured. The same day, PML-N’s nominee Hamza Shehbaz was elected as CM, however, later the Supreme Court struck down Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on the election. Later, Pervaiz Elahi took over the CM seat, however, he doesn’t enjoy a great majority in the Assembly.

    Terrorism wave in Pakistan

    Just when we thought that terrorism has finally ended, attacks started escalating. Currently, the capital is on high alert because of extreme threats. In late November, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said that they had called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country. On December 23, a suicide bomb shocked the residents of Islamabad— which is considered one of the safest cities in Pakistan. After dealing with terrorism for decades, Pakistanis dont want to start living again in fear.

  • ‘Imran Khan has decided to not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly’: Journalist Kamran Shahid

    ‘Imran Khan has decided to not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly’: Journalist Kamran Shahid

    Senior anchor Kamran Shahid has revealed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has decided not to dissolve the Punjab Assembly (PA).

    Taking to Twitter, Shahid wrote, “BASED ON MY SOURCES- IMRAN KHAN HAS DECIDED TO NOT TO DISSOLVE THE PUNJAB ASSEMBLY— CH PERVAIZ ILLAHI IS ALSO BEING COMMUNICATED [sic].”

    It is pertinent to mention here that the Opposition staged a walkout of the PA last week as the house passed a resolution against the Punjab governor’s “unconstitutional and illegal” move to de-notify Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as the provincial chief executive.

    Shahid’s tweet has come about as the political crisis in Punjab rages on, with neither side willing to relent.

    Imran Khan had announced in November at the end of his long march that he will dissolve both the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, where his party holds government. Since then, the dissolution has become a point of discontent within the ruling Punjab coalition, with Pervaiz Elahi reluctant to do away with the legislative before April of 2023.

  • TV channels will be required to air news with sign language interpreters

    TV channels will be required to air news with sign language interpreters

    President Dr Arif Alvi has signed the Access to the Media (Deaf) Persons Act, 2022 into law, under which all private and state-run broadcasters will be required to air news bulletins with sign language interpreters.

    The act will fully come into force six months after the commencement of the bill.

    Once enforced, the government shall not allow broadcasting any news bulletin on the national broadcaster, state or privately run electronic media, private television channels, cable TV, or any other broadcast media without sign language interpreters.

    The bill was moved by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Saleem Mandviwalla who gave a detailed briefing to the committee regarding the bill.

  • Terrorism threats: Five places to remain closed on New Year’s eve

    Terrorism threats: Five places to remain closed on New Year’s eve

    Local authorities have decided to close down five key recreational points ahead of New Year’s Eve in Islamabad as threats of terrorist attacks loom over the capital.

    According to Samaa News, the decision has been taken to prevent large gatherings on New Year’s eve out of fear of terrorism.

    The places include F-9 Park, Centaurus Mall, Safa Mall, Lake View Park, and Faisal Masjid. Residents of the city won’t be allowed to go to these places to welcome 2023.

    The Deputy Commissioner (DC) has directed Assistant Commissioners (ACs) to implement the orders.

    Moreover, to prevent any untoward incident, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police have also decided to beef up the security of the federal capital and called in 1,000 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel to assist the police at checkposts.

    These decisions have been taken following a suicide car bomb blast in Islamabad on December 23 that left one policeman martyred and 10 injured.

  • ‘Should embrace each other with all their hearts’: Sindh governor calls upon all MQM factions to unite for Karachi

    ‘Should embrace each other with all their hearts’: Sindh governor calls upon all MQM factions to unite for Karachi

    Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori has called upon all the factions of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to unite on a single platform to resolve the issues of Karachi.

    Talking to Shahzeb Khanzada on Geo News‘ show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Tessori said: “Being the governor of Sindh, I can only request my friends. I cannot force anyone. And I request them because Karachi is a friendly city for everyone but there is no one who is friendly to Karachi.”

    Tessori said that the city of lights had become a city of criminals. “I requested Mustafa Kamal when he visited the Governor’s House. My aim is to develop this city and to facilitate its residents,” he said on the show.

    “Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui is the leader; he leads the MQM and he will be leading the party in the future,” said Tessori, adding that he can’t play a political role but he will request the leaders of PSP, MQM and Farooq Sattar to join hands.

    “I requested my friends that rather than criticising each other they should become workers of this city and serve the people. Upon my request, Mustafa Kamal and Farooq Sattar have agreed. They also agreed on the leadership of Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Neither Farooq Sattar nor Mustafa Kamal raised objections to Siddiqui’s leadership. They spoke respectfully. They respect Siddiqui,” the governor said.

    “I have no idea how quickly they will move to make a [unification] decision, but if it were to happen, it would have to be sustainable and based on the will of Karachi’s residents,” he asserted.

    Asking that all factions “embrace eachother with all their hearts”, the Governor said he had asked the other leaders to put aside their egos and work for the betterment of the city and its people.

    He said that he sees no intervention by institutions in political matters. “I took the initiative and there is no intervention of the establishment or institutions [in the unification of MQM factions].”

  • PM Shehbaz Sharif chairs NSC meeting amid rising terrorism in Pakistan

    PM Shehbaz Sharif chairs NSC meeting amid rising terrorism in Pakistan

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is charing a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) as the country faces an uptick in terrorist incidents.

    Senior civilian and military leaders are part of the meeting. The decision to convene the meeting of the NSC was taken in a meeting between PM Shehbaz and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Thursday.

    Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and military chiefs are also present in the moot.

    According to news reports, Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum will brief the meeting on the recent terror wave in Pakistan and the situation at the Pak-Afghan border while an integrated strategy against terrorism is expected to be formulated.

  • National Security Council meeting tomorrow as terrorism on rise

    National Security Council meeting tomorrow as terrorism on rise

    The National Security Council (NSC) is set to hold a meeting on Friday (tomorrow) as terrorist activities in Pakistan continue to rise.

    The council will discuss a strategy to combat the new wave of terrorism in the country along with reviewing the situation at the Pak-Afghan border.

    The country’s federal ministers, military brass, and representatives from the security apparatus will attend the meeting, chaired by the head of government—Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    Pakistan is facing a resurgence of terrorism since the militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off its ceasefire with the government in late November.

    Currently, security is on high alert in Islamabad after a foiled suicide bomber blew himself up while threats have also hit Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sukkur.

  • Aide to PM arrested over Shehbaz’s audio leaks: report

    Aide to PM arrested over Shehbaz’s audio leaks: report

    A former aide to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif was arrested over his connection with the premier’s audio leaks, released in September and October, a media report has said.

    On their YouTube show Talk Shock, veteran journalists Azaz Syed and Umar Cheema have revealed that ADC to PM Shehbaz, identified as Major Arsalan, had recorded and leaked the audio clips. Afterward, he was taken into detention by Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General Nadeem Anjum on the directives of former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    According to Azaz, Major Arsalan had earlier served as an ADC to former Corps Commander Bahawalpur Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, and was allegedly transferring the Premier’s recorded conversations to Bahawalpur.

    The major himself confessed to committing the crime, Azaz Syed said on the programme. He said that whenever there was an important meeting, Major Arsalan used to have a secret phone specifically for recording the conversation or calls.

    Shehbaz Sharif had been told about the development.

    It is pertinent to mention that since the ouster of former PM Imran Khan, several audio leaks came out to the public adding more drama to the country’s politics.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Interior, Rana Sanaullah claimed that the matter of the premier’s audio leaks is not related to an agency, but a few people, who had been identified. He added that these people belong to the staff of the PM House.

    In one of the audio leaks, PM Shehbaz and an unidentified person talked about a power plant to be imported from India for PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s son-in-law. In the other audio leak, the unknown person is allegedly telling the premier that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is asking for their “shares” for the Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) as well.

  • ‘Establishment neither approached PML-N nor PTI for technocratic setup’: Rana Sanaullah

    ‘Establishment neither approached PML-N nor PTI for technocratic setup’: Rana Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said the that establishment neither approached the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nor the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in connection with a rumored technocratic setup that might be installed to govern the country.

    “Imran Khan makes up fresh stories every other day, however, no message regarding the technocratic setup was conveyed,” he stated.

    He said that the institution has pledged to the nation that it will remain apolitical. “From now on, whatever happens will be in line with the Constitution,” Sanaullah categorically said.

    Speaking to senior journalists in Lahore, Imran had stressed, “I don’t see elections happening now. There is hearsay about a technocratic government being brought forward,” he had told the media personnel in an informal talk.

    PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry had addressed the rumors, calling any such plan a “joke”. The former minister had said, “It is a joke to form a technocratic government for two and a half years after wrapping up this government and sending it home. Experimenting and playing jokes with Pakistan should come to an end now.”

    “You will bring ‘imported technocrats’ from the United States if the Shehbaz Sharif-led government is not functioning,” he added. “The solution to the country’s problems is holding elections.”

  • PM Shehbaz directs to reduce electricity use in government offices by 30%

    PM Shehbaz directs to reduce electricity use in government offices by 30%

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee that will work on reducing electricity consumption in government offices by 30 per cent.

    The Prime Minister gave the directives while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet where a “Proposed Energy Saving Plan” presented by the Power Division was also under discussion. The meeting was briefed on consultations held with stakeholders about energy saving.

    Shehbaz Sharif said that the consultation process with all the stakeholders including the provincial governments should be completed soon.

    Conversion of federal government buildings to solar energy

    Last week, the Premier directed relevant authorities to convert federal government buildings to solar energy at the earliest.

    He issued special instructions for formulating a comprehensive strategy to effectively resolve the issues faced in the early completion of the solar energy projects.

    The PM said the use of solar energy in electricity production could effectively resolve many fiscal issues including the energy crisis in the country and rising prices of electricity.