Page 6 - Imran Khan

Pakistan court orders to produce Imran Khan and his wife on April 4

Imran Khan has been booked in two cases at Loohi Bheer and Sahala police stations during the party's long march in Islamabad. Judicial Magistrate Ayesha Kundi acquitted him in both cases

Imran's party loses seats it won to Sharif's coalition after recounting

This was evident as they first lost reserved seats and subsequently conceded several other seats to opponents during the recounting process

Pakistan needs another IMF bailout, says PM Sharif amid economic woes

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the review for issuance of the last tranche of USD 1.1 billion which hopefully be received by next month

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif proposes 5-year plan for country's economic revival

The newly-elected government of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to work on a comprehensive five-year roadmap for the cash-strapped country's economic resurgence, according to a media report on Friday. This strategic blueprint will focus on curbing inflation, alleviating poverty and creating jobs, the Dawn newspaper reported. In the first meeting, the prime minister sought estimates from different ministries and divisions and formed a committee to go back to the ministries to set five-year targets in different sectors, such as IT, agriculture, industries, energy, food and livestock, reforms in FBR (Federal Board of Revenue), ease of doing business, etc, Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja said after the meeting. Khawaja said the committee, after getting the required information from the ministries and divisions, would prepare a consolidated document carrying five-year targets for all sectors. She said several meetings would be held soon on the five-year .

Imran Khan's party to move Supreme Court after denial of reserved seats

Imran Khan's party has announced that it would approach the Supreme Court after a top court rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council's petition challenging the election commission's decision to allocate reserved seats in the national and provincial legislatures meant for it to other parties. The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday dismissed petitions of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), in a huge blow to jailed former prime minister Khan's beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party. The bench, which heard arguments for two consecutive days, pronounced a short order on Thursday and rejected the two petitions filed by the SIC which was joined by the PTI lawmakers to claim their share of reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures after the February 8 elections. After the decision, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan told reporters outside the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Thursday where the 71-year-old PTI founder is jailed. He said that the former ruling .

Pak EC announces Senate election schedule for 11 Balochistan seats

In this electoral process, the Balochistan Assembly will have the authority to elect 11 Senators, comprising seven for general seats, two for women, and two for technocrats

Pakistan's ex finance minister Ishaq Dar appointed new foreign minister

Ishaq Dar, a four-time former finance minister, has been appointed as Pakistan's Foreign Minister, as the new government settled in to tackle myriad problems at the domestic and external fronts, including its relations with India and other neighbours. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday inducted 19 members into his Cabinet, ending the tenuous wait for the completion of government formation in the cash-strapped country. Dar, an ethnic Kashmiri and chartered accountant by training, is a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslin League-Nawaz (PML-N). He is also a confidant of the party head and former three-time premier Nawaz Sharif. With little experience in managing foreign affairs, he has been given the important portfolio when Pakistan's ties with its neighbour India as well as Afghanistan are at their lowest ebb. The two sides broke off trade ties and lowered diplomatic presence in each other's capital in August 2019 after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and

Voting begins in Pak's presidential election: Asif Ali Zardari set to win

Voting began on Saturday in the Presidential elections in Pakistan in which Asif Ali Zardari is set to be elected for a second time. Asif Ali Zardari, the 68-year-old joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Sunni Ittehad Council's candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai, 75, are vying for the office of president. The voting began at 10 am and will continue till 4 pm. The new president would replace the incumbent Dr Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year. However, he has continued since the new electoral college was not yet formed. According to the Constitution, the president is indirectly elected by an electoral college comprising federal and provincial lawmakers.

Setback to Imran Khan as IMF refuses to interfere in Pak electoral dispute

This comes after incarcerated former PM Imran Khan penned a letter to the IMF, urging the global lender to give the poll results a thorough once-over before cutting any new cheques for Islamabad

Grand Democratic Alliance in Pak announces boycott of presidential election

The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) earlier on February 21 declared that they would begin a protest against the suspected rigging of polls

Maryam Nawaz's selection as Punjab CM a 'milestone' in Pak politics: US

The selection of Maryam Nawaz as the chief minister of the Punjab province is a milestone in Pakistani politics, the US has said, asserting that it looks forward to cooperating with Islamabad on integrating women more fully into the country's political life. Maryam, the 50-year-old daughter of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, took oath as the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan's most populous and politically crucial Punjab province last week. Her (Maryam Nawaz Sharif) selection as chief minister is a milestone in Pakistani politics, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday. Maryam is considered the political heir to 74-year-old Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister. We look forward to cooperating with Pakistan more broadly on integrating women more fully into the country's political life, in the economy, including through the US-Pakistan Women's Council, civil society, and other ...

Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as Pakistan's prime minister for second time

Shehbaz Sharif was on Monday sworn in as Pakistan's 24th Prime Minister, taking over the reins of the cash-strapped country for a second time since 2022, amidst staggering economic and security challenges. President Arif Alvi administered the oath to the 72-year-old Shehbaz in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, the presidential residence. The oath-taking ceremony comes days after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government. Shehbaz earlier served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before Parliament was dissolved to hold general elections last month. The ceremony was attended by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and other PML-N workers. PPP leader and Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah was also present on the occasion. On Sunday, Shehbaz comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament amidst sloganeering by the

Shehbaz set to return as Pak's PM after old-guard parties form coalition

Sharif was prime minister until parliament was dissolved in August in the leadup to elections, and he handed power to a caretaker government

Pakistan dismisses US directions on probing alleged election rigging

Pakistan has dismissed the US suggestion to probe discrepancies in the February 8 general elections, asserting that it will not succumb to external dictates. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in her weekly press address on Friday categorically said that "no country could give directions" to Pakistan, an independent and sovereign nation. We believe in our own sovereign right to make decisions about Pakistan's internal affairs, Dawn News quoted Baloch as saying in reply to the comments made by her US counterpart regarding allegations of misconduct in the controversy-marred general elections. Earlier this week, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said any claims of interference or fraud should be fully and transparently investigated per Pakistan's laws and procedures. On another occasion, Miller said: Concerning investigations into reported irregularities, we want to see those investigations proceed [and] wrapped up as soon as possible.

Pakistan to elect president on March 9, Asif Ali Zardari likely to win

Pakistan's election commission on Friday announced that the polling for the presidential election will take place on March 9, with former president Asif Ali Zardari almost certain to bag the top constitutional post again after nearly 11 years. In a notice, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that the presidential election would be held on March 9 at the National Assembly and all the provincial assemblies from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Geo News reported. According to the schedule issued by the top electoral body, candidates for the office can submit nomination papers by Saturday before noon with the presiding officers in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The scrutiny of the papers by the returning officers will be done on March 4, the ECP said, adding that the candidature can be withdrawn the next day. The commission will publish the list of validly nominated candidates on the same day, and March 6 has been fixed as the date for retirement, the report said. Former preside

Three time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif takes oath as lawmaker

Three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday took oath as an ordinary lawmaker in the 16th session of Pakistan's National Assembly, days after giving up his bid to lead the country for a record fourth time. A quirk of fate following the poor show in the electoral battle led Nawaz, 74, the supremo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to abandon his claim to the prime minister's position to his younger brother Shehbaz, 72. Sharif is back in Parliament after seven long years. His terms as the prime minister include the first from 1990-1993, then 1997-1999, and the last from 2013-2017, none of them for a complete five years. Amid sloganeering, Nawaz Sharif took oath along with his brother Shehbaz. Historic visuals from the 16th National Assembly oath-taking ceremony! the PML-N X handle posted along with a hashtag #MeraQuaidPhirSeAya and a 1:18 minute video. The video showed the smiling elder Sharif entering the Parliament, then walking towards the many member

Pakistan EC holds open hearing of SIC's plea on reserved seats' allocation

Another 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for minorities, and are allotted to the winning parties based on proportional representation

Former Pak PM Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi indicted in third corruption case

Khan has already been convicted in two cases of corruption charges, that disqualified him from taking part in politics for 10 years

Imran's party to call parallel Punjab Assembly session to elect CM, speaker

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party plans to call a "parallel" Punjab Assembly session to elect the chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker, claiming that newly-elected chief minister Maryam Nawaz was in the House on a stolen mandate, a media report said on Tuesday. Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, made history by becoming the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province after receiving 220 votes. She defeated Rana Aftab of 71-year-old Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), who received no votes as his party boycotted the election. Former-cricketer-turned-politician Khan's PTI party made a call for a "parallel" Punjab Assembly on Monday after claiming a strength of 250 members, including reserved seats for women and minorities, the Dawn newspaper reported. To win the chief minister's election, a candidate needs to win the backing of the majori

Pakistan's Election Commission to hold presidential poll by March 9: Report

A senior Pakistan Peoples Party office-bearer said, 'The president will be elected by the present senators after setting up all four provincial assemblies,'