Tag: elections

  • ‘Baitho apni kursi par’: Bilawal advises Imran to come back to parliament

    ‘Baitho apni kursi par’: Bilawal advises Imran to come back to parliament

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari advised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday to come back to the Parliament.

    In an address to mark the 15th death anniversary of his mother, former Prime Minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, he said, “This is your last warning. Come back to parliament and sit in your seat. If you call yourself democratic, play your role.”

    Bilawal also offered Khan a dialogue on the matter of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and elections if he comes to parliament.

    Referencing the long marches and protests by PTI, he said that the party’s actions are bad for the people of Pakistan.

    “In any other country, politics and rallies would have come to a halt after the havoc wreaked by the floods. But even in the midst of a catastrophe, the fight for Punjab kept on, and [Imran’s] long march did not stop,” he said.

    Talking about the alarming rise in terrorism, the minister slammed Imran for “bending his knees in front of the terrorists” without asking the public or the parliament.

    Moreover, he claimed that Imran is once again trying to pressurise the establishment to meddle in politics.

    At the start of the address, Bilawal talked about his mother, vowing to take Benazir Shaheed’s mission forward and achieve it within the next 15 years. He urged his supporters to join the party in this mission.

  • ‘Preparations to welcome Nawaz Sharif underway’: Sanaullah

    ‘Preparations to welcome Nawaz Sharif underway’: Sanaullah

    Federal Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah, has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has started preparations to welcome home party supremo Nawaz Sharif.

    Sanaullah has claimed that the former Prime Minister would return to the country to lead PML-N’s election campaign the day election schedule is announced.

    The interior minister reiterated that general elections in Pakistan will be held in October next year as the government refused to succumb to pressure through dissolution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab assemblies.

    Sanaullah dared Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to stop vacillating and dissolve KP and Punjab assemblies. He reiterated that polling will be held within three months.

    “We will beat you in Punjab elections, and you will not find any place to hide your face,” he challenged PTI chief.

  • Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan anytime now: reports

    Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan anytime now: reports

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has finalized plans to return home to Pakistan before the next general elections.

    According to media reports, Nawaz Sharif has instructed his party that if Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan dissolves the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assemblies, new elections should be held in both provinces within 90 days as per the constitution, while Nawaz himself will head the election campaign of these provincial elections.

    The former Prime Minister has also completed consultations about his return with his lawyers. His legal team will begin pursuing reviews of his convictions in courts immediately after his arrival.

    Media reports also suggest that it has been decided at the highest level that Nawaz Sharif will no longer keep himself away from domestic politics and will directly lead his party and supporters in the next election.

  • ‘Give us date for elections or we dissolve assemblies’: Khan offers govt an olive branch wrapped in a threat

    ‘Give us date for elections or we dissolve assemblies’: Khan offers govt an olive branch wrapped in a threat

    The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has offered the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government to discuss the possibility of early general elections.

    However, the olive branch comes with a threat. “Give us a date for elections or we will dissolve Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies,” Khan said in a video address to the PTI’s Punjab parliamentary party.

    “We have the full backing of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q),” Imran Khan said, adding that Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will disband the provincial assembly on his call.

    “No elections, no political stability in the country,” Khan declared, adding that the coalition government was not willing to consider snap polls because they know they would be wiped out.

    “The only plan they have is to somehow have me disqualified by filing cases against me and other party leaders,” he observed.

    In response to Khan’s invitation to talks, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership will not refuse to hold dialogue.

    “Discouraging dialogue is considered non-political and undemocratic by PDM. Its leadership will not refuse to sit and talk. We believe in resolving political matters in a political manner,” he said in a statement reacting to Khan’s invitation.

  • VONC against Pervez Elahi might be moved today

    VONC against Pervez Elahi might be moved today

    The opposition in Punjab Assembly will likely use two options on Thursday to stop the assembly from being dissolved, Jang has reported.

    According to details, chances are that the Governor of Punjab will today ask Pervez Elahi to take a Vote of Confidence. Simultaneously, a motion for a Vote of No Confidence will be submitted at the assembly against the Chief Minister.

    Sources have told Jang that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the largest party in the opposition, has also asked all its members to reach Lahore.

    On November 26, Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had announced in a rally that the two provincial governments led by his party, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, will be dissolved to put pressure on the government to call early elections.

  • ‘New elections in Punjab will be held before Ramzan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘New elections in Punjab will be held before Ramzan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that elections in Punjab will be held before the start of the holy month of Ramzan.

    Chaudhry, in a tweet, claimed that several members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have contacted PTI for party tickets to contest elections in Punjab. He further stated that the candidate for each constituency would be evaluated on merit.

    “New elections will be held in Punjab before March 20,” he declared.

    Fawad maintained that the Punjab division of the party is ready for “every attack” from the PML-N.

    PML-N has stated multiple times that it would not concede to the PTI’s demand for snap polls.

    On the previous Saturday, Khan announced that PTI wouldn’t be part of “this system” and would quit all the assemblies. Following this, PTI members also agreed with the decision to dissolve Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies. However, an official announcement regarding the dissolution is yet to be made.

  • Sharif brothers agree on resisting PTI pressure: reports

    Sharif brothers agree on resisting PTI pressure: reports

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif agreed not to succumb under Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) pressure, especially on their Chairman Imran Khan’s key demand of early elections, reports Geo News.

    The Premier, who is currently in London, had a meeting that lasted for over three hours with only Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz, Suleman Sharif, Hasan and Hussain Nawaz and a few other family members present. No one from the party was asked to join the meeting.

    Nawaz told Shehbaz to “continue doing his best to take Pakistan out of the economic crisis” and “not succumb to any kind of pressure”.

    According to the news report, when Shehbaz Sharif was asked if he will be discussing the appointment of the next army chief with his sibling, the PM said: “I have come today to meet my elder brother and my family. I am meeting them and their children after a long time.”

    After the end of the meeting, he was again pressed as to when the next chief of army staff will be appointed but the PM dodged the question, stating instead that the meeting was a family get together with and said: “ my brother, my nieces, my nephews and rest of the family too. We had lunch, gup shup and congratulations to all of you on Pakistan’s (cricket) win.”

    This visit to London is the third such trip since Shehbaz became prime minister in April. Sharif’s visit to London comes two weeks before the end of General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure. The army chief is set to retire on November 29.

    It has been reported that Shehbaz will consult Nawaz on the appointment of the Pakistan army chief.

  • ‘Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka’: Imran Khan about Army chief appointment

    ‘Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka’: Imran Khan about Army chief appointment

    In a press conference on Monday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that the appointment of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) should be on merit.

    He stated: “Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka” (COAS should neither be my man nor someone else’s.)

    He was of the view that high-profile appointments like the COAS should not be made by “criminals like Nawaz or Zardari”.

    Moreover, he claimed that his party has been “sidelined” many times despite him trying his best not to cause any harm to institutions.

    Taking a jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Khan said that Nawaz is scared of elections because he fears defeat.

    Imran said Nawaz is waiting for the PTI’s wave of support to diminish before elections could be held.

    Khan gives time to the government

    Khan said that he is giving some more time to the government to announce a date for elections or else he will announce the long march date, adding that preparations for the march have been completed.

    “I am giving them [government] time just for the sake of the country,” he said. “I repeat that they still have time to announce elections, and if they don’t, I will begin my march, and my preparations are almost complete.”

    He said dialogue is out of the question with the ruling elite. “There’s no negotiation with criminals. You can hold reconciliation talks with Baloch or Sindhi nationalists, but not with felons like them,” Khan added.

    Rigging in NA-237

    Imran demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold re-election in Karachi’s NA-237 constituency which he lost on Sunday to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)candidate. He claimed that the PPP clinched the seat in the by-poll on through “rigging”.

    He said that the government did not wish to hold elections and used floods as an excuse. “They said that there were floods. But in the constituencies where elections were held, floods did not have an effect.”

    “Sindh’s election commissioner was on the provincial government’s payroll. We reject [Malir’s] by-election and demand re-election. The PPP swung the polls to their advantage through indiscriminate rigging,” Khan alleged.

  • ‘Not convinced there was a conspiracy’: President Dr Alvi

    ‘Not convinced there was a conspiracy’: President Dr Alvi

    President Dr Arif Alvi while discussing the infamous ‘cipher’, has said that he is not convinced that a “foreign conspiracy was hatched” against former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    However, Imran Khan has claimed that the no-confidence motion against him was part of a foreign conspiracy.

    In an interview with journalist Asma Shirazi, the president stated: “I sent that letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). I am convinced that it must be probed. I am not convinced of the fact that a conspiracy was hatched.”

    Appointment of COAS:

    About the appointment of the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in November, the president was of the view that “broader consultation” should be held.

    Dr Alvi said that he learned through the newspaper that there’s a consultation going on in London regarding the appointment. The government should consult PTI chief Imran Khan on the matter, he said.

    He claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government also consulted the Opposition when former PM Imran Khan extended the three-year term of the incumbent COAS General Bajwa in 2019.

    Importance of dialogue:

    During the interview, President Alvi stressed on the importance of “dialogue”. When asked about the speculation that he had arranged a meeting between the establishment and Imran Khan, he responded: “Meri koshish yeh hai ke logo ko bethao ke dialogue karo” (I am trying that I get people to sit down and have a dialogue).

    He said dialogue is necessary for settling political issues between the government and the Opposition. He was of the view that the people are concerned about political polarisation and one of its causes was that there are different governments in the provinces.

    ‘Khan was very disappointed’: President Alvi

    President Dr Alvi, who is also a PTI leader, talked about the party not going back to Parliament. “Imran Khan was very disappointed with the manner in which his government was ousted and on that basis, he decided not to sit in the assembly,” he told Asma Shirazi.

    However, when asked about the party’s decision of resigning from the National Assembly (NA), President Alvi said that if he had been consulted, he could have given “different advice”.

    He observed that politicians are the biggest stakeholders in the country. The president said that the army should be “neutral”. When asked that Khan says that the establishment shouldn’t be neutral, he said, “You can ask him about his views”.

    ‘Free and Fair elections’: President Alvi

    President Alvi said that in August 2023, assemblies will be dissolved, stressing that both the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the PTI wanted early polls in the past. “Even the Supreme Court had considered the issue of early elections and consulted politicians,” he added.

    “I am trying to evolve an understanding of these issues and I will facilitate the process. The most important issue is the holding of free and fair elections”, he said.

  • ‘Workers should await a final call in September’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry has said that party organisations across the country have been ordered to come out and protest against rising inflation.

    Chaudhry said, “If the government doesn’t move towards elections, then wait for a final call in these two weeks as consultation continues. We think workers should await a final call in September.”

    “General elections will take place, whether the government wants them or not. The ultimate arbiter is the nation and until it doesn’t get the right to make political decisions, the PTI won’t step back from its struggle,” he warned.

    Chaudhry further said that any technocrat or interim government had no room in the Constitution and such a setup would in effect be considered a martial law.

    “Everything that has to happen will happen this month,” said Chaudhry.

    Two days prior to Chaudhry’s statement, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, in an address to the nation once again demanded early elections, warning that PTI’s patience was wearing thin.

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    “If we want to save the country from discord and chaos, free and fair elections need to be announced immediately,” he said.

    “Our patience won’t last long if you continue like this, we will have to give a call to the nation,” said Khan, addressing the government.

    “If there is no political stability, the economy won’t stabilise. So I want to tell my people today that we need to have elections quickly to save Pakistan from this quagmire,” the former Prime Minister insisted, adding that it was his fear that there will be no economic progress without political stability.