Tag: Khawaja Asif

  • Shehbaz, Dar should return to Pakistan immediately, says Khawaja Asif

    Shehbaz, Dar should return to Pakistan immediately, says Khawaja Asif

    Khawaja Asif, senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), has said that despite the fact that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s return is not possible until October, party president Shehbaz Sharif and senior leader Ishaq Dar should come back to Pakistan immediately as the public is angry about the economic crisis and inflation in the country.

    “There is no doubt there are countless [causes of unrest] for the people, and there is only one solution to this. We must constantly… constantly stay in touch with the people, so they can see us,” Asif stressed, adding that keeping distance from the public is not a solution.

    The former defence minister said this while talking on Geo News’ programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’.

    Khawja Asif said that Shehbaz Sharif and the former finance minister should come back and tackle the criticism the party has been facing.

    He also mentioned that the PML-N Vice President is constantly in touch with the public.

    “All of us MNAs are sitting in our constituencies,” he added.

    The former defence minister stated that the PML-N was part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), so one party could not be held responsible for the economic crisis in the country.

  • Upto 2-years imprisonment, fines for defaming the Army; Senate approves Army Act amendments

    Upto 2-years imprisonment, fines for defaming the Army; Senate approves Army Act amendments

    The Army Act Amendment Bill has sailed through the Senate on Thursday after Defence Minister Khwaja Asif presented it in the Upper House. The Senate session was chaired by the Chairman of the Senate, Sadiq Sanjrani.

    According to the bill, the disclosure of official information obtained in national interest will be punished by up to 5 years in jail, while anyone who discloses information against the interests of Pakistan or the Pakistan Army will be dealt with under the Secrets Act or Army Act.

    According to the bill, a person on sensitive duty will not become involved in any political activity. Violation of the rule can be sentenced by up to 2 years of imprisonment.

    Any person involved in electronic crimes whose aim is to defame the Army will be prosecuted under Electronic Crimes. It is further stated in the bill that a person involved in defaming the Army or spreading hatred against it will also be sentenced with to up to 2 years imprisonment and fines.

    While this was happening, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) staged a walkout from the Senate, calling the passage of several bills in one day “blind legislation.”

  • PPP’s Sherry didn’t stop Khawaja Asif’s sexist remarks in Parliament and Twitter is refusing to accept her explanation

    PPP’s Sherry didn’t stop Khawaja Asif’s sexist remarks in Parliament and Twitter is refusing to accept her explanation

    Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif once again went on a misogynistic rant in the National Assembly earlier this week. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader passed degrading and sexist comments about women from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), calling the party’s senators Sania Nishtar, Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, Falak Naz Chitrali and Fawzia Arshad “leftover garbage” and implying that they are depraved women.

    Twitter rightfully criticised the 73-year-old for using sexist and gross jokes to put down women, but they also noticed that when this happened, female politicians from PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), were present, including Climate Minister Sherry Rehman.

    Rehman has on Thursday posted a tweet explaining her silence over Khawaja Asif’s sexist speech, but despite her best efforts, you can’t ever ‘woman-splain’ overlooking misogyny.

    “Honestly, I’m sorry,” she wrote. “I was sharing some points on the passage of our National Adaptation Plan with a colleague in the National Assembly yesterday instead of listening to the noise outside House business in Parliament. I would have intervened to stop women Parliamentarians from being insulted. I did hear a tail end, but thought it was the usual political match against each other, not specific to women at all. Of COURSE I was not smiling at the remarks. That was about how pleased I was at the consensus I got in cabinet for the climate plan, which took many nights to get done. Had I heard the remarks of course I would have intervened. My bad.”

    For many Twitter users, this apology was incredibly late and did not send solidarity to the women subjected to Khawaja Asif’s disgusting remarks, which they pointed out to the PPP minister.

  • Ishaq Dar, Khwaja Asif in the committee formed by PM to hold consultations for caretaker setup

    Ishaq Dar, Khwaja Asif in the committee formed by PM to hold consultations for caretaker setup

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a five-member committee of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to hold consultations with allies on the upcoming caretaker setup in the country, Geo News has reported

    The provincial assemblies of Sindh and Baluchistan will also be dissolved next month, in August, along with the National Assembly.

    Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Muhammad Asif are members of the committee tasked with consulting with allies on the upcoming caretaker setup.

    According to sources in PML-N, the panel will start its work right away. PM Shehbaz has also advised other parties to form such panels, as it will be helpful in the matter of caretaker setup.

    According to multiple sources, one of the major parties in the ruling alliance wants the caretaker PM of its choice.

    Interestingly, the government is not consulting political forces outside the parliament.

    Earlier, the vice president (VC) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shah Mehmood Qureshi, had complained that PTI has not been kept in the loop in the matter of the caretaker setup.

  • Afghan Taliban’s Doha deal statement ‘disturbing’ for Pakistani leaders

    Afghan Taliban’s Doha deal statement ‘disturbing’ for Pakistani leaders

    A statement made by Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, stating that the Afghan rulers signed the Doha deal with USA and not Pakistan, has proved worrisome for Islamabad.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Farhatullah Baba expressed concern, while
    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, a stalwart of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), also agreed with the concerns of the PPP leader.
    In an interview with BBC Pashto, the Taliban spokesperson had stressed that they didn’t sign a peace accord with Islamabad. However, he also mentioned that Afghan soil was not being used for terrorism in Pakistan, as the nation was “a Muslim and brother country”.
    “Taliban signed the Doha agreement with the US, not with Pakistan and its policy towards Pakistan is different.”

    Last week, in an unusual statement, Pakistan Army said that it is also very concerned that militants of the banned terrorist organisation Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have found safe havens in Afghanistan. “It is expected that in­terim Afghan Govern­ment would not allow the use of its soil to per­petrate terror against any country, in the real sense and in line with commitments made in Doha Agreement,” the statement said.
    Pakistan Army also said that terrorist attacks in Pakistan are intolerable and the country’s security forces have the ability to give effective response to these attacks.

    Farhatullah Babar raised the question that, “Does it mean the Doha agreement binds the Taliban to rein in only some militants, not all?”
    Khawaja Asif meanwhile said that irrespective of Afghanistan stance, Pakistan will wipe out terrorism from the country.

  • We cannot even take Malik Riaz’s name on TV: Khawaja Asif

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif talked about tax evasion in the country on Wednesday and said that 500 billion tax evasion is taking place in the real estate sector.

    While giving a speech in the National Assembly, Asif said that from the real estate sector, people like Malik Riaz cannot even be named on television.

    He went on to say that Riaz is also involved in the £190 million case but we can not take his name.

    Former Prime (PM) minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi are being questioned by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for aiding Malik Riaz in the settlement of £190 million seized by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.
    Imran and Bushra Bibi are accused of receiving benefits from Malik Riaz by granting him the settlement of £190 million.

  • Khawaja Asif says government is considering banning PTI

    Khawaja Asif says government is considering banning PTI

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said on Wednesday that the federal government is considering putting a ban on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    While talking to members of the press in Islamabad, the federal minister said, “It is under consideration to ban the PTI,” citing what he called an attack on the very basis of the state by PTI.

    “The PTI has attacked the very basis of the state, that never happened before. It can’t be tolerated”.

    “The May 9 events were way different than those political movements which took place in the 1970s and 80s. They never targeted our defense institutions, they didn’t challenge the writ of the state, although they had political difference with the sitting government.”

    He further accused PTI chairman Imran Khan of coordinating attacks on military installations. “There is a lot of evidence and their people are telling themselves that they were briefed about this beforehand,” he said.

    “I feel that his struggle of a year … all his plans failed and this was his last move against the armed forces,” he added.

    On May 09, supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took to the streets after Imran Khan was arrested from Islamabad High Court. In the ensuing riots, many military and government installations sustained damage, most notably, Jinnah House, the residence of Corp Commander Lahore.

  • Record of Toshakhana gifts will be posted online soon, promises Khawaja Asif

    Record of Toshakhana gifts will be posted online soon, promises Khawaja Asif

    The federal cabinet under the supervision of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has decided to make the details of state gifts received over the past two decades available to the public soon.

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif announced the development on his Twitter account where he revealed that the declassification of Toshakhana records has been allowed by the cabinet, adding that the record would be posted soon on the website of the cabinet division.

    Last year in June, PM Shehbaz Sharif constituted a ministerial committee to redesign Toshakhana policy.

    Toshakhana has been at the center of a political storm since 2021 when former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was accused of hiding details of the gifts he received during his tenure. A case and an investigation pertaining to the same are currently going on.

    However, responding to the controversy Khan said that the gifts were given to him, therefore it was his choice to keep them or not.

    Last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also disqualified the PTI chief as Member of the National Assembly (MNA) in the Toshkhana case.

    Recently, non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for Khan in the Toshkahana case because of his continued absences from Toshakhana court hearings. Last week, Islamabad Police reached Zaman Park to arrest the PTI chief, however, he managed to evade it.

    Later, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the arrest warrant but directed Khan to appear before the trial court by March 13 or face the proceedings of declaring him a proclaimed offender.

  • Who was the bureaucrat who collected Rs72 crore salami on his daughter’s wedding? Rauf Klasra has an idea

    Who was the bureaucrat who collected Rs72 crore salami on his daughter’s wedding? Rauf Klasra has an idea

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday revealed that former Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi told that him that a bureaucrat had collected Rs72 crores as salami [gift money] on his daughter’s wedding.

    Without revealing the name, Khawaja said, “Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi told me himself that he went to a bureaucrat’s daughter’s wedding where a man of his [Elahi’s] constituency was collecting salami. Elahi asked him how much salami had been collected so far. The person told Elahi that around Rs72 crore had been collected while more salami was pouring in.”

    “The same bureaucrat on his elder daughter’s wedding collected Rs1billion 20 crores,” narrated Khawaja. However, he did not reveal the name of the bureaucrat.

    Journalist Rauf Klasra has now revealed the name of the bureaucrat on his Vlog.

    “Tahir Khurshid aka TK, Principal Secretary to former Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, was the one whom Pervaiz Elahi was talking about. He had collected Rs72 crore as salami on his daughter’s wedding.”

    “One should ask Imran Khan and Usman Buzdar who was TK?” said Klasra.

  • ‘Do not create controversies’: Khawaja Asif’s lashes out at judiciary on NA floor

    ‘Do not create controversies’: Khawaja Asif’s lashes out at judiciary on NA floor

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday demanded that the Supreme Court (SC) form a full court bench to hear the case pertaining to provincial elections and review past cases, starting with the Panama case in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life.

    In a fiery speech on the floor of the National Assembly (NA), Khawaja questioned why some judges were not criticised and raised concerns about judges intervening in parliament’s jurisdiction.

    The minister said he doesn’t want to cross the line in criticism and added that the election date suo motu case should be heard by the full court.

    “It has complained that parliamentarians criticise judges by naming them. I want to ask why some judges are not criticised?”

    Asif said that when judges intervene in the parliament’s jurisdiction, politicians will raise questions about it.

    “Why former justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Khosa are criticised and not Justice Nasir ul Mulk and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani’s name should be raised as well?” he asked.

    Taking a jibe at PTI’s Jail Bharo Tehreek, Khawaja said Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son came to bail his father out one day after his arrest. 

    “No one came for us when we were arrested for several days. We were sent to 90 days remand. PM and his daughter served jail sentences for numerous days. No one got bail for this. On the other side, they [PTI] get instant bail,” said the minister. 

    “They carry out photo sessions in front of a police van and then leave for home. Jail Bharo Tehreek has flopped. Now it should be doob maro film (Drown in Shame),” said Asif.

    “Imran does not come out of his home, gets pre-arrest bail and then directs his party workers to offer their arrests. Imran’s medical record has not been done yet as he went to his own hospital,” said Asif. He added that the PTI chief considers the people of Pakistan fools. 

    Khawaja questioned how the treatment meted out to Nawaz Sharif justified.

    “Rewriting the Constitution is not the judiciary’s job. This is the outcome of the way Article 63 was rewritten. The way Nawaz Sharif’s government was removed was unfair.”

    Asif urged the judiciary to “prove its gracefulness”. 

    “I would say, correct the mistakes of the past which you have made so that the structure of the state could rely upon a strong foundation that no one can ever dare to challenge it. Do not generate controversies. Do not rewrite Article 63. If such would continue to happen God forbid, an unfortunate incident could take place,” warned Asif.