Page 11 - Shehbaz Sharif

After Shehbaz Sharif's statement, India invites Pak for SCO meeting: Report

If the Pakistani foreign minister visits India, it will be the first such visit in 12 years

Pak PM apologises to nation for inconvenience caused by power outage

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday apologised to the nation for the inconvenience caused by the countrywide power outage that plunged millions of people into darkness and vowed to fix responsibility for the second major breakdown in nearly four months. Pakistan faced a major power breakdown on Monday due to a voltage fluctuation in the national grid, disrupting normal life and leaving major parts of the country, including capital Islamabad and financial hub Karachi, without electricity. Taking to Twitter, the premier wrote: "On behalf of my government, I would like to express my sincere regrets for the inconvenience our citizens suffered due to power outage yesterday." "On my orders an inquiry is underway to determine reasons of the power failure. Responsibility will be fixed," he tweeted. Power supply was mostly restored in Pakistan, though some parts of the country still experienced blackouts on Tuesday. Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir said on Tuesday that ...

PM Shehbaz Sharif orders inquiry into 16-hour power outage in Pakistan

The outage lasted for more than 16 hours, especially when temperatures were forecasted to fall to around 4 degrees Celsius (39°F) in Islamabad and 8 degrees Celsius (46°F) in Karachi

Leave Pak to Pak

Pakistan desperately needs breathing space and financial generosity, but India should not indulge it

Asking for more loans from friendly countries is embarrassing: Pakistan PM

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that it was embarrassing for him to seek more loans from friendly countries, saying it was not a permanent solution for the cash-strapped country's economic challenges. Addressing the passing out ceremony of probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) here in the capital of Punjab province on Saturday, Prime Minister Sharif regretted that during the past 75 years, different governments whether headed by political leadership or military dictators could not address the economic issues. Sharif said it really embarrassed him to ask for further loans while lauding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the financial support, Geo News quoted him as saying. He said that seeking foreign loans was not the right solution to address Pakistan's economic challenges as the loans would have to be eventually returned. The prime minister said that sustainable development goals (SDGs) could be achieved and foreign loans avoided had th

Imran Khan says PM Shehbaz Sharif will have to take trust vote: Report

Khan's remarks came after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) threatened to leave the present coalition government

Pak PM on two-day visit to UAE to ramp up bilateral economic, trade ties

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to the UAE on Thursday on a two-day visit aimed at ramping up bilateral economic and trade ties, just days after the country's powerful Army chief General Asim Munir concluded his trip to the Gulf emirate. Sharif is leading a delegation of key ministers on his third visit to the UAE since becoming prime minister in April last year. He was received by UAE's Minister for Economic Affairs Touq Al Mari at Abu Dhabi airport. "My visit to the UAE is aimed at building on the conversation I have had with H.H. President Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed. We share a resolve & understanding that the continuous efforts need to be made to further strengthen trade, investment & economic relations," Sharif tweeted after landing in the UAE. Pakistan's Foreign Office said on Tuesday that Sharif will meet the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed with a particular focus on advancing economic, trade and investment ties between the two countries. "The two .

PM Sharif leaves for Geneva to attend Pak-UN conference to raise $16 bn

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday left for Geneva to co-host a key conference in Geneva Monday along with the UN Secretary-General to raise more than USD 16 billion for a resilient recovery of his country from last year's climate-induced catastrophic floods. More than 33 million were displaced and over 1,700 were killed in the devastating floods that hit the country last summer due to unprecedented monsoon rains. According to an official statement, the Prime Minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation, comprising Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Climatic Change Minister Sherry Rehman and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. Before embarking on the visit, Sharif in a series of tweets said that he would present the case of flood victims before the world. We will place comprehensive post-disaster framework plan for recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction with resilience before development partners and friendly countrie

Pak needs $30 bn to cover short and long-term needs of flood victims: PM

Pakistan needs about USD 30 billion to cover the short and long-term needs of the victims of last year's floods that claimed about 1,700 lives, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said, as he sought the international's community's support ahead of a key donors conference. More than 33 million were affected due to massive floods hitting the country last summer, leaving many at the mercy of international donors. Sharif's comments came as he sought the support of the global community ahead of an international conference being jointly hosted by Pakistan and the UN in Geneva on Monday. Sharif in an article in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, wrote that a comprehensive roadmap for post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation, to be presented at the conference, has been developed with the assistance of the World Bank, the UN, the Asian Development Bank and the European Union. He said the roadmap essentially envisages a two-pronged response to deal with the ravages of the flood. The

Pak PM holds talks with IMF chief to break deadlock over next aid tranche

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made a telephonic call to International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva to break the deadlock over the release of the next tranche of assistance for cash-strapped Pakistan, according to a media report on Friday. The contact was made four days before an expected face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and the IMF head on the sidelines of the Geneva Conference for flood victims. There was no official word about the contact but sources told The Express Tribune that the prime minister urged the IMF managing director to review the condition for the imposition of new taxes. He also sought relaxation in the demand to increase electricity prices to compensate for the deviation of around Rs 500 billion from the annual circular debt management plan. These remain the major stumbling blocks in reaching an initial understanding of a staff-level visit by the IMF to Pakistan. "However, the government stood ready to impose flood levy and windfall

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif to convene NSC meeting to discuss growing militancy

Top civil and military leaders of Pakistan are set to meet in a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday to discuss the strategy to counter the rising threat of militancy in the country. The NSC meeting would also be attended by all service chiefs, key cabinet ministers, and other high officials. The decision to convene the meeting was taken after Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir called on Prime Minister Sharif on Thursday to brief him about professional as well as national security matters, according to government officials. Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum will brief the meeting on the recent terror wave in Pakistan and the Pakistan-Afghan border situation, while an integrated strategy against terrorism would be formulated, The News International newspaper reported. Official sources said that the meeting would discuss the modalities to counter the latest threat by the outlawed ...

Will not accept a weak govt this time: Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan

Khan also criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for being charged with Rs 16 billion in corruption but being released owing to their powerful position

PM Sharif's son Suleman arrives in Pakistan after four years in self-exile

Suleman Shehbaz had requested the court to grant him bail so that he could appear before the court after he arrives in Pakistan

No democracy without freedom of expression: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reaffirmed the government's strong commitment to supporting all efforts that promote and uphold freedom of expression and free media. He was addressing an event organised by the Islamabad Journalist Safety Forum on the theme of the UN ten years Plan of Action, according to an official statement. The Prime Minister said his government believes that the freedom of expression is sacrosanct and will remain at the heart of the development of democracy. Shehbaz noted democracy and media reinforce each other and that there can be no democracy without freedom of expression and his government would be part of efforts aimed at making Pakistani democracy stronger through greater free media. He pointed out that Pakistan became the first country in Asia to pass legislation on the 'Safety of Journalists' at the federal and the provincial level in Sindh province and offered support for the ongoing efforts in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochis

Pak President Alvi okays appointment of Asim Munir as Chief of Army Staff

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had sent a summary earlier in the day to President Alvi that Munir as COAS and Mirza as CJCSC, reported Geo News

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif names Lt Gen Asim Munir the next army chief

Under Imran Khan, Munir was removed from the post of the ISI chief within eight months of his appointment and replaced with Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in 2019

Differences intensify in Pak govt over appointment of new Army chief

Differences seem to have intensified in the Pakistan government over the appointment of the new Army chief with top brasses of the ruling coalition making contradictory statements on the key issue. The appointment of a successor to Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, 61, who is set to retire on November 29, is an administrative matter. Under the law, the incumbent prime minister is empowered to select any one of the top three-star generals. But politically it means installing someone who may pull the strings and even determine the fate of the person who appointed him. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday initiated the keenly anticipated consultations with his government allies on the all-important appointment of a new Army chief, even as Defence Minister Khawaja Asif revealed that a name would be announced by Tuesday or Wednesday, the Dawn News reported on Saturday. Interestingly, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said consultations had been completed and the new Army chief woul

Pak govt seek constitutional amendment to empower PM to retain army chief

The planned amendment of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 would empower the prime minister to retain an incumbent Army chief with a simple notification rather than through a complex process

PM Sharif violated secrecy by consulting 'fugitive' Nawaz: Imran Khan

Khan claimed that Shehbaz violated the country's Official Secrecy Act by consulting his elder brother Nawaz Sharif on the new COAS appointment.

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif tests positive for Covid-19 after returning from UK

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tested postive for COVID-19, a day after returning from his trip to the UK, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday. Shehbaz, 71, returned to Pakistan on Monday after taking a detour to London from the COP27 climate conference in Egypt to visit his elder brother Nawaz Sharif. In a tweet, Aurangzeb said the premier was feeling unwell for the past two days and took a COVID-19 test on Tuesday on the doctor's advice, which returned positive. She appealed to the nation and to PML-N workers to pray for Prime Minister Shehbaz's speedy recovery. This is the third time the premier has tested positive for the virus, after having previously contracted COVID-19 earlier this year in January and in June 2020.