Tag: Hammad Azhar

  • Miftah Ismail says no response by Russia for buying oil at discounted rates

    Miftah Ismail says no response by Russia for buying oil at discounted rates

    Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Tuesday in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson said that he does not know where former premier Imran Khan gets his numbers from, refuting Khan’s claims that Russia has not offered a 30 per cent discount on oil or wheat.

    “Let’s be clear. I don’t know where Khan gets these numbers from,” said Miftah.

    “Khan just makes it up as he goes along. He is the guy who was saying we (PDM) were brought in through an American conspiracy. And now he has come up with this new thing. If Russia was selling him cheap wheat and oil, then why didn’t he buy it? He did not,” said Miftah.

    Difficult for me to imagine buying Russian oil

    Miftah said that Western sanctions have made importing oil from Moscow impossible despite the Pakistani government’s request to buy wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

    “Russia has not offered us any oil either. It is difficult for me to imagine buying Russian oil,” said the finance minister.

     Raising oil prices was ‘a trap for us‘

    Talking about talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Miftah said, “We have had talks with the IMF in Doha recently. We are talking to the IMF and particularly the IMF is looking at the budget that I am going to present in early June and after that, I am hoping that we will reach an agreement with the Fund.”

    He said the IMF was looking for Pakistan to reverse the subsidies on oil, petrol and diesel in particular “that the previous government had given”.

    Miftah added that the IMF also wanted Islamabad to reverse electric tariff subsidies that the previous government had done.

    “Then it is looking at the budget that I will present. So, I am pretty confident that we should be able to get an agreement with the Fund but there would be some austerity in the budget, some measures to increase taxation in the next budget.”

    The minister said that raising oil prices by the previous government was “a trap for us”.

    “Imran Khan in the last days of his government did a few things to violate all these agreements with the IMF, including giving these unsustainably high subsidies. And he knew we could not sustain this.”

    “And when we came to power, he is now going city to city, trying to rally the people with his theories about conspiracies and all that for putting a lot of political pressure on us.”

    The new government, he said, was finding it difficult to raise the prices right away, but it took a very important step last week.

    Moscow had not even responded to the previous government’s letter

    Ismail said that Moscow had not even responded to the previous government’s letter seeking to buy oil at a discounted price from Russia.

    “The two sides had talked about it, but since Russia is under sanctions, and they have not yet responded to the request sent by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, there was no movement on this front.”

    However, he said Islamabad had approached both Ukraine and Russia, “whichever country is willing to sell us wheat we would be happy to buy it”.

    Hammad’s claims

    Former Energy Minister Hammad Azhar said, “Miftah sahib is claiming on national tv that no letter or proof exists of Russian oil talks. And who he should speak to. Russia was enthusiastic on selling discounted oil to us and he should have spoken to Energy Minister of Russia.”

    Miftah’s response:

    Miftah responded to Hammad Azhar’s tweet: “Bhai please listen to my interview again. I did say your govt wrote a letter. But I said no response ever came.”

    He added, “I didn’t say that you waited more than a month after IK’s visit to write the letter & then too when you knew you’d lose the VNC & that it was only done for politics.”

  • Govt says will not allow PTI’s long march, calls it ‘fitna’; Khan vows to continue

    Govt says will not allow PTI’s long march, calls it ‘fitna’; Khan vows to continue

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced on Tuesday that the federal government will not allow any riots in the name of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long march, which is due to take place tomorrow (May 25).

    He said the government will not allow the PTI to spread “chaos and disorder”.

    “They will be stopped so they cannot propagate their misleading agenda,” he said while adding that PTI’s long march is not democratic.

    Sanaullah said everyone has the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest. However, he said that PTI doesn’t want a peaceful protest.

    ‘PTI has moved from abuses to bullets’: Interior Minister says no to PTI march

    “Had they not spread anarchy, we would not have stopped them. These people [PTI] have moved from abuses to bullets. A police constable was killed in Lahore.” Rana Sana vowed to protect the lives and properties of the capital’s people “at all costs”.

    The announcement has come after a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) political committee meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif where it was reportedly decided to stop Imran Khan-led Azadi March in the federal capital.

    “Such tactics are equal to ruining the economy,” PM Shehbaz was reported as saying in reference to the long march while addressing the meeting.

    ‘We will lead the biggest procession in history on May 25’: Imran Khan

    Meanwhile, despite the government’s decision, addressing a press conference in Peshawar, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said that he will lead the biggest procession in Pakistan’s history on May 25.

    He went on to say that the PTI has a right to stage a protest against the “imported conspiracy”.

    “Did we protest when Bilawal staged a long march? Did we arrest him? Fazlur Rehman also staged a march, we said we would help them,” said Khan.

    Khan lashed out at the government for conducting raids in Lahore, and for barging into homes of “innocent citizens”.

    Long March: Khan asks judges and ‘neutrals’ to do the right thing

    Addressing “those who call themselves neutral”, he said that they had taken an oath to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty. “You need to understand that the public is looking at you, and you will also be judged. You will be equally responsible if the country goes towards destruction.”

    PTI’s long march: Islamabad likely to be fully closed on May 25

    According to Geo News, after the decision to stop the long march, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah summoned the Pakistan Army for the security of the Red Zone in Islamabad.

    Section 144 has also been imposed in the federal capital for two months. According to a notification, the restrictions have been extended up to one kilometre of the Red Zone.

    Raids at PTI leaders’ house in Lahore

    On Monday night and early morning on Tuesday, Punjab Police raided the houses of several PTI leaders, including former Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Usman Dar, and Babar Awan.

    In a video, the mother of PTI leader Walid Iqbal and daughter-in-law of Allama Iqbal Justice (retd) Nasira Iqbal shared the harassment her staffers had to through at the hands of the police.

    During a raid of a PTI leader’s house in Lahore’s Model Town, police constable Kamal Ahmad was shot in the chest and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.

    A first information report (FIR) was filed, stating that a police party, during a search operation in Model Town, rang the doorbell of Major (retd) Sajid Hussain’s house at 1:40am.

    “Hussain asked his son Bukhari to fire straight at the police party. Bukhari, with the intention of killing, fired straight at the police party. A bullet struck the chest of Constable Kamal Ahmad, who was standing outside the house”, the FIR reads.

    Both Hussain and his son Bukhari were arrested later.

    The current Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Hamza Shehbaz on Tuesday attended the janaza (funeral) of Ahmad and blamed PTI for the constable’s death.

    ‘Azadi March is not against the government but the establishment’: Maryam Nawaz

    Later in the evening, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said his “Azadi March” is not against the government, “but the establishment”.

    She said the PTI chairman also launched “a malicious campaign targetting the judiciary, in which abusive words were used against the judges” 

    Speaking further about the long march, Maryam said the government was worried about PTI’s “nefarious designs”, and it has intel about the party amassing weapons for use against law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

    The PML-N vice president pointed out that the PTI chairman should call his children to Pakistan for leading the “Azadi March”, instead of instigating Pakistan’s youth to lay their lives for him.

    “Since they are Imran Khan’s sons, they will live abroad, and no one will touch them. They will remain in a safe and sound environment, while the sons of the soil — who spent their entire lives serving the country — will take bullets to their chests just because a person’s desire for power does not end?”

  • PML-N’s Miftah Ismail fact-checked by PTI’s Hammad Azhar on load-shedding, Miftah acknowledges

    PML-N’s Miftah Ismail fact-checked by PTI’s Hammad Azhar on load-shedding, Miftah acknowledges

    Miftah Ismail, General Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Sindh, recently took to Twitter, saying that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has restricted fuel supplies to Independent Power Projects (IPPs), potentially resulting in significant load shedding in the coming week.

    He directly accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of the impending power outage, writing that it is the result of his incompetence, corruption, falsehoods, and “lust for power: that has gotten the country into such a mess.

    After an hour, Former Energy Minister, Hammad Azhar responded to Ismail’s tweet, calling it “Fake news” and claiming that he had checked with PSO and there had been no such supply cuts notified for IPPs.

    “My statement regarding IK’s corruption (Farah), incompetence (Buzdar), lying (Sh Rasheed) & hunger for power (Suri) is valid,” Ismail responded with a strange tweet to cover up his incorrect finding about PSO.

    It is worth noting that PSO serves a diverse range of customers, including Pakistan’s industrial sector, several power projects, aviation, and maritime sectors. On a daily basis, the company meets the POL needs of millions of clients.

    Apart from selling oil to Pakistan’s power utilities, such as K-Electric and Wapda, PSO is the primary supplier of furnace oil to all IPPs in the country, with a local market share of more than 80 per cent.

  • 50 per cent Pakistanis think Maryam Nawaz is the next PM: Miftah Ismail

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail said that half of the people in the country think that Maryam Nawaz should be the next prime minister (PM) instead of Shehbaz Sharif.

    Miftah, while speaking on a Geo News programme “Jashan-e-Cricket”, said that Nawaz Sharif should not return to the country. He also claimed that PM Imran Khan is not going to complete his tenure because the establishment and the government are not on the same page.

    During the show, the former finance minister revealed that nowadays Mohammad Rizwan is his favourite cricketer and that he will support every team Rizwan plays for.

    Miftah was asked about the number of ‘Cocomos’ (chocolate-filled round biscuits) in one packet, as his family owns Ismail Industries Limited. The PML-N leader said if they were in power today, the number of Cocomos would have been 5 in one packet (which is currently 4).

    Shahzad Iqbal asked Miftah: “Would there be 7 Cocomos if people vote for you in the next elections?”

    “Then don’t vote for us,” quipped Miftah.

    Miftah Ismail also revealed that former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is a miser. “Even more than me,” said Miftah.

    Talking about Hammad Azhar, Miftah said that Hammad is not corrupt.

  • PTI finalises Hammad Azhar as its official candidate for Lahore mayorship

    PTI finalises Hammad Azhar as its official candidate for Lahore mayorship

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalised the name of current Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar as its official candidate for the slot of Lahore Mayor.

    A source told Business Recorder, “The party has short-listed his name that will be announced in due course of time; the party high-ups find him the fittest candidate to contest the Lahore Mayor elections. Azhar has shown willingness to give up his ministry and take part in the local bodies’ elections.”

    “Azhar has proven himself as a young energetic minister while heading important federal ministries. He is seen as a clean person full of energy,” the source added.

    Hammad has also served as the federal economic affairs minister and federal industries and production minister. He is the son of veteran politician and former Punjab Governor Mian Muhammad Azhar, thus has strong political roots in Lahore.

    Prior to this news, it was reported that the party had offered the candidacy to Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid.

  • ‘We want to engage’: Fawad Chaudhry offers conditional friendship to the Opposition

    ‘We want to engage’: Fawad Chaudhry offers conditional friendship to the Opposition

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership on Tuesday appeared to want to befriend the Opposition and want to reconcile amidst tensions.

    Informa­tion and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a press conference after the federal cabinet meeting, said, “We want to engage the opposition on important national issues like electoral and judicial reforms and the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.”

    Accompanied with Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Chaudhry said that the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaisar and the Prime Minister (PM) himself had invited the Opposition to negotiate on these three issues.

    However, Fawad said that despite constant efforts to engage the Opposition on the government’s reform agenda, they were only interested in formulating conspiracies and trying to topple the government.

    It is pertinent to state here that the Opposition has shown interest in talks with the government, provided the premier himself participated in the talks.

    Fawad categorically said that PM Khan would not sit with any Opposition leader, including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

  • Forward bloc in PML-N: Will Nawaz Sharif be replaced by another party member?

    Forward bloc in PML-N: Will Nawaz Sharif be replaced by another party member?

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that four Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were “hell-bent on removing the party supremo Nawaz Sharif from the party.”

    Addressing a gathering in Lahore, Fawad said that there is a “rat race going on among senior PML-N members as to who would lead the party next,” adding that, “four top-most party leaders want to remove PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in a bid to take over the party’s leadership.”

    The federal minister even claimed that the four members he was referring to “even went out to meet someone and confessed that since Nawaz had treated the country in a bad manner, they should instead be given a chance to lead the party.”

    When asked for names Fawad said that their names will soon be out and that the four of them sit in the front row.

    Energy Minister Hammad Azhar took to Twitter and asked the PML-N leadership to show courage and come forward with their ambitions.

    “It is a good thing that there are four members in the Noon League who have the courage to consider themselves more qualified and entitled to lead than the Sharif family,” said Hammad.

    “However, they should express this commitment openly, not behind closed doors. Will you spend your whole life in fear?” tweeted Hammad.

    Confirming what Fawad had said, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Special Assistant on Capital Development Authority (CDA), Ali Nawaz Awan, while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Captial Talk’ said, “The entire city is talking about [replacement of Nawaz Sharif.]”

    I will name two members [out of the four hinted by Fawad] Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khawaja Asif,” said Awan.

    Prior to this, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed had hinted on a minus Sharif leadership and said, “They [Opposition] want that the hand [protecting] Imran Khan should be on their head as well,” adding, ” this hand can be on their [Opposition] neck but never on their head.” Rasheed’s words hint towards the establishment.

    “I would like to say a historical sentence that all four Sharif’s are minus from the politics of Pakistan,” said Rasheed.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda, while speaking on ARY News programme, ‘Off the Record’ was questioned about the four names who wanted to replace Nawaz Sharif.
    “Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, Ahsan Iqbal, and Miftah Ismail are the names who wish to replace Nawaz,” said Vawda.

    Anchorperson Kashif Abbasi asked Vawda as to where did the above-mentioned people go and whom did they meet? Vawda said, “Any door can be knocked, one can go and meet anyone.

  • ECP releases list of 150 lawmakers for not filing asset details

    ECP releases list of 150 lawmakers for not filing asset details

    The membership of 150 lawmakers from across the country, including some cabinet members, has been suspended by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not filing their statements of assets.

    The ECP on Monday released a list of MNAs, senators, and MPAs of the four provincial assemblies who failed to file their statements of assets and liabilities, as well as those of their spouses and dependents, for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2021. These statements have to be filed every year by Dec 31.

    In the 100-member Senate, the membership of three lawmakers has been suspended, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Dr Musadik Malik, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Dr Sikandar Mandhro, and Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai.

    Among the MNAs who have been suspended as members of the lower house are cabinet members Farrukh Habib, Noor ul Haq Qadri, Hammad Azhar, Shafqat Mahmood, and Dr Fehmida Mirza.

    The prominent MNAs who failed to fulfill their constitutional obligation are former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Rana Mohammad Qasim Noon and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

  • PTI’s Hammad Azhar gives tax details, confirms that he paid Rs18 million in taxes

    PTI’s Hammad Azhar gives tax details, confirms that he paid Rs18 million in taxes

    Energy Minister Hammad Azhar has responded to The Current’s news report that stated he paid Rs29,025 in an individual capacity in 2019. However, the minister denied the report and clarified that he paid Rs18 million in 2019.

    Hammad Azhar said that, “My AOP pays my personal income tax on my behalf and it has paid Rs18 million on that count. They [Federal Board of Revenue] have listed clearly that my AoP has paid my share of income tax as Rs18 million.”

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) released its 2019 tax directory for parliamentarians recently. According to the document, the directory complied tax returns filed manually and electronically till January 3, reports Dawn.

    According to the data, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan paid Rs98 lakh. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif paid Rs82 lakh while Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari paid Rs5 lakhs 30 thousand.

  • FBR data 2019: CM Buzdar paid Rs2,000 tax, PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gillani paid zero tax

    FBR data 2019: CM Buzdar paid Rs2,000 tax, PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gillani paid zero tax

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) released its 2019 tax directory for parliamentarians. According to the document, the directory complied tax returns filed manually and electronically till January 3, reports Dawn.

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that special efforts were made by FBR to make the directory more informative “which will help not only in educating taxpayers but also in encouraging compliance with tax laws as a national duty.”

    According to the data, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan paid Rs98 lakh. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif paid Rs82 lakh while Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari paid Rs5 lakhs 30 thousand.

    Former president Asif Ali Zardari paid Rs22 lakhs. Finance minister, Shaukat Tarin paid Rs2 crore 66 lakhs while former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi paid Rs49 lakhs.

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah paid Rs11 lakhs while Punjab CM Usman Buzdar paid a minimal Rs2,000.

    Current Balochistan CM Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo Rs11 lakhs and his predecessor Jam Kamal Khan paid Rs11 lakhs 80,000. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Mahmood Khan paid Rs66,258.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi paid Rs9 lakhs while Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar paid Rs43 lakhs. Energy Minister Hammad Azhar paid Rs 1 crore 80 lakhs.

    Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Senator Faisal Subzwari, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas, and Punjab Prisons Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan were among several lawmakers that paid Rs2,000.

    Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Yousuf Raza Gillani and PML-N’s Azma Zahid Bokhari did not pay anything in taxes.