The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday approved former prime minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gillani’s application to transfer his vote to Islamabad; after he arrived at the election watchdog’s office with two other former premiers.
Gillani is reportedly being fielded for the federal capital seat in the upper house of the parliament by the join opposition, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
The former premier’s vote has been registered at his address of Sector F-8 in Islamabad, making him eligible to contest the Senate elections from the federal capital.
He had moved the ECP on Friday and arrived at the election watchdog’s office on Saturday with his successor Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Former Governor Punjab Muhammad Latif Khosa’s daughter Sehr Khosa tied the knot over the weekend and the two-day event was a glittering affair with several notable politicians, including Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Yousuf Raza Gillani, in attendance.
While CM Buzdar, Yousuf Raza Gillani, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and former CJP Asif Saeed Khosa attended the baraat on Saturday, December 19, BBZ, Governor Sarwar and former CJP Saqib Nisar attended the valima on Sunday, December 20.
American blogger Cynthia Ritchie has doubled down on accusation and claimed that she had been harassed by multiple political leaders during her time in Pakistan.
In an interview with a local news outlet, she revealed detailed of alleged harassment by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwarts Yousaf Raza Gillani, Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Rehman Malik.
She said that after Osama bin Laden was killed, Malik, who was the interior minister at the time, asked her to visit the minister’s enclave to discuss her visa. She added that she agreed because some officials told her that “real business is done out of the office”.
Cynthia said that when she visited the minister’s enclave, she was welcomed with flowers and was offered a drink. “About a drink and a half into my visit, I felt dizzy and the next thing I remember is he getting me to sit down and I was in his bed,” she claimed.
She also claimed that Malik’s driver helped her dress up and told her that they wanted her to distance herself from the NGO she was working in since it was run by Azam Swati’s daughter and the politician had recently joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
She said that the driver put 2,000 pounds into the car with her and made her take it with her. She added that the Malik also gifted her a mobile phone which was used to spy on her.
She said that she was also harassed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and they stole her ‘Emerging Pakistan’ idea.
She further said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had been more civil and she has more respect for them than she has for the PPP.
Responding to a question, Cynthia denied working for intelligence agencies.
When the interviewer contacted Gillani and Shahabuddin, both denied the allegations.
In a shocking development, a former prime minister (PM) and two of his cabinet members have been accused of manhandling and sexually assaulting Islamabad-based United States (US) blogger nine years ago.
As per the details, Cynthia Dawn Ritchie has accused some of the top Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders of subjecting her to the treatment during the party’s third tenure in Centre from 2008 to 2013, also alleging that PPP stalwart and then federal minister for interior Rehman Malik raped her — an accusation denied by both Malik and then PM Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.
The accusation comes a week after the blogger posted some controversial tweets involving slain former PM Benazir Bhutto which attracted a load of criticism and cyberharassment both from party’s local leadership and its support base.
“In 2011, I was raped by the former interior minister Rehman Malik. That’s right, I’ll say it again. I was raped by the then interior minister Rehman Malik,” Ritchie said in the live video on her Facebook page.
She also accused former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin of “physically manhandling” her while the former was staying at the “President’s House”.
Ritchie said she was reserving “some of the more graphic details” because her audience could include children, but added that she would be “happy to go into more detail” with neutral investigative journalists.
The blogger alleged that she has endured harassment “primarily from the PPP” for a number of years now. “I have received countless threats against my life, rape threats, claims that PPP has my father,” she claimed, adding that she has “evidentiary support” of everything she has been posting.
Ritchie also said she had informed about the incident to “someone” at the US Embassy in 2011, “but due to ‘fluid’ situation and ‘complex’ relations between US and Pakistan, [the] response was less than adequate”.
And, yes, I did tell someone at the UsEmb in 2011, but due to ‘fluid’ situation and ‘complex’ relations between US and Pakistan, response was less than adequate.
I’ve been engaged to a wonderful man who I met in . He encouraged me to speak out, so we can move on as a couple. https://t.co/PpfdF9Fuib
— Cynthia D. Ritchie (@CynthiaDRitchie) June 5, 2020
The US embassy in Pakistan has not reacted to the claims as of yet.
ACCUSED DENY CLAIMS:
In their responses, both Gillani and Malik strongly denied the accusations.
Gilani said that he even considered responding to such allegations “humiliation and disgrace”.
Talking to a private news channel on Friday, the former premier questioned as to what Richie was doing at the Presidency when she was allegedly manhandled, and why she had been staying in Pakistan.
Interestingly, it was Gillani himself who in 2010, through the Ministry of Interior which was then headed by Malik, empowered then Pakistan ambassador in Washington Hussain Haqqani to directly issue diplomatic visas to Americans without clearance of relevant authorities.
The former premier further alleged that the blogger had come to Pakistan as part of a campaign to malign politicians.
Gillani claimed that Ritchie was maligning him because his two sons had filed a defamation case against her for her allegedly defamatory tweet against Benazir.
I had gone to the @cybercrimefia against cynthia’s baseless allegations on our party leader, late Benazir Bhutto shaheed. So this #muftkhorcynthia decided to attack my father former prime minster Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. He has responded to her filthy allegation.1/3 https://t.co/oHB8gIW3zj
— Ali Haider Gilani (@ahaidergilani86) June 5, 2020
The PPP has also lodged a complaint with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against her for making “extremely derogatory and slanderous remarks” against Benazir.
Malik, in his response, called the allegations “baseless, shameful, and inappropriate”.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the former minister said that the purpose behind the allegations was to damage the reputation of the PPP leader.
While support pours in for the US blogger, a number of people are also engaging in war of words over social media over the validity of her claims.
