Current Final

Tag: PTI

  • PTI’s Khattak approached Ayaz Sadiq for talks, says PML-N leader

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawa (PML-N) leader Attaullah Tarar has said that Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak approached PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq with an offer for a dialogue between the government and opposition.

    In a TV show, Tarar claimed the government had approached the PML-N with a dialogue offer. But his claim was contested by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) minister Zartaj Gul, who challenged him to name the minister who approached the opposition leader.

    At this, Tarar said that PTI’s Khattak approached Sadiq with a reconciliation offer. Zartaj, however, said that PTI government doesn’t believe in backdoor talks with the “criminals” and added that it would hold talks with the opposition on the floor of parliament only.

    On Monday, a meeting between the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), PTI, and PML-N to be held with NA Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair was cancelled after the PML-N leader skipped it.

    Subsequently, the PML-N vice president, Maryam Nawaz, said there would be no talks with the government. Maryam Nawaz had claimed that the government was “begging” before the opposition for a dialogue, but the opposition had decided against it.

    “You will be surprised if I tell you the details as to how they [the government people] are begging before the opposition for talks,” she said, adding that long march and mass resignations will take place when the time will come.

  • PTI UK member claims Buzdar govt official told him to run Twitter campaign against Aurat March, critics

    In a first, a worker of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) United Kingdom (UK) wing has stepped forward with damning allegations against a key person of the Usman Buzdar administration, Azhar Mashwani.

    In a video message, Arslan Mushtaq, who was appointed as the deputy head of PTI UK Twitter in September last year, has accused Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Buzdar’s Focal Person on Digital Media Azhar Mashwani of telling him and others to run smear campaigns against critics of the PTI government and Aurat March participants among others.

    “I lead [PTI] UK’s Twitter. What do you do there? Have you not told us to run campaigns against people such as [journalist] Amber Shamsi and [Ahmad] Waqass Goraya? Did you not use to tell me what to tweet against Aurat March participants? Did you not use to send me voice notes, telling me what message to send in which groups?” Mushtaq asked as he confronted Mashwani in the video message.

    He went on to accuse the Punjab CM’s aide of seeking retweets and help to make videos against political opponents such as Maryam Nawaz of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) go viral.

    While the announced sequel of the video message has not yet been released, the claims are doing rounds over the social media, leaving users asking if campaigns against critics were “government-approved”.

    Twitter users in Pakistan have time and again been left shocked to find that most of the top trends on the popular microblogging site included such cuss words against journalists, activists and government critics, which cannot be reproduced here.

    Recently, a hashtag calling for the arrest of journalists briefly became the top Twitter trend in Pakistan, deepening concern over a shrinking space for dissent in the country.

    Many users accompanied such tags with a composite photograph of prominent journalists and TV anchors, some of whom regularly criticise the government led by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Women journalists have especially been targeted time and again. Months ago, the routine had prompted a group of well-known Pakistani women journalists and commentators to seek protection against what they termed “vicious attacks” directed at them through social media, allegedly by people linked to the ruling PTI government.

    While Baloch’s claims add weight to what several targets of online trolls seem to always have believed, the same have been rubbished by those he accused.

    Speaking to The Current, Mashwani called Baloch a “pathological liar”.

    “It’s funny that a pathological liar and imposter’s statement, who was exposed by me, is being quoted against me. That too without any evidence,” he said.

    Terming the claims as “totally baseless and ridiculous”, Mashwani has also not shied away from tweeting his side of the story.

    In conversation with The Current, Mohammad Kamran, the PTI’s social media head, said that an episode transpired on Twitter Sunday night between Mashwani and UK deputy head Baloch.

    “They had a fight in private, which led to a public fight on Twitter. Some things were said that were not true. The fight was settled and they deleted their tweets but as you know, once something goes on social media, it will be questioned. An inquiry against our deputy lead Baloch has been called by Overseas head Zeeshan.”

    Kamran further said he would send the case to the disciplinary committee. “It is our internal matter that will be heard by our disciplinary committee and then any needed action will be taken against whoever is at fault,” he added.

  • Tensions run high as PDM remains undeterred on protest outside ECP amid terror threats

    Tensions run high as PDM remains undeterred on protest outside ECP amid terror threats

    Tensions are running high in the twin cities, especially the federal capital, as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) remains undeterred on plans to hold a protest outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the delay in the decision of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) foreign funding case.

    With security around the ECP being tightened to avoid any untoward incident, Geo News reports that the federal government has deployed two platoons of Punjab Rangers along with police personnel and sealed the election watchdog’s main entrance with barbed wires.

    Walkthrough gates have also been installed in the Red Zone area for pedestrians.

    Leaders of the anti-government opposition alliance are scheduled to gather at Kashmir Chowk around 1 pm from where they will lead workers to the ECP aboard a container.

    Earlier, the PDM leadership met in Islamabad at the residence of Maulana Fazlur Rehman to review the protest strategy.

    Addressing the media after the meeting alongside Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief said the PTI foreign case could not be delayed any further and urged the commission to announce the verdict soon.

    “Decisions against elected prime ministers are given in a few months’ time but verdict against a selected premier has been pending for over six years,” he said.

    “Foreign funding case is the biggest scandal in Pakistan. Imran Khan has amassed millions in the name of party funds. He took the mother of all NROs to create political instability in the country,” he said and claimed that PM Imran used charity funds for personal business and to spread chaos.

    The protest will not be attended by PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari who is currently in Sukkur and plans to celebrate PPP’s win in the Umerkot by-polls.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has warned the opposition of creating a law and order situation. He has also said he “doesn’t want to scare anyone” but Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been on high alert since December 15.

  • Nawaz’s election campaign was funded by Gulf country, claims Sheikh Rasheed

    Nawaz’s election campaign was funded by Gulf country, claims Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has claimed that a Gulf country funded former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s election campaign in the 1990s.

    In an interview with Samaa, the minister said that he was a minister in the cabinet of Nawaz Sharif at the time. Rasheed said he was accompanying Nawaz Sharif when it was revealed that the country, that is rich in oil and gas and also has an LNG deal with Pakistan, funded the former PM’s party as a “token of love”.

    According to the minister, the Arab country leader asked Nawaz: “Mr Prime Minister, we have given you a token of love on your election expenditure. Did you receive it?”

    At this, Nawaz responded that yes, he had received the money, said Rasheed, adding that he asked Nawaz to send them a ‘thank you note’ at least.

    It may be noted here that PM Imran Khan had alleged that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) received funds from foreign countries. The comments by the PM came in the wake of the hearings of a foreign funding case against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Last week, the PTI had said that its agents managing two limited liability companies (LLCs) in the US could be responsible for any illegal funding and PTI Chairman Imran Khan had nothing to do with it.

    In a response to the petition in the foreign funding case, the PTI, that had denied any links to the foreign funding, said that if the two LLC registered after the written instructions of party chief Imran Khan were involved in the illegal act, it would be due to its agents who were managing them in the US.

    The case was filed by PTI founding member Akbar S Babar in 2014. The Election Commission of Pakistan had started fresh scrutiny of the PTI accounts — a process going on since March 2018.

  • Imran tells spokespersons to stop sharing details of party meetings with media

    Imran tells spokespersons to stop sharing details of party meetings with media

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has stopped the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokespersons from sharing the details of the party meetings with after details of a spokesperson meeting were released to the media.

    According to reports, the PM is not happy with the fact that the details of the party spokespersons meetings, organised on a regular basis to discuss the internal affairs and future strategy, make it to the newspapers even though there pertain to the internal affairs of the party.

    According to the PM, the meetings of the party spokespersons are held to strengthen the party narrative and these decisions should not be made public. He said the details of the meeting have been “misreported” on multiple occasions while directing the party spokesperson to keep these details under wraps.

    Recently, a news about PM aide Nadeem Afzal Chan’s resignation was being reported in the media before the resignation reached the PM, prompting a stern response from Imran. Recently, PM Imran Khan had also expressed annoyance with his ministers, saying if someone had a problem with the government narrative, they should step down from the cabinet.

  • No pension for new hirings at KP universities in ‘Naya Pakistan’: report

    In what appears to greatly contradict claims of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for ‘Naya Pakistan [new Pakistan]’, Higher Education, Archives and Libraries Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has issued a notification to the public sector universities directing it to implement “no pension liability” for all future initial recruitments in addition to other strict measures to overcome the rising deficit.

    According to a report by Express Tribune, the department has also directed delinking of the pay scales from the basic pay scale scheme and university pay scale, while further stating in a notification that government grant and other resources meant for higher education shall not be expended on meeting the shortfall of the schools run by the universities.

    “These schools should have separate Board of Governors (BoG),” it reportedly read.

    Furthermore, house subsidy and requisition should be paid to the employees on the provincial government rates.

    All medical allowances in their current form have been abolished and shall be paid at the provincial government rates, says the notification, adding that the maintenance cost including repair, security and other facilities’ costs should be fully recovered from the employees provided with accommodation by the universities.

    “The universities will be assisted in the process of exploring new avenues of financial resources, including renting out academic blocks to other institutions,” says the notification.

    The report also quoted a university official as saying that in the presence of the University Act 2012, amended in 2016, all the incentives provided to the employees by the universities had completely been protected and in the presence of an act, no notification could change it including abolishing of the pension, house rents and medical allowances.

  • Agent in US responsible for any illegal funding, PTI tells ECP

    Agent in US responsible for any illegal funding, PTI tells ECP

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has blamed its agents managing its two limited liability companies (LLCs), saying the responsibility lies with the agents in case of any illegal funding from the United States.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan had started fresh scrutiny of the PTI accounts — a process going on since March 2018. The foreign funding against the ruling party case was filed by its founding member Akbar S Babar in 2014.

    In a response to the petition in the foreign funding case, the PTI, that had denied any links to the foreign funding, said that if the two LLC registered after the written instructions of party chief Imran Khan were involved in the illegal act, it would be due to its agents who were managing them in the US.

    The PTI said in its reply submitted to the ECP said that “any contribution that has been collected by the agent which may be questionable would be beyond the scope of the work/responsibility/instructions given by the principal (respondent)”. Therefore, the “principal will not be liable under Section 228 and not admit/certify such content”.

    Dawn reported that the ECP committee also refused to hand over the PTI’s financial documents to the petitioner’s lawyer due to the concerns expressed by the PTI.

    “The documents include 23 PTI bank statements received on instructions from the State Bank that were mostly concealed from the ECP,” it reported. However, the counsel of Akbar S Babar will be allowed to inspect the documents during the next hearing.

    The petitioner’s counsel Ahmad Hassan Shah said the refusal to share the documents was in contrast to the ECP order of May 2018.

    In a decision, the ECP had killed the PTI’s request to keep these documents and the scrutiny process secret.

    The body’s chairman acknowledged that the PTI’s bank statements and other documents were not being shared with the petitioner on the concerns of PTI.

    At this, the petitioner questioned the transparency of the inquiry, saying how could there be an independent probe if the proceedings were steered by the accused party.

  • PM asks ministers to quit cabinet if they don’t agree with govt decisions

    PM asks ministers to quit cabinet if they don’t agree with govt decisions

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked his cabinet members quit the federal cabinet if they have a problem with the decisions taken by the government.

    According to Geo News, the PM told his ministers to “take ownership of the government’s decision” and if they cannot do that then they could resign from their posts.

    “In case of their failure to toe the party line, I will decide myself whether to keep them in the cabinet or not,” the PM was quoted as saying. 

    During the meeting, the PM said that there were no reforms in the state institutions. The governance system also did not improve, he said, responding to a briefing given by Institutional Reforms Adviser Ishrat Hussain on the situation of the state institutions.

    The report claimed that ministers questioned the pace of reforms in the governance in different institutions and asked about the accountability of those at the helm.

    At this, the PM told them to improve their performance and sought a comprehensive report on the state institutions’ performance that could be presented before the public.

    Rs 200bn SCAM IN AGP:

    The prime minister directed the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to submit a report, saying that corruption amounting to over Rs180 billion had been unearthed in the institution.

    According to the PM, the prime minister directed the finance and revenue minister Hafeez Sheikh and Science minister Fawad Chaudhry to introduce a new digital system in the AGP’s office.

  • Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    Govt says will cancel Nawaz’s passport on Feb 16

    In a bid to bring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan, the federal government will cancel his passport on Feb 16, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday.

    Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the passport of the ex-PM will be revoked owing to his refusal to return to Pakistan.

    Nawaz had left for London for a medical check-up last year after his health deteriorated in jail. The ex-premier, who was convicted in two graft cases, has refused to return since.

    Rasheed also said that now people will be able to obtain visas for any country online.

    It may be noted that the interior ministry’s decision to revoke the passport of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader came two months after a request by the National Accountability Bureau.

    According to Geo, NAB had sought cancellation of the passport and the CNIC of the ex-PM in OCt. “During the course of proceedings, the said accused [Nawaz] deliberately absented himself from the court and after the due process…whenever accused is arrested, he be produced before the court.”

    “In view thereof, copies of the said court order and perpetual non-bailable warrant of arrest are forwarded for processing of blacklisting/cancellation of the passport and blockage / impounding of CNIC of the accused through the Ministry of Interior,” NAB said in an order.

  • PPP’s Mustafa, PTI’s Faraz apologise to each other, have coffee after on-air fight

    PPP’s Mustafa, PTI’s Faraz apologise to each other, have coffee after on-air fight

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Information Minister Shibli Faraz, who exchanged heated words on Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk, have apologised to each other after the show and even shared a cup of coffee together.

    The lawmakers had coffee together at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as they tried to make up after the verbal altercation on live TV, The Current has learnt.

    During the TV show, Faraz took offence when Senator Khokhar accused the prime minister of nepotism. Khokhar said PM Imran apparently rewarded Dr Humayun, who had handled his “hair transplant”. “Same goes for certain Mr Gilani, whose restaurants are frequently visited [by PM Imran],” claimed Khokhar.

    However, Faraz cut him off at this, saying that the PPP lawmaker shouldn’t bring up “personal things” during the TV show. “Is it not true,” asked Senator Khokhar. To which, the minister said it wasn’t true at all.

    Mustafa Khokhar also didn’t take lightly to remarks made by the minister, saying he was challenging the minister to take action against him. “You can do whatever you want, I am right here,” said Senator Khokhar, prompting an intervention from the host, Hamid Mir, asking the lawmaker to calm down.

    “I treat you as my elder brother and is this how you are going to treat me,” said Khokar, asking Shibli to take action against him if he was saying something that was wrong. Shibli responded that Khokhar shouldn’t have brought up personal things on live TV.