Tag: PTI government

  • ‘Didn’t meet Tareen,’ Shahzad Akbar and Ali Zafar deny allegations

    ‘Didn’t meet Tareen,’ Shahzad Akbar and Ali Zafar deny allegations

    Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Advisor on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Wednesday denied reports that he had met disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen (JKT).

    Both Shahzad Akbar and Barrister Ali Zafar denied having a joint meeting with Tareen in Islamabad, which was claimed by Raja Riaz, a member of the JKT group.

    Akbar took to Twitter to categorically deny he met Tareen.

    “Contrary to reports/statements on media, there has been no meeting with JKT. Barrister Ali Zafar has already denied any report being associated with him on the issue of pending FIA investigations,” tweeted Akbar.

    “PM Imran Khan’s commitment with the process of accountability and justice remains unshakable,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Senator Ali Zafar said he had meetings with Tareen but did not see him in the presence of Akbar on Tuesday.

    Raja Riaz also claimed that the one-man committee constituted by PM has given a clean chit to Jahangir Tareen.

    “Barrister Zafar had briefed advisor to the prime minister on accountability Shahzad Akbar and Jahangir Tareen in a meeting on Tuesday in Islamabad on his findings of the sugar scam probe. Zafar told them that Tareen had not been found guilty of the charges framed by the FIA Lahore,” said Riaz.

    Barrister Ali Zafar denied this news as well.

    “Some persons/media are busy guessing on what my findings in JKT (Jahangir Khan Tareen) turn out to be. Let me make it clear that there is no report submitted by me,” tweeted Zafar.

    “Any findings, not necessarily in writing, shall be purely internal to the PTI and have no legal value or status nor can the same have any relevance to or affect pending inquiries/investigations against the sugar barons or Tareen,” Zafar said in a series of tweets on Wednesday.

    “I have been tasked to see into complaints of JKT and will be making my recommendations directly and only to the PM once I conclude,” tweeted Zafar.

    The FIA had registered two FIRs against Jahangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen under Rs5 billion money laundering and fraud charges in the sugar ‘scam’. Both are on interim bail till May 31.

    Last month, PM Khan had formed a one-man committee comprising Barrister Ali Zafar to ascertain whether there was any truth to the concerns that some people holding key positions in the government and the PTI were politically victimising Tareen.

  • Pakistan to host World Environment Day on June 5: PM Khan

    Pakistan to host World Environment Day on June 5: PM Khan

    Addressing a ceremony in Haripur in connection with the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan will be hosting World Environment Day on June 5.

    “This is a great honour and acknowledgment of the fact that Pakistan is among a handful of countries trying to reduce the impact of climate change and global warming,” said PM Khan.

    PM Khan said that his government had taken steps to protect the environment, adding that it was a worrying sign that Pakistan was included in the list of 10 countries that are worse affected from climate change.

    Earlier this month, Pakistan was chosen to host the World Environment Day 2021 in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on June 5.

    This will be the first time in history that the country will be officially hosting the day.

    The day will be celebrated across the world through various events and activities under Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    The theme for the day this year will be ecosystem restoration, with a special focus on creating a good relationship with nature.

  • ‘Not answerable to Maryam or Nawaz’: Bilawal

    ‘Not answerable to Maryam or Nawaz’: Bilawal

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that the PPP was not answerable to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz or PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and that his perspective remained unchanged.

    Addressing a press conference in Badin, the PPP chairman acknowledged that he had torn the show-cause notice and there was no change in his point of view on the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

    “We are not answerable to Maryam or Mian Sahab. We are answerable to the PPP and the PPP’s workers and we think the real joy will be in doing politics together with the PPP’s workers,” says Bilawal.

    Bilawal said that Shehbaz Sharif was the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and the PML-N president, thus the PPP would consider his opinion and statements to be official PML-N policy and conduct its politics according to that.

    “Instead of opposing the PPP, our friends in the opposition should target the government,” added Bilawal.

    In response to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s concerns about the worsening law and order situation in Sindh, Bilawal said that the law and order situation in Sindh has improved, a move that has been made possible with the help of police.

    “Sindh police have the full potential to restore peace in the province,” Bilawal said. “The interior minister [Sheikh Rasheed] is ready to give a lecture about another province but is not ready to protect journalists in Islamabad.”

    Bilawal also condemned the attack on Islamabad-based journalist Asad Toor a day ago and said that journalists in Sindh are also being targeted for speaking the truth.

    “We demand the highest level of investigation into the attack on journalists,” said Bilawal. 

  • ‘Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner had nothing to do with PDM’: Maryam Nawaz

    ‘Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner had nothing to do with PDM’: Maryam Nawaz

    PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday said her party president Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner had nothing to do with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Shehbaz held a dinner on Monday for Opposition leaders, including those from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP).

    “He hosted the dinner as the leader of Opposition, as they had to devise a strategy for the budget session,” said Maryam. “Shehbaz Sharif is the Opposition leader [in National Assembly]. He hosted the dinner for parliamentarians. My presence was not needed,” she said when asked about her absence from the dinner.

    Maryam said PDM had not received any response from the PPP regarding the party’s return to the alliance. She said that when the PPP addresses PDM’s concerns, the alliance will deliberate over the matter.

    Meanwhile, PDM Secretary-General Shahid Khaqan Abbasi stated that there was no place for the PPP within the opposition alliance until it restored the trust it had broken.

    Speaking to the media in Islamabad, the PML-N leader said that  the opposition alliance was formed for a particular purpose. “If you are not committed to the movement, then there is no place for you within the PDM.”

    “The PPP can’t just rejoin the movement. They can only do so once they restore their trust in the PDM. The alliance does not have a revolving-door policy that you break its trust, leave the movement and try to come back again when you face difficulties,” added Khaqan.

    “The door is closed. The door will only open when you rebuild trust,” he said.

    Maryam Nawaz’s media talk

  • Protection of Journalists Bill

    Protection of Journalists Bill

    The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI ) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have both prepared two bills for the protection of journalists in Pakistan.

    The federal cabinet in April approved two bills – the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, and the Forced or Involuntary Disappearance (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill.

    Meanwhile, the bill for the protection of media persons was presented in the Sindh Assembly by the PPP government. The bill enables the provincial government to take effective steps to ensure that every journalist and media practitioner’s right to life, safety and security as provided under Article 9 of the Constitution are safeguarded.

    The Freedom Network’s annual state of press freedom report released in April 2021 highlighted a dramatic escalation in the climate of intimidation and harassment of journalists and the media in Pakistan.

  • Accountability to continue without any discrimination: PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday said that he will not be blackmailed by anyone, adding that even if the government has to dissolve, the process of accountability will continue.

    According to sources, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar informed the PM about his meeting with the Tareen Group after which it was decided that the just demands of the group would be accepted.

    PM Khan, according to a source, told the party leaders that he will not let Jahangir Tareen get away if he is involved in the sugar scam.

    The meeting also discussed the Azad Kashmir elections and Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur briefed the committee about the amendments in the relevant laws.

    The premier stressed that in order to make the process of elections fair and transparent, seeking technological assistance in the form of electronic voting is essential. He said that in the next elections, electronic voting will ensure that rigging does not take place.

    PM Imran said immediate steps should be taken to remove obstacles in the issuance of long-term visas to foreign investors, especially Chinese investors, and consider introducing a separate category for those involved in the CPEC project.

    The prime minister said that CPEC was not only a harbinger of economic growth for Pakistan, but also a path to development for the entire region.

  • PPP to attend Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner today

    PPP to attend Shehbaz Sharif’s dinner today

    The PPP has decided to attend a dinner being hosted by PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif for members of the opposition parties today (Monday).

    The PPP delegation will reportedly include Opposition leader in the Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Sherry Rehman.

    PPP leader Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that this was an invitation for opposition leaders and not of the Pakistan Democratic Movement alliance ( PDM). He further added, “Neither does the PDM president nor its secretary-general has the authority to kick PPP out of the alliance.”

    “The differences with PPP could have been resolved over discussions or sit downs instead of sending show-cause notices,” Bukhari added.

    Sources in the PPP said the party’s senior leadership thought attending the dinner would serve in the best interest of the opposition, in giving a tough time to the PTI government in the up coming budget session in the National Assembly, The News had reported.

    As per earlier reports, Shehbaz Sharif invited the opposition leaders for a dinner on Monday, in Islamabad.

    However, PPP and ANP were not invited by the PML-N at an Opposition meeting luncheon in Senate earlier today.

  • No new group being formed within PTI, says Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a press conference in Lahore with the members of Jahangir Khan Tareen group, said that no new group is being formed within PTI and the party “is one family”.

    “We are all in agreement on fundamental issues. Nauman Langrial and other leaders are second-generation politicians,” and the party should benefit from their experience. “There was just a need to improve communication between us,” he said.

    During the presser, the minister said that the JKT group has, “expressed confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership and they are proud of their relationship with the PTI and these are the basic things which we are all united on.”

    He continued by saying that everyone in the party is clear on these issues. “Imran Khan is our leader and PTI is our party.”

    “The opposition is under the false impression that there are differences within PTI, hopefully, now the opposition’s celebration will end.”

    Talking about the ongoing investigation against Jahangir Khan Tareen, Fawad said that “neither Jahangir Tareen is expecting any undue favours from Imran Khan nor the prime minister is the type of a person who will extend any.”

    Earlier on May 19, Jahangir Khan Tareen hosted a dinner at his residence and announced a ‘group of like-minded people’. The group appointed PTI’s Raja Riaz as Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly while PML-N’s Saeed Akbar Nawani will lead in the Punjab Assembly.

  • ‘Forget Nawaz-Zardari; what is your govt doing?’ Shahid Afridi lashes out at PM Khan

    ‘Forget Nawaz-Zardari; what is your govt doing?’ Shahid Afridi lashes out at PM Khan

    Cricket legend Shahid Afridi believes that Prime Minister Imran Khan is ‘stuck in the system.’

    Talking to The Current, Shahid Afridi said that the government should focus on its own performance rather than focusing on what past governments did or did not do.

    “Why is the Prime Minister always saying he will not give anyone an NRO. If the state institutions and judiciary are independent, let them do their work.” Afridi added that the government needs to show what it has done so far instead of just targeting Opposition leaders.

    Afridi made this comment in an interview on ‘Samaa TV show, ‘Sawal’, saying that when PM Khan used to speak before becoming the Prime Minister, the entire nation would stand up in favour of Khan, but now all he does is give explanations.

    https://twitter.com/taimoorze/status/1394932459708600320

    Advising the PM, he said that the premier should now leave Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. Since the past two and a half years only talks about them where ever he goes.

    He stressed that Khan should become the change for which people voted for him in 2013 and 2018.

  • PTI’s MNA justifies Hitler’s actions to show solidarity with Palestinians

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Member of the National Assembly Kanwal Shauzab, justified the actions of Adolf Hitler during a session in Parliament. She was giving a speech about Israel’s atrocities against the people of Palestine.

    Kanwal Shauzab’s speech went viral on social media with many people criticising her for her anti-semitic comments.

    Zarrar Khuhro, who hosts a show on Dawn News TV, also explained discussed Kanwal’s speech, discussing how the actions of a man who conducted a mass genocide should not be used in a ‘positive way’.

    In her speech, Kanwal said that Adolf Hitler had said that, “I spared some Jews to let the world know why I killed them,” but Zarrar pointed out that the quote was wrongly attributed to Hitler.

    Many people on the social media also called out the MNA for her ill-informed opinion.

    https://twitter.com/schaheid/status/1395274659147419648
    https://twitter.com/ABjeezExpert/status/1395038410407088131
    https://twitter.com/LeanneMohamad/status/1394007317113360385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1394007317113360385%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.dawn.com%2Fnews%2F1187254

    Adolf Hitler was responsible for the Holocaust, which took place between 1941 and 1945 and killed almost six million Jews in Germany and other parts of Europe.