Tag: SAPM

  • Imran Khan recognized selecting Usman Buzdar as CM Punjab was mistake: Zulfi Bukhari

    Imran Khan recognized selecting Usman Buzdar as CM Punjab was mistake: Zulfi Bukhari

    In a candid discourse at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, a close aide to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, publicly acknowledged that appointing Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister of Punjab was a monumental mistake for the party, as per Geo News.

    Speaking on the theme of “Democracy in Crisis,” organized by the SOAS Pakistan Discussion Forum, Bukhari delved into the intricacies of PTI’s nearly four-year tenure, addressing critical questions from the student audience.

    Bukhari disclosed that Imran Khan himself recognized the misstep in selecting Usman Buzdar for the pivotal role of Punjab Chief Minister.

    “There was Aleem Khan group and other power groups. There would have been a war within the PTI if Buzdar was removed and Imran Khan did the right thing by sticking to him, to avoid the war within,” said Bukhari.

    The former special assistant to the Prime Minister, now residing in London and active in advocating for Imran Khan’s case on international media, expressed his reservations about Buzdar’s performance.

    He asserted that Buzdar’s incapacity to deliver effectively was evident

    He said: “I don’t think he was a good chief minister and was able to perform and deliver. By the time calls against Buzdar grew after two years, it was too late and changing him after a year or two would have made the post a revolving door. Nobody would say Usman Buzdar was a good decision but we supported his decisions.”

    Addressing recent controversies, Bukhari distanced himself and PTI from Farah Gogi, best friend and confidante of former first lady Bushra Bibi. He emphasized that if allegations of Gogi’s corruption were true, she should face strict legal consequences.

    Responding to questions about Imran Khan’s defense of Gogi in the media, Bukhari clarified that Khan was unaware of Gogi’s business dealings and that investigating her was not within his purview.

    The former special assistant to PM also condemned the May 9 attacks on military installations.

    “We have condemned all forms of violence, especially the attack on Jinnah House which has a sacred value. We have always stood against violence. Ordinary people say things in the heat of emotions. It’s the job of the leadership to positively tunnel their emotions towards a democratic process to bring about a real change. We are the biggest stakeholder being the biggest political party and we will get more losses than others in any such scenario,” said Bukhari.

    Imran Khan’s former special assistant claimed that over 13,000 activists were arrested after May 9 and put in dire conditions but the rest have been released and around 7,000 remain in jails.

    Acknowledging PTI’s mistakes during their governance, Bukhari asserted that with a different leadership in place, those errors would not be repeated if given another chance.

    He expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with all political parties, including PML-N and PPP, for the betterment of elections and democracy.

    “We want them to sit with us and talk about elections and democracy,” said the PTI leader.

    He also revealed that things were initially fine between PTI and the army but issues started later on.

    He said: “As far as General Bajwa is concerned, he could have suggested things to the PM and not dictate.”

    Answering a question, Bukhari said that two people closest to Imran Khan during the PTI govt were behind making a false case against him.

    “The Ring Road case against me was framed by two people who were then closest to Imran Khan: one of them (Azam Khan) has now become an approver against Khan and another (Shehzad Akbar) has left Pakistan. The purpose was to campaign against me. I resigned from my position and didn’t return to the government after that.”

  • How many people does PM Shehbaz need in his cabinet to run the country?

    How many people does PM Shehbaz need in his cabinet to run the country?

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has appointed seven more Special Assistants to the PM (SAPMs) on pro bono basis, as the federal cabinet swells to 85.

    As per details, the PM has appointed five new SAPMs including Members of National Assembly Rao Ajmal, Shaista Parvez, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Muhammad Hamid Hameed, Malik Sohail Khan, Chaudhary Abid Raza and Muhammad Moeen Wattoo.

    Criticising the PM’s decision, PTI leader Farrukh Habib remarked that the government was close to making a century of cabinet members.

    The newly appointed SAPMs will enjoy the status of ministers of state, however they have not been assigned any portfolios yet.

    Of the 85 cabinet members, 34 are federal ministers, seven are ministers of state, and there are four advisers to the PM and 40 SAPMs.

    Besides the long list of federal cabinet members, 38 parliamentary secretaries in the National Assembly answer questions on behalf of the ministers in their absence.

  • ‘Fawad Chaudhry’s face shouldn’t have been covered’: PML-N’s Malik Ahmad Khan

    ‘Fawad Chaudhry’s face shouldn’t have been covered’: PML-N’s Malik Ahmad Khan

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Malik Ahmad Khan has said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry should not have been presented in court with a white cloth covering his face.

    “If any kind of brutality happens with Fawad, I will condemn it. If due process is not followed, or in case of mistreatment, I will be the first one to [protest]. His face shouldn’t have been covered yesterday. They should have presented him in court openly,” said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader while addressing a press conference on Thursday.

    However, Malik believed that Fawad should not have threatened the Election Commission and their families. He said that his relationship with Chaudhry spans 30 years. “The one who threatened the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) isn’t the Fawad I know,” said Malik Khan.

    Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar tweeted that such actions by the ECP will damage the remaining reputation of the institution.

    Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also spoke up, tweeting, “Fawad should not have been arrested and handcuffed.”

    Stating that Chaudary was wrong to threaten ECP officials and families, Miftah said he should have instead been served a notice. “IK was wrong to jail us for months without charge only—-because we opposed him.”

    Former Chairman Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, said that the Chaudhary’s arrest under section 124A, PPC, 1860, for sedition is unwarranted.

    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), deploring the continuous use of archaic, colonial laws against sedition by successive governments against their political opponents, said that Fawad Chaudhry was the latest in the series.

    “The charges must be dropped immediately, and the government of the day must act more responsibly,” the human rights watchdog has stated.

    Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) also strongly condemned Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest and demanded his immediate release.

    SCBA termed his arrest a classic example of abuse of power and political victimisation.

  • From ‘Pinky Peerni’ to ‘Hum qabrain khodain ge agar hamaray gharon tak gaye’: PTI, PML-N’s heated debate on talk show

    From ‘Pinky Peerni’ to ‘Hum qabrain khodain ge agar hamaray gharon tak gaye’: PTI, PML-N’s heated debate on talk show

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Attaullah Tarar got into a heated debate during Dunya News programme, ‘On the Front with Kamran Shahid’.

    As the discussion veered towards corruption, Usman Dar said that he does not have prove the corruption allegations against his leader, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, as he is an honest man unlike Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N’s supremo Nawaz Sharif.

    The debate then turned quite heated when Tarar called the former First Lady, Bushra Bibi, “Pinky Peerni”. Dar called out Tarar for referring to the former First Lady as Pinky Peerni.

    “Have some shame, my brother, have some shame. Don’t act like this and [call her pinky peerni]. If I start taking on homes/families, I will not spare any person from PML-N. Don’t go to my leaders family. Don’t commit this mistake,” said Dar.

    Kamran Shahid, the host of the programme interjected and with a smile on his face, said, “He has blackmailed you [Tarar].”

    “I cannot tell you the background of Maryam Nawaz on the talk show, come and meet me privately, I will tell you everything. Are you listening to me,” asked Dar, continuing in the same vein.

    Kamran Shahid interjected yet again and said that the past and present of Maryam Nawaz is not relevant, however, the question here is on corruption. “Neither of you should say such things,” he admonished.

    Dar kept speaking while Shahid was talking and said, “I will beat you in your own house. Never even think about any of this. That woman does not do politics; she observes pardah [veil]. You guys don’t have any argument; that’s why you enter people’s homes.”

    Tarar reiterated that he took Bushra Bibi’s name because her name was present in the documents presented by the Prime Minister’s Office.

    In response, Dar said, “Bring the lists which have the name of late Kalsoom Nawaz [wife of Nawaz Shairf].”

    Tarar said someone observing or not observing pardahh shouldn’t be part of the debate.

    “If you guys go into our houses, we will start digging graves in this country,” replied Usman Dar, adding that Tarar should have addressed Bushra Bibi as First Lady.

  • Imran se barra kaptaan nikla Shehbaz: Cabinet with 70 members

    Imran se barra kaptaan nikla Shehbaz: Cabinet with 70 members

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif this week appointed eight more special assistants for himself.

    With the eight new special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM), the cabinet now consists of 34 federal ministers, including one without a portfolio, seven ministers of state, four advisers to the PM and 25 SAPMs.

    According to the notification, the Premier was “pleased” to appoint MNA Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar, MNA Maahr Irshad Ahmad Khan, MNA Raza Rabani Khar, MNA Mahesh Kumar Malani, Faisal Karim Kundi, Sardar Saleem Haider, Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi and Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha on the post of SAPM.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan had a 52-member federal cabinet, including 25 federal ministers, four ministers of state, four advisers and 19 SAPMs.

    PTI’s Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry criticized PM Shehbaz for adding eight more members to his cabinet.

    “People are drowning in the quagmire of inflation and the imported government is increasing the army of cabinet members. Eight new non-important members have been added unnecessarily to the cabinet and this is an expression of the priorities of the Shehbaz Sharif government,” said Fawad while talking to The Nation.

    Chaudhry claimed that the back of the country’s economy had been broken and the middle class was shedding tears on monthly expenses while, at the same time, the “imported government” was playing the flute, like Nero.

    “It is a necessary evil in parliamentary systems, especially, when governments are based on a coalition,” said the president of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, while talking to The Express Tribune.

  • ‘All pending cases would have been solved by December 2022’: former special assistant to Khan

    Former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Brigadier (Retd) Musaddiq Abbasi said that all the pending cases of politicians would have been solved by December 2022. Abbasi was SAPM to Imran Khan.

    Speaking on Express News‘ political programme‘ Kal Tak‘ with anchorperson Javed Chaudhry, the former special assistant revealed that he was working to make amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC) 1898 so that all the cases could be streamlined. According to him, when he took over the office as SAPM, he discussed it with Khan and he agreed.

    Moreover, talking about pending cases of Nawaz Sharif and other politicians, he clarified that all the cases would have been decided either in their favour or against them.

    On the show, Abbasi who is also the former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) director-general, talked about the recent amendments to NAB law. He said that the bureau is almost closed. It is pertinent to mention that the incumbent government through the new amendments has limited the powers of NAB.

    Abbasi also termed the allegations by Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir’s revelations as baseless. Dastagir alleged that in November when a new army chief would have been appointed by Imran Khan, the new chief would have violated the Constitution and would have helped Imran Khan make false cases against his opponents in order to disqualify them.

    Earlier, Dastgir said, “This is based on information. Imran Khan and his followers would have stayed in power for 15 years. The entire Opposition would have been disqualified. He [Imran Khan] was of the point of view that he will remove everyone and will not spare anyone.”

    Replying to Dastagir, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar said that he believes that Dastagir is lying but is still waiting for Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations’ (ISPR) statement because these are very serious allegations and the military spokesperson should respond to them.

  • PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi resigns after court stops him from working

    PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi resigns after court stops him from working

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Hanif Abbasi resigned from his post as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) after Islamabad High Court (IHC) had stopped him “temporarily” from performing his duties.

    In a letter, the former federal minister addressed PM Shehbaz Sharif and said that he would be “unable to perform at present” and requested the premier to accept his resignation while thanking him for the opportunity.

    Read more- PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi has fled country, media reports claim

    IHC stopped Abbasi from working as SAPM

    Last month, IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah stopped Abbasi from working, saying that “a person convicted in any case is ineligible to hold any public office in the country.”

    He issued the directives while hearing a petition filed by former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, who challenged Abbasi’s appointment as SAPM on grounds of his 2018 conviction in an ephedrine case.

    During the hearing, Hanif Abbasi’s counsel Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon argued that the post of SAPM is not similar to other public offices.

    Justice Minallah said he hoped Abbasi would not use public office till the next hearing.

    “The SAPM’s job is to advise the prime minister, he can do that without a notification as well,” he observed.

  • Journalist turned politician, Fahd Husain appointed as SAPM to PM Shehbaz

    Journalist turned politician, Fahd Husain appointed as SAPM to PM Shehbaz

    Senior journalist and columnist Fahd Husain has been appointed as Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Shehbaz Sharif.

    The Cabinet Division issued the notification following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s approval on Friday.

    Image of notification

    “The Prime Minister, in terms of rule 4(6) of Rules of Business, 1973, has been pleased to appoint Syed Fahd Husain as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister with the status of Federal Minister, with immediate effect,” read a notification of his appointment.

    Fahd Hussain will have the portfolio in Public Policy and Strategic Communication.

    Husain has previously served as the Resident Editor of Dawn newspaper in Islamabad.

    He has spent three decades in the field of journalism. Husain has been a newspaper reporter, editor, columnist, television anchor, and news director during his time as a journalist.

  • IHC suspends plot allotments to judges in Islamabad

    IHC suspends plot allotments to judges in Islamabad

    Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Athar Minallah suspended allotment of plots to the capital’s judiciary in sectors F-14 and F-15, observing that this award of land was a conflict of interest, reported Dawn.

    The court also issued a notice to the attorney general and sought an explanation from the Ministry of Housing and Works on the policy of distribution of plots among a few segments of society.

    Justice Athar Minallah was hearing a petition filed by property owners in villages Thalla Syedan and Jhangi Syedan in Islamabad district against the acquisition of their land.

    During the hearing of the matter, Justice Minallah remarked: “It has been reported that the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority had recently held a ballot for allotment of plots in F-14 and F-15. The list indicates that virtually every judicial officer of the district courts of Islamabad, who are expected to resolve and adjudicate upon the grievances and rights of the affected landowners, is a beneficiary.”

    “It, prima facie, raises serious questions regarding conflict of interest because the plots are given to the beneficiaries at substantially lower prices than the current market rates and thus each beneficiary has a financial interest,” said Justice Minallah.

    “Moreover, astonishingly the list also includes those judicial officers who have been dismissed on account of misconduct or corruption,” added Justice Minallah.

    Justice Minallah observed that the judicial officer who was convicted and sentenced by this court was also one of the beneficiaries.

    As per the record of the FGEHA, three sacked additional district and sessions judges — Pervaizul Qadir Memon, Raja Khurram Ali Khan, and Jahangir Awan — were allotted a Kanal plot each in F-14 and F-15 while two former civil judges, Adnan Jamali and Amir Khalil, were given plots measuring 14 marlas each in these sectors.

    Last week, two special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM), judges of the superior judiciary, and top bureaucrats were among those who had been allocated residential plots in Islamabad’s F-14 and F-15 sectors.

    Judges of the superior judiciary, as well as those of the subordinate judiciary, and a few journalists had been placed in Category I — plots measuring one Kanal.

    While the judges of all the provincial high courts have been allotted plots in F-14 and F-15, not a single judge from the Islamabad High Court was among the applicants.

  • PM’s aide, judges allotted plots in Islamabad

    PM’s aide, judges allotted plots in Islamabad

    Two special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM), judges of the superior judiciary, and top bureaucrats are among those who have been allocated residential plots in Islamabad’s F-14 and F-15 sectors, reported Dawn.

    Federal Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema chaired the proceedings. Over 4,500 applicants were declared successful.

    A list was posted by the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) on its website after the ballot on Tuesday.

    According to the list posted on the website, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed has been allotted a plot in Sector F-15/3.

    Dr Waqar Masood Khan, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Finance (SAPM), was given a plot in F-15/4, while Dr Shahzad Arbab, the SAPM on Establishment, got a plot in Sector F-14/2.

    Judges of the superior judiciary, as well as those of the subordinate judiciary, and a few journalists have been placed in Category I — plots measuring one Kanal.

    Eight incumbent judges of the apex court are featured in the list. Seven retired judges of the Supreme Court were declared successful. Two former director-generals of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) — a former inspector general of Islamabad, the Secretary to Cabinet Division, and a number of other federal secretaries and bureaucrats working in BS-22 and 21 have been allotted plots.

    While the judges of all the provincial high courts have been allotted plots in F-14 and F-15, not a single judge from the Islamabad High Court was among the applicants.