Tag: PPP

  • PM Khan sets record as most followed Pakistani politician on Twitter

    PM Khan sets record as most followed Pakistani politician on Twitter

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is currently topping the charts among Pakistani politicians in the race of Twitter followers with 15 million.

    This has made him the most followed Pakistan politician. Earlier in 2019, PM Khan had been ranked the fifth most influential world leader on Twitter.

    He had an average of 6K RT (retweet per tweet) ratio on Twitter.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has 5.5 million and Vice President Maryam Nawaz has 6.5 million. Pakistan People Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has 4.4 million.

    Meanwhile, former United States (US) President Barack Obama is the most-followed account holder on Twitter with 130.5 million. Indian Prime Minister (PM) has 74.1 million followers, which makes him the second-most followed in the world.

  • PM Khan wants similar ECP scrutiny on bank accounts and funding of PPP, PMLN

    PM Khan wants similar ECP scrutiny on bank accounts and funding of PPP, PMLN

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Wednesday welcomed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) scrutiny of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) funding, money which he said came through donations from overseas Pakistanis.

    Taking to Twitter, the premier wrote, “I welcome ECP’s scrutiny of PTI’s funding through donations from Overseas Pakistanis. The more our accounts are scrutinised the more factual clarity will emerge for [the] nation to see how PTI is the only political party with proper donor base premised on proper political fundraising.”

    In another tweet, PM Khan said he looked forward to seeing similar ECP scrutiny on funding of the other two major political parties, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

    His comments come a day after the report compiled by the scrutiny committee of the ECP noted that the ruling party had received funding from foreign nationals and companies, under-reported funds, and concealed dozens of its bank accounts.

    PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif criticising PM Khan said, “Truth has a strange way of exposing people. The facade of “Sadiq aur Ameen” has been shredded into pieces.”

    PPP Chairman took to Twitter and said, “Tax records reveal @ImranKhanPTI income increased more than 50 times since gaining power. Pakistan has become poorer but Imran is richer.”

  • ‘Only way to end inflation is to oust Imran Khan’: Bilawal Bhutto

    ‘Only way to end inflation is to oust Imran Khan’: Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the increase in prices of petroleum products is Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s new year’s gift to the citizens and the only way to end inflation is to oust the premier himself.

    In a series of tweets shared by the PPP official Twitter handle, Bilawal said, “Imran Khan claimed that 2021 would be the year of prosperity, but 2022 has arrived, where have the claims gone.”

    The PPP leader’s statement comes after the government announced an Rs4 increase in petrol price.

    He stated that the country witnessed higher inflation than a year prior during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) tenure, but they continue to blame previous governments labelling them as incompetent.

    Bilawal claimed that the PPP faced the worst economic crisis in the world’s history but did not let the citizens bear the brunt of the inflation.

    He urged the federal government to reduce the rates of petroleum products in line with international prices.

    The PPP chairperson stated that the only way to end inflation is to “oust Imran Khan.”

  • Video: Female MNAs physically fight during the mini-budget session

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers got involved in a physical fight during the National Assembly’s session at the time of the presentation of the controversial finance bill i.e. mini-budget.

    In a video, PTI’s Ghazala Saifi and PPP’s Shagufta Jumani can be seen shouting and pushing each other when the protesting opposition members had gathered in front of the seats of ministers.

    However, immediately after that the members of the treasury and the Opposition separated the two members of the National Assembly.

    PTI’s Saifi issued a statement claiming that she had got her thumb fractured. She said, “I am appalled at the way Shugafta Jumani has conducted herself. To behave in such a way, in a space which has such specific codes of ethics, a place for us to voice the concerns of the people we represent, for it to be reduced to this sort of brawl-like behaviour should be a cause of intense shame for Ms Jumani.”

    On the contrary, according to PPP’s Jumani and other party members, Jumani was attacked by Saifi and she only retaliated.

    PPP MNA Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Jumani had come to him complaining that a PTI lady had attacked her. He claimed that she also received a minor injury and termed the incident unfortunate, reports Dawn.

  • Federal government to present mini-budget of Rs350 billion today

    The federal government will present the mini-budget worth Rs350 billion today.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan summoned a meeting of the federal cabinet that will approve the mini-budget at noon today. The federal cabinet, with PM Khan in the chair, will give a go-ahead to the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021.

    The Finance Amendment Bill 2021 will directly be presented in the National Assembly (NA) as part of the government’s effort to get the IMF package worth $6 billion.

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin will introduce the bill in the house to amend certain laws relating to taxes and duties.

    The Opposition has already vowed to block the passage of the bill during the NA session. The opposition has claimed that the bill will further increase inflation and add to people’s misery.

  • MNAs only come to mark attendance, third parliament session adjourned

    National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session on Monday due to lack of quorum in the lower house for the third consecutive day.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Sheikh Fayyazuddin mentioned the empty treasury benches and said that he is “ashamed”, reports Dawn.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers were not present in the assembly on Monday because of the 14th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.

    For the quorum of the lower house, the presence of 86 members (one-fourth) out of the 342 members is necessary.

    On December 22nd and 24th, the sessions were adjourned because of the same reason.

    However, the assembly record shows that on Dec 22, a total of 219 members had marked their attendance. On Dec 24, 176 members had marked their attendance.

    Moreover, it shows that on the opening day of the NA session, 89 lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its allies were present. Similarly, a great number, i.e. 105 treasury members, were present when the session was called the second time.

  • No difference between us and them’: PM Khan dissolves all PTI organisations

    No difference between us and them’: PM Khan dissolves all PTI organisations

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Friday announced that after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a huge setback in the first phase of the recently held local government (LG) elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the party has decided to dissolve its organisational structure.

    During the meeting of the party spokespersons, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was dissatisfied with the party’s performance in KP local body polls.

    “But the way tickets were awarded […] PTI does not believe in dynastic politics. PM Imran has never let his personal relations affect his mission,” informed Fawad, while addressing the media.

    Criticising how tickets were distributed, PM Khan said that candidates should be awarded party tickets on merit, which is the opposite of what happened in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    “If that culture seeps into the PTI, there will be no difference between us and them,” said the premier.

    The prime minister — after consulting with the party leadership — has decided to dissolve all organisations from the centre to the tehsils, Fawad said. “Chief organisers and all office bearers have been removed from their positions,” he said.

    “It has also been decided that the local leadership will not award party tickets when it comes to their relatives. A special committee will be formed where the case will be forwarded and it will decide whether or not to award the ticket.”

    Earlier, PM Imran Khan directed the Punjab government and PTI leadership to begin homework for the upcoming local government elections in the province, adding that he would personally oversee the preparations.

    “The government and party leadership should strictly select candidates on merit and avoid dynastic politics, which was exposed after causing damage to the party in KP,” said PM Khan.

    “The mistakes made in KP must not be repeated in Punjab,” he stressed. With candidates selected on merit, PM Khan said, the PTI would give a tough time to its opponents in the local government elections in Punjab.

  • ECP reserves verdict in Faisal Vawda’s disqualification case

    ECP reserves verdict in Faisal Vawda’s disqualification case

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved its verdict on a disqualification petition filed against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda.

    Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the petition filed against Vawda in Islamabad pertaining to his dual citizenship. Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Qadir Khan Mandokhel and Faisal Vawda appeared before an ECP bench.

    CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja asked Mandokhel whether he wanted to present more documents or give additional arguments.

    Mandokhel said today is the 30th hearing of the case but he could not get the answers to his questions. The PPP leader said, “ECP has been issuing warnings for the last one-and-a-half years.”

    On this, Raja said that the ECP will decide the case whether it gets the answers or not.

    Mandokhel was of the view that Faisal Vawda had held United States (US) nationality at the time of filing his election nomination papers. He said that the concerned RO was not punished as he had rejected his papers instead of disqualifying Vawda.

    The PPP leader said that Vawda had falsely declared in an oath to the ECP that he did not hold any foreign nationality. The PTI leader had concealed his dual nationality during the scrutiny of his nomination papers, said Mandokhel.

    Vawda’s counsel rejected the allegations, saying that his client had never applied for another country’s nationality. He said Vawda was born in the US and that his client had cancelled his American passport.

    As per NADRA’s record, Vawda’s US citizenship had been seized on May 29, 2018, said his counsel.

    The chief election commissioner inquired whether NADRA could issue a certificate that says an individual is a Pakistani citizen and not that of any other country.

    “How can NADRA know this? We will look into this matter,” said the chief election commissioner.

    After hearing the arguments of both sides, the ECP reserved its verdict in Vawda’s disqualification case.

    The ECP had adjourned the hearing till December 23 while directing Vawda to submit his arguments by this date.

  • KP LG polls: PTI loses, Shibli Faraz says party lost because of ‘PTI vs PTI’

    In the first phase of local government elections held in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa (KP), Opposition parties have had a combined lead over the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), according to unofficial results.

    Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said that the ruling party lost because “PTI was contesting against PTI”.

    “If it was not PTI vs PTI, we would have really won the elections. The results are still being announced. It was a crucial election but our performance has been really good,” said Shibli.

    The PTI is ahead on 15 seats followed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) 13, Awami National Party (ANP) nine, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) two, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) one each — which totals up to 26 seats for the Opposition parties as per unofficial and unverified results. Meanwhile, independent candidates are in the lead on 13 seats, reports Dawn.

    In all, 12.668 million voters — seven million male and five and a half million female — were registered for the polls in the 17 KP districts.

    In the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), local government elections were held for the first time in Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur districts.

  • PML-N retains PP-206 Khanewal seat

    PML-N retains PP-206 Khanewal seat

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) retained Khanewal district’s PP-206 constituency.

    PML-N’s candidate Rana Muhammad Saleem emerged victorious, according to unofficial results. Saleem bagged 47,649 votes, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) Noreen Nishat Daha got 34,030 votes, while Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Syed Wisaq was able to gain 15,059, according to unofficial results from all the 183 polling stations.

    The voting count ended at 5pm after polling began at 8am as the seat fell vacant due to the death of PML-N leader Nishat Ahmed Daha. However, his wife Noreen was contesting on PTI’s ticket.

    PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, congratulating the winner, tweeted, “Congratulations to the lions of Khanewal. Nawaz Sharif’s name is enough.”

    Taking to Twitter, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), shared a few statistics in relevance to the election in Khanewal.

    Mehboob tweeted, “PP206, Khanewal4 is a second by-election in Punjab in a row where PPP vote share significantly went up, from 5.86 per cent in 2018 to 13.53 per cent yesterday.”

    “Winner PMLN vote slightly decreased from 45 to 42.8 per cent. PTI vote slipped significantly from 41.9 to 30.58 per cent. TLP vote went up from 5 to 8.64 per cent.”

    PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari too congratulated the party candidate contesting in the elections. Taking to Twitter Bilawal wrote, “Good work south Punjab team #PPP.”