Author: newsdesk

  • Rifts in PTI over ‘selection’ of new Chairman

    Rifts in PTI over ‘selection’ of new Chairman

    In a dramatic turn of events within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), founding member and dissenter Akbar S. Babar has raised concerns over the nomination of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan for the party chairman’s position.

    Accusing the move of being more of a “selection than an election,” Babar, who previously filed the foreign funding case against the PTI, expressed doubts about the transparency and credibility of the intra-party election process.

    He said, “This must be a first that elections for the party’s central leadership have been announced without its electoral college in place as the electoral college of PTI’s central leadership is an elected provincial leadership which does not exist.”

    According to Babar, the prolonged intra-party election process, initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic with a one-year extension granted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), has failed to live up to the party’s commitment to transparent and fair elections.

    Babar proposed that the Commission should appoint ‘obervers’ to monitor the PTI intra-party elections as it is already discussing the matter.

    Babar, who served as the party’s central information secretary and vice-president in the past, claimed that it appears that the PTI has learnt hardly any lesson from its past history of holding rigged intra-party elections.

    The decision to nominate Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, described as a ‘newcomer,’ has sparked internal discord within the party.

    Some party leaders drew parallels between this nomination and the controversial appointment of Usman Buzdar as the Punjab chief minister, a move that faced criticism for its perceived lack of merit.

    The selection of Barrister Gohar Ali Khan over other loyalists within the party, such as Ali Muhammad Khan, Senator Humayun Mohmand, and Advocate Hamid Khan, has raised eyebrows among insiders.

    One party leader, speaking anonymously to Dawn, voiced apprehensions about Khan’s association with PPP leader Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, considering it an unwise move given the sensitive nature of the party chairman position.

    “Unfortunately, Imran Khan has again done an experiment, just like Usman Buzdar, who left him when his difficult time started. The position of the party chairman is very sensitive and it could be used against the party,” he feared.

  • How many seats will be in the National Assembly in upcoming elections?

    How many seats will be in the National Assembly in upcoming elections?

    Amid rumours of delay in the elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released the final list of delimitation of constituencies in the national and four provincial assemblies.

    This progress paves the roads for the election schedule, which is more likely to be announced in the first week of December, as per the electoral body.

    Previously, the ECP had said that the final list of delimitations for constituencies would be published on December 15, but it was later revised to November 30.

    According to the notification issued by the ECP, the National Assembly (NA) has a total of 266 seats; 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities.

    Balochistan has a total of 20 NA seats, including 16 general and four reserved seats for women; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 45 general NA seats and 10 reserved seats for women; Sindh has a total of 75 NA seats, of which 61 are general and the remaining 14 are reserved for women.

    On the other hand, considering population, Punjab is a big province, and it has 141 NA seats, of which 32 are reserved for women. The federal capital has three general NA seats, with no reserved seat for women.

    Article 106 pertains to the constituencies of the four provincial legislatures. According to this article, Balochistan comprises 51 general seats, with 11 reserved for women and three for non-Muslims, making a total of 65 seats.

    In the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are 115 general seats, along with 26 reserved for women and four for non-Muslims, bringing the total number of seats in the legislature to 145.

  • Harassment of Pakhtuns in Punjab unacceptable; Aimal Wali Khan warns government

    Harassment of Pakhtuns in Punjab unacceptable; Aimal Wali Khan warns government

    Aimal Wali Khan, the President of Awami National Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has accused Punjab authorities of engaging in harassment against Pakhtuns in the province.

    “The Punjab government has initiated a crackdown on Pakhtuns from KP and Balochistan, who live there for work, trade, and business. If it doesn’t stop harassing Pakhtuns, we won’t allow the presence of non-locals in our province even if they’re government employees,” the ANP leader told a public meeting in the Titwalan area of Martung tehsil on Thursday.

    Highlighting the right of individuals with national identity cards issued by NADRA to live or work anywhere in the country, Khan emphasized that Pakhtuns should enjoy the same rights as people from other ethnic backgrounds.

    He urged the central government to release due funds to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa promptly.

    Khan further addressed economic disparities, stating that while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced 6,000 megawatts of electricity and sold it to the center at a nominal rate, its residents were compelled to purchase the same electricity at a significantly higher cost.

    The ANP leader said the people shouldn’t sell votes for “plastic pipes, water tanks and electricity poles” and should instead vote for the ANP for their and next generations’ development.

    He regretted that many coal miners from Shangla lost their lives due to a lack of safety measures at work. He blamed the issue on “bad governance and the corrupt system.”

    He said coal mine workers significantly contributed to economic development but the state and government had neglected their welfare and development.

    “As a lawmaker, I’ll strive for the workplace protection and welfare of miners,” he said.

    The ANP leader said in the upcoming elections, the people should reject those, who had been making false promises to them for the last over a decade, and should vote for the ANP for their development.

    ANP candidates Aurangzeb Khan (NA-11), Faisal Zeb Khan (PK-30), Altaf Khan (PK-29), district president Azam Khan and leader Gulab Shahpuri also addressed the meeting.

  • Punjab announces winter vacations for schools

    Punjab announces winter vacations for schools

    Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced on X (former Twitter) that Punjab schools will have a 15-day long winter break, as per the winter vacation schedule.

    Late on Thursday night, Naqvi posted that vacations will start on December 18, 2023, in public and private schools across the province and continue till January 1, 2024.

    “We held a meeting with experts and govt officials today addressing the SMOG challenge in Punjab. With an improved Air Quality Index (AQI), no restrictions are planned for the upcoming weekend. Additionally, winter vacations for children will commence from Dec 18, 2023 to Jan 1, 2024,” the CM wrote on his official handle of Twitter.

    Earlier in the week, Sindh announced winter vacations from December 22 till December 31.

    Read More: Holidays are around the corner in Sindh

  • PML-N hits back at Bilawal over ‘mehangai league’ tirade

    PML-N hits back at Bilawal over ‘mehangai league’ tirade

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) responsible for the inflation in the country during the two parties’ coalition government. Political temperature across the spectrum is rising as general election is set to take place on February 8 next year.

    PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been calling the PML-N “mehangai [inflation] league,” alleging that the PML-N is responsible for rising prices in the last 16-months period.

    The term of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which included the PPP, PML-N, and various other parties, concluded in August this year. During this period, there was a significant surge in inflation, unprecedented increases in energy and fuel costs, and a notable decline in foreign reserves.

    In his conversation on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, Musadik Malik — who served as the Minister of State for Petroleum during the PDM government — slammed Bilawal for targeting the PML-N for rising inflation and noted that all decisions in their 16-month stint were collective.

    Musadik Malik also reminded the PPP Chairman that he was a foreign minister of the country in the previous coalition government.

    “So when the minister had the portfolio of Foreign Ministry and I finalised a [oil] deal with Russia, he called it truck ki batti [false hope]. What was that? He should talk about his role as well. Was it my job to secure deals in Azerbaijan Russia? And you, while sitting in the US, said it was truck ki batti. So didn’t we reach our destination while following this truck ki batti?” asked Malik.

  • Israel resumes attacks in Gaza as truce ends

    Israel resumes attacks in Gaza as truce ends

    The additional one-day truce between Israel and Gaza has ended on Friday while the deadline to further extend the truce has passed in vain.

    Israeli Defense Forces wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that IDF has “resumed combat” against Hamas in Gaza because they “violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory.”

    As of yet, Al Jazeera has reported that according to witnesses in Gaza City and the north of the Gaza Strip, “heavy clashes are taking place between Palestinian fighting groups and Israeli troops,” while in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks are also firing near Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps. Additionally, air raids have also resumed.

  • West Indies member country Dominica withdrawn from hosting the T20 World Cup

    West Indies member country Dominica withdrawn from hosting the T20 World Cup

    West Indies member country Dominica has withdrawn from hosting the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 matches.

    ICC had announced seven West Indies and three USA venues for T20. Dominica was to host one first-round and two Super 8 matches.

    However, the government of Dominica, a member country of the West Indies, says that they cannot prepare the infrastructure in time for the World Cup, and are withdrawing from the event due to incomplete preparations. The 2024 T20 World Cup will be the ninth tournament of this format, scheduled to be jointly hosted by the West Indies and USA.

    The event will feature 20 teams divided into four groups of five each, with the top two from each group qualifying for the Super 8 round. The mega event will be played from June 4 to June 30, 2024 with a total of 55 matches.

  • How many Pakistanis are boycotting Israeli products? New reports shed light

    How many Pakistanis are boycotting Israeli products? New reports shed light

    As Israel intensified attacks in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7 attacks, products affiliated with Israel are being boycotted across the world, including Pakistan.

    According to new survey by Pulse, the sentiments of Boycotting the MNC brands are still high.

    The survey was based on more than 1,200 respondents in 12 cities, revealing that while the gravity of sentiments has mellowed, almost eight amongst 10 (78 per cent -previously it was 83 per cent) respondents are in favor of boycotting the brands.

    Seven out of 10 (69 per cent – previously it was 79 per cent) amongst those who are in favor of boycotting brands claim that they are doing it.

    The report further highlights that “the sentiments to boycott are relatively high amongst females ( decision makers for household brands) as compared to males.”

    The most effected products or companies include carbonated soft drinks, followed by fast food, chips , juices, soaps and toothpaste.

  • Pakistan’s forex reserves rebound: SBP gains $77 million in a week 

    Pakistan’s forex reserves rebound: SBP gains $77 million in a week 

    According to data released on Thursday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed a weekly increase of $77 million in its foreign exchange reserves, reaching $7.26 billion as of November 24.  

    The total liquid foreign reserves for the country amounted to $12.39 billion, with commercial banks holding net foreign reserves at $5.13 billion. 

    During the week ending on November 24, 2023, SBP’s reserves increased by $77 million, reaching $7,257.0 million. Contrastingly, the previous week saw a decrease of $217 million in Pakistan’s central bank reserves. 

    In July of this year, the central bank’s reserves received a boost as Pakistan obtained the initial tranche of approximately $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following the approval of a new $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).  

    This boost was complemented by inflows from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

    However, the SBP reserves faced pressure due to debt repayments, a surge in import payments after the easing of restrictions, and a lack of fresh inflows. 

    In a significant development, the IMF announced last week that its staff and Pakistani authorities had reached an agreement on the first review of the SBA.  

    The staff-level agreement is pending approval by the IMF Executive Board. 

    The IMF team reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the Pakistani authorities on the first review of their stabilization program supported by the IMF’s $3 billion (SDR2,250 million) SBA.  

    Upon approval, approximately $700 million (SDR 528 million) will become available, bringing total disbursements under the program to almost $1.9 billion. 

    Following the SLA with the IMF, Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar expressed confidence that external financing would not be an issue, anticipating inflows in December 2023 to contribute to an increase in foreign exchange reserves. 

  • Govt maintains petrol price at Rs281.34, cuts diesel price by Rs7 per litre 

    Govt maintains petrol price at Rs281.34, cuts diesel price by Rs7 per litre 

    On Thursday, the caretaker government announced its decision to maintain the current petrol price at Rs281.34 per litre while implementing a reduction of Rs7 per litre for high-speed diesel (HSD) for the upcoming two weeks. 

    As per the official notification from the finance ministry, the revised price for high-speed diesel will be Rs289.71 per litre starting on December 1. 

    Additionally, the prices for kerosene and light diesel oil have decreased by Rs3.82 and Rs4.52, respectively. 

    Following these adjustments, kerosene will now be priced at Rs201.16 per litre, and light diesel oil will be available at Rs175.93 per litre. 

    This decision comes in response to factors such as an IMF review and the recent global decline in oil prices. 

    Notably, the postponement of a ministerial meeting by Opec+ (the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia) to November 30 contributed to a midweek tumble in global oil prices. 

    Brent crude futures experienced a 0.4 per cent decline, down 37 cents to $80.21 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 0.4 per cent, down 29 cents to $75.25.