Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that party chairman Imran Khan is open to negotiating with the incumbent government.
اعظم نذیر تارڑ روز بیان دے رہے ہیں کہ مل کر بیٹھیں اور مسائل کا حل کریں وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف نے بھی بات چیت کا کہا ہے اس عمل کو بیان سے آگے بھی بڑھائیں اور جماعتوں کو ملنے کی تاریخ اور مقام دیں عمران خان پہلے ہی مذاکرات کی حمایت کر چکے ہیں
He said that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Azam Tarar had stressed on holding talks and PTI welcomes these developments.
“I hope Shehbaz Sharif will invite PTI for talks on the elections schedule. However, we have one proviso: we will not discuss their corruption cases and those have to be out of talks,” said Chaudhry.
Moreover, Pakistan Bar Council urged all the political parties to set aside their differences and talk in order to solve the disputes which have plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.
The bar council said that “they are “ready to call/arrange All Parties Conference (APC) and invite all the central leadership of parliamentary parties to reconcile their disputes through dialogue and to hold free, fair and transparent elections to all Assemblies on a mutually agress timeframe.”
“Pakistan Bar Council is ready to call/ arrange All Political Conference & to invite all central leadership of parliamentary parties to reconcile their disputes through dialogue & to hold free & fair elections to all assemblies on a mutually agreed timeframe” pic.twitter.com/5v3UqyFajN
The bar council stressed that the reconciliation process should be held “for the sake of the country as it cannot afford to further linger on prevailing tensions.”
Last month, in the wake of rising terrorist attacks, PM Shehbaz Sharif called for all parties conference and invited PTI chief Imran Khan as well. However, at the time Khan refused to take part in it.
Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation, Khawaja Saad Rafique, has said that elections in Pakistan should be held once, otherwise there is a risk of anarchy.
Talking to the media in Lahore on Tuesday, he said that the country cannot face another crisis.
Taking a jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that Khan cannot dissolve the assemblies as the constitution has given that power to the leader of the House.
Saad said that there were no particular circumstances that led to the dissolution of provincial assemblies, claiming that pressure was put on chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to do so.
He also said that Khan should participate in All-Parties Conference (APC), as he was of the view that all political parties should unite and play a role against terrorism.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry has said on Twitter that if Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif sends an official invitation for the All-Parties Conference (APC) set to take place on February 7 in Islamabad, then his party will consider attending.
Fawad tweeted, “Shehbaz Sharif came in media and invited PTI for the All-Parties Conference. But Tehreek-e-Insaf has yet not received any invitation in this regard. If we receive an official invitation, we will consider participation.”
شہباز شریف نے میڈیا پر دہشت گردی کے معاملے پر آل پارٹیز کانفرنس اور تحریک انصاف کو شمولیت کی دعوت دی، لیکن ابھی تک اس ضمن میں تحریک انصاف کو کوئ دعوت نامہ نہیں ملا،باقاعدہ دعوت نامہ ملا تو اس کانفرنس میں شرکت پر مشاورت کریں گے
PTI Secretary General Asad Umar has confirmed on Friday, February 4, that party Chairman Imran Khan will skip the federal government’s APC.
PM Shehbaz Sharif invited the former prime minister and his party at an apex committee meeting in Peshawar.
Umar, while speaking to the press outside the Lahore High Court, said: “How can we sit with them [PDM-led government] while cases are being registered against us?”
Stating that the constitution is being violated by registering cases of treason against opponents and all the government resources are devoted to arrests and detentions, he said to the members of the press.
Earlier today, during the apex committee meeting in Peshawar, Shehbaz Sharif, without naming Khan, said: “I have also invited the person who does not want to even shake hands with me,” stressing that all parties are invited to APC and Apex committee meetings. ‘I hope that it will not be rejected,” said the Premier.
“We need to fight the menace of terrorism by setting our differences aside and moving forward,” said the PM.
Recalling his time as opposition leader in the National Assembly, the premier said: “Whenever he [Imran Khan] wrote a letter to me, he never wrote my name on it, however, I always responded with my name and my signature on the letter.”
Deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, three former army generals, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister (PM) Raja Farooq Haider, as well as over a dozen other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) loyalists, have been booked for “conspiring against the state and its institutions”.
As per the details, a First Information Report (FIR), a copy of which is available with The Current, was on Monday registered against the PML-N supreme leader among others at Shahdara police station in Lahore, in which sections 120 A and B, 121 A and B, 123 A and B and 124 A and B have been imposed, among other provisions.
مبشر بھائ، ناموں کی فہرست ایک بار غور سے دیکھئے۔۔تین سابقہ جنرل بھی درخواست کے مطابق غداری کے مرتکب ہوے ہیں۔۔ گل واقعی ودھ گئی ہے۔۔!!! https://t.co/lwLOPZNp9k
The text of the FIR stated that Nawaz had conspired against Pakistan’s prestigious institutions by making provocative speeches while being in London. The purpose of those speeches was to declare Pakistan a “state of hooligans”, the FIR claimed.
Among some prominent PML-N leaders nominated in the FIR were Maryam Nawaz, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Zubair, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Saira Afzal Tarrar and others, The Express Tribune reported.
The three former generals are Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qayyum and Lt Gen (r) Salahuddin Tirmizi.
A day earlier, Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar — the son-in-law of the PML-N supremo — was booked under sedition charges for “provoking the people against the state and its institutions”.
While the PML-N has strongly reacted to the FIR, saying that it shows the government has been left “baffled”, the AJK premier says his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi “must be feeling elated”.
Indian PM NarendraModi must b feeling elated coz almost entire Pakistan has become his “agent”-thanks to the small-minded bigots who’ve least realisation of the repercussions of their parish-pump & hate-filled politics.
As an anti-India Kashmiri, I’m worried about my future now.
— Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan (@farooq_pm) October 4, 2020
“As an anti-India Kashmiri, I’m worried about my future now,” he tweeted.
Deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has reiterated his trust in Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari after stalwart Khawaja Asif attacked the former president saying he could not be trusted.
“I have a lot of respect for Asif Zardari in my heart. Zardari is part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and I absolutely respect him in my heart and I don’t know if Khawaja Asif made a statement against Zardari or not,” the PML-N supreme leader told The News.
When told that Khawaja Asif had actually said that he doesn’t trust Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz said that his party leader’s remarks about the former president were not PML-N’s party policy. “I have expressed to you the sentiments I have in my heart.”
Nawaz Sharif disagrees with statement by @KhawajaMAsif about Asif Ali Zardar and says he has a lot of respect for AAZ and fully trusts Zardari and has faith in him, he’s part of PDM and valuable @BBhuttoZardaripic.twitter.com/YdQPapF1TN
Maryam Nawaz’s look at the opposition’s All Parties’ Conference has been the talk of the town.
The Vice President (VP) of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) dazzled in an emerald green raw silk outfit with statement sleeves which she accessorized with matching Manolo Blahnik shoes, a Rolex watch and a diamond ring. Maryam completed her look with small green earrings.
Inside sources have revealed to The Current that Maryam designed her outfit herself and did not wear a designer for the occasion. Check out more pictures of her outfit below:
A conference of the mainstream opposition parties, dubbed as the All Parties Conference (APC), was held Islamabad on Sunday to devise a unanimous strategy to oust the government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Addressing the conference through video-link, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, who stayed in the background for more than a year, thanked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for “love with which he spoke to him a day earlier”, saying he would not forget it.
“I am thankful to the organisers of the conference for giving me the opportunity to talk. Even though I am away from my country, I know very well what condition the country and the people are in. I believe this is a decisive turn; it is necessary to protect democracy […] and take fearless decisions,” he said.
In an all-encompassing address, which centred on criticising the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Nawaz spoke on the “poor state” of Pakistan’s economy, “deteriorating” international relations, “muzzling” of media and “corruption within the PTI”. Similarly, Zardari criticised the government in his welcome note for not “allowing” Nawaz’s speech to be broadcast, he said they showed former president Pervez Musharraf’s interview.
“The country’s leader keeps harping on about accountability but he himself is involved in raising sugar prices. Will no reference be filed against him?” the former PM asked.
WATCH VIDEO:
He also repeated the opposition’s allegation that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), with the connivance of PTI, was carrying out only “selective accountability”.
Sharif has been residing in London since November last year on the pretext of medical treatment and has since maintained a distance from political activities. His party insists that despite being summoned by the courts, who declared him a proclaimed offender in a corruption probe, the former premier will only return after the completion of his medical treatment.
“If we do not do it [take a step] today, when will we?” asked Nawaz. “I agree with Maulana [Fazlur Rehman, chief of JUI-F] that we need to make this conference purposeful or people will be disappointed.”
“Pakistan has been constantly deprived of a democratic system […] When the vote is dishonoured, the entire democratic system becomes meaningless. When it is decided before the election process as to who will win and who will lose, then it can be guessed how the public is betrayed and how the public’s mandate is stolen,” he added.
Nawaz also hinted at the presence of a parallel justice system. “When a dictator was first brought into the courtroom for violating the Constitution, you saw what happened,” he said.
“Court gave dictators the right to play with the Constitution and acquitted someone who broke the Constitution twice […] Whereas the ones who follow the Constitution are still in jail,” he added.
The PML-N supremo said that former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani once pointed to “a state within a state” in Pakistan. “It is saddening that the situation has escalated to a state above the state. This parallel government illness is the root cause of our problems,” he said.
Speaking about the 2018 general elections, Nawaz said that the primary reason for the current problems were those people who “hijacked the people’s mandate by putting inexperienced people in power”. “This is a violation of the Constitution. Has anyone given a thought to what a grave crime it is to steal the people’s mandate?” he asked.
“Can I ask why the Results Transmission System (RTS) was closed for hours during the election, why polling agents were thrown out during counting? Why was rigging done, on whose saying and why? The secretary of election commission should answer and all those responsible will have to answer,” he remarked.
Nawaz alleged the government has enforced a “martial law”. “Criminals are allowed to make amendments to the Constitution […] the people’s premier is expelled and his family is insulted. This conference should bring forth a concrete plan of action for saving democracy, a concrete policy should be made for solving the problem of ‘a parallel state’,” he said.
“Our foremost priority should be removing this selected government and this system. Our struggle is not against Imran Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country,” Nawaz said. “If change is not brought, it will bring irreversible loss to this country. It is very important that our armed forces stay away from our governmental system according to our Constitution and the Quaid’s speech, and not interfere with the people’s choice. We have made this country a joke in our own eyes and internationally as well.”
“I again urge this all-party conference to go beyond its traditional ways and form a plan of action,” he added.
Concluding his speech, the former PM once again thanked the PPP and reminded the leaders that now was the time to unite.
“We have to decide that we are one and if the APC is succeeded in doing so, then this conference is successful,” he added.
Cracks have yet again emerged among opposition leaders before they could execute their plans of giving a hard time to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
According to reports, this time it wasn’t the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), differences among which have led to the opposition’s failure to take on the ruling party ever since the formation of the current government.
But this time, Sunday’s all parties conference (APC) witnessed an unpleasant situation when Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who had earlier played a pivotal role in bringing both the PML-N and PPP to talks table, registered a protest for not airing his speech.
“The government used to censor my speech but now in the APC my speech was also censored and this is highly unreasonable,” he complained.
PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari clarified it was on the request of a JUI-F lawmaker as they kept it an in-camera session and would hold a press conference later on; however, Maulana was not convinced.
Senator Sherry Rehman of the PPP said the party was told to arrange for an in-camera address by the JUI-F leader, to which Maulana said, “We did not make such a request.”
Later on during the presser, PPP senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Maulana’s address was streamed on social media and electronic media may air it by extracting it from the internet.
An All-Parties Conference (APC) took place on Sunday. Hosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the moot was attended by all major opposition parties.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif addressed the conference via video link. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Mahmood Khan Achakzai of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Mohsin Dawar and several other opposition leaders also participated.
It was, however, Nawaz’s speech that set the tone, reflecting in the APC’s joint resolution.
Just days ago, the APC was being dismissed as just another show without much substance but the former prime minister’s speech changed that perception. The foremost reason why the APC was being dubbed a mere show was due to the opposition’s failure in the Senate (no-confidence move) and the passage of the recent FATF bills in the joint session despite protests. The opposition may not have been successful in these two endeavours but they seem to be on a mission now and they want to do it before the Senate elections in March 2021.
Nawaz said their struggle is not against Imran Khan but against those who brought Imran Khan to power by manipulating the elections. He said there is now a parallel government because there is “a state above the state now”.
The 26-point charter of demands by the APC announced the formation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which will be an anti-government movement. APC resolution states that the establishment’s role in politics must end. All state institutions should stay within their constitutional limitations. It also mentions how media is facing the worst censorship, the opposition demands that accountability of Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa be ensured, among other things.
The way the government has reacted to the APC and especially Nawaz’s speech shows there is panic among their ranks. From calling the APC “a flimsy attempt to put pressure on the government to back off on accountability” to asking institutions to take notice of Nawaz’s speech, it is quite evident that the opposition has unnerved the government.
The opposition has also given a roadmap and an action plan for the future. From countrywide protests starting soon to resignations from assemblies to vote of no-confidence to a long march in January, the opposition says all democratic options to get rid of the government are on the cards.
It seems that the opposition has decided to finally get serious. It remains to be seen how it all pans out and whether they will give real tough time to the government in the coming weeks and months. But the opposition cannot be written off.
In an unexpected development, former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who has been residing in London ever since he was allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment despite conviction in corruption cases, on Saturday joined microblogging website Twitter.
PML-N vice president and daughter of the 70-year-old thrice-PM took to Twitter to announce the development that pundits believe could mean a comeback for Nawaz who has been out of the political landscape of the country ever since he was disqualified by the Supreme Court (SC) in the Panama Papers case.
Happy & privileged to announce that in order to stay connected to the people of Pakistan, MNS has decided to join Twitter. His Twitter handle is @NawazSharifMNS#TwitterWelcomesNawazSharif
“Happy and privileged to announce that in order to stay connected to the people of Pakistan, MNS [Mian Nawaz Sharif] has decided to join Twitter. His Twitter handle is @NawazSharifMNS,” Maryam Nawaz tweeted.
The development comes a day after it was announced that Nawaz will attend the upcoming all parties conference (APC) via video link.
Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had disclosed on his social media handle that he had called the PML-N founder to invite him to virtually attend the upcoming opposition parties’ confab.
Just spoke to Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. Enquired about his health. Also invited him to virtually attend opposition APC, hosted by PPP, on 20th September.
