Tag: PM Imran

  • PTI ministers confirm PM Khan to replace CM Buzdar: PML-Q

    PTI ministers confirm PM Khan to replace CM Buzdar: PML-Q

    Pakistan Muslim League- Quaid (PML-Q) Secretary-General Tariq Basheer Cheema, in Geo News’ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath” revealed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ministers [didn’t mention any name] have told him that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has given the approval to remove Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar.

    Previously, it was reported that Buzdar handed over his resignation to the premier, which he declined. There are also several media reports that suggested that the Tareen group isn’t happy with Buzdar’s position as CM.

    During the show, Cheema also lashed out at Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry. While referring to the meeting between the Chaudhry brothers and Fawad on Friday, Cheema said that the no-confidence motion against PM Khan was not discussed in the meeting.

    Previously, Fawad, after his meeting, had said that PML-Q would formally announce full confidence in PM before the National Assembly (NA) session for the motion.

    “I don’t know why Fawad is giving a false statement about the settlement with PML-Q on the no-trust move”, he said while adding that if he [Fawad] has to take decisions of PML-Q then the Chaudhry brothers should leave politics.

    Moreover, the PML-Q Secretary-General said that the party will make a final decision on the no-confidence matter in the next 24 to 48 hours.

  • ‘No one can become Nawaz Sharif,’ PTI’s Shahbaz Gill responds to Maryam Nawaz

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (PM) on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill said that no one can become Nawaz Sharif. “Such people are born this way,” said Gill while responding to Maryam Nawaz’s earlier comments about PM Khan. Maryam Nawaz had said that PM Imran Khan should not try to be Nawaz Sharif.

    “These people are dangerous for the entire nation,” Gill said in a press conference, along with the Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul and Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Maleeka Bokhari.

    While criticising Maryam Nawaz, Gill stated, “No one is safe from Maryam’s shadow, including her father [Nawaz Sharif] and her uncle [Shehbaz Sharif].”

    “If you are talking about magic, tell us what kind of djinns helped you transfer your money abroad, tell us about the witches who helped you build these apartments [in London], which djinns and witches printed dollars for you to buy these apartments,” asked Gill, responding to Maryam’s comments about magic.

  • Forgiving TTP: Never forget!

    Forgiving TTP: Never forget!

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government is in talks with some groups of the banned militant outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In an interview with TRT World, PM Khan said there are different groups that form the TTP and some of them want to talk to our government for peace. “So, we are in talks with them. It’s a reconciliation process.” Before PM’s interview, both President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had talked about giving amnesty to TTP members if they lay down their arms and follow the Constitution of Pakistan.

    These statements warrant a lot of questions: why did the president, prime minister, and foreign minister disclose such important information in interviews to media outlets and not in parliament? TTP is no ordinary terrorist outfit. The entire country came together after the horrific APS attack in December 2014, in which more than 150 people were martyred – most of them children. All the political forces of Pakistan reached a consensus, after which the National Action Plan (NAP) came about. There was a massive crackdown on TTP and other terrorist outfits. We finally managed to eliminate the TTP in Pakistan. Those from the TTP who survived the crackdown ran away to Afghanistan. At that time, the government in Kabul was not friendly towards Pakistan.

    The state told us that the TTP was supported and funded by India and Afghanistan – when Ehsanullah Ehsan first surrendered to Pakistan, he confirmed in a video that Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies [RAW and NDS] gave funds and other assistance to Pakistani Taliban to fight Pakistan. Last year, after sharing a dossier containing ‘irrefutable proofs’ of Indian funding of terrorism in Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said: “The [specific] evidence presented by Pakistan provides a concrete proof of Indian financial and material sponsorship of multiple terrorist organisations, including UN-designated terrorist organisations Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Balochistan Liberation Army and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.”

    What is the reason for Pakistan to hold talks with a RAW and NDS-funded/supported terrorist outfit when we have broken its back in our country? And now that we have a friendly government in Kabul, what is the need to hold talks with an enemy outfit? Should the Afghan Taliban not help reign in the TTP and take action against those who are carrying out attacks against Pakistan from Afghan soil? Or, is it true that the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban both have the same ideology, even if the targets of their attacks are different? The people of Pakistan – who have been killed and maimed by the TTP over the years – deserve an answer.

    The government needs to be transparent. This decision cannot be taken just by the government alone. All political parties must have a debate on this issue and the people of Pakistan have to be taken on board as well. We cannot forget what the TTP did to our nation. We lost more than 70,000 lives at their hands. There must be a consensus about the talks and also the government should be transparent about the negotiations. Don’t keep us in the dark, dear government, for we were told that we will never forget their heinous crimes.

  • PM Imran shares pictures of Bushra Bibi

    Yesterday, Prime Minister, Imran Khan took to Instagram and posted a few pictures of his wife, Bushra Bibi, visiting the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore.

    The premier captioned the pictures, “First Lady, Bushra Bibi visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health, Lahore and was briefed on the facilities provided there.”

    First Lady Bushra Bibi visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore on Wednesday. The video of her visit shows Bushra Bibi visiting different departments and checking the facilities at the institute.

    Bushra Bibi was briefed about the facilities provided by the institute. The staff told her about the timings when patients are fed and the activities of the women admitted there.

  • ‘Hesab tu dono ko he dena ho ga’: Nausheen Shah lauds PM Khan’s statement

    ‘Hesab tu dono ko he dena ho ga’: Nausheen Shah lauds PM Khan’s statement

    Nausheen Shah has lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent statement and shared that everyone should follow the teachings of Quran.

    Read more- Meesha Shafi and Saheefa Jabbar express their disappointment with PM Imran Khan’s comment on rape cases

    Taking to her Instagram stories, Shah said: “Perda kerna humaray Islam mei hai aur is mei humari he behtari hai.”

    The Dugdugi actress added, “Kero ya na kero woh ap ki merzi. I am not saying that men will be forgiven. No! Hesab tu dono ko he dena ho ga.” Shah said that she is not judging anyone as this right only belongs to Allah. She added that this is being ordered by Him and we should follow that.

    Concluding her post, she wrote: “Imran Khan we are proud of you.”

    Earlier this week, the Sadqay Tumhare writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar also supported the PM, saying: “I salute PM Imran Khan over his statement. Those against him are basically against the teachings of Islam.”

    https://twitter.com/khalilUrRQ/status/1407816773827805186?s=20
  • ‘PM had a good meeting with my friends’: Jahangir Tareen

    ‘PM had a good meeting with my friends’: Jahangir Tareen

     Disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen on Monday said that lawmakers of the ‘Tareen group’ had a fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan. Tareen said his group expressed their concerns and were assured of justice. He said that PM has assured them that he would himself look into the case and justice will be done. Pro-Tareen lawmakers met PM Imran last week.

    Tareen also denied being in touch with either the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) or the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    The Tareen group will decide on what course of action to take after Eid. Senator Ali Zafar was tasked by the PM to ensure that a fair inquiry is being conducted in Tareen’s case and there is no discrimination. Sources say that Senator Ali Zafar has met FIA and the investigating team as well as Tareen’s lawyers and accountants to hear their side of the story. After Eid, once Zafar completes his inquiry, the JKT group will decide how to move forward.

    The PTI leader and his son Ali Tareen were granted an extension in bail from a Lahore banking court in the sugar scandal case. The court ordered the FIA to complete its investigation as soon as possible and submit an inquiry report. Tareen said that the probe against him had been going on for a year and he has provided hundreds of thousands of documents to the court. He said he has never run away from investigation but believes that there is no truth to this case.

  • ‘Wake up and clap’: PM seeks applause over plan to save Rs6,000 billion

    ‘Wake up and clap’: PM seeks applause over plan to save Rs6,000 billion

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, during an address in Lahore, took a jibe at the audience, comprising federal and provincial ministers, over their lacklustre, rather sleepy, response to his speech.

    Speaking about his government’s project to control the unplanned growth of Lahore, the PM said Central Business District (CBD) project at the Walton Airport site would help create much-needed wealth to pay off foreign loans.

    https://twitter.com/ReemKhurshid/status/1365272068095438852

    By shifting the Walton Airport from the centre of the city, the prime minister said, some much-needed Rs6,000 billion would be generated.

    The PM excepted clapping at his plan to save Rs6,000 billion, but the lawmakers and the cabinet members remained non-responsive to the PM’s potential super-saving plan. This prompted PM Imran to complain that the lawmakers did not even acknowledge such a mega project to generate wealth, asking whether they were up all night.

    The venue later continued resounding with applause as the prime minister narrated achievements of his government.

  • Justice Isa questions PM’s stance on grant of funds to lawmakers

    Justice Isa questions PM’s stance on grant of funds to lawmakers

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa has questioned Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s stance on the grant of development funds to members of the national and provincial assemblies as the Supreme Court (SC) took up a suo motu case to determine the Constitutional status of the move.

    On Tuesday, the apex court constituted a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, and served notices on the prime minister’s principal secretary, Cabinet Division secretary, finance secretary, federal and provincial advocate generals, and provincial chief secretaries.

    However, Justice Isa on Wednesday noted that a letter submitted by the premier’s principal secretary to the top judicial forum “did not contain the answers to the court’s questions”.

    “The letter does not have answers to the court’s questions. It seems the prime minister has not read the court’s order properly,” the judge said.

    In January, Prime Minister Imran announced a grant of Rs500 million for each member of the national and provincial assemblies under sustainable development goals to enable them to carry out development schemes for their voters.

    However, last week, Justice Isa took notice of the development, warning of legal proceedings if the move was found to be in contravention of the Constitution.

    On the occasion, he had asked Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan to update the court on the issue based on the government’s response.

    However, Khan responded he would update the court after receiving instructions from the government and further reassured that “whatever action is taken will be in the light of the law, Constitution and legal precedent.”Article continues after this advertisement

    Subsequently, Justice Isa referred the matter to the top judge for the formation of a bench.

    On Wednesday, all provinces submitted written replies to the court except for Sindh. When asked, the Sindh government’s counsel informed the court the provincial government had not given development funds to any lawmakers.

    “Sindh government should have submitted a written answer,” CJP Gulzdar replied.

    Meanwhile, AG Khan told the court the grant of development funds was “linked to the Constitution”, adding that the prime minister knew that “government funds cannot be used wrongly”.

    “No member of the National Assembly will be given money [directly],” he added.

    According to the procedure, the funds do not get issued to the individual MP or MPA. They get assigned to a project through a robust mechanism.

    Justice Isa questioned who had drafted the reply submitted by Principal Secretary Azam Khan. To this, Khan replied that it was “a matter between the lawyer and his client”.

    “The letter does not have proper English, it does not answer the court’s questions. It seems like the prime minister has tried to keep the door open for [granting] funds,” Justice Isa said.

    He also remarked that there was a “storm of information” from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting every day.

    “Either the prime minister should remain firm on what he said or admit he had made a mistake. Why is the prime minister hiding behind his secretary? The entire media published the news and the prime minister is silent,” the judge said.

    Khan replied if the prime minister “started refuting every news himself, he would not be able to do any other work”.

    The court ordered the Sindh government to submit its reply today.

    The bench also ordered the finance secretary to submit a clear answer to the court, directing that the report should also have the premier’s signature on it.

    The case was adjourned till Thursday (today).

  • PM says no money for development due to ‘lowest tax collection rate’

    PM says no money for development due to ‘lowest tax collection rate’

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan cannot spend money on its infrastructure development, such as hospitals and schools, because it has the “lowest tax collection rate” in the world.

    The PM was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the State Bank of Pakistan’s digital payment project, Raast, in Islamabad when he made these remarks.

    The PM said the cash economy has badly affected tax collection, which is directly proportional to the lower tax rate. “Out of 220 million people, only two million people are filers,” said the PM, adding that only 30,000 people account for 70 per cent of the total tax collection.

    However, the digital payment programme would help Pakistan transition from cash economy to a digital economy, said the PM.

    The PM said: “Our biggest problem is the informal economy that’s so big that we could not collect taxes to develop Pakistan.”

    “This is an obstacle in tapping our true potential is because we can’t build our infrastructure, we can’t educate children, we can’t improve hospitals, the fastest growing country in the region 50 years ago can’t move forward because it does not have that much money for the development of the country,” he added.

    As per the PM, the news SBP initiative will allow the government expand the scope of the development to the lower classes.

    He also congratulated the SBP for efficient dealings with the overseas Pakistanis that led to capital growth at an unprecedented rate.

    “Our Pakistanis abroad sent money in an official manner due to which the current account deficit, which had been going on for years went into surplus for five months and the people did not care how much benefit was gained from it,” he added.

  • PM Imran, aides accused of helping sugar barons make Rs400bn in profits

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, his principal secretary Azam Khan and special aide on accountability Shahzad Akbar have been accused of facilitating the sugar barons under the guise of the sugar inquiry commission, helping them made over Rs400 billion in profits.

    The claim was made by former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) deputy director Sajjad Bajwa, who was appointed by the premier to probe the malpractices in the industry, following a hike in the prices. Bajwa was later suspended for sharing classified information with the sugar millers before being dismissed from the service last week.

    According to a report in BBC Urdu, Bajwa said he was removed from the post because of some “influential personalities” in the federal cabinet who turned against him after he questioned the role of the government departments in the smuggling of the commodity.

    “During the investigation, I suspected the smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan and raised questions about the role of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the sugar business,” he alleged.

    “Due to these questions, the decision to remove me from the duty was taken a long time,” the ex-deputy director, who was dismissed from the agency last week, claimed.

    Responding to the claims of Bajwa, SAPM Akbar said there was no truth to these claims. “PM has nothing to do with the matter,” he said, adding that he did not even know Sajjad Bajwa.