Tag: Prime Minister Imran Khan

  • ‘Stop eating roti,’ ex-PM suggests as wheat crisis continues

    ‘Stop eating roti,’ ex-PM suggests as wheat crisis continues

    In a dig at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker and former prime minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has suggested people to stop eating roti in order to bring the country out of the persisting wheat crisis.

    Speaking to journalists at the accountability court, where he was presented by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) scandal case against him, Abbasi said that people were only facing the consequences for electing the PTI to power.

    “What can they do other than not eating roti anymore?” he asked in response to a query regarding the wheat crisis that grips the country amid provincial and federal governments’ blame game.

    To another question about PM Imran Khan’s statement that his “salary wasn’t enough”, Abbasi said that the premier should give himself a pay raise.

    Earlier, an accountability court extended judicial remand of the ex-premier till February 4 in the LNG scandal. During the hearing, the court also sought report on the arrest warrant of absconder Shahid Islam from NAB.

    The judge remarked that indictment proceedings cannot be carried out due to one absconder.

  • Davos: Time Magazine issues special edition with PM Imran on cover

    Davos: Time Magazine issues special edition with PM Imran on cover

    Time magazine’s special edition on the World Economic Forum published January 20 features Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan along with four other world leaders.

    The annual summit of global movers and shakers kicks off in the Swiss resort of Davos on Tuesday and will last four days.

    Other leaders alongside the Pakistani premier included founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Klaus Schwab, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Europe’s Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

    The magazine’s cover featured the five leaders sitting in a chair lift with the snow-covered Swiss Alps in the background. United States (US) President Donald Trump and young climate activist Greta Thunberg can also be seen sitting together on another chairlift in the background of the illustration.

    Meanwhile, Twitterati are not shying away from speculating what the cover of the special Davos issue is supposed to mean:

    PM Imran is expected to reach Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday for a three-day — January 21 to 23 — official visit, with his trip costing $68,000 due to austerity measures.

    PM Imran’s Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Zulfi Bukhari and other officials will accompany him to Davos, where he is expected to hold meetings with several world leaders, including US President Trump. During the visit, the premier will also meet foreign investors and inform them of investment opportunities in Pakistan.

  • ‘Salary not enough to pay for my expenses’ says PM Imran Khan

    ‘Salary not enough to pay for my expenses’ says PM Imran Khan

    Addressing the business community in Islamabad, Prime Minister Khan stated that the business community needs to pay taxes if the country is going to get out of the present economic crisis. He urged them to work with the government and help in collecting more taxes.

    He also said that people didn’t want to pay taxes because former rulers had looted the country and lost the trust of the people. “When leaders live lavishly on public expense, who will pay taxes?” he asked.

    Prime Minister House in Islamabad

    He said that he had slashed the expenses of the PM house by 40 percent and that he lived in his own home and paid his own expenses. “My salary is not enough to fulfil by own household expenses,” he said, adding that he did not start any business after becoming the Prime Minister and that the expenses of his foreign tours were 10 times less than previous rulers.

    PM Khan is leaving for Davos today where he will be speaking at the World Economic Forum.

  • PM Imran shares his thoughts on Megxit

    PM Imran shares his thoughts on Megxit

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was a close friend of Lady Diana and has strong ties with the United Kingdom, said that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were young and had a right to live their life as they wished.

    In a wide-ranging interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), when the PM was asked about his thoughts on the matter [Megxit], he replied, “You know what, I have so many issues in Pakistan to deal with. It doesn’t seem to be a huge issue to me. I think, it’s their life. If that’s how they want to lead it, then why should people interfere?”

    When probed further and asked if he thought Diana would have understood their decision, PM Khan responded, “I guess so. Frankly, I haven’t really looked into it deeply. I think they are a young couple who want to lead their own life, so it’s up to them.”

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on January 8 had announced that they intend to divide their time between North America and the UK to carve out a “progressive new role” and step back from their senior positions.

    After much deliberation and reports of a royal tiff, the Queen gave the couple her blessings and allowed them to split their time between Canada and Britain during a “transition period” in which the family will figure out how to deal with their shock resignation from front-line royal duties.

    “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” the 93-year-old queen had said in a statement.

    Earlier, PM Imran’s former wife and mother of his two sons Jemima Goldsmith had also extended her support to Meghan and said that she understood “what it’s like to marry a national hero from another country and be attacked by the media for your ethnicity.”

    https://twitter.com/Jemima_Khan/status/1217469320105791488?s=20
  • ‘Qabr mein sakoon?’ Twitter asks PM after ‘400% increase’ in death certificate cost

    ‘Qabr mein sakoon?’ Twitter asks PM after ‘400% increase’ in death certificate cost

    The cost of death certificate has reportedly been increased by 400 per cent, compelling netizens to take to Twitter and call out the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government in light of a statement by the premier from last week.

    According to a private media outlet, the cost of death certificate has been increased from Rs300 to Rs1,200. The hike comes a week after PM Imran said that life was not a fairy tale, and “one gets peace only in his or her grave”.

    With the increase in death certificate’s cost making headlines, Twitterati took to the social network to ask if “death actually is when one gets peace”.

    Meanwhile, some pointed out that the deceased would actually be resting in peace and the hike would only be a problem for his or her survivours.

    “Happily ever after is a myth. It’s there only in fairy tales. In real life, one gets peace only when he or she lies in their grave,” the premier had said last Friday as he addressed the inauguration ceremony of a skills development programme called “Hunarmand”.

    It wasn’t later that his statements broke the internet as a majority trolled him, and some criticised his government for its “flawed” policies.

    The Current is attempting to independently verify the report pertaining to the increase in cost of death certificates

  • Sarmad Khoosat appeals to PM, President to facilitate his film’s release

    Sarmad Khoosat appeals to PM, President to facilitate his film’s release

    Sarmad Khoosat’s award-winning film Zindagi Tamasha seems to have run into trouble once again.

    As the film gears up for release in Pakistan, the filmmaker took to social media to reveal that “a few troublemakers” were creating hurdles in its release “for their political ends.”

    https://twitter.com/KhoosatSarmad/status/1217818381149229062?s=20

    In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Chief of the Army Staff and Minister for Information, Khoosat detailed the problems his film was facing in its release.

    Along with that, he clarified that “As a law-abiding citizen and with full conviction that there is nothing offensive or malicious in the film, in response I submitted the film for another review to the censor board. It was cleared once again with a few cuts to appease the complainants.”

    “I launched the promotional campaign and now, just a week before the film’s release, another attempt is being made by the same group to stop the release of the film and this time they are hell-bent on using pressurising tactics,” he said, adding that he is bringing this issue to their notice because “these series of episodes undermines a state institution like the Central Board of Film Censors.”

    Written by Nirmal Bano and directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Zindagi Tamasha starres Arif Hassan, Samiya Mumtaz, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi in the lead. The film is centred around a naat khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from the society when a secret of Khawaja’s is leaked.

    The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”

    The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held in October 2019 where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award.

    Read more – Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Zindagi Tamasha’s’ trailer mysteriously disappears from Youtube

    Meanwhile, Sarmad’s colleagues including Meesha Shafi and Ali Gul Pir stepped forward to support the filmmaker and his film.

  • Have seen Nawaz’s photo, they’re all fraudsters: PM

    Have seen Nawaz’s photo, they’re all fraudsters: PM

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said he had seen the viral photograph of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif dining out in London, adding that “all of them were fraudsters”.

    According to The News, the federal cabinet on Tuesday discussed Nawaz’s photograph that showed him at a London restaurant. During the course of the cabinet meeting, some of the members reportedly asked PM Imran if he had seen the photograph.

    “With a smile, the premier said he had seen the picture, and exclaimed ‘all are fraudsters’,” the report said.

    Ex-PM Nawaz, who is currently in London on bail for medical treatment, was on Sunday spotted out and about with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hussain and other party leaders, including former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

    With netizens not going easy on Nawaz, who was allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment despite his conviction and subsequent jail sentence in a corruption case, and Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry also criticising him for dining out while being “seriously ill”, Hussain on Monday stepped up to clarify the situation.

    Speaking to reporters outside Avenfield Apartments, the ailing former premier’s son said that Nawaz had been taken to the restaurant on his doctor’s recommendation as the ex-PM felt claustrophobic at home.

    “We insisted that father visited a restaurant so he could get acclimatised… he left the residence on our insistence,” said Hussain.

  • PM Imran orders to publicly reveal names of officers ‘stealing’ BISP funds

    PM Imran orders to publicly reveal names of officers ‘stealing’ BISP funds

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has reportedly ordered to publicly reveal the names of 2,543 senior government officers who had added either their own names, or those of their spouses, to the list of beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

    In a tweet, Sania Nishtar, who serves as the BISP head as well as the special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on social protection and poverty alleviation, had last week said that 2,543 government officers of Grade-17 and above had availed the BISP and had now been “exited” from the programme.

    According to official data, which was also posted on Twitter by Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the highest number of government officials availing the BISP was from Sindh. Per the detailed breakdown, 1,122 officers of Grade-17 and above from the province had been BISP beneficiaries.

    The second highest number came from Balochistan, where 741 government officials were signed up for the poverty alleviation scheme. From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 403 government officials availed the BISP, while 137 did so from Punjab.

    From the federal government, 62 officers availed the programme. Additionally, 1 officer of the Pakistan Railways, 22 of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and 49 of Gilgit Baltistan were also marked as undeserving recipients of the BISP. From within the BISP itself, six officers were listed among the beneficiaries.

    With the federal cabinet taking up the matter on Tuesday, PM Imran ordered to publicly reveal the names of the officers benefiting from the programme. “No leniency should be there for those who deprive the poor of their rights,” the premier reportedly said.

    “It is very regretful for us and damaging for the image of the country that officers of grade-17 to grade-20 officers were receiving funds meant for the poor deserving people,” SAPM on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had said earlier in the day as she announced that a report on the matter would be presented to the premier in the federal cabinet meeting.

    She had also said that a strict action would be taken against those involved.

  • PTI-MQM alliance hanging in balance because of Google’s Tania Aidrus: report

    PTI-MQM alliance hanging in balance because of Google’s Tania Aidrus: report

    Future of the coalition government in centre hangs in balance ever since the resignation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as the federal minister for information technology and telecommunication, which reportedly came because of former Google executive, Tania Aidrus.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led federal government on Sunday suffered a severe blow as Siddiqui of MQM-P — an ally of the PTI — announced his decision to leave the federal cabinet over “unfulfilled promises” on part of the ruling party.

    Amid speculations over the fate of the ruling party that is in power owing to the support of its allies, reports have claimed that Siddiqui’s resignation came because he “was extremely unhappy with his ministry due to continuous intervention by Aidrus”.

    Aidrus had resigned from Google for Pakistan and is currently heading Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Digital Vision programme in the country.

    According to The News, while PTI has strongly rejected the allegations leveled against Aidrus, and sources in the ruling party have said that she is acting within the rules and regulations; people close to Siddiqui have said he felt like a stranger in his ministry while Aidrus had started holding meetings with the premier and heads of other institutions directly.

    “Besides that, she also issued directions to institutions responsible for running the affairs of the ministry and Federal Secretary Shoaib Siddiqui had complained about it to the minister several times in this regard.”

  • VIDEO: PM’s lawyer nephew makes headlines for ‘violence’, again

    VIDEO: PM’s lawyer nephew makes headlines for ‘violence’, again

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s nephew, Barrister Hassaan Khan Niazi, who is also nominated in the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) attack case, has once again made headlines for allegedly harassing a driver on Lahore’s Zafar Ali Road.

    According to media reports, Niazi on Friday was entering a private club located in the Jail Road area of the provincial capital when his car collided with another one. It was a minor accident, but Niazi lost his cool, headed over to the other vehicle, pulled out its key from ignition and started hitting the car, reports said.

    “He also abused the other driver and threatened him,” a private media outlet reported.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    A viral video of the incident

    Taking exception to the reports, Niazi took to Twitter and wrote:

    https://twitter.com/HniaziISF/status/1215601835953786881

    In a subsequent tweet, he said:

    “My car was hit. I got punched. I called the security. I filed the complaint. And media bashing me even after issue has been resolved. First they played news then decided to take my version,” Niazi tweeted.