Tag: The Current

  • Maryam Nawaz announces first public cancer hospital in Punjab

    Maryam Nawaz announces first public cancer hospital in Punjab

    Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, has announced plans to build the first government cancer hospital in Punjab. The hospital will be built near Valencia town in Lahore, as per SAMMA. 

    The newly-elected chief minister visited the potential site for the hospital and received a briefing about the project. The CM also approved the construction of a hotel building for the attendants of cancer patients.

    Maryam Nawaz said that cancer patients will get free treatment in the hospital.

    The Punjab chief minister also announced that the government will provide the best medical professionals and state-of-the art equipment to treat cancer patients.

    She declared that screening for diseases will start in the province, adding that when she vacates her office after five years, she wants a state-of-the-art hospital in every city. She also announced free medicines in all emergency departments of government hospitals starting today. The Rescue 1122 service has been asked to launch a motorway ambulance service.

  • Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as Pakistan’s 24th PM

    Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as Pakistan’s 24th PM

    Shehbaz Sharif has taken oath as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan today (Monday) at President’s House in Islamabad.

    President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to the newly-elected premier. The oath-taking ceremony began with a holy recitation.

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president was elected the 24th prime minister of the country on Sunday, after completed his previous 16-month tenure from April 2022 to August 2023.

    It will be the second time that Shehbaz Sharif will serve the nation as prime minister. The PML-N president got 201 votes against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) opponent Omar Ayub Khan, who got 92 votes in the National Assembly (NA) on Sunday.

    Shehbaz’s victory was expected, as he enjoyed the support of seven other parties apart from the PML-N. The PM-elect is backed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and the National Party (NP).

    The sources of Geo News claimed that caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar will welcome Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House.

  • PPP agrees on Dar as finance minister

    PPP agrees on Dar as finance minister

    The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has agreed to the appointment of Ishaq Dar as the finance minister, as per The News on Monday. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP are ready to form a coalition government in the centre after the February 8 polls nationwide.

    The development comes in the backdrop of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s tirade during election campaign in the run-up to the February 8 polls, wherein he had time and again criticised Dar for mismanaging the economy during the PML-N-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.

    In January, Bilawal Bhutto told Geo News that his party will see  “anyone but Dar” as the country’s finance minister because of the poor economic situation in Pakistan.

    The PML-N leader refrained from responding to his comment and said, “He [Bilawal] is like my child. I don’t want to comment on what he said.” 

    “This is the same Bilawal who on the floor [of the parliament] a few months back used to say that for him I’m Dar uncle,” he added.

  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s cabinet will be finalised after Imran Khan’s approval

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s cabinet will be finalised after Imran Khan’s approval

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet will be finalised after the approval of sentenced founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, Geo has reported, quoting newly-elected chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday.

    “I will meet the PTI founder over [matters pertaining to the formation of the] KP cabinet on Monday (March 4),” Gandapur said.

    Geo sources claimed that there are 15 members on the list of prospective cabinet members that will be shown to founder PTI, including the names of Mushtaq Ghani, Khaleeq ur Rehman, and Aqib Ullah Khan. 

    The development comes days after newly-elected members of the provincial legislature were sworn in by now-former speaker Mushtaq Ghani in a ruckus-hit inaugural assembly session.

    A day earlier, Ali Amin Gandapur, after being elected chief minister, demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja in his victory speech in the provincial assembly.

  • PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq elected speaker National Assembly

    PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq elected speaker National Assembly

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ayaz Sadiq has been elected as the new speaker of the National Assembly (NA) on Friday afternoon.  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-supported candidate Amir Dogar was in competition with PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq for the position of speaker NA.

    Sadiq won the contest with 199 votes, gaining a majority from the members of the PML-N, PPP and other lawmakers backing his nomination in the lower house. 

    The counting of votes is being done by the NA Secretariat staff in the presence of polling agents for both candidates.

    The NA session was held today to elect the speaker and deputy speaker. However, the elected PTI-backed MNAs chanted slogans against alleged rigging in the February 8 polls.

    The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Raja Parvez Ashraf chaired today’s session of NA.

    Raja Parvez Ashraf will also take oath from the speaker and deputy speaker of the NA. After taking the oath, the new speaker will take charge of the lower house.

  • Barrister Gohar Khan elected PTI Chairman unopposed

    Barrister Gohar Khan elected PTI Chairman unopposed

    Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has won the intra-party elections unopposed as the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). This is the first time in PTI’s history that he is the only person to hold the top position in the party twice.

    “At the conclusion of the withdrawal phase of candidates/panels, there is only one candidate/panel remaining,” the PTI said in a statement late Thursday.

    Member of the National Assembly (NA), Omar Ayub Khan, was elected as the PTI’s central general secretary after intra-party polls.

    Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Haleem Adil Sheikh were also among party leaders who were elected unopposed to the positions of the party’s presidents for Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Sindh respectively, as no candidate came forward to contest against them.

    The former ruling party will organise intra-party elections in Quetta to elect the president of Balochistan.

    “The final result of the election will, however, be declared by the Federal Election Commissioner on March 3, 2024, at the conclusion of the election process,” read the statement.

  • Ali Amin Gandapur elected KP chief minister

    Ali Amin Gandapur elected KP chief minister

    Ali Amin Gandapur, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), contested as an independent candidate in the recent elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He won the vote to become the new chief minister of the province on Friday afternoon, after the voting finished in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly.

    PTI founder Imran Khan has nominated Ali Amin Gandapur as the party’s candidate for KP Chief Minister. There is a high chance of his winning based on the number of PTI-backed members in the provincial assembly.

    The former federal minister decided to contest the top provincial post in an independent capacity after refusing to join the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — the party which was joined by PTI-backed independent winners to claim their seats.

    Gandapur was the former federal minister of Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan during the PTI government in the centre from October 2018 to April 2022.

    Previously, he was a member of the KP Assembly from 2013 to 2018 and served as provincial minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for revenue.

  • Won’t vote for top positions in National Assembly: JUI-F’s Fazlur Rehman says about five party seats

    Won’t vote for top positions in National Assembly: JUI-F’s Fazlur Rehman says about five party seats

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has announced that his party will not take part in the electoral process for the top political slots, including president, prime minister, and National Assembly (NA) speaker. It is important to note that JUIF has five national assembly seats.

    The senior politician told journalists in Islamabad on Thursday that his party will sit in opposition and party members will not vote in forthcoming polls in the National Assembly (NA).

    In response to a question regarding JUI-F’s strategy for a protest movement, he said, “Wait for it. We will represent the nation soon.”

    “I haven’t met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) quaid Nawaz Sharif so far. A delegation arrived yesterday which comprises representatives of the PML-N, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).”

    “We had a pleasant conservation as we were already very frank with them,” the senior politician said, regarding dialogues with major parties that formed a strong coalition to rule the country.

  • Who was wearing Imran Khan mask in National Assembly today?

    Who was wearing Imran Khan mask in National Assembly today?

    In today’s oath-taking ceremony at the National Assembly (NA), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-supported candidates appeared wearing Imran Khan masks. Newly-elected members took oath today at the inaugural ceremony of the 16th NA.

    In solidarity with former Prime Minister Imran Khan, PTI leaders Ali Muhammad Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Zartaj Gul, and Shandana Gulzar, were wearing masks in today’s session at the lower house.

    Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), joined by independent candidates from PTI, began chanting slogans during the inaugural ceremony.

    The session is being held today under Article 91(2) of the Constitution, with President Arif Alvi refusing to sign an earlier summary for summoning the session on the reported grounds of non-allocation of reserved seats to SIC.

  • Newly-elected MNAs take oath

    Newly-elected MNAs take oath

    Newly elected members of the National Assembly (NA) swore their oaths today during the first meeting of the 16th National Assembly.

    Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf presided over the session and administered the oath to newly-elected members.

    Earlier, MNAs elected on February 8 arrived at the lower house for their oath taking around 10 am. Former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif were also present in the session.

    Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), joined by independent candidates from PTI, began chanting slogans during the inaugural ceremony.

    The session is being held today under Article 91(2) of the Constitution, with President Arif Alvi refusing to sign an earlier summary for summoning the session on the reported grounds of non-allocation of reserved seats to SIC.