Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill was willing to apologize if there has been any misunderstanding, the PTI leader’s counsel told a sessions court on Monday during the hearing of the bail plea in the sedition case. During the hearing, held in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal, Inspector Arshad appeared before the court with the case record.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said that the UK-based publication The Guardian took his statement on the attack on controversial author Salman Rushdie “out of context”. According to the publication, Khan had condemned the attack on “The Satanic Verses” author and described it as “terrible and sad”. The Guardian quoted him as saying that the anger of Muslims cannot be taken as a justification for the assault.
According to latest reports on Friday, it has emerged that PTI has engaged a Washington-based lobbying firm to support the party’s goal of developing good ties with the United States and the Pakistani diaspora in the country. The report claims that the party is making attempts to mend ties with the Joe Biden administration after the PTI had accused US for overthrowing the Imran Khan-led government.
In a country where political leaders have been outed as having received funding from Osama bin Laden, and where investigations led by the Supreme Court have found that an entire generation of politicians were bankrolled by the ISI, this matter should not trouble PTI.
PTI chairman Imran Khan on Friday decided to run himself alone for the by-elections for all the nine seats that fell vacant after the National Assembly speaker had accepted the resignations of his party’s lawmakers. The PTI chairman made his decision public after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the by-polls in the constituencies on September 25.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Tuesday the PTI had received “prohibited funds” as it announced a unanimous verdict in a years-long investigation into the funding sources of the entity. In its 70-page verdict, the ECP listed all individuals and entities, including the disgraced business tycoon Arif Naqvi, who sent the prohibited funds, saying Khan’s party “knowingly and willfully received these donations.”
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday warned of imposing governor’s rule in Punjab if he was restricted from entering the province. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said he had already begun drafting a summary for the imposition of governor’s rule, which is moved by the interior ministry, because of the kind of statements opposition political leaders had been making.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the “long-delayed” judgement in the prohibited funding case, previously referred to as the foreign funding case, against the PTI. “For long has Imran Niazi been given a free pass despite his repeated and shameless attacks on state institutions. Impunity given to him has hurt the country,” he tweeted.6
The Chief Justice of Pakistan CJP Umar Ata Bandial has said that the country has to be taken towards a “mature democracy.” The remark came during the hearing of the presidential reference seeking the interpretation of Article 63(A) of the Constitution. He observed that the votes of the dissidents should not be counted to ensure national interest and to end the scourge of shifting loyalties.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside deputy speaker’s ruling to dismiss the no-trust resolution against Prime Minister Imran. It also dismissed the subsequent dissolution of the NA by the president on the PM’s advice, with all five judges unanimously voting 5-0 against it. The SC then ordered for session of National Assembly to reconvene on Saturday.