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Tag: PTI

  • 2 PTI men shot by JUI-F workers over social media comments

    2 PTI men shot by JUI-F workers over social media comments

    Two workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf  (PTI ) were injured during an armed scuffle with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) workers over some social media content and comments. The police said that the incident took place in Timergra area of Lower Dir. Police officials said that the workers of both parties started fighting over some social media comments, which resulted in two PTI workers getting injured after being shot. They were rushed to the nearest hospital subsequently.

    On Tuesday, a fight broke out between a man with dissident PTI’s Noor Alam Khan, PPP’s Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Nadeem Afzal Chan and Faisal Kundi.

    Noor Alam who was severely critical of Imran Khan was verbally abused and punched by a PTI supporter at an iftar after which his colleagues retaliated.

    “We were sitting for iftaar at a hotel and someone abused Noor Alam Khan before iftaar. We didn’t respond. When iftaar started, I said to the man why he is using this language. He started abusing even more and punched Noor Alam. That’s when we responded because he was uncontrollable,” says Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.

  • Shehbaz Sharif – the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan

    Shehbaz Sharif – the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan

    The Joint Opposition’s candidate Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, after the former Prime Minister Imran Khan was voted out of office through a no-confidence motion on Saturday, April 9.

    Shehbaz bagged a total of 174 votes as opposed to PTI’s candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Qureshi received no votes after his party decided to boycott the polling process.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ayaz Sadiq presided over the session after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri said his conscience did not allow him to conduct the session.

    Born in Lahore in 1950, Shehbaz is the younger brother of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif. Shehbaz has served three times as Punjab’s chief minister.

    Taking the floor, the newly-elected prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said that it was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a prime minister was ousted through the no-confidence motion.

    April 11 historic day

    Terming April 11 a “historic day”, he mentioned that the happiness of the people can be seen through the economic indicators. Shehbaz mentioned that the rupee regained its value — which was trading at Rs190 per dollar and closed at Rs182 per dollar today.

    ‘Will probe threat letter’

    The newly-elected prime minister said the Opposition was discussing the no-confidence motion days before Imran Khan’s “concocted threat letter controversy”.

    “They say that this letter came to them on March 7, but our decisions were made way before that, so, if [what the previous government claimed] is a lie, then the matter should be disclosed transparently before the public,” he said.

    PM Shehbaz Sharif announced that the parliament’s security committee would be given a briefing on the “threat letter” to the members of the committee in presence of the armed forces personnel and bureaucrats — the director-general Inter-Services Intelligence, foreign secretary, and the ambassador who wrote it, who has now been transferred to Brussels.

    “If there’s an iota of evidence that we were backed by foreign conspirators […] then with you Mr speaker and God as my witness, I will not think for another second and resign from the office of the prime minister,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said, vowing to hold an in-camera session of the security committee at the earliest.

    Economy

     Shehbaz Sharif said that hard work was required for Pakistan’s progress as if only statements could move the country forward, then during PTI’s tenure, we would have been among the leading nations.

    “We will need to wash out the effects of the previous government by working together, otherwise, we will fail […] our economy is in a bad situation right now,” the prime minister said.

    “We will need to wash out the effects of the previous government by working together, otherwise, we will fail […] our economy is in a bad situation right now,” said PM Shehbaz.

    “The minimum wage will be jacked up to Rs25,000 (from April 1). 10 per cent increase in pensions of retired civil, and military officials (from April 1). Cheap wheat to be introduced at utility stores.”

    “Laptop and technical education for youth. Reintroduction of Benazir Card. Appeal to industrialists to increase salaries of employees who earn up to Rs100,000 by 10 per cent.”

    Shehbaz’s take on foreign policy

    Shehbaz said China has been Pakistan’s partner through thick and thin. “No one can snatch Pakistan and China’s friendship from us,” he said, calling it a “long-lasting relation.”

    “But this friendship is for forever and … I assure that we will make progress on the CPEC,” he added, thanking Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    Speaking about India, the newly-elected prime minister lamented that despite them wanting peaceful ties with India, they know that until the Kashmir issue is resolved, relations between the two cannot be strengthened.

    Urging Indian premier Narendra Modi to understand the issues of the people living on both sides, he questioned there is poverty, unemployment, medical issues, etc. then “why are we harming ourselves and the generations to come?”

    “Why do we want our coming generations to suffer. Come, let’s resolve the Kashmir issue in line with United Nation resolutions and Kashmiris’ expectations, so that we are able to end poverty on both sides of the border.”

    Underlining the significance of having good ties with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, European Union nations, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and Iran, he said that ties needed to be strengthened with the US on the basis of equality and “we need to raise our voice for Afghanistan” where the situation was dire.

    “We want peace in Afghanistan.”

    The session was subsequently adjourned till 4pm on April 16.

    Sanjrani administers the oath to Shehbaz in President Alvi’s absence

    Prior to the ceremony, President Dr Arif Alvi had complained of discomfort and was advised to rest for a few days, according to an update posted on his Twitter account.

    In the president’s absence, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani administered the oath to PM Shehbaz.

    Modi, Turkey’s Erdogan congratulate Shehbaz on becoming PM

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on becoming the 23rd premier of Pakistan.

    Meanwhile, in a telephonic conversation with Shehbaz, Turkish President Erdogan told the newly-elected prime minister that he was “extremely happy” about him being elected as the premier.

    Guard of honour

    Earlier this morning, the premier was given a Guard of Honour at Prime Minister’s House.

  • PTI supporters win hearts during peaceful demonstrations

    A massive peaceful protest was launched in favour of Former Prime Minister Imran Khan after he was dismissed in the no-confidence motion on Sunday. The demonstrations were held across the country and overseas as well. Elderly people also joined in the peaceful protest.

    In Swat, people made a way for an ambulance to move forward which has won the hearts of social media users.

    A protest was held by overseas Pakistanis in London Hyde Park to show their support for Imran Khan.

    Emotional scenes were seen abroad at the PTI protest where elderly women were crying about the injustice meted out to Imran Khan.

    Actor, Haroon Shahid also shared his proud moment on Twitter, when his mother went to protest around midnight to show solidarity with Imran Khan.

    Another user shared a clip in which an elderly woman was crying and she revealed herself in a video that she came from the United States (US).

    https://twitter.com/pEEruBalOcH/status/1513284770670821394

    Former Prime Minister, Imran Khan thanked his supporters in a tweet prior to midnight.

    “Thank you to all Pakistanis for their amazing outpouring of support and emotions to protest against US-backed regime change abetted by local Mir Jafars to bring into power a coterie of pliable crooks all out on bail,” he tweeted.

    “[It] shows Pakistanis at home and abroad have emphatically rejected this,” he further added.

  • ‘Amazing outpouring of support’: PTI supporters rock streets countrywide

    ‘Amazing outpouring of support’: PTI supporters rock streets countrywide

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters took to the streets across all major and small cities in massive numbers to show their solidarity with their leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Party supporters came out following a call given by Khan for peaceful protest.

    A day after Khan was voted out of power, he, during an address to the nation, had said that he will not tolerate the installation of a “foreign government” in Pakistan and that he will turn to the public for support if such a thing happens.

    “We are not a nation that can be used like tissue papers,” Khan said during a live telecast, maintaining that Pakistan does not want unilateral relations with any country.

    Earlier in the day on April 10, Khan tweeted that today marked the beginning of a “freedom struggle” against what he called was a “foreign regime-change conspiracy”. In an attempt to galvanize his supporters, he said “it is always the people who protected their own sovereignty and democracy.”

    PTI had shared the venues for the protests hours before their supporters took to the streets. 

    Islamabad

    The protest in the capital started from Zero Point. People waved flags while chanting slogans in favour of the former prime minister.

    Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry thanked PTI supporters for turning out to Rawalpindi for the protest.

    Lahore

    PTI leader Hammad Azhar posted a video of a rally from his constituency of NA-126 leaving for Liberty Chowk.

    Peshawar

    A large number of protesters including women and children turned up at Peshawar Press Club and expressed solidarity with the ousted prime minister.

    Karachi

    A protest was held in Karachi on Rashid Minhas Road where a large number of supporters, including women and children, were in attendance.

    Overseas Pakistani too came out in support of Khan.

    Khan thanks protestors for ‘amazing outpouring of support’

    Imran thanked his supporters in a tweet done prior to midnight.

    “Thank you to all Pakistanis for their amazing outpouring of support and emotions to protest against US-backed regime change abetted by local Mir Jafars to bring into power a coterie of pliable crooks all out on bail,” he tweeted.

    “[It] shows Pakistanis at home and abroad have emphatically rejected this.”

  • SBP determined to curb inflation, improve foreign exchange reserves

    SBP determined to curb inflation, improve foreign exchange reserves

    In a recent interview, the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Dr. Reza Baqir expressed concern over the continuous deterioration in foreign exchange reserves but remained optimistic that a renewal of loans will be witnessed in the near future, which, coupled with SBP’s initiatives, will enhance market confidence.

    He claimed that the decline in reserves is “clearly alarming, but we are convinced that the central bank’s initiatives will prevent further deterioration”.

    According to data issued by the central bank on April 7, the reserves massively declined by $728 million to $11.32 billion as of April 1.

    The decline, according to SBP, is primarily attributable to debt repayment and government payments linked to the settling of an arbitration judgment.

    In addition to this, the currency even hit new lows in the week, forcing the SBP to intervene by boosting the policy rate, declaring a 100 per cent cash margin on 177 commodities with instant effect, and hiking the markup percentage by 2.5 per cent for borrowing under the Export Finance Scheme (EFS).

    In response to the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) recent rate hike, Baqir stated that the move was made to tackle growing inflation and lessen external pressures. “The foreign exchange market has been under a lot of pressure for more than a month. A number of factors contributed to it: first, there was political uncertainty; second, our reserves were drained due to debt payments”.

    Consequently, the Pakistani rupee ended its devaluation run on April 8, and the KSE-100 Index witnessed positive sentiment, ending the day with an impressive gain of 658 points.

    The SBP Governor also discussed the skyrocketing petrol prices, which remain elevated because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding more pressure on the local currency.

    The central bank made a determined decision after analyzing the statistics to lower inflation, improve foreign exchange reserves, and boost business confidence.

  • Pakistan to choose its new Prime Minister today

    Pakistan to choose its new Prime Minister today

    The National Assembly is set to choose a new Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan today (Monday) at 2pm after the removal of Imran Khan from the premiership in a no-confidence vote.

    On Sunday, the Joint Opposition’s candidate and Pakistan Muslim-League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s nomination papers were accepted.

    The former minister for information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry also announced that PTI’s MNA will resign from their posts on Monday.

    In the early hours of Sunday, Imran Khan was ousted as the PM of Pakistan from office through a no-confidence motion after a 12-hour heated NA session.

    The session was chaired by Ayaz Sadiq after the resignation of NA speaker Asad Qasier.

    “174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently the resolution for the vote on no-confidence against Mr Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has been passed by a majority,” Ayaz Sadiq announced after the process of voting was completed.

  • ‘Safe exit, resignation, boots’: Rumours related to Khan on social media

    ‘Safe exit, resignation, boots’: Rumours related to Khan on social media

    The historic session of the National Assembly (NA) session to decide the fate of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is taking place today as per the Supreme Court’s orders. The Opposition came out in full force but twelve hours later, there was no vote in sight.

    While parliamentarians are still waiting to vote, different rumours are circulating on social media as to what is going on – and what does PM Khan want?

    RUMOUR ONE: PM Khan is seeking a ‘safe exit’

    Different news reports are making rounds on social media suggesting that Imran Khan is looking for a ‘safe exit’. Journalist Murtaza Ali Shah in a tweet claimed: “Credible source says Imran Khan ready to step down but wants NRO (guarantees) that cases will not be registered against him & his family members; he’s fine for cases against his cabinet members etc; seeking assurances about his safety and stay. This was discussed several times.”

    https://twitter.com/MurtazaViews/status/1512786769816821761?s=20&t=Z82CW90atNGgGmJ5fiaVHA

    Jouranlist Najam Sethi confirmed the news saying, “IK seeking safe exit for self and family. Last minute moves.”

    RUMOUR TWO: PM evaluating dismissal of Chief of Army Staff

    “As per the reports received by journalists, severe differences have emerged in the cabinet of Prime Minister as he is possibly evaluating dismissal of Chief of Army Staff at 2100 Hrs. PM has been reportedly informed to ensure VONC by 2100 Hrs or he will be shown the way out,” tweeted Muhammad Ibrahim Qazi.

    https://twitter.com/miqazi/status/1512808328107278347?s=20&t=GANIZ-yA3SSg8P4Kz2EUsg

    “Chief of General Staff, Commander of X Corps, and DG ISI have pledged support to the Chief of Army Staff. Executive Offices responsible to maintain law and order have the mandate to aid the Supreme Court under Article 190,” writes Qazi.

    “The President may invoke Article 232 and proclaim emergency consequently the Prime Minister will impose Article 245 calling upon the military to act in aid of civil power. The invocation of Article 232 will have to be placed before National Assembly in 30 days.”

    RUMOUR THREE: 111 brigade takes control of PM House, Presidency

    “IK and cabinet will resign after the cabinet meeting. 111 brigade took control of the PM House and Presidency, sources,” tweets a broadcast journalist.

    RUMOUR FOUR: Imran Khan is seeking security in the capacity of “Former Prime Minister”

    Journalist Azaz Syed has claimed that Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Azam Khan has written a letter to write to the Secretary Interior, asking for security for ‘Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’.

    RUMOUR FIVE: Imran Khan to resign

    Some rumors are suggesting that Prime Minister Imran Khan will resign before the voting on the no-confidence motion against him will take place. Islamabad based journalist, Haider Sherazi in a tweet said: “Imran Khan is going to submit the resignation.”

    RUMOUR SIX: Martial Law

    Though, no journalist or news report is hinting towards the possibility of interference of the Army in the current political scenario, it seems like social media is hearing the noise of boots. PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also stated that he thinks PM Khan wants martial law in the country.

    https://twitter.com/ali_abbas_zaidi/status/1512820059785527300?s=21&t=jyBA9xDPmHvrwvXQWAbqzQ
  • ‘I don’t accept any other party other than PTI’: Zara Noor will only accept Imran Khan as PM after elections

    ‘I don’t accept any other party other than PTI’: Zara Noor will only accept Imran Khan as PM after elections

    Actor Zara Noor Abbas took to her Instagram stories to state that she will only accept PTI’s government and Imran Khan as the Prime Minister of Pakistan after re-elections.

    Last year the Khamoshi star questioned Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan’s misconduct and getting into a physical altercation with the PPP MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhail.

    Raising a very important question on Twitter, Zara said: “And had this been a man slapping a woman and abusing her on a talk show. What would have we done to him?”

    Zara further wrote: “But now it’s a man! What will we do now? Please don’t let the abuser get by. Man or woman!”

    The incident occurred when the two appeared on Express News’ talk show, Kal Tak, hosted by Javed Chaudhry. What started as a discussion about the government’s performance and excessive load shedding in parts of the country, turned into a shouting match between the two over the recent train collision in Sindh’s Ghotki district which claimed the lives of more than 60 people.

  • ‘Stop spreading rumours’: Farah Khan denies corruption allegations

    ‘Stop spreading rumours’: Farah Khan denies corruption allegations

    Farah Khan has denied the corruption charges against her that surfaced recently after dissenting PTI leader and former Punjab senior minister Abdul Aleem Khan  accused Farah Khan of corruption with the connivance of her “contacts in the power corridors”

    “I outrightly condemn all accusations and rumours with regards to myself and my family. I have neither involved myself in politics nor was I ever in a position to interfere in governmental affairs. “

    “Those who have attempted to tarnish my character must remember their sisters. My husband has already given his statement with regards to our business.”

    “Those who have been linked to me have denounced such allegations. My family has been in a constant state of distress and suffering.”

    “For God’s sake! Please stop spreading rumours and connecting me and my family with such hearsay,” she concluded.

    In a crowded press conference, Abdul Aleem Khan accused Farah Khan of corruption with the connivance of her “contacts in the power corridors”. Reports and rumours started making rounds suggesting that Farah Khan has left for Dubai on Sunday in the wake of the no-confidence motion.

    On the other hand, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz dubbed Farah Khan the “mother of all scandals” and also accused her of receiving huge money for transfers and postings. “I dare to name Farah, a friend of Bushra Bibi who is involved in receiving millions of rupees in transfers and postings and these are directly connected to Banigala (residence of Prime Minister Khan),” said Maryam Nawaz.

    The News investigations reveal that Farah Khan’s fortune increased ever since the premier appointed Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister Punjab. 

  • Bigg Boss contestant, actor Kamaal Rashid Khan wants politicians like Zartaj Gul in India

    Former Bigg Boss Contestant and actor Kamaal Rashid Khan has shared his wish on Twitter that he wants to see politicians like Zartal Gul, the State Minister for Climate Change, in India.

    Khan shared a video of the minister in which she claimed that her ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would sweep the next general elections by a two-thirds majority.

    Kamaal Rashid praised her speaking ability and described her as clever. He expressed his opinion that such politicians should be in India.

    https://twitter.com/kamaalrkhan/status/1511700947252219916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511700947252219916%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F410220-kamal-rashid-politicians-zartaj-gul-india

    In another tweet, he tagged Zartaj Gul and said, “You are a very clever and good speaker politician. Kaash Aapki Jaisi 2-4 politician India main Bhi Hoti (I wish there could be 2-4 politicians in India too)”.

    https://twitter.com/kamaalrkhan/status/1511704081479446528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511704081479446528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F410220-kamal-rashid-politicians-zartaj-gul-india