Tag: PPP

  • Video: PPP’s Saeed Ghani opening water bottle for Bilawal

    Video: PPP’s Saeed Ghani opening water bottle for Bilawal

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari handed over a water bottle to his party fellow Information minister Sindh Saeed Ghani to open.

    In a video, the chairman can be seen sitting alongside Ghani and Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah while addressing a press conference in Karachi.

    The moment went viral when Bilawal picks up a bottle of water and for a moment attempts to open the plastic seal on the cap. Ghani is seen reaching out to assist him and Bilawal gave the bottle to him. Ghani opens it and instantly handed it over to Bilawal.

  • Nawaz is against Pakistan says Zardari, Shehbaz lashes back

    Nawaz is against Pakistan says Zardari, Shehbaz lashes back

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif has criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for his remarks against Mian Nawaz Sharif.

    “Zardari Sahib’s statement about Mian Nawaz Sharif is unfortunate. Mian Sahib’s unwavering commitment to Pakistan has always been unquestionable. Zardari sb. knows the conditions in which MNS had to go abroad. We should refrain from such remarks & work for [the] greater good of [the] country,” tweeted Shehbaz.

    Without taking Nawaz Sharif’s name, Asif Zardari had accused PML-N chief of being against Pakistan. “They are against my homeland. Those who don’t wish to die in my homeland, what can they do?”

    Zardari said, “We belong to this land and we will die here.” The former president was addressing a media talk on Monday in Lahore.

    On Sunday (December 5), PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik defeated PPP candidate Aslam Gill in Lahore’s NA-133 by-polls. Shaista Malik secured 46,811 votes while Gill’s votes were 32,313.

  • NA-133 by-election: PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz defeats PPP’s Aslam Gill

    NA-133 by-election: PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz defeats PPP’s Aslam Gill

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shaista Pervaiz Malik, wife of late Malik Pervaiz won the National Assembly (NA)-133 constituency on Sunday against Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) opponent Aslam Gill.

    The PML-N won the seat for the fourth time since 2008, although by a smaller margin this time.

    The results showed Gill was defeated by a margin of 14,498 votes. Shaista Malik secured 46,811 votes while Gill’s votes were 32,313.

    In 2018 elections, Pervaiz Malik secured 89,699 votes, which means PML-N got 42,888 fewer votes this time. However, PPP’s Gill got 26,728 more votes now as compared to the 2018 polls when he obtained only 5,585.

    President Of the Pakistan Institute Of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) Ahmed Bilal Mehboob shared the turnout of the constituency’s elections in a tweet.

    Meanwhile, despite PPP’s defeat in the election, the party’s Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated his party and he tweeted, “Congratulations to PPP Punjab for a fantastic performance in Lahore by-election. PPP went from 5,000 votes to 32,000+. While Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lost more than 50% of its votes”, adding that they hope to form the government in Punjab and centre in the general election.

    PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif dedicated this victory to Late Pervaiz Malik and said, “We bow our heads before Allah in all humility for this election win today.”

  • Fawad lauds Opposition’s Ahsan Iqbal, Mustafa Khokhar for calling out Fazlur Rehman

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry lauded Opposition members for calling out Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on his statement regarding the Sialkot lynching incident. 

    While referring to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar’s tweets criticising Fazl’s comments, Fawad said, “The way everyone condemned the incident is commendable,” adding that he hoped the 220 million people of Pakistan, who hold moderate views, would come forward and condemn the incident.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1467434900743757831?s=20

    After the horrific lynching of a Sri Lankan national Priyantha Kumara Diyawadana, Maulana tweeted, “The incident in Sialkot is reprehensible and shameful. There should be a comprehensive investigation. However, if the state does not take action against those accused of blasphemy, then such incidents will continue to happen.”

    He went on to say that in the past, there had been a similar backlash against “government-sponsored fugitives accused of blasphemy”.

    Ahsan Iqbal said, “Respectfully Maulana Sahab, such incidents should be unconditionally condemned – Islam does not allow such fanaticism and illegal killings by mobs in any case.”

    Similarly, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar took to Twitter and wrote: “Maulana Fazlur Rehman Sahib is a respectable figure but, on this occasion, he should have condemned the Sialkot tragedy by taking a stand in blunt and clear words instead of using ifs and buts.”

    Priyantha was working as a manager at a private factory. He was lynched on Friday by a mob after being accused of alleged blasphemy.

  • Federal ministers hold Sindh responsible for food inflation

    Federal ministers hold Sindh responsible for food inflation

    The federal government on Friday criticised the Sindh government for ‘poor governance’ with ministers holding it responsible for food inflation in the country, reports Dawn.

    The criticism came from the government after Prime Minister Imran Khan had claimed the Centre would uplift 14 districts under the Rs444 billion Sindh Development Plan.

    Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry blamed the Sindh government for rising food inflation in the country, alleging that the “Sindh government has left the people of the province at the mercy of mafias”.

    He said when sugar price went up to Rs150 per kilo, the Sindh government stopped supplying sugar cane to mills and later blocked stocks of sugar from reaching the markets. He said prices of food and grocery items were still higher in Sindh as compared to other provinces.

    However, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which rules Sindh, slammed the federal government for criticising the provincial government.

    PPP spokesman Faisal Karim Kundi asked: “Why does Imran Khan worry so much about Sindh?”

    He claimed that Sindh was the only province where free treatment was being given for cancer, heart ailments, liver and kidney ailments.

    “If nothing is being done in Sindh, then why do people from across the country travel to Sindh to avail free medical treatment,” he questioned.

  • Joint parliamentary session: All you need to know about what happened

    Joint parliamentary session: All you need to know about what happened

    The much anticipated joint parliamentary session on Wednesday left dark clouds over the future of the country’s legislation system.

    Number game of parliamentarians:

    The government needed a majority in the joint sitting of houses to pass bills where the total strength was 440 members.

    The party position in parliament showed that the treasury had a majority of just two votes if the two Houses were combined together. According to party position, the number of Opposition members in the 440-member joint House came to 219 against 221 treasury members, 221 members of the government and its allies were present with 213 members of the Opposition.

    Bills to be reviewed:

    More than a dozen bills were presented in parliament.

    The major bills: Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Voting rights to overseas Pakistanis were passed in the absence of Opposition.

    The other bills include:

    The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill

    The Hyderabad Institute for Technical and Management Sciences Bill, 2021

    The State Bank of Pakistan Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021

    The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2021

    Security arrangements:

    The in-house security of the National Assembly (NA) was made to stand in front of the Speaker dice to prevent the Opposition members from reaching the dice and cause a commotion.

    Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) leader Hina Rabbani Khar termed the situation as “martial law”.

    https://twitter.com/Hina_RKhar/status/1460907005141467141?s=20

    Ruckus in NA:

    During voting, things got heated up from both sides.

    In a video, PPP’s Qadir Mandokhel can be seen involved in a fight with the government representatives.

    The decorum of the House couldn’t stay still, copies of the agenda books were torn, pieces of paper were thrown at Speaker NA Asad Qaiser.

    A heated exchange of words took place between Qaiser and parliamentarians.

    Qaiser lashing out at the parliamentarians. “Stay within your limits, mend your way of talking.”

    Opposition walkout:

    The Opposition walked out of the House giving the government a chance to pass the bills. They argued that the Opposition’s votes counted were fewer than actual numbers and eventually walked out.

    Session now led by Senate Chairman:

    Speaker Asad Qaiser will no longer be chairing the proceedings after the passage of important legislation. Instead, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani will lead parliamentary proceedings.

    Reaction:

    Twitterati reacted to the heated situation in parliament.

  • ‘Who was insulted?’: Opposition questions Asad Qaiser on postponing of joint Parliament session

    National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has reportedly met with the United Opposition on Tuesday, reports Geo Urdu.

    Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) senior leaders Khursheed Shah and Sherry Rehman were present in the meeting with Speaker.

    The Opposition was invited to discuss and negotiate on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other legislation.

    “Now the government is calling for a joint session,” questions the Opposition.

    The Opposition raised the question to Qaiser that, “Who was insulted”? [Referring to the postponing of the joint Parliament session]. Upon this, the speaker replied, “I will call the ministers right now, “adding that things would have been better if the legislation had been passed by consensus.

    Last week, Qaiser wrote to the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and invited the Opposition for talks after the government got seven bills passed in the absence of Opposition members from the lower house of parliament due to which the government was heavily criticised.

  • ‘Kaptaan bhaag gaya’: Opposition criticises govt for postponing joint Parliament session

    ‘Kaptaan bhaag gaya’: Opposition criticises govt for postponing joint Parliament session

    Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the government’s decision of postponing the joint Parliament session as their victory.

    “Imran Niazi should resign after it was clearly exposed that he had lost the trust of his members and allies,” said Shehbaz.

    “The hasty convening of the joint meeting and then the hasty adjournment shows the seriousness of the government that had made sensitive and serious issues like legislation a child’s play,” he said.

    “Those claiming to compete on the field have fled the field,” he said. Shehbaz Sharif said that the postponement of the joint session of the Parliament proves that the government has confirmed its defeat on the legislation of “black laws.”

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that the government postponed the Parliament’s joint session as it had “foreseen its defeat”.

    Taking to Twitter, Bilawal said “Kaptaan bhag gaya” (the captain ran away), sharing President Arif Alvi’s notification for the postponement of the session.

    “Yet another victory for the United Opposition in the Parliament today. Government ran away from joint sessions when they saw they would be defeated yet again. Kaptaan Bagh[sic] gaya,” tweeted Bilawal.

    Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and announced that the joint parliamentary session, which was earlier called by President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday (November 11) has been postponed.

  • Govt faces defeat twice in NA over two bills, Opposition demands PM Khan’s resignation

    Govt faces defeat twice in NA over two bills, Opposition demands PM Khan’s resignation

    The government faced defeat twice at the hands of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday during voting on motions seeking introduction of two bills, reports Dawn.

    Under the session chaired by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) Qasim Suri, the Opposition first defeated the government with a 117-104 vote on a motion moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) MNA Javed Hasnain. The bill was to seek permission to introduce a private member’s bill aimed at preventing politicians from changing their parties. After the first defeat, most of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members had left the house.

    A motion moved by PTI’s lawmaker Asma Qadeer for a bill seeking to enhance punishment for those who passed offensive remarks against women didn’t pass. Because the deputy speaker announced that he could not allow Qadeer to introduce the bill as the Opposition members had rejected it with a majority and did not give the vote count as the Opposition had visibly outnumbered the treasury members.

    It is reported that there had been a significant increase in the number of members on the Opposition benches due to the arrival of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in NA.

    A day earlier, the government got seven bills passed in the absence of Opposition members from the lower house of parliament.

    After the defeat, PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq said, “Morally, Imran Khan should resign before convening of a joint sitting of the parliament.” He was referring to the government’s plan to call a joint session of parliament this week.

    PPP’s Syed Khursheed Shah, who had been in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for more than two years, was welcomed by a loud desk-thumping by the Opposition members.

  • ‘Govt is only giving takleef’, Opposition slams price hike

    The Opposition slammed Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s government for increasing petroleum prices once again and setting a new record in the country’s history.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said, “Government officers are being changed because of incompetence but Imran Khan is still sitting on his seat after the biggest incompetence and corruption,” adding that it had been proved that the incumbent government could “only give takleef (trouble) to people instead of relief”.

    “[PM] Imran Niazi has become a killer of people’s joy,” tweeted Shehbaz.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took to Twitter and wrote, “Govt increase petrol in the dead of night by Rs8. Increase of almost 20rs in less than a month.”

    PPP leader Sherry Rehman also slammed the government and tweeted, “Days after announcing a ‘relief package’, PTI govt drops another petrol bomb by hiking petrol prices by a whopping Rs8.14/L. Petrol prices now stand at a record Rs145.8/L. First time in Pakistan’s history that prices of all petroleum products are above Rs110/L.”

    PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb demanded the resignation of PM Khan. “Increasing the price of petrol and sugar under the relief package is only increasing the hardships of the people and making life easier for the mafia and filling their pockets.”

    Earlier today, the Opposition protested against the ‘petrol bomb’ by walking out during Senate proceedings.

    Meanwhile, PPP Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi chose to protest the increase in petrol prices by cycling to Parliament House from Parliament Lodges.