Tag: The Current

  • ‘Elections either in three months or two years’; Raja Riaz sets alarm bells ringing

    ‘Elections either in three months or two years’; Raja Riaz sets alarm bells ringing

    Opposition leader in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz, has set alarm bells ringing with his prediction that if elections are not held within three months, they will be delayed for two years.

    “I can see two scenarios. I have told you about them both,” he told Dawn News in an interview. When prompted if he had been told this by someone, Riaz clarified that it was what he can foresee based on his political experience.

    “There are two positions. One, if you look at democracy and constitution, general elections should take place within 90 days,” he said. However, he added that considering the severe economic challenges the country is facing, “a decision in the nation’s interest should be taken.”

    He also expressed the opinion that a caretaker setup should be given at least one year to fix the economic problems.

    Raja Riaz is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to give names for his nominees of caretaker Prime Minister.

  • Nawaz will face the law after return to the country, Shehbaz confirms

    Nawaz will face the law after return to the country, Shehbaz confirms

    According to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif, will face the law after his return to Pakistan.

    In an interview on Geo News’ ‘Jirga’, Shehbaz Sharif said that his brother, the former prime minister who has been living in London since 2019, will come back to his homeland in the next few weeks.

    Shahbaz Sharif further said that “Nawaz Sharif will return home and face the courts and he is not like Imran Khan who is not respecting the law while living in this country”

    In a response to a question, PM Shehbaz called the May 9 riots, which were started by the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in a corruption case, a conspiracy against Pakistan.

    The Prime Minister further said, “Those involved in the May 9 incidents wanted to overthrow the military leadership”.

    Shehbaz Sharif also said that the people involved in the May 9 riots as well as the planners of this incident wanted “anarchy” and “civil war”.

    To another question, the prime minister said that his government struggled hard to bring the country back from default risk and restore the lost dignity of Pakistan.

  • Former KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan gets expelled by PTI

    Former KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan gets expelled by PTI

    After joining the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday terminated the membership of the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Mahmood Khan.

    Wilson Wazeer, Ishtia Urmar, Iqbal Wazeer, Yaqoob Sheikh, and Shafiq Afridi, all former KP legislators, have also been dismissed from the PTI.
    Days after being expelled from the PTI earlier this month, Pervez Khattak, a former close aide to Imran Khan, founded PTI-Parliamentarians.
    On announcing the launch of the new party, the former defense minister condemned the attacks of May 9.

    “Our existence is directly linked to that of Pakistan. PTI is now completely finished in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the former provincial chief minister said.

    Two other close aides, Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan, along with other individuals, founded the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party last month.

  • Rana Sanaullah says Dar ‘neither nominated nor rejected’ for caretaker PM slot.

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said on Friday that no one proposed the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for caretaker Prime Minister.

    “Neither was Ishaq Dar’s name suggested, nor was it rejected. It can be a rumour,” the minister remarked while speaking on Geo News’ programme “Geo Pakistan”.

    Admitting that discussions are currently taking place about the interim setup, Sanaullah said that the caretaker Minister should be a politician or a bureaucrat.

    “In case there’s a consensus that a politician can be appointed, then it can either be Ishaq Dar or any other politician from any party,” he said.
    He offered assurances that the government will appoint a suitable person on the position.

    As yet many names have surfaced in various reports and rumors about who will get the coveted position of caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, including Ishaq Dar, caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi and textile baron Gohar Ijaz.

  • Shabbar Zaidi says Pakistan would have economically collapsed had Imran Khan govt continued

    Shabbar Zaidi says Pakistan would have economically collapsed had Imran Khan govt continued

    The economic performance of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has been criticised by Shabbar Zaidi, one of its own highest ranking officials.

    In an interview with Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada, Zaidi said that Pakistan would have economically collapsed had the PTI government continued.

    “Had this […] government continued, the party would not have even secured 5% votes as the country would have economically collapsed,” the former Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) head, appointed with much fanfare at the time by Imran Khan, said on the show.

    Accusing the then-Prime Minister of not “listening” to anyone who was offering advice to rectify the government’s shortcomings, Zaidi said that Imran Khan did remove Asad Umar as Finance Minister when told of the government’s poor performance.

    He narrated an incident where 40 parliamentarians, led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, barged into his office after he “mistakenly” sent a tax notice to a landlord in Multan.

    He also accused Asad Qaiser, the former Speaker of the National Assembly of preventing the tobacco industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from being brought into the tax net.

    “You cannot do this…you cannot enter our areas,” Qaiser told Zaidi.

    Shabbar Zaidi was the head of FBR from 2019 till 2020.

  • ‘This is not Punjab Police’; When Gen Bajwa resigned in anger

    ‘This is not Punjab Police’; When Gen Bajwa resigned in anger

    Since the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a Vote of No Confidence in April 2022, political analysts have wondered what led to a falling out between the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the then-Army Chief, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    Kamran Yousaf has unveiled new details of the falling-out between the two. In a report for Express Tribune, Yousaf has revealed that at one point in the growing chasm between the two, General Bajwa resigned from the post of Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

    On the morning of October 7, 2021, General Bajwa informed Azam Khan, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, that he was resigning, giving the Premier one week to appoint a new Chief.

    The information, conveyed on a phone call, left the government in panic. Within the hour, top military officials reached out to General Bajwa, pleading with him to not resign.

    How had matters reached this point? The fallout begun when Imran Khan secured a vote of confidence after his candidate for senate, Hafeez Sheikh, was defeated by the opposition’s candidate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani. General Bajwa told Imran Khan that after securing members for his vote, the establishment will no longer manage political maneuvering for his government.
    He was also told that General Faiz Hameed, Director-General of Inter-Serviced Intelligence (DG ISI) will be transferred from his post, in line with army procedures. Imran asked for a month, then more time.

    In October, General Bajwa informed the Prime Minister that the transfer cannot be delayed further, to which Imran replied by asking for changes in the procedure. This led to a heated argument between the two former proponents of ‘same page’.

    “This is not the Punjab Police, Mr Prime Minister,” Bajwa told Imran bluntly.

    Imran agreed to the change, leading to ISPR issuing a notification.

    The very next morning, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry issued a statement that the appointment was the Prime Minister’s domain, hinting that the appointment was not done with his approval.

    A furious General Bajwa conveyed to the PM office his decision to resign. Convinced to not do so by military officials, he again met Imran Khan where the two reached a compromise.

    General Faiz would serve for a few more weeks while Imran would then agree to Bajwa’s candidate.

    The relationship between the two was, however, damaged and would never be the same again.

  • Upto 2-years imprisonment, fines for defaming the Army; Senate approves Army Act amendments

    Upto 2-years imprisonment, fines for defaming the Army; Senate approves Army Act amendments

    The Army Act Amendment Bill has sailed through the Senate on Thursday after Defence Minister Khwaja Asif presented it in the Upper House. The Senate session was chaired by the Chairman of the Senate, Sadiq Sanjrani.

    According to the bill, the disclosure of official information obtained in national interest will be punished by up to 5 years in jail, while anyone who discloses information against the interests of Pakistan or the Pakistan Army will be dealt with under the Secrets Act or Army Act.

    According to the bill, a person on sensitive duty will not become involved in any political activity. Violation of the rule can be sentenced by up to 2 years of imprisonment.

    Any person involved in electronic crimes whose aim is to defame the Army will be prosecuted under Electronic Crimes. It is further stated in the bill that a person involved in defaming the Army or spreading hatred against it will also be sentenced with to up to 2 years imprisonment and fines.

    While this was happening, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) staged a walkout from the Senate, calling the passage of several bills in one day “blind legislation.”

  • PML-N convinces allies to grant extra powers to caretaker PM

    PML-N convinces allies to grant extra powers to caretaker PM

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has convinced other allies in the government on the matter of granting extra powers to the caretaker set-up.

    The matter was discussed during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, headed by PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. Article 230, which relates to the functions of the caretaker government, also came under discussion.

    According to the proposed bill, the caretaker government will be given unrestricted powers, but allied parties opposed the bill, and the matter was deferred.

    After the discussion in today’s meeting, PML-N agreed to make minor changes to the bill. After these changes, the caretaker government will only engage with bilateral donors and multilateral institutions.

    After the new changes, the caretaker government will have the powers under clause 2A of Section 230. The caretaker government will not be able to reach a new agreement after these changes in the bill. But the caretaker government can use its powers on ongoing projects.

    Ahmed Bilal Mehboob also told The Current that “Unelected Prime Minister should not have extra powers, and it is totally opposite to the democratic system”.

  • Imran Khan to be indicted in ECP contempt case in August

    Imran Khan to be indicted in ECP contempt case in August

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed the indictment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan till August 2 in a contempt case filed against him, Geo News has reported.

    The ECP had on Monday ordered that the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) be arrested and presented before the ECP in a case in which he allegedly used “”intemperate” language against the constitutional body and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

    A four-member bench, headed by Nisar Durrani, heard the case.

    One of the members of the bench said that the commission will frame the charge against the former PM on August 2, and the bench directed that Imran Khan should appear in person at the next hearing.

    Earlier last year, the ECP issued contempt notices in exercise of its powers of contempt, against PTI chief Imran Khan and party leaders for allegedly using “intemperate” language against the chief election commissioner and ECP. The electoral body asked them to appear in person or through their counsel before the commission to explain their position.

    During today’s hearing, Imran Khan’s lawyer, Shaheen Sohail, requested to adjourn the hearing until September.

    “We have only one month of vacation, and since you asked for a personal appearance, we have appeared”, Shaheen said.

    He further added, “Earlier, there were other lawyers on this case; now, I am the lawyer. This is my first appearance.”

  • Imran Khan gets relief from the court in lawyer’s murder case

    Imran Khan gets relief from the court in lawyer’s murder case

    Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had received respite on Monday when the Supreme Court (SC) restricted the police from arresting the former prime minister until August 9 in connection with the Quetta murder of senior lawyer Abdul Razzaq Shar.

    The Supreme Court heard a petition on Monday against the former prime minister’s nomination in the case involving Shar’s killing via gunshot in Quetta.

    On June 6, Advocate Shar was assassinated by unknown individuals on three motorcycles when he was going to the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

    Ataullah Tarar, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM), claimed that the targeted murder was connected to a treason case Shar was bringing forth against Imran under Article 6 of the Constitution. He has also said that Imran Khan is “directly responsible” for the murder of a famous lawyer.

    A three-judge panel made up of Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Mussarat Hilali ordered Imran Khan  to appear before the court on August 9.