Pakistan

Imran Khan claims COAS, President Alvi discussed ‘early elections’

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Khan claims President met army chief and spoke about elections.
Says army chief’s appointment should be done like that of SC’s CJ.
Amendment to Army Act will be challenged in SC.

LAHORE: PTI Chairman Imran Khan Friday claimed that President Arif Alvi has met Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to discuss immediate and transparent elections.

Earlier today, President Alvi said that he will follow through on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice regarding the high-level appointment and he could not create hurdles in the much-anticipated process.

Sources told Geo News that Khan made the claim during an informal discussion with senior journalists in Lahore, where he also spoke regarding the army chief’s appointment.

“Appointment of the chief of the armed forces should be done like that of the Supreme Court’s chief justice,” Khan said, according to the sources.

The PTI chairman also added that the incumbent government is making proposed amendments to the Army Act for its own benefit.

“The proposed amendment to the Army Act will be challenged in the Supreme Court,” the former prime minister said and informed journalists that he hasn’t met General Bajwa in Lahore.

Speaking about hitting the road during his party’s long march as it moves ahead in Punjab’s Gujar Khan, Khan said that his doctors will examine him tomorrow and give their opinion accordingly.

“I will lead the long march myself from Rawalpindi,” the PTI chief said, according to sources.

Commenting on his attacker being presented in the court a day earlier, as per sources, the PTI chairman said: “Prime suspect of the Wazirabad attack was produced in the court after 14 days. I’m afraid that the evidence will be lost in these 14 days.”

Khan, when commenting about his party’s relations with the PML-Q, said that the “Q league is our ally. We have an excellent alliance with [Chief Minister Punjab] Pervaiz Elahi.”

Khan said that the biggest hurdle in the registration of the first information report (FIR) in relation to his attempted assassination was the former Inspector-General of Police in Punjab Faisal Shahkar.

The former prime minister, as informed by sources, also spoke about the use of electronic voting machines in general elections.

“I tried hard to stop rigging through EVMs in the elections. Nawaz [Sharif], [Asif Ali] Zardari, Election Commission [of Pakistan], and the handlers were on the same page on the matter of EVM,” the PTI chairman said, as told by sources.

Responding to a question about the possibility of becoming the next prime minister, Khan said that he will only become the premier if he gets complete powers.

“It cannot be that one person has authority and someone else has the responsibility,” the former premier said, sources informed.

Latest News

PM Shehbaz will meet with Saudi ministers and speak at the WEF special session today.

Published

13 hours ago

Farwa

On the third day of his visit to the Kingdom, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will speak at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting’s final plenary, which is titled “Rejuvenating Growth.”

Other speakers at the concluding plenary, in addition to the prime minister, are Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim, British Secretary of State David Cameron, WEF Geneva President Brørge Brende, and WEF Head of Middle East and North Africa Maroun Kairouz.

Meetings with Saudi ministers of trade, energy, the environment, and agriculture are also scheduled for the third day of the prime minister’s visit. He will probably also meet with his counterpart from Malaysia.

Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, will be present at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development, which gets underway here today.

Latest News

The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

Published

13 hours ago

Farwa

A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

Latest News

Audio leaks case: FIA, PTA, and PEMRA pleas seeking Justice Sattar’s recusal dismissed

Published

13 hours ago

Farwa

The Islamabad High Court fined each of the three government departments Rs. 500,000 on Monday after dismissing their arguments against a bench trial over audio leaks.

The court may also hold the heads of the aforementioned departments—the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)—culpable for contempt.

In the audio leak case, four government agencies—the PEMRA, PTA, FIA, and Intelligence Bureau—filed separate petitions with the IHC, pleading for Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal and asking for the case to be heard by the same bench that has previously decided a case of a similar nature.

The petitioners contended that in order to prevent a different ruling, Justice Babar Sattar should recuse himself from the case that was decided in 2021. The petitions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, and Najamul Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, should also be brought before the same bench.

During the current hearing, Justice Sattar also issued a summons to IB Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood, directing him to come before the court for the case’s subsequent hearing.

Following the issue’s discovery in 2023, the judge has been considering the aforementioned petitions.

The government agencies contended in the petitions in the case before Justice Sattar that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had already resolved an analogous issue in 2021. Thus, in order to prevent a conflicting ruling and for the sake of justice, they asked the judge to recuse herself from the case.

The departments are requesting that Justice Sattar recuse himself after six IHC judges—among them, himself—complained in writing to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about intelligence agencies interfering with the court’s decision.

On March 25, the judges called for the calling of a judicial convention to address the issue of purported meddling by intelligence agents in the judicial activities or “intimidation” of judges in a way that jeopardised the judiciary’s independence.