Tag: PTI

Prominent journalist Mansoor Ali Khan revealed on Tuesday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan once again held a meeting with army officials between January 21 and 22.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Mansoor, while revealing details of the meeting, stated that PTI demanded the release of the incarcerated Imran Khan, urging the establishment not to try him in military courts.

Without naming names, he said, “A federal minister was also present in the meeting along with an intelligence officer. However, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir was not there this time.”

Earlier, political analyst Muneeb Farooq, while speaking to a private media outlet, had claimed that a meeting was held between the army chief, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur, Barrister Gohar Khan, and other provincial political leaders in Peshawar.

Initially, the PTI Chairman had denied meeting the army chief. However, taking a U-turn in his statement, Gohar, while speaking to the media in the Adiala Jail courtroom on January 16, confirmed that, indeed, he had held a meeting with COAS.

Explaining what had transpired during their rare talk with the COAS, the PTI chairman said that all matters and demands of the party were presented directly to General Asim Munir.

Barrister Gohar had said, “Ali Amin Gandapur and I held a meeting with the COAS, during which we outlined all of PTI’s concerns and priorities.” Imran Khan had also confirmed the development to reporters by saying that Gohar had met the army chief in Peshawar.

According to Mansoor Ali Khan, PTI leaders tried to discuss the role of the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in the province. However, the meeting attendees refused to discuss it.

“During the gathering, the discussion about the Public Accounts Committee also took place,” he said while referring to the recent unopposed appointment of Junaid Akbar as PAC chairman.

As per the journalist, Gohar, along with the army officials, expressed a wish to hold another meeting in the last week of January or the first week of February, which both sides agreed upon. However, no time frame for the next meeting was announced, Mansoor said.

Terming the meeting cordial, Mansoor stated that the meeting attendees did not behave aggressively, and there was no row during the gathering.

Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Khan has stated that party founder Imran Khan has called off ongoing negotiations as the government failed to establish the judicial commission to probe the May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024 events.

Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail Rawalpindi on Thursday, the Chairman of PTI stated, “If the government today does not announce the formation of a judicial commission comprising three most senior judges either from the Supreme Court or from the High Court to probe the two events, the dialogues will be called off.”

“I wished for the negotiation to progress with the government, but political differences run so deep that there is no sign of the ice breaking,” Gohar quoted Imran Khan as saying.

The development comes as negotiations between the Shehbaz Sharif-led government and PTI were initiated in late December to ease political tensions. However, despite the three rounds of talks, PTI complained that their demands had not been addressed.

The fourth round of talks was expected to take place on January 18 between PTI and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) led government.

PTI, in the third round of talks on January 16, had presented its charter of demands before the government negotiation committee, asking for the release of the political prisoners and the formation of a judicial commission to inquire about the May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024 events.

“We are not waiting for assistance from any foreign country,” Gohar said in reply when a reporter asked whether PTI is anticipating any message from President of United States (US) Donald Trump in the forthcoming days in Imran Khan’s favour.

Moreover, Gohar claimed that Imran Khan had affirmed that he would fight his cases in Pakistani courts and would secure his release.

Additionally, the PTI Chairman remarked that PTI would mobilise all opposition political parties, and efforts would be made against an independent judiciary and the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

The former ruling party, in its written submission to the government’s negotiation committee, said that it wanted the conduct of the proceedings of the May 9, 2023, and November 24, 2024, commissions to be open to the general public as well as the media.

The party said that it would identify the political prisoners who were arrested following the events of May 9 and November 24 to 27 or any other political event elsewhere.

A fistfight broke out on Wednesday between Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ikhtiar Wali Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Naeem Haider Panjutha during a live appearance on a private news channel. A video capturing the brawl has since gone viral on social media.

The confrontation commenced when Ikhtiar Wali Khan raised questions about who is the father of Tyrian White, allegedly the daughter of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, who the former Premier has not officially acknowledged.

 
“[…] Nawaz Sharif has no character. He was an absconder while Imran Khan stood firm,” Panjutha shouted. “Who is Tyrian? Who is Tyrian?” repeatedly asked the PML-N leader in reply. 

Ikhtiar repeatedly pressed Panjutha on the matter and referred to Tyrian as Khan’s illegitimate daughter. When Panjutha retaliated with harsh remarks against Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz Sharif; the PML-N leader lost his temper, leading to the physical altercation. 

Ikhtiar and Panjutha can be seen throwing punches at each other in the viral clip, and the fight only ends when crew members rush to intervene and defuse the situation.

Meanwhile, political talk show host Fizza Akbar constantly urged both politicians to calm down.

Minutes after the physical brawl, the PTI leader, in an interview, stated that if anyone talks negatively about Imran Khan’s family, he should be ready to face the consequences.

The PML-N leader took to X (formerly Twitter) hours after the physical brawl, saying, “A PTI leader hurled abuses, and then I raised my hand. They hurl abuses at the daughter of my leader in front of me, and we respond with arguments? That would be cowardice.”

It was not the first time that politicians have engaged in physical altercations on a television show. 

On September 2023, PTI’s Sher Afzal Marwat and PML-N’s Senator Afnan Ullah came to blows after exchanging hot words during the recording of a talk show. 

After exchanging harsh words, both politicians started throwing punches at each other. The clash became so intense that both leaders ended up on the floor. TV staff had to step in to separate the two. 

In June 2021, a similar incident occurred when Firdous Ashiq Awan, who is currently out of the political scene after leaving PTI to join the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), slapped Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Member National Assembly (MNA) Qadir Khan Mandokhail.

Things became heated when the PPP leader mentioned Awan’s comments about the train tragedy; in a press conference shortly after, she had allegedly said that “by the Grace of God” this was the first train accident during the PTI’s rule.

“Your statement was akin to pouring salt on someone’s wounds,” he said, to which Awan claimed that her statement had been misconstrued. From there, the two continued to butt heads as the host watched on. When arguments turned heated, Awan physically attacked and slapped Mandokhail.

Prominent journalist Absar Alam has revealed the incomes of seven YouTubers in November, the same month in which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had staged a protest march towards Islamabad.

Talking on his Samaa TV show Mere Sawal, Absar recalled that following the “final call” of party founder Imran Khan, the convoy led by Chief Minister (CM) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur and former First Lady Bushra Bibi marched towards the federal capital on November 24. The protest ended after police launched an operation on the night of November 26, leading to violent clashes and deaths.

PTI had demanded the repeal of the recently passed 26th Constitutional Amendment, the release of all political prisoners, including Imran Khan, and the return of their mandate.

Former ruling party demonstrators clashed with security officials during the three-day protest.

Veteran journalist Absar Alam disclosed the seven YouTubers’ income in November alone.

Here are the details:

1st YouTuber

According to a research report presented by TV host Absar Alam, the first YouTuber with 55 lac subscribers earned two lac dollars ($200,000) in November alone, which is equivalent to five crore fifty-six lac rupees (PKR55,600,000). The annual income of the YouTuber was 70 crore rupees. However, the journalist stated that the YouTuber is a “fugitive from Pakistan.”

2nd YouTuber

Absar Alam revealed that the second YouTuber with 11 lac subscribers earned 80,000 dollars in November, equivalent to two crore twenty-two lac rupees (PKR22,200,000), with an annual income of twenty-six crore thirty-five lac rupees (PKR263,500,000).

3rd YouTuber

Absar Alam claimed that the third YouTuber, who holds 25 lac subscribers, earned around $50,000, which is equivalent to one crore of 40 lac rupees (PKR14,000,000); the YouTuber earned 15 crore rupees in one year. “I know this YouTuber; he hardly earned 25,000 rupees when he was in Nawaiwaqt newspaper. He is a fugitive from Pakistan,” Alam added.

4th YouTuber

As per the journalist’s research, the third YouTuber with 680,000 subscribers, who is also a fugitive from Pakistan, earned $20,000 in November, equivalent to 55 lac rupees. The annual income of the YouTuber was six crore eighty lac rupees (68,000,000).

5th YouTuber

The fifth YouTuber with 14 lac subscribers earned $11,500, which is equivalent to 32 lac rupees; the annual income of the YouTuber was three crore eighty lac rupees (PKR38,000,000). “He is an American citizen,” Alam revealed.

6th YouTuber

The third YouTuber with one million subscribers earned $10,000 (PKR270,000) in November. The YouTuber earned (35,000,000) rupees annually, the former Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) chairman revealed. “The YouTuber had only a motorbike in two-three years ago,” the journalist said.

7th YouTuber

The seventh YouTuber with five lac thirty-three thousand (533,000) subscribers earned $6000 in November, equivalent to nearly 16 lac rupees; the YouTuber earned two crore rupees in one year, Alam claimed.

However, the veteran journalist did not disclose the names of the YouTubers.

Additionally, the journalist said, “Out of the seven YouTubers, only one lives in Pakistan.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat received criticism from the party’s senior leadership and a response from party founder Imran Khan, hours after Marwat called out lawyer Salman Akram Raja.

Aleema Khan, speaking outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Friday, quoted her brother as saying, “There is an infiltration within the party that is currently active.” She added, “Imran Khan had appointed Salman Akram Raja as the party secretary general.”

Defending party secretary general Salman Akram Raja, Aleema stated that the lawyer was merely relaying Imran Khan’s message.

The row erupted when Raja, while speaking to a private news channel on Thursday, downplayed Marwat’s claims, which he often linked to party founder Imran Khan, saying, “Only two or four party members are deemed capable of having the right to speak about the party.

“Marwat statement has nothing to do with the party’s official narrative. His [Marwat] statements are unimportant,” Raja said.

Following statements from Raja, who questioned Marwat’s understanding of the party’s policy matters, Marwat assailed him.

On the same day, while declaring Raja’s appointment as party secretary general to be inconsistent with the party constitution, PTI’s firebrand appeared at a private media outlet and stated that party Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Firdous Shamim Naqvi are public officeholders. “Salman Akram Raja is a stranger [to the party],” he asserted.

Since the interview, key PTI leaders, including Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur, former PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan, and Secretary of Information Sheikh Waqas Akram, reacted to Marwat’s statements.

Raoof Hassan

Reacting to the heated exchange between Marwat and Raja, former PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan, while speaking to a private news channel on Friday, sternly said, “I’ve stopped talking about him [Sher Afzal Marwat] because no one has been spared their wrath, including me.”

Responding to Marwat’s stance that Salman Akram Raja was not appointed party secretary general according to the party constitution, Hassan remarked that Raja is currently the de facto secretary general.

“If nominated, a person can be a de facto party secretary general. Imran Khan nominated Raja,” Hassan clarified, setting the record straight about whether any unelected individual can become a de facto party secretary general according to the party constitution.

Sheikh Waqas Akram

PTI Secretary of Information Sheikh Waqas Akram also defended Salman Akram Raja’s position within the party.

He took to X (formerly Twitter), writing, “[…] For Khan’s followers, it’s not about the legality of the party position, it’s about what Khan said, and Khan’s Secretary general for PTI. is Salman Akram Raja, duly nominated by Khan. He also represents party in the dialogue committee and whole party endorses his stance regarding dialogue.”

“Salman Akram Raja has played a very important role in managing our leader Imran Khan’s cases. Khan Sahib has faith in him and trusts him. Despite Raja Sahib’s hesitation, Khan Sahib insisted and nominated him as the secretary general of the party,” he wrote.

Ali Amin Gandapur

While many party leaders have criticised Sher Afzal Marwat, CM KP Ali Amin Gandapur slightly defended him, saying, “Indeed, Marwat has made a lot of sacrifices for the party.”

Gandapur opined that Marwat’s minor mistakes should be forgiven, as he had worked hard for the party in subsequent years. He shared this in an exclusive interview with a private media outlet.

“Marwat informed me by telephone that he had received a show-cause notice. I advised him to respond to the notice as per party policy and to present his point of view to Khan Sahib for clarity,” CM KP added.