Politics

PML-N’s next strategy to focus on Bajwa, Faiz, Imran and former judges

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

PML-N inches closer to adopting aggressive narrative against five individuals.
Party’s focus to be on Bajwa, Faiz, Imran, Saqib Nisar and Khosa for “conspiring”to dislodge Nawaz.
Sources say everyone in PML-N agrees that new narrative will explain how country’s progress was halted in 2017.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is inching closer to adopting an aggressive narrative against five individuals for the economic and political chaos in the country and for bringing Pakistan to the current stage through a long-planned conspiracy.

The five individuals against whom the PML-N has started turning its guns with full ferocity are army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Lt General (retd) Faiz Hameed, retired judges Saqib Nisar, Asif Saeed Khosa and former prime minister Imran Khan.

Sources have confirmed that several senior figures of the party have recommended to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif that the party’s focus should be on Bajwa, Faiz, Imran , Saqib Nisar and Khosa, for being solely responsible for a conspiracy to dislodge Nawaz and his government in 2017, as well as rigging its mandate in 2018 to install Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

They said that almost everyone in PML-N agrees that attacks on these five individuals should be the new narrative of the party to explain to the people of Pakistan that the country’s progress was halted in 2017, when the Saqib Nisar-led judiciary went out of its way to expel Nawaz from electoral politics by disqualifying him for life in the Iqama case; appointing a Supreme Court monitoring judge against him and pressuring the judges to give verdicts against him, his family and colleagues.

The PML-N, said the sources, will focus on General (retd) Bajwa and Lt General (retd) Hameed for implementing a plan to bring Khan to power at all costs and this has brought Pakistan to the current stage after nearly four years of PTI’s government.

Since his ouster from power through a vote of no confidence in April 2022, former premier Khan has attacked General (retd) Bajwa – without naming him when he still held the army chief’s post and later naming him after his retirement. Khan also targetted other generals, calling them traitors, American agents and evil for not stopping the no-confidence motion against him. However, he has not said a word against General (retd) Hameed, whom he wanted to continue as the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence chief, but it was Nawaz who unleashed a storm in October 2020 when he named both General (retd) Bajwa and General (retd) Hameed in a live address from London, accusing them of ousting him from power to install Khan’s government through rigging in polls.

That narrative – of naming and shaming Bajwa and Faiz – was harshly criticised in media circles but it won support for Nawaz on the ground. However, the PML-N went quiet after coming to power in the Centre as Shehbaz Sharif became the prime minister. Now PML-N leaders are of the view that directly blaming the military establishment has won support for Khan as he had shifted all blames and wrongdoings towards his former backers while claiming innocence on his part for as long as he was in the government.

A senior leader confirmed that the new narrative was a work in progress and although the PML-N has wasted time in adopting this but now there is a feeling that this will be the permanent narrative of the party.

The senior leader confirmed: “Almost everyone is of the view that the rebranded narrative cannot succeed unless it takes the fight directly to the main characters of the political events of the last six years, who played a key role in bringing about the Tabdeeli project in the shape of Imran Khan. This is a project which could never have succeeded without full support from Saqib Nisar, General (retd) Bajwa, General (retd) Faiz Hameed and Asif Khosa. Everyone in Pakistan is aware of the role these characters played violating rules, Constitution, law and oath.”

Stung by the recent setbacks in Punjab, PML-N stalwarts have advised Nawaz that the only way forward is a constructive, aggressive approach which should minus no words in explaining to the masses what actually happened to Pakistan.

On their part, Nisar and Khosa have denied delivering political executions through their decisions. Khan maintains that he came to power after a struggle of nearly 24 years but he has accepted that the former generals Bajwa and Hameed were like pillars of strength for his party, including managing media, politics, lawmakers and votes in the upper and lower houses of parliament.

General (retd) Bajwa, through media confidantes, has said he offered every kind of support to the PTI government and Khan’s own ally Parvez Elahi has also publicly said that Bajwa and fellow generals “changed nappies” of Khan for nearly four years.

On its part, the PML-N is under criticism from its own supporters for adopting a laid back and passive approach since the ouster of Khan from power. The PML-N leadership is under attack from its supporters for not coming up with an aggressive position in response to its main rival PTI’s juggernaut, blaming the Pakistan military, the US and a “foreign conspiracy” to oust its government.

Latest News

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

Published

18 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

18 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.