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.

  • PM’s meeting with pro-Tareen MPs: Hit or miss?

    PM’s meeting with pro-Tareen MPs: Hit or miss?

    A group of lawmakers supporting Disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen have met Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and expressed their concerns regarding all action against Tareen.

    Speaking to reporters after their meeting in Islamabad, PTI MNA from Faislabad Raja Riaz said it was held in a “very cordial” atmosphere and that the premier had assured them that justice will be done “in every condition”.

    He said the prime minister had sought time to look into their concerns that Tareen was being victimised, promising that “all requirements of justice will be met”.

    The PTI group contended that PM’s advisor on Interior Shehzad Akbar was allegedly misusing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Tareen and the mills of Khusro Bakhtiar and Haroon Akhtar were not made part of the investigation, reports said.

    Tareen group presented a charge sheet against Shahzad Akbar to the PM.

    Reports claimed that the prime minister directed Senator Ali Zafar to note all points raised by the Tareen group and said he himself would ensure that justice is done in Tareen’s case.

    Riaz and Nazir Chauhan told the media that prime minister had assured that justice would be done in any case and he would not allow anyone to abuse power.

    Riaz said that the premier has assured the group that he is “personally monitoring” the inquiry against Tareen and will see to it that justice is served.

    “The prime minister has asked for some time and Insha’Allah justice will be served,” the PTI leader added.

    In reply to a question, Riaz said that the group shared their reservations regarding Akbar, after which “the prime minister said he will not allow injustice to be done with anyone and that we should leave it to him and he takes responsibility”.

    Riaz clarified that the prime minister has not “acknowledged” that Akbar has meted out “unfair treatment” to Tareen, but the group has simply shared their concerns and the premier has assured them of looking into it.

    The PTI MNA claimed that the prime minister said: “You are all my allies. Even those who are opposed to me, I wish to tell them, no one will be treated unfairly and justice will be done.”

  • 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.

  • Missing Indonesian submarine found; all 53 dead

    Missing Indonesian submarine found; all 53 dead

    The Indonesian submarine that had gone missing earlier this week has been found broken, deep in the Bali Sea.

    Indonesian army and navy officials also confirmed all 53 crew members on-board the missing KRI Nanggala-402 submarine have died.

    “With deep sadness, I can say that all 53 personnel onboard have passed,” Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said.

    “We received underwater pictures that were confirmed as the parts of the submarine, including its rear vertical rudder, anchors, outer pressure body, embossed dive rudder and other parts,” he said during a press conference, adding the next step was to lift the wreckage of the vessel with the help of foreign navies.

    The submarine — one of five in Indonesia’s fleet — disappeared last Wednesday while it was scheduled to do live torpedo training exercises off Bali.

    The crew asked for permission to dive. It lost contact shortly after.

    Later, search teams spotted an oil spill where the vessel was thought to have submerged, pointing to possible fuel-tank damage, and a catastrophic accident.

    A number of countries, including Russia, the United States (US), Germany, France, India, Turkey and Australia, had offered assistance to Indonesia in the operation to find the submarine.

  • ‘Jootay se bhi baat aagaye jayegi,’ Khaqan Abbasi won’t apologise for threatening Speaker NA

    ‘Jootay se bhi baat aagaye jayegi,’ Khaqan Abbasi won’t apologise for threatening Speaker NA

    Former Prime Minister, Khaqan Abbasi was served a show cause notice on Wednesday for threatening to hit Speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser with a shoe during an assembly session. During the session Khaqan Abbasi and the Speaker got into an argument over Abbasi’s turn on speaking on the issue of banned TLP’s demand to expel the French Ambassador.

    After the notice to apologise in seven days, Abbasi said that he only seeks forgiveness from Allah and no one else. On Thursday night, on GEO News’ programme Capital Talk, he told anchorperson Hamid Mir that if he wants to speak on the issue, he challenges the Speaker to stop him from speaking. If the Speaker tries to stop him, the same thing would happen again. When Mir stopped him to say that “you have been the Prime Minister, how can you say such a thing? Will you throw a shoe?” Abbasi replied, “It will be worse than throwing a shoe.” He said he is also nominated in two cases.

    He has said that he will respond to the show cause notice but has not stated whether he will apologise or not.

  • Are Jahangir Tareen and Imran Khan back together?

    Are Jahangir Tareen and Imran Khan back together?

    Following the sugar inquiry commission report last year, the friendship between Jahangir Khan Tareen (JKT) and Imran Khan ended, with JKT leaving for London and then later returning. Although Imran Khan has not publicly talked about his relationship with his old friend and former Secretary General of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), it seems like they are calling each other again and are about to meet up.

    PTI MNA Raja Riaz, who is part of what is called the ‘Jahangir Tareen group’, has revealed that the two ex-friends had spoken to each other.

    Raja Riaz told Geo News that the JKT group was going to meet for iftar today (Wednesday) but it was postponed after they were told they were going to be meeting with the PM, and their issues would be resolved during that meeting. Riaz also said that it wasn’t confirmed whether JKT would be attending. “An iftar dinner scheduled to be held at Tareen’s residence has been postponed after we were told the prime minister will meet the PTI lawmakers.”

    “We are confident that most of the issues will be resolved during the meeting,” he said.

    There was confusion over whether JKT would be meeting the PM as well (along with the group of PTI lawmakers known as the JKT group), but JKT told the Express Tribune, “We have been assured that the premier is ready to meet us. However, [I want to make it clear that] we will only meet the prime minister and not a governmental committee…during the meeting, we will present our grievances with regard to the sugar inquiry commission and the FIA’s [Federal Investigation Agency] cases [filed against the JDW group owned by Tareen].”

    Raja Riaz also said on Shahzeb Khanzada’s programme that they are of the view that JKT was being unfairly targeted and he said that “hopefully we will get a big relief when the prime minister comes to know about the facts.”

    Last week, more than 30 lawmakers were known to have sided with JKT, some that were willing to resign, and had met with JKT in the public showing up at a dinner at JKT’s place in Lahore. After the public show of support by the PTI lawmakers, PM Khan had contacted JKT.

  • George Floyd murder trial: former police officer found guilty

    The murder of a 46-year-old African-American man, George Floyd, on May 25, 2020 led to violent protests across the United States (US) last year. Floyd was killed after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down with his knee. A video of the gruesome incident shows how Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the pavement with his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes.

    Today, a jury found Chauvin guilty on all three counts: charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

    US President Joe Biden and US Vice-President Kamala Harris spoke with Floyd’s family immediately after the verdict. “At least now there is some justice,” Biden was heard saying. “We’ve been watching every second of this. We are all so relieved.”

    Biden thanked the “young woman with a smartphone camera” who filmed George Floyd’s death. He also thanked the police officers who testified against Chauvin “instead of just closing ranks”.

    Biden said Floyd’s murder “ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see on systemic racism”.

    Former President Barack Obama tweeted that the “jury did the right thing”. He added: “Michelle and I send our prayers to the Floyd family, and we stand with all those who are committed to guaranteeing every American the full measure of justice that George and so many others have been denied.”

    Floyd’s family celebrated the verdict. “Justice for George means freedom for all,” said his brother Philonise Floyd.

    https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1384621697723207686

    George Floyd told the police officers “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times according to the transcripts of the minutes leading up to his death revealed. Floyd’s words have become a rallying cry against racism around the world.

  • PM Khan posts Bollywood clip to target Opposition, deletes post

    PM Khan posts Bollywood clip to target Opposition, deletes post

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday posted something very interesting on his official Instagram account. Sharing a clip from the Bollywood movie ‘Inquilaab’, which was released in 1984, PM Imran made a point about political parties discrediting their rival political parties in order to replace them.

    ‘It is what has been planned against the PTI govt from day one by the corrupt mafias’, read the caption of the clip posted by the premier. He later deleted the clip from his Instagram account.

    In the clip, Kader Khan and Utpal Dutt are seen planning a sinister move against the government. “We have the right to form a government…In order to form a government, we need to win the elections; to win the elections, we need votes; in order to get these votes, we need people’s confidence. And how do we get the people’s confidence? We will need to take away people’s confidence from the government. Haha. And how do we do that? We will create an environment where we will make them think that this government is incompetent and inefficient. This way the people will be forced to get rid of the government and bring another party in its place. For this we need to create chaos. We need riots, killings, dacoities in cities. We need religious disturbance, sectarian conflict, which renders government incapable of thinking and police is unable to do anything to control the crisis. When all this is happening, we will go out and take out rallies addressing crowds and present ourselves and our party as an option to control this mess.” To this, someone in the party meeting says it is an excellent idea. “We need money for this, which is why we have invited rich businessmen here today to raise it.” Will 50 lakhs be enough, asks one man. To which Kader Khan says that for the time being it’s enough but a politician is like a farmer and politics like a crop. If you invest millions, the return will be in billions, if billions, it can go up to trillions.” Everyone laughs at the end of the clip.

    Watch the video here:

    https://youtu.be/57w1DfCObfI

    The Bollywood film starred Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi.

    When Twitter caught on to the posting of the clip, this is what they had to say.

  • PM Imran wishes Manmohan Singh a speedy recovery

    Prime Minister Imran Khan wished former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a speedy recovery from COVID-19.

    The veteran Congress leader tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

    The 88-year-old was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) with fever. Singh remains stable a day after he was admitted.

    Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also tested positive for COVID.

    According to media reports, new COVID-19 cases in India reached more than 270,000 on Monday, a new record. The total cases are now more than 15 million, the second-highest after the US. India reported 1,761 deaths due to the coronavirus today. Pakistan on Monday banned travellers from India due to concerns over Indian variant. Britain also added India to its “red list” of countries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also called off his trip to New Delhi in the wake of the rising coronavirus cases in India.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received severe backlash over the BJP government’s mishandling of the COVID situation in India.

  • Opposition parties criticise PTI govt over TLP protests

    Sunday’s clashes between the Punjab Police and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers led to reactions from various political parties as well as religious groups. Here is a recap:

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Addressing the media on Sunday night,  Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that this situation should be resolved wisely. He said that if the TLP comes to Islamabad, the JUI-F will support them. He criticised the government for declaring TLP a terrorist party.

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the violence in Lahore and other parts of the country. He expressed grief over the loss of lives, including those of policemen and civilians, as the direct result of the PTI government’s inability to handle the situation peacefully.

    “The real fight is about fighting against the root of the festering problem, not in just responding to the symptoms. Why has the selected government not bothered to implement the National Action Plan, or even discuss arising challenges in parliament,” said Mr Bhutto. He pointed out that the tendency to foster and coddle pressure groups through instigating ethnic, religious and sectarian hatred had begun during Zia’s regime, to squeeze mainstream national political parties. He added that it was painfully clear that we have failed to understand that no one can consistently play with fire without getting burnt themselves.

    Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi strongly condemned the violence in Lahore. In a statement, Mr Abbasi said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) believes that “Namoos-e-Risalat (sanctity of prophethood) is the foundation of a Muslim’s ideology. No Muslim can compromise on it.” He criticised the government for its failure to establish peace in the country. “PDM stresses that peace and stability will only be established in Pakistan when it is run according to the Constitution and people’s wishes,” added Abbasi.

    Mufti Muneebur Rehman

    On Sunday night, former Ruet-e-Hilal Committee chairperson Mufti Muneebur Rehman called for a countrywide strike the next day (Monday). Several otherst religious leaders have supported Mufti Muneeb’s strike call, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

    Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar:

    PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar called Maulana Fazl’s statement “irresponsible”. He said that it is not right to use what happened in Lahore for political point-scoring. Khokhar also said that Mufti Muneeb is also settling a score with the government after he was removed from his post as the chairperson of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. Khokhar asked why the government had signed an illegal and unconstitutional agreement with the TLP back in November.

    Agreement signed between PTI govt and TLP in Nov 2020

    Sindh High Court Bar Association 

    The Sindh High Court Bar Association condemned the utter failure of the PTI government to peacefully resolve this crisis. “The government’s reaction has swung from willful blindness to disproportionate and lethal force.” It also condemned the “unconstitutional gagging of electronic media in relation to the protests”.

    Meanwhile, Geo News reported that  a delegation of ulema led by Sahibzada Hamid Raza met the banned TLP chief Saad Rizvi in jail on Monday and urged him to end the protests taking place in the country by releasing a video message.

  • TLP’s way is not the answer – PM Khan addresses the nation

    TLP’s way is not the answer – PM Khan addresses the nation

    Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation earlier today, giving a detailed update on the prevalent security situation in the country. He said that he decided to do this after the tense situation last week.

    PM said Pakistan is the only country to have been made in the name of Islam. “I have travelled the entire Pakistan. Our people love the Prophet (PBUH) with all their heart. Whenever there is anything blasphemous, we do not tolerate it. Any Muslim in any part of the world gets hurt by such blasphemous content. We are no different.”

    PM Khan said that last week, the TLP tried to show as if it loves the Prophet (PBUH) more than others. “What the TLP wants, we also want — i.e. no blasphemy against our Prophet (PBUH),” but he stated that the approach is and should be different to dealing with the issue.

    “TLP has demanded that the French Ambassador should be sent back, ” the PM said, “we have a different approach from them but our (government’s) goal is the same.”

    He repeatedly stated that he understands the way western countries think and nothing we do in our country will change the way the West thinks. “I understand the West and this approach will not help. The West has made this an issue of freedom of speech and this (riots in Pakistan) will not make a difference to France.”

    He then stated the loss of life and property that the violent riots had caused in Pakistan. “Four police officers lost their lives and 800 were injured, ” Khan stated, “40 police cars were burnt and millions of rupees in damages were caused to personal properties.” He also stated that many oxygen cylinders were not able to make it to corona patients due to the riots.

    He then explained his approach to the nation. “Our rupee is finally stabilising, our economy is getting better. When we send France’s ambassador back, we break relations with the European Union (EU),” he emphasised, “Which means we lose our textile exports to the EU. This means we lose jobs and poverty will increase. We will lose, not France.”

    He explained that he had been developing his approach since 2019 when he first addressed the United Nations and told the world that the actions of the West hurt the Muslim world. Therefore, he suggests that the Muslim world come together and in a united front, state that blasphemy against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is unacceptable. He went on to say that if the West does not stop hurting Muslim sentiments – like they have for the Jews and the Holocaust – then the Muslim world should boycott trade with the West.

    “We tried to explain this to TLP,” Khan said, “We were in discussions with them and said we can bring this up in the assembly. But we realised they were preparing for something else and soon thereafter, they announced that they would do a dharna. Which is when our discussions with them stopped.”

    Khan also made a pertinent point as to the riots affecting Pakistan and no one else. “The crime happens somewhere else, and we hurt ourselves? How does that make sense?” he asked, “We need to come together. Our economy is getting better. The country is going in the right direction. This is not the time to hurt our country.”

    PM Khan also gave the example of former PM Nawaz Sharif not raising his voice against Salman Rushdie and his blasphemous book, ‘The Satanic Verses’. “I am speaking up against blasphemy done by the West but former PM Nawaz Sharif did not when Salman Rushdie’s book came out.”

    PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal later tweeted that the book did not in fact come out during the tenure of Sharif. It came out in 1988. Sharif came to power in 1990.