Tag: Shehbaz Sharif

  • Aide to PM arrested over Shehbaz’s audio leaks: report

    Aide to PM arrested over Shehbaz’s audio leaks: report

    A former aide to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif was arrested over his connection with the premier’s audio leaks, released in September and October, a media report has said.

    On their YouTube show Talk Shock, veteran journalists Azaz Syed and Umar Cheema have revealed that ADC to PM Shehbaz, identified as Major Arsalan, had recorded and leaked the audio clips. Afterward, he was taken into detention by Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General Nadeem Anjum on the directives of former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    According to Azaz, Major Arsalan had earlier served as an ADC to former Corps Commander Bahawalpur Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, and was allegedly transferring the Premier’s recorded conversations to Bahawalpur.

    The major himself confessed to committing the crime, Azaz Syed said on the programme. He said that whenever there was an important meeting, Major Arsalan used to have a secret phone specifically for recording the conversation or calls.

    Shehbaz Sharif had been told about the development.

    It is pertinent to mention that since the ouster of former PM Imran Khan, several audio leaks came out to the public adding more drama to the country’s politics.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Interior, Rana Sanaullah claimed that the matter of the premier’s audio leaks is not related to an agency, but a few people, who had been identified. He added that these people belong to the staff of the PM House.

    In one of the audio leaks, PM Shehbaz and an unidentified person talked about a power plant to be imported from India for PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s son-in-law. In the other audio leak, the unknown person is allegedly telling the premier that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is asking for their “shares” for the Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) as well.

  • PM Shehbaz directs to reduce electricity use in government offices by 30%

    PM Shehbaz directs to reduce electricity use in government offices by 30%

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee that will work on reducing electricity consumption in government offices by 30 per cent.

    The Prime Minister gave the directives while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet where a “Proposed Energy Saving Plan” presented by the Power Division was also under discussion. The meeting was briefed on consultations held with stakeholders about energy saving.

    Shehbaz Sharif said that the consultation process with all the stakeholders including the provincial governments should be completed soon.

    Conversion of federal government buildings to solar energy

    Last week, the Premier directed relevant authorities to convert federal government buildings to solar energy at the earliest.

    He issued special instructions for formulating a comprehensive strategy to effectively resolve the issues faced in the early completion of the solar energy projects.

    The PM said the use of solar energy in electricity production could effectively resolve many fiscal issues including the energy crisis in the country and rising prices of electricity.

  • ‘Imran Khan nay Pakistan ki izzat ko khaak mein mila diya’:PM Shehbaz

    ‘Imran Khan nay Pakistan ki izzat ko khaak mein mila diya’:PM Shehbaz

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan destroyed the respect that Pakistan had.

    Talking about the economic situation of Pakistan, PM Shehbaz said that when he took over as the premier of Pakistan, the country was on the brink of default.

    He said that the ruling coalition saved Pakistan from default with the help of friendly countries.

    The Premier said that the government will not tolerate rise in terrorist attacks and vowed to crush it by developing liaison between government and law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

    He assured the people of Pakistan that the coalition government will rescue them from economic quagmire.

    PM Shehbaz also accused Imran Khan’s government of neglecting the western route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

  • Ramiz Out: PM approves Najam Sethi’s appointment as chairman PCB

    Ramiz Out: PM approves Najam Sethi’s appointment as chairman PCB

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has approved Najam Sethi’s appointment as chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Geo News has reported.

    The official notification of the appointment will be issued later.

    Najam Sethi served in 2013 as head of PCB. However, he faced a legal battle with Chaudhry Muhammad Zaka Ashraf, another former chairperson of PCB. He later took up the position again in 2014 but Shahryar Khan replaced him and Sethi was given the charge of the executive committee.

    In 2017, he was appointed again as PCB chairperson but after one year he soon gave up his position in 2018.

    Najam Sethi was the person who launched the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016 and was the president of PSL at that time.

    This is a developing story.

  • ‘What a nail-biting economic situation of Pakistan under your government’: Pakistanis react to PM’s tweet congratulating Argentina

    ‘What a nail-biting economic situation of Pakistan under your government’: Pakistanis react to PM’s tweet congratulating Argentina

    Tweeting about the “nailbiting” final, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised Messi for his performance. The PM also added that the “upsets” by Saudi Arabia and Morocco are the highlights of the tournament for him.

    It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia defeated World Cup winner Argentina early in the tournament, and Morocco shocked everyone as they finished fourth, defeating the likes of Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Canada in the tournament.

    Pakistan’s PM added, “Congratulations to Qatar for successfully holding the mega event…Upsets by Saudi Arabia and Morocco remain highlights of the tournament for me.”

    Following his post, a number of users began to say that he should focus on the situation of the country instead of enjoying sports. Some recommended that he concentrate on the economy, while others advised him to pay attention to what was happening in Bannu.

  • PM Shehbaz calls for ‘political stability’ as Khan gears up to dissolve assemblies

    PM Shehbaz calls for ‘political stability’ as Khan gears up to dissolve assemblies

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for political stability in the country and the slammed the Opposition for “spreading anarchy”.

    In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) the premier said, “It is required for the sake of loyalty to Pakistan and allegiance that there must be economic stability.”

    PM Shehbaz said that only political stability and an economic charter could “strengthen Pakistan’s national solidarity”.

    “The people who had laid land mines in the economic foundations of the country, are out to do the same in the political foundations of the country,” Shehbaz stated.

    He said that it was “someone’s” desire that Pakistan should be pushed into (financial) default, however, he stressed that that scenario would never happen.

    “The people who had hurt public confidence are now out to dissolve assemblies,” he stressed, claiming that their objective was to create political instability.

    “There is no doubt that economic havoc was brought under an agenda and political instability is a continuity of that action,” he opined.

    “The political miscreants wanted to force the world to not invest in Pakistan by spreading anarchy, besides hampering the efforts for rehabilitation of the flood-affected people,” Shehbaz said.

    His remarks come on the same day as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up to announce the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. Party chairman Imran Khan is expected to announce his final decision on Saturday evening in Lahore.

  • ‘Company CEO more respected than us’: BNP, JUI-F not happy with PM Shehbaz led govt

    ‘Company CEO more respected than us’: BNP, JUI-F not happy with PM Shehbaz led govt

    Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-Mengal) — boycotted a federal cabinet meeting over a controversial bill regarding the revival of the Reko Diq copper and gold mine project in Balochistan.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif formed a cabinet committee to address the grievances of JUI-F and BNP-M while assuring them that an amendment bill would soon be tabled in the parliament after consulting the two allies.

    Both JUI-F and BNP-Mengal were of the view that the recently passed Reko Diq related bill — the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022, in the Senate, was against the rights of the people of Balochistan and that both parties had not been taken on board during the preparation of the bill.

    Chairman BNP Akhtar Mengal has signalled that he may separate his party from the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government at the centre.

    Discussing his reservations during Geo News programme “Capital Talk”, the BNP-M leader said that the coalition government, instead of taking allies into confidence, takes investors into confidence. “More importance is given to companies instead of the parliament. We will have to think about the basis of our unity,” he warned.

    Expressing his displeasure, Mengal said that a CEO of a company is respected more than the allies. He added that his province was “looted” by everyone. “The resources change people’s lives, but it is Balochistan’s misfortune that the way the resources were discovered there, they became a disaster for the people,” he said.

    During the programme, another ally of the government Jamaat-e-Islami-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza said that the Foreign Investment Bill has been passed forcefully and with deceit which is a threat to Pakistan.

  • IHC grants 14-day protective bail to PM’s son Suleman Shehbaz

    IHC grants 14-day protective bail to PM’s son Suleman Shehbaz

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday granted protective bail to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s son Suleman for 14 days in a money laundering case registered against him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

    Last week, the IHC had barred authorities from arresting Suleman in the assets-beyond-means reference while hearing his petition for protective bail that would enable him to surrender before a trial court.

    Earlier today, Suleman appeared before a single-member bench of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq for bail in the money laundering case.

    Amjad Pervez, Suleman’s lawyer, told the IHC CJ that his client has to appear before a special judge central in Lahore.

    After this, Justice Farooq granted protective bail to the PM’s son and directed him to appear before the relevant court within 14 days.

    Addressing the media after the hearing, Suleman addressing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, said, “The time of accountability is here; we will not spare him. We will not give him any space now; he will be punished.”

    Asked about Farah Khan, a friend of Imran Khan’s wife who allegedly sold the watches gifted to Khan, Suleman wondered why did she run away from Pakistan.

    “You are crying that Farah Gogi is not a public office holder. I was not a public office holder either,” said Suleman. He added that PTI chairman, while he was in power, did not even think about women and instantly arrested them.

    “You had the power, you could have proven the cases,” said Suleman.

    The PM’s son also slammed former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Javed Iqbal, saying that he was a “black stain” on the accountability system.

  • Daily Mail apologises to PM Shehbaz for ‘error’ in 2019 article

    Daily Mail apologises to PM Shehbaz for ‘error’ in 2019 article

    Daily Mail tendered an apology to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif while withdrawing all allegations of corruption against him and his son-in-law Imran Ali Yousaf.

    In an article published on July 4, 2019 Daily Mail had accused the Premier of “stealing British foreign aid money”.

    The British publication also removed the said article, written by David Rose, from all platforms of Mail publishers.

    The United Kingdom-based publication has failed to prove the allegations levelled by its journalist David Rose in an article against Premier Shehbaz about the alleged misappropriation of public funds.

    Since the publication of the report, Shehbaz Sharif has maintained that he was not involved in any wrongdoing and also approached a court in the United Kingdom (UK) challenging the allegation — resulting in an apology from the newspaper.

    Apology from the Daily Mail

    In a clarification published on its website today, the British publication said: “In an article concerning Mr Shahbaz Sharif entitled ‘Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds meant for earthquake victims’ published on 14 July 2019 we reported on an investigation by Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau into Mr Sharif and suggested that the money under investigation included a not insubstantial sum of British public money that had been paid to the Punjab province in DFID grant aid.”

    It said that the premier “has never been accused by the National Accountability Bureau of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money or DFID grant aid”.

    “We are pleased to make this clear and apologise to Mr Sharif for this error,” Daily Mail added.

    What did the article say in 2019?

    In July 2019, UK’s Daily Mail newspaper accused Prime Minister Shehbaz of “embezzling tens of millions of pounds of public money and laundering it in Britain’”

    The report, quoting Pakistani investigators, claimed that “some of the allegedly stolen money came from DFID-funded aid projects”.

    The report — titled “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STEAL funds meant for earthquake victims, asks DAVID ROSE” — said the newspaper was given exclusive access to “some of the results of a high-level probe ordered by [then] prime minister Imran Khan”.

  • ‘October 2023’: PML-N unmoved by Khan’s offer to govt

    ‘October 2023’: PML-N unmoved by Khan’s offer to govt

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) adamant that the next general elections will be held as per schedule in October 2023.

    The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has offered the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government to discuss the possibility of early general elections.

    However, the olive branch comes with a threat. “Give us a date for elections or we will dissolve Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies,” Khan said in a video address to the PTI’s Punjab parliamentary party.

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, Interior Minister, took to Twitter and wrote, “October 2023” as a response to Khan’s offer.

    Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister, said the government stuck to its stance that elections would be held in Oct 2023.

    “We can sit for talks with PTI but on any other issue except snap elections,” he said when asked about PML-N meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister.

    He said the coalition government came into power through a constitutional way and it reserved rights to complete its constitutional term [till Oct 2023].