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Tag: Pakistan

  • Rifts in PTI over ‘selection’ of new Chairman

    Rifts in PTI over ‘selection’ of new Chairman

    In a dramatic turn of events within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), founding member and dissenter Akbar S. Babar has raised concerns over the nomination of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan for the party chairman’s position.

    Accusing the move of being more of a “selection than an election,” Babar, who previously filed the foreign funding case against the PTI, expressed doubts about the transparency and credibility of the intra-party election process.

    He said, “This must be a first that elections for the party’s central leadership have been announced without its electoral college in place as the electoral college of PTI’s central leadership is an elected provincial leadership which does not exist.”

    According to Babar, the prolonged intra-party election process, initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic with a one-year extension granted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), has failed to live up to the party’s commitment to transparent and fair elections.

    Babar proposed that the Commission should appoint ‘obervers’ to monitor the PTI intra-party elections as it is already discussing the matter.

    Babar, who served as the party’s central information secretary and vice-president in the past, claimed that it appears that the PTI has learnt hardly any lesson from its past history of holding rigged intra-party elections.

    The decision to nominate Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, described as a ‘newcomer,’ has sparked internal discord within the party.

    Some party leaders drew parallels between this nomination and the controversial appointment of Usman Buzdar as the Punjab chief minister, a move that faced criticism for its perceived lack of merit.

    The selection of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan over other loyalists within the party, such as Ali Muhammad Khan, Senator Humayun Mohmand, and Advocate Hamid Khan, has raised eyebrows among insiders.

    One party leader, speaking anonymously to Dawn, voiced apprehensions about Khan’s association with PPP leader Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, considering it an unwise move given the sensitive nature of the party chairman position.

    “Unfortunately, Imran Khan has again done an experiment, just like Usman Buzdar, who left him when his difficult time started. The position of the party chairman is very sensitive and it could be used against the party,” he feared.

  • How many seats will be in the National Assembly in upcoming elections?

    How many seats will be in the National Assembly in upcoming elections?

    Amid rumours of delay in the elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released the final list of delimitation of constituencies in the national and four provincial assemblies.

    This progress paves the roads for the election schedule, which is more likely to be announced in the first week of December, as per the electoral body.

    Previously, the ECP had said that the final list of delimitations for constituencies would be published on December 15, but it was later revised to November 30.

    According to the notification issued by the ECP, the National Assembly (NA) has a total of 266 seats; 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities.

    Balochistan has a total of 20 NA seats, including 16 general and four reserved seats for women; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 45 general NA seats and 10 reserved seats for women; Sindh has a total of 75 NA seats, of which 61 are general and the remaining 14 are reserved for women.

    On the other hand, considering population, Punjab is a big province, and it has 141 NA seats, of which 32 are reserved for women. The federal capital has three general NA seats, with no reserved seat for women.

    Article 106 pertains to the constituencies of the four provincial legislatures. According to this article, Balochistan comprises 51 general seats, with 11 reserved for women and three for non-Muslims, making a total of 65 seats.

    In the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are 115 general seats, along with 26 reserved for women and four for non-Muslims, bringing the total number of seats in the legislature to 145.

  • Harassment of Pakhtuns in Punjab unacceptable; Aimal Wali Khan warns government

    Harassment of Pakhtuns in Punjab unacceptable; Aimal Wali Khan warns government

    Aimal Wali Khan, the President of Awami National Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has accused Punjab authorities of engaging in harassment against Pakhtuns in the province.

    “The Punjab government has initiated a crackdown on Pakhtuns from KP and Balochistan, who live there for work, trade, and business. If it doesn’t stop harassing Pakhtuns, we won’t allow the presence of non-locals in our province even if they’re government employees,” the ANP leader told a public meeting in the Titwalan area of Martung tehsil on Thursday.

    Highlighting the right of individuals with national identity cards issued by NADRA to live or work anywhere in the country, Khan emphasized that Pakhtuns should enjoy the same rights as people from other ethnic backgrounds.

    He urged the central government to release due funds to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa promptly.

    Khan further addressed economic disparities, stating that while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced 6,000 megawatts of electricity and sold it to the center at a nominal rate, its residents were compelled to purchase the same electricity at a significantly higher cost.

    The ANP leader said the people shouldn’t sell votes for “plastic pipes, water tanks and electricity poles” and should instead vote for the ANP for their and next generations’ development.

    He regretted that many coal miners from Shangla lost their lives due to a lack of safety measures at work. He blamed the issue on “bad governance and the corrupt system.”

    He said coal mine workers significantly contributed to economic development but the state and government had neglected their welfare and development.

    “As a lawmaker, I’ll strive for the workplace protection and welfare of miners,” he said.

    The ANP leader said in the upcoming elections, the people should reject those, who had been making false promises to them for the last over a decade, and should vote for the ANP for their development.

    ANP candidates Aurangzeb Khan (NA-11), Faisal Zeb Khan (PK-30), Altaf Khan (PK-29), district president Azam Khan and leader Gulab Shahpuri also addressed the meeting.

  • Aiman Khan, Saboor Aly, shower love on Zara Noor Abbas as she announces pregnancy

    Aiman Khan, Saboor Aly, shower love on Zara Noor Abbas as she announces pregnancy

    Zara Noor Abbas could win the cutest pregnancy announcement award if there ever was one, with a hilarious picture she posted holding a desert with a simple caption: “Round 2- – InshaAllah ‍ ‍ “.

    The actress married Asad Siddiqui in 2017, becoming pregnant in 2021. But sadly, the actress announced she had suffered a miscarriage and lost her son. We’re praying for her health and hope a miracle lies ahead.

    It was also wonderful to witness celebrities showering love and prayers upon Zara and her husband. A-listers Saboor Aly, Mawra Hocane and other actors sent warm congratulations in the comments.

    Among the celebratory notes was actress Merub Ali, who expressed her joy at becoming a khala.

  • Punjab announces winter vacations for schools

    Punjab announces winter vacations for schools

    Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced on X (former Twitter) that Punjab schools will have a 15-day long winter break, as per the winter vacation schedule.


    Late on Thursday night, Naqvi posted that vacations will start on December 18, 2023, in public and private schools across the province and continue till January 1, 2024.


    “We held a meeting with experts and govt officials today addressing the SMOG challenge in Punjab. With an improved Air Quality Index (AQI), no restrictions are planned for the upcoming weekend. Additionally, winter vacations for children will commence from Dec 18, 2023 to Jan 1, 2024,” the CM wrote on his official handle of Twitter.


    Earlier in the week, Sindh announced winter vacations from December 22 till December 31.

    Read More: Holidays are around the corner in Sindh

  • PML-N hits back at Bilawal over ‘mehangai league’ tirade

    PML-N hits back at Bilawal over ‘mehangai league’ tirade

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) responsible for the inflation in the country during the two parties’ coalition government. Political temperature across the spectrum is rising as general election is set to take place on February 8 next year.

    PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been calling the PML-N “mehangai [inflation] league,” alleging that the PML-N is responsible for rising prices in the last 16-months period.

    The term of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which included the PPP, PML-N, and various other parties, concluded in August this year. During this period, there was a significant surge in inflation, unprecedented increases in energy and fuel costs, and a notable decline in foreign reserves.

    In his conversation on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, Musadik Malik — who served as the Minister of State for Petroleum during the PDM government — slammed Bilawal for targeting the PML-N for rising inflation and noted that all decisions in their 16-month stint were collective.

    Musadik Malik also reminded the PPP Chairman that he was a foreign minister of the country in the previous coalition government.

    “So when the minister had the portfolio of Foreign Ministry and I finalised a [oil] deal with Russia, he called it truck ki batti [false hope]. What was that? He should talk about his role as well. Was it my job to secure deals in Azerbaijan Russia? And you, while sitting in the US, said it was truck ki batti. So didn’t we reach our destination while following this truck ki batti?” asked Malik.

  • ‘Islamabad can’t see that Balochistan is heart of Pakistan’: Asif Ali Zardari

    ‘Islamabad can’t see that Balochistan is heart of Pakistan’: Asif Ali Zardari

    Ex-president Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday called Balochistan the “heart of Pakistan”, lamenting that the view was not shared by Islamabad or the other provinces.

    He made the remarks while addressing a rally in Quetta to mark the party’s 56th foundation day, campaigning to improve its prospects in the province in the run up to the general elections.

    “Pakistan has everything. And Balochistan is the heart of Pakistan. Unfortunately, Islamabad does not see that Balochistan is the heart. The other provinces do not see it [either],” he lamented.

    “But we see that Balochistan is the heart of Pakistan. And it is very important to win over this heart. Without winning over the heart of Balochistan, we cannot fix Pakistan.”

    “There is much grief […] in Balochistan and we need to address that. We tried to do it in our time but it was not enough,” he said, adding that PPP wanted the people of Balochistan to take ownership of their land and resources.

    He said that he would ensure water was made accessible for the people of the province. “Pakistan becomes an export country when Balochistan has [access to] water,” he said.

    “We have formulas available on how to develop Pakistan, how to strengthen Balochistan, and how we have to serve you,” he added.

    Commenting on his son PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the ex-president — in an apparent slip of the tongue — said, “My son, by becoming the youngest prime minister of Pakistan, raised Pakistan’s honour and flag.”

    During the previous tenure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, Bilawal served as the foreign minister, the youngest to do so.

    “Everyone knows him now. Some knew him because of his mother, some people knew him because of his father and some knew him because of his grandfather but today they know him because of his own identity,” he said.

    “In all seasons and at all times, we have to support him […] we have to transfer what we know […] we want to make Bilawal the leader of the youth,” he said.

    “We will redefine Pakistan, we are not weak, you are not weak,” he said as he wrapped up his speech.

    Following reports of differences between the top two leaders, party chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari has called for “burying” politics of hatred and division in line with the vision of his father Asif Ali Zardari’s reconciliatory politics.

    “We have to do politics wherein we should think about unity and not of division. The PPP wants to start a new kind of politics in the country,” Bilawal said while addressing the public rally.

    “PPP is fighting against inflation and poverty due to which people are suffering. The old style of politics is based on hatred, division, and revenge. The country’s youth needs to bury such politics,” the PPP chief added.

    In the same gathering, Bilawal also fired a broadside at his political rivals saying that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is now known as the “mehangai [inflation] league” in the country.

    “People know that they are showbaz [big mouth] of politics,” the PPP chief added.

    Bilawal said Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the PML-N wanted to roll back the provincial autonomy granted under the 18th Amendment.

    “They want to occupy the resources of the provinces.PPP will not let this conspiracy succeed.”

    Bilawal also announced giving a surprise in the February 8, 2024 general elections saying a jiyala [PPP worker] will become the country’s new prime minister.

  • Holidays are around the corner in Sindh

    The Sindh Department of Education has officially announced the winter vacation schedule for all educational institutions.

    Holidays will commence on December 22 and end on December 31.

    All private and government educational institutions, including universities, colleges, and schools in the province will reopen on January 1, 2024.

    The winter vacation 2023 in Sindh notification was issued on November 30.

    The holidays are being observed in accordance with the decision of the department’s annual steering committee, said the secretary of education.

  • ‘Balach’s murderers be punished’; Protests in Turbat enter eight-day

    The Balochistan government has put together a four-member committee to investigate the alleged extrajudicial killing of Balaach Mola Bakhsh in a clash with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Turbat.

    The committee, formed under Section 3(1) of the Balochistan Tribunal of Inquiry Ordinance 1969, will be led by Fisheries Secretary Imran Gichki and includes the Deputy Inspector General of Quetta police, Deputy Commissioner of Kech, and Gwadar SSP.

    The committee is mandated to complete its inq­uiry, determine the incident’s motives, and submit its report within 15 days.

    Balaach Mola Bakhsh’s funeral took place on Wednesday, and a subsequent sit-in at Fida Shaheed Chowk saw the family and organizers expressing their commitment to continuing protests until justice is served.

    The case

    On November 24, four men were killed in an alleged encounter by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). Among them, Mr Bakhsh, Shakoor Baloch, Saif Baloch were identified, while the identity of one person remains unknown.

    However, conflicting accounts emerged as the family refuted the CTD’s claims, asserting that Balaach was not involved in any unlawful activities and was picked up on October 29, leading to his alleged killing in a “fake encounter.”

    The ongoing protest, now in its eitht day, has garnered attention and renewed discussions on extrajudicial detentions and deaths, shedding light on concerns of police impunity in Balochistan province.

    Baloch’s killing has triggered outrage in cities across the Makran division, with a complete shutter-down strike observed in Turbat and other towns on Wednesday while roads leading from the area to Pakistan’s main business hub, Karachi, were blocked by protesters.

    Following a demand by Baloch’s family, a local court in Turbat had ordered the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), or police complaint, against the CTD team involved in the operation in which the 24-year-old was allegedly killed.

    “Now we are protesting because despite court orders, why are the authorities not registering an FIR against the people who killed my brother,” Balach’s elder sister Najma Baloch told Arab News.

    On the government’s inquiry tribunal, she said: “Neither do I know anything about the inquiry committee nor has anyone from the committee contacted us.”

    “Now hundreds of people have joined the protest and are demanding registration of FIR against the CTD team,” she added, saying her family’s “clear demand” was that Baloch’s murderers be punished.

  • Elon Musk tells advertisers, ‘Go f*** yourself’

    Elon Musk tells advertisers, ‘Go f*** yourself’

    Owner of X (formerly Twitter), and one of the richest men on the planet, Elon Musk, famous for controversial statements, has told big advertisers to not blackmail him with money, and, “go f* yourself.”

    The billionaire tycoon of Tesla was invited to the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday where he was asked about recent controversial tweets and if he would like to apologize for remarks widely termed as anti-semitic. To this Musk instantly replied, “If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself. Go. F**. Yourself. Is that clear?” Musk singled out Disney CEO Bob Iger in the audience, saying “Hi Bob!”


    He told interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin, “I have no problem being hated. Hate away.”


    He also implied that his fans would boycott those advertisers in kind. “The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail,” Musk threatened.


    Musk’s inflammatory posts on the social media platform, among other things, have led large advertisers, including Disney, Apple, and many others, to suspend campaigns there and drove some famous users to abandon the platform.


    The contents of the tweet promoted the conspiracy theory that white people in the West are being “replaced” through immigration from the Global South with the help of progressive Jews – “the actual truth”.


    However, in the recent talk, he called those tweets, “one of the most foolish if not the most foolish thing I’ve ever done on the platform,” he said, adding that he was sorry for the tweet.

    Elon went to Israel and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Herzog earlier in the week. “It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre,” said Musk later in an X Spaces conversation with Netanyahu, adding Israel has “no choice” but to eliminate Hamas.


    The tour took place after one of his tweets, dubbed anti-semitic by critics, went viral on social media. Musk reached an agreement with Israel “in principle” that internet access to Gaza may be provided through Starlink, but only using units operated by Israel and with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications.