Tag: CM Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday announced Rs10 billion in assistance for Balochistan during a one-day official visit to Quetta, pledging “every possible” support for the province and calling for national unity and inter-provincial coordination to counter terrorism.

Her visit comes amid heightened security in Balochistan following a series of coordinated terrorist attacks across multiple locations on January 31. In response to the deteriorating law-and-order situation, the provincial government imposed Section 144 across Balochistan for one month.

During a meeting with Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Maryam said that she was pleased that her first visit to the province as Punjab chief minister was to Quetta. She praised the people of Balochistan for their resilience and what she described as their deep attachment to Pakistan.

“We are with Balochistan,” CM Maryam said, stressing that terrorism could only be defeated through national unity. She added that the Punjab government would extend “every possible” support to help the province overcome its challenges and said that the government wanted to see peace, stability and prosperity in Balochistan.

CM Bugti welcomed Maryam to the province and described Punjab’s announcement of Rs10 billion in support for security forces as a “positive and commendable step.” He said the government and opposition in Balochistan were united on public welfare and emphasised that national unity was essential in the fight against terrorism.

According to a statement issued by the Balochistan government, Bugti received Maryam at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. “The two leaders discussed peace, public welfare and development in Balochistan, and signalled a joint commitment by the government and opposition to work together on the province’s priorities,” the statement said. It added that both chief ministers agreed that ending terrorism was only possible through national unity and mutual cooperation.

Earlier, Maryam was received at Quetta airport by Governor Balochistan Jaffar Khan Mandokhail, CM Bugti, members of the provincial cabinet and senior officials. After the reception, she attended a ceremony at the Frontier Corps headquarters before proceeding to the Governor House, where she met Governor Mandokhail.

Maryam was accompanied by senior Punjab ministers, including Marriyum Aurangzeb and Azma Bukhari, along with the chief secretary of the province. She is also scheduled to meet families affected by the recent terrorist attacks during the visit and express solidarity with them.

The visit follows the conclusion of “Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1” in Balochistan last week, during which security forces carried out coordinated, intelligence-driven operations against what the military described as Indian-sponsored terrorist elements.

Political analyst Hafeezullah Niazi on Wednesday reacted to Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz’s comments on the prison sentence of his son Hassaan Khan Niazi.

Appearing on the Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, Hafeezullah Niazi said that  hearing Maryam Nawaz’s comment on his son’s sentence saddened him, saying, “When Maryam Nawaz commented on Hassaan Niazi’s sentence, I felt that politics has no shame.”

The Punjab CM, while addressing a cheque distribution ceremony at the University of Sargodha under the Honhaar Scholarship Programme on Wednesday, had stated that former Premier Imran Khan’s nephew Hassaan Niazi had been rightly punished as his conduct was an absolute disgrace to the nation.

She said that Hassaan Niazi was handed a 10-year prison sentence for disrespecting the military uniform.

Maryam Nawaz further stated that imagine what Hassaan Niazi’s parents are going through after the sentence of their son in the 9 May riots case.

Hafeezullah Niazi had been a vocal supporter of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) since a long time. 

A military court has awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to Hassaan Niazi in connection with the ransacking of the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence (Jinnah House) in Lahore.

“As a democrat and constitutionalist, I will never support military courts…I don’t seek relief for Hassaan Niazi but justice,” the analyst said, adding that his son had arrived at the Jinnah House location after the attack.

Moreover, he said that an unidentified man handed over his son the pants of the army uniform after his son commented about the waist of the military personnel, admitting that, indeed, his son’s remarks were disgraceful. 

However, Hafeezullah Niazi maintained that he would challenge the sentence in courts.

“Maryam Nawaz made an irresponsible statement,” he said on the Express-News political talk show Kal Tak on the same day.

“Whoever set ablaze Jinnah House must be held responsible…if proven guilty, the state should have given them even 14 years imprisonment,” the TV analyst said. He also decried the state, saying, “State has been lying for so long to support these cases.”

Additionally, he expressed optimism that Hassaan Niazi would be released soon, adding, “He will not remain confined for ten years in jail; I have seen that there is no expiry date on injustice. I know Pakistan’s 70 years of history.”

Hafeezullah Niazi responded to talk show host Javed Chaudhry’s inquiry about whether he was optimistic that justice would be served to his son, noting, “No matter if justice is not served to my son, I know that my son is innocent.”

Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz addressed the launching ceremony of the ‘Suthra Punjab’ Programme on November 3,  referring to the recent violent PTI protests: “These are dangerous people, a group of terrorists who should be eliminated from Pakistan.”

Lashing out at PTI for its November 24 “final call” march towards Islamabad, Maryam Nawaz stated: “Each time they called for people to come out, to kill, burn, or destroy, they were met with failure. No one showed up in Punjab, and I didn’t see more than a couple of dozen people at any of their rallies.”

The Chief Minister also claimed that PTI’s protest had no participants from Punjab, saying, “When I held protests and rallies, people came out and no one could stop them. Today, they claim we didn’t allow them rallies, but during our time, we never broke a single flowerpot, nor did anyone from our party damage property.”

It should be noted that ahead of the PTI’s protest, the entire motorway network and roads across the country were blocked by the government. Interestingly, the social media page of Pakistan’s National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) stated that certain sections of the motorway were closed due to “maintenance work.”

The Chief Minister also highlighted that peaceful protest is a right, saying, “Protests are allowed, but they should not be armed, and people should come forward for talks, not violence.”

“I went to CMH and saw dozens of police and Rangers personnel injured, their bones were broken. Do you call this a public protest? The mastermind of the protest is sitting in jail,” stated the CM Punjab.

Maryam Nawaz said, “We have also served prison sentences! But has anyone ever heard that our call for protest was made to burn, kill, or shut down the city? Did Nawaz Sharif ever say, burn down the country if I am in jail?”

“I have a responsibility to protect the public from terrorism and fitnah. They are not allowed to play openly right now, think if they get permission to play openly, they’ll shed rivers of blood, and burn the entire country because there is no red line for them,” remarked Maryam Nawaz.

She also criticised PTI for allegedly spreading fake news about the number of casualties of PTI protestors saying, “The number went down from 1000 to 500. Where are the dead 500 protestors? They had a video of Bushra Bibi escaping the authorities but they could not show the video of 500 dead protestors? Let me make one thing clear: whether five hundred people die or one dies, whether it is the protestor or a Ranger who dies – the man responsible is one sitting in Adiala Jail.”