Tag: Imran Khan

  • Won’t let provincial assemblies fall prey to Imran Khan’s ego, says Rana Sanaullah

    Won’t let provincial assemblies fall prey to Imran Khan’s ego, says Rana Sanaullah

    On Saturday, Railways and Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and Food Security Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema held a press conference in Lahore, calling on the apex court to take suo motu notice of the ongoing political turmoil in Punjab.

    Sanaullah said that the Governor has the constitutional right to ask the CM to attain a vote of confidence if he plans to dissolve the provincial assembly to satisfy someone’s ego.

    He added that they would not let two provincial assemblies fall prey to [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman] Imran Khan’s arrogance.

    “Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is trying to ensure that all the assemblies complete their tenure,” he said.
    He added that they do not intend to avoid elections; in fact, they are preparing their candidates for general polls.

    Rana added that the LHC provided ultimate relief to Parvez Elahi. He said that he has heard PTI is offering Rs20 million each to their estranged MPAs.
    “Imran wants the establishment to indulge in politics and help him attain power once again,” said Rafique.

  • How many chiefs of police changed in Punjab during IK’s government?

    How many chiefs of police changed in Punjab during IK’s government?

    Inspector-General (IG) of Punjab police, Faisal Shahkar, has relinquished his charge after less than six months in the office.

    Faisal Shahkar was appointed as the IG by the Punjab government in July, replacing Rao Sardar Ali Khan who was the police chief during Hamza Shehbaz’s tenure as Chief Minster.

    Prior to this, Sardar Ali Khan served as the IGP for almost a year. Following is the timeline of the officers who served as the IGP while Imran Khan was the Prime Minister (PM).

    Dr Syed Kaleem Imam (June 2018-September 2018)

    Dr Imran was appointed in June 2018 and left office in September of that year. He was removed from the post one month after Khan appointed Usman Buzdar as CM of Punjab.

    Muhammad Tahir (September 2018-October 2018)

    After Kaleem Imam, Muhammad Tahir remained in the office for a month.

    Amjad Javed Saleemi (October 2018-April 2019)

    Saleemi served for six months as the police chief of the province.

    Capt. (R) Arif Nawaz Khan (April 2019- November 2019)

    Captain Khan left the office after seven months of being in charge.

    Shoaib Dastgir (November 2019-September 2020)

    Dastgir remained IGP for almost ten months.

    Inam Ghani (September 2020- September 2021)

    During the PTI’s government, Ghani held the IGP post for a year.

    Sardar Ali Khan (Septmeber 2021-July 2022)

    Sardar Ali was replaced by Shahkar.

    This information has been taken from the Punjab police website.

  • ‘Confidence motion against CM’: Kya hoga 4 bajay ke baad Pervaiz Elahi ke sath?

    ‘Confidence motion against CM’: Kya hoga 4 bajay ke baad Pervaiz Elahi ke sath?

    Governor Punjab Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman directed Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi to obtain a vote of confidence from the house today (December 21).

    According to a notification issued by the Punjab Governor’s Secretariat, “The governor Punjab is pleased to sign order summoning the provincial assembly of Punjab at 1600 hours (4pm) on Wednesday (December 21) and requiring the chief minister of Punjab to obtain a vote of confidence in terms of Article 130(7) of the Constitution.”

    However, Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan has said that the governor cannot call a meeting during the ongoing session of the provincial assembly as per the rules.

    Following his meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence, the speaker said that the PDM was running away from elections.

    “When the governor asks for a vote of confidence, the CM is required to take a vote of confidence. The constitution is very clear,” tweeted Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob.

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah warned that if Elahi did not obtain a vote of confidence today, he would cease to be the province’s chief executive.

    “The Punjab Assembly speaker’s stance that the assembly is in session, so the CM cannot be asked to obtain a vote of confidence is wrong. If Elahi fails to do so, he will cease to be the CM,” he maintained.

    Sanaullah said the governor would issue an order barring the chief minister from holding the office in case he did not get a vote of confidence by Wednesday afternoon.

    He has also said that Governor Punjab will give a new notification at 4pm today (Wednesday, December 21). According to the new declaration, Pervaiz Elahi will no longer be the chief minister.

  • Ramiz Out: PM approves Najam Sethi’s appointment as chairman PCB

    Ramiz Out: PM approves Najam Sethi’s appointment as chairman PCB

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has approved Najam Sethi’s appointment as chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Geo News has reported.

    The official notification of the appointment will be issued later.

    Najam Sethi served in 2013 as head of PCB. However, he faced a legal battle with Chaudhry Muhammad Zaka Ashraf, another former chairperson of PCB. He later took up the position again in 2014 but Shahryar Khan replaced him and Sethi was given the charge of the executive committee.

    In 2017, he was appointed again as PCB chairperson but after one year he soon gave up his position in 2018.

    Najam Sethi was the person who launched the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016 and was the president of PSL at that time.

    This is a developing story.

  • ‘Youth ko sabaq seekhna chaahiye’: Twitterati reacts to Imran Khan’s alleged sex audio leak

    ‘Youth ko sabaq seekhna chaahiye’: Twitterati reacts to Imran Khan’s alleged sex audio leak

    The season of audio leaks never really ends in Pakistan. On Monday, December 19, a recording of former Prime Minister Imran Khan allegedly indulging in a graphic conversation of a sexual nature surfaced on social media.

    Khan can be allegedly heard talking to an unidentified woman on the phone call. The brief recording sent Twitterati into a frenzy, spurring a flurry of responses. While many questioned if the audio was fake, others were of the opinion that no one’s privacy could be breached in this manner.

    Here are some of the reactions:

    Maheen Ghani tweeted, “Political differences aside. I stand by IK on this. It’s a despicable invasion of privacy, unwarranted and highly condemnable.”

    A female Twitter user was of the view that audio leaks were a grand corruption of the society and our political system.

    https://twitter.com/AasmaaHaq/status/1605074317024366592?s=20&t=kuRxzIsxvhZO33dbBrz61Q

    Another twitter user said that she always hated Imran Khan but she condemns the violation of his privacy.

    One Tweet said that he prays that the audio is fake and that if in any way it is true then the youth of the country should learn from such incidents.

  • Bajwa wants to respond to Khan but can’t: Journalist Ansar Abbasi

    Bajwa wants to respond to Khan but can’t: Journalist Ansar Abbasi

    Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa cannot respond in public to the claims and accusations made against him by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan because of “codal limitations”, writes journalist Ansar Abbasi for Jang.

    The journalist revealed on Monday that it was not General (retd) Bajwa, but Imran Khan who controlled National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when he was the prime minister as he was paranoid about the Opposition and wanted to see them behind bars.

    Khan himself asked the ex-COAS to get a number of his opponents arrested. When Bajwa asked how he could take such a step, Khan gave reference of General Pervez Musharraf and his way of dealing with his political opponents. Upon hearing this, Bajwa reportedly reminded Imran that Musharraf was a dictator. Ansar Abbasi also disclosed that Bajwa told Khan to give him these orders in writing. However, Khan did not do that.

    The former army chief also warned Khan, advising him instead to focus on the economy instead of the Opposition.

    Abbasi has also written that “During his government’s tenure, Imran Khan himself has been heard complaining about the fear of NAB and its negative impact on the economy and civilian bureaucracy. But his urge to fix the opposition did not let him reform NAB.”

    Abbasi however does admit that General (retd) Bajwa is mostly blamed for keenly pursuing what is generally referred to as the “Imran Khan project”.

    He writes that when General (retd) Bajwa will speak, “what he tells will be no different from what former DG FIA Bashir Memon had alleged.” Memon claimed to have been pressurised by Khan to arrest his opponents.

    It is pertinent to mention that since his ouster, Khan has blamed the establishment and criticised them for being “neutral”. However, after General Bajwa retired in November, Khan has taken to criticising him directly. He has taken the name of General (retd) Bajwa on several occasions, saying that the retired army chief is responsible for ousting him.

    Days before retirement, General Bajwa, without taking any name, responded to Khan’s allegations.

    In what seemed like a criticism of Imran Khan, General (retd) Bajwa said that a false narrative was built and a campaign was started against the Pakistan army.

    “Many sectors used very inappropriate and undignified language while making the army the target of severe criticism. To criticise the army is the right of political parties and the people, but they should select their language carefully,” he said.

  • ‘General Faiz ne hamaaray sath ziyaadtiaan ki’: CM Pervaiz Elahi says former DG ISI was against him

    ‘General Faiz ne hamaaray sath ziyaadtiaan ki’: CM Pervaiz Elahi says former DG ISI was against him

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has accused former spy chief Faiz Hameed of wanting to put him and his son Moonis Elahi behind bars.

    In an explosive interview with ARY News’ programme ‘The Reporters’, Elahi said that General Faiz called the Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and asked him to put the father and son behind bars.

    “General [retd] Faiz ne humary sath ziyaatiyaan ki”, (General (retd) Faiz did grave injustices to us), Elahi said, emphasizing that the former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief was “strongly against” him.

    He also revealed that he had taken up the matter with the ex-COAS General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. Gen Faiz had then informed the army chief that the alleged political persecution had been ordered by Imran Khan.

    ‘Bajwa sahab humray mohsin hain’: CM Elahi

    Throughout the interview, the chief minister regretted Imran Khan’s remarks against General [retd] Bajwa. He reminded that General [retd] Bajwa is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) benefactor and they shouldn’t be “ungrateful”.

    Elahi said that he told Moonis Elahi: “Bajwa sahab humray mohsin hain, aap ke mohsin hain, PTI ke mohsin hain. Khuda ka wasta hai un ke khilaf kuch na bolay” (Bajwa sahab is ours, yours and PTI’s benefactor, so don’t speak against him).

    He said he had reiterated the same in his meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan a day ago at Imran’s Zaman Park residence. “He [Imran] replied: ‘I’ve received many requests [not to speak against Bajwa],’ so I said: ‘Then accept them,’” Elahi added.

    “The injustice that Imran Khan did was making us sit beside him and criticising Bajwa sahab.”

    Elahi said General Bajwa met the Saudi king and the crown prince, went to Qatar to bring money for Pakistan and even worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support Khan’s government.

    He said that he felt “very bad but could not speak to Khan in privacy before he made a long speech and announced the dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies on Saturday.”

    The chief minister also claimed that 99 per cent of the people within PTI were against Khan’s decision regarding the dissolution of assemblies.

    ‘Mei ne kaha GET OUT’, CM Elahi gives shut up call to PTI member for speaking against General Bajwa

    He also warned that he and his party won’t tolerate a word against ex-COAS. He said that he even gave a shut up call to PTI’s Sardar Hasnain Bahadar Dreshak for speaking against Gen Bajwa.

    “Mai toh cabinet mein bardaasht nahi karta, pehlay din hee keh diya tha. Dreshak ne cabinet mei bak bak shuru kardi. Mei ne kaha get out” (I told everyone on the first day that I wouldn’t tolerate this behaviour in the cabinet. When Dreshak started speaking nonsense, I said get out).

    Dreshak resigned from his post as the provincial minister for food on December 17. Earlier, it was reported that he and Elahi exchanged heated words during a cabinet meeting on Friday after which the minister left the room in protest and later sent his resignation.

    About Usman Buzdar

    CM Elahi took a direct jibe at former CM of Punjab, Usman Buzdar, stating that he had ruined the province and that Elahi sorted things out with four months of hard work.

    In response, Buzdar said that criticism of him is like criticising the PTI narrative. He added that he also has a lot to say but he has never spoken ill about anyone.

    Moonis Elahi met Imran Khan

    Following Elahi’s interview, Imran Khan called Moonis Elahi to his residence and discussed his father’s “harsh” statements. The younger Elahi explained his father’s, his own and his party’s stance with regard to Bajwa.

    On Sunday, Khan also said that he would not take any action against Gen (retd) Bajwa if he attains power again, saying his grievances with the former COAS were not a personal dispute.

    The former premier made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

  • PM Shehbaz calls for ‘political stability’ as Khan gears up to dissolve assemblies

    PM Shehbaz calls for ‘political stability’ as Khan gears up to dissolve assemblies

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for political stability in the country and the slammed the Opposition for “spreading anarchy”.

    In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) the premier said, “It is required for the sake of loyalty to Pakistan and allegiance that there must be economic stability.”

    PM Shehbaz said that only political stability and an economic charter could “strengthen Pakistan’s national solidarity”.

    “The people who had laid land mines in the economic foundations of the country, are out to do the same in the political foundations of the country,” Shehbaz stated.

    He said that it was “someone’s” desire that Pakistan should be pushed into (financial) default, however, he stressed that that scenario would never happen.

    “The people who had hurt public confidence are now out to dissolve assemblies,” he stressed, claiming that their objective was to create political instability.

    “There is no doubt that economic havoc was brought under an agenda and political instability is a continuity of that action,” he opined.

    “The political miscreants wanted to force the world to not invest in Pakistan by spreading anarchy, besides hampering the efforts for rehabilitation of the flood-affected people,” Shehbaz said.

    His remarks come on the same day as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up to announce the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. Party chairman Imran Khan is expected to announce his final decision on Saturday evening in Lahore.

  • Dissolution of assemblies: CM Elahi goes to Rawalpindi ahead of Imran’s date announcement

    Dissolution of assemblies: CM Elahi goes to Rawalpindi ahead of Imran’s date announcement

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi on Friday air-dashed to Rawalpindi and returned to Lahore after a brief meeting with an “important personality”.

    CM Elahi traveled to Rawalpindi on Friday evening where he held an important meeting. After returning to Lahore at night, he held consultations with his party leaders and also took Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain into confidence, reports Geo News.

    It is pertinent to mention that the development comes just hours before the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s announcement of the date for the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) today.

    According to the media outlet, after the meeting in Rawalpindi, Elahi opposed dissolving the assembly and suggested to Imran Khan not to take the decision in haste.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi also met Imran Khan before “the Rawalpindi meeting”. He told the PTI leader that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government can victimise the PTI and PML-Q leadership if the assemblies are dissolved.

    If Elahi doesn’t dissolve the Punjab Assembly, the PTI chief Imran Khan would be left with the option of his party’s lawmakers resigning from the assembly.

    On the other hand, Dawn reports that PML-Q said it would remain PTI’s political ally in the next general election, but demanded 25 to 30 seats across the Gujrat division, parts of south Punjab and Sialkot district.

    Khan will announce the dissolution of both provincial assemblies in the much-awaited video-link address at Liberty Roundabout in Lahore today. CM Elahi and KP CM Mahmood Khan would be personally present in the public congregations.

  • It will be easy to take legal action against IK if he dissolves assemblies: PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal

    It will be easy to take legal action against IK if he dissolves assemblies: PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal

    Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, has said that if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan dissolves provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) it will be easy for law enforcement agencies to take action against him if they want to.

    Talking to Geo News’ programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath‘, the minister warned the PTI chief, accusing him of using the provincial assemblies as his “shield”.

    Iqbal said, “Imran Khan has made these provincial governments his shield, when he is afraid of arrest, he either runs to Peshawar or Lahore.”

    “But if Khan dissolves these assemblies and the law wants to take him in its hand, it will be easy to do so,” he stated.

    Commenting on Khan’s announcement on the matter of PTI’s Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) resignations, the federal minister said that even if they are saying it, they are still living in parliamentary lodges.

    On Wednesday, Khan announced that he would give the date for the dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies on December 17 (tomorrow) at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk.