Tag: Gujranwala jalsa

  • Mad man, Gen Bajwa, Gen Faiz responsible for Pakistan’s current crisis: Nawaz Sharif

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif blamed former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and former ISI Chief Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed for the current mess in the country.

    The former Prime Minister also blamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, calling him a “mad man”.

    Nawaz Sharif said that a cruel joke had been played on Pakistan for the sake of personal gains.

    “In my Gujranwala jalsa, I stated who was responsible, and everything was out in the open. It is my responsibility to tell the nation about the wrongs committed against the people, and it is my responsibility to make things right,” he stated.

    Turning his guns on another former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif minced no words. “This mad man [Imran Khan, I am calling him a mad man today. I want everyone to compare my time with his, and people will see how happy everyone was during my time and how unstable everything became during his tenure,” said Nawaz.

    As Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa elections approach, PML-N is said to be ready to adopt an aggressive narrative against five individuals as it prepares for the polls.

    According to a news report, the five individuals against whom the PML-N will turn its guns with full ferocity are General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, former Chief Justices of Pakistan Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa along with former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

  • Imran Khan’s plane escapes an accident

    Imran Khan’s plane escapes an accident

    A plane carrying Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan escaped an accident. Khan was en route to Gujranwala for his jalsa from Chaklala.

    Khan was set to travel on a private plane when some technical problem was detected.

    According to media reports, the former prime minister couldn’t travel because of the weather situation as well.

    After the incident, Khan had to travel by road for his jalsa.

    The news was confirmed by PTI’s Salman Ahmad. He said that a technical fault was discovered in time.

    “We are extraordinarily lucky that Imran Khan plane’s technical fault was discovered in time before it took off,” he tweeted.

    A day earlier, Khan announced that he would share the “next critical phase” of his party’s “Haqiqi Azadi movement” during his Gujranwala rally on Saturday.

  • Rana Sanaullah booked in attempted murder case

    Rana Sanaullah booked in attempted murder case

    Gujranwala police have booked Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Rana Sanaullah, Khurram Dastgir, and Imran Khalid Butt for allegedly trying to run over police officials after they asked the politicians to stop their vehicle.

    The first information report [FIR] was registered on the complaint of a sub-inspector at Satellite Town police station. According to the FIR, four PML-N supporters attending the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Gujranwala public meeting on October 16 attempted to hit the police personnel with their vehicle.

    Earlier in the day, Gujranwala police booked at least Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) members over violation of coronavirus SOPs during its power show in the city last week.

    The case registered at the Civil Lines police station against the PDM workers alleged that the political workers flouted measures put in place to contain COVID-19 and also blocked roads.

    Last week, the joint opposition held its first rally in Gujranwala as it kicked off its anti-government drive. The rally was termed by the opposition a resounding success, but the government called it a flop show.

    Police had also booked over 100 people, including internet service providers, sound system organisers and residents in at least seven FIRs [First Information Reports] for violating coronavirus guidelines ahead of the gathering in Gujranwala.

  • Fact check: Bilawal did not say eggs are Rs200 per kilo

    Fact check: Bilawal did not say eggs are Rs200 per kilo

    Claim: Bilawal Bhutto said eggs are PKR 200 per kilo

    Fact: Bilawal Bhutto’s video was doctored to make it sound like he confused the duodecimal system and the metric system

    In the aftermath of a Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) power show in Gujranwala, a video of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has been making rounds on social media platforms and Whatsapp groups.

    In the video, the PPP chairman has seemed to get the metric and duodecimal (dozenal) systems confused. In the video, while taking a dig at the rising inflation, Bilawal purportedly said that ‘eggs are being sold for Rs200 per kg and potatoes Rs100 per dozen’ due to the poor economic policies of the government.

    But did Bilawal really say that? No.

    A fact-check ran by The Current revealed that the PPP chief has said no such words and video circulating on social media websites was altered to humiliate the opposition leader. In the original video, Bilawal said the due to poor economic policies of the government, people were forced to pay Rs200 for a dozen eggs, Rs100 for a kilogramme of potatoes’ and so on.

    The fake video was shared by pro-government supporters who took jibes at the PPP chief for mixing the metric system with the duodecimal system. It garnered many views on Facebook and Twitter and was shared hundreds of times on the Whatsapp groups.

    A crime reporter of ARY News, Iqrarul Hassan also swallowed the bait and posted the video on his Twitter account. He, however, removed the video and issued an apology after it was revealed that the video was fake. Iqrar said he couldn’t tell whether the video was fake because the mic was in front of Bilawal’s face.

    VERDICT: FALSE

  • Gujranwala protesters booked for violating coronavirus SOPs

    Gujranwala protesters booked for violating coronavirus SOPs

    Gujranwala police have booked at least Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) members over violation of coronavirus SOPs during its power show in the city last week.

    The case registered at the Civil Lines police station against the PDM workers alleged that the political workers flouted measures put in place to contain COVID-19 and also blocked roads.

    The FIR nominates Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Khurram Dastgir, Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir, Salman Khalid Butt, and Muhammad Bashir Virk among others.

    Last week, the joint opposition held its first rally in Gujranwala as it kicked off its anti-government drive. The rally was termed by the opposition a resounding success, but the government called it a flop show.

    Police had also booked over 100 people, including internet service providers, sound system organisers and residents in at least seven FIRs [First Information Reports] for violating coronavirus guidelines ahead of the gathering in Gujranwala.

    COVID-19 GUIDELINES FLOUTED:

    The massive gathering also blatantly flouted the anti-coronavirus measures, especially at a time when the second wave is in the offing. It is understandable that social distancing was not possible in a small stadium, but face masks — an effective precautionary measure — were also conveniently ignored.

    Out of the party leaders, only some were covering their faces, but they too removed them once they started addressing the gathering. PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz and JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman and his party leaders did not wear masks at all. As for the crowd, a negligent number of people bothered to wear face masks as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.

  • VIDEO: Army, ISI chiefs accused of toppling Nawaz govt

    VIDEO: Army, ISI chiefs accused of toppling Nawaz govt

    Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has accused Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa of toppling his government, pressuring the judiciary, and installing the current government of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the 2018 general elections.

    Nawaz Sharif was speaking via video link from London to a gathering of tens of thousands of people organised by opposition parties to kick-off a countrywide protest campaign in Gujranwala aiming to oust the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, you packed up our government, which was working well, and put the nation and the country at the alter of your wishes,” Nawaz told the gathering — the largest since the 2018 elections.

    The former prime minister also accused Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence, of being involved in conspiring against his government.

    PAKISTAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT:

    Nine major opposition parties formed a joint platform called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) last month to begin a nationwide agitation against the government.

    Nawaz, whose Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is the main opposition party, was sacked by the Supreme Court in 2017 on corruption charges and left for London last November for medical treatment.

    He blames generals and judges for what he says were trumped up charges. The military, however, denies meddling in politics.

    Maryam Nawaz, the daughter and political heir of Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who heads her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), also addressed the gathering. Both criticised the Khan government for what they called bad governance and mismanagement of the economy.

    Speakers at the gathering called for Khan’s resignation and an end to military’s interference in politics.

    The next general election is scheduled for 2023.

    “Go Imran go. Your time is up!” shouted tens of thousands of the opposition supporters gathered at the Gujranwala stadium.

    Imran, who came to power on an anti-graft platform and denies the army helped him win, said on Friday he wasn’t afraid of the opposition’s campaign, which was aimed at blackmailing him to drop corruption cases against their leaders.

    The protest campaign comes at a time when Pakistan is experiencing an economic crisis, with inflation touching double digits and negative growth.