Tag: Opposition

  • Every day I’m told it’s my last in power… I am the only choice: PM

    Every day I’m told it’s my last in power… I am the only choice: PM

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that every day he is told by someone that it, or the day after, is his last in power, but he knows he can “easily complete his five-year tenure”.

    Addressing a dinner reception hosted at the PM House to muster support of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers as well as coalition partners for the passage of budget 2020-21 in the face of its rejection by the joint opposition, the premier asserted that his government would definitely complete its five-year term because he was determined to face every challenge.

    “I am the only choice,” he said, adding that all rumours regarding his government’s uncertain fate and the challenges facing his administration would cease to exist “if he strikes a deal with people”.

    He was of the opinion that opposition leaders had a bigger stake than the ruling PTI.

    According to Dawn, a participant of the event quoted PM Imran as saying that the members of opposition parties had a bigger stake because if PTI leaders lose the election they would only lose their seats while “if opposition leaders lose them, they would go to jail”.

    Responding to the allegation that the government was being run by a team of non-elected people, the premier said, “If we have included some non-elected members in the cabinet, they [opposition parties] had filled the slots with their relatives.”

    He reportedly also asked PTI leaders and all government allies to get the budget passed on Monday with a significant majority and spoke about the recent hike in petroleum prices, corruption as well as coronavirus in the country.

    The function concluded after the PM’s address, as no one spoke after him on the occasion.

    As many as 14 MNAs belonging to the Imran-led PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) Baloch­istan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Pakistan Awami Muslim League (PAML) did not attend the dinner, reports said.

    It merits a mention that a day later, the National Assembly has approved the federal budget for the fiscal year 2020-21, despite the opposition’s vow to not let it sail through the house.

  • New deal on the table? Proposed NAB law can undo Nawaz and Maryam’s conviction

    New deal on the table? Proposed NAB law can undo Nawaz and Maryam’s conviction

    Amid government’s efforts to amend the 18th Amendment that turned Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic, which the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cannot do without the support of opposition parties owing to its strength within the parliament, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in collaboration with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has prepared a draft of proposed changes in NAB Ordinance and shared it with power brokers which, if incorporated, will undo the conviction of former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for now.

    According to The News, a Lahore-based businessman who was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) until recently, is a go-between in this process as he is equally close with the power brokers. In a meeting arranged at his place on April 24, a draft was prepared. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi represented PML-N and Farooq H Naek was from the PPP side.

    While Abbasi says he did not attend any such meeting, a picture of the same showed him present there. It has also been learnt that Nawaz is not up for amendments and insists on scrapping the anti-graft body altogether.

    Former premier Abbasi has not only confirmed the preparation of a new draft, but also said that he offered a set of recommendations aimed to reform NAB and they were incorporated in the draft. However, he dispelled the impression that the draft has either been shared with apolitical players or is being used as a bargaining ploy on the 18th Amendment.

    A PML-N leader, however, was quoted as saying that Abbasi has been given the task at his own desire to mend the fences through a common friend as the channel used during the amendment to the Army Act had now become dysfunctional.

    According to reports, the draft indicates that it will be beneficial for the entire political class in general and for Nawaz in particular — Nawaz, who was thrown out as the country’s chief executive through the instrument of disqualification. The proposed amendment under question is related to section 15 of the ordinance dealing with disqualification. In sub-section (a), reads the proposed change, the words “forthwith cease to hold public office” shall be omitted and substituted by “cease to hold public office after the appeal process against his conviction has been exhausted”.

    Presently, disqualification comes into effect with conviction from a trial court whereas the proposed change suggests it be actualised only after the entire appeal process is exhausted.

    In addition, the burden of proof has been proposed to be shifted on NAB, unlike the present practice where the accused has to prove that the allegations leveled against him or her are untrue. Likewise, the proposed change requires that an offence should form part of NAB jurisdiction only when public money equivalent to Rs1 billion or above is involved. Remand duration has been proposed to be limited to 14 days instead of making it extendable up to 90 days.

    Among other proposed rules, NAB chairman’s power has also significantly been curtailed in the proposed draft. His term has also been cut to three years from four.

    The arrest of an accused has been linked with his/ her non-cooperation and it has been proposed that the chairman’s power to order arrest should be delegated to the court along with prescribed criteria as to when arrests can be ordered by a judge. NAB is required to formally inform an accused about the nature of charges along with a set of questions the investigators want him/ her to answer, according to the proposal.

    Likewise, entire interrogation shall be video-recorded and the accused is entitled to have an attorney of choice during the course of interrogation, according to the proposed amendment. NAB is required to focus on the charges it leveled instead of opening new fronts and there must be no supplementary challan unlike the present practice, the draft revealed.

    Public office holders have also been proposed to be redefined as this definition should be limited to those holding executive powers; parliamentary secretaries and lawmakers must not fall in this jurisdiction. As per the proposal, decisions made by the cabinet or a statutory policy-making body can’t be called into question by NAB that would also be required to complete any investigation within a period no longer than six months.

    Likewise, NAB can’t recommend placing anyone on the no-fly list once the accused has been granted bail.

  • Coronavirus: Pak-China trade suspended, Opp demands bringing students back

    Coronavirus: Pak-China trade suspended, Opp demands bringing students back

    With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a global emergency over the spreading coronavirus, as Chinese authorities increase the toll to 213 dead and nearly 10,000 infections, trade between Pakistan and China has been suspended while opposition demands bringing back Pakistanis stuck in China.

    According to reports, while it was also decided that all Chinese imports will be sprayed with disinfectants, Pakistan on Friday suspended flight operations — except those of Pakistan Internation Airlines (PIA) — to the neighbouring country.

    TRADE SUSPENDED:

    According to a statement, trade has been suspended between the two countries for at least a month, while the issuance of Chinese visas to traders has also been halted.

    The volume of trade between the two countries is around $15 billion — around 30 per cent of Pakistan’s total trade — and the country is now mulling to import goods from other countries instead, a report said.

    Also, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will quarantine the Chinese and Southeast Asian ship personnel, its chairperson, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, said. He added the containers, especially those arriving from China and Southeast Asia, would be thoroughly checked, and that special care would be taken to ensure that the staff on these ships remained limited to the port only.

    NO FLIGHTS TO OR FROM CHINA:

    “We are suspending flights to China until February 2,” Aviation Additional Secretary Abdul Sattar Khokhar told Reuters, adding the situation would be reviewed after that date. He declined to comment on the reason for the closure.

    Some airlines, including British Airways, have suspended flights to China due to warnings of the coronavirus outbreak. Germany, Britain and other countries have issued warnings about travel to China.

    Russia also sealed its remote far-eastern border with China as a precaution on Thursday. Some countries have banned entry for travellers from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus first surfaced, while reports said that PIA would continue to operate between the two countries.

    OPPOSITION WANTS STUDENTS RESCUED:

    Meanwhile, opposition leaders have demanded that the government take responsibility of the Pakistani students stuck in China, and bring them back to the country.

    Reports quoted Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Usman Kakar as saying in the Senate that over 28,000 Pakistanis, 10,000 of which are students, were stuck in China, and the government’s decision to not bring them back was no less than “attempted murder”.

    While Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mushahidullah said that the government should take responsibility of the students stranded in China, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Rehman Malik said that military’s C-130 aircraft should be sent to rescue them

    ‘WE’RE MONITORING SITUATION’:

    The Pakistani government is monitoring the situation in China and is in close contact with the relevant authorities in order to ensure the safety of Pakistani students in Wuhan, said the Foreign Office on the other hand. 

    “Islamabad has taken up the issue of food shortages with concerned officials and we are assured by the Chinese government of full cooperation in this regard,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Aaisha Farooqui said at a press briefing.

    In response to questions about the evacuation of Pakistani citizens from Wuhan, the spokesperson said, “Islamabad is monitoring the evolving situation and will take a decision after consultations among all the stakeholders.”

  • Called off Azadi March after assurance of general elections in three months: Fazl

    Called off Azadi March after assurance of general elections in three months: Fazl

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman has disclosed the “conditions” upon which the opposition’s Azadi March sit-in was called off.

    “I was assured that a change would come in the month of December […] I was assured that new general elections would be held in the next three months,” Dunya News quoted Maulana Fazl as saying.

    JUI-F chief said that we need to wait “whether in-house change [in the parliament] is brought or the entire government is sent packing”.

    Meanwhile, Fazl has called multiparty conference (MPC) of the opposition parties on November 26 aimed at discussing next course of action against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Reports reveal that Fazl has invited several influential politicians including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, among other senior leaders of opposition parties.

    However, PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz has excused herself from attending the meeting due to health issues, including blood pressure and diabetes.

    The protests, led by JUI-F supremo, began with the ‘Azadi March’ on October 27 from Karachi. Thousands of supporters reached Islamabad on October 31, holding a two-week sit-in on the city’s main highway.

    Later on November 13, Fazl ordered his supporters to disperse across the country to block roads, in what he termed as ‘Plan B’ to topple Prime Minister Imran Khan.

  • PM’s aide wants ‘corrupt politicians & officials’ to be locked at Lahore Safari Zoo

    PM’s aide wants ‘corrupt politicians & officials’ to be locked at Lahore Safari Zoo

    Sahibzada Jahangir, Prime Minister’s Spokesperson on Trade and Investment in UK & Europe, came under fire yesterday for his tweet in which he called for all “corrupt politicians and officials” to be locked at the Lahore Safari Zoo in Raiwind.

    In a now-deleted tweet, Jahangir had said: “Visited Lahore Safari Zoo. Beautiful park and with great tourist potential. I urge Imran Khan PM to lock all corrupt politicians and officials here for weekend camping & let their fade [fate] be decided by Allah.”

    He later deleted his tweet when Twitterati gave him a piece of their mind.

    Sahibzada Jahangir, also known as ‘Chico Jahangir’, is the elder brother of Fauzia Kasuri. Ms. Kasuri parted ways with PTI after almost 17 years.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has known Mr. Jahangir for more than three decades. Khan’s walima with Jemima Goldsmith was held at Jahangir’s residence in London.

  • If Maryam Nawaz joins the ‘Azadi March’

    If Maryam Nawaz joins the ‘Azadi March’

    PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz has been released on bail, the only condition being that she cannot leave the country. Speculations regarding her joining Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ‘Azadi March’ have already begun.

    Read more: Maryam Nawaz granted bail in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case

    What will happen if Maryam joins the march? Watch the video to find out:

  • ‘Govt wants a deal but opposition isn’t willing’, claims minister

    ‘Govt wants a deal but opposition isn’t willing’, claims minister

    Sindh Minister for Information Saeed Ghani has said that the federal government wanted a deal under the current political situation, but the opposition wasn’t willing to give it any relief, Samaa reported.

    According to the details, the provincial minister while speaking to the media in Karachi said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was making all-out efforts to convince the opposition to make a deal with it.

    “But the opposition has decided not to give any kind of relief to the government,” Ghani added.

    He also criticised the government for poor economic conditions in the country, adding that if there is no corruption in PTI’s tenure then the question rises why the economy is declining instead of improving.

    “There is no example of such a decline in the 71-year history of the country, apart from the past one year,” Saeed Ghani said.

    Saeed said that the incumbent government made a record by collecting revenue less than the past year and made a record of cutting salaries of the people for the first time.

    He added, “They have increased taxes on petrol and diesel, despite having previously claimed to reduce them.”

  • Zardari, Shehbaz, Bilawal ridicule Imran by entering one by one, interrupting his NA speech

    Zardari, Shehbaz, Bilawal ridicule Imran by entering one by one, interrupting his NA speech

    A video showing opposition leaders Asif Ali Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari entering the National Assembly (NA) one by one as Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan tries to address the house, has gone viral over the internet.

    As per the details, the parliament on Tuesday held a joint session to devise a joint strategy after India abolished Article 370 of its constitution, paving way for a Muslim genocide in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).

    With PM Imran arriving in the house to deliver a policy statement as proceedings continued, opposition leaders ridiculed the premier by entering one by one and interrupting his speech as non-government benches’ applause escorted them to their seats.

    PM Imran continued to struggle with his address until finally Shehbaz asked the opposition members to keep quiet.

    The premier was also heard requesting the opposition benches to understand the significance of the session.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The Indian government on Monday abolished Article 370 that granted special status to IoK — a development that can pave way for ethnic cleansing in the Muslim-majority region.

    With Pakistan’s opposition parties demanding answers from the government over the episode in the disputed territory of Kashmir, President Dr Arif Alvi had on Monday summoned the joint session of the parliament.

  • United opp divides people: All you should know about Bilawal’s Iftar

    United opp divides people: All you should know about Bilawal’s Iftar

    As leaders of major opposition parties joined hands to attend an Iftar dinner hosted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday, their united stance against the government left social media divided.

    ATTENDANCE:

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) senior leader Liaquat Baloch, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Sherpao and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leaders Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were all in attendance for the event organised at Zardari House in Islamabad.

    AGENDA:

    Bilawal is working to unite all opposition parties and his Iftar was an opportunity for them to reach consensus on launching an anti-government movement after Ramzan.

    The grand show of around ten political parties discussed strategies against the government. Sources had earlier informed The Current that the meeting was set to unite opposition leaders against the country’s economic crisis — falling rupee value and inflation.

    It was decided that solutions will be found to the issues the country is facing and all opposition parties will launch a protest inside and outside the parliament after Eid.

    They also agreed that the government has failed in running the affairs of the country and after Eid, an All Parties Conference (APC) would be held where a joint strategy would be formulated.

    The meeting also expressed concerns over “political victimisation” by the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB).

    PM IMRAN’S REACTION:

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan hit out at the opposition and said, “Today certain people have gathered for an event but we really know that it is because of them that Pakistan has not moved forward.”

    He said that the economy was being used “as a source of blackmail by corrupt political mafia”.

    DIVIDED SOCIAL MEDIA:

    Some social media users lauded Bilawal and Maryam as the new faces behind the two biggest opposition parties in the country, “taking forward the ideas of their parents” — former PMs Benazir Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz.

    https://twitter.com/always_opposed/status/1130139351558631424

    Meanwhile, some others stepped up to criticise the “unholy alliance”.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1130080776899452928

    https://twitter.com/Faisal_Kp01/status/1130382713062678528