Politics

Zardari, Shujaat discuss ‘unfolding political situation’ in Punjab

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Zardari, Shujaat hold meeting in amid heightened political tensions.
“Fear” of Punjab assembly’s dissolution, other issues discussed.
Cheema, Bangash were among the attendees of the meeting.

Days after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan threatened to dissolve provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain at his residence on Monday.

Matters of “mutual interests”, the county’s overall situation, Punjab’s current political situation, fear of assembly dissolution and other matters were discussed in the meeting.

Federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema and Rukhsana Bangash were among the attendees of the meeting.

CM Punjab voices against assembly dissolution

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi said that he did not see elections taking place in the next four months.

In an interview with a private news channel, he said: “Elections cannot be held before four months; the federal and provincial governments need time to work and the elections may be delayed even after October next year.”

Although the PML-Q leader had repeatedly said that he fully backs the PTI chief’s decisions, his statement is in contrast with Khan’s threats of dissolving the assembly soon.

Refutes Khan’s claim

In today’s interview, CM Elahi also reiterated that former chief of army staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had asked the PML-Q to side with the PTI.

“General Bajwa sahib asked us to support Imran Khan. God changed our paths which were headed to the PML-N (Pakistan Mulsim League-Nawaz) and sent General Bajwa to show us the way,” he said.

He added that the ex-COAS did not call PML-Q stalwart Chaudhry Shujaat.

The chief minister refuted Khan’s claim that the former army chief had asked a group of the party to side with the PTI and the other to support PML-N.

“I had called General Bajwa myself. The institution told me that it was better for me to side with Imran Khan,” the chief minister also said.

Latest News

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

Published

19 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

19 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

20 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.