Category: Politics

News stories of Politics, for the topics that matter the most to young professionals and college students, political news reported with a different angle.

  • Chief Justice calls lifetime disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) a ‘draconian law’

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, has termed the lifetime disqualification of politicians under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution a “Draconian law”.

    “Article 62 (1)(f) is a draconian law and we will hear this case with caution and in detail,” the CJP remarked while hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda’s appeal against his disqualification for life under the article.

    According to Article 62(1)(f), a person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) “unless — he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law”.

    The Article was previously used to disqualify Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former Prime Minister whose party is now holding power in the federal capital. Former PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen was also disqualified for life under the same article.

    Vawda had appealed to the top court to set aside the order of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in which he was handed out a lifetime disqualification.

    In February, ECP disqualified Vawda for hiding his United States (US) citizenship. Later, he approached Islamabad High Court (IHC), seeking the revocation of his lifetime disqualification, however, the court dismissed Vawda’s plea.

    Vawda has pleaded to Supreme Court that the ECP had cited no reason for invoking Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution to disqualify him for life. The commission appears to be under the impression that any person disqualified under Article 63(1)(c) — for having dual nationality — could automatically be penalised under Article 62(1)(f), he said.

    During the hearing on Tuesday (today), the CJP said, “The election commission has the right to investigate a false affidavit.”

    “Even if we set aside the ECP’s verdict, the facts will remain the same,” he added.

    “The question is whether or not the ECP can order disqualification for life,” Justice Bandial said.

    The hearing was later adjourned till October 6 (Thursday).

    It is pertinent to mention that in 2018 the Supreme Court declared that the disqualification under 62(1)(f) would be for life.

    Under this same article, both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan’s former close aide Tareen are currently disqualified for life.

  • Did Khan just confirm Bushra Bibi’s ‘prove them traitors’ audio leak is legit?

    Did Khan just confirm Bushra Bibi’s ‘prove them traitors’ audio leak is legit?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the spur of the moment likely confirmed the audio leak in which his wife Bushra Bibi is allegedly instructing Khan’s former Focal Person for Digital Media, Dr Arslan Khalid, to run a campaign to ‘prove them traitors’.

    “From my house, [Bani Gala] from my secure line, Bushra Begum made a call to someone [Arsalan Khalid] that too was leaked,” said Khan while speaking with journalist Moeed Pirzada on 92 News.

    It is pertinent to mention here that in the alleged leaked audio, Bushra Bibi could be heard saying, “Khan Sahib told you to run a hashtag of treason. I have been getting calls from people that your social media was very active but after a week, it is not. You should have been very active nowadays.”

    She also allegedly said that former PTI leader Aleem Khan and others will talk against her, her friend Farah and Imran Khan as well. “They will make so much fuss and they will also give testimonies of people but you don’t have to make any issue of it. Just link them all with treason,” says Bushra Bibi.

    “I am telling you, you don’t have to discuss this issue with anyone. They are after him [Imran Khan] because of this. But you have to link it with treason.”

    The former first lady allegedly asks Khalid to direct his team to take up the issue of the government not buying oil from Russia and link it with how Imran Khan was being betrayed.

    “You cannot let this matter die down,” Bushra Bibi allegedly says to him, asking him to make a trend so people know that the country and Khan are being betrayed.

  • ‘Is this a joke’ : PM Shehbaz refuses to inaugurate dashboard for monitoring of flood relief assistance

    ‘Is this a joke’ : PM Shehbaz refuses to inaugurate dashboard for monitoring of flood relief assistance

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Monday refused to inaugurate a dashboard built to monitor flood relief assistance, pointing out that it lacked real-time updates and was not of international standards.

    Visibly frustrated after finding inadequacies in the dashboard, the Prime Minister said, “If real-time information doesn’t arrive on this then it’s of no use. Then we are wasting each other’s time. I’m not going to inaugurate this today.”

    Terming the dashboard a “joke”, he asked for it to be trashed. “I’m not negating your effort but this is not the dashboard we all imagined. This is a stationary thing in which you fill in figures,” he opined.

    Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal told the Premier that information on the portal could not be displayed in real-time because it was dependent on information from the provincial disaster management authorities.

    However, the premier cut the minister midway, “But sir […] you will find out who is providing the information and who is not […] at best, this can be called a static dashboard.”

    “But still, dashboards are a work in progress […],” Iqbal replied, trying once again to placate the prime minister. “They have developed a tool in a short time but as we go on more data will be uploaded,” Ahsan Iqbal stressed.

    “This (flood dashboard) is not something the nation or I want. It lacks in many ways [and] it is deficient to our requirement,” the prime minister insisted as he reprimanded the officials concerned.

    Shehbaz told the two federal ministers to take all the help they needed but develop a “world class” dashboard, adding that it would aid the government for decades to come, while any “makeshift” work would be of no benefit.

  • Maryam Nawaz gets her passport back after three years

    Maryam Nawaz gets her passport back after three years

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz received her passport on Monday after Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered that the passport be returned to her.

    She had surrendered her passport three years ago in order to get bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case.

    “Alhamdulillah, my passport has been returned”, Maryam said in a tweet.

    “Due to the fear of my jalsas (rallies), fitna kept me in NAB for three months and in death cell in Kot Lakhpat Jail for investigation, but the case has not been filed to date”, she added.

    A three-member bench of the LHC, headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Muhammad Ameer Bhatti and comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh heard the case on Monday (today). During the proceedings, Maryam’s counsel Muhammad Amjad Pervaiz argued that his client had been granted bail after she surrendered her passport in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case but that despite the passage of a span of four years, no reference had been filed against her.

    Maryam, through her counsel, moved the fresh petition, arguing that in 2019, NAB had forced her to surrender her passport in this case, fearing that she would flee the country.

    Pervaiz also informed the court that the conviction in the Avenfield case could have caused difficulty in the return of her passport, but that the case has been closed.

    During the hearing, the federal government said that they have no objection to the plea. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor also said that his organisation has no objection to it. He added that they did not know whether the case came under their jurisdiction or not after the new amendments to NAB’s law.

    Last month, Maryam approached the court to get her passport released. She stated that she was unable to exercise her fundamental rights for the last four years despite the absence of any charge sheet or trial, as she had surrendered her passport in accordance with the court’s order when she was arrested in 2019.

    The case:

    As per details of Chaudhry Sugar Mill’s money-laundering investigation, NAB in January 2018 received a Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) report describing suspicious transactions of billions of rupees under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

    After receiving the FMU report, NAB started an inquiry in October 2018 and found that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, the incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif and family were shareholders in the company, along with foreigners from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

    A probe revealed that investments in Chaudhry Sugar Mills from 2001 to 2017 worth billions of rupees were made under the guise of issuing shares for foreigners.

    Interestingly, later on, the same shares of the company were transferred back to Maryam, Hussain, and Nawaz Sharif on various occasions without any money paid to the said foreign business partners.

  • ‘Jhoot mein bolna nahi chahta, sach mein bol nahi sakta’: Imran Khan avoids confirming his meeting with COAS Bajwa

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan responded to speculation about his meeting with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, as was reported by some journalists recently.

    On ARY News’ programme “Sawal Yeh Hai” with Maria Memon, when asked about the meeting, he said, “Jhoot mein bolna nahi chahta, sach mei bol nahi sakta”, (I don’t want to lie and I can’t tell the truth). However, he was of the view that negotiations should be held.

    Earlier, there was speculation that Khan had a meeting with COAS last month. The meeting was arranged by President Arif Alvi and was held at the President’s House in Islamabad. Reportedly, Khan and the COAS could not reach an agreement, but Khan toned down his rhetoric pertaining to the establishment after the meeting.

    About his recent audio leaks, Khan revealed that the first audio leak between him and his then-principle secretary Azam Khan was a telephonic conversation. According to him, he hasn’t listened to the second audio leak. “I can’t comment on it”, he responded.

    However, when asked that in this second audio leak he [Khan] insisted his party members use the word “letter” instead of “cipher”, the PTI Chairman said that there is nothing wrong with it as the general public wouldn’t have been able to understand the word cipher.

    About the controversial cipher, Khan said he had not made the cipher public at once because at the time, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting was in progress in the capital and it would have been inappropriate to share the cipher then.

    He said that these leaks are a security breach as the secure line Prime Minister’s (PM) Office got leaked.

    During the interview, Khan said that he is always ready to be arrested. “These people don’t have democracy and morality in them”, he added.

    According to the former PM, when he gets disqualified, the government will hold elections.

    He termed his Toshkhana case as “open and shut”. He said he did nothing wrong in the case which is pending against him in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP.)

    It is pertinent to mention here that Khan is accused of selling state gifts and failing to disclose their value in his annual tax returns.

    Speaking about the upcoming long march, Khan said the date would be announced within a week. He said Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi is an ally of the PTI and he would support the party in its march.

    About the departure of for­­mer premier Nawaz Sha­rif to London during the PTI government on medical grounds, Imran Khan commented that when Nawaz Sharif went out of the country, he came to realise that “Everything is possible” in Pakistan.

    “Unfortu­na­tely our justice system is weak due to which these people are benefitting,” he said in a comment on the cases agai­nst his political opponents.

  • Arrest warrants issued for Imran Khan over threatening remarks against Judge Zeba Chaudhry

    Arrest warrants issued for Imran Khan over threatening remarks against Judge Zeba Chaudhry

    Arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan have been issued in Islamabad in a case pertaining to his threatening remarks regarding Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry at an August 20 public rally in Islamabad.

    A magistrate of Islamabad’s Margalla Police Station has issued an arrest warrant for PTI Chief Imran Khan.

    The FIR includes four sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

    Khan is facing contempt of court charges for his controversial remarks against Zeba Chaudhary.

    Khan submitted an affidavit to IHC in contempt of court case against him, saying he had realised he “Might have crossed a line” in his controversial remarks regarding Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

    However, it is pertinent to mention that, for the third time now, Khan has avoided tendering an unconditional apology to the court.

    The affidavit says: “Imran Khan realised that during these proceedings before the Honourable Court, he might have crossed a red line while making a public speech on August 20, 2022.”

    According to the document, it was never his intention “To threaten the honourable judge of the district court and there was no intention behind the statement to take any action other than a legal action.”

    He said he wanted to assure the IHC that he was willing to explain and clarify before Judge Chaudhry that “Neither he nor his party seeks/sought any action“ against her and he was willing apologise to her “If she got an impression that the deponent (Imran) had crossed a line”.

    Khan assured the IHC that he would “Never do anything in future” that would hurt the dignity of any court and the judiciary, especially the lower judiciary.

  • ‘Willing to apologise’: Khan again avoided unconditional apology for his controversial remarks against female judge

    ‘Willing to apologise’: Khan again avoided unconditional apology for his controversial remarks against female judge

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a contempt of court case against him, saying he had realised he “Might have crossed a line” in his controversial remarks regarding Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

    However, it is pertinent to mention that, for the third time now, Khan has avoided tendering an unconditional apology to the court.

    The affidavit says: “Imran Khan realised that during these proceedings before the Honourable Court, he might have crossed a red line while making a public speech on August 20, 2022.”

    According to the document, it was never his intention “To threaten the honourable judge of the district court and there was no intention behind the statement to take any action other than a legal action.”

    He said he wanted to assure the IHC that he was willing to explain and clarify before Judge Chaudhry that “Neither he nor his party seeks/sought any action“ against her and he was willing apologise to her “If she got an impression that the deponent (Imran) had crossed a line”.

    Khan assured the IHC that he would “Never do anything in future” that would hurt the dignity of any court and the judiciary, especially the lower judiciary.

    The next hearing of the case is scheduled for October 3, when IHC will review Khan’s response.

    Prior to this, Khan went to the court of Zeba Chaudhry to apologise for his remarks against her at a public rally. She was on leave at the time.

    Earlier this month, the high court decided to frame charges against Khan in a contempt of court case registered against him for his controversial remarks about Zeba.

    However, after many delays, Khan apologised to the high court, saying, “Mai khaatoon judge se zaati taur pe maafi maangta hoon”, (I personally apologise to the female judge).

    Following this, the high court remarked that it would not be appropriate to conduct contempt proceedings against Khan.

    In August, Khan addressed a party rally to express solidarity with then-arrested PTI’s Shahbaz Gill and threatened Chaudhry. He said, “Zeba! Be ready, we will take action against you”.

  • ‘Is meeting mei mein majood tha’: Imran Khan’s former aide confirms that Khan insisted on not naming US

    ‘Is meeting mei mein majood tha’: Imran Khan’s former aide confirms that Khan insisted on not naming US

    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s former aide Maulana Tahir Ashrafi confirmed the authenticity of the latest audio leak of Khan and his party members discussing cipher in a meeting.

    While on the Geo News’ programme Jirga, Ashrafi, referring to the second audio leak, said, “Mei meeting mei mein majood tha”. (I was present in the meeting too)

    Ashrafi was a special representative to the former PM on religious harmony.

    Ashrafi also confirmed that the former PM told the participants of the meeting that they would call it a letter instead of cipher, reports Geo News.

    The former PM said he would not like anyone to name the US while talking about the regime change conspiracy, but then he himself named the US impulsively, Ashrafi remarked.

    The former aide also added that Khan’s five cabinet members should tell on oath if they were sure of the US regime change conspiracy against their government.

    How could a Grade-22 officer dare say he would change the cipher, asked Ashrafi.

    Ashrafi also revealed that Khan said he had a “terrific thing”, and he would play with it.

    What is in the audio leaks?

    In the first audio leak, Khan can be heard telling his then principal secretary Azam Khan about cipher, “Khelna hai is ke uper” (We will play on this)

    In the second audio leak, Imran Khan directed his close aides not to take America’s name while talking about the US cipher in public. He also insisted on using the word “letter” instead of cipher, because according to him “People wouldn’t have understood the word transcript if you say things like this in your jalsa.”

  • Committee formed to investigate stolen cipher from PM House

    The federal cabinet announced the formation of a committee to probe the diplomatic cipher that it was said has been ‘stolen’ from the records of the Prime Minister’s House, a statement issued by the premier’s office said.

    “The meeting was told that although there is a record of the receipt of the cipher sent to the former premier at the Prime Minister’s House, its copy is not available in the record,” said the statement. As per the law, the cable is property of the Prime Minister’s House, it added.

    The statement said that the meeting termed the ‘theft’ of the letter a serious matter and, following a detailed consultation, the cabinet formed a special committee to launch an investigation.

    The committee will recommend what legal action the government should take against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the then principal secretary to prime minister Azam Khan, and former ministers.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Khan was ousted from power in a vote of no-confidence, however, the former Prime Minister has alleged that his government had received a threatening letter and that a foreign conspiracy was behind this.

  • Rs16 billion money laundering case: PM Shehbaz appears before court, terms case as ‘fake’

    Rs16 billion money laundering case: PM Shehbaz appears before court, terms case as ‘fake’

    A special court in Lahore adjourned the hearing till October 8 in a Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz.

    The court also directed the lawyer to submit additional details on the acquittal plea by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

    In the hearing which took place on Friday (today), PM’s son Hamza Shehbaz did not appear before the court as he had sought exemption on medical grounds. However, PM Shehbaz appeared before the court but later sought exemption as he had “important” matters to attend to.

    PM’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz told the court that the first information report (FIR) registered against his clients mentioned they were involved in money laundering worth Rs25 billion from 2008-2018 through fake companies. However, he said, “During this 10-year span, PM Shehbaz was neither the director nor a shareholder of those companies.”

    PM Shehbaz also spoke before the court, stating that the money laundering case against him is “fake”.

    He claimed that when he was Chief Minister (CM) for 20 years he had made decisions that “hurt” his family’s sugar business. “I was requested to provide subsidy to sugar mills, but I refused. I refused as the amount (that would be used for subsidy) belonged to the poor people in Punjab,” he declared to the court.

    Later, he sought an exemption from the court which was granted to him. After Shehbaz left, the court went on a break.

    Once the hearing resumed, the lawyer presented his arguments again. Then, the court adjourned the hearing till October 8 and asked him to continue deliberations at the next hearing.

    In 2021, the FIA submitted a challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering Rs16 billion in a sugar scam.

    The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and “given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity”.

    At the time, FIA had said that the amount of Rs16 billion has nothing to do with the sugar business of Shehbaz’s family. The money allegedly received from the accounts of low-wage employees was transferred outside Pakistan, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members.