Tag: PTI

  • Dubai-based watch company says they didn’t sell or buy Toshakhana gifts

    Dubai-based watch company says they didn’t sell or buy Toshakhana gifts

    Styleout Watches, a Dubai-based watch company, has rejected rumours about selling or buying Toshakhana gifts received by former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Referring to the recent controversy regarding the luxurious Graff set which was gifted to Khan by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Styleout watches released a statement, stating, “We certify that we never bought or sold the Graff Mecca Map diamond MasterGraff Tourbillon minute repeater watch along with diamond cufflinks and round diamonds gent’s ring, as well as rose gold pen set with diamonds to any person.”

    “We were approached by an undisclosed person, to market this watch using our Instagram page,” Styleoutwatches said, adding that any information about the watch being sold for USD250,000 is “incorrect and baseless”.

    The company said that they reserve the right to sue and take legal action against anyone using their name and their brand to sell and market the watch.

    “What we did do is we got it for promotion and marketing reasons,” they said, adding that they took the watch from an undisclosed person, took pictures and posted it on social media to create attention and hype in 2019.

    “Then, we returned the watch to the person and whatever happened before or after, we don’t know,” he clarified. The company requested the people to keep them out of the matter.

    Earlier, rumours were circulating on social media that Styleout watches had sold the watch for 250k USD in 2019.

    On Tuesday, Dubai-based businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor revealed to Shahzeb Khanzada how he had bought the Graff set from Khan. He had bought the branded set through former accoun­ta­bility minister Shahzad Akbar and Farah Khan, a close aide of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi. He said on the show that he had paid the equivalent of $2 million in cash for the set.

  • Fact Check: Is the viral video of Shehbaz Sharif with UK lawyer legit?

    Fact Check: Is the viral video of Shehbaz Sharif with UK lawyer legit?

    Claim: A video of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (PM) in London is being shared on social media.

    Users are claiming that the video depicts the Premier sitting in a court in the United Kingdom (UK) where he and his son-in-law, Imran Ali Yousaf, are being panelised in the Daily Mail defamation case.

    Shehbaz Sharif had sued the Daily Mail in 2019 for an article which had suggested that he along with Yousaf “stole British taxpayers’ money” given to Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) set up to help the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

    In this particular video, the man sitting next to Sharif can be heard saying, “Mr Sharif misappropriated UK taxpayers’ money and particular government aid intended for the victims of the devasting 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.”

    Fact: The video is of a press conference held by Sharif himself in 2020, in which he formally launched a defamation suit against journalist David Rose and Daily Mail and Associated Newspaper Limited (ANL) — the publishers of Mail Online.

    The disclosure of formal court action was made at a press conference at the offices of British law firm Carter-Ruck by Alasdair Pepper and Antonia Foster, who are representing Shehbaz in his legal case against the paper. Shehbaz was present with his lawyers at the press conference where the announcement was made.

    The lawyer said that Carter-Ruck had decided to move the court after failing to get a substantive response from the newspaper despite several requests over a passage of several months. He said that in nearly seven months the Mail had refused to engage with Sharif’s lawyer.

    Pepper argued that the article in the Mail, followed by a social media campaign launched by journalist David Rose, was gravely defamatory for Shehbaz, carrying false allegations that he misappropriated UK taxpayers’ money in the form of aid intended for the victims of the devastating 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) official Twitter account also corrected the false claim and blamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for spreading “lies”.

    Verdict: FALSE

  • Fawad asked Umar not to take Imran’s name on Toshakhana scandal, WhatsApp chat reveals

    Fawad asked Umar not to take Imran’s name on Toshakhana scandal, WhatsApp chat reveals

    Senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Fawad Chaudhry, landed in hot water on Wednesday night after Geo News‘ Shahzeb Khanzada revealed WhatsApp conversations the former minister had with Dubai-based businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor.

    The alleged Whatsapp conversations show that Fawad Chaudhry was in contact with Zahoor who claimed this week that former Prime Minister Imran Khan sold him a precious Graff set gifted to him by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2019. Fawad, who had called Zahoor a “liar” after his explosive claims about the sale of the state gift, refers to the businessman as “brother”.

    When Zahoor revealed that he had bought state gifts from Imran Khan, Chaudhry denied the allegations. However, he acknowledged that the gift was “legally” sold in the market.

    In the chats, Fawad said to Zahoor that “It seems the watch alleged to be of IK is not the same”. He also requested him not to take Khan’s name.

    During the show, Khanzada said Chaudhry also promised to help Zahoor get contracts from the Government of Pakistan.

    On Tuesday, Zahoor revealed to Shahzeb Khanzada how that he had bought the Graff set from Khan. Immediately afterward, Chaudhry contacted him and asked what had happened. “[Taking the name of] Shahzad Akbar is understandable, but why Imran Khan?” Chaudhry asked the businessman.

    Zahoor and Chaudhry met in Dubai several times. During the PTI government, the two also exchanged messages.

    Zahoor claimed that he had bought the branded set through former accoun­ta­bility minister Shahzad Akbar and Farah Khan, a close aide of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi. He said that he had paid the equivalent of $2 million in cash for the set.

  • ‘There has never been truth to foreign conspiracy’: US on Khan’s allegations

    ‘There has never been truth to foreign conspiracy’: US on Khan’s allegations

    The United States (US) has once again reiterated that there has never been any truth to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s allegations of Washington DC orchestrating a regime change conspiracy to oust his government.

    “As we’ve previously said, there has — there is not and there has never been truth to these allegations, but I don’t have anything additional to offer,” US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in reply to a question during a press briefing on Wednesday.

    Patel was asked about Imran Khan’s recent interview in which he has said that he no longer “blames the US” for engineering the Vote of No-Confidence that resulted in his government’s ouster, and wants “dignified” ties with the country if he comes back to power.

    “The US values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan and has always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to US interests. That remains unchanged,” said Patel.

    “We support peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles. And ultimately, we will not let propaganda, misinformation and disinformation get in the way of any bilateral relationship, including our valued bilateral partner with Pakistan.”

    Read More: ‘It is over, I want good relations especially with the US’: Khan on his removal

    Referring to the alleged conspiracy which the former Prime Minister has insisted upon since April of this year, Khan said that “it was over”, in an interview with the Financial Times.

    “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over; it’s behind me. The Pakistan I want to lead must have good relationships with everyone, especially the United States,” he said.

  • Khan agrees that PM Shehbaz can appoint constitutionally but has reservations morally

    Khan agrees that PM Shehbaz can appoint constitutionally but has reservations morally

    Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has acknowledged that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has the constitutional right to appoint the army chief but questioned if he can “morally” appoint the right person.

    Alleging that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was working on an agenda against the PTI, the former Prime Minister said, “Not only is it close to the Pakistan Muslim Leauge-Nawaz (PML-N) but also the handlers. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja passed decisions against us eight times and all of them were rejected by the judiciary.”

    Addressing his party’s Long March via video link, Imran Khan said about the CEC, “How could he pass judgments on us when he has been repeatedly giving decisions against us.”

    Khan, once again, called on the Chief Justice of Pakistan, saying that the nation was looking to him for justice in “three landmark cases”: Arshad Sharif’s murder, Azam Swati’s custodial torture, and the Wazirabad FIR issue.

    “CJP, we are looking towards you because we don’t have
    hope from anywhere else,” he said, adding that it was high time the courts became assertive and stood with the people of Pakistan.

  • Nawaz Sharif returning soon?

    Nawaz Sharif returning soon?

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif—who is currently in London— reportedly wants to come back to Pakistan soon as his return date is being discussed within trusted circles, reports Samaa News.

    According to the media outlet, Nawaz said that the public in Pakistan is facing financial problems, not political ones. About the general elections, he was of the view that they will be held at the designated time.

    Moreover, he claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s long march has failed. Sharif said that his party [PML-N] is against the politics of revenge and hatred.

    Last week, Nawaz was visited by his brother Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif in Britain and conducted several meetings with him. It was widely reported that the two brothers were holding consultations on who should be the next head of the armed forces.

    The PML-N supremo was granted an eight-week bail on medical grounds in October 2019, and, he was allowed to travel to London for treatment for four weeks. However, Nawaz has not returned since then.

  • PTI submits petition to Supreme Court to look into attack on Imran Khan

    PTI submits petition to Supreme Court to look into attack on Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has on Monday approached five registries of the Supreme Court (SC) in different cities across the country to seek the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the assassination attack on PTI chief Imran Khan in Wazirabad, the secret recording of PTI Senator Azam Swati and his wife and the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

    In the plea filed in the Lahore registry, former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar is the applicant.

    The petition about the assassination attempt on Imran Khan maintains that following the incident, another “grave injustice” continues to fester as the police have “refused to register the FIR according to the request submitted by the complainant”.

    After the former Prime Minister was shot at during his party’s Long March, an First Information Report (FIR) was not registered. Imran Khan had nominated PM Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah and Major-General Faisal Naseer as the conspirators behind the firing incident. However, later, on the SC’s orders, an FIR was registered by the Punjab police on November 8. PTI rejected the report as it did not contain the names of the people whom Khan wanted to nominate.

    The petition also sought the formation of a judicial commission into the “illegal private video recording” of Senator Azam Swati and his wife which was allegedly recorded while they were staying at an official rest house in Quetta.

    Additionally, the party has also raised the matter of slain journalist Sharif’s murder with the court. The petition said it is crucial that an independent commission inquires about the circumstance that compelled Sharif to flee the country and eventually end up in Kenya.

    In a press conference after submitting the petition to the SC’s Lahore Registry, PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi also made an announcement regarding the petitions.

    He hoped that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Umar Ata Bandial, would consider his party’s pleas.

    In Karachi, PTI leaders Ali Zaidi and Imran Ismail along with other party members reached the SC registry to file the petition. Meanwhile, former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri and others moved the plea in Quetta.

    Earlier, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif had also written letters to the CJ to form judicial commissions on two issues — the attack on Khan and Arshad Sharif’s murder.

  • PM Shehbaz announces Rs5 million for families of victims in PTI’s long march

    PM Shehbaz announces Rs5 million for families of victims in PTI’s long march

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has announced a compensatory amount of Rs5 million (Rs50 lac) for the families of each victim who died during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ongoing long march.

    In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, said that the PM has directed authorities to immediately complete the procedure and deliver the cheques to the families of the victims.

    A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said: “The Prime Minister, while expressing his grief over the tragic deaths during the recent long march of a political party, has been pleased to announce financial assistance of Rs.5 million each in favour of legal heirs of the deceased.”

    According to the PMO statement, the compensation would be extended to the next of kin of Moazzam Gondal, Sadaf Naeem, Samir Nawaz, and Hassam Baloch. Three of the four victims lost their lives after they were run over by PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s container and one was killed in the Wazirabad shooting where the PTI chief was attacked.

    “The Prime Minister has further been pleased to direct that the cheque(s) of financial assistance shall be handed over to the families of the deceased persons immediately after completing the procedural requirements,” the statement reads.

  • ‘My eldest son always wanted me out of politics’: Imran Khan

    ‘My eldest son always wanted me out of politics’: Imran Khan

    Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Prime Minister has said in an interview that his life was in danger and he received immense death threats when he was campaigning against the incumbent government that was “imposed on the nation”.

    Talking to British television presenter Piers Morgan, he said, “I came into politics to fight these two families. When they brought them back through a conspiracy and imposed them on us, I decided that I was not going to sit at home.”

    The former premier again named PM Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and an intelligence officer as the conspirators behind the assassination attempt on him in Wazirabad. He urged Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial to look into the matter.

    Talking about slain journalist Arshad Sharif, he said, “He was hounded out of Pakistan, and the same intelligence officers were involved”.

    Narrating the firing incident, the PTI chief said the firing of shots sounded like firecrackers. “It felt like a burning sensation”, Khan recalled.

    He again claimed that there were two shooters at the scene who attacked him.

    Khan said that it took him two hours after the attack to reach Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Lahore from Wazirabad.

    “I went to the hospital after a two hours drive, and the moment I got there I spoke to my sons and of course to my wife. My wife was remarkable. The fact I was safe, she was relieved but my boys were worried.”

    Imran disclosed that his eldest son [Sulaiman] always differed with his decision to join politics. “He was quite worried when I was shot”, he said.

    “Sulaiman is very sensitive, he always wanted me to out of politics,” Imran said.

    “The moment my legs heal, I am going to be out again,” Khan said, during the interview. He claimed that he could be attacked again.

    “People are so worried in my country, I never had this feeling before because they know the guys who missed this time, they would try again,” Khan added.

    He also said that his party [PTI] is going to sweep elections this time.

    The PTI chief said his remarks about the significance of Pakistan’s ties with the United States (US) had always been clear.

    “It’s a superpower,” Imran said in response to a question. He underlined that it was unthinkable that one would not want to have good ties with the US.

    “I have only one issue. Pakistan-US relationships have been like a transactional master-slave relationship. We degrade ourselves, I think we allow ourselves to be used like a tissue paper,” he stressed.

    He said he wanted a relationship that mirrors the one that the USA has with India.

    Commenting on the election of Rishi Sunak as the first-Indian origin British PM, Imran said he was surprised at his election.

    “I must confess that I never thought that a day would come that Britain would be ready for an Indian-origin PM,” Imran said.

  • Sharif brothers agree on resisting PTI pressure: reports

    Sharif brothers agree on resisting PTI pressure: reports

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif agreed not to succumb under Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) pressure, especially on their Chairman Imran Khan’s key demand of early elections, reports Geo News.

    The Premier, who is currently in London, had a meeting that lasted for over three hours with only Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz, Suleman Sharif, Hasan and Hussain Nawaz and a few other family members present. No one from the party was asked to join the meeting.

    Nawaz told Shehbaz to “continue doing his best to take Pakistan out of the economic crisis” and “not succumb to any kind of pressure”.

    According to the news report, when Shehbaz Sharif was asked if he will be discussing the appointment of the next army chief with his sibling, the PM said: “I have come today to meet my elder brother and my family. I am meeting them and their children after a long time.”

    After the end of the meeting, he was again pressed as to when the next chief of army staff will be appointed but the PM dodged the question, stating instead that the meeting was a family get together with and said: “ my brother, my nieces, my nephews and rest of the family too. We had lunch, gup shup and congratulations to all of you on Pakistan’s (cricket) win.”

    This visit to London is the third such trip since Shehbaz became prime minister in April. Sharif’s visit to London comes two weeks before the end of General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure. The army chief is set to retire on November 29.

    It has been reported that Shehbaz will consult Nawaz on the appointment of the Pakistan army chief.