Tag: PTI

  • ‘We will be dissolving the assemblies this month’: Imran Khan

    ‘We will be dissolving the assemblies this month’: Imran Khan

    Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asked his party members to get ready for elections as Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies will be dissolved this month

    In an address to the Parliamentary Party of KP, Imran asked party workers to prepare for elections and begin campaigning in their constituencies. “Whether they [the government] come towards elections or not, we will be dissolving the assemblies this month and moving towards elections.”

    He reiterated that PTI is only ready to talk to the coalition leader on elections, warning that he will otherwise dissolve the assemblies in the provinces where his party was in power.

    He also said that Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Pervaiz Elahi had given him the go-ahead to dissolve the assembly. “He has said he is standing with me and would dissolve assemblies on my call,” he emphasized.

    Moreover, Imran warned that “if something happens to [PTI senator] Azam Swati, we will go after everyone responsible for arresting him”.

    Imran further said that the people who took Swati to Quetta had turned Pakistan’s justice system into a “joke”.

    “I am once again saying this with great respect to the judiciary, if you won’t protect the rights [of people] then who will,” he asked senior judges.

    Imran then instructed all his party members and supporters to come out to protest against Swati’s arrest.

    On Saturday, the government turned down Khan’s invitation to parleys for early elections, arguing threats and talks could not go together.

  • Asad Qaiser says giving extension to Gen (r) Bajwa was ‘mistake’

    Asad Qaiser says giving extension to Gen (r) Bajwa was ‘mistake’

    Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, has said that the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s decision to extend the tenure of ex-chief of army staff (COAS) retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2019 was “wrong”.

    When asked about background discussions leading to the extension, Qaiser responded: “It was the wrong decision, no matter why or how it was taken.”

    While making a candid admission that they [PTI] “regret the mistake”, Qaiser said, “Everyone [in the party ranks] is realising that it was a mistake to grant him (Bajwa) an extension.

    Gen (r) Bajwa was appointed as the army chief by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2016. In 2019, then-premier Imran Khan approved an extension in his tenure as COAS for another term — just three months before he was due to retire.

  • ‘October 2023’: PML-N unmoved by Khan’s offer to govt

    ‘October 2023’: PML-N unmoved by Khan’s offer to govt

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) adamant that the next general elections will be held as per schedule in October 2023.

    The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has offered the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government to discuss the possibility of early general elections.

    However, the olive branch comes with a threat. “Give us a date for elections or we will dissolve Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies,” Khan said in a video address to the PTI’s Punjab parliamentary party.

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, Interior Minister, took to Twitter and wrote, “October 2023” as a response to Khan’s offer.

    Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister, said the government stuck to its stance that elections would be held in Oct 2023.

    “We can sit for talks with PTI but on any other issue except snap elections,” he said when asked about PML-N meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister.

    He said the coalition government came into power through a constitutional way and it reserved rights to complete its constitutional term [till Oct 2023].

  • ‘Quetta police took Swati away, endangering his life’: Imran Khan demands release of his senator

    ‘Quetta police took Swati away, endangering his life’: Imran Khan demands release of his senator

    Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has said that Senator Azam Swati has been “taken away by the Quetta police” from Islamabad despite his health concerns.

    In a tweet on Friday (today), the party chief stated, “Swati was moved to PIMS (Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences) early morning after suffering severe chest pains and breathing issues.”

    “While test results were awaited, Quetta police got him discharged and took him away endangering his life,” he further said.

    Terming the Quetta police act “a great crime”, Imran demanded the immediate release of his party’s senator.

    Meanwhile, PTI leader Asad Umar said Swati was “handed over” to Balochistan police and taken to Quetta without waiting for medical reports from the hospital or waiting for the high court’s decision. He further blamed the “imported government” for “flouting fundamental rights and refusing to follow due process of law.”

    According to media reports, the arrest has been made over different cases registered against the senator across Balochistan. It is pertinent to mention that several First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered within 24 hours against PTI leader Swati for his controversial tweets at different police stations in Karachi, Quetta, Jacobabad Qambar, Lasbela, Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Kandhkot, and other cities.

    Earlier today, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its verdict on a plea filed by Swati seeking details of the FIRs registered against him.

    The court, asking if the federal government has no administrative control, had reserved its verdict on the plea.

    A day earlier, Swati approached the Supreme Court (SC) to request the transfer of all cases registered against him in Sindh and Balochistan to Islamabad. The same day, an Islamabad court sent the senator on 14-day judicial remand.

    In a petition to the apex court, Swati has said that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested him in a false case, adding that multiple cases were registered against him in the country, and he faces a security threat when appearing in various courts.

    Last Sunday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Swati — for the second time in less than two months — for speaking against the army.

  • ‘Gen (r) Bajwa asked us to support PTI during no-confidence motion’: Moonis Elahi

    ‘Gen (r) Bajwa asked us to support PTI during no-confidence motion’: Moonis Elahi

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi has revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had advised his party to back Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) when the no-confidence motion was moved against former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Elahi further revealed that both PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had made offers to PML-Q. However, Gen (retd) Bajwa asked them to support the Imran Khan-led party. “I had an inclination towards PTI, and everyone knows about it. So I discussed it with my father. And then my father said to side with [PTI]. If Bajwa was so bad, why did he ask us to side with PTI at such a crucial junction,” he asked during an interview with Meher Bokhari.

    Moonis then criticized the social media campaign against General Bajwa, stating that, “Certain elements are busy on social media bashing Bajwa sahib without any reason. This is the same Bajwa who changed the course of rivers for the PTI. Back then he [Bajwa] was right, but now he is not. I have a total disagreement with those who are now talking against him.”

    “When he was giving you all-out support, he was right,” the PML-Q leader said, wondering if Bajwa how had the retired military head now become a “traitor” to them.

    Moonis said that there was no doubt that the former COAS fully supported PTI, but when he withdrew his support, he had become a bad person. “This is a bad example and I have a disagreement with them on it. He [Bajwa] was never against the PTI.”

    “Had he [Bajwa] been against them [PTI] at that juncture, he just had to give a signal, and we would have been sitting with them [PDM],” Moonis said.

    The PML-Q leader said when the establishment says that they have nothing to do with politics, he believes that because they have not influenced the Punjab government.

  • Azam Swati turns to Supreme Court for help

    Azam Swati turns to Supreme Court for help

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati has approached the Supreme Court (SC) to request the transfer of all cases registered against him in Sindh and Balochistan to Islamabad.

    In a petition to the apex court, Swati has said that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested him in a false case, adding that multiple cases were registered against him in the country, and he faces a security threat when appearing in various courts.

    The senator also appealed to the court that the “operation of FIRs” registered against him be suspended till his plea is heard.

    In Lahore, PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid also filed a petition against Swati’s arrest at the SC registry in the provincial capital, terming it “illegal”. Rashid claimed in her petition that the senator was arrested on political grounds.

    On Sunday, Swati was once again arrested from his farmhouse in Islamabad by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for speaking against senior military officers. Later, on Tuesday, his physical remand was extended for four more days.

  • ‘Yeh bhi jhoot hai, yeh bhi dhokha hai’: Bilawal adamant that Khan will not resign from assemblies

    ‘Yeh bhi jhoot hai, yeh bhi dhokha hai’: Bilawal adamant that Khan will not resign from assemblies

    Foreign Minister (FM) and Chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has predicted that the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, will not resign from assemblies despite his announcement to do so.

    Addressing a ceremony held to mark PPP’s 55th foundation day, Bilawal said “Yeh bhi jhoot hai, yeh bhi dhokha hai” (This is also a lie, a betrayal). He claimed that Khan is “lying” as he will not resign from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies.

    “Don’t you remember”, he asked the crowd, “that after PTI resigned from the National Assembly and the by-polls were set to take place, they moved the courts and pleaded that their resignations were just a political stunt”.

    During the address, he noted that the army stepped back from politics, “but now, they [puppet politicians] are worried that if the institution has become neutral, then what will become of their politics.”

    Bilawal told Khan that if he decides to resign from the assemblies, then the PPP and its “jiyalas” are ready to face his party.

    At the start of the address, Bilawal paid tributes to his mother, former PM Benazir Bhutto and his maternal grandfather, former PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

  • ‘New elections in Punjab will be held before Ramzan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘New elections in Punjab will be held before Ramzan’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that elections in Punjab will be held before the start of the holy month of Ramzan.

    Chaudhry, in a tweet, claimed that several members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have contacted PTI for party tickets to contest elections in Punjab. He further stated that the candidate for each constituency would be evaluated on merit.

    “New elections will be held in Punjab before March 20,” he declared.

    Fawad maintained that the Punjab division of the party is ready for “every attack” from the PML-N.

    PML-N has stated multiple times that it would not concede to the PTI’s demand for snap polls.

    On the previous Saturday, Khan announced that PTI wouldn’t be part of “this system” and would quit all the assemblies. Following this, PTI members also agreed with the decision to dissolve Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies. However, an official announcement regarding the dissolution is yet to be made.

  • Dissolution of assemblies: Khan to make important announcement next week

    Dissolution of assemblies: Khan to make important announcement next week

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will make an important announcement regarding the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies next week, Geo News has reported.

    Khan will address all PTI members of the assembly via a video link. Meetings for both KP and Punjab parliamentary parties have also been called.

    The KP Parliamentary Party meeting will be held on Friday while the Punjab Parliamentary Party meeting will be held on Saturday, in which Khan will take both parties into confidence to dissolve the assemblies

    The meeting also decided that the PTI would approach the National Assembly (NA) speaker and push him to accept the resignations of its legislators.

    On Saturday, Khan announced that PTI wouldn’t be part of “this system” and would quit all the assemblies. Following the announcement, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi showed support for Khan’s decision.

  • ‘No-confidence motion ka jisy shoq hai woh le aye’: CM Punjab

    ‘No-confidence motion ka jisy shoq hai woh le aye’: CM Punjab

    Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi, taking a jibe at the Opposition, said on Tuesday, “No-confidence motion ka jisy shoq hai woh le aye” (whoever wants a no-confidence motion can bring it on).

    Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) including its Chairman Shakeel Masood Hussain and others, Elahi reiterated that he and his party members were standing with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and that the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved immediately when Khan orders it.

    He said that the Opposition can only raise slogans which is not enough for them to bring a no-confidence motion.

    The nexus of PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) members in the Punjab Assembly stands at 191. The Opposition is in minority and would remain in minority, he predicted.

    “If the assembly is in session, there can be no voting on the no-confidence motion and no vote of confidence. If the assembly is in session, governor’s rule cannot be imposed,” he explained and asserted that everything was being done within the limits of the Constitution and law.

    On Monday, the PML-N’s parliamentary party held a meeting in which they decided in principle to use all ‘available tactics’ to prevent PTI’s proposed plan to have the provincial assembly dissolved.

    The meeting discussed the prospects of tabling a no-trust move against CM Elahi, imposition of the governor’s rule and the governor seeking a vote of confidence from the CM.