Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar took to Twitter to question the government’s decision of holding talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Mustafa Khokhar tweeted, “The question of holding talks with TTP is of immense public importance. This decision can not be taken unilaterally by any individual or the govt.”
The question of holding talks with TTP is of immense public importance. This decision can not be taken unilaterally by any individual or the govt.
Perhaps we should consider holding of referendum under Article 48(6)(7) of the constitution. Let the nation decide in “YES” or “NO”
“Perhaps we should consider holding of [a] referendum under Article 48(6)(7) of the constitution. Let the nation decide in ‘YES’ or ‘NO’,” added Mustafa.
According to the Constitution of Pakistan, Article 48(6)(7) states, “(6) If at any time the Prime Minister considers it necessary to hold a referendum on any matter of national importance, he may refer the matter to a joint sitting of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and if it is approved in a joint sitting, the Prime Minister may cause such matter to be referred to a referendum in the form of a question that is capable of being answered by either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.”
“(7) An act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) may lay down the procedure for the holding of a referendum and the compiling and consolidation of the result of a referendum.”
“The state’s sovereignty, national security, peace in relevant areas, and social and economic stability will be considered during the talks,” said Fawad.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and Federal Minister for Water Resources Chaudhry Moonis Elahi on Sunday met Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at Zardari House in Islamabad.
The PPP Media Office issued a brief statement after the meeting, stating that the two leaders “discussed the overall political situation in the country”.
The statement said the two leaders also discussed issues relating to water distribution among the provinces and the historic water shortage in Sindh.
Bilawal also inquired about the health of Elahi’s uncle and party president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar was also present during the meeting.
The meeting between the two leaders took place a day before the president’s address to a joint sitting of parliament.
اسلام آباد: پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری سے ملاقات کے لئے وفاقی وزیر برائے آبی ذخائر مونس الہی کی زرداری ہاؤس آمد
Former Senate chairman and senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Mian Raza Rabbani has said that the party should not have taken the support of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Dilawar Khan group in the Senate for the post of opposition leader in the upper house of Parliament.
“Though the slot of the opposition leader in the Senate was right of the PPP being a largest single party at the opposition benches, it should not take n the support of the BAP Senators Dilawar group for the slot of opposition leader in the Senate,” he said while answering a query of The News on Wednesday.
Rabbani said the support of BAP in the Senate was not good for the ideological foundations of the PPP, adding that rules of the Senate were clear that the slot goes to the single largest party at the opposition benches.
He advised the opposition to keep its unity intact for broader object of supremacy of the constitution and parliament and objectives of supremacy of the constitution could not be achieved without unity in the ranks of the opposition.
“It’s time to stand united to achieve the objectives,” he said.
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has said the recent decisions taken by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have not gone down well in the public.
“The people are sick and tired of rising inflation. Unemployment rate is at an all-time high. They want to get rid of this government,” he said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader maintained that the infighting between opposition parties had given breathing space to an anti-people government.
“On the issue of resignations, the other parties had a weak argument. But at the same time, the PPP’s decision on the leader of opposition in Senate was also not correct,” said Khokhar.
He added that the pressure on the PPP to resign was unnecessary while the party, too, should not have taken support from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
“I believe that taking votes from the ruling alliance has damaged our ideological narrative. If we want to take back space in other provinces, we have to give priority to the issues of the people rather than indulging in power politics.”
Senator Khokhar said he hoped the Central Executive Committee (CEC) would look into these issues. “Difference of opinion is a democratic right and I hope my statement will also be taken in the same light.”
Tensions have been brewing between opposition alliance members ever since PPP’s decision to nominate former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani for the slot of opposition leader in Senate.
The PML-N believed it deserved to nominate one from its ranks, and Gilani’s successful election only made things worse.
Minister for Science Technology Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Dr Musadik Malik will be sent a bill of Rs 54,000 for tearing out the wiring in the Senate Hall in their quest for ‘spy cams’.
The minister made these comments in a press conference as well as Geo’s show Jirga.
مصطفی نواز کھوکھر اور مصدق ملک کو 54 ہزار سات سو کا بل سینٹ بھیج رہی ہے انہوں نے اسپائی کیمرہ کے چکر میں ساری سی سی ٹی وی کی وائرنگ اکھاڑ دی ہے۔ وفاقی وزیر فواد چوہدری
On Friday just before the Senate Chairman elections, both Khokhar and Malik found hidden cameras installed inside and around the polling booth in Senate.
According to Senator Khokhar, Chaudhry’s tweet led him to another spy camera that was found in a screw.
Chaudhry also tweeted on Friday that an investigation committee should be formed before Khokhar and Malik tear down the entire wiring system in the Senate.
سیکرٹری سینٹ کیمروں پر کمیٹی بنا دیں اس سے پہلے کہ @DrMusadikMalik اور @Mustafa_PPP ساری وائرنگ کو کیمرے سمجھ کے اکھاڑ دیں ،
Sadiq Sanjrani won the polls amidst the opposition’s protest regarding the seven votes that were in favour of PDM candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani but were rejected by the presiding officer.
After Gilani’s defeat, Chaudhry tweeted that had the opposition spent 25-30 per cent of their time in telling their people on how to vote correctly, they would not be crying now. He also added that the opposition should pay heed to Prime Minister Khan’s suggestion of an open ballot in the Senate so as to avoid such issues in the future.
جتنی توجہ کیمرے ڈھونڈھنے پر لگائ اس کا 25/30 فیصد اپنے لوگوں پر دیتے اور ووٹ ڈالنے کا طریقہ بتا دیتے تو اب اپوزیشن والے رو نہ رہے ہوتے، بہرحال ایک بار پھر وزیر اعظم کی تجویز پر غور کریں سینٹ کے انتخابات کو اوپن ووٹ کریں تا کہ پتہ ہو کس نے کیا کیا اوریہ مسائل ہی نہ ہوں
Samina Peerzada, in a recent tweet, expressed her confusion over the recent Senate Elections.
Referring to Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) slogan “Vote ko izaat do,” Samina wrote: “Kis kay vote ko izat dein (Whose vote should we respect)?”
Earlier, the veteran actor had said: “Kya hum vote jorr torr karnay kay lie detay hain ya mulk ki behtari kay lie (Do we vote for manipulation or for the betterment of the country)?”
کیا ھم ووٹ جوڑ توڑ کرنے کے لئے دیتے ہیں یا ملک کی بہتری کے لئے
Earlier on Friday, before the voting for the Senate Chairman began, senators Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Dr Musadik Malik of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) stated that they found spy cameras in the polling booth in Senate. Senator Khokhar and Dr Musadik, in a series of tweets, posted pictures of cameras they found and a series of allegations started on Twitter by Mustafa, Malik and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.
While the government alleged that the opposition installed the camera to create a ruckus, the Pakistan Democratic Movement accused the government of installing them to tamper votes. Senator Mustafa alleged that Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani was seen leaving the Senate building early morning at 5:30 am on the eve of the elections.
It is still unclear who installed the cameras but it is worth mentioning that the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman are critical for both the government and the opposition.
Meanwhile, government’s candidate for the Senate chairmanship Sanjrani won after getting 48 votes, beating Gilani with a lead of six votes.
Senators Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Dr Musadik Malik of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) have stated that they found spy cameras in the polling booth in Senate on the day of the Senate Chairman election.
The opposition alliance has fielded Yousaf Raza Gilani as the joint candidate for Senate chairman while the government has fielded Sadiq Sanjrani.
Senator Khokhar and Dr Musadik, in a series of tweets, posted pictures of cameras they found.
Responding to these tweets, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said that those cameras were “in all likelihood CCTV” cameras and not spy cameras.
This is one example of Spy Camera the camera can be fitted in a head of nail even,detection of such cameras is impossible, in all likelihood CCTV Camera cable is misunderstood as spy camera pic.twitter.com/KPu8a2RCpA
— Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar (@mustafa_nawazk) March 12, 2021
A few minutes later, Senator Khokhar tweeted he found a similar screw that the minister had mentioned and thanked Chaudhry for the lead. In response to this, Fawad wished Senator Mustafa good luck.
Meanwhile, the government accused the opposition of planting those cameras.
Opposition’s sinister plan of cameras in polling booth exposed. The tactics used in senate elections in NA by opposition where they converted majority into minority using all criminal tactics. That’s why PDM opposed open ballot .Era of loot & plunder taking last breath.
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar tweeted that credible sources in Senate staff have disclosed that Sadiq Sanjrani left the Senate building at 5:30am in the morning.
Credible sources in senate staff disclosing that Sadiq Sanjarani left the senate building 530 in the morning!
— Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar (@mustafa_nawazk) March 12, 2021
Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Secretary Senate should form a committee to investigate the cameragate before Dr Musadik and Mustafa Nawaz destroy the entire wiring system in the Senate.
سیکرٹری سینٹ کیمروں پر کمیٹی بنا دیں اس سے پہلے کہ @DrMusadikMalik اور @Mustafa_PPP ساری وائرنگ کو کیمرے سمجھ کے اکھاڑ دیں ،
While those behind the installation of cameras are still unknown, it is worth mentioning that the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman are critical for both the government and opposition.
Later, in a press conference Senator Mustafa and Dr Malik, detailed the events that transpired in the Senate as they discovered the hidden cameras.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has confirmed his resignation from the position of spokesperson to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari a day ahead of the joint opposition’s power show in Lahore.
In a statement on Twitter on Saturday, Senator Khokhar responded to the reports that claimed he had quit the PPP, saying that he will remain in the PPP and will stand by Bilawal “through thick and thin”.
I have resigned from the position of spokesperson to the chairman, not from #PPP. Will stand by BBZ through thick and thin. In my years as his spokesperson, have given counsel with honesty, sincerity and in the best interests of the country and the party.
“In my years as his spokesperson, have given counsel with honesty, sincerity and in the best interests of the country and the party,” he added.
Insiders say the PPP chief’s spokesperson had issues with the party’s stance on mass resignations, resulting in his resignation from the post on Thursday. Subsequently, Senator Khokhar also quit the party’s Whatsapp group, giving birth to speculations about his departure from the party.
However, PPP media cell was quick to shoot down these reports. In a statement issued on Friday, the media cell said that Khokhar will remain in the PPP and serve as the spokesperson of the chairman. Whereas, Khokhar on the other hand remained silent on the issue till his aforementioned tweet wherein he confirmed his resignation from the post of the spokesperson.
Dawn had reported that Senator Khokhar was “angry over the PPP’s decision about resignations from the assemblies and party leadership’s back-channel contacts with the military establishment”.
It further reported that while almost all important PPP leaders are in Lahore ahead of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) plan to hold a rally on Sunday, the PPP senator preferred not to go to Lahore.
Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh once again found himself in trouble when talking to the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights to talk about the motorway gang-rape case on Monday.
There seemed to be discordant information about the authorities’ response time to the victim’s distress call when her car broke down on the M11 Motorway. The CCPO said that it took approximately 28 minutes to reach the area, while the officers who actually responded to the distress call said that they reached the area in under six minutes.
The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the case regarding the horrible gang-rape and mugging of a mother travelling with her children at night on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway. The incident led to country-wide protests and calls for reforms in laws pertaining to sexual assault, specifically with a call for public hangings of the perpetrators.
CCPO Sheikh said during the hearing that the woman was travelling without her husband’s permission, but soon thereafter admitted this was just a “guess”. He was reprimanded by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Krishna Kumari Kohli, a member of the Senate committee, who also told him not to make any such assumptions in the future.
When the committee reprimanded him for giving his “personal opinions” instead of stating facts of the case, Sheikh backtracked and said that “he had been told that the victim had left late at night because she had to talk to her husband on video call”.
The CCPO found himself in even hotter water when he forgot the name of the prime suspect in the case. Abid Ali has been on the run for the past 20 days and the eight special teams — comprising personnel from all of the Punjab Police’s departments — have failed to apprehend despite spotting him at least thrice across the province.
Sheikh said, “If [police helpline] 15 had received the call, we could have reached that place in 25 minutes. The first call to 15 was at 2:47 am made by a passerby and the 15 officials reached at 3:15 am” while addressing the committee.
In reply, Marri said either the CCPO lacked the correct information or the committee had been misled.
“The call came at 2:47 am and the first [Dolphin Force] officer arrived at 2:53 am. I’m telling you the 100% truth,” the CCPO responded.
“Then your cops are lying,” Marri shot back at him.
“My job is to stop the crime and catch the culprits,” Sheikh replied. “Neither is there a CCTV [camera] at the toll plaza nor is an actual toll tax receipt given.”
“Five technologies were used in the motorway rape case; geo-fencing, DNA filing, and fingerprint technology. Even the American police do not respond [to a crime] in six minutes,” he added.
The committee members expressed anger over the contradiction in the police officer’s statement.
“You say the police arrived at the scene in 28 minutes but the police said they had reached in six minutes,” the committee said. “The police tried to misguide the committee”.
The CCPO’s repetitive apologies seemed to further irritate the committee.
https://youtu.be/ClY85ZLGsFU
“The CCPO only apologised out of fear of the court,” PkMAP Senator Usman Kakar said.
Sheikh told the committee that Abid’s data had successfully been found from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency’s (PFSA) 2013 records. “The first case of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan was solved with [the use of] DNA,” he said.
To which, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, the chairperson of the Senate committee, asked why Abid had been released. At this, Lahore’s top cop simply sought forgiveness once more.
“Babar Malhi’s blood and DNA have also matched,” he said.
At which, the committee members paused, in shock, and asked: “Babar Malhi or Abid Malhi? Is the main suspect [named] Abid or Babar? You are investigating this case and you don’t know the name of the main suspect.”
At this point, the shaken officer cited his age as an excuse for his poor memory and continued to seek forgiveness from the committee, repeatedly apologising to all members of the hearing. He even went as far as to say a joint session should be summoned so he can apologise to all lawmakers at once.
He also talked about his desire to bring “court-martial law” into the Punjab police forced, touted himself as someone “who wishes to bring reforms”, and blamed leaks on his 500 people strong police force.
He further tried to shift part of the blame in the insufficient response to the call to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).
“In this case, too, an FWO officer was taken on the woman’s conference call. He told her he would send a car,” he said. “That car was on the M2 [motorway] and it took a long time to reach the site.”
“The crux of the matter is that this alert should have been to 15,” he added.
Speaking to The Current, Khokhar separately said that he was shocked over the CCPO’s statements. “His mix-ups have created confusion over the police response time.”
Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umer Sheikh, who recently made headlines for his controversial statements regarding survivor of the Lahore-Sialkot motorway gang-rape victim, can be arrested if he continues to ignore the summons from the upper house of the parliament.
As per the details, Senate Committee on Human Rights has dismayed over the absence of Lahore top cop who had been directed by the body to appear in person during its Wednesday meeting. Other than not appearing before the human rights body of the upper house, Sheikh did not notify any reason either.
CCPO Lahore has been issued summons to appear on the 28th under powers of a civil court vested in the committees to enforce attendance and production of documents. His non-appearance and stark failure of police to provide public reps with basic info has resulted in this. pic.twitter.com/DIrW03U4hO
Irked over the cop’s absence, the committee chairperson, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, has said that it is unacceptable.
While the committee has reportedly decided to submit a privilege motion against the CCPO and issued summons to ensure the officer’s presence at its next hearing, Khokhar has also hinted at the possibility of arresting the cop in case of continued absence.
Speaking to senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir, Khokhar said that the committee “will issue CCPO’s arrest warrants” if needs be.
Standing Committee of Senate on Human Rights summoned CCPO Lahore today in its meeting he never appeared in meeting Chairman of the committee @Mustafa_PPP said “we will issue his arrest warrants” Govt member Ali Nawaz Awan said we will support arrest warrants #RemoveCCPOLahorepic.twitter.com/8vRvzVXMZ0
“Despite public outrage, the CCPO hasn’t had the courtesy to appear before public representatives. If he doesn’t appear, we will have no other option than to issue his warrants,” he said, adding that all committees of the parliament can do so owing to the powers vested in them under the constitution.
