Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Naya Pakistan: PM House expenditure falls from Rs59 crores in 2018 to Rs28 crores in 2020

    Naya Pakistan: PM House expenditure falls from Rs59 crores in 2018 to Rs28 crores in 2020

    With Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s government still seeming determined to relieve the treasury of some of its burden as part of the ruling party’s austerity drive, the expenditures of PM House and Office have reportedly reduced by 49% and 29%, respectively.

    According to reports, the total expenditure of the PM House narrowed down to Rs280 million (Rs28 crores) in 2020 from Rs339 million (Rs33 crores) in 2019 and Rs590 million (Rs59 crores) in 2018 — the year when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was handed reins of the country.

    The PM Office witnessed a considerable decrease in its expenditure from 2018 to 2020, but last year was slightly more than in 2019. It stood at Rs334 million (Rs33 crores) in 2020, Rs305 million (Rs30 crores) in 2019 and Rs514 million (Rs51 crores) in 2018.

    In a first, the premier has not used any discretionary funds in the form of cash awards, gifts etc. He has made around 26 official visits till now, but their combined cost stood at a mere Rs176 million (Rs17 crores) as compared to his predecessors.

    The premier, since assuming office in 2018, has been pushing for austerity measures to save taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden on the national exchequer.

    Despite the steps taken by PM Imran in this regard, the austerity drive has faced multiple setbacks owing to the apparent reluctance of the lawmakers in cutting down expenses.

  • Nawaz signed NRO to go to London, claims ex-minister

    Nawaz signed NRO to go to London, claims ex-minister

    The establishment allowed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to go to London for medical treatment as a part of an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] deal struck between the two parties, claimed Ijazul Haq, former minister and son of military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq.

    In an interview with Samaa, the ex-minister claimed the change in platelets count was an NRO deal. “Certainly, there was establishment involved,” Haq claimed.

    Haq claimed that he knew the “platelets and blood report of Sharif was changed to facilitate his escape from Pakistan”.

    “I know that the platelet or blood report was something else and the report on paper was something else,” he said. Haq said the information is “authentic” and he has “proof” to substantiate his claim, reported Samaa.

    It may be noted that the former premier was rushed to hospital from jail after a drastic decrease in his platelets. Subsequently, he was allowed to go abroad for treatment in Nov 2019 after submitting an assurance in the court.

    Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is in London for more than one year due to medical reasons and his passport is also expired.

    The government has refused to renew his passport, saying it could issue an emergency travel document on his request for returning back to the country.

    However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has tried all means to bring Nawaz back but without any success. PM Imran had announced that he would go to the UK himself to bring Nawaz back.

    His statement was followed by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed saying that only Allah can bring Nawaz Sharif back. But eventually, the government decided that it won’t renew the passport of the ex-PM in an attempt to force his hand.

  • PML-N Senator Mushahidullah passes away at 68

    PML-N Senator Mushahidullah passes away at 68

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Mushahidullah Khan, 68, passed away in Islamabad in the wee hours of Thursday.

    The PML-N senator was not well for quite some time; however, the cause of his death was not immediately clear. Senator Mushahidullah’s funeral prayers will be held after Zuhr in Islamabad’s Sector H-11 on Thursday, according to his family.

    The death of the senator was shared by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz in a tweet. She prayed tribute to the senator’s services, calling him the “loyal and exceptional companion” of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

    “I am shattered to hear the sad news. Will never be able to forget his fatherly affection and love. Huge, huge loss,” she said.

    As per a report in Dawn, Mushahidullah had remained a trusted comrade of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ever since the latter was forced into exile after the military coup in 1999. First appointed party information secretary and later made a senator in 2009, he also served as the party spokesperson for many years.

    The PML-N leader was also awarded a ticket to contest the upcoming Senate elections on a general seat.

    The senior PML-N leader also was the chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation and a member of the Council of Chairpersons and various others standing committees. He was also part of the parliamentary committees on Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, Kashmir, and National Security.

  • Senate polls cannot remain ‘secret forever’, says SC judge

    Senate polls cannot remain ‘secret forever’, says SC judge

    Supreme Court judge Ijazul Ahsan, while hearing presidential reference pertaining to the secret ballot in the Senate elections, said that the votes cast in the election cannot remain “secret forever”.

    A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed urged Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja to consider recommendations presented by Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan and submit a response to the top court. Raza Rabbani, who is representing the opposition in the case, opposed this, saying the attorney general would share the government’s point of view on the issue.

    The SC had grilled the Election Commission of Pakistan over its response on the secret ballot on Tuesday. Today, the ECP in its reply maintained that the Senate elections can only be held through secret voting under Article 226 until an amendment is made.

    As per the article, the voting in the election would “always remain secret”, the ECP informed the bench. Justice Ahsan remarked that the “secrecy of the vote till the Day of Judgement is neither in the law nor in court judgements”.

    The judge further said if any party got less number of seats in the Senate as compared to its seats in the provincial assemblies then the ECP will be responsible. “If [any party] does not get [the number of seats] in relation to its seats in the provincial assemblies, it will be the ECP’s defeat.”

    At this, the election commission tried to assuage the court’s concerns, saying the ECP has set up a vigilance committee and an online complaints centre. All election candidates will be required to take an oath that they would not buy or sell votes, the ECP representative added.

    He informed the court that more than 1,100 complaints had been received since September. “Whatever complaints the ECP receives regarding elections, action is taken on them immediately.”

    Justice Mushir Alam observed that the matter of secrecy was part of the Elections Act 2017 but the question was to what extent would secrecy be applicable.

    During the hearing, the attorney general said ECP needs to wake up from its slumber and formulate a mechanism to stop horse-trading. AGP Khan said the ECP should ask the heads of political parties whether any seat adjustment was done. Barcodes or serial numbers could be printed on ballot papers, he suggested.

    Meanwhile, the chief justice refused to entertain the Pakistan Bar Council’s plea, saying the PBC won’t be heard on political matters.

  • 2018 vs 2020: Is Karachi done with Imran’s PTI?

    After a rather troubled polling day, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has managed to secure a comfortable win in Karachi’s PS-88 Malir by-election for a seat in the Sindh Assembly, unofficial results issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have revealed.

    But does that mean that the people of Karachi are done with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) amid economic among other challenges faced by the country?

    According to journalist Ajmal Jami, that might be the case, at least in Malir, and here’s why…

    The PPP was the only party that not only retained the number of votes received in the 2018 general election, but went on to secure even more.

    The PPP secured 24,251 votes in the 2021 by-election as compared to 22,561 in 2018, whereas the PTI and its allied Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) received merely 4,870 votes against 2018’s 16,386 and 2,635 votes against 5,207, respectively.

    Hardliner Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which had received 7,694 votes in 2018, bagged only 6,090 this year.

    Earlier, polling for the PS-88 by-election — that was slated to be a hot contest between the PPP and PTI — was marred by allegations of vote rigging, violence and intimidation as all contesting parties traded charges against each other.

    The winning candidate, PPP’s Yousuf Murtaza Baloch, is the son of Murtaza Baloch, the former minister for human settlement.

    The seat fell vacant after Murtaza died of COVID-19 in June last year.

  • Families of two accident victims pardon Kashmala’s son

    Families of two accident victims pardon Kashmala’s son

    Families of two out of four men who lost their lives after being hit by a vehicle of Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women Kashmala Tariq on the Srinagar Highway, pardoned her son and driver on Tuesday.

    According to the media reports, the families submitted affidavits to the court of Additional District and Session Judge, Mohammad Sohail Fazil during the hearing of a plea for bail-before-arrest obtained by Ms Tariq’s son.

    The investigators had asked the court to cancel the bail and give physical remand of the accused but the counsel for the accused borrowed time till afternoon and brought the families of the two deceased, Farooq Ahmed and Adil, who submitted affidavits separately.

    As per the information on affidavits, “The car was driven not by Ms Tariq’s son but by the driver. They do not want any legal action against her driver and her son.”

    It further added, “For the sake of Allah, we have no objection over the release of her driver and son on bail, quash the case and discharge them from the case.”

    Later, the court issued an order stating that parents of deceased Farooq Ahmed and Adil Abbasi got their affidavits submitted.

    During the hearing, they were asked to come up one by one, and contents of the affidavits were read and explained to them in Urdu. All of them verified the contents and thumb impression on it.

    The parents had firmly stated that they had pardoned the accused and have no objection if they are released on bail.

    To nullify the case completely, affidavits from the families of the other two deceased and the two injured persons are also required, said the judge.

  • Malala calls out PM Imran, army over escape of ex-Taliban spokesperson

    Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has asked Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and the army as to how did former Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan escaped Pakistan’s custody.

    “This is the ex-spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who claims responsibility for the attack on me and many innocent people,” Malala tweeted after a Twitter handle “impersonating the former TTP spokesperson” threatened her.

    “He is now threatening people on social media,” Malala said further, after which she went on to ask the military’s media wing and PM Imran as to how did the Ehsan even escape.

    While the tweet by Ehsan, which Malala was responding to, has been deleted as a consequence of account suspension by Twitter, in it the ex-TTP mouthpiece had asked her father and her to return to Swat, saying they still “owe a massive debt”.

    Ehsan is infamous for issuing claims of carrying out TTP attacks and has been linked to some of the country’s most deadly incidents of terror. These include the massacre of children at Army Public School (APS) Peshawar, bombing at a park in Lahore on Easter in 2016, and the targeting of Malala.

    He surrendered to authorities in 2017 and later gave interviews to a Pakistani TV channel, leading to criticism and controversy that a terrorist was given airtime. It angered many in the country who believed he was being pampered by authorities after years of helping lead a violent insurgency.

    Ehsan mysteriously escaped custody in February 2020, which, according to SAMAA, was also confirmed by the army.

    While the now-suspended Twitter handle bearing Ehsan’s name was rather active, it has been dubbed as a fake one by many, including PM Imran’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid, who reacted to Malala’s statement.

    “It’s a fake account @Malala and there is zero tolerance for extremism in Pakistan,” he tweeted.

    However, Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai responded to Dr Khalid, saying that they know for sure that the account belonged to Ehsanullah Ehsan.

  • Matric-pass MPA to head KP’s law ministry

    Matric-pass MPA to head KP’s law ministry

    After the resignation of Sultan Muhammad Khan from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has appointed Akbar Ayub Khan, who already holds the local government portfolio, as the new law minister of the province.

    Sultan, who had joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after quitting the Qaumi Watan Party, was asked to step down from his post by Prime Minister Imran Khan and the KP CM after he was seen in a leaked video taking bribes ahead of Senate 2018 elections.

    Akbar Ayub now has two portfolios. But the problem with this appointment is the minister’s educational qualification: he has not studied beyond grade 10. Geo reported that Akbar Ayub was given the additional charge of the law ministry because of his “vast experience in parliamentary politics”.

    KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai reportedly said that Akbar is a veteran politician who knows how to run a ministry. “I am sure he will do well as the law minister,” Yousafzai added.

    This is not the first time Yousafzai had to defend his colleague over the latter’s academic credential. Last year, he defended the appointment of Ayub as the education minister, saying: “One should not question Ayub’s capabilities solely due to the fact that he had not studied beyond matriculation level.”

    Last year in Jan, Akbar was made the KP education minister. According to reports at the time, KP provincial assembly’s official website showed that Ayub’s educational qualification was matric. The same had been listed in an affidavit submitted by the minister, which also stated his occupation as a businessman and a landlord.

  • First lady’s friend among PTI’s Punjab candidates for Senate

    First lady’s friend among PTI’s Punjab candidates for Senate

     

    At least 29 candidates, including a close friend of the first lady, have filed their nomination papers for 11 Senate seats in Punjab with the elections scheduled to be held on March 3.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated 10 candidates: Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Muhammad Khan Madni, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Robina Akhtar, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Aon Abbas, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary and Neelam Irshad Sheikh.

    While on seats reserved for women, three candidates are fielded by PTI, including Farhat Shahzadi who is reportedly a close friend of First Lady Bushra Bibi.

    Following criticism, PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill defended the selection of Farhat Shahzadi, saying she is a part of the PTI and has been an active political workers for many years. She is a covering candidate and it is her right, he added.

    On the other hand, the Pakistan Muslim League has put forth Mushahid Ullah Khan, Pervaiz Rasheed, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Afnan Ullah Khan, Saud Majeed, Zahid Hamid, Sajid Mir, Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman and Irfanul Haq Siddiqui for the Senate polls.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (7 lawmakers in the house) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (10 legislators) have pitched one candidate each: PPP’s Azeem-ul-Haq Minhas and PML-Q’s Kamil Ali Agha.

    An aspirant for a general seat in Punjab requires votes of at least 53 provincial legislators.

    For the two Senate seats reserved for women, there are five candidates in the run: Zarqa Suharwardy, Farhat Shahzadi and Neelam Irshad Sheikh backed by the PTI; while two, Saadia Abbasi and Saira Afzal Tarar, are from the PML-N.

    There are three nominees for the Senate seats reserved for technocrats/Ulema. Two of them — Syed Ali Zafar and Atta Ullah Khan — belong to the PTI, whereas Azam Nazeer Tarar is a PML-N nominee.

  • Ex-PTI leader says was ‘offered Senate chairmanship to drop foreign funding case’

    Ex-PTI leader says was ‘offered Senate chairmanship to drop foreign funding case’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding member Akbar S Babar, who also filed a case against the PTI over illegal funding in 2014, claimed that a friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan offered him the Senate chairmanship if he agrees to withdraw the foreign funding case against the PTI.

    “A friend of Imran Khan offered me the post of chairman Senate,” he said, adding that he had “rejected all offers since I am on a noble purpose”.

    According to the former PTI leader, he had been threatened and cases had been filed against him for pursuing his case against the party over illegal funding.

    Meanwhile, the PTI has termed the allegations of Babar as baseless. In a statement, the PTI said that Babar was not offered any kind of position by the PTI. “He is blackmailing the party for the last eight years and no leader of the PTI has contacted him nor made any such offer. It is an attempt by him to raise his political stature.”

    FOREIGN FUNDING CASE:

    Meanwhile, the PTI has disowned the statement of its central finance secretary wherein he claimed that the funds from the United Arab Emirates were transferred to the accounts of four of its paid employees.

    Last week, a document submitted to the ECP revealed that the PTI employees were authorised to receive donations from within and outside Pakistan. The document, quoted by Dawn, had revealed the names of employees that included PTI’s telephone operator Tahir Iqbal, computer operator Muhammad Nauman Afzal, accountant Mohammad Arshad and office helper Mohammad Rafiq.

    Subsequently, an application was filed by Akbar S Babar, demanding all the personal front accounts of four PTI employees be requisitioned from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to ascertain the scope of the illegal fundraising.

    However, in a response filed before the ECP’s Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, the PTI stated the “respondent does not own such statement made by any of the office-bearers of PTI”.

    This is not the first time that the PTI has disowned a statement. Earlier, its counsel in the ECP had rejected Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement wherein the premier agreed to the open hearing of the foreign funding case.