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Tag: Imran Khan

  • Afghanistan hails maiden T20 win against Pakistan

    Afghanistan hails maiden T20 win against Pakistan

    Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has shown concerns over the top order batters of his team even after a maiden win against Pakistan in the series opener T20 on Friday night in Sharjah.

    Rashid said that their top order needs to improve their strategy for the upcoming 50 overs World Cup.

    Rashid and his teammates won their maiden T20 by thrashing a new-look Pakistani team, which was missing most of its stars who had opted to rest after the conclusion of a hectic Pakistan Super League.

    They restricted the young Pakistan side, led by Shadab Khan, to 92-9 and chased down the target with 13 balls to spare with Mohammad Nabi making an unbeaten 38 in the low-scoring contest to go with his two wickets with the ball.

    In the post-match conversation, Rashid said that it was his dream to beat Pakistan and it’s a pleasure to win against them. “We always lost against them previously, sometimes with a very low margin,” the Afghan captain said.

    “Happy for the win, and we hope to continue the momentum,” he stated.

    It was not an easy chase though as Afghanistan slumped to 27-3 before Nabi rescued them.

    Rashid said that their top order needed to perform better in the ongoing three-match series and maintain form heading into the ODI World Cup in October-November.

    “We need to improve not just for this series but as we get to the World Cup,” Rashid said.

    “From now on, we need to put effort day by day and game by game, so that by the end of the year, when we go for the World Cup, we’ll have a fully prepared squad.”

    The second T20 is scheduled for Sunday.

  • ‘Whether I am in jail or not, party will sweep elections’: Imran Khan

    ‘Whether I am in jail or not, party will sweep elections’: Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that whether he is in jail or not, his party will “sweep” the elections.

    The former prime minister said he does not know if he will end up getting disqualified or not, but stressed that it “doesn’t matter” because he believes his party has a popularity wave that is “unprecedented” in Pakistan’s history. He made these remarks in a chat with American media group National Public Radio (NPR).

    “What is happening is that the government is petrified of elections. They’re scared that we’re going to win the elections. Therefore, they are trying everything to get me out of the way, including assassination, because I survived an assassination attempt – [and am] very lucky to be alive,” Khan told NPR.

    Speaking with Steve Inskeep, Khan said that in his tenure, there was maximum media freedom.

    “Steve, my three and a half years were the most liberal three and a half years in our history. I mean, the – we never interfered with the judiciary, which was always the case in the past. We never interfered with the media. The only time there were problems with the media was not because of us, because of the army, because of the army establishment,” Khan responded.

    Talking about ‘rule of law’ Khan said that it is his “firm belief” that because he’s been all over the world as a professional international sportsman, the difference between rich countries and poor countries is not lack of resources, but rule of law. 

    “Countries that have rule of law prosper, countries that don’t have rule of law become banana republics. So our fight in Pakistan is to bring the powerful elite under the law,” he said.

  • Half of Lahore sealed ahead of PTI’s Minar-e-Pakistan jalsa

    Punjab authorities have blocked several roads in Lahore including entry and exit points of the city ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s jalsa in Minar-e-Pakistan, set to be held today (Saturday) at 9pm.

    With the help of containers and trucks, the roads have been blocked. According to details, police have also placed barricades on major Lahore roads including Ravi Bridge and Thokar Niaz Baig, the two major entry and exit points which lead to Minar-e-Pakistan.

    In a tweet, City Traffic Police Lahore has given details about the closed roads and advised residents to use alternative routes.

    In the early hours of Saturday, PTI Chairman Imran Khan called on his supporters in Lahore to attend the jalsa after Taraweeh prayers which he believes will “break all records”. 

    “Everyone must assert their right as people of a free nation that won its independence and come to Minar-e- Pakistan,” he added. 

    Earlier, the government gave a green signal to PTI to hold its powershow, however, the closure of roads has created problems for residents.

  • All weapons recovered from Imran’s Zaman Park residence are illegal, says police

    The Lahore police has said that all the weapons that were recovered by the authorities from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park are “unlicensed and illegal”.

    On March 20, Punjab Police raided Khan’s Zaman Park home, taking apart the entrance gate with a crane and entering the house, stating that they had search warrants.

    At the time, Khan was on his way to Islamabad to appear before a court in the Toshkhana case. He said that his wife Bushra Bibi was alone at home.

    The police said at least 13 SMGs, 7 Kalashnikovs, and 340 bullets were recovered from Zaman Park.

    Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that police found 16 rifles, arms, bombs and a bomb-making factory in Zaman Park.

  • ‘They don’t like being told what to do’: Imran Khan holds back from criticising Taliban ban on girls’ education

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, in an interview with Matt Frei for Channel 4, talked about the rigid ban imposed by Afghanistan Taliban on girls’ education.

    When asked whether he will tell them to let the girls go to school, he responded by saying that he knows Afghan character much more than anyone else in the West. “They dont like being told what to do,” Imran Khan said.

    He then urged the world to engage with the Taliban, stressing that only then the group will listen to them.

    He said, “If the West wants to influence them, they must mainstream them. I kept telling them to engage. If you isolate them, what influence are you going to have on them.”

    “My advice is to get them involved, give them a stake in the international community so when you tell them to educate girls, they will listen to you.”

    According to him, right now they react when the world questions their policy toward women.

    We are heading toward martial law: Imran Khan

    In the interview, the deposed prime minister said that the postponement of elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is a violation of the constitution.

    He said that five judges of the Supreme Court categorically said that elections should be held on April 30.

    “The worry right now is that we are heading towards martial law”, said Khan.

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

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

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Social Media Activist Azhar Mashwani was picked up on Thursday, prompting party Chairman Imran Khan to condemn his arrest.

    Blaming the authorities for abducting Mashwani, Imran 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.

    On March 18, Senator Shibli Faraz and Omar Sultan were “badly beaten” by Islamabad police, Khan said, insisting that they both had permission to be inside the Judicial Complex, where the PTI chief went to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case day.

    Talking about his nephew, Khan said. “Hassaan Niazi was abducted immed after getting bail & later charged with sham FIRs to keep him lcoked up.”

    “I am sending pictures of IGs [inspectors generals] of Punjab and ICT [Islamabad Capital Territory] and of all officers indulging in this criminal behaviour” to international human rights organisations, he said, “so they can identify those working for the state and indulging in abductions, illegal break-ins into homes, custodial torture and violence against political leaders and unarmed workers of PTI.”

    Mashwani’s wife, Mahnoor, also tweeted about her husband’s disappearance, writing, “My husband @MashwaniAzhar is missing from 2.51 pm from home.. He went out for Zaman park And his last seen is 2.51 pm.. If Anyone knows anything.. Let me know..”

  • ‘Violation of constitution’: PTI to move SC against election postponement

    ‘Violation of constitution’: PTI to move SC against election postponement

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry has confirmed that his party will challenge the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone general elections in Punjab from April 30 to October 8 in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

    Addressing a joint press conference on Thursday, Chaudhry, along with PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, announced that they are moving the top court against the ECP for “breaching the Constitution”.

    “It is your duty to save the Constitution,” Chaudhry appealed to the judges of the top court, adding that the joint sitting of parliament convened on Wednesday was aimed at an “attack on the Supreme Court”.

    “Judges are being blackmailed and pressurised,” Chaudhry claimed. He also said that the country demands that Article 6 should be applied on five members of the electoral watchdog.  

    PTI Chairman Imran Khan condemned ECP’s move to postpone the election in Punjab, as the party announced to move the Supreme Court against “violation of the Constitution”.

    It is pertinent to mention here that electoral watchdog postponed the elections in view of the recent spate of terrorist attacks in various parts of the country.

    The order said that the interior ministry conveyed to the ECP that the deployment of civil and armed forces would not be possible due to the “spike in incidents of terrorism across the country” and threat alerts from intelligence agencies.

  • Phaddah between PTI and govt after ECP changed Punjab election date

    Phaddah between PTI and govt after ECP changed Punjab election date

    Tensions between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have escalated after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday postponed Punjab elections, scheduled to be held on April 30, till October 8.

    The postponement was done in view of the recent spate of terrorist attacks in various parts of the country.

    The order said that the interior ministry conveyed to the ECP that the deployment of civil and armed forces would not be possible due to the “spike in incidents of terrorism across the country” and threat alerts from intelligence agencies.

    PTI is not happy with ECP’s decision while the government welcomed it.

    PTI Chairman Imran Khan who has been campaigning for early elections has termed the ECP’s announcement a violation of the Constitution.

    Stating that he did not dissolve his governments in Punjab and KP “to allow a bunch of fascists to impose a reign of terror”, Imran Khan led the charge in slamming the decision while his party members also criticised the postponement.

    However, in a meeting of the federal cabinet, it was noted that general elections should be held simultaneously across the country. It is not possible to hold elections in two provinces, they said.

    The meeting observed that the security and financial situation was not suitable for elections. Plus, the government was also short of funds and discussions were still going on with the IMF on a bailout package.

    On Thursday, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that postponing elections is in the country’s interest.

    She went on to say a population census is going on in the country. It is not possible to hold elections before the completion of the census.

  • ‘They had planned to kill me in a Murtaza Bhutto-type murder’: Khan

    ‘They had planned to kill me in a Murtaza Bhutto-type murder’: Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on has claimed on Wednesday that another assassination plot was being hatched to kill him the way Murtaza Bhutto was.

    Recalling his arrival at the Judicial Complex Islamabad, Khan said, “I stood outside the judicial complex’s gate for 40 minutes,” adding that he witnessed the rowdiness of “police, army and unknown people wearing CTD uniform” during this time.

    “They had the planned to take my vehicle inside the complex, close the gates, create a violent situation, and kill me in a Murtaza Bhutto-type murder,” Khan said, adding that he returned from the gate after signing the attendance register.

    Mir Murtaza Bhutto, the son and brother of former Prime Ministers Zulkfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a police encounter in 1996 in Karachi.

    Khan also revealed that he believed the police chiefs of Punjab and Islamabad alongside their ‘handlers’ have hatched a conspiracy to kill him as they are “becoming serious about assassinating him”.

    The IGs of Punjab and Islamabad have constituted two separate squads, Khan alleged, who will join PTI workers and open fire on the police, “to provoke an armed retaliation and eventually reach [inside the house] and assassinate me, in a day or two.”

    Giving instructions to his loyalists, Khan said that they were not to provoke the police at any cost. “If the police want to approach me with any warrant or for any other matter, let them approach me directly,” adding that he would never wish any harm on his party workers. “The incumbent government and its plans to kill me have failed and now they have become jittery and taking extreme measures,” he commented.

  • ‘Moved from a small jail to a bigger one’: Asia Bibi reveals hardships, poverty in exile

    Asia Bibi has given her first interview since 2020 to New Lines Magazine. She left for Canada in 2019 after being acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a false blasphemy case that led to a death sentence.

    Ailia Zehra writes that despite claims from right-wing groups that Bibi received funding from anti-Pakistani groups to live a comfortable lifestyle in Canada, the truth is far from it.

    Bibi was a farm labourer residing in the Nankana Sahib district in Punjab. In 2010, she was arrested under the blasphemy laws after an argument with her Muslim neighbours. In 2010, she was arrested and sentenced to death by a judge in Sheikhupura, while the verdict was upheld by the Lahore High Court.

    Local politicians like Salmaan Taseer, who was then the Governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, who was the Federal Minister for Minority Affairs and also a Christian, had condemned this arrest. Both were outspoken critics of the blasphemy law and vowed to release Bibi from prison. However, Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard in 2011, while Bhatti was also assassinated the same year by the Pakistani Taliban.

    In 2018 when Bibi was cleared of blasphemy charges by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Bibi was kept under protective custody for six months and then flown to Canada in secret where she reunited with her husband and two daughters.

    However, in this interview Bibi reveals that despite getting international support from organizations for her release, since her arrival in Canada she had not received financial support for her ailing husband and two disabled daughters. She works 14 hours a day at a menial job which is not able to cover her expenses. Her health is deteriorating because of a joint ailment.

    Bibi said that she was not able to bring her other three children with her. Her husband is unemployed and needs heavy medication without which he could get extremely sick. Bibi also got teary-eyed by opening up about not being able to visit her parents, as her mother passed away while she was in prison and her father is still in Pakistan.

    “My biggest sorrow is that I could not get to meet my father before coming to Canada. I will carry this grief in my heart for the rest of my life,” she said.

    Bibi also disclosed that there are no organizations to reach out to in order to get her children currently in Pakistan back to her, because the support she was offered at the time of her departure was limited.

    Since the three years Bibi and her family have been staying in Canada, she confessed that it has been incredibly hard to adjust to a new lifestyle because of the cultural and language barriers, especially the limited support from Pakistani authorities:

    “My husband and I are illiterate,” she confessed. “Our children could not get an education either. You could imagine how hard it would be for someone like us.”

    The article explained that although there are many government programs that provide facilities for refugees like Asia and her family, going through the process is over whelming as Bibi was not used to carrying out such procedures. On whether the Pakistani Consulate in Canada had reached out to help with facilities, Bibi said she couldn’t expect them to support her as she is still regarded as a criminal in Pakistan with extremist groups still targeting Christian communities:

    “Tehreek-e-Labbaik was asking the government to kill me,” Bibi said. “Under such circumstances, how can the government offer me support?”

    Although there was an outpouring of international support, after her escape to Canada media attention faded away and left her with little support to fend for herself and her family:

    “Many individuals who used my name to make money have also forgotten me…After my release, I felt like I had been moved from a small jail to a bigger one. During the six months I spent in protective custody, I feared I would be killed or sent back to jail.”