Tag: Imran Khan

  • PM finds abduction of Sindh IG funny, says can’t stop laughing

    PM finds abduction of Sindh IG funny, says can’t stop laughing

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has termed the kidnapping of Sindh Police IG Mushtaq Mahar by the Sindh Rangers to get Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (r) Safdar arrested a “comedy”.

    Referring to the IG House incident, the PM said: “I believe it is a comedy. When I think about that, I laugh. What is happening? It is unfortunate that all the enemies of Pakistan, including India and Israel, are with them.”

    The PM made these comments in an interview with the ARY News. The PM, who didn’t comment on the much controversial till now, blamed media for creating “hype” over the incident. He said: “Kidnapping [of Sindh police chief] was a non-issue, yet media houses were creating hype.”

    The prime minister was referring to the incident, wherein the army coerced the Sindh IG to issue arrest warrants against Safdar, who was arrested from his hotel room.

    The humiliating treatment meted out to the police chief led to the senior officials asking the government for 60 days leave.

    Subsequently, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman demanded army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to hold an inquiry into the incident. At this, Gen Bajwa ordered the Karachi corps commander to hold “immediate probe” into the incident.

    ARREST OF CAPT SAFDAR:

    Safdar was arrested from his hotel room in the early hours of Monday from his hotel room for raising slogans at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and jumping over the grill surrounding the grave. The Sindh government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had distanced itself from the matter soon after the arrest.

    Afterwards, the Sindh police tweeted that the arrest was lawful, but the tweet was deleted soon after it was put up. But after a few hours, the tweet was updated again, wherein the police said that Safdar was arrested as per law.

  • PM likely to appoint brother of Nawaz’s blue-eyed Fawad Hasan Fawad as new special assistant

    PM likely to appoint brother of Nawaz’s blue-eyed Fawad Hasan Fawad as new special assistant

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is likely to appoint the brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif’s blue-eyed Fawad Hasan Fawad as his new special assistant on information and broadcasting, ARY News reported.

    According to reports, Raoof Hasan will be replacing former Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general (DG) Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa, who stepped down as the premier’s media aide earlier this month.

    Interestingly, Raoof is the brother of former civil servant Fawad who served in BPS-22 grade as the principal secretary to two PMs, namely Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    The former bureaucrat was accused of corruption and misuse of authority by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Ashiana Housing scam, which led to his arrest in July 2018.

    He was accused of directing the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) management to cancel the contract of Ashiana Iqbal without any inquiry. In February 2019, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted Fawad bail but denied the same in another NAB case pertaining to assets beyond means.

    Later, in January 2020, Fawad was set free on the grounds that no illegitimate asset belonging to him had been unearthed by the anti-graft watchdog, no charge had been framed and that there was no nexus between him and any asset, however, he had been arrested at the inquiry stage.

    Fawad was also one of the first to be nabbed as part of the Imran-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s accountability drive.

    Raoof, on the other hand, is the founder and chief executive of the Regional Peace Institute.

  • Throwback to when press claimed Imran Khan and Rekha were getting married

    There was a time when it was speculated that then cricketer Imran Khan and one of the finest actresses of Indian cinema, Rekha, were soon to get married, a 1985 newspaper clipping making the rounds on social media has revealed.

    “Pakistan’s ace fast bowler Imran Khan and India’s screen glamour girl Rekha are to be married soon,” read a report in The Star citing an Indian film journal.

    It further said, “According to the journal’s report, Imran Khan stayed almost the whole of April in Bombay. During this period, he and Rekha were seen enjoying each other’s company on the sea beach, the residence of Premi Shivar Godraj and at night clubs.”

    The journal attributed a statement to Rekha’s mother in which she opined that the man best suited as life partner to her daughter could not be other than Irman Khan.

    “She had gone to Delhi and consulted a najoomi [astrologer] if Imran could be an ideal suiter to her daughter. No one knows what the najoomi had said but Rekha’s mother was convinced that Imran could be a welcome addition to her family.”

    According to a piece carried by Dawn in 2013, people linked Imran Khan to Bollywood actress Zeenat Aman and Rekha who seemed more eastern for the country’s most eligible bachelor instead of his former wife Jemima Goldsmith.

    “After all, it was Rekha who had termed Raj Babbar as ‘side se dekho to bilkul Imran Khan’ in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Jhooti, right?”

    Nonetheless, Imran and Jemima tied the knot in 1995 and they stayed together for nine years, during which he fathered two sons with her. The fairytale marriage may have ended but Imran is still on friendly terms with the mother of his children, who constantly supports his views on social media.

    After Jemima and his second wife, journalist Reham Khan, now-Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan Imran is currently married to Bushra Bibi.

  • Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif has alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to harm him and his wife by using his political opponents.

    Speaking on a TV show, the PML-N leader claimed the prime minister wanted his rivals to hold a protest outside his residence, target him in a road accident, and harass his wife by forcing her out of the vehicle.

    Asif further alleged that the PM desired to get him beaten up or implicate in a narcotics case in order to teach him a lesson. He said that he wanted to raise these issues in the National Assembly, but he was not allowed by the NA speaker to talk. The lawmaker, however, said he has spent a lifetime on the opposition benches and will not cower down by such tactics.

    On Monday, the PM mocked Asif over his claim that he had called army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa over reports of rigging on the election night. Imran claimed that Asif called Gen Bajwa on election night in 2018, crying while fearing defeat, and seeking his help to win from the NA-73 constituency of Sialkot.

    “There’s a prominent rangbaaz [charlatan] from Sialkot who thinks highly of himself… makes tall claims… but it was revealed that on election night he called Gen Bajwa at 8 pm, weeping and seeking his help to win the election,” the premier said during an animated address to a Tiger Force convention in Islamabad.

    Calling him “Rangbaaz Khawaja”, PM Imran quoted Asif as appealing to the army chief that he would be destroyed if Gen Bajwa didn’t help him win the election against Usman Dar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

  • Coronavirus infections to spike in polluted cities, fears PM

    Coronavirus infections to spike in polluted cities, fears PM

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned that the second wave of coronavirus infections was imminent, especially in cities that face higher air pollution levels.

    In an award ceremony pertaining to clean green index programme, the prime minister said that he feared there might be a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in cities where the rate of pollution increases in October and November.

    “I fear that in October and November […] cities like Faisalabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Gujranwala where there is more pollution […] there might be a second spike in coronavirus cases. The cases are rising gradually and we hope that they don’t increase quickly; we are monitoring it,” he added. According to the PM, the infections could increase during winter as ‘pollution becomes stagnant in the atmosphere’.

    This is not the first time that the premier has warned of a resurgence of the deadly virus. At the start of this month, he had urged people to follow precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

    Even though there have been multiple warnings by the government officials about the imminent spike in coronavirus infections, the federal and provincial governments have yet to take any serious measures to thwart a potential catastrophe. In March when the virus had started making inroads in Pakistan, the federal government through its reckless attitude enabled the outbreak.

    The prime minister had said the coronavirus infection was just like normal ‘flu’ which could be cured with ‘hot water’. This attitude didn’t help the government or public living under the shadow of a pandemic.

    This time again, the government is dilly-dallying on measures to prevent COVID-19 outbreak. Despite a gradual spike in cases since September, the government has allowed schools and businesses to operate, exposing millions to the virus.

    SMOG AND CORONAVIRUS:

    Experts say the pollutants could also aid the spread of coronavirus, said a BBC report. “In addition to air pollution decreasing immune defences, it is thought that particulate and nitrogen dioxide found in air pollution can act as vectors for the spread and survival of airborne particles such as Covid [virus],” Mary Prunicki, director of air pollution and health research at Stanford University, said.

    Studies have shown that exposure to high levels of pollution worsens the condition of patients who have diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease and asthma. And it also weakens the immune system of healthy people.

    “The lung is the gateway to the body and any damage to the organ can cause severe problems. And that makes people more susceptible to Covid-19,” Dr DJ Christopher, head of pulmonary medicine at the prestigious Christian Medical College in Tamil Nadu, said. Christopher said. “It’s akin to fighting a war with weakened front-line soldiers.”

    In Lahore, the air quality index has crossed 200 –very unhealthy– since the past week. According to the IQAir website, “Air quality in Lahore usually worsens during the winter season from October to February.” It says that winter air pollution is ‘worse due to temperature inversion, which results in a layer of warm air that is prevented from rising trapping air pollutants’.

  • Pakistan’s soft image can only be portrayed through tourism: PM Imran Khan

    Presiding over a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on tourism in Islamabad, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that Pakistan is blessed with different climatic zones and numerous untapped tourist points. He said that the government is focused on eco-tourism to ensure environmental conservation while managing and looking after tourist spots.

    According to details, PM Khan said that the government would provide all possible facilities for the development as well as the promotion of the tourism sector in the country. This initiative would not only generate revenue but also provide employment opportunities for the people of Pakistan.

    Previously in his first televised address to the nation, soon after taking oath, PM Imran had said: “Pakistan has huge tourism potential. We will promote tourism to strengthen the economy.”

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari briefed the committee about the progress of the development of the tourism sector. He also informed that substantial work has been undertaken for the development of religious tourism.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the World Tourism Forum 2021 will be held in Pakistan. According to Zulfi Bukhari, the forum will be a five-day event with over 1,000 foreign visitors expected to attend.

    “The World Tourism Forum will have three days for conference and two days for tourism”, the SAPM had said.

    Meanwhile, American business magazine Forbes has also listed Pakistan as one of the ten must-visit destinations for those who’re looking for something offbeat.

  • India says didn’t approach Pakistan for talks

    India says didn’t approach Pakistan for talks

    India’s Ministry for External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that New Delhi did not approach Pakistan with a dialogue offer, as he rejected claims made by Moeed Yusuf — the prime minister’s aide on national security– in a recent interview with an Indian media outlet.

    “The statements made by him [Yusuf] are contrary to facts on the ground, misleading and fictitious. As regards the purported message that was referred to, let me make it clear that no such message was sent from our side,” Srivastava said at a weekly press briefing.

    The spokesperson termed the statement “fictitious and misleading”, saying the claim was made by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to “divert attention from domestic failures” and “mislead its domestic constituents by pulling India into headlines on a daily basis”. The Indian official advised Yusuf “to restrict his advice to the establishment and not comment on India’s domestic policies”.

    PM’s Special Assistant on National Security Moeed Yusuf gave an interview to The Wire earlier this week, wherein he claimed that India approached Pakistan with a talk offer. This was the first time a Pakistani government official was interviewed by an Indian outlet since New Delhi annexed Kashmir in August last year.

    During his interview with Karan Thapar, Yusuf set five pre-conditions for the resumption of “meaningful dialogue” with India to resolve all outstanding issues, including the longstanding dispute of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoK).

    While he said that Pakistan desired peaceful ties with India and wanted to resolve all issues through dialogue, Yusuf asserted that for any meaningful dialogue to take place between the two neighbours, India has to release all political prisoners in Kashmir, end inhuman blockade and restrictions, rescind domicile law that allows non-Kashmiris to settle in the disputed territory, stop human rights abuses and end state terrorism in Pakistan.

    “My message is peace, my message is talk. But there is an intent and there has to be an enabling environment to talk, Karan. Create that and you will find us willing the next day. Just that one step, you will see my prime minister take two – that’s his promise, he stands by it,” Yusuf told journalist Karan Thapar.

  • Govt bans TikTok

    Govt bans TikTok

    The Government of Pakistan has banned TikTok due to “immoral/indecent” content being shared on the social media platform. 

    According to details, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued instructions for the blocking of the application across the country. 

    Keeping in view the complaints and nature of the content being consistently posted on TikTok, PTA issued a final notice to the application and gave it considerable time to respond and comply with the Authority instructions for the development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content.

    However, the application failed to fully comply with the instructions, therefore, directions were issued for blocking of TikTok application in the country.

    TikTok has been informed that the Authority is open for engagement and will review its decision subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.

    According to Tiktok’s transparency report, the social media app had earlier issued a statement that the company had “removed 3,728,162 user videos that were found in violation of regulations from Pakistan from July 1 to December 31, 2019, 

    Earlier, in an interview, Minister for Information Minister and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had remarked that the video-sharing app is affecting society’s values badly and should be blocked.

     “PM Imran is extremely concerned about the ‘growing obscenity and vulgarity’ in the society and has directed all relevant sections to check the trend before it destroys the socio-religious values of Pakistani society,” Senator Faraz had said. 

  • PM Khan urges everyone to wear a mask to avoid spike in COVID-19 cases during winter

    PM Khan urges everyone to wear a mask to avoid spike in COVID-19 cases during winter

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has feared that the second wave of coronavirus could hit Pakistan in winter. 

    PM Khan said that though Pakistan was “spared [from the] worst effect of COVID-19”, a second wave of the virus is expected in winters.

    “There is a fear onset of winter could result in [the] second wave. I urge everyone to wear face masks in public to avoid a spike. All offices and educational institutions must ensure masks are worn,” said the premier on social media.

    Moreso, during the daily briefing held at the NCOC (National Command and Operations Centre) in Islamabad, Federal Minister Asad Umar also urged the public to follow the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure cases of the virus do not spike during the winter season.

    Earlier, Umar had said indoor restaurants and marriage halls appear to be majorly contributing to the COVID-19 spread.

    Pakistan has reported 315,260 coronavirus cases so far. 

  • Imran Khan paid more tax than US President Donald Trump

    In light of a recent New York Times report and the tax details of parliamentarians revealed by Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), it has emerged that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s mere Rs0.2 million in taxes was more than business tycoon and United States (US) President Donald Trump’s federal taxes during his first year in office.

    The directory, published on the official website of FBR, contains tax details of elected representatives belonging to six different assemblies; National Assembly of Pakistan, Senate of Pakistan, Balochistan Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Sindh Assembly and Punjab Assembly. 

    According to the information released, former PM and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the highest taxpayer, as he paid a staggering amount of Rs241,329,362 in taxes.

    The premier in 2018 — his first year in office — paid Rs282,449 in taxes whereas President Trump paid just $750 (Rs124,290 as of 2020) in federal income tax during his first year as president.

    Trump, who in 2016 suggested reports of tax avoidance showed he was ‘smart’, denounced the findings as ‘completely fake news’. The New York Times said that of the 18 years its reporters examined, Trump had paid no income tax at all in 11 of them.

    While there is no comparison between the taxes paid by the two leaders from Pakistan and the US, it merits a mention that both were equally criticised for alleged tax evasion.

    As for Abbasi, his paid taxes were twice as much as the entire cabinet of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) paid.

    Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar and Petroleum Division Minister Omar Ayub were the top two tax payers in the cabinet, contributing Rs59.4 million and Rs26 million to the exchequer respectively.