Tag: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

  • Samaa News claims CJP Nisar’s leaked audio ‘pieced together’, US forensic firm asks permission to share details

    Samaa News claims CJP Nisar’s leaked audio ‘pieced together’, US forensic firm asks permission to share details

    Samaa TV, a private news channel ran a news story and claimed that the former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar’s clip appears to be pieced together from two separate speeches of former CJP.

    Claims of Samaa TV:

    The two speeches were made by former CJP Nisar on January 22, 2018, and February 22, 2018. The former speech was made in an address to a judicial conference, while the latter was made while addressing a ceremony of Islamabad High Court Bar, reports Samaa.

    “Some phrases in the audio clip are exact matches with parts of speeches the former CJP did on the two occasions,” claims Samaa.

    Fawad Chaudhry: “Unfortunately a specific group is always used in such situations. They are the ones who bring such kinds of leaks and affidavits to the limelight.”

    Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ said that the government never claimed that Nisar’s audio was “pieced together” but Samaa TV ran a “splendid investigative report and it is through their findings that we have found out that the alleged audio has been put together through different chunks of [Nisar’s] speech.”

    Fawad further added that the news channel contacted Garret Disco­very, the firm which checked the alleged audiotape of the CJP Nisar. “The company did not comment on the development and has refused to own it,” said Fawad.

    Anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada questioned the minister that the report put together by Samaa TV missed out on a few important points.

    Khanzada read out the missing points to Fawad and questioned him, “Does the report presented by Samaa TV also include the part where [Saqib Nisar could be allegedly heard saying] Mian Sahib [Nawaz Sharif] needs to be punished? Was it said that Khan Sahib [Imran Khan] has to be brought [into power]? It has to be done. Regardless of the merit, we will have to do it (sentence Nawaz Sharif), and even to his daughter. Did Samaa TV cater to these statements as well?”

    Fawad ignored the question and asked Khanzada to play the video prepared by Samaa on his programme and he will understand better.”

    “I have seen the video, were these three sentences in the video?” questioned Khanzada.

    Fawad again replied, “Play the video and you will understand better.”

    The minister went on to say that an environment is created every time a case of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz comes to the surface.

    “Unfortunately a specific group is always used in such situations. They are the ones who bring such kinds of leaks and affidavits to the limelight,” said Fawad.

    Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: “It is not the work of news channels but that of the judges to reach a conclusion and find facts in this matter.”

    PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the party was not behind the audio and demanded an impartial inquiry into it.

    “It is not the work of news channels but that of the judges to reach a conclusion and find facts in this matter,” said Abbasi.

    “We are ready to face the consequences if the probe finds out that it is a conspiracy,” he said.

    “Whoever breaks the law [should be punished] even if it’s the chief justice of the country. The government should not be concerned with this,” said Khaqan.

    Garret Discovery: “We did perform work for FactFocus. We have no problem releasing details as long as our client signs an agreement allowing us to do so.”

    In a chat with a Garret Discovery representative, Dawn told the US firm that they are mentioned in a story about a former Pakistani chief justice and asked what their findings were.

    “We did perform work for FactFocus. As part of our standard agreement, we have a confidentiality clause that prohibits us from speaking about the scope of work or work we performed,” the representative responded.

    “We have no problem releasing details as long as our client signs an agreement allowing us to do so. Please contact FactFocus with any inquiries as to the work we performed and discuss with them any release of information. We will not comment anymore on this issue until that time.”

    ‘His daughter [Maryam Nawaz] doesn’t merit a sentence, still, we will have to do it’: Alleged audio tape of CJP Nisar

    November 21, leaked audio of conversation allegedly claims that Saqib Nisar was the person who passed on the directions of handing down conviction to Mian Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz only because the “institutions” wanted the former prime minister penalised in order to bring ahead Imran Khan, reported Ahmed Noorani for FactFocus.

  • ‘If Nawaz Sharif can go to jail, so can Saqib Nisar’: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    ‘If Nawaz Sharif can go to jail, so can Saqib Nisar’: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    “If Nawaz Sharif can go to jail, so can Saqib Nisar,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at a press conference in Islamabad.

    Abbasi was addressing the media along with Khawaja Asif after the claims of former Chief Judge (CJ) of the apex court of Gilgit Baltistan Rana M Shamim came to light. Justice Shamim, in a signed affidavit, wrote that he is a witness to the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar’s direction to a high court judge not to release Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on bail at any cost before the 2018 general elections.

    “I pray that Nisar is not involved in this act. Getting involved in the country’s affairs is unconstitutional […] Nisar had visited hospitals and tried to build dams, thus we have to believe Rana Shamim’s statement,” said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    “Three people, including Rana Shamin and Saqib Nisar, are aware of the facts, but the people of Pakistan should also know the truth. If someone meddles with elections, so don’t we hold the right to question them?” he said.

    Khawaja Asif said that the PML-N would raise Shamim’s allegations in parliament, as he had recorded his statement “without any pressure”.

    Meanwhile, Saqib Nisar said he didn’t want to respond to the “white lies” of the ex-GB chief justice.

    “I have never spoken to anybody or any high court judge in connection to any matter related to Mian sahab,” he said.

    Nisar said that Shamim had asked him for an extension but he didn’t accept his request, adding that the ex-GB CJ had also complained to him about the same.

  • ‘People gathered in the public meeting will thrash the Oppostion’: Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in a public meeting on Friday warned the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) if it staged a long march to Islamabad to topple the government, “the people gathered in the public meeting will thrash you,” reports Dawn.

    His comments come after the Opposition is considering bringing a no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani or National Assembly(NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser as a tester to confirm the present strength of treasury in parliament.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khurram Dastagir said on a Dawn News TV show that the motion would be moved soon. They said if the motion became successful, then a similar motion could be moved against the prime minister.

    Dastagir said: “The motion can be moved within two months against the Senate chairman or the NA Speaker.”

    Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said at a press conference that “the coalition parties have also expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan”.

    The minister said these words after the premier held a third meeting on Friday with the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a week amid “shattered” confidence of allies in the government’s working and the Opposition’s threat to topple the government.

  • Govt vs PML-N: Clash over UK’s unfreezing of Shehbaz’s accounts

    Govt vs PML-N: Clash over UK’s unfreezing of Shehbaz’s accounts

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders have said that the government’s claims that it was not involved or pursuing the money laundering cases against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif have been exposed. 

    Addressing a press conference, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “The government had embarrassed itself in front of the world with the National Crime Agency (NCA) probe.”

    “The standard set by this government, when it comes to lying, is totally unique. The prime minister of this country, in his own office, creates an Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) that has no legal basis. And what has that ARU done?” Abbasi questioned. 

    “Time and again, the NCA told the court that it has the complete support and cooperation of the Pakistani government and its agencies,” added Abbasi.

    PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said the government is failing the masses as it is busy registering fake cases against the Opposition. “However, your failure is becoming a matter of life and death for the public,” he said.

    PML-N leader Atta Tarar on Tuesday shared on Twitter the letter written by the office of the prime minister’s adviser on accountability to the NCA in the UK.

    “For [three] years [you] have levelled false allegations; ARU’s letter to NCA written on December 11, 2019, by your office is attached,” Tarar wrote, addressing Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar, whose office had sent the letter to NCA.

    However, in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior and Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar pointed out that there was no asset freezing order (AFO) against Shehbaz in the UK.

     He also shared the document on Twitter and said: “Cheap tricks won’t work. Shehbaz still need[s] to answer in courts in Pakistan.”

  • Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    Politicians, civil society unite with journalists, support protest against media authority bill

    As journalists continue with sit-in outside of the Parliament House, against the government’s proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), prominent leaders from political parties, student unions, and members of the civil society also joined in to show solidarity.

    The protest began on Sunday and is said to continue until President Dr Arif Alvi’s address to the joint session of parliament on Monday.

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Sec­retary Marriyum Aurangzeb, and MNA Mohsin Dawar, among others, visited the protest site on Sunday night to extend their support.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, Shehbaz Sharif speaking on the media authority bill termed it as “black law” and expressed solidarity with journalists. He said the media had fought a war for its freedom and no one could snatch it. 

    https://twitter.com/pmln_org/status/1437373043542736902

    “The government doesn’t have the guts to pass it and we won’t allow it,” added Shehbaz warning the government against passing the “black law” or bear the consequences.

    He tweeted in solidarity with the protestors and said, “PTI government is demolishing every institution that represents democracy. We support journalists in their struggle against PMDA.”

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Monday slammed the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMDA), saying that the proposed bill is an “attack on the freedom of media and judiciary.”

    The PPP chairman vowed his party will not let the government get away with snatching livelihoods from the masses. He showed solidarity with journalists who have been attacked, saying that the PPP “will not be satisfied till they [journalists] are not satisfied.”

    “Even if they manage to have this black law passed, journalists will [struggle to] have it abolished,” he added.

    Bilawal warned the government that if it tried to have the PMDA law passed via force, the PPP will challenge it in the courts. The PPP chairman said he feared the government will try to pass the bill during a joint sitting of the Parliament.

    Bilawal said his party will attend the joint sitting of the Parliament with a two-point agenda; to advocate for the rights of 20,000 government employees who were sacked and to campaign for freedom of speech.

    PPP leaders, Senator Sherry Rehman and Raza Rabbani, visited the protest camp and addressed the protesters.

    “We have repealed all the ordinance regarding media censorship, whether it was Ayub Khan or Zia-Ul-Haq. This is why the government won’t bring this on the Parliament floor because we will repeal the PMDA bill and they are scared”

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, along with PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, also visited the protest site on Monday.

    Addressing the protesters, Iqbal criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for “attacking and attempting to muzzle” the media.

    Referring to the PMDA bill, he called it a “conspiracy” and said if the bill was passed, “democracy will die in this country”.

  • ‘Shehbaz makes a decision, his party says it’s personal’, Bilawal slams PMLN

    ‘Shehbaz makes a decision, his party says it’s personal’, Bilawal slams PMLN

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing his party workers in Multan said that “ [Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz President] Shehbaz Sharif is the party president, his decision should be final.”

    According to the chairman, whenever Sharif makes a statement, party members say that it is his own “personal decision”, reports Geo.

    Furthermore, he argued that “If Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had stayed, it could hold a long march, and before reaching Lahore, they could have made [Chief Minister of Punjab] Usman Buzdar resign, and [Prime Minister] Imran Khan would have resigned before the march reached Islamabad. Shehbaz was aware of all the formulas.”

    Bilawal, adding that his party had sincerely wanted to oust the government through PDM said that “The PDM leadership started talking about our resignations instead of the Punjab chief minister and the prime minister’s resignations.”

    Earlier this month Sharif suggested the formation of a national government. He said, “It needs collective wisdom and requires collective efforts to fix [the problems of Pakistan]. That’s why I think we should have a national government in place to sort out these huge tasks. Even if we [PML-N] win a majority, we can’t fix it alone.”

    Upon this Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made his comment while talking to The News by saying that, “There is no option for ‘national govt’ in Constitution.

    “Our party has already made it clear that Shehbaz did not talk about it [national government] and he was misquoted by some circles”, he added.

    Moreover during the rally Bilawal taunted the government by saying that the Centre was proposing to roll out electronic voting machines when there is persistent load shedding in the country.

    In early June both PPP and Awami National Party (ANP) left PDM by saying that the leaders of the fragmented anti-government alliance appear to be “confused and divided”.

  • ‘No Pakistani was declared anti-state in the DMW analytical report,’ clarifies Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has clarified that no Pakistani was declared anti-state in the Digital Media Wing’s (DMW) analytical report.

    Fawad on Friday said that unfortunately, the political parties did not have political research wings, who could help their leadership to understand an issue in depth. Chaudhry advised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership to hire the services of an expert to learn about the contents of the DMW report.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1426198737152524294

    Fawad maintained the fact that “the analysis of Rana Sanaullah, Khurram Dastagir and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi reflected that they were computer-illiterate individuals who were not well aware of the latest technology and lack of enough knowledge in this regard.”

    The minister further added, “India did use bot technology to promote anti-Pakistan tweets.” Fawad said the report did not comment on the people living in Pakistan, clarifying, “If someone will be taking part in #SanctionPakistan trending right now on social media and opposing it – then it does not mean that they indulged in an anti-state activity.”

    Commenting on the media wing of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Fawad said that PTM had participated in spreading and posting anti-state trends on social media. The data on PTM’s role in supporting the anti-state narrative was included in the DMW report, which could be analysed by people themselves.

    https://twitter.com/FawadPTIUpdates/status/1426199486536331270

    Fawad further added that the ones unfamiliar with technology could also contact the ministry’s Digital Media Wing that has been set up to guide individuals.

    Earlier, the PML-N slammed the report saying it had equated Pakistan’s Opposition, politicians, and journalists with India and Israel without any proof.

  • Maryam Nawaz believes the govt has recognised Israel, as PTI fails to deny reports

    Maryam Nawaz believes the govt has recognised Israel, as PTI fails to deny reports

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday said she believed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has recognised Israel as “it is not presenting a denial” to reports and statements emphasising Pakistan’s reported acceptance of Israel.

    Maryam stressed the government should inform the nation of its decision on Israel. “It’s not your personal decision, it’s something that is linked to 220 million people of Pakistan.”

    Commenting on the Afghanistan situation, the PML-N leader asked the government to bring its own house in order first.

    “Your foreign policy should not alter in view of a changing political landscape. It should not be based on your political standing,” said Maryam, calling for a unified stance on issues.

    Responding to a question on whether the PML-N had entered a deal with the government, Maryam said, “Why do you people call everything a deal. This is an inappropriate question. Why will there be any deal? Are we mad to have a deal with those we are [fighting] against?” she questioned.

    Maryam further added, “PML-N is in the strongest position in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and if free and fair polls are held, then our party will win the election with an overwhelming majority.” She added that people had lost trust in the present system in view of “obvious rigging in the past elections”.

    The PML-N vice-president said the current approach of the government would take Balochistan further away. “I believe grievances of people of the province should be addressed,” she remarked.

    When asked for her point of view on Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s statement that Shehbaz Sharif should generally refrain from making emotional remarks in public and that his [Shehbaz Sharif’s] statement was taken out of context, Maryam replied that she agrees with Khaqan that Shehbaz’s statement was taken out of context.

  • The establishment does not have a choice, says Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    Talking to Samaa News reporter, Naeem Ashraf Butt, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the establishment does not have a choice. The problem is that there is a deal but no one is ready to take it, added Khaqan.

    When asked if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wanted to be a choice, Khaqan said: “No, we do not want to be a choice. We will not come into power through any deal.”

    When asked about Shehbaz Sharif’s interview with Kamran Khan and his stance that if he has to hold Nawaz Sharif’s feet for national interest, he would do so, Khaqan said: “We generally refrain from making such remarks in public.” Everyone has a way of expressing themselves, added Khaqan.

    “Shehbaz Sharif respects his brother like a father; what happens between the two brothers should be left to them,” said Khaqan.

  • National security briefing

    National security briefing

    Speaker National Assembly (NA) Asad Qaiser summoned a session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on July1. Army chief and heads of security institutions participated in the meeting. Politicians and legislators were given an in-depth briefing on Kashmir, Afghanistan, and internal security challenges.

    Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Mohsin Dawar, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and many others were part of the in-camera briefing.

    However, Prime Minister Imran Khan did not attend the meeting. Government spokespersons said that PM Khan was going to attend the meeting but Speaker Asad Qaiser conveyed to him that Shehbaz Sharif would not attend the briefing if Khan attended it. However, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders have denied this. But NA Secretariat spokesperson also clarified that PM Imran Khan was always willing to attend the meeting but the only reason for not attending the meeting was reservations conveyed to the Assembly secretariat by some Opposition leaders.

    First of all, why did the Opposition ask the PM not to attend the meeting? Some say that the message by Shehbaz Sharif was miscommunicated. Well, the PML-N should clarify what message was conveyed, if any, and why.

    Sharif wanted to sign a Charter of Economy in order to improve Pakistan’s economy so why would he not allow PM Khan to attend such a meeting. Prime Minister Imran Khan does not need Mr Sharif’s permission or anyone else’s to attend an important parliamentary meeting.

    Secondly, even if Shehbaz Sharif had sent this message, why did the prime minister give in? This meeting was extremely important in light of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its consequences for Pakistan. All political leadership should have been there, including the PM, so as to come to a national consensus on these security issues. When has the prime minister ever listened to the Opposition before that he chose to finally pay heed to them now?

    Thirdly, Speaker NA Asad Qaiser was the convenor of the meeting. Why did he discourage the prime minister from attending such an important and sensitive meeting.

    Our leadership should not let their political differences come in the way when it comes to national security issues. Such differences should be limited to electoral politics, not on issues that have an impact on the future of the country. We hope that the next time there is such a meeting, or when issues related to the country’s future are discussed, all leaders would sit on the same table and build a national consensus.