Tag: Hina Rabbani Khar

  • Which women are on the priority list of political parties?

    Which women are on the priority list of political parties?

    Political parties have submitted their priority list to the Election Commission of Pakistan for reserved seats for women.

    According to details, major political parties Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) and others issued the priority list of the women candidates.

    The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leads with Hina Rabbani Khar topping the list for National Assembly seats from Punjab, followed by Samina Khalid Ghurki, Natasha Doultana, Neelam Jabbar, Shagufta Chaudhary, and Syeda Samina Raza.

    Shazia Marri was placed on the first number in the list for the National Assembly’s (NA) reserved seats for women.

    Other candidates include Dr Nafisa Shah, Shagufta Jumani, Shehla Raza, Mehtab Akbar Rashidi, Musarrat Rafiq, Shazia Soomro, Naz Baloch, Seher Kamran, Sharmila Farooqi, Shazia Abid, Rehana Baloch, Neelum Jabbar, Nargis Faiz, Nayab Gohar and Shazia Nizamani.

    The PML-N has nominated candidates such as Tahira Aurangzeb, Shaista Parvez, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Nuzhat Sadiq, Musarrat Asif Khawaja, Seema Jilani, Shiza Khawaja, Romina Khurshid Alam, Wajiha Qamar, and Zeb Jafar.

    The PML-N issued the priority list of 58 women candidates from Punjab.

    The candidates include Kiran Dar, Anusha Rehman, Tahira Wudood, Afia Naz, Saba Sadiq, Farah Naz, Shehnaz Salim, Muneeba Iqbal, Iffat Naeem, Zakia Khan, Ishrat Ashraf, Tehmina Daultana, Uzma Bukhari, Hina Parvez Butt, Saima Saadia, Rahila Khadim, Uzma Kardar and Tamkeen Akhtar.

    The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) presented Munazza Hasan, Firdous Ashiq Awan, and Asia Azeem in the list.
    Meanwhile, the PTI’s priority list was withheld by the ECP as the party’s election symbol was revoked after intra-party elections were declared null and void.

    Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) suggested 23 women candidates for the Punjab Assembly in its priority list. IPP issued the list of 14 women candidates and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) recommended 21 women candidates.

  • Washington doc leak says Pakistan doesn’t want to appease West anymore

    Washington doc leak says Pakistan doesn’t want to appease West anymore

    Several documents regarding the declining support of key allied countries to the United States (US) have been leaked, a report published by Washington Post has stated.

    According to one of the leaked documents, Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, argued in March that her country can “no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States.”

    In an internal memo she titled “Pakistan’s Difficult Choices,” Khar cautioned that Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West. She said that in order to preserve Pakistan’s partnership with the United States, the country will be sacrificing the full benefits of a “real strategic” partnership with China.

    According to another leaked document, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s aide ask him to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict because it could jeopardise the country’s ties with Russia.

    India, likewise, appeared to avoid taking sides between Washington and Moscow during a conversation on February 22 between Indian national security adviser Ajit Kumar Doval and his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev, another of the leaked documents indicates.

    The leaked documents have surfaced when the US is no longer the unchallenged sole superpower in the world, as its former allies make strategic ties with China and Russia while the Middle East goes through its own course correction as former rivals reconcile with deals brokered by China.

  • India invites Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to SCO

    India invites Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to SCO

    In a surprise move, India has invited Pakistan’s Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to attend an upcoming meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) scheduled to be held in Goa in May, The Indian Express has reported.

    The invitation to the meeting of SCO ministers has been sent by the office of S Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs and has been forwarded by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

    Were Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to accept the invitation, the visit would mark the first visit of a Foreign Minister to India in 12 years. The last minister to visit the neighbouring country was Hina Rabbani Khar who travelled to India in July 2011.

    The unexpected development comes a few weeks after Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif expressed hope that relations between the two arch rivals will improve. In an interview with a UAE-based media outlet, the Pakistani Premier asked for “sincere and serious” talks with India.

    The SCO moot in Goa will also be attended by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

  • Don’t tell our women what needs to be done

    Don’t tell our women what needs to be done

    Women political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy. It facilitates women’s direct engagement in public decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women. But here in Pakistan, women in politics are seen as a threat to the fragile egos of some male politicians.

    When we talk about women’s political participation, it is easy for us to imagine the empty seats around the decision-making table, and a little more difficult to picture the many obstacles and challenges women face to get into those seats. When the same empty seats are filled by women, they somehow become a threat and danger. Recently, Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) MNA Abdul Akbar Chitrali criticised State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on her recent visit to Afghanistan. Chitrali said that he was not against any female minister, but he believed that the government should have included some tribal elders in the Khar-led delegation that visited Afghanistan. In response to his sexist statement, women Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) from treasury benches extended their support for Khar. Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman said, “This debate on gender difference has ended in the entire world, as to who is a man and who a woman. People are known for their performance and merit and not for their gender. Our women are excelling internationally and continuing to do so.” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also spoke up, asking that all parliamentarians, especially the men, should encourage and acknowledge the competency of women ministers appointed on merit.“Hina represented Pakistan in Afghanistan. This is a moment of pride for the entire nation,” she said, rebuffing Chitrali’s objections.

    It is not the first time that we have seen sexism in parliament. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani called Sherry Rehman the “Senate’s dadi (grandmother)” when he asked a house member to keep the questions specific so that Sherry Rehman can answer the questions. “I would advise you to only ask specific questions so that Sherry Rehman, who is the dadi of this House, can give you the right answers,” Sanjrani said, adding that members should keep the environment of the House calm.

    This month we saw PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry advising Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and Sherry Rehman to quit politics and open a beauty parlour instead.

    The question remains: what are the male politicians so frightened of? Politicians need to learn that there is a a fine line between criticism and misogyny remarks. Our politicians and men in general of Pakistan need to do better. Women of Pakistan are fierce, resolute and hardworking — be it in any field of the world. They are trendsetters and opinion makers. They shall and will not be stopped.

  • ‘Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the PM of India’: Bilawal Bhutto tells Indian Minister

    ‘Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the PM of India’: Bilawal Bhutto tells Indian Minister

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari slammed Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in response to his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s accusations about Pakistan perpetuating terrorism and sheltering Osama bin Laden.

    “I would like to remind Mr Jaishankar that Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the prime minister (of India),” said Bilawal at a press conference in New York on Thursday.

    “He (Narendra Modi) was banned from entering this country (the United States). These are the prime minister and foreign minister of RSS, which draws inspiration from Hitler’s SS,” he added.

    “In India, who perpetuates terrorism? Is it Pakistan? Ask the people of Gujrat; they will say it is their prime minister. Ask the people of Kashmir; they will say the butcher of Gujrat is now the butcher of Kashmir. I am not talking about some imaginary past; I am talking about today. They are not even attempting to wash the blood of the people of Gujrat from their hands for their own election campaign. Prime Minister Modi and his government have used their power to pardon the men who raped Muslims in Gujrat. The prime minister of India freed those rapists and terrorists.”

    “The Indian government does not believe in Gandhi’s ideology, but rather in the doctrines of his assassin,” said Bilawal.

    https://twitter.com/IbrarAMir3/status/1603491220566728727?s=20&t=RDyV6PKM20nB5RI-D5977w

    Jaishankar remarks on Pakistan came after State Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that India is a “rogue state” that projects itself as greatest victim of terrorism but is the perpetrator of it. Jaishankr said that Khar’s remarks reminded him of the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Islamabad more than a decade ago when she reminded Pakistan that “if you have snakes in your backyard, you cannot expect them to bite only your neighbours”.

    He claimed that Pakistan was “not great at listening to good advice … and now look what’s happening there. Today, it’s the epicentre of terrorism … and has its fingerprints over a lot of activities in the region and beyond”.

    Urging Pakistan not to blame others, the Indian minister asked: “How long Pakistan intends to practice [terrorism] and hide it by taking that debate elsewhere? Please clean up your act. Please try to be a good neighbour.”

    “We have lost far more lives to terrorism than India did,” said Bhutto-Zardari while pointing out that “India has been playing in the space” that has made it “very easy” to bracket Muslims with terrorism. “India has very skilfully blurred this line, making like us all are terrorists who are actually victims.”

    The Pakistani foreign minister noted that India has continuously perpetuated this philosophy, not just for Pakistan but Muslims in India too.

    The foreign minister said that Pakistan is proud of its achievements in the war against terrorism, as the country has taken concrete steps in connection with the National Action Plan for counterterrorism.

    He said that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) endorsed Pakistan’s measures taken to stem terror financing. Bilawal also said that it is wrong to blame the Muslim world for terrorism as terrorism doesn’t belong to any religion or region.

    He pointed out that terrorism has mainly targeted Muslims since 2001. Also, there were incidents where Chinese citizens were targeted in Karachi, he said.

    Highlighting the post-flood situation in Pakistan, the foreign minister said some areas of Balochistan and Sindh are still waterlogged. The massive flooding adversely impacted health, education and basic infrastructure.

    Assistance from the international community is crucial for Pakistan in coping with the challenge of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the victims, he asserted.

  • ‘No country has used terrorism better’; Hina Rabbani Khar slams India as ‘rogue state’

    ‘No country has used terrorism better’; Hina Rabbani Khar slams India as ‘rogue state’

    Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, has said that India is a “rogue state” that projects itself as greatest victim of terrorism but is the perpetrator of it.

    During a press conference in Islamabad, Khar said that India’s objective was to undermine Pakistan’s peace and security through terrorism, saying, “No country had used terrorism better than India”.

    Khar’s presser came a day after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that India’s footprints are seen in all terror activities carried out in Pakistan and New Delhi’s activities have gone “beyond that of an enemy state” just to hide its atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

    The state minister said that it was important for everyone who speaks of “justice and the universality of the value system to call a spade a spade”.

    “This particular effort is to bring to the attention of the world and to expect them and really encourage them to see things based on evidence as they are,” said Khar. 

    Khar told the press that Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan had called members of the diplomatic corps in Islamabad and shared Pakistan’s dossier on the 2021 Johar Town blast — that claimed six lives.

    Around 17 others sustained injuries in the blast in Johar Town, Lahore, in June 2021. The explosion took place in a residential area near Allah Hu Boulevard, police said.

    “This dossier has detailed evidence of how India has been found to be fully behind this incident that led to the loss of life,” Khar said on the Johar Town blast.

    The state minister reminded New Delhi that it cannot have islands of excellence in a sea of depravity. 

    “When you try and harm your region, you actually end up harming yourself,” she added. She said that Lahore, the Samjhota incident, and the Khulbushan Yadav evidence all point out that New Delhi plays as a victim of terrorism and gains sympathy.

    “This dossier, as you already know, has details and evidence of how India is fully behind this particular incident which led to the loss of lives. And we do not blame one country or the other the next day, unlike our neighbors. We waited till we had strong hard evidence to be making the case we are making today,” stated the minister.

    “I don’t think I need to remind anyone that India has had a role in destabilising its neighbouring countries and weaken their economies to try and pursue its hegemonic designs in the region,” she said, citing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Balochistan as two examples of India’s designs.

    The minister also reminded India that there could not be “islands of excellence in a sea of depravity”, stressing that when the country will try and harm the region, they actually end up harming themselves.

    “India’s unabated slip into the abyss of terrorism is being clouded by this growing India, emerging India narrative,” emphasised Khar.

  • ‘Apni hadd mein raho’: Male MNA reacts after female ministers unite to slam his remarks against Hina Rabbani

    ‘Apni hadd mein raho’: Male MNA reacts after female ministers unite to slam his remarks against Hina Rabbani

    Women Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) from treasury benches extended their support for State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, after Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) MNA Abdul Akbar Chitrali criticised her on the recent visit to Afghanistan.

    MNA Chitrali said that he was not against any female minister, but he believed that the government should have included some tribal elders in the Khar-led delegation that visited Afghanistan.

    Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman defended the decision, saying that if Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari decided to send a women delegation to [Kabul], he is correct in making this choice. “This is a message from Pakistan that this government and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) work and takes pride in promoting its women, protecting their rights and giving them representation,” she said.

    Quoting the example of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, the minister said she was the first elected woman prime minister of Pakistan and was highly praised across the globe.

    “This debate on gender difference has ended in the entire world, as to who is a man and who a woman. People are known for their performance and merit and not for their gender. Our women are excelling internationally and continuing to do so,” said the minister.

    Referring to the incumbent government, she said: “We, being coalition partners, are on one page and Khar’s visit to Afghanistan has projected the soft image of Pakistan.”

    Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb also spoke up, asking that all parliamentarians, especially the male community, should encourage and acknowledge the competency of women ministers appointed on merit.

    “Hina represented Pakistan in Afghanistan. This is a moment of pride for the entire nation,” she said, rebuffing Chitrali’s objections.

    She said the Taliban rulers had no problem negotiating with Khar, who had taken up Pakistan’s concerns very well during her trip to Kabul.

    Right from Fatima Jinnah to Kulsoom Nawaz and Najma Hameed, she said, women had sacrificed to strengthen democracy in the country. They were all pride of Pakistan, she added.

    “This is a wrong impression from our side that such gender discriminations is happening in our own parliament, in Pakistan. I got emotional seeing Hina Rabbani Khar sahiba sitting at the table alongside the Afghanistan government doing the negotiations. We in Pakistan should be proud of her,” said Aurangzeb.

    Later, Chitrali took to the floor of the house and promptly got into a verbal dispute with Aurangzeb and PPP Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri said, “Don’t try to scare me. I am not scared of anyone. Who are you? Aram say betho [ Sit down]. We respect women, but they should remain within their limits.”

    Ayaz Sadiq then intervened, after which Chitrali offered an apology, stating that he was sorry if his remarks hurt anyone.

    He added that his comments were taken in a negative context as he did not mean what his colleagues thought he had said.

  • Hina Rabbani meets Deputy PM of Interim Afghan Govt

    Hina Rabbani meets Deputy PM of Interim Afghan Govt

    Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, held a meeting with Deputy PM of Interim Afghan Govt. Abdul Salam Hanafi. Bilateral trade, connectivity & people-to-people contacts were discussed during the meeting.

    In the meeting matters of bilateral importance focused on political consultations between the two governments.

    She also held a meeting with Women Chamber of Commerce. During the meeting Pakistan expressed a keen interest in strengthening linkages between women entrepreneurs of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    This visit is being perceived as important because it is led by a female minister and that this is a top Pakistani official’s first visit since the April government transition.

  • Who is responsible for getting Pakistan off the ‘terror watch list’?

    Who is responsible for getting Pakistan off the ‘terror watch list’?

    After years of relentless hard work, Pakistan finally received a positive response from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The country is finally close to its removal from the global money-laundering and terrorist financing watchdog’s ‘grey list’. This for sure is a huge win for the country. This was made possible after countless days and nights our officials worked to bring Pakistan one step closer to being removed from the grey list. But here’s the twist. Who should be crowned for the FATF success? Many people are declaring it as their own victory.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan credited his government for this achievement. Khan congratulated former Energy Minister Hammad Azhar who was the main man working on FATF. On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated the nation and appreciated the performance of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and the members of her team. According to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, the premier made a telephone call to the army chief and “lauded his decision to set up the core cell at the GHQ”. Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Babar Iftikhar termed the development “a great achievement” and gave credit to the “civil-military team” and mainly to the core cell set up at the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi for it.

    Though there is no doubt that the road to success in terms of FATF has been a long one for Pakistan, let us not forget that many have done a lot of hard work to bring the country to this point. But this recent episode of many claiming credit for our success at FATF has raised one question: Can we as a nation stand united and be able to celebrate the major wins together, keeping aside our political and personal differences? The answer, for now, seems, ‘no’. The recent political scenario has divided the nation so much that even conversing on a simple topic that involves politics ends up in a heated argument. Does one wonder where have the days of critical thinking and constructive debate gone? We can only hope that Pakistanis — be it politicians, think-tankers, policymakers or the common citizen — be able to celebrate Pakistan for its glory and wins.

  • Pakistan likely to be removed from FATF grey list today

    Pakistan likely to be removed from FATF grey list today

    Pakistan is hopeful of getting off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

    The Pakistani delegation attending the conference in Berlin is headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of the National FATF Coordination Committee.

    Pakistan was added to the list in 2018 and was given a list of actions to be completed. In a review held in March 2022, FATF retained Pakistan on the list, saying that the country has “made significant progress in fulfilling its recommendations”.

    FATF had directed Pakistan to fulfill 34 conditions in two stages. Pakistan fulfilled 32 out of 34 conditions in the last FATF meeting and completed the remaining two in this meeting.

    After news of Pakistan’s expected removal from the grey list spread on social media, Rabbani took to Twitter and said, “FATF will issue a Public Statement after the conclusion of the meetings tonight. Prejudging the outcome or speculative reporting could and should be avoided.”

    There will be a press briefing in Berlin on the outcomes of the FATF Plenary today (June 17).