Tag: Allies

  • Modi sworn in for third term; a dozen ministries for allies

    Modi sworn in for third term; a dozen ministries for allies

    NEW DELHI: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on Sunday for a third term after worse-than-expected election results left him reliant on coalition partners to govern.

    His office said he would appoint a 71-member cabinet, including 11 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally ministers.

    Modi’s Hindu-natio­nalist BJP ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying exit polls. He was instead forced into quick-fire talks with the 15-member coalition NDA, which guaranteed him the parliamentary numbers to govern.

    Flanked by top BJP officials and party leaders of his coalition, Modi vowed in a ceremony marking his formal assumption of pow­er to “bear true allegiance to the constitution of India”.

    South Asian leaders from neighbouring Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka attended the ceremony, but China and Pakistan did not.

    The crowd also included adoring BJP loyalists, as well as celebrities such as Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan and billionaire tycoons Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, key Modi allies.

    But with Modi yet to announce details of his cabinet, the line of lawm­a­­kers also taking the oath of office was keenly wat­ched as an indication of who will be in government.

    Larger coalition parties have demanded hefty concessions in exchange for their support. Other coalition leaders to take the oath included Ram Mohan Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party, the largest BJP ally with 16 seats, and which media reports has extra­cted four cabinet seats.

    Rajiv Ranjan Singh also took the oath, from the BJP’s next biggest ally the Janata Dal (United) with 12 seats, which has reportedly two minister posts.

    Indian media reported widely that the top jobs including the four most powerful posts of the interior, foreign, finance and defence would remain in BJP’s control. The Hindus­tan Times described days of “hectic talks”, while the Times of India said the BJP had sought to “pare down” their partners’ demands.

    Modi’s previous cabinet had 81 ministers.

    ‘More consultation’

    But analysts said that the coalition would shift parliamentary politics and force Modi’s once domineering BJP into a somewhat more conciliatory approach.

    “In the past, the BJP has had confidence because of its sheer majority,” said Sajjan Kumar, head of the Delhi-based political research group PRACCIS. “The coalition will now force the BJP to engage in more consultation.”

    Political analyst Zoya Hasan of Jawaharlal Neh­ru University said Modi faced potential challenges ahead, warning he may be “meeting his match” in the “crafty politicians” of the TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar.

  • Iss dafa Parliament se bahir nahin jayenge; PTI changes protests strategy

    Iss dafa Parliament se bahir nahin jayenge; PTI changes protests strategy

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Wednesday that his party- along with allies in opposition- is planning a protest however rather than playing fractious politics, this time his party will be taking the parliamentary route.

    Speaking to journalists in Islamabad, the PTI chairman said that the party was in talks with a few parties in the opposition like Jamaat-i-Islami, BNP-Mengal, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen which would continue after Eidul Fitr break.

    When the chairman was asked about his party’s strategy for staging protests, he emphasized that PTI would not go for a sit-in, or a boycott of parliament even though they believe that their mandate has been stolen.

    “It is everyone’s demand that elections should never be rigged. The people vote for someone and someone else comes to power, this shouldn’t happen,” he said, explaining the reasons behind the protest movement.

    This decision can be seen as a significant shift from past party politics for the last decade.

  • Chinese military offers help to Pakistan in fight against terrorism

    Chinese military offers help to Pakistan in fight against terrorism

    After the recent terrorist attack targeting Chinese nationals near Besham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Chinese military has offered assistance to Pakistan in dealing with various security challenges including terrorism.

    Five Chinese and one Pakistani were killed in the attack in Shangla on Tuesday.

    China’s Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian said: “The Chinese military is willing to work with Pakistani side to continuously enhance our capability of tackling various security risks and challenges especially our ability to responding to terrorist attacks and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”

    Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic partners and have supported each other through thick and thin, he said. Both are “iron-clad brothers,” he responded to a question regarding PLA participation of the PLA tri-services contingent in the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad on March 23.

    Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir reacted to the Shangla terrorist attack by stating that the military “shall not leave any stone unturned to ensure that every foreign citizen, especially the Chinese nationals — contributing to the prosperity of Pakistan — is safe and secure in the country”.

  • Federal govt considering premature dissolution of National Assembly

    Federal govt considering premature dissolution of National Assembly

    The federal collation government is considering a premature dissolution of the National Assembly, Samaa has reported.

    According to Samaa’s sources, the federal government has considered dissolving the National Assembly a week before the end of the constitutional term.

    According to the report, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also take advice from his elder brother, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif in this matter.

    The first week of November 2023 is the suggested time for general elections, but the date will be finally decided after a summit of government and its allies

  • What’s in the ‘threat letter’? PM Khan reveals content to journalists

    What’s in the ‘threat letter’? PM Khan reveals content to journalists

    Keeping his word, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan called senior journalists in Islamabad to meet him and revealed the contents of the ‘foreign country threat letter’. However, he didn’t mention which country the letter referred to and did not show the letter to anyone either.

     The premier announced that he would show the “threat letter” reportedly containing evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” against the government to senior journalists and one member each of the government’s allied parties.

    PM Khan told journalists that he would give a briefing to Parliament on the letter and admitted that the letter was written by Pakistan’s ambassador, not naming the country the ambassador was present in. He said that national security rules apply to the letter and he could not reveal any more details.

    The Prime Minister said that the letter has been shared with the military leadership and that he could not explain the language used in the letter.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan speaking in relevance to the letter has said that the letter is an attack on the sovereignty of Pakistan.

    “If he brings Imran Khan brings the letter forward, the Opposition will get destroyed,” Senator Javed stated.

    On March 27, PM Khan had waved a letter during PTI’s power show in Islamabad and talked about a foreign conspiracy to oust his government.

  • ‘If govt does not take their allies on board, we have no option but to make a decision’: Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui

    ‘If govt does not take their allies on board, we have no option but to make a decision’: Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui

    Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, said that his party’s confidence in the government had worn out because the MQM was not seeing the government heading in the right direction.

    Siddiqui said that the MQM could not share the responsibility of bad governance by the ruling party as the former had never been taken into confidence on important national issues.

    “We are not taken into confidence on important legislation and the documents are given to us at the eleventh hour. How can we support such legislation,” said Siddiqui.

    “If the government does not take their allies on board, we have no option but to make a decision,” he said.

    Hinting that the MQM could part ways with the government if it did not mend its ways, Siddiqui said, “We are now nervous about the situation. The government must acknowledge its incompetence. We may have to make a big decision.”