In its 4th year in power, how has the PTI Government done so far?

[MenInG]

As the PTI government completes three years in power, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday presented to the nation a review of his party's performance so far at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad.

The prime minister began the speech by welcoming "all our chief ministers, governors and the leaders of AJK who have just been elected" before commending Sindh Governor Imran Ismail for singing his famous Tabdeeli song prior to his speech.

"I'm not sure if he has more talent for singing or governance," PM Imran said about the governor's performance.

He recalled the time when his party was nascent and "had just five to six people who were mocked for being PTI representatives".

Following this, PM Imran harked back to his career as a cricketer, explaining how his life as a sportsman, "where there are standing ovations one moment and curses the next", prepared him for a life of struggles.

"Until you go through struggles, you cannot do anything big," the prime minister said. "No leader became big with a shortcut. Quaid-e-Azam was a big leader. He struggled in his life and people will always remember him [for that]."

PM Imran detailed the struggles his government faced on the economic front over the first three years of their mandated five-year tenure, saying he had inherited a country heading towards bankruptcy.

"We had no capital to settle loans. We had no foreign exchange. The current account deficit we faced was of $20 billion. If Saudi Arabia, China and UAE had not helped us at the time, rupee would have declined further and caused us some real damage," he said.

"We had to go to the IMF and whoever you acquire loan from they set [certain] conditions," he added.

The prime minister mentioned the country's tiff with India in the aftermath of Pulwama incident and thanked the armed forces for their part. "I appreciate our army and air force. As they (Indian fighter jets) came into our territory and launched an offensive, we realised the [power] of our army."

Without naming any names, the premier accused a "mafia" of defaming state institutions, particularly the army. "I also criticised the army in the past," he said. "Judiciary and army also make mistakes but it doesn't mean we should [expect] them to topple the democratic government.

"We know the Indian lobby is trying hard to defame Pakistan Army. They are implying that the Taliban won because of Pakistan Army."

He discussed his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, recalling how he resisted the pressure to impose a "blanket lockdown and by the grace of Allah we were protected".

"The WEF (World Economic Forum) praised Pakistan for its handling of Covid-19, and the Economist [acknowledged] Pakistan for being one of three countries that effectively tackled the coronavirus," he said.

"The NCOC (National Command and Operation Center) team comprising Asad Umar and Dr Faisal [Sultan] took great decisions and we survived the worst of Covid."

He shed light on his government's economic performance, saying: "When we assumed power, the [current account] deficit was $20billion and now it is $1.8bn. Our foreign currency reserves were $16.4bn when we assumed power and today they are at $27bn. Our tax collection was Rs3800bn three years ago and now it has reached Rs4700bn.

"We witnessed record sales in motorcycles and tractors, while car sales saw an 85pc increase. It means that the people's lifestyle is improving."

Defending the authenticity of the figures he quoted, PM Imran quipped: "These figures are not of Ishaq Dar's, these are real."

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry presents the PTI government's three-year performance report to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday. — PID
The prime minister accused his rivals of "spreading hopelessness because they want the old system back".

"In our tenure, Punjab's anti corruption has recovered Rs450bn so far," he claimed. "NAB (National Accountability Bureau), in its 18 years before we came to power, had recovered Rs290bn and in last three years they recovered Rs519bn. All hue and cry is because of this reason."

He also mentioned his government's social uplift schemes such as Kamyab Pakistan and Ehsaas Program, saying that the latter was rated "third best in the world" by the World Bank.

The premier reminded his audience of the efforts made to "empower women" in rural areas and stressed the need to educate women, adding that "this is what we are trying to do."

"We are also working on inheritance laws to ensure women get their due share in property," he added.

Regarding the progress made on construction of dams in his government, the premier said: "Ten dams are being built which will be complete in the next 10 years, while the Mohmand dam will be complete in 2025."

PM Imran said his government's relief work transcended jurisdictions. "We don't have governments in Sindh and Balochistan but we gave relief packages there, too, for the poor."

The prime minister, before signing off, thanked his team and his political allies, including the MQM, for their part.

'PTI govt first to present performance report'
Earlier, PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan said in a tweet that the PTI government would present a first of its kind performance report to the public on a regular basis.

According to Radio Pakistan, the prime minister was to launch the report, which will give an insight into the performance of each ministry.

Report 2018-21 has been compiled by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and "focuses [on] the accomplishments the government has made despite the global economic recession in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic," the report said.

It added the report was 251 pages long and outlined the "achievements of 44 public bodies, including ministries, divisions and departments, through infographics and relevant facts and figures".

The report will be accessible at the official website of the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publication, according to Radio Pakistan.

Referring to the launch of the report, Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the PTI "can proudly present its performance of [the past] three years to the nation".

Taking a dig at the opposition, he questioned how many governments in Pakistan had been accountable in the past. "Those who ruled for thirty years are hiding their faces," he said.

"Three years [of performance in the areas of the] economy, foreign policy and internal stability will bring facts to light today."

Azhar Mashwani, Punjab chief minister's focal person for digital media, said that Insaf Youth Wing activists will be live streaming the premier's speech in seven cities, including Gilgit, Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Hyderabad.

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has claimed that Prime Minister Imran Khan has formed the government in Centre for the “first and last time”, saying the people will not vote for the latter's party in the upcoming general elections.

Addressing the party workers in Tando Allahyar district of Sindh on Saturday, Bilawal said people's rights are always being usurped whenever "selected' and undemocratic government come into power".

“Unemployment, inflation and poverty have increased since the PTI government held the reign of power. From day one, the poor people of this country have been the target of this government,” he added.

The PPP chairman said the unprecedented increase had been witnessed in the poverty and unemployment during the PTI government “that has never happened in the past”.

“The selected government is attacking the people from all sides, the democratic rights and employment of the people are being robbed and the incumbent rulers have resorted to economic murder of the people.”

Bilawal also urged his supporters to struggle against the “incompetent government”, saying people are aware of their rights and they know how to get them.

“The people have struggled against not one but many dictators…only the PPP can run an effective movement against the PTI government to oust it and bring people’s government,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry lashed out at the PPP-led government, saying that it has failed to provide basic health facilities to the people of the province.

“The PPP government cannot even give health cards to the masses as the PTI government provided in other provinces.”

Fawad said the Sindh government blame Centre for interfering in the provincial affairs “if we ask them about the development budget”.

The federal minister also expressed hope that the PPP will not be able to form government in Sindh after the upcoming elections. “The PTI will form the next government in Sindh.”

 

[MenInG]

Economic uplift

Fawad further stated, "The government came to power in difficult circumstances, but Pakistan is now moving towards stability."

The country, he added, handled the Covid-19 pandemic well and further said that "the current account deficit is significantly better compared to what it was before."

"We paid attention to exports and lowered imports. Inflation saw a 27 per cent increase while income increased by 37 per cent. We provided an additional Rs1,100 billion to the farmers."

Fawad further stated that the foreign policy will improve further. "We put forth three-year performance before the masses and with it [Prime Minister] Imran Khan set a tradition."

He went on to add, "Did the chief minister Sindh put forth his performance before the public."

“Sindh government isn’t giving Sehat cards to the public.”

He reiterated that the provincial government received Rs1,900 billion in the past three years, and asked “where has that money gone.”

"They should either work themselves or let us do it. The basic development work cannot be done without [the coordination of] the provincial government.”

“What would the local government departments do if the chief minister kept all powers to himself," said Fawad and urged the Supreme Court to revoke Article 140 [in the province]. “PPP will be eliminated in Sindh.”

Opposition’s politics

Turning his guns towards the opposition, Fawad said, “PPP and PML-N have turned into regional political parties. Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto have done nothing in their lives.”

“Neither of them ever gave a policy direction on any issue. “ The fact is, he added, the opposition doesn’t have a clear policy.

“Shehbaz Sharif should first decide as to who will lead the party.” The also minister reiterated that Nawaz Sharif will have to be answerable to the public. “He should return to Pakistan and return the country’s money.”

 

[Colorblind Genius]

With the kind, and amount of problems Pakistan piled up during the previous govt, I say if PTI is able to reduce JUST ONE PERCENT of that, it will be a success.

If we look at the healthcare card system introduced in KP alone, then I think it trumps everything and anything, any of the past govts ever did for the general public.

The current inflation situation, is what people need to understand. It's NOT Pakistan's problem alone, and it's NOT caused by PTI.
It's now an international dilemma after trillions of additional dollars were printed in 2020.

Even in the US, where the economic system is designed in such a way that it pushes the inflation all over the world but protects USA from inflation, is now a victim.
We are seeing the kind of inflation within USA that was NEVER seen before.

 

[PetroDollars]

terrible

 

[Mamoon]

Complete disaster. A circus show from day one.

They have destroyed the economy, killed the dreams and aspirations of the youth, turned middle class into lower class and the lower class into poverty class.

No jobs, no opportunities - only self-serving gimmicks.

They are masters of propaganda, lies and spreading fake news.

The public has realized that they offer nothing but false promises. All talk but no show.

Their corruption rhetoric and blaming the previous governments for their failures is not sold anymore.

The common man - from the taxi driver to the vendor to the laborer - they are all cursing this government because they have never been in such a dire situation before.

The PTI ministers are the most incompetent, ignorant and unintelligent “leaders” that you will ever come across.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of interacting and dealing with PTI officials would admit to it.

PTI is on its last legs. It is only surviving on the hero-worshipping of Imran supporters who will defend him no matter what and the delusional PTI supporters overseas who are out of touch with reality and fall victim to PTI social media propaganda and the paid stooges in the media.

This is why PTI is desperate to include overseas Pakistanis in the vote bank. Imran knows his party will get thrashed without the votes of overseas Pakistanis.

The only saving grace is that PTI has no future - it is a fake party with no ideology and no roots - once Imran is gone, PTI will disintegrate with all these lotas and opportunist politicians going back to where they came from or will form their own independent parties.

There are already deep factions within PTI but it has not blown up because of Imran. For example, there is a battle for supremacy in south Punjab between the fake pir Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the fraud Jahangir Tareen.

 

[m.shah]

Complete disaster. A circus show from day one.

They have destroyed the economy, killed the dreams and aspirations of the youth, turned middle class into lower class and the lower class into poverty class.

No jobs, no opportunities - only self-serving gimmicks.

They are masters of propaganda, lies and spreading fake news.

The public has realized that they offer nothing but false promises. All talk but no show.

Their corruption rhetoric and blaming the previous governments for their failures is not sold anymore.

The common man - from the taxi driver to the vendor to the laborer - they are all cursing this government because they have never been in such a dire situation before.

The PTI ministers are the most incompetent, ignorant and unintelligent “leaders” that you will ever come across.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of interacting and dealing with PTI officials would admit to it.

PTI is on its last legs. It is only surviving on the hero-worshipping of Imran supporters who will defend him no matter what and the delusional PTI supporters overseas who are out of touch with reality and fall victim to PTI social media propaganda and the paid stooges in the media.

This is why PTI is desperate to include overseas Pakistanis in the vote bank. Imran knows his party will get thrashed without the votes of overseas Pakistanis.

The only saving grace is that PTI has no future - it is a fake party with no ideology and no roots - once Imran is gone, PTI will disintegrate with all these lotas and opportunist politicians going back to where they came from or will form their own independent parties.

There are already deep factions within PTI but it has not blown up because of Imran. For example, there is a battle for supremacy in south Punjab between the fake pir Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the fraud Jahangir Tareen.

Is there any party better than PTI?

 

[PakLFC]

PTI is just an Imran Khan fan club who is a deluded man believing only he can resolve Pak's if not the entire world's problems. The only consolation is he is an honest man even if many of his party members are not. All of his pre election were fake. What is even worse is PTI is the best around at the moment

 

[Mamoon]

Is there any party better than PTI?

Every party is better than PTI.

 

[UzmanBeast]

The problem with Pakistani politics is that there is no end to the lies that are spread.

It is completely incorrect to lie to the public about fixing a major problem, rather than helping the citizens prepare to face a problem.

Incompetency and Pakistani politics are intertwined, albeit synonymous with each other.

Very rarely to political parties in Pakistan complete what they set out to do, and most end up lying to the general public.

It's come to a state that there aren't even any standout parties in the country, people just vote out of desperation that one will alleviate the struggles they face on a daily basis.

PTI has not lived up to what it claimed initially, and I don't see them being re-elected especially after a lot of horrific incidents regarding the safety of women were exposed under their administration.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Complete disaster. A circus show from day one.

They have destroyed the economy, killed the dreams and aspirations of the youth, turned middle class into lower class and the lower class into poverty class.

No jobs, no opportunities - only self-serving gimmicks.

They are masters of propaganda, lies and spreading fake news.

The public has realized that they offer nothing but false promises. All talk but no show.

Their corruption rhetoric and blaming the previous governments for their failures is not sold anymore.

The common man - from the taxi driver to the vendor to the laborer - they are all cursing this government because they have never been in such a dire situation before.

The PTI ministers are the most incompetent, ignorant and unintelligent “leaders” that you will ever come across.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of interacting and dealing with PTI officials would admit to it.

PTI is on its last legs. It is only surviving on the hero-worshipping of Imran supporters who will defend him no matter what and the delusional PTI supporters overseas who are out of touch with reality and fall victim to PTI social media propaganda and the paid stooges in the media.

This is why PTI is desperate to include overseas Pakistanis in the vote bank. Imran knows his party will get thrashed without the votes of overseas Pakistanis.

The only saving grace is that PTI has no future - it is a fake party with no ideology and no roots - once Imran is gone, PTI will disintegrate with all these lotas and opportunist politicians going back to where they came from or will form their own independent parties.

There are already deep factions within PTI but it has not blown up because of Imran. For example, there is a battle for supremacy in south Punjab between the fake pir Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the fraud Jahangir Tareen.

Add to that list the constant degradation of India on almost every social media platform to detract attention from their own shortcomings and you will have summarized PTI properly.

Local job creation and increasing education was a must before this party was elected. Instead, money was spent on military projects which should have been put towards job creation, job security, and to promote education in poor areas.

PTI have been quite irresponsible as a political party if I do say so.

 

[Manunited18]

Every party is better than PTI.

How can you honestly say that.

 

[Giannis]

Add to that list the constant degradation of India on almost every social media platform to detract attention from their own shortcomings and you will have summarized PTI properly.

Local job creation and increasing education was a must before this party was elected. Instead, money was spent on military projects which should have been put towards job creation, job security, and to promote education in poor areas.

PTI have been quite irresponsible as a political party if I do say so.

"total degradation of india on social media", you seem really hurt by that lol.

 

[Giannis]

Imran Khan inherited billions of dollars of debt, a stagnant economy and just a year and a half into his term he was hit with the global pandemic, he's done a stellar job given the circumstances. I think he'll do much better in his second term when things will stabilize and his policies will bear fruit. Right now he's busy building the foundations of the country and the economy, hopefully he's in power for 10-15 years.

 

[saeedhk]

PTI's tenure has been full of incompetency, gimmicks, lies and unfulfilled promises.

Khan's government has failed to make any progress in education, health, economy, job creation, and rule of law. Khan came to power on the back of his anti-corruption narrative but he continues to tolerate corruption and even reward corruption as seen last year during the petrol crisis. PTI has failed to make an improvement in Pakistan's education sector; the number of out of school children have remained stagnant and the education infrastructure has seen no improvement. Children attend classes in dirty, old, and dilapidated school buildings with the majority of schools lacking drinking water, a boundary wall and toilets.

People have never seen the sort of inflation that is now seen under the PTI government. Inflation has broken the necks of Pakistanis and many have been forced to go hungry. For instance, price of a kg of chicken is at least Rs400 while it used to be Rs 150 just three years back! I recently visited Pakistan and I did not meet a single person who was happy with the current economic situation. Almost all of them voted for the PTI. In fact, most cursed Imran Khan and prayed to Allah to rid them of the PTI.

Besides the economy , Imran Khan has encouraged and promoted extremism by making deals with the TLP and by forwarding extremist narratives such as ' I and the TLP have the same goals,' and calling OBL a martyr. With his constant anti-Europe vitriol, he has gone a long way in inciting hatred against non-Muslims and fanning the flames of xenophobia. His statements like, 'Anybody who wears clothes from a different culture has an inferiority complex'. The way Imran Khan has riled up people and win support through the use of nationalism and religion has been unrivalled.

Not to mention that he has effectively handed over the affairs of the country to the right wing by always bending over backwards to please them and to submit to their demands. Be it the issue of Atif Main, closure of mosque during Covid-19, or the anti-domestic violence bill, the underage marriage bill or the recent forced-conversion bill, Imran Khan has always danced to the tunes and whims of the right wing. He has made the clergy very powerful by consulting them over policy matters. He has created a monster that will never be caged.

Imran Khan has destroyed the social fabric of this country by his constant moral policing of women, victim blaming and misogynist remarks. He has enabled rapists by linking choice of clothes with rape, effectively absolving his government of any blame for sex crimes. He continues to invalidate the plight of Pakistani women by saying,' I have travelled a lot but I can say that Pakistanis treat women with a lot of dignity.'

On the diplomatic front, he has made Pakistan's international reputation even poorer by portraying himself as the gatekeeper of Islam and human rights but continuing to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of minorities in his own country and the vast and systemic discrimination of Muslims next door.

All in all, Imran promised the heavens but delivered pebbles.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

The current government PTI comes into power for the first time ever and got the power at such a time where nearly the entire country was going down in dumps and then a year later covid struck the entire world and its been nearly 2 years since and its still going on...inflation, jobs, lots of companies going bankrupt and a lot more and people expected that the last 40-50 years of mess and hardly any improvement in any sector of the country since Ayub Khan would be done in as little as a year and also a catastrophe such as Covid should not have affected Pakistan and its progress that actually brought the entire world to its knees and mostly all and first world countries have and are still struggling with inflation, healtcare etc;

 

[Deewana Mastana]

There's no magical solution to anything in this world so give this current government its full 5 years and then evaluate as to how they've done and if they do deserve to be elected again.

Having to deal with covid for 2 out of its first 3 years and then still to be bringing something for the poor such as the food vans going around in a few places, the panah gahs as well are somethings that were not done by previous governments.

People need to understand that problems can't get fixed overnight and especially in a 3rd world country it can take decades for things to get even slightly better or for mindsets to actually change for the betterment of the country which is what is needed to be done by the masses.

 

[UzmanBeast]

"total degradation of india on social media", you seem really hurt by that lol.

It doesn't seem logical to do when our nation is struggling with other issues, such as the rising cases of sexual violence against women.

Against that type of a problem, you see Imran Khan fumbling in interviews about what he means and is unable to assure his citizens that the government is working on that front.

So yes, I find it completely unnecessary and useless to start bringing India into the mix for no reason when we have other issues to deal with.

 

[UzmanBeast]

There's no magical solution to anything in this world so give this current government its full 5 years and then evaluate as to how they've done and if they do deserve to be elected again.

Having to deal with covid for 2 out of its first 3 years and then still to be bringing something for the poor such as the food vans going around in a few places, the panah gahs as well are somethings that were not done by previous governments.

People need to understand that problems can't get fixed overnight and especially in a 3rd world country it can take decades for things to get even slightly better or for mindsets to actually change for the betterment of the country which is what is needed to be done by the masses.

With more vaccines being rolled out, and the hope that COVID-19 will subside in the near future, we will see what type of progress the PTI can make.

 

[hasanali]

They have been an absolute disaster--probably the worst in the country's history including the awful second government of Nawaz Sharif.

 

[Mamoon]

COVID has proved to be a very timely and convenient excuse for PTI and their supporters. However, unfortunately for them, no one buys their excuses and propaganda anymore.

This government has been clueless from day one; nothing has changed because of the pandemic. They were not on the right track anyway.

Easily the most incompetent and unprepared government in Pakistan history. It was expected because they spent all their time slandering PMLN/PPP and spreading lies instead of doing their homework and preparing themselves for governance.

 

[Napa]

"total degradation of india on social media", you seem really hurt by that lol.

IK was elected to deliver a better life for the voters, not for abusing Modi.

The fact is that the Indian economy is about 10 times larger than Pakistan's and is huge potential market for Pakistani products. If India-Pakistan trade relationship was the same as the US-Canada trade relationship, you would have Pakistan exporting 15% of its GDP to India.

Pakistan has close ties to China, but it is unlikely China will be a large market for Pakistani products as the Chinese are known for running up huge surpluses with countries they trade with.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

COVID has proved to be a very timely and convenient excuse for PTI and their supporters. However, unfortunately for them, no one buys their excuses and propaganda anymore.

This government has been clueless from day one; nothing has changed because of the pandemic. They were not on the right track anyway.

Easily the most incompetent and unprepared government in Pakistan history. It was expected because they spent all their time slandering PMLN/PPP and spreading lies instead of doing their homework and preparing themselves for governance.

We will see in 2023.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

PTI has not lived up to what it claimed initially, and I don't see them being re-elected especially after a lot of horrific incidents regarding the safety of women were exposed under their administration.

Less than 1% of the population will vote based on those horrific incidents.

 

[UzmanBeast]

COVID has proved to be a very timely and convenient excuse for PTI and their supporters. However, unfortunately for them, no one buys their excuses and propaganda anymore.

This government has been clueless from day one; nothing has changed because of the pandemic. They were not on the right track anyway.

Easily the most incompetent and unprepared government in Pakistan history. It was expected because they spent all their time slandering PMLN/PPP and spreading lies instead of doing their homework and preparing themselves for governance.

PTI has conveniently used a lot of external factors to take their lack of progress out of the limelight.

COVID-19 is one example. Randomly making statements against India is another.

The only forefront they made some progress on was environmental sustainability, but then again, our economy is the issue. We don't need a government that prioritizes planting trees more than fixing issues that are hurting the country such as lack of economic growth, little to no investment, and the list goes on and on.

Like you said earlier, they are searching for votes for Pakistanis that are overseas because they don't know the ground situation like the general population.

COVID has subsided in a lot of countries and we should really be seeing some economic growth and improvement now, but as expected, the PTI is using Afghanistan as a means to shift attention from matters that actually concern our country.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Less than 1% of the population will vote based on those horrific incidents.

I agree, especially since the response has been lethargic.

It shows that the government is sleeping in a lot of areas.

Unfortunately, opposition parties were also unable to shift the mindset of the general public, so PTI would count themselves to be safe for at least the next 3-4 months.

 

[Greenstorm]

They have been decent. There is no other option, PTI will win next election with ease.

 

[Major]

Complete disaster. A circus show from day one.

They have destroyed the economy, killed the dreams and aspirations of the youth, turned middle class into lower class and the lower class into poverty class.

No jobs, no opportunities - only self-serving gimmicks.

They are masters of propaganda, lies and spreading fake news.

The public has realized that they offer nothing but false promises. All talk but no show.

Their corruption rhetoric and blaming the previous governments for their failures is not sold anymore.

The common man - from the taxi driver to the vendor to the laborer - they are all cursing this government because they have never been in such a dire situation before.

The PTI ministers are the most incompetent, ignorant and unintelligent “leaders” that you will ever come across.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of interacting and dealing with PTI officials would admit to it.

PTI is on its last legs. It is only surviving on the hero-worshipping of Imran supporters who will defend him no matter what and the delusional PTI supporters overseas who are out of touch with reality and fall victim to PTI social media propaganda and the paid stooges in the media.

This is why PTI is desperate to include overseas Pakistanis in the vote bank. Imran knows his party will get thrashed without the votes of overseas Pakistanis.

The only saving grace is that PTI has no future - it is a fake party with no ideology and no roots - once Imran is gone, PTI will disintegrate with all these lotas and opportunist politicians going back to where they came from or will form their own independent parties.

There are already deep factions within PTI but it has not blown up because of Imran. For example, there is a battle for supremacy in south Punjab between the fake pir Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the fraud Jahangir Tareen.

I dont understand what corruption has been cleaned?

Corruption works reverse, bottom to top. No corruption has been eliminated in the country aswell. Pti Tulla burst armpits on catching Nawaz Shareef and claim about ending corruption.

Well corruption is still there. They abolished the UC system, yet corruption still takes place in the municipal corporation (Former UCs)

Police still takes bribes, hospitals staff take bribes, every judge and lawyer is involved in illegal moneyy making schemes. State Bank is also involved in illegal schemes. But Imran Khan was able to catch Nawaz Shareef thus corruption is finish

Whats even more funny is that people here think making a soup kitchen is an achievement, thats how low we have gotten.

 

[Mamoon]

I dont understand what corruption has been cleaned?

Corruption works reverse, bottom to top. No corruption has been eliminated in the country aswell. Pti Tulla burst armpits on catching Nawaz Shareef and claim about ending corruption.

Well corruption is still there. They abolished the UC system, yet corruption still takes place in the municipal corporation (Former UCs)

Police still takes bribes, hospitals staff take bribes, every judge and lawyer is involved in illegal moneyy making schemes. State Bank is also involved in illegal schemes. But Imran Khan was able to catch Nawaz Shareef thus corruption is finish

Whats even more funny is that people here think making a soup kitchen is an achievement, thats how low we have gotten.

These soup kitchens are just gimmicks. They are not sustainable - they cannot go on forever - and they do not even cater to 0.001% of the destitute.

It also gives the message that the government has no plan of uplifting their social status ante simply putting a band-aid on a band-aid.

This government is all about gimmicks like soup kitchens, temporary shelter homes, Corona Tiger Force and other nonsense.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz Wednesday lashed out at the incumbent government and described its past three-year performance as "nothing short of destruction".

Speaking to the media after appearing for a hearing of the Avenfield reference case, the PML-N leader said reconciliation was out of the question.

"One should not even hold talks with these people [government]," she said, adding that except for the PTI, all political parties should unite and think about the welfare of Pakistan.

She commented on the Media Regulatory Authority, saying that the government is creating hurdles for the media and Opposition, adding that the bill was a continuation of the incumbent government's policies aimed at censoring the media.

Maryam said Opposition parties should concentrate on how the government is employing efforts to rig the upcoming elections. She said the government was exacting political revenge in the name of accountability.

In response to a question on Nawaz Sharif's return, she said:

"Circumstances have changed a lot. Very soon, you will see a lot of things change. Nawaz Sharif will return to the country when it is necessary for him to do so."

Proceedings of the Avenfield Reference against the PML-N vice president and her husband, Captain (retd) Safdar, have been postponed till September 8.

GEO

 

[Colorblind Genius]

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz Wednesday lashed out at the incumbent government and described its past three-year performance as "nothing short of destruction".

Speaking to the media after appearing for a hearing of the Avenfield reference case, the PML-N leader said reconciliation was out of the question.

"One should not even hold talks with these people [government]," she said, adding that except for the PTI, all political parties should unite and think about the welfare of Pakistan.

She commented on the Media Regulatory Authority, saying that the government is creating hurdles for the media and Opposition, adding that the bill was a continuation of the incumbent government's policies aimed at censoring the media.

Maryam said Opposition parties should concentrate on how the government is employing efforts to rig the upcoming elections. She said the government was exacting political revenge in the name of accountability.

In response to a question on Nawaz Sharif's return, she said:

"Circumstances have changed a lot. Very soon, you will see a lot of things change. Nawaz Sharif will return to the country when it is necessary for him to do so."

Proceedings of the Avenfield Reference against the PML-N vice president and her husband, Captain (retd) Safdar, have been postponed till September 8.

GEO

The amount of money NAB has recovered in the last 4 years is actually a slap on fac of critics of IK, and it's also an indication as to the kind of deeply rooted problem we are dealing with in Pakistan.

 

[IMMY69]

The amount of money NAB has recovered in the last 4 years is actually a slap on fac of critics of IK, and it's also an indication as to the kind of deeply rooted problem we are dealing with in Pakistan.

The figures are absolutely astonishing.

The country is finally on the right track.
However at least another decade if not more of PTI governance is necessary.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

The figures are absolutely astonishing.

The country is finally on the right track.
However at least another decade if not more of PTI governance is necessary.

A bigger point to ponder is, NAB has not recovered perhaps even 1 tenth of a percent of what has been looted in the last few decades, yet the same corrupt nation is disappointed that Imran Khan has not done enough for them.

 

[MenInG]

The government has decided to scale back the size and scope of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) aimed at addressing “legitimate” concerns of the bureaucracy and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sources told The Express Tribune that the government has now decided to begin a pilot project of the programme first instead of launching the initiative across the country.

In a bid to bring the skin of commercial banks in the game, it has also been decided to reduce cover of the sovereign guarantees against potential losses being sustained by the banks to 50%, they added. Earlier, the federal cabinet had approved to pick 100% losses.

A brainchild of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to financially empower the lowest income groups, the government had initially planned to give interest-free-to-subsidised loans to 30 million people across the country and disburse Rs1.6 trillion loans in three years.

Under the KPP, the government wants to give micro-loans to entrepreneurs, businessmen and farmers at 0% mark-up without collateral.

The key focus is to provide loans at the lowest strata. Now the number of beneficiaries and the size will be cut. The decision will also reduce the subsidies requirements which were earlier estimated at Rs256 billion, the sources added.

The internal steering committee of the project has decided that the government should first launch the pilot project of the KPP, the Ministry of Finance confirmed to The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

An official maintained that the pilot project would begin in a few poverty-stricken districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan initially. Only after seeing its success, will a full-blown programme be launched.

The sources said the pilot project would likely continue for one year to see the appetite among the borrowers and mitigate the risks. They said it may take a few more weeks to finalise the modalities of the revised programme before a pilot project is launched.

Sources noted that the IMF had also objected to giving loans at a mass scale without the pilot project and more importantly it opposed providing 100% cover to bank losses.

The Fund was of the view that the government should not breach the limit of guarantees and also take care of its growing debt, as these indicators do not support a mass scale Rs1.6 trillion programme.

The finance ministry and other government departments had also advised the political leadership to exercise caution and conduct due diligence on the cost, service charges being paid to partner banks and microfinance institutions that would disburse these loans and the beneficiaries.

The finance ministry also confirmed that the decision has been taken to reduce the size of guarantees to the banks to 50%. A new summary will be sent to the federal cabinet to seek its approval to reduce the guarantees cover.

State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir was also against giving 100% guarantees but the federal cabinet had overruled him last time.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar had also raised the issue of transparency during the cabinet meeting.

Sources said in order to allay the concerns of Dr Sania, the finance ministry had contacted the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) for seeking its nod on the process to select partner banks and microfinance institutions.

The PPRA has not yet responded but it has been decided that the KPP will be PPRA-compliant, according to the finance ministry official. As per the design, the central bank would provide money to the commercial banks and banks then would give it to the microfinance banks.

On wholesale lending to the microfinance banks, the commercial banks would charge Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor) plus 0.5% rate that will be borne by the finance ministry. The microfinance banks would be paid 8% service charges and given guarantees to pick 10% of the losses. The 8% cost will also be borne by the finance ministry.

According to the original plan, the government wanted to disburse Rs315 billion in the first year. In the second year, the target was around Rs500 billion loans and in the third year, Rs785 billion were to be disbursed. All these targets would now drastically be revised downward in light of new decisions, said the sources.

IMF Version

The Express Tribune had requested the IMF to comment about its position on subsidies for KPP, the guarantees against losses to the banks and its proposal to first launch the pilot project and possibility of the 6th review completion.

“The IMF team remains engaged with our Pakistani counterparts on conducting technical and data discussions. We stand ready and looking forward to our continued discussions with the Pakistani authorities on the set of policies and reforms that could form the basis for the completion of the 6th review under the EFF,” said IMF Resident Representative Teresa Dabán Sanchez.

Teresa said these discussions would include talks on KPP, among many other things.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Previous rulers bought flats in London from commissions illegally earned from road construction projects, said Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday, taking a dig at the PML-N leadership.

The prime minister was speaking at the Sialkot-Kharian motorway groundbreaking ceremony. He said Pakistan needed to generate wealth to pay off its loans, adding that it was a must for the country to increase industrialisation.

The premier told Fawad Chaudhry that he should highlight that "we are building three times more roads than the previous government".

"And we are building them at low cost as well," he said. "Because commission from these roads are not being used to buy flats in London."

Speaking to the stakeholders present at the ceremony, the prime minister urged them to tell him personally whenever they face hurdles in construction and other projects.

"Our first priority is to ensure ease of doing business," he explained.

Explaining the benefits of the motorway, the prime minister recalled how the Swat motorway built by the PTI-led KP government had increased private investment.

"At the time of Eid, 2.7mn cars travelled on the Swat motorway," revealed the prime minister. "Imagine the benefit that would have brought [to local industries]. And whenever traffic [of vehicles increases on such projects] then private investment flows in."

The prime minister said he would ensure the Sialkot-Kharian motorway is built through public-private partnership, adding that this would ensure the public development fund is saved so that it can be spent on education and health.

PM Imran Khan said Pakistan had a large youth population which it should use to its advantage. "We can convert our huge population into an advantage for us as well," he said. "Only if we work smartly."

PM Khan said if the northern areas of Gilgit-Baltistan were connected with other areas, it would boost tourism to unprecedented levels in Pakistan.

"More tourists in the country would mean more inflow of dollars into Pakistan," he said. "This, in turn, would improve the exchange rate."

GEO

 

[Devadwal]

India ���� :
August 2018 dollar 70 rupees
August 2021 dollar 73 rupees

Pakistan ����
August 2018 dollar 123 rupees
August 2021 dollar 167 rupees

 

[MenInG]

Terming good governance key to the success of a government, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged his cabinet to stay focused on achieving the targets and make the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party stronger through service delivery.

"We are ensuring that during our tenure, all the promises are met and all services delivered to the citizens," the prime minister said while addressing the members of his cabinet at the signing of two-year performance agreements 2021-23.

The signing was part of the prime minister’s crucial civil service reforms agenda under which the government had initiated a management system that brought together all the components of the federal government through a single implementation tool of “performance agreements”.

Speaking on the occasion, the premier said only the performance delivery in the next two years will ensure the government succeeds in securing another five-year term in the 2023 general elections.

“I want our party to achieve a standard where an MP wins not on the basis of disbursement of development funds, but on the performance of his government,” he said.

While expressing confidence in their performance, the prime minister asked the ministers to achieve the goals by setting high aspirations and keep evaluating the highs and lows of their work.

He noted his government effectively tackled the simultaneous challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences for the economy.

'Biggest challenge'

However, he added that the “biggest challenge” was the persistent fight with the “mafias” that wanted to sustain the status quo for their vested interests.

“Now the mafia has started opposing the use of EVMs [Electronic Voting Machines] in the elections because it is the beneficiary of the incumbent system through the use of money and influence,” he said.

After the 1970 elections, every poll in the country was regarded as controversial but, still, nobody wanted to resolve the root cause of the problem.

Adviser to the prime minister on the establishment, Shehzad Arbab, said 41 ministries had proposed 1,100 projects for the next two years. Of these, 426 will be completed by June 2022 and 488 by June 2023. While the remaining 176 that are already in progress will supplement the overall delivery of those ministries until the elections and beyond.

He said the agreements had been finalised after a rigorous process of review and evaluation.
Arbab said the exercise not only allowed the government to implement its agenda more effectively but also helped the ministers and their secretaries to track progress within their divisions and objectively assess the performance of their staffers.

Under the agreements, all ministries have prepared work plans with a set of initiatives and quarterly targets to be achieved by 2023.

These plans have been reviewed by a Peer Review Committee — comprising senior officials of cross-sectoral ministries — for improvement and feedback submitted by the ministries was incorporated before its submission to the Prime Minister Office.

The process of quarterly performance review will enable the prime minister to keep track of his government’s performance.

This system will not only help all divisions set their annual targets but also create space to embed the reform agenda into the government’s system.

The targets collectively reviewed quarterly through a digitised platform will play a key role in identifying bottlenecks and addressing cross-ministerial coordination challenges.

 

[Napa]

Terming good governance key to the success of a government, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday urged his cabinet to stay focused on achieving the targets and make the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party stronger through service delivery.

"We are ensuring that during our tenure, all the promises are met and all services delivered to the citizens," the prime minister said while addressing the members of his cabinet at the signing of two-year performance agreements 2021-23.

The signing was part of the prime minister’s crucial civil service reforms agenda under which the government had initiated a management system that brought together all the components of the federal government through a single implementation tool of “performance agreements”.

More fiddling around with government bureaucratic procedures in the hope it will lead to economic development. Reminds me of India prior to economic liberalization starting in the early 1990s.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

They've been more successful than any government in the past 30 years on the simple fact they've managed to reject the United States of Thieves on multiple occasions.

 

[ARK Rafay]

They've made progress albeit very slow. There is no other option for Pakistan. People were tired of these past 70 years. They brought upon change. Now the promises aren't full filled yet. But do we want to back to square one?

 

[Tera Gawaandi]

Khan's statements like, 'Anybody who wears clothes from a different culture has an inferiority complex'.

I find his dressing style very comical, he wears a blazer on top of Kameez/Kurta. That's fashion disaster. Someone educate him that blazer jacket originated in Cambridge, it's not an ethnic dress. He can wear whatever he wants, but he is the one who wears jacket from a different culture. Saw photos of PCT doing the same today at his initiative, again he imposed his comical dressing sense on players.

Musharaf was best dressed Pakistani politician in recent past, look at the coordination of different pieces and colours -

 

[MenInG]

Seems to be one crisis after another for PTI

Of their own making or just a victim of world circumstances?

 

[Gayle_Force]

Seems to be one crisis after another for PTI

Of their own making or just a victim of world circumstances?

It’s a mixed bag. Some issues were definitely of their own making due to poor decision making and incompetence and some due to external circumstances (i.e Covid-19 etc). There have been some very good decisions made during his tenure as well, atleast from an outsider perspective but the people of Pakistan will ultimately judge PTI performance in the next election.

 

[Savak]

Even most die hard PTI Supporters are demoralized and know full well the writing is on the wall and the party is in no shape to win the re-election and there is just no time left to make a swift change in public mood.

In the last 2 times i have been to Pakistan, i was scared and terrified to even offer a neutral or balanced stance on the PTI with many of my friends and ex colleagues back in Pakistan (who were PTI Supporters) because i just got a very swift, angry reaction and verbal tirade i.e. you are no longer a Pakistani, you don't live here, you have no idea what it is like for us, we don't care about corruption, let the PML N and PPP come back to power and plunder whatever they want, atleast they were competent and are competent.

I would say that it is mostly the middle class, educated class and the upper class which has turned against IK. The poor mazdoor are mostly indifferent i.e. it doesn't matter who comes to power, our lives go on.

 

[Varun]

In the last 2 times i have been to Pakistan, i was scared and terrified to even offer a neutral or balanced stance on the PTI with many of my friends and ex colleagues back in Pakistan (who were PTI Supporters) because i just got a very swift, angry reaction and verbal tirade i.e. you are no longer a Pakistani, you don't live here, you have no idea what it is like for us, we don't care about corruption, let the PML N and PPP come back to power and plunder whatever they want, atleast they were competent and are competent.

No wonder Imran is scouting for overseas votes. Eg: [MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION]

 

[Bewal Express]

No wonder Imran is scouting for overseas votes. Eg: [MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION]

I know the voters from GB and AJK were from outside PK

 

[Gayle_Force]

Even most die hard PTI Supporters are demoralized and know full well the writing is on the wall and the party is in no shape to win the re-election and there is just no time left to make a swift change in public mood.

In the last 2 times i have been to Pakistan, i was scared and terrified to even offer a neutral or balanced stance on the PTI with many of my friends and ex colleagues back in Pakistan (who were PTI Supporters) because i just got a very swift, angry reaction and verbal tirade i.e. you are no longer a Pakistani, you don't live here, you have no idea what it is like for us, we don't care about corruption, let the PML N and PPP come back to power and plunder whatever they want, atleast they were competent and are competent.

I would say that it is mostly the middle class, educated class and the upper class which has turned against IK. The poor mazdoor are mostly indifferent i.e. it doesn't matter who comes to power, our lives go on.

While it’s true that PTI is definitely facing challenges and it does seem that the public is not very happy. It also seems pretty clear that the opposition is not exactly in a strong position. PPP seems confined to one province only and PMLN seems to be in complete disarray themselves, with internal struggles for leadership.

 

[mazkhan]

It was all a circus to begin with started by Charlie's of armed forces who roped in khan and that other clown Padri from Canada.

How does someone who spent his life playing cricket and living a playboy lavish lifestyle in the west born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and then could not even make his marriages work properly know anything about running a third world country and connecting with the poor. They the pti were dishonest from the start and is evident with their u turns , flip flopping on issues and making it up as they go along and then get the get out of jail card by blaming the previous regimes thing is that card isn't washing with the people anymore


If this chaos carries on I predict people on street rioting and total break down in law and order the situation is not far off where people may end up starving like in Syria or Africa and you end up with civil war .

 

[LaLoco]

It was all a circus to begin with started by Charlie's of armed forces who roped in khan and that other clown Padri from Canada.

How does someone who spent his life playing cricket and living a playboy lavish lifestyle in the west born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and then could not even make his marriages work properly know anything about running a third world country and connecting with the poor. They the pti were dishonest from the start and is evident with their u turns , flip flopping on issues and making it up as they go along and then get the get out of jail card by blaming the previous regimes thing is that card isn't washing with the people anymore


If this chaos carries on I predict people on street rioting and total break down in law and order the situation is not far off where people may end up starving like in Syria or Africa and you end up with civil war .

What Ik marriage has anything to do with him being a PM?

He connects more with the poor than any other PM Pakistan had in the last 30 years.

U-turn is okay within the context - everyone does.

Rightly blaming the previous regime for the current situation isn't washing with the people because they lack the basic understanding of the economy, what is your excuse?

Syria is a war-torn country, you have entered into the avenue of exaggeration.

Who would you prefer as the next PM of Pakistan? I am talking about someone who would get elect, not someone out of fantasy.

 

[mazkhan]

Syria wasn't a war torn country

It started when the majority of the rural poor migrated into the cities, due to climate crisis drought and drying of water Wells they could not support their traditional agrarian lifestyle . They came into conflict with the elite urbanites which was headed by alawite ruling class , people started with small protests which were brutally crushed and outside powers lit the petrol and rest is history .

Pakistan has a similar setup of ruling high caste families elites and an army junta leaching of the nation .

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Gallup Pakistan had a recent poll on PTI performance

1. How did Imran Khan perform in the eyes of the Public in past 3 years? Split Public opinion with slightly more people being happy with his performance Public opinion split on issue of performance of PTI government with slightly more 48% saying performance is good over the past 3 years. A sizeable 45% believe the performance has been bad.

The breakdown by province was as follows:
Good Performance Bad Performance DK/NR

Punjab - 42% 50% 7%
Province Rural 39% 53% 8%
Urban 51% 44% 5%
Sindh - 49% 45% 6%
Location Rural 51% 45% 5%
Urban 47% 45% 8%
KPK - 62% 31% 7%
Location Rural 63% 31% 6%
Urban 56% 32% 12%
Balochistan - 74% 26% 0%
Location Rural 87% 13% 0%
Urban 26% 74% 0%


https://gallup.com.pk/wp/wp-content...-years-of-Imran-Khan-Government-revised-1.pdf

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

3. Imran Khan Rule vs Nawaz Sharif rule? Public Opinion split equally nationally but in largest province of Punjab, more people say Nawaz Sharif’s government was better than Imran Khan’s government. Public Opinion split equally with 37% each saying Imran Khan rule is better and 37% saying Nawaz Sharif rule was better. 18% of people believe that the performance Imran Khan’s government is the same as that of the Nawaz Sharif’s government.

4. Best performance on COVID and worst on running the economy; out of 5 indicators, on 2 indicators majority are unhappy. 45% of Pakistanis rate performance on economy as good, 69% rate performance on COVID control as good, 54% give favorable rating on helping poor. Majority 58% happy with performance on foreign affairs and less than majority 48% happy on corruption control performance

https://gallup.com.pk/wp/wp-content...-years-of-Imran-Khan-Government-revised-1.pdf

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Even most die hard PTI Supporters are demoralized and know full well the writing is on the wall and the party is in no shape to win the re-election and there is just no time left to make a swift change in public mood.

In the last 2 times i have been to Pakistan, i was scared and terrified to even offer a neutral or balanced stance on the PTI with many of my friends and ex colleagues back in Pakistan (who were PTI Supporters) because i just got a very swift, angry reaction and verbal tirade i.e. you are no longer a Pakistani, you don't live here, you have no idea what it is like for us, we don't care about corruption, let the PML N and PPP come back to power and plunder whatever they want, atleast they were competent and are competent.

I would say that it is mostly the middle class, educated class and the upper class which has turned against IK. The poor mazdoor are mostly indifferent i.e. it doesn't matter who comes to power, our lives go on.

Because they did not realize they would be the ones paying for naya Pakistan. These people wont benefit from the Sehat Insaf Card, Ehsaas program or improvements in public education.

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his government’s five-year performance will “bury” the politics of his opponents and added that all his policies were focused on the future of the country instead of winning next election.

“From day one, they [opposition] wanted to topple my government because they fear that their ‘political shops’ will be shut after [PTI’s] five-year performance,” said PM Imran while addressing a ground breaking ceremony of dualisation of Lillah-Jhelum road on Tuesday.

PM Imran said past rulers made polices and built projects which were only aimed at winning next elections such as Metro Bus projects.

Hailing the performance of his government, the premier said for the first time in the country’s history his administration was undertaking long term projects to tackle the challenges of climate change and water crisis.

“We are building mega dams… planted 2. 5 billion trees and in the coming years 10 billion more trees will be planted,” he added.

PM Imran said Economist Magazine ranked Pakistan as the top country in the world which handled the Covid-19 pandemic in a best possible way despite limited resources. He also quoted a World Bank report on how the poverty in Pakistan had been reduced during his government’s tenure.

However, the premier admitted that people were facing difficulties due to high inflation, saying that due to Covid-19 entire world was facing the same problem amid supply chain disruption.

The premier also assured that his government was making all-out efforts to ease the woes of the masses, saying, “Like I saved country from Corona, I will also reduce inflation”.

Speaking on introducing the electronic voting machine (EVM), PM Imran said he wondered why opposition parties were opposing the use of technology in the elections.

He said this latest technology was being used across the world in the elections but “I wonder why opposition parties [in Pakistan] are afraid of technology”.

His statement comes as the stage is all set for a decisive battle between the treasury and the opposition benches over the electoral reform bills, among other things, as they would go for a vote in the joint sitting of parliament summoned on November 17 (Wednesday).

Later while responding to a question on the crucial parliament session, PM Imran expressed displayed his confidence on coming out on top, drawing parallels to "a sportsman wanting to always win on the field".

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which landed in hot water last week after its allies expressed reservations whether the next general elections in the country should be held through the EVM, has finally won back their support on electoral reforms after they met PM Imran on Monday.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/232968...nce-will-shut-political-shops-of-opponents-pm

 

[MenInG]

The opposition had been putting up brave face ahead of the joint session of parliament but Wednesday belonged to the treasury.

The joint sitting passed all the required bills, including the two key ones, which deal with holding the next elections via electronic voting machines (EVMs) and allowing overseas Pakistanis the right to vote in the future elections.

The joint session was an opportunity for Prime Minister Imran Khan to prove his majority in parliament, which he did. With the support of 221 votes of his party members and that of the allies, the government cruised through the session amid the opposition’s protest.

Despite the opposition lawmakers’ speeches, urging the National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to adjourn the session so that both the sides could sit together and deliberate upon the agenda items; their hue and cry; sloganeering; surrounding of speaker’s desk; tearing of the papers and heated arguments with him, the government moved ahead with the legislative business and passed 33 bills.

The opposition thought Prime Minister Imran Khan had lost the confidence of his members and the allies in the National Assembly and the Senate. However, he passed through this storm comfortably.

Last week, the government was defeated twice in the National Assembly and it had to put off the joint sitting of parliament within 24 hours of its summoning, as the allies had distanced themselves from the government.

The opposition was hoping, once again, the government would not be able to complete the numbers and would, ultimately, fail to pass the legislation for changing the voting system. They had believed that they would have the chance to stop the government just the way they did a week ago.

However, when the votes were counted, the opposition found that its seven members were absent for varying reasons – ranging from health issues to foreign visits.

The joint parliamentary session began at 1pm; an hour late, because the prime minister was busy chairing a meeting of the parliamentary committee, while the opposition leaders were visiting the speaker, reminding him that he had completely disconnected himself from the process of holding talks with the opposition on the electoral reforms.

They got the reply from the speaker during the session, when he ignored their pleas that the number of treasury votes was inflated.

The speaker was in no mood to take any advice from the opposition benches; once he was told that the treasury benches had 221 members present, he didn’t hesitate to move ahead with the agenda and even started drawing red lines for the protesting opposition parties.

At 2:46pm, the prime minister entered the hall and sat on his chair. At 3:56pm, the opposition parties staged walkout from the proceedings as they had realised by then that they could no longer oppose the legislation and their presence in the session was only giving legitimacy to the voting process.

The walkout from the opposition after there-hour-long resistance and sloganeering not only gave the government a free hand but also allowed Prime Minister Imran Khan to heave a sigh of relief.

The prime minister, who was wearing headphones to avert the noise of opposition, removed them and started meeting the lawmakers from treasury benches.

The protest had kept the treasury benches on its toes but once the opposition benches were empty, it was only a matter of reading and passing the agenda items.

The opposition glanced over the hall, hoping against the hope that the government would fail at the number game. The government, however, silenced them it with its strength.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On behalf of PTI & the nation I esp want to appreciate & thank the jazba of our MNAs Mohammed Kheyal Zaman, Ehsanullah Tiwana & Rahat Amanullah Bhatti, all of whom, despite being seriously ill, attended jt session & of Sh Rasheed who attended despite the death of his brother.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1461210625795760136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Bewal Express]

For the last few weeks those scions of vote ki izzat do, he been calling on the army for a coup and got humiliated( Maryam, Sethi, etc)
Yesterday IK made his most significant contribution to PK legislation so far. That is a big achievement and now he needs the oil price to come down and he may still have a chance to win the election. IK is lucky that his opposition is even more incompetent as am opposition, than they were as govts because this inflation would have destroyed any other govt.
Even the ones that don't support him anymore because of inflation still wish him well because they know they have a good man.
.

 

[transparent opacity]

PM Imran launches health insurance scheme for whole of Punjab

LAHORE:
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the ‘Naya Pakistan Sehat Card’ scheme providing the annual health insurance cover of up to Rs1 million to each family across the Punjab province.

“This is a landmark [scheme]. This is a defining moment towards our course to make Pakistan a welfare state,” the prime minister said while addressing the launching ceremony in Lahore.

Starting from January 2022, he said, the health card would be distributed across the province within three months allowing whole of the Punjab population to avail free medical treatment worth Rs1 million a year at both government and private hospitals.

“This is not a health insurance rather a health system. Now private sector will build hospitals even in villages where the basic health units remain vacant as no doctor desires to be posted there. Now private sector will come and poorest of the poor will get free treatment,” the prime minister remarked.

He said the difficulties faced by his family for treatment of her cancer patient mother, had prompted him to think of introducing a universal health insurance facility for the whole population so that no one had to sell out belongings for the medical treatment of their dear one.

He said the health insurance cover would give the families confidence to get treated their ailing family members which otherwise was unaffordable for many.

Reiterating his vision of replicating Madina State model in Pakistan, he said the Holy Prophet (PBUH) established the world’s first welfare state even without having sufficient resources.

He apprised the audience that despite the discouraging notions about the feasibility of Shaukat Khanum Hospital, 75% of per cent patients were getting free medical treatment.

The hospital which was built at cost of Rs700 million now spending Rs10 billion for treating the patients, the premier added.

Similarly, he said despite immense pressure from the opposition for a blanket lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, he opposed the idea just fearing the sufferings of the daily wagers and vendors.

He said unfortunately the elite class never thought of the poor people while suggesting the lockdown. He said owing to the resource and systemic constraints, Pakistan could also not afford supplying food to every household as China did in Wuhan.

The prime minister said now Pakistan was being cited as a country which had effectively maintained balance between lives and livelihood, just owing to Allah’s blessing and the prayers of the poor people.

He told the gathering that the Punjab government would spend Rs440 billion in three years for the health insurance facility to the people.

Also read: The new social contract

He said no one had ever thought of such a facility as even the Punjab chief minister and health minister were shocked considering the project’s financial implication.

He said in order to ebb away the pressure of inflation from the people with below Rs50,000 monthly income, the government had launched Ehsaas Rashan scheme to provide 30% subsidy on ghee, flour and pulses.

Moreover, the government would also provide 6.2 million education scholarships worth Rs47 billion to the deserving students.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2333691/pm-imran-launches-health-insurance-scheme-for-whole-of-punjab

 

[gazza619]

^how does the govt afford this?

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked his ministers and advisers party leaders to reserve their energies for highlighting corruption committed by opposition leaders, advising them to refrain from making further comments in his defence against the allegations of former PTI member Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed.

Chairing a meeting of the party’s spokespersons on Friday, the prime minister discussed various issues, including the money laundering case against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, ongoing inflationary trend, and the energy and gas crises.

While maintaining that he never squandered millions on his household expenses, the prime minister advised the party’s spokespersons against “wasting time in speaking about such matters”.

Instead, he emphasised, “leaders of the opposition parties have looted the national treasury”. “More should be said about that,” the sources quoted him as saying.

Earlier this week, Wajihuddin Ahmed, while speaking on a TV news programme, had claimed that the now-estranged PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen used to provide funds of up to Rs5 million per month for PTI chief Imran Khan's household expenses, but offered no proof for the same.

"This belief is entirely false that Imran Khan is a [financially] honest man," Ahmed said. "His condition is such that he hasn't been running his household himself for years."

His allegations were met by severe backlash and criticism from the ruling party’s leaders, including an immediate rebuttal from Tareen himself.

"Regardless of the current status of my relationship with Imran khan, the truth must be told," Tareen said in a tweet on Wednesday.

He said while he had done "whatever was in my capacity to help PTI in the quest to build a new Pakistan", he "never gave a penny for the household expenses of Bani Gala".

"Just want to set the record straight," he added.

During Friday’s meeting, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar briefed the prime minister and the participants on the legal aspects of the money-laundering case against Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza.

Read More: Govt changing formula to measure inflation

Determined to bring the money laundering case to a logical conclusion, PM Imran reiterated that the accountability case should be pursued relentlessly as “the nation’s money has been laundered out of the country”.

The meeting also reviewed the current energy and gas situation in the country and the measures taken by the government to remedy the crisis. Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar briefed the PM and the participants on the matter.

‘Reducing inflation govt’s priority’

While briefing on the latest inflation trend in the country, Finance Advisor Shaukat Tarin said that the recent measures would bring the inflation trend downwards. He took the participants into confidence over the economic data.

At this, PM Imran affirmed that public relief and reduction of inflation were among the priorities of the government, sources said.

Later, briefing the media about the core committee's meeting, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared as a witness in his defamation case against Khawaja Asif through a video link.

Under the new system set up by the law ministry in Islamabad, he said witnesses can appear in their cases through video conferencing, and this practice has been started. He said that PML-N leader Khawaja Asif had alleged misuse of charity money at Shaukat Khanum Hospital in 2012, and the case has not been decided yet.

Shaukat Khanum Hospital spent Rs70 billion every year on treatment of poor people, Fawad said, adding if such allegations were made then who will do charity work in Pakistan. He expressed the hope this case will be decided soon, and as always Khawaja Asif would prove to be a liar, as he never told the truth in his life.

The minister said during the Punjab Committee meeting the prime minister has expressed no confidence in Khanewal election in the meeting of Punjab Committee.

He said that deficiencies should be rectified, reports of money laundering and horse trading came to thefore in by-elections which was unfortunate and ECP should take steps in this regard so that horse trading in elections can be stopped.

The minister said that upcoming local body elections in Punjab were discussed in detail and a high level committee had been formed in Punjab to finalize the candidates for the post of district mayor. He said that Minister for Energy Hamad Azhar gave a briefing on the gas issue in a meeting of spokespersons.

He said that they were informed that out of 2300 industrial units of Sui Northern, gas was being supplied to 1800 units. He said that Hammad told the spokespersons that it was not possible for the government to give costly imported gas to industries at cheap rates.

Fawad said that giving gas to captive plants would mean complete shutdown of gas for domestic consumers.

The ministry of energy was of the view that the captive plants are inactive, it is not right to give more subsidies as these plants were generating electricity from gas, which was available in excess discounted rates. He said that the gas problem was more acute in Karachi, as the commodity was being supplied to 50 top exporters in the mega city. Gas reserves in Pakistan decreased by 9% last year and they would further deplete 9 per cent this year, said Chaudhry Fawad.

He said that the government procured gas according to its carriage capacity, but expensive imported LNG cannot be given for domestic use.

Talking to the media, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Faruukh Habib said that the PML-N cast votes of dead persons in the be-elections in Khanewal. He said that after 40 year an extra ordinary meeting of OIC was being held on Afghanistan as Pakistan wanted to inform the Muslim Ummah and the entire world about the impeding humanitarian crisis in neighboring country.

He said that the Secretary General of OIC had arrived in Islamabad and various other delegations were arriving today.

He said that this meeting was a manifestation of the successful foreign policy of Pakistan.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2334493/pm-asks-ministers-to-shrug-off-wajihs-allegations

 

[transparent opacity]

PTI to hold protest against LG law today

KARACHI:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi President and Sindh MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman said on Saturday that the party would hold a protest against the local government bill outside the assembly at 12pm on Sunday (today).

While talking to media persons, along with other PTI lawmakers outside the Sindh Assembly, he warned that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto would be responsible if the party's workers were misbehaved with.

He said that PPP's bill was worse than an ordinance. Zaman said that no one was protesting against their bill in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. 'The people of Punjab are beating drums because they have been introduced to the best law.

While criticising the Sindh government for not providing basic facilities to the people of the province, he said PTI could not support a draconian law. Opposition forces have been raising their voice against amendments to the Sindh local government law.

One of the strongest voices came from Sindh Governor Imran Ismail who termed the approval of the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021 an act carried out irresponsibly, and out of haste.

"Some Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan (MQMP) and other lawmakers called on me to mull over the outcome of such a bill, Imran Ismail said while talking to the media on an earlier occasion. "It was binding on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to present the bill in the assembly and to get it approved diligently," he said.

The governor also tweeted on the matter, saying the bill contradicts article A-140 of the Constitution for the government neither include a debate nor did it begin to address objections raised over the bill.

Earlier this month, the provincial assembly passed the Sindh Local Government Amendment Bill 2021 in a chaotic session. Proceedings started with Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the chair.

"We are passing this law (LG Amendment Bill 2021) after a long deliberation with different stakeholders and consultation of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail. I fail to understand why the opposition is creating a hue and cry in the session," Sindh Minister for Local Government Nasir Shah said while moving the bill.

He added that with the recent amendment to the local government law and solid waste management bill, the provincial government had empowered the local bodies.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, reading the Sindh governor's observations over seven clauses of the bill, asked the Sindh minister for Excise and Parliamentary Affairs Mukesh Kumar Chawala if the government wanted to reconsider its decision over the law.

The observations were about the election of mayors, deputy mayors, chairman and vice-chairmen of the councils. "How can the council elect any person as mayor, deputy mayor or chairman and vice-chairman? Those people, who are elected representatives of local councils, should be given the responsibilities," the governor observed.

Apart from this, the governor expressed his dismay over the "secret ballot" in local bodies' elections. He believed this could lead to horsetrading. In another observation, the Sindh governor expressed his reservation of moving immovable property tax collection from local bodies to the excise and taxation department.

Chawla, referring to the cabinet decision, said that the provincial government had accepted the governor's observations and wanted to move the revised bill. He then gave the floor to local government minister Nasir Shah to move the bill in light of the cabinet decision. As Shah stood up to move the bill, the joint opposition protested. "We realise that the law was passed in haste.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2334648/pti-to-hold-protest-against-lg-law-today

 

[MenInG]

After the PTI’s recent drubbing in its stronghold -- Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday directed the Punjab government to immediately complete its homework for holding the local government elections in the province, saying that he himself would supervise its strategy.

“We want the transfer of power to the lower level. Strong local government system has been provided to solve the problems of the people at the grassroots level,” the premier said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Lahore Technopolis, a special technology zone (STZ).

PM Imran said, “The candidates should be selected by taking the workers and local leaders into confidence and all the reservations of PTI workers and the people should be removed.”

PM Imran said that preparations for the local body elections in Punjab must be completed at the earliest, directing the top leadership of Punjab to formulate a plan of action in consultation with the senior leaders.

On the economic situation, he said the biggest problem is that when inflation eases and economy normalises, dollar starts to shoot up due to which “we are compelled to approach the IMF”.

He stressed that Pakistan cannot move forward unless the country’s exports witnessed a surge and noted that the main cause of inflation was the rise in imports.

“When the value of dollar rises the debts go up and the government has to make payments. As soon as [country’s] economy stabilises dollar witnesses an upward trend.”

Hailing the Chinese model of development, PM Imran noted that Beijing had steered 700 million people out of poverty by eliminating corruption in 40 years and jailing over 450 ministerial-level people and enhancing exports.

He held corruption as the root cause of all problems and regretted that the nation’s wealth was transferred abroad due to this malpractice.

PM Imran observed that the tech industry could help overcome Pakistan’s current account deficit by boosting exports as well as addressing the issue of unemployment if the sector was incentivised and facilitated.

“The project will help provide incentives to the tech industry and bring ease to businessmen, in accordance with the government’s vision,” he said.

The STZs, being developed all across the country, would be home to Science and Technology Parks, manufacturing units, research and development centres of global tech companies and software houses. They would also feature universities, incubators, accelerators and other ecosystem players.

“The IT sector will also address the issue of unemployment of the youth, particularly the women, besides boosting the country’s exports,” the PM stated.

He lauded Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and other relevant ministers for allocating 800 acres of land for the purpose.

The premier added that all businesses faced a slump amid the Covid-19 outbreak, but profits of tech companies like Google, Amazon and others multiplied during the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan lagged behind in the sector despite having ideal conditions, including a huge population of young people,” he said, adding that within 15 to 20 years, Indian tech exports boomed to $150 billion while Pakistan's could reach only $2 billion.”

He said the country had started achieving economic growth but the current account got disturbed owing to the import of machinery that ultimately devalued the local currency and compelled the government to approach the IMF for loans.

“The country can only come out of this cycle by boosting its exports and allowing wealth creation,” he said.

PM Imran called for redirecting the orientation of the government as well as the population towards enhancing exports and wealth creation.

He said that taking advantage of its 12 climatic zones, the country could reduce its import bill of commodities like edible oil through indigenous production of palm oil.

Calling them the biggest asset, the premier emphasised the involvement of overseas Pakistanis towards investment and wealth creation in the country.

“China and India had also first attracted their own firms operating abroad to invest at home,” he said. “Pakistani individuals, as well as the firms operating abroad including the Silicon Valley, were interested to invest in Pakistan which necessitated incentives and ease of doing business.”

The premier further stressed that the objective behind establishing the Technopolis projects in Lahore, Karachi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was to make the country join the tech race and provide employment to the people.

Earlier, the premier distributed licences among the companies which would be operating in the Technopolis.

The event also marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for an investment of $300 million for the establishment of another three technology zones in different parts of the country.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Buzdar said Lahore had been selected as the Technopolis considering the existence of universities and other tech institutes as well as companies in the city.

“The project would help carry out technology-based researches and studies,” the provincial chief executive said.

In order to attract investment to Technopolis, the government had given a 10-year tax exemption to companies operating there. Companies from various countries like the US, Canada, China and Australia were approaching to invest here, the CM said.

Separately, PM Imran inaugurated Sheikh Abul Hassan Al-Shadhili Research Center on Sufism, Science and Technology at Government College University, Lahore.

He laid the foundation stone of the research center building, which would to be constructed at a cost of Rs140 million.

The institution is aimed at promoting societal reform, mutual harmony, respect of diversity, research on Sufism, science and technology, providing a single platform to local and international researchers and disbursing educational scholarships to students for research in the faculty.

Besides, the centre will also promote research and education about Sufism in existing faculties like history, Islamic teachings, political science, literature and others.

The research centre, which is providing education courses on Sufism at ** and MPhil levels, will also offer postdoctoral and research fellowship. Besides, it will also provide scholarships for doctorate to promote research on Sufism.

(With input from APP)

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2335426/after-k-p-setback-pm-focuses-on-punjab-lg-polls

 

[MenInG]

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will again come to power after winning the next general election in 2023.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the minister criticised the opposition parties over their anti-government protests, saying the opposition was divided. He said except for the PTI no political party will be able to field its candidates on all seats -- 1,100 in total -- in the next general elections.

Speaking about the inflation, the minister claimed the issue was linked to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) governments as they took record loans during their respective tenures.

From 1947 to 2008, Rs6 trillion loans were taken by the Pakistani government, but from 2008 to 2018, the PPP and PML-N governments took loans worth Rs23 trillion, he said, adding that the PTI has paid $32 billion in debt servicing after coming into power.

According to Fawad, former PM Nawaz Sharif was living in one of the most expensive properties in London whereas former president Asif Ali Zardari rents out the most expensive apartments during his visits to London.

The federal minister said that the salaried class was being crushed under inflation because they didn’t get increments. “When expenditures exceed the income then inflation seems high,” Fawad claimed.

Speaking about health cards, he said that the Sehat Insaf Card will end discrimination in the health sector. He urged the private sector to invest in the healthcare sector for its betterment. The health card will benefit the working and middle-class segments the most, he added.

He further said that families of journalists and members of press clubs in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will be given health cards as well. Fawad said that journalists across Pakistan will be provided subsidised housing under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

Replying to a question, Fawad said that government will spend Rs700 billion on development in southern Balochistan.

Earlier, the information minister also distributed Sehat Insaf Cards among journalists at the Lahore Press Club.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2339005/pti-to-win-next-general-elections-claims-fawad

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday warned the opposition that he will be more dangerous for them if ousted from power because till now he is only watching their gimmicks from his office.

“You will not find a place to hide if I took to the streets…I will just need to nudge people and others will be running to London as well to join the ones who already are there,” the premier said during a live question-answer session with the public

Speaking about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif who has been in London for more than a year on health grounds during the fifth session of 'Aap Ka Wazir Azam Aap Key Sath’ programme, the prime minister said Nawaz will never come back to Pakistan because he loved money.

The former premier floats rumors about cutting a deal to keep his party intact, Imran said, adding that the time of these people, however, has ended.

“I am saying this publically…they should understand that this country will never forgive them,” he said, adding that the Sharifs fled Pakistan before he came to power. “Even the royal family doesn’t spend as much as the Sharifs [are spending in London],” the premier added.

About reports that the former premier is planning to return, the PM said he is waiting for Nawaz to come back. “Please come back, we are waiting for you.”

Read 'Minus Niazi' formula on the cards

About his government, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will complete its current term and win the next general elections as well.

Inflation for salaried class

The premier said the government will take measures to provide relief to the salaried class as it was the only one facing a financial crunch amid record inflation.

Imran said inflation was a global issue as due to Covid-19, developed countries like the US and Canada as well were facing high inflation.

According to Imran, the situation in the country was not as bad as the rest of the world as Pakistan's growth rate was 5.37 per cent in spite of all these challenges.

He said due to a boom in the agriculture and construction sectors, the income of people linked to these industries rose significantly. There was a 73 per cent increase in the income of the farmers, he said, adding that the farmers earned additional profits to the tune of Rs1,400 billion.

He said the skilled labour employed by the industries witnessed 40 per cent increase in their income. According to the PM, the construction sector also recorded unprecedented growth that resulted in higher wages for the labourers as well.

The corporate sector also registered record growth, the premier said, adding that he will ask them to raise the salaries of their employees amid such high profits.

Imran said only the salaried sector was lagging behind but the government will take additional measures to facilitate them amid hyperinflation.

The government will take measures to support the lower middle class, including the government employees, but they need to have patience, he added.

Fight against 'mafias'

He said the fight of the PTI government was against mafias and “some elements” in the media had also sided with these “mafias” to spread hopelessness in the country. The PM said as per the reports in foreign media outlets, the economy in Pakistan was growing amid an increase in tax collection.

The premier also criticised the media, saying it was the right of the media to criticise the government but it should avoid disseminating “propaganda and fake news”.

During the session, Imran ruled out any deal with “corrupt opposition leaders”. He said that former dictator Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf committed the "biggest sin" by granting NROs to the opposition.

“Half of the taxes we collect are spent on paying back loans taken during their [opposition parties'] governments,” Imran claimed.

Mini-budget

Speaking about the IMF package, he said the government wanted to document the economy through the mini-budget.

The PM said tax exemptions granted to facilitate certain sectors were resulting in tax evasions, adding that only two million people were paying taxes. “If only two million people will pay taxes in a country of 200 million…then how will I have money to fix this country,” the premier added.

Read more Shehbaz seeking deal for four members of Sharif family

Imran said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was being reformed and the system was being automated to curb evasion of sales tax. He said the government will go after the wealthy who “live in big houses and drive expensive cars” but do not pay taxes.

In response to a question regarding elections, PM Imran said the PTI will only give tickets on the basis of merit. “If someone wants to give a ticket to a relative then a special committee headed by me will decide on the issue,” Imran added.

The PM also said the government will introduce scholarships to the tune of Rs47 billion to support the students hailing from lower-income classes. He also talked about the Single National Curriculum (SNC), saying over the past 74 years, the education system implemented in Pakistan held back the students from the lower-income classes.

Replying to a caller’s question on the privileges enjoyed by criminals hailing from influential families, such as, Zahir Jaffer, the prime accused in Noor Mukadam case, and Shahrukh Jatoi, convicted in the 2012 Shahzeb murder case, the premier said that his government will be tweaking the country’s criminal justice system.

“Fixing the justice system will fix the country,” said Imran.

On February 1 last year, the PM for the first time addressed the public's concerns via live telephone calls.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/234004...ous-if-out-of-power-pm-imran-warns-opposition

 

[MenInG]

Rumour mills have started churning out information that Prime Minister Imran Khan is once again all set to rejig his cabinet two days after he sacked his adviser on accountability and interior over his failure to deliver results.

Following his set rule of keeping only those who could deliver on certain positions, it was speculated that Premier Imran this time around was deliberating upon swapping portfolios of several key ministers, including information, interior and defence, amid reports that the interior minister was even ready to resign but not leave his portfolio.

“No need for statements,” Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Express Tribune when asked to comment on the development. “[I have] already contradicted it on TV channels.”

Since the PM’s accountability czar Shahzad Akbar was shown the door on Tuesday, rumours were doing the rounds that the prime minister was considering giving information ministry’s portfolio to Rashid, interior ministry’s to Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and defence portfolio to incumbent Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Chaudhry.

Several PTI leaders, including ministers, however, expressed ignorance about the development, saying that they had “no idea” about it.

Some others said that they were away while a few other PTI leaders did not hesitate to admit that such decisions were way above their level. “The good thing about rumours is that either they are true or completely false,” one quipped.

Officially, Special Assistant to the PM on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill termed them as false on his Twitter handle, saying “incorrect news”. His denial, however, was taken with a pinch of salt as he had also refuted the news about PM Imran mulling over sacking Akbar days before he was finally removed.

His statement following Akbar’s removal that he was bound to follow the official line while clarifying that his personal views could be different from what he was asked to say had raised several eyebrows as it implied that the official line could be different from reality.

Party sources revealed that performance and delivery were the only things that the premier was interested in as he felt exhausted by hearing excuses after excuses and inordinate delays in the completion of projects for one reason or another for a long time.

“This is not like any previous governments; everyone is asked about his work,” a special assistant said requesting anonymity. “It is the first time that ministers are asked about their performance,” he said while giving examples of several PTI stalwarts, including Asad Umar, who had earlier been removed or replaced.

“It’s not like you’ll get a portfolio, keep it for five years and no one is going to question anything,” he added. “Gone are the days when that used to happen.”

In April 2019, PTI stalwart Asad Umar was sacked. Hours after being shown the door, Umar had reportedly admitted that he was removed by the PM because of his “performance”.

Since 2018 when the PTI came to power, the premier has reshuffled the cabinet on a number of occasions. The frequent reshuffles have taken place against a backdrop of declining popularity of the ruling party because people have been expressing their disapproval of the government’s economic policies since it came to power.

Though the premier has often blamed the previous governments – especially the PPP and the PML-N’s rule between 2008 and 2018 – for country’s economic crisis, it was surprising to see that he chose former lawmakers of the of the opposition party as rescuers. Incumbent Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and former finance czar Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had served under former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, who belongs to the PPP, between 2009 and 2011.

Party insiders have long been saying that the premier frequently chairs spokespersons’ meetings and issues directions to defend government policies at all the forums, adding that they also have acknowledged that the narrative of simply blaming the previous governments is not yielding the desired results anymore and it is time to back up the claims made earlier through performance.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2340983/is-cabinet-reshuffle-on-the-cards

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD:
The trial court has sought more time to wrap up the Noor Muqaddam murder case.

The trial of the case could not be completed within the two-month fixed by the Islamabad High Court for the second time.

Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani has written a letter to the Islamabad High Court seeking more time to complete the trial. In the letter, Judge Atta Rabbani has stated that since all lawyers representing the accused hail from outside Islamabad, the dates for the hearings have to be fixed according to their availability and convenience.

The letter further stated that except for one or two witnesses in the case, the defence counsel have cross-examined them, while statements of 17 witnesses have been recorded in the case.

It was also stated in the letter that during the trial, various petitions were also heard which consumed the court’s time and, because of this, the trial court could not be completed within the stipulated time of two months.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had directed the trial court to wrap up the proceedings within two months after the indictment of the suspects on October 14, 2021.

The trial was supposed to be completed in two months by December 14, 2021.

After being informed by the trial judge, the Islamabad High Court had given six weeks which was completed till the last week of January but the trial is still pending.

Now, Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani has again informed the IHC in which it has been asked to give some suitable time so that the trial could be completed. He further said that the cross-examination has been completed after the statements of the prosecution witnesses and the lawyers of the accused will now be given a questionnaire under section 342 of the Criminal Code, after which the final arguments in the case will begin, therefore appropriate time should be given so that the trial can be completed.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2022.

 

[MenInG]

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will contest Punjab’s local bodies elections with full vigour, directing his leaders to kick into high gear in an effort to cement the party’s sway in the province.

The premier, while chairing the Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) meeting, decided to crank up the speed and mobilise people at the grassroots level. He directed the party leadership to brace for the crunch time in run-up to the local bodies polls.

PM Imran said that the people of Pakistan have “no better option than the PTI”. Sources said that the meeting also discussed the distribution of tickets during the elections and considered recommendations for mayors in major cities.

Referring to the opposition’s renewed joint efforts to oust the ruling party, PM Imran laced into the ruling party’s political rivals and deplored that the “corrupt gang” was pursuing the politics of “personal interests”.

He said there are open-and-shut corruption cases against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif. “Keeping mum on their corruption would be criminal,” he asserted.

In addition, the premier while reviewing the preparations already made, directed the party officials to chalk out a schedule of public gatherings.

Apparently, PM Imran’s directions have come after the PTI lost the first phase of local government elections to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

The PM had also blamed the selection of wrong candidates for the party’s defeat in the LG polls, expressing the hope that PTI would bounce back with strength in the second phase.

In a press conference, Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said the premier had formed a 21-member committee comprising senior leaders of the party and tasked it with restructuring and formulating a new party constitution.

It was decided back then that the committee would devise a mechanism for the awarding of tickets to candidates, but the premier himself would give the final approval.

A day after dissolving the party’s organizational structure across the country, PM had nominated new office-bearers at the central and provincial levels.

He, in his capacity as chairman of the party, had appointed the federal minister for planning and development, Asad Umar, as central secretary general in place of MNA Aamer Mehmood Kiani, who was made additional secretary general.

In Monday’s CEC meeting, PM emphasised that the organizational structure of the party should be organized for the LG polls, saying the workers were a valuable asset of the party.

He reiterated in the meeting that tickets will be distributed on merit in Punjab LG elections and it would be ensured that PTI officials are not contesting against each other just the way they did it in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

A party official quoted PM saying that “PTI is a popular party of the country, it will enter in the field with full force and people have no better option than PTI”. Apart from discussing LG polls, the official added that PM briefed the party leadership about his visit to China with directions to highlight the success of the visit to China.

PM to visit Balochistan

Meanwhile, PM will visit Balochistan on Tuesday to boost the morale of the troops, a day after the army completed an operation against terrorists in the province. Sources said that PM will also visit the Noshki area of Balochistan where he will be briefed about the operation against terrorists.

PM will meet Balochistan chief minister and the governor in Quetta and will preside over a meeting on security issues. Also, PM will be briefed about the development projects of Balochistan, review the Balochistan development package. Due to the visit, officials conjectured that the weekly meeting of the federal cabinet was likely to be postponed.