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India-Pakistan
Why Nawaz Sharif failed to win Pakistan election despite tacit army support
2024-02-13
[Al Jazeera] When Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister, emerged on the balcony of his party’s headquarters in Lahore on Friday night, fireworks went off as he was given a rousing welcome by the crowd of nearly 1,500 people.

Sharif started out with what has now become the staple of his public addresses, asking the crowd of his Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) supporters, “Do you love me?”. The response, “We love you!”, echoed among his adoring audience.

Yet, more than three days after Pakistan voted in general elections, there is little evidence that the sentiment of Sharif’s core supporters is shared by the wider public in the nation of 241 million people that stunned analysts in their voting patterns on February 8.
[insert definition of insanity here]
For weeks before the elections, the PMLN was viewed by experts as the favourite to secure a clear victory that would give the 74-year-old political veteran another chance to rule Pakistan. Once targeted by Pakistan’s military establishment, Sharif appeared to have won the favour of the generals for the 2024 vote.

So confident were Sharif and the PMLN of their win that they had scheduled a victory speech from their leader for Thursday night, barely hours after polls closed. Then, the results started coming in, and the bubble was burst.

“As the voting patterns emerged, it shocked and surprised the party, forcing a rethink which is why they were in complete silent mode for nearly 12 hours,” said Majid Nizami, a political analyst, and a specialist on elections.

When Sharif finally addressed supporters on Friday, he claimed victory, but acknowledged that his party had failed to secure a simple majority and so would need coalition partners to form a government.

“This was not the result the party was expecting. They thought they would achieve more than 85 percent of seats from Punjab province, but initial trends showed they were barely getting 50 percent of seats,” Lahore-based Nizami told Al Jazeera.

Almost all of the remaining seats in Punjab, the bastion of Sharif’s PMLN, went to candidates backed by former PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) — a party that experts believed had been decimated by targeted political and legal attacks in recent months.

WHAT WENT WRONG?
As the dust settles on the election results, the PMLN has emerged with 75 seats in the national assembly, trailing PTI-backed independent candidates by 20 seats.

The PTI alleges widespread manipulation and tampering, insisting that it has been denied a far larger majority and that their mandate has been “stolen” to benefit Sharif and his PMLN.

So, what happened to the PMLN, a party that, as late as early 2022, was leading opinion polls in popularity over PTI and was considered the strongest party in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and electorally important province?

For Lahore-based political analyst and editor Badar Alam, the roots of PMLN’s disappointing performance in the polls can be traced back to April 2022 when Imran Khan, the PTI chief, and then-prime minister were ousted through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

At the time, Sharif was in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom, after a series of corruption-related convictions. His party allied with the country’s other traditional political force, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and others under what was called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), to topple Khan’s government.

They succeeded. But, said Alam, “once Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz’s younger brother, took over as prime minister, his attention went towards removing all the cases and convictions against his elder brother.”

These are cases that have haunted the Sharif brothers for three decades. The elder Sharif, who ruled the country twice in the 1990s, has been dogged by corruption allegations since then. In 1999, he was ousted in a military coup. His third term in power, after the PMLN won the 2013 elections, was marked by intensifying rivalry with Khan, who eventually won the 2018 election, backed at the time by Pakistan’s powerful military establishment that has ruled the country directly for more than three decades and has influenced politics from behind the scenes for much of the rest of the country’s existence.

Yet, since relations between Khan and the military soured, and he was ousted in 2022 — with the military now seemingly backing the PDM government — Pakistan has been through torrid political, economic and security crises.

Salman Ghani, a political analyst who has been covering the PMLN for a long time, said that as the leading party of the PDM, the decisions of that government hung heavy around the Sharif brothers’ necks.

“The 16-month rule of PDM caused almost irreversible damage to the PMLN. The tenure saw massive inflation, hitting the public everywhere, including their own vote bank,” Ghani told Al Jazeera. “Theirs is a party of development and the economy; people support them for delivery, not for ideology. That perception was destroyed in that time.”

Pakistan was on the verge of defaulting on loans last year, with its foreign reserves depleting to less than $4 billion dollars, and its rupee depreciating rapidly against the US dollar. A $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund helped stave off a default temporarily.

Sharif returned home from his exile three months before the elections. Many analysts believe that Sharif’s return and the subsequent change in his legal fortunes — with convictions against him dropped and restrictions against contesting elections removed — were made possible only because the military had decided to back him in the 2024 vote.

Meanwhile, Khan has been charged in more than 100 cases; was jailed in August and barred from contesting in the elections; and was sentenced in three separate cases just the week before the February 8 polls.
Meanwhile, Khan has been charged in more than 100 cases; was jailed in August and barred from contesting in the elections; and was sentenced in three separate cases just the week before the February 8 polls.

His party faced a crackdown — senior party officials were arrested, many were apparently coerced to leave his movement, and the PTI was barred from even using its election symbol, the cricket bat, in the elections. Its candidates were forced to contest as independents.

But the PTI wasn’t the only party that suffered. The PMLN and the military, seen by many ordinary Pakistanis as being behind the crackdown, made the mistake of underestimate popular support for Khan, said Ghani.

“When a person is oppressed, their support increases massively. We saw that in the case of Nawaz Sharif himself. Those who are pushed against the wall, they are the ones to retaliate the most. PMLN did not understand this,” he added.

Alam, the Lahore-based analyst agreed.

“Not even once did they [the PMLN] condemn the violence and persecution of the PTI; in fact, they played their part in fully subjugating them. This made PMLN a victimiser, resulting in public anger against them,” he said.

A party leader acknowledged that the PMLN had been blindsided by the recent election results.

“PMLN is on the defensive; Nawaz Sharif is on the defensive,” he told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity.

The insider also blamed “sycophants” within the party, whom he accused on focusing on their own interests, for the PMLN’s failure to adapt its messaging as public opinion started to swing against it.

“Nawaz Sharif used to be very adept at handling media himself, but now that isn’t the case,” he said.

While the PMLN supremo, in his speech on Friday, did name other parties the PMLN might seek alliances with to form a government, he did not mention the PTI.

Alam said that PMLN and Nawaz Sharif must show some “grace”.

“PMLN came in as a party that was a government-in-waiting. PTI and Khan were in survival mode, but they upset the predictions. The country is in crisis, and it is imperative for Sharif, if he thinks he is a statesman, to concede and ask PTI to form a government,” Alam said.

Lahore-based Ghani said that the election risked compounding the country’s political, economic, and security challenges.

“Countries, when they hold elections, their objective is to bring stability. Democracy functions when it holds elections, and a mandate is earned. In our country, the election result is causing further instability,” he added.

Ghani said that Sharif, in his Friday speech, ought to have acknowledged the support of voters for Khan and the PTI, and indicated a willingness to “reach out to them”.

But what about the party’s own support base and future? It’s not looking very good for the PMLN, said Nizami, the analyst.

“Their strength and hegemony were in central Punjab area, from where they used to sweep the number of seats. It was unthinkable for them to lose votes. Yet, they have been losing ground to PTI and are unable to stop the rot,” he said.

“They have much to ponder now.”

Related:
Nawaz Sharif: 2024-02-11 In shock result, allies of jailed ex-leader Khan win most seats in Pakistan election
Nawaz Sharif: 2024-02-11 Pakistan army urges unity as ex-PMs both declare election win
Nawaz Sharif: 2024-02-10 PM hopeful Nawaz Sharif seeks unity govt after 'election triumph'
Related:
Lahore: 2024-02-10 PM hopeful Nawaz Sharif seeks unity govt after 'election triumph'
Lahore: 2024-02-08 Nawaz Sharif to be PM candidate if PML-N gains simple majority: Shehbaz
Lahore: 2024-01-22 'Breakthrough' for PML-N as PTI candidate withdraws in favour of Maryam Nawaz
Related:
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz: 2015-12-07 Five injured as political workers clash in Jhang
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz: 2009-05-30 Punjab ready to welcome IDPs, says Nawaz
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz: 2009-04-24 PML-N warns US against interference in Pakistain matters
Related:
Imran Khan: 2024-02-11 Good Morning
Imran Khan: 2024-02-11 ATC approves bail of Imran Khan, Qureshi in May 9 riots case
Imran Khan: 2024-02-11 In shock result, allies of jailed ex-leader Khan win most seats in Pakistan election
Related:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf: 2015-12-12 India, Pakistan to talk about Kashmir
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf: 2015-01-04 Nawaz puts forward legislation to cover military courts
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf: 2014-09-29 Khan says sit-ins to continue
Related:
Pakistan Democratic Movement: 2023-05-15 Daily Evacuation Brief May 15, 2023
Pakistan Democratic Movement: 2007-09-06 Nawaz says he's in contact with Saudis
Pakistan Democratic Movement: 2007-07-24 Qazi resigns from NA
Related:
Shehbaz Sharif: 2024-02-10 PM hopeful Nawaz Sharif seeks unity govt after 'election triumph'
Shehbaz Sharif: 2024-02-08 Nawaz Sharif to be PM candidate if PML-N gains simple majority: Shehbaz
Shehbaz Sharif: 2024-02-04 PML-N takes credit for 'significantly reducing corruption' in previous tenures
Link


India-Pakistan
'Breakthrough' for PML-N as PTI candidate withdraws in favour of Maryam Nawaz
2024-01-22
[GEO.TV] In a "breakthrough" for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ahead of the nationwide polls, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Mehr Muhammad Waseem announced withdrawing in favour of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz from Lahore’s NA-119 on Sunday.
Wonder how much that cost.
The election campaigns of all political parties equipped with mollifying manifestos and promises are in full swing across the country ahead of the February 8 vote. PML-N and PPP are eyeing the premier’s office and desperately swaying voters to elect them to power.

The PTI ticket holder met Maryam and announced to withdraw in her favour besides announcing to join PML-N along with his supporters.
Related:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2023-11-22 PML-N, JUI-F hit back at Bilawal as electioneering picks up pace
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2023-08-28 Nawaz Sharif has no plan to return to Pakistan soon: Khursheed Shah
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2022-10-29 Imran kicks off 'long march' to Islamabad
Related:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: 2023-12-28 ECP moved against Shah Mahmood Qureshi's 'unlawful abduction'
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: 2023-11-22 Pak Purge: IHC nullifies August 29 notification for Imran Khan's jail trial in cipher case
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: 2023-10-11 Meet the Harvard Students Supporting Hamas' Invasion of Israel
Related:
Maryam Nawaz: 2023-12-25 Nawaz Sharif, Maryam file nomination papers from different constituencies
Maryam Nawaz: 2023-11-29 The little prince
Maryam Nawaz: 2023-11-22 PML-N pitches Shehbaz Sharif as Punjab's chief minister
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.

Related:
PML-N: 2023-11-18 After blasting old-timers, Baby Bhutto says old politics Pakistan's worst enemy
PML-N: 2023-11-17 'Old politicians ought to be sent home,' Bilawal stresses need for new leadership
PML-N: 2023-11-12 Dar says 2018 deal with Kabul, release of militants behind rise in terrorism
Related:
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl: 2023-07-30 Suicide bomber suspected as explosion at Islamist rally in Pakistan kills at least 40, wounds more than 150
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl: 2019-12-02 Fazl reiterates demand for new elections, warns govt of serious consequences
Listen

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl: 2016-11-13 Rangers kill Jundallah chief in Hub
Related:
Pakistan Peoples Party: 2023-08-28 Nawaz Sharif has no plan to return to Pakistan soon: Khursheed Shah
Pakistan Peoples Party: 2019-12-04 Mob besieges Dawn offices in Islamabad
Pakistan Peoples Party: 2019-10-21 JUI-F threatens road blockades if marchers stopped
Related:
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari: 2023-11-18 After blasting old-timers, Baby Bhutto says old politics Pakistan's worst enemy
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari: 2023-04-25 427 Pakistanis reach Port Sudan for repatriation
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari: 2023-04-17 IMF wants ‘more guarantees’ as PM insists all demands met
Related:
Lahore: 2023-11-11 Court orders to unseize Nawaz Sharif's properties in Toshakhana case
Lahore: 2023-10-31 Parvez Elahi sent on 14-day judicial remand in illegal appointment case
Lahore: 2023-10-30 CTD nabs 10 members of banned outfits across Punjab
Related:
Rana Sanaullah: 2023-09-04 'Puppet being used to defame Pakistan globally,' Sanaullah slams Imran for hiring UK lawyer
Rana Sanaullah: 2023-08-04 Midnight Raid: Pakistani Police Descend on Afghan Refugee Homes in Islamabad, Detentions Reported
Rana Sanaullah: 2023-06-26 FIA arrests 8 for alleged involvement in smuggling of Greece boat tragedy victims
Related:
Nawaz Sharif: 2023-11-18 After blasting old-timers, Baby Bhutto says old politics Pakistan's worst enemy
Nawaz Sharif: 2023-11-17 'Old politicians ought to be sent home,' Bilawal stresses need for new leadership
Nawaz Sharif: 2023-11-11 Court orders to unseize Nawaz Sharif's properties in Toshakhana case
Related:
Punjab: 2023-11-10 Pakistan to 'send back registered refugees' after deporting illegal migrants
Punjab: 2023-11-02 Six terrorists killed in Zhob operation
Punjab: 2023-10-31 Parvez Elahi sent on 14-day judicial remand in illegal appointment case
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
Imran kicks off 'long march' to Islamabad
2022-10-29
[AA.TR] Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday kicked off a "long march" to the capital Islamabad in an attempt to press the government for snap elections.

Thousands of Khan's supporters massed in Lahore, the capital of northeastern Punjab, which is governed by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and an ally political party, to join the march amid stringent security.

Khan donned in white shalwar-kameez (loose trousers and shirt) and a black waistcoat, standing on a specially designed truck with other party leaders, waving to the charged crowds who chanted anti-government slogans repeatedly.

As the march kicked off, marchers chanted in unison, "Imported government unacceptable."

"This (march) is not politics. This is aimed at saving the country from loot and corruption of this government," Khan said while addressing his supporters.

He asked his supporters to remain peaceful despite "provocations by the government."

According to the schedule released by the party, the march will be joined by rallies from several districts on its way to the capital. The march will take six days to reach the capital, where it will be joined by party supporters from northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, which is also governed by the PTI.

Although it is unclear how long the marchers will remain in the capital, Khan has asserted that the march will be "totally peaceful."

The marchers are unlikely to face any obstacles until they reach the borders of Islamabad, thanks to the PTI governments not only in the two bordering provinces of Punjab and KP, but also in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The real showdown is expected in Islamabad, which has literally been turned into a fortress. Hundreds of empty containers have been placed along main and feeder roads to block marchers from entering the capital, particularly the "red zone," which houses the offices of the president and prime minister, parliament, the Supreme Court, and other important government buildings.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah stated that the government has deployed three layers of security, including army troops, to maintain law and order.

Over 1,300 police and paramilitary troops have been deployed in and around the capital, with an additional police force dispatched from southern Sindh province, which is ruled by Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP), the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) second-largest coalition partner.

The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly refused to cave in to the demand for early elections, which are otherwise slated to be held in October next year.
Link


India-Pakistan
Opposition Leader Files ‘Attempted Murder' Case against Ousted PM Imran Khan
2022-10-24
[Khaama] Fuckery is about!
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha on Saturday registered a case of "attempted murder" against ousted prime minister Imran Khan, according to sources.

This came a day after Ranjha was attacked outside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) office in Islamabad, where PTI supporters were protesting disqualification of Khan in the Toshakhana case.

The case has been registered at the Secretariat police station in Islamabad, reported Geo TV.

In the First Information Report (FIR), Ranjha mentioned that he was attacked when he appeared as a plaintiff in the Toshakhana case at the commission.

As he stepped outside the ECP, the PML-N leader was attacked with the "intention of murder" at the "behest of PTI leadership", reported Geo TV quoting the FIR. He alleged that attempts were made to break into his car by smashing its glass.

The FIR also said that the Sri Nagar Highway was blocked at the behest of the PTI leadership during which the party’s workers vandalised and pelted stones.
Link


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
...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".'

Related:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2018-07-28 Eight injured as PML-N activists pelt stones at PTI rally
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2018-07-16 Pakistan’s economic crisis deepens and IMF says it is in no position to service existing debts
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2018-06-21 Corruption cases sped up against Sharif family and party
Related:
Mohammad Safdar: 2018-10-24 NAB challenges suspension of Sharifs’ jail term
Mohammad Safdar: 2018-09-24 Poliovirus that originated in Afghanistan detected in Rawalpindi
Mohammad Safdar: 2018-07-18 Nawaz, Maryam and Capt Safdar's appeals against conviction to be heard after elections
Related:
Nawaz Sharif: 2019-08-17 Zardari sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand till August 19
Nawaz Sharif: 2019-08-12 After Maryam’s arrest, Shahbaz may lead AJK rally on 15th
Nawaz Sharif: 2019-08-09 Nawaz, Maryam face another corruption reference
Related:
Marriyum Aurangzeb: 2019-08-12 After Maryam’s arrest, Shahbaz may lead AJK rally on 15th
Marriyum Aurangzeb: 2018-09-12 Begum Kulsoom Nawaz passes away in London after battle with cancer
Marriyum Aurangzeb: 2018-08-09 Opposition leaders sans Shahbaz Sharif lead protest against ‘rigging’ in Islamabad
Related:
Imran Khan: 2019-10-19 PML-N, PPP should quit assemblies, says Siraj
Imran Khan: 2019-10-18 FATF: Can Pakistan avoid global watchdog's terror 'black list?'
Imran Khan: 2019-10-16 JUI-F’s existential crisis
Related:
Azadi march: 2019-10-16 JUI-F’s existential crisis
Azadi march: 2019-10-06 JUI-F chief won’t be able to exploit ‘religious card’: PM
Azadi march: 2019-10-04 PPP, PML-N's position uncertain as Fazl announces 'Azadi march' against govt on October 27
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.

Related:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2018-07-28 Eight injured as PML-N activists pelt stones at PTI rally
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2018-07-16 Pakistan’s economic crisis deepens and IMF says it is in no position to service existing debts
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz: 2018-06-21 Corruption cases sped up against Sharif family and party
Related:
Pakistan Peoples Party: 2019-10-06 JUI-F chief won’t be able to exploit ‘religious card’: PM
Pakistan Peoples Party: 2019-02-09 Ramsha’s ‘killer’ evaded arrest for 20 years before police dared to lay hands on him
Pakistan Peoples Party: 2018-08-07 Why did JI fail to repeat its previous performance in Karachi?
Related:
Awami National Party: 2019-08-15 ANP leader receive death threats
Awami National Party: 2019-01-24 Rocket hits ANP leader’s home in Bajaur
Awami National Party: 2018-09-06 ANP leader, nephew shot dead
Related:
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl: 2019-10-14 Fazlur Rehman warns govt against sabotaging 'Azadi March'
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl: 2019-09-29 3 including central JUI-F leader dead as explosion rocks Chaman in Balochistan
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl: 2019-09-26 PPP and JUI-F agree on sending government home, opposition leaders say after meeting
Related:
Azadi March: 2019-10-19 PML-N, PPP should quit assemblies, says Siraj
Azadi March: 2019-10-10 In change of plan, JUI-F to now march to Islamabad on October 31
Azadi March: 2019-09-17 JUI-F wins PML-N support for Islamabad lockdown
Related:
Maulana Attaur Rehman: 2013-09-28 LG polls: JUI ready for alliance with any party
Maulana Attaur Rehman: 2013-03-27 Fazl to contest for three NA seats
Maulana Attaur Rehman: 2012-11-13 Lawmakers fear conspiracy of sectarian violence in Muharram
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India-Pakistan
Eight injured as PML-N activists pelt stones at PTI rally
2018-07-28
[DAWN] MANSEHRA: Eight activists of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf were injured when supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz pelted stones on their celebratory rally at Shahnawaz Chowk here on Thursday.

Following the attack, the PTI activists blocked the bypass road to traffic for over two hours. The PTI workers had taken out a rally to celebrate the victory of their party in the July 25 general elections in the district and across country.

As the rally reached near the election office of PML-N’s losing contender, Sardar Shahjehan Yousuf, the people present their pelted the rally with stones. As a result, PTI tehsil president of youth wing Muqadar Shah, Syed Abid Shah, Muzamal Shah and five other workers received injuries.

The injured were taken to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger. According to eyewitness, some of the people also fired in the air, but when police reached the scene they fled away.

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India-Pakistan
Pakistan’s economic crisis deepens and IMF says it is in no position to service existing debts
2018-07-16
[Atimes] Pakistan’s economic crisis deepens in an election year.
Pakistan desperately needs to borrow to stave off a major economic crisis. But the IMF says it is in no position to service existing debts.

The Pakistan government to be formed after July 25 elections will inherit a record high-trade deficit of $37.7 billion, a plunging stock market that hit this year’s lowest at 39,288 points on Monday and a currency that has been devalued by over 15% in the past seven months.

The outgoing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has been criticized for its economic policies, which have left the country with a balance of payments crisis, and a record debt, with the rupee being devalued three times since December 2017.

A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Pakistan says “risks to Pakistan’s medium-term capacity to repay have increased significantly… due to mounting external and fiscal financing needs and declining reserves.”

The report says, Pakistan’s external financing needs are expected to rise from $21.5 billion (7.1% of GDP) in 2017 to $45 billion by 2023 (9% of GDP). The figures suggest that the next government will have few options but to seek another IMF loan to reduce the current account deficit.

Finance Ministry sources told Asia Times that a recent $1 billion loan from China was agreed to in May this year. It will provide a much needed respite to the foreign currency reserves. Pakistan has received an additional $3 billion worth of loans from Chinese commercial banks in recent months in connection with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Finance Ministry officials, however, say Chinese loans are a short-term fix and Islamabad will need a longer-term solution. “Pakistan has borrowed up to $7 billion from China over the past two years, but an IMF bailout has become a necessity. And it is the new government that will carry it out,” said Waqar Masood Khan, a former federal secretary at the Ministry of Finance.

“It was almost as if the previous government had sworn not to go to the IMF, even though they could’ve done so in January to stabilize the economy. They practiced a lot of fiscal indiscipline and are leaving behind a record deficit of 70.1% [of the GDP],” he said, adding that fixing the broken macroeconomic framework would be the biggest challenge for the next government.

While the PML-N government continued to deny it was looking for an IMF bailout during the last few months of its tenure, the then finance minister, Miftah Ismail, had talks with World Bank and IMF officials during his trip to Washington in April this year.

Diplomatic sources confirm that a major purpose of the US visit was to discuss terms of a bailout package for after the elections, which the PML-N expects to win.

A Foreign Ministry official confirmed that Islamabad has been in talks with Washington over the need for financing, maintaining that economic deterioration in the country could allow militant elements to exploit the situation.

Miftah Ismail told Asia Times that he did not meet the US over a potential bailout loan, maintaining that help from the IMF wasn’t needed right now.

“It’s for the next government to decide, but it is too soon [to ask for an IMF bailout],” he said. Even so, the former finance minister conceded that some policies during the previous five years were flawed.

“Exports [have gone] down for three years in a row, suggesting that we should have devalued the rupee [earlier]. By keeping the rupee at a nominally high rate we hurt our exports, increased our imports and we drained our reserves. We also had to borrow money resulting in the State Bank having to intervene,” he said.

However, Ismail believes that with the latest devaluation, the rupee has regained competitiveness and should help export growth. “Also, I think we’ve now reached the accurate rupee value now,” he says. Ismail also says the current debt numbers are being viewed out of context.
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India-Pakistan
Corruption cases sped up against Sharif family and party
2018-06-21
[Atimes] Pakistan's top court orders faster work on graft cases against the former PM’s family and ruling party leaders ahead of polls.
Invisible hands appear to be at work to manipulate the forthcoming election in Pakistan. The judiciary has sped up work on corruption cases pending against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s family and senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), ahead of upcoming polls.

The Supreme Court on Sunday directed the country’s accountability court to decide the pending cases by July 10, which is just two weeks prior to the general election scheduled for July 25.
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India-Pakistan
Pakistan's prime minister removed amid corruption probe
2017-07-28
Pakistan's top court on Friday disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office after a damning corruption probe into his family wealth, cutting short his third stint in power and ordering a criminal investigation of his family.

In a surprise move, the court also dismissed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, one of Sharif's closest allies who has been credited with steering the economy to its fastest pace of growth in a decade.

But Sharif's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, which has a majority in parliament, is expected to name a new prime minister to hold office until elections due next year.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Sharif was not fit to hold office after an investigative panel alleged his family could not account for its vast wealth.

"He is no more eligible to be an honest member of the parliament, and he ceases to be holding the office of prime minister," Judge Ejaz Afzal Khan said in court.

Prior to the decision, several cabinet ministers, including Sharif's closest allies, said the ruling party would respect the Supreme Court's verdict.

"Go, Nawaz, Go," shouted supporters of the PTI opposition party who had gathered outside the court, and who jeered politicians from Sharif's party.
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