Current Final

Tag: Fawad Chaudhry

  • ‘Nice to see them singing, this is normal Pakistan’: Fawad on Maryam Nawaz, Hamza singing

    ‘Nice to see them singing, this is normal Pakistan’: Fawad on Maryam Nawaz, Hamza singing

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing the media, praised the signing skills of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz and Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Hamza Shehbaz.

    Fawad’s comments come in connection to the viral video of both Hamza and Maryam where they were singing at an event for Maryam’s son Junaid Safdar’s wedding.

    Maryam Nawaz sang ‘Chura Liya‘ in a melodious voice and Hamza too sang at the same event.

    Fawad, praising the singing skills of the Sharif family, said, “I really appreciate Hamza Shehbaz and Maryam Nawaz [for their singing skills].”

    “In our personal gatherings, we sing songs and we celebrate. It was nice to see them singing,” said Fawad.

    “It was nice to see this because normal Pakistan is exactly like this,” added Fawad.

    Fawad further said, “We have political differences with them, not personal ones.”

  • Fawad lauds Opposition’s Ahsan Iqbal, Mustafa Khokhar for calling out Fazlur Rehman

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry lauded Opposition members for calling out Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on his statement regarding the Sialkot lynching incident. 

    While referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar’s tweets criticising Fazl’s comments, Fawad said, “The way everyone condemned the incident is commendable,” adding that he hoped the 220 million people of Pakistan, who hold moderate views, would come forward and condemn the incident.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1467434900743757831?s=20

    After the horrific lynching of a Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, Maulana tweeted, “The incident in Sialkot is reprehensible and shameful. There should be a comprehensive investigation. However, if the state does not take action against those accused of blasphemy, then such incidents will continue to happen.”

    He went on to say that in the past, there had been a similar backlash against “government-sponsored fugitives accused of blasphemy”.

    Ahsan Iqbal said, “Respectfully Maulana Sahab, such incidents should be unconditionally condemned – Islam does not allow such fanaticism and illegal killings by mobs in any case.”

    Similarly, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar took to Twitter and wrote: “Maulana Fazlur Rehman Sahib is a respectable figure but, on this occasion, he should have condemned the Sialkot tragedy by taking a stand in blunt and clear words instead of using ifs and buts.”

    Priyantha was working as a manager at a private factory. He was lynched on Friday by a mob after being accused of alleged blasphemy.

  • ‘PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry meeting Saad Rizvi was absurd,’says Fawad

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry termed the meeting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ejaz Chaudhry with Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Husain Rizvi as ‘absurd’.

    While speaking on Aaj News’ political news programme ‘Rubaroo with Shaukat Paracha’, Chaudhry questioned: “I think the manner in which Ejaz Chaudhry Sahib [met] the TLP [leadership] was an absurd act. Why didn’t [he] visit the homes of the policemen who were martyred.”

    “Till the time the state doesn’t stand with its martyrs who else will be their [support],” added Fawad.

    “How can there be consensus? People will only fear for [their lives here],” said Fawad.

    Senator Ejaz had met TLP chief Rizvi last month as a “gesture of goodwill” and to congratulate him on his release from jail. Pictures of Senator Ejaz hugging and presenting a bouquet to Mr Rizvi were widely shared on social media.

  • Fawad shares numbers of Pakistanis working abroad

    Fawad shares numbers of Pakistanis working abroad

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has shared a list of numbers of Pakistanis working abroad on his official Twitter account.

    In a tweet, Fawad said, “Despite Covid-19, 1.1 million Pakistanis have got jobs abroad in three years. In the next two years, the government hopes that two million people will go abroad.”

    The list shows that most of the Pakistanis work in the Middle East and the United Kingdom (UK).

    A day earlier, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that all overseas Pakistanis will be voting for the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He claimed that 40 of Punjab’s and 80 constituencies of the country will be decided by overseas voters.

  • PML-N will protest like TLP if govt forces electronic voting

    PML-N will protest like TLP if govt forces electronic voting

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said that if the government tries to force the elections through Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), the party would be left with no option but to follow the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) way of protesting.

    Sanaullah, in a Geo News Programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ stated that the other way to protest is in and outside of Parliament.

    He said, “The current government does not even have an idea of the dynamics of the polling stations and if EVMs were used, the 2023 elections would turn controversial even before they are held.”

    Shahzeb asked Rana that the Opposition can go to court over the EVM issue. To which he replied, “We will go to court. But if nothing happens, we won’t let this election happen at any cost.”

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said it is vital for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold all upcoming by-elections using EVMs. In case the ECP fails to do so, the government will not be able to release funds under the law.

  • Cabinet rejects audit report of Rs40 billion irregularities detected in PM’s Covid package

    Cabinet rejects audit report of Rs40 billion irregularities detected in PM’s Covid package

    Minister of Information Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday rejected the recently released audit report, which shows Rs40 billion irregularities detected in PM’s Covid package.

    “The cabinet rejected the audit report on Covid-19 spending and asked three relevant organisations to give their presentations in this regard,” revealed Fawad in a press conference after the cabinet meeting.

    Fawad said the finance ministry had already rejected the audit report and prime minister’s aide Dr Sania Nishtar had also clarified the position of her organisation, Ehsaas programme.

    The audit report was released last week as Pakistan gave in to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) pressure by releasing the audit report of expenditures incurred on Covid-19.

    The release of the report by the Ministry of Finance was one of the five prior actions that the IMF has asked Pakistan to implement if it wanted to get the $1 billion loan tranche by January next year.

  • ‘Poor judgment’, President Alvi reacts to promoting own family business

    ‘Poor judgment’, President Alvi reacts to promoting own family business

    President Dr Arif Alvi has regretted the choice of the place where his son Dr Awab Alvi signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bringing Smiles Unites States of America (USA) signatory ceremony. The MoU was signed at the Governor’s House.

    Taking to Twitter Alvi said, “For the signing ceremony of an MOU between Dr Awab [his son] and his friend in my presence, the venue selection was a matter of poor judgment.”

    Taking the president’s side, federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry tweeted, “The President is a very respected person, his honesty and personality is witnessed by everyone who knows him.”

    Earlier today, President Alvi’s son announced about the MoU on social media along with a picture in which Dr Arif Alvi and his wife can be seen standing along with their son.

    Despite Dr Awab’s clarification, an online debate was generated on whether there was a conflict of interest for the president or not.

    When the official website “Alvi Dentals” was checked, the president is still enlisted as a dentist and part of the Alvi Dental team. The website also provides an option to “schedule an appointment” with the president.

  • ‘Not a film set, apologise’: Fawad Chaudhry lashes out at model for posing at Kartarpur bareheaded

    ‘Not a film set, apologise’: Fawad Chaudhry lashes out at model for posing at Kartarpur bareheaded

    Minister of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan Fawad Chaudhry has lashed out at a model for hurting the Sikh community after she posed ‘bareheaded’ for a clothing ad at the Kartarpur Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

    Taking to Twitter, the information minister wrote: “The Designer and the model must apologise to Sikh Community. KartarPur Sahib is a religious symbol and not a film set.”

    According to reports, the woman who runs Mannat, a ready-to-wear women’s online clothing store in Pakistan, got a photo-shoot done at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib complex in the recent past with the model posing bareheaded with her back towards the Gurdwara.

    In the now-deleted photographs, the woman is seen wearing a red suit posing for the camera without covering her head with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in the background.

    It should be noted that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the single largest representative body of Sikhs, has pasted posters inside the gurdwara complex cautioning devotees not to shoot entertainment videos after a few of them were caught shooting TikTok videos.

    Many have criticised the model and demanded her apology. Former president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Paramjit Singh Sarna said in a statement that this is a “highly objectionable” act that has “severely hurt” the Sikh religious sentiments.

    Sarna said that he would take up the issue with the Chairman of Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board Dr Amar Ahmad on priority and ask him to make the PMU staff aware of the Sikh “rehat maryada” (Sikh code of religious conduct).

    He called upon Pakistani authorities to place written instructions in Urdu about Sikh “Maryada”. He also urged the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) and local authorities in Narowal that visitors to the historical shrine must be sensitised about the Sikh code of conduct applicable at gurdwaras.

    Last week, several Sikh pilgrims visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan on the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

  • Those who chant ‘vote ko izzat do’ bought votes for Rs2,000: Fawad hits at PML-N over a leaked video

    Those who chant ‘vote ko izzat do’ bought votes for Rs2,000: Fawad hits at PML-N over a leaked video

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said those who chant “vote ko izzat do” (give respect to vote) slogan bought votes for Rs2,000 for the upcoming by-election in Lahore.

    His comments come in relevance to the viral video in which workers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) can be allegedly seen distributing cash among the voters of the Lahore constituency. The video surfaced days ahead of the by-election in Lahore’s NA-133 constituency scheduled for December 5.

    https://twitter.com/SHABAZGIL/status/1464717252846964739

    Addressing a public gathering Fawad said, “I hope that when the offices of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would open on Monday, they would take notice of the matter and would ask the PML-N how getting votes by distributing money was a service to democracy and giving respect to the ballot.”

    Taking a jibe at PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, Fawad said that she and her husband Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar should bid adieu to politics, further adding that whenever their case was about to be heard in courts, they leaked fake videos to pressure judges and state institutions.

    “Maryam Nawaz had said she did not own any property in London and even in Pakistan but after Panama Leaks, we came to know that she owned property worth billions not only in Pakistan but also abroad. We repeatedly ask them to show receipts, else there are only two options: to return the money or go to jail,” said Fawad.

    The video created an uproar in the political arena, as PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders accused each other of trying to buy votes in the constituency.

    Later on Sunday, Returning Officer (RO) Syed Basit Ali wrote separate letters to the Punjab Police chief, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Lahore deputy commissioner, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), drawing attention and seeking more information about the persons seen in the video clips to take action against them.

    The lower house seat from Lahore fell vacant due to the death of PML-N MNA Pervaiz Malik, who died on October 11 due to heart-related complications.

  • Federal ministers hold Sindh responsible for food inflation

    Federal ministers hold Sindh responsible for food inflation

    The federal government on Friday criticised the Sindh government for ‘poor governance’ with ministers holding it responsible for food inflation in the country, reports Dawn.

    The criticism came from the government after Prime Minister Imran Khan had claimed the Centre would uplift 14 districts under the Rs444 billion Sindh Development Plan.

    Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry blamed the Sindh government for rising food inflation in the country, alleging that the “Sindh government has left the people of the province at the mercy of mafias”.

    He said when sugar price went up to Rs150 per kilo, the Sindh government stopped supplying sugar cane to mills and later blocked stocks of sugar from reaching the markets. He said prices of food and grocery items were still higher in Sindh as compared to other provinces.

    However, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which rules Sindh, slammed the federal government for criticising the provincial government.

    PPP spokesman Faisal Karim Kundi asked: “Why does Imran Khan worry so much about Sindh?”

    He claimed that Sindh was the only province where free treatment was being given for cancer, heart ailments, liver and kidney ailments.

    “If nothing is being done in Sindh, then why do people from across the country travel to Sindh to avail free medical treatment,” he questioned.