Tag: Shehbaz Sharif

  • PTI’s Maleeka Bokhari gets injured during a scuffle in NA

    PTI’s Maleeka Bokhari gets injured during a scuffle in NA

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Maleeka Bokhari was injured when the National Assembly (NA) turned into complete mayhem as Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif addressed the lower house.

    In a press conference on Wednesday, Maleeka said, ” The people have elected us. We are equally part of the democracy as you are.”

    “Accept this position and do not consider throwing shoes from the other side of the aisle. Do not use abusive language for the members of parliament,” added Maleeka, criticising the Opposition.

    “You [ Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz] do not differentiate between a man and a woman. All you see is he/she is a member of PTI, and you attack them,” said Maleeka.

    In a video shared by State Minister for Information Farrukh Habib on Tuesday, the PTI lawmaker Bokhari can be seen getting treatment for her injured eye.

    The NA proceedings witnessed violent scenes when parliamentarians were seen creating a ruckus, using filthy language, whistling, and attacking each other with budget books during and after the speech of Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif.

    One of the members from the treasury benches threw a book towards Shehbaz, which fell on the dais in front of him. PTI and PML-N members then came close to a physical brawl in front of the NA Speaker’s chair, but he could do anything requesting parliamentarians to behave and later adjourning the house.

  • VIDEO: Govt, Opposition hurl abuses at each other

    VIDEO: Govt, Opposition hurl abuses at each other

    The National Assembly on Tuesday was complete mayhem as Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif addressed the lower house.

    Moments after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president started speaking, he was greeted with loud slogans and whistles from the treasury benches.

    Shehbaz continued his speech and questioned, “Imran Khan Niazi promised 10 million jobs. Where are those jobs?”

    “Where are the $300bn that was supposed to be brought back to the country from abroad?”

    Sharif said that PM Imran Khan’s claims of eliminating corruption from Pakistan were hollow.

    He criticised the budget, saying that it had failed to provide relief to the masses amid spiraling unemployment and inflation.

    Speaker Asad Qaiser kept interjecting, requesting lawmakers on the treasury benches to refrain from shouting while the Leader of the Opposition spoke.

    Amidst the chaos, members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government were seen hurling books at the Opposition and vice versa.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Ali Nawaz Awan can be seen in one video clip responding to abusive language by a PML-N lawmaker with expletives.

    A woman lawmaker tried to pull the PTI MNA away from the group of legislators who were shoving each other. He can be seen in the video throwing a booklet at the PML-N leader and shouting angrily at him.

    Twitterati condemned the chaos in parliament.

  • FIA summons Shehbaz Sharif in sugar scam inquiry

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday summoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif for questioning in connection with its ongoing probe into the sugar scam.

    Shehbaz Sharif has been asked to turn up at the FIA Lahore office on June 22, reports ARY News.

    The subpoena served to Shehbaz warned him of legal action, including his possible arrest, in case he fails to show up before the FIA. He is required to bring all the relevant documents along with him besides his replies to four questions the probe team has asked him.

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Shehbaz Sharif from outside the Lahore High Court (LHC) in a money-laundering case last year in September. He was recently granted bail on April 22, 2021.

  • ‘A budget that will make everyone happy’: PM Khan

    ‘A budget that will make everyone happy’: PM Khan

     Prime Minister Imran Khan hosted lunch for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarians and the government’s coalition partners today, where important issues relating to the country’s political scenario and the budget were discussed, as reported by Geo News. 

     The premier was asked whether the budget, which will be presented later in the day, will be a “people-friendly” one.

    “Today, everyone will be happy,” said PM Khan in response. 

    The Opposition is holding a meeting of its parliamentary members, which started at 3:00pm. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif will chair the meeting, which will also include participants from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).  

  • What does PM Khan regret?

    What does PM Khan regret?

    Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed on Sunday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan regrets that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was able to escape from the grip of the law by leaving Pakistan for London.

    He said that Nawaz deceived the government and went abroad using “fake medical reports” and the prime minister has great sorrow over this.

    The government stopped Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif from going abroad and later placed his name on the Exit Control List (ECL).

    Sheikh Rasheed said a person whose name was included in the ECL could challenge the decision in 15 days but Shehbaz Sharif did not challenge the Interior Ministry’s decision.

    Rasheed went on to say that PM Imran Khan was lucky to have such an “incompetent” and “sluggish” Opposition.

    He further added that the entire Jahangir Tareen group will support the upcoming budget.

  • ‘Raiwand’s prime minister’ sent abroad despite conviction: Bilawal

    ‘Raiwand’s prime minister’ sent abroad despite conviction: Bilawal

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, said, “Raiwand’s prime minister” Nawaz Sharif was sent abroad despite being convicted.

    Bilawal said former president Asif Ali Zardari remains in Pakistan, moving from one doctor to another, despite his children telling him to go abroad and seek treatment.

    “If the president [Zardari] is from Nawabshah, he remains on medical bail despite trumped-up charges,” said chairman PPP.

    “I want to ask the prime minister (PM) what sort of accountability and justice is being implemented in the country? I want to ask the PM what kind of rule of law is there within the country?” Bilawal asked, adding that if the premier’s friends are being alleged of a crime, no action is taken against them.

    “This is revenge and political engineering and their ministers themselves accept it has hurt the economy,” added Bilawal.

    “If the prime minister and his sister are blamed for a crime, nothing happens to them,” Bilawal lashed out.

    However, if a former president from Nawabshah’s sister is blamed for something, then she is dragged to jail from her hospital bed, he said, referring to PPP leader Faryal Talpur.

    The PPP chairman denigrated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and questioned its standards of accountability. “This system is a mockery of the Constitution,” said Bilawal.

    “If the Leader of Opposition is from Lahore (Shehbaz Sharif), he is awarded bail, and if the leader of Opposition hails from Sukkur (Khursheed Shah), he is denied the right and treated like a ping-pong ball — back and forth from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) courts to Supreme Court,” Bilawal said.

    The PPP chairman claimed the authorities were repeatedly blackmailing Shah’s children and his wife.

    Bilawal further said that the party would support Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly on the budget despite the inappropriate behaviour of some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members.

    “I unconditionally say to Shehbaz Sharif in front of the media that all PPP members will be in your support with regards to parliament and this [upcoming] budget despite tantrums [of some PML-N members].”

    He said that PPP members would come and vote on the day of the budget and now it was up to Shehbaz as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly to “do his work and stop the government’s budget.”

    Bilawal was responding to a question on whether the PPP had been contacted on the budget issue and whether it would support the Opposition. He responded that despite the “inappropriate behaviour” of the PML-N and other political parties in the Opposition, the PPP had prioritised national issues and the budget over differences between the political parties.

    “So despite their insults, the PPP went to Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation for dinner so we can rid the people of economic difficulties. Unfortunately, our host was publicly insulted after that dinner by some officeholders of the PML-N,” said Bilawal, adding that flinging statements at guests was not a part of “our tradition, values, and culture”.

    The PPP chairman also lashed out at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying it should have offered resignations the same day or the next when the PPP had “supposedly” refused to listen to its demands and set out for its long march.

    “If they still want to do politics of resignations, then they should have given them by now.”

    Hitting out at the prime minister, the PPP chairman said that the statements since the past few weeks on the state of the economy showed that the “prime minister has no connection to the common man”.

    “The prime minister says Pakistan’s difficult time is over. Not sure about the common man but the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) difficult time is over, for sure,” he said.

    Bilawal Bhutto said the government’s ministers had come around to accept the PPP’s stance on the economy and expressed the hope that Pakistan would escape the “IMF’s grip” in the budget next week.

    Bilawal similarly hit out at an ordinance for the creation of a new media body and said the PPP would continue to oppose it. He added that the recent attacks on journalists such as Asad Ali Toor or pressure being applied to media personnel such as Hamid Mir through petitions had “exposed the government’s weakness and insecurity”.

  • PTI fudging economic figures, claims PML-N

    A pre-budget seminar was organised by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on June 3 in Islamabad.

    The seminar was organised by the Economic Advisory Council of the PML-N on the direction of party president Shehbaz Sharif.

    Titled ‘Economy sinking under Imran Khan’s government’, the seminar discussed all the economic issues before the upcoming budget. The main focus was on the economic policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

    Graphs shown during the seminar entailed that Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.8 per cent in PML-N’s last year, the highest in 16 years. In addition, GDP growth consistently remained above 4 per cent in each of PML-N’s 5 years. GDP growth has significantly declined during PTI’s tenure with 2.1 per cent growth in 2019.

    PTI is claiming 3.9 per cent growth now in 2021, but this claim is being challenged by independent economists. Whereas, GDP has significantly declined during PTI’s tenure with 2.1 per cent growth in 2019.

    Shehbaz Sharif claimed that the government was pushing out wrong statistics and misinforming the public since the start of the its tenure.

    “The government’s statistics [regarding the budget] have already become a subject of debate,” Shehbaz said while addressing the seminar virtually.

    “Their past is evident and they have been putting forth forged figures,” he said. “This comes on top of the government’s worst performance and major failures.”

    Last week, on Sunday, while addressing the nation live, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Opposition parties were complaining about the government misleading the nation on the economy as they had not expected it to achieve a growth rate of nearly 4 per cent.

    “The economic growth rate has baffled political opponents who wanted the government to fail in meeting these challenges left behind by our predecessors,” added Khan.

  • Brothers at odds: Is Nawaz delaying Shehbaz’s trip to London?

    Brothers at odds: Is Nawaz delaying Shehbaz’s trip to London?

    After the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) exit from the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), questions about the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) policy are being asked. Is the party going to go with the younger Sharif’s policy of reconciliation or the older’s more aggressive stance? After it was apparent that the majority in the party had disregarded Shehbaz’s point of view, questions arose about why Shehbaz was not pushing to go to London and get his name removed from the Exit Control List (ECL).

    Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz’s spokesperson Mohammad Zubair denied that Nawaz had anything to do with Shehbaz’s silence on going to London after Anchor Shahzeb Khanzada asked if the older brother had told Shehbaz not to come to London.

    Khanzada asked Zubair: “Has Nawaz Sharif accepted that resistance is the only way to reconciliation and there is no need for Shehbaz to travel to London or hold his feet and ask him to return for the sake of national interest?”

    Zubair responded that it would be wrong to say that Nawaz and told Shehbaz not to come to London. “The lawyers are reviewing the case of Shehbaz Sharif to remove his name from the Exit Control List (ECL). The matter is being reviewed from both political and legal aspects,” he said, “This has nothing to do with Nawaz Sharif giving a message that you [Shehbaz Sharif] need not come to London.”

    Zubair added that Shehbaz travels to London every year for his medical treatment.

    In May, the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted conditional permission to Shehbaz to travel abroad for medical treatment. When his lawyers appeared in court, no reference of his ailment was mentioned.

    While talking to Kamran Khan on Dunya News, Shehbaz said, “Reconciliation is still possible; it’s never too late. Nawaz Sharif would be more than willing to do this, I guarantee you.” 

    He further added, “I am sure he [Nawaz Sharif] will promote national interest if there is a level playing field. Even if I have to hold his feet for national interest, I will do so because it is my national duty. I am a Pakistani first and then anything else.”

    Some senior analysts suggest that there is no political rift between the Sharif brothers. However, there are serious concerns within the PML-N that the party may face a split in the future due to the differences between Maryam Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif.

    On Saturday, Maryam Nawaz said that “power talks to power”. She said that if there is muzaahmat (resistance), only then will there be mufaahmat (reconciliation).

    Maryam camp believes in taking forward Nawaz Sharif’s narrative while Shehbaz Sharif camp believes in reconciliation and not taking any institution head-on.

  • Govt takes back appeal against Shehbaz, name still on ECL

    The federal government has withdrawn its petition challenging the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict, which allowed Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to travel abroad for his medical treatment.

    Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan informed the court that the government was withdrawing its appeal as Shehbaz had decided to take back his petitions against the government in the High Court.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told The Current that the government has not taken it back. “It is disposed of with the order of the Supreme Court (SC) that this order will still not be cited as a precedent in any case in the future and Shehbaz Sharif or anyone on his behalf cannot use it for contempt proceedings against the government. This is clearly in favour of the government.”

    “If this was a proper or legal order, why can it not be used or followed again and why its violation did not amount to contempt. This is the first time where Supreme Court has passed such an order even though the petition was withdrawn from the High Court. It completely vindicates the government’s stand’” added Fawad.

    Fawad further said, “You compelled them to withdraw from the Lahore High Court and even thereafter the Supreme Court did not approve such an order. In addition, the Supreme Court has also ordered expeditious trial of Shehbaz Sharif in the Accountability Court.”

    Chaudhry had earlier tweeted, “The government’s appeal in the apex court was no longer necessary as Shehbaz’s name had been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) and he had withdrawn his petition from the High Court.”

    In May, the LHC had granted conditional permission to Shehbaz to travel abroad for medical treatment. However, when the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly attempted to leave the country on May 9, he was stopped by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). On May 17, the Interior Ministry placed the Opposition leader’s name on the no fly-list.

  • ‘PPP and ANP have left PDM’: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    ‘PPP and ANP have left PDM’: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

    General Secretary of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) have left PDM. “Now their paths are separate.”

    “There are eight parties in PDM and they will continue to do their work. The doors of PDM are open for every party that will follow the manifesto and decisions of PDM,” added Abbasi.

    Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that leaders of the fragmented anti-government alliance appear to be “confused and divided”.

    Bilawal further added that PPP was not part of the meeting held on Saturday, yet PDM is still following the manifesto that was presented by the PPP when PDM was formed.

    “We can have positive feelings for each other and wish everybody good luck. Everybody has the right to do Opposition politics in accordance to their own manifesto and ideology,” said the PPP chairman.

    He made these remarks while addressing a press conference with ANP leaders in Charsadda on Sunday.

    PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday said that the PPP and ANP were not discussed in the PDM meeting, as they are not part of the alliance.

    “They [PPP] can still contact the PDM leadership and apprise them about their intentions. But it is not something that we will waste time over anymore during PDM meetings,” said Maulana Fazl.