Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Imran Khan was ousted on Gen Bajwa's directives: Fazlur Rehman

2024-02-16

[GEO.TV] Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Thursday that the no-confidence motion that ousted former prime minister Imran Khan was tabled on the directives of ex-army chief General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

In an interview on a private news channel, Fazl, who was the chief of the multi-party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) responsible for removing Khan, said: “I was personally against the no-confidence move [...] but if I had said no despite insistence of other parties, then an impression would’ve been given that I ‘saved’ the PTI founder.”

The PDM removed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in April 2022 and led by Shehbaz Sharif, the multi-party alliance ruled the country for 16 months before handing over the reins to the caretaker set-up.

At first, Khan insisted that the US had him removed — a claim that the Joe Biden administration vehemently rejected. However, the ex-prime minister later shifted the blame to Gen Bajwa.

In an interview in February last year, Khan, citing an apparent conversation of the retired general with a journalist, said General Bajwa had “accepted and clarified that he was behind our government's ouster”.

After he became the first prime minister to be ousted via a no-trust motion, Khan continued a tirade against the establishment; however, politicians also said that the ex-army chief was involved in the PTI’s ouster.

Fazl, during the interview, said: “While the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was running the movement for a no-confidence motion, Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hamid told me that I could do whatever I wanted, but within the system.”

The JUI-F chief said Hamid told him that he could not “do anything outside the system” — meaning that every move should be made inside the parliament, not on the streets.

“But I rejected his directions,” he said, but noted that later on, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and others left the PTI-led government.

“When they said that [the anti-PTI] is now in majority, I had to agree with them otherwise it would’ve been said that I helped save Imran Khan,” the JUI-F chief, who has rejected February 8 election results, said.

GOVERNMENT FORMATION
The February 8 did not return a clear majority for anyone, but independent candidates backed by Khan won 92 out of 264 seats, making them the largest group, followed by PML-N (79) and the PPP (54).

However, every party, even the PML-N which is seemingly about to form the next government, is unhappy with the election results.

For his party, Fazl has decided to join the parliament, but not become part of the government. “The decisions will not be made in the parliament anymore, they will be made on the streets.”

He noted that apparently, “rigging in elections” benefited the PML-N and there’s a rumour that Nawaz was not winning the Lahore seat.

Fazl said that PML-N’s prime minister candidate Shehbaz had paid him a visit to speak about government formation, but he rejected the idea and instead called on the Nawaz-led party to join him in the opposition.

“But Shehbaz left without responding to my offer [...] for me, the parliament has lost its credibility. If the establishment this that the elections were fair, then the May 9 narrative has been buried.”

Link

India-Pakistan

JI announces no-trust motion against PPP's Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab

2023-12-12

[GEO.TV] Moments after the City Council approved a resolution allowing the K-Electric to collect Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) charges from the citizens through their monthly power bills, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi Amir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman Monday announced tabling a no-confidence motion against Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab.

Expressing his disappointment over the attitude of the first Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) mayor of the port city, Rehman blasted the ruling party over the acute water crisis in the city, grabbing the mayor slot vial alleged rigging and not tabling the budget in the house.

Addressing the council's session, the JI leader said that the elected representatives were helpless to address the water-related issues of the public. He said that the solid waste department should be handed over to the local government.

Link

India-Pakistan

PML-N, JUI-F hit back at Bilawal as electioneering picks up pace

2023-11-22

[GEO.TV] The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have hit back at Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari after the latter raised concerns over upcoming general elections' transparency and the “denial” of the level-playing field to all political parties.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said he would not resort to using Bilawal’s language to respond to his criticism, Geo News reported.

The PPP chief in his recent public addresses launched a tirade against the PML-N leadership, calling it “mehangai [inflation] league” and accusing its supremo Nawaz Sharif of receiving preferential treatment from the caretaker government.

Bilawal has also cast doubts on the transparency of the upcoming general elections, claiming that no one would accept the results of the polls if results were manipulated in favour of any political party.

“The PML-N does not want to increase bitterness that’s why we are not responding to Bilawal’s [criticism] in his own language,” Sanaullah said in today’s media talk.

Despite adopting anti-PML-N rhetoric, the former security czar said the ex-foreign minister would not be able to woo anti-PML-N voters by “heaping praise” on the PML-N.

Besides Punjab, he said the PML-N would secure a majority from other provinces as well in the upcoming elections.

The PML-N stalwart also emphasised the need for working together for the country’s betterment. “We have to work together If the country has to move forward.”

Sanaullah said that his party exercised restraint as both parties were allies in the previous coalition government led by the PML-N.

Fazl advises against political bitterness
Meanwhile, speaking to the media after meeting Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazl said his party would not adopt an aggressive stance against the PPP and would maintain contact with other political parties as well.

“There is a difference between the thinking of an elderly person and a child. This difference is visible in the statements of Bilawal,” the JUI-F chief said referring to his statement that youth should be given a chance to lead the country instead of the elderly.

Fazl called for promoting reconciliation and harmony in order to avoid confrontational politics during the election campaign.

He also advised against casting aspersions on the transparency of polls saying that the country cannot afford the disputed elections.

The JUI-F said his party has decided to work together with PML-N in the future and would also enter into seat adjustment with its ally.

Political activities are on the rise in the country after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), following the Supreme Court's intervention, announced that the polls in the country will take place on February 8, 2024.

Link

India-Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif has no plan to return to Pakistan soon: Khursheed Shah

2023-08-28

[GEO.TV] Contrary to a recent claim made by former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senior leader Khursheed Shah has said he doesn’t think Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will return to the homeland in October, citing his health-related issues.

Addressing a press conference in London on Friday after the meeting with Nawaz, Shehbaz floated a new date for his elder brother’s homecoming. Flanked by the three-time prime minister, the PML-N president had announced, “Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in October [2023] and lead the election campaign.” He, however, did not confirm a specific date of Nawaz’s homecoming.

Nawaz went to London in November 2019 for medical treatment after he was convicted by an accountability court in graft cases and he has been living there since then.

Talking to local media on Sunday, Khursheed Shah said that Nawaz has no plan to return to Pakistan soon. “Nawaz Sharif’s health is not good, he might not come.”

Responding to a question, the PPP leader further said, “Nawaz Sharif’s health can deteriorate in the last moments.”

In 2016, Nawaz stepped down as the prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him for life for concealing assets. Later, the PML-N supremo was convicted in the Al-Azizia and the Aveinfeild Apartment references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which emerged in the aftermath of the Panama Papers leak.

His appeals against the conviction are currently pending in the relevant courts.

Link

India-Pakistan

Mob besieges Dawn offices in Islamabad

2019-12-04

[DAWN] A few dozen unidentified people on Monday staged a protest outside Dawn offices over publication of a news report regarding the ethnicity of the London Bridge attacker who stabbed two persons to death last week.

The charged mob, carrying banners and chanting slogans against the newspaper, remained outside the office building for nearly three hours, besieging the premises and making the staffers hostage.

They prevented the employees from entering or leaving the building and demanded a written apology. Some of the protesters also misbehaved with the newspaper as well as Dawn TV employees when they arrived at the office.

Security guards at the media house had to lock the gates to prevent the protesters from entering the premises before police and officers of the capital administration arrived.

After lengthy negotiations with the newspaper management in the presence of an assistant commissioner, the protesters finally agreed to disperse after hurling warnings.

Meanwhile, the incident was widely condemned by leaders of various political parties, parliamentarians and journalist bodies.

Chairman of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Kokhar has also taken notice of the besieging of Dawn offices by the unidentified persons and directed the inspector general of police Islamabad to submit a report on the issue to the committee by December 6. He had also sought details of the action taken by the police against those who had besieged the media house.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a statement condemned the incident, saying that “no one should be allowed to attack media outlets in the name of protest”.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari demanded “action against the crowd which attacked the newspaper office and vowed to side with the journalist fraternity”.

PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb called for a high-level investigation into the incident to identify and punish the perpetrators.

In a statement, Ms Aurangzeb said it was imperative to set a precedent by awarding strict punishment to those who attacked the newspaper office so that it should act as a deterrent in future.

Link

India-Pakistan

JUI-F threatens road blockades if marchers stopped

2019-10-21

[DAWN] As major opposition parties, including Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz, Pakistain Peoples Party and Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
, have decided to join the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...a Pak religious party. It is usually part of the govt, never part of the solution...
-Fazl’s Oct 27 Azadi March in Islamabad, the government has formed a ministerial committee to propose response to possible mischief from protesters.

The decision was made during a multiparty conference at the JUI-F provincial secretariat on Saturday.

Besides others, Qaumi Watan Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and other political groups also attended the event, where JUI-F provincial chief Maulana Attaur Rehman was in the chair.

The participants finalised a joint strategy for the Azadi March and decided that the processions from southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would proceed to Islamabad via Kohat-Fateh Jang Road on Oct 31, while marchers from Beautiful Downtown Peshawar

...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
, Malakand, Mardan and Hazara
...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets...
divisions will enter Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
via the Grand Trunk Road.

Mr Rehman said the provincial leaders of ANP, JUI-F, PML-N, PPP, QWP and their political allies would lead processions to the federal capital.

Link

India-Pakistan

JUI-F chief won’t be able to exploit ‘religious card’: PM

2019-10-06

[DAWN] Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman would not be able to exploit "religious card" against the government at the behest of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

Talking to a select group of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders who are frequently seen in TV talk shows, the prime minister expressed no fear of the JUI-F’s call for Islamabad lockdown on Oct 27.

“The prime minister was of the view that PPP and PML-N are pretending that they are not taking part in the lockdown programme, but in fact both parties are backing him [Maulana Fazl] and providing him money to meet their own designs,” a close aide to PM Khan told Dawn after the meeting.

According to him, the prime minister lamented that Maulana Fazl was using innocent children of Madressahs (seminaries) against the government, but he [JUI-F chief] should realise that after the victory of the government’s stance on the Kashmir issue in the recently held United Nations General Assembly session, he would not be able to exploit the “religious card”.

The PM’s aide quoted Mr Khan as saying: “The government believes that students of seminaries are our own children, but they are being misguided by people like Fazlur Rehman.”

According to him, the prime minister said the PPP and PML-N were not directly joining the lockdown move because if it failed they would not be blamed, but the JUI-F. He said the meeting agreed that Maulana Fazl had received a heavy amount of money from both PPP and PML-N to fulfil their agendas against the government.

Talking about news of a possible deal between the government and the opposition, the prime minister reiterated that no concession would be given to those who had plundered national wealth. “Khan Sahib will never go for any deal with former rulers,” the PM’s aide said.

The prime minister apprised the meeting of his forthcoming visit to China on Oct 7-8, which will mainly focus on the revival of stalled projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Link

India-Pakistan

Ramsha’s ‘killer’ evaded arrest for 20 years before police dared to lay hands on him

2019-02-09

[DAWN] HYDERABAD: The influential Wassan community of Khairpur district, perhaps for the first time, is facing a police action against one of its members in the wake of the murder of a 13-year-old girl, Ramsha Wassan, a week ago.

How much clout the Wassans of Khairpur have been wielding could be gauged from the fact that the Khairpur police have never dared to touch the alleged killer, Zulfikar alias Zulfoo Wassan, though he had been nominated in some 20 cases of heinous crime registered against him over the last two decades.

Police sources said that until before Ramsha’s murder, Zulfoo was declared a proclaimed offender and had been in hiding with the help of some policemen.

According to MPA Munawwar Wassan, Ramsha had eloped with Izhar Wassan, who was already married and wanted to marry her but Ramsha’s family had turned down his proposal. “A village elder brought Ramsha back to her house to settle the issue but then Zulfoo murdered her,” the MPA said.

The FIR of Ramsha’s murder was registered on behalf of the state and he and one of his associates, Ghaffar Wassan, have been arrested. Another two suspects are yet to be arrested on abetment charge.

Around one dozen suspects have been picked up by police in the murder case. Police have demolished three places — one said to be belonging to Zulfoo on his agricultural land, another one in the Haji Nawab Wassan area of Kot Diji and a third one in Kumb town — to force Zulfoo and his alleged associates in the crime to surrender before the police.

Ramsha’s mother had named Zulfoo and Ghaffar as the alleged killers. “Zulfoo is the prime suspect as he fired a burst to kill Ramsha in her house; she received nine bullets,” said Khairpur SSP Umer Tufail over phone.

Zulfoo was alleged to be a relative of those Wassans who are sitting in the elected houses but Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA from Khairpur Munawwar Wassan rejected the claim. “He is just our caste fellow ... our opponents are linking him with us. The slain girl also belongs to our community,” he argued in his defence.

“Police were going to demolish Zulfoo’s shops as well. They had also picked up some women belonging to Zulfoo’s family,” said a source.

“In view of mounting pressure, the Wassans also cooperated with the police when the latter conducted a hunt for the suspects in their villages in Khairpur.

One of the detained suspects, Imtiaz Wassan, is cook of Fida Wassan, the brother of former provincial minister, Manzoor Wassan. Ramsha’s father, Pervez Wassan, is also a cook and serves an elder Wassan at his Karachi residence.

Police succeeded in arresting Zulfoo by tracing his location with the help of his mobile phone data. He was found in Sorah, a desert area of Khairpur district bordering Sanghar.

According to the police, Zulfoo carried a head money of Rs500,000 as notified in April 2011 but he later obtained bail in several cases registered against him and eventually the notification was withdrawn.

According to MPA Munawwar Wassan, Ramsha had eloped with Izhar Wassan, who was already married and wanted to marry her but Ramsha’s family had turned down his proposal. “A village elder brought Ramsha back to her house to settle the issue but then Zulfoo murdered her,” the MPA said.

Link

India-Pakistan

Why did JI fail to repeat its previous performance in Karachi?

2018-08-07

[DAWN] Once a major stakeholder in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
’s politics, the Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI), a component of the five-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance, has found itself reduced to only one provincial assembly seat in the 2018 general elections.

Arguably, its peak time in the electoral politics was in the 2002 elections when it fought elections from the platform of the MMA and won as many as five national assembly and seven seats of the Sindh Assembly. In later years, however, different factors played their role in the erosion of the JI’s support base.

In the recent polls, the only seat that the MMA was able to bag was PS-108 in Karachi’s Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
area.

As many as 16 candidates of the MMA for 21 NA seats and 22 candidates for 44 PA seats belonged to the JI. All of them lost, except Syed Abdul Rasheed, a long-time JI activist and leader.

Those losing the elections include prominent names such as Asadullah Bhutto, Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, Mohammad Laeeq Khan, Meraj ul Huda Siddiqui, to name a few, who have been to the parliament before but failed this time.

One can see the JI’s activism on Karachi’s different civic issues including the shortage of electricity and overbilling, lack of Nadra centres, provision of water, hike in university fees and other issues. Apparently, the party’s efforts at portraying itself as an entity that fights for the rights of Karachi’s citizens have not been successful in gaining them any significant amount of votes.

Link

India-Pakistan

Party heads, bigwigs humbled in strongholds

2018-07-28

[DAWN] Amid allegations of rigging by various political parties, the 11th general election in the country on Wednesday produced some surprising results as a number of political heavyweights and seasoned politicians suffered defeat in their strongholds, albeit with a slim margin.

According to the unofficial results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistain (ECP) so far, Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) chairman Imran Khan

... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five...
won all five seats where he had contested the elections, whereas the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...a Pak religious party. It is usually part of the govt, never part of the solution...
Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazl, older and even wider than he used to be...

Fazl, older and even wider than he used to be...

Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
and Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari lost in their traditional strongholds.

The PPP chairperson, who was contesting polls from three constituencies for the first time, lost the contest in Malakand (NA-8) to PTI candidate Junaid Akbar. In a major upset, Mr Bhutto-Zardari also lost to PTI’s Shakoor Shad in Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
(NA-246) in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
.

However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened...
the PPP leader managed to win from his native constituency in Larkana (NA-200) with a significant margin against MMA candidate Rashid Soomro. Interestingly, the JUI-F chief lost in his hometown Dera Ismail Khan
... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ...
(NA-39).

Asfandyar Wali Khan, who heads the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP), lost the elections from his native Charsadda constituency (NA-24). The ANP president lost to Fazal Muhammad Khan of the PTI with a margin of over 23,000 votes.

Link

India-Pakistan

Three arrested in Sanghar for marking ballot papers

2018-07-24

[DAWN] Additional district coordinator for the national programme, Shama Gulani and four other government employees, Khalid Zahoor Baig, Arbab Zadi, Kalsoom and Jamna, were arrested after they were booked on the allegations of marking postal ballot in favour of a Pakistan Peoples Party candidate on Sunday.

The FIR was registered at the Shahdadpur police station on the complaint of the mukhtiarkar concerned.

The Sanghar deputy commissioner had held an inquiry on Tuesday into the allegations made by an independent candidate Hussain Bux Khaskheli, who had claimed that the suspects had marked the postal ballot papers of government employees at Shahdadpur Institute of medical sciences. He submitted certain evidence to substantiate his claim.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the alleged misappropriation and destruction of postal ballot papers in Khipro, the district returning officer concerned on Sunday suspended two court employees.

Ghulam Murtaza Channa, the reader at the court of the additional sessions judge of Khipro, and Muneer Tehlani, a clerk at the same court, were suspended over alleged misappropriation of the postal ballot papers pertaining to NA-216 Sanghar-II.

While an inquiry into the matter was underway, the returning officer concerned has claimed that he had issued 930 ballot papers, and not close to 1,200 as was alleged. He said he possessed complete record of the ballot papers he had issued so far.

Similar complaints were received from the Jam Nawaz Ali area and an inquiry was reported to have been ordered.

Link

India-Pakistan

Lyari ‘protesters’ booked under terror law in Baby Bhutto rally attack case

2018-07-03

[DAWN] Police have registered a terrorism case against over 400 angry protesters, who allegedly attacked Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s motorcade in Lyari on Sunday evening, officials said on Monday.

A group of protesters pelted Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s motorcade with stones in Lyari. They chanted anti-PPP slogans and the atmosphere got charged and could have exacerbated further had the PPP chairman not asked his supporters to refrain from a brawl and change the route.

There were also people who were protesting against water shortage in their area. Some women, while chanting slogans in favour of the PPP, showed containers as a symbol to highlight their demand for the supply of potable water.

Link

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