Politics

Khan says ‘state machinery bending law to keep PTI out of electoral process’

Published

6 months ago

Farwa

Khan says Pakistan embroiled in unprecedented internal conflict.
Establishment became agitated with his foreign policy, he claims.
PTI founder says even women workers are jailed.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has said the entire state machinery is bending the law and the Constitution of Pakistan in a bid to keep him and his party out of the electoral process.

While addressing a virtual convention, the incarcerated former prime minister said this in an audio speech resembling his voice and created through artificial intelligence. The notes for the speech were reportedly dictated to the visiting party members in jail by the PTI founder himself.

Khan said Pakistan was embroiled in internal conflict never seen before in the history of Pakistan.

He said the hostility against him stemmed from his introduction of an independent foreign policy.

“They have made a mockery of the law and destroyed not just the political, but the moral fabric of our society. It started when the establishment became agitated with my push for an independent foreign policy,” he claimed.

The ex-PM said he was categorical that he would be a friend to all but would not be anyone’s proxy for wars. “I did not come to this view lightly. It was shaped by the huge losses Pakistan had incurred collaborating with America’s war on terror, not least the 80,000 Pakistani lives lost,” he said.

He said ever since his removal, several crackdowns had been made on his party workers and leadership. The most brutal crackdown, he said started after the “false flag operation” of May 9, 2023. “There were over 200 cases on him and he had been incarcerated for over 180 days.”

Khan said even women workers were jailed, most of whom were mothers and housewives. Such scale and nature of the state’s attack on women had never been seen in Pakistan, he maintained. Under the grand scheme hatched in London, he and his party were to be kept out of the electoral process, he said.

He rued over snatching of his party’s electoral symbol saying the continued political disturbance in the country had ruined the economy and alienated the country regionally.

“When all else backfired, now through a botched judicial process, our election symbol has also been taken away, leaving our candidates to run as independents under hundreds of different symbols. This continued political disturbance in our country has wrecked the economy and alienated our regional friends. During my time, we devised a foreign policy based on regional economic connectivity. We were aggressively pursuing this vision via reaching out CIS states, Russia, and renewed relationship with China,” he said.

Int’l day against Islamophobia

In the AI-generated speech, the former PM said his government offered facilitation to bring Iran and Yemen closer to Saudi Arabia. Whereas, in his UN General Assembly speech, he explained to the world the importance of Prophet Mohammed (SAWW), peace be upon him, for Muslim Ummah and helped introduce the UN General Assembly Resolution that had established 15th March as an international day against Islamophobia.

Khan, who was ousted from power in April last year via the opposition’s no-confidence motion, said his government had facilitated Doha talks for a peaceful exit of US forces from Afghanistan.

However, he said due to the sudden fall of Ghani regime, things quickly deteriorated and the withdrawal was marred by chaos.

“I am told that at a certain level, the Biden administration blames me for the messy US withdrawal, but this is far from the truth. Our government policy vision was regional economic connectivity. I extended my friendship hand to India in the very first speech after winning the elections, but at every point, RSS -led Modi regime shut us down,” he said.

‘Kashmir cornerstone of FP’

The PTI founder said after the illegal alteration of the status of Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and its transformation into the world’s largest open prison by a belligerent Modi regime, it was clear that their intention was not normalisation.

“Kashmir is a cornerstone of our foreign policy, and we took a firm and principled stand on this issue despite the challenges. Despite pressures, Pakistan went ahead with withdrawal of the ambassador to New Delhi, relaying a clear message that normalisation of relations was contingent upon peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute,” he said.

On how Pakistan could fare well from now onwards, he said Pakistan needed a strong “truly representative democratic government, and a democratic framework governed by rule of law and our constitution”.

Khan said he would like to call on all who believed in democracy and peace to stand by them and speak out against the present massacre of democracy and rule of law being carried out in Pakistan.

He began his speech by highlighting Israel’s brutal assault on the people of Gaza.

“With Israel’s brutal assault on the people of Gaza, slaughtering of thousands of children, women, journalists, doctors, effectively a genocide of the Palestinians, disturbance in international maritime waters, and continued war in Ukraine, the world is heading towards a grave international crisis,” he said.

Latest News

Containers were used to seal the Red Zone before JI’s sit-in at D-Chowk.

Published

21 hours ago

Farwa

Authorities in Islamabad have blocked off the Red Zone by erecting containers in front of today’s (Friday) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demonstration and the Jamaat-i-Islami sit-in at D-Chowk in Islamabad.

Jamaat-i-Islami is scheduled to stage a sit-in at Islamabad’s D-Chowk, and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has declared a nationwide protest against the country’s soaring inflation and recent spike in electricity rates.

Containers have been used to block access to the Red Zone’s main crossroads, D Chowk, Nadra Chowk, and Sarina Chowk.

ISLAMABAD, PUNJAB SECTION 144

In the meantime, in response to PTI and JI plans for statewide rallies, the federal and Punjabi governments enforced Section 144 in Islamabad and Punjab. Section 144 will be in force from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, July 28, per the notification that was released in this regard.

Rallies, sit-ins, protests, and rallies are prohibited from July 26 to July 28, according to a letter from the Home Department. It said that terrorists may find public gatherings to be an easy target and stated that the decision had been made with the threat of terrorism in mind.

In contrast, JI Secretary General Ameerul Azeem claimed in a statement that police had raided the residences of JI officials across the nation.

In an attempt to break up the protest, he said, police had targeted JI leaders and activists. He also alleged that multiple instances of police raids, arrests, and harassment of women had occurred in various towns.

GOVT ADVISED

The government was forewarned by Jamaat Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman earlier on Thursday that it would face consequences if the party was barred from accessing Islamabad for their scheduled demonstration against inflation and an increase in electricity prices.

He stated in a statement that their belief is in peaceful political protest as a means of securing public rights. “We are not afraid of arrests, and the Jamaat-e-Islami cannot be stopped,” he added.

“The historic sit-in on Friday, July 26, will represent 250 million people of Pakistan, and we will sit peacefully at D-Chowk.”

According to the JI, convoys are in route from all around the nation to participate in the sit-in. He encouraged the administration to offer a location for the protest, highlighting that it is their constitutional and democratic right to speak up for the country.

“Any political party that wishes to participate” was invited, and he welcomed them all.

Prior to the sit-in, police raided the residences of JI leaders and officials in many parts of Punjab and Rawalpindi, making multiple arrests.

Ameerul Azim, the central secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, was not able to be arrested during the police raid; instead, Shaukat Mahmood, his driver, was taken into custody.

Latest News

The Socioeconomic Registry of Punjab. Real data gathering is essential to effective governance. Maryam

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, announced that the province will introduce the “Apna Ghar Scheme,” adding that accurate data collecting is necessary in order to provide social security to the impoverished.

At the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry’s opening event in Lahore, the Maryam announced that the province’s government has started the “Roshan Gharana” project, which aims to provide 4.5 million individuals with solar panels on manageable installment plans.

Maryam Nawaz, who emphasized the necessity of centralized data, stated that data has become increasingly important in recent years since it makes basic amenities more accessible and aids in the classification of the poor.

She stated that several initiatives are being taken by the Punjabi government to assist those with disabilities.

The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, is dedicated to providing relief to the poor, according to Senior Provincial Minister Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb, who spoke on the occasion.

The government, she noted, is concentrating on health and education services.

Latest News

The ECP asks the SC to clarify the ruling in the PTI reserved seat case.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Seeking clarity on a court ruling concerning the allotment of particular seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) moved the Supreme Court on Monday.

ECP members reportedly agreed unanimously on the SC’s decision to consult the SC.

Particularly cited under Paragraph 10 of the Supreme Court ruling, the ECP has called attention to vagueness in the ruling. In order to determine which body is in charge of party certificate issuance, the ECP is asking the Supreme Court for advice.

Concerning the validity of PTI’s party structure, the ECP pointed out that the organisation hasn’t held internal elections.

In the lack of distinct party organisation and intra-party elections, there is ambiguity over which certifications hold recognition.

Position of ECP

The absence of intra-party elections, according to ECP sources, prevents Tehreek-e-Insaaf from operating as a legitimate organisation.

A plea for clarification on party certificate authority and recognition has been made to the Supreme Court by the ECP.

Resolving the existing ambiguity and guaranteeing proper electoral processes will depend on the Supreme Court’s clarity on these issues.

Continue reading: ECP orders implementation of SC ruling regarding PTI reserved seats

Previous to this, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reserved seat verdict will be implemented, according to a Friday announcement made by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of Pakistan.

On Friday, a meeting of ECP members was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

If the SC ruling is being carried out with any judicial decision becoming a roadblock, ECP has resolved to seek guidance from the judges in the room.

“The Supreme Court will be consulted for additional guidance in the event of any obstacles,” the ECP statement stated.

ECP declines resignation demand and political party criticism.

The chief election commissioner and members have been the target of persistent attack from a political party, which the highest electoral authority has sharply denounced. No political name was mentioned by the ECP.

The ECP called the demand for resignation from the party “absurd” and rejected the political party’s unjustified criticism, which had been made continuously.

Regardless of the pressure, the statement said, ECP would keep up its adherence to the law and the Constitution.