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Tag: Shehbaz Sharif

  • Shehbaz Sharif invites opposition leaders over a dinner to discuss PDM

    Shehbaz Sharif has invited the opposition leaders for a dinner on Monday (May 24) at 07:30 PM in Islamabad, according to media reports.

    Reports say that among others, former President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and JUI-F chief and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman have been invited to the dinner.

    PDM and the current political situation will be discussed in the dinner.

    Read more- Friendship ended with PPP? PDM removes party leaders from WhatsApp group

    Yesterday, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that PPP has not left PDM yet, adding that a decision will be made in this regard when the PPP will be invited to PDM’s meeting with the heads of all parties involved.

  • Shehbaz files contempt petition in LHC against FIA officials

    Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif submitted a contempt petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday, against six officials who allegedly barred him from flying abroad despite the court’s order granting him permission.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s name has been added to the Exit Control List (ECL).

     Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry, in a tweet said that with the approval of the cabinet and completion of all legal formalities, Shehbaz’s name was added to the no-fly list.

    Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that Shehbaz had not submitted any medical documents for travelling abroad or specify the treatment for his illness.

    “This is the first time that a verdict was given the same day a petition was filed. Shehbaz was trying to flee the country,” he remarked.

    Sheikh further added we want fair treatment for all prisoners and this is not fair. “What are the chances that Shehbaz Sharif will return when his brother Nawaz Sharif has yet to come back?” said Sheikh.

    He added that the PML-N leader may influence the approvers.

    Rasheed said Shehbaz can file an appeal against the decision in the Interior Ministry within 15 days.

    Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court granted Shehbaz permission to travel abroad once for medical treatment.

    After obtaining bail, Shehbaz was about to fly to London when an FIA team at the airport stopped him from travelling on the grounds that his name had been on the list of persons barred from leaving the country.

  • Peace with Pindi? Nawaz Sharif’s Spokesperson tells all

    Peace with Pindi? Nawaz Sharif’s Spokesperson tells all

    Mohammad Zubair, Spokesperson to Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, claimed in a TV talk show that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has made peace with Rawalpindi. Zubair made this statement in ARY News programme ‘The Reporters’.

    Alluding to a rapprochement between the establishment and PML-N, anchorperson Sabir Shakir directly asked Mohammad Zubair about ‘sulaah‘ (rapprochement) with Rawalpindi. The PML-N leader confirmed to Shakir that there has indeed been a reconciliation.


    “All it will take is to pull the ladder away from PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] and the government will be in trouble,” added Zubair. He said that this is what the PTI fears.

    Zubair further added that the relations of PML-N with the army have always been good.

    PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has been targeting the establishment quite vocally. At a rally in Gujranwala held by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) last year, Sharif’s comments against army chief shocked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

    Senior PML-N politician Javed Hashmi recently criticised the establishment in a video that went viral on social media. The PML-N has officially distanced itself from Hashmi’s comments by tweeting: “Javed Hashmi’s statement about the national institution is his personal opinion.”

  • FIA bars Shehbaz from leaving the country

    FIA bars Shehbaz from leaving the country

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif was stopped by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from leaving the country earlier today. According to the FIA, Sharif’s name is on the Person-Not-In-List (PNIL), which means that persons who are not on Exit Control List (ECL) or on black list can be stopped through PNIL. On Friday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) said Shehbaz has “one time” permission to fly abroad for medical treatment. Sharif was all set to take a flight to London but the FIA stopped him at immigration at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.

    Talking to The Current, PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar said that this is a blatant violation of court orders despite FIA officials being present in court. “Such pettiness on behalf of the government has only exposed their nefarious designs.” Tarar, who is also part of the legal team in Sharif’s case, said that if this delay gives the prime minister satisfaction for a few days, “let him be happy”.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Director General (DG) FIA has the authority to remove a name from a black list. “Shehbaz Sharif’s lawyers have not submitted any application to DG FIA to remove his [Sharif’s] name from the blacklist.” Chaudhry added that communicating something verbally does not mean there will be any change in the record. “The government will move the court against this decision.”

    Talking to the media, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the FIA has added Sharif’s name in another list. She said that despite written order by the LHC, stopping Shehbaz Sharif from travelling is tantamount to contempt of court. Marriyum Aurangzeb added that now we are being told by the FIA that the system has not been updated even though there were two FIA officials present in court when the LHC granted Sharif permission to travel abroad.

  • Shehbaz Sharif to go back to London

    Shehbaz Sharif to go back to London

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s petition for removal of his name from the no-fly list has been approved by the Lahore High Court.

    Shehbaz’s lawyer informed the court that the younger Sharif needed to travel to London for a doctor’s appointment on May 20. The court was made aware that the PML-N president has to be in the UK before that. “Shehbaz has already booked his ticket to Qatar for tomorrow’” said the lawyer, “Pakistanis traveling to the UK need to stay in Qatar for 10 days because of the travel restrictions.”

    The deputy attorney-general remarked, “Shehbaz’s lawyer has not presented his return tickets which means that the PML-N president does not plan on coming back.”

    On this, the court said that it is better if Shehbaz appears in person to provide an explanation.

    Shehbaz’s name was put on the Exit Control List as he is being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau in a number of corruption cases.

    He was released from jail on April 23 after a three-member bench of the Lahore High Court unanimously approved his bail in the money laundering case.

    NAB has accused Shehbaz of laundering money and owning more assets than his known sources of income.

    In December last year, the anti-graft watchdog had issued orders to freeze 23 properties owned by former Punjab chief executive and his sons, Hamza and Suleman, over claims they had acquired assets beyond their known sources of income and committed money-laundering.

    According to the NAB, an investigation against Shehbaz, Hamza, Suleman, and others had revealed that the PML-N president had acquired properties in the name of his wives Nusrat and Tehmina Durrani.

    PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal’s name added to the Exit Control List.

    The Interior Ministry on Friday added PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal’s name to the Exit Control List.

    Iqbal’s name was added to the ECL after the approval of the federal cabinet. The former minister is facing the Narowal Sports City reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Last November a reference was filed against Iqbal.

    It was initially approved at a cost of Rs34.74 million by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), which Iqbal headed. NAB maintains that Iqbal illegally directed the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and NESPAK to increase the project’s scope, enhancing the cost to Rs97.52 million.

    NAB is investigating his involvement in the case, which is being heard by an accountability court in Islamabad. Iqbal has been summoned several times.

    NAB had made a request to add Iqbal’s name to the no-fly list.

  • ‘Thank you, Bilawal,’ says Shehbaz Sharif

    ‘Thank you, Bilawal,’ says Shehbaz Sharif

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday after a resounding victory by the PML-N in PP-84 by-election. In a statement tweeted by the PPP’s official Twitter handle, Bilawal Bhutto congratulated Sharif on PML-N’s win and also added that the “consistent wins by the Opposition show clearly how disillusioned people are with the PTI and its anti-people policies. The people of Pakistan continue to give their verdict against PTI, but the selected govt refuses to listen.”

    Shehbaz Sharif responded to this tweet by thanking Bilawal. “There is no doubt that the by-election results represent an overwhelming rejection of the anti-people policies pursued by the PTI government,” tweeted Sharif.

    The last few months have seen the leaders of the PPP and PML-N indulge in a war of words, both online and offline. In March, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz tweeted about a ‘substitute being fostered’, which some say was a dig at Bilawal Bhutto after Asif Zardari had asked Mian Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan during a meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    When Bilawal was later asked whether Maryam’s comment was about him, he said that if he wanted to comment on the PML-N’s vice-president, he would have asked his party’s vice-president to comment on it.

  • PML-N wins PP-84 Khushab by-poll

    PML-N wins PP-84 Khushab by-poll

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Moazzam Sher Kallu has won the PP-84 Khushab by-election with a significant margin. Kallu came out on top with 73,081 votes and retained the seat that was vacated after the death of PML-N lawmaker Malik Muhammad Waris Kallu in March.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Ali Hussain Baloch was the runner-up with 62,903 votes. Kallu’s margin of victory is 10,178 votes.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the public and winning candidate Moazzam Sher Kallu. “The people of Khushab have rejected the wheat and sugar thieves,” Sharif was quoted

    Maryam Nawaz celebrated the Khushab victory on Twitter. She said “people in every city have declared Nawaz Sharif’s victory” and derided those who wanted to “minus Nawaz Sharif”.

    “Look at the works of Allah! Only Nawaz Sharif is left [standing], while everyone else has been cut out,” added Maryam.

    A total of eight candidates stood in the race. Besides the PML-N and PTI candidates, PPP’s Ghulam Habib Ahmed was in the running, as well the banned TLP’s Asghar Ali. The independents included Amjad Raza, Aurangzeb, Imran Haider Khan, and Ilyas Khan Azad.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said in a statement that “no untoward situation of law and order has been reported at the polling station”.

    Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari congratulated the President PML-N Shehbaz Sharif, for the win in PP-84 by-polls.

  • Electoral reforms proposed for fair and transparent elections: Govt

    Electoral reforms proposed for fair and transparent elections: Govt

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, in a press conference, shared details of the government’s plans for electoral reforms for free and transparent elections within the country.

    Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs has proposed 49 amendments to the Election Amendment Bill 2020. Awan said that the reforms shall be put forth before all stakeholders, including civil society, media and Bar councils.

    Fawad Chaudhry stressed that the government wants to get the reforms passed from parliament through consensus. Chaudhry said that if the opposition parties are not ready to support the proposal for the electoral reforms, it will delay both political and democratic development within the country.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1389146375192039426

    Yesterday, Shehbaz Sharif had spurned down the proposal of using an electronic voting system (EVS). He was responding to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tweets on electoral reforms.

    PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif rejected PM’s proposal to use electronic voting machine. In a statement posted on Twitter, Shehbaz said, “Electronic voting system is rejected by the whole world. Pakistan Election Commission (ECP) has declared it unworkable. Such important national tasks cannot be performed at the request or order of an individual.”

    He further added that electoral reforms are a rather sensitive issue. “Electoral reforms can only take place after consultation of all parties, in the light of public opinion and through consensus.”

    “Instead of electronic voting, the government should worry about a ruined economy, skyrocketing inflation, unemployment and the ever increasing mortality rates,” Shehbaz Sharif added.

  • PM, his accountability aide accused of framing Justice Isa, Shehbaz Sharif

    PM, his accountability aide accused of framing Justice Isa, Shehbaz Sharif

    In a series of explosive revelations, former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General (DG) Bashir Memon has stepped forth with rather damning allegations against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and his team.

    According to reports, he has claimed being told by the premier’s aide on accountability, Shahzad Akbar, to frame Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

    “When we entered his [Akbar’s] room, we were told that a case was needed against Justice Isa,” reports quoted him as saying.

    Judgeship of Supreme Court’s Justice Isa is hanging in balance over a presidential reference against him for concealing assets of his family. He has challenged the verdict of the apex court on the reference, arguing he could not be held answerable for the same.

    While Memon alleged that the case against Justice Isa was a brainchild of the premier, he also claimed being mocked by PM Imran for not going after Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

    “He said all he needed to do was to make a phone call to NAB [National Accountability Bureau], and the next day Shehbaz was arrested.”

    Memon also quoted Imran as saying that look at Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ways and see how things are done there so as to avoid talks about the constitution and law.

  • Bail granted to Shehbaz Sharif

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif. The bail was approved by the three-member bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Justice Alia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi. Sharif was first granted and then denied bail after a division bench issued a split decision on Sharif’s petition, sending the matter to the LHC chief justice for the nomination of a referee judge.

    Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a money-laundering case last year in September.

    Shehbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shehbaz was released in February after spending 20 months in jail as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) probed money laundering accusations against him.

    While Shehbaz was incarcerated, a report in The News said that Maryam Nawaz, due to her hawkish stance, has gained popularity in the party and the public. Her control on the party is strengthened to such an extent that she has stopped “consulting him [Shehbaz] for political advice”.