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Tag: Shehbaz Sharif

  • VIDEO: ‘Took ailing father to restaurant on his doctor’s advice’

    VIDEO: ‘Took ailing father to restaurant on his doctor’s advice’

    Amid criticism that followed former ailing prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s photograph at a London restaurant, Hussain Nawaz has said that his father was taken out after they were “told to do so by the doctor”.

    In his latest photos seen on social media, the ex-PM was spotted at a London restaurant with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hussain and other party leaders, including former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

    With netizens not going easy on Nawaz, who was allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment despite his conviction and subsequent jail sentence in a corruption case, and Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry also criticising him for dining out while being “seriously ill”, Hussain on Monday stepped up to clarify the situation.

    Speaking to reporters outside Avenfield Apartments, the ailing former premier’s son said that Nawaz had been taken to the restaurant on his doctor’s recommendation as the ex-PM felt claustrophobic at home.

    “We insisted that father visited a restaurant so he could get acclimatised… he left the residence on our insistence,” said Hussain.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “Doctors ordered us that Nawaz needed to go on small walks at least twice a day and we paid heed to their recommendation.”

    “Scenes of a meeting in the intensive care unit of a London hospital, the treatment for binge-eating is underway with sheer concentration, all patients are feeling better,” Minister Fawad had sarcastically tweeted earlier in the day.

  • PM Imran praises Buzdar for project launched by Shehbaz

    PM Imran praises Buzdar for project launched by Shehbaz

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has admired Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar for initiating the 115-kilometre (km) long Jalalpur Irrigation Project worth $360 million after a delay of 120 years, not knowing that the project was actually conceived, planned, negotiated and approved by his arch-rival and former chief executive of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, The News reported.

    “I congratulate you all. Today, I admire Punjab CM Usman Buzdar for initiating this project. This project has been delayed for the past 120 years. I am thankful that you started this project because these projects change the lives of the people,” the premier had said at the inauguration ceremony held in Jhelum in the last week of December 2019.

    However, official documents revealed that the project was entirely planned, initiated and negotiated by the Shehbaz administration back in 2009 when the then CM had ordered its construction.

    According to reports, the feasibility work for the project was completed in 2013 and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was engaged. It takes three to four years in the processing of such projects’ planning, loan negotiation, environmental studies, population relocation plans among other.

    A mega project like the one in question needs years owing to all the necessary surveys and the completion of its designs, which were completed in 2017. All details are also documented on the ADB website.

    A copy of the loan agreement shows that it was signed by Pakistan and ADB in April 2018 by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, ahead of which, the project agreement was signed in April 2017 by the then Punjab Irrigation Secretary Asadullah with Shehbaz’s approval.

    The Punjab Annual Development Plan (ADP) approved by the Shehbaz government in its budget for fiscal year 2017-18 also reflected the project. From 2013-2018, the Punjab government spent approximately Rs2,998 million to acquire land for this project, and the last allocation of Rs600 million was made in the ADP for 2017-18.

    At the planning stage, even alignment of canal was decided in consultation with locals through the lawmakers concerned. In 2016, a number of seminars were also held in Khushab to finalise alignment as per the needs of the farmers.

    In ADP for the year 2016-2017, the engineering designs were completed. As much as Rs70 million was spent on this project by PML-N government for engineering design in 2016-2017 and Rs230 million was allocated in 2017-2018. Total expenditure made on land acquisition by the then government was Rs3 billion. A total of 8,000 acres of land was acquired by the previous government, which was a huge administrative exercise while Rs497 million was spent on the engineering design of this project. Detail engineering design took 16 months.

    The canal will irrigate 160,000 acres of land in Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab tehsil and interestingly even the people, farmers and residents of these areas are fully aware that project was initiated by Shehbaz in 2013.

    As per the official documents, the loan agreement was signed by Shehbaz in 2017 and everything was finalised and commissioned by May 2018, but now the premier has been made to believe that incumbent Punjab CM Buzdar is behind the project.

    According to ADB documents, the project is located by the right bank of River Jhelum in Punjab. It will create new non-perennial irrigation services for enhanced agricultural production in Pind Daden Khan and Khushab districts. The project will increase kharif crop intensity by 50 per cent, improve crop yield and reduce land degradation. It will directly benefit over 200,000 rural people; mostly poor.

  • PML-N takes U-Turn on Gen Bajwa’s extension: report

    PML-N takes U-Turn on Gen Bajwa’s extension: report

    Contrary to earlier claims, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has reportedly decided to unconditionally back the amendments made to the Army Act by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf  (PTI) government to facilitate the extension service of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    According to Geo News, the decision was made after a meeting of PML-N parliamentary members received a message from the party leadership on Thursday, advising the party to fully back the amendment bill when it is tabled in the parliament by the government. 

    “The PML-N leadership reportedly does not want the position of COAS to become controversial, and has thus decided to support the PTI government in a bid to amend the Army Act under the directions of a verdict of the Supreme Court (SC) in this regard,” the report said.

    A day earlier, the federal cabinet had in an emergency meeting accorded its approval to amendments to the Army Act under which the premier will be empowered to extend the tenure of all services chiefs.

    The bill pertaining to the amendment will be tabled in the National Assembly on Friday and the amendment has been prepared as per the guidelines enumerated in the SC’s verdict.

    The top court had in November 2019 told the government to legislate on an extension in the COAS’s services within six months, allowing Gen Bajwa to stay in office until then, after briefly suspending the notification of the extension in his tenure.

    With the government going into action to ensure an extension for the army chief but lacking the numbers in the parliament for necessary legislation, the PML-N had earlier warned the PTI, saying it would not be easy if the hostile attitude of the Imran Khan-led government towards the opposition continued.

  • Shehbaz Sharif employed ‘money launderers’ in CM’s office: report

    Shehbaz Sharif employed ‘money launderers’ in CM’s office: report

    Two suspicious characters — Imtiaz Gill and Ali Ahmad — were employed by former Punjab chief minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif as his staff members but they, even during his tenure, were more known for their association with Suleman Shehbaz than anything else, The News has reported.

    The report quoted sources as confirming the PTI government’s allegations that Gill and Ahmad were given some titles — like directors of political affairs and strategy — but they were not part of the hardcore bureaucratic team of the CM Secretariat.

    These two people had no office in the CM Secretariat and they rarely even had any interaction with the Secretariat’s bureaucracy but were mostly seen in the private office of Suleman Shehbaz at 55-H Model Town. They were also found in the Model Town Office of the then Punjab CM.

    These two people were generally referred to as the class fellows and friends of Suleman Shahbaz. The sources said that they were appointed as directors on meager salaries like Rs30,000 a month each but were not doing any official work associated with the CM Secretariat.

    At that time the bureaucracy working in the CM Secretariat had no idea what Gill and Ahmad were actually doing. There was a general perception that the two might have been favoured by Suleman Shahbaz because of his past association with them.

    However, now the government revelation alleged that these two people were key characters involved in money laundering for Shehbaz Sharif family. Although mostly they are linked with Suleman, the fundamental question arises why Shehbaz Sharif offered them official position.

    For the same reason, Barrister Shahzad Akbar put some relevant questions to Shehbaz Sharif which include if Nisar Gill and Ali Ahmad were not appointed as director political affairs and director strategy respectively by Shehbaz Sharif in the CM Office.

    The government alleged that these two men were the front-men of Shehbaz Sharif and Suleman Shehbaz for money laundering and corruption. They were alleged to be the owners of a company named Good Nature Trading, which was involved in money matter for Suleman Shehbaz.

    Nisar Gill is also alleged to have visited some foreign countries along with Suleman Shehbaz. The government alleged that the two had transferred huge amounts in the accounts of Shehbaz Sharif family.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Thursday in a press conference alleged that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was involved in corruption worth billions of rupees, claiming his assets had grown by 70 percent during the last 10 years.

    Shahzad Akbar pointed out that three employees of Shehbaz’s GMC Company, who were found involved in running a multi-billion rupee network, were working at the CM Secretariat on different posts and challenged him to respond to them.

    Shahzad Akbar also called on the NAB to probe the Good Nature Trading Company under which billions were laundered through the fake TTs. He explained that the GMC emerged when investigation was carried out against the assets of Sharif family. He said through over 200 TTs, billions were ‘transferred’.

    Independent sources also believe that the money laundering case against Shehbaz Sharif family appears to be the most serious among all cases presently being pursued by the NAB against the former Punjab chief minister and members of his family.

    In this particular case, the government has yet to find any evidence whether money involved in laundering has anything to do with kickbacks, commissions and corruption or is the consequence of a general practice of big businessmen of Pakistan who don’t show their full profits to avoid taxes and thus launder their untaxed income by using hundi and remittances modes.

    However, despite this “usual practice” of the big businessmen this case may really haunt the Sharif family because of the kind of evidence regarding alleged doubtful remittances received by different members of Shehbaz Sharif family and also because of the fact that two people used for the alleged money laundering were employed in the CM Office.

  • Imran trying to save Buzdar by bringing back Shehbaz’s favourite bureaucrats: report

    Imran trying to save Buzdar by bringing back Shehbaz’s favourite bureaucrats: report

    Former Punjab chief minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif’s rule is back in the province without him as the massive bureaucratic reshuffle, ordered directly by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, has brought back the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief’s team, contradicting the narrative of his own government against Shehbaz’s alleged corruption.

    According to The News, all key positions in the new set-up have been given to Shehbaz’s blue-eyed officers, who were responsible for development and governance during the now PML-N president’s ten-year rule in Punjab.

    Most of these officers were responsible for key projects, which are identified by PML-N and Shehbaz, suchas the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT), Multan Metro, underpasses and other mega projects of Lahore besides the Nandipur Power Project and others. More than a dozen officers, now brought back to deliver for CM Usman Buzdar’s government, were directly working with Shehbaz at the CM Secretariat.

    However, with their fingers, crossed many in the bureaucracy wonder if Buzdar would be able to lead this team of go-getters like Shehbaz successfully did in the past.

    The new bureaucratic team being marketed as panacea for all the ills of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Punjab, is led my Major (r) Azam Suleman — the new chief secretary who has been the secretary of the most lucrative provincial department, Communication and Works (C&W), for five years under Shehbaz.

    The former Punjab CM took so much interest in development that he never appointed a C&W minister and directly interacted with the secretary. Azam was instrumental in execution of mega projects in Punjab, especially Lahore, and is reputed to be a tough no-nonsense officer and Shehbaz’s blue-eyed.

    According to reports, Shehbaz had such great liking for Azam that even after his promotion to BS-22, he was retained as the additional chief secretary (ACS) (Home) for five years — longest tenure ever. Strangely, at that time, the PTI used to blame him for the 2014 Model Town massacre.

    Bureaucrats like Nabeel Awan, Abdullah Sumbal, Nadeem Mahboob, Javed Qazi and Sajid Dahl — all reputed ace officers of the administrative services, who served Shehbaz’s immediate team — have also been given key positions in the recent reshuffle.

    Nabeel has been posted as the health and livestock secretary, Sumbal as finance, Nadeem as housing, Qazi as local government, while Dahl has been appointed as the higher education secretary.

    Similarly, a number of former principal staff officers (PSOs) like Sumair Syed, Amara Khan, Ahsan Waheed and Naseem Sadiq, who were given key portfolios by Shehbaz, have now been brought back by the PTI government to mainstream administration.

    Sadiq has been appointed as Dera Ghazi (DG) Khan commissioner, Syed as the director general (DG) of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Khan as the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) DG and Waheed as Sahiwal commissioner.

    Captain (r) Mahmood, who was responsible for the Nandipur Power Project and Lahore horticulture — two of Shehbaz’s favorite subjects — is now the new Rawalpindi commissioner.

    Capt (r) Saif Anjum, whom Shehbaz trusted with the Irrigation Department for three years, has been made Lahore commissioner, Momin Agha, another blue-eyed of Shehbaz and who served as his information secretary as well as the Faisalabad commissioner, has been posted as ACS (Home).

    The ec-Punjab CM’s Finance Secretaries Shaukat Ali and Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh have been placed on most important positions of Punjab ACS and Planning and Development (P&D) chairman, respectively. Abdullah Sumbal, who was appointed as Lahore commissioner by Shehbaz, is the finance secretary.

    Capt (r) Asadullah, who executed the Multan Metro project, is the new C&W secretary while Babur Tarar, who was Sahiwal commissioner, health secretary and cooperatives secretary under Shehbaz, will be a senior member of the Board of Revenue (BoR) in the new setup.

    Iftikhar Saho — another well-reputed officer — who was P&D secretary under Shahbaz for almost five years and was responsible for all development across the project, has been appointed as the principal secretary to CM Buzdar.

    A senior retired bureaucrat said that by bringing back the entire team back, the PTI government had contradicted its own mantra of corruption under Shehbaz.

    Another feature of the latest reshuffle is that many officers considered close to Buzdar or the Chaudhrys of Gujrat, have been sidelined.

  • ‘NAB forcing me to become approver against Shehbaz,’ former LWMC MD tells court

    ‘NAB forcing me to become approver against Shehbaz,’ former LWMC MD tells court

    A senior bureaucrat and former managing director (MD) of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC), Waseem Ajmal has told an accountability court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is forcing him into becoming “approver” against former chief minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, NAB had earlier arrested Waseem, BS-20 officer, on charges of embezzling Rs1 billion in LWMC project and presented him before the court to seek his physical remand as he was arrested the other day.

    During his appearance, Waseem stated before the court that the investigating officer, during the interrogation, kept persuading him to become an approver against the former CM.

    He added that the NAB possessed complete record of the case but it wanted to extract a ‘confessional’ statement from him.

    “The NAB had also put same pressure on me in Saaf Pani case,” said Ajmal adding that the bureau previously kept him in custody for 48 days in the Saaf Pani case but did not interrogate him beyond two hours.

    He further claimed that the NAB wasted precious time of his career and found nothing against him. The Lahore High Court (LHC) had earlier released Ajmal on bail in the Saaf Pani case on January 30 last.

    The NAB prosecutor had argued that then CM Shehbaz Sharif awarded the contract of LWMC project to a Turkish company-Al-Bayrak on inflated rates which caused a loss of over Rs1 billion to the national exchequer.

    The prosecutor said that Ajmal being MD and team leader of the LWMC held a meeting on April 26, 2014, in which he intentionally concealed details from other board members.

    Ajmal’s counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq opposed the remand and said his client had to attend a three-month course for promotion in next grade. The court, however, granted 10-day physical remand of the accused to the NAB and sought his appearance again on Nov 30.

  • VIDEO: Revenge of the mic?

    VIDEO: Revenge of the mic?

    A private media outlet’s microphone hits Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif in the face. The former Punjab chief minister is rather infamous for his signature “mic drops” as emotions take over while addressing gatherings.
  • ‘I am a dharna expert’: Prime minister belittles Fazl’s Azadi March

    ‘I am a dharna expert’: Prime minister belittles Fazl’s Azadi March

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Monday called himself a “dharna [sit-in] expert” as he boasted of his 126-day lockdown of the federal capital from 2014 and belittled that of Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) which ended within two weeks.

    Addressing the groundbreaking of the Hazara Motorway Phase II in Havelian, the premier called JUI-F’s 14-day sit-in a “circus” and added that the protesters could not even stay for a month in the capital.

    He reiterated that would not spare “a single corrupt person” in the country no matter how they tried to “blackmail” the government and added that he “did not care about votes, but feared God and the hereafter”. “My message [to all my opponents] is that my God has trained me for challenges. I know how to win and how to face defeat. And I know how to stand back up after I have been defeated.”

    Warning opposition leaders against ganging up on him, the premier also trained guns at his political nemeses, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

    While PM Imran said that Shehbaz was “trying to be Nelson Mandela” — former South African president and peace activist who spent 27 years in prison due to his political struggle — he also mimicked Bilawal in an attempt to troll the PPP chief for his rainwater gaffe.

    “When it rains, water pours down. When it rains more, more water pours down.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “Bilawal’s theory shocked even the most remarkable scientists like Einstein,” the premier said further and assereted that the PPP chairman claimed to be a liberal “but he was liberally corrupt”.

    BILAWAL STRIKES BACK:

    It wasn’t later that Bilawal reacted to PM Imran’s remarks in a tweet.

    He said that he was neither liberal nor corrupt or a hypocrite. “I am a visionary and progressionist who has been in politics for more than a year,” he said, adding that the premier was a 70-year-old who had been exercising “selected” politics for more than 20 years.

    “Imran Khan’s identity by U-turns, hypocrisy and being a puppet,” Bilawal wrote.

  • Twitter spat after Faisal Vawda’s ‘money first for criminals’ post

    Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda and Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter in law are exchanging responses on Twitter after the minister posted a picture of former premier Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz among others playing Roulette in a casino.

    Faisal Vawda on Wednesday posted this picture on his Twitter handle and wrote, “Alhamdolilah with every scheme thrown at the govt by all champions IK stands out as a winner in exposing Sharifs politics. If it’s life & death for NS then why denying surety bonds. For criminals it’s MONEY FIRST. I thank PM for giving us a chance to expose them yet again”.

    https://twitter.com/FaisalVawdaPTI/status/1194594491950387201

    Replying to this tweet Zi Suleman Sharif from her Twitter handle wrote, “Faisal Vawda a pathetic cartoon himself, You are exposing yourselves not anyone — lagay raho”.

    They both later shared a few responses.

    In the end, the minister wrote, “Don’t talk too much, ask your wanted family members to return stolen public money and submit surety bond, Where’s your husband Mr. TT??”.

  • Govt to remove Nawaz’s name from ECL: sources

    Govt to remove Nawaz’s name from ECL: sources

    After months of denying reports regarding relief to ailing former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to remove his name from the Exit Control List (ECL), The Current has learnt.

    “His name will be removed from the no-fly list within the next 72 hours,” sources said and added that the convicted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo would subsequently be allowed to travel abroad.

    The development comes hours after Nawaz’s brother and PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif approached the Interior Ministry for the removal of the former premier’s name from the ECL.

    Nawaz, who was discharged from Lahore’s Services Hospital two days ago, was taken to his residence, Jati Umra, on Wednesday — 16 days after he was shifted to the hospital from jail in critical condition. With a precarious drop in his platelet count, the premier was also granted bail during his stay at the hospital.

    On Thursday, media reports claimed that the former premier had been convinced by his brother to leave the country for some time and seek medical treatment abroad.

    With Nawaz reportedly agreeing to leave, his daughter and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who was also granted bail earlier this month, on Friday was seen agreeing with the decision.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    In an informal conversation with journalists outside an accountability court, she had said that her father’s health was critical and he must be allowed to travel abroad if that was the only option.

    “Politics will go on, but parents will not always be around. I am only focused on Nawaz Sharif’s health for now,” she said while responding to a question regarding her plans to join Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s sit-in in Islamabad.

    Commenting on whether she would accompany her father if he leaves the country for medical treatment, Maryam said that she could not travel immediately as her passport was with the court.