Page 29 - Imran Khan

Army chief should be appointed on merit, says Pak's ousted PM Imran Khan

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan on Monday reiterated that the new army chief should be appointed on merit, asserting that the coalition government should not be allowed to appoint the next head of the powerful army. Addressing a rally in Punjab's Chakwal district, he also talked about the traitors who toppled his government and the failure of the current government to fix the economy. "Army chief should be appointed on merit and I believe only those nations prosper which follow merit, Khan said. Army chief General Javed Bajwa, 61, would retire on November 29 and his successor is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who is legally authorised to appoint the army chief. No country can prosper without meritocracy. You have no future when our 60% cabinet members are out on bail and our leaders are Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari, he said. Khan also said that the nation will not forget those traitors who imposed this "imported government" upon them, accusi

Pakistan court drops terrorism charges against former PM Imran Khan

In a major relief to former prime minister Imran Khan, a Pakistani court on Monday ordered to delete terror charges in a case against him for making controversial remarks against a female judge during a rally here last month. During a rally here on August 20, 69-year-old Khan had threatened to file cases against top police officials, election commission and political opponents over the treatment meted out to his aide Shahbaz Gill, who was arrested on charges of sedition. He had also taken exception to Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who had approved Gill's two-day physical remand at the request of the police, and said she should "prepare herself as action would be taken against her." Hours after the speech, Khan was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening police, judiciary and other state institutions at his rally. He had challenged the case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) where a two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the

Pakistan crowdfunds $40 mn for dam but spent $63 mn on its ads: Report

he heavily advertised crowdsourced campaign, which was launched by a Supreme Court judge and was endorsed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan is the mega dam caught in a scandal.

Imran Khan denies talking about granting extension to Army chief Gen Bajwa

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday denied talking about granting an extension to Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, saying he had just proposed to defer the appointment of the new army chief till elections. On Monday, Khan had told a TV channel in an interview that the tenure of the army chief should be extended until his successor is appointed by the new government after elections. "I never talked about the extension of the army chief's tenure. I just proposed to defer the appointment of the army chief till elections," Khan told reporters at his Banigala residence in the suburbs of capital Islamabad. He said that a new government should decide on the new army chief. In his meeting with reporters, the former premier said that the newly-elected government should decide the army chief's selection on merit, adding that he never said who should be the military's head. "I never said who should be the army chief. I always stressed for an army chief's appointment to be

Imran Khan meeting with former CIA analyst Robin Raphel raises eyebrows

As per sources, Robin Raphel met with Imran Khan at his residence in Bani Gala on Sunday afternoon. It was also revealed that head of PTI USA chapter accompanied Robin Raphel

Technical glitch or bad weather? Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan escapes plane crash

A plane carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan escaped a crash as the aircraft made an emergency landing on Saturday due to technical glitch mid-air

Pak court to indict Imran Khan in contempt case for controversial remarks

A Pakistani court on Thursday decided to indict former prime minister Imran Khan in contempt of court case against him for making controversial remarks against a female judge, calling his response "unsatisfactory". During a rally here earlier this month, 69-year-old Khan had threatened to file cases against top police officials, election commission and political opponents over the treatment meted out to his aide Shahbaz Gill, who was arrested on charges of sedition. He had also taken exception to Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who had approved Gill's two-day physical remand at the request of the police, and said she should "prepare herself as action would be taken against her." Hours after the speech, Khan was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening police, judiciary and other state institutions at his rally. Justice Aamer Farooq decided to initiate contempt proceedings against Khan while hearing a petition challenging Gill's police remand. A ...

PM Sharif says Imran Khan 'out to undermine Pakistan', blew up IMF deal

Miftah had also claimed that the deal with the global lender was delayed by the previous government and that, too, was poorly negotiated

Imran accuses Pak govt of pitting him against country's military, judiciary

Imran Khan accused the ruling coalition of trying to pit him against Pak military and judiciary and said that the government is "scared of him winning the elections", media reports said

Support in rallies shows Pak's ex-PM Imran Khan remains a political force

Since he was toppled by parliament five months ago, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has demonstrated his popularity with rallies that have drawn huge crowds and signaled to his rivals that he remains a considerable political force. On Tuesday, he addressed some 25,000 supporters in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the capital of deeply conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Khan said he would soon organize a mass march to the capital, as a culmination of his campaign to force the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to hold a snap election, which some analysts say Khan might win due to his growing popularity. I will soon give you a call for a march on Islamabad, Khan told the cheering crowd, then asked: Are you ready for it? Yes," came the response from his supporters. Sharif has rejected the demand for early elections, saying the vote should take place as scheduled in 2023. As during previous rallies, Tuesday's speech was not shown live by TV .

Islamabad HC asks whether Imran will risk everything for 'Game of Thrones'

He said that the armed forces lay their lives for the nation and in a case where someone is involved in illegal activity, everyone should not be criticised over it

Amid floods, inflation, a political crisis is the last thing Pakistan needs

Accused of economic mismanagement and toppled in a no-confidence vote in April, Imran Khan has since kept up a steady stream of attacks on the coalition government that replaced him

Imran Khan approaches Islamabad High Court to dismiss terror charges

Last week, PTI chief Imran Khan said that he will help flood-affected people but would not stop the "Haqeeqi Azadi" campaign for real independence of the country

Imran Khan's party trying to sabotage IMF deal, says Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday accused Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of trying to sabotage a deal with the IMF ahead of the Washington-based lender's crucial board meeting, asserting that self-centred politics will cause huge injustice to the country. The IMF executive board will convene on Monday to decide whether to disburse USD 1.18 billion loan tranche to Pakistan, as the country scrambles to avoid an economic collapse, amid high inflation and dwindling foreign exchange reserves. "I have never seen such self-centred politics; it will be a huge injustice with Pakistan and a big conspiracy against the country, Sharif said, while referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, on his visit to inspect flood victims in Sindh province. On Friday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra shot off a sharply-worded letter to his federal counterpart Miftah Ismail, saying it would be next to impossible to run a provincial surplus this

HC constitutes 5-judge bench to proceed against Imran Khan in contempt case

A five-judge larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been former prime minister Imran Khan on the charge of contempt of court for 'intimidating a female judge'

Pak court grants ex-PM Imran Khan pre-arrest interim bail in terror case

Former Pakistan Minister Imran Khan on Thursday secured an interim pre-arrest bail plea in the terror case filed against him for threatening a sessions judge during a public rally

Pak court grants interim bail to ex-PM Imran Khan in terrorism case

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Thursday granted interim bail till September 1 to former prime minister Imran Khan in a terrorism case registered against him for threatening police, judiciary and other state institutions during a rally in the capital last week. Judge Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan of the anti-terrorism court here granted the bail to him till September 1 against a surety of Rs 100,000, the Dawn News reported.

Pak's cycles of confrontation and overreaction benefit nobody but populists

Imran Khan's conspiracy-minded followers fully believe that a junior US diplomat masterminded their leader's sacking as prime minister

Another case filed against Imran Khan for flouting ban on public gathering

Pakistan police has registered another case against former prime minister Imran Khan and top leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party for flouting a ban on public gatherings in the national capital, it emerged on Tuesday. The case was registered at the Aabpara police station of Islamabad on Monday and the party leadership was held responsible for violating Section 144 in the city when Khan addressed a protest gathering on August 20. Apart from 69-year-old Khan, several PTI leaders have been nominated in the FIR. Khan had addressed the rally in Islamabad's F-9 park on Saturday to show solidarity with his close aide Shahbaz Gill who was arrested on August 9 for passing remarks against the powerful army. According to the FIR, the police had made announcements via loud speakers that Section 144 had been imposed in the city and a ban had been imposed on rallies. However, the rally went on, the PTI leaders turned a deaf ear to the police and led the supporters to the F-9 park, all

Must establish 'writ of law' against 'power hungry' Imran: Zardari

"This man is criticising our army every day, while in reality officers and soldiers of the same army are sacrificing their lives in the war against terrorists in two provinces," Zardari said.