Tag: PTI

  • ‘A party with 2.5 million voters cannot be banned’: PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan

    Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan while referring to the ban put by the government on Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) said that we cannot afford to ban a party that has a 2.5 million vote bank in Punjab.

    Speaking on Geo News‘ talk show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Ali argued, “Shouldn’t they be a given chance to come into politics?”

    Moreover, he claimed that he met with TLP’s members two days ago along with other government representatives and will welcome the banned organisation into the national mainstream.

    He revealed that the proscribed organisation will accept Parliament’s decision on the issue of the French ambassador’s expulsion from the country.

    While talking about the agreement between TLP and the government the minister said that details of the agreement will come to light within seven to 10 days and hinted at the release of TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi in a few days.

    Anchorperson questioned, “Does Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan know about the details of the agreement?” In response, the minister didn’t answer and remained silent.

    “The state struck a deal with its people to restore peace in the country,” he stressed.

    When asked about the involvement of Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi in this matter Ali Muhammad “ignored” the question.

    The minister added that anti-Pakistan elements did not want peace in the country. He said that they wanted bloodshed and another incident of “Lal Masjid” in the country.

    Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government released more than 800 supporters of the party arrested across Punjab under the agreement which details haven’t been disclosed yet.

    Previously, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said, “TLP will be treated as a militant party and not a political party in Pakistan.”

  • PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry claims that govt will consider adjusting TLP in Punjab’s seats

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Senator and President of Central Punjab Ejaz Chaudhry has claimed that the government will consider giving seats to the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Punjab constituencies, reports Saama TV.

    He said that other political affairs are also under consideration and the agreement between the government and the proscribed outfit can be very beneficial.

    “Our mission is the same,” said Ejaz Chaudhry. He said that he will meet Saad Hussain Rizvi once he gets free.

    Previously, the PTI government said that they had reached an agreement with TLP. Details of the agreement have not been revealed yet.

    Earlier this year, the government had banned the TLP, which restricted them to participate in the elections. Currently, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has restricted all television channels from covering any activity of the banned outfit.

  • Govt successful in negotiating with TLP, maintain secrecy over details

    Govt successful in negotiating with TLP, maintain secrecy over details

    Officials from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Sunday claimed that they had reached an ‘agreement’ with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in order to end the nearly two-week-long protests.

    The government’s negotiating team members Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, along with Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman were present at the press conference.

    “The government of Pakistan and the TLP held detailed negotiations in an environment of mutual trust and an agreement has been reached between the two sides,” said Mufti Muneeb.

    The details of the negotiations have yet not been made public, Mufti Muneeb said its details would be made public at an ‘appropriate time’. He, however, said its ‘positive results’ would be visible to the nation next week or during the next 10 days.

  • ‘Sheikh Rasheed lied, let the entire nation see the malicious intent of the govt’: TLP leadership

    Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) leader Syed Sarwar Shah Saifi on Wednesday said, “Sheikh Rasheed lied yesterday that matters have been resolved. He also lied about contact [with us] at 8 pm — from them till now no government official, including Sheikh, has contacted [us],” reports Dawn.

    In a statement issued by the group’s central committee, TLP said, “Let the entire nation see the malicious intent of the government.”

    TLP said its activists would now march onto Islamabad because their demands have not been met by the government.

    Saifi said, “Are these claimants of the state of Madina unable to respond to France? Have they become so enslaved to the Jews and the Christians?”

    “Don’t lie to the nation. No negotiations are being done with us. The government is not sincere in negotiations but if more blood is shed now, revenge will be taken,” the statement said.

    Saifi said the demands would increase if more blood was spilt and the nation would be “rid of this dishonest, lying and hypocritical government”. He said it would be better if the agreement was abided by and TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi was released so the group could go back.

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, while speaking at a press conference on Tuesday said, “We cannot expel the French ambassador as demanded by the TLP.”

    “We accept all other conditions of the banned TLP. They promised us that they will open all blocked roads but we are waiting for them to open the routes,” said Rasheed, adding that the only issue between the government and TLP is the French ambassador matter. “Otherwise we don’t have any reservations with their conditions.”

    “TLP’s demand of expelling the French Ambassy and Ambassador has a lot of complications attached to it. We are the largest nuclear force in the Islamic world. The world is conspiring to sanction us,” said Rasheed.

    Earlier on Tuesday night, the district administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad had blocked the Faizabad intersection to prevent the TLP protesters from entering the federal capital territory.

  • US Senator indirectly urges President Biden to call PM Khan

    United States (US) Senator Bob Menendez said that he has asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge President Joe Biden to have a conversation with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan in an effort to rebuild the Pak-US relationship, reports Geo News.

    While addressing a fundraising event, Menendez said, “I think it would serve us well to have such a conversation and, you know when we have these conversations, they are honest, and that means they are also transparent.”

    “Where there is an agreement, we build upon it and where there is disagreement, we talk about how do we get through that disagreement,” said Menendez.

     “I hope, I can expand on it — not just about Pakistan in the context of a military or security dimension, but much greater– talking about an incredibly large population that is very young; there is tremendous opportunity to build upon the economic dynamism that we create,” he told the members of the American-Pakistani Political Action Committee (APPAC).

    US President Joe Biden, who assumed office in January this year, has not yet telephoned PM Khan.

    Earlier this month, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman on her visit to Pakistan said, “I am sure that this contact [between President Biden and PM Khan] will take place soon, so I don’t think it should mean anything else.”

    However, in August, the premier himself commented on the situation and said he was “not waiting for a phone call from the US President”.

  • After three policemen dead, Sheikh Rasheed finds ‘TLP leader Saad Rizvi more cooperative than others’

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, while speaking at a press conference about the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) protests in the country, stated that he found the party’s leader Saad Hussain Rizvi “more cooperative” than others, reports Geo News.

    He said the government has reached an understanding, and negotiations with the banned organisation are going well. In the press conference, he shared an agreement between the government and the TLP which will be presented in the National Assembly (NA) as per the minister.

    He further clarified that the government was not interested in a confrontation with any organisation while mentioning that “no one should damage public property as well.”

    According to the interior minister, he wants to conclude the matter once and for all because something new happens every six months and people face difficulties, reported Dawn.

    According to Rasheed, the government will guard the commitment made to the banned organisation.

    Regarding Rizvi’s release, the minister said, “A lot of other people insist on freeing him right now. Decisions cannot be taken right now. There is a legal process that we will follow. We will talk to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan [who is currently in Saudi Arabia] after his return tomorrow.”

    He further said the premier had instructed his principal secretary before leaving for the visit to ask the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to unfreeze the accounts of TLP madrassah and to allow them to open new ones.

    Furthermore, he disclosed that he had requested to not be included in the government’s negotiating committee because as per him [Rasheed] “it is not the work of the interior ministry but the Punjab government”, but the idea was rejected on the insistence of Saad Rizvi and another TLP leader, Ghulam Ghaus Baghdadi.

    Earlier, the federal government announced that the cases against the TLP workers would be withdrawn by Wednesday (Oct 27) and assured them that the authorities would also oversee the charges imposed under the fourth schedule.

    Under the Fourth Schedule, the suspects of terrorism and sectarianism are placed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

    In a tweet, Rasheed said, “We have released 350 TLP workers up to now.”

    Because of last week’s protest in Lahore, three policemen were martyred in clashes with TLP while the banned organisation had claimed that their 500 workers were injured.

  • ‘I am ashamed’: Shireen Mazari responds to daughter’s tweet on PTI govt

    ‘I am ashamed’: Shireen Mazari responds to daughter’s tweet on PTI govt

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari’s daughter, Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in a tweet earlier today.

    “If the country was to be run by magic, then why is the money of this nation being wasted on such a large cabinet,” Imaan tweeted.

    “The country is being ridiculed due to witchcraft and you don’t want people to talk about those who practice magic. This will not happen,” she added.

    Shireen Mazari responded to her daughter’s tweet for criticising the government without any proof. “I am ashamed you would resort to such low personalised unsubstantiated attacks esp since as a lawyer u shd know without any proof hurling such accusations is defamation. When all substantive issue-based criticism fails this level of a base personal attack is plain shameful,” the minister tweeted.

    Last week, Maryam Nawaz had also mentioned the use of “magic”.

    “If your magic is so successful, then why don’t you use it for the good of the people?”

  • Govt to reduce taxes on food items: reports

    The government has reportedly decided to reduce taxes on the prices of food items, Ayaz Akbar Yousafzai reported for Geo News.

    According to sources, a meeting was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to review the rising inflation and the overall economic situation in the country. The impact of the rising prices of petroleum products was also discussed in the meeting. 

    During the meeting, PM Khan issued orders to the federal ministers to take steps for the implementation of Price Control Committees.

    The premier also directed the ministers to keep an eye on the artificial price hike in their constituencies and to take strict measures against hoarders 

    Commodity prices have gone up in recent weeks.

    Addressing a news conference on Monday, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said the government had decided to reduce GST rate and customs duty by half to 8.5 per cent and would abolish 2 per cent additional customs duty to cut cooking oil prices by Rs45 per kilo.

    He said that the decision would be implemented on the return of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin.

  • PM Khan summons emergency PTI parliamentary meeting

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned an emergency meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) parliamentary group at Parliament House today, reports Geo News.

    According to details, PM Khan will take his party members into confidence on important national issues. According to sources, several party members protested on being called for the meeting by the chief whip of the PTI, Malik Aamir Dogar.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said that a summary for the joint session had been sent to the president by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

    All party Members of the National Assembly (MNA) and senators are directed to attend the meeting.

    It is likely that the government’s bill of electoral reforms, including the introduction of electronic voting machines and I-voting facility for overseas Pakistanis, and an ordinance concerning the powers of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will be tabled today in parliament, as per Geo News.

  • ‘No one can become Nawaz Sharif,’ PTI’s Shahbaz Gill responds to Maryam Nawaz

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (PM) on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill said that no one can become Nawaz Sharif. “Such people are born this way,” said Gill while responding to Maryam Nawaz’s earlier comments about PM Khan. Maryam Nawaz had said that PM Imran Khan should not try to be Nawaz Sharif.

    “These people are dangerous for the entire nation,” Gill said in a press conference, along with the Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul and Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Maleeka Bokhari.

    While criticising Maryam Nawaz, Gill stated, “No one is safe from Maryam’s shadow, including her father [Nawaz Sharif] and her uncle [Shehbaz Sharif].”

    “If you are talking about magic, tell us what kind of djinns helped you transfer your money abroad, tell us about the witches who helped you build these apartments [in London], which djinns and witches printed dollars for you to buy these apartments,” asked Gill, responding to Maryam’s comments about magic.