Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Capt Safdar arrested by Punjab police

2019-10-22

[DAWN] The Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz said on Monday that retired captain Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif
...served ~~two~~ three non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
, was arrested by 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....
police late on Monday night.

According to PML-N front man Marriyum Aurangzeb, Mohammad Safdar was arrested on a charge of "hate speech".

He was arrested on the motorway while he was returning to Lahore from Bhera.

Police had started the paperwork but haven't done much else against him on Oct 11 for speaking against state institutions.

Ms Aurangzeb, condemning the arrest, said the "fascist
fascist

...anybody you disagree with, damn them...
government" of Prime Minister Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders...
had stooped too low to suppress the voice of the opposition. "First Imran Khan should be arrested for making a series of hate speeches," the PML-N leader added.

She said the government was losing its nerves with the approach of "Azadi march".'

Link

India-Pakistan

Begum Kulsoom Nawaz passes away in London after battle with cancer

2018-09-12

[DAWN] Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif

... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
, passed away in London on Tuesday after a months-long battle with cancer.

She is survived by her husband and four children, Hassan, Hussain, Maryam and Asma.

PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named that arrangements were being made to bring her body back to Pakistain for burial.

Party leader Khawaja Imran Nazeer, speaking to the media in Lahore, said Begum Kulsoom may be laid to rest in the family home at Raiwind, but clarified that all decisions will be finalised only after consultation between family members. He said in case the family decides to bury her in Pakistain, the repatriation process may take two or three days.

Link

India-Pakistan

Govt allows Nawaz Sharif, Maryam to attend Kulsoom funeral in Lahore on parole

2018-09-12

[DAWN] The government on Wednesday said it would allow incarcerated former prime minister Nawaz Sharif

... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
to attend the funeral of his late wife and PML-N stalwart, Kulsoom Nawaz, along with Maryam Nawaz. The father and daughter will be granted parole to attend her last rites.

According to DawnNews, Nawaz and Maryam boarded a special plane after being released from Adiala Jail in order to be taken to Jati Umra. Members of the Sharif family were also reportedly on the special plane going to Lahore.

Kulsoom passed away in London on Tuesday after a prolonged battle with lymphoma.

Rooters quoted Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry as saying: "We have just received a request from the family, and, Inshallah, we will be granting parole."

He said Nawaz and Maryam would be freed for 12 hours on the day of the funeral and burial, which is likely to take place in three to four days after the body is flown back home from London.

Link

India-Pakistan

Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif sentenced to 10 years in jail

2018-07-07

[The Guardian] Corruption charges related to purchase of London flats, with verdict likely to affect election.

The former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption in a verdict likely to influence the general election on 25 July.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan’s anti-graft court, ruled that Sharif and his family laundered money in the 1990s to pay for four luxury apartments in Park Lane, central London, drawing on allegations that resurfaced in the Panama Papers leak, published by the Guardian and others in 2016.

The court also sentenced Sharif’s daughter and presumed political heir, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, to seven years’ imprisonment, fined the family £10m and ordered the seizure of the Avenfield properties.

“The Pakistani nation and the PML-N [Pakistani Muslim League (Nawaz), Sharif’s party] reject this decision,” Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, told reporters. “This is a dark chapter in the history of this country. There was no solid legal evidence in the entire case.”

Sharif, who has been at the sickbed of his wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, in London, did not attend the hearing. The court earlier denied his request for a week-long delay to the verdict while she is on a respirator after treatment for throat cancer.

In July last year, the supreme court removed Sharif from office and ordered the NAB trial, before barring him from politics for life. The 68-year-old claims his legal troubles are the result of a military-backed conspiracy; allegedly in revenge for attempts to assert civilian control of foreign policy and put the former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason. It is expected that Sharif will launch an appeal.

The punishment of Maryam, who received an additional one-year sentence for presenting forged documents in court, may see control of the party shift to Shahbaz Sharif, who has pursued a more conciliatory approach with the army.

Imran Khan, the former cricketer and leader of the main opposition party the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has accused Sharif of maligning Pakistan’s institutions to save himself. “Adiala jail is ready for you,” he said before the verdict, also claiming that Sharif was using his wife’s illness to “emotionally blackmail” voters.

The verdict’s electoral impact will depend on Sharif’s response, according to the columnist Mosharraf Zaidi. If he returns to Pakistan and goes to jail, the “visuals” would likely add to sympathy for the PML-N, providing a “cherry on top” of the party’s argument that its leader has been unfairly victimised, he said. Should Sharif stay in London, the party may suffer; with Sharif absent from the campaign trail, the pollsters Gallup revealed on Wednesday that the PTI had closed the gap to a single point, with support for the PML-N dropping to 26% nationwide.

Sharif has long struggled to explain how the Avenfield flats came into his family’s possession. Family members initially told different stories. During the NAB trial, his defence claimed that a Qatari investment fund gave the expensive properties to the family to repay a debt owed to Sharif’s father. Commentators last year mocked a letter from a Qatari prince apparently testifying to that deal as a rabbit pulled out of a hat.

Still, analysts point to a variety of events that suggest a campaign by Pakistan’s deep state to hurt the PML-N ahead of the vote. The process has left “little doubt that the system is geared to get Mr Sharif”, said Zaidi. The NAB has arrested several PML-N members in recent weeks and in May its chairman was ridiculed for ordering an investigation into Sharif over spurious claims in a newspaper article that he laundered almost $5bn to India.

Link

India-Pakistan

Begum Kulsoom suffers cardiac arrest, placed on ventilator

2018-06-16

[DAWN] Nawaz Sharif

... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
and Maryam Nawaz arrived in London on Thursday to see Kulsoom Nawaz, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment.

Sharif and Maryam boarded a foreign airline flight at the Allama Iqbal International Airport and arrived in London via Doha.

After boarding the plane Maryam tweeted: "Leaving for London. (We) will be back next week. I can’t wait to meet and hug Ami. I request you all for special dua for her health."

There are reports that the condition of Kulsoom ‐ who is in the advanced stages of lymphoma (throat) cancer ‐ has tanked and she has been shifted to hospital.

Link

India-Pakistan

Kulsoom Nawaz to be made new PML-N president

2018-02-23

[DAWN] The PML-N's top brass on Thursday decided to get MNA Kulsoom Nawaz elected as the next party chief, a source privy to the development told DawnNews.

Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
held a meeting at 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....
House for consultations on the new leader of the party a day after he was removed as PML-N head following a Supreme Court judgement that also nullified all official party decisions taken by Sharif since his disqualification in July last year.

The participants of the meeting agreed to get Sharif's wife Kulsoom ‐ who is undergoing treatment for cancer in London ‐ elected as the party's new president, the source told DawnNews.

Link

India-Pakistan

Kulsoom Nawaz to undergo first chemotherapy session, says Maryam

2017-10-11

[DAWN] Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, is "being prepared" to undergo her first chemotherapy session in the United Kingdom, her daughter announced on Twitter on Tuesday. Maryam Nawaz tweeted a picture of Kulsoom in the hospital, with Nawaz by her side, and thanked her followers for their "valuable prayers".

Link

India-Pakistan

Begum Kulsoom rushed to hospital, tweets Maryam Nawaz

2017-09-28

[DAWN] Begum Kulsoom Nawaz was taken to the hospital in an emergency last night, Maryam Nawaz tweeted on Wednesday.

Doctors are trying to stabilise her condition, Maryam wrote, requesting for prayers for her mother's recovery.

The wife of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
was diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma last month and has been in London since, where she has undergone three surgeries.

Kulsoom left for the United Kingdom in August, before she could begin campaigning for the NA-120 seat that was vacated after Nawaz Sharif's disqualification. Due to her diagnosis, she could not return to Pakistain and her campaign was run by her daughter Maryam instead. She won the elections after a close contest with 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....
's Dr Yasmin Rashid.

The Election Commission of Pakistain formally notified Kulsoom as the returned candidate in the NA-120 by-poll on Wednesday.

Nawaz Sharif, who was also in London for his spouse's medical treatment, returned to Pakistain on Monday, putting to rest all speculation by political rivals that he would skip the National Accountability Bureau court proceedings against him.

All other members of the family, including daughter Maryam and sons Hussain and Hassan, are still in London.

Link

India-Pakistan

‘Billionaire PM’ has no assets abroad: ECP

2016-04-23

[DAWN] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has no assets abroad, but continues to receive colossal amounts from his son, Hussain Nawaz, who is settled in the UK, reveal the statements of MNAs’ assets released by the Election Commission of Pakistain (ECP) on Thursday.

According to the statements of assets for 2015, released amidst the ongoing controversy around the Panama Papers leak, which linked politicians with offshore companies, the value of the assets owned by the prime minister and his spouse comes to around Rs2 billion -- an increase of over a billion in just four years.

The value of his assets in 2011 was Rs166 million, which swelled to Rs261.6 million in 2012 and then to Rs1.82 billion in 2013, making him a declared billionaire. Then, in 2014, the declared value of his assets rose to around Rs2 billion.

Mr Sharif received over Rs215 million from his son Hussain Nawaz in 2015. He had previously received remittances from his son, worth Rs239 million and Rs197. 5 million in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The prime minister is among the few billionaires in the National Assembly, the others being Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
MNAs Khayal Zaman and Sajid Hussain Toori.

Mr Sharif owns a Toyota Land Cruiser, gifted to him by an unspecified individual, as well as two Mercedes vehicles. The house he lives in is owned by his mother. He also has multiple foreign and local currency accounts, huge swathes of agricultural land and investments in industrial units such as sugar, textile and paper mills. Mr Sharif has also declared, for the first time, ownership of birds and animals worth Rs2 million.

The PM’s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, has land and a house in Changa Gali, Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
, that is worth Rs80 million, a bungalow on The Mall in Murree, worth Rs100 million, as well as shares in the family business.

Their son-in-law, retired Capt Mohammad Safdar, has only listed one property and 550 grams of jewellery in the name of his wife, the PM’s daughter, Maryam Safdar.

Property owned by Maryam Safdar, according to the ECP statement, is a 2006 BMW 4800CC car, which was gifted to her by someone in the United Arab Emirates, while her jewellery is worth Rs1 million.

According to the statement filed by Mr Safdar, there is no mention of his wife owning any property, investments or bank accounts inside or outside the country.

The net worth of the prime minister’s son-in-law is only Rs5 million, aside from some 20 acres of land in Mansehra
...

a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...
district and around 215 acres of barren land in Rajanpur, Punjab.

Another wealthy MNA from the Sharif family is Hamza Shahbaz Sharif
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
, the prime minister’s nephew and son of 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....
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. His net worth is Rs342.6 million, which includes 10 non-agricultural properties and he has significant investments in the Sharif Feed Mills, Ramzan Sugar Mills and Crystal Plastics.

He has not declared any investments or property outside the country and his bank balance is around Rs10.8 million.

Link

India-Pakistan

Court acquits Sharifs in money laundering case

2014-09-20

[DAWN] An accountability court on Friday cleared Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
of all charges pertaining to a money laundering reference filed 14 years ago.

During a hearing presided by Justice Anwar Ahmed at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court, Sharif brothers, along with Kulsoom Nawaz, Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz, were acquitted from all corruption charges in relation to Raiwind palace, Hudaibya Paper Mills and possession of illegal assets.

Justice Ahmed said the cases had been pending for 14 years and not a single witness had appeared in court.

Terming the charges against the Sharif family as politically motivated, the court said these had no factual bases.

However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
another reference accusing the Sharif family of defaulting over a bank loan in relation to Ittefaq Foundries is yet to proceed in the accountability court.

Link

India-Pakistan

PM Sharif among billionaire lawmakers

2013-12-26

[DAWN] With his assets growing rapidly Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has joined the list of a very few politicians who are billionaires, according to statements of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians for the year 2012-13 released by the Election Commission of Pakistain.

The net value of assets owned by Mr Sharif rises to Rs1.71 billion from Rs261.6 million he had declared at the time of filing nomination papers for the May elections.

He has put the current value of his six agricultural properties (over 1,700 kanals) in Lahore and Sheikhupura at Rs1.08bn and that of a house in Upper Mall, Lahore, at Rs250m. His wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, owns a bungalow on Hall Road in Murree worth Rs100m. She owes Rs1.75m to two individuals.

Prime Minister Sharif owns Abbas and Company, a business venture started with an amount of Rs10,000. The company's present value is shown as unchanged, but a loan of Rs84,485 is outstanding against it. He possesses shares worth Rs33m in nine industrial units. He has received Rs197.4m remittances from his son Hussain Nawaz.

Mr Sharif owns two Mercedes cars, a Land Cruiser and a tractor. He and his wife have Rs138m in 10 bank accounts.

The other billionaires in the National Assembly are Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and three members from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
-- Khial Zaman, Raja Amir Zaman and Sajid Hussain Tori.

Khaqan Abbasi has Rs900m shares in a private airline. The value of his inherited property is Rs100m. He has Rs2m in three bank accounts and Rs500,000 cash in hand.

Sajid Tori owns 10 properties and has described the market value of only one of them as "billions of rupees".

Khial Zaman has put the value of his assets at Rs2.35bn. He owns four properties abroad worth Rs1.2bn.

Amir Zaman owns nine properties amounting to Rs1.88bn. He owns a plaza in F-8 Islamabad worth Rs800m, a house in F-7 Islamabad (Rs600m), shops and flats in Rawalpindi (Rs350m) and shops in G-9 Islamabad (Rs120m).

BNP-Awami chief Mir Israrullah Zehri owns over 51,000 acres of land. He also owns bungalows 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...
and Quetta and has Rs1m in his bank account.

Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao owns assets worth little over Rs53m, 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 ...
Rs7.3m, Farooq Sattar of the MQM Rs3.6m, PML-Z chief Ejazul Haq Rs10m and Pir Sadruddin Shah of the PML-F Rs395m.

Mehmood Khan Achakzai has agricultural income of Rs20m a year. He has two bullet-proof cars and four rifles.

Retired Captain Safdar, son-in-law of Prime Minister Sharif, has also mentioned in his assets a BMW car gifted to his wife by someone in the UAE.

Link

India-Pakistan

PM Sharif's convoy stopped to let Army chief pass

2013-06-06

[BETA.DAWN] As Pakistain witnessed a historic democratic transition, many in the county have started to believe that the days of military supremacy are over. But not on the roads, at least not yet.

As

Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
, along with his family, left for the Presidency to take oath as prime minister for a record third time on Wednesday, he struck reality on the streets of Islamabad.

The question is: who is the real power wielder in Pakistain? The prime minister or the Army chief? Theoretically, the army chief is answerable to a grade-22 civil bureaucrat. Practically, he is mightier than any elected or non-elected individual in the country.

One such demonstration of this reality was witnessed Wednesday soon after Mian Nawaz Sharif's election as Prime Minister of Pakistain.

After securing more than two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, the premier reached Punjab House to freshen up.

The prime minister was supposed to reach the Presidency before 4:00 pm to take oath from

President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
At the oath-taking ceremony, services chiefs, politicians, diplomats and senior civil and military officials had been invited.

PML-N sources and eyewitnesses said first to come out of Punjab House was the SUV carrying first lady Kulsoom Nawaz and her daughter Mariam Safdar. Just behind them were the vehicles of Hamza Shahbaz and Hassan Nawaz.

The convoy of the prime minister was standing at close distance from the cars of his family members. As soon as they reached the outer barrier of Punjab House adjacent to Margallah Road, an alter commando blew the whistle with full force ordering the driver to stop the vehicle.

Consequently, the prime minister's convoy had to stop as well. The pause remained for two to three minutes.

The commando was there to make sure nothing should obstruct the route of the Army chief's convoy, only allowing vehicles from Punjab House to pass after the entire convoy of the army chief drove away.

Whether it was a mere coincidence could not be ascertained. None of the PML-N leaders was ready to comment on the incident. But the prime minister might have shared his thoughts with his closest aides.

Link

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