Current Final

Tag: PTI

  • Farhat Shahzadi, first lady’s friend, allegedly owns assets worth Rs700m, claims journalist

    Farhat Shahzadi, first lady’s friend, allegedly owns assets worth Rs700m, claims journalist

    After backlash, Farhat Shahzadi, a close friend of First Lady Bushra Bibi, has withdrawn her nomination papers for a Senate seat amid claims that she allegedly owns assets worth Rs70 crore, including a flat in Dubai.

    According to journalist Rauf Klasra, the properties allegedly owned by Shahzadi must be investigated, calling them a “tip of the iceberg”. He claimed that Shahzadi could be the “frontperson” of the first lady while demanding a probe into her assets.

    Shahzadi had submitted the details of her assets to the Election Commission of Pakistan at the time of the submission of her papers. According to these details, the value of her assets increased by Rs9.5 million in one year.

    She has properties in Dubai, Bahria Town, Defence Housing Authority, and Chakri, Rawalpindi. In DHA Lahore, she owns six properties worth about Rs450m; in Islamabad, she owns a flat worth Rs90m; in Dubai, she is the owner of a flat that is worth approx Rs10m.

    The PTI leader has investments in 12 different entities, whereas she has eight bank accounts in her name with millions deposited in them.

    Meanwhile, the decision to field Shahzadi as a covering candidate on a seat reserved for women didn’t go down well with the party leadership. Subsequently, she has decided against contesting the election and took her nomination papers back.

    However, at the time, PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill defended the nomination of Shahzadi. Following criticism, PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill had defended the selection of Farhat Shahzadi, saying she is a part of the PTI and has been an active political worker for many years. She is a covering candidate and it is her right, he had added.

    Earlier this week, the PTI nominated 10 candidates: Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Muhammad Khan Madni, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Robina Akhtar, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Aon Abbas, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary and Neelam Irshad Sheikh.

    Senate elections will be held on March 3.

  • PTI Sindh leader kills snake in jail cell; PPP govt accused of ‘hatching conspiracies’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker and leader of opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh, has killed a snake that appeared in his jail cell, the MPA’s spokesperson confirmed.

    “A poisonous snake appeared in the room of Haleem Adil Sheikh, which was pinpointed by a servant who went there to deliver breakfast,” Sheikh’s spokesperson Muhammad Ali Baloch said on Thursday.

    “After seeing the snake, Sheikh killed it,” Baloch said, adding that the presence of the snake in his boss’s room puts a question mark on the performance of Sindh police.

    He went on to say that conspiracies were being hatched against Sheikh as “police have become a slave to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)”.

    The statements were followed by Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon seeking a report from authorities concerned regarding the appearance of the snake.

    AIG Memon telephoned DIG (CIA) Arif Hanif, ordered him to investigate the matter and submit a report at the earliest.

    Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi has sent the PTI leader to jail on judicial remand till February 25.

    The ATC was hearing the case related to aerial firing and disturbance during Karachi’s PS-88 by-election on February 16, in the aftermath of which Sheikh had been placed under police custody.

  • First lady’s friend among PTI’s Punjab candidates for Senate

    First lady’s friend among PTI’s Punjab candidates for Senate

     

    At least 29 candidates, including a close friend of the first lady, have filed their nomination papers for 11 Senate seats in Punjab with the elections scheduled to be held on March 3.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated 10 candidates: Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Muhammad Khan Madni, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Robina Akhtar, Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Aon Abbas, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary and Neelam Irshad Sheikh.

    While on seats reserved for women, three candidates are fielded by PTI, including Farhat Shahzadi who is reportedly a close friend of First Lady Bushra Bibi.

    Following criticism, PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill defended the selection of Farhat Shahzadi, saying she is a part of the PTI and has been an active political workers for many years. She is a covering candidate and it is her right, he added.

    On the other hand, the Pakistan Muslim League has put forth Mushahid Ullah Khan, Pervaiz Rasheed, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Afnan Ullah Khan, Saud Majeed, Zahid Hamid, Sajid Mir, Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman and Irfanul Haq Siddiqui for the Senate polls.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (7 lawmakers in the house) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (10 legislators) have pitched one candidate each: PPP’s Azeem-ul-Haq Minhas and PML-Q’s Kamil Ali Agha.

    An aspirant for a general seat in Punjab requires votes of at least 53 provincial legislators.

    For the two Senate seats reserved for women, there are five candidates in the run: Zarqa Suharwardy, Farhat Shahzadi and Neelam Irshad Sheikh backed by the PTI; while two, Saadia Abbasi and Saira Afzal Tarar, are from the PML-N.

    There are three nominees for the Senate seats reserved for technocrats/Ulema. Two of them — Syed Ali Zafar and Atta Ullah Khan — belong to the PTI, whereas Azam Nazeer Tarar is a PML-N nominee.

  • Govt ‘tested tear gas on protesters’: Sheikh Rasheed draws flak over ‘cruel’ statement

    Govt ‘tested tear gas on protesters’: Sheikh Rasheed draws flak over ‘cruel’ statement

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed is under fire for making an insensitive statement regarding the use of tear gas against the government employees who were protesting at D-Chowk, Islamabad, last week for better wages.

    In a comment on the demonstration, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, Rasheed said that the government gave a 25 per cent pay raise to the protesters and used some “tear gas” as well because it was “necessary”.

    “We have already tested the teargas during the protest of government employees last week in Islamabad. The test was necessary as these teargas shells had not been used for a long time,” he said in a warning to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    Last week, one policeman was killed and multiple injuries were reported after the protest organised by the government employees in Red Zone turned violent. The government had used tear gas and baton-charge to disperse the protesters.

    The remarks were criticised by the opposition leaders, civil society, and journalists who termed them “cruel” and “insensitive”.

    Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair said that a statement like this “would mean immediate firing of the minister”. However, the current government is “shameless” so the minister will retain his portfolio.

    A Twitter user said that the statement by the minister was “quite shameful”.

    https://twitter.com/AmirChaudhry_/status/1360947901850075141

    Senior journalist Murtaza Solangi pointed out that “many people got injured during the exercise and a cop died too”.

    The current government “keeps stooping lower and lower”, commented activist Tooba Syed.

    The interior of minister of Pakistan says that it was important to use tear gas on the protesting employees, wrote another journalist.

    Another Twitter user called the statement of the minister “criminal”.

  • Senate elections: Vawda, Hafeez Sheikh, Sania Nishtar among PTI candidates

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalised most of its candidates for the upcoming Senate elections slated to be held on March 3.

    According to a list shared by Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the PTI has decided to field PM’s aide on finance Hafeez Sheikh and Fouzia Arshad on Islamabad seats. MNA Faisal Vawda, who is facing a disqualification case, will be PTI’s candidate from Sindh, while Abdul Qadir will contest the polls from Balochistan.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, outgoing senator Shibli Faraz, also the incumbent information minister, Sania Nishtar, Dost Muhammad, Mohsin Aziz and Farzana will be the nominees for the Senate slots. In Punjab, the party has decided to field Dr Zarqa, PTI senior leader Saifullah Niazi, and Barrister Ali Zafar as its nominees.

    Meanwhile, Saifullah Abro will be vying for the technocrat seat. Fawad said that the complete list of the PTI Senate candidates will be shared soon.

    SENATE ELECTIONS:

    Amid a controversy surrounding the Senate elections over the secret ballot, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced to hold the polls on the upper house seats on March 3. According to the ECP, the last date for filing of nomination papers is February 13, followed by a scrutiny process for the nominations.

    On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot. The opposition, however, has reservations on the move and vowed to oppose it.

    On the other hand, a presidential reference filed by the government in the Supreme Court seeking guidance on the Senate voting procedure is being heard to decide whether the government needs an amendment to end the secret ballot.

    Earlier this week, the SC had said that Article 226 allows secret ballot. The article reads: “All elections under the constitution, other than those of the prime minister and the chief minister, shall be by secret ballot.”

  • More Punjab lawmakers to leave PTI soon, says MPA ‘close to Tareen’ after quitting party

    More Punjab lawmakers to leave PTI soon, says MPA ‘close to Tareen’ after quitting party

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Punjab lawmaker Khurram Laghari, who hails from Muzaffargarh, has parted ways with the ruling party over “the failure of the government to pay heed to the problems in his constituency”.

    According to Laghari, he was not satisfied with the performance of the PTI-led provincial and federal governments. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to make good on his promises; therefore, it was useless for him to stay in the PTI anymore.

    Lagahri claimed that there were some other MPAs who were disgruntled with the Buzdar-led government and they would soon bid goodbye to the PTI as well. “I joined PTI after winning the election on an independent seat,” he said, adding that the promises made to him remained unfulfilled.

    Laghari had joined PTI in July 2018 after winning the election after he was reportedly convinced by Tareen to join Imran-led party in Punjab.

    In Oct 2020, the Punjab lawmaker had quit his posts as adviser to chief minister and member of price control committee because of the alleged non-cooperation of the bureaucracy, Dawn had reported.

    However, it was alleged that Laghari was removed from the posts because of his contact with PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen. According to reports, Laghari said to be close to Ali Jahangir Tareen and visited him in Dubai thrice with Multan Sultan cricket team.

    It may be noted here that the lawmaker quit the party a month ahead of the Senate elections slated to be held on March 13. The government has introduced an ordinance to hold elections by open vote instead of the secret ballot.

    The opposition has challenged the ordinance in the courts, while, the Supreme Court, that is hearing a presidential reference with regards to the open ballot, said that it would have struck down the ordinance had it not been conditional.

  • Ex-CM Khattak, NA speaker tried to buy votes, says former MPA from leaked video

    A former member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ubaidullah Mayar has admitted to taking Rs10 million in bribe ahead of the Senate elections in 2018 on the “directives of then chief minister Pervaiz Khattak”.

    A day earlier, a video of lawmakers had emerged wherein the MPs were seen taking loads of cash to sell their votes in the election that were held in March 2018.

    In a response to this video, Mayar said the PTI government had paid Rs10 million to all the MPAs and then recorded it on camera secretly. He said the video was shot at the residence of then KP Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser — the custodian of the National Assembly now.

    Khattak and Qaiser paid “us money and asked to vote for their candidates”. “At that time, Pervez Khattak had formed a committee of 17 MPAs and asked us to vote for them, paid us the money, and promised to give us party’s tickets,” he alleged in a conversation with Geo.

    He said that he even went to the [Peshawar] High Court in relation to the matter, adding that he “stands by [his] statement and is “not afraid of anyone.”

    Responding to a question regarding two people from another party who could be seen taking money in the video, Mayar said that “Pervez Khattak had promised to make them ministers if they joined the PTI”, adding that the “promise was later fulfilled”. He said that he was asked to return the money on the suspicion that he did not vote for PTI’s candidate.

    After the allegations of horse-trading, Mayar was expelled from the PTI by party chairman Imran Khan. He had then joined the Pakistan People’s Party.

    QAISER, KHATTAK REJECT ALLEGATIONS:

    In response to the allegation, NA Speaker Asad Qaiser said that the video was not shot at Speaker House in Peshawar.

    In 2019, Imran Khan had told [the party] about several PTI MPAs selling their votes for money, he said, adding that the entire party had decided to take action against the lawmakers involved in the controversy. “Statements like these are only an attempt to divert action from the actual issue,” he said, referring to the statement by Mayar. 

    In a press conference on Wednesday, former CM Khattak also rubbished the claims made by Mayar. He said the house where the dealing took place was not the Speaker House. “It’s a house somewhere in Islamabad and I was not present at the scene,” he said, distancing himself from the controversy.

    ‘LEAKED VIDEO’:

    On Tuesday, the video first released by ARY News showed lawmakers belonging to the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counting bundles of cash and then stashing the same in a bag.

    The video showed how, during the critical period, loyalties were switched by PTI’s 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers, all of whom were reportedly expelled by the party’s central leadership after an investigation. The money was dished out in Feb-March 2018, it was reported.

    It may be noted that the damning video comes at a time when Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expresses aims to hold Senate elections through open ballot in 2021 in a bid to eliminate horse-trading. Defending his party’s move to hold the elections through open ballot, the premier had last week spoken of bribes paid to buy loyalties, revealing that he himself had been offered some.

    He had further revealed that 20 members of the KP Assembly belonging to the PTI, likely the ones from the video, were paid Rs50 million each during the last Senate polls to vote in favour of certain candidates.

    On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot.

  • VIDEO: Shireen Mazari accused of ‘making obscene gestures at opposition MNA’

    Former prime minister (PM) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf among other opposition members have accused Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari of “making obscene gestures at an opposition MNA” in a claim that has been rubbished by the latter.

    “I could not even dare to explain the kind of gestures made by the minister,” media quoted the former premier as saying after yet another session of the National Assembly was marred by ruckus by both government and opposition members during each other’s turn to speak on the floor.

    According to the details of Wednesday’s episode in the lower house of the parliament, the government tabled the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks open balloting in upcoming Senate polls. Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem presented the bill amid loud slogans and protest by the opposition against the said amendment.

    As the session continued, a heated exchange of words took place between three members of the parliament when Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Agha Rafiullah tore his copy of the bill and tossed it in the air in front of Speaker Asad Qaiser.

    After the incident, the speaker’s desk was surrounded, books were banged on the desks to disrupt proceedings, whistles were blown and Rafiullah claimed that Mazari allegedly hand-signalled the number five at him; taking it as Moutza.

    Moutza is the most traditional gesture of insult among Greeks. It consists of extending and spreading all fingers of the hand and presenting the palm towards the face of the person to be insulted with a forward motion. It is often coupled with swear words.

    Rafiullah was furious; he refused to tolerate it; brought the matter to everyone’s attention and the commotion almost turned into a quarrel when a couple of ruling party MNAs, including Malik Anwar Taj, accused him of throwing papers on Speaker Asad Qaiser, The Express Tribune reported.

    Rafiullah, however, denied the allegation and once again drew the house’s attention to Moutza.

    Ex-PM Ashraf expressed annoyance over the alleged insulting gesture, regretted treasury benches’ behaviour and reminded them that they don’t have the numbers needed for making a constitutional amendment.

    When given the floor, Mazari, on the other hand, alleged that Rafiullah swore at a woman MNA from the treasury benches and threw papers on Qaiser’s face.

    “I was only seeking your attention,” she told the speaker when asked to explain her gestures.

    WATCH VIDEO:

  • PM reveals he was offered money ahead of Senate election

    PM reveals he was offered money ahead of Senate election

    Defending his party’s move to hold the upcoming election of the upper house of the parliament through open ballot, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has spoken of bribes paid to buy loyalties, revealing that he himself had been offered some.

    “Money goes to the very top,” the premier said while speaking to media on Friday.

    According to Dawn, PM Imran claimed that 20 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were paid Rs50 million each during the last Senate poll to vote in favour of certain candidates.

    Saying that the parties opposing the amendment aimed at curbing corruption would stand exposed, he added the PTI had expelled the 20 members after they were found guilty of horse-trading by an investigation committee.

    “We also know who is raising money to buy loyalties this time,” he said, without naming anyone.

    He termed the practice “betrayal” with Pakistan because the Senate had a particular “status and role” since it represented the provinces in the federation.

    The premier said it reflected poorly on the kind of people who came to the Senate through money and questioned the ability of such lawmakers to represent their respective provinces. “Apart from that, what kind of democracy is this where legislators sell their vote by taking money?” he asked.

    Acknowledging that his government did not have a two-thirds majority in the lower house, the premier said the ruling party would still try to present the amendment for open ballot in the Senate elections to curb horse-trading.

  • ‘You call yourself professor… mind your tone’: Ahsan Iqbal gets a scolding from NA speaker

    Ruckus on Friday marred yet another session of the National Assembly as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Ahsan Iqbal got a scolding from speaker of the House, Asad Qaiser.

    “Please follow rules. I am doing so too […] mind your tone,” the speaker told the opposition lawmaker.

    While the reason behind the war of words has not yet been confirmed by any, a video of the episode showed Iqbal repeatedly interrupting the speaker, demanding what appeared to be more time on the floor of the House.

    “Please mind your tone. You have been a minister, and you call yourself ‘professor’… is this the way to talk?” a visibly displeased Qaiser was seen asking Iqbal who kept talking back at the speaker.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Earlier, rumpus also erupted after PML-N MNA Afzal Khokhar tabled a privilege motion.

    During the session, while talking about the operation to demolish his Lahore residence, the Khokhar Palace, the PML-N leader told the House that the administration had stormed his place late at night and destroyed furniture among other things.

    “This type of attitude of Punjab authorities will not be tolerated,” he said.

    The House has been adjourned to meet again on Monday.