Tag: Shahbaz Gill

  • VIDEO: Visibly annoyed info minister stops Shahbaz Gill from speaking to media after PTI meeting

    Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz was on Wednesday caught visibly annoyed on camera when he expressed displeasure over his colleague and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s special assistant, Dr Shahbaz Gill, having an informal conversation with media persons.

    As per the details, PM Imran chaired the parliamentary party meeting of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following which Gill was seen speaking to journalists before the information minister could hold his scheduled press conference.

    In videos of the episode doing the rounds on social media, Faraz was seen asking Gill as to what he was doing.

    “I was just giving them [journalists] economy-related points,” PM’s aide tells the government spokesperson over which the latter tells him that he was headed for the scheduled post-meeting presser.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “If you want to talk to journalists, join me for the press conference,” the information minister can be heard as adding after saying that it was his job but Gill had been doing so for quite some time.

    “I won’t join you [for the presser],” Gill says after continuing to explain for a while that he was only updating journalists on facts and figures regarding the country’s debts.

    “Then don’t,” the information minister says and storms out, leaving Gill rather embarrassed in front of media persons.

    It may be noted that Faraz is the third information minister after Fawad Chaudhry and Firdous Ashiq Awan, who discharged her duties as the pemier’s special assistant on information in the absence of a minister.

    Gill, on the other hand, was called to centre after spending some time in Punjab as Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar’s spokesperson.

  • PTI’s Shahbaz Gill criticises Bakhtawar Bhutto’s engagement’s invitation

    With the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) insisting that they will go ahead with the Peshawar jalsa as planned on November 22, despite a sharp increase in cases of COVID-19, Special Assistant to PM on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill has accused opposition parties of not caring about the lives of ordinary people.

    Taking a dig at Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari’s upcoming engagement, Dr Gill shared a picture of the invitation card and said: “For Bakhtawar’s engagement, you need a mandatory COVID-19 test report or you will not be allowed to enter Bilawal House. But you call ordinary citizens to your jalsas and put them at risk.”

    “These are those people who consider the public to be less than them,” added the SAPM.

    Bakhtawar will be getting engaged to Mahmood Choudhry on November 27 at Bilawal House in Karachi. All guests attending the ceremony have been requested to get tested for COVID-19 and send the results via e-mail.

    “All attendees are requested to please email a scanned copy of their negative COVID-19 PCR test result 24 hours prior to attendance. This is a mandatory requirement for security clearance,” the invitation reads.

    The guests have also been asked not to bring mobile phones with them due to security purposes.

    “Please note — no photography or mobile phones will be permitted inside the venue and photographs will be available for all guests through our official photographer.”

    “We thank you in advance for adhering to our safety protocols to keep you and your loved ones safe, and enable us all to enjoy the occasion,” it added.

    The couple will reportedly tie the knot in January 2021 in Karachi.

    Meanwhile, it is being reported that Bakhtawar is looking to recreate her mother Benazir Bhutto’s Nikkah look for her engagement.

  • PTI spokespersons make conflicting remarks on ‘Karachi incident’

    Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill has contested a statement made by Firdous Ashiq Awan, Punjab CM’s aide on information, on the Karachi incident, wherein the police chief was pressurised by the military officials to register a case against Capt (r) Safdar.

    Last month, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Muhammad Safdar was arrested from his hotel room in Karachi for raising slogans on the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam. The Sindh government subsequently distanced itself from the arrest. Reports later emerged that Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar was pressurised by the army men to register a case against Safdar.

    Subsequently, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asked COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for an inquiry into the incident. The probe resulted in the removal of the Inter-Services Intelligence and army officials.

    Referring to the inquiry, Firdous said the army chief ordered an inquiry into the incident on the directives of the prime minister so that a “crisis” could be contained. She added the investigations into the “Karachi incident” and final outcome proved that Pakistan Army was a disciplined force.

    However, soon after the statement, Gill posted a statement on his Twitter account, saying the PM didn’t call the army chief in this regard. According to Gill, “Dr Awan’s statement is either her personal analysis or her statement has been run out of context. In order to set the record straight, Dr Awan’s statement is not correct.”

    It may be noted here that the PM Imran Khan had termed the abduction of the Sindh IG an incident “that made him laugh”.

  • Dr Shahbaz Gill hits out at Frieha Altaf, Sarwat Gilani, calls them ‘pathetic elite’

    Dr Shahbaz Gill hits out at Frieha Altaf, Sarwat Gilani, calls them ‘pathetic elite’

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill has hit out at Frieha Altaf and Sarwat Gilani, referring to them as ‘badbakht elite’ after a video of theirs on their way to the celebrity protest went viral on social media.

    In the video, Sarwat and Frieha are telling their followers that they are on their way to the protest to demand justice for the motorway gang-rape victim and show a poster which reads ‘Rapped’ instead of ‘Raped’.

    Besides Dr Gill, several other social media users have called out the actors for being insensitive.

    Some social media users also directly called out Altaf and reminded users of problematic things she has done in the past.

    While Frieha and Sarwat are yet to respond to Dr Gill’s comments, Sarwat earlier clarified that a second protest was held because “a lot of celebrities were busy with work on the first protest’s date, [so] we decided to get out a day when most of us were available.” According to details, the protest was organised by Yasir Hussain, Frieha Altaf and Asim Jofa.

    Sarwat has now made her Twitter account private and only those who follow her can view her tweets.

    Meanwhile, fashion designer Maheen Khan, who was also part of the protest, also responded to some users who questioned why the celebrities felt the need to organise a separate protest. She also addressed the allegations that they hijacked the transgender’s protest.

    Other celebrities present at the protest include Mahira Khan, Sarah Khan, Ayesha Omar, Adnan Siddiqui, Ali Rehman Khan, Aijaz Aslam, Bushra Ansari, Anoushey Abbasi and Gul-e-Rana.

  • KYA BOLA? (Aug 12): ‘Javed Miandad Ka Imran Khan Ko Challenge’, ‘Maryam Nawaz Pr Laser Gun Se Hamla’, ‘Judges Aur Sharifo K Ghar Ki Ghulami’

    KYA BOLA? (Aug 12): ‘Javed Miandad Ka Imran Khan Ko Challenge’, ‘Maryam Nawaz Pr Laser Gun Se Hamla’, ‘Judges Aur Sharifo K Ghar Ki Ghulami’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on August 12, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Javed Miandad Ka Imran Khan Ko Challenge’

    It has been reported by Daily Jang that former captain of Pakistan cricket team, Javed Miandad, has launched an attack against Imran Khan through his YouTube channel, saying,“Mein aapka kaptaan tha aap meray kaptaan nahi thay. Imran Khan ko cricket mein chalaany wala mein tha… Aisa lag raha hai k Imran Khan khudaa banay bethay hain. Aap k ilawa koi Pakistani Oxford aur Cambridge gya he nahi… aap meray ghar aa kr wazire azam ban kar gaye thay iss ki tardeed kr k dikhayein”

    ‘Maryam Nawaz Pr Laser Gun Se Hamla’

    It has been reported by Daily Jang that former law minister and PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah has said, “Maryam Nawaz ki gaari ko pathar nahi laga. Aisa pathar nahi dekha jo bulletproof gaari ka sheesha torr de… Mujhe lagta hai ird grid ki emarato se laser gun sey fire kia gya.”

    ‘Judges Aur Sharifo K Ghar Ki Ghulami’

    It has been reported by Daily Express that Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill has said,“Corruption aur chori ka jawab denay ki bajaye badmashon k sath NAB pr hamla kia gya… Shehbaz Sharif ko justice Abdul Qayyum jaisay judge chaheye jo inn k ghar ki ghulami kr sakein.”

  • KYA BOLA? (Aug 5): ‘Hukoomat k sath ab kabhi nahi baithoonga’ to Fayazul Hasan Chohan’s cameo in Independence Day song

    KYA BOLA? (Aug 5): ‘Hukoomat k sath ab kabhi nahi baithoonga’ to Fayazul Hasan Chohan’s cameo in Independence Day song

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on August 5, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Hukoomat K Sath Ab Kabhi Nahi Baithoonga’

    It has been reported by Daily Jang that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former prime minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has distanced himself and his party from any proposals to amend National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws, saying, “Hukoomat k sath ab kabhi nahi baithoonga. Hukoomat jhoot bolnay pr awaam se maafi maangay. Jahaan wazire azam aur wuzra assembly k floor pr jhoot boltay hon, unn se kya baat karein?”

    ‘PPP Ki 12 Saala Karkardagi‘

    Daily Jang has quoted Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill as saying, “People’s Party walay ehal hotay to NDMA ko Karachi naa bhejna parrta… jin ki 12 saala karkardagi ka pol chand millimeter baarish ne khol dia, unn se bughz kaisa?

    Fayazul Hasan Chohan’s Cameo

    According to Daily Jang, Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan will be making a cameo appearance in the Independence Day song to be released later this month ahead of August 14 celebrations.

    Chohan, a popular member of the Punjab government, is rather infamous for his “reckless” statements, one of which was against members of the Hindu community and had cost him his job.

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 27): From PTI wanting PML-N’s ‘heaven’ tickets to corruption bhi sharma jati hai.

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 27, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    Half of the PTI Members of the National Assembly want PML-N tickets for the next election

    It is reported by Daily Jang that PML-N’s Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal has claimed that ” Half of the MNAs from Pakistan Tehreek Insaf are in touch with PMLN for ticket in next election. Har rukan-e- qomi assembly ko nazar a rha hai hay agly election mei PTI ki ticket jannat ki nhi jahanum ki hoge.”

    Shibli Faraz ko do saal mai Murad Saeed buna dia

    It is reported by Daily Jang that the  Deputy Secretary of Information for the Pakistan Peoples Party Palwasha Khan has said that, ” Wazir-e-Italaat Shibli Faraz par shaair Ahmed Faraz ki tarbeyat ka asar to nahi hua lekin  Imran Khan nay unhain 2 saal k andar Murad Saeed zaroor buna dia hai”

    Information Minister Shibli Faraz is the son of renowned Pakistani poet Ahmed Faraz.

    RELATED: VIDEO: Fawad Ch removes successor Firdous Ashiq Awan from Imran cabinet’s WhatsApp group

    Corruption bhi sharma jaati hai

    The Daily Express has printed that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill said ” Qayamat ki nishani hai kay Farzand-e-Zardari bhi corruption par qaum ko gumrah karnay ki koshish kar raha hai.  Inke walid ka tou kia kehna, unkay nam kay agay to corruption bhi sharma jati hai” 

    RELATED: PTI’s Shahbaz Gill offered Rs. 50 lakhs to become Maryam Nawaz’s advisor?

  • Two tweets, different stories as another rift emerges among PTI ranks

    Two tweets, different stories as another rift emerges among PTI ranks

    The cabinet reshuffle and the results of the inquiry reports into the sugar and wheat shortage public has sparked frenzy in Islamabad which has highlighted rifts in ruling party.

    At 5:15pm, PTI’s Dr Shahbaz Gill tweeted:

    “Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen has been removed as Chair of Task Force on Agriculture in light of findings of Sugar and Wheat Inquiry Report. Any further action may be taken after the final findings of the Inquiry Committee.”

    Five minutes later at 5:20 pm, Tareen contradicted Dr Gill’s tweet:

    On Saturday, Dr Gill had lauded PM Khan for fulfilling another promise by making the inquiry reports on sugar and wheat public.

    Meanwhile, the PM’s Spokesperson Nadeem Afzal Chan on Monday said that the report was ‘leaked’. He said this on Hamid Mir’s talkshow Capital Talk.

    Video below:

    On the other hand, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted that Khusro Bakhtiar has not resigned while Mr Bakhtiar’s resignation from National Food Security and Research ministry is available on social media and with journalists.

    Mr Bakhtiar has now been given the charge for the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He has replaced Hammad Azhar, who has been made the Federal Minister for Industries.

  • PTI’s Shahbaz Gill offered Rs. 50 lakhs to become Maryam Nawaz’s advisor?

    PTI’s Shahbaz Gill offered Rs. 50 lakhs to become Maryam Nawaz’s advisor?

    PTI’s Shahbaz Gill, who was the former advisor to CM Usman Buzdar, is no stranger to controversy. In a recent program on GEO News, analyst Hafeezullah Niazi has claimed that Gill told PM Khan that Niazi had approached him on PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz’s behalf, saying that she would offer 50 lakhs if Gill would become her advisor.

    Niazi denies knowing Shahbaz Gill, saying he had only bumped into him once at a restaurant, and since they had both seen each other on programs, they exchanged salaams.

    We have reached out to Gill for a comment but he has yet to respond to the allegations.

    In March 2019 Gill had said that Twitter had partially suspended his twitter account after Maryam Nawaz had complained about him to the social networking site. He said that because he was updating the country on Nawaz Sharif’s health, Maryam had filed a complaint.

  • Buzdar’s mouthpiece resigns from office

    Buzdar’s mouthpiece resigns from office

    Amid reports claiming that Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar will soon be sacked by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, his spokesperson, Dr Shahbaz Gill, has resigned from office.

    “I hereby resign from the post of official spokesperson to Punjab CM,” Gill stated in a handwritten note submitted to the office of the provincial chief executive.

    Initially, Gill did not cite any reason behind his abrupt decision, however, reports quoted the former spokesperson as saying that “it was difficult for him to defend the poor performance of the Punjab government”.

    In a tweet posted earlier in the day, Gill had said that he would be sharing an “important decision” very soon.

    Rumour has it that Gill will be replacing Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the special assistant to the PM on information and broadcasting.

    Meanwhile, PM Imran’s close aide Awn Chaudhry has reportedly been removed as the advisor to Punjab CM as well. He has been replaced by Asif Mehmood.