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Pakistani ruling parties say consultations for caretaker government, dissolution of assemblies underway

This file picture, taken on April 4, 2022, shows Pakistan's incumbent prime minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) and FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during a press conference in Islamabad. (AFP/File)
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Updated 24 July 2023
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Pakistani ruling parties say consultations for caretaker government, dissolution of assemblies underway

  • The five-year tenure of Pakistan’s National Assembly will expire on midnight, August 12
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif meets leaders of coalition parties to discuss elections, political matters
Updated 24 July 2023
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Consultations on dissolving assemblies and forming a caretaker setup are underway with no final decision reached yet, senior leaders of Pakistan’s ruling coalition parties confirmed this week, hoping that a consensus on the issues would be reached before the government’s tenure expires next month.

The five-year tenure of Pakistan’s National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament, would expire on August 12 at midnight. Pakistan’s constitution stipulates that elections should be held within 60 days if the assemblies complete their tenure, and within 90 days if they are dissolved before their term expires. Last week, Sharif said his government would go home before its tenure expires and hand over the reins of the country to a caretaker setup.

Leaders of Pakistan’s ruling coalition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) met in Dubai last month to reportedly discuss the formation of the interim government. However, as per media reports, the two parties could not form a consensus on the matter.

“Consultations are underway as the prime minister is meeting different coalition partners because there is still around three weeks’ time left,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, who is also a senior leader of the PML-N, told Arab News.

The PML-N is a member of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of 13 political parties in Pakistan that was formed in September 2020 against then-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. On April 10, 2022, the PDM ousted Khan from office via parliamentary vote and elected Shehbaz Sharif as his successor.

Sanaullah said Pakistan’s election regulator would announce the date for the upcoming polls once a caretaker government has been formed. However, he said deliberations are underway with coalition partners to determine when the government would go home.

“It is still not decided whether the government will dissolve the assembly a few days before completing its tenure or if it will work till the last day,” he added.

Faisal Karim Kundi, another member of the cabinet and the PPP’s central information secretary, also confirmed that the prime minister was holding consultations with coalition partners to determine the date for the dissolution of assemblies and formation of an interim government.

“In this regard, the PPP leadership, including Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, met the prime minister multiple times recently to discuss the caretaker setup,” Kundi told Arab News.

Initially a member of the PDM, the PPP parted ways with the alliance in 2021. Kundi confirmed the party would contest elections as an independent political entity.

“Regarding an election alliance, the PPP is not likely to form one with the PDM,” he said. “Instead, they will contest the elections using their own symbol, with possible seat adjustments, as we are not part of the PDM alliance.”

Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) secretary-general, Mau­lana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, said his party’s chief Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman met Sharif recently to discuss various election-related issues, including the formation of a caretaker setup.

“The two leaders also discussed the possibility of forming alliances for the elections,” he told Arab News.

Haideri said consultations were underway, adding that no final decision had been reached yet.

“The final decision will be made and announced when the appropriate time arrives,” he added.

MQM-Pakistan spokesperson Ahsan Ghauri endorsed that his party leadership had also met Sharif to discuss the upcoming elections.

“We have expressed reservations about the accuracy of the voter lists and have presented evidence and proofs to the [election] commission, and one crucial point discussed in the meeting with the prime minister revolves around voter lists,” Ghauri told Arab News.

Ghauri said his party demanded that elections be held based on the results of the new population census.

“As for the prime minister’s stance, he hasn’t confirmed whether elections will proceed based on the new census or not, as he has left the decision to the discretion of the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he added.

He said a PML-N committee formed by Sharif to hold talks with allies on the caretaker setup has not sought the MQM-P’s opinion so far.

“At this stage, we haven’t provided any names since the Raabta committee meeting has not yet taken place,” Ghauri said, referring to his party’s top leadership.

Topics: pakistan government Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari All Parties Conference Pakistan elections 2023

Pakistan deploys mobile air monitoring stations in Lahore amid toxic smog

Updated 15 November 2024
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Pakistan deploys mobile air monitoring stations in Lahore amid toxic smog

  • Each station costs over $322,000, equipped for real-time air quality data
  • Smog has enveloped Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital, since last month
Updated 15 November 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s populous Punjab province have deployed five mobile air quality monitoring stations in Pakistan’s eastern Lahore city, each costing over Rs90 million ($322,000), amid worsening smog conditions, state-run media reported on Thursday.
Lahore, consistently ranked as the world’s most polluted city in live IQAir rankings in recent weeks, is facing hazardous air quality due to cold atmospheric conditions trapping dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from illegally burned fires.
The toxic smog, which has spread to 17 other districts in Punjab, has caused over 40,000 cases of respiratory illnesses this month, according to health officials, prompting authorities to close schools until November 17.
“The Punjab government has established five mobile air quality monitoring stations in Lahore to track the city’s air quality index,” Radio Pakistan reported.
It quoted the Punjab Environment Protection Department official Farooq Alam as saying the mobile stations had been placed in highly polluted areas, such as the Defense Housing Authority, Model Town, Gulberg, Bhatta Chowk and near Shimla Pahari.
Alam told Radio Pakistan that “each mobile monitoring station costs over ninety million rupees,” adding that they are equipped with advanced technology to collect real-time air quality data.
The Punjab administration official, however, did not mention any sustainable solution to the worsening smog condition, which has become a regular feature during the winter season.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority has urged people to wear face masks as a precautionary measure against smog and to avoid venturing out unnecessarily.
The United Nations children’s agency has warned that the health of 11 million children in Punjab is at risk due to air pollution.
According to a study by the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute last year, pollution could reduce life expectancy in the region by more than five years.

Topics: Pakistan Smog

New polio case reported in Pakistan, taking 2024 tally to 49

Updated 15 November 2024
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New polio case reported in Pakistan, taking 2024 tally to 49

  • In early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases
  • This year, 24 cases reported in Balochistan, 13 in Sindh, 10 in KP and one each in Punjab and Islamabad
Updated 15 November 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s anti-polio program said on Friday the country had reported a new case of the polio virus in the southwestern Balochistan province, taking the nationwide tally to 49 this year.
A new case was reported from Jaffarabad in Balochistan, according to updated figures on the website of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program. 
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. Starting from late 2018, Pakistan saw a resurgence of cases and increased spread of polio, highlighting the fragility of gains achieved in the preceding three years.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the child is under process,” the polio program said in a statement.
This year, 24 cases have been reported in Balochistan, 13 in Sindh, 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each in Punjab and the federal capital of Islamabad. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021. 
Pakistan’s polio eradication program began in 1994, and the number of cases has declined dramatically since then. 
But Pakistan continues to face challenges in its fight against polio, including militancy, with polio workers regularly targeted by attacks, particularly in the northwestern KP province.
The polio program has adapted to respond to climate disasters such as floods, but continues to face disruptions. There are also gaps in supplementary immunization activities, especially in areas where the virus is still present.

Topics: polio attack

Pakistan calls for renewed international support for UN agency for Palestinian refugees

Updated 15 November 2024
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Pakistan calls for renewed international support for UN agency for Palestinian refugees

  • Israel’s parliament voted last month to ban UNRWA from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem
  • Almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from UNRWA
Updated 15 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community to renew its support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), following the Israeli parliament passing a law last month that will ban the body from operating in the country when it takes effect in late January.
Israel’s parliament voted last month to ban the UNRWA from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, crippling its ability to work in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from the agency.
The move has faced widespread condemnation, with UNRWA warning the new law could see aid supply chains “fall apart” in the coming weeks. Israel has defended the move, repeating its allegation that a number of the agency’s staff were involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks last year, which killed 1,200 people.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Israel that replacing UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank would be Israel’s responsibility as the occupying power.
In a statement delivered at the UN Fourth Committee meeting, First Secretary at the Pakistani Mission to the UN, Ansar Shah, underlined the importance of “concrete measures to ensure that UNRWA remains operational and continues its critical humanitarian work for Palestinian refugees.”
“He called on all UN member states to provide political, financial, and operational support to UNRWA and stressed that sustaining and expanding the agency’s operations is essential to mitigating the harmful effects of Israel’s actions in the region,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the Israeli attempts to dismantle UNRWA’s operations, which is a blatant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the provisional measures set by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).”
Shah said the international community must step in to prevent the collapse of UNRWA, which would leave millions of Palestinians without access to essential services like education, health care, and social support.
Founded in 1949, UNRWA works in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, initially caring for the 700,000 Palestinians who were forced from or fled their homes after the creation of the state of Israel. Over the decades, the agency has grown to become the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza.
Since the war in Gaza began in October last year, the agency says it has distributed food parcels to almost 1.9 million people and also offered nearly six million medical consultations across the enclave over the course of the conflict.
More than 200 UNRWA staff have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023 in the course of those duties, according to the agency.

Topics: Pakistan Palestine Pakistan at UN Israeli war on Gaza

Pakistan’s defense minister reports ‘death threat’ to British police, received during subway ride

Updated 14 November 2024
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Pakistan’s defense minister reports ‘death threat’ to British police, received during subway ride

  • Individuals who heckled Khawaja Asif recorded a video, warning he could be stabbed with a knife
  • Pakistani ministers have also complained of harassment by Imran Khan’s followers in the past
Updated 14 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has lodged a report with the British police over the alleged death threat and abuses hurled at him during a train ride in London, the Pakistan High Commission in the United Kingdom said on Thursday.
A viral video surfaced on social media a day earlier, showing an unidentified man hurling abuses at the Pakistani minister in the native Punjabi language, saying, “Take him away before someone stabs him with a knife.”
While Asif chose to ignore the incident and got off the next stop, he visited the Pakistan High Commission on Thursday to formally report the “death threat” to the UK police and demanding an investigation.
“Khawaja Muhammad Asif lodged a report of the train incident with the local police at the Pakistan High Commission,” said a statement released by the Pakistani diplomatic facility. “He informed the police about the details of the knife threat and harassment incident on the train.”
The incident that took place on the Elizabeth Line is now being investigated by the London Transport police, it added.
“I am on a private visit to London,” Asif was quoted as saying. “I was going to Reading via the Elizabeth Line with a loved one.”
He added that a family of three to four persons “harassed and threatened to kill with a knife and used abusive language” against him while making the video.
“I do not know anyone involved in the incident,” the Pakistan High Commission quoted him as saying. “London Transport Police should use CCTV footage to track down the suspects.”
Asif further said death threats and harassment were a “source of shame” for 1.7 million Pakistanis residing in the UK apart from British citizens.
This is not the first time Pakistani ministers belonging to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party, have been heckled or harassed in the UK.
In the past, Pakistan Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb have endured the same treatment allegedly by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party supporters of jailed former PM Imran Khan.
 

Topics: Khawaja Asif Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Asif

Seven killed in Pakistan’s northwest as militant’s car bomb explodes accidentally

Updated 14 November 2024
AP
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Seven killed in Pakistan’s northwest as militant’s car bomb explodes accidentally

  • The explosion took place in Mir Ali where a militant was fitting a bomb in a car at his residence
  • Blast damaged several nearby homes and wounded 14 people, with some in critical condition
Updated 14 November 2024
AP

PESHAWAR: A powerful car bomb accidentally detonated at the house of a Pakistani Taliban militant in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least two children and five suspected militants, police said.
The explosion took place before dawn in the city of Mir Ali in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when a man identified a local commander of the militants, Rasool Jan, was fitting a bomb in a car at his house, police official Irfan Khan said.
He said other militants from the Pakistani Taliban group quickly arrived at the scene and removed the bodies of the insurgents who died. Authorities later found the bodies of two children in the rubble of the house, which collapsed in the explosion.
The blast also badly damaged several nearby homes and wounded 14 people, including women. Some of the injured were in critical condition in a hospital, Khan said, but he did not provide details.
The Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents in the region often target security forces with assault rifles, rockets, grenades and suicide car bombings, and Khan said it appeared the car bomb was being prepared for such an attack.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are separate from the Afghan Taliban but have been emboldened by the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Also Thursday, security forces raided a hideout of insurgents in Harnai, a district in restive southwestern Balochistan province, triggering an intense shootout in which a soldier and three insurgents were killed. During the operation, an army major was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, the military said in a statement.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to whom they called the “martyred soldiers” in separate statements. They said the fight against terrorism will continue until the elimination of all insurgents.
 

Topics: Pakistani Taliban car bomb car bombing

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