Tag: KP

  • ECP slaps Rs50,000 fine on PM Khan for holding public gatherings despite warnings

    ECP slaps Rs50,000 fine on PM Khan for holding public gatherings despite warnings

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) slapped a fine of Rs50,000 on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister for Communications Murad Saeed and two provincial ministers Dr Amjad Ali and Muhibul Lah for violating the code of conduct as they all attended a public gathering in Swat on March 16 ahead of the no-confidence motion.

    Earlier, the ECP had restricted PM Khan and other government officials from attending any public gathering in districts of KP as the second phase of the local bodies elections is due in the region. Despite this, the premier and his officials ignored the warning.

    According to Geo News, District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Swat imposed a fine on the PM for breaching ECP’s code of conduct. Similarly, for attending a public gathering in Dir on March 19, Lower Dir’s District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Hameedul Lah had imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on PM Khan.

    ECP has reportedly also taken notice of the PM’s upcoming visit to KP’s Mansehra and called it a breach of the code of conduct.

  • Suspects involved in Peshawar blast identified: Sheikh Rasheed

    Suspects involved in Peshawar blast identified: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, in a video message, has revealed that all three suspects involved in the suicide blast inside an Imam Bargah in Peshawar have been identified by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police and investigation agencies.

    He said the police and agencies are closing in on the suspects and they would be arrested in the next two to three days.

    Earlier, the minister hinted at the involvement of foreign forces in the attack.

    A suicide bomb attack hit Peshawar resulting in 63 deaths on Friday.

    According to CCTV footage of the attack, a man dressed in a traditional shalwar kameez shot two policemen as he entered the mosque.

    AFP reported that the militant Islamic State group had claimed the suicide bombing. According to reports, the investigators are checking the biometric data of people who had recently entered Pakistan from Afghanistan.

  • Nawaz Sharif more popular than PM Khan in provinces: survey

    Nawaz Sharif more popular than PM Khan in provinces: survey

    Former Prime Minister (PM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif is ahead of all other party leaders in terms of popularity, reveals Gallup Pakistan’s latest survey, which was conducted from December 22, 2021, to January 31, 2022, and includes 5,000 participants from across the country.

    According to the survey, there is a noticeable drop in PM Imran Khan’s popularity in all the provinces.

    In Punjab, PM Khan’s popularity rate has dropped from 51 per cent in December 2018 to 33 per cent in January 2022 while Nawaz Sharif’s popularity has jumped from 35 per cent in December 2018 to 58 per cent in January 2022.

    The survey has also included the popularity statistics of PML-N President and former Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. CM Sharif’s popularity rose from 46 per cent in December 2018 to 58 per cent in January 2022 in Punjab. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto’s popularity increased in Punjab from 18 per cent back in December 2018 to 24 per cent in January 2022.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), there is a significant increase in the level of satisfaction with PM Khan, which was only five per cent in December 2018 but is now 44 per cent, while Bhutto’s popularity mildly increased from 23 per cent in December 2018 to 24 per cent in January 2022. Nawaz Sharif managed to gain in KP from his 14 per cent approval rating in December 2018 to 46 per cent in January 2022.

    Coming to Sindh, both Sharifs are ahead of the PPP. Nawaz Sharif’s popularity in Sindh increased from 12 per cent in December 2018 to 51 per cent in January 2022. Shehbaz Sharif’s approval rating also went up in Sindh from 12 per cent in December 2018 to 41 per cent in January 2022. Meanwhile, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto’s popularity significantly dropped in Sindh, where the PPP is in power, from 54 per cent in December 2018 to 37 percent in January 2022. PM Khan remained at 33 per cent both in December 2018 and January 2022 but remains the least popular of all four leaders in Sindh.

    According to the survey, this is the first time that the popularity of the former PM has risen after December 2018. Shehbaz Sharif also managed to get similar ratings.

  • Girl shoots man for harassing her

    Girl shoots man for harassing her

    A 20-year-old man was injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Mardan district after a teenage girl opened fire at him for allegedly harassing her, ARY News reported.

    According to the police,  the incident occurred in Katlang tehsil of Mardan district wherein a teenage girl opened fire on a youth, Abbas, who was harassing her for several days.

    The police have registered a case on a complaint of the girl’s brother.

    According to the FIR, the 16-year-old girl, whose identity is unknown, shooting the harasser in the chest and injured him.

    Police shifted the accused to a nearby hospital while further investigation is underway.

  • 84 per cent Pakistanis consider inflation biggest problem: survey

    84 per cent Pakistanis consider inflation biggest problem: survey

    Quarterly Performance Evaluation Survey (QPES), a Pulse Consultant’s indigenous tracking tool of public perceptions and opinions about the government’s performance and current political situation, states that 84 per cent of Pakistanis consider inflation as the biggest problem of the country.

    Almost every Pakistani has been hit by inflation and 99 per cent are reporting that ‘Inflation increased in past three months’, reveals the survey.

    According to the survey, 65 per cent of Pakistanis blame the current sitting government for the country’s poor economic conditions, while 29 per cent blame previous governments.

    18 per cent of the country is satisfied by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s performance — 56 per cent believe PM Khan’s claim that Pakistan is out of the economic crisis. Just 15 per cent think that inflation will be reduced in the next three months.

    About the problems in the country, 80 per cent of the people think that unemployment is the biggest problem of the country while 37 per cent of the people have of opinion that corruption is the main problem of Pakistan.

    Similarly, 70 per cent Pakistanis believe that the economic situation of the country is going downhill as well.

    Read More- 59% traders consider Pakistan is not ‘moving in right direction’: Gallup Survey

    Furthermore, 69 per cent of Pakistanis believe that the country is going in the wrong direction.

    Respondents of the survey did not buy the government’s narrative where all blame was hurled at the previous regime that the current economic crises are due to previous governments’ loans. The majority of the respondents — 65 per cent — believe that it’s all due to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) wrong economic policies.

    When it comes to the provincial province’s performance, 55 per cent of Pakistanis in Punjab are dissatisfied and just 9 per cent are satisfied – 34 per cent are in between. Talking about Sindh, 42 per cent are dissatisfied and just 18 per cent are happy; the remaining 39 per cent are in-between.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 55 per cent are dissatisfied and just 24 per cent are satisfied –20 per cent are in-between. Whereas in Balochistan, 55 per cent are dissatisfied and just 10 per cent are satisfied – 35 per cent are in-between.

  • ‘Khattak did good things’, PM Khan all praise for Khattak days after fight

    ‘Khattak did good things’, PM Khan all praise for Khattak days after fight

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan praised Defence Minister Pervez Khattak while addressing the inaugural ceremony of establishing a special technology zone in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Haripur on Monday.

    The premier’s remarks come days after a verbal squabble between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership, Khattak, and PM Khan himself.

    “When Pervez Khattak was chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa he did a lot of good things like [launching] health card scheme,” the premier remarked.

    PM Imran Khan lauded Khattak and said that his decisions resulted in the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which would have “long-lasting effects and time will prove it,”

    Talking about the initiative taken by the PTI-led government for the health sector, known as the “Naya Pakistan Sehat Card”, the premier said that Khattak was the one who had come up with the idea in 2013.

    Last week, PM Khan and Khattak had an exchange of bitter words during a parliamentary party meeting chaired by the premier himself.

    It was reported that Pervez Khattak said in the meeting that, “we have made you the prime minister.”

    “Gas is banned in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we generate gas and electricity and we are the ones who are suffering,” said Khattak, adding, “We will not be able to get votes if this is your attitude.”

    Khattak told media persons after the meeting that he neither talked harshly to the prime minister nor hurled any threat of not voting for PM Khan.

    “No one spoke harshly, I spoke for my right,” said Khattak.

  • PM Khan says he hasn’t decided whether COAS Bajwa will get an extension in November

    PM Khan says he hasn’t decided whether COAS Bajwa will get an extension in November

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan during a one-on-one meeting with Dunya TV Islamabad Bureau Chief Khawar Ghumman, said that he had so far not thought about an extension in the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General (Gen) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    “The current year has just started and November is far away. Then why there is worry about extension in the tenure of the army chief,” said PM Khan.

    When asked about rumours of a possible deal between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the establishment to send Khan’s government packing and whether he felt threatened in any way, the PM said he personally was not under any kind of pressure. He added that he enjoyed the support of government allies and expressed the confidence that his government would complete its mandated five years.

    Terming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) defeat in the recent local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) “a big loss”, and when asked how the PTI planned to ensure electoral success in local government elections in Punjab, the prime minister showed confidence in Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Usman Buzdar and hoped that his party would have a better showing when polls were held in Punjab.

    Talking about his party’s quest for accountability, the PM said major Opposition figures had not yet been tried on corruption charges and still walked free because of weak prosecution.

    He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) take cases before the court but they were not being prosecuted.

  • PM Khan special adviser, donor awarded multi-million dollar hotel deal in Nathiagali: report

    PM Khan special adviser, donor awarded multi-million dollar hotel deal in Nathiagali: report

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) received funding from an individual Mumtaz Ahmed Muslim who owns an offshore company named Dreshak Security Solutions Inc. The security firm claims it has provided around 15,000 specialised non-combat security personnel to the American forces in the Iraq war, reports The News.

    The PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) returned the ‘favor’ to its donor by awarding a multi-million dollars contract to build a luxury hotel in the tourist destination Nathiagali in October 2021.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s scrutiny committee report reveals that Mumtaz Ahmed Muslim is one of the party donors who gifted $24,979 to the PTI.

    Mumtaz Muslim is the president and owner of the hotel chain. Mumtaz is not just a party donor but he also has close ties with PTI leadership.

    On April 15, 2018, he met Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan at his Banigala residence. After this meeting, PM Khan decided to appoint him as his special adviser. On April 26, 2018, the PTI chief signed a notification to appoint Mumtaz Muslim as a special adviser to the chairman on special projects on April 26, 2018. Mumtaz’s name also appeared in the media as a PTI leader when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) released a list of Pakistanis who own properties in the UAE.

    The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) recently released the Pandora Papers containing around 12 million confidential files from 14 offshore services firms. One of the leaked files contains Mumtaz Ahmed Muslim’s name who owns an offshore company Dreshak Security Solutions Inc.

    The Pandora Papers documents reveal that on August 06, 2006, Mumtaz Ahmed Muslim incorporated an offshore company Dreshak Security Solutions Inc. in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) jurisdiction. As per the documents, Mumtaz Ahmed Muslim and Imtiaz Ahmed Muslim are the officers and shareholders of the company. Imtiaz Ahmed Muslim is also the managing director of Dreshak Security Solutions Inc.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while talking to The News, said he has no information about Mumtaz Muslim’s security company. About the hotel contract, he said Mumtaz Muslim won it in open bidding.

    When asked about Mumtaz Muslim’s meeting with Chief Minister KP a month prior to the contract awarding, he said as far as he knows, the KP government did not award the contract but the army did. Talking about his affiliation with Imran Khan, the information minister said Mumtaz Muslim is a staunch party supporter and a former party member.

  • PM Imran Khan forms committee to devise strategy for local government elections

    After a major setback for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the first phase of the 2021 local government (LG) elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has directed the Punjab government and PTI leadership to begin homework for the upcoming local government elections in the province, adding that he would personally oversee the preparations.

    “The government and party leadership should strictly select candidates on merit and avoid dynastic politics, which was exposed after causing damage to the party in KP,” said PM Khan, reports Dawn.

    “The mistakes made in KP must not be repeated in Punjab,” he stressed. With candidates selected on merit, PM Khan said, the PTI would give a tough time to its opponents in the local government elections in Punjab.

    The premier advised that the Punjab leadership should consult with senior leaders to devise a plan of action to perform better in the Punjab LG elections.

    He was presiding over a meeting of PTI members and senior leadership to hold consultations on local body elections in Punjab.

    PM Imran Khan said that he has always respected the views of senior workers and leaders of the party.

  • Rizwan, Fakhar, Shaheen congratulate KPK for defending National T20 Cup Title

    Rizwan, Fakhar, Shaheen congratulate KPK for defending National T20 Cup Title

    Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who are currently in a bio-secure bubble for the ICC T20 World Cup and who were also the part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) team, congratulated their team for defending the title and beating Central Punjab at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday after Captain Iftikhar Ahmed produced an all-round performance.

    “Huge congratulations to the whole KPK as we have successfully defended our title. We decided in our very first meeting to play like warriors and Alhumdulillah we managed to do that successfully. What a team. What a performance,” wrote Rizwan while congratulating his team.

    Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi also took to Twitter to congratulate their team.

    The KPK captain completed the run chase by smoking Mohammad Faizan for a four through cover on the last ball of the 17th over and unleashed a roar in the Lahore night sky. He bagged the player of the final and the best player of the tournament awards.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 152 for 3 (Iftikhar 45*, Ghulam 37) beat Central Punjab 148 (Shehzad 44, Akmal 42, Iftikhar 3-5, Imran 3-26) by seven wickets