Tag: Prime Minister Imran Khan

  • Pemra issues show-cause notice to News One for airing ‘derogatory’ remarks about Murad Saeed

    Pemra issues show-cause notice to News One for airing ‘derogatory’ remarks about Murad Saeed

    The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Friday issued a show-cause notice to News One for airing “derogatory/demeaning remarks” about federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed “without any editorial check” in a programme.

    On Thursday, News One aired a show, ‘G for Gharidah’, at 10:05pm in which anchorperson Gharidah Farooqi questioned the decision of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to award appreciation certificate to Murad Saeed as the top minister in his team for his outstanding performance.

    Gharida asked the panelists on her show: “The Prime Minister seems satisfied with Murad Saeed. He is in the top position, what could be the reason?”

    Analyst Mohsin Baig responded, “The reason [for Murad Saeed being at the top place] is written in Reham Khan’s book. I don’t really know about the projects.”

    Senior journalist and analyst Iftikhar Ahmed said, “You took the name of the person on the top position,” Gharida interjected and said, “Murad Saeed Saab,” Ahmed continued, “Yes, everyone is aware of his [Murad Saeed’s] performance and the accusations against him.”

    Journalist and analyst Tariq Mehmood said, “Two people are serious in this, one Imran Khan Sahib, second Murad Saeed Sahib. We shouldn’t be so serious about this. One conducted the ceremony, second came on the first place,” adding, “Some things are self-explanatory, Pemra will be keeping a close eye, don’t make us say all the things. A book has been mentioned.”

    “He [Murad Saeed] is a very hardworking minister and very close to the prime minister. Once again he has proved through his performance and left everyone behind,” said Mehmood.

    Senior defence analyst General (retired) Amjad Shoaib said, “I have not read the book that was being discussed. However, I will agree with Mohsin Baig’s analysis, which he just made.”

    Twitterati started a debate with trends against the host of the show. Some questioned why was Gharidah Farooqi the subject of criticism as she had not said anything but just asked a question.

    However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf official Twitter handle shared a clip of the show and wrote, “Extremely shameful on Ghareeda Farooqi’s part to lead a program with such derogatory language.”

    Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) condemned “PEMRA for taking News One off-air on cable networks without following due process“.

    Several political parties condemned News One being taken off-air.

  • Khan admits failure, awards only 10 favourite ministers: Bilawal

    Khan admits failure, awards only 10 favourite ministers: Bilawal

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had himself admitted failure of his entire cabinet by awarding ‘best performance’ certificates to only 10 ‘blue-eyed’ federal ministers.

    Taking a jibe at Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Bilawal said that Imran Khan had committed a ‘great injustice’ to Multan for not conferring a certificate on Qureshi while distributing performance certificates.

    He said PM Imran had given a certificate to the minister who halted the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and also conferred a certificate on another who had promised to create a Seraiki province in 90 days. He gave another certificate to a minister who was removed from one ministry but now held the planning portfolio for “planning the sugar, gas, petrol, medicine and fertiliser crises in the country”.

    PM Khan on Thursday awarded appreciation certificates to the “top 10 best performing federal ministries” under his government, with the communications ministry, planning ministry, and poverty alleviation division getting top honours of first, second and third respectively.

    “When I came [into power], I had very revolutionary ideas to bring sudden changes but I realised our system doesn’t have the capability to absorb sudden shocks [and only by] incentivising will we bring positive changes in our bureaucracy and ministries,” said PM Khan.

    The premier further said that the government and ministries had not given the desired results. “The biggest problem is that there has been no connection between the government and the interest of the country,” he added.

    “Are our ministries performing how to stabilise the country through increasing exports and how the condition of the people can be improved, how poverty can be eliminated?” he asked.

  • PM Khan slams SCBA for ‘supporting criminals, fugitives’

    PM Khan slams SCBA for ‘supporting criminals, fugitives’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday slammed the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) over its decision to file a petition against lifelong disqualification.

    PM Khan said that one of the leading lawyers’ bodies in the country has gone to court for a “thief” who ran to London by “lying”.

    PM Khan, without taking the name of former PM Nawaz Sharif, said, “If this is how things are, then what is wrong with stealing?”

    “They [SCBA] are asking the court to give him [Nawaz Sharif] one more chance. SCBA’s next petition should be to open [the doors] of all the jails,” said PM Khan while addressing the launch ceremony of the Sehat Insaf Card in Bahawalpur.

    Referring to the criminals who were behind bars, the premier said: “If you don’t see the evil in it, then why are these poor souls behind bars? First, let them out… The next petition should be to open all jails and free all those people who have been imprisoned for theft.”

    PM Khan further said that only the powerful get away unpunished. “They can do whatever they want. Both his sons are… living in London in properties worth billions of rupees. London is the most expensive city in Europe and their properties are located in the most expensive parts of the city.”

    “Till a nation does not unite to fight [against wrongdoing], the rule of law will not prevail. Our struggle is against bandits,” said PM Imran.

    When asked about PM Khan’s comments about the petition, President SCBA Mohammad Ahsan Bhoon responded by narrating an incident about humans.

    Last week, the SCBA filed a petition against the lifelong disqualification of lawmakers and said that such a law without the right to appeal is unjust.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the result of this petition can affect the outcome of SC verdicts disqualifying Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif, as well as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) disgruntled leader Jahangir Tareen.

  • PM Khan says treatment of Uighurs not true on ground

    PM Khan says treatment of Uighurs not true on ground

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, prior to his upcoming trip to China from February 3 to February 5, during which the premier will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and meet Chinese leaders. He also spoke to journalists on various issues concerning both Pakistan and China.

    The premier reinforced that his visit will reinforce a strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and further advance the objective of building a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

    Appreciating China for how it developed over the years, PM Khan said the world should see how China helped the poor develop and eradicate poverty.

    Talking on China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) PM Khan said that the first phase of CPEC was connectivity and power generation. “Now the CPEC has moved into the next stage where it’s about the relocation of industry. We want to develop our industrial zones, our special economic zones. Then we want special help in agriculture to increase our productivity. In China, productivity is very high as compared to Pakistan. “

    When asked about how the West presented the picture of Chinese Muslims suffering in Uighur, PM Khan said, “There is a lot of criticism about the treatment of Uighur’s by China in the West. Our ambassador went there, Moin-ul-Haq, our ambassador in China went there. We had asked him, he went there and he sent us information and said this is actually not true on the ground.”

    “What we in Pakistan find it very difficult to swallow is that while they talk about Uighurs, they do not talk much in the West about Kashmir. Because in Kashmir the worst violations of human rights have taken place by India. And somehow there is selective silence about human rights in Kashmir,” said PM Khan.

    The premier further said, “Where there is something like nine million people, who are basically living in the worst conditions in almost open prison by these 800,000 Indian troops. So we find it very difficult that while on one side they talk about Xinjiang but on the other hand the silence about Kashmir is demeaning for us. And that double standard is what we in Pakistan find difficult.”

    The premier, talking about Afghanistan, said that is the foreign countries who turned have Afghanistan into a battleground and for 40 years the people have suffered. He further said that the people of Afghanistan have gotten a chance after 40 years to live in peace.

  • After PM’s Khan’s appeal for increase in workers’ salaries, ARY announces pay raise

    After PM’s Khan’s appeal for increase in workers’ salaries, ARY announces pay raise

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on January 24, while answering callers’ questions, during the telecast of the fifth ‘Aap Ka Wazir Azam Aap Ke Sath’, a town-hall-style broadcast where the premier takes questions from the public, said that the corporate sector has made a profit of Rs980 billion.

    “I would call them and ask them to increase the salaries of their staff because you have never made such a profit before today,” said PM Khan.

    Following PM Khan’s appeal to the corporate sector to increase the salaries of their staff, President and CEO ARY Digital Network Salman Iqbal on Friday announced a pay raise for lower-level employees.

    Salman Iqbal said the staff receiving a monthly salary of up to Rs20,000 will be given a raise of 80 per cent. “We have reached this stage with the blessing of Allah Almighty and countless efforts of the team,” he said.

    Federal Minister for Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar took to Twitter to congratulate Iqbal and said, “Well done @Salman_ARY for increasing salaries of ARY employees substantially. Big business houses have made exceptional profits in the last couple of years. Hope others will also follow and share the increased profitability with their workers by increasing their salaries.”

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry praising Salman Iqbal said, “Our salaried class has been affected by inflation and such steps will help this section of society navigate inflation.”

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said, “@salman_ARY took the initiative to share part of [the] profit with his employees. Others should also pass on benefit to their employees.”

  • Opposition leaders say Naya Pakistan is corrupt, attack PM Khan for new corruption report

    Opposition leaders say Naya Pakistan is corrupt, attack PM Khan for new corruption report

    As the government defends Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2021 report, Opposition leaders criticise Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for saying that the TI report supports PM’s claims and accuse his government of breaking all records of corruption.

    Joining the chorus of blames, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif said, “Corruption rampant in ‘Naya’ Pakistan of anti-corruption Mujahid, PTI govt has broken all records of corruption in the last 20 years.”

    He further tweeted that under his brother and Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s rule, corruption had decreased despite massive development projects being undertaken. Shehbaz further wrote that it went down due to “transparency, good governance, and legal reforms”.

    PML-N’s Vice President Maryam Nawaz said, “Imran Mafia, who emptied the pockets of the people, bravely wiped his hands on Pakistan.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Shazia Marri said that Imran Khan’s past claims that he would root out corruption from the country were lies.

    Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Siraj-ul-Haq said that PM Khan had proven, quite literally, that he was dangerous for the country. He claimed that the blunder committed by this government over three years was unmatched in the country’s 74-year history.

  • PM Khan says Pak corruption getting better but corruption index says Pak is getting more corrupt

    PM Khan says Pak corruption getting better but corruption index says Pak is getting more corrupt

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has taken the most steps against corruption in the country’s history.

    The premier, while chairing a session of the federal cabinet on Tuesday, discussed the report released by Transparency International according to which Pakistan has been ranked 140 out of 180 countries, slipping further down to 16 spots over the last year, on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2021.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, commenting on Pakistan’s low ranking on Transparency International’s CPI, said that it was because of the absence of rule of law in the country and state capture as opposed to financial corruption.

    State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state’s decision-making processes to their own advantage.

    The minister said all the international institutions that helped determine country rankings had Pakistan maintaining its previous ranking — except the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which dropped the country’s ranking.

    “If you ascertain that who is heading the Economist in Pakistan, you will find that why Pakistan’s ranking was dropped,” he added.

  • VIDEO: PM Imran Khan has a message for all PSL teams

    VIDEO: PM Imran Khan has a message for all PSL teams

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has a special message for all the teams of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as the seventh edition of the league is set to begin in two days.

    In a video, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja and PM Khan can be seen launching the tournament together.

    “Together [with Ramiz], I am opening the PSL,” Imran Khan said. “I hope that every team will fight till the end and entertain the public,” he added.

    It must be noted that PSL 7 is starting from January 27 in Karachi. Defending champions Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings will play the opening match at the National Stadium.

    Karachi-leg will conclude on February 7. The Lahore-leg will start from Febraury 10 at Gaddafi Stadium, including the Final.

  • ‘Imran Khan is nothing without you’: Jemima Goldsmith reacts to Twitter follower’s comment

    ‘Imran Khan is nothing without you’: Jemima Goldsmith reacts to Twitter follower’s comment

    Twitterati never spares a single chance to remind the former wife of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, about her marriage with Khan or how he is doing without Jemima.

    Jemima took to Twitter to share her score in Wordle [a web-based puzzle that requires players to guess a valid five-letter word in six tries or less].

    A Twitter user commented under her score, “Please Return Imran Khan is nothing without you, being fooled by his friends.”

    Reacting to the comment, Jemima wrote, “Every tweet. For the rest of my life [laughing emojis].”

  • Maryam Nawaz tells PM Khan not to make a scene, pack up and move out of office

    Maryam Nawaz tells PM Khan not to make a scene, pack up and move out of office

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz responding to the warnings and threats made by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday, saying, “Imran Khan Saheb! There is no use of crying and making a scene now. Pack up and move out.”

    Taking to Twitter, Maryam said, “The longer you stay in power the more problems will be for you and the masses. You have been badly defeated.”

    “Your ultimatum that you will get more dangerous if ousted from power is no more than a hollow threat. The masses will offer thanksgiving prayers the day you leave the power. You are not Nawaz Sharif behind whom masses are standing nor are you an underdog or a victim. You are a conspirator and have fallen prey to your nemesis,” tweeted the PML-N leader.

    “The ‘cartels’ you are complaining about are the MAFIAS on your right & left who have fleeced 220 million & who run your kitchen,” tweeted Maryam.

    Referring to PM’s tirade against Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif and accusing the judiciary of issuing status quo orders in certain cases, she said, “Your reality has dawned on the world, do not blame the judiciary. You have only your vindictiveness & revengefulness to blame.”

    Maryam Nawaz further criticising the premier said, “Your dashed hopes @ImranKhanPTI are a new hope for the incompetency & ineptitude stricken people of Pakistan who are waiting for you to spare them the 4-year long ordeal that has cost them their lives.”

    PM Khan on Sunday warned the Opposition said, “If I exit the government, I will pose a greater threat to you. Right now, I am sitting quietly in my office and watching the drama unfold. But if I take to the streets, you will have nowhere to hide.”

    PM Khan’s remarks came while answering callers’ questions, during the telecast of the fifth ‘Aap Ka Wazir Azam Aap Ke Sath’, a town-hall-style broadcast where the premier takes questions from the public and responds back to their queries.