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Tag: Imran Khan

  • Legal Battle: Is what Prime Minister Imran Khan did today, legal?

    Legal Battle: Is what Prime Minister Imran Khan did today, legal?

    After the National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri on Sunday “dismissed” the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution, the legal war began. PM Khan then addressed the nation, saying he had advised the President to dissolve the National Assembly, which the President approved. The country is in a state of shock and the main question is: Is what is going on, legal?

    BUT FIRST, WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ASSEMBLY SESSION?

    Loyalty to the state is the basic duty of every citizen under Article 5: Fawad Chaudhry

    The much-awaited and crucial NA session started after a delay to hold the vote on the no-confidence motion against Khan.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “On March 7, our official ambassador was invited to a meeting attended by the representatives of other countries. The meeting was informed that a motion against PM Imran was being presented,” he said, adding that this happened a day before the Opposition filed the no-trust move.

    “We were told that relations with Pakistan were dependent on the success of the no-confidence motion. We were told that if the motion fails, then Pakistan’s path would be very difficult. This is an operation for a regime change by a foreign government,” he alleged.

    NA speaker dismisses no-confidence motion against PM Imran, terms it contradictory to Article 5

    After Fawad Chaudhry spoke, Deputy Speaker Suri agreed with Fawad and said that the no-confidence motion was presented on March 8 and should be according to the law and the Constitution. “No foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy,” he said, adding that the points raised by the minister were “valid”.

    He dismissed the motion, ruling that it was “contradictory” to the law, the Constitution, and the rules. The session ended and the government representatives walked out.

    LET’S GET LEGAL: What is Article 5?

    According to Article 5, “Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen.”

    “Obedience to the Constitution and law is the [inviolable] obligation of every citizen wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan.”

    THEN WHAT HAPPENED: On PM Imran Khan’s advice, President Arif Alvi approved the dissolution of the assembly

    In a surprise move, the premier on Sunday said that he has advised President Alvi to dissolve all the assemblies.

    President Dr Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the proposal of PM Khan.

    In a brief address to the nation after the no-confidence motion was rejected, the premier congratulated the nation and said that he had sent a proposal to the President to dissolve the NA and the nation should prepare for the next election.

    WAS WHAT HAPPENED LEGAL?

    What do the legal experts have to say?

    The Current reached out to legal experts to understand and get better clarity on the constitutional process in relevance to dismissing the no-trust move against PM Khan.

    Senior Lawyer and Journalist Muneeb Farooq terming the dismissal of the no-trust move “absolute nonsense” said, “The court will decide if what the speaker did is illegal and the no-confidence motion will likely move on. Today the court is closed, they [the Opposition] will take it to the court tomorrow.”

    Farooq further said, “Article 69 says that the court cannot question parliament proceedings, but there are exceptions,” adding that certain things were taken to court and the Supreme Court has ruled on them.

    WHAT’S FAROOQ’S MAIN POINT?

    Farooq said that the Prime Minister does not have the right to ask the President to dissolve the national assembly when there is a motion of no-confidence against him. He also added that the Speaker cannot dismiss a motion against the PM when the motion is already a part of the agenda. He added that Article 5 cannot be used in this situation, the way the government has used it.

    THE OTHER SIDE:

    Supreme Court Lawyer Chaudhry Faisal Hussain said, “The Deputy Speaker gave the ruling to dismiss the no-confidence motion. It is in his power to discard the no-confidence motion against the prime minister. Hence the motion gets dismissed and PM Khan still remains the prime minister.”

    WHAT’S HUSSAIN’S MAIN POINT?

    “Since Imran Khan is still Prime Minister, he can call for fresh elections, after dissolving the assembly, which he has done. The issue now will be that PM Khan has already moved past the no-confidence motion. If the assembly had not been dissolved, then perhaps the Supreme Court could make a ruling on the no-confidence issue.”

    ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

    Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) Salman Akram Raja speaking to Geo News said that what happened in the National Assembly today was “highly unconstitutional”.

    He further said that SCP will look into the ruling given by the deputy speaker and could decide on allowing early elections or letting the no-confidence motion vote happen.

    The Joint Opposition had submitted the no-confidence motion to kick out PM Khan on March 8. According to reports, Chief Justice Umar Bandial has called his fellow justices to his place to discuss what is going on in the country.

    Meanwhile, sources say the Supreme Court may hold special proceedings today as well.

  • Opposition reacts to rejection of No-Confidence Motion, to approach SC

    Opposition reacts to rejection of No-Confidence Motion, to approach SC

    The opposition has reacted to the dismissal of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly session and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s advice to President Dr Arif Alvi to dissolve the assemblies. After PM Khan announced that he had asked Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly, the President dissolved the National Assembly.

    In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the country will move towards early elections. “Prepare for elections. No corrupt forces will decide what the future of the country will be. When the assemblies will be dissolved, the procedure for the next elections and the caretaker government will begin,” he added.

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the opposition will approach the Supreme Court against the dismissal of the no-confidence motion, “Government has violated the constitution. did not allow voting on a no-confidence motion. The united opposition is not leaving parliament. Our lawyers are on their way to Supreme Court. We call on ALL institutions to protect, uphold, defend & implement the constitution of Pakistan,” he said.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif tweeted: “No one should be allowed to distort the constitution of Pakistan to save his seat. She also referred to PM Khan as a “crazy” and “obsessive person”.

    PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman has said, “All actions today are unconstitutional, illegal and will take the country straight into a dangerous constitutional crisis.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari has also reacted to the news. “All he has left is unconstitutional, illegal and treasonous methods because this is the reality of Imran Khan’s popularity with neutrality.”

    Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal has said that Article 6, which applies to treason, will be applicable to Imran Khan and Qasim Khan Suri for “unconstitutional” acts.

    Other politicians have also reacted to the dismissal of the no-confidence motion:

  • ‘Ready to move forward on Kashmir if India agrees’: General Bajwa

    ‘Ready to move forward on Kashmir if India agrees’: General Bajwa

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Saturday said that Pakistan continues to believe in using dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute.

    “Pakistan is ready to move forward on this front if India also agrees to do so,” the COAS said.

    “I believe it is time for the political leadership of the region to rise above their emotional and perceptional biases and break the shackles of history to bring peace and prosperity to almost three billion people of the region.”

    Khanewal Indian Missile incident

    Gen Bajwa termed India’s “accidental” launching of a supersonic missile into Pakistan on March 9 a matter of “serious concern”.

    “We expect India to provide evidence to assure Pakistan and the world that their weapons are safe and secure.”

    “Unlike other incidents involving strategic weapons systems, this is the first time in history that a supersonic cruise missile from one nuclear-armed nation has landed in another,” he said.

    Relationship with the US

    “Pakistan does not believe in camp politics and our bilateral relations with our partners are not at the expense of our relationships with other countries.”

    He said that Pakistan sought to broaden and expand relations with both China and the US “without impacting our relations with [either]”.

    In addition, relations with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Gulf countries, South East Asia and Japan were also important for Pakistan’s progress, the COAS said.

    Pakistan enjoyed a close strategic relationship with China, which was demonstrated by the country’s commitment towards the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said, adding, “Equally, we share a long and excellent strategic relationship with the US, which remains our largest export market.”

    Afghanistan situation

    “Pakistan recognises that it is the regions and not countries that grow. This is why we believe that peace and stability in our wider region are prerequisites for achieving shared regional prosperity and development. In this regard, our doors are open for all our neighbours,” the COAS said.

    The army chief cautioned that an inability to address the issues would “not only lead to a refugee crisis but will again make Afghanistan an epicentre of terrorism where [the Islamic State] with its global agenda flourishes [and] may result in more than one 9/11”.

    Gen Bajwa stressed the need for the international community to support the Afghan government. “The performance of present Afghan government is not satisfactory, to say the least, but we have to be patient and accommodative.”

    “While Pakistan shares some of the concerns of the international community, we believe disengagement with Afghanistan is not an option,” he stressed.

  • Did the establishment fact-check PM Khan?

    Did the establishment fact-check PM Khan?

    In an exclusive interview with ARY News’ senior anchorperson Arshad Sharif on April 1, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was asked about options given to him by the Opposition to which the premier said that he does not think he should talk to people like Shehbaz Sharif.

    However, PM Khan revealed that he was given three options by the establishment: resignation as PM, no-confidence vote, or early elections.

    In response to PM Khan’s claim, sources in the military establishment said that the military leadership did not bring the Opposition’s options to PM Khan but that the government called the top brass and asked for a meeting to discuss the ongoing political scenario, reported Fakhar Durrani for The News. According to the report, PM Khan rejected the options to resign or vote of n-confidence and agreed to dissolving the assemblies and holding early elections.

    The military sources told The News that after discussion with the PM, both the army chief and DG ISI met the Opposition leadership on the same day and conveyed the government’s message. The Opposition did not agree to any of the three options and rejected them.

  • ‘Mai, mera, mujhe’: How many times did PM Khan talk about himself in his hour-long speech?

    ‘Mai, mera, mujhe’: How many times did PM Khan talk about himself in his hour-long speech?

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan addressed the nation on Thursday. During his live speech, the premier talked about the war on terror, criticised the Opposition, and the threatening memo.

    In an apparent slip of the tongue during the live speech, he named the United States but quickly moved on and stated that “a foreign country” had sent a threatening memo, which was against the Pakistani nation.

    During the live speech, the premier referred to himself about 143 times. This makes it three times on average per minute, reports Geo News.

    His speech had repetitive references to the “Mai (me)”, “Mujhe (me)”, “Meri (my)”, “Mera” (my), and “Imran Khan”.

    The most used word PM Imran Khan used in his speech was “Mai” (me), which was about 88 times.

    The second most used word was “Mujhe” (me), which was used 17 times.

    The premier used his name “Imran Khan” about 14 times.

    He used “meri” (my) 13 times in the speech and “mera” (my) about 11 times.

  • PTI in the lead in the second phase of the KP local govt elections

    PTI in the lead in the second phase of the KP local govt elections

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is in the lead in the second phase of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) local government (LG) elections.

    As per the unofficial results, the count for 38 out of 64 tehsil councils is complete. PTI succeeded in 18 tehsil councils and is in a leading position in 11 tehsil councils.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan congratulated Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan for a successful win in the second phase of the KP LG polls while criticising the Opposition leaders, saying that the people of KP have “emphatically rejected the traitors who sold out to foreign masters”.

    In his tweet, the premier termed his party’s visible success as an “early warning to all traitors”, adding that this is “what awaits them in their constituencies”.

  • Rejected: White House says they have nothing to do with Khan’s allegation of a US-backed ‘foreign conspiracy’

    Rejected: White House says they have nothing to do with Khan’s allegation of a US-backed ‘foreign conspiracy’

    The White House has rejected Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s allegations of the United States government’s involvement in a plot to remove him.

    Responding to media questions regarding the issue, White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said, “There is absolutely no truth to the allegation.”

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1509722360756244486?s=21&t=ScIheZBXB4bd3OJCK5y3IA

    US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said, “We are closely following developments in Pakistan. We respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law. But when it comes to those allegations, there is no truth to them.”

    On Thursday evening, PM Khan named the US as the country that threatened to remove him in a live address. 

  • ‘Khan sb koi nayee baat hai’ Social media reacts to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to the nation

    ‘Khan sb koi nayee baat hai’ Social media reacts to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to the nation

    Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation yesterday (March 31). During the speech, among many things, PM Khan again talked about the threat letter and also criticised the Opposition for allegedly being part of a foreign conspiracy against Pakistan.

    “Those who played cricket with me know that I will not give up,” said Khan. “Sunday will decide which way the country is headed,” he added. “When I played cricket for 20 years, the world and those who played cricket with me saw that I played till the last ball. I’ve never accepted defeat in life. Nobody should think that I will sit at home. I’ll come back stronger, whatever may the result be,” he said.

    “The letter says if the no-confidence motion succeeds, bilateral relations will return to normalcy. These people (the Opposition) have become their blue-eyed guys because they are easy to manipulate due to their ill-gotten money stashed abroad.”

    Khan’s speech has left the internet questioning if there was anything new in the speech. In addition, many have some interesting and hilarious things to say about the live address.

    Have a look at some of the tweets:

    https://twitter.com/RantsPakistani/status/1509559392018046976

    https://twitter.com/LahoriElite/status/1509549576130371594
  • Exclusive: How did PM Khan act when telling journalists about the ‘threat letter’?

    Exclusive: How did PM Khan act when telling journalists about the ‘threat letter’?

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan called senior journalists to meet him on Wednesday and to inform them about the contents of the “foreign country threat letter.”

    During the meeting, the contents of the confidential letter were shared with the journalists present, which included Kashif Abbasi, Arshad Sharif, Muhammad Malick, Fareeha Idrees, Shahzad Iqbal, and Imran Riaz Khan among others.

    As per The Current’s sources, the PM’s body language was ‘positive’ during the meeting.

    The Current’s sources revealed that a journalist asked the PM: “How far away is the country where the letter originated from? An 18-hour flight away or 6-hour flight away?” The question was posed after the name of the concerned country was not revealed. However, it was stated that the letter was written by a Pakistani official based on the contents of the letter and it referred to a conversation with officials of the other country.

    Sources added that the “mood was very relaxed” but the PM was very serious about the threat.

    The letter was shown to journalists from afar, so much so that it was not readable from the naked eye. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Asad Umar was holding the letter.

    On March 27, PM Khan waved a letter during PTI’s power show in Islamabad and talked about a foreign conspiracy to oust his government.

  • Which journalists were present during the meeting with PM Khan?

    Which journalists were present during the meeting with PM Khan?

     Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan called senior journalists in Islamabad to meet him and revealed the contents of the ‘foreign country threat letter’.

    Here’s a list of journalists who were present during the meeting.

    1. Mohammad Malick – Anchor Hum News.

    2. Moeed Pirzada- Anchor, Channel 92 News.

    3. Arshad Sharif – ARY News Anchor

    4. Kashif Abbasi – ARY News Anchor

    5. Imran Khan – News Anchor

    6. Fareeha Idrees – Abb Tak Anchor

    7. Shehzad Iqbal – Geo News Anchor

    Express News’ Azhar Zuhair and PTV’s Asad Rana were also present.

    PM Khan told journalists that he would give a briefing to Parliament on the letter and admitted that the letter was written by Pakistan’s ambassador, not naming the country the ambassador was present in. He said that national security rules apply to the letter and he could not reveal any more details.

    On March 27, PM Khan had waved a letter during PTI’s power show in Islamabad and talked about a foreign conspiracy to oust his government.