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Tag: PTI

  • 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.

  • Twitter users, activists condemn Mahira Khan, Anwar Maqsood’s sexist remarks about Maryam Nawaz, Marriyum Aurangzeb

    Social media was enraged yesterday at the comments made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator Afnan Ullah Khan who remarked that Mahira Khan had mental health problems and Anwar Maqsood was a drunkard, in a tweet which celebrities and feminist activists slammed as sexist.

    What had prompted this reaction? It was a conversation at a session titled ‘An Evening With Mahira Khan’ held at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi. In a clip that went viral, Mahira Khan was seen commenting about two females fighting and poisoning each other. To which Maqsood responded by saying that these two women were PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb and Maryam Nawaz.

    “I am restricted from talking about politics, I can’t say anything about anyone. Hopefully the situation will get better soon. What you said about poisoning, abusing each other so I gave an example, it is also happening in real life. Also both are actors, not character actors.”

    Can we condemn the disparaging comment made by the PML-N senator, whose party is currently under the leadership of a woman, and is also the one ruling the country? Absolutely, because how a politician comments about their critics reveals how thin-skinned and shallow-minded they are, especially when the critic is a woman.

    But to completely sideline the fact that Khan, who has been outspoken about gender inequality and the need to improve the way media represents women on screens, especially sitting next to a renowned leftist screen writer, could resort to making sexist jokes about female politicians whose views she doesn’t agree with? Twitter users could not over look this fact, and criticised Khan’s sexist behavior for directly targeting female politicians of the opposite party as a way to score points.

    Feminist activist Leena Ghani mentioned that it was male politicians who are consistently over-emotional, and behave in a horrible manner, but it’s astounding why Khan chose to overlook them and target Aurangzeb and Nawaz

    The Twitter page of Aurat March condemned Khan’s and Maqsood’s comments as ‘cringe’

    Twitter users like journalist Gharidah Farooqi criticised these comments as ‘shameful’:

    Zebunnisa Burki criticised both Khan and Maqsood for making such disgusting comments

    Another user wrote that it wasn’t proper for a woman to mock another woman politician in this manner

  • Khan agrees to sit with rivals for ‘greater national consensus’

    Khan agrees to sit with rivals for ‘greater national consensus’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has agreed to sit with rival political parties for “greater national consensus” on elections.

    To try and defuse political tensions in the country, a delegation of civil society members called on the former prime minister on Tuesday evening. Calling themselves “mediators”, the group convinced Khan to agree to talks.

    Speaking about the matter, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said, “The civil society has spoken to Imran Khan and he has agreed to be part of the multi-party conference (MPC) to develop a consensus on the elections date and the process that leads to polls.”

    Speaking with Dawn, an individual who was part of the meeting said, “The civil society initiative and its acceptance by Imran Khan has come after some of the [party] leaders realised that the current confrontational strategy had the former ruling party in a bind.”

     “We are ready to talk to everyone for elections. We are peaceful people, with only one demand: hold elections,” said Pervaiz Khattak, former defence minister.

    The Pakistan Bar Council has agreed to host the MPC if “major political parties respond to this call”.

  • PML-N’s Javed Latif can’t control himself, passes sexist comments for Bushra Bibi

    PML-N’s Javed Latif can’t control himself, passes sexist comments for Bushra Bibi

    Considered a “senior leader” of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Javed Latif has passed sexist comments against former First Lady and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi.

    In an apparent reference to Khan and his wife, he said, “The 72-year-old boy is saying that my 75-year-old wife was alone in the house in Zaman Park. The chaadar and the sanctity of the four walls have been violated.” He continued, “If she was alone in the presence of 200 terrorists, Should she be surrounded by 4000 or 5000 armed people for him to her consider safe?”

    His comments came under fire on Twitter where a lot of social media users not only condemned the politician’s statement but also called him out in harsh words.

    Aurat March Karachi issued a statement, quote tweeting the clip. “We strongly condemn such sexist remarks against Bushra Bibi by a government representative,” stated the feminist group. “It is disgusting that political parties have normalised sexist attacks on women from opponent groups.”

    “That this statement is coming from the party of Maryam Nawaz, who herself remains a victim of sexist slurs is all the more concerning,” continued the official statement.

    “We demand the government and all political parties stop this misogynist tradition which targets women due to their gender. Such practice should lead to strict punitive action by [the] government as well as Election Commission.”

    This is not the first time that a politician sitting in a media gathering has used this kind of language for a woman.

    The Current strongly condemns the PML-N leader’s remarks. This should stop NOW!

  • Who was the PTI leader killed in Havelian?

    Who was the PTI leader killed in Havelian?

    In an unfortunate incident, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Atif Munsif Khan, hailing from Basti Sher Khan, lost his life when a rival group opened fire on his vehicle near Havelian’s Langra village which caused the car’s fuel tank to explode.

    Atif was the son of former provincial minister Munsif Khan Jadoon.

    He was elected the Havelian tehsil nazim as an independent candidate in the 2022 municipal elections. After winning the election, he joined the Imran Khan-led PTI.

    Nine others also died in the attack.

    According to Dawn, the District Police Officer (DPO) refuted media reports claiming that the car had been targeted by a “rocket attack”.

    Surprisingly, the DPO said that a first information report (FIR) has not yet been registered.

    After the news, the PTI leaders extended condolences and demand an immediate inquiry into the matter.

  • ‘Breaking of my gate was a clear violation of sanctity of chadar and chardiwari’: Khan writes to CJP Bandial

    ‘Breaking of my gate was a clear violation of sanctity of chadar and chardiwari’: Khan writes to CJP Bandial

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has written a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday, claiming that the events of Saturday — when his house was raided by the Punjab Police while he was at Islamabad Judicial Complex for his court hearing in the Toshakhana case — were evidence that a plot to assassinate him was afoot.

    “With no security provided to me and with one assassination plot already attempted against my life in Wazirabad, I have been placing my life at risk every time I have to make a court appearance,” wrote Khan.

    Imran Khan, in his letter, stated that his life is risk so he has been consistently requesting for video link facility from courts for multiple court appearances.

    “When we arrived in Islamabad and were moving towards the judicial complex, we were trapped on all sides by containers to block my arrival at the complex and before the magistrate to deliberately try and create a false situation of no show”.

    “To provoke the mass of people gathered in support, the police and Rangers resorted to tear gas and baton charge against ordinary unarmed citizens and the PTI leadership accompanying me. What was worse was the police stationed on the roof of the complex started hurling stones into the crowds (videos are all available). When I was halfway through the gate of the complex the police attacked the workers around my car without any provocation.”

    Khan added that while PTI lawyers were not allowed inside the complex and “beaten back from the door”, about 20 or more unknown (Namaloom) people — who were neither wearing any uniforms nor had any identity displayed — were allowed inside. “This was clearly done to allow them to assassinate me.”

    “While I was facing all this in Islamabad, my house was assaulted in Zaman Park by the Punjab police in complete violation of the orders passed by the Honourable Lahore High Court.”


    Khan talking about his wife, Bushra Bibi — a very private, non-political person — was alone in the house at that time with a couple of domestic staff members, wrote: “The breaking of my gate and illegal entry by a group of armed police was also a clear violation of the Islamic principle of sanctity of chadar and chardiwari.”

    He concluded his letter with the request of a “proper investigation” be conducted into these events.

    However, after blaming namaloom afrad [unknown people] Khan deleted a tweet from his Twitter account, where he had posted a video of a man alleged to be a PTI worker, whom he mistook for being one of the people present there to attack him.

  • ‘First army chief to be appointed on merit in Pakistan’: PM Shehbaz lends support to COAS Munir

    ‘First army chief to be appointed on merit in Pakistan’: PM Shehbaz lends support to COAS Munir

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, in a series of tweets, has lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, slamming his criticism of the establishment and current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.

    Calling out Khan, Shehbaz Sharif wrote, “PTI’s disgusting smear campaign against COAS Munir at the behest of Imran Niazi is deserving of the strongest condemnation”, adding that “Khan is going to the extent of damaging the country and undermining our armed forces and their leadership.”

    In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM Shehbaz strongly condemned the “vile campaign” against the Pakistan army and COAS Munir and called on overseas Pakistanis to raise their voice against it.

    Referring to the COAS as the “first army chief to be appointed on merit in Pakistan”, Shehbaz Sharif stressed that such a campaign could only be the agenda of the enemies of the country.

    He said that “toxic politics” was being spread through overseas Pakistanis.

    The premier called on patriotic Pakistanis living abroad to raise their voices against the “foreign-funded campaign” and not become a part of such conspiracies.

    In response, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the statement is only to create distance between the people and the army so “PDM can continue looting”.

    On the behalf of the party, he clarfied that the party wishes well to the army chief.

    A day earlier, hundreds of Pakistanis Americans gathered outside the White House, in the United States (US) to demand an end to the government’s actions against Imran.

    During the demonstration, one of the protesters said that the “establishment must realise its mistake”.

    On March 3, the PTI chief said that he is ready to hold talks with the COAS for the sake of the country, claiming that the army chief considers Imran his enemy.

  • PTI spent more than Rs100 million on social media influencers monthly, says KP minister

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Caretaker Minister for Information, Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah, has claimed that when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in power in the province, they spent Rs150-160 million rupees on social media influencers “to create and run trends in favour of PTI”.

    Talking to a private channel, he said that a total of 5000 social influencers were recruited by the provincial government in its last days and they were being paid between Rs25,000 to 30,000 per month.

    He said that the recruitments were illegal as they were not done according to the procedure, nor was any advertisement issued for the posts.

    He said that there was no area in the province where these influencers were not working.

    The minister stated that an investigation will take place as the government has sent the case of these 5,000 recruits to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

  • ‘Police ko free hand de diya hai’; Mohsin Naqvi says writ of state will be established

    ‘Police ko free hand de diya hai’; Mohsin Naqvi says writ of state will be established

    Caretaker Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has said in a press conference that he has given a “free hand” to the police to establish the writ of the state in the province.

    “We told the policemen this morning that you can do what you want to do to establish the writ of the government. If anyone challenges the police, they will break their hand,” warned Naqvi in the press conference.

    Naqvi said he had given the provincial police chief full powers so that he could do what he deemed appropriate. “I won’t interfere,” he added.

    He further said that no political party reacted the way Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did during its protest. “In every condition, we have to establish the writ of the government.”

    Criticising PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s conduct, Naqvi said that if he did not trust the police, the security that is provided could be withdrawn.

    Naqvi added that police personnel could not offer protection to someone who verbally abuses them at night and expects the same force to safeguard them.

    “I assured them that if anyone resorts to violence, they will get a stern reply. Political activity is your right but no one can react this aggressively,” he said while referring to the protesters.

    He added that the “terrorism” PTI was doing is not something that political workers do.

    “They are terrorists. A joint investigation team will be formed and a notification will be issued by evening,” said the CM. He also added that the caretaker government is writing a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan sharing details about what had been happening in the province.