Tag: The Current

  • PPP likely to join federal government

    PPP likely to join federal government

    The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is likely to join the federal cabinet despite publically stating on Tuesday that the party will only support Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for prime minister, Geo has reported on Wednesday.

    A day earlier, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto said that his party will only support PML-N in government formation and will not take ministries.

    In a press conference following the two-day Central Executive Committee meeting of the PPP, Bilawal stated that the party is open to offering support on specific issues and crucial votes for the Prime Minister candidate of Pakistan, aiming to facilitate government formation and restore political stability.

    “The PPP has decided that while we are not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, nor will we be interested in taking ministries in such a set-up, we also do not want to see political chaos in the country. We do not want to see perpetual crisis in the country,” he said.

    Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of PPP, announced in a press conference later the same night, the formation of a six-party alliance for the next coalition government. He stated that they had decided to form the government together.

  • PPP is not interested to be part of government in centre, says Bilawal Bhutto

    PPP is not interested to be part of government in centre, says Bilawal Bhutto

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that his party is not interested in being part of the government in the centre. He also said that the PPP didn’t get a mandate and that “I’m not a candidate for Prime Minister.”

    The PPP Chairman said that PPP is not in a position to form a government at the centre, adding that PTI has said that it will not hold any talks with PPP, and PML-N is the only party that invited us to join the government at the centre.

    “We have decided that we are not in a position to be a part of the federal government. The former foreign minister said that we will not take ministries into the federal government, but we will vote for PML-N’s candidate for prime minister.

    He further said that we want the government formation to be completed soon and the country to come out of the crisis.

  • PTI decides to form government with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen in centre and Punjab

    PTI decides to form government with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen in centre and Punjab

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Rauf Hassan has said that his party will form a government with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) in the centre and Punjab. He also said that PTI will form the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

    MWM has one National Assembly (NA) seat, and JI has seven provincial assembly seats in KP. On the other hand, MWM has no provincial assembly seat in Punjab.

  • Ali Amin Gandapur will be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister

    Ali Amin Gandapur will be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister

    The founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has told media that senior leader of his party and member of the provincial assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, will be the chief minister of the province.

    According to the results of general elections, PTI-backed candidates have a simple majority in the KP province.
    Imran Khan also said that his party is ready to talk with all parties except the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

  • After less than stellar performance, what is PML-N camp thinking?

    After less than stellar performance, what is PML-N camp thinking?

    The general elections of February 8 pulled many surprises, the least of which was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) managing to win the largest number of seats despite not having a symbol or even a party.

    But another surprise was the poor performance of supposed front runners, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Although the party managed to get 79 seats, it still fell way short of expectations.

    So what is the party thinking now? More importantly, what is party head Nawaz Sharif, welcomed back in October 2023 with much fanfare, going to do?

    According to veteran journalist Nusrat Javed, Nawaz is not going to do much. Talking on Public TV, Nusrat Javed said that Nawaz has shut himself off from nearly everyone and can only be enticed to come out for meeting major players, including Asif Ali Zardari. Nusrat Javed said that Nawaz is no longer interested in becoming a Prime Minister once again. “Mujhay kyon bullaya” is the mantra, said Nusrat Javed.

    However, a party insider told DAWN that Nawaz is still very much in the running for become the Prime Minister for a fourth term. “As of now, Nawaz Sharif has not been ruled out as a candidate for the PM’s slot. Since the PML-N has to lead the federal coalition, many within the Maryam Nawaz camp feel why shouldn’t [the elder Sharif] take the driving seat,” the insider told DAWN.

    The party’s senior leader and one of Nawaz’s close aided, Khwaja Asif, has said that the former Premier is not disappointed with the results of the election in which PML-N did not manage to get a simple majority, leaving it at the mercy of a buoyant PPP for forming the government.

    Talking on Geo News, Asif said, “We are aware of the shortcomings but will fulfil our promise of giving relief to the masses after coming into government.”

    He also expressed caution about the power-sharing formula that is being talked about, with PML-N ruling for three years and then PPP taking over for the remaining two.
    “It would be unwise to hand over the government to another party after bringing stability,” he remarked.

    So there you have it. What the PML-N ultimately decides to do is still unclear. Perhaps we will know more as the days unfold.

  • New PM’s oath may be administered by Arif Alvi’s successor

    New PM’s oath may be administered by Arif Alvi’s successor

    President Arif Alvi won’t administer the oath to the new prime minister because a successor will be elected before the premier’s election.

    Members of the newly elected National Assembly (NA) might take their oath on February 26, three days before the deadline to convene the house for its first session, with a similar ceremony happening the next day.

    The members, who have been elected for both houses, would no longer be members of the provincial assembly if they took the oath in the national legislature.

    Parliamentary insiders informed The News on Monday evening that they must conduct the election for the Senate’s 53 members, chairman/deputy chairman, and subsequently the president of the country, before March 8. They emphasised the limited time available for organising the presidential poll.

    The sources said that if the election of the president is held a week earlier, incumbent Arif Alvi will not administer the oath but the new president will. The sources pointed out that once the members of the national and provincial assemblies take the oath, they will be eligible to cast their vote first for Senate elections.

  • 27 women candidates won in general elections

    27 women candidates won in general elections

    As the general elections are over and results tabulated, 27 women candidates have emerged victorious in the February 8 polls, 11 more than in the 2018 elections.

    This time, 882 women candidates contested for national and provincial assembly seats. Among them, 312 women contested for the NA, and 570 for provincial assemblies. This shows a notable rise in the number of women participating as candidates in the 2024 elections.

    111 political parties had nominated 275 women candidates to contest the elections for general seats, making up 4.6 percent of the total of 6,037 candidates they have fielded.

    In 2018, 183 women ran for seats in the National Assembly (NA), but only eight of them managed to win. Among the winning women, four secured seats in Sindh, three in Punjab, and one in Balochistan. None of the women candidates won a general seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    This time a record 27 women have been elected from all five assemblies — 12 from NA, 11 Punjab Assembly, two from the Sindh Assembly, and one from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

  • The curious case of Rana Sana’s Twitter account

    The curious case of Rana Sana’s Twitter account

    We realise that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Rana Sanaullah’s loss in February 8 general elections must be quite a shock but his Twitter (now X) account has gone off in an unexpected direction.

    Unlike PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafique, who used his account to gracefully concede defeat and congratulate his opponent Sardar Latif Khosa, Rana Sanaullah has decided that he wants to troll journalists.

    The account has, till now, picked a Twitter fight with Meher Bokhari, shared a song by the late Indian rapper Sidhu Mosewalla, and targeted legal analyst Reema Omer for praising Geo’s election coverage.

    It has also sent snarky replies to Hamid Mir and Gharidah Farouqi, while also tweeting multiple times against media channels.

    Rana Sanaullah has distanced himself from the the account, telling Geo’s Shehzad Iqbal that he doesn’t run the account, instead a team runs it.

  • PPP, PML-N discuss power-sharing formula in Sunday’s meeting

    PPP, PML-N discuss power-sharing formula in Sunday’s meeting

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have discussed the possibility of their parties appointing prime ministers for half of a five-year term as part of a power-sharing plan.

    The idea of appointing a prime minister for half the term was discussed during their first huddle on Sunday following the February 8 elections as part of their efforts to form a coalition government in the Centre and provinces, according to sources privy to the development.

    In 2013, PML-N and the National Party (NP) in Balochistan worked together to create a power-sharing plan. Under this plan, two chief ministers from the two parties took turns holding office for half of the five-year term.

    In Sunday’s meeting, the PPP and PML-N agreed to work together for the political stability of Pakistan after the general elections.

  • ‘Thappay par thappa’, Firdous explains why she slapped a police officer

    ‘Thappay par thappa’, Firdous explains why she slapped a police officer

    Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Dr Firdous Ashiq has finally offered an explanation for a viral video in which she can be seen slapping a police officer on the night of general elections.

    Awan said that she slapped a police officer as the person in uniform was facilitating one political party on election day. The IPP leader also said that if the law does not take its course, then citizens will teach corrupt police officers a lesson.

    The video was widely slammed on social media, with users calling out the IPP leader for resorting to violence.