Tag: Shehbaz Sharif

  • Warned Nawaz against fighting establishment, but he didn’t listen: Shehbaz

    Warned Nawaz against fighting establishment, but he didn’t listen: Shehbaz

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif has criticised his elder brother and jailed former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif “for picking fights with the establishment and not paying heed to his advice”, SamaaTV reported.

    Reports quoted Shehbaz as saying at a party meeting on Thursday that he had told Nawaz during his last stint “to stop fighting with the establishment and serve the people”.

    “[I] advised him [Nawaz] to not remove General (r) Jahangir Karamat and General (r) Pervez Musharraf as army chiefs, but my brother didn’t listen.”

    “Tayyip Erdogan had served his country for 15 years, that’s why people came out in his support [and foiled the coup]”, he said, adding that if the PML-N government had completed another two or three terms, people would have come out in their support as well.

    “We suffered major losses at a crucial time because my brother didn’t listen to me,” Shehbaz said further.

    “I also advised him against joining the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Azadi March later this month. We cannot fight and always end up hurting ourselves.”

    SHARIF BROTHERS DIVIDED:

    However, Nawaz while speaking to reporters during his hearing at an accountability court in Lahore on Friday said that he fully supported the forthcoming JUI-F rally against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    “Our viewpoint is the same as that of Maulana [Fazlur Rehman],” the former premier said.

    He recalled that Rehman had called for resignations and protest after the 2018 general elections and added, “But [now] I feel that his argument was solid.”

    “Not paying heed to Maulana’s call for the march would be a mistake,” he said.

    “I have already written a letter to Shehbaz in this regard, detailing the future course of action of the party and the PML-N president would brief the media soon.”

  • British journalist claims Shehbaz Sharif still hasn’t filed a lawsuit

    British journalist claims Shehbaz Sharif still hasn’t filed a lawsuit

    British journalist, David Rose of Daily Mail, has once again denied receiving any lawsuit from former Punjab chief minister and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif against his story exposing alleged theft of earthquake relief funds.

    “Hello Pakistani friends. A lot of you have been asking if Shehbaz Sharif has commenced a lawsuit against me and my newspaper yet. He hasn’t [sic],” he tweeted.

    Resharing his July 14’s story, the journalist wrote, “Sources tell me that investigation by NAB [National Accountability Bureau] and the Asset Recovery Unit into allegations against Shahbaz Sharif have continued with some vigour since my article was published. This may explain why he hasn’t filed a lawsuit: they have been keeping him busy.”

    Shehbaz had earlier claimed having served a legal notice to the newspaper on July 26, alleging it was a “politically motived” report. He had also shared a copy of the legal notice on Twitter.

    The tweets had come after a series of indirect spats between Shehbaz and Rose over Twitter following the latter’s news story according to which British authorities had decided to initiate a probe into the funds worth millions of Pounds that were sent to the Shehbaz-led Punjab government as aid for quake victims.

    The Daily Mail UK report claimed that the paper was given exclusive access to some of the results of a high-level probe ordered by the government of Pakistan and it was also able to interview key witnesses held on remand.

    One of the witnesses had claimed that he laundered millions on behalf of Shehbaz’s family from a nondescript office in Birmingham without attracting suspicion from Britain’s financial regulators.

    The paper had also alleged that Shehbaz and his family were embezzling tens of millions of pounds of public money and laundering it in Britain.

  • ‘Maryam distances herself from NAB judge’s scandalous video’

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has informed the Supreme Court (SC) that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President (VP) Maryam Nawaz has “distanced herself” from the video scandal of ex-accountability court judge Arshad Malik, Express Tribune reported Thursday.

    Maryam on July 6 had presented to journalists a secretly recorded video of judge Arshad Malik and claimed that he was “forced to give the verdict against Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia reference case”.

    According to latest reports, FIA presented before the court a 105-page report, wherein it said that Maryam has now distanced herself from the video and placed burden of the details and specifics of the video upon Nasir Mehmood Butt.

    Butt is the person who reportedly recorded the conversation during which Malik had allegedly confessed convicting Nawaz under pressure.

    The FIA report further said that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has also distanced himself from the videotapes.

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had on July 12 removed Malik as a judge and directed the registrar to repatriate him to his parent department, the Lahore High Court (LHC).

  • Shehbaz Sharif was the best administrator ever: Shahid Afridi

    Shehbaz Sharif was the best administrator ever: Shahid Afridi

    Former cricketing star Shahid Afridi has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif was the “best administrator ever”.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Afridi said that “no one could beat Shehbaz when it came to administrative capabilities”, when asked if incumbent Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar was better than his predecessor.

    Last week, the hashtag “#PunjabMissesShehbazSharif” was among the ones trending on Twitter as several users praised the former Punjab chief executive for the actions he took during his tenure.

    https://twitter.com/fat909746/status/1162809944997015552
    https://twitter.com/UmarChohan1/status/1162727242943881217

    One user even tweeted that Punjab had “betrayed Shehbaz Sharif”.

    Shehbaz was appointed Punjab CM for a second term after the PML-N’s victory in the province in the 2008 general elections. He was elected CM for a second consecutive term in 2013.

    The PML-N chief was succeeded by Usman Buzdar of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the 2018 general election.

  • British media law firm sues Daily Mail for ‘politically motivated’ article against Shehbaz Sharif

    British media law firm sues Daily Mail for ‘politically motivated’ article against Shehbaz Sharif

    Renowned media law firm Carter Ruck has sued British newspaper The Mail on Sunday, online news site Mail Online and its journalist David Rose on behalf of former Punjab chief minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif for publishing a “politically motivated” article.

    The story, published on July 14, 2019, had suggested that Shehbaz and his family “stole British taxpayers’ money” given to Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) set up to help the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

    “Our response to the question asked in the headline was robust and clear. It was carried close to the bottom of the 2,500-word story,” United Kingdom (UK) Aid had said in its clarification.

    “The UK’s financial support to ERRA over this period was for payment by results – which means we only gave money once the agreed work, which was primarily focused on building schools, was completed, and the work audited and verified,” a Department for International Development spokesperson had said.

    According to The News, Carter Ruck has agreed to act on behalf of Shebhaz after reviewing the case for a week. Alasdair Pepper, Antonia Foster and Victoria Anderson will represent the leader of opposition in the National Assembly and former Punjab chief minister in his legal claim against the publication.

    “Stealing from earthquake victims is like feeding on corpses,” Shehbaz had said while responding to the allegations against him by the British publication.

  • Meat-lover Nawaz unhappy with ‘tasteless’ vegetarian meals in jail: report

    Meat-lover Nawaz unhappy with ‘tasteless’ vegetarian meals in jail: report

    Former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who is rather infamous for his high-protein diet and love for meaty festivities, is reportedly unhappy with the vegetarian food being served to him in jail.

    According to a private media outlet, the ex-premier has complained about the “tasteless” vegetarian meals to his personal doctor, who believes the environment is not fit for ailing Nawaz.

    “The jail food can further deteriorate his health,” the former PM’s doctor was quoted as saying.

    Earlier this month, the Punjab government had discontinued provision of home-cooked food for the ousted premier – currently incarcerated in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail.

    Reacting to the move, Nawaz’s brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif had said that the ex-PM is a heart patient and needs homemade food to control his health.

    PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz has also, time and again, stressed the need for her father to be provided with home-cooked meals for the sake of his health.

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, on the other hand, has vowed to ensure the “criminal” doesn’t even enjoy air-conditioning and television facilities in his jail cell.

    “Nawaz Sharif wants food from home in jail, he wants air-conditioning in jail. But in a country where half the population has no air-conditioning or TV, what kind of punishment would this be?” the premier was recently quoted as questioning.

    Action is reportedly being taken in this regard too.

  • Riches in the corridors of power

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has publicly released the asset details of key politicians in the country.

    According to the documents, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is revealed to be one of the wealthiest politicians with a net worth of Rs 1.5 billion. On the other hand, Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed has the minimum amount of assets. He reportedly only has 36 lakhs cash and 15 tolas of gold to his name.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan owns assets worth Rs108 million. These assets include his Bani Gala residence which he declared was a gift, three foreign currency accounts (Dollar, Euro, Pound), four goats worth Rs 50,000 and 150 acres of agricultural land.

    PM Khan had also shared details of his wife, Bushra Bibi‘s assets which include a 3-kanal house in Bani Gala, 431-kanal land in Pakpattan and 266-kanal in Okara.

    Former president Asif Ali Zardari owns holdings worth Rs660 million. Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif assets amounts to Rs189m.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Rana Sanaullah own assets worth Rs600m and Rs66m respectively.

    Minister for Railways Shaikh Rasheed has assets worth Rs35m.

  • Buzdar beats Shehbaz in social sector reforms, increases education budget to Rs89.8bn

    Buzdar beats Shehbaz in social sector reforms, increases education budget to Rs89.8bn

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar has beaten his predecessor Shehbaz Sharif in reforming the social sector, as an amount of Rs89.8 billion has been earmarked for the provincial education sector.

    As per the details, presenting the provincial budget on Friday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government enhanced the education budget, which under the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rule stood at Rs52.35 billion.

    In its last provincial budget for the fiscal year 2017-18, the outgoing PML-N government had allocated Rs52.35 billion for school education and Rs28 billion for providing basic facilities at government schools.

    An amount of Rs6.03 billion had been fixed for the construction of new classrooms in Punjab schools.

    According to the budget presented by the Buzdar administration, health stands second in the social sector with Rs47.5 billion. Water supply & sanitation will gain Rs22.4 billion, local governments Rs6.3 billion, social welfare Rs1 billion and women development Rs0.8 billion.

    Meanwhile, Rs350 billion have been allocated for the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2019-20, which stood at Rs635bn under the Shehbaz administration in 2017-18.

  • The Current’s favourite political gimmicks

    The Current’s favourite political gimmicks

    Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was spotted visiting different areas of Multan as a pillion rider on a motorbike, without any protocol and listening to the problems of his constituents.

    Hardly anyone is not familiar with the lines our political leaders can cross while trying to score attention or approval of the masses.

    Here are four of The Current’s favourite Pakistani political stunts.

    4. Shehbaz Sharif’s overenthusiastic address to party workers:

    Shehbaz and his signature “mic drops”. Here’s a private news channel’s report on it.

    3. Imran Khan burning a utility bill against inflation under PML-N rule:

    Fulfilling his promise to burn his electricity bill at the infamous 2014 sit-in, the PTI chief set fire to a piece of paper on night of his call to celebrate the “Day of Deliverance”.

    2. Sheikh Rasheed on the run across Rawalpindi:

    Despite orders for his arrest, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed made it to a rally of his supporters in Rawalpindi’s Committee Chowk on a motorbike while beating the cops after him.

    1. Imran’s ‘civil disobedience campaign’ against PML-N government:

    The disobedience movement was a no-confidence public campaign against the government of PML-N. It was launched by the PTI chief in 2014 to protest against the alleged corruption of Sharif family members.

  • Shehbaz Sharif applies for political asylum in UK?

    Shehbaz Sharif applies for political asylum in UK?

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif has applied for political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK), a private media outlet reported on Wednesday night.

    According to BOL News, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, who is facing multiple National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases of corruption and misuse of power as Punjab chief minister, has applied for political refuge.

    Soon after the report was aired, other media outlets made similar claims as another popular channel explained why one seeks humanitarian protection outside his or her home country.

    Social media was abuzz with conflicting reports when Shehbaz’s spokesperson Attaullah Tarar took to Twitter to clarify the situation.

    Rubbishing the claims, Tarar said Shehbaz will be returning to Pakistan before the budget session for the fiscal year 2019-20 in the National Assembly and Senate on May 24.

    He said that the younger Sharif had an appointment with a cancer specialist on May 8 in London and another one on May 14. “It is likely that he may be suggested a few more tests after which he will be returning to Pakistan,” he said.

    Earlier, Shehbaz himself had also said he would be back in Pakistan in a matter of days.

    “I have a few medical check-ups to attend to in the next few days and I will be returning to Pakistan after that. It could be much sooner than the budget session,” he had told a media outlet earlier this month.

    Shehbaz, a cancer patient, has been in London for over three weeks now. He has reportedly undergone various tests as part of his medical check-ups, especially for the pain he had developed while in NAB custody.