Tag: Asif Ali Zardari

  • Journalist Saleem Safi claims Zardari, Bilawal are becoming ‘taabedar’

    Journalist Saleem Safi claims Zardari, Bilawal are becoming ‘taabedar’

    Senior journalist Saleem Safi has accused Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership, especially Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and father Asif Ali Zardari, of trying to reach a deal with the establishment.

    Responding to the statement of Murtaza Wahab — the spokesperson to the Sindh CM — that Sindh IG Mushtaq Mahar was not kidnapped, Safi said such statements by the PPP leadership gave away its alleged secret dealings with the government and the powers-that-be. It also shows that they are on their way to becoming “taabedar”.

    Alluding to the statement, he asked is there still any doubt left regarding the duplicity of the PPP in the anti-government alliance? According to the journalist, the PPP will oppose the mass resignations and long march in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) meeting on Jan 2 and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will likely endorse the PPP.

    Safi claimed that the meeting of the government spokesperson held earlier this week also decided to “go easy on the PPP”. The government has decided to target Maulana Fazlur Rahman and his party, he said, adding that a strategy has been finalised in this regard. He claimed that decision to be lenient to the PPP speaks volume about the secret talks.

    Safi also accused Bilawal and Zardari of becoming “tabedaar (obedient)” and said that Maulana should clear things up with the PPP and PML-N leadership before it’s too late.

    The word ‘taabedar’ was first used by Maryam Nawaz as she used it to refer to Prime Minister Imran Khan for being “obedient to his selectors”.

  • Did you know Zardari had a cameo in Waheed Murad’s ‘Salgirah’?

    Did you know Zardari had a cameo in Waheed Murad’s ‘Salgirah’?

    Javed Sheikh, in a recent interview, has revealed that former president Asif Ali Zardari was part of Shamim Ara and Waheed Murad’s film Salgirah.

    While replying to a question about getting a call from the President House, Sheikh replied that he has “old ties with Asif Ali Zardari,” before going on to share that Zardari played the child version of Murad’s character in the film.

    Sheikh further added that Zardari was fond of acting.

    https://youtu.be/KOADz3-rq4I

    Salgirah was released in 1969. Apart from Murad and Shamim Ara, the film also featured Tariq Aziz, Santosh Rissal, Nirala, Nighat Sultana and Talish. The film also included Noor Jahan’s iconic song Lay Aaye Phir Kahan Par Qismat Hamay Kahan Se.

  • ‘Great debut’: Aseefa impresses Farhan Saeed, Momina Mustehsan

    ‘Great debut’: Aseefa impresses Farhan Saeed, Momina Mustehsan

    Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari’s maiden address at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) jalsa in Multan, which was seen as the formal entry into politics by the daughter of the late former PM Benazir Bhutto and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, has left people impressed. While followers of the party have made that clear on social media, others have also admired the budding politician.

    Among those who lauded Aseefa are singers Farhan Saeed and Momina Mustehsan.

    “Great Debut,” said Farhan, while sharing a picture of Aseefa on social media. “Any day a better choice to lead PPP.”

    Similarly, Momina welcomed Aseefa into the political arena and hailed it as a big win for women in Pakistan.

    “The hearts and spirits of many young women all over Pakistan must have been reignited seeing more females step into leadership positions in a male-dominated political arena,” said Momina. “Here’s welcoming Aseefa. More power to you!”

    Earlier, Ali Tareen, who is the son of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s close aide and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) bigwig Jahangir Tareen, was offered to join the PPP in response to a tweet calling Aseefa “pretty cool”.

    Aseefa was filling in for her coronavirus positive brother PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at the PDM jalsa in Multan. Many said she reminded them of her mother Benazir.

    At the jalsa, Aseefa delivered a short and brisk speech. She vowed to stand by her brother “every step of the way”.

    She began her speech by heaping scorn on the “selected” government. “Despite the cruelty and oppression by the selected [government], so many of you have gathered here. This selected [government] will have to go!”

    Speaking about her mother, she said Benazir had carried on her father’s mission — to establish a welfare state — and faced several setbacks.

    “[Former] president Asif Zardari introduced the 18th Amendment and BISP [Benazir Income Support Programme] and fought for the people’s rights,” she said and promised supporters that she would continue their mission and would not back down.

    “They think that we are afraid of arrests. If they arrest our brothers, then they should know that every woman of PPP is ready to take up the struggle,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Ahmed Ali Butt said that Aseefa’s entry “looks like Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 1”.

  • VIDEO: Nawaz distances himself from Khawaja Asif’s remarks, says he does trust Zardari

    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.”

    Earlier, Asif had cast shadows of doubts on opposition parties’ newly formed alliance, the PDM.

    “It is difficult for me to trust him [Zardari] even today,” he said in a private news channel talk show.

    The PML-N leader said that he still has qualms about Zardari and his opinion of the former president has not changed.

  • Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Maryam Nawaz celebrate Father’s Day

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Vice President Pakistan Muslim League (N) Maryam Nawaz celebrated Father’s Day by honouring their fathers.

    Bilawal shared an image of a video call with his father, former President Asif Ali Zardari, and his siblings Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari on Father’s Day and commented: “#COVID Virtual Father’ s Day.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CBtR-i6Jb7S/

    Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz shared an old letter from her father Nawaz Sharif, head of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and some pictures on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

    The letter dated October 11, 2019, said that the National Accountability Beaurea (NAB) is taking Nawaz Sharif away in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. Sharif tells his daughter to be strong and not lose hope in the letter addressed to his daughter.

    Read more – Maryam Nawaz shares the name of the book she read while in jail

    In an Instagram post, Maryam wrote: “I am at a loss for words for a befitting tribute but as they say ‘A dad is a daughter’s first love’… Yes, and the last …. And the only one …. because he becomes the standard she would judge everyone against and no one would measure up ….. I love and miss you Abu, every minute, every second. May you live long.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CBs6y4HF-Fc/
  • Mangoes sent to Huda Beauty’s sister by President Zardari

    Mangoes sent to Huda Beauty’s sister by President Zardari

    Mango season has officially begun and some lucky fellows have already started receiving their mango paitis straight from the farms.

    Huda Kattan’s sister Mona Kattan received her box of mangoes from Bilawal House Karachi, with compliments from President Asif Ali Zardari and his children Bakhtawar, Aseefa and Bilawal. Mona shared her excitement of receiving the boxes of mangoes on her social media.

    According to the greeting card, the mangoes are grown naturally at farms in Tando Allahyar.

    Read more – On Benazir Bhutto’s birthday, here are her favourite things

    Bakhtawar is reportedly good friends with the Kattan sisters.

    Bakhtawar and Huda

    Huda is an Iraqi-American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur. She is the founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty. According to Forbes, her net worth is $610M.

  • PPP writes to ISI chief for action against Pakistan-based US blogger over tweet about Benazir Bhutto

    PPP writes to ISI chief for action against Pakistan-based US blogger over tweet about Benazir Bhutto

    Former ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has written to the director general (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), seeking action against Pakistan-based American blogger and columnist Cynthia D Ritchie over her “hateful comments and slander” against the late former prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto.

    As per the details, Ritchie made the comment on a tweet discussing the recent violent confrontation between model Uzma Khan and a woman named Amna Usman, who accused the model of having a relationship with her husband of 13 years and used this allegation to justify her violent treatment of the model.

    Ritchie’s tweet garnered a strong reaction from PPP leaders and supporters, with Sherry Rehman saying, “Attributing such filth to a champion for women’s rights, a martyred prime minister degrades the writer of this bot-handle more than anything else.”

    While Ritchie is since continuing her tirade against the PPP over the micro-blogging website, former PPP senator Sehar Kamran has written to spymaster Faiz Hameed, seeking an investigation into the “notorious activities” of Ritchie.

    In the letter, a copy of which is available with The Current, Kamran highlighted how the American columnist has “time and again instigated controversy” and is also playing a role in “deepening the civil-military divide”.

    “The imagery presented by her pictures with military leadership and senior bureaucracy, and access as a foreign tourist to generally sensitive locations ([erstwhile] FATA [Federally Administrated Tribal Areas], Kashmir, etc) is deepening the civil-military divide by unnecessarily implicating national institutions as her support base. It may be useful at this juncture to further investigate all of Ms Ritchie’s activities, which I am certain range beyond her social media commentaries, to protect our national interests,” read the letter.

    The excerpt was followed by a list of questions:

    • Why and in what capacity is Ms Ritchie a resident in Pakistan?
    • What is the nature and duration of her visa status?
    • Who is her sponsor to this end?
    • A regular expat who initially introduced herself as a ‘tourist’ and a ‘belly dancer’ has somehow become embroiled in Pakistani politics, by her own assertion at the highest levels? How?
    • What Is the purpose behind her provoking public sentiment, and furthering bitterness in an already politically polarised society?
    • Furthermore, why is her vitriol targeted towards Sindh, and has conveniently emerged at a time when the province was receiving praise and support for its efforts in the fight against COVID-19?
    • What is the official government policy on the continued presence of such suspicious characters in Pakistan?

    While the PPP leader also sought Ritchie’s deportation, here’s what the blogger hit back with:

    As neither side appears to be going easy on each other, a war of words is continuing over Twitter.

    Separately, in a letter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), an advocate at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Islamabad president of the PPP, Shakeel Abbasi, has also sought action against Ritchie for her “very derogatory and slanderous remarks” about Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari’s marital life.

  • ‘Imran’s Naya Pakistan is Gen (r) Musharraf’s Pakistan’

    ‘Imran’s Naya Pakistan is Gen (r) Musharraf’s Pakistan’

    Former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is following the footsteps of former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf, adding that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has ruined national consensus.

    Speaking to PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on the coronavirus crisis and the evolving political situation in the country, Zardari criticised the government, saying that it wants to curtail constitutional and financial powers of provinces.

    “This government is fighting the opposition instead of fighting coronavirus,” he said.

    Referring to PPP’s past tenure, the former president stated that when he came to power in 2008, the country was a victim of terrorism and division. “We conducted the Swat operation through national consensus and brought peace [throughout the country],” the former president asserted.

    The PPP and the PTI have been trading barbs over the past few weeks. On Tuesday, after being criticised for the second consecutive day by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the Parliament House, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had demanded that the foreign minister either withdraw his statement against PPP or resign from his position.

    The minister had spoken at length about PPP’s style of governance and the participation of the province in national decision-making, saying that the former ruling party was focused on only provincial politics rather than thinking of the entire country.

  • Extension almost here for Gen Bajwa as PTI, PML-N, PPP join hands in NA

    Extension almost here for Gen Bajwa as PTI, PML-N, PPP join hands in NA

    In a first, both the government and major opposition parties on Tuesday joined hands to approve in the National Assembly all three bills formalising the tenure of the three services chiefs, including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    According to Geo News, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan made a rare appearance in the Lower House of the parliament as the assembly voted on three bills that will formalise the tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs.

    Before the voting started, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak took the floor to request the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that it take back amendments it had suggested to the bills, saying he was making the request “keeping in mind the regional and national situation”.

    Naveed Qamar, who spoke on behalf of the PPP in response to Khattak’s request, said that the amendments had been suggested to improve the bills but, after being approached by a government delegation and consulting with the rest of the opposition, the party had decided to withdraw them.

    With voting commencing shortly after the dialogue, Speaker Asad Qaiser asked legislators to express their assent or dissent. The bills were voted on clause by clause.

    Some opposition lawmakers, including those from Jamaate Islami (JI), the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), walked out in protest over the bills. They had earlier announced they would not be supporting the bills on principle. All the major parties had, however, lent near unquestioning assent to the same.

    After voting on the bills concluded, the National Assembly session was adjourned till 4 pm on Wednesday.

    The bills will now be sent for approval to the Senate Standing Committee on Defence before they are voted on in the Senate, and become law once signed by the president.

  • Zardari will sign plea bargain deal by March: Sheikh Rasheed

    Zardari will sign plea bargain deal by March: Sheikh Rasheed

    Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has claimed that former president Asif Ali Zardari will sing a plea bargain deal in corruption cases “by the end of March”, Pakistan Today reported.

    According to the details, the minister during a media talk at the Bahria University in Islamabad has said, “If Bilawal doesn’t accept a plea bargain deal, his political career will be finished.”

    Shiekh Rasheed said that Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) government has been taking steps to address the issue of inflation, adding that only Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan can take people out of their problems.

    The minister also urged youth to play their role in the progress of the country and asserted that a strong economy was important to formulate independent policies and ensure a strong defence.

    Rasheed also regretted the attack on the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore by a disgruntled mob of lawyers.