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Category: Politics

  • Arshad Sharif murder: Govt forms new investigation team after SC suo motu

    Arshad Sharif murder: Govt forms new investigation team after SC suo motu

    The federal government has formed a new Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif after the Supreme Court (SC) took suo motu of the slaying and ordered that a new team be formed.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, is heading the five-member bench that is hearing the suo motu case.

    During Thursday’s hearing, the federal government informed the apex court that a new JIT has been constituted, including members DIG Islamabad Owais Ahmed, Director Cybercrime FIA Waqaruddin Syed, Sajid Kayani from Intelligence Bureau, Murtaza Afzal from Military Intelligence and Mohammad Aslam from Inter-Services Intelligence.

    Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Amir Rehman informed the court that an investigation into the murder is being launched immediately, specifying that the JIT would first record the statement of the slain journalist’s mother.

    “The JIT will probe all relevant persons in Pakistan and then start investigations in Kenya,” the AAG added.

    The chief justice stressed an impartial and transparent investigation and directed the JIT to submit a progress report fortnightly. The top court also said that “JIT can approach the Supreme Court in case it faces any hurdle.”

    Moreover, the SC stated that the team should submit progress reports to judges in chambers for review.

    A day earlier, the apex court sought the names of senior and competent for the JIT from the government.

  • Audio leak: Bushra Bibi allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Zulfi Bukhari

    Audio leak: Bushra Bibi allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Zulfi Bukhari

    An audio recording for former First Lady Bushra Bibi has surfaced online on Thursday.

    In the brief clip, Bushra Bibi can be heard allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Zulfi Bukhari, a close confidant of her husband, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Following is the audio transcript of the clip.

    Bushra bibi: Hello

    Zulfi Bukhari: Asalam-o-Alikum Jee

    Bushra Bibi: Jee Waalikum Asalam. How are you?

    Zulfi Bukhari: I am well Murshad. How are you are?

    Bushra Bibi: All is well by the grace of God. There are a few watches of Imran Khan Sahib. He has asked me to send them to you so that you can sell them. They are not of his use.

    Zulfi Bukhari: Yes

    Bushra Bibi: He wants that you take them somewhere.

    Zulfi Bukhari: Yes Murshad. I will do so.

    On November 15, Dubai-based businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor claimed in the Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, that the PTI government had sold the expensive Graff wristwatch gifted by Saudi Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, for a cash amount of $2 million or Rs.280 million at the time of sale in 2019.

    Zahoor claimed that he had bought the watch through former accoun­ta­bility minister Shahzad Akbar and Farah Khan, a close aide of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi.

    The Dubai-based businessman also claimed that Farah wanted to sell the watch for $4-5 million “but after negotiations, I purchased it for $2 million”. The payment, he added, was made in cash on Farah’s insistence.

    It is pertinent to mention here that earlier in the year, another alleged leaked audio of the former First Lady came to light in which Bushra Bibi could be heard saying, “Khan Sahib told you to run a hashtag of treason. I have been getting calls from people that your social media was very active but after a week, it is not. You should have been very active nowadays.”

  • IHC orders Suleman Shehbaz to surrender; bars authorities from arrest

    IHC orders Suleman Shehbaz to surrender; bars authorities from arrest

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday has ordered Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to surrender before it on December 13 and barred authorities from arresting him till then.

    The court has also asked authorities not to arrest the petitioner at the airport. The orders were given by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq while hearing a plea filed by the prime minister’s son for protective bail.

    During the hearing, Suleman’s lawyer Amjad Pervez told the court that his client is abroad since October 2018 while all cases against him were registered after that.

    However, the court informed the lawyer that it cannot grant bail in absence of the petitioner.

    Suleman Shehbaz is set to return to Pakistan after ending his self-exile of over four years in the British capital, London.

  • ‘Na hamara koyi favourite hai, na hum kisi ke khilaaf hain’: Election commissioner

    ‘Na hamara koyi favourite hai, na hum kisi ke khilaaf hain’: Election commissioner

    Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has said that his commission is not against or in favour of any political entity.

    At ‘National Voter’s Day’, an event organised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the chief said: “Na hamara koyi favourite hai, na hum kisi ke khilaaf hain” (Neither do we have any favourites nor are we against anyone).

    Raja said that the ECP had already informed the Punjab government that the commission would make use of previous laws under Article 283 of the Constitution if the administration attempted to amend the local government law again.

    He said local government elections in Punjab will take place in the last week of April and emphasised the urgency of those polls.

    Moreover, the ECP chief was of the view that the commission has faced “unwarranted criticism” for allegedly opposing the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and balloting rights for overseas Pakistanis.

    “I challenge all critics to show one instance where the ECP opposed electronic voting machines or voting rights for overseas Pakistanis. However, there should be a procedure in place,” he said.

    He underlined that the commission is in support of the use of technology in elections, but said it must be backed by all stakeholders.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, on multiple occasions, called out the commission for allegedly scuttling the introduction of EVMs in support of his political rivals.

  • Zardari assures Shujaat that Hamza Shehbaz will not become CM Punjab again

    Zardari assures Shujaat that Hamza Shehbaz will not become CM Punjab again

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has asked Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain not to dissolve Punjab Assembly and assured him of a new setup, reports Geo News.

    Quoting sources, the report said that at a meeting that took place on Sunday, Zardari also assured the PML-Q president that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz will not be the Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab in the “new setup”.

    Meanwhile, Shujaat guaranteed the PPP co-chairman asked that he talk to the CM of Punjab Pervaiz Elahi about the dissolution of the assembly.

    Since the announcement of the possible dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies by PTI chief Imran Khan, Zardari has been holding consultations about a possible no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister of Punjab.

    Meanwhile, CM Elahi said that he did not see elections taking place in the next four months, however, he has repeatedly said that he fully backs Khan’s decision about dissolving assemblies.

    In July, the Supreme Court (SC) removed Hamza Shehbaz as CM. At the time, the apex court struck down former Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on Punjab chief minister’s election, declaring his “understanding and implementation” of Article 63A(1)(b) of the Constitution “incorrect and erroneous”.

  • President Alvi ‘warns’ Imran Khan about not talking against new army chief

    President Alvi ‘warns’ Imran Khan about not talking against new army chief

    President Dr Arif Alvi has allegedly strictly warned Imran Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to stop his party leaders and social media team from criticising the Pakistan military and the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, reports Journalist Ansar Abbasi for Jang.

    Sharing a screenshot of a WhatsApp message sent to party leadership and social media team, a PTI source said that the president also told Khan that for the new military establishment, the honour of the institution is like a red line, which must not be crossed.

    It has been revealed in the story that Imran Khan’s message was forwarded to the PTI Parliamentary Party’s WhatsApp group. In the message, Khan directed its social media team not to criticise the new army chief and made it clear that the instructions have to be followed very strictly. The person who shared this message on the group said that Khan’s directive should be followed by everyone.

    Similarly, in another group of party leaders and social media managers, Khan wrote, “Please ensure that there is no criticism of the new chief and the army.”

    When PTI leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhary was asked by the news outlet about Alvi’s message, he said that both the President and Imran Khan have made it clear that there will be no attack against the army and COAS Munir.

    He hoped that the new army chief would come up with new policies and hoped that he would not repeat the alleged anti-PTI policies of former COAS, General (r) Bajwa.

    It is pertinent to mention that Khan has directly targeted the former army chief multiple times for being “neutral”. He has also targeted others within the military, including senior officers of the Inter-Services Intelligence.

  • Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in January 2023, says Ayaz Sadiq

    Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in January 2023, says Ayaz Sadiq

    Ayaz Sadiq, former Speaker of the National Assembly and senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has claimed that the party supremo, Nawaz Sharif, will return to Pakistan in January 2023.

    The PML-N leader made the claim while speaking on Geo News’ programme ‘Capital Talk’ while talking about his party head, who has been living in London in self-exile for the past almost four years.

    Nawaz will allocate tickets to candidates for the next general elections, Ayaz Sadiq said, adding that polls would be held in the country in 2023.

    “It seems that the assemblies would be dissolved between March-June 2023,” he predicted.

    The PML-N supremo had left for London in November 2019 following an illness in jail after then prime minister Imran Khan had permitted him to go abroad for medical treatment.

  • From watches to visas, is Imran Riaz and Moonis Elahi ka Twitter phadda never ending?

    From watches to visas, is Imran Riaz and Moonis Elahi ka Twitter phadda never ending?

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi and journalist Imran Riaz Khan have been engaging in Twitter fights since a while.

    Just as it seemed that the trading of barbs had died down, this morning Elahi reignited the feud again, tweeting, “Heard someone’s visa got cancelled due to strong links with criminal elements. He had to go back from airport.”

    Responding to Moonis, Riaz tweeted, “Take the name Moonis Sahib, my visa got cancelled. And yes take the name of the ones because of whom it got cancelled.”

    Moonis replied, “Imran sb It wasn’t meant for you.”

    Riaz calling Moonis “deputy wazir-e-alla” said, “I also know who told you, you enjoy things like this.”

    Their arguments started on December 2, after Moonis Elahi revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had advised his party to back Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) when the no-confidence motion was moved against former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Riaz, reacting to Moonis’s remarks, tweeted, “And the PTI people kept thinking that Moonis Elahi and Pervaiz Elahi were willing to accept the Chief Minister post because of their conscience’s voice and love for Imran Khan.”

    Moonis didn’t take long to Riaz, stating, “Do not worry. Your ticket is also ready and then you can takeover. And then @PTIofficial as well as others will understand.”

    The journalist reacted by criticising Moonis for “trading party tickets”, calling it the “family business” of the PML-Q leader. “By the way, how is Richard Mille’s wrist watch running which only costs Rs.75 million,” he said referring to a luxury brand of Swiss watches.

    Moonis fired back by denying he owns a Richard Mille watch. “Think they are overpriced. Since you are such a fan shall I send you one? Or shall I present it to you when you ‘officially’ join politics,” he asked the journalist.

    Sharing a picture of his watch, Imran said in a tweet that he liked his own watch very much, advising Moonis not to deny receiving gifts.

    “Ask Farhan about the watch. He will remind you,” he wrote.

  • Balochistan High Court orders no more cases to be registered against Azam Swati

    Balochistan High Court orders no more cases to be registered against Azam Swati

    Balochistan High Court (BHC) has ordered that no more cases should be registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati.

    The senator is currently the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for tweeting against senior army officials.

    BHC has also sought a written report of the cases filed against Swati from the police chief.

    A two-member BHC bench consisting of Justice Kamran Khan Mulakhail and Justice Aamir Rana passed the order on a petition seeking the termination of cases against Swati. The petition was filed by Swati’s son Osman Swati.

    Last week, a Quetta court handed over Swati to police for a five-day physical remand in the case. At the time, PTI chief Imran Khan said that Swati has been “taken away by the Quetta police” from Islamabad despite health concerns.

    According to media reports, the arrest was made over different cases registered against the senator across Balochistan.

    Earlier, Swati approached the Supreme Court (SC) to request the transfer of all cases registered against him in Sindh and Balochistan to Islamabad.

  • CJ takes notice of ‘brutal killing’ of Arshad Sharif

    CJ takes notice of ‘brutal killing’ of Arshad Sharif

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, has taken Suo Moto notice of the ‘brutal killing’ of journalist Arshad Sharif.


    The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan has issued notices to Secretary Interior, Secretary Foreign Affairs, Secretary Information and Broadcasting, DG (FIA), DG (IB) and President PFUJ and has fixed the matter today, on 6th December, 2022 at 12:30pm before a five member larger bench to be headed by Justice Bandial.

    Arshad Sharif was assassinated in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, on October 23 in what their local police claimed was a case of ‘mistaken identity’.


    PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry welcomed the move by the Chief Justice.