Tag: politics latest

  • ‘I cannot sleep’; Hafeezullah Niazi tearfully appeals to court for recovery of son Hassan

    ‘I cannot sleep’; Hafeezullah Niazi tearfully appeals to court for recovery of son Hassan

    Journalist Asad Toor wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that political analyst Hafeezullah Niazi appealed before the Supreme Court’s (SC) six-member bench for the safe recovery of his son, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Hassaan Niazi.

    Hafeezullah Niazi told the apex court, “My son Hassaan Niazi has been missing from military custody since seven to eight days. I’m not even allowed to see him. I don’t know where my son is. Will I be able to sleep at night?”

    Tearfully, he told the court, “You (judges) cannot feel what I feel, I cannot sleep all night.”
    The SC directed Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan to meet Niazi and tackle the matter of the PTI activist.

    Hassaan Niazi is also the nephew of former prime minister and founder of the PTI, Imran Khan. He has been in military custody in link with the May 9 violence in which he was filmed with the Corps Commander Lahore’s uniform, taken from Jinnah House during riots.

  • Reporter Umar Cheema says parties were not dictated to vote against Imran Khan

    Reporter Umar Cheema says parties were not dictated to vote against Imran Khan

    Umar Cheema, a senior investigative reporter for The News, recently stated on Geo News, “We are not ready to believe that a person [General Bajwa] is speaking the truth under oath, but are still discussing the words of a person [Imran Khan] who has a track record of lying and running away.”

    Cheema was talking about a recent report that former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bajwa took an oath on the Holy Quran that he did not conspire against Imran Khan.

    “All those parties which are considered very close to the establishment did not get any clear dictation whether they should vote for or against then Prime Minister Imran Khan in the 2022 Vote of No Confidence (VoNC) against him,” Cheema pointed out.

    According to the reporter, the [establishment] way of pressurising and harassing is well known which was absent during the VoNC.

    Moreover, he commented that Bilawal Bhutto asserted, “General Bajwa informed me that Imran Khan is prepared to dissolve the assembly if the Vote of No Confidence is withdrawn.”

    Umar Cheema said that if he [Gen Bajwa] did conspire against Imran Khan then he would have no need to tell this to Bhutto.

  • “Opposition ko phaansi lagado,” Imran used to tell Bajwa

    “Opposition ko phaansi lagado,” Imran used to tell Bajwa

    Nadeem Afzal Chan, former MNA, has revealed on a talk show on Hum News that he heard Imran Khan saying to former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa that they should “hang the opposition”.

    Nadeem joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2018 but later quit the party in 2021 while serving as spokesperson to Prime Minister Imran Khan and rejoined the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    The former MNA stated that Imran Khan also told the former Army Chief Bajwa that they should “keep MNAs and MPAs satisfied because the masses are angry.”

    Chan also remarked that there was definitely a “one-page” between the PTI government and the establishment, and they protected PTI a lot.

    The former PTI member also said that such level of cooperation was rare in Pakistan’s history.

  • PTI claims intelligence agencies rigged by-polls, announce protest

    PTI claims intelligence agencies rigged by-polls, announce protest

    After the recently held by-elections on Sunday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders alleged that intelligence agencies were involved in rigging polls.

    The party termed April 21 as a “black day” in the history of Pakistan while urging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to withhold the notifications of results.

    Announcing a series of protests starting from Friday, the PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, addressing a press conference, said, “[The] day of election is considered an accountability day, and people cast their votes with great zeal. However, on April 21, open and blatant violations of law were observed. The magnitude of the rigging and violation of law has never been observed in the history of Pakistan. Gates of polling stations were closed, and at some polling stations, more votes were polled than the total registered votes.”

    The PTI Chairman, accompanied by other senior members of the party, stated that in one polling station in Gujrat, only 120 votes were cast but three boxes of ballot papers were seen.

    PTI’s Omar Ayub said that pre-poll rigging began with the suspension of the internet. He also showed a letter from the RO of NA-8 Bajaur to the DRO, claiming that the RO alleged that an intelligence official had beaten the staff.

    “We will start protests, along with other parties, next Friday across the country,” said Ayub.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won a majority of seats in by-polls held on nearly two dozen national and provincial seats on Sunday.

  • Counter Terrorism eliminates eight terrorists involved in attacks on customs officials in DI Khan

    The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) stated that eight terrorists, who were involved in multiple attacks on custom officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s district, Dera Ismail (DI) Khan, have been apprehended and killed.

    The CTD said in its statement that they killed one of the most wanted terrorists, Jahanzaib, during Monday’s operation in DI Khan.

    The eliminated terrorists were also involved in attacks on security forces and target killings.

    “The escape routes of the terrorists were blocked,” the CTD said, adding that there is a fear of the presence of facilitators of terrorists in the local population.

    “Strict action is also being taken against the facilitators,” the agency maintained.

  • CM KP Gandapur says negotiations with terrorists ‘is the only solution’

    CM KP Gandapur says negotiations with terrorists ‘is the only solution’

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has stated that ‘negotiations’ is the only way to move forward in dealing with terrorism.

    Addressing a press conference, the CM KP said, “Imran Khan stated that we should not become a part of somebody else’s war and that negotiations are the only solution.”

    Gandapur also added that “whatever we have done before has not yielded any results but rather we have suffered.”

    It should be noted that the Imran Khan-led government, after the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, pursued infamous “peace deals” with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which failed.

    Historically, Pakistan has tried to negotiate at least a half dozen of these ‘peace deals’ with the TTP and every single one has failed.

    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that the former Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa and the ex-spymaster General Faiz Hamid should be held accountable for their policy of allowing the Taliban to return to Pakistan.

    According to Asif, ‘generals painted a rosy picture’ of a new era if the TTP were allowed back in the country.

    The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) annual report revealed that more than 1500 people lost their lives in 2023 due to terror attacks.

    Pakistan has witnessed a stark increase in terror attacks since the Afghan Taliban came into power in the neighbouring country.

    Pakistan continues to blame Afghanistan for their inaction against anti-Pakistan elements and even conducted surgical strikes inside Afghanistan in March 2024 targeting hideouts of commanders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

    Social media reactions were mostly mixed regarding the CM KP’s statement.

  • IMF raises questions over PM Shehbaz giving huge bonuses to staff

    IMF raises questions over PM Shehbaz giving huge bonuses to staff

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly raised questions on Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s decision to grant huge financial awards to the officers of his office, as reported by Express Tribune.

    The supplementary grants amounted to Rs. 24 billion, which the PM approved, amidst a severe economic crisis.

    The global lending body IMF took up the issue, asking about the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet decisions to approve awards for the PM’s office staff.

    The Express Tribune reported that the IMF questioned the source of funding for these awards.

    IMF’s Resident Representative Esther Perez did not respond to a request for a comment on the matter even after two weeks, according to the news outlet.

    However, despite IMF questioning, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb have not reversed this decision.

  • Pakistan, London aur ab China: Nawaz to get medical checkup on personal visit

    Pakistan, London aur ab China: Nawaz to get medical checkup on personal visit

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will leave for a “personal visit” to China today, as per Geo News.

    PML-N’s internal sources confirmed that the party head is going to China for a medical checkup.

    Party sources also confirmed to Geo that the former prime minister will also hold meetings on development projects in Punjab, adding that the former premier will meet owners of Chinese companies there.

    Nawaz will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

    This will be the first international visit of Nawaz Sharif since his return to Pakistan in October last year after spending almost four years in self-imposed exile in London.

  • Crackdown against $23 billion black market results in attacks on custom officials

    Crackdown against $23 billion black market results in attacks on custom officials

    On Saturday, three people, including two Customs officials, were murdered in an attack near Bannu Road when unknown gunmen opened fire targeting their vehicle at the Yarak toll plaza in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    This is the second attack on Pakistan Customs officials in less than a week in Dera Ismail Khan.

    Previously on April 18, seven people, including a child, were slain in an attack out of which five were Custom officials. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, reiterating Pakistan’s resolve to fight terrorism.

    The Khorasan Diary had reported that “Customs had tightened the noose around smuggling around this area as it was frequented by militant networks who were involved in smuggling weapons and vehicles used in attack in urban centres,” a senior customs official said.

    The special situation report of the April 18 incident was released by the Deputy Commissioner

    Moreover, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the heinous attack.

    It should be noted that Dera Ismail Khan is an infamous route for illicit trade and smuggling as there have been many instances when the authorities have foiled bids to smuggle goods including arms, Iranian fuel and more.

    (Image taken from APP report)

    As Pakistan navigates through tough economic waters, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered strict action against smugglers and urged law enforcement agencies to expedite their campaigns.

    Illicit activities such as black market and smuggling cost Pakistan $23 billion per year, according to the report by ACE Money Transfer, a UK-based company.

    Previously, the caretaker administration started the anti-smuggling drive in the country to protect the feeble foreign exchange and stop the devaluation of local currency (PKR).

    The FBR released a statement offering condolences to the victims’ families.

  • Mixed reactions as supporter presses Imran Khan poster on The Ka’aba

    Mixed reactions as supporter presses Imran Khan poster on The Ka’aba

    A video emerged over the weekend on social media of a man, seemingly a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter, waving a poster with Imran Khan’s picture inside the holiest Muslim site- The Ka’ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

    The footage was shared by a user on X, formerly Twitter while condemning his actions.

    Originally, the video was posted on Tiktok by a PTI supporter, Jameelrehmani24,  himself displaying the poster at the holy site.

    Social media reactions were mixed with some users saying there is nothing wrong with doing so and others condemning the move.

    Interestingly in 2018, two Indian nationals were held by Saudi authorities for waving and taking pictures with the tri-colour Indian flag inside the Kaaba in Mecca.

    Following the incident, the Consulate General of India in Jeddah released a statement that it is illegal to display flags in the area.