Tag: PTI

  • Usman Dar ‘abducted’, PTI demands immediate release

    Usman Dar ‘abducted’, PTI demands immediate release

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Saturday that party leader Usman Dar has been “abducted”, demanding that the Sialkot native be recovered and presented in court, Geo News has reported.

    “First it was Aoun Abbas Buppi, then Sadaqat Abbasi, and now Usman Dar has been abducted,” the party wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

    Usman Dar is the latest in a number of PTI leaders and officials who have encountered cases and incarceration after the May 9 riots.
    PTI leader Farrukh Habib said in a tweet on Saturday that Dar “be brought to light immediately and presented in court if there was a case against him so Dar could exercise his right to defend himself and his family could meet him”.


    Earlier, Dar had said that his house, factory, and business in Sialkot were sealed in August. He had also said in one of his statements that his family members, including women, were left helpless.

  • ‘Shujaat sent me to PTI’, says Parvez Elahi

    ‘Shujaat sent me to PTI’, says Parvez Elahi

    President of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, has stated that his cousin, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, had given him the go-ahead to me to join the PTI, Geo has reported.

    “Chaudhry Shujaat himself sent me to PTI,” the former Punjab chief minister said on Wednesday at a local court in Islamabad.

    According to Elahi, PTI Chief Imran Khan pledged to name him party president in recognition of efforts made during difficult times for the party.
    Elahi, currently facing several cases including ones relating to corruption charges, attack on the judicial complex, has been behind bars for months as liberty eludes him every time he gets released from custody.

    He was detained by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Tuesday, shortly after being released by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police on the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) ruling. He had been detained numerous times during the previous few months.
    “Shujaat Hussain did not join PTI due to [his son] Salik Hussain because he was very fond of becoming a minister,” Elahi said.

    Shujaat and Pervez had spent their entire political careers as a duo before breaking up to go their own ways in 2022.

  • Bushra Bibi files petition to avoid possible arrest

    Bushra Bibi files petition to avoid possible arrest

    Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, has moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) to stop authorities from arresting her, asking for details of all the cases including undisclosed first information reports (FIRs) registered against her.

    The petition, filed through Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad Mohal on Monday, states that after the illegal removal of the petitioner’s husband from the office of the prime minister, political victimization of the petitioner, her husband and other family members has been initiated by federal and provincial governments as well as law enforcement agencies, all of whom are respondents in the petition.

    Bushra Bibi has pleaded that FIRs against her have been kept secret by the respondents to bar her from seeking pre-arrest bail. The respondents include the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab, and police.

    “That act of the respondents regarding lodging false, frivolous, baseless and concocted FIRs against the petitioner and to conceal the FIRs numbers, police stations, districts, dates and provinces clearly indicates that the respondents intend to arrest the petitioner without providing an opportunity to get the relief from competent courts of law in the shape of anticipatory bails and pre-arrest bails and to get the FIRs secret against the petitioner at the behest of the respondents is not warranted by law, so law and justice demand that the respondents be directed to submit list of all criminal cases registered against the petitioner throughout in Pakistan, so that the petitioner may approach the competent courts of law, for redress of her grievances,” the petition read.

    It further requested for an order against arresting Bushra Bibi in any case till the provision of the details of case. The hearing of the petition is fixed before the court of Justice Alia Neelum.

    READ MORE: PDM is not ready to talk with Imran

  • Islamabad High Court orders Parvez Elahi’s release

    Islamabad High Court orders Parvez Elahi’s release

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Sept 5 suspended the detention of PTI President and former chief minister Punjab, Parvez Elahi, under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), ordering his release.

    On Friday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had ordered that the former Punjab chief minister be released.

    However, hours after he was released from Adiala Jail, Islamabad Police arrested Chaudhry Parvez Elahi from Canal Road in Lahore, leaving with him for the federal capital. Earlier that day, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to release Parvez Elahi, along with a restraining order against his possible arrest by any agency or preventive detention, after the accountability watchdog’s decision to arrest the former chief minister of Punjab was challenged in court through a petition.

    The visuals of his arrest went viral on social media.

    According to the capital police, Elahi was taken into custody on orders of the district magistrate under Section 3 of the MPO.

    Section 3 of MPO empowers the government to arrest and detain suspected persons. It states: “The government, if satisfied that with a view to preventing any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, it is necessary to do, may, by an order in writing, direct the arrest and detention in such custody […] and [the] government, if satisfied that for the aforesaid reasons, it is necessary so to do, may extend from time to time the period of such detention, for a period not exceeding six months at a time.”

    After being moved to Attock jail, Parvez Elahi had approached the IHC against his detention, urging the court to declare it as “patently illegal, unlawful and without lawful authority”.

    In the petition, Elahi had requested the IHC to set aside the detention order and issue directives for his release. Interior secretary, district magistrate, the Islamabad police chief and the Adiala Jail’s superintendent were made respondents in the case.

    On Tuesday, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri took up Elahi’s plea. The court suspended the PTI leader’s detention order and also ordered his release. The court also issued a notice to the duty magistrate who ordered Elahi’s detention.

    Further, the court also summoned Elahi at the next hearing and ordered him to not issue any kind of statement until the next hearing. The hearing was subsequently adjourned till Tuesday (September 12).

  • PDM is not ready to talk with Imran

    PDM is not ready to talk with Imran

    Central leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have mutually decided not to talk with former Prime Minister Imran Khan about any political matter.

    Sources privy to inside details have told Jang that PDM leaders called Imran Khan responsible for inflation in the country as well term him the mastermind of the incidents of May 9.

    Sources also confirmed that PDM will contact the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) within 48 hours to discuss the matter of talking to Imran.

    Earlier, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said after meeting Imran Khan in Attock jail that the former prime minister was ready to talk to institutions and political parties about elections, stressing that he wants free and fair polls in the country.

    In a tweet, the lawyer said that he met Imran Khan at Attock Jail along with his colleagues. “Alhamdulillah, he is in great spirit but concern about ongoing uncertainty, inflation, and terrorism. He is willing to talk to all BUT about election,” he stated.

  • Judge hearing Imran’s plea in cipher case goes on leave

    Judge hearing Imran’s plea in cipher case goes on leave

    Special Court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, who’s hearing the cipher case against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has gone on leave until September 8.

    PTI’s lawyers, Babar Awan, Salman Safdar, and Naeem Haider Panjotha, reached the courtroom on Monday where staff told them that the Judge was on leave as his wife is unwell.

    Attorney Salman Safdar requested court staff to fix the next hearing for Thursday.

    However, the PTI’s legal team reached the courtroom of Judge Raja Javad and requested him to hear the case.

    Judge Raja Javad replied that he could not hear the bail plea as he is not a duty judge.

    “There is no notification of the duty judge under the Official Secrets Act. If the Islamabad High Court can mark it, only then I can hear it,” Judge Abbas remarked. “I can hear cases of 24 courts as a duty judge but not to the extent of the Official Secrets Act.”

  • Imran Khan hires UK lawyer to represent him in international courts

    Imran Khan hires UK lawyer to represent him in international courts

    Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has retained the services of British attorney Geoffrey Robertson KC to represent him in international courts.
    The announcement has been made at a time when the former prime minister, who was removed from power in April of last year after a vote of no confidence, is still detained in the Attock District jail after being found guilty on August 5 in the Toshakhana case.


    The PTI leader was found guilty for failing to disclose state gifts he received while in government; as a result, he received a three-year prison sentence and a Rs. 100,000 fine, excluding him from running in future elections.


    The news regarding the UK attorney was made public by PTI on Friday via a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, announcing its decision to hire the renowned lawyer, who has previously worked with high-profile people including Salman Rushdie and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
    “PTI Chairman, Former Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI has appointed the eminent Human Rights Barrister Geoffrey Robertson KC of @DoughtyStreet Chambers to advise and represent him in international courts in relation to unlawful detention and human rights abuses,” the post on X read.

  • President Alvi wants elections in November

    President Alvi wants elections in November

    President Arif Alvi will likely defy the opinion of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the law ministry as he is reportedly contemplating announcing the date for the next general elections, sources familiar with the development have said, reported Kamran Yousaf for The Express Tribune.

    It is expected that the president will write another letter to the ECP, suggesting a date in November for the elections. The sources said that President Alvi was in conversation with his legal team and was advised that an act of parliament could not override the provisions of the Constitution and that parliament might have amended the Election Act 2017 but the Constitution was clear that polls would have to take place within 90 days.

    “Based on that opinion, the president will communicate the election date to the Election Commission soon,” a source revealed.

    Previously, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja decided that he would not meet President Dr. Arif Alvi for a discussion on fixing the date for the general elections. After a recent amendment to existing laws, fixing the date for the election is at the discretion of the ECP.

    The CEC called a meeting of the commission last week to talk to its members about the matter of fixing the date before taking a formal position. It is not the ECP’s responsibility, according to the law, to consult with the president on this matter. “The law is very clear about it. The President has cited the wrong article for this purpose.”

    Alvi had invited Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, for a meeting on August 23 or 24, to fix an appropriate date for holding the general elections.

  • Election Commission adamant about ensuring timely elections

    Election Commission adamant about ensuring timely elections

    After completing consultations with political parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday announced that the delimitation process will be finalised by November 30. 

    A statement issued by the electoral body said the purpose of reducing the duration of the delimitation process is to ensure elections are held as early as possible.

    The ECP also said that a date for the elections will also be announced keeping in view the schedule for the delimitation process, adding that the date was announced after deliberation with the parties. 

    A day earlier, the Election Commission said that polls would be held by mid-February at the most or by January end if the delimitation of constituencies is completed earlier. 

    The Election Commission has held consultations with political parties including Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Muttahida Qoumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Jamiat Ulema Islam-Faiz (JUI-F) and others regarding the road map to general elections. 

    On August 17, the ECP announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) last month. 

    According to the schedule, the new delimitation of the constituencies was expected to be completed in December. However, the date has now been shortened to November. 

    Earlier, the ECP schedule had shown that the fresh delimitation would take nearly four months. 

    Last month, the CCI meeting chaired by then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the final results of the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 reporting the country’s population at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55%.

    The CCI approval made it constitutionally mandatory for the ECP to hold elections following fresh delimitations in the light of the results of the 7th census.

    According to Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, the seats of the National Assembly to each province and the federal capital shall be allocated on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published.

  • Parvez Elahi arrested again hours after being set free

    Parvez Elahi arrested again hours after being set free

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf President and former Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has been arrested again after his brief release today.

    Islamabad Police arrested Chaudhry Parvez Elahi from Canal Road in Lahore, leaving with him for the federal capital. Earlier today, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to release Parvez Elahi, after the accountability watchdog’s decision to arrest the former chief minister of Punjab was challenged in court through a petition.

    After Elahi was brought before the court, LHC Justice Amjad Rafiq announced the decision, telling NAB at the hearing today that if Elahi is not produced today, the court will issue a warrant against the director-general of the accountability body.

    On the NAB prosecutor’s reply, Justice Amjad Rafiq said that there will be a complete inquiry, ordering Parvez Elahi’s immediate release.

    It should be noted that when Parvez Elahi first filed an application in the Lahore High Court, the court granted him bail in all cases. But against the decision of the single bench of the court, the Punjab government filed an appeal before a two-member bench, which suspended the decision of the single-member bench.