Page 14 - Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif summons NSC meet to discuss audio leaks from PMO

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Wednesday to deliberate on the audio leaks from the Prime Minister's Office that has trigged a controversy with the Opposition demanding his resignation. A slew of audio recordings featuring confidential conversations of the prime minister with high-government officials surfaced on social media last week, raising questions about the security of the highest office of the country. More audio clips were leaked on Monday where top PML-N leaders were purportedly heard making strategies about the by-elections that were recently postponed due to the devastating floods. A joint investigation team (JIT) with a representative from Army-run intelligence agencies was ordered to probe the issue. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is also investigating the leaks. Officials said an initial report by the top intelligence agencies has been prepared which will be placed before the NSC -- the highest ...

Miftah resigns as Pakistan FM, Ishaq Dar to return after 5-year exile

Ishaq Dar, who is set to take charge as Pakistan's finance minister after the resignation of Miftah Ismail, is scheduled to return to the country along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from London on Monday, according to media reports. The formal decision to put 72-year-old Dar in the driving seat of the cash-strapped country's financial affairs was taken in during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif in London on Saturday. Both the finance minister Miftah Ismail and his successor Ishaq Dar were present in the meeting, besides other leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The Prime Minister in a statement on Sunday announced the appointment of Dar, who has been on self-exile since 2017 after being accused in a corruption case. Ismail handed over his resignation to the elder Sharif, who is out of politics due to a conviction in corruption cases but his decisions are considered binding on the party. I worked to the best of my

Imran Khan demands Shehbaz Sharif's resignation over Pak PMO audio leaks

Pakistan's ousted premier Imran Khan on Monday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after a slew of audio clips related to informal conversations between the premier and Cabinet officials surfaced. Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau has been ordered to investigate the security breach resulting from it. "PM Shehbaz Sharif should resign after the audio leaks involving him, some Cabinet members and government officials have surfaced," Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, said. "In the audio leaks, Shehbaz is talking about bringing machinery from India for his niece Maryam Nawaz's son-in-law (Raheel Munir). If Shehbaz has any shame left in him, he should resign forthwith otherwise we will make him go home, Khan said while addressing the Government College University (GCU) here. Khan further said another audio related to Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former premier Nawaz Sharif, will soon be leaked in which she could be heard telling her father (Nawaz Sharif)

Probe initiated in PM's audio leak case, says Pakistan's Interior Minister

Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that PM Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of audio leaks involving him and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and an inquiry has been initiated.

Shehbaz Sharif-led govt wants to resume trade ties with India: Imran Khan

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan said on Sunday that his government had snapped trade ties with India after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 and claimed that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government wanted to resume it. Addressing a rally in Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 69-year-old Khan also said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz was "incapable of telling the truth" as he once again accused her of keeping nepotism above national interests. "Maryam wants to import power plant machinery from India for her son-in-law," he said, while referring to a audio leak in which Prime Minister Sharif is allegedly being told that Maryam's son-in-law wants to import a power plant from India. "Our government had stopped trade with India because itended the special status of Kashmir," Khan said, adding that the present imported rulers wanted to resume trade relations with India at the cost of Pakistan's integrity and solidarity. In recen

World Bank pledges $2 billion for flood-ravaged Pakistan, says report

The $2 billion figure includes that amount. Raiser said the bank is working with provincial authorities to begin as quickly as possible repairing infrastructure and housing

LIVE news updates: India committed to strengthen ties with UN, says EAM

Live news updates: The world in our view is one family today, said EAM Dr S Jasihankar

'All hell' to break loose: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif appeals for debt relief

Pakistan should suspend international debt repayments and restructure loans with creditors after recent floods added to the country's financial crisis, says report

Pak's ousted PM Imran Khan to launch protest rally against Sharif-led govt

Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday announced to launch a protest movement' against the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government from Saturday demanding early elections. Khan also said he would soon give a call for long march' on Islamabad to send the imported government home. I am going to start a movement against the government from Saturday (Sept 24) and you (lawyers) have to stand up for law and be part of this to achieve Haqiqi Azadi' (real freedom), he said while addressing a lawyers' convention outside the Lahore registry of the Supreme Court here.

Pak PM Shehbaz to consult brother Nawaz on Army chief's appointment: Report

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will decide on the appointment of the next Army chief after discussing the matter with former premier Nawaz Sharif in London, according to a media report. Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has been living in London since November 2019 when he was allowed to go there for medical treatment but never returned. He served thrice as the prime minister of Pakistan and appointed at least four Army chiefs. Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, 61, would retire on November 29. The prime minister, who arrived in London on Saturday arrived to attend the state funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II, will also meet Nawaz Sharif during his stay in the city and discuss the appointment of the next Army chief with him, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The Prime Minister would make the decision on the appointment of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) after discussing the matter with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, the newspaper

Shehbaz Sharif likely to meet Joe Biden during his UNGA visit: Report

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to meet US President Joe Biden during his visit to New York to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly next week, a media report said on Saturday. Sharif on Saturday left for the United States via London to participate in the UN General Assembly Sessions beginning from September 20, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. He will also represent Pakistan at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on September 19 and later depart for the US on a five-day trip during which he will also hold meetings with the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB). Cash-strapped Pakistan is seeking help from close allies to overcome its financial woes. Last month, the IMF approved a USD 1.1 billion bailout package for Pakistan. The IMF has approved the disbursement of more than USD 1.1bn to Pakistan, reviving a stalled USD 7bn assistance package expected to help stave off default despite a severe ..

Shehbaz-Biden meeting likely during Pakistan PM's US visit, says report

The Prime Minister, who will be accompanied by key members of his federal cabinet is scheduled to address the UNGA on September 23

PM Sharif says 'even friendly countries started looking at Pak as beggars'

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has presented a bleak picture of the country's dwindling economy, regretting that even friendly countries had started looking at Pakistan as one that was always begging for money. Today, when we go to any friendly country or make a phone call, they think that we have come [to them] to beg for money, Dawn news quoted the prime minister as saying in an address to a lawyers' convention on Wednesday. Sharif said even small economies have surpassed Pakistan, and we have been wandering for the past 75 years carrying a begging bowl. According to the prime minister, the country's economy was facing a "challenging situation" even before the floods, which had made it more "complicated". The cash-strapped nation has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, leaving more than 1,400 dead and 33 million people affected since early June. A third of the country is submerged in water and one in every seven persons is badly affected by the fl

Russia can supply gas to Pak as infra already in place: Putin tells Sharif

Russia can supply gas to Pakistan as necessary infrastructures are already in place, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan. The high-level meeting took place shortly after Prime Minister Sharif reached Samarkand in Uzbekistan to attend the annual meeting of the SCO's Council of Heads of State (CHS) during a two-day visit from September 15 to 16. "The issue is about pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Pakistan, which is also possible, which means part of infrastructure has already been created, meaning Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. We have to solve the Afghan issue," Putin was quoted as saying by Russia's state-run TASS news agency. "Of course, there are problems connected with political stability, but having in mind our mutually good relations with the Afghan people, I hope this problem can also be solved, I mean Pakistan's influence on the situation in the country," he ...

SCO Summit 2022 kicks off in Uzbekistan today: All you need to know

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is considered one of the most important conclaves in the Central Asian region

PM Modi likely to meet Pak PM Sharif during SCO summit in Uzbekistan

The Prime Minister is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jingping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the SCO summit

Massive floods likely to reduce Pak's GDP by over 2 percentage points: PM

The massive floods in Pakistan are likely to reduce its GDP by over 2 percentage points and the government is grappling with the immediate challenge of averting an imminent food insecurity in the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said. During a telephonic conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to express gratitude for extending humanitarian relief assistance to Pakistan, Sharif said the ongoing floods have devastated millions of acres of standing crops, houses and critical infrastructure in the country, according to an official statement. The prime minister said as per initial estimates, the floods are likely to reduce Pakistan's GDP by over 2 percentage points. Pakistan is grappling with the immediate challenge of averting an imminent food insecurity in the country as well as providing for rescue and rehabilitation of the victims of this climate-induced calamity, Sharif told Erdogan. He said the government is fighting to avoid food shortages du

Pak pegs flood losses at $30 billion, UN chief calls for 'massive' help

Sharif said 'Pakistan needs an infinite amount of funding' for its relief effort, adding the country 'will remain in trouble as long as it doesn't receive sufficient international assistance'.

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 ...

Indictment of Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif in money laundering case delayed

The indictment of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and his son, ex-Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz, in a Rs 16 billion money laundering case was delayed again after the two filed fresh petitions seeking acquittal