Tag: IPP

  • PMLN aur IPP ka breakup ho gaya?

    PMLN aur IPP ka breakup ho gaya?

    Discussions between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Istehkam Pakistan Party (IPP) about a potential electoral alliance have hit a roadblock.

    PML-N is hesitant to forge partnerships on a significant number of its seats, sources cited by The News have said.

    As per sources, PML-N is not ready to make adjustments on the seats where its top leaders will contest elections.

    Sources also disclosed that the party is cautious about entering into alliances on numerous other seats.

    IPP reportedly proposed adjustments on 50 provincial assembly seats and 26 National Assembly seats during talks between the two parties. However, negotiations have failed to yield any substantial breakthrough, leading to a standstill in the alliance talks.

    Maryam Nawaz and Aleem Khan will face each other in the election for NA-119 (Lahore-III), sources said. NA-119 is a stronghold of the PML-N as it won the seat back-to-back in 2013 and 2018 elections.

    To explore potential alliances, the PML-N is reportedly considering an electoral partnership on NA-117 (Lahore-I) for Abdul Aleem Khan and contemplating NA-127 for Aun Chaudhry. It can also go for an alliance on the Lodhran seat for Jahangir Tareen.

    Meanwhile, complications have also arisen in Karachi as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is reportedly hesitant to concede the NA-242 seat to PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif. In response, Shehbaz Sharif is anticipated to visit Karachi for crucial talks with MQM leaders, addressing this matter and other pertinent issues.

  • NAB arrests Fawad Chaudhry in corruption case

    NAB arrests Fawad Chaudhry in corruption case

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry in a corruption case on Saturday, Geo News has reported.

    NAB Chairman Lt-Gen. Nazir Ahmed Butt issued the arrest warrant for the former federal minister, while NAB took him into custody from Adiala jail, where he is imprisoned in a fraud case.

    According to the details of the arrest warrants, he will be presented before the court.

    Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry was arrested from his Islamabad residence in a case pertaining to a five million rupee bribe in exchange for a job. The complainant registered an FIR against Chaudhry at Aabpara Police Station.

    The politico’s wife, Hiba Chaudhry, had said that Fawad was arrested without any reason. “Fawad has been arrested and taken to an unknown place,” she said.

    In January, Fawad was taken into custody from his home following public statements where he allegedly “threatened” members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) during a media talk outside the residence of former PTI chief Imran Khan in Zaman Park.

  • Friendship ended with PPP, now PML-N and IPP are best friends

    Friendship ended with PPP, now PML-N and IPP are best friends

    The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) took a significant step on Thursday by submitting a list to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) committee, outlining its demands for seat adjustment ahead of the upcoming elections.

    The IPP is pushing for seat adjustments in 45 constituencies of the Punjab Assembly and 27 constituencies of the National Assembly.

    The deliberations unfolded during a joint meeting of the committees from both parties, hosted at the residence of former Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq. The meeting saw the participation of prominent PML-N figures including Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Atta Tarar, and Malik Ahmed Khan, while IPP was represented by Ishaq Khakwani, Aun Chaudhary and Nauman Langriyal.

    The discussions primarily revolved around seat adjustments for the National Assembly constituencies, with the IPP formally handing over its list to the PML-N committee. Both parties explored various options during the joint meeting, demonstrating a commitment to finding common ground.

    IPP has decided to field Jahangir Tareen from Lodhran, Aleem Khan and Aun Chaudhry from Lahore, Farrukh Habib from Faisalabad, Ghulam Sarwar Khan from Taxila, Aamir Kiyani and Ali Nawaz Awan from Islamabad, Firdous Ashiq Awan from Sialkot and Imran Ismail, Mahmood Maulvi will be party’s candidates from PML-N.

    Both parties agreed to continue talks on seat adjustment while another meeting is scheduled for Friday.

  • IPP will provide a list of constituencies to PML-N for seat adjustments today

    IPP will provide a list of constituencies to PML-N for seat adjustments today

    The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) has made a list of constituencies of national and provincial assembly seats where it wants seat settlement with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as per a report in The News.

    A source revealed to The News that the IPP committee, in which Ishaq Khakwani, Awn Chaudhry, and Nauman Langrial are included, has made a list of candidates which will be provided to PML-N on Monday.

    As the country gears up for general elections, political parties are making alliances with multiple political stakeholders to win the forthcoming polls on February 8 next year.

    PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif met with the IPP’s patron chief, Jahangir Tareen in Lahore a few weeks ago, to discuss the issue of seat adjustment in the upcoming general elections, which are going to be held on February 8, 2024.

    According to multiple media reports, the IPP wants seat adjustments with PML-N on 20 National Assembly (NA) seats and 44 Provincial Assembly (Punjab) seats.

    However, sources in the IPP claimed that the figures reported by different TV channels were exaggerated and that the party will ask for seat adjustments in about eight to 10 NA constituencies and 15 to 20 PA constituencies.

  • Seat adjustment between PML-N and Jahangir Tareen’s party

    Seat adjustment between PML-N and Jahangir Tareen’s party

    As the political parties gear up for the upcoming elections scheduled for February 8, 2024, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) made another political alliance with the Jahangir Tareen-led Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).

    Geo News reported that a significant political development occurred following a meeting between PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and IPP patron-in-chief Tareen on Thursday at Shehbaz Sharif’s residence in Model Town, Lahore.

    At the meeting, which was also attended by PML-N members Rana Sanaullah, Ayaz Sadiq, and IPP’s Awn Chaudhry, both parties deliberated on the current political situation in the country and explored the possibilities of collaborating on seat adjustments for the forthcoming general elections.

    Sources said that the two parties have agreed on seat adjustments for the February 8 polls.

    However, details regarding the number of seats will be finalised in meetings later, a source claimed.

    The development comes after a political agreement between the PML-N and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), when PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif visited the residence of PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in Lahore after a 15 years.

  • Jahangir Tareen ki party mein kaun kaun shaamil?

    Jahangir Tareen ki party mein kaun kaun shaamil?

    Senior politician Andleeb Abbas, along with two other former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) women MPAs joined the ranks of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) on Tuesday. 

    In a significant show of support, the IPP patron-in-chief Jahangir Khan Tareen met the trio of former women MPAs, where they officially severed ties with PTI and pledged their allegiance to the IPP.

    Flanked by IPP Information Secretary Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Andleeb Abbas said: “The IPP will make a strong Pakistan. We have a cause to follow, which is above a party and an individual. We have joined the IPP for a cause.”

    Sadia Sohail said: “We are sitting here together for Pakistan. May 9 should not have happened. All institutions should be respected.”

    Sumaira Bokhari said nothing was more important than Pakistan. When asked why they chose to join hands with Tareen and Aleem Khan who [allegedly] represent mafias in the country and their reason to quit the PTI, the trio chose not to respond to any of these queries.

    A group of leaders from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Balochistan also aligned themselves with the IPP. 

    PML-N Balochistan vice president Jaleel Ahmed Khan Musakhel, and his associates met IPP President Abdul Aleem Khan in Lahore to solidify their transition.

    Expressing his thoughts on the occasion, Aleem Khan said, “We want to see more progress in the small provinces. Apart from Punjab, the key political personalities from the other provinces are also joining the IPP.’’

    “The masses are upset by the traditional politics practiced by the PML-N, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and PTI,’’ Aleem Khan added.  

    The IPP’s momentum further gained strength as Pashtun Social Community (PSC) Punjab President Muhammad Sher Khan officially announced his decision to join the party on October 17. 

    The development came after Sher Khan held a meeting with IPP General Secretary Mian Khalid Mehmood.

    Khalid Mehmood welcomed Sher Khan by presenting a party scarf to the latter.

  • Jahangir Tareen will be PM if IPP wins upcoming election: Aleem Khan

    Jahangir Tareen will be PM if IPP wins upcoming election: Aleem Khan

    During an appearance on Express News programme Kal Tak, Aleem Khan, the president of newly established Istehkam-e-Pakistan (IPP) Party, has said that Jahangir Tareen would be their candidate for premiership in the next general election.

    “[We] will contest against PTI and PDM in the next election because people are against both these parties. IPP will not make seat adjustments with any party in the polls,” he revealed.

    Aleem also confirmed that he invited Asad Umar to join the party, adding that many lawmakers will join IPP after Eid.

    At present, IPP comprises of more than 100 former legislators and leaders of PTI.

    Tareen himself was once considered one of the key figures in PTI, largely credited for getting independent candidates to join the party in 2018, paving the way for the formation of a coalition government.

  • Cabinet approves Rs7.91 per unit increase in power tariff

    Cabinet approves Rs7.91 per unit increase in power tariff

    After several postponements, the Federal Cabinet finally decided to approve the Rs7.91 per unit increase in the power tariff.

    The Federal Minister of Power, Khuram Dastgir, and Minister of Petroleum, Musadik Malik, made the announcement during a press conference.

    Dastgir claimed that because Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif wanted to provide relief to the masses. The consent was not given until 45 per cent of the population had been exempted from the tariff increase.

    Musadik Malik, the minister of petroleum, disclosed that by leaving out the protected sector, the homes with consumption of less than 200 units per month, or up to 90 million people, had been left out of the price increase.

    Previously, the government’s proposal for the tariff increase was subject to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) reserve decision, according to Dawn.

    In accordance with the approval, the government will raise the rate by Rs3.5 per unit starting on July 26. A similar price rise will be implemented in August. The cost would then be raised by Rs0.91 per unit in October by the government, bringing the total rise to Rs7.91.

    Malik blamed the previous administration’s lack of frequent fuel adjustments and transmission losses rebasing for the sharp increase in tariffs. Fuel surcharges were raised without notifying the public at the final rebasing, which took place in February 2021.

    The power minister informed the media that the present administration had paid Rs214 billion toward circular debt, bringing the total down from Rs2,476 billion on March 31, 2022, to Rs2,253 billion on June 30, 2022.

  • NEPRA announces increase of Rs7.90 per unit in power tariff

    NEPRA announces increase of Rs7.90 per unit in power tariff

    An additional increase in the price of power of Rs7.90 per unit was announced by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Monday.

    After hearing the Central Power Purchasing Agency’s (CCPA) argument today, the power regulatory authority made the final hike announcement, according to ARY News.

    It is worth noting that life consumers and K-Electric are protected from the tariff increase and that the amount would be paid in July’s bills.

    In response to a request from CPPAG for a raise of Rs7.96 per unit, the increase was granted under fuel adjustment costs (FAC) for the month of May 2022, according to a notification released by the power regulating authority.

    Additionally, after a substantial increase of Rs7.91 per unit, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has just set the power rate at Rs24.82 per unit for the fiscal year 2022–23.

    The authority approved a Rs5.27 per unit increase in electricity rates for K-electric customers on June 24.

    According to a handout provided by NEPRA, K-Electric requested an increase in the electricity rate of Rs5.25 to account for fuel adjustment charges for April.

    Earlier, The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved an increase in power costs for K-Electric customers of 57 paisa per unit.

    However, ECC deferred making a decision on a different proposal that called for charging K-Electric customers a surcharge of Rs1.45 per unit in order to recover Rs113.1 billion in past-due amounts related to quarterly rate increases. 

  • Energy sector to get a massive portion of the Rs699 billion subsidy

    Energy sector to get a massive portion of the Rs699 billion subsidy

    The government has proposed allocating Rs699 billion to multiple sectors in order to provide relief to the masses during the new fiscal year 2022-23.

    According to budget estimates, the government plans to boost subsidies by Rs17 billion to Rs699 billion for the next fiscal year, up from Rs682 billion in the previous fiscal year.

    The government has reduced power sector subsidies by Rs26 billion to Rs570 billion for the next fiscal year, down from Rs596 billion in the previous fiscal year and proposed increasing the total subsidy for the power sector for PEPCO by Rs18 billion to Rs275 billion. The budget 2022-23 proposed reducing the subsidy amount for K-Electric by Rs5 billion to Rs80 billion.

    Moreover, subsidies for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are slashed by Rs39 billion to Rs215 billion for the coming fiscal year.

    The amount of petroleum subsidy has been upped from Rs51 billion to Rs71 billion. During the next fiscal year, the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) will receive a Rs17 billion subsidy. PASSCO will also receive Rs7 billion subsidy.

    During the next fiscal year, Rs8 billion has been set aside for wheat subsidies to Gilgit-Baltistan. For the coming fiscal year, the subsidy for the metro bus service has been increased to Rs4 billion. Similarly, the fertiliser plant subsidy has been increased to Rs15 billion.

    Read more: Govt unveils Rs9.5 trillion budget 22-23, focused on sustainable growth

    The new government has reduced the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) subsidy amount to Rs500 million for the next fiscal year, down from Rs30 billion in the previous fiscal year. NAPHDA’s markup subsidy has also been reduced, from Rs.3 billion to Rs.500 million for the coming fiscal year.