Tag: The Current

  • Hassan, Hussain Nawaz arrest warrants get suspended

    Hassan, Hussain Nawaz arrest warrants get suspended

    An accountability court has suspended the arrest warrants of Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz — sons of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif- in multiple cases, including the Al-Azizia, Flagship, and Avenfield cases.

    Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court announced the decision after reserving the verdict a day earlier.

    As per the verdict, the arrest warrants are suspended until March 14.

    The arrest warrants against the brothers were issued seven years ago when the court declared them absconders.

    In today’s hearing, both brothers were represented by their lawyer, Qazi Misbah, while National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors Sardar Muzaffar, Usman Masood, and Sohail Arif also appeared in court.

    The petition for suspension of arrest warrants was filed as Nawaz Sharif’s sons are planning to return to Pakistan on March 12.

  • PHC extends stay on reserved seats MNAs oath

    PHC extends stay on reserved seats MNAs oath

    The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has extended its stay order on the oath-taking ceremony of lawmakers notified on reserve seats, which were denied to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after a verdict to the effect issued by Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP).

    The court issued its order during a hearing of a petition filed by SIC, adjourning the hearing and summoning the Attorney General of Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, to appear before the court on the next hearing.

    A day earlier, the PHC barred the oath-taking of lawmakers notified on the aforementioned reserved seats, preventing members from swearing in and directed the ECP to submit its response in the said matter by today.  

    The directives were issued during today’s hearing conducted by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Shakeel Ahmad.

  • Three terrorists arrested with Adiala jail map, bombs

    Three terrorists arrested with Adiala jail map, bombs

    The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed on Thursday that they have arrested three Afghan terrorists with a map of Adiala Jail, a hand grenade, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) with them.

    Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani stated that police recovered automatic weapons and ammunition from the terrorists, after which police and other law enforcement agencies launched a search operation near the Adiala jail area.

    Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is currently in Adiala jail, serving sentences in multiple cases. CCPO Rawalpindi has stated that the terrorists are from Afghanistan.

    Earlier on November 7, 2023, police found a suspicious bag laden with an explosive device near Adiala Road in Gorakhpur, Rawalpindi, just one kilometre away from the Adiala jail, ahead of a hearing of the cipher case.

  • Punjab’s first Sikh minister, Ramesh Singh Arora, takes oath

    Punjab’s first Sikh minister, Ramesh Singh Arora, takes oath

    After Maryam Nawaz became the first female chief minister of Punjab and the first female chief executive of a province in the country, history was made yet again with the inclusion of the first Sikh minister in the provincial cabinet.

    Ramesh Singh Arora, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), took oath to become a minister in the provincial cabinet. The Sikh politician has returned to the provincial assembly for the third term, this time with the portfolio of a minister.

    Arora, who hails from Narowal, has been allotted the minorities portfolio. He was also the first-ever Sikh lawmaker of Punjab, taking oath as a member of the provincial assembly in 2013.
    Meanwhile, the provincial cabinet has appointed Khalil Tahir Sindhu, a member of the christian community from Punjab, to serve alongside Arora. Sindhu will handle the human rights portfolio.
    Since 1970, various political parties or alliances, such as the PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have formed governments. However, the PML-N stands out as the only party to bring the first Sikh MPA to the house and include him in the cabinet.

  • PML-N, allies secure two-third majority in National Assembly

    PML-N, allies secure two-third majority in National Assembly

    The coalition government, led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and allies has secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly (NA) after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) allocated them reserved seats but not to opponent Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

    A total of 224 seats out of 336 are a requirement for any government to secure a two-thirds majority in NA.

    Considering the current numbers, the Shehbaz Shairif-led coalition government — comprising Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), MQM-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and National Party (NP) —  has 230 members in the lower house. 

    The PML-N currently has 123 seats in NA, of which 75 are general seats, which the party won in the February 8 polls. After that, nine independent MNAs joined the party, taking the number to 84. However, PML-N secured 23 reserved seats, including 16 for women and 4 for minorities.

    Similarly, after the ECP ruling on the remaining reserved seats, the party got the lion’s share, bagging 15 out of the remaining 20 reserved seats for women and one out of the three remaining seats reserved for minorities. 

    The PML-N now has 123 members, becoming the largest party in the NA.

    On the other hand, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed SIC stands at the second position with 82 seats, PPP now has 73 seats, including 54 general seats, 16 women and another three reserved seats for minorities.

    Moreover, MQM-P stands at number four with a tally of 22 MNAs, including 17 general seats and five reserved seats — four women and one minority.

    IPP has four seats in the National Assembly, including three general and one reserved for women.

    Similarly, six political parties have one general seat, including BAP, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), PML-Z, Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and the National Party (NP).

  • Akbar S Babar challenges fresh PTI’s intra-party polls in ECP

    Akbar S Babar challenges fresh PTI’s intra-party polls in ECP

    Disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding member Akbar S Babar filed two separate petitions with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to challenge the party’s intra-party elections for the second time.

    The Supreme Court (SC) on January 13 upheld the ECP’s verdict regarding the party’s intra-party elections as invalid, leading the party to lose its ‘bat’ electoral symbol.

    A five-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja declared the PTI’s internal polls unlawful.

    In the fresh petition, Babar has requested the ECP to declare the recent intra-party polls invalid too.

    PTI’s fresh intra-party elections were held on March 3.

    The beleaguered party’s federal election commissioner Raoof Hasan formally announced last Sunday that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub Khan had been elected as the party’s chairman and secretary general unopposed, respectively, in the intra-party polls.

    Taking to journalists, Babar said that he moved the ECP against the “fresh fraud” of the PTI, adding that he was kept away from the intra-party elections.

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet set to take oath today

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet set to take oath today

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet is set to take its oath of office today after Chief Minister of the province Ali Amin Gandapur got approval from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, who is currently in Adiala jail serving sentences in multiple cases.

    Ali Amin Gandapur said in a statement that he discussed the formation of the KP cabinet with Imran Khan in Adiala jail.

    “Cabinet members will take oath today,” he confirmed.

    After meeting the founder of PTI, the newly-elected chief minister came back to Peshawar and asked relevant authorities to arrange the oath taking ceremony in the Governor House.

    However, the names of cabinet members have not been revealed yet.

    Interestingly, a majority of those considered and approved as cabinet members by Imran Khan were unaware of their selection. The News learnt from its sources that KP CM Gandapur did not disclose the names of his cabinet members, as he was under pressure by certain factions within the party to accommodate their nominees.

  • PTI to launch movement against alleged rigging in February 8 Polls

    PTI to launch movement against alleged rigging in February 8 Polls

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser said on Tuesday that his party is planning to launch a street movement against the “stealing” of their mandate by their opponents in the February 8 elections.
    “We will unite all political forces and will launch a movement within the law and Constitution,” said Qaiser while speaking to media persons in Islamabad on Tuesday.
    The PTI leader said that they are planning to take to the streets in all provinces so their demands are met, adding that they will snatch their rights. “Our movement will continue and will bring together all political forces,” he said, adding that they will forge an alliance.

    The former National Assembly (NA) speaker stated that they will peacefully protest because they don’t trust the government led by Shehbaz Sharif, which they consider fake.

  • Indian PM Narendra Modi congratulates Shehbaz Sharif

    Indian PM Narendra Modi congratulates Shehbaz Sharif

    Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on taking oath as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan.

    “Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” read a short statement on the Indian prime minister’s official X handle.

    On Monday, President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to Shehbaz Sharif after he was elected as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan on Sunday by receiving 201 votes in the National Assembly (NA).

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif will serve the country as the Premier for the second time, after remaining the PM of Pakistan from April 2022 to August 2023.

    Various world leaders and diplomats, including Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome, and others have also congratulated Shehbaz on taking the helm as the country’s chief executive.

  • ‘Cracks in the glass’; What does the US think about Maryam Nawaz as CM Punjab?

    ‘Cracks in the glass’; What does the US think about Maryam Nawaz as CM Punjab?

    The United States (US) state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said on Monday that the selection of Maryam Nawaz as the first woman chief minister of an important province Punjab is a “milestone in Pakistani politics.”

    “We look forward to cooperating with Pakistan more broadly on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life and economy, including through the US Pakistan Women’s Council, civil society, and other decision-making spaces,” Mathew Miller said in response to a question at his daily news briefing.

    “An inclusive Pakistan makes for a strong, prosperous country, which all Pakistanis benefit from, and so we are always pleased when we see cracks in the glass ceiling anywhere in the world,”  Miller stated.

    Maryam Nawaz was elected the first female Chief Minister of Punjab on the previous Monday.