Tag: Prime Minister

  • ‘PM Khan’s phone does not have messages of Gujarat massacre like Modi’: Fawad

    ‘PM Khan’s phone does not have messages of Gujarat massacre like Modi’: Fawad

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while speaking on Geo News’ programme ‘Jirga’, said, “Two days prior to the story of Pegasus spyware being published, I received a letter from The Guardian revealing that there was a list of phone numbers that had been hacked. Three numbers previously used by Prime Minister Imran Khan were also in the list.”

    Fawad said that the letter further added that he needed to confirm whether the numbers included in the list belonged to PM Khan or not.

    Fawad said that a team was being put together by the government, who would do the forensics to verify whether the premier’s phone was hacked or not. Only then will the government be able to tell if the attempt to hack the phone was successful or not.

    “It is confirmed that an attempt to hack the phone was made,” said Fawad.

    On being asked by Saleem Safi that if the phone was indeed hacked and the Indians did get the data from the premier’s phone, what implications would it have for the country, Fawad replied, ” PM Khan’s phone did not have messages of Gujarat massacre like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His phone does not have any orders of murder in it.”

    Fawad condemned how Modi and his government had hacked the phones of Indian journalists, judges, his own government officials, and other world leaders and said that the United Nations must intervene in this regard.

    Fawad Chaudhry added that the Foreign Office has taken notice of India’s use of Israeli spyware, Pegasus, to hack Prime Minister Imran Khan’s phone and had already said: “We call on the relevant UN bodies to thoroughly investigate the matter, bring the facts to light, and hold the Indian perpetrators to account.”

    When questioned about the meeting between Imran Khan and Narendra Modi before he came into power and whether it was discussed with the then government, Fawad responded that PM Khan’s meeting was public and the media was present. Fawad criticised Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with Afghan National Security Adviser (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib in London and said this was news shared with the Afghan media.

    “I won’t call Nawaz Sharif a traitor but it was a very irresponsible act by him,” added Fawad.

    Earlier this week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif was met by Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib and State Minister for Peace Sayed Sadat Naderi.

    The National Security Council of Afghanistan (NSCA) gave an update about the meeting on Twitter Saturday, saying that the Afghan state minister for peace and NSA discussed “matters of mutual interest” with the former Pakistan prime minister.

    Nawaz Sharif’s meeting faced extreme criticism from the government.

  • ‘If a cricketer can be the PM, why can’t an actress?’: Mehwish Hayat is gearing up for next elections

    Superstar Mehwish Hayat recently appeared on Geo’s famous interview series, Aik Din Geo Ke Saath in its Eid special episode.

    The Jawani Phir Nahi Aani star confessed on the show that since last few years her interest in politics has grown gradually and announced that will be foraying into the mainstream politics in the near future.

    Load Wedding diva stated that she wants to work on the country’s development and added that she is inspired by PTI for its trailblazer policies.

    She also questioned that if a cricketer can be a Prime Minister then why can’t an actress be one?

    When the host Sohail Warraich if she is directly challenging Imran Khan for his position? The London Nahi Jaunga star replied that she isn;t challenging him but someone has to take his position in the future so why not her?

    Earlier this year she expressed her disappointment and called out those holding live concerts in Islamabad amid rising cases of COVID-19. “This is very disappointing to be having live concerts with so many people while we are still not free of COVID,” wrote the actor on Twitter. “Cases are on the rise again and we are experiencing a deadly third wave.”

    On the work front, Mehwish will be seen next opposite Humayun Saeed and Kubra Khan in Nadeem Baig’s London Nahi Jaunga.

  • ‘PM calling OBL a martyr was a slip of the tongue’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Prime Minister Imran Khan referring to slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a “martyr” last year was a “slip of the tongue”, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry clarified in Geo News programme, ‘Jirga’.

    “Pakistan has voted in the UN on the war on terror [against militants], we are a voter on a [UN] list that declared Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda terrorists,” said Fawad Chaudhry.

    “Pakistan has sacrificed the most in the war against terrorism,” Chaudhry added.

    In an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi skipped a question when asked if Osama bin Laden was a martyr. Qureshi paused for a few seconds and then said, “I will let that pass.”

    Senior Afghan journalist Lotfullah Najafizada had originally asked Qureshi about PM Khan calling Osama bin Laden a martyr. The foreign minister responded that the PM was quoted out of context. “Out of context. He was quoted out of context. And, a particular section of the media played it up.

    When asked to comment on why the foreign minister hesitated in answering a question on the premier’s statement on bin Laden, Fawad Chaudhry said Shah Mahmood Qureshi wanted to put the issue behind him and move forward.

    Addressing the National Assembly in June last year, PM Khan recalled how the Americans had conducted an operation in Abbottabad and “killed Osama Bin Laden — martyred him”.

  • ‘The liberal brigade is misrepresenting facts’: PTI MNAs defend PM Khan’s comments on rape

    ‘The liberal brigade is misrepresenting facts’: PTI MNAs defend PM Khan’s comments on rape

    Female leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday defended Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments on sexual violence and temptation. Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, Parliamentary Secretary for Law Maleeka Ali Bokhari and MNA Kanwal Shauzab held a press conference and came out in support of PM Khan and called out the “liberal brigade” for misrepresenting facts.

    Gul claimed that the premier was a “symbol of women empowerment”.

    “For the first time in Pakistan, five women ministers are sitting in the federal cabinet. This means that if there is a symbol of women empowerment in Pakistan, it is Prime Minister Imran,” Gul said.

    Gul added, “My culture has given me respect, Islam has taught me modesty. Do not try to distort the things said in the Holy Quran.”

    Bokhari said that she was proud to be a member of parliament under the leadership of “a man who prioritised the protection of women and children”.

    “You can’t distort a question and determine whether or not the premier cares about protecting women and children. You need to see what the government has done,” she said pointing to the establishment of special courts for deciding rape cases and anti-rape crisis cells at hospitals.

    “The Prime Minister has set aside Rs100 million in the budget for implementation of the anti-rape law,” Bokhari added.

    “We are strong women and we have been strengthened by our leader Imran Khan,” Bokhari said.

    “Under PM Imran’s leadership, the two-finger test was abolished,” Bokhari said. “Because we realise the difficulties that women have to face, we ensured that they get their inheritance rights. No other premier has called for such a law,” she said.

    MNA Kanwal Shauzab reiterated that PM Khan had empowered women in true sense.

    Quoting a verse from the Holy Quran, which she said was the essence of the prime minister’s statement, she remarked that those contesting the premier’s statement were actually contesting Allah.

    Shauzab, meanwhile, believes that if you are among those who are “fighting” against the premier’s statement in his HBO interview, then you are “disagreeing with the orders of Allah”.

    She said PM Khan explained the commands of Allah regarding women.

    “We are proud to live in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” Shauzab said, adding that our society does not accept obscenity.

    Earlier in the day, another PTI MNA, Aliya Hamza Malik, too, spoke in support of the premier. In an appearance on Geo Pakistan on Tuesday, Malik urged “liberals” to listen to the premier’s statement before critiquing it.

    She said the premier made a comparison between the East and the West when speaking about rape cases.

    PM Khan has made strict laws for abusers, she said, adding that the state is fulfilling its responsibility and it is our job to make strict legislation.

  • ‘Raiwand’s prime minister’ sent abroad despite conviction: Bilawal

    ‘Raiwand’s prime minister’ sent abroad despite conviction: Bilawal

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, said, “Raiwand’s prime minister” Nawaz Sharif was sent abroad despite being convicted.

    Bilawal said former president Asif Ali Zardari remains in Pakistan, moving from one doctor to another, despite his children telling him to go abroad and seek treatment.

    “If the president [Zardari] is from Nawabshah, he remains on medical bail despite trumped-up charges,” said chairman PPP.

    “I want to ask the prime minister (PM) what sort of accountability and justice is being implemented in the country? I want to ask the PM what kind of rule of law is there within the country?” Bilawal asked, adding that if the premier’s friends are being alleged of a crime, no action is taken against them.

    “This is revenge and political engineering and their ministers themselves accept it has hurt the economy,” added Bilawal.

    “If the prime minister and his sister are blamed for a crime, nothing happens to them,” Bilawal lashed out.

    However, if a former president from Nawabshah’s sister is blamed for something, then she is dragged to jail from her hospital bed, he said, referring to PPP leader Faryal Talpur.

    The PPP chairman denigrated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and questioned its standards of accountability. “This system is a mockery of the Constitution,” said Bilawal.

    “If the Leader of Opposition is from Lahore (Shehbaz Sharif), he is awarded bail, and if the leader of Opposition hails from Sukkur (Khursheed Shah), he is denied the right and treated like a ping-pong ball — back and forth from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) courts to Supreme Court,” Bilawal said.

    The PPP chairman claimed the authorities were repeatedly blackmailing Shah’s children and his wife.

    Bilawal further said that the party would support Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly on the budget despite the inappropriate behaviour of some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members.

    “I unconditionally say to Shehbaz Sharif in front of the media that all PPP members will be in your support with regards to parliament and this [upcoming] budget despite tantrums [of some PML-N members].”

    He said that PPP members would come and vote on the day of the budget and now it was up to Shehbaz as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly to “do his work and stop the government’s budget.”

    Bilawal was responding to a question on whether the PPP had been contacted on the budget issue and whether it would support the Opposition. He responded that despite the “inappropriate behaviour” of the PML-N and other political parties in the Opposition, the PPP had prioritised national issues and the budget over differences between the political parties.

    “So despite their insults, the PPP went to Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation for dinner so we can rid the people of economic difficulties. Unfortunately, our host was publicly insulted after that dinner by some officeholders of the PML-N,” said Bilawal, adding that flinging statements at guests was not a part of “our tradition, values, and culture”.

    The PPP chairman also lashed out at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying it should have offered resignations the same day or the next when the PPP had “supposedly” refused to listen to its demands and set out for its long march.

    “If they still want to do politics of resignations, then they should have given them by now.”

    Hitting out at the prime minister, the PPP chairman said that the statements since the past few weeks on the state of the economy showed that the “prime minister has no connection to the common man”.

    “The prime minister says Pakistan’s difficult time is over. Not sure about the common man but the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) difficult time is over, for sure,” he said.

    Bilawal Bhutto said the government’s ministers had come around to accept the PPP’s stance on the economy and expressed the hope that Pakistan would escape the “IMF’s grip” in the budget next week.

    Bilawal similarly hit out at an ordinance for the creation of a new media body and said the PPP would continue to oppose it. He added that the recent attacks on journalists such as Asad Ali Toor or pressure being applied to media personnel such as Hamid Mir through petitions had “exposed the government’s weakness and insecurity”.

  • Naftali Bennett: Israel’s next expected PM

    Naftali Bennett who is the leader of Israel’s far-right Yamina party, is likely to become Israel’s next Prime Minister. What do we know about him? First up, he dreams of annexing most of the occupied West Bank into Israel. Reuters defines him as a ‘modern-Orthodox religious Jew’, which is not good news for the Palestinians.

    “Bennett has said that creation of a Palestinian state would be suicide for Israel, citing security reasons,” Reuters has reported. In 2013, he told The New Yorker: “I will do everything in my power, forever, to fight against a Palestinian state being founded in the land of Israel.” 

    However, unlike some of his former allies on the religious right, Bennett is comparatively liberal on issues such as gay rights and Israel being a more secular state.

    Bennett studied law at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University and also worked in the technology sector. In 1999, he formed a start-up and then moved to New York, eventually selling his anti-fraud software company, Cyota, to U.S. security firm RSA for $145 million in 2005.

    Born to American parents who immigrated to Israel, Bennett is a former Israeli soldier. He entered politics in 2013 and was appointed Minister of Economy, Minister of Religious Services, and Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs.

    He threw his crucial support on Sunday behind a “unity government” in Israel to deseat Prime Minister Benjamin (PM) Netanyahu, in what would be the end of a political era.

    Bennett’s decision, which he announced in a televised address, could enable opposition chief Yair Lapid to put together a coalition of right-wing, centrist and leftist parties and hand Netanyahu his first election defeat since 1999.

  • Maryam Nawaz: the next Prime Minister?

    In a programme on ARY News, ‘The Reporters’, journalist Sabir Shakir said that PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz will succeed PM Imran Khan as Pakistan’s next prime minister.

    “She [Maryam Nawaz] will become the next prime minister, in my opinion,” he said.

    “She can,” agreed Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain, another senior journalist who has critised PML-N in the past and has spoken in favour of PM Imran Khan over the years.

    Shakir said there will be a ‘break’ in the prime minister’s term, stating that he will lose the next general elections.

    “This is his first innings, he is learning how to play,” said Shakir. “Hence, he will lose first and will then emerge again stronger the next time,” he added.

    Another senior journalist, Arif Hameed Bhatti, said this was PM Imran Khan’s “first and last innings” as the prime minister of the country, adding that Maryam Nawaz can become the country’s next premier.

    Journalist Sami Ibrahim said that ‘politics demands performance’ and that giving lectures like Ibn Khaldun was of no use until rulers did not have any realization of the hardships that masses were facing

    Prominent journalists, who have been known for their pro-Imran Khan views over the past couple of years, think the prime minister will not be able to win the next general elections, making Maryam Nawaz a popular choice for Prime Minister.

  • Modi, Bilawal, Tariq Jamil among others wish PM Khan a swift recovery

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 20 tested positive for COVID-19. According to details, the premier is suffering from ‘mild symptoms’ and is self-isolating at home. PM Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi has also tested positive for the virus.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, while talking to the media, said that they “are monitoring his clinical parameters, and medical treatment will be given to him if required.”

    “Right now, there is no need for any treatment, as such,” added Dr Sultan.

    Soon after the news of PM Imran testing positive spread, prayers started pouring in for his speedy recovery. Among those who sent him good wishes include Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maulana Tariq Jamil, PPP co-chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal.

    “Best wishes to PM Imran for a speedy recovery from COVID-19,” said PM Modi.

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with him during this time of difficulty,” said PM Rajapaksa.

    “May Allah grant him full and speedy recovery,” said Maulana Tariq Jamil.

    PPP’s BBZ and Sherry Rehman and PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal also prayed for the PM’s swift recovery.

    PM Khan’s former teammates Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja and Waqar Younis also prayed for his swift recovery.

  • People want Waqar Zaka to be PM after court orders to lift PUBG ban

    People want Waqar Zaka to be PM after court orders to lift PUBG ban

    With the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordering Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to immediately lift the ban imposed on popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Pakistanis are taking to social media to praise VJ-turned-television host Waqar Zaka’s efforts in this regard and seek his election as the country’s prime minister (PM).

    Pakistan’s ban on PUBG had been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) by Zaka who had taken to social media to express his outrage as well as “expose” some shady conspiracy theories behind the ban.

    According to the YouTuber, the ban on PUBG, which the authorities said had come after PTA received “numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it was stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of children”, was “actually to prevent Pakistani youth from excelling in e-sports”.

    “These are the same people who don’t want our children to become famous around the world, who don’t want our country to generate revenue online, who want to send out a message to the e-sports providers around the world to prevent them from setting up their business here – reason why YouTube never did. These people will not allow us to evolve, a digital revolution needs to be brought,” Zaka had said in a video message.

    With the popular television personality continuing to raise his voice against the ban and separately the IHC on Friday finally ordering PTA to lift it, here’s what people have to say as ‘#ThankYouWaqarZaka’ trends on Twitter in Pakistan.

    https://twitter.com/Qasim6tweets/status/1286562678362779648

    On June 23, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed had recommended a ban on the online game.

    The CCPO had taken up the matter with the higher authorities through a letter referring to the death by suicide of a teenage boy, who was an ardent player of the game. It had led to a temporary ban on the game, which was followed by a PTA statement on Thursday, according to which the ban was to stay in place.

  • Afridi promises ending unemployment if he becomes PM

    Afridi promises ending unemployment if he becomes PM

    Former cricket team captain Shahid Khan Afridi has said that he would address the issues of unemployment and education if he became the prime minister of Pakistan.

    During an interaction with journalists, undated footage and pictures of which are doing rounds on social media, Afridi was asked about his plans if handed reins of the country for 10 days.

    The video being recorded during a ceremony held as part of Afridi’s nationwide campaign titled “Taleem Ho Gi Aam, Her Beti Key Naam”, suggests it is from later last year.

    Addressing the ceremony, Afridi said that women were giving birth to children on streets in Sindh, adding that it was 21st century Pakistan where humans and animals were being forced to drink water from the same place.

    Seeking support from the youth, the former captain went on to say that Pakistan was stuck in a swamp of problems and we have to unite and make it an ideal country.

    “More than 20 million children are missing out on education and the goal is to bring them to school,” Afridi said.

    “Our culture and religion are very beautiful,” he said and added that loving humanity was the need of the hour.

    The former cricketer also reportedly highlighted the plight of Muslims in occupied Kashmir.