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Tag: Imran Khan

  • ‘Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein’: Bilawal’s fiery speech on Khan

    ‘Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein’: Bilawal’s fiery speech on Khan

    In a fiery speech delivered on Wednesday on the floor of the National Assembly, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that for the past 30 years, “Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein”, referring to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    “This happens all the time,” he said in a speech that took aim at Imran Khan, the establishment and the judiciary. “Some Einsteins sit in our institutions; they make the decisions for the country. They manufacture these strategic assets, and then the assets come back to haunt the rest of us,” said Bilawal.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman reminded the members that the nation bravely fought against terrorists and eradicated terrorism from the country.

    It was unfortunate that the terrorism eliminated due to sacrifices of the Pakistan Army, police and common masses had been revived by Imran Khan, the minister remarked.

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who lost his mother- former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto – to a terrorist attack, also said that militants “played Holi” with the blood of the Pakistani nation for years yet the former prime minister pardoned the terrorists and brought them back to resettle them.

    “There is no example in the world of how our tribal people fought with terrorists,” he added.

    Taking aim at the former heads of Inter-Services Intelligence, the PPP head said that General Hameed Gul held [Imran’s] finger, while the role of General Pasha, General Zaheerul Islam, and General Faiz Hameed is obvious to everyone.

    “Dictatorship in the Supreme Court (SC) was started by Iftikhar Chaudhry, and he was also a part of this hybrid war, his aim was the end of the Constitution; General Faiz and General Pasha are gone but Imran remains,” he added.

    The foreign minister said that they have been talking about the supremacy of the Constitution and free media, but undemocratic steps were taken in response to their democratic step.

    He said that they did not do anything undemocratic by expelling an “undemocratic prime minister” and it is not appropriate to remain silent for the sake of democracy.

    “The nation must be told why such situations have happened,” he added.

    He further said that in response to the no-confidence motion, the then-prime minister, the-then speaker of the lower house, and the current president of the country “broke the Constitution”. “What did Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif do in response to this? If the constitution and law have been broken, file a case,” he demanded.

  • PTI says they now respect next Supreme Court Chief Justice Faez Isa who they had taken to court

    PTI says they now respect next Supreme Court Chief Justice Faez Isa who they had taken to court

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has said in an interview that the party respects Justice Qazi Faez Isa who is set to become the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) later this year.

    In an interview with WE news, he said, “We have a relationship of respect with Justice Faez Isa”, adding that he disapproved the idea of filing a reference against the top judge.

    He said when the current government files a reference against the judiciary, it means they want to put the judges under pressure.

    “The government must allow the judiciary to function independently,” he asserted.

    In 2020, Justice Faez was accused of concealing assets and PTI filed a reference against him. Justice Isa then asked the Supreme Court that a full bench be constituted, a plea that was accepted by then CJP Asif Saeed Khosa and after a months-long trial, a full bench of the apex court dismissed the petition against him.

    Later, Khan himself accepted his mistake of filing a presidential reference against the judge.

    During the interview, Fawad Chaudhry once again said that the former ruling party is ready for talks. He mentioned that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has also talked about the consensus but as of yet no effort has been made.

    Talking about PM Shehbaz, Chaudhry said that he is running from the elections and is being “non-serious”.

    He claimed that “they [government] want martial law in the country”.

  • ‘Ready to sit with anyone’: Khan willing to attend MPC if election date on agenda

    ‘Ready to sit with anyone’: Khan willing to attend MPC if election date on agenda

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has shown readiness to attend a Multi-Party Conference (MPC) if it is convened to discuss mechanisms and dates for elections.

    “I am ready to sit with anyone and all of those who are prepared to hold elections within the Constitution,” said Khan while talking to Kazim Khan, president of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors.

    Talking about Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Khan said, “Rana is more of a terrorist than an interior minister and this coward would be proceeded against for hurling threats on my life.”

    “He [Rana Sanaullah] is preparing the ground for my political or physical elimination as he is the key player. He is one of the three characters, who are after my life: both political and physical. I have already named other two (Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a high-ranking official of intelligence setup) and the interior minister has been cast as third character, who is now (mentally) preparing people for the eventuality,” said Khan.

    In a televised address, Khan said if elections are delayed beyond April 30, even for a day, it would mean there is no constitution or law in the country and his party would resist any such move. “I have told PTI candidates to continue their campaign for elections as if polls are going to held on April 30.”

  • US disassociates itself from Zalmay Khalilzad’s statements on Pakistan and Imran Khan

    US disassociates itself from Zalmay Khalilzad’s statements on Pakistan and Imran Khan

    The United States (US) has come forward to clarify that its former envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad’s disapproval of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s attempted arrest and his view on Pakistan’s political situation doesn’t reflect the country’s foreign policy.

    State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel said Zalmay did not speak for the administration of President Joe Biden as he is a “private citizen”.

    On March 14, Zalmay tweeted that Khan shouldn’t be arrested as it will deepen the crisis and called for early elections. He also said that Pakistan “despite great potential, is underperforming and falling far behind its archrival, India.”

    After these statements, Pakistan’s Foreign Office advised him to refrain from offering advice on the country’s domestic issues. 

    Zalmay had served as the special envoy for Afghan reconciliation under both the former US President Trump and current President Joe Biden administrations.

  • ‘Azhar Mashwani PTI ke paas hai’: Rana Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that Pakistan Thereek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Azhar Mashwani has not been picked up by the government, implying that he is with PTI.

    Talking in Geo News programme, ‘Naya Pakistan’, Sanaullah said that PTI is carrying out fake propaganda, reiterating that Mashwani has not been abducted by the authorities.

    “He [Azhar Mashwani] is with them [PTI]. They have a way of churning fake narratives, and then they keep on beating around those lines,” said Sanaullah.

    Sanaullah further said that matters have not just reached the point of no return but far beyond the point of no return, stressing that whatever the outcome, PTI Chairman Imran Khan will be solely responsible.

    Read more: ‘Enough is enough’: Khan demands immediate release of PTI activist Azhar Mashwani

    Mashwani was picked up last week by unknown persons. Blaming the authorities for abducting Mashwani, Khan took to Twitter and wrote: “Enough is enough. Police in Punjab and Islamabad are breaking all laws with impunity as they target PTI. Today Azhar Mashwani was abducted in the afternoon from Lahore and his whereabouts are unknown.” Khan demanded the immediate release of Mashwani.

  • ‘Ya Imran ya hum’; Rana Sanaullah thinks Khan’s removal from politics is only solution to current crisis

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, in an interview with PNN News, turned his guns toward Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and blamed him for all the chaos and polarisation in the country.

    The minister was of the view that till the time Khan is in politics, there will never be peace in the country.

    He pointed out that Khan’s supporters considered the government their enemy and there is no solution to this problem.

    “Ya woh siyasat se manfi ho jaye gaye, ya hum, “(Either he will be subtracted from politics or us).

    Sanaullah also warned the PTI chief that “if they push them back, they would be forced to retaliate and will not care about anything.”

    Pakistan is in a deep constitutional and political crisis as the ruling coalition and PTI fight it out. Despite the government’s efforts in the past to talk to PTI, the former ruling party ruled out any possibility.

    However recently, Khan has agreed to sit with rival political parties for “greater national consensus” on elections.

    But no efforts from both side have been made so far.

  • Political arrests show our politicians have learnt nothing

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) social media head Azhar Mashwani went missing outside his house on Thursday when he was taking a cab to Zaman Park. His brother has lodged an FIR of his kidnapping. PTI has alleged that Azhar has been illegally abducted by the authorities. It is indeed quite alarming that three days have passed since he went missing from Lahore and yet there is no news about his whereabouts. Imran Khan has condemned the police in Punjab and Islamabad for “breaking all laws with impunity as they target PTI”. The recent targeting of PTI leaders and workers, including Fawad Chaudhry, Hassaan Niazi, and now Mashwani shows that our political parties have not learnt anything and will do the same when they come in power which they condemned when they were at the receiving end of the same treatment during the regime of their political opponents.


    Two wrongs don’t make a right is something we often hear, but we don’t see this being professed in Pakistan. Witnessing the wrongs in the politics of Pakistan, it is safe to say that no one learns from past mistakes. For years, we have seen politics in our country. The people in power change, and their faces change, but their means and tactics to settle scores remain the same, and this vicious cycle continues. In the last few months, we have seen how the PTI leaders and workers have been arrested on frivolous charges just like workers and leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) or others when the PTI was in power. For years now, we have seen some very powerful sectors influencing decision-making both in politics and otherwise. The political arena is overshadowed by these mighty decision-makers and their idea of politics. Every time a politician is arrested to silence him or her, it just shows a flagrant disregard for the law of the land.


    An arrest should only be made if, and only a crime has been committed or one is found guilty of any wrongdoing. Arrests on frivolous charges are not the answer to silence opinion. Democratic countries allow dissent. We have seen journalists and activists being arrested or picked up because of their views and opinions. The PDM government, which was a victim of such brutal policies in the past, has now made it abundantly clear that it will go to the same lengths to arrest Khan and his supporters. However, this vicious cycle must end. It is the responsibility of the political class to decide if they want to continue with settling scores and political victimisation or they want to put a stop to it. All politicians, be they in the government or the Opposition, need to unite on this point. Otherwise, such arrests and disappearances will continue. This culture must stop and change because political arrests will get us nowhere. A country facing multiple crises – from economic to political – needs stability. Not more chaos.

  • PTI and PDM cabinets spent almost Rs7 crore on foreign tours in 2022

    The federal cabinets of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and former PM Imran Khan have spent nearly Rs7 crore (Rs69.97 million) on foreign trips in 2022, states an investigative report by Abobakar Khan for Samaa.

    A total of Rs652,115,04 were spent by federal ministers of the previous and current government on 25 foreign tours in 2022.

    Among the federal ministers of PM Shehbaz, Federal Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel spent Rs1 crore on foreign visits.

    Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar spent Rs8 lac and Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs of Pakistan Faisal Subzwari spent Rs6 lac.

    Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman spent almost Rs50 lac on foreign country visits, former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail spent 45 lac on foreign country visits.

    During Khan’s tenure, his Adviser on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning, Dr Moeed Yousaf, and Adviser on Trade and Investment, Abdul Razzak Dawood, spent Rs10 lac from the national exchequer on foreign tours.

    Khan’s special assistants including Dr Sania Nishtar, Malik Amin Aslam, and Azam Jamil spent almost Rs10 lac on these foreign trips in 2022.

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  • Maryam Nawaz to unmask Khan’s handlers next week: report

    Maryam Nawaz to unmask Khan’s handlers next week: report

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President and chief organiser Maryam Nawaz will unveil the identities of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s local and international handlers next week. 

    According to media reports, Maryam Nawaz will address a rally in Kasur on Monday, where she will reveal the facts.

    Earlier, addressing a PML-N workers’ convention in Rawalpindi, Maryam said that certain people were still supporting Khan as he did not appear before courts while hearings against him were being delayed.

    She said she was not talking about honest judges but those who were part of the Lt General (retd) Faiz Hameed legacy.

    Maryam said that while Khan could go to Rawalpindi for his party’s gathering with his injured leg, he “cannot appear before the court”.

    While addressing the crowd during her party’s convention in Gujranwala, Maryam claimed that the “facilitators” still wanted to save a person [Imran Khan] who had “already drowned”. 

    “I want to ask the facilitators why they want to save a person because of whom the country’s fate has sunk. That person drowned himself, but why are you people bent on [losing] your jobs?” she said.

  • ‘Ensure Punjab, KP polls to avoid contempt of court’: President tells PM to safeguard rights of citizen

    ‘Ensure Punjab, KP polls to avoid contempt of court’: President tells PM to safeguard rights of citizen

    President Dr Arif Alvi in a letter written to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, has urged him to ensure the implementation of Supreme Court’s orders about the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Alvi in his letter emphasised that all relevant executive authorities of the federal and provincial governments should be directed to refrain from abuse of human rights and assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the election in two provinces within the constitutional time-frame, in compliance of orders of the apex court, to avoid further complications, including contempt of court.

    The president said that the prime minister, being head of the government, was responsible for safeguarding human rights as well as the fundamental rights of every citizen of Pakistan as enshrined in the Constitution.

    President Alvi maintained that elections of provincial assemblies, in case of their dissolution under Article 105 or Article 112, were required to be held within 90 days under Article 224 (2) of the Constitution.

    The top court in its order dated March 1, had directed the electoral watchdog to propose date(s) to the president for holding the poll within 90 days or on a date that deviates to the barest minimum from the aforesaid deadline, he added.

    The president said that KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali was also directed by the SC to appoint a date for holding the general election for the provincial assembly as per the time frame.

    “Subsequently, ECP had proposed holding of general elections between 30th April – 7th May, 2023 and general elections for the Provincial Assembly of Punjab were announced to be held on 30th April, 2023 and the same was notified by the ECP,” read the letter.