Current Final

Tag: PTI

  • ‘When the govt needs our support, it talks to us, otherwise not’: PML-Q’s Kamil Ali Agha

    ‘When the govt needs our support, it talks to us, otherwise not’: PML-Q’s Kamil Ali Agha

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Information Secretary Kamil Ali Agha, while speaking on ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Geo News, said: “When the government needs our support, like for passing the budget, it talks to us, otherwise not.”

    “This is a manufacturing fault of [the government], they do not consult their allies on any issue,” said Agha.

    “Our elected members are under a lot of pressure because of the government’s performance,” said Agha, adding that the elected members can hardly go to their constituencies.

    Anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada intervened and questioned that Federal Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan says that the allies are “on-board” with the government and everything is good between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies.

    “Ghulam Sarwar is a ‘badshah admi‘ [King]. Despite being the aviation minister, he does not even know how many bills there are in Assembly,” replied Agha.

    “We have good relations with Ghulam Sarwar Khan, he should not have said this,” added Agha.

    “We do not complain unnecessarily. And Ghulam Sarwar is aware of this. We only complain when there is a problem,” said Agha.

    “We are trying our best to abide by the agreement we had with the government, now it depends on the government how it goes about things,” said Agha.

  • Govt faces defeat twice in NA over two bills, Opposition demands PM Khan’s resignation

    Govt faces defeat twice in NA over two bills, Opposition demands PM Khan’s resignation

    The government faced defeat twice at the hands of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday during voting on motions seeking introduction of two bills, reports Dawn.

    Under the session chaired by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) Qasim Suri, the Opposition first defeated the government with a 117-104 vote on a motion moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) MNA Javed Hasnain. The bill was to seek permission to introduce a private member’s bill aimed at preventing politicians from changing their parties. After the first defeat, most of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members had left the house.

    A motion moved by PTI’s lawmaker Asma Qadeer for a bill seeking to enhance punishment for those who passed offensive remarks against women didn’t pass. Because the deputy speaker announced that he could not allow Qadeer to introduce the bill as the Opposition members had rejected it with a majority and did not give the vote count as the Opposition had visibly outnumbered the treasury members.

    It is reported that there had been a significant increase in the number of members on the Opposition benches due to the arrival of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in NA.

    A day earlier, the government got seven bills passed in the absence of Opposition members from the lower house of parliament.

    After the defeat, PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq said, “Morally, Imran Khan should resign before convening of a joint sitting of the parliament.” He was referring to the government’s plan to call a joint session of parliament this week.

    PPP’s Syed Khursheed Shah, who had been in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for more than two years, was welcomed by a loud desk-thumping by the Opposition members.

  • Direct, face-to-face talks between govt and TTP for temporary truce

    Direct, face-to-face talks between govt and TTP for temporary truce

    Pakistani officials have reached a temporary understanding with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to seek a broader peace agreement to end nearly two decades of militancy in the country, reports Dawn.

    The news report reveals that the “direct, face-to-face” talks between the two sides being held in Afghanistan’s south-western Khost province for nearly two weeks had resulted in a tentative understanding to declare a countrywide truce, conditional to the release of some TTP foot soldiers as part of confidence-building measures.

    It was not confirmed as to how many militants in Pakistan’s custody would be allowed to go free, but sources said the number was not more than two dozen people. “These are foot soldiers, not senior or mid-level commanders,” the sources said. “We are testing the ground. We are cautious,” they added.

    “The truce will come into effect once the prisoners are released,” these sources said.

    “The tentative month-long truce shall be extendable, depending on how these negotiations go forward,” a source said.

  • Govt to free more than 2,000 jailed TLP activists after agreement

    Govt to free more than 2,000 jailed TLP activists after agreement

    Pakistan is to free more than 2,000 jailed activists of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)  and the government has allowed the proscribed organsiation to contest elections, under a deal with the government struck to end weeks of violent clashes, reports Reuters.

    TLP has agreed to avoid violence and withdraw its longstanding demand to have France’s ambassador expelled over the publication of blasphemous caricatures by a French satirical magazine, negotiators from both sides told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government banned the TLP after its protests turned violent earlier this year, designated it a terrorist group, and arrested its chief Saad Hussain Rizvi.

    In addition, the government has agreed not to contest the release of the group’s jailed leader as well as nearly 2,300 activists and to remove their names from a terrorist watch list, the three negotiators told Reuters.

    Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat said nearly 1,000 of the activists had already been released.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry did not respond to Reuters‘ request for comment.

  • ‘A party with 2.5 million voters cannot be banned’: PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan

    Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan while referring to the ban put by the government on Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) said that we cannot afford to ban a party that has a 2.5 million vote bank in Punjab.

    Speaking on Geo News‘ talk show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Ali argued, “Shouldn’t they be a given chance to come into politics?”

    Moreover, he claimed that he met with TLP’s members two days ago along with other government representatives and will welcome the banned organisation into the national mainstream.

    He revealed that the proscribed organisation will accept Parliament’s decision on the issue of the French ambassador’s expulsion from the country.

    While talking about the agreement between TLP and the government the minister said that details of the agreement will come to light within seven to 10 days and hinted at the release of TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi in a few days.

    Anchorperson questioned, “Does Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan know about the details of the agreement?” In response, the minister didn’t answer and remained silent.

    “The state struck a deal with its people to restore peace in the country,” he stressed.

    When asked about the involvement of Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi in this matter Ali Muhammad “ignored” the question.

    The minister added that anti-Pakistan elements did not want peace in the country. He said that they wanted bloodshed and another incident of “Lal Masjid” in the country.

    Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government released more than 800 supporters of the party arrested across Punjab under the agreement which details haven’t been disclosed yet.

    Previously, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said, “TLP will be treated as a militant party and not a political party in Pakistan.”

  • PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry claims that govt will consider adjusting TLP in Punjab’s seats

    PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry claims that govt will consider adjusting TLP in Punjab’s seats

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Senator and President of Central Punjab Ejaz Chaudhry has claimed that the government will consider giving seats to the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Punjab constituencies, reports Saama TV.

    He said that other political affairs are also under consideration and the agreement between the government and the proscribed outfit can be very beneficial.

    “Our mission is the same,” said Ejaz Chaudhry. He said that he will meet Saad Hussain Rizvi once he gets free.

    Previously, the PTI government said that they had reached an agreement with TLP. Details of the agreement have not been revealed yet.

    Earlier this year, the government had banned the TLP, which restricted them to participate in the elections. Currently, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has restricted all television channels from covering any activity of the banned outfit.

  • Govt successful in negotiating with TLP, maintain secrecy over details

    Govt successful in negotiating with TLP, maintain secrecy over details

    Officials from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Sunday claimed that they had reached an ‘agreement’ with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in order to end the nearly two-week-long protests.

    The government’s negotiating team members Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, along with Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman were present at the press conference.

    “The government of Pakistan and the TLP held detailed negotiations in an environment of mutual trust and an agreement has been reached between the two sides,” said Mufti Muneeb.

    The details of the negotiations have yet not been made public, Mufti Muneeb said its details would be made public at an ‘appropriate time’. He, however, said its ‘positive results’ would be visible to the nation next week or during the next 10 days.

  • ‘Sheikh Rasheed lied, let the entire nation see the malicious intent of the govt’: TLP leadership

    Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) leader Syed Sarwar Shah Saifi on Wednesday said, “Sheikh Rasheed lied yesterday that matters have been resolved. He also lied about contact [with us] at 8 pm — from them till now no government official, including Sheikh, has contacted [us],” reports Dawn.

    In a statement issued by the group’s central committee, TLP said, “Let the entire nation see the malicious intent of the government.”

    TLP said its activists would now march onto Islamabad because their demands have not been met by the government.

    Saifi said, “Are these claimants of the state of Madina unable to respond to France? Have they become so enslaved to the Jews and the Christians?”

    “Don’t lie to the nation. No negotiations are being done with us. The government is not sincere in negotiations but if more blood is shed now, revenge will be taken,” the statement said.

    Saifi said the demands would increase if more blood was spilt and the nation would be “rid of this dishonest, lying and hypocritical government”. He said it would be better if the agreement was abided by and TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi was released so the group could go back.

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, while speaking at a press conference on Tuesday said, “We cannot expel the French ambassador as demanded by the TLP.”

    “We accept all other conditions of the banned TLP. They promised us that they will open all blocked roads but we are waiting for them to open the routes,” said Rasheed, adding that the only issue between the government and TLP is the French ambassador matter. “Otherwise we don’t have any reservations with their conditions.”

    “TLP’s demand of expelling the French Ambassy and Ambassador has a lot of complications attached to it. We are the largest nuclear force in the Islamic world. The world is conspiring to sanction us,” said Rasheed.

    Earlier on Tuesday night, the district administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad had blocked the Faizabad intersection to prevent the TLP protesters from entering the federal capital territory.

  • US Senator indirectly urges President Biden to call PM Khan

    United States (US) Senator Bob Menendez said that he has asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge President Joe Biden to have a conversation with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan in an effort to rebuild the Pak-US relationship, reports Geo News.

    While addressing a fundraising event, Menendez said, “I think it would serve us well to have such a conversation and, you know when we have these conversations, they are honest, and that means they are also transparent.”

    “Where there is an agreement, we build upon it and where there is disagreement, we talk about how do we get through that disagreement,” said Menendez.

     “I hope, I can expand on it — not just about Pakistan in the context of a military or security dimension, but much greater– talking about an incredibly large population that is very young; there is tremendous opportunity to build upon the economic dynamism that we create,” he told the members of the American-Pakistani Political Action Committee (APPAC).

    US President Joe Biden, who assumed office in January this year, has not yet telephoned PM Khan.

    Earlier this month, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman on her visit to Pakistan said, “I am sure that this contact [between President Biden and PM Khan] will take place soon, so I don’t think it should mean anything else.”

    However, in August, the premier himself commented on the situation and said he was “not waiting for a phone call from the US President”.

  • After three policemen dead, Sheikh Rasheed finds ‘TLP leader Saad Rizvi more cooperative than others’

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, while speaking at a press conference about the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) protests in the country, stated that he found the party’s leader Saad Hussain Rizvi “more cooperative” than others, reports Geo News.

    He said the government has reached an understanding, and negotiations with the banned organisation are going well. In the press conference, he shared an agreement between the government and the TLP which will be presented in the National Assembly (NA) as per the minister.

    He further clarified that the government was not interested in a confrontation with any organisation while mentioning that “no one should damage public property as well.”

    According to the interior minister, he wants to conclude the matter once and for all because something new happens every six months and people face difficulties, reported Dawn.

    According to Rasheed, the government will guard the commitment made to the banned organisation.

    Regarding Rizvi’s release, the minister said, “A lot of other people insist on freeing him right now. Decisions cannot be taken right now. There is a legal process that we will follow. We will talk to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan [who is currently in Saudi Arabia] after his return tomorrow.”

    He further said the premier had instructed his principal secretary before leaving for the visit to ask the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to unfreeze the accounts of TLP madrassah and to allow them to open new ones.

    Furthermore, he disclosed that he had requested to not be included in the government’s negotiating committee because as per him [Rasheed] “it is not the work of the interior ministry but the Punjab government”, but the idea was rejected on the insistence of Saad Rizvi and another TLP leader, Ghulam Ghaus Baghdadi.

    Earlier, the federal government announced that the cases against the TLP workers would be withdrawn by Wednesday (Oct 27) and assured them that the authorities would also oversee the charges imposed under the fourth schedule.

    Under the Fourth Schedule, the suspects of terrorism and sectarianism are placed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

    In a tweet, Rasheed said, “We have released 350 TLP workers up to now.”

    Because of last week’s protest in Lahore, three policemen were martyred in clashes with TLP while the banned organisation had claimed that their 500 workers were injured.