Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Govt seeks early Senate polls: report

    Govt seeks early Senate polls: report

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to hold the Senate elections in February instead of March, reported Geo News.

    The decided to change the date of the polls was taken amid protests by the opposition parties, who have threatened to march on Islamabad in Feb if the prime minister fails to step down.

    Unlike previous elections of the upper house, this time the voting will be through ‘show of hands’, the report claimed. However, in order to change the Senate election procedure, the government will need an amendment for which it doesn’t have the required majority or approach the Supreme Court.

    Addressing a press conference following a weekly meeting of the federal cabinet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said that the government is striving to make the Senate elections “free and fair”.

    “Controversies have always surrounded the Senate elections. It is such an old practice that it is assumed that in the elections, [horse trading] will surely take place,” he said.

    He said the government has decided to move the apex court regarding the reforms in Senate elections. “The government seeks an election that is conducted through a “show of hands”, Faraz said, adding that the government expects to get guidance from the SC long before the elections.

    “This is in favour of all parties,” he said.

  • Miftah blasts PTI senator over allegations of NRO

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed after the latter accused him of seeking an NRO [national reconciliation ordinance].

    Miftah, who appeared on Geo’s Naya Pakistan show alongside Senator Javed and Hamid Mir to discuss the Lahore jalsa, took exception to the remarks made by the PTI senator.

    “Miftah sent a message to late PTI leader Naeemul Haq through his brother Maqsood Iqbal for an NRO,” said Senator Javed in response to Miftah Ismail, who challenged him to reveal the names of people seeking NRO from the government.

    At this, Miftah asked why would he seek NRO? Senator Javed responded that he wanted graft cases against quashed that’s why he asked his brother to approach the PTI leader for relief.

    “You should feel ashamed for lying,” said a visibly incensed Miftah, going to call the PTI senator ‘shameless’. “Tell me who sought the NRO; if you are a son of your father then tell me who asked for an NRO,” Miftah lashed out, asking for proof.

    “Entire Pakistan knows that Miftah Ismail is an honourable man,” said the PML-N leader, adding that he doesn’t live off of the back of others.

    At this, Senator Javed said Naeemul Haq has passed away else he would have given proof.

    The government ministers, including PM Imran Khan, have accused the opposition of seeking NRO — a charge the opposition denies.

  • Ministers call PDM jalsa in Lahore ‘flop show’

    Ministers call PDM jalsa in Lahore ‘flop show’

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) jalsa in Lahore has drawn flak from the ruling party’s ministers for organising a ‘flop’ rally amid the coronavirus pandemic.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz said the atmosphere at the PDM’s Lahore jalsa was “as cold as today’s weather”, adding that the opposition could only gather “10,000-15,000 people”.

    “Lahore has outright dismissed them. Lahore has rejected Maryam Nawaz,” he commented, adding that while the atmosphere could be “heated up on the television, it was cold at the venue”.

    Punjab CM’s information aide Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the PDM failed to attract Lahoris to its jalsa. She said the government allowed the joint opposition to organise its power show and didn’t resort to tear gas or anything of the sort.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the Pakistani people were “not ready to be fooled by these thieves and looters” again.” The political clowns who looted people have reunited once again,” he added. “How can those who hold rallies amid a strong [second] wave of the coronavirus pandemic be well-wishers of the common people,” he inquired.

    PM’s Special Assistant on Political Communications Dr Shahbaz Gill called the jalsa a “flop show”, whereas PTI lawmaker Ali Zaidi announced Umrah tickets for first five opposition lawmakers to resign.

    “The Opposition will have to account for its corruption. NROs will not be given to anyone,” Zaidi added.

    PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan commented on how today’s jalsa was “another flop show” and that the “PDM is doing back-to-back flop rallies”.

    “The number of people who come to their [PDM’s] meeting in total are equal to the number of people we have on the stage in our [PTI’s rallies],” he added.

  • Khokar resigns as Bilawal’s spokesperson

    Khokar resigns as Bilawal’s spokesperson

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has confirmed his resignation from the position of spokesperson to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari a day ahead of the joint opposition’s power show in Lahore.

    In a statement on Twitter on Saturday, Senator Khokhar responded to the reports that claimed he had quit the PPP, saying that he will remain in the PPP and will stand by Bilawal “through thick and thin”.

    “In my years as his spokesperson, have given counsel with honesty, sincerity and in the best interests of the country and the party,” he added.

    Insiders say the PPP chief’s spokesperson had issues with the party’s stance on mass resignations, resulting in his resignation from the post on Thursday. Subsequently, Senator Khokhar also quit the party’s Whatsapp group, giving birth to speculations about his departure from the party.

    However, PPP media cell was quick to shoot down these reports. In a statement issued on Friday, the media cell said that Khokhar will remain in the PPP and serve as the spokesperson of the chairman. Whereas, Khokhar on the other hand remained silent on the issue till his aforementioned tweet wherein he confirmed his resignation from the post of the spokesperson.

    Dawn had reported that Senator Khokhar was “angry over the PPP’s decision about resignations from the assemblies and party leadership’s back-channel contacts with the military establishment”.

    It further reported that while almost all important PPP leaders are in Lahore ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) plan to hold a rally on Sunday, the PPP senator preferred not to go to Lahore.

  • Lahore’s popular Butt Karahi sealed after Maryam compliments their food

    Lahore’s popular Butt Karahi sealed after Maryam compliments their food

    Lahore admin has sealed Butt Karachi, Lakshmi Chowk, for violating coronavirus SOPs after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz ate there along with her party leaders following the conclusion of a rally in the area.

    The police have also registered cases against Maryam, PML-N leaders, and at least 200 other people. Two cases have been registered at the Gawalmandi police station, and one each at the Mozang police station, Ichra police station, and Lohari Gate police station.

    The cases were filed in response to the rally that was taken out by Maryam from Jati Umra to Data Darbar. The aim of this rally to galvanise supporters ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) jalsa in Lahore on Sunday.

    Earlier, a video of Maryam Nawaz eating ‘karahi’ had gone viral on Twitter. As she had her food, a large number of people could be seen in the background trying to get a glimpse of the PML-N leader.

    The video clip was shared on Facebook and Twitter on Thursday. On Twitter, it also got the attention of the PML-N leader, who retweeted it with a caption, “Kamaal karahi thi.”

    Maryam had spent several hours canvassing supporters in Lahore ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on Sunday. The PDM leadership said it will take ‘big decisions’ at the jalsa, which probably includes mass resignations. 

  • PM appoints Sheikh Rasheed as interior minister

    In another reshuffle in the federal cabinet, Prime Minister Imran Khan has appointed Sheikh Rasheed as the interior ministry while Brig (r) Ijaz Shah, who had held the portfolio of the interior ministry, has been named as the narcotics minister.

    Senator Azam Swati, whose portfolio has been given to Ijaz Shah, will replace Sheikh Rasheed as the railways minister.

    Meanwhile, Hafeez Sheikh, who was serving as PM’s aide on finance, has been inducted in the cabinet as a federal minister for finance. Sheikh is not a member of parliament, but the PM can appoint “an unelected individual as a minister for six months under Article 91(9) of the Constitution”. He took oath as a federal minister earlier in the day.

    “A Minister who for any period of 6 months is not a member of the National Assembly shall, at the expiration of that period, cease to be a Minister and shall not before the dissolution of that Assembly be again appointed a Minister unless he is elected a member of that Assembly,” reads Article 91(9).

    Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had ruled that a special assistant or PM’s aide cannot head a public body without being an elected member of parliament. After this decision, Sheikh was unable to head the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) meeting.

    This is the fifth time Prime Minister Imran Khan has reshuffled the federal cabinet since assuming office in 2018.

  • Video of Maryam enjoying ‘kamaal karahi’ goes viral

    Video of Maryam enjoying ‘kamaal karahi’ goes viral

    A video of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz eating ‘karahi’ at a Lakshmi Chowk restaurant in Lahore has gone viral on Twitter.

    A large number of people can be seen in the background trying to get a glimpse of the PML-N leader, who is seen enjoying her food along with other party leaders.

    The video clip was shared on Facebook and Twitter on Thursday. On Twitter, it also got the attention of the PML-N leader, who retweeted it with a caption, “Kamaal karahi thi.” 

    Maryam had spent several hours canvassing supporters in Lahore ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on Sunday. The PDM leadership said it will take ‘big decisions’ at the jalsa, which probably includes mass resignations. 

    Meanwhile, the prime minister has said that the government will not stop the opposition from organising a jalsa in Lahore, but cases will be registered nonetheless. He said the government never shied away from a national dialogue.

    On Wednesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Shireen Mazari alleged that the PDM, a joint opposition alliance, is receiving foreign funding. The federal minister had claimed that a lot of people who are part of the PDM have received “a lot of foreign funds”. She, however, couldn’t provide any proof.

    “If we get the evidence […] but when we receive hardcore evidence, then it will become the responsibility of the government to take action,” she had.

  • Dawn sacks Lahore resident editor as layoffs continue

    Dawn sacks Lahore resident editor as layoffs continue

    Amid staffers’ protests against its policy of retrenchment and pay cuts, Dawn on Thursday sacked Asha’ar Rehman, the newspaper’s Lahore resident editor.

    His sacking was the first from the editorial department in Lahore, after the managers laid off 24 employees in November, including cleaners and security guards, reported JournalismPakistan.com.

    It said the staff felt uneasy following the editor’s termination and sensed more layoffs in the days ahead.

    Rehman had joined Dawn in February 2007 from The News on Sunday, where he worked as an editor. He was on the launch team of The News. Earlier on in his career, he had stints with the Kuwait Times and the Frontier Post.

    Dawn also laid off several employees at other centers earlier, prompting protests by the workers’ union and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). The paper has also slapped pay cuts.

    The Dawn union held the protest in Karachi on Tuesday. The journalists warned the newspaper management against any further layoffs and cuts in salaries and benefits. They also asked the government to protect journalists’ economic rights.

    Earlier, the employees held a similar protest outside the Dawn Islamabad office.

  • ECP finds ‘serious discrepancies’ in Hammad Azhar’s assets: report

    ECP finds ‘serious discrepancies’ in Hammad Azhar’s assets: report

    The Election Commission of Pakistan is likely to take action against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and federal minister Hammad Azhar over “some serious discrepancies observed during scrutiny of [his declared] assets”.

    The News reported that the minister did not declare his “shares in a flour mill and few other businesses in one of his declarations submitted to the ECP”.

    “After he became MNA in 2018 and later became a member of the cabinet, the assets declared by him and his spouse were different from those he had declared earlier” while filing his nomination paper, the report said, adding that this prompted ECP to launch the scrutiny some two years back.

    “Our [ECP’s] team found an apparent mis-declaration, serious discrepancies and deficiencies in Hammad’s declarations, and he failed to explain his position before the electoral body scrutinising his and his wife’s assets and liabilities,” the report quoted an ECP official.

    Meanwhile, Hammad Azhar has refuted the content of the report and said that it “is compiled without reading my reply to ECP which easily answered all queries in May 2019”.

    He said the reporter ignored his written filed in the election commission in response to the scrutiny.

    About his response in 2019, the ECP official quoted by The News said that it was “unsatisfactory”.

  • PDM is ‘foreign-funded’ movement, says govt

    PDM is ‘foreign-funded’ movement, says govt

    As the opposition-led movement to oust the Imran government gains momentum, Human Rights Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Shireen Mazari has alleged that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a joint opposition alliance, is receiving foreign funding.

    In an interview with Dawn News, the federal minister claimed that a lot of people who are part of the PDM have received “a lot of foreign funds”. She, however, couldn’t provide any proof.

    “If we get the evidence […] but when we receive hardcore evidence, then it will become the responsibility of the government to take action,” she said, adding that “let’s see how things unfold”.

    According to Mazari, it had come to her knowledge that that evidence was now surfacing regarding funding for the opposition alliance from abroad.

    “[I have] heard that a lot of evidence has been found that funding, encouragement is being sent. You know Pakistan has dissident groups abroad. Every country has them, dissident groups from Pakistan are also abroad, the way they are living, after all they are receiving money from somewhere.”

    A similar claim was made by the prime minister of Pakistan a couple of days, when he told a delegation of senior journalists that certain countries were supporting the PDM in its bid to oust his government, Daily Pakistan reported.

    It may be noted here that PTI is also case pertaining to foreign funding in the Election Commission of Pakistan. The ECP officials will meet on Dec 31 to discuss the audit of the PTI after multiple delayed hearings.

    Meanwhile, PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, flanked by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, addressed a press conference on Wednesday. He had said that the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13 will be held “at all costs”.