Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will meet Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif today to discuss his party’s reservations about the federal budget for 2024-2025.
The National Assembly (NA) is holding a budget session today after Eid break.
The Bilawal-led party has criticized Shehbaz’s government for taking all decisions about the presented federal budget alone.
PPP had decided upon boycotting the budget session last week, but Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar held talks with PPP’s top leadership to convince them to support it.
The delegation of PPP- headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari- will convey their reservations on the budget in today’s meeting to Shehbaz Sharif at PM’s house in the federal capital, as per The News.
“The government reached out for the meeting, and Bilawal will place genuine PPP concerns before PM Shehbaz,” PPP’s Secretary Information Shazia Marri confirmed.
Political parties have submitted their priority list to the Election Commission of Pakistan for reserved seats for women.
According to details, major political parties Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) and others issued the priority list of the women candidates.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leads with Hina Rabbani Khar topping the list for National Assembly seats from Punjab, followed by Samina Khalid Ghurki, Natasha Doultana, Neelam Jabbar, Shagufta Chaudhary, and Syeda Samina Raza.
Shazia Marri was placed on the first number in the list for the National Assembly’s (NA) reserved seats for women.
Other candidates include Dr Nafisa Shah, Shagufta Jumani, Shehla Raza, Mehtab Akbar Rashidi, Musarrat Rafiq, Shazia Soomro, Naz Baloch, Seher Kamran, Sharmila Farooqi, Shazia Abid, Rehana Baloch, Neelum Jabbar, Nargis Faiz, Nayab Gohar and Shazia Nizamani.
The PML-N has nominated candidates such as Tahira Aurangzeb, Shaista Parvez, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Nuzhat Sadiq, Musarrat Asif Khawaja, Seema Jilani, Shiza Khawaja, Romina Khurshid Alam, Wajiha Qamar, and Zeb Jafar.
The PML-N issued the priority list of 58 women candidates from Punjab.
The candidates include Kiran Dar, Anusha Rehman, Tahira Wudood, Afia Naz, Saba Sadiq, Farah Naz, Shehnaz Salim, Muneeba Iqbal, Iffat Naeem, Zakia Khan, Ishrat Ashraf, Tehmina Daultana, Uzma Bukhari, Hina Parvez Butt, Saima Saadia, Rahila Khadim, Uzma Kardar and Tamkeen Akhtar.
The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) presented Munazza Hasan, Firdous Ashiq Awan, and Asia Azeem in the list. Meanwhile, the PTI’s priority list was withheld by the ECP as the party’s election symbol was revoked after intra-party elections were declared null and void.
Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) suggested 23 women candidates for the Punjab Assembly in its priority list. IPP issued the list of 14 women candidates and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) recommended 21 women candidates.
In an exclusive interview with The News, former federal minister and central leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Shazia Marri, shared her perspective on various topics, from her political journey to cultural aspirations.
Marri expressed her appreciation for the compliments she receives about resembling Indian actress Anushka Sharma.
She stated that she feels good when people say, “I resemble Indian actress Anushka Sharma”.
Addressing the cultural landscape, Marri expressed her vision for revitalizing the film industry if given the opportunity to lead the culture ministry in the future.
“If I get the culture ministry next time, I will restore the film industry and make it a vibrant one.” Film is a medium, and India has used it well. “We also have to make purposeful films. Our artists have a lot of talent,” she added.
Reflecting on her career, Marri revealed her beginnings as a schoolteacher and her passion for teaching children.
She acknowledged being married at a young age and conveyed her commitment to addressing social issues, particularly her stance against domestic violence and child marriages.
Responding to questions about Karachi’s street crimes, Marri acknowledged the challenges in a metropolitan city and emphasized the need for comprehensive solutions.
In discussing the hurdles faced in politics, Marri compared it to a “garland of thorns,” acknowledging the obstacles and opposition she encountered.
“If I start crying about the abuses and injustices done to me, I may not be able to move forward,” she added. “Many attempts were made to break me as a woman. I also faced harassment. I have seen very stiff opposition,” Shazia Marri recalled.
Marri recalled her entry into politics, inspired by the encouragement of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. She made history by contesting and winning a general seat from Sanghar, eventually serving as both a provincial and federal minister. Coming from a family with a political legacy, she initially resisted entering politics but eventually embraced her role.
The former federal minister also discussed her participation in hosting a television show while being a member of the provincial assembly. Despite initially not anticipating becoming a federal minister, Marri consistently upheld the PPP’s ideology.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Shazia Marri on Thursday criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the National Assembly (NA), by calling the former prime minister a “narcissist”.
Calling Khan a “Manchurian candidate”, Marri referred to Imran Khan’s previous statement and said that he was of the view that it was better to throw an atom bomb on Pakistan than let the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rule the country.
“He is the one who says ghabrana nahi hai [don’t worry] and turns up in courts covering his head with a protection box,” the head of Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) said. Marri further questioned whether anyone has ever seen any leader going to court wearing a protective box on their head. “He loves his face. He is obsessive about himself,” said Marri.
“If you want to understand the living example of narcissism, it is Imran Ahmed Niazi,” she stated. “He loves himself… he loves everything about himself. He doesn’t love his children. He doesn’t love his family, and anybody for me who doesn’t love his family, children does not love anyone,” said the federal minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety.
سابق چیف جسٹس قوم کو ڈیم فنڈ کے نام پر ڈیم فول بنا گئے، اور آج تک کوئی ان کا احتساب کرنے کو تیار نہیں؟ وفاقی وزیر شازیہ مری@ShaziaAttaMarri 3/4 pic.twitter.com/K1wqAjmOxt
— Pakistan Peoples Party – PPP (@PPP_Org) April 6, 2023
“He lies to everyone. He is misleading everyone. He keeps asking the youth to turn up and show up, first he should bring back his children. Why are you including our children in your fight. You should set an example,” said Marri.
Reading our Khan’s statement in the NA, where the PTI chairman had said that if the government tires to sabotage the elections and you [PTI supporters] don’t come out in the streets, then even God will not forgive you, the federal minister said, “We don’t need morality lessons from him [Khan].”
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet members took oath on Tuesday. In the new setup, the cabinet has 31 federal ministers, three ministers of state and three advisers in the first phase, as has been said by the coalition government.
As usual, the federal cabinet includes less ratio of females. The list includes:
Marriyum Aurangzeb – Minister for Information
Shazia Atta Marri- Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme
Hina Rabbani Khar- Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha- Adviser to PM on Finance
Sherry Rehman- Minister of state for Climate change
Following the oath-taking, social media users criticise the induction of only five females in the new federal cabinet.
It’s truly a shame that among 30 federal ministers we only have three women ministers. pic.twitter.com/nrtxscgGSI
3 women out of 30 federal ministers and 2 ministers of state sworn in today. Women get 33% reserved seats in Parliament but not well represented in the cabinet. #PakistaniCabinethttps://t.co/vPGYo8dCht
Glad to see strong women in Federal cabinet. However, you are right 3 out of 30 isn’t enough. Should be 50%. Parliament only has 20% women representation. Should be increased to 50%. Concerning that numbers elected on General seats have gone down from 16 in 2008 to 8 in 2018.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman tweeted that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan again wants to give amnesty to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). She questioned whether PM Khan had asked parliament “what we think about that”. She also questioned whether the premier had heard the TTP response to the government’s offer of reconciliation.
Again the PM wants to give amnesty to the TTP. Has he asked parliament what we think about that ? And has he heard the TTP response ? https://t.co/cGohBLTvkw
PPP’s Nayyar Bokhari pointed out that the parliament had been “bypassed” and called on the government to clarify the terms on which these talks were being held.
In a separate statement, PPP information secretary Shazia Marri said: “On what basis and under what conditions are talks being held with the TTP? Why was the parliament not taken into confidence? Why did the government feel the need to hold secret talks with the TTP in this way?”
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has alleged that “puppet rulers” are afraid of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s upcoming visit to the United States (US) and as a result, were spreading unnecessary rumours.
The party’s statement comes in response to remarks from the prime minister’s adviser, Dr Shahbaz Gill, who had said that PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be taking his curriculum vitae (CV) along with him to Washington.
“He [Bilawal Bhutto] will say we are ready to do anything to come into power,” said Gill at a press conference in Karachi.
PPP’s Shazia Marri said on Sunday that Fawad Chaudhry, Shahbaz Gill, and Farrukh Habib are also worried that their leader Imran Khan cannot go to the US without diplomatic immunity because of pending cases in US courts.
Marri said Bhutto has hope in the strength of the people of Pakistan and it has been proved how General Elections 2018 were stolen from the PPP by creating hurdles in the party’s path. She said fake accountability had been the main instrument used by dictators and their puppets to target opponents in the past.
“They have been playing the drama of accountability to hide their incompetence,” she said.
The Faiz International Festival is in its 5th year and like previous years, celebrities are flocking to the event. The three-day festival will take place at Alhamra in Lahore.
Mahira Khan at the Faiz International Festival in 2016
The event will kick off on Friday with a performance by Ali Sethi and a play dedicated to Asma Jehangir by Ajoka Theatre. There will also be an exhibition of History and Contemporary Sikh Art as part of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary celebrations.
Celebrities like Mahira Khan, Ahsan Khan, Eman Suleman and Nimra Bucha will be part of sessions as will be journalists Hamid Mir, Nasim Zehra and Wusutullah Khan. Politicians like PTI’s Asad Umar and Yasmin Rashid and PPP’s Shazia Marri and Raza Rabbani will also be attending.
The sessions The Current is looking forward to are:
Stardom with Responsibility with Mahira Khan, Sarmat Khoosat and Mira Hashmi on Sunday at 3PM
Siyasi Pabandion Kay Door Mai Azad Sahafat with Hamid Mir, Nasim Zehra, Wusutullah Khan and Wajahat Masood on Saturday at 3 PM
Using Media to address Social Issues with Ahsan Khan, Roshanah Zafar and Seemi Raheel on Saturday at 1 PM
Pakistan: The Way Forward with Dr Yasmin Rashid, Raza Rabbani, Nafisa Shah, Dr. Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Afrasiab Khattak and Dr Malik Baloch on Sunday at 2 PM
The sessions are all free except for Zia Mohyeddin, Ali Sethi, Adeel Hashmi and Farah Yasmeen’s performances.
