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Tag: PTI

  • Confusion within Punjab govt regarding PTI long march

    Confusion within Punjab govt regarding PTI long march

    The final date for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march has not been announced yet by Chairman Imran Khan, however, contradictory statements have been issued by the Punjab government regarding the province’s support.

    Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar said on Wednesday that during the PTI long march, government resources will not be used and called Khan’s long march a “political matter”.

    In a tweet, he said, “Long march is our constitutional and legal right. When Imran Khan orders, we will come out as a party. This is a political matter, we have never used government resources and will not.”

    In another instance, Dogar, while talking to journalists on Wednesday said, “If Imran Khan announces a long march then the Punjab government will not become part of it. We will not facilitate the participants of the long march but security will be provided”, reports Geo News.

    On the contrary, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi— who is currently in London— said, “We will do everything that Imran Khan wants us to do”.

    Speaking to journalists, he said, “There is a PTI government in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir”, adding that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah wouldn’t be able to bear the PTI long march.

    Reacting to Dogar’s statement, Elahi said, “That is, as such, no matter”.

    The statement from the Punjab home minister and CM came after Khan directed his party’s officeholders to ensure that thousands of workers gather in Islamabad during the “Azadi March”.

    Earlier, Sanaullah said that PTI’s long march would not be allowed to enter the federal capital under any circumstances.

    On October 4, Khan asked his party leaders and workers to take an oath that they would participate in the long march, terming it a “jihad” for the country.

  • ‘Fight your political battle outside court’: IHC tells PTI to go back to parliament

    ‘Fight your political battle outside court’: IHC tells PTI to go back to parliament

    Athar Minallah, Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), on Thursday has told legislators belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to go back to the National Assembly.

    The court was hearing a petition filed by PTI Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) pertaining to the matter of the acceptance of 11 of their resignations.

    On Wednesday, PTI filed the petition, stating that the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Raja Pervez Ashraf, “unlawfully” declared the members as having resigned because he “Accepted the resignation of 12 MNAs’ without calling them to ascertain the true picture and by not following the due process of law, committed an unconstitutional act.” The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) then notified them of de-seating.

    The party was of the view that the Speaker was under obligation to accept the resignations of all 123 MNAs however he only accepted 11 resignations.

    During the hearing, Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah remarked, “You must hold a dialogue with other political parties to resolve such disputes.”

    The IHC chief justice observed that members whose resignations hadn’t been accepted must rejoin parliament.

    “Go and fight your political battle outside the court,” Justice Minallah told the PTI counsel. He added that this plea couldn’t be admitted until respect for the parliament was expressed by the petitioners. “Go back to parliament tomorrow, this court will accept your plea,” he told the PTI counsel.

    PTI lawyer Senator Ali Zafar said the party has yet to take a decision on this matter. He said the decision to return to parliament or not was a political one and the court should stay “far away” from it.

    “No political party is above parliament. This mindset needs to be changed”, the IHC chief justice pointed out.

    Zafar asked him if the court wanted an assurance from the petitioners about representing their constituencies to which the judge said: “Not just an assurance, prove by your actions that parliament is supreme.”

    Zafar said the party should be given time for consultations on the affidavits.

    The hearing was adjourned indefinitely.

    PTI reaches court, says acceptance of its MNA’s resignations was ‘unconstitutional act’

    A petition, filed by 10 out of the 11 PTI lawmakers whose resignations have been accepted, states that the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Raja Pervez Ashraf, “unlawfully” declared the members as having resigned because he “Accepted the resignation of 12 MNAs’ without calling them to ascertain the true picture and by not following the due process of law, committed an unconstitutional act.” The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) then notified them of de-seating.

    The party was of the view that the speaker was under obligation to accept the resignations of all 123 MNAs however he only accepted 11 resignations.

    The party appealed to the court to declare the speaker and ECP’s orders “illegal, issued without lawful authority and of no legal effect.” They also stated that the orders were in violation of the Constitution.

    In July, Raja Pervez Ashraf accepted 11 resignations of PTI MNAs under Article 64(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

    The petitioners maintained that the PTI MNAs tendered their resignations as per party policy on political grounds with the objective of reaching an agreement with the then “Opposition parties for holding fresh elections so that a new government may be formed with a real mandate.”

    The petitioners requested the court to direct the NA speaker to summon 112 MNAs and petitioners for an inquiry on whether the resignations were “Voluntary and genuine”, and fulfilled the criteria laid out under Article 64 of the constitution.

    The PTI also requested the high court to hold an immediate hearing of their case. However, the request was turned down and the court decided to hold a hearing tomorrow (October 6). IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah will hear the plea.

    Moreover, the petitioners submitted the records and transcripts of the audio leaks in which Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and members of his cabinet can be heard seeking approval for accepting the resignations from PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

  • Sessions court judge approves Khan’s bail till October 13

    Sessions court judge approves Khan’s bail till October 13

    A sessions court in Islamabad has approved till October 13 the interim bail plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in a case pertaining to his controversial remarks against a female judge during a rally in Islamabad.

    Sessions court judge Kamran Basharat Mufti approved Khan’s interim bail plea, filed by Babar Awan, after a short hearing. Khan has been asked to pay surety bonds of Rs50,000.

    Awan, while speaking to media after the hearing, said that all the cases against Khan are false.

    “PTI is returning [to power] with two-third majority. If there is anyone who can bring change, it is Imran Khan,” he said. The lawyer said that the PTI chair has never ever given the excuse of being ill.

    Awan went on to say that the infamous cypher that Imran Khan blames for the toppling if his government, was an “interference and conspiracy.”

    “We don’t accept anyone who talks against Pakistan,” he said.

    Earlier, on September 19, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) cancelled the terror charges against the former Prime Minister and ordered that the case be transferred to a relevant court under the remaining sections in the FIR.

    Following the order the anti-terrorism court, on September 20, transferred the case to a sessions court and removed the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) section from the case.

    On September 22, during a hearing of a contempt case in IHC, Imran Khan also requested the court to allow him to apologise to Additional District and Session Judge Zeba Chaudhry in person.

  • FIA forms team to investigate Imran Khan’s audio leaks

    FIA forms team to investigate Imran Khan’s audio leaks

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has formed a team to investigate the matter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his aides’ audio leaks related to the infamous cipher that the former Prime Minister blames for his government’s downfall.

    A notification has also been issued which states that the investigation team will include five members from FIA and one member each from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).

    On October 1, the federal cabinet announced the formation of a committee to probe the diplomatic cipher that it was said had been ‘stolen’ from the records of the Prime Minister’s House.

    Last week, two audio leaks of Khan and his party members surfaced on the internet. In the first audio leak, Khan told his then-principal secretary Azam Khan that, “We have to play with it [cipher]”.

    In the second audio leak, the PTI chief is directing his close aides not to take America’s name while talking about the US cipher in public. He also told his party members to use the word “letter” instead of “cipher” when they talk about cipher in public rallies.

  • ‘Irresponsible’: Fawad Chaudhry lashes out at govt after Miftah-Ishaq clash

    ‘Irresponsible’: Fawad Chaudhry lashes out at govt after Miftah-Ishaq clash

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to comment on the conflict between new Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his predecessor Miftah Ismail over the recent Rs12.63 per litre petrol price cut by the government.

    Chaudhry said, “The irresponsible and contradictory statements of Dar and Ismail have complicated matters further regarding the IMF programme”, adding that the federal government comprises of the “most idiotic team” in the country’s history.

    Fawad further stated that the economic team of the country is “totally confused”.

    The PTI leader claimed that “Their [govt] politics have been buried. If [the government] is working, it is working to end their NAB cases.”

    Earlier, former finance minister Ismail said that the government’s decision to not increase the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) this month without International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval is “reckless”.

    While the incumbent finance minister Dar said, “I have to handle the International Monetary Fund (IMF), so from now on, neither Miftah nor anybody else has to worry about anything.”

    On September 26, Dar landed in Pakistan after five years and took the charge of the finance ministry right after Ismail’s resignation.

  • Chief Justice calls lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) a ‘draconian law’

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, has termed the lifetime disqualification of politicians under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution a “Draconian law”.

    “Article 62 (1)(f) is a draconian law and we will hear this case with caution and in detail,” the CJP remarked while hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda’s appeal against his disqualification for life under the article.

    According to Article 62(1)(f), a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) “unless — he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law”.

    The Article was previously used to disqualify Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former Prime Minister whose party is now holding power in the federal capital. Former PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen was also disqualified for life under the same article.

    Vawda had appealed to the top court to set aside the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in which he was handed out a lifetime disqualification.

    In February, ECP disqualified Vawda for hiding his United States (US) citizenship. Later, he approached Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking the revocation of his lifetime disqualification, however, the court dismissed Vawda’s plea.

    Vawda has pleaded to Supreme Court that the ECP had cited no reason for invoking Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution to disqualify him for life. The commission appears to be under the impression that any person disqualified under Article 63(1)(c) — for having dual nationality — could automatically be penalised under Article 62(1)(f), he said.

    During the hearing on Tuesday (today), the CJP said, “The election commission has the right to investigate a false affidavit.”

    “Even if we set aside the ECP’s verdict, the facts will remain the same,” he added.

    “The question is whether or not the ECP can order disqualification for life,” Justice Bandial said.

    The hearing was later adjourned till October 6 (Thursday).

    It is pertinent to mention that in 2018 the Supreme Court declared that the disqualification under 62(1)(f) would be for life.

    Under this same article, both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan’s former close aide Tareen are currently disqualified for life.

  • Khan, sorry, not sorry? Court dismisses contempt notice against Imran

    Khan, sorry, not sorry? Court dismisses contempt notice against Imran

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Monday dismissed a contempt notice against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. The ontempt case against the PTI chief was initiated after his controversial remarks against Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zeba Chaudhry at a public rally on August 20.

    A larger bench, headed by IHC Cheif Justice Athar Minallah and comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Justice Babar Sattar, heard the case today.

    Talking to reporters after the hearing, Imran said: “Justice Athar Minallah has taken great decisions [in the past].” He also said that he would appear before the court if needed as he had done in the past.

    While announcing the verdict, the court discharged the contempt of court notice against Imran Khan.

    Following the court’s verdict, the PTI chief said that the court has taken a “great decision”.

    In response to the IHC verdict, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that “fitna” has been forgiven.

    “The contempt was committed and in front of the entire world. So instead of saying that the case has been dismissed, it would be more appropriate to say that fitna has been forgiven,” Maryam wrote on Twitter.

    Khan submitted an affidavit to the IHC in a contempt of court case against him, saying he had realised he “Might have crossed a line” in his controversial remarks regarding Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

    However, it is pertinent to mention that, for the third time, Khan avoided tendering an unconditional apology to the court.

  • PM Shehbaz audio leaks: PTI Supreme Court pohanch gayi

    PM Shehbaz audio leaks: PTI Supreme Court pohanch gayi

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) moved Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday to investigate the matter of Prime Minister (PM) House audio leaks of PM Shehbaz Sharif and his party members including some federal ministers.

    The former ruling party has requested the top court to seek criminal charges against PM Shehbaz and his team for hatching a “criminal conspiracy”.

    One of the many audio leaks allegedly concerns a conversation between PM Shehbaz, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Tarar, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and former National Assembly (NA) speaker Ayaz Sadiq about the resignations of PTI MNAs. The audio is said to be a recording of a cabinet meeting.

    Party leaders can be allegedly heard discussing whose resignations from PTI will be accepted. Moreover, the leaders can be heard saying that the final decision will be taken by PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif who is in London.

    “The incumbent prime minister and his cabinet members can be heard discussing a heinous strategy to outplay the petitioner from the parliamentary politics in a most illegal, unlawful and objectionable manner,” the PTI said in the petition about the audio leak.

    The petition said that the entire discussion revolves around a “criminal strategy/conspiracy” to affect and target the party through piecemeal acceptance of the resignations tendered by PTI’s MNAs on April 11.

    The party said that PM Shehbaz, Information Minister Maryum Aurangzeb and Rana Sanaullah have admitted the existence of audio leaks.

    The PTI claimed that the PM and his cabinet members with the aid of incumbent NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf violated their oath and utterly disregarded the law and constitution.

    A total of six audios featuring PM and his party leader have been leaked while two audio leaks featuring Imran Khan and his party members have come to light.

  • ‘No one has done forgery like Khan’: Khawaja Asif reacts to audio leak no. 2

    ‘No one has done forgery like Khan’: Khawaja Asif reacts to audio leak no. 2

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif reacted to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s second audio leak in which the leader can be heard directing his party members not to name the United States (US) in the cipher matter.

    The minister, who is currently in London, told the media that it is an “Ideal case” of Article 6 of the Constitution, which deals with high treason.

    “He [Imran Khan] should listen to the clips himself and feel shame on how he has put Pakistan’s integrity at stake in his lust for power,” Asif said, lashing out at Imran.

    “In Pakistan’s 75-year history, no politician has put Pakistan’s security at risk,” said Asif. He admitted that politicians and army officials have done things against each other and made mistakes but no one has done a “forgery” like the PTI leader.

    “In the audio, he is saying do not take America’s name but at the same time is talking against it. I cannot even imagine that a politician can be this shameful,” added the minister.

    Referring to Khan’s alleged insistence in the audio leak on using the word “letter” instead of cipher because “people wouldn’t have understood the word transcript”, Asif said the “PTI chief had underestimated the nation’s collective wisdom and will pay the price.”

    Audio leak:

    In the second audio leak, Imran Khan when he was Prime Minister (PM) is directing his close aides not to take America’s name while talking about the US cipher in public.

    “We don’t have to name the Americans. Under no circumstances do we have to take the name. So, on this issue please, the name of the country should not come out of anyone.”

    In turn, the voice, supposedly belonging to Asad Umar, raised a question: “Are you saying letter deliberately? This is not a letter, it is the meeting’s transcript.”

    On this, Imran Khan says that both the letter and the transcript are “the same thing”. He added that “People wouldn’t have understood the word transcript if you say things like this in your jalsa.”

    In the first audio leak that surfaced a couple of days ago, the PTI chief directed his then-principal secretary Azam Khan that, “We have to play with it [cipher]”.

    On the same day, when the first audio leak came out Khan broke his silence on it and said that he has not played on the cipher yet.

  • ‘Imran Khan ki videos dekhaanay ya dekhnay ke qabil nahi hain’: Rana Sanaullah claims to have seen videos of Khan

    ‘Imran Khan ki videos dekhaanay ya dekhnay ke qabil nahi hain’: Rana Sanaullah claims to have seen videos of Khan

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday claimed to have seen secret videos of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, which he claimed were “neither worthy of being seen nor being shown”.

    “[Imran Khan] ki videos dekhanay ya dekhnay ke qabil nahi hain,” said Sanaullah. Translation: Imran Khan’s videos are neither worthy of being seen nor being shown.

    Sanaullah while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Capital Talk’ said, “The alleged audio does not damage PM Shehbaz’s reputation because there is nothing wrong in it,” adding that recording something in today’s day and age was no big deal.

    Talking about Khan’s video, Sanaullah also said that he does not have access to the videos.

    Earlier today, in a new leaked audio, the former prime minister can be heard talking about the alleged foreign conspiracy against him with his then principal secretary Azam Khan.

    Khan discusses how to frame the narrative around the alleged conspiracy that resulted in the ouster of his government. He tells Azam Khan: ‘Iss par hi khelna hai’ (let’s play with this), without mentioning the name of the United States. They discuss how holding a meeting with the Foreign Secretary and then-Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi in which allegedly Azam Khan can be heard discussing the minutes of the meeting.