Tag: PTI

  • Maryam trolled for sharing ‘doctored’ image of Lahore jalsa

    Maryam trolled for sharing ‘doctored’ image of Lahore jalsa

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz was trolled by social media users after the PML-N vice president shared a supposedly edited picture of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally held in Lahore last Sunday.

    The PDM held a gathering in Lahore on Dec 13. The government had played down the number of people who attended the gathering, saying only 10,000 people attended the rally. The opposition, on the other hand, put the number above 100,000.

    However, the picture of the rally shared by Maryam added to the controversy and also attracted flak for being “fake”. PTI wrote: “Decisive moment in PDM; after #LahorePDMJalsa turnout, PDM has resorted to utilizing its trump card; Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop.”

    Prime Minister’s aide Shahbaz Gill tweeted that Maryam has “such a bad luck that she always gets caught”.

    Federal minister Hammad Azhar also didn’t miss the chance to troll the PML-N de-facto president.

    A user advised the PML-N leader to “fire her graphic designer”.

    Another user used this opportunity to make a meme.

  • 77% Pakistanis believe country is heading in wrong direction: survey

    At least 77 per cent Pakistanis believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction, whereas 23 per cent think there’s nothing wrong with Pakistan, said a survey by research company IPSOS.

    According to The News, the survey was conducted in the first week of December and over 1,000 people participated in it. “The findings were released on Tuesday for the last quarter (Q4) of 2020 and compared with people’s responses from the same period a year ago,” it added.

    Last year, 21 per cent people believed that Pakistan was on the right track, while 79 per cent contested this view.

    This year, 36 per cent said that their current personal financial situation was weak, while 51 per cent said it was neither strong nor weak, and 13 per cent said they were in a strong financial position.

    In comparison with the results of the last year, the people are in a better financial position: the data showed that 38 per cent believed that their financial situation was weak, 5 per cent viewed it as strong, and 57 per cent said it was okayish.

    Meanwhile, on province-wise assessment, the report found that a “poor financial situation” featured in almost all the provinces and inflation ranked number 1 among the list of top four contributors.

    “In Sindh, the second-highest contributor was viewed to be unemployment (20 per cent), followed by COVID-19 (17per cent) and poverty (16 per cent). In Punjab, 23 per cent people felt the province’s poor financial situation was due to unemployment, 8 per cent thought it was due to COVID-19 and 14 per cent believed poverty played a key role,” the newspaper stated.

    Meanwhile, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about 18 per cent believed the poor financial situation was the result of unemployment, 12 per cent viewed coronavirus and 8 per cent felt it was poverty that was behind the province’s financial situation.

    Similarly, in Balochistan about 25 per cent responded by blaming unemployment, a mere 2 per cent felt COVID-19 played a role, and 25 per cent felt it was poverty that has led to the province’s dismal state of financial affairs, said reports.

  • Govt seeks early Senate polls: report

    Govt seeks early Senate polls: report

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to hold the Senate elections in February instead of March, reported Geo News.

    The decided to change the date of the polls was taken amid protests by the opposition parties, who have threatened to march on Islamabad in Feb if the prime minister fails to step down.

    Unlike previous elections of the upper house, this time the voting will be through ‘show of hands’, the report claimed. However, in order to change the Senate election procedure, the government will need an amendment for which it doesn’t have the required majority or approach the Supreme Court.

    Addressing a press conference following a weekly meeting of the federal cabinet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said that the government is striving to make the Senate elections “free and fair”.

    “Controversies have always surrounded the Senate elections. It is such an old practice that it is assumed that in the elections, [horse trading] will surely take place,” he said.

    He said the government has decided to move the apex court regarding the reforms in Senate elections. “The government seeks an election that is conducted through a “show of hands”, Faraz said, adding that the government expects to get guidance from the SC long before the elections.

    “This is in favour of all parties,” he said.

  • Ministers call PDM jalsa in Lahore ‘flop show’

    Ministers call PDM jalsa in Lahore ‘flop show’

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) jalsa in Lahore has drawn flak from the ruling party’s ministers for organising a ‘flop’ rally amid the coronavirus pandemic.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz said the atmosphere at the PDM’s Lahore jalsa was “as cold as today’s weather”, adding that the opposition could only gather “10,000-15,000 people”.

    “Lahore has outright dismissed them. Lahore has rejected Maryam Nawaz,” he commented, adding that while the atmosphere could be “heated up on the television, it was cold at the venue”.

    Punjab CM’s information aide Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the PDM failed to attract Lahoris to its jalsa. She said the government allowed the joint opposition to organise its power show and didn’t resort to tear gas or anything of the sort.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the Pakistani people were “not ready to be fooled by these thieves and looters” again.” The political clowns who looted people have reunited once again,” he added. “How can those who hold rallies amid a strong [second] wave of the coronavirus pandemic be well-wishers of the common people,” he inquired.

    PM’s Special Assistant on Political Communications Dr Shahbaz Gill called the jalsa a “flop show”, whereas PTI lawmaker Ali Zaidi announced Umrah tickets for first five opposition lawmakers to resign.

    “The Opposition will have to account for its corruption. NROs will not be given to anyone,” Zaidi added.

    PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan commented on how today’s jalsa was “another flop show” and that the “PDM is doing back-to-back flop rallies”.

    “The number of people who come to their [PDM’s] meeting in total are equal to the number of people we have on the stage in our [PTI’s rallies],” he added.

  • ECP finds ‘serious discrepancies’ in Hammad Azhar’s assets: report

    ECP finds ‘serious discrepancies’ in Hammad Azhar’s assets: report

    The Election Commission of Pakistan is likely to take action against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and federal minister Hammad Azhar over “some serious discrepancies observed during scrutiny of [his declared] assets”.

    The News reported that the minister did not declare his “shares in a flour mill and few other businesses in one of his declarations submitted to the ECP”.

    “After he became MNA in 2018 and later became a member of the cabinet, the assets declared by him and his spouse were different from those he had declared earlier” while filing his nomination paper, the report said, adding that this prompted ECP to launch the scrutiny some two years back.

    “Our [ECP’s] team found an apparent mis-declaration, serious discrepancies and deficiencies in Hammad’s declarations, and he failed to explain his position before the electoral body scrutinising his and his wife’s assets and liabilities,” the report quoted an ECP official.

    Meanwhile, Hammad Azhar has refuted the content of the report and said that it “is compiled without reading my reply to ECP which easily answered all queries in May 2019”.

    He said the reporter ignored his written filed in the election commission in response to the scrutiny.

    About his response in 2019, the ECP official quoted by The News said that it was “unsatisfactory”.

  • PDM is ‘foreign-funded’ movement, says govt

    PDM is ‘foreign-funded’ movement, says govt

    As the opposition-led movement to oust the Imran government gains momentum, Human Rights Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senior leader Shireen Mazari has alleged that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a joint opposition alliance, is receiving foreign funding.

    In an interview with Dawn News, the federal minister claimed that a lot of people who are part of the PDM have received “a lot of foreign funds”. She, however, couldn’t provide any proof.

    “If we get the evidence […] but when we receive hardcore evidence, then it will become the responsibility of the government to take action,” she said, adding that “let’s see how things unfold”.

    According to Mazari, it had come to her knowledge that that evidence was now surfacing regarding funding for the opposition alliance from abroad.

    “[I have] heard that a lot of evidence has been found that funding, encouragement is being sent. You know Pakistan has dissident groups abroad. Every country has them, dissident groups from Pakistan are also abroad, the way they are living, after all they are receiving money from somewhere.”

    A similar claim was made by the prime minister of Pakistan a couple of days, when he told a delegation of senior journalists that certain countries were supporting the PDM in its bid to oust his government, Daily Pakistan reported.

    It may be noted here that PTI is also case pertaining to foreign funding in the Election Commission of Pakistan. The ECP officials will meet on Dec 31 to discuss the audit of the PTI after multiple delayed hearings.

    Meanwhile, PDM Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, flanked by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, addressed a press conference on Wednesday. He had said that the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13 will be held “at all costs”.

  • PM Imran unfollows everyone on Twitter

    PM Imran unfollows everyone on Twitter

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, who used to follow 19 accounts on Twitter, has unfollowed everyone on the microblogging site, including the official handle of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    PM Imran, who has 12.9 million followers, used to follow Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Planning Minister Asad Umar, estranged PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen and late Naeemul Haque.

    He also followed organisations he founded, i.e. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and Namal University. He also unfollowed his ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith.

    Imran Khan emerged as the ninth most-followed world leader on the microblogging site in July this year, according to a study by Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW). 

    In past, social media users had observed that the premier had unfollowed journalist Hamid Mir. It was assumed that the decision was taken amid rising criticism of the government by the anchorperson and his channel.

  • PTI issues list of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ journalists, deletes tweet after backlash

    PTI issues list of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ journalists, deletes tweet after backlash

    In another attack on press freedom, an official Twitter handle of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Lahore issued a list of ‘bad’ journalists on social media, calling them “anchors/mediamen building narratives for the corrupt”.

    “Let take these name loud and clear,” read the tweet with hashtag ‘HardTalkNotCapitalTalk’.

    A little context of the tweet: the said hashtag started trending on social media site after an interview of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ishaq Dar, wherein he was grilled by Stephen Sackur in his characteristically inquisitorial style.

    The trolls subsequently took to Twitter to celebrate the humiliation meted out to Dar and launched attacks on Pakistani mediapersons, especially Hamid Mir who hosts Capital Talk on Geo, for ostensibly being ‘too lenient to the corrupt’ Sharifs and other opposition politicians.

    So, who are these ‘bad journalist’ accused by the ruling party of promoting ‘corrupt narratives’? According to the list, Hamid Mir, Asma Shirazi, Naseem Zahra, Najam Sethi, Talat Hussain, Mansoor Ali Khan, Gharidah Farooqi, Javed Ch, and Saleem Safi are the ‘bad journalists’.

    Most of the mentioned journalists are critical of government policies and other transgressions.

    ‘GOOD JOURNALISTS’

    But the PTI Lahore account also shared a list of journalists who they thought were “fighting the war of truth and justice” i.e. “good journalists”.

    These journalists are Imran Khan, Maleeha Hashmey, Sabir Shakir, Kashif Abbasi, Ghulam Hussain, Sami Ibrahim, Shifa Yousafzai, Mooed Pirzada, Abdul Qadir, and Waqar Malik.

    The official handle asked its followers to “appreciate brave and bold journalists fighting the war of truth and justice” instead of the ‘bad’ journalists who promote corruption.

    The journalists and media organisations took exception to the tweets by the official handle of the PTI’s Lahore chapter. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemned the “vicious attacks of PTI trolls against these brave women journalists”.

    The list was also condemned by Mansoor Ali Khan, who said such lists put journalists in the harm’s way. Whereas Amber Rahim Shamsi commented on the list of “good journalists”, saying: “When those in power become comfortable with a journalist, it’s because the journalist isn’t asking uncomfortable questions.”

    Subsequently, a member of PTI social media issued “apologies”, saying it was done by a “regional account”.

    According to Human Rights Watch, “In Pakistan, arbitrary arrest, detention, and baseless criminal prosecutions are used as instruments of press censorship” among other things.

    In Aug this year, women journalists released a joint statement on attacks on women in media in Pakistan, which said that vicious attacks through social media were being directed at women journalists and commentators in Pakistan, making it incredibly difficult for them to carry out their professional duties.

    In the following month, daughter of late poet Fahmida Riaz, in protest against the alleged abduction and torture of journalists and writers by the state, declined the presidential award that the government had announced for her late mother.

  • PML-Q leadership calls on Shehbaz to condole death of mother

    PML-Q leadership calls on Shehbaz to condole death of mother

    In an apparent thaw of frosty ties, a delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid led by Pervaiz Elahi called on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and vice president Maryam Nawaz to condole the death of Shamim Akhtar.

    Akhtar, the mother of Sharif brothers, died in London last month due to respiratory complication and her body was brought to Pakistan last week. Nawaz Sharif, who is in self-imposed exile in London, couldn’t come back due to “health reasons”.

    Whereas, the Punjab government released Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz on parole to attend the last rites of the Sharif family matriarch.

    According to media reports, the PML-Q delegation that called on Sharifs comprised Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, Moonis Elahi and Kamil Ali Agha.

    On the other hand, Maryam Nawaz, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were also present in the meeting.

    The meeting between the two parties come at a time when the anti-government campaign against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — an ally of PML-Q– spearheaded by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is in full swing.

    A report in The News had claimed that there have been “informal contacts between the PML-Q and PML-N for cooperation in the Punjab Assembly against the PTI for quite some time”.

    The PML-Q is also unhappy with PTI over certain unfulfilled promises and had also skipped a luncheon organised by the prime minister last month. The PM had subsequently visited the PML-Q senior leader Chaudhry Shujaat — who is gravely ill — to salvage the alliance.

  • Politics in the time of corona

    Politics in the time of corona

    The second wave of COVID-19 is here in Pakistan. The number of new coronavirus cases in the last few weeks has been gradually increasing. Reports indicate that hospital beds for corona-positive patients in several cities have reached maximum capacity.

    Pakistan had quite successfully controlled the coronavirus after its first wave. By August, the number of cases had gone down considerably. However, the success was short-lived. Come winter, the second wave was sudden but it spread quite rapidly. The positivity rate has now reached 7 percent in a matter of weeks. It is important that people follow SOPs like wearing a mask, sanitising their hands frequently, and maintaining social distance. Unfortunately, most of us have become careless.

    On top of that, both the Opposition and the government are also being irresponsible. Leaders lead by examples but our leadership wants to spend more time in political point-scoring and blame-game than doing something for the people. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has refused to postpone their rallies despite the fact that it can risk the lives of thousands of people who will be attending those jalsas.

    As if the PDM jalsas are not enough of super-spreader events, government officials don’t want to be left behind. Federal Minister Asad Umar, who also chairs the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), addressed a workers’ convention titled ‘Youth of Sukkur’ just yesterday.

    Tomorrow, the PDM is holding a rally in Multan. Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be addressing the rally via video link because he contracted COVID-19 after the Peshawar jalsa. Both the Opposition and the government need to stop all public gatherings.

    Opposition leaders who are making light of the global pandemic by saying that the government is more dangerous than COVID-19 should really stop. They not just sound absurd but making light of a virus that can be deadly is highly irresponsible. The government, instead of threatening the Opposition and arresting their workers and leadership, should talk to the PDM leadership and talk them out of holding rallies. Such political rallies can hardly be stopped through sheer force. The Opposition really needs to put aside their egos and postpone their rallies for the larger good of the public. If our leadership will not set an example by acting responsibly, the public will not either.

    Educational institutions have now been closed. If people are not careful, soon the government may have to close down public places like parks, restaurants, gyms, malls, etc. We cannot take this new wave lightly. People are losing their lives across the world. We must stay vigilant.