Tag: Bilawal Bhutto

  • We are ready for the upcoming elections: Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    We are ready for the upcoming elections: Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has stated on Tuesday that his party is prepared for the upcoming general election even if they are held tomorrow.

    He gave this statement while speaking on Hamid Mir’s program ‘Capital Talk’ on Geo News. Maulana’s statement comes one day after Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took a jibe at his party’s former allies, saying that they are “running away” from the elections.
    “Conduct the elections tomorrow… we are ready for the polls even for tomorrow,” Maulana said.

    The President of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) also said that his party had consistently called for new elections during the three and half years of Imran Khan’s government, reminding Hamid Mir that his party didn’t accept the result of 2018 polls and that stakeholders in All-Parties Conference (APC) were also not happy about the results.

    “The APC agreed that the [2018] election results will not be accepted,” he said, adding that it meant that all political parties unanimously demanded new elections.

  • Political leaders should have equal opportunities to contest elections, says Bilawal Bhutto

    Political leaders should have equal opportunities to contest elections, says Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said on Tuesday that there should be a level-playing field for all political leaders, emphasizing that they do not have equal opportunities to contest the upcoming general elections.

    Addressing the media in Sukkur where he was paying a visit to the family of slain journalist Jan Muhammad Mahar, the former Foreign Minister said, “There is no level-playing field for everyone, and that is my objection.”

    The statement came in response to a question about the availability of a level-playing field for his party as two prominent politicians, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, are currently ineligible to run in the upcoming general elections due to convictions in separate corruption cases.

    Talking about Mahar, who was shot dead on August 17 in Sukhur by unidentified men, the chairman of the PPP said that a joint investigation team (JIT) is looking into the case.

    “I have come here to offer my condolences to Jan Muhammad Mahar’s family, and we stand by them,” said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

  • ‘Let the people make their own decision’; Bilawal takes swipe at establishment

    ‘Let the people make their own decision’; Bilawal takes swipe at establishment

    Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has criticized the establishment for “making puppets” in a conversation with members of the media.

    “The people of Pakistan have warned you that stop conducting such experiments on us. Let the people make their own decisions,” he said, calling it a message for those who make, search for or impose puppets on the country.

    “If the people of Pakistan choose Mian Shehbaz Sharif sahib or Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif sahib then we should all accept it. If the people choose PPP, then all should accept it. And maybe I may not like this, but if the people choose PTI, then we will have to accept it,” he stated on Friday in Karachi.

    The former Foreign Minister asked Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct polls as soon as possible and within the 90 days constitutional limit.

    “Through its performance, the PPP has always proven that it does people-friendly politics and governance. And that is why the PPP still says that elections should be held as soon as possible, according to the Constitution and within 90 days so that we can win the polls and serve the people of the country and take them out of these difficult economic times,” the PPP head stated.

    In response to a question, Bilawal said that his father, ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, had spent the longest time behind bars.

    “And today we are hearing that those politicians who have to go through this ordeal are facing difficulties,” he said about Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    “We are trying to tell them that ghabrana nahi hai (do not worry). It is time for you and politicians like you to learn. You are being given experience and training and you are now being made a politician.”

  • Designer Maheen Khan reveals how she crafted the late Benazir Bhutto’s iconic look

    Designer Maheen Khan reveals how she crafted the late Benazir Bhutto’s iconic look

    On Sunday, Madam Tussaud’s unveiled the wax statue of the first female prime minister of Pakistan and the Muslim world, Benazir Bhutto, in Dubai. Her son, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto was present at the occasion.

    Fashion designer Maheen Khan, who crafted the iconic look Benazir Bhutto wore when she was sworn in as the first woman prime minister of the country in November 1988, has shared a heart warming story on her Instagram page about how she and Bhutto crafted the look together.

    Maheen received a call from the Benazir Bhutto in November 1998, after she had won the elections and needed to design a look in green to wear for the swearing-in ceremony.

    “It was some time In November 1988 that I got a call from Benazir Bhutto. She had just had Bilawal and she had won the elections!
    She was to be Pakistans first Prime minister.
    I immediately rushed to Bilawal House .
    She needed something green to wear to her swearing in ceremony.
    I convinced her to wear a white dupatta , which I got her .
    I decided immediately that chiffon wouldn’t do so I got her a soft muslin which would drape well .
    Years later she rang to say she had given the outfit to Madame Toussards .”The Maheen label is still on it ” she said
    The white dupatta has since become the signature of every female politician.
    Magical memories of an amazing ,warm , affectionate woman .
    Rest in peace dear BB
    Innalillahe wainnaillaihe rajeoon.”

  • History made as Shahzadi Rai becomes first transgender to serve on Karachi Metropolitan Corporation

    Shahzadi Rai announced on her Twitter account on Wednesday that she has become the first transgender person to serve on the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the first such appointment in history. In a tweet she said:

    “I’m excited to share that I have submitted my papers KMC for transgender/Khawajasara reserved seats. It is the first time in Pakistan’s history that such an opportunity has been available, and I am grateful to the @PPP_Org @BBhuttoZardari @SyedNasirHShah @BakhtawarBZ @SaeedGhani1.”

    Speaking to The Current, Rai talked about her goals to help empower the transgender community and ensure that protecting human rights for all remains a priority for the organisation:

    Our priority is that any policy or project initiated should be inclusive for transgender people. We want to work for all the people in Karachi and make life better for them, whether it is men, women or khawaja sira people. We want to implement human rights because I am a feminist and a human right’s activist for the last 12 years, so when we enter politics we shouldn’t forget about our basic principles.”

    Since her announcement, civil society bodies and transgender activists on Twitter have offered congratulations on the historic feat, welcoming it as a necessary step towards including the transgender community into all kinds of policy making.

    https://twitter.com/Bubbleskhanum/status/1661354767380099072?s=20
  • Fact Check: Did Bilawal visit graves of Indian soldiers who died in Kargil war?

    Fact Check: Did Bilawal visit graves of Indian soldiers who died in Kargil war?

    Claim: A tweet is being circulated on social media, stating that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the graves of Indian soldiers who died in Kargil war against Pakistan. Along with the tweet is a photo of the Foreign Minister wearing a heavy black coat as he stands before a wreath placed at a memorial.

    The tweet has been shared more than 4093 times.

    https://twitter.com/p4pakipower1/status/1654573262955839488

    Fact: The picture is from foreign minister’s visit to Lithuania earlier this year. During the visit, Bilawal laid a wreath at the monument of Lithuanian martyred freedom fighters.

    Verdict: The claim is false.

    Verdict: The claim is false

  • ‘My father is not anti-women’: Nadir Gabol defends PPP’s Nabil Gabol after backlash to rape comment

    After facing severe backlash for the past three days on his disgusting comments about rape, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) politician Nabil Gabol offered an apology but then put up a bizarre rant comparing himself to Imran Khan.

    Now, Gabol’s son Nadir has come out to defend his father in a Twitter thread.

    https://twitter.com/NadirGabol/status/1644198554506870784?s=20

    Regarding the controversial comment ‘When rape is inevitable, just enjoy it’, Gabol said his father had intended to say ‘Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”

    “My father used inappropriate words but what he intended to say is a common teaching in psychology: “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” Just Google it….”

    https://twitter.com/NadirGabol/status/1644198557077913605?s=20

    Gabol went on to say that rape was not gender specific, and that his father was not talking about women:

    “All feminist sisters, is rape gender specific? First, you are wrong in assuming he was literally talking about rape. Second that he was talking about women. Both assumptions are your mistake not his!”

    https://twitter.com/NadirGabol/status/1644198561381335046?s=20

    Gabol defended the PPP politician by saying that his father was not a misogynist and cares for his daughters and granddaughters:

    “My father is not a misogynist. He does way more for his daughters than he does for his sons. I can’t forget his happiness at the birth of his granddaughter Hafsanur and the way he loves her more than anyone else in the world.”

    https://twitter.com/NadirGabol/status/1644198566594838529?s=20

    Gabol offered an explanation of his father’s controversial comments on YouTuber Nadir Ali’s channel, saying that those comments were only meant for the audience of that show.

    “I don’t agree with his sense of humor and you don’t have to either. Whatever he said on Nadir Ali’s show was meant for the audience of that show. Not for you and me!”

    https://twitter.com/NadirGabol/status/1644198571258920960?s=20

    Nabil Gabol faced intense backlash for a viral clip that trended on social media where the politician was talking on the YouTube channel ‘The Pakistan Experience’ with host Shehzad Ghias, stating ”When rape is imminent, just enjoy it’.

    Other clips of his interview with Nadir Ali also went viral where the politician was seen making sexual comments about the TikTok dancer Ayesha, and also boasting about kidnapping girls he liked.

    The PPP politician apologized for his remarks in an interview with AAJ news, saying that he regretted if his words had hurt women. But then he went on to blame PTI supporters for launching a social media campaign against him.

    However, on Wednesday, Gabol shared a screenshot from Time Magazine’s article on Imran Khan detailing his past scandals, and in the caption he wrote that had he also been as good looking as Khan, his words would not have gained this much scrutiny:

    “Hum kare tu saala charecter deela hai …. This is what Time magazine say about Imran khan .Iam surprised not a single person such as @FifaHaroon or @MunizaeJahangir or @sharmilafaruqi or@farehaaltaf and Aurat march organisers said anything against khan . I think i need to lose weight and look handsome like khan and bcm Ladla so that no one criticise me.”

  • TRIGGER WARNING- ‘If rape is imminent, then enjoy it’: PPP’s Nabil Gabol’s disgusting remarks once again get slammed on social media

    Trigger warning: rape jokes, kidnapping, assault, sexual harassment

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) politician Nabil Gabol has proved that one can be a legislator in the highest offices and yet resort to making extremely offensive, misogynist jokes whenever they can.

    Twitter users have decried PPP for claiming that they are a progressive party, but providing important positions to men like Gabol who make misogynist and degrading comments about women on public platforms. A clip from a YouTube podcast, The Pakistan Experience with host Shehzad Ghias, is going viral on Twitter where Gabol was a guest and where he said: “When rape is imminent, then just enjoy it.”

    To which activists like Soul Sister’s Founder Kanwal Ahmed responded with “Gross”.

    Journalist Zebunnisa Burki shared the clip on her Twitter page and lamented the fact that men in powerful positions are never held accountable for talking about women in a vulgar manner like he has.

    Founder of ‘Digital Rights Foundation’ and lawyer Nighat Dad criticized Gabol on her Twitter account for casually using rape as a punchline because of the way it malign’s the struggles of survivors of sexual violence, and especially called for politicians to be held accountable for their words because they hold positions of power and influence.

    Dad also shared a clip from Gabol’s previous interview with Youtuber Nadir Ali which took place in 2022, where the politician was seen making sexually suggestive comments about women politicians.

    In the same interview, a user shared a clip of Gabol openly claiming that he kidnaps girls and takes them under his possession.

    Recently, Gabol had given an interview to Nadir Ali, where a Twitter users shamed him for his sexual comments about the TikTok star Ayesha, and for asking for her number.

    Writer and columnist Fatima Bhutto shared the clip from Gabol’s interview with Ghias, and in the caption she condemned his comments for exposing the ‘criminal mindset of the Sindh government.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto, the sister of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, condemned Gabol on Monday morning in a tweet.

    His (repulsive) rhetoric belongs to his individual only & is in noway a representation of our party. Incase it wasn’t already abundantly obvious- we absolutely & unequivocally stand for the rights & protection of women. Misogyny has no space in our religion nor our party.”

    However, users demanded that Gabol be removed from the party, calling the tweet a tone-deaf response to criticism.

    Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman has responded to the controversy in a tweet saying that strict action was underway.

  • ‘Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein’: Bilawal’s fiery speech on Khan

    ‘Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein’: Bilawal’s fiery speech on Khan

    In a fiery speech delivered on Wednesday on the floor of the National Assembly, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that for the past 30 years, “Pakistani institutions have been making this Frankenstein”, referring to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    “This happens all the time,” he said in a speech that took aim at Imran Khan, the establishment and the judiciary. “Some Einsteins sit in our institutions; they make the decisions for the country. They manufacture these strategic assets, and then the assets come back to haunt the rest of us,” said Bilawal.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman reminded the members that the nation bravely fought against terrorists and eradicated terrorism from the country.

    It was unfortunate that the terrorism eliminated due to sacrifices of the Pakistan Army, police and common masses had been revived by Imran Khan, the minister remarked.

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who lost his mother- former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto – to a terrorist attack, also said that militants “played Holi” with the blood of the Pakistani nation for years yet the former prime minister pardoned the terrorists and brought them back to resettle them.

    “There is no example in the world of how our tribal people fought with terrorists,” he added.

    Taking aim at the former heads of Inter-Services Intelligence, the PPP head said that General Hameed Gul held [Imran’s] finger, while the role of General Pasha, General Zaheerul Islam, and General Faiz Hameed is obvious to everyone.

    “Dictatorship in the Supreme Court (SC) was started by Iftikhar Chaudhry, and he was also a part of this hybrid war, his aim was the end of the Constitution; General Faiz and General Pasha are gone but Imran remains,” he added.

    The foreign minister said that they have been talking about the supremacy of the Constitution and free media, but undemocratic steps were taken in response to their democratic step.

    He said that they did not do anything undemocratic by expelling an “undemocratic prime minister” and it is not appropriate to remain silent for the sake of democracy.

    “The nation must be told why such situations have happened,” he added.

    He further said that in response to the no-confidence motion, the then-prime minister, the-then speaker of the lower house, and the current president of the country “broke the Constitution”. “What did Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif do in response to this? If the constitution and law have been broken, file a case,” he demanded.

  • Military, civilian leadership has put full stop on Khan’s appeasement policy on terrorists: Bilawal

    Military, civilian leadership has put full stop on Khan’s appeasement policy on terrorists: Bilawal

    Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that negotiating with those people who don’t accept Pakistan and its constitution is not in favour of the country or it’s people.

    In an interview with German broadcaster DW Urdu, the foreign minister said that the previous government was asking the interim Afghan government to facilitate reconciliation with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and had plans to resettle the militants in Pakistan.

    “Every Pakistani was saying that terrorists who were involved in heinous attacks such as the Army Public School massacre could never be our friends”, said Bilawal.

    Earlier in an interview with CNBC, Bilawal said, “Unfortunately, following the fall of Kabul, the government that preceded ours started negotiating with these very same terrorist groups and without preconditions such as disarming.”

    The foreign minister said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government and military leadership have “put a full stop to the policy of appeasement”.

    Citing the porous border with Afghanistan, the Foreign Minister said that the new government doesn’t have the capacity to man it.

    “We are confident that we’ll be able to take on the terrorist groups that are functioning within Pakistan,” he said.

    Discussing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Bilawal said that if he strives to pursue a democratic path and commits to play a constitutional role, he can have a future, adding that Khan’s ouster through a vote of no-confidence motion was the first time parliament removed a prime minister in a democratic way.

    However, since his ouster, Khan has been asking the army for help in getting back to power, the foreign minister alleged.

     “If the military says it wants to change its controversial conduct constitutionally, it should be welcomed.”

    While responding to a question regarding the statement about Pakistan’s bankruptcy made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Bilawal said: “He was talking in a political context at a political gathering and he was referring to the harsh economic times rather than speaking technically. He was talking in the overall context of the country.”