Tag: Imran Khan

  • PM Shehbaz, Hamza appear in court for hearing of Rs16bn money laundering case

    PM Shehbaz, Hamza appear in court for hearing of Rs16bn money laundering case

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and his son Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Hamza Shehbaz appeared in a special court (Central-I) for their hearing in the Rs16 billion money-laundering case today.

    The father-son duo was accompanied by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.

    Shehbaz and Hamza were set to be indicted in the case in the previous hearing on May 14 but it was delayed because the prime minister was in the UK and postponed his return to the country in order to visit the UAE to offer condolences over the death of their president.

    Once the hearing started, Judge Ijaz Hassan Awan complained that due to the security of the prime minister, others coming to the court had to suffer.

    Replying to his complaint, PM Shehbaz mentioned that he has asked his security not to stop anybody. “I am appearing before the court in order to maintain its dignity and follow the laws of the country,” the premier added.

    When the court asked PM Shehbaz to take the rostrum, the premier said he would have committed a crime if he hadn’t appeared in the court.

    “On the orders of former prime minister Imran Khan, an investigation was conducted in Britain and I was proved innocent,” PM Shehbaz recalled, adding that he returned to Pakistan back in 2004 and wouldn’t have come back if he had black money.

    When Shehbaz again took the stand, he told the court he had served as the chief minister for 10 years but had never taken a salary. “My salary would be Rs10 million but I did not take it. I also went on official tours using my own money. I used to get the government car refuelled from my own pocket.”

    “I saved the nation billions of rupees.”

    The premier’s counsel argued that the 14 accounts mentioned by the FIA were through banking channels. “Baseless propaganda was done in this case for 1.5 years. The suspects tolerated insults despite lack of evidence.”

    “It seems the FIA is inspired by [streaming platform] Netflix. This is a film-inspired FIR,” he argued.

    The FIA had in December 2021 submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to a special court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16bn in the sugar scam case.

  • Battle begins: Hamza Shehbaz refuses to step down after ECP decision

    Battle begins: Hamza Shehbaz refuses to step down after ECP decision

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Hamza Shehbaz has reportedly refused to step down from his position following the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to de-seat 25 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dissident Member of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) who voted for Hamza.

    PTI says it will send the CM home through legal means in line with the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) and ECP’s decisions.

    “The game for the fake CM is over after de-seating of the 25 lotas (turncoats),” Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Moonis Elahi said. He added that after losing the majority in the House, Hamza has no moral or legal grounds to cling to the office.

    Moreover, the Opposition — PTI-PML-Q alliance — sees a run-off election in the coming days claiming Hamza cannot “illegally” hold the office for long.

    It is pertinent to mention that the allocation of five vacant reserved seats will assume an important role if the run-off election is held. According to legal experts, ECP will now distribute these seats as per the current strength of each party in the Punjab Assembly, which means if the PTI gets the most share, it may be able to get the CM post.

    Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said Hamza Shehbaz is not going to resign and still has a majority in the Punjab Assembly. Similarly, PML-N deputy secretary-general Attaullah Tarar said that the ECP’s decision has no impact on Hamza’s office.

    Tarar claimed the PML-N enjoys the support of 177 members in PA against 168 of the PTI-PML-Q combined. He also claimed the PML-N will get three of the five reserved seats, which would take its tally to 180.

    The PTI-PML-Q joint candidate for the CM’s slot and the current PA Speaker Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi said, “I am Imran Khan’s candidate and after taking oath as the CM, I will dissolve the assemblies if he asks me.”

    The Punjab Assembly’s current strength is 346 members: PTI has 158 lawmakers, PML-Q has 10, PML-N 165, PPP seven, five independents, and one Rah-e-Haq Party.

  • ‘Spoiling the morals of the people’: PM Shehbaz on IK’s ‘sexist comments’

    ‘Spoiling the morals of the people’: PM Shehbaz on IK’s ‘sexist comments’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday referred to Maryam Nawaz’s Sargodha rally and said: “Someone had sent me the speech delivered by Maryam Nawaz in Sargodha yesterday.”

    “In that speech, she uttered my name with such passion that I would like to tell her: Maryam, please be careful, your husband may get upset because you were constantly repeating my name again and again with such emotion.”

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the entire nation, especially women, should strongly condemn the “deplorable language used against the daughter of the nation Maryam Nawaz”.

    “Your crimes against the country and the nation cannot be hidden. How could those — who cannot respect the sanctity of Masjid Nabawi (PBUH) — be expected to respect the honour of someone’s mothers, sisters, and daughters?”

    He continued: “Imran is the first person in history to fall into this abyss of rudeness as the leader of a party. His party went out to make a nation but spoiled the morals of the people instead. To Allah, we belong and to Him, we shall return.”

    PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif responded to Khan’s controversial comments about his daughter and said, “He does not know how to respect women. He uses derogatory language, which has not even been witnessed in the worst society. He does know not how to respect women, and he talks about Riyaasat-e-Madinah.”

    Former president Asif Ali Zardari said that he condemned the derogatory language used by the PTI chairman.

    “Those who have mothers and sisters in their homes do not use such language against other women,” the PPP co-chairman said. “Please, do not stoop so low in the name of politics.”

    He added that every person’s mother, sister, and daughter was worthy of respect and that was the message of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to the nation.

    “I wish someone would also write a letter to the chief justice of Pakistan based on personal observation and he would take notice of the matter,” he said.

    PML-N on its official Twitter account, right after the Multan rally, shared a photo of Imran Khan’s sons and Tyrian White with the message saying how could a man who has not “owned up to his own daughter” respect the daughters of others.

    Screenshot of a tweet of PML-N

    However, the tweet has now been deleted once people started condemning it.

  • ‘Becoming the next Amir liaquat’ : Twitter calls out Imran Khan on ‘misogynistic’ comments

    ‘Becoming the next Amir liaquat’ : Twitter calls out Imran Khan on ‘misogynistic’ comments

    PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan while addressing a rally in Multan yesterday made misogynistic remarks about Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz.

    “In that speech, she took my name with such passion that I would like to tell her: Maryam, please be careful, your husband may get upset because you were constantly repeating my name,” said IK during the speech.

    Have a look at the reactions:

    https://twitter.com/Mustafa_Chdry/status/1527682887067152385

  • ‘Stupid, Bully, yeh jalsa tha yaan gossip session’: Mathira lambasts Imran Khan for sexism

    ‘Stupid, Bully, yeh jalsa tha yaan gossip session’: Mathira lambasts Imran Khan for sexism

    Actor-host Mathira took to her twitter handle to call out former PM Imran Khan for his sexist comments about the Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz.

    During his speech at the Multan jalsa, Mr Khan said: “Someone sent me a clip on social media of Maryam’s speech, somewhere. She took my name so many times and with so much passion, I want to tell her that Maryam, please be careful, your husband might get upset the way you call my name again and again.”

    Earlier when Muhammad Faheem, a former employee of a private media news organisation, committed suicide after being fired from his job during Imran’s regime, Mathira termed Khan’s governance as a failure. As per reports, he committed suicide due to continuing financial problems.

    She blamed the PTI government headlined by Khan for the economic turmoil in the country which is resulting in suicides due to unemployment.

    The Blind Love diva followed her stance with another post stating that the current government has failed big time.

  • PML-N supporter, PTI dissident leader Raja Riaz becomes opposition leader to PML-N led govt

    PML-N supporter, PTI dissident leader Raja Riaz becomes opposition leader to PML-N led govt

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) dissident leader Raja Riaz Ahmad has become the Leader of the Opposition in the lower house of Parliament, with the support of 16 lawmakers, following the withdrawal of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)’s Moonis Elahi.

    Speaker National Assembly (NA) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf issued notification of Riaz as being elected as the Opposition leader.

    Earlier, Moonis Elahi withdrew his candidature as the Opposition leader, paving the way for a one-on-one contest between Ghous Bakhsh Mahar and Riaz.

    In 2016, Raja Riaz quit the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after he decided to join PTI.

    Riaz, who switched sides from PTI during the vote of no-confidence against the then Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, had previously announced that he would contest the next general election on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    The Opposition leader’s seat fell vacant after Shehbaz Sharif was elected prime minister following the ouster of Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion vote.

  • ‘Come with me’: Maryam Nawaz invites Iffat Omar to jalsa after Iffat says ‘Jhoota’ Imran

    ‘Come with me’: Maryam Nawaz invites Iffat Omar to jalsa after Iffat says ‘Jhoota’ Imran

    Senior actress and former model, Iffat Omar has received an official invitation by the Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz on twitter to her next Jalsa in Okara.

    Nawaz invited her after she referred to Imran Khan as “Jhoota Khan”.

    Earlier the Aye Musht-e-Khaak diva took to her official Twitter handle to praise Maryam and termed her as a true crowd puller.

    Responding to Iffat’s praise Maryam said that she herself is a crowd puller and added a red heart emoji.

    iffatomar - Twitter Search / Twitter

    Recently Omar slammed PTI chairman Imran Khan after he stated in his recent podcast that he knew since July 2021 that PML-N are planning to abolish his government.

    The Dour diva asked that if he knew it since July, then what about American conspiracy and his visit to Russia?

    She also said that Imran is responsible for the offensive slogans and misconduct against PML-N leaders. The Aangan star said that Khan should be arrested for instigating hatred amongst Pakistanis.

    The Aye Musht-e-Khaak actor tweeted that he had to make Pakistan like Madinah and not the other way round.

    Earlier, the Aangan star claimed that she hasn’t seen anything worse than PTI supporters and termed their comments as ‘filth’.

    In August 2021, Iffat slammed PM Imran Khan in a series of tweets.

  • Bilawal Bhutto defends ex-PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia

    Bilawal Bhutto defends ex-PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday strongly defended Imran Khan’s Moscow visit, saying there was no way for the former prime minister to know that Russia would invade Ukraine on the day he landed in the Russian capital.

    “As far the former prime minister’s trip to Russia, I would absolutely defend the former prime minister of Pakistan. He conducted that trip as part of his foreign policy and without knowing that — no one is psychic, no one has a sixth sense — there’s no way we could have possibly known that that would be the time [when] the current conflict will start,” Bilawal said.

    https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/1527401668916256770?s=20&t=KZ4uVQyjDUUPrLQdo_hRgA

    “And I believe it is very unfair to punish Pakistan for such an innocent action.”

    Pakistan, he said, was absolutely clear that it has to stand by the principles of the United Nations, including that of non-use of force, on this issue.

    “We are not part of any conflict. We do not wish to be part of any conflict. In fact, we would continue to emphasise the importance of peace,” he said.

    “We would continue to emphasise the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve this conflict as soon as possible. And we will certainly not take any side or take the side of any aggressor within this context.”

    Twitterati praised FM Bilawal Bhutto for the way he defended not only the formal premier but Pakistan as well. Netizens did not spare this chance to compare Bilawal with Khan.

  • ‘Khan wants to destroy Pakistan for his ego’: CM Hamza Shehbaz

    ‘Khan wants to destroy Pakistan for his ego’: CM Hamza Shehbaz

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Hamza Shehbaz on Thursday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was “trying to divide the army”.

    “I want to tell you today that what Imran Khan Niazi is doing is not politics. He is spreading hatred in the name of politics,” said Hamza, addressing a press conference in Lahore. “What does he want to do with this country? I, as a Pakistani, want to warn the nation: don’t be misled with his fake demeanour.”

    He urged people and the institutions to “keep an eye” on Imran and his tactics.

    “He is trying to destroy Pakistan for his ego, just like he trampled upon the Constitution and the law for his ego. Keep politics aside. First decide what this man is trying to do with the nation. The people and institutions will have to take notice.”

    Hamza said he would stay on the post of CM “as long as God wills it” and vowed to continue working for the welfare and well-being of the people of the province “without wasting any moment”.

    “The way these people are creating problems in Punjab, whether it is the former governor [Omar Sarfraz Cheema] or the president [Arif Alvi] … The way they are spreading propaganda among the public … I have decided not to waste a second in making things easier for the people.”

    “I won’t let anything hinder my resolve in working for the people of Punjab.”

    “But I want to tell you today that the government of Punjab is standing with its people,” he pledged, announcing a relief package for the province in which the price of a 10kg bag of wheat flour, which earlier cost Rs650, has been reduced to Rs490. “In 36 districts of Punjab, people will be able to buy flour at this price,” the CM said. “We are giving a relief of Rs160 under the Rs200 billion subsidy for the province.”

    Hamza also said that he will ensure that everyday medicines and especially the ones used for cancer will be given free to people.

  • Khan accuses Maryam Nawaz of wanting to ‘lie down’, so an American lady could ‘pass over her’

    Khan accuses Maryam Nawaz of wanting to ‘lie down’, so an American lady could ‘pass over her’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday in his jalsa in Gujranwala criticised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

    Khan said, “Once a woman from the American Embassy came to [Pakistan], Maryam called her at her house, opened the door of her car, and brought her inside. The way she was walking besides the American lady, the only thing left was for Maryam to lie down and tell the lady to pass over her so that her shoes don’t get dirty.”

    Maryam responded to Khan’s comments and tweeted, ” Poor guy, he has become irrelevant.”

    Khan was talking about United States (US) Charge d’ Affaires Angela Aggeler, who visited Jati Umrah on October 14, 2021. On her arrival, she was received by Maryam Nawaz.

    The PTI chairman hit at Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif as well and said, “Shehbaz Sharif you have worked really hard. You have polished many boots. Whoever came from the American Embassy you used to polish their boots.”

    Berating the Sharif brothers, Khan said: “Shehbaz Sharif is asking what to do after becoming the prime minister. He said that inflation is rising and foreign exchange is tumbling. The two brothers (Shehbaz and Nawaz Sharif) are now trapped and they are wondering what to do.”