Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s political parties in Pakistan have agreed to work together to create a government after the recent election.
Mr Bhutto’s political party, the Pakistan People’s Party, said it will support Mr. Sharif’s political party, the Pakistan Muslim League, in choosing a prime minister.
The two groups used to work together to remove Imran Khan from power in 2022. He is currently in prison.
This time, candidates who were not part of any political party but supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the most seats.
PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari said in a press conference that even though his party and the PML-N competed against each other in elections, they are now working together for the country’s benefit.
Mr Zardari said we don’t have to fight forever.
The PML-N said that both groups had agreed to work together for political stability.
The results showed that independent candidates supported by PTI won 93 out of 266 seats. This made voters unsure about which parties would make the next government.
PML-N got 75 seats and PPP got 54 seats.
Also, more seats will be given to parties from the 70 seats reserved for women and non-Muslims. Independent candidates cannot get these extra seats.
According to a PML-N official, Marriyum Aurangzeb, the leader of the party, Mr. Sharif, wants to choose his brother, Shehbaz, to be the prime minister. Both men were prime ministers before.
Mr Bhutto said his party will support PML-N to elect a prime minister, but he also said his party will not take any positions in the cabinet.
Imran Khan and his party think the elections were unfair and want to protest the results.
Talking to reporters in court for the first time since the vote, Khan said: “I want to caution against the mistake of forming a government with votes that were stolen. ”
“This type of theft will not only disrespect the people but also make the country’s economy even worse. ”
The officials say they did not tamper with the votes.
Tag: Imran Khan
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Pakistan election: PML-N and PPP, Imran Khan’s opponents, agree to establish government
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Pakistan election: Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan both assert leadership
With most of the results now announced, no single political group has the most seats in Pakistan’s general elections.
Imran Khan, who used to be the Prime Minister and is now in jail, says he has won the election on Thursday. The people who support him have won the most seats in the election.
But another former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, says his party is the biggest and wants others to join him in working together.
There are rumors that Mr. Sharif’s PML-N party is talking to other groups about teaming up.
The final results have not been announced yet.
In a strong video message on X, using AI, Mr Khan said his PTI party won a big victory, even though he said the government has been trying to stop them.
“I want to say congratulations to all of you for winning the 2024 election. ” The message said, “You have done something very important and never done before. ”
Mr Khan is in jail after being found guilty of crimes he believes are related to politics.
The PTI candidates did better than expected. Most experts thought Mr. Sharif, who they believed had support from the military, would win.
Despite challenges, the election proves that Imran Khan has strong support.
However, the PTI cannot participate in the election, so Mr Sharif’s PML-N is the biggest official political party.
The politicians are making deals, so it might take some time before anyone wins for sure.
On Friday, Mr. Sharif said that he admitted he didn’t have enough support to make a government by himself. But when he talked to his supporters outside his party’s office in Lahore, he asked other candidates to come together with him and work as a group. He also said that he can help the country get through tough times.
On Friday, Imran Khan’s ex-special assistant Zulifkar Bukhari told BBC Newsnight that he doesn’t think Imran Khan’s political party PTI will make a coalition or form a government with any of the major parties.
“But, we will work together as a team. ” To be in parliament – not alone, but with a group, in one political party.
When asked if Mr. Khan might be released, Mr. Bukhari said he is very confident that once they go to the high court and supreme court, Mr. Khan will be released and many of the charges against him will be dropped because of legal and procedural reasons.
The third largest party seems to be the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto, the son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in 2007.
Burzine Waghmar, who works at SOAS University of London, said that the elections could be very divisive and dangerous for the unstable country.
As results came in, the UK and US worried about limits on people’s voting rights during the election.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron wants Pakistan’s leaders to respect important human rights, like the right to information and following the rules.
He said he was sorry that not everyone was allowed to run in the elections.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the US State Department named Matthew Miller complained about Pakistan’s election process, saying that there were too many rules limiting freedom of speech, association, and peaceful gatherings.
He said that he is worried about people attacking journalists and limiting access to the internet and phone services, which might interfere with the process.
Many experts believe that this election in Pakistan is not very trustworthy.
People in Lahore said they couldn’t use the internet to book taxis to go vote, and they couldn’t plan with their family when to go to the polling stations.
A person from the interior ministry said the power outages were needed for safety.
Help from the military in Pakistan is important to be successful in politics, and experts think that Mr. Sharif and his party have their support, even though they had disagreements in the past.
Maya Tudor, who is a teacher at the University of Oxford, said that Imran Khan’s PTI leading in the election was surprising considering the country’s history.
Dr Tudor said that if someone else wins the election in Pakistan, it would be very surprising. In the past, the military’s favorite candidate has always won.
Up to 128 million people signed up to vote, and almost half of them were younger than 35. Over 5,000 people ran for 266 seats in the National Assembly, but only 313 of them were women.
Pakistan’s ex-ambassador to the USA, Maleeha Lodhi, said Pakistan really needs a stable government to fix the country’s very bad economic crisis.
However, Ms Lodhi expressed optimism by saying that Pakistan’s high voter turnout indicates a strong belief in the democratic system. -
Imran Khan: Pakistan’s former prime minister arrested in state secrets case
Ex-Pakistani leader Imran Khan got a 10-year jail term for sharing government secrets.
Khan, who was removed as the Prime Minister in 2022, is currently in jail for three years because he was found guilty of being corrupt.
He said that all the accusations against him were done to hurt him in politics.
He was found guilty under the secrets act just before the elections, and he is not allowed to run for office.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who used to be a foreign minister, and is now the vice-chairman of Imran Khan’s PTI party, was given a 10-year prison sentence by a special court in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where both men are currently held.
The cipher case is about the suspected sharing of secret letters from Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington to the government in Islamabad while Khan was prime minister.
It’s about when he showed up at a big meeting in March 2022, just before he was kicked out of his job as leader in a vote by the parliament. Imran Khan came on stage and showed a paper, claiming it proved that there was a plan from another country to harm him.
He said very clearly that “everything will be forgiven if Imran Khan is no longer in charge”. He didn’t say which country it was, but he had a lot of bad things to say about the United States.
The prosecutor said that the ex-Prime Minister leaked a secret document and harmed relationships with other countries. The second accusation can result in life in prison or even being sentenced to death.
Imran Khan has been in Adiala jail most of the time since he was arrested in August. Foreign reporters were not allowed to go to the court hearings that have been happening for the past few months.
The news said that the judge was asked to speed up the trial. A PTI representative said they will fight the court decision and said it was a joke.
“We don’t agree with this bad choice,” said Naeem Panjutha, a lawyer for the ex-prime minister who has many legal cases. He posted this on X (formerly Twitter).
Another person who works for Khan told the Reuters news agency that his lawyers didn’t get to help him or question the people giving evidence.
The election on 8 February is late, and some people say the PTI party is not getting a fair chance to campaign.
The government says they didn’t attack the PTI, but lots of its leaders are in jail or have left the party. Its candidates have to run for election as independents and some are hiding.
The police arrested many of its supporters after there were protests, some of which were violent, last May when Imran Khan was first taken into custody.
The party cannot use the cricket bat symbol anymore. This symbol is important in a country where many people can’t read, so voters can use it to mark their ballots.
Many are doubting if next Thursday’s vote is fair, because Imran Khan, who is still one of Pakistan’s most popular politicians, and his party have been ignored.
The man expected to win is Nawaz Sharif, who has been Prime Minister three times before and came back from living outside the country. For a long time, he caused problems for the powerful military. He was put in jail for being dishonest before the 2018 election that Imran Khan won.
Now things are different. Nawaz Sharif’s legal problems have disappeared, which makes many people think that the government supports him now. At the same time, his opponent, who was once liked by the military, is not liked anymore. -
Pakistan imposed five-year ban on Imran Khan’s ability to run for government
Imran Khan, a former Pakistani prime minister, has been barred from running for office for five years, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced on Tuesday.
Khan has been prohibited as a result of his conviction and three-year prison term last week in a corruption trial, according to the statement.
The trial is connected to an investigation by the electoral commission, which concluded that Khan had sold official gifts for an illegal price while he was prime minister from 2018 to 2022.
After the court’s decision on Saturday, Khan was detained at his residence in Lahore and taken to the capital Islamabad.
The populist politician who used to play for the Australian cricket team has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Over the weekend, his PTI party claimed that the Supreme Court has received an appeal against the ruling.
Prior to being detained on Saturday, Khan urged his supporters to engage in nonviolent demonstrations in order to protect their “freedom and human rights.” He claimed that he was engaged in this “struggle” for the “future of Pakistan’s children.”
The 70-year-old Khan was deposed in a no-confidence vote in the parliament last year and has since led a populist campaign against the current administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, claiming that it conspired with senior military figures to depose him and bar him from politics.
The Pakistani authorities claimed that the reason for his arrest was political or an effort to prevent him from voting in elections later this year.
Violent altercations between his fans and police broke out after his arrest and temporary detention on a separate matter in May. Additionally, several prominent party figures were detained.
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Pakistan:Devotees of Imran Khan silent but steadfast
Imran Khan, a former prime minister, was detained over the weekend on suspicion of corruption, but there was hardly a peep of protest.
No significant protests were reported anywhere in the nation.
In contrast, on May 9, 2016, the 70-year-old was detained and removed from an Islamabad court building. It spurred demonstrations around the nation, some of which became violent as Mr. Khan’s followers fought with law enforcement. A few demonstrators broke into military facilities and even ransacked the residence of the top military official in Lahore.
However, this time, when Mr. Khan was condemned and then sent to a prison in Attock city, officials were prepared. According to rumours, there were several decoy convoys to trick the media, and his location was kept a mystery. In all major cities, police and the military were on high alert, and scores of people were preemptively detained.
The lack of outrage over Mr. Khan’s incarceration, according to Pakistan‘s ruling party and the army, is evidence that the populace no longer supports the former prime minister. However, his Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) party and followers claim that a quick crackdown has silenced them. The BBC is aware that after the May demonstrations, media outlets were instructed not to report on PTI activities or even mention Mr. Khan by name.
Since May, thousands of Mr. Khan’s followers have been detained. Human rights organisations have claimed that the army’s plan to have them tried in military courts violates international law. The PTI has also been brutally destroyed, with many party members and leaders being detained or being charged. About 200 cases still remain for Mr. Khan. Since then, a number of PTI members have defected or given up on politics entirely.
Senior political analyst Ali Akbar argued that this is why Mr. Khan’s appeals for a protest this time were ignored: not only did workers and supporters fear detention, but they also found it difficult to rally support due to the PTI’s lack of leadership.
A PTI fan who prefers to go by Fatima said police actions against party officials had scared her into quiet, even online.
I used to continue to support the party on Twitter, but one day I got a call from an unknown number advising me not to make such messages. I became afraid, and my parents also suggested that I erase my Twitter account because they claimed that if I were caught, nobody would be able to assist me.
Another member of the party claimed that given the police’s apparent readiness to detain anyone who approached to protest, he did not want to place himself in an uncomfortable situation.
The identity of the housewife, Naheed, who lives in the traditionally conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area in northwest Pakistan, has been changed on request. “After so many of their leaders and workers were arrested, my family members are not even allowing me to meet other lady workers of the party,” she adds.
She claims that following their overthrow in April of last year, she started backing Imran Khan and the PTI. However, she continues, because to the severity of the police response to party employees, she is now unable to even leave her residence.
Another group of supporters said that, they did not want to demonstrate this time. Unidentified man stated that while he supported peaceful rallies, he was discouraged when the May protests descended into violence: “I don’t know who was behind it but I cannot support such violence and destruction.”
However, a lot of people also claimed that even if they did not officially support Mr. Khan and the PTI, they still did. This “silent support”‘s” strength is still apparent. Recently, and by a sizable majority, the PTI won a by-election in a region where it had lost the previous year.
Irfan Khan, a political analyst, claims that anti-establishment viewpoints swiftly gain popularity in Pakistan.
“Earlier, when the PTI was in power and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) took an anti-establishment stance, the PML won by-elections at many seats even in PTI strongholds,” the guy claimed.
When he came to power in 2018, Mr. Khan himself was regarded as an ally of the establishment, and it is widely assumed that he was removed after the alliance deteriorated.
Fatima is one of many PTI fans who promises to continue supporting Mr. Khan and his party in the upcoming general election, which is anticipated to take place later this year.
The PTI will receive Naheed’s vote, she adds, adding, “These activities will not cause us to leave the PTI. We shall keep supporting Imran Khan and the party because they have our undying devotion.
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Pakistan outrage initiated by minister who was misogynistic
Khawaja Asif, the defence minister of Pakistan, certainly wasn’t prepared for the intensity of the anger that would occur after he spoke in parliament last week and called female PTI opposition leaders “trash and leftovers” of party leader Imran Khan.
After all, similar sexist statements have been made by Pakistani authors, cricket players, celebrities, and judges. Men have a permission to get away with sexism, as provincial assembly member Sharmila Faruqi stated to the local media.
Additionally, Mr. Asif had previously made similar remarks in parliament. The 73-year-old made a harsh allusion to Sheerin Mazari’s size by calling her a ‘trailer trolley’ in a previous joint session.
Such terminology had been employed in the legislation many times before. The PTI and the PML-N, both led by Mr. Asif, have routinely made discriminatory and misogynistic comments about female lawmakers from other parties.
But this time, there was a strong and widespread uproar against Mr. Asif.
On social media, lawmakers from the PTI and other parties attacked him, and he received harsh criticism for his remarks from numerous media sources. The biggest English-language newspaper in the nation, Dawn, published an editorial in which it was stated that Khawaja Asif, our defence minister, “needs schooling on gender equality.”
Later, Mr. Asif claimed on Twitter that his remarks had been “taken out of context” and that “calling someone ‘trash’ or ‘leftover’ is not gender-specific.” He did not, however, apologise.
However, according to sociologist Nida Kirmani, this was a sign of change.
She claims that if the outcry had not occurred a few years earlier, he wouldn’t have been forced to respond or provide an explanation. The latest backlash to Khawaja Asif’s discriminatory remarks is the result of a protracted battle by women’s rights advocates.
She claims that social media has fundamentally changed the game by giving women a platform to speak out.
And that may also be seen in discussions taking place far from the centre of attention. Recently, a scene from the well-liked on-going drama Baby Baji in which a husband spanks his wife was shared online with several males praising the moment for “finally putting the woman in her place.”
However, females reacted angrily right away.
They included Amina Rehman, who observed: “I saw a number of violent husbands in my community enjoy it with their mistreated women. People exult when the slap finally occurs because of the misguided belief that women are the source of all evil.
Many Pakistani women think that this is due in part to popular entertainment’s frequent use of regressive depictions of women. Sabahat Zakariya, a video blogger, bemoans the fact that plays on TV or streaming services have become more sexist over time. She recalls TV programmes from the 1980s, which were much more progressive and portrayed women who had both work and families.
A fictional, subversive story about female detectives called Churails is one example of a show that has attempted to disrupt this stereotype. But following an outcry, Pakistan’s censors decided it was too audacious and banned it.
Actor and campaigner Adeel Afzal laments that “Pakistani society has not accepted a woman as an individual, a human, or to give her the right to live the way she deserves.”
And every crude thing we read, watch, or hear is based on this idea. Because of this, whenever a woman complains about being mistreated, abused, or harassed, we fight and intervene, and the offender flees.
But occasionally the clamour is loud enough to compel a discussion.
Nabil Gobol of the Pakistan People’s Party caused a stir in April with some of his podcast comments. He stated, in reference to political agreements, “There is an English proverb that says that if rape is inevitable, you might as well enjoy it.”
Many others expressed their displeasure on Facebook and Twitter, tagging Mr. Gobol’s party leader and requesting that something be done. He was eventually asked to apologise by the group. So he did.
According to Ms. Kirmani, “with consistent criticism, politicians and people would stop themselves before saying anything offensive against women.” Hopefully, this day will materialise at some point.
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Imran Khan, former Pakistan PM released on bail
The highest court in Islamabad has granted bail to former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, days after his detention on corruption allegations caused a deadly uprising against the military.
Khan was given a two-week interim parole order on Friday by a judge in the High Court of the capital city.
“I am positive that I will be detained once more. In advance of his hearing, Khan told CNN outside the courtroom, “I was given permission by the NAB to talk to my wife, and arrest warrants have also been issued for her.
It came a day after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Khan’s arrest on Tuesday by Pakistan’s anti-graft agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NBI), was unlawful.
Khan’s party had filed a petition to challenge the illegal land acquisition charges against him by the NBI.
His dramatic arrest outside the courthouse in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday sparked outrage among Mr Khan’s supporters.
At least 10 people were killed and some 2,000 arrested as unrest swept the country. Those protests included an attack at a military commander’s home residence in Lahore, which was set on fire.
While this week’s violence petered out after the army was deployed in Islamabad and other areas, such as Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the country remains on edge.
There was a large security presence at the court on Friday.
Speaking to the BBC before his bail hearing, Mr Khan said he feared immediate re-arrest once released, urged authorities against a move as “there might be huge reaction which will go out of control. Because mobs are out of control, no-one controls mobs.”
“How am I supposed to control what happens afterwards?” he told the BBC.
While the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the circumstances of the arrest were illegal, the corruption charges against him still stand.
Mr Khan pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday, when a judge formally indicted him with corruption for the first time in the dozens of cases he faces.
And Mr Khan told the BBC on Friday that he was also facing dozens of additional charges, including counts of terrorism, sedition and blasphemy.
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Mran Khan to be granted bail after a decision taken by Pakistan’s Supreme court
Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan who was detained as part of a corruption investigation, will be released on bail.
The former populist leader was wrongfully detained, the nation’s top court concluded Tuesday, emphasising that security officers needed a warrant to make the arrest.
However, this suggests that the former international cricket star might be detained again.
Khan, a tremendously popular politician who has fought the military tooth and nail, was arrested on Tuesday, which sparked extensive bloodshed.
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Pakistan on edge as Imran Khan’s loyalists battle a strong military
Pakistan’s political unrest worsened on Wednesday as Imran Khan‘s followers vented their rage following his dramatic arrest by paramilitary forces, a major escalation of a year-long political deadlock that has alarmed the South Asian nation.
The country’s powerful military and Khan’s followers clashed in the streets on Tuesday, sparking extraordinary scenes as enraged mobs broke into and vandalised the homes of army soldiers. Khan’s arrest on several corruption accusations ratcheted up an already tense standoff.
According to a CNN reporter on the scene, fighting continued on Wednesday as hundreds of Khan’s supporters stormed the Radio Pakistan headquarters in Peshawar.
Photos from Peshawar’s streets showed security forces firing teargas at crowds, some of whom used slingshots.
Police said nearly 1,000 Khan supporters had been arrested in Punjab province after 25 police vehicles and more than 14 government buildings were set on fire, Reuters reported.
Authorities in three of Pakistan’s four provinces have also imposed an emergency order banning all gatherings, Reuters added.
Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s minister for planning and development, told reporters on Wednesday that Khan had “chosen a path of spreading anarchy, chaos and destruction” to “protect himself from accountability.”“I want to assure there is no political vendetta,” he added.
Khan’s supporters and riot police also gathered outside police headquarters in Islamabad on Wednesday, where an impromptu court hearing was set to be held before judges, surrounded by a ring of security forces.
The hearing took place in the police station rather than a court to “keep him away from the public”, police said. Khan’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry told CNN Wednesday he has had “no contact” with his client.
A lawyer for National Accountability Bureau (NAB) – Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog – told CNN they were requesting a fourteen-day remand for Khan.
Video before Khan’s arrest on Tuesday showed paramilitary forces breaking a window to get to the politician as he watched impassively at the unfolding chaos. Khan was then led into a vehicle surrounded by dozens of security officers and escorted away.
In a pre-recorded statement released on YouTube by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party after his arrest, the former prime minister said he was “detained on incorrect charges” and told his supporters “the time has come for all of you to come and struggle for your rights.”
“I have always followed the law. I am being apprehended so that I can’t follow my political path for this country’s fundamental rights and for me to obey this corrupt government of crooks which has been hoisted on us,” he said in the video.
Violent protests broke out in several cities that afternoon.
Khan supporters armed with sticks broke into the military’s headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, just outside the capital, chanting in support of the former leader.
Protesters also blocked one of the main thoroughfares into Islamabad, throwing stones and pulling down street signs. A police vehicle was set ablaze, resulting in police retaliating with tear gas.
Meanwhile, in the southwestern city of Quetta, a Khan supporter was shot and killed by police at a protest, according to a CNN journalist at the scene.
Authorities blocked mobile internet services shortly after in a bid to quell the chaos, disrupting access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in the nation of 270 million. Private schools across the country were ordered shut on Wednesday, according to the Private Schools Association.
At least 43 protesters were arrested in Islamabad Tuesday, the city’s police said on Twitter.
Syed Baqir Sajjad, a Pakistan Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, said that although previous Pakistani leaders had faced arrest, and politicians had in the past challenged the military’s dominance, Khan’s significant public support made this situation “unique.”
“The risks faced by Pakistan in this situation are numerous,” he said. “The military’s image as a unifying force and the guardian of the state has been seriously challenged, which has led to a loss of public trust in the institution. This, in turn, could lead to instability and social unrest.”
Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year and has since led a popular campaign against the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accusing it of colluding with the military to remove him from office.
The former star cricketer turned populist politician denies the charges leveled against him, instead accusing Sharif and the military of playing a political game. The military and Sharif – who was recently in the United Kingdom after attending the coronation of the British monarch – deny Khan’s accusations.
The tensions have brought Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of some 220 million people that has for decades grappled with political instability, into unknown territory and have often boiled over into violence.
Last November, Khan survived a shooting at a political rally, in what his party called an assassination attempt.
And in March, chaos erupted outside Khan’s Lahore home after hundreds of his supporters challenged police and paramilitary troops who had arrived to escort him away. Officers were forced to suspend the operation after protests turned violent – one of multiple unsuccessful attempts by police to arrest Khan.
Khan’s claims have struck a chord with a young population in a country where anti-establishment feelings are common, and are being fueled by a rising cost of living crisis as soaring inflation makes ordinary goods increasingly unaffordable.
“This has put increased pressure on the military establishment, which is feeling the heat more this time,” said Sajjad, the analyst. “The intensity and consistency of Imran Khan’s attacks on the military, especially after being ousted from office last year, are unprecedented.”
Amid the crisis, the government has so far failed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to restart a $6.5 billion loan program that has stalled since November, in an effort to keep the economy afloat.
The political upheaval appears to have bolstered Khan’s popularity. Last year, his PTI party won local elections in the country’s most populous Punjab province, seen as a litmus test for national elections.
The political polarization and economic crisis had placed Pakistan at “a critical juncture,” and the situation had the “potential to become a permanent crisis,” Sajjad said.
Pakistan’s future trajectory “will largely depend on how its leaders navigate the ongoing crises and whether they can find a way to address the people’s grievances and restore stability,” he added.
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Pakistan: Opposition leader Imran Khan greets supporters outside his home
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s main opposition leader, has greeted supporters outside his home, just hours after police attempted to arrest him.
He addressed the crowd and posed for photos with those gathered near his Lahore compound.
He can be seen wearing a gas mask in one video. Throughout the night, police fired tear gas shells at protesters.
According to one official, the arrest operation has been halted.
Punjab Interim Information Minister Amir Mir said the court-ordered operation to detain Mr Khan was suspended on Wednesday to allow a cricket tournament to take place nearby, as the stand-off was causing major traffic disruption.
He said the operation would likely continue after the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on 19 March.
No international cricket was played in Pakistan for six years following an attack on the Sri Lanka team by gunmen in 2009. It also took years for international players to return, and the ongoing tournament involves a large security operation.
“We can’t afford to risk the security and safety of the PSL,” a senior police official told the Reuters news agency.
Officers and paramilitary rangers were spotted leaving the Zaman Park neighborhood, where the house is located, with some reportedly abandoning roadblocks and checkpoints.
Mr Khan then emerged from the building and addressed his supporters. “The people pushed back the police and rangers sent to harm Imran Khan,” his PTI party’s Twitter account said.
The 70-year-old, who was deposed as Prime Minister in April, is accused of selling state gifts while in office. According to him, the case is politically motivated.
On Tuesday, officers in riot gear fired tear gas shells and water cannon to disperse hundreds of angry supporters of Mr Khan at the compound. Some of the crowd threw stones and bricks.
Police then tried to force their way into the compound to arrest Mr Khan for failing to appear in an Islamabad court.
He has said he did not appear because of security concerns as two militant attacks had previously taken place there. The politician has offered to sign a guarantee that he will appear in court on Saturday.
Mr Khan earlier told the BBC there was “no reason” for police to arrest him as he had taken protective bail until Saturday. He also said the government was determined to put him behind bars after previous failed attempts.
He said the authorities were trying to arrest him to stop his party from taking part in forthcoming elections. But he added: “Whether I am in jail or not they will not be able to stop my party winning.”
Government minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the move had nothing to do with elections and police were only complying with court orders.
She claimed that Mr Khan was using his party workers, women and children as human shields to evade arrest and stoke unrest.
Since being ousted from office, Mr Khan has been a vocal critic of the government and the country’s army. He has toured the country delivering fiery speeches calling for elections due later this year to be held early.
He has kept up pressure on his successor Shehbaz Sharif with demonstrations and blames him for an assassination attempt in November in which he was wounded in the leg.
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Imran Khan: Pakistan dissolves another Khan-led provincial assembly
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislature was dissolved after Punjab as part of the effort by the former prime minister Imran Khan to force early general elections.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial assembly has been dissolved for the second time in less than a week as Imran Khan, the former prime minister, pushes for early national elections.
Haji Ghulam Ali, the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formally dissolved the provincial assembly on Wednesday by signing a letter.
He was responding to a request made by Mahmood Khan, the provincial chief minister and a prominent figure in Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
On Saturday, the assembly in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, was dissolved following an order by PTI chief Khan, who since his removal as prime minister last April, has been demanding immediate polls, otherwise scheduled in October this year.
Pakistan’s constitution says new elections must be held within three months of the dissolution of a provincial legislature if the house fails in setting up an interim government.
The South Asian nation historically conducts federal and provincial elections simultaneously, but the constitution allows for separate poll dates as well.
Khan’s PTI hopes the dissolution of two of the country’s four assemblies will force Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to announce immediate general elections.
“We will return with two-thirds majority not just in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but all of Pakistan, and form a government on the basis of our performance,” provincial chief minister Khan said in a video message on Tuesday after he wrote to the governor to dissolve the assembly.
PTI leader Musarrat Jamshed Cheema told Al Jazeera it is imperative that the government thinks beyond its “self-interests” and goes into early elections.
“You will have more than 70 percent of Pakistan contesting the provincial elections after the dissolution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies. Why are they reluctant to hold general elections? Not only will the delay damage them politically, it is harming Pakistan’s situation as well,” she said.
Saif Ali Khan, lawyer and former adviser to Mahmood Khan, said the PTI decided to dissolve the assemblies to push the country into general elections.
“The ruling alliance is still trying to sabotage our efforts as they do not want to hold early elections. We will fight all their tactics on political and legal forums,” he told Al Jazeera.
Lahore-based political analyst Benazir Shah said Imran Khan, by pushing for immediate polls, is trying to take advantage of his rising popularity among the people.
“If Khan can form governments in both the provinces, and Punjab in particular, he will get a huge advantage in the next general election,” she told Al Jazeera.
Shah said the ruling alliance does not have many options to manoeuvre the political crisis and could be forced to play on Khan’s terms.
“In the next three months, they would have to hurriedly put together an election campaign, mobilise their voters and craft an effective election narrative to counter Khan. None of this will be easy for the ruling coalition’s parties, which have recently taken back-to-back electoral losses and are seen as being hand-in-glove with the military,” she said.
PTI’s lawyer Khan said the ruling alliance does not have the moral credibility to lead the country, which is already facing a dire economic crisis, made worse by last year’s catastrophic floods.
“If you’re driving a bus and see the driver as incompetent, you do not wait for the bus to crash or get into an accident. You try and change the driver at the earliest. This is what we want for Pakistan,” he told Al Jazeera.
“We cannot wait for few more months which could take us to a point of no return. Let the public decide who should have the mandate to make difficult decisions.”
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Conduct an investigation into the military – Imran Khan to Pakistan’s president
In a letter to the president, the former prime minister questions how military officials can hold press conferences aimed at a political leader.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has requested that President Arif Alvi launch an investigation into a news conference held by Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agency, which he accuses of orchestrating the attack on him.
Khan mentioned the event held last month by Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, chief of Inter-Services Intelligence, in a letter to the president (ISI).
“How can two military bureaucrats do a highly political press conference targeting the leader of the largest federal political party,” wrote Khan, the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
At the unprecedented news conference on October 27, Anjum was accompanied by Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar, the chief of the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Khan is recovering at home in Lahore after he was discharged from hospital on Sunday. Last week, he was wounded in the leg in an apparent assassination attempt during a protest rally in Wazirabad in the eastern province of Punjab.
“I am requesting you to act now to stop the abuse of power and violations of our laws and constitutions,” he wrote, also asking that the president define ISPR’s role.
Khan has provided no evidence to back his accusations.
There has been no response so far to the letter from either the president, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces, or the military.
The two military officials talked to the media about the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and responded to allegations made by Khan against the military establishment.
The PTI chief has claimed that senior intelligence official Major General Faisal Naseer, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah were involved in what he called the plot to kill him, and demanded they be sacked.
He repeated the allegations in his letter to the president.
Khan has previously accused military officials of torturing and harassing PTI officials, including a senator and his chief of staff.
On Friday, the military dismissed his allegations as “baseless and irresponsible”, adding that accusations against senior army officers are “unacceptable and uncalled for”.
Sharif called on the country’s top court to form a commission to investigate the attack.
“I don’t have the right to remain in office if there is any shred of evidence found regarding my involvement in this case,” the premier said on Saturday.
Khan, 70, was removed through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April.
He alleged that a US-led foreign conspiracy colluded with Pakistan’s military establishment and his political rivals to remove him. Again, he did not provide any evidence. US and Pakistani authorities have denied these charges.
He has been conducting rallies across the country since his removal. PTI secured electoral victories in by-elections held in July and October.
The cricketer-turned-politician launched a long march on October 28 to Islamabad with the goal of holding early general elections. The term of Pakistan’s current National Assembly ends in October 2023.
In a video broadcast from the hospital on social media on Sunday, Khan announced his party will resume the long march on Tuesday from Wazirabad. He said he would join the march in Rawalpindi in the coming days.
Senior PTI leader Musarrat Jamshed Cheema told Al Jazeera that the march will be led by the party’s top leadership and will follow the original route, while Khan will make daily speeches.
“The plan is to have Imran Khan speak to the public every day at 4:30pm and we will try to wrap up the rally every day before [the] sun sets,” she said.
Cheema said the party plans to conclude the rally in Islamabad in “10 to 12 days”.
“But it all depends on his wellbeing and his recovery. Of course, we want him to be there as soon as it is possible,” she said.
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Imran Khan: Former Pakistan Prime Minister says he was shot four times and reveals the extent of his injuries
A doctor in the room described his injuries as being hit “on the right thigh [with] two bullets” and “on the left thigh two bullets,” adding that his “left tibia was fractured.”
In an address to the nation, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed details of his attack after being shot during a rally.
Mr Khan claimed he was shot four times during a protest march in Pakistan on Thursday, with two bullets striking each of his legs.
A doctor in the room described his injuries as being hit “on the right thigh [with] two bullets” and “on the left thigh two bullets,” adding that his “left tibia was fractured.”
The doctor said there was a fracture on Mr Khan’s right leg and near the main artery there were some bullet fragments.
“If it was hit there, there would have been a lot of bleeding,” he said.
“We took these four bullet fragments out but they did not touch any major structures.”
He added: “Once I recover, I will once again come onto the streets.”
Mr Khan said two shooters tried to assassinate him and they killed one person and injured 11 others.He said three people had devised the plan to assassinate him, but gave no names and provided no evidence for his allegations.The former prime minister gave an interview to Sky News two hours before he was shot in which he said he was hopeful there would not be violence during his march across the country.
Asked if the prospect of violence worried him, he said: “I’ve been on the road for six months now, what I’ve seen I’m confident that I will be able to direct it through elections. I will be able to direct this through elections and bring about a change. But the other possibility is, you would not want it to go the other way.”
Footage from the scene captured what local media is citing as the gunman, who appeared to escape as members of the public tried to take the weapon off him.
Police are questioning the alleged attacker, who appeared in a video saying he carried out the shooting and acted alone.
Image:Local media is citing the man pictured (C) as the suspected gunman The cricketing hero-turned-politician – who has been calling for new elections since he was ousted from power in April – has been delivering impassioned speeches at gatherings across the country.
He was six days into a march from Lahore to Islamabad in his push for radical change when the shooting took place.
Following the shooting, Mr Khan’s supporters staged nationwide protests, blocking key roads in major cities and sometimes clashing with police.
His party has called for the protests to continue until its demand for political change in Pakistan is met.
“Today, after Friday prayers, there will be protests across the country, which will continue until Imran Khan’s demand is met,” Asad Umar, a close aide of Mr Khan, tweeted.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Mr Khan’s successor, condemned the shooting and has ordered an immediate investigation.
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Ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot in the leg during a protest march
Party official, has confirmed that the former prime minister was shot in the leg but is not in danger.
After shots were fired at a rally in Gujranwala, Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, was hit in the leg.
Azhar Mashwani, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf official, confirmed to Al Jazeera that Khan was shot in the leg but was not in danger.
Khan, who has been leading a protest march to the capital, Islamabad, demanding snap elections, was taken to a hospital in Lahore.
The identity of the shooter who opened fire at a container truck carrying Khan was not immediately clear. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Former Pakistan PM shot in the leg in ‘assassination attempt’
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has been shot in the leg in what his supporters say was an assassination attempt.
The shooting has reportedly left four to five people, including his manager Rashid and Former Governor Sindh Imran Ismail injured.
Asian News International tweeted today: “A firing was reported near the container of former PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s container near Zafar Ali Khan chowk in Wazirabad, Pakistan media reports.”
Former Pakistan PM Khan was reportedly injured as shots were fired near his long march container.
It comes a week after a female journalist was crushed to death in Pakistan while covering a political march led by former prime minister Khan.
Source: birminghammail.co.uk
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Pakistan Election Commission has disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan
Former Prime Minister barred from serving in parliament due to ‘corrupt practises.’
In a unanimous ruling, Pakistan’s electoral commission ruled former Prime Minister Imran Khan guilty of “corrupt practises” and barred him from running for office.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party immediately rejected Friday’s verdict. It said it would file an appeal to the Islamabad High Court to challenge the ruling and called on supporters to take to the streets.
The case against Khan was filed in August by a member of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, contending that the former prime minister had bought gifts given by foreign dignitaries from the state gift depository (also called Toshakhana) but did not disclose the assets in the declarations submitted to the commission.