Tag: The Current

  • Ex PTI MPA offloaded, leaders arrested as Peshawar High Court warns government

    Ex PTI MPA offloaded, leaders arrested as Peshawar High Court warns government

    The Peshawar High Court issued a warning on Tuesday, indicating that if the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is not permitted to carry out political activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), it would summon the caretaker chief minister of the province and the chief election commissioner for an explanation.

    “Both the chief minister and CEC will be asked about their failure to fulfil the responsibility of holding polls in a free and fair manner amid the PTI’s complaints of restrictions on its activities in the province,” Justice Ijaz Anwar observed during a hearing of a petition filed by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party for contempt proceedings against the provincial government and the administration of Mansehra district.

    The court observed that if a political party is not allowed to hold a public meeting due to security concerns, it raises questions about the Election Commission of Pakistan’s ability to conduct general elections.

    Attorney General Aamir Javed informed the court that a meeting had been called to assess the security situation, and a report would be provided within two days. The court scheduled the next hearing for November 23, focusing on the contempt petition against the caretaker government and Mansehra’s district administration.

    The bench fixed Nov 23 (Thursday) for next hearing into the PTI’s contempt petition against the caretaker government and Mansehra’s district administration for “not allowing the holding of a workers’ convention despite the court’s orders.”

    The petition was filed by PTI provincial president Ali Amin Gandapur, its provincial legal coordinator Mashal Azam, and Insaf Lawyers Forum provincial vice-president Malik Arshad Ahmad, requesting the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the relevant officers, including the provincial chief secretary, Mansehra DC and DPO, and others.

    Lawyers Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, Ali Zaman, Inam Yousafzai, and others appeared for the petitioners and said a high court bench had disposed of on Oct 26 a plea of their clients after allowing the PTI to carry out political activities in the province.

    PTI MPA offloaded

    Meanwhile, in a separate incident, former PTI MPA Shaukat Ali Yousafzai was offloaded from a flight at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport.

    Yousafzai’s flight was scheduled to depart at 9:15 am on Wednesday via Emirates flight EK-637 for Saudi Arabia, where he was to perform Umrah.

    He stated that after the boarding process was completed, the airport’s security officials came and took him into their custody “without any reason”, as per Dawn.

    The PTI ex-MPA added that when he asked the officials why he was being prevented from boarding the plane, they only replied they had “orders from authorities to not let you fly abroad”.

    Yousafzai went on to say that he would approach the Peshawar High Court and file a case against the airport’s security officials for offloading him as, according to him, neither was there a first information report against him nor was his name on the Exit Control List.

    PTI leaders arrested

    In a related development, Liaqat Ali Yousafzai, PTI’s Shangla chapter president and brother of Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, along with six other party workers were arrested by the police for allegedly violating Section 144 during a party meeting in Shahpur. The PTI criticized the authorities, claiming unequal treatment compared to other political parties allowed to hold public meetings.

    The situation reflects a growing tension between the PTI and local authorities, with the Peshawar High Court intervening to address concerns of restricted political activities in KP.

  • ECP orders federal government to remove IG, DC Islamabad

    ECP orders federal government to remove IG, DC Islamabad

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has instructed the federal caretaker government on Wednesday to remove Islamabad Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan and Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon from their posts.

    Dr Akbar Khan is a grade 20 officer, and Irfan Nawaz Memon is a grade 19 officer in the Pakistan Administrative Service.

    ECP had earlier directed the government on October 26 to remove both officials from their posts, but the Secretary Establishment Division didn’t implement the order at that time.

    Now there is progress in the matter, as the interior ministry wrote a letter to the Establishment Division to change officials.

    Dr Akbar Nasir Khan was appointed as IGP on May 21, 2022. He was serving in the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) then.

    In October of last year, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab registered a corruption case against IGP. ACE Punjab summoned him multiple times, seeking a reply on corruption charges, accusing him of tampering with documents to award contracts and causing Rs30.5 million loss to the government.

  • Shehbaz Sharif candidate for Punjab’s chief ministership, says Rana Sanaullah

    Shehbaz Sharif candidate for Punjab’s chief ministership, says Rana Sanaullah

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Rana Sanaullah has said that former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif will be the party’s next candidate for Punjab’s chief ministership.

    Shehbaz Sharif has served as a three-time chief minister of Punjab, as well as being Prime Minister for around 16 months when the Pakistan Democratic Movement came into power after ousting the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan.

    “In my personal opinion, given the destruction during the Buzdar regime and in the manner in which Punjab was progressing till 2018, it is Punjab’s need that Shehbaz Sharif take charge of Punjab’s affairs,” PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah told Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada.

    “Had Shehbaz Sharif got the opportunity to [serve as the chief minister] after the 2018 elections as well, then Punjab would have become an example for the rest of Pakistan,” Sanaullah, who served as the interior minister under Shehbaz in the Centre, said.

    According to the PML-N leadership, Shehbaz Sharif can work in any capacity under the leadership of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

    “My assessment says that Shehbaz Sharif will be ready to work with Nawaz Sharif in any capacity. He will not complain about it,” the ex-interior minister said.

  • How did Imran Khan meet Bushra Bibi?

    How did Imran Khan meet Bushra Bibi?

    Khawar Maneka, the ex-husband of Bushra Bibi, gave an interview on Geo News’ show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath’, where he revealed details of the beginning of Imran Khan’s relationship with his ex-wife.

    He said that Bushra Bibi’s sister Maryam Watto arranged a meeting between the two for the first time in 2014. A few months later, Khan married his second wife Reham Khan.

    In 2016, former model Qandeel Baloch revealed that Bushra Bibi used to meet Imran Khan.

    Khawar Maneka then stated that he has a residence in Islamabad’s Bani Gala area, while Bushra Bibi met Imran Khan at his residence in the same area.

    Revealing that he and Bushra got separated in 2017, six months before Khan and Bushra’s wedding, Maneka said that Bushra Bibi went to her house in Pakpattan city and didn’t come back even though he tried to get her back.

    One day he received a text message from Bushra Bibi’s friend Farah Gogi asking him to divorce ‘Pinky’ (alias of Bushra Bibi), he said.

    After that, Khawar Maneka said that he sent divorce papers to Bushra through Farah Gogi on November 14, 2017.

    According to a report filed by journalist Umar Cheema, Bushra Bibi and Imran Khan’s nikah took place on January 1, 2018. This puts the period of iddat in doubt.

    On the other hand, Bushra Bibi’s son and Khawar Maneka deny reports claiming Imran Khan’s nikah took place on January 1, 2018.

    Nikahkhwan Mufti Saeed said in his statement that the first nikah of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi was illegal, which took place in January1, 2018 as Bushra Bibi had not completed her iddat.

    Mufti said Imran Khan contacted him again a month later, requesting him to solemnise the nikah for the second time with Bushra Bibi, saying her iddat was not completed at the time of the nikah.

  • Resolution supporting military trials against civilians is unconstitutional, says Raza Rabbani

    Resolution supporting military trials against civilians is unconstitutional, says Raza Rabbani

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Raza Rabbani said on Monday that a resolution in favour of military trials against civilians is unconstitutional, promising that he will continue opposing it.

    Last week, the Senate passed a resolution against the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision on civilian trials in military courts, calling for halting implementation of the judgment “unless it is considered by a larger bench”. 

    Jamaat-e-Islami’s Mushtaq Ahmed and PPP’s Rabbani opposed the resolution against the apex court’s decision.

    Speaking in the Senate on Monday, Raza Rabbani said that he voted for setting up military courts in the country in 2015 as he was bound by his party’s discipline.

    He also said that he voted in support of the resolution at the time on behalf of PPP. “I was ashamed for voting for the bill,” he said, adding that he, even today, was ashamed.

    After voting in favour of setting up military courts in January 2015, the senator was in tears.

    Rabbani said that he “never felt as ashamed” as he was on that day.

  • PML-N rejects reports that it will change 18th Amendment

    PML-N rejects reports that it will change 18th Amendment

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rejected a report that the party will bring changes to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, if it came back to power.

    PML-N’s manifesto committee chief, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, a close aide of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and the party’s Information Secretary, Marriyum Aurangzeb, both have rejected the report.

    Senator Siddiqui also said that “We have not received any such recommendations.” He further stated that party leadership didn’t ever discuss the matter in internal meetings.

    “We reject the false report related to changes in the 18th Amendment,” said Marriyum Aurangzeb.

    According to a report published in DAWN today, the PML-N’s manifesto committee received several proposals, including the swing in the 18th Amendment to change the distribution structure of budget among provinces.

    “There’s a very strong feeling, rather conviction, among the party’s top leadership that the current arrangements of financial resources distribution among the provinces [under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution] has created unsustainable financial problems,” PML-N source had told the publication on the condition of anonymity.

    “So far, it’s believed that the party would not go for an outright reversal of the 18th Amendment, but it would address its key features and reshape the distribution mechanism of financial resources among the provinces. You would hopefully see it as part of the PML-N manifesto,” the source had explained.

    Two party leaders, who had spoken to the publication anonymously, had also confirmed the development.

    Earlier in the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in April 2020 that the “18th Amendment should be revisited to run the country’s affairs effectively.”

  • JUI-F opposes rigging of elections, even if it’s in party’s favour, says Fazlur Rehman

    JUI-F opposes rigging of elections, even if it’s in party’s favour, says Fazlur Rehman

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Monday that he is strictly against political engineering and rigging of elections, adding that his party will oppose this “heinous crime.”

    While addressing a two-day general council meeting, Fazlur Rehman said that “rigging of elections is the most heinous crime. We would not allow it even if it is in our favour, adding that his party has differences with state institutions, but it doesn’t want permanent rivalry with them.

    “We would continue to speak against wrongs. We know how to protect our mandate, and we will never tolerate rigging at any cost,” the former-ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief said.

    Fazal stated this after he was chosen as JUI-F central chief and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as general secretary for another five-year term.

    The upcoming election on February 8 was also on the agenda of a two-day central general council huddle.

  • Former foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan passes away

    Former foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan passes away

    Gohar Ayub Khan, former foreign minister and ex-Speaker of the National Assembly, breathed his last on Friday.
    The Secretary General of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),verified that his father has passed peacefully after a brief illness.
    “Qul will be offered at 11am at Omar Ayub Khan’s residence Main G.T Road Haripur on 19th November,” he added.

    Born in 1937, the former foreign minister was under treatment in a private hospital in Islamabad for quite some time, PTI spokesperson Rauf Hussain confirmed.

    Gohar Ayub Khan was the son of former field marshal president Ayub Khan.
    President Dr. Arif Alvi conveyed profound sadness and Omar Ayub Khan sorrow on the passing of the former foreign minister. He extended heartfelt condolences to the grieving family.

    Interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also conveyed profound sadness and condolences on Gohar’s passing. In a message, the premier offered prayers for the high ranks of the departed soul and for the grieving family to find strength in coping with their loss.

  • Bilawal Bhutto labels “traditional politics” country’s worst enemy

    Bilawal Bhutto labels “traditional politics” country’s worst enemy

    As political parties gear up for election activities, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), expressed concerns about the continuation of traditional politics, labeling it the country’s worst enemy. He emphasized the importance of embracing “new politics,” as reported by Geo News on Friday.

    Speaking at a workers’ convention in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan, Bilawal said: “We need to [embark] on a new political [direction and strategy] which will allow us to overcome the issues faced by the country.”

    He added: “Veteran politicians neither think about the present nor the future [as] they are still stuck in the past. We want to leave behind the politics of division, hate and abuse which [as part of] the traditional politics has been going on for the [past] 70 years.”
    While talking about contemporary politics and its advantages, Bilawal Bhutto said, “We have to become the voice of the ‘new politics’ […] We think about the present and future and not what’s in the past.”

    Earlier in the week, while talking at a worker’s convention in Abbottabad, the PPP chairman said that “new political leadership” is needed if the country is to progress.

  • Donald Lu kay khilaf muqadma hoga Amreeka mein: Aleema Khan

    Donald Lu kay khilaf muqadma hoga Amreeka mein: Aleema Khan

    Alima Khan, the sister of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has claimed that the cipher case involves the complete complicity of the US Embassy.

    While talking to the media, she said that they will file a case against Donald Lu in American courts.

    Donald Lu, a US diplomat in the State Department, was blamed by Imran Khan for orchestrating the no-confidence vote that led to his ouster in April 2022.

    Donald Lu’s talks with a Pakistani diplomat were conveyed in a diplomatic cipher sent to Islamabad that caused uproar in Pakistan.

    Alima Khan confirmed that the case will be filed in the US while talking to the media outside Adiala Jail, where Imran Khan is currently held under tight security.

    She assured the public that Imran Khan’s health was in good condition, emphasizing his well-established routine and the absence of any complaints about the food provided by the authorities.

    She also said that the High Court has issued a stay order in the cipher case, and clauses are being added which carry the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment.

    Alima Khan demanded that authorities specify the charges against Imran Khan that led to these serious allegations and probable punishments. She urged for justice to be served in Pakistan.

    Alima Khan claimed that Imran Khan asserted that the American Embassy was fully involved in the conspiracy, and if justice is not served in Pakistani courts, they will pursue the case against Donald Lu in the United States.

    The Cases

    The former prime minister is currently being held in Adiala Jail after his arrest from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5.

    He was moved to the prison on September 26 from Attock Jail where he was initially kept after his arrest.

    Khan was first convicted by a lower court in the Toshakhana case in August and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. The IHC suspended his sentence the same month.

    The Islamabad accountability court issued arrest warrants for PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana and £ 190 million Al-Qadir Trust cases on Tuesday.

    Khan was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 for the first time.

    The £ 190 million (approximately Rs60 billion) settlement case pertains to the money of property tycoon, Malik Riaz, being laundered and caught by the UK authorities during Imran’s government in 2019.

    The UK government had informed the Pakistani authorities regarding the money being caught.

    The former premier is already in prison as he was subsequently booked in the ‘cipher’ case. The hearing of the cipher case in the special court has been adjourned without proceeding till November 21.

    In the cipher case, Khan, along with his close aide and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has been accused of leaking state secrets.