Tag: politics latest

  • Gandapur threatens to take over PESCO if loadshedding schedule not changed in KP

    Gandapur threatens to take over PESCO if loadshedding schedule not changed in KP

    The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday threatened to occupy the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) if the federal government did not solve the severe loadshedding problem in the province by tonight.

    “I’m giving a clear message to the Minister of Power and the federal government about the brutal loadshedding you have started in KP,” said Gandapur in a video statement.

    The CM said he’d talked with the PESCO Chief and that at least “five to six hours of decrease in loadshedding” must be implemented in the province.

    The CM stated, “If you think we don’t know how to take our right then we will show it to you.”

    He said his words were not a “warning but my timeline”.

  • Faisal Vawda demands ‘evidence’ of interference in judicial matters

    Faisal Vawda demands ‘evidence’ of interference in judicial matters

    Independent Senator Faisal Vawda has criticised judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for their letter accusing spy agencies of interfering in judicial matters, saying we should stop targeting institutions.

    “Stop targeting the institutions, enough is enough. If there is any interference by institutions, then provide evidence, and we will stand together [against it],” said the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader during a press conference. 

    Vawda’s remarks came after he filed an application to ask the IHC registrar about revealing the exchange of a letter between former IHC chief justice Athar Minallah and IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar regarding Justice Sattar’s green card.

    The senator wrote a letter, mentioning the social media campaigns against Justice Babar Sattar, accusing him of holding dual nationality and business interests in a private school in the country.

    “A press release was issued that said Justice Sattar is Pakistani, but I didn’t get a reply. CJP Qazi Faez Isa, under Article 19, ordered that every Pakistani can get an answer,” he said.

    The former PTI leader stated that judges should be transparent and away from accusations.

    Vawda stressed that the accusations made by the IHC judges kept mentioning the names of agencies repeatedly. “Give evidence, and we will stand beside you,” he added.

  • Court acquits Khan in two May 9 vandalism cases

    Court acquits Khan in two May 9 vandalism cases

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was cleared of charges in two cases related to vandalism on May 9.

    Judicial Magistrate Sahib Bilal issued the acquittal order for the former prime minister.

    Both cases against Khan were filed at the Khanna police station in Islamabad.

    The Judicial Magistrate approved Khan’s acquittal plea due to insufficient evidence in the cases against him.

    The cases were registered against the PTI founder in 2022 for  long march and violation of Article 144.

  • Punjab Cabinet says ‘undue interference’ by institutions unacceptable

    Punjab Cabinet says ‘undue interference’ by institutions unacceptable

    The Punjab cabinet, on Tuesday, made a strong statement that it would not accept any ‘undue interference’ in the government’s authority by another institution.

    Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz presided over the meeting and made it clear that the Punjab government believes in harmony between state institutions, but unfair interference in the executive authority was unacceptable.

    This statement came after the Lahore High Court passed a ruling to extend the stay order against the distribution of electric motorcycles by Maryam Nawaz among students.

    “It is the responsibility of all of us to uphold the sanctity of our office by exercising our powers within the constitutional limits,” Maryam Nawaz said while addressing the cabinet.

  • PTI conditionally ready to talk with government

    PTI conditionally ready to talk with government

    On Tuesday, the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) signalled that it was ready to hold dialogues with trivial political parties albeit with some conditions – including taking back all cases against Imran Khan.

    The offer was made by a couple of PTI lawmakers in the National Assembly as members indulged in verbal skirmishes.

    “Invitations for talks have come from Rana Sanaullah, the political adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif …. as well as President Asif Zardari. I want to put this before the house on behalf of PTI. When has Imran Khan refused to hold negotiations,” asked PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan while taking part in the debate.

    “We believe that if Pakistan is to be put on the right track, then we [the politicians] will have to make decisions. We do not need any broker, dealer or individual who brings us to sit together,” he said, adding that when they would take their fight outside parliament, “then the Supreme Court will come into action, and Pindi [a reference to GHQ] and Aabpara [a reference to the ISI head office] and many other forces will come into action”, said Mr Khan, who served as the parliamentary affairs minister during the previous PTI government.

    He asked the speaker to take the initiative, stating that their first point was the release of Imran Khan and other “political prisoners” as well as the withdrawal of all “political cases”.

    The PTI MNA also mentioned the arrest of Nawaz Sharif by Gen Musharraf, saying they could not support such an action. He said Imran Khan was being punished like his predecessors when they tried to make independent decisions.

  • Army major martyred, three terrorists killed in Balochistan operation

    Army major martyred, three terrorists killed in Balochistan operation

    The military’s media wing reported on Tuesday that a Pakistani army major was martyred and three terrorists were killed during a heavy exchange of fire between terrorists and army officials in the Sambaza area of Zhob district in Balochistan.

    Security officials conducted an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) in a remote area of Balochistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

    The troops bravely attacked the terrorists’ location and killed three terrorists.

    However, ISPR said in a statement that 33-year-old Major Babar Khan was martyred while fighting fearlessly with the terrorists during the operation.

  • Aleema Khan alarmed over Imran Khan’s safety in Adiala Jail

    Aleema Khan alarmed over Imran Khan’s safety in Adiala Jail

    Aleema Khan, sister of founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, took to X (formerly Twitter) on May 15 to express concerns about the safety of her brother whilst he is incarcerated in Adiala Jail.

    Aleema Khan wrote, “Imran Khan informed us in jail: “I am concerned that they have suddenly changed my security guards at midnight.” When asked, he was told they that they had gone on leave for 2 months.”

    She also stated that a family meeting with Imran Khan was cancelled by jail authorities and the same thing happened with Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s family meeting on Monday.

    “This evening, we were informed that Al-Qadir case in jail court has also been cancelled. Quite simply, we are very concerned about his safety and well-being and can never rule out the threat to his life. There have already been several assassination attempts on him in the past few years,” she wrote on X.

    Social media reactions were mostly sympathetic to Khan’s post.

  • Dubai Loaded: names of politicians, army officials with property, money in Dubai leaked

    Dubai Loaded: names of politicians, army officials with property, money in Dubai leaked

    Thousands of Pakistani citizens including more than a dozen retired military officials and their families own properties in upscale Dubai areas, according to data revealed by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) Dubai Unlocked project.

    The leaked data provides a detailed overview of hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai and information about their ownership or usage, largely from 2020 and 2022.

    Pakistan, a country going through a severe economic crisis, came out prominent among the countries with massive properties in Dubai.

    Among the thousands of Pakistanis who own these properties are around a dozen retired military generals, two retired air vice-marshals of the Pakistan Air Force, a serving inspector general of police (IGP), a retired president of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), a former chairman of the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL), and a serving chairman of the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology.

    Politicians

    President Asif Ali Zardari’s three children, Hussain Nawaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife, Sharjeel Memon and his family members, Senator Faisal Vawda, four MNAs and half a dozen MPAs from the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies. Former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also appears on the list.

    The Property Leaks have also revealed that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife owns a property in Dubai which he didn’t declare in the nomination papers he submitted in March this year for the Senate election.

    Per the Property Leaks data, Naqvi’s wife owns a five-bedroom villa in the Arabian Ranches. She received a rental income of AED600,000 (Rs45m) from this villa, which was purchased in August 2017 for AED4,347,888 (Rs329m) according to the record seen by The News. The villa remained in her ownership till April 2023 when it was sold for AED4,550,000 (Rs344m) as per the record.

    Military officials

    Late Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf and his wife’s name appear in the leaked data as owners of three properties in the areas of Dubai Marina, Burj Khalifa and Al Thanyah Fifth.

    Musharraf’s former military secretary Lt-Gen Shafaat Ullah Shah, who goes by the username @infantry28, is also included in the list. It should be noted his name appeared in Pandora Papers too.

    Former DG Counter Intelligence Maj Gen (r) Ehtasham Zameer, his son and other children are also on the list as owners of properties in the Al Warsan First, Marina Arcade Marsa areas.

    Also on the list is the son of Lt-Gen Afzal Muzaffar of the NLC scandal fame.

    Lt-Gen (r) Muhammad Akram owns a property in Elite Residences 4. In addition, Lt-Gen Alam Jan Mehsud and his spouse own a five-bedroom apartment in the Al Hamri Palm Jumeirah area.

    Maj Gen (r) Ghazanfar Ali Khan also owns a property in S15 Building Al Warsan First.

    Major Gen (r) Raja Muhammad Arif Nazir also appears in the leaked data for owning a property in Golf Promenade 2-A, Al Hebiah third area.

    Air Vice Marshal (r) Saleem Tariq also appears to own property. As does Air Vice Marshal (r) Khalid Masood Rajput.

    Also included in the list are Major Gen (r) Muhammad Farooq, Major Gen (r) Anis Bajwa’s spouse, and Maj Gen (r) Najam-ul-Hassan Shah.

    Businessmen

    Chief Financial Officer of Omni Group Aslam Masood along with his wife is also shown as a listed owner of several properties in the data. The News checked the value of one of them and found out that it was purchased at AED1,060,626 (Rs80m) in March 2013.

    Sohrab Dinshaw is also a property owner in Dubai. A villa he purchased in 2015 carried a purchase price of AED 1271888 (Rs 96m).

    Former president of the NBP Arif Usmani also features on the list as the owner of a penthouse.

    Bureaucrats

    IGP Azad Jammu and Kashmir Dr Sohail Habib Tajik is also on the list for owning property in Al Dafrah First Al Thanyah Third.

    The list and details will be updated.

  • ‘Will make Pakistan wear bangles’ says Modi

    ‘Will make Pakistan wear bangles’ says Modi

    Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Monday attacked opposition leaders for being scared of Pakistan and said, “If Pakistan does not wear bangles, we’ll make the country wear them.”

    During an election rally in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, Modi said the inflammatory rhetoric was a reply to National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah’s statement that Pakistan has an “atomic bomb”, and not bangles.

    Modi stated, “The INDIA bloc seems to have leaders who are scared of Pakistan and have nightmares of its nuclear power.”

    Modi called the opposition leaders cowards and said they, “Give a clean chit to Pakistan on terrorism, raise doubts on surgical strikes.”

  • IHC stops government from blocking SIMs of non-filers

    IHC stops government from blocking SIMs of non-filers

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday stopped the government from blocking phone SIMs of non-filers.

    IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued a stay order effective till May 27 as the court took up the petition today filed by a mobile phone company challenging the government’s decision to block SIMs of non-filers.

    Salman Akram Raja, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, was the petitioner’s counsel and gave forward the argument that the amendment in the law is at odds with Article 18 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom to do business.

    The High Court order came out after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and telecom operators agreed on blocking of SIMs of tax non-filers in a bid to reduce tax evasion and improve revenue.

    FBR had announced that telecom companies have agreed to commence the manual blocking process of SIMs in small batches until their systems are fully equipped to automate it.

    It also announced initially 5,000 non-filers would be targeted and then further more batches would be sent to telecom operators.