Politics

Amid reports of division, PTI decides to dissolve Punjab Assembly first

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Imran Khan meets MPs from PTI’s Rawalpindi Division.
PTI insists early election solution to economic crisis.
KP assembly will be dissolved after Punjab.

LAHORE: While there are reports of difference of opinion among the lawmakers, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Monday decided that it would dissolve the Punjab Assembly in the first phase, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly would be dissolved afterwards.

Sources privy to the matter reported that the decision about the dissolution of provincial assemblies and resignations from the National Assembly was made in a meeting chaired by PTI Chairman Imran Khan with the lawmakers from Rawalpindi Division.

Initially, the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved, the meeting decided as the party members are divided upon the plan and are urging to delay the dissolution of assemblies.

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar had earlier admitted that some members are against the party’s move and asked to delay it.

Chief Minister Pervez Elahi had also reportedly conveyed the PML-Q’s opinion on the issue to Imran Khan, advising him to be very careful in this regard before taking a final decision.

However, the PTI is adamant and warned the government to give an election date by December 20 or else they will dissolve the assemblies but the government has refused to budge.

The meeting with the Rawalpindi members on Monday, the sources added, also endorsed the plan to convert the nationwide protest movement into an electoral campaign.

They said that it was resolved in the meeting that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly would be dissolved in the second phase.

“All the members from Rawalpindi have confirmed that they would quit the National Assembly.”

The lawmakers said that the country was going through the worst economic crisis, adding that transparent snap elections were the only way to get out of the quagmire.

Imran Khan’s video address

Meanwhile, in a video address on Monday, Imran Khan said that the only solution to the ongoing “alarming” economic condition was holding early elections in the country.

“This might be the biggest economic crisis that this country has ever witnessed […] the media houses that had to inform the people about the ongoing economic crisis aren’t doing their job,” Khan said.

The ex-prime minister said he was not only addressing the nation, but he was also speaking to the institutions as economic deterioration would affect the entire country.

Khan said when the PTI government rolled out the National Security Policy (NSP), it mentioned that despite former soviet union’s armed forces being the strongest in the world, it could not save the state from collapse due to the economic condition.

The ex-premier said the judiciary should play its role as they will also “be answerable” if the economy further worsens. “Also, I am surprised at the business community’s silence.”

Khan said that amid the ongoing crisis, small and large-scale businesses were the most affected. He added that exports were also declining gradually.

“The business community should ask why aren’t the overseas Pakistanis sending remittances. In our tenure, remittances, textile exports, tax collection, all were at a record high,” he said.

Latest News

The IHC upholds Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail.

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail was granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.

The former first lady Bushra Bibi’s application to be transferred from Bani Gala sub-jail to Adiala was heard today.

Details reveal that the Islamabad High Court heard a motion to restore the denied petition about the relocation of Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder, from sub-jail Bani Gala to Adiala.

The application for the reinstatement of appeal was heard by Justice Miagul Hassan Aurangzeb. When state attorney Abdul Rehman entered the courtroom on behalf of the state, Usman Riaz Gill represented the former first lady.

State counsel did not object to the appeal being restored during court proceedings. At the following hearing, the court asked for assistance in determining what conditions must be met for a location to be designated as a sub-jail.

The court also mandated that Bushra Bibi’s medical examination be scheduled. The court subsequently delayed the hearing and gave instructions to fix the appeal for April 22.

Recall that the attorneys for former first lady Bushra Bibi, Barrister Salman Safdar, Usman Riaz Gill, and Khalid Yusuf Chaudhary, had filed an application to restore the dismissed appeal a day ago, but the Islamabad High Court had denied their request to pursue the case.

The petition contended that the traffic gridlock at the Sarina Chowk checkpoint was the reason for the delay in getting to the court.

The attorneys did not purposefully take their time getting to court. They warned that the petitioner would suffer irreversible loss if the petition was not resurrected.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has voiced his displeasure at the absence of attorneys from the court.

According to Judge Aurangzeb, the former first lady would have been imprisoned if Bushra Bibi’s attorneys had prevailed in this case. The attorneys themselves were opposed to Bushra Bibi’s incarceration.

Latest News

oath-taking ceremony for the Balochistan cabinet postponed

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

The Balochistan cabinet’s oath-taking ceremony, which was supposed to take place at the Governor’s House today (Thursday), has been rescheduled.
The Governor’s House spokeswoman announced that the Balochistan cabinet’s swearing-in event has been postponed. Nevertheless, there was no explanation provided for the ceremony’s postponement.

It is important to note that the 14-member Balochistan cabinet, which consists of two members from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and six ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was set to take the oath of office today, Thursday.

Latest News

Senior PML-N leaders want the X ban lifted.

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

A veteran party leader and former railways minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique, claimed the caretaker government’s social media ban didn’t help anyone.

Saad Rafique warned his party’s present government to avoid becoming a laughing stock since politics requires political moves.

“Bans and prohibitions come where dictatorship prevails over democracy,” PML-N veteran Javed Abbasi remarked of the social media ban.

“Can we ban matches factories fearing they ignite fire?” he asked. He said, “We scare of truth and try to keep it under the veil.”

He called the PML-N administration cruel for banning free speech.

The Interior Ministry said the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday that X, formerly Twitter, needed to be banned since it violated Pakistani legislation.

Interior Secretary Khurram Agha reported on the high court’s rulings on the social media ban petition for the ministry.

Social networking site X was down for two months in Pakistan when the hearing took place.