After mostly staying away from public view since the Feb 8 general elections, PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif made a conspicuous appearance on Monday by chairing three administrative meetings of the Punjab government.
The move has raised many eyebrows since Nawaz holds no official position in either the provincial or federal government and is officially only a National Assembly member.
An official handout issued after the meeting said the PML-N supremo issued directions to ministers and officials regarding different infrastructure projects, including the underground train and metro bus, farmers’ plight, electric bikes for students and Ramazan relief package.
PTI leader Latif Khosa has downplayed the alleged split within the party over the decision to join the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Speaking on Geo News show Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, he said: “Nothing is happening. When you ask different people then they will give their own opinion.”
He instead hinted at the issue allegedly being perpetuated by the PTI’s opposition and the former caretaker government.
Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman has presented the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 worth Rs4,480.7 billion in today’s Punjab Assembly session, Radio Pakistan reports.
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PTI’s Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has defended the party’s decision to join the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), saying that it was a “very correct and serious decision”.
He said the SIC was the most suitable party in comparison to other political parties present in Parliament to avail the reserved seats.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Engineer Ziaur Rehman has filed his nomination papers for the NA-44 seat, which PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur vacated after his election as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister.
PTI MNA Malik Amir Dogar has said that the decision of PTI-backed winning candidates joining the Sunni Ittehad Council — currently facing criticism from some party leaders — was taken with party founder Imran Khan’s permission.
Speaking to reporters outside the Islamabad High Court, Dogar said, “There is no dispute. Everything was done with consensus.
“When I had gone to meet Imran Khan *sahib — Ali Muhammad Khan and Barrister Gohar sahib, [Latif] Khosa sahib were with me — there was consensus,” he added.
“We had two to three options. Among those, we chose this with Khan sahib’s permission,” Dogar said on the matter of joining the SIC.
PTI-Parliamentarian Information Secretary Ziaullah Bangash has termed PTI MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s allegations regarding corruption in the former KP government as “baseless and false”.
In a post on X, he said former chief minister Mahmood Khan “outright rejected such unfounded accusations”, terming Marwat’s remarks as “childish”.
“Members from previous terms are also included in the current cabinet, so do not tarnish Imran Khan’s leadership,” Bangash added.
He urged Marwat to present evidence to the National Accountability Bureau if there was any.
PTI leader Taimur Jhagra has called out the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for using “delaying tactics” to prevent candidates’ petitions from being submitted before the election tribunals.
In a post on X, the former KP finance minister said the electoral watchdog’s behaviour will only raise “serious questions” about its role in the entire process.
“Candidates across 9 Peshawar seats having been ping-ponged across ROs, DROs, and ECP to try to get attested copies of the supposed Forms 45 that tally with the Forms 47 of the result. This is happening despite high court orders,” Jhagra alleged.
Ex-premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has called for the country’s politicians to hold a national dialogue to bridge the “divides”.
In an interview with DawnNewsTV, the estranged PML-N leader said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should hold talks with “everyone”.
“He will have to sit together. It is a reality — whether you accept it or not — that the PTI has won seats. The fight is on how many,” he said.
Abbasi further said, “May God guide the PTI so that they understand what is a parliamentary system. They have entered it [so] should [play the role as] opposition; they are in such huge numbers.”
The politician asserted, “Until a consensus is reached, the country cannot be run.”
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed candidates contesting Senate polls to submit their election returns of elections expenses on forms-C within 30 days, APP reports.
According to a notification issued by the electoral watchdog, the candidates need to comply with the directions within the allotted time or face action under Sections 136 (4) and 136 (5).
Former Senator Babar Awan and PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub have met Aliya Hamza and Sanam Javed — party members who have been in jail in cases pertaining to the May 9 violence.
In a post on X, Awan termed the incarcerated women’s morale “higher than the Himalayas”. “Release Imran Khan and jailed women,” he added.
Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that it was difficult for a government that has “questions on its mandate” to run the country’s affairs.
In an interview with DawnNewsTV, the seasoned politician said the previous PML-N-led government of 16 months did not have a “quarrel on mandate”. “Today, fingers are pointed at the mandate.”
He further said that the “divide” in the country needed to be eliminated, for which the entire political, judicial and military leadership needed to “sit together”.
Abbasi added that time would tell if the current system of the country’s economic matters being decided by the Special Investment Facilitation Council would prove to be fruitful.
Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the Sunni Ittehad Council — the new home of PTI-backed winning candidates — has the right to reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
In an interview with DawnNewsTV, the estranged PML-N leader said, “If they did not submit a list [of the candidates], there is a solution for that as well.
“If they cannot do this either, then leave the [reserved] seats vacant,” Abbasi added.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership is indispensable for the progress and prosperity of the two countries, Radio Pakistan reports.
Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong called on FM Dar in Islamabad today, where the latter reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to making joint endeavours for further deepening bilateral relations and to advance phase II of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Ambassador Jiang underscored the special importance China accords to Pakistan and its firm support for the country’s socioeconomic development, and industrial and agricultural cooperation, the report stated.
He also agreed with Dar on the high-quality development of phase II of CPEC.
PTI’s estranged member Akbar S. Babar has urged Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to conduct an inquiry into the PTI’s alleged “secret” bank accounts abroad.
In a letter to Naqvi, a copy of which was also sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Babar recalled the years-long prohibited funding case against the PTI, in which the ECP ruled that the party did indeed receive prohibited funding.
He quoted details from the ECP order, including “private bank accounts of PTI employees illegally used to collect donations” and “grossly inaccurate and wrong” filing of signed certificates by ex-premier Imran Khan.
“There is a need to pursue with full vigour all instances of violations of law documented in the ECP of Aug 2, 2022,” Babar asserted.
The letter mentioned seven foreign bank accounts “identified” during the proceedings of the case and “admitted by PTI” — three Bank of America accounts, one in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, one in Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and two in Lloyds Bank. It further said three sources of funding were revealed — from PTI Finland, PTI Norway and Insaf New Zealand.
Terming “illegal funding of political parties” as a matter of national security, Babar urged the interior minister to “seek details of all PTI international bank accounts maintained abroad through the Mutual Legal Assistance arrangements” and to take action against the perpetrators.
PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan has termed it “shameful that X has remained blocked in the country for over one month now.”
“We fully endorse 28 civil society organisations’ demand for immediate removal of ban on the social media platform allowing free flow of information as should be the case in a democratic country,” he wrote in a post on X.
The statement by organisations had said: “We urge the incoming government, regulators and other public bodies to recognise that any action that affects the flow of information and limits has a direct and lingering impact on citizens’ human rights including the right to political participation.”
Signatories include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, the Pakistan Press Foundation and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
The Supreme Court has ordered fresh elections in Balochistan’s PB-50 constituency of Qila Abdullah, declaring “null and void” the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order for re-polling in only six polling stations.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa heard the case today.
ANP leader Zamrud Khan’s win in the Feb 8 elections was challenged by PML-N leader Malik Nawaz in the ECP. Subsequently, Zamrud filed a plea against the electoral watchdog’s decision in the top court.
During the hearing today, the CJP cautioned against involving the court in election-related matters, pointing out that appeals should be filed in tribunals.
“The court cannot hear 400 election cases,” CJP Isa remarked. “If both parties are satisfied, they can conduct re-polling across the entire constituency.”
The court ordered re-polling in the constituency after all the parties agreed to it.
Privatisation and Board of Investment Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that all development projects would be completed in a coordinated manner in accordance with the public interest to ensure their sustainability, Radio Pakistan reports.
Speaking at a ceremony in his NA-117 constituency in Lahore, Aleem said that before the construction of roads, sewerage and other essentials would be ensured so that the public exchequer could be saved.
The Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party leader pledged to address long-standing public interest issues being faced by the residents in his constituency on top priority.
The scrutiny of nomination papers filed for 48 vacant seats of the Senate will be carried out tomorrow, Radio Pakistan reports.
A revised list of the candidates will be issued on March 26 and candidates can withdraw their nomination papers by the next day. Polling will be held on April 2.
In Islamabad, MNAs will elect members of the Senate against one general seat and one seat for technocrats, including Ulema.
Russian Consul General Andrey Fedorov has congratulated PPP’s Murad Ali Shah on his election as the Sindh chief minister.
In a post on X, the Sindh CM House confirmed Fedorov’s meeting with Shah.
PTI leader Musarrat Cheema has pleaded with the government to end the “chain of oppression against its own citizens”.
“We appeal that this chain of oppression against our own citizens must come to an end,” she said in a post on X. “The betterment of the country lies within this.”
Cheema claimed that such “injustice and unfair treatment” meted out to political prisoners was “unparalleled in history”.
“In the bogus cases of May 9, hundreds of Pakistanis have been subjected to the worst injustice for over 10 months now,” she added. “Despite their illnesses, they are being forced to undergo hardships daily. Lives of thousands of families have been destroyed.”
A session of the Punjab Assembly is scheduled to be held at 2pm today, Radio Pakistan reports.
Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan will chair the session.
Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman will present the budget for the remaining next three months during the session.