Former caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda announced on Tuesday that they will not join either the government nor opposition sides in the Senate.
The Senate Secretariat released a notification about the six independent senators in the senate and their decision to join a party. According to the issued notification, two out of the six senators, Kakar and Vawda, decided to not join any side in the Senate.
Similarly, Senator Mohsin Naqvi, who is also a federal interior minister, was not sure about joining a side in the upper house.
However, Naqvi’s name was mentioned as a senator on the treasury bench with an additional note of “(Federal Minister, however, not yet opted)”.
Senator Abdul Qadir joined the government benches after winning the senate polls. The senator was initially part of PTI and then left the party after May 9.
Former speaker of the National Assembly and a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Asad Qaiser, appeared on a talk show ‘Khabar’ with Meher Bokhari on ARY News and said that he refuses to apologise for the May 9 events.“We don’t even apologise to our fathers, why would we ask for forgiveness from anyone else,” he said.
On May 7, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the people involved in the May 9 riots must be punished as per the law.
The military spokesperson also said, “There can be no dialogue with an anarchist group,” he said firmly, adding that the “only way forward for the anarchists [group] is to apologise sincerely [for their acts], abandon the politics of hate and indulge in constructive politics [instead]”.
Asad Qaiser stated that PTI wants the constitution and law to prevail in the country saying, “We want all citizens to have equal rights, for that all the institutions have to work within their constitutional limits.”
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the people involved in the May 9 riots must be punished as per the law.
“The issue of May 9 riots is not limited to the Pakistan Army but [in fact] concerns the whole nation,” said the General during a rare press conference.
The military spokesperson also emphasized that dialogue should take place between the politicians rather than institutions and said, “No talks will be held with any political leader, or group which attacks its own army and indulges in propaganda [against them].”
“There can be no dialogue with an anarchist group,” he said firmly, adding that the “only way forward for the anarchists [group] is to apologise sincerely [for their acts], abandon the politics of hate and indulge in constructive politics [instead]”.
DG ISPR remarked, “For such people, it is said: ’ You can fool all the people some of the times, some of the people all the times but you cannot fool all the people all the times.’”
When the General was asked about PTI’s demand of a judicial commission to probe the entire May 9 events, he replied, “Fine, we are ready, make a judicial commission but if you have to, then go to the root of this entire incident. The judicial commission should also determine what the goals of the 2014 dharna (sit-in) were and how Parliament was attacked. It should also look into the PTV attack and how people were encouraged to stand against the state, indulge in civil disobedience, and burn utility bills.”
The Commission, the army spokesperson said, should also investigate “How Islamabad was attacked in 2016 with KP’s federal resources, and then again in 2022.”
“It must also see how letters were written to the IMF and lobbying was conducted abroad so that Pakistan would not be given loans and fall into a state of default.”
During a talk show with Nadir Gurmani at Dawn News, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shandana Gulzar remarked that Imran Khan does not want to come out of Adiala jail because he is safe under the supervision of jail authorities.
When the anchor asked Shandana Gulzar about the lack of unity of party leadership on a one-point agenda that Imran Khan must get out of jail, she replied that the former Prime Minister does not believe in this agenda.
“Only Imran Khan can set an agenda, nobody else. Khan has a three-point agenda; the first is to give us back our stolen mandate, the second is to release all PTI workers who have been arrested without any valid reasons and the third is to get our workers free from illegal military trials,” she stated.
She said that Shehryar Afridi told Khan that they wanted him to get free, to which he replied “I don’t want to get out of jail. My priority is Pakistan so it does not disintegrate like Bangladesh.”
“After God, Khan’s life is in the hands of jail authorities,” she said on the show, expressing concerns that there would be no guarantee of his safety if he gets shifted to sub-jail.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has granted conditional permission to military courts to announce reserved verdicts in cases related to civilians allegedly involved in the May 9 riots.
The directive came during a hearing on a set of intra-court appeals (ICAs) against the apex court’s previous ruling nullifying military trials of civilians connected to the riots.
The six-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and including Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Azhar Hasan Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, Musarrat Hilali, and Irfan Saadat Khan, presided over the proceedings.
The case revolves around the trial of over 100 civilians accused of attacking army installations during riots following the arrest of ex-premier Imran Khan on May 9 of the preceding year.
Last year, a five-member Supreme Court bench unanimously declared military trials of the accused civilians unconstitutional, directing their trial in criminal courts established under the ordinary or special law of the land.
However, on December 13, the Supreme Court conditionally suspended its previous ruling pending final judgments on a set of ICAs. These appeals were filed by the then-caretaker federal government and provincial governments of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab. The defense ministry also filed an ICA seeking suspension of the ruling’s operation during the appeal process.
During the hearing, the AGP also hinted at the possibility of 15 to 20 of the accused being released by the special courts. “A total of 105 accused are in the army’s custody,” he said.
AGP Awan further said that there were three stages to the release of the suspects. The first step would be the pronouncement of the reserved judgements; the second would be its confirmation; and the third step would be for the army chief to give concessions to those with reduced sentences.
The attorney general then urged the apex court to allow military courts to announce the reserved verdicts.
“Even if permission is granted, it will be subject to the final decision on the appeals [against the Oct 23 ruling],” Justice Khan remarked.
Justice Rizvi then inquired about the names of those who would be released. AGP Awan replied that the names could not be released until the military courts decided the cases.
“Those whose punishment is one year will be given concessions,” the AGP said.
Subsequently, the SC gave conditional permission to military courts to announce the reserved verdicts. It directed that judgments be announced in cases in which the nominated suspects could be released before Eid.
The court also accepted the request from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to withdraw its appeal against the October 23 ruling. The hearing was adjourned until the fourth week of April, with the attorney general instructed to submit a report on the matter to the registrar.
Five workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) involved in the May 9 riots, who were earlier granted bail by the Supreme Court, have been arrested again under 16 MPO (Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960).
The MPO order was issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi after which they were arrested. Last night, they were released from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after the suspects submitted their surety bonds.
The five suspects — Owais, Saifullah, Nasrullah, Kamran and Waqas — were booked in the May 9 violence case registered at the New Tow Police Station.
Scores of PTI workers were arrested across the country after the May 9 incident following the arrest of Imran Khan from court premises.
Last week, a three member bench granted relief to five suspects and emphasized that authorities must differentiate who are the real terrorists. Their surety bonds were worth Rs 50,000 each.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, continues to be disgruntled after the 2024 nationwide elections, criticising the results. He predicted that the “system would collapse” because the establishment wants a government of its choice.
While addressing a press conference in Peshawar on Tuesday, Maulana alleged that “the establishment wants assemblies and people in them of their choice.”
“We received information before the elections that it has been decided to reduce the JUI-F’s inclusion [in the assemblies]. Different styles of rigging occurred in every polling station during the polls.”
“If they think there was no rigging in the polls, then the May 9 narrative is apparently buried. They cannot run the country, and this system will collapse. Those who are sticking to the system will be crying in the coming days,” Fazl predicted.
The JUI-F chief also said that there is no difference between the elections of 2018 and 2024, emphasising that a public representative should not be a “representative of the establishment.”
The Pakistani Senate has approved a resolution to postpone the general elections scheduled for February 8 in the country.
Senator Dilawar Khan tabled the resolution in the sparsely attended Upper House which garnered required support despite opposition from Information Minister Murtaza Solangi and Senator Afnan Ullah Khan of the Muslim League (N).
13 out of 14 senators present in the House voted in favor of the resolution.
مسلم لیگ ن کی حمایت کرنے والے آزاد سینیٹر دلاور خان نے انتخابات ملتوی کرنے کی قراردادپیش کی جسے ایوان میں موجود 14 سینیڑرز میں سے 13 نے منظور کیا سینیٹر افنان نے انتخابات ملتوی کرنے کی قرارداد کی مخالفت کی ۔ ” چیف جسٹس قاضی فائز عیسیٰ کو سلام پیش کرتا ہوں کہ انہوں نے کہا کہ…
As Senator Dilawar read the resolution out loud, he said that the Constitution upheld the right to vote for every citizen of Pakistan, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was bound to conduct free and fair polls contingent upon inclusivity and ensuring the participation of all regional people.
“The vote turnout in colder areas remains notably high during the moderate weather conditions. January and February are recognised as the coldest months in the majority of the areas in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.
Senator Dilawar Khan cited severe cold weather prevalent in many regions, making participation in those areas challenging.
He also highlighted recent security incidents, including attacks on Mohsin Dawar and members of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), as well as security forces in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Aimal Wali of the ANP also expressed reservations over the elections.
During the debate, Senator Dilawar Khan emphasized the existence of threats against individuals during election rallies, underscoring the need to address these security challenges before proceeding with the elections.
He proposed delaying the February 8 election schedule and called for the Election Commission to act, expressing trust in the Senate Election Commission.
Senator Afnan Ullah Khan of the Muslim League (N) opposed the resolution, seeking to validate Senator Dilawar Khan’s concerns.
He acknowledged security challenges but argued that conditions were not as dire as in 2008 and 2013 when elections proceeded under more adverse circumstances.
Afnan Ullah questioned the rationale behind using security as a pretext for postponing the elections, expressing skepticism about the proposed delay, questioning whether Great Britain and the United States postponed elections during major conflicts.
He asserted that using weather conditions as a reason for election delay was unfounded, pointing out that elections had been held twice in adverse circumstances before.
Information Minister Murtaza Solangi also voiced his opposition to the resolution. However, despite these objections, the Senate moved forward, approving the resolution to postpone the general elections slated for February 8.
The controversy surrounding the decision continues, with differing opinions on the validity of the reasons presented for delaying the electoral process.
In all honesty, 2023 was more like a crazy roller coaster than a democratic process when it comes to Pakistani politics. Here are some of the significant events that happened this year:
Assemblies dissolved
On January 14, 2023, the provincial assembly of Punjab was dissolved while on January 16, 2023, Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was dissolved as former Prime Minister Imran Khan was pushing for early national elections.
May 9
On May 9, 2023, former prime minister and founder chairman of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan was submitting his biometric data for a court appearance when paramilitary forces broke down a window inside the court to get to apprehend him.
The dramatic and sudden arrest of the former cricket star turned leader resulted in violent clashes between supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and law enforcement agencies protests to mark the arrest of the former Prime Minister turned into riots.
Several military installations, including GHQ and the Lahore corps commander’s official residence, were attacked across the country within hours of Imran Khan’s detention.
May 9, termed a “black day” by the Pakistani state, ended up provoking a harsh military crackdown on Khan’s party.
PTI Dismantled
Thousands of PTI members, including many women, were rounded up and arrested after May 9 riots.
More than two dozen members of PTI resigned from the politics following the protests.
Notable figures like Shireen Mazari, Asad Umer, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, Fawad Chaudhry, Maleeka Bokhari, Abrar ul Haq, Murad Ras, Ali Haider Zaidi, Imran Islamil, Usman Dar, Farrukh Habib, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, Andleeb Abbas, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Shaukat Tarin and others either left PTI or quit politics.
Imran Khan Jailed
Police arrested Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore on August 5, 2023, after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts, potentially barring the opposition leader from contesting an upcoming election.
On September 26, 2023, Imran Khan was shifted to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi from Attock prison, a day after the Islamabad High Court ordered authorities to relocate him to the high-security jail.
Qazi Faez Isa
On September 17, 2023, Justice Qazi Faez Isa was sworn in as the 29th chief justice of Pakistan.
A ceremony was held at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad during which President Arif Alvi administered the oath of office. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir were also present.
Justice Isa was accompanied by his wife, Sarina Isa, while he was taking oath.
Imran Riaz ‘safely’ returns
On the evening of May 11, 2023, police arrested Imran Riaz Khan, a former anchor with the privately owned broadcaster Express News and host of a YouTube channel with over three million subscribers.
Imran Riaz Khan, often called Imran Riaz, was trying to flee the country over fears of his arrest. At the time, authorities accused him of inciting people to violence through his reporting.
He was said to have been freed a few days later, but there was no trace of him and police denied keeping him in custody.
On September 25, 2023, his lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq took to X (former Tiwtter) and posted a picture of Imran Riaz, after his return, stating that the recovery took a long time due to “countless difficulties, a weak judiciary” and the ineffectiveness of the Constitution. He also shared a photo of him with Khan.
The rift between Zardari and Bilawal
On November 23, 2023, the former president of Pakistan and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari‘s father, Asif Ali Zardari, during an exclusive interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News’ program “Capital Talk”, said that Bilawal is “inexperienced” and that it would take some time for him to gain more exposure, on Thursday.
“Bilawal is much more talented than I am, but he isn’t experienced,” he said.
On November 24, 2023, in a seeming act of defiance to his father, Bilawal changed his profile picture on X on Friday afternoon, to a photo with his mother Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister and head of the PPP till her assassination in 2017.
PPP denied all the claims of a rift between the father-son duo.
Afghan Refugees Repatriation
On October 3, 2023, Pakistan’s caretaker government announced it would carry out mass deportations — known under domestic law as an Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan — asking all concerned to leave the country before 1 November. Although the plan purported to apply to all foreigners residing in the country illegally, it appears designed to target Afghans, millions of whom have sought refuge in Pakistan over the years.
As of December 29, 2023, the total number of allegedly illegal Afghans who left Pakistan reached 453,480 and the process is still underway.
Nawaz Sharif Returns
On October 21, 2023, Pakistan’s thrice-elected former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) supremo Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan, ending four years of self-imposed exile in London.
Nawaz Sharif was disqualified when the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) announced its decision on July 28, 2017, in the Panama Papers case. After that, Nawaz Sharif and three of his children were referred to an accountability court, which was ordered to file corruption cases against Sharif’s family within six weeks.
In July 2018, the expelled prime minister was imprisoned for 10 years in the Avenfield properties corruption case, an assets-beyond-means trial.
In the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case, the PML-N supremo was sentenced to seven years in jail on December 24, 2018. Nawaz Sharif was taken to Adiala jail in this case, and then he was shifted to Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail on the very next day. He was also fined Rs1.5 billion and US$25 million in this case.
The former prime minister was released from jail in March 2019. After that, the Lahore High Court (LHC) allowed Nawaz Sharif to go to London for treatment for fast-depleting platelet levels, and then he left for London in November 2019.
Elections Date Announced
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on November 3, 2023, that 8th February 2024 is the poll date for the General Elections for the National Assembly of Pakistan and Provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The date was announced by the President House in a statement following a meeting between the top election officials and President Alvi, hours after the election commission lawyer told the Supreme Court that elections will be held on February 11.
PTI New Chairman
On December 2, 2023, The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) on Saturday elected Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the new chairman in the intra-party elections held on the directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Gohar won the chairman’s position unopposed.
The change was forced on the party after the Election Commission of Pakistan warned the PTI last month that it risked losing its emblem – a cricket bat – unless an internal ballot was held for party officers.
Election symbols are crucial in a country where the adult literacy rate is 58 percent, according to World Bank data.
Baloch Long March
Demanding the release of all “missing persons” and an end to “extrajudicial killing” in Balochistan under the leadership of activist Dr Mahrang Baloch and Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), the march started in Turbat, Balochistan, on December 6 after the alleged extrajudicial killing of 24-year-old Balach Baloch.
According to BYC, when the march reached the capital, the city administration didn’t allow them to protest in front of the press club. Maharng Baloch said in her live video from the Facebook page of BYC that Islamabad police arrested 300 male protesters, eight women, and 10 children.
Hassaan Niazi, prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s nephew, has officially declared his intention to participate in the upcoming general elections.
The decision was revealed as his mother filed a petition in the Lahore High Court, seeking approval for his nomination papers.
The petition argued that, with the Election Commission having announced the election schedule, Hassan Niazi remains eligible, having neither faced disqualification nor conviction; he is presently in custody.
The legal plea urged the court to grant permission for the completion of Hassan Niazi’s nomination paper for the submission process.
It further proposes a meeting between the court commissioner and Hassan Niazi to facilitate the verification or rejection of the nomination papers.
The move sets the stage for a potentially dynamic political scenario, with Hassan Niazi’s candidacy poised to shape the unfolding electoral landscape.
The Case
A Lahore anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday granted the police two-day transit remand of the focal person of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s nephew, Hassaan Niazi.
The police had produced Niazi in the court seeking his transit remand to take him to Karachi, where he is wanted in connection with sedition charges registered against him.
The case against Niazi was registered on the complaint of a citizen named Muhammad Iqbal at the Jamshaid Quarters police station.
According to the first information report (FIR), Niazi was involved in inciting people to revolt against national institutions and attempting to provoke disharmony in a video on social media.
The statement had allegedly created anger and distress among the masses.
During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Niazi’s presence was required in Karachi for further legal proceedings.
Therefore, the court approved the request for a two-day transit remand, allowing the police to take Niazi to Karachi for progress in the case.
