Tag: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

  • ‘Imran Khan trying to turn army, ISI into his Tiger Force’: Bilawal Bhutto

    ‘Imran Khan trying to turn army, ISI into his Tiger Force’: Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while addressing a PPP rally at Karachi’s Bagh-i-Jinnah, accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of turning the army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency into Tiger Force, saying that the current state of the country shows that this is not ‘tabdeeli but destruction’.

    “He (PM Imran) is trying to turn the army and ISI into his Tiger Force,” said Bilawal.

    “Whatever task Imran Khan undertook saw destruction instead of the promised tabdeeli (change),” he said. 

    “Imran Khan is also trying to turn all institutions of the country into his Tiger Force. He attacked the parliament, Senate, judiciary, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Punjab Police, and Punjab bureaucracy as he changed the Punjab Police chief and chief secretary many times. No institution is left as he is even trying to make the media his Tiger Force,” Bilawal alleged.

    “PPP jiyalas will not spare him. Whenever he speaks, he makes a mistake. Now we are warning Khan that his days are numbered,” said Bilawal.

    Bilawal’s comments come as the speculation continues about the appointment of the head of ISI, following the unusual delay in the issuance of official notification of Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Nadeem Ahmed Anjum’s appointment as the new spymaster.

  • ‘PML-N has seven concealed accounts, PPP has 12 hidden accounts from ECP’: Farrukh Habib

    ‘PML-N has seven concealed accounts, PPP has 12 hidden accounts from ECP’: Farrukh Habib

    The Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday allowed the ruling Pakistan Tehre­ek-e-Insaf (PTI) to inspect documents related to foreign funding cases against the Opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), reports Dawn.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcas­ting Farrukh Habib, while talking to the media, said that the PML-N had concealed seven accounts while the PPP had hidden 12 accounts from the ECP. 

    “We will bring to light the fake accounts of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz,” the minister said.

    “Now we would not let them run away,” claimed the minister. “Both the parties used to take money from mafias,” he alleged. He also accused the PML-N of using party accounts for “money laundering”.

  • Summary being prepared for NAB chief extension

    Summary being prepared for NAB chief extension

    The Ministry of Law and Justice has reportedly been preparing a summary to send to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan regarding the extension of sitting Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Justice (redtd) Javed Iqbal, reported Malik Asad for Dawn.

    The four-year term of Justice Iqbal as NAB chairman will expire this month. A senior official of the ministry has confirmed that they will send the proposal to the PM soon.

    However, the government hasn’t taken a final decision yet. According to an official, in the proposal, the declaration of an ordinance for giving extension has been suggested.

    “In case the PM decides to grant an extension to the chairman, the law ministry will draft an ordinance to amend the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) and forward it to the president,” the sources said.

    If PM agrees, an amendment will be made in sub-section b of Section 6, which states, “There shall be a Chairman NAB to be appointed by the President in consultation with the [Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly] for a [non-extendable] period of [four] years on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the President and shall not be removed except on the grounds of removal of Judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

    Earlier, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “The government has decided not to consult Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif for the appointment of NAB chairman since he (Sharif) is accused in several corruption references filed by the bureau.”

    Later, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted that PPP will forcefully oppose the illegal extension in the tenure of chairman NAB.

  • President Alvi addresses joint session in NA amid media protest

    President Dr Arif Alvi addressed a joint sitting of parliament on Monday, marking the start of the fourth parliamentary year of the National Assembly amid chaos outside parliament.

    The President of Pakistan congratulated the members of parliament at the start of the new legislative year and expressed hope that democratic values and the “tradition of tolerance” flourish in Pakistan.

    Amid loud protests by the Opposition, President Alvi said: “Despite you making noise, you will have to accept the reality.”

    Dr Alvi briefly discussed the country’s progress and shed light on various topics.

    Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

    President Alvi stressed the need to introduce electoral reforms in order to bring transparency to elections in Pakistan.

    Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

    “People paying tax in such large numbers shows complete trust in government policies,” Alvi said, congratulating the government for devising and implementing laws and procedures to address FATF requirements.

    Sexual harassment cases

    Alvi said the government had paid “special attention” to the rights of women.

    “In recent days, incidents of sexual violence against women emerged due to which everyone is sad and I think it is a national responsibility to take steps to curb such incidents,” he said.

    President Alvi added that the government had taken measures to stop such violence and it was also society’s responsibility to play its role. “Making videos while an [harassment] incident is taking place does not suit the Pakistani society, so it will have to protect women so they can wander freely.”

    Corruption

    Because of corruption and wrong priorities, we were not only deprived of progress but also left behind in the world in human development indicators,” Alvi said.

    Health Sector

    He said that “18 million families were benefitting from the health cards so far”.

    “Pakistan is going towards universal health coverage, he added while praising the government’s efforts,” he concluded.

    Kamyab Jawan Programme

    The President noted that the government had set aside Rs260bn through which 12 million families will be given cash income, while Rs100bn had been earmarked for the Kamyab Jawan Programme to give loans to the youth to start businesses.

    Opposition walkout

    During his address, the Opposition kept booing and at last walked out of the session.

    The Opposition also accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser of violating the Constitution by not allowing a debate on the presidential address through­out the third parliamentary year, which ended on August 13.

    Politicians including Shehbaz sharif Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Sherry Rehman, Mian Raza Rabbani and Ahsan Iqbal joined the protest and showed solidarity with the journalists.

    “Thanks to all friends and well-wishers who were sending messages of solidarity the whole night whole day, we just finished a 24 hours protest camp in front of the parliament against threats to media and new proposed law for legalising censorship in Pakistan,” Hamid Mir tweeted, mentioning the end of the protest.

    President Alvi did not mention the journalists’ protest against the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA).

  • Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    As journalists continue with sit-in outside of the Parliament House, against the government’s proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), prominent leaders from political parties, student unions, and members of the civil society also joined in to show solidarity.

    The protest began on Sunday and is said to continue until President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament on Monday.

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Sec­retary Marriyum Aurangzeb, and MNA Mohsin Dawar, among others, visited the protest site on Sunday night to extend their support.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, Shehbaz Sharif speaking on the media authority bill termed it as “black law” and expressed solidarity with journalists. He said the media had fought a war for its freedom and no one could snatch it. 

    https://twitter.com/pmln_org/status/1437373043542736902

    “The government doesn’t have the guts to pass it and we won’t allow it,” added Shehbaz warning the government against passing the “black law” or bear the consequences.

    He tweeted in solidarity with the protestors and said, “PTI government is demolishing every institution that represents democracy. We support journalists in their struggle against PMDA.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Monday slammed the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMDA), saying that the proposed bill is an “attack on the freedom of media and judiciary.”

    The PPP chairman vowed his party will not let the government get away with snatching livelihoods from the masses. He showed solidarity with journalists who have been attacked, saying that the PPP “will not be satisfied till they [journalists] are not satisfied.”

    “Even if they manage to have this black law passed, journalists will [struggle to] have it abolished,” he added.

    Bilawal warned the government that if it tried to have the PMDA law passed via force, the PPP will challenge it in the courts. The PPP chairman said he feared the government will try to pass the bill during a joint sitting of the Parliament.

    Bilawal said his party will attend the joint sitting of the Parliament with a two-point agenda; to advocate for the rights of 20,000 government employees who were sacked and to campaign for freedom of speech.

    PPP leaders, Senator Sherry Rehman and Raza Rabbani, visited the protest camp and addressed the protesters.

    “We have repealed all the ordinance regarding media censorship, whether it was Ayub Khan or Zia-Ul-Haq. This is why the government won’t bring this on the Parliament floor because we will repeal the PMDA bill and they are scared”

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, along with PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, also visited the protest site on Monday.

    Addressing the protesters, Iqbal criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for “attacking and attempting to muzzle” the media.

    Referring to the PMDA bill, he called it a “conspiracy” and said if the bill was passed, “democracy will die in this country”.

  • Fazl-ur-Rehman accuses Bilawal of making a deal with the establishment

    Fazl-ur-Rehman accuses Bilawal of making a deal with the establishment

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazl-ur-Rehman accused Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of making a deal with the establishment.

    Maulana Fazl, blaming Bilawal for the failure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), claimed: “The deal was previously offered to us but we didn’t agree to it.”

    Earlier, Bilawal Bhutto, while addressing a gathering in Rahim Yar Khan, said, “It is not possible that you talk about ‘vote ko izzat do’ [give respect to the vote] and run away the moment one has to use the power of the vote.”

    “When we were with you [PML-N], you used to say that nothing can happen without resignations. I challenge you here to work with us or start implementing your own words and resign. You [PML-N] will have to do either of the two things, otherwise, the people of Punjab will know that you are neither revolutionary nor ready for reconciliation but a hypocrite.”

  • ‘Shehbaz makes a decision, his party says it’s personal’, Bilawal slams PMLN

    ‘Shehbaz makes a decision, his party says it’s personal’, Bilawal slams PMLN

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing his party workers in Multan said that “ [Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz President] Shehbaz Sharif is the party president, his decision should be final.”

    According to the chairman, whenever Sharif makes a statement, party members say that it is his own “personal decision”, reports Geo.

    Furthermore, he argued that “If Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had stayed, it could hold a long march, and before reaching Lahore, they could have made [Chief Minister of Punjab] Usman Buzdar resign, and [Prime Minister] Imran Khan would have resigned before the march reached Islamabad. Shehbaz was aware of all the formulas.”

    Bilawal, adding that his party had sincerely wanted to oust the government through PDM said that “The PDM leadership started talking about our resignations instead of the Punjab chief minister and the prime minister’s resignations.”

    Earlier this month Sharif suggested the formation of a national government. He said, “It needs collective wisdom and requires collective efforts to fix [the problems of Pakistan]. That’s why I think we should have a national government in place to sort out these huge tasks. Even if we [PML-N] win a majority, we can’t fix it alone.”

    Upon this Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made his comment while talking to The News by saying that, “There is no option for ‘national govt’ in Constitution.

    “Our party has already made it clear that Shehbaz did not talk about it [national government] and he was misquoted by some circles”, he added.

    Moreover during the rally Bilawal taunted the government by saying that the Centre was proposing to roll out electronic voting machines when there is persistent load shedding in the country.

    In early June both PPP and Awami National Party (ANP) left PDM by saying that the leaders of the fragmented anti-government alliance appear to be “confused and divided”.

  • Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Defence Day: Pakistani leaders pay tribute to martyrs

    Pakistan paid a befitting tribute to the country’s armed forces, as it observed Defence Day with traditional spirit and enthusiasm.

    This year’s Defence and Martyrs’ Day theme is “Our martyrs our pride, a salute to all the relatives belonging to Ghazis and Shaheeds.”

    The day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and a 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals.

    In his message on Defence Day, President Arif Alvi vowed that Pakistan would never compromise its integrity.

    “Today we are actively fighting a hybrid war being waged against us. I commend the security agencies for their relentless efforts towards exposing the enemy carrying out covert activities,” he added.

    “We stand by the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination guaranteed under the UN Security Council resolutions,” said the president.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan also paid tribute to the brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army. “The Armed Forces must fight the enemy with unparalleled fearlessness in the world. Our brave officers, soldiers, pilots, and sailors have proved to the world that they are always ready to defend every inch of the homeland. Even if they have to pay a price for it.”

    Stressing the need for peace, PM Khan wrote, “On this occasion, I want to make it clear once again that our desire for peace should never be seen as our weakness, but should be answered in the same positive way for the prosperity and betterment of the people of the region.”

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter and said, “Today the people & armed forces of Pakistan came together to defend their motherland against the Indian military aggression.”

    “We will always remember the sacrifices of our brave soldiers!”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the sacrifices of the martyrs, the unwavering determination of the soldiers, and the invincible unity of the people of Pakistan is our strength and the guarantee of our bright future.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, paying a tribute to the families of our martyrs, tweeted, “Today, in the names of martyrs.”

    Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari tweeted, “Today is a day to remember & pay our respects to our martyrs esp the soldiers for whom there’s not to reason why and the families they leave behind.”

    PPP leader Sherry Rehman tweeted, “On this #DefenceDay, we pay tribute to our valiant heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect our country and people. We forever owe their families a forever debt.”

  • Bakhtawar Bhutto surprises husband Mahmood Chaudhry with a lavish birthday bash

    Bakhtawar Bhutto’s husband Mahmood Chaudhry turned 33 on July 28. Mahmood took to his Instagram stories to share glimpses of the lavish ceremony.

    The décor looks stunning with room full of balloons, tables laid with flowers and a rainbow cake.

    The duo married in a glamorous ceremony in January 2021.

  • Fact Check: Is this picture from Bilawal’s recent trip to the US?

    Fact Check: Is this picture from Bilawal’s recent trip to the US?

    Claim: During a recent trip to the US, Bilawal Bhutto followed the queue in New York city airport but not in Pakistan

    Fact: These pictures were from his 2018 election campaign

    Recently a picture the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, went viral on social media on Wednesday. Bilawal was seen wearing a blue shalwar kameez, standing in a queue while using his cell phone.

    Many people criticised him, stating that this picture was from his recent trip to New York, asking that why the chairman was standing in line in the US but wasn’t standing in line in Pakistan.

    The Current has confirmed from its sources that the photographs circulating were from the election campaign in 2018 and that the PPP chairperson was taking a flight from Lahore and so it is false to say that these pictures show Bilawal Bhutto at the New York city airport.

    VERDICT: [OUT OF CONTEXT]