Tag: Opposition

  • ‘That’s why he prayed for Modi’s victory’: Imran accused of receiving funding from India’s BJP, Israel

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership has accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of receiving funding from India and Israel, as Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has also drawn a link between the claim and the premier hoping Narendra Modi won the 2019 election to become his Indian counterpart.

    Ahead of the Indian general election, Imran had expressed his wish for Indian hardliner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the election as “they were more prone to holding dialogue with Pakistan”.

    Addressing a protest demonstration in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday, Maryam demanded that PM Imran came clean if there were no skeletons in his closet.

    “Imran Khan received funding from India and Israel in his own and in the bank accounts of his friends, and through ‘Hundi’ also,” she added.

    Maryam further said that one of the BJP leaders, Andarjeet Dosal, and an Israeli person transferred funds to Imran’s accounts that he used to operate with his own signatures.

    She said that having received funds from the BJP, Imran prayed for victory of Narendra Modi in 2019 elections and was hopeful of his success.

    Now, she maintained, Imran was saying that he had no knowledge of transfer of funds and the same was done by some agents. “Either he is foolish or trying to make a fool out of the people.”

    The PML-N leader said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) disclosed 23 secret accounts of Imran he used to operate with his signatures, and the same were kept secret from the ECP as well.

    PM Imran should also tell as to who were the agents who brought him in power and imposed him on 220 million people of Pakistan, Maryam said, alleging that the ECP scrutiny committee denied releasing facts about the case because Imran did not permit it. “The one who called us thieves turned out to be the biggest thief himself,” she added.

    She said that a long list of Imran’s crimes came to light before the ECP’s scrutiny committee, but it had been instructed to go slow on him and that was why the scrutiny committee had been investigating the matter for three years.

    Maryam said the shocking revelations should have prompted a decision within three days. “During the 80 hearings of the case, Imran sought a stay of proceedings 30 times, requested four times to keep the proceedings secret, and also moved the high court six times while challenging authority of the ECP,” she said.

    Maryam said the public knew who imposed him on the people. “Pakistan has changed now and you cannot commit dacoity on the votes of its people anymore,” she added.

    She said now that Imran had confessed to his crime, ECP should announce the punishment for him.

    PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman also severely criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership, and repeated the allegations levelled by the PML-N leader. “Imran Khan is an agent of Jews and he contested elections while using funding from India and Israel,” he claimed.

    Fazl said he had always told the people of Pakistan that Imran Khan was a Jew agent.

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the Imams of mosques in Islamabad had refused to receive Rs10,000 per month stipend from the government, adding those might be Indian and Israeli funds. “Those are Hindus and Jews who are supporting the Imran government,” he added.

    The PDM president said some institutions had brought the country to such a bad state of affairs, saying the ECP was facing severe pressure and was serving its own interests.”

    “Those powerful selected a fool person so that they should actually rule while sitting behind the scenes,” he added.

    Other leaders of the anti-government alliance also delivered fiery speeches against the current government setup.

  • Army announces tea for opposition if it marches to Rawalpindi

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar has said that leaders of the opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), will be offered tea and snacks and looked after if they decide to stage a long march towards Rawalpindi.

    “I don’t see a reason for [them] to come to Pindi. And if at all they want to come, we will offer them chai paani [refreshments] and look after them. What more can I say?” the military spokesperson said while responding to a journalist’s question regarding PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman during a wide-ranging press briefing.

    Maulana had indicated that the opposition could turn the direction of its anti-government movement towards the army leadership, saying that the opposition alliance’s movement would no longer be directed only at the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government but also “his backers”, hinting that its possible long march to the capital “could also be to Rawalpindi”.

    Earlier, Maj Gen Babar spoke on a broad range of issues, including the border situation and to present an analysis of the security challenges of the past decade.

    The army’s spokesperson said the last 10 years were a challenging time in every aspect for Pakistan, but in 2020 alone the coronavirus pandemic and locust attack had put the country’s food security and economy in severe danger. He said while banned organisations were also being facilitated on the western border, the state, institutions, the armed forces and intelligence agencies, and most importantly the people of Pakistan were facing all challenges with a united front.

    Saying that along with restoring peace in the tribal districts on the western border, socio-economic projects were also launched in this period; he added that concrete steps were taken to strengthen Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and Iran. “The security situation improved considerably as a result of successful operations against terrorism.”

    Maj Gen Babar further said that whether it was India’s condemnable designs or the application of hybrid warfare against Pakistan, internal threats or external challenges, the country not only identified the threats and presented facts, but also combatted them successfully.

    “The world is recognising this [Pakistan’s position] because truth always prevails,” he maintained.

  • Gen Bajwa to Opp and COVID-19: A 2020 recap

    Gen Bajwa to Opp and COVID-19: A 2020 recap

    A rather tough year has came to an end, surprisingly, in the blink of an eye.

    But while it negates the belief that hard times pass slow, here are all the major updates that added to the very happening COVID-19-infected year as most of the world stayed indoors.

    Extension for Gen Bajwa

    After some drama following earlier reservations, the Supreme Court (SC) on November 28, 2019 approved a short 6-month extension in General Bajwa’s term as the chief of army staff.

    Subsequently, on January 7, 2020, the National Assembly passed three bills concerning the tenure of the three services chiefs — chief of army staff, chief of air staff and chief of naval staff — and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee.

    Gen Bajwa was granted extension up to three years till November 29, 2022.

    Surprisingly though, the two major opposition parties — PML-N and PPP — were on board for the changes which was why the bills faced no resistance even in the opposition-dominated Senate.

    Smooth sailing of the Army Act was also what prompted Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda to bring with him an army boot to a live talkshow.

    Coronavirus

    After wreaking havoc in China and beginning to do the same in Europe as well as the worst-hit US, the first case of COVID-19 was reported from Karachi on February 26, 2020. Hundreds of thousands of infections and several deaths were reported.

    Prominent figures were also on the list of COVID-19 patients.

    Amid spotless management and timely closures as well as public behaviour in line with coronavirus SOPs, Pakistan managed to contain the outbreak as soon as the first wave peaked in July-August.

    A second wave is, however, currently underway since after the reopening of businesses and educational institutions besides other businesses.

    While Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s smart lockdowns stay in place to deal with the pandemic but not at the cost of livelihoods, it is too early to predict what 2021 would hold for Pakistan with vaccines rolling out but also the discovery of a new strand of the virus.

    PIA Crash

    A plane crash killed 97 people on May 22, which was said to be a result of human error by the pilot and air traffic control.

    Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the pilots of the Karachi-bound PK8308 flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Lahore were distracted while talking about coronavirus.

    The passenger plane came down on houses in Karachi with only two survivors. Subsequent investigations into the licenses of Pakistani pilots led to the grounding of hundreds across the globe and the imposition of a temporary ban on PIA flights to Europe and the United States (US).

    Karachi Rains

    Around 30 to 40 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in the port city lacking monsoon infrastructure.

    While blame games continued as authorities hesitated to take responsibility for the misery of people of the country’s largest city, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said it wanted all stakeholders to contribute to ameliorating the situation instead of politicising a “pure natural disaster”.

    The situation was improved after the intervention of the federal government and a military-aided rescue operation.

    Opposition Alliance

    The year also witnessed a rather common sight in Pakistan when opposition parties put their differences aside in an attempt to oust the PTI government.

    After a round of meetings, almost all opposition parties, including PPP, PML-N, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan National Party among others, launched a series of countrywide protests.

    While the highlight of the protests remained Nawaz Sharif’s fiery speeches and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari’s entry into politics, no leader seemed to be going easy on the government.

    The foremost demand of the 11-party alliance, named Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), is the resignation of “selected” Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. It has threatened to march to Islamabad if the premier doesn’t resign before midnight on December 31 (today).

    While the opposition seems satisfied with its anti-government campaign, the government is confident of cracks emerging within PDM ranks before it could pose an actual threat.

    Khadim Rizvi’s Death

    Renowned cleric and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi passed away on November 19.

    Earlier it was reported that he was suffering from high-grade fever for the past couple of days, which had led to speculations if he was suffering from COVID-19.

    While the cause of his sudden death was not determined, his funeral prayers in Lahore were attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters from across the globe, adding to COVID-19 superspreader event fears.

    Rizvi, who had returned from a sit-in protest against French president’s take on blasphemy a day before his death, was known for his aggressive speeches besides promotion of extremist element in the religio-political landscape of the country.

  • Khawaja Asif arrested; ‘had a bag packed already’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif was on Tuesday arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from Islamabad, a spokesperson for the bureau and PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed.

    As per the details, Asif was taken into custody in the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into allegations of him possessing assets beyond known sources of income to the tune of whopping Rs260 million.

    Aurangzeb said he was arrested from near PML-N general secretary Ahsan Iqbal’s house.

    He has been taken to the NAB Rawalpindi office, Geo News reported citing sources. Reports said that a consultative session of the party is currently underway to debate whether PML-N will take part in senate elections.

    Asif left the meeting and was moments later arrested near Iqbal’s residence. Aurangzeb said Asif will be presented before an accountability court tomorrow for remand.

    While PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz among other party leaders are lauding Asif for his “undeterred support for Nawaz Sharif”, senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir on his show Capital Talk said that the former foreign minister knew he would be arrested and had even made preparations beforehand for what he considered an “eventuality”.

    “He had prepared a bag as well and would say that the NAB would arrest him soon,” said Mir.

    When prompted by the anchor to comment whether Asif’s arrest was a “reactionary move” to Maryam Nawaz’s speech in Larkana on Sunday, Muhammad Zubair, who had also left the meeting to appear on the show, said, “Of course. When the popularity and impact [of the PDM] is on the rise, we knew that they would react in some way. And today, we have seen that reaction.”

  • PM mad at Sheikh Rasheed for going easy on Opp

    PM mad at Sheikh Rasheed for going easy on Opp

    Prime Minister Imran Khan is not happy with Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed for his lenient approach towards the opposition and directed him to go tough on its leadership.

    According to Sheikh Rasheed, the PM was unhappy after watching his interview wherein his tone was soft towards the opposition. “The PM told me that I have to get tough when it comes to the opposition,” said the minister. “But I told him that I am now the interior minister as well, so I have to be neutral sometimes,” Rasheed said.

    According to Rasheed, the PM has also given him an additional responsibility of dealing with media. He said the PM was impressed with his interview and told him that he will have to represent the government in the media as well.

    Speaking about the change of his portfolio, Rasheed said being an interior minister of the country was a difficult job than being a railways minister. “Railways is not a difficult ministry compared to the Interior, as the latter has more responsibilities,” as per the minister.

    The interior minister said that the prime minister will not give an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] to anyone despite the protests by the opposition parties. He said that the government will complete its five-year term.

    On Monday, Rasheed had asked the opposition who exactly they wished to speak to if not Imran Khan. “We don’t want to close the doors for dialogue. The opposition says it does not want to talk to Imran. Tell us who you wish to speak to so that we can arrange it,” he was quoted by Dawn as saying.

  • High-tension video shows police ‘forcefully picking up’ DJ Butt ahead of Opp’s Lahore jalsa

    High-tension video shows police ‘forcefully picking up’ DJ Butt ahead of Opp’s Lahore jalsa

    A high-tension video doing the rounds has shown Punjab Police personnel detaining popular disc jockey and political activist DJ Butt.

    According to journalist Munizae Jahangir, Butt, who is responsible for the sound system arrangements at the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) anti-government protest in Lahore on December 13, was “forcefully taken to Model Town police station”.

    https://twitter.com/MunizaeJahangir/status/1336582648488226817?s=19

    The video that shows Butt resisting arrest and seeking the reason behind his detention comes at a time when tensions run high among the country’s political quarters.

    The joint opposition is determined to send the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government packing with its protests.

    The government, on the other hand, has refused to let the opposition “blackmail the state into giving them a clean chit in corruption cases”.

    While the government has also not allowed the PDM member parties to gather in Lahore amid the second wave of COVID-19, leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) among other joint opposition parties say the gathering will be held come what may.

    Meanwhile, the premier has also announced to hold by-elections on vacant seats if PDM leaders go forth with plans of resigning from assemblies.

  • ‘PDM on mind’: Firdous breaks tiles with a punch

    ‘PDM on mind’: Firdous breaks tiles with a punch

    Punjab Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan recently broke a stack of tiles with a punch.

    Firdous, who participated in a ceremony organised by Mashal-e-Rah Foundation in Lahore, said she broke these tiles with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on her mind. According to the CM’s aide, the PDM has been throwing punches at Imran Khan’s government, so now this was her response to them.

    As she broke the tiles to pieces, she was applauded by the host and the people who had gathered to watch Firdous’s feat of strength.

    Firdous is not the one to shy away from a fight. Last month, she had an altercation with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Azma Bukhari on a TV show. The argument between the two politicians lasted well after the show and Firdous almost hit Bukhari. But, the staffers intervened to placate the CM’s aide and cooled things down.

    Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was appointed as the Punjab CM’s aide months after she was removed from the federal cabinet as PM Imran’s aide on information. She replaced Fayyazul Hassan Chohan in the Punjab cabinet.

  • PM refuses to say Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa is not guilty of corruption

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Saturday refused to say that former military bigwig as well as his ex-aide Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa was not guilty of corruption, maintaining that it wasn’t his job to say so.

    In an interview with senior journalist Mansoor Ali Khan, when asked to say on camera if Bajwa was not guilty of corruption, the premier said, “I cannot say this because it is not my job to say this. However, I will say that he gave a very detailed answer to the allegations against him. I sat with our law minister and reviewed it.”

    Earlier this year, Bajwa had rebutted a news report linking his military career to his family’s businesses, terming it “malicious propaganda”. Amid opposition’s tirades against him despite a clarification, he had decided to continue serving as the chairperson of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority but stepped down as the premier’s aide on information and broadcasting.

    PM Imran himself had, however, expressed satisfaction over the ex-army official’s clarification regarding his assets and rejected the resignation at first.

    “These were mere allegations and if anyone had any problems with it, they should file a case against the retired army officer with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB),” the premier said on Saturday.

    He added that Bajwa was made the CPEC chairperson based on his credentials as opposed to any pressure from the army on him to do so. “He had served in the past as the commander of the Southern Command in Balochistan and had also worked closely with the Chinese. Gwadar is the focal point of the whole CPEC project.”

    The premier said that the government had then appointed Bajwa as his special assistant on information as he had also worked as the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief and had the much-needed experience for the job. 

    PM Imran reiterated that he was not under any pressure from the armed forces and among other executive decisions, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in charge of the country’s foreign policy. “The army hasn’t [directed] me to do one thing which I did not want to do,” he said.

    “I would have resisted the army if they exerted pressure on me. The entire foreign policy [being implemented today] is mine, you can check the PTI’s manifesto,” the premier added. 

    The prime minister said that Pakistan’s foreign policy today was centered around the PTI’s manifesto, adding that the world was praising Pakistan for advocating non-military solutions to conflicts. “There was pressure on us to take a side in a conflict between any Muslim countries; we said we would remain neutral and play our role in uniting Muslim countries instead.”

    During the wide-ranging interview, PM Imran spoke on various issues and also trained guns at the opposition.

    Responding to a question, he said that former PTI general-secretary Jahangir Tareen was going through “difficult times” but said that he would not interfere in the sugar inquiry investigation.

    “Jahangir Tareen has been really close to us [in the past], we have worked together in the past closely,” he said. “Tareen says he is innocent. The investigation is going on, I will not interfere in matters of institutions,” added the PM. 

    He said that under his government, an inquiry against the sugar cartel was launched for the first time in Pakistan’s history. He said that an FIR had also been registered against Tareen.

    When asked about former Punjab government spokesperson Fayazul Hasan Chohan who was shown the door a couple of weeks ago and Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was appointed as a special assistant to the chief minister (CM) of Punjab, the premier said both mattered to him. 

    “We need both Fayyaz Chohan and Firdous Ashiq Awan,” he said. “In order to win the match, you need to change the team sometimes,” he said. 

    The premier said that Chohan wanted a “strong” ministry which he had been given now. 

    Speaking further about the Punjab government, the PM said that his party had brought in people on merit. “The same setup was in power in Punjab over the past 30 years, but we brought in people on merit.”

    He said that the new Punjab inspector general (IG) was doing a fabulous job, adding that Punjab CM Usman Buzdar was doing a commendable job as far as development projects were concerned. “You will see that after five years, Buzdar will be the number one provincial chief executive in the country,” he said. 

    When asked to respond to allegations of being a “selected” PM, the premier said that he couldn’t understand their criticism. 

    He said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the leader of his party because “he had shown a piece of paper” (in reference to Benazir Bhutto’s will) and Maryam Nawaz was leading the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) because she was Nawaz Sharif’s daughter. 

    “And they make these allegations against a man who has struggled in politics for the past 22 years,” said the premier, referring to himself. 

    He said that the leadership of the PML-N and the PPP had opened corruption cases against themselves. “Nawaz Sharif threw Asif Zardari in jail,” he said. “Our government only made cases against Shehbaz Sharif.”

    Referring to former PM Nawaz’s medical condition, the premier said that when he read the PML-N chief’s medical reports, he couldn’t help but wonder whether a person could suffer from so many ailments. “No one exerted pressure on me to send Nawaz abroad,” he said, adding that no one could do so either.  

    To another question, PM Imran said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), being one of the best spy agencies in the world, knew about everything he does.

  • PTV won’t give coverage to Opp, says new chairman

    Newly-appointed Pakistan Television (PTV) Chairman Naeem Bukhari, who has also remained the lawyer of Prime Minister Imran Khan, has the national television will not broadcast any speeches by the opposition parties.

    Bukhari’s comments pertaining to the blackout of the opposition on PTV came despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) manifesto that promised to transform PTV on the lines of BBC — the British state broadcaster. The ruling party had also protested during the PML-N government after the latter refused to allow PTI leaders air-time on PTV.

    Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court building, Bukhari said there will be no equal air-time for the opposition parties on PTV, as being a state-run organisation, it will only air the stance of the incumbent regime. “Only government?” asked the reporter. “Yes, only government,” Bukhari said.

    On Monday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • Imran accuses opposition, its anti-govt rallies of ‘destroying people’s lives & livelihoods’

    Imran accuses opposition, its anti-govt rallies of ‘destroying people’s lives & livelihoods’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that the careless actions of the opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), can result in a second lockdown for the country, and would adversely affect people’s livelihoods.

    “Opposition is callously destroying people’s lives & livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO. Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO,” he tweeted.

    While the premier has been against going into lockdown, he felt that the actions of the PDM and their refusal to stop their rallies would result in faster spread of the novel coronavirus, and this in turn would leave the country with no choice but to go into lockdown.

    “If [coronavirus] cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown and the PDM will be responsible for [the] consequences,” he said further.

    PM Imran said that another lockdown would be terrible to the economy, which declared was “showing signs of a robust recovery”. However, he added that should the PDM continue with its actions, the government would have no choice but to impose another lockdown.

    At the moment, there are a number of smart micro-lockdowns taking place across the country, where those streets with more than eight cases reported are shut down. Similarly, wedding halls, large public gatherings, and indoor events have been banned as per the official orders of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

    On Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government had refused to grant permission for a public meeting planned by the PDM due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

    In response to the notification, the PDM had refused to back down and claimed that this is a ploy by the ruling party to prevent the rallies from taking place.

    Ikhtiar Wali, the spokesperson of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) KP chapter, had insisted that the coalition would go ahead with the rally.

    Speaking to media persons on Friday, the spokesperson had said that the premier had held a rally in Swat a week ago and that the KP chief minister had held a large public gathering two days ago.

    “Who did they ask for permission? And who granted them permission? So if there is no rule for the ruling party, then why is [there one] for us?” he had asked.

    Separately, referring to the government as ‘Covid-18’, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz had rejected the government’s demands to postpone jalsas and public gatherings as coronavirus cases rise across the country.

    https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/1329765124916260864

    “While a mask gives you protection from COVID-19, ‘Vote ko izzat do’ narrative & struggle will protect you from ‘Covid-18’ & all such future attempts, Insha’Allah. Protect yourself, protect your vote,” she tweeted.