Tag: Imran Khan

  • Fawad Chaudhry explains why PM Imran didn’t attend Naeemul Haque’s janaza in Karachi

    Fawad Chaudhry explains why PM Imran didn’t attend Naeemul Haque’s janaza in Karachi

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Naeemul Haque passed away on Saturday, losing his long battle with cancer at the age of 70. The senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was admitted at a private hospital in the city where he breathed his last. Haque had been battling cancer for the last two years.

    Haque was laid to rest in Karachi’s Gizri Graveyard on Sunday. While a number of PTI members were present at the funeral, PM Imran’s absence caused uproar considering how close the two were and the fact that Haque was one of the founding members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

    Following the criticism on social media, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry explained and clarified why PM Imran and other senior members of the party were missing.

    Earlier, Special Assistant to the PM for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had shared that a special prayer meet will be held for the deceased at the PM House in Islamabad.

    The funeral prayer, led by former senator Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi, was held at Ayesha Masjid in DHA. Senior leaders of the PTI including Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Asad Umar and many others attended the funeral prayer.

    Leaders associated with MQM-Pakistan, PPP, PML-N among other officials were also present at the last rituals.

    PM Khan had expressed his grief over the death of his friend on social media.

  • Rs10 billion subsidy approved to control inflating food prices

    Rs10 billion subsidy approved to control inflating food prices

    To counter the effects of inflating food prices, the federal cabinet on Tuesday approved a detailed package of Rs10 billion subsidies for Utility Stores, Dawn reported.

    According to reports, the government will open thousands of stores in Pakistan, moreover, consumer items at subsidised rates will be supplied to 50,000 tandoors and dhabas.

    To address the sugar crisis in Pakistan, the cabinet meeting presided by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan also decided to lift the ban on sugar import and regulatory duty on it. Also, the cabinet in its meeting decided to establish five “free zones” along the Pak-Afghan border, where Utility Store Cooperation will set up its stores to curb smuggling.

    RATES:

    Under Rs10bn subsidy, a 20 kg bag of wheat flour will be sold for Rs800, sugar will be priced at Rs70 per kg, ghee at Rs175, pulses at Rs15 and rice will be available at Rs20 per kg at Utility Stores.

    In the meeting, the cabinet agreed that rupee devaluation against the dollar and the increase in gas and electricity tariffs were some of the reasons for the increase in food items prices. Cabinet also agreed that there would be no further increase in gas and electricity rates.

    Advisor to PM on Information and Broadcast Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. addressing a press conference, said, “The government would provide Rs2bn monthly subsidy to the USC for wheat flour, rice, sugar, pulses and ghee. She said the basic objective to give Rs10 billion subsidy was to ensure a sufficient supply of food items through Utility Stores.

    The also meeting decided that the government would use Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation as a reservoir to store sufficient quantity of essential items so that in times of crisis these reserves could be utilised.

  • VIDEO: PM Imran enjoying basant in Lahore

    VIDEO: PM Imran enjoying basant in Lahore

    An old video of Prime Minister Imran Khan is doing the rounds on social media in which he is celebrating basant. The location is likely to be Yousaf Salauddin’s iconic haveli with Lahore’s famous Badshahi Masjid in the background.

    Watch video:

  • ‘Salary not enough to pay for my expenses’ says PM Imran Khan

    ‘Salary not enough to pay for my expenses’ says PM Imran Khan

    Addressing the business community in Islamabad, Prime Minister Khan stated that the business community needs to pay taxes if the country is going to get out of the present economic crisis. He urged them to work with the government and help in collecting more taxes.

    He also said that people didn’t want to pay taxes because former rulers had looted the country and lost the trust of the people. “When leaders live lavishly on public expense, who will pay taxes?” he asked.

    Prime Minister House in Islamabad

    He said that he had slashed the expenses of the PM house by 40 percent and that he lived in his own home and paid his own expenses. “My salary is not enough to fulfil by own household expenses,” he said, adding that he did not start any business after becoming the Prime Minister and that the expenses of his foreign tours were 10 times less than previous rulers.

    PM Khan is leaving for Davos today where he will be speaking at the World Economic Forum.

  • PM Imran shares his thoughts on Megxit

    PM Imran shares his thoughts on Megxit

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was a close friend of Lady Diana and has strong ties with the United Kingdom, said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were young and had a right to live their life as they wished.

    In a wide-ranging interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), when the PM was asked about his thoughts on the matter [Megxit], he replied, “You know what, I have so many issues in Pakistan to deal with. It doesn’t seem to be a huge issue to me. I think, it’s their life. If that’s how they want to lead it, then why should people interfere?”

    When probed further and asked if he thought Diana would have understood their decision, PM Khan responded, “I guess so. Frankly, I haven’t really looked into it deeply. I think they are a young couple who want to lead their own life, so it’s up to them.”

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on January 8 had announced that they intend to divide their time between North America and the UK to carve out a “progressive new role” and step back from their senior positions.

    After much deliberation and reports of a royal tiff, the Queen gave the couple her blessings and allowed them to split their time between Canada and Britain during a “transition period” in which the family will figure out how to deal with their shock resignation from front-line royal duties.

    “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” the 93-year-old queen had said in a statement.

    Earlier, PM Imran’s former wife and mother of his two sons Jemima Goldsmith had also extended her support to Meghan and said that she understood “what it’s like to marry a national hero from another country and be attacked by the media for your ethnicity.”

    https://twitter.com/Jemima_Khan/status/1217469320105791488?s=20
  • Video: PM Khan loses his way in Parliament

    Video: PM Khan loses his way in Parliament

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday lost his way in Parliament House.

    After attending a meeting of the PTI parliamentary committee, PM Khan started walking towards his chamber in the Assembly. PM Khan was so busy talking to Interior Minister Ijaz Shah that he suddenly found himself in unknown territory.

    He asked his security official where he was. “Where are you taking me?” asked a perplexed prime minister in a corridor. His security officer then told him that this secret passage will also take him to the Assembly Hall.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pobhe8BLIw

    Meanwhile, Pakistani Twitter did not leave a chance to troll the PM.

    Meanwhile, this is not the first time, PM Imran got lost in the National Assembly.

    Interestingly, PM Imran wasn’t the only one who lost his way in parliament yesterday. PML-N MNA Maiza Hameed went to the room where PTI parliamentary committee was being held instead of PML-N meeting.

    Twitter didn’t even spare Hameed.

  • Extension almost here for Gen Bajwa as PTI, PML-N, PPP join hands in NA

    Extension almost here for Gen Bajwa as PTI, PML-N, PPP join hands in NA

    In a first, both the government and major opposition parties on Tuesday joined hands to approve in the National Assembly all three bills formalising the tenure of the three services chiefs, including Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    According to Geo News, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan made a rare appearance in the Lower House of the parliament as the assembly voted on three bills that will formalise the tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs.

    Before the voting started, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak took the floor to request the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that it take back amendments it had suggested to the bills, saying he was making the request “keeping in mind the regional and national situation”.

    Naveed Qamar, who spoke on behalf of the PPP in response to Khattak’s request, said that the amendments had been suggested to improve the bills but, after being approached by a government delegation and consulting with the rest of the opposition, the party had decided to withdraw them.

    With voting commencing shortly after the dialogue, Speaker Asad Qaiser asked legislators to express their assent or dissent. The bills were voted on clause by clause.

    Some opposition lawmakers, including those from Jamaate Islami (JI), the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), walked out in protest over the bills. They had earlier announced they would not be supporting the bills on principle. All the major parties had, however, lent near unquestioning assent to the same.

    After voting on the bills concluded, the National Assembly session was adjourned till 4 pm on Wednesday.

    The bills will now be sent for approval to the Senate Standing Committee on Defence before they are voted on in the Senate, and become law once signed by the president.

  • Robbers who looted PM Imran’s nephew’s house arrested

    Robbers who looted PM Imran’s nephew’s house arrested

    Three men who robbed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nephew’s house have been arrested by the police.

    According to reports, the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) also recovered the looted valuables from their possession.

    PM Khan’s nephew’s Shershah Khan’s house was robbed in the early hours of Saturday.

    According to the FIR registered by Shershah, three unidentified persons entered his house around 4 am and stole a Rs3 million cheque, jewellery and an old pistol that belonged to his grandfather. The FIR added that the robbers forced Shershah’s wife to sign the cheque.

    Police had suspected the involvement of the gardener’s son and media reports had suggested that the robbers entered through a door that was accidentally left open.

    Shershah is the younger son of PM Khan’s sister Aleema Khan.

    Shershah Khan with PM Imran’s sons at a family wedding
  • Imran Khan was once asked to act in a Bollywood film by Dev Anand

    Imran Khan was once asked to act in a Bollywood film by Dev Anand

    An old video of Prime Minister Imran Khan has been doing rounds on Twitter. The video shows the PM answering the question of whether Khan had ever been offered a role in Bollywood. To which Imran replied “You won’t believe it but I was once asked by an Indian actor who we all look up to, to act in one of his upcoming films. He even turned up in England to request me, but I was puzzled.”

    The host asked the details about who offered him and why he rejected it. To which Khan revealed that “It was Dev Anand, who in my time was very well known.”  

     The fact was also revealed in Anand’s autobiography, Romancing with Life (published by the Penguin Group in 2007) when the actor passed away in London in 2011. In the book, Anand quoted that he wanted the Pakistani cricket star to play the role of a star in decline in his film Awwal Number. Anand wrote that Khan was speechless when he first told him about the film. “You have bowled me over, Mr. Dev Anand. But I don’t think I am a good actor,” said Khan.

    Anand called him from Bangalore and told Imran Khan that he would be on the next available flight to London to convince him for the film.

    Anand wrote “Khan invited Anand to his flat in Soho. “Imran was hospitable and a very friendly host. Khan was ambitious for his political aim”. Anand left the script of the film with him and Khan returned it the very next evening with a note that said he wouldn’t be able to take up his offer.

  • MQM to quit PTI’s ruling coalition, help opposition topple Imran govt?

    MQM to quit PTI’s ruling coalition, help opposition topple Imran govt?

    Soon after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asked the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to break away from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in centre and join the Sindh government, the MQM-P has expressed dissatisfaction over the federal government’s performance.

    According to The News, Bilawal had on Monday offered PTI’s ruling partners, the MQM-P, stakes in the Sindh government, saying Sindh and Karachi could only get their share of development if Imran’s government collapsed.

    “You can stop this injustice being done with Karachi and Pakistan by breaking your alliance with the PTI and toppling Imran Khan’s government to save Karachi, and we will fully support you. For the sake of Karachi, for the sake of the people of Karachi, we are ready to offer to the MQM[-P] in Sindh, as many ministries as they have in the centre today,” a very charged PPP chief had said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of four mega development projects in Korangi.

    While extending his offer, Bilawal had repeatedly called for toppling Imran’s government as he tried to persuade the MQM-P to break its alliance with the PTI in centre. He made the unexpected offer while Mayor of Karachi Waseem Akhtar — who belongs to the MQM-P — was attending the inaugural ceremony along with Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah.

    It wasn’t later that the MQM-P reacted to the offer by saying that they “hadn’t joined the PTI for ministries”.

    Dunya News quoted an MQM-P spokesperson as clarifying that the alliance with PTI “was for the benefit of Karachi and not to get ministries”. He further said that MQM-P’s politics were all about serving people; however, he reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the federal government.

    “Transfer powers to local governments instead of making offers of ministries,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying soon after Mayor Waseem Akhtar said that the MQM-P “could join anyone for the betterment of the people”.

    RULING COALITION:

    The PTI and its allies on one side and opposition parties on the other have closely contested their positions in the National Assembly.

    Given their respective numerical strengths, the ruling coalition has around 225 lawmakers while the opposition has nearly 221 members and the simple majority of the total lawmakers of 446 (342 MNAs and 104 senators) comes to 224.

    The PTI has 156 members of the National Assembly. Its allies have varying numbers. The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have five members each; Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has seven MPs; Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has three lawmakers; Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) has four MNAs and Awami Muslim League and Jamhoori Watan Party have one member each besides the support of two independents.

    They all come to 184.

    In the Lower House of Parliament, the PML-N has 84 MNAs; Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has 55 MPs; Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has 16 members; and Awami National Party (ANP) has one lawmaker. Two independents stand with the opposition parties. In the Senate, the PTI is supported by 15 legislators, the MQM-P by 5 senators, the BAP by two MPs, and BNP-M and PML-Functional by one each. If the decisive number of 16 senators, including those elected from the erstwhile tribal areas are placed in the government pocket, the total strength of the PTI and its allies comes to 39 senators.

    With BNP-M likely to defect from the ruling coalition and the MQM-P being offered ministries in Sindh, any changes to the hung parliament in favour of the opposition parties could be fatal for the PTI government.