Tag: PPP

  • Everything we know about Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari’s fiancé

    Everything we know about Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari’s fiancé

    Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari’s eldest daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari is all set to get engaged at the end of the month. A formal announcement was made last week and given that Bakhtawar’s groom is not a public figure there was little known about him. As a result, all sorts of speculations started doing the rounds on social media with people sharing unverified stories and reports about the groom-to-be.

    In a bid to put to rest all rumours, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) released an official statement in which they shared all the required information about Bakhtawar’s husband-to-be Mahmood Choudhry.

    According to the statement, “Mahmood Choudhry is the son of Mohammad Younas and Begum Suraiya Choudhry who hail from the old town of Lahore. Mr Younas migrated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1973 where he established businesses in the construction and transport industry.”

    “Mahmood, the last born of five siblings was born on July 28, 1988, in the city of Abu Dhabi. He completed his primary schooling in Abu Dhabi and secondary schooling in the United Kingdom. Mahmood further went on to read Law at the University of Durham.”

    “The family’s primary country of residence remains the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Mahmood continues to run his businesses in construction, finance and tech,” added the statement.

    Meanwhile, thanking everyone for their good wishes, Bakhtawar said that the cards were leaked “before they were even scheduled to be officially sent”.

    “Have absolutely NO affiliation with any family in the US which is being popularly quoted by most media,” added Bakhtawar.

    Bakhtawar and Mahmood will be getting engaged on November 27 at Bilawal House in Karachi. All guests attending the ceremony have been requested to get tested for COVID-19 and send the results via e-mail.

    “All attendees are requested to please email a scanned copy of their negative COVID-19 PCR test result 24 hours prior to attendance. This is a mandatory requirement for security clearance,” the invitation reads.

    The guests have also been asked not to bring mobile phones with them due to security purposes.

    “Please note — no photography or mobile phones will be permitted inside the venue and photographs will be available for all guests through our official photographer.”

    “We thank you in advance for adhering to our safety protocols to keep you and your loved ones safe, and enable us all to enjoy the occasion,” it added.

    The couple will reportedly tie the knot in January 2021 in Karachi.

  • Bilawal announces protest against ‘stolen’ GB polls

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has alleged irregularities in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly elections, saying the results were manipulated to favour the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — leading on 12 seats as per the initial results.

    In a tweet, the PPP chairperson announced to join a demonstration in the region against the “stealing of elections”.

    “My election has been stolen. I will be joining the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in their protest shortly,” said the opposition leader in a tweet.

    The statement followed a series of tweets by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who claimed the PTI was able to bag more seats because of alleged pre-poll rigging. She claimed the PTI has no support in GB and its electoral victories would be a result of alleged rigging done by “selectors”.

    The PML-N candidates were forced to switch their loyalties and join the PTI, she said, adding despite the support of the state machinery, the party failed to gain a simple majority.

    PTI AHEAD OF PPP, PML-N:

    According to the initial results, the PTI and its allies are set to form a new government for the next five years in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Unofficial results showed the PTI and its allies were leading, clinching half [12] of the contested seats.

    Official results are expected to be announced today as election authorities said they were facing difficulties in collecting results from several far-flung mountainous areas due to heavy snow and rain.

    The PTI and its allies, according to the initial results, are in the lead with at least 12 of the 24 seats being contested in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.

    At least four independent candidates projected to win are most likely to join the PTI to form the government.

    The two other main contenders — the centre-left PPP and centre-right PML-N, which won the 2015 elections in the region — have cried foul, accusing the election authorities of “rigging”.

    The chief election commissioner, however, denied the charge, advising the opposition parties to contact the commission if there are any irregularities.

  • PTI leads GB polls amid rigging allegations

    Amid allegations of rigging, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies are set to form a new government for the next five years in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to initial results late Sunday.

    Although Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan told reporters that the election authorities have not officially announced any results, local media and unofficial results showed the PTI and its allies were leading, clinching half of the contested seats.

    Official results are expected to be announced Monday as election authorities said they were facing difficulties in collecting results from several far-flung mountainous areas due to heavy snow and rain.

    The PTI and its allies, according to the initial results, are in the lead with at least 12 of the 24 seats being contested in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.

    At least four independent candidates projected to win are most likely to join the PTI to form the government.

    The two other main contenders — the centre-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and centre-right Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), which won the 2015 elections in the region — have cried foul, accusing the election authorities of “rigging.”

    The Chief Election Commissioner, however, denied the charge, advising the opposition parties to contact the commission if there are any irregularities.

    The PPP, which is likely to clinch three to four seats, said its workers had staged a sit-in outside several polling stations where it claimed the results were not being announced in an attempt to favour the PTI candidates.

    Meanwhile, the candidates belonging to the PML-N and the JUI-F were leading in one constituency each.

    Several activists and police personnel were injured after PTI and PPP supporters clashed in Skurdu district, local broadcaster Geo News reported.

    NO SURPRISE

    The PTI’s victory would come as no surprise to many as voters have previously sided with the party that has been in power in Islamabad.

    The first two elections were won by the PPP and the PML-N while they were in power in Islamabad in 2009 and 2015 respectively.

    Over 700,000 voters cast ballots for 23 of the 24 seats up for grabs in the region’s Legislative Assembly, according to election authorities.

    Voting for one seat was postponed after the death of a candidate.

    Gilgit-Baltistan is a strategic area for Pakistan, bordering China and serving as a key route for the multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

    Formerly known as the Northern Areas, Gilgit-Baltistan is located at the confluence of the world’s greatest mountain ranges – the Karakoram, the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush and the Pamir.

    Before the end of British colonial rule and the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, the region was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

    Rich in history, culture and natural beauty, the area, which also remained a centre of rivalry between the Russian, British and Chinese empires, has been a paradise for trekkers and adventure tourists for centuries.

  • Locals want share of Chinese investment boom as GB heads to polls tomorrow

    As night falls on a remote mountain road in Gilgit-Baltistan, Ijazul Haq, 22, is keeping his grocery store open longer than usual, hoping to cash in on a frenzied electoral campaign that has brought the nation’s interest upon this otherwise neglected region.

    Political parties are trying to sway voters in GB, an impoverished, remote and rugged mountainous part of the larger Kashmir region that is also claimed by India. The country’s top politicians have turned up here to stump, vowing to build multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects, and end decades of disenfranchisement.

    Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders Afghanistan and China, is the gateway of the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure plan. But the region has so far reaped few rewards.

    “Look at this road we have, it takes 4.5 hours to get to a decent hospital from here. If they fixed the road it would take 1.5 hours,” said Haq, who lives in Thawoos, a tiny hamlet in the district of Ghizer.

    Locals fought pro-India forces and opted to join Pakistan in 1948. But since then Gilgit-Baltistan has not been granted full inclusion by the Pakistan constitution, over fears doing so would jeopardise Islamabad’s international stance that all of Kashmir is disputed territory.

    The local assembly, for which the November 15 elections are being held, has few powers. National Assembly and Senate have no representation from Gilgit-Baltistan, and the region receives only a fraction of the national budget.

    This month Prime Minister Imran Khan said he would provide provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, giving it greater political representation, but no timeline has been given.

    The announcement came a year after India changed the status of the portion of occupied Kashmir, taking away some of the region’s privileges. India rejects Khan’s plan to change Gilgit-Baltistan’s status, and it calls the election there an exercise to cover up Pakistan’s occupation of the region.

    Imran’s plan is not the first time locals have heard promises of being granted constitutional rights: in 2016 then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif proposed to make Gilgit-Baltistan a province as well but shelved plans after pro-Pakistan leaders in Indian-occupied Kashmir denounced the decision.

    “We’ve long said we want to be part of Pakistan, but they push us away,” said Yawar Abbas, a local leader with the Gilgit-Baltistan Awareness Forum, which seeks to alter the region’s constitutional status.

    Abbas says locals are in limbo, unable to enjoy the same rights as other Pakistanis, but also unable to enjoy autonomy.

    Graves of fallen soldiers marked by Pakistani flags dot the Ghizer district, which has the country’s highest per-capita rate of military recruitment.

    “There is rampant poverty here, and for many of us there is no other way to earn a living than joining the military,” said Haq, whose brother serves in the navy.

    In the winter, when the glacial melt that powers the small hydroelectric dams dotting the region slows, locals often have no power for 20 hours a day.

    The CPEC project was supposed to bring development to the region, but that has not happened, residents believe, because of the lack of local representation at national levels.

    New roads, two hydroelectric power plants, a fiber-optic internet line, and a special economic zone to boost industrial activities have all been proposed as part of the CPEC project, but none have been materialised so far.

    The only substantial project from the much-touted China-Pakistan partnership has been the construction of the Karakoram Highway, completed decades ago.

    Like most other candidates, Jamil Ahmed, has promised voters he would seek to draw more investment from China.

    “CPEC is going through here, we are the gateway, we are the door to China. So if someone opens the door for you, you should put something at the doorstep as well,” said Ahmed, a candidate with the Pakistan Peoples Party.

  • Bakhtawar Bhutto to get engaged this month

    Bakhtawar Bhutto to get engaged this month

    Bakhawar Bhutto-Zardari, daughter of former president Asif Ali Zardari and late prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto, is getting engaged to the son of a United States (US) based businessman on November 27.

    According to reports, the engagement ceremony of Bakhtawar and Mahmood Choudhry, son of Younas Choudhary, will be held on November 27 at Bilawal House Karachi.

    The organisers have requested all guests to get tested for COVID-19 and send the results via e-mail.

    “All attendees are requested to please email a scanned copy of their negative COVID-19 PCR test result 24 hours prior to attendance. This is a mandatory requirement for security clearance,” the invitation reads.

    The guests have also been asked not to bring mobile phones with them due to security purposes.

    “Please note — no photography or mobile phones will be permitted inside the venue and photographs will be available for all guests through our official photographer.”

    “We thank you in advance for adhering to our safety protocols to keep you and your loved ones safe, and enable us all to enjoy the occasion,” it added.

    While Bakhtawar is getting engaged, her elder brother and incumbent Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, still seems to be looking for his ideal life partner.

    View his exclusive interview with The Current to find out more:

  • PTI likely to win GB polls: survey

    PTI likely to win GB polls: survey

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is expected to outperform its rivals, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), in Gilgit-Baltistan elections to be held on Nov 15, according to two surveys conducted in the region.

    As per Gallup Pakistan and Pulse Consultant, PM Imran Khan is the most popular leader in GB, followed by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.

    Gallup survey says 27% respondents would vote for PTI on the election day, whereas 24% would vote for PPP. Only 14% respondents have supported the PML-N. The survey says 42% respondents have named Imran Khan as their favourite leader, 17% said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while 15% said it was Nawaz Sharif. Only 3% named Maryam Nawaz.

    Pulse Consultant says 35% of the respondents would likely to vote for PTI, 26% prefer PPP, whereas 14% would choose PML-N on Nov 15. At least 41% named Imran Khan as the most popular leader, 23% said Bilawal while 16% named Nawaz Sharif as the most popular leader, it added.

    The two polls also asked the GB people if the elections would be free and fair. To this, 29% voters told Pulse that they believed elections will be transparent; 20% said they will not be transparent.

    As per the Gallup survey, 31% said elections would be completely fair, 29% said they would be fair to some extent, 28% said they could not say anything.

    The PPP, PML-N and PTI leaders, including Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are in Gilgit-Baltistan in an attempt canvass their supporters ahead of the elections in the region. The PML-N and PPP have claimed pre-poll rigging in the polls, whereas the GB election chief commissioner has assured “free and fair” polls.

  • ‘Relax, it happens,’ former senator of ‘grape’ fame tells Donald Trump

    ‘Relax, it happens,’ former senator of ‘grape’ fame tells Donald Trump

    Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Sehar Kamran of “grape” meme videos fame has made headlines for telling United States (US) President Donald Trump to relax as the latter raises concerns over his looming loss in the race to White House.

    By the time this report was filed, Democratic challenger Joe Biden, according to Associated Press’ (AP) data, had secured 264 electoral votes against Trump’s 214. For a majority, 270 electoral votes are needed.

    With Trump taking to Twitter to launch a tirade against his opponent and cast doubts over the electoral process while adding to his laid groundwork for refusing to concede a loss now expected, the former parliamentarian from Pakistan has told him to relax.

    “Relax, it happens,” she wrote in response to a tweet by the incumbent American president.

    The former senator from Pakistan had earlier also tweeted to wish Trump’s rival Biden good luck.

    ‘GRAPE’:

    In September, Sehar responded to the viral clips doing the rounds on social media where some schoolchildren were seen telling what they would do for their country at an Independence Day event.

    The clips had gone viral on TikTok and not just in Pakistan. Sehar was seen encouraging the children in the clips and adding clarity to their statements — all in the spirit of patriotism.

    Speaking to NayaDaur, Sehar had said that the clips are from Pakistan International School in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia of which she was the principal ten years ago.

    “Everyone has the right to express their affection for the country and this is what my students at Pakistan International School Jeddah and I were doing in the video clip,” she said.

    One particular clip in which a child says that he would get into the army and “destroy India” had turned into memes and Sehar’s reaction to the student’s comment, “strong army, wow!”, had also taken the internet by storm.

    While a lot of people had also criticised her for “teaching the kids to promote hate”, another reaction of hers, “great”, had broken the internet as “grape”.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Bilawal’s Urdu tutor says he makes her proud

    EXCLUSIVE: Bilawal’s Urdu tutor says he makes her proud

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who has become apt at addressing political rallies and press conferences in Urdu after initial hiccups, is taking language lessons from party stalwart Shehla Raza.

    The PPP chairman had had teething problems at the outset of his political career has a much stronger grip on the language.

    The PPP leader and former Sindh Assembly speaker, who was featured in The Current Life, said it was true that Bilawal was taking Urdu lessons from her.

    “My heart grows every time I see him speak Urdu. Yesterday (while addressing Gujranwala rally), you must’ve seen that when he was delivering his speech, he had noted down his points in English. He used to take a look at his points and then talk,” said Shehla.

    According to the former speaker, the PPP chief used to speak Urdu as a kid but having stayed away from the country for such a long time, his ability to speak the national language suffered.

    Shehla Raza said she couldn’t stand Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fayyazul Hasan Chohan, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed and would never appear on TV show alongside them.

    The PPP leader also revealed that she had gotten her leg fractured twice during her career as a politician.

  • IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    A day after it was reported that Sindh police was pressurised to register a case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (r) Safdar, high ranking officers of the force have sought a 60-day leave.

    According to reports, several senior officers, including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Mahar, have decided to go on leave.

    The officials also include the additional inspector general (AIG) of Karachi, Special Branch AIG and several deputy inspector generals (DIGs).

    An application signed by AIG Special Branch Imran Yaqoob, a copy of which is available with The Current, says that he submitted the request for leave after the police high command was “ridiculed and mishandled” leading to the demoralisation of all ranks of the Sindh police.

    A day earlier, soon after the “inappropriate” arrest of Capt (r) Safdar from his hotel room in Karachi, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Sindh government had distanced itself from the development.

    Amid criticism aimed at alleged rifts among the ranks of the joint opposition — the PPP purportedly going after allied PML-N — it was claimed that the provincial police chief had actually been forced to go after Capt (r) Safdar.

    Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday reportedly took notice of the incident.

    “Taking notice of Karachi incident, COAS has directed Karachi Corps commander to immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

  • Fact check: Bilawal did not say eggs are Rs200 per kilo

    Fact check: Bilawal did not say eggs are Rs200 per kilo

    Claim: Bilawal Bhutto said eggs are PKR 200 per kilo

    Fact: Bilawal Bhutto’s video was doctored to make it sound like he confused the duodecimal system and the metric system

    In the aftermath of a Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) power show in Gujranwala, a video of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has been making rounds on social media platforms and Whatsapp groups.

    In the video, the PPP chairman has seemed to get the metric and duodecimal (dozenal) systems confused. In the video, while taking a dig at the rising inflation, Bilawal purportedly said that ‘eggs are being sold for Rs200 per kg and potatoes Rs100 per dozen’ due to the poor economic policies of the government.

    But did Bilawal really say that? No.

    A fact-check ran by The Current revealed that the PPP chief has said no such words and video circulating on social media websites was altered to humiliate the opposition leader. In the original video, Bilawal said the due to poor economic policies of the government, people were forced to pay Rs200 for a dozen eggs, Rs100 for a kilogramme of potatoes’ and so on.

    The fake video was shared by pro-government supporters who took jibes at the PPP chief for mixing the metric system with the duodecimal system. It garnered many views on Facebook and Twitter and was shared hundreds of times on the Whatsapp groups.

    A crime reporter of ARY News, Iqrarul Hassan also swallowed the bait and posted the video on his Twitter account. He, however, removed the video and issued an apology after it was revealed that the video was fake. Iqrar said he couldn’t tell whether the video was fake because the mic was in front of Bilawal’s face.

    VERDICT: FALSE