PM Khan calls no-trust move opposition’s ‘political death’ after meeting allies in Karachi

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures during his address to PTI supporters in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 9, 2022. (Photo courtesy: APP)
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Updated 09 March 2022
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PM Khan calls no-trust move opposition’s ‘political death’ after meeting allies in Karachi

  • The ruling PTI party lost a Senate seat from Sindh, raising suspicion its provincial lawmakers voted for the PPP candidate
  • Pakistan’s information minister urges National Assembly speaker to quickly process no-trust vote to end political uncertainty

KARACHI: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday described a no-confidence motion against him as “the political death of opposition” in a fiery speech which he delivered after meeting his coalition partners based in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.
The prime minister flew to Karachi to interact with the top leaders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) after the opposition filed a no-trust motion in the National Assembly against him that can lead to the fall of his government.
Following the submission, Khan scrambled to meet his senior party leaders, the attorney general of Pakistan and chief minister of Punjab, Usman Buzdar, whose removal from office has been sought by both opposition parties and disgruntled groups within the ruling party who accuse him of poor governance and mismanagement of the economy of Punjab, the country’s largest, richest and most populous province.
“The no-confidence motion is the political death of opposition,” the prime minister told his supporters at the Sindh Governor House after meeting his coalition partners.
He also accused the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of bribing the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers in the National Assembly.
“One of our MNAs has been offered Rs200 millions,” Khan said, adding the top PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari was now going to be his “prime target.”
“These [opposition] thieves are sucking the blood of the country for the last thirty years but they say they have come out to save it. They are afraid of Imran Khan,” he continued.
The prime minister maintained he was criticized for delivering a scathing speech against the European Union since the opposition leaders had stashed their wealth in Western countries.
“Pakistan needs to be on friendly terms with everyone,” he added. “But I will not allow any country to work against the interests of my state. I have said nothing to the European Union, though I reminded them that we had participated in their war [in Afghanistan] and lost 80,000 people. The conflict also destroyed our tribal areas and displaced its 3.5 million residents. No one appreciated us or said thank you.”
Khan warned the opposition he would not stop after surviving the no-trust move, adding that he would go after its leaders.
Prior to his speech, one of his close aides and the foreign minister of the country, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said the prime minister had met his coalition partners to assess the “current political situation” and discuss a “joint strategy.”




Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (2nd from R) speaks to MQM convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui (2nd from L) in Karachi on March 9, 2022. (PM Office)

“The MQM assured the prime minister of its full support,” Qureshi told the media in a brief interaction, though the MQM-P leaders rejected the claim.
“Neither did the Prime minister ask for and nor did we offer him any assurances,” Dr. Khalid Maqbool clarified in his media talk.
Another MQM-P leader Amir Khan said his party was a government ally, but it had kept its options open.
“The opposition has not contacted us to discuss the vote of confidence,” he said, “though our options remain open.”
Khan also met GDA leaders, including Nusrat Sehar Abbasi, who belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), but her party’s influential leader, Pir Sibghatullah Rashdi, said he could not meet the PM due to his “ailing health.”




Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (center) meets GDA leaders in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 9, 2022. (PID)

Meanwhile, Khan’s ruling PTI party suffered a setback in Sindh when it lost a Senate seat from the province which recently fell vacant after the disqualification of one of its leaders, Faisal Vawda.
The seat was won by PPP’s Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, as Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah revealed that at least four PTI leaders voted in Khuhro’s favor.
Commenting on the overall political situation in the country since the filing of the no-confidence motion, senior political analyst Mazhar Abbas said the government’s coalition partners would continue to evaluate the situation and refuse to weigh in with the opposition “if there is a slight chance that the no-trust vote will fail.”
Abbas added the purpose of the prime minister’s visit was not just to meet his allies but also resolve the internal disputes within his own party.
“There are reports that four to five PTI members of National Assembly from Sindh could vote against him,” he said. “Khan’s visit is also aimed at stopping them and others from switching sides.”

However, the country’s information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain sounded confident during a news conference in the federal capital in which he urged the National Assembly speaker to convene the next session of the house since Pakistan could not afford political uncertainty.
He maintained the government had the support of 179 lawmakers, adding that five more assembly members were also likely to join the PTI administration.
“We need political stability [in Pakistan],” Hussain told the news conference. “We are requesting him [the National Assembly speaker] not to linger this on. Process the no-confidence motion as soon as possible since the country cannot afford a protracted political crisis.”


Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14

Updated 08 November 2024
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Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14

  • PTI members tried to stage a rally near the Chief Minister House in Quetta, seeking Khan’s release
  • Quetta’s deputy commission says two of the arrested people were carrying guns and hand grenades

QUETTA: Dozens of protesters were rounded up by police in southwestern Balochistan on Friday after clashes broke out between former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and law enforcement personnel, leaving at least 14 people injured, including eight policemen.
The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Quetta after PTI protesters attempted to stage a rally near the Chief Minister House, demanding the release of the ex-premier from a high-security jail in Rawalpindi. Khan has faced prison trials on multiple charges since his arrest last year in August, which he claims are fabricated to keep him out of the country’s political landscape.
Police officials said the PTI organized the rally without securing official permission, violating Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure imposed in the city, which prohibits gatherings of four or more people to maintain order or address urgent threats to public safety.
“The protesters were carrying weapons that they used against the police,” said Station House Officer (SHO) of Civil Line Police Naseebullah Khan while speaking to Arab News. “They pelted stones and even hit our officials with their vehicles. Fifty-five protesters have been arrested and a first information report has been lodged against the PTI workers.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's supporters protest to demand the release of former prime minister Imran Khan, in Quetta on November 8, 2024. (AFP)

The SHO informed a senior police officer was among the injured, adding that both of his legs were fractured after a protester tried to run him down with a car.
Quetta’s Deputy Commissioner Saad bin Asad said the PTI was protesting without official permission, which had been denied despite the party’s decision to appeal to the court.
He added that authorities informed the judge they would not permit the gathering and provided reasons for the decision.
“But they deliberately came out for a rally,” Asad said, adding that among the arrested individuals, “two were carrying guns and hand grenades while participating in the protest.”
He confirmed that at least 14 people, including eight policemen, were injured in the clashes.
Asad said PTI supporters began pelting police with stones, prompting law enforcement to use tear gas to disperse them.
Dawood Shah, PTI’s provincial president in Balochistan, told Arab News the party was holding a peaceful rally near Quetta Railway Station because the government had “refused its workers permission to hold the rally at the designated venue.”
“Unknown people disguised as protesters started pelting stones and instigated PTI workers,” he said, adding that 67 PTI supporters were arrested and nine were injured in the clashes.
“Peaceful protest is our democratic right,” Shah continued. “We scheduled a peaceful rally at the Hockey Ground for the release of Imran Khan, but the administration did not give us permission.”
He accused the authorities of “attempting to repeat the 9th May episode,” referencing last year’s riots where people carrying PTI flags targeted government buildings and military installations after Khan’s brief arrest on corruption charges.
The incident triggered a crackdown on the party, whose leaders distanced themselves from the protests, alleging that they were intended to discredit the PTI.


Pakistan’s Punjab bans entry to parks, zoos and playgrounds amid pollution

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan’s Punjab bans entry to parks, zoos and playgrounds amid pollution

  • The province has set up a ‘smog war room,’ using satellite, drones and AI to monitor and address pollution
  • Environmentalists want government to address fuel quality, renewable electricity and industrial emissions

LAHORE: Pakistan's eastern Punjab province banned entry to parks, zoos, playgrounds and other public spaces on Friday to protect the public from polluted air, and is considering closing down universities after shutting schools earlier this week.

The air quality in Lahore has deteriorated drastically, earning Punjab's regional capital the rank of world's most polluted city from Swiss air purification equipment maker IQAir.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. There's a possibility of closing universities and colleges on Monday to reduce vehicle emissions," said Jahangir Anwar, Secretary of the Environment Protection Department Punjab.

Friday's order from the regional government placed a "complete ban on public entry in all parks ... zoos, playgrounds, historical places, monuments, museums and joy/play lands" until Nov. 17 in areas including Lahore.

In addition to shutting schools, the province has already taken other steps such as suggesting half of employees work from home and banning rickshaws in certain areas.

South Asia annually faces severe pollution due to trapped dust, emissions and stubble burning - the practice of setting fire to fields after the harvest of grain.

Punjab has attributed this year's particularly high pollution levels to toxic air from neighbouring India, where air quality has also reached hazardous levels.

Punjab has set up a "smog war room," using satellite, drone technology and AI to monitor and address pollution. Nevertheless, Anwar says there is not enough equipment to effectively monitor the province, with only four air quality monitoring machines for the entire city of Lahore, "whereas we should have 50.”

Anwar said the department had imported and deployed five mobile monitoring units and plans to deploy eight more by year-end.

Ahmad Rafay Alam, an environment lawyer and member of the Pakistan Climate Change Council, stressed the need for robust data and policy changes.

"Right now, we just simply don't have those monitors, we simply don’t have as robust data as we should have to make decisions," Alam said.

He warned that without addressing fuel quality, renewable electricity and industrial emissions, the problem will continue to worsen.

 


Father accused of killing daughter tells UK jury wife told him to confess

Updated 08 November 2024
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Father accused of killing daughter tells UK jury wife told him to confess

  • Urfan Sharif is accused of murdering Sara Sharif last year, alongside her stepmother and uncle
  • Police found the girl’s body with multiple fractures, bruises, burns and bite marks at her home

LONDON: The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl on trial in London for her murder on Friday said his wife told him to confess to killing his daughter.
Urfan Sharif, 42, is accused of murdering Sara Sharif on August 8 last year, alongside her stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
All three deny the charge and of causing or allowing her death.
A jury at the Old Bailey court was told that all three left the family home in Woking, southwest of London, the day after Sara died and flew to Pakistan.
Sara’s body, which had multiple fractures, bruises, burns and bite marks, was found by police after a tip-off from Sharif in Islamabad.
Giving evidence for a fourth day, he said he was devastated by her death but agreed to leave because Batool had told him Sara had been beaten by another of his children, and he feared the consequences for them.
Before leaving, he wrote a note taking the blame. “Whoever sees this note, it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating,” it read.
But Sharif told the jury that the confession was dictated by his wife.
“I was merely writing, the wording was not mine,” he said, insisting he took the blame to protect his other children.
Before leaving on August 9, 2023, Sharif left the house keys under the doormat, so the police would not have to break through the door, and had resolved to tell the authorities about Sara when he was out of the country.
A recording was played in court of Sharif’s garbled phone call to police in the UK after arriving in Islamabad.
“I killed my daughter, I killed my daughter,” he said.
Instructing police to the house, he said he “left in a panic” and added: “I promise I’ll come back.”
One month later, Sharif, Batool and Malik returned to the UK and were arrested.


Pakistan PM unveils winter power relief package to cut electricity costs for consumers

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan PM unveils winter power relief package to cut electricity costs for consumers

  • PM Shehbaz Sharif says the initiative will alleviate financial pressure on consumers, stimulate economic activity
  • Relief package will reduce tariffs for domestic, industrial and commercial users for three months starting December

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday a three-month electricity relief package starting in December, aimed at reducing tariffs for domestic, industrial and commercial consumers.

The announcement comes after the government faced widespread protests earlier this year over rising inflation and high electricity costs following the presentation of its first budget in June. Political parties urged the Sharif administration to renegotiate agreements with independent power producers to lower tariffs.

Pakistan’s manufacturing sector has also expressed concerns over the years due to the rising cost of electricity, saying the elevated power tariffs render national exports uncompetitive in the global market.

“The government has decided to offer an electricity relief package for the three winter months of December, January and February, providing substantial reductions in electricity prices for additional usage,” the prime minister said during a ceremony in Islamabad.

“Under this package, domestic consumers will pay a flat rate of Rs26.07 per unit for incremental electricity usage, resulting in savings of Rs11.42 to Rs26 per unit for household users,” he continued. “The package will apply across Pakistan.”

Electricity consumers in the country pay their bills according to the number of units that fall into various slabs, each with its own tariff rates.

Under the new winter package, industrial consumers will benefit from savings ranging between Rs5.72 and Rs15 per unit, according to Sharif, translating to an 18 percent to 37 percent reduction in electricity costs.

Commercial consumers are set to save between Rs13.46 and Rs22 per unit, equating to overall savings of 34 percent to 47 percent.

Sharif also emphasized the broader economic benefits of the initiative, saying it would alleviate financial pressures on consumers and stimulate economic activity in the country.

“With reduced electricity costs, industries will grow across Pakistan, agriculture will flourish, business and exports will expand, production will increase and Pakistan’s economy will strengthen further,” he said.


No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB

Updated 08 November 2024
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No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB

  • Mohsin Naqvi’s statement comes amid Indian media reports their team may not play the tournament
  • PCB chief maintains sports should be free from politics, says Pakistan’s preparations are continuing

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday there has been no official communication from Indian cricket authorities regarding their national team’s participation in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Champions Trophy scheduled to take place in Pakistan next year, despite recent reports in the Indian media suggesting otherwise.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan mean the two South Asian rivals only face each other at international tournaments. The Indian team last visited Pakistan in 2008 for the 50-over Asia Cup.
India’s refusal to play on Pakistani soil since then forced the PCB to settle for a “hybrid model” during last year’s Asia Cup, in which only four of the 13 matches were held in Pakistan, with the remaining nine played in Sri Lanka.
“For the past two months, there have been reports in Indian media that the Indian team is not coming [to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy],” Naqvi said during a news conference in Lahore.
“As far as what Indian media is reporting, if the Indian media is reporting this, then with that there must also be a letter that the ICC will give us [Pakistan] or the Indian [cricket] board must have announced [this decision] somewhere,” he continued. “So far, no such letter has reached me or the PCB.”
The ICC Champions Trophy, set to take place from February 19 to March 9, 2025, marks Pakistan’s first time hosting this prestigious tournament. The PCB has been preparing extensively, investing in stadium upgrades and infrastructure improvements to meet international standards.
Naqvi emphasized the need to keep sports free from political influence, adding the preparations for the Champions Trophy would continue as planned with hopes for a successful event.
The ICC has previously expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s preparations, signaling that the tournament remains on track.
The PCB chief said during his media talk he was in contact with the cricket authorities in other countries, saying they were all excited about the upcoming event and wanted to play the tournament in Pakistan.