Tag: politics latest

  • Barrister Gohar Khan “removed” as PTI chairman over unsatisfactory performance

    Barrister Gohar Khan “removed” as PTI chairman over unsatisfactory performance

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat said on Friday that Barrister Gohar is not the chairman of PTI anymore as his performance was not satisfactory.

    Marwat announced the party’s decision a day after Barrister Gohar announced that the next party chairman will be Barrister Ali Zafar. However, PTI’s intraparty elections are scheduled to take place on March 3.

    The former ruling party’s top post had been lying vacant for more than a month after not only the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), but the Supreme Court also declared its intra-party elections unlawful and stripped the party of its iconic bat symbol. 

    Talking to Geo News, Marwat said: “Incompetence and poor performance are the reasons behind Gohar’s removal as chairman. Barrister Gohar is a gentleman, but his performance was not satisfactory.”

    The PTI leader also said that Barrister Gohar failed to meet the expectations of party workers.

  • Shehbaz, Zardari want a new President before Senate elections

    Shehbaz, Zardari want a new President before Senate elections

    After the power sharing deal, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are thinking about holding the Presidential election before the Senate election, as per The News.

    According to Article 41(5), “…an election to fill a vacancy in the office of president shall be held not later than thirty days from the occurrence of the vacancy; provided that, if the election cannot be held within the period aforesaid because the National Assembly is dissolved, it shall be held within thirty days of the general elections to the Assembly.”

    The newly elected assemblies will take their oaths by February 29, and a new government will be in place by March 2.

    According to sources with The News, PML-N and their allied parties want the presidential election to be conducted on March 8, before the Senate polls.

    On the other hand, PPP leader Senator Farooq H Naek said that according to law, presidential elections can be held 30 days after general polls.

    “This means that the presidential election is to be held before March 9,”  he said

  • No conflict with military, says Sher Afzal Marwat

    No conflict with military, says Sher Afzal Marwat

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat has said that the military and government should be seen as separate entities. He praised the military, stating that there’s no conflict with them. However, he expressed concerns about the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) involvement in seat issues, delays in cases, and alleged theft of mandate by other political parties.

    The PTI leader said, “Our intra-party elections are happening within 15 days. We need to mobilize our party. All PTI workers will participate in this election. I’ll support those who want to contest from our platform.”

    Talking about a recent raid at his house, he said that his employee has returned, stating he was treated well.

  • If decision made on merit, Imran Khan will be PM of Pakistan: Asad Qaiser

    If decision made on merit, Imran Khan will be PM of Pakistan: Asad Qaiser

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser said on Wednesday that if the decision is made on merit, party founder Imran Khan will be the prime minister of Pakistan.

    While speaking to the media outside of Adiala jail, Rawalpinid, Qaiser said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has conducted the worst polls in the country’s history.

    “We still have hopes from the judicial system of Pakistan,” he remarked, adding that the party will continue its “legal struggle” against the people in power.

    The former speaker of the National Assembly (NA) also said that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) gave him permission to meet Imran Khan, but jail authorities didn’t allow him to do so, instead asking him to come tomorrow.

  • PPP hopeful of reaching consensus with PML-N on government formation

    PPP hopeful of reaching consensus with PML-N on government formation

    After the fifth meeting of the coordination committees of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) didn’t make much progress, the PPP still hopes they can agree on how to form the government in today’s meeting.

    Faisal Karim Kundi, PPP’s Information Secretary, topd Geo News that the party’s central executive committee’s decision is not to join the federal cabinet in the upcoming government.

    “[Our] experience with the PML-N during the 16-month alliance was not pleasant,” Kundi said while stressing that there’s no formula for holding the office of prime minister for three years and two years by either party’s candidates. 

    He also emphasised that the party has the right to compete for other constitutional positions.

    Bilateral talks between the PPP and the PML-N, after none of the parties was able to secure a simple majority in the February 8 polls, have dragged on for days, with the former maintaining its stance against being included in the cabinet, The News reported on Sunday.

    On Monday, both parties spent three hours in a meeting and were planning to meet again later in the day, but they decided to postpone it until Tuesday (today).

  • PTI to hold countrywide protests over alleged rigging

    PTI to hold countrywide protests over alleged rigging

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will hit the streets today at 12pm across the country to protest against what they claim is rigging and tampering with election results from February 8th.

    Major parties that won the most seats have been looking for allies and making alliances to form the next governments at both the national and provincial levels.

    The PTI expressed disappointment with the election results, where its affiliated candidates won over 90 National Assembly seats, making them the largest group. They announced plans to hold peaceful protests countrywide against what they called “record-high rigging” in the recent general elections.

    “The PTI has called for country-wide protests against the unprecedented, massive, brazen rigging in general elections 2024, where PTI’s win of 180 National Assembly seats and a two-thirds majority in the parliament, was cut down to half,” the party said in a statement.

  • Phir say ‘Ain’; PTI’s obsession with Urdu alphabet continues

    Phir say ‘Ain’; PTI’s obsession with Urdu alphabet continues

    In the politics of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), the Urdu letter “Ain” holds immense importance.

    PTI founder Imran Khan has nominated Omar Ayub Khan, whose name starts with “Ain,” as the prime ministerial candidate.

    PTI also nominated Ali Amin Gandapur, whose name also starts with “Ain,” as the party candidate for the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    There are interesting and funny comments about this on social media, reminding us that Imran also begins with Ain, Usman Buzdar with Ain, Arif Alvi, Omar Ayub, and Ali Amin Gandapur all start with Ain.

    During PTI government, speculation was rife that Bushra Bibi asked Iman Khan to appoint a person whose name starts with ‘Ain’ as the chief minister of Punjab. After that, the PTI founder chose Usman Buzdar.

  • Maryam Nawaz briefed on Punjab projects even before CM election

    Maryam Nawaz briefed on Punjab projects even before CM election

    The Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Maryam Nawaz, received a briefing on development projects in Punjab. The PML-N nominated Maryam Nawaz as their choice for the province’s chief minister.

    Zahid Akhtar Zaman, the Chief Secretary of Punjab, briefed the PML-N leader after she was nominated for the top provincial position.

    According to sources in Geo News, the provincial chief secretary went to Jatti Umrah on Thursday to brief Maryam and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif on the current situation in Punjab.

    During a meeting, Zaman explained the ongoing projects as well as the law and order situation in the province.

    Maryam Nawaz won a National Assembly (NA) and a Provincial Assembly seat in the general elections.

    The party’s stalwart was elected by voters on PP-159 and NA-119, respectively.

  • PTI denies news of alliance with PPP, Khattak’s party, announces nationwide protest on Saturday

    PTI denies news of alliance with PPP, Khattak’s party, announces nationwide protest on Saturday

    Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Barrister Gohar Khan, has announced plans for a peaceful protest nationwide on Saturday (Feb 17) to highlight what he perceives as the “marginalization” of the PTI.

    “We are extending invitations to all political parties, including the GDA, JI, JUI-F, TLP, ANP, or any other party that shares our concerns regarding the change in mandate and electoral rigging,” he stated.

    Gohar emphasized the peaceful nature of the protest and urged the public to join in. “These elections were crucial, and we are determined not to let our mandate be usurped,” he asserted.

    Regarding speculation about talks with the PPP, Gohar dismissed such reports.

    Furthermore, he announced that Mian Aslam will be PTI’s candidate for the position of Punjab’s chief minister. He also revealed Salar Khan as the candidate for Balochistan chief minister and Aqibullah Khan as the nominee for the speaker of the KP Assembly.

    Gohar assured the media that announcements of candidates for National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker would follow soon.

    As per Sher Azal Marwat, Imran Khan asked him to tell Pakistanis that their freedom has been taken away from them. He further added that if rigging can be done this way then the public won’t even have the power to vote in upcoming elections.

    He said, “The vote was stolen so that a criminal money laundering syndicate could be imposed on Pakistan.”

    Imran Khan also said that there can be no financial stability without political stability and remittances from overseas Pakistanis can stabilize Pakistan.

    Refuting rumors of forming a government with the PML-N, PPP, PTI-B and MQM-P, Gohar reiterated PTI’s commitment to not engage in power-sharing with these parties. He emphasized that PTI’s politics revolve around serving the public and upholding the mandate and democracy.

    “We will continue to offer strong opposition until we secure the full mandate, although we are in a position to form governments in Punjab, KP, and at the Centre,” Gohar asserted.

    He urged the Election Commission of Pakistan and the judiciary to expedite the PTI’s cases and address what he termed as “fake mandate,” claiming that PTI had won 180 seats according to their records.

  • Firdous Ashiq Awan apologises for slapping a police officer

    Firdous Ashiq Awan apologises for slapping a police officer

    Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan has formally apologised for slapping a police officer during the general elections.

    In a hearing held at the Election Commission, chaired by Nisar Durrani, Awan expressed regret for the incident and sought forgiveness in a written statement submitted to the commission. The affected police officer also submitted a written response during the hearing.

    During the inquiry, a member of the Election Commission questioned Awan, asking who she thought she was to take the law into her own hands.

    Awan responded to the inquiry by stating that she apologizes for her actions, clarifying that the polling stations were in a chaotic state and that she was merely trying to ensure order.

    She further stated that the police were a passive spectator and she felt threatened by the crowd.

    The incident, which sparked widespread criticism on social media, has been under scrutiny by the Election Commission.

    The commission has stated that it will issue further directives regarding the hearing at a later date.

    On February 12, Awan said that she slapped a police officer as the person in uniform was facilitating one political party on election day. The IPP leader also said that if the law does not take its course, then citizens will teach corrupt police officers a lesson.
    The video was widely slammed on social media, with users calling out the IPP leader for resorting to violence.

    Read more: ‘Thappay par thappa’, Firdous explains why she slapped a police officer