Tag: Prime Minister

  • Faisal Javed consoles Fawad Chaudhry for not getting appreciation certificate from PM Khan

    Faisal Javed consoles Fawad Chaudhry for not getting appreciation certificate from PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran 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.

    Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry, whose own Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was missing in the top 10, congratulated the award recipients.

    Taking to Twitter, Fawad wrote, “We could not make it this time because performance is measured by the implementation of projects that the ministry gives to the PM’s office. Next time inshallah :).”

    Replying to Fawad’s tweet, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan said, “Brother, the job of your ministry is to highlight the performance of other ministries.”

    “Your performance has also been excellent – Keep it up,” said Javed.

  • PM Khan, army chief reach Balochistan’s Naushki to spend a day with troops

    PM Khan, army chief reach Balochistan’s Naushki to spend a day with troops

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa arrived in Balochistan on Tuesday to pay tribute to the martyrs in Panjgur and Naushki.

    The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the army chief will spend the day with troops and also meet those who repulsed the attack on February 2.

    “COAS will be given [a] detailed update on [the] security situation in the area and operational preparedness of the formation to counter terrorist activities,” it said, adding that the army chief will also “meet troops who participated in repulsing [a] terrorist attack on Feb 2.”

    It was reported that PM Khan will visit Naushki where he will be briefed about the operation against terrorists. The PM will meet Balochistan chief minister and the governor in Quetta and will preside over a meeting on security issues.

    On Saturday, the security forces had completed the clearance operations, which were launched after terrorists attacked their camps in Panjgur and Nushki districts on Wednesday evening.

    At least 20 terrorists were killed during the operations while nine security personnel embraced martyrdom, the military’s media wing had added.

    In Naushki, the ISPR had said, nine terrorists were killed while four security forces personnel, including an officer, embraced shahadat during the “shootout with terrorists while repulsing the attack”. In Panjgur, the security forces had repulsed the terrorist attack after an intense exchange of fire during which some terrorists fled the area, it had added.

  • PM Khan says people have no better option than PTI, party set to launch election campaign

    PM Khan says people have no better option than PTI, party set to launch election campaign

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Monday said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will contest Punjab’s local bodies elections.

    While chairing the Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) meeting, the premier decided to speed up and mobilise people at the grassroots level.

    The premier has decided to hold public gatherings in different parts of the country to mobilise workers and voters of the ruling PTI for the upcoming local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [second phase] and in Punjab, expected to be held in May.

    PM Khan during the CEC meeting said that the people of Pakistan have “no better option than the PTI”. It is being reported that during the meeting, the distribution of tickets during the elections and considered recommendations for mayors in major cities was also discussed

    During the meeting, the PM said that the organisational structure of the party would be formed. “Our workers are a valuable asset to the party and the tickets will be distributed on the basis of merit.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that the two Opposition parties — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) — have united towards achieving their common goal of sending the government packing.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif hosted PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at his Lahore residence on Saturday, January 5, to discuss the present political situation.

    Speaking after the lunch, Shehbaz said, “Broken hearts can be united again. Both PPP and PML-N are united to take Prime Minister (PM), Imran Khan, out.”

  • 84 per cent Pakistanis consider inflation biggest problem: survey

    84 per cent Pakistanis consider inflation biggest problem: survey

    Quarterly Performance Evaluation Survey (QPES), a Pulse Consultant’s indigenous tracking tool of public perceptions and opinions about the government’s performance and current political situation, states that 84 per cent of Pakistanis consider inflation as the biggest problem of the country.

    Almost every Pakistani has been hit by inflation and 99 per cent are reporting that ‘Inflation increased in past three months’, reveals the survey.

    According to the survey, 65 per cent of Pakistanis blame the current sitting government for the country’s poor economic conditions, while 29 per cent blame previous governments.

    18 per cent of the country is satisfied by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s performance — 56 per cent believe PM Khan’s claim that Pakistan is out of the economic crisis. Just 15 per cent think that inflation will be reduced in the next three months.

    About the problems in the country, 80 per cent of the people think that unemployment is the biggest problem of the country while 37 per cent of the people have of opinion that corruption is the main problem of Pakistan.

    Similarly, 70 per cent Pakistanis believe that the economic situation of the country is going downhill as well.

    Read More- 59% traders consider Pakistan is not ‘moving in right direction’: Gallup Survey

    Furthermore, 69 per cent of Pakistanis believe that the country is going in the wrong direction.

    Respondents of the survey did not buy the government’s narrative where all blame was hurled at the previous regime that the current economic crises are due to previous governments’ loans. The majority of the respondents — 65 per cent — believe that it’s all due to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) wrong economic policies.

    When it comes to the provincial province’s performance, 55 per cent of Pakistanis in Punjab are dissatisfied and just 9 per cent are satisfied – 34 per cent are in between. Talking about Sindh, 42 per cent are dissatisfied and just 18 per cent are happy; the remaining 39 per cent are in-between.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 55 per cent are dissatisfied and just 24 per cent are satisfied –20 per cent are in-between. Whereas in Balochistan, 55 per cent are dissatisfied and just 10 per cent are satisfied – 35 per cent are in-between.

  • ‘We want to engage’: Fawad Chaudhry offers conditional friendship to the Opposition

    ‘We want to engage’: Fawad Chaudhry offers conditional friendship to the Opposition

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership on Tuesday appeared to want to befriend the Opposition and want to reconcile amidst tensions.

    Informa­tion and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a press conference after the federal cabinet meeting, said, “We want to engage the opposition on important national issues like electoral and judicial reforms and the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.”

    Accompanied with Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Chaudhry said that the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaisar and the Prime Minister (PM) himself had invited the Opposition to negotiate on these three issues.

    However, Fawad said that despite constant efforts to engage the Opposition on the government’s reform agenda, they were only interested in formulating conspiracies and trying to topple the government.

    It is pertinent to state here that the Opposition has shown interest in talks with the government, provided the premier himself participated in the talks.

    Fawad categorically said that PM Khan would not sit with any Opposition leader, including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

  • Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    The moon-sighting issue in Pakistan is a socio-religious challenge as many religious events(Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) are directly related to it. In a bid to put an end to the moon sighting controversies around key festivals like Eid, the Pakistan government is imposing a three years imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine for anyone who announces the false moon sighting before the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan introduced the Pakistan Ruet Hilal Bill 2021 on behalf of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri.

    The proposed bill mainly aims to tackle the formation of a Federal Ruet Hilal committee, led by recognised Ulema and scholars from all sects and schools of thought which has a history of announcing Eid and the start of Ramazan.

    The bill authorises only the chairperson of the federal committee or his nominee to make an announcement regarding the sighting of the moon. The bill proposes a fine of up to Rs50,000 for anyone violating the law.

    The federal committee, according to the bill, will comprise 16 members, including the chairperson. The federal committee will consist of two Ulema from each province and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir; a grade-20 officer from Met Office, a science and technology expert and a representative of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and an officer of the level of director general from the Ruet Hilal Affairs division of the ministry, who will act as the secretary of the committee.

    The bill has suggested a complete ban on any other committee formed by individuals under any name for sighting of the moon for commencement of each Islamic Hijri calendar month.

  • ‘Those who mention democracy should be shot’, says Hassan Nisar, Twitter reacts

    ‘Those who mention democracy should be shot’, says Hassan Nisar, Twitter reacts

    Senior journalist and analyst Hassan Nisar has received backlash over his ‘anti-democracy’ and ‘dangerous’ comments wherein he said that Pakistan must have 15 years of fascism and those seeking democracy should be shot.

    During an interview with Samaa Tv’s political talk show ‘News Beat’, Nisar said, “Pakistan needs uninterrupted 15 years of authoritarian rule to fix everything from primary education to population control.”

    “Anyone mentioning democracy should be dealt by a firing squad and his family should pay for the bullets fired on him. It’s our moral job to try and give Imran Khan five years uninterrupted,” said Nisar.

    Lamenting the state of primary education in the country, Nisar also asked, “Are these children going to take over the country?”

    Twitter reminded Nisar that Pakistan was founded as a constitutional democracy, and calls dictatorship to go against the authority of the state.

  • Is Bilawal Bhutto next in line to get married?

    Is Bilawal Bhutto next in line to get married?

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is one bachelor whose marriage is being widely discussed.

    The wait is over as the provincial minister of Sindh for Agriculture, Manzoor Wassan, reveals the answer to this much-anticipated question.

    The minister on Wednesday predicted that Bilawal will tie the knot in either 2022 or 2023.

    “Bilawal will get married in 2022 or 2023 after he becomes the prime minister of Pakistan,” Wassan said while addressing a press conference in Karachi.

    He added that he doesn’t see a bright future for Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    “PM Imran Khan will not get to form a government now. He will become Gorbachev [former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev] of Pakistan,” Wasan said.

    He said that the premier wants to run Sindh the way he runs the country.

  • Putin says insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not artistic freedom

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) doesn’t count as an expression of artistic freedom. Putin made a bold plea for religious freedom and against the gross neglect of human rights. Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at people hurting the feelings of Muslims.

    Insults to the Prophet (PBUH) are a “violation of religious freedom and the violation of the sacred feelings of people who profess Islam,”, Putin said on Thursday during his annual news conference, Russian News Agency TASS reported. 

    Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned placing Nazi photos that praised the Immortal Regiment of Russians.

    While admiring essence of freedom, nobody has the right to violate freedom of others, said Putin.

    Previously, Prime Minister Imran Khan has also called out Islamophobia.

    The premier said that the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy has recognised as an emerging threat, as it increases the tendency of right-wing, xenophobic, and violent nationalists, extremists, and terrorist groups to target Muslims.

    “We hope the Secretary-General’s report will focus on these new threats of terrorism posed by Islamophobes and right-wing extremists,” the prime minister said.

    “I call on the Secretary-General to convene a global dialogue on countering the rise of Islamophobia. Our parallel efforts, at the same time, should be to promote interfaith harmony, and they should continue,” he added.

  • ‘Will personally oversee PTI’s LG election strategy’: PM Khan blames loss on wrong candidate selection in KP

    ‘Will personally oversee PTI’s LG election strategy’: PM Khan blames loss on wrong candidate selection in KP

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday said his party “made mistakes” as he pinned the blame of the poor performance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on “wrong candidate selection” for the first phase of local government (LG) elections held in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa (KP).

    PM Khan tweeted, “PTI made mistakes in 1st phase of KP LG elections & paid the price. Wrong candidate selection was a major cause.”

    Making sure that the same mistake is not repeated, the premier added, “From now on I will personally be overseeing PTI’s LG election strategy in 2nd phase of KP LG elections & LG elections across Pak.”

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif said that the people residing in the KP districts have rejected the ruling party.

    “The ruling party’s defeat is an expression of people’s anger over the back-breaking inflation, crushing price hike & the meltdown of governance,” said Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet.

    “It is the beginning of the end of an experiment that has cost the nation dearly.”

    PM’s remarks come after the Opposition parties have had a combined lead over the ruling PTI in the local body elections.