Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Former Governor Omar Cheema is new Punjab Home Advisor

    The name of former Governor of Punjab, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, has been approved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for the slot of adviser to the Chief Minister (CM) Punjab on home affairs.

    This decision came about after the resignation of Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar, who reportedly left his post after differences with Imran Khan.

    Punjab Home Minister resigns as IK reportedly not happy with him

    Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar has stepped down from his office, citing personal commitments and health issues.

    On Tuesday, Dogar shared his resignation on Twitter with a caption saying: “Today I have resigned from my post due to my personal reasons. Inshallah, I will continue to work as a regular worker of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).”

    His resignation states: “It was a great pleasure to have served as Minister for Home and Prison Department under your able command. I feel regretted to inform you that I shall not be able to continue due to my personal commitments and some health issues.”

    “I was and will always be available to serve you and my party chairman for times to come”, he added.

    However, Journalist Hamid Mir, on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan called Dogar and asked for his resignation. Reportedly, he was not happy with the provincial minister.

    “Imran was told that Dogar belongs to the unit of a senior officer of the establishment and often meets him”, he said.

    Mir claimed that the PTI chairman had been getting information about Dogar. It is yet to be proved whether the information was correct or not.

    Earlier, Dogar said, “If Imran Khan announces a long march then the Punjab government will not become part of it. We will not facilitate the participants of the long march but security will be provided”.

    He also said that government resources will not be used and called Khan’s long march a “political matter”.

    On the contrary, reacting to Dogar’s statement, Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Pervaiz Elahi said, “That is, as such, no matter”.

  • PM Shehbaz, Hamza acquitted in money laundering case

    PM Shehbaz, Hamza acquitted in money laundering case

    A special court in Lahore on Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, in a Rs. 16 billion money laundering case.

    During Tuesday’s hearing, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told the court that no direct transaction had been made in the bank accounts of PM Shehbaz and his son from benami accounts [hidden accounts].

    Reacting to the verdict, the PM thanked the Almighty for this day in a tweet. “Despite the worst practices, use of state force and holding institutions hostage, we stand successfully before the court, the law and the people,” he wrote.

    In the previous hearing, Special Court Judge Ejaz Awan asked about the number of bank accounts owned by the Malik Maqsood — also known as Maqsood Chaprasi.

    FIA prosecutor Farooq Bajwa responded that the late Maqsood had eight bank accounts to his name.

    The prosecutor further stated that no money was either directly deposited or withdrawn from the accounts of the suspects, including Shehbaz and Hamza.

    The judge asked what evidence was there to substantiate that the entire money dealing was being done at Hamza’s behest. In response, FIA’s prosecutor said the agency does not have “any evidence” linking him to money laundering.

    FIA had booked Shehbaz and his two sons, Hamza and Suleman, in November 2020 under Sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Section 3/4 of Anti-Money Laundering Act.

    The FIA had in December 2021 submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to a special court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16bn in the sugar scam case.

    “The investigation team has detected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed during 2008-18. The FIA examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions,” said an FIA report submitted to the court.

    The amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity, the report added.

  • ‘Aap mehengayi kam karain, meri tabiat behtar hojayegi’: Chaudhry Shujaat to PM Shehbaz

    ‘Aap mehengayi kam karain, meri tabiat behtar hojayegi’: Chaudhry Shujaat to PM Shehbaz

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain met Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday. According to reports, Shujaat advised Shehbaz to follow the constitution while appointing the next army chief and not listen to anyone on this matter.

    About the appointment of General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s successor, the PML-Q chief reportedly advised the premier to follow the book, remarking that “This is a sensitive matter and a national responsibility.”

    According to the details of the meeting, PM Shehbaz Sharif inquired about Shujaat’s health to which he responded smilingly by saying, “Aap mehengai kam karain, meri tabiat behtar hojayegi [You bring down inflation and my health will improve automatically].”

    Shujaat said that they are standing with the government but it should provide relief to the masses.

  • PM Shehbaz arrives in Kazakhstan to attend CICA summit

    PM Shehbaz arrives in Kazakhstan to attend CICA summit

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday to attend the two-day 6th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

    Before leaving, Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, “I believe CICA is capable of shaping a new configuration of economic cooperation & security in Asia through greater connectivity.”

    “As the world faces the prospect of a recession fuelled by increase in the energy & food prices, there is a greater need to promote engagement & understanding to form win-win partnerships. Climate induced disasters call for synergized efforts for mutually beneficial outcomes,” he added.

    PM Shehbaz would address the plenary meeting of the forum on Thursday (tomorrow) during the two-day summit starting today, a statement issued by the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

    In his speech, the premier will elaborate upon the significance of CICA as a unique forum for promoting interaction, understanding and collaboration amongst countries across Asia to address common challenges, the statement said.

    It added that PM Shehbaz would also highlight Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global issues.

    “On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with leaders of various CICA member states aimed at fostering greater cooperation, particularly in the fields of trade, investment and energy,” the statement read.

  • Court grants protective bail to Imran Khan after FIA booked him in prohibited funding case

    Court grants protective bail to Imran Khan after FIA booked him in prohibited funding case

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted protective bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday after Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked him in a prohibited funding case.

    The bail petition, submitted by Imran’s lawyer Salman Safdar, stated that FIA ​​registered a case under the Foreign Exchange Act and that the court should grant protective bail so that Imran could appear in court.

    According to the high court’s orders, Imran was granted bail until October 18 for a bond of Rs5,000. The IHC also barred the FIA from arresting him.

    Khan also appeared before the court after IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah summoned him. The PTI chief was brought in amid tight security.

    Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar informed the court that they fear that Imran Khan would be arrested in the new prohibited funding case.

    Upon this, the court barred the Islamabad administration from “harassing” Khan.

    “Imran Khan shouldn’t be arrested until he appears in court”, IHC remarked.

    After granting bail, the court adjourned the case till Tuesday.

    A day earlier, FIA booked Khan and other PTI leaders in a case pertaining to their party allegedly receiving prohibited funding.

  • DG ISPR and 11 others promoted to lieutenant general

    DG ISPR and 11 others promoted to lieutenant general

    Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar, has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, the ISPR announced on Tuesday (today).

    Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar is presently serving as the ISPR Director General, a post he has held since January 2020.

    Major General Inam Haider Malik, Major General Fayyaz Hussain Shah, Major General Nauman Zakria, Major General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Major General Ayman Bilal Safdar, Major General Ahsan Gulrez, Major General Syed Aamer Raza, Major General Shahid Imtiaz, Major General Muhammad Munir Afsar, Major General Yousaf Jamal, and Major General Kashif Nazir have also been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

    In August, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was appointed the Corps Commander, Bahawalpur. Lt Gen Sardar Hassan Azhar Hayat replaced him as the new Corps Commander, Peshawar.

    The same month, Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor was appointed as the Commander XII Corps (Quetta), replacing Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali, who was martyred in a helicopter crash during flood relief operations in Balochistan.

  • FIA books Imran Khan and others in ‘prohibited funding’ case

    FIA books Imran Khan and others in ‘prohibited funding’ case

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has booked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and other party leaders in a case pertaining to their party allegedly receiving prohibited funding.

    The case was filed by the state through FIA’s Corporate Banking Circle in Islamabad.

    In the First Information Report (FIR), the federal agency alleged that Abraaj Group transferred $2,100,000 to PTI account. In addition, the FIR states that the party received more financing from two bank accounts of Wotan Cricket Club.

    The complaint named Imran Khan, Sardar Azhar Tariq Khan, Saifullah Khan Nyazee, Syed Yunus Ali Raza, Aamer Mehmood Kiani, Tariq Rahim Sheikh, Tariq Shafi, Faisal Maqbool Shaikh, Hamid Zaman and Manzoor Ahmad Chaudhary as signatories/beneficiaries of the PTI account in question.

    The FIR alleged the branch’s operations manager had also failed to report these illegal transactions to the concerned authorities.

    In August, the ECP issued its verdict in the prohibited funding case — previously referred to as the foreign funding case — against the PTI, which stated that the party did indeed receive prohibited funding.

    The ECP said that the party, in violation of the Constitution, had received funds from 34 foreign entities. The party received funds from the United States, Australia, and the UAE. The ECP added that 13 unidentified accounts also surfaced during the probe in the PTI funding case.

  • ‘Gandi gandi videos tayyar kar rahay hain’: Khan

    ‘Gandi gandi videos tayyar kar rahay hain’: Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in a rally held on Tuesday has alleged that his opponents are making morphed, fake and “dirty” videos of him through latest technology.

    “They are making my dirty, deep fakes videos. They are using everything in their capacity to damage my party’s and my name,” said Imran Khan in his speech.

    Declaring that he is going to court, the former Prime Minister asked how is it possible that the Premier’s house’s secure line gets recorded and later released to the public. “I will definitely probe which intelligence agency is behind this,” he stated.

    “Am I some enemy of the country? Whatever they do, they cannot stop the flood of people,” asked the PTI chairman.

  • Nawaz Sharif meets Awn Chaudhry and Aleem Khan at London residence

    Nawaz Sharif meets Awn Chaudhry and Aleem Khan at London residence

    Aleem Khan and Awn Chaudhry met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif separately at his London residence.

    Aleem Khan didn’t talk to the media and left right after the meeting. Refusing to give details about the meeting, Aleem Khan said, “I will avoid talking about politics.”

    “Let’s talk about the weather. The weather in London will not have any impact on the politics in Pakistan,” he said smilingly to reporters.

    Chaudhry, who is also the PM’s advisor on sports and tourism, said that Pakistan needs Nawaz Sharif at this critical juncture, adding that the nation would hear good news very soon.

    “Don’t ask me anything today. We pray that Nawaz Sharif comes to Pakistan soon,” he told the media. The Punjab government will crumble under its own weight, he predicted in reply to a question.

    PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz was present in the meeting with Nawaz Sharif.

  • FIA says no money was directly deposited into PM Shehbaz, Hamza’s accounts

    FIA says no money was directly deposited into PM Shehbaz, Hamza’s accounts

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed a special court in Lahore that no money was “directly deposited” into the bank accounts of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, in a Rs16 billion money laundering case.

    On Tuesday, the court was told that PM Shehbaz could not appear due to official engagements and requested an exemption for a day. However, Hamza appeared in court.

    Answering questions raised by the judge today, FIA’s prosecutor informed the court that Malik Maqsood – the deceased key figure in the money laundering case – had been operating eight bank accounts and that all details had been mentioned in the challan submitted before the court.

    FIA’s prosecutor, Farooq Bajwa, further argued that the record shows that neither the amounts had ever been deposited nor withdrawn from PM Shehbaz Sharif or from his son Hamza’s bank accounts.

    Hamza’s counsel argued that there is no allegation of kickbacks on the accused persons. He added that the investigation was carried out before the political situation changed and the statements were recorded on political bases.

    Earlier this month, the FIA had given a clean chit to PM Shehbaz and Hamza Shehbaz in this case, saying there was no direct evidence against them in the case.

    The case:

    In 2021, FIA submitted a challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering Rs16 billion in a sugar scam.

    The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.

    At the time, FIA had said that the amount of Rs16 billion has nothing to do with the sugar business of Shehbaz’s family. The money allegedly received from the accounts of low-wage employees was transferred outside Pakistan, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members.