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Tag: Imran Khan

  • ‘US clueless and in state of shock over Taliban takeover’: PM Khan

    ‘US clueless and in state of shock over Taliban takeover’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, while speaking with CNN journalist Becky Anderson, said the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Taliban and incentivise them on issues such as women’s rights and inclusive government.

    “The Taliban hold all of Afghanistan and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together, Afghanistan could have peace after 40 years. But if it goes wrong and which is what we are really worried about, it could go to chaos. The biggest humanitarian crisis, a huge refugee problem,” Khan said.

    “No puppet government in Afghanistan is supported by the people,” he said. “So rather than sitting here and thinking that we can control them, we should incentivise them. Because Afghanistan, this current government, clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to stop this crisis. So we should push them in the right direction.”

    “Our intelligence agencies told us that the Taliban would not be able to take over all of Afghanistan, and if they tried to take Afghanistan militarily, there would be a protracted civil war, which is what we were scared of because we are the ones who would suffer the most,” Khan said. Now, he said, the world should “give them time” to form a legitimate government and make good on their promises.

    PM Khan commenting on women’s rights in Afghanistan said, “I feel very strongly that it is a mistake to think that someone from the outside will give Afghan women their rights [because] Afghan women are strong. Give them time, and they will get their rights.”

    “Women should have the ability in society to fulfil their potential in life [but] you cannot impose women’s rights in Afghanistan from abroad,” said Khan.

    When questioned about the decision of the United States (US) and NATO forces to withdraw from Afghanistan, PM Khan said that the “US should have attempted a political settlement with the Taliban from a position of strength.”

    “Just because we sided with the US, we became an ally of the US after 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan. The suffering this country went through with at one point there were 50 militant groups attacking our government … on top of it, they must also know there were 480 drone attacks by the US in Pakistan,” he said.

    On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would reassess its ties with Pakistan following the withdrawal. He told Congress during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that Pakistan has a “multiplicity of interests some that are in conflict with ours”.

    “It is one that is involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved harbouring members of the Taliban … It is one that’s also involved in different points cooperation with us on counterterrorism,” Blinken said, Reuters reported.

    Khan called such comments “ignorant”, telling CNN: “I have never heard such ignorance.”

    “I cannot destroy my country to fight someone else’s war,” he said. “My responsibility would have been to the people of my country.”

    PM Khan also said that he hasn’t met President Joe Biden after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

    “He did not call as he is a busy man, but our relationship with the US is not just dependent on a phone call, it needs to be a multidimensional relationship,” remarked Khan.

  • ‘Media Martial Law’, Journalists sit in protest against proposed media authority bill

    ‘Media Martial Law’, Journalists sit in protest against proposed media authority bill

    Pakistani journalists are protesting in front of the Parliament House against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), which aims to muzzle media freedom. The on-going protest started on Sunday. Journalists marched from the National Press Club to the Parliament House and stayed overnight.

    They said the sit-in would continue till President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament, which is scheduled to assemble on Monday.

    DETAILS OF THE PROTEST

    Renowned journalists including Mazhar Abbas, Hamid Mir, Fahd Husain, Kashif Abbasi, Saleem Safi, Asma Shirazi, Gharidah Farooqi Imtiaz Alam, and Afzal Butt are participating in the protest, headed by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

    PFUJ general secretary Nasir Zaidi, while talking to Voicepk.net said, “Prior to this, we struggled against every law to control the press in the eras of dictators, and we will struggle against such laws even today.”

    Senior journalist Afzal Butt said, “Many attempts had been made in the past to silence the media by dictators, but journalists successfully fought for their rights and this time too, the journalist community would protect freedom of the press.”

    Journalist Imtiaz Alam stated that, “The government through the PMDA was trying to impose ‘media martial law’. “as per Dawn.

    Journalists and politicians are criticising the government. “Parliamentary reporters have banned from sitting in the press gallery of Parliament for joint session,” tweeted PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman.

    SUPPORT BY JOURNALISTS

    Other journalists have expressed their concerns and showed solidarity with fellow journalists on social media accounts.

    https://twitter.com/zburki/status/1436954006820118537

    INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION

    Pakistani journalists in Britain also condemned the Pakistan government’s plans to establish the PMDA.

    “The officials of the High Commission called journalists individually and asked them not to hold the protest outside the High Commission premises and also issued threats of serious consequences for organising the protest,” wrote Murtaza Ali Shah for Geo News.

    “The journalists particularly singled out the current information minister [Fawad Chaudhry] for first playing his role in the economic murder of journalists and now pushing through a black law to completely finish the private media which provides thousands of jobs to media workers,” he added.

  • ‘Next 24 hours critical’: Nausheen, Ayesha and Aima raise voice for Umer Sharif’s treatment

    ‘Next 24 hours critical’: Nausheen, Ayesha and Aima raise voice for Umer Sharif’s treatment

    Leading Pakistani celebrities have taken to their social media to raise voice for veteran comedian Umer Sharif’s treatment.

    Taking to Instagram stories, Nausheen Shah requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to “remember the times when he (Umer Sharif) stood by you.” and requested him to help the Zameen Aasman star.

    Similarly, singer Aima Baig, actors Ayesha Omar and Areeba Habib took to their social media handles to express concern for Umer Sharif.

    Umer’s wife, Zareen posted a status which read: : “24 hours are crucial for Umer please pray as much as you can.”

    While, anchor Waseem Badami took to Twitter and shared that he received a call from the Prime Minister’s Office and it said that all possible work would be done to ensure Umer Sharif’s early trip abroad.

  • ‘More than half of Pakistanis dissatisfied with govt’s performance on all issues,’ survey reveals

    A survey conducted by lpsos has revealed that “More than half of Pakistanis are dissatisfied with federal government’s performance on all issues.”

    Key results of the survey:

    1 in 2 Pakistanis seem unhappy with the federal government’s performance on dealing with COVID-19; males, top elite, Sindh and Balochistan are even more dissatisfied

    Only 1 in 4 Pakistanis consider the PTI regime to have succeeded in eradicating corruption in Pakistan

    Majority (62%) Pakistanis expressed dissatisfaction with the PTI government’s performance on controlling inflation:

    Majority (53%) Pakistanis are dissatisfied with PTI’s delivery on providing justice, dissatisfaction even higher in less educated Pakistanis.

    Only 1 in 5 Pakistanis think that the current government has been able to eradicate poverty. Same trend prevalent across all segments and provinces:

    The sample size of the survey was 1020, and “random CATI interviews (Computer-assisted telephone interviewing )” were conducted between August 26 to September 2, 2021. The survey was named, “PTI’s three years in Federal Government.

  • 48 per cent Pakistanis happy with PTI’s performance

    48 per cent Pakistanis happy with PTI’s performance

    Seven in 10 Pakistanis believe that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will complete its five-year term, according to a survey.

    A survey, ‘Gallup Pakistan’ was conducted with over 1200 respondents across urban and rural areas, covering over 100 districts in the country. The sample comprised a cross-section of age and socio-economic classes.

    The survey conducted was based to evaluate the performance of the PTI government.

    Performance of PTI:

    Public opinion is split on the issue of performance of the PTI government with slightly more than 48 per cent saying performance is good over the past three years. A sizeable 45 percent believe the performance has been bad.

    In the largest province of Punjab, a majority are unhappy and say that Imran Khan’s government’s performance isn’t good. Highest support in Balochistan at 74 per cent rating positively and KP where 62 per cent rated Imran Khan’s performance positively.

    Who is better Imran Khan vs Nawaz Sharif:

    When the survey crafted a comparison between Khan’s Rule vs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif rule?

    Public Opinion split equally with 37 per cent each saying Imran Khan rule is better and 37 per cent saying Nawaz Sharif rule was better. 18 per cent of people believe that the performance of PM Khan’s government is the same as that of Nawaz’s.

    Economy:

    When it came to the economy, 45 per cent said they were satisfied with where it stands, whereas 44 per cent expressed dissatisfaction.

    Prevention of corruption:

    In efforts to prevent corruption, 48 per cent were of the view that the government has been successful, whereas 40 per cent were of the view it has failed.

    Performance on Foreign Affairs:

    A majority of Pakistanis, 58 per cent, have also indicated they are satisfied with the government’s foreign policy efforts. Of these, 18 per cent said the performance has been “very good”, while 40 per cent said it has been “good”.

  • PTI reacts to report on false claims of ministers and govt officials

    PTI reacts to report on false claims of ministers and govt officials

    Journalist Benazir Shah’s exclusive report featured on Geo News highlighted the misleading claims of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) numerous ministers and government officials.

    Since the PTI came to power in 2018, its lawmakers and officials have made the most of ‘fake news’ and used it to discredit journalists, media organisations, and the party’s opponents.

    “The offending language is often used to distort the truth and to undermine journalism, which aims to keep the powerful in check. When in reality those handing out the label of ‘fake news’ have occasionally stumbled themselves, especially when communicating with the public. A large number of ministers and government officials from the ruling party have fallen for false and misleading claims. In some instances, clarifications are issued, but in others, no corrections have been made to date,” read the report.

    September 2021: Minister of State Ali Muhammad Khan claims that Quaid-e-Azam went to jail

    Claim: Minister of State, Ali Muhammad Khan while speaking on 92 News programme, ‘Hard Talk Pakistan with Moeed Pirzada’ said, “We made the country. In 1947, my grandfather, Muhammad Wakeel Khan, went jail with Quaid-e-Azam.”

    Truth: There is no claim to the fact that the founder of Pakistan was ever arrested.

    August 2021: The ministry of information released a report, which incorrectly flag pro-state tweets as ‘anti-state’

    Claim: A report was released by the Digital Media Wing (DMW) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting titled, ‘Anti-State Trends: Deep Analytics Report’. It was deeply misleading and based on assumptions instead of facts.

    “The purpose of this report was to ascertain factual data and to analyse social media trends that were anti-state, Data was collected after analysing Pakistan Twitter Panel from June 2019- August 2021. Those hashtags were marked for data collection where the content of tweets was planned and propagated through a network to spread anti-state trends,” General Manager of the Digital Media Wing (DMW), Imran Ghazali told The Current.

    Truth: The report seemed to declare all the users in the report as anti-state until one prominent journalist reached out to the government and they eventually added the disclaimer after the report was published.

    June 2020: Minister of State Zartaj Gul claimed that ‘Covid-19’ actually has 19-points, hence the name

    Claim: Minister of State for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul, while speaking on PTV said that Covid-19 actually has 19 points, which can be applied to any country to combat coronavirus.

    Truth: Covid-19 is actually a short form for Coronavirus disease.

    June 2020: Prime Minister Imran Khan misquotes Allama Iqbal 

    Claim: In a tweet, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan shared an image, which had poetry written on it along with Allama Iqbal’s picture, and wrote, “This poem by Iqbal reflects how I try to lead my life. I urge our youth to understand and absorb the poem of the great Iqbal and I guarantee them that it will release their great God-given potential that we all possess as His greatest creation Ashraf ul Mukhluqat.”

    Truth: PM Khan later tweeted, “I stand corrected – this is not Allama Iqbal’s poem but the message conveyed is what I have stood by and tried to follow.”

    May 2020: Minister Murad Saeed insists the governor of New York wants to follow Pakistan’s model of contact tracing

    Claim: Minister for Communication Murad Saeed, while addressing the National Assembly, said that the governor of New York wanted to follow Pakistan’s model of contact tracing after PM Khan gave the concept of smart lockdown.

    Truth: As per the report published on Geo, not a single briefing of the governor was found stating the claim made by the minister.

    September 2019: Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari shares incorrect video

    Claim: Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari shared an incorrect video on Twitter and wrote, “Indian occupation forces can’t even bare to see fruit trees live in IOJK – lest the Muslim Kashmiris eat the fruit. Such is the barbarism of the Rogue Modi Govt’s fascist hate-filled mindset. #Kashmir”

    Truth: The video shared was from Himachal Pradesh, 2018 when India, after a court order against illegal forest encroachment, ordered the trees to be chopped.

    May 2019: Minister Fawad Chaudhry claims that the Hubble telescope was sent into space by Suparco

    Claim: Fawad Chaudhry while speaking on Geo News programme, Naya Pakistan said that the Hubble telescope was sent into space by Suparco, the national space agency of Pakistan.

    Truth: Hubble was deployed by NASA.

    However, the ruling party reacted to the report.

  • ‘Justice is necessary to uplift the common person’: PM Khan

    ‘Justice is necessary to uplift the common person’: PM Khan

    Addressing a ceremony at the groundbreaking of the Islamabad District Courts’ building on Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “Justice is necessary to uplift the common person.”

    “If you want to uplift the common person […] then it is necessary to provide them justice as well and a society becomes free when it gets justice,” said PM Khan.

    PM Khan attributed Pakistan’s decline to a lack of rule of law.

    “Whatever banana republics are there aren’t because of lack of resources but because of the rule of power instead of rule of law,” he said, adding that “two Pakistans” were created in the country with different treatment between the people.

    “The biggest injustice Gen Musharraf did to the country was giving NRO,” the premier said, adding that Musharraf didn’t have a right to give NRO to the powerful because the looted money was not his but the nation’s.

    “Only a society that upholds the rule of law is prosperous,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said.

    “I was saying 25 years ago that the country can only progress when the courts are free,” he added.

  • Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Pakistan paid a befitting tribute to the country’s armed forces, as it observed Defence Day with traditional spirit and enthusiasm.

    This year’s Defence and Martyrs’ Day theme is “Our martyrs our pride, a salute to all the relatives belonging to Ghazis and Shaheeds.”

    The day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals.

    In his message on Defence Day, President Arif Alvi vowed that Pakistan would never compromise its integrity.

    “Today we are actively fighting a hybrid war being waged against us. I commend the security agencies for their relentless efforts towards exposing the enemy carrying out covert activities,” he added.

    “We stand by the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination guaranteed under the UN Security Council resolutions,” said the president.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan also paid tribute to the brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army. “The Armed Forces must fight the enemy with unparalleled fearlessness in the world. Our brave officers, soldiers, pilots, and sailors have proved to the world that they are always ready to defend every inch of the homeland. Even if they have to pay a price for it.”

    Stressing the need for peace, PM Khan wrote, “On this occasion, I want to make it clear once again that our desire for peace should never be seen as our weakness, but should be answered in the same positive way for the prosperity and betterment of the people of the region.”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter and said, “Today the people & armed forces of Pakistan came together to defend their motherland against the Indian military aggression.”

    “We will always remember the sacrifices of our brave soldiers!”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the sacrifices of the martyrs, the unwavering determination of the soldiers, and the invincible unity of the people of Pakistan is our strength and the guarantee of our bright future.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, paying a tribute to the families of our martyrs, tweeted, “Today, in the names of martyrs.”

    Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari tweeted, “Today is a day to remember & pay our respects to our martyrs esp the soldiers for whom there’s not to reason why and the families they leave behind.”

    PPP leader Sherry Rehman tweeted, “On this #DefenceDay, we pay tribute to our valiant heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect our country and people. We forever owe their families a forever debt.”

  • Pakistan to observe day of mourning for Kashmiri freedom fighter Syed Ali Geelani

    Veteran Kashmiri leader and freedom fighter Syed Ali Shah Geelani passed away at the age of 92 on Wednesday in Indian-Occupied Kashmir. He was the former head of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) but quit politics last year in June. Geelani passed away at his home in Srinagar after a prolonged illness. He had been under house arrest for the last 12 years after leading several anti-India protests.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that he was “saddened to learn of the passing of Kashmiri freedom fighter Syed Ali Geelani”. PM Khan said that we in Pakistan salute his courageous struggle and remember his words: “Hum Pakistani hain aur Pakistan Humara hai.” He announced that the Pakistan flag will fly at half mast and “we will observe a day of official mourning”.

    DG ISPR tweeted a condolence message from Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, which said that Geelani’s “lifelong sacrifices & ceaseless struggle symbolises indomitable resolve of Kashmiris against Indian occupation. His dream & his mission will live on until People of IIOJ&K win their right of self determination.”

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and several other Pakistani leaders expressed their grief and paid tributes to Geelani.

  • Shehbaz’s remarks about a national govt are his personal views: PML-N

    Shehbaz’s remarks about a national govt are his personal views: PML-N

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks about the formation of a national government have stirred up a political debate in the country, reported Dawn.

    PML-N termed the party president’s views as passing remarks based on his personal opinion about a post-election scenario.

    “PML-N president and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif made a passing remark that if the people of Pakistan by the grace of God Almighty gave the PML-N the responsibility to govern again after the next elections, in his personal view he would not mind inviting other political parties, excluding the PTI, to contribute towards solving the massive crisis created by the Imran Khan government over their disastrous tenure in government,” said Marriyum Aurangzeb in a brief statement.

    “Any news item carried by any news media stating otherwise is a misrepresentation of what the PML-N president said,” she added.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) described the statement as clear proof that the Pakistan Democratic Move­ment (PDM) no more exists. The PPP believed it was an effort by the PML-N leader to keep himself “politically alive”.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said that Sharif’s proposal of a national government was “a bid to save his own skin”.

    Sharif, while speaking to journalists in Karachi said, “Frankly, I am telling you that sometimes when I look at these huge problems and challenges, I feel convinced that it’s not possible for one party alone [to fix them],” he had said, adding: “It needs collective wisdom. It requires collective efforts. That’s why I think we should have a national government in place to sort out these huge tasks. I don’t know what the exact shape of this idea would be and the right time may make things clearer but for me it’s crucial. Even if we [PML-N] win a majority, we can’t fix it alone.”