Tag: politics latest

  • Imran Khan gets relief from the court in lawyer’s murder case

    Imran Khan gets relief from the court in lawyer’s murder case

    Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had received respite on Monday when the Supreme Court (SC) restricted the police from arresting the former prime minister until August 9 in connection with the Quetta murder of senior lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar.

    The Supreme Court heard a petition on Monday against the former prime minister’s nomination in the case involving Shar’s killing via gunshot in Quetta.

    On June 6, Advocate Shar was assassinated by unknown individuals on three motorcycles when he was going to the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

    Ataullah Tarar, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM), claimed that the targeted murder was connected to a treason case Shar was bringing forth against Imran under Article 6 of the Constitution. He has also said that Imran Khan is “directly responsible” for the murder of a famous lawyer.

    A three-judge panel made up of Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Mussarat Hilali ordered Imran Khan  to appear before the court on August 9.

  • PPP denies consensus reached on caretaker Prime Minister as PML-N sticks to Ishaq Dar

    PPP denies consensus reached on caretaker Prime Minister as PML-N sticks to Ishaq Dar

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has on Monday denied that the ruling coalition has reached agreement on who will become interim Prime Minister as reports of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominating Finance Minister Ishaq Dar gain traction.

    Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, held a press conference today to categorically deny that a consensus has been reached after media reports surfaced last night that PPP has agreed to Dar’s nomination.

    “Someone has been crowned as caretaker Prime Minister based on fake news,” Rehman said in a thinly veiled reference to rumors about Ishaq Dar. “We want a level playing field for everyone,” she pointedly said, adding that no name has as yet been suggested to PPP.

    She also stated that her party is forming a committee of three members to make decisions about the caretaker setup.

    News reports about Dar, the father-in-law of the younger daughter of PML-N head Nawaz Sharif, set off frenzied criticism among political analysts and commentators. Dar is a close ally of Nawaz Sharif’s, raising concerns about his neutrality as a caretaker Prime Minister.

    The news was first reported by Express Tribune’s Shehbaz Rana, while The News’ Azaz Syed tweeted last night that PPP had agreed to Dar’s nomination.

  • Fawad Chaudhry apologises to ECP in contempt case

    Fawad Chaudhry apologises to ECP in contempt case

    Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry, now associated with the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), has rendered an apology to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a contempt case filed against him, Geo News has reported.

    The case against Fawad Chaudhry was initiated last year in August, for using inappropriate language against the ECP and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

    The ECP, a constitutional body, issued notices to Fawad Chaudhry and other members of the PTI, including Imran Khan and Asad Umar, for using foul language against the CEC and ECP.

    A four-member commission headed by the CEC heard the contempt case against Fawad Chaudhry and others on Thursday.

    Fawad Chaudhry appeared before the ECP and apologised to the commission. He further requested it to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to him.

    Fawad Chaudhry said that whatever he said at that time was the party’s narrative.

    “It was the party’s position that I described. I respect institutions, including the ECP,” the former information minister said.

    The ECP asked him to submit a written apology, adjourning the hearing till August 1.

  • Sona, sona, dil mera sona: Firdous Apa says she got 200 tolas of gold on her wedding

    Sona, sona, dil mera sona: Firdous Apa says she got 200 tolas of gold on her wedding

    Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Central Information Secretary of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), revealed that she received 200 tolas of gold on her wedding.

    Firdous Ashiq Awan’s revelation in an interview is going viral on social media, in which she admitted to the host’s question that she had received 200 tola gold at the time of marriage.

    Now the price of 200 tolas of gold is 4 crore, 49 lacs, and 20 thousand rupees in Pakistan.

    Firdous Ashiq Awan also said that these are our traditions. “We also gave gold bracelets to the buffaloes given to my sister at her wedding,” she added.

  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister coming to Pakistan on official trip

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister coming to Pakistan on official trip

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit Islamabad for a two-day official trip on July 20, the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday.

    On his official visit, the Ukrainian minister will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as well as his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

    “Pakistan and Ukraine enjoy close and cordial relations, particularly in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture, and higher education,” the Foreign Office has said in a statement.

    The official visit will begin on July 20 and conclude on July 21. It will be the first time since 1933 that a Ukrainian foreign minister will visit Pakistan.

    According to the sources of Geo News, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Ukraine will discuss the food crisis that came about in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

  • Gul Bar Khan elected as Gilgit-Baltistan’s new chief minister

    Gul Bar Khan elected as Gilgit-Baltistan’s new chief minister

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) forward bloc leader Gul Bar Khan has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Giglit-Baltistan (GB) on Thrusday.

    Gul Bar received 19 votes out of 20 members present in the assembly. He got elected unopposed after the other three opponents withdrew their nomination papers.

    Haji Gul Bar Khan had the support of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    It should be noted that former Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed of the PTI got unqualified in a fake degree case. After his disqualification, the number of members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has reduced to 32.

  • Parliamentary Panel speeds up work on electoral reforms as elections loom closer

    Parliamentary Panel speeds up work on electoral reforms as elections loom closer

    A parliamentary committee has sped up work on election reforms by examining 73 rectification proposals presented before it, The News has reported.

    The parliamentary panel has decided to finalise the suggestions by next week and will get the reforms to the election act approved by both houses of parliament before the National Assembly’s tenure ends in August.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also said that the tenure of the National Assembly will end in August this year.

    An in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee headed by its chairman and the Economic Affairs Minister, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, was held to finalize recommendations.

    Law Minister Azam Tarar, Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar, Senator Taj Haider, MNA Afzal Dhandla, Senator Manzoor Ahmed, Senator Kamran Murtaza, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary attended the meeting.

    Ayyaz Sadiq said, while talking to the media, that there is no proposal to ban any political party, and the parliamentary committee’s job is to make electoral reforms.

    “We will review the contentious issues on Thursday besides drafting the agreed-upon proposals. The controversial issues that need further discussion will be examined on Monday,” he said.

    Sadiq also mentioned that effective proposals will be taken into consideration for transparent elections.

  • Government ministers openly refusing to obey Supreme Court: Imran Khan

    Government ministers openly refusing to obey Supreme Court: Imran Khan

    Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has said in a tweet that government ministers are openly refusing to follow the orders of the Supreme Court, calling it the law of the jungle.

    “If anyone had any doubts about the law of the jungle prevailing in Pakistan where might is right, all those doubts should be removed after the recent statements of the government ministers openly refusing to obey the SC verdict if its against military courts. It also reflects the PDM’s desperation to avoid elections and hide behind the establishment,” the former Prime Minister wrote in a tweet posted on Saturday afternoon.

    After May 9 riots, it has been decided that those involved in the attacks on military installations will be tried in military courts.
    https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1672543581008019458?s=20
    The Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), Mansoor Usman Awan, has told the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday that 102 people are currently in the army’s custody for trials.

  • Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be the next CJP: Arif Alvi approves notification

    Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be the next CJP: Arif Alvi approves notification

    Justice Faez Isa will be the new Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) after a notification to that effect has been approved by the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi.

    Justice Isa will assume the charge as the new Chief Justice on September 17, 2023, after the retirement of current CJP Umar Atta Bandial under Article 179 of the Constitution.

    The current head of the apex court, Justice Umar Atta Bandial, will reach the age of retirement on September 16, 2023.

    President Alvi will administer the oath to Justice Isa, making him the 29th senior judge to take the oath as Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).

  • Video: Former Twitter CEO says Modi Govt threatened to shut down platform in India

    Video: Former Twitter CEO says Modi Govt threatened to shut down platform in India

    Twitter’s co-founder and former boss Jack Dorsey in an interview with YouTube channel Breaking Points talked about censorship requests he received from the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Jack said that Twitter received “many requests” from the Indian government to block accounts covering farmers’ protests. The former CEO of Twitter further said that the platform also received multiple requests to block those accounts that were critical of the government.
    He has also said that the Indian government threatened to shut down Twitter in the country.

    “India is a country that had many requests of us around the farmers protest, around particular journalists that were critical of the government, and it manifested in ways such as ‘we will shut Twitter down in India,’ which is a very large market for us; ‘we will raid the homes of your employees,’ which they did; ‘we will shut down your offices, if you don’t follow suit,’ and this is India, a democratic country,’” Dorsey said.

    Dorsey said that Turkey also has similar requests like India. He noted that Twitter, which frequently engaged in legal battles with the government and prevailed, was also threatened with closure by the Turkish government.