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Press NOTE - Asia Region

The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) extends its warmest congratulations to the newly elected National Assembly, Provincial Assemblies, and the newly appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. IHRC commended the people of Pakistan for their active participation in the democratic process, which led to the successful completion of elections and the formation of…

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World Exclusive: Pakistan Ex-PM, The Legend of Legends and One & Only, Imran Khan Says Defying U.S. Policy Led to His Downfall

— By Tom O'Connor | June 10, 2023 | Newsweek

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chair and Former Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks to Newsweek from his residence in Lahore on June 9. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Khan was illegally ousted from the Prime Minister’s Office in a Conspiracy by the “United States, Corrupt to their Cores Lowlives Army Generals who are Ruling Pakistan for the Past 75 Years, Since Pakistan’s Independence, directly/Indirectly, Politicians and Judiciary.”

In an exclusive interview, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks with Tom O'Connor, Newsweek's Senior Foreign Policy Writer and Deputy Editor of National Security and Foreign Policy, about the ominous road the country he once led is going down, his deepening legal troubles and what he believes was the role of the United States in his ousting from power over a year ago.

With the nuclear-armed nation of nearly 250 million people mired in economic and political turmoil, the conflicting narratives over Khan's saga has threatened to push Pakistan over the edge.

It's the second time in less than two years that Newsweek has interviewed the cricket star-turned-politician who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, having spoken with him in September 2021 during his premiership. The following April, he faced a no-confidence vote that pushed him out of power, which was followed by a slew of charges lodged against him under the incoming administration of current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, whom Newsweek interviewed last August.

Today, Khan is largely confined to his residence in Lahore while on bail from successive court appearances on allegations ranging from corruption to terrorism and even murder. In all cases, he has maintained his innocence and accused the Sharif administration along with the influential armed forces of pursuing a concerted campaign to silence him as elections loom in October.

Khan asserts that the conspiracy began while he was in office, as he claims political forces within Pakistan swayed Washington to portray Khan as an enemy of the U.S. Though he rejects this characterization of his views, he does accuse the West of double standards and defends his own non-aligned policy in international affairs, even if he believes it ultimately helped lead to his removal from office and the beginning of a long, growing list of problems.

The Following Transcript Has Been Lightly Edited For Length and Clarity:

Newsweek: It's been less than two years since the last time I interviewed you, when you were on the cover of Newsweek magazine. Then, of course, you were the prime minister. And since then, you've been ousted, you've been shot, you've been arrested, and you're still in the midst of this arduous legal process. Can you tell us what's happened, and where are you right now in this process?

Khan: Well, the people who conspired to pull down my government, which was the ex-Army Chief [Qamar Javad Bajwa], and afterwards, he quite clearly stated [as such]. Because within his own circles, within the army circles, they kept asking, "Why did they remove me?" So, he actually then justified it that I was dangerous. He claimed I was dangerous for Pakistan. And they gave some other reasons, too.

So, what happened subsequently was unique in Pakistan, because on April 9 last year, my government was removed. And on April 10, which has never happened in this country, hundreds and thousands of people came out on the streets to protest. So that took the military establishment, which means the army chief—by the way, military establishment means one man. There's no democratic process there. It's just one man that makes decisions, and he's very powerful. Over the years, the army chief has gathered powers which probably no other army chief has in the world, I guess [except for] places like Myanmar and Sudan, but in democracies, it's unheard of.

But when the people came out, it was a shock to everyone, including myself. By the way, I'd never expected people because we never planned it. It was a spontaneous reaction. And then I went to the public, had a series of rallies, and all were massive rallies, bigger than any rallies in Pakistan. And then there were by-elections. So, my party swept. Out of 37 by-elections, my party won 30, with the army siding with the government. Normally, it is said that the establishment makes you win, but the establishment was on the other side with all the 22 parties or 12 parties. And despite that, we swept 30 elections.

Clearly what happened was, having realized that they made a mistake, the army chief, and whatever his advisers do, they decided that, whatever happens, I should not be allowed to come back.

So, what you're seeing right now is that same process going on, the assassination attempt was part of it. There were two, by the way, there was another assassination attempt on me on March 18. They were part of that, whatever happens, I can't come back. Then, this false flag operation, which happened on May 9, they could easily have come and pick me up, the police could have come and said, "Here's your warrant, and we're taking you to jail." That could have happened, but instead, while I'm sitting in the High Court [of Islamabad], I have this commando operation where they come and smash everything...They beat up everyone. I was hit over my head.

And then they took me away like I was some sort of the biggest terrorist in this country, not someone who was having the biggest party in the country. But the moment I was in the jeep, suddenly they were completely polite, very courteous and polite.

So, when I look back, it was a planned thing because they want a reaction. And as a result of the reaction, this arson took place. Now, my party has been [around] 27 years [since] I started [it]. Never have we indulged in arson or violence, even when I was shot. There were demonstrations, but there was no arson. This time, when I'm inside, three days or four days later, the Supreme Court calls me up and then releases me. It was unlawful, clearly what they did was unlawful. They call it abduction. It wasn't an arrest.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chair and former Prime Minister Imran Khan (left) leaves from the High Court in Islamabad on June 8, a day before his interview with Newsweek. Khan says he is facing up to 150 charges, having received bail for 19 so far. Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, I come out and find that this corps commander's house had been burned and a television radio station had been burned, so I was quite surprised. And I thought maybe the mob had gone mad. Then we discovered that it was a planned thing. I mean, everywhere the word started coming that there were these people planted who did this. And amazingly, the corps commander's house is the most heavily guarded house. And yet, while the crowd took two hours to get to his house, the police knew where they were going, there was no protection. And yet the head of our Punjab party is sitting there, this woman [Yasmin Rashid], and she's telling everyone on the loudspeaker not to go inside the house.

Yet, not only are we blamed, but in in the next 48 hours, or maybe slightly more, my entire leadership is in jail. But worse, 10,000 of our workers are put in jail. Now this couldn't have been unless it was a planned operation, pre-planned. How can you immediately know where the workers were? So immediately, 10,000 workers are put in like a military operation. The rest of the workers are in hiding. The senior leadership can only come out if they go on the media and say, "I'm quitting the party." So, that's how the senior leaders have come out. Most of my people are in hiding now who are not in jail.

So, I'm quite isolated right now, and I have to face cases. I've got over 150 cases. Yesterday, I was in court, I had 19 cases. It's unheard of—19 bail cases, and ranging from murder—I mean, the latest case that they blamed me for murder. Out of the 150 cases, one of the cases was that some lawyer had done a treason case on me, which was a frivolous case, it would have been thrown out, irrelevant case really, and the lawyer gets shot in Quetta, which is a remote province. And they put a murder case on me.

So, this is the situation now. I have these cases against me, my leadership is in jail, unless they renounce, and a lot of them have renounced being in the party, and the other office bearers are either in hiding or in jail, the few of the 10,000 people, and it's ongoing, the arrests are happening.

But it's not just that. The entire media, which has asserted its independence over a period of time, the last 20 years, from a controlled media we went to a completely, in fact, overboard media...but very vibrant, they have been [told] that my name cannot be mentioned on television today—there are about 30, 40 channels. Everyone has been instructed. First, they stopped my interviews and speeches, and now I'm completely blacked out.

But the worst thing is our judiciary. There too was a movement. Sixteen years ago, I was put in jail when I joined the movement for an independent judiciary. Our chief justice had been removed by the then-dictator General [Pervez] Musharraf. So, we all stood for an independent judiciary. And actually, that movement worked. The chief justice was reinstated. And from then onwards, the judiciary became fairly independent—in other words, they would be protecting us from the excesses of the executive. And so, we were moving more towards democracy with an independent judiciary, vibrant media. And the only issue was the Election Commission, which was still a bit controlled. Now everything is rolled back.

The judiciary is now controlled; they [government officials] don't listen to the verdicts of the judiciary. One of our office bearers, five times he got bail in the cases he's been in. Five times they slapped another case and put him back in prison...He can only get out if he renounces being part of PTI.

So, this is the situation right now. The party is being systematically dismantled. But bear in mind, this party has ratings today over 70 percent. It is by far the most popular party in our history, and it's a federal party. Normally, the parties are confined to the four provinces. So, the rating is unprecedented in our history. I mean, in what Pakistan is now, no party is as popular, but they're trying to dismantle it. But in trying to dismantle it, they're actually dismantling the democracy.

United States, Corrupt to their cores Army Generals, Politicians and Judiciary Backed “Pakistani Crimes Minister Shahbaz Sharif,” (The Most Corrupt, Looter, Money Launderer, Killer, Terrorist and out of Jail on bails Criminal) sits below a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who first led Pakistan after independence from the United Kingdom and partition with India in 1947, on February 2 in his office in Islamabad. Sharif heads the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party, named after his brother, Corrupt, looter, Traitor, Killer, and disqualified by The Supreme Court of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, who served three non-consecutive terms as premier, but, like every other leader in Pakistan's 75-year history, did not complete any of them. Office of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

What you're outlining and what you're saying, is this planned operation, a false flag, a conspiracy. And you've named the military establishment, you've named the Sharif administration, and you've named the United States before. Who's behind this, and how are they coordinating? Where are they trying to achieve here in Pakistan? What's their goal?

Let me just give you exactly what happened. March 6, 2022, there's a meeting between the Pakistani ambassador Asad Majeed [Khan] and the U.S. Under Secretary of State for South Asia Donald Lu. A cipher is the secret, coded message that you get from your ambassadors...So, I get this message. Donald Lu is telling the ambassador that unless I, Imran Khan, am removed as the prime minister in the no-confidence motion, there'll be consequences for Pakistan. I mean, there were other things, but this was the main thing.

Next day, there's the no-confidence motion tabled in the National Assembly. And before that, we see that the American Embassy is meeting our parliamentarians, our backbenchers...[We know] they were meeting because we had the report of meeting... Some of the guys who were going into the American Embassy beforehand were first to jump ship. So, I was puzzled, because I didn't quite understand why would the U.S. object to a deal.

One thing was, I had gone to Russia. Unfortunately, when I arrived, that's the day [Russian President Vladimir] Putin moved into Ukraine. I mean, he certainly didn't consult me. Otherwise, had I known, obviously, I wouldn't have gone. But at the time, our foreign office had said we didn't have a good relationship with the Russians for a long time. And the whole sort of stakeholders, including the army leadership, they all wanted me to go because there was military hardware they wanted from Russia, and then we wanted cheap oil from Russia, plus get a pipeline, plus wheat—we have 2 million tons of wheat we import from them.

So, that's why the trip was planned. When I got there, of course, the same day, Putin walked into Ukraine. So, I think I was criticized for that. But what could I do?

When we got back, there was one issue, they [the U.S.] wanted us, through the United Nations, to condemn Russia. But I kept telling them that, look, if we condemned them, we had done a deal with them for cheaper oil, just like India, same deal as India, and also wheat—we were, as I said, 2 million tons short of wheat—so I said, if we condemn them right now, what about the impact it's going to have on our population?

Because the biggest reason for inflation in our country is always oil. Thirty-six percent of our imports are petroleum, and the oil prices already were going up. Now, they're about $70 to $80 a barrel—then it had reached $110. Anyway, my point was, let's stay neutral like India. I think maybe that was it.

Maybe it was the Taliban. [For] 20 years I kept saying there would be no military solution in Afghanistan, because I know the history. We already [have a] bordering province to Afghanistan, which is also Pashtun. Taliban are Pashtun, they're also Pashtun...So anyway, I'd been saying this throughout, that there was no [military] solution. So, I think that was maybe taken as anti-American, because I didn't believe in that military solution.

But later on, we discovered that it was the army chief. We found out six months after my government went, that the army chief actually had appointed a lobbyist, an ex-Pakistani ambassador called Hussain Haqqani, and he had paid him $30,000, when my government was in power, and we didn't know this. He was lobbying for the army chief who wanted an extension, and he wanted clearance from the U.S. And so, this guy was actually working [for the army chief]. He actually did a tweet that General Bajwa is pro-American, Imran Khan is anti-American.

So later on, we discovered that this was actually my own army chief [who] was feeding this thing. So, it wasn't really initiated from the U.S. It was him who had sort of made me into some anti-American...So, it was a conspiracy. It was the army chief, it was the guy who's the prime minister right now, and the U.S. came into it thinking as I'm someone anti-American.

I would like to talk a little about the situation in Pakistan right now, where we have a severe economic crisis, the effects of climate change and, on top of that, some real security concerns with the rise of militant activity. Are you concerned about the future of Pakistan's stability and the worst-case scenarios in terms of, perhaps, a return to military control, or even a total state collapse of a nuclear-armed nation?

When I discovered that General Bajwa was in the last two, three weeks actually trying to undermine my government, I had a meeting with him, and I tried to explain to him that, look, this is a commodity super cycle going on, where the energy prices have hit the roof. We are very delicately balancing our economy. If this government goes at this period, it will create political instability. And once there's political instability, the economy will go into a tailspin. And these guys who you're going to bring because they're the alternative, they have already been three times in government and twice they've left the economy bankrupt.

So, I said they won't be able to control it. Then I sent my finance minister the next day to Bajwa, who explained to him how delicately the economy was balanced. But once there's instability, there will be a lot of problems, especially on our currency, and then we won't be able to control it. So, he was warned. And this is exactly what happened.

The economy from then onwards started going down, our currency started going down. And then it started hitting our industry. The measures they took then to cut the current account deficit, that had an impact on our industry, which was growing. This is all recorded in the economic survey of Pakistan. We actually were growing in the last two years on an average of 6 percent. We were one of the highest growth rates in Pakistan.

And our industry was all around, the agriculture, production sector, agriculture and industry were really after 17 years growing. So, the moment the measures they took once the current currency started falling, inflation started going up, because the moment your currency falls, all imports, especially the inflexible imports like oil and food, palm oil, all of them go up. So, the inflation started going up.

And since then, it has just kept going down. Now we are in probably the worst economic situation in our history. We have the worst inflation. A year ago, when we were there, it was 12.2 percent. Today it is 38 percent inflation, highest in our history. Our exports are falling. So, the dollar income is going down, our exports have gone down by 13 percent, remittances from overseas have gone down by 13 percent. We have record debt. Right now, we've increased the amount of debt. Our entire revenue collection goes into servicing the debt, the debt is still there, but just paying the interest on the debt, the whole revenue goes in there.

So, it is the worst economic situation right now. And the worry is that what this establishment is trying to do right now to crush us is only creating more economic instability.

The only thing that can bring stability are free and fair elections. What you would want in Pakistan in this situation are free and fair elections, a government coming with public mandate, backing of the public, which then can take the very difficult decisions of restructuring the whole economy, bringing in reforms, the whole governance reforms needed and so on. For instance, our government corporations are making huge losses, but unless you have public backing, public mandate, you cannot really restructure them.

So, therefore, we are stuck in this situation. The measures they are taking are creating more economic instability and political instability, which then is feeding into the economic instability. Our currency is now even worse than Sri Lanka, our inflation is even higher than Sri Lanka right now. And this is unsustainable, because sooner or later something will give, because...in just one year buying power has fallen by about 35-40 percent.

Laborers sit under the shade of a wall along a street in Rawalpindi on June 9. Pakistan failed to meet any economic growth targets for the fiscal year 2022-23, according to a key government report released on June 8, a day before the new budget is to be presented to the National Assembly by the corrupt PDM Government under the Umbrella of The Corrupt Traitor Army Generals, Politician sand Judiciary. Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images

Last time we spoke beyond Pakistan itself, we spoke about China, we spoke about Afghanistan, we spoke about the situation in the region and in the world, and there have been these great geopolitical shifts, both while you were in office and after you've been in office, the current battle for influence between the U.S. and China, Russia's war in Ukraine. Where is Imran Khan in all of this, and where is Pakistan, where should Pakistan be in your vision?

Look, what Pakistan needs desperately is stability. For stability, Pakistan should stay out of any conflict. Because that war on terror that Pakistan joined—which by the way I did oppose—it was a ridiculous thing for us to join the U.S. war on terror, simply because we had trained the mujahideen in the '80s to fight the Soviets. Fighting them was considered jihad, and jihad was glorified, and we have trained people in jihad to do guerrilla warfare against the Soviets.

So, the whole war against the Soviets was conducted from the Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan and, again, 70 percent of Pashtuns on our side of the border, 30 percent on the other side, and Taliban are Pashtun. Most of the mujahideen commanders were Pashtun, except for Ahmad Shah Massoud. So, I kept telling them, "Look, if you now join the U.S. war, how are you going to convince these people that fighting the Soviets was jihad, but fighting the U.S. is terrorism? They are going to turn against us. How can you suddenly convince them that jihad is no longer glorious?"

And that's exactly what happened. 80,000 Pakistanis died in that [war on terror]. And over $100 billion was lost to the economy, because there were suicide attacks, bomb attacks going on all over the country. So, I opposed that at the time. And I think that also might have been considered being anti-American. Because, for some reason, if you don't agree with the U.S. foreign policy, you turn anti-American.

But all I'm saying is that Pakistan, the lesson we learned from that was that we need peace and stability. We have a population now of almost 250 million people. Now 250 million people with over 100 million people vulnerable, 50 million people below the poverty line. What Pakistan needs is stability, to have trade with its neighbors, to have peace in Afghanistan, so you can trade with the Central Asian countries who can go through Pakistan to the Indian Ocean.

So that was my idea, that look, we should stay neutral in conflicts. We need to worry about our population, which is the fastest-growing population. We have a huge amount of illiterate, out-of-school children, our health issues are terrible, we have very high child-mortality rates.

So, my concentration always was, "first worry about your own people rather than getting involved in conflicts." And I basically agree with the Indian foreign policy, because India throughout stayed non-aligned. India's foreign policy, look at them, now—they're trading with China, they're trading with Russia, and yet they're part of the strategic alliance with the United States. And that's how it should be, because your foreign policy must reflect what is in the interest of your own population. And that somehow, in the terms of I guess the U.S., is considered anti-American.

And if Pakistan does not achieve this stability, where is the nation headed?

You know, we are at a genuine crossroads in our history of 75 years. Now we are facing either you have free and fair elections, and you go towards democracy and rule of law and strong democratic institutions, or where we are headed right now [which] is basically a totalitarian state. We are now headed towards those dark ages of martial law where there are no fundamental rights.

I mean, our people picked up—10,000 people being picked up. The maximum people involved in the arson could not have been more than 200. There were only four places that got burned. So, 200, okay, 300? How do you justify 10,000 people for one month have been put in jail in inhuman conditions?

I take pride in the fact that the first time women started participating in politics, taking part in peaceful protests was PTI. It's the first time it's happened. And if you see the footage of our protests, whether it is on the 25th [of March] last year, or our rallies, [there is] a huge amount of participation of women and families. And what they did, the sort of brutality against women is just in our part of the world inconceivable. Women have a certain respect in this society. It's never happened that the women get beaten up and jailed and living in these terrible conditions. It's never happened before.

So, I think this brutality is to spread fear, terror. It is actually to spread terror. That is to stop people supporting my party. Anyone associated with my party is jailed, anyone. I mean, even TikTokers, social media people are picked up. Two or three of our best investigative journalists, one was killed last year, because he was very supportive of my point of view, and anti-this regime change. Arshad Sharif was one of our best journalists. First, they had sufficient cases against him. He then left the country, went to Dubai. From Dubai, the Pakistani government pressured to have him ousted. He left Dubai, went to Kenya, where he was murdered.

Now this other guy, who again, is very anti-the regime change and pro-my point of view, and he has the highest viewership on YouTube, because they didn't allow him on our main TV channel, so he went on YouTube. He's disappeared for 20 days. The court asked him to be produced there. The police said, "We don't know where he is." So, he's disappeared for 20 days and he's one of our top journalists. We fear the worst. We think he's been tortured so much—there's a lot of custodial torture going on. So, we feel that if he arrives in court in that condition he's in, that will create a lot of uproar in the society. And that's why he's disappeared.

So, this is what we are facing right now, them trying to crush this party is actually dismantling the democracy, the whole democratic structures, and basically the future of our country.

Staged by the corrupt to their cores Army Generals and Politicians and Blamed to Imran Khan. Proofs are out now and no one can deny them. Black smokes billows from a building allegedly set ablaze by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists in support of PTI leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan during a protest against his arrest on corruption charges, in Peshawar on May 10. (It’s a Totally Bullshit and Blatant Lie) Though the Islamabad High Court initially approved his detention, the Supreme Court of Pakistan later overruled the move and he was released after two days of massive demonstrations that at times turned violent. Abdul Majeed/AFP/Getty Images

For the readers from around the world who say, "that's happening in Pakistan and that's not my problem," what would you say? Why should people around the world be invested in the fate of Pakistan and your fate, specifically? Why does it matter to them? And what are the concerns if things do not turn out well?

You know, I'm not really that worried about my own fate, because that's secondary. The main thing is the future of Pakistan, which is what I'm worried about. Because I really fear now that this path which we are being taken on, there is nothing but darkness ahead.

Because, apart from anything else, our whole democracy is being dismantled. And remember, our journey to democracy has had many hiccups, because half the time we were ruled by military dictators, each time around a decade, and once the dictator left, then we had to start all over again. And so, then the whole process will start again.

And unfortunately, we had these two families who would intermittently rule this country, they also have three times in power. And so, from that, the progress started with our media. Twenty years, as I said, our media started asserting its independence, until then it was controlled. The government controls the media. The government controls the judiciary.

So, this 20-year period by the Musharraf martial law was liberal compared to what is going on right now. Because I was in the opposition, I went to jail for a few days in Musharraf's time, but it was liberal compared to what is happening now. So then started this movement called the Lawyers' Movement, which went for independence of the justice system. And secondly, the media asserted itself. Some of the media, some of the journalists actually suffered in this time. But we progressed. So, we had moved to a point when we are actually moving towards a genuine democracy.

What has now happened is that this is basically rolled back everything. And unless there's a course correction, by which I mean, free and fair elections, it means basically, that the country has no future, because the economy without rule of law is not going to pick up. Our biggest problem is that, because out of 140 countries, Pakistan on the rule of law index is 129. And this is before this crackdown happened. Now God knows where we are, we'll be closer to Myanmar and all these countries' model because we must have slipped much further back, because then at least there was a judiciary that was protecting us. Now the judiciary is completely subdued.

I dissolved my two provincial governments because we couldn't perform, so we dissolved the assemblies, and the Constitution clearly states that the elections had to be held in 90 days. The federal government refused. After I dissolved my governments, I then went to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court ordered the elections to be on May 14. The government refused. So, if the government doesn't listen to the Supreme Court, what confidence would investors have in investing in this country?

So, the opposite has happened. Rather than any investment coming into Pakistan, there's a flight of capital. People are taking their money out of the country. In the past eight, nine months, 900 professionals have left Pakistan. I run the only specialized cancer hospital in Pakistan, a charity hospital, and it's very difficult to attract cancer specialists because they are in great demand all over the world. And any specialist can get three to four times the salary which he gets here. So, 10 percent of our consultants from our hospital are leaving. Such is this situation right now.

And this would be happening everywhere. People who can get jobs abroad, who are professionals, they are the ones you don't want to lose. So, in this hopelessness, where we are headed right now, with a bunch of guys who have failed consistently, 60 percent of the cabinet was on bail on corruption cases, the sitting prime minister was under trial for one of the biggest scandals, and General Bajwa stopped his cases because he could, and the guy [Sharif] is now the prime minister.

So, in the way we are headed right now, there is hopelessness. And the hope will come with free and fair elections.

As to your point, "Why should the world worry about us?" The world should not worry about what is happening to me. It should be worried about—and I'm talking about the Western world—the professed values of rule of law, of human rights, fundamental rights, custodial torture, democracy. All those professed values are completely being violated in Pakistan.

You can't just use these things when you want to beat up China on Hong Kong or on Uyghurs, or Russia. You have to be consistent. When they see these violations going on, they should speak out. But, having said that, countries always fix their problems from within. I don't expect any interference from outside, like they did in Afghanistan or Iraq to bring in democracy.

But condemnation of values that are professed, they should be a bit consistent in that. There's a complete silence from the U.S. government and the British government, and they're saying it's an internal matter. Since when were human rights violations and custodial torture and democracy being wound up—how can that be purely an internal matter? Because they comment about everywhere else.

An activist of corrupt and illegal ruling party Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) stomps a wall poster denouncing former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party members, in Rawalpindi on May 27. Crime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his administration have accused Khan of weaponizing his massive support base to undermine legal processes. The Wall Poster was Sponsored By the Corrupt to their Cores Army Generals and PDM Government Who are So Scared of Imran Khan that they Continuously Disobeying the Rule of Law and Constitution of Pakistan. Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images

And I have to ask if you see any parallel between what's happening to you and what's happening in the U.S. right now, given yet another indictment against our former president, the first time in history, and concerns here regarding rule of law and electoral integrity?

There's a lot of difference in what's happening in the U.S. For instance, when [former President Donald Trump] challenged his election, and he thought that there was electoral fraud, very quickly, it was proved to be wrong. It was found to be wrong immediately, because you have very good systems there. And secondly, the attack on Capitol Hill, I mean, if it happened in Pakistan, we would be the first to condemn it.

But if you are trying to say about me and Donald Trump, our worldviews and our ideologies are completely different. I am opposite to his neoliberal economics. And he thinks greed is a great thing because the more you make, the more you grow.

I'm not really against that because our country, we have a bad experience. Basically, there's a ruling elite that has captured our country. So, when I talk about real democracy and rule of law, I was inspired when, as a teenager, I went to England to study and then I played professional sport. It was the first time I discovered what is rule of law, because we had at that time martial law, you actually have rules there, you're not independent, you're not a free country. So, it's the first time I understood what rule of law meant.

And I used to compare my own society all the time, because half the time I was playing for a long time professional sport in England, and half the time I was in my own country. So, when I gave up cricket and started my politics, the main reason was rule of law. I called it Movement for Justice [the English name for Tehreek-e-Insaf], justice and rule of law. Because this elite was sucking the blood of our country. They were above law.

Either we were military, which was above law, or we had these politicians who would indulge in corruption, but they were above the law. They would not be challenged by our judiciary or institutions. And even when they were caught, they would then be given immunity from the corruption cases, which was given by what was called the NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] by Musharraf.

My whole movement was to bring the powerful under the law, which is the only difference between prosperous societies and poor societies. This is, as a 17-year-old, my experience of the world, the difference between prosperous countries and poor countries is just one: rule of law. If you have rule of law, you have prosperity. Because all the things, you attract investment, people feel safe.

In Pakistan's case, I mean, our people from here are investing in Dubai. Just in the last few years, $10.4 billion of property was bought by Pakistanis in Dubai, because they feel there's rule of law there. So not having rule of law means we are deprived of investment from the 10 million overseas Pakistanis. Ten million Pakistani's GDP is more than 250 million Pakistanis here. And if you could have attracted their investment, we would not have been in this problem right now. But the problem is they cannot invest in this country, because they do not trust our justice system.

And when you're 129 of 140 countries before this crackdown you can understand that they would go and invest in Dubai and Malaysia, in other countries, but they don't invest in this country. So, if we could only track their investment, Pakistan would be able to stand on its own feet. India and China when they opened up, the first investment started coming from overseas Chinese and overseas Indians.

Newsweek has reached out to Hussain Haqqani (More than 99% People of Pakistan Consider this Schizophrenic a TRAITOR) and the Pakistani Embassy to the United States for comment on allegations made throughout the interview.

Reached for comment, a U.S. State Department spokesperson referred Newsweek to deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel's remarks during a press conference Tuesday in response to Khan's allegations that Washington was manipulated into backing efforts to oust him.

"These allegations are categorically false; you have heard me say this before. Pakistani politics are a matter for the Pakistani people to decide and for them to pursue within the auspices of their own constitution and laws," Patel said at the time. "The U.S. values our longstanding cooperation with Pakistan, and we've always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to U.S. interests. And that remains unchanged." (No One Believes United States. US is an Arrogant, Stubborn, Hegemonic, Liar, Double-faced, War Monger, War Criminal, Fake Democracy Preacher and a Conspirator. United States’ History is full of Bullshits and Interferences in Other’s Countries Affairs and Toppling them to Bring Puppets in Powers Who Love to Lick Its Scrotums and Accepts their Destructive Policies. Unfortunately Imran Khan Says F*** You United States!. I will run Pakistan with Independent Foreign Policies. So STFO Uncle Sam.)

#The Legend of Legends | One & Only | Imran Khan #Newsweek Interview #Violence #United States’ Puppet Army Generals #United States’ Puppets Politicians #Corrupt Judiciary of Pakistan

[hardynwa]

Ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan granted bail over terrorism charges

A Pakistani court has granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan a weeklong bail in two new cases in which he faces terrorism charges. The officials said the judgment was given to the embattled ousted premier and now popular opposition leader as a short-term pardon from arrest. According to ABC News, the 70-year-old Islamist politician has been enmeshed in a succession of legal cases including terrorism and graft since his removal from office in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. Khan’s deadlock with the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has turned increasingly violent in recent days. In the latest terrorism cases, Khan is accused of provoking people to violence when he travelled to Islamabad last Saturday to face the charge in a graft case. Reports emerged that his supporters clashed with police outside the court and Khan never appeared before the judge. The corruption case was later postponed till later in March. A separate terrorism case against Khan pertains to a rally last year when he verbally threatened a female judge. Khan has denied all charges against him, saying he was being abused by Sharif’s government. After Tuesday’s ruling by a court in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, a close Khan associate repeated those claims. Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader in Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party, said the terrorism charges were “politically motivated.” Since the latest violence on Saturday, police have arrested hundreds of Khan’s supporters for attacking police in Islamabad and also in Lahore, where his followers clashed for two days with officers earlier last week when police first attempted to arrest Khan. Also, after he was wounded last November in a shooting attack while leading a rally when a gunman sprayed his vehicle and entourage with bullets, Khan has also insisted there are plots to assassinate him. Read the full article

[alwaysfirst]

Imran Khan stresses on early elections in Pakistan

Jul 28, 2022 01:06 IST Islamabad , July 28 (AF): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday reiterated that "only early election can end economic, political crises in Pakistan." The PTI chief opined that timely elections would have saved the country from the economic crisis that it is facing today, reported The Express Tribune. The ousted prime minister claimed that there is only one way for Pakistan to come out of the prevailing situation and that is to ensure fresh general elections in the country. He also took the Election Commission to task for its opposition to the electronic voting machines. Imran added that the EVMs could have stopped uncountable ways of corruption but it was opposed, reported The Express Tribune. The former prime minister in his televised address to the nation said that the Pakistani masses "have turned into a nation", adding that the way the PTI emerged successful despite all "tactics" by the ruling party was a miracle. The PTI chief claimed that the country had the right economic indicators when he was in power and he had warned the "powerful quarters" about it, reported The Express Tribune. "We were on a fast pace on the agricultural front with all four bumper crops witnessing progress," he said, adding, "The way we tackled the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic was also admired by the international organisations." "Pakistan was on an upward trajectory and that's when a conspiracy was hatched against us," he recalled. Earlier today, the former prime minister took to his official Twitter handle to thank the nation for coming out last evening in support of the Supreme Court's decision, which he claimed upheld the "Constitution and the law". His announcement came after the devastating blow to the nascent Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling coalition, as the apex court struck down Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari's ruling on the election of Punjab chief minister, paving the way for PTI's selected Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to ascend to the throne in the country's political heartland - Punjab. In the conclusion to a hearing that gripped the country for the past four days, a three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, announced an unusually harsh verdict after over a three-hour delay. "The governance of the province of Punjab in accordance with the Constitution has been subverted whereby the fundamental rights of the people have been seriously infringed," said the top court in its 11-page short order. "As a result, the ruling dated 22.07.2022 issued by Respondent No1, Deputy Speaker, the Punjab Assembly is set aside and declared to be void, without lawful authority and of no legal effect," read the order. By virtue of the order, PML-N's Hamza Shahbaz lost his status of the "trustee" chief minister. (AF) Read the full article

[donhornsby]

Let’s forget the baggages of the past and make a new beginning. - (Shahbaz Sharif) How can you turn today into a new beginning for yourself? #goals #success #TodayMatters #Leadership #Thursday #thursdaymotivation (at Salem, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPmN7CPQ7R/?utm_medium=tumblr

#goals #success #todaymatters #leadership #thursday #thursdaymotivation

[hamzaaslam]

Has Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons Really Made It Invincible? By Dr. David R. Leffler On the 22nd anniversary of Pakistan’s successful nuclear tests, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif is quoted as saying: “May 28 would always be remembered as a day when Pakistan’s defence was made invincible” (“Nawaz eulogised for ‘making Pakistan nuclear power’”, …

#Defence #Invincible Defense Technology #nuclear armed rivals #Pakistan #Pakistan Army #Pakistan-India bilateral Relations #Pakistan-India clash #Transcendental Meditation #US Military #US Scientists

[mypakistan]

Maryam Nawaz Sharif

Maryam Nawaz Sharif (Urdu: مريم نوازشريف‎; Born 28 October 1973) is the daughter of former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the former first lady of Pakistan, Kalsom Nawaz. She is active in national politics and is a political central figure in the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).[1][2]

She was born in Lahore, Punjab province, during her father leading the steel conglomerate. After graduating from Convent of Jesus and Mary school, she pursued her undergraduate studies at Punjab University, and also earned a master's degree from the same institution. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Cambridge University. She has worked vital role in the establishment of higher education in Punjab and serves as the chairman of the board of the Sharif Medical and Dental College. In 2011, she took active part in the national politics, while assisting her father's image in the country.

 Life and education 

Maryam Nawaz belongs to the business cum political Sharif family of Pakistan.[3] She is the granddaughter of Muhammad Sharif, a industrialist and philanthropist.

She is the older daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the niece of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and wife of retired army captain Muhammad Safdar.

She completed her early education from Lahore Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore. She attended the Lahore College for Women Lahore but left and later completed her undergraduate degree from Punjab University as a private candidate. Later on, she went proceed her master's studies and earned Master's degree in English Literature from the Punjab University. As of 2012, She is currently writing her doctoral thesis on "Post-9/11 radicalisation in Pakistan" and pursuing PhD in Political science while living in Lahore.[1]

Social entrepreneurship 

See also: Sharif Medical & Dental College

Maryam Nawaz has since 1997 been the chairperson of Sharif Trust, founded by her grandfather Muhammad Sharif, Sharif Medical City and Sharif Education Institutes. She takes a keen interest and is directly involved in the working of Sharif Trust and its allied institutions including Sharif College of Engineering & Technology, Sharif Education Complex, Sharif Model Schools for Boys & Girls, Sharif Institute of Technology and Islamic Center.[4][5][6] Sharif Medical City was established in 1997, includes 300 bed tertiary care center, 12 operation theaters and a 24 Hours Emergency & Trauma Service. More than 700 successful kidney transplants, both adult and children have been performed so far.[7]

Political career 

She is now a leader of PML-N.[8] In the April 2012 article in Newsweek Pakistan,[1] Maryam Nawaz was described as the new face of the PML-N political party. Fluent in four languages, the Newsweek article portrays her as a progressive heir apparent of Pakistan's mainstream right-to-center PML-N party. She urged youth in her address on Quaid e Azam's day to play an important role in the economics and politics of Pakistan.[9] She announced her intention to participate in politics in order to assist her father as political parties are more of family business in Pakistan. She may contest next general election (2013) from Raiwind on National Assembly Seat.[

#Shahbaz Sharif #Punjab University #Pakistan Muslim League (N) #Pakistan #Nawaz Sharif #Muhammad Sharif #Maryam Nawaz #Lahore

[risingpakistan]

Maryam Nawaz Sharif

Maryam Nawaz Sharif (Urdu: مريم نوازشريف‎; Born 28 October 1973) is the daughter of former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the former first lady of Pakistan, Kalsom Nawaz. She is active in national politics and is a political central figure in the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).[1][2]

She was born in Lahore, Punjab province, during her father leading the steel conglomerate. After graduating from Convent of Jesus and Mary school, she pursued her undergraduate studies at Punjab University, and also earned a master's degree from the same institution. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Cambridge University. She has worked vital role in the establishment of higher education in Punjab and serves as the chairman of the board of the Sharif Medical and Dental College. In 2011, she took active part in the national politics, while assisting her father's image in the country.

 Life and education 

Maryam Nawaz belongs to the business cum political Sharif family of Pakistan.[3] She is the granddaughter of Muhammad Sharif, a industrialist and philanthropist.

She is the older daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the niece of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and wife of retired army captain Muhammad Safdar.

She completed her early education from Lahore Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore. She attended the Lahore College for Women Lahore but left and later completed her undergraduate degree from Punjab University as a private candidate. Later on, she went proceed her master's studies and earned Master's degree in English Literature from the Punjab University. As of 2012, She is currently writing her doctoral thesis on "Post-9/11 radicalisation in Pakistan" and pursuing PhD in Political science while living in Lahore.[1]

Social entrepreneurship 

See also: Sharif Medical & Dental College

Maryam Nawaz has since 1997 been the chairperson of Sharif Trust, founded by her grandfather Muhammad Sharif, Sharif Medical City and Sharif Education Institutes. She takes a keen interest and is directly involved in the working of Sharif Trust and its allied institutions including Sharif College of Engineering & Technology, Sharif Education Complex, Sharif Model Schools for Boys & Girls, Sharif Institute of Technology and Islamic Center.[4][5][6] Sharif Medical City was established in 1997, includes 300 bed tertiary care center, 12 operation theaters and a 24 Hours Emergency & Trauma Service. More than 700 successful kidney transplants, both adult and children have been performed so far.[7]

Political career 

She is now a leader of PML-N.[8] In the April 2012 article in Newsweek Pakistan,[1] Maryam Nawaz was described as the new face of the PML-N political party. Fluent in four languages, the Newsweek article portrays her as a progressive heir apparent of Pakistan's mainstream right-to-center PML-N party. She urged youth in her address on Quaid e Azam's day to play an important role in the economics and politics of Pakistan.[9] She announced her intention to participate in politics in order to assist her father as political parties are more of family business in Pakistan. She may contest next general election (2013) from Raiwind on National Assembly Seat.[

#Shahbaz Sharif #Punjab University #Pakistan Muslim League (N) #Pakistan #Nawaz Sharif #Muhammad Sharif #Maryam Nawaz #Lahore

[historicallahore]

Lahore Metrobus

The Lahore Bus Rapid Transit or Lahore Metrobus is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The first section, which consists of a 27-kilometres long route and 29 bus stations between Gajumata to Shahadra was opened by Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in February 2013. The route covers dozens of residential and commercial localities along the city’s main artery — Ferozepur road, linking together Lytton road, Jain Mandar, MAO College, Lower Mall, Civil Secretariat, Aiwan-i-Adal, Chowk Katchehry (District Courts), Shrine of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, Ravi Road, and Shahdra town.[5] The other routes are over mountain passes. An 8-kilometer section of the route is elevated. The system uses e-ticketing and Intelligent Transportation System wand. The system is managed by the Punjab Metrobus Authority (PMBA) with the IT part is being carried out in coordination with Punjab IT Board.

History

Lahore Transport Company was established in 1984 to ease the traffic conditions of Lahore and improve bus services. LTC got all the transport responsibilities of traveling in Lahore in December 2009. A BRTS fleet of 650 Buses was introduced. It was given name " TransLahore". However, the BRTS did not have dedicated lanes and had to share roads with regular traffic with no right of way privileges. This resulted in a system that was a BRTS only in name.

Planning

After 20 years of discussion, the ambitious and expensive Lahore Metro, which had first been proposed in 1991 was abandoned in favour of a bus transit system, inspired by the successful Istanbul Metrobus system. Plans were developed in the last quarter of 2011 by both local and Turkish experts.

Construction

Construction of the project was divided into different packages and was awarded to different contractors. M/s Zahir Khan & Brothers in Joint venture with M/s Reliable Engineering Services (Pvt.) Limited constructed the major part of the Flyover including two elevated rotaries for BRTS.Habib Construction Services construct the down ramp to taxali gate of flyover.[6] Construction project started in March 2012 and buses entered service in February 2013. The system, which was constructed by the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA), a subsidiary of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) at a cost Rs 29.8 billion.[7] The system was built on the build–operate–transfer basis via the collaboration between the Punjab and the Turkish government.

The system was inaugurated by Punjab, Chief Minister, Mian Shahbaz Sharif on February 11, 2013, in a ceremony attended by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, Prime Minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, as well as ambassadors from a number of other countries. The Mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbaş, also announced a gift of 100 buses.[8] It is Pakistan's first bus rapid transit system.

Operation

Lahore MBS currently operates a fleet of 45 buses. A further 19 buses have been imported from China by late 2013.[4] The buses run on a single 28.7 km long Ferozepur Road corridor with two other corridors being planned. Buses on the current route have an average speed of 26 km/h.[9]Following the initiation ceremony, use of the system was to be free during the first month. However, following a week of chaos and overcrowding, a fare of Rs. 20 (US$ 0.2) was imposed irrespective of the destination.[10]According to the Lahore Transport Company, the daily ridership of the Metrobus exceeds 180,000[11] with the peak hourly ridership being 10,000 passengers per hour per direction (p/h/d). Studies conducted by the transport company claim that this figure will increase by 222% to 20,000 p/h/d in 2021.[9]

Expansion

During May 2013, the Punjab government received the feasibility study for the Multan Road line of the system. The study was conducted by the Turkey-based, İstanbul Ulaşım (Istanbul Transport), which also operates the Istanbul Metro. However, according to Punjab Metrobus Authority officials. the expansion of the Metrobus services in Lahore seem to be a low priority for the Punjab government, which is more inclined towards launching similar systems in the rest of the province.[4]

The Multan Road line would run along the route from Thokar Niaz Beg to MAO College and will have a predicted, peak hourly ridership of 7,300 p/h/d which will increase to 15,100 p/h/d in 2021.[9]Meanwhile another route, along the Grand Trunk Road, is also proposed for the Lahore Metrobus System. This line will begin at Azadi Chowk and end at the Lahore Ring Road, passing through the Lahore Railway Station and Daroghwala.[4]

Design

The Lahore Metrobus meets the criteria laid out by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. It has barrier-controlled, automated off-board fare collection, a service interval of less than 2 minutes during peak hours, stations with well-designed signage and information systems and a precision bus docking system (See: Guided Bus). The terminal approach system has escalators and underground, subway-styled approach tubes. Due to these approach tubes, prospective passengers don't have to cross high-speed roads to get to the stations, but go below them instead, an example of a segregated Right-of-way.[12] The stations have parking spaces for motorbikes and cycles while the two terminals provide car-parking facilities as well.[13]

Ticketing System

Two types of ticketing systems exist at the Metrobus terminals:

Single-ride tokens that are good for one journey only and can be purchased for Rs. 20 (US$ 0.20) at the on-site ticket booth or the self-service Ticket Vending Machines (TVM).

Metrobus Cards that can be utilized for multiple journeys. These RFID-based cards are credit-card sized and can be obtained from the ticket-office for a refundable amount of Rs. 130 (US$ 1.33). These cards can be recharged to a maximum balance of Rs. 1000 (US$ 10) at the TVMs. The Metrobus cards remove the hassle of standing in a queue for a token and card-holders can proceed directly to the terminal.[14]

#Punjab #Pakistan #Lahore Transport #Lahore Metrobus #Lahore Development Authority #Lahore #Beautiful Lahore

[alwaysfirst]

Pak PM Shebaz Sharif meets senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi, pledges to strengthen bilateral ties

Jun 30, 2022 10:52 IST Islamabad , June 30 (Always First): Pakistan and China pledged to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation on Wednesday during the meeting between Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi, who is on a two-day visit to Islamabad. The meeting comes amid the faltering economy of Pakistan with China assuring its ally of a rollover of over USD 2 billion at a much-reduced rate. Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said Pakistan is China's "ironclad" friend and reliable brother. No matter how the international situation changes, the mutual trust and friendship between the two countries are rock solid, reported Xinhua. During his visit, Yang also met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa."China has always prioritized Pakistan in developing its relations with neighbouring countries and is ready to further strengthen policy communication and development strategy alignment with Pakistan, carry on the traditional friendship, enhance mutual strategic trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation, jointly build the high-quality China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a safe and smooth manner, and forge an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era," said Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee. Noting that China is willing to push for close coordination with Pakistan on multilateral affairs and safeguard the common interests of the developing countries, Yang said China appreciates Pakistan's support for its Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI), reported Xinhua. For his part, Sharif said developing relations with china is the cornerstone of his country's foreign policy. Pakistan firmly adheres to the one-China policy and supports China in safeguarding its core interests and its positions on major concerns, he said, adding that the Pakistani government and people appreciate China for its long-term selfless assistance and are ready to learn from China's successful experience in economic development and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Xinhua. Both sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in maintaining regional security and stability, promoting regional development and combating terrorism. Meanwhile, US on Tuesday (local time) blacklisted 36 companies, including those from China and Pakistan, for supporting Russia in the Ukraine conflict. US President Joe Biden's administration has added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for supporting Russia's military and defense industrial base. The agency also added another 31 entities to the blacklist from countries that include Russia, UAE, Lithuania, Pakistan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to the Federal Register entry. Of the 36 total companies added, 25 had China-based operations, reported Al Jazeera. The United States has set out with allies to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation", by sanctioning a raft of Russian companies and oligarchs and adding others to a trade blacklist. While US officials had previously said that China was generally complying with the restrictions, Washington has vowed to closely monitor compliance and rigorously enforce the regulations. "We will not hesitate to act, regardless of where a party is located, if they are violating US law," Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Rozman Kendler said in the same statement. (Always First) Read the full article

[shiningpakistan]

World Records by Pakistani Youths

Courtesy : The Nation

LAHORE – Youngsters at the Youth Festival 2012 secured another eight entries in the Guinness World Records (GWR) book here at the Expo Centre on Sunday.

In all, the youth of Punjab made a dozen attempts and in eight of them they were successful in either setting new records or breaking those already established.Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan successfully broke the Indian record of national anthem mass singing when 42,813 Punjab youth sang their national anthem at the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Punjab Youth Festival 2012.

During Sunday's activity, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan and Punjab Sports Board DG Usman Anwar visited all the venues of the various events and also saw some of the world records being set.

Ahmed Hussain and Ahmed Amin Bodla attempted maximum martial arts kicks. Bodla kicked into the GWR Book with 616 kicks in three minutes, beating the previous best of 612 also set by a Pakistani. But Ahmed Hussain could kick the punchbag for only 312 times in the given time.

In the attempt of the fastest time to wire a household plug, Mian Muhammad Nauman completed the assembling in a dazzling 35.93 seconds to set a new world record.

Muhammad Mansha, an employee of Punjab Sports Board, went flat out to set a new record for making chapatis (traditional bread) – mixing, kneading, spinning and cooking three in three minutes and 14.93 seconds to become the record holder in the chefs' category.

In another attempt, Jalilul Hassan going for the fastest time to assemble a full cricket kit recorded one minute and 8.21 second to get a place for Pakistan in the GWR.

While 12-year-old Mehek Gul took just 45 seconds to arrange the pieces on a chessboard using only one hand. Mahak, who recently took part in Chess Olympiad, broke the previous record set for one minute.

Saadi Muhammad pulled a coaster van for 63.8 metres with his moustache to secure his place in the Guinness Book.

Lt Nauman and Sheroz leapfrog into GWR with 34 jumps in 30 seconds beating the previous best of 30 jumps.

In the football headers, Danial Gil and Qamar Rizwan kept the ball in the air with their heads for around 4.46 minutes and during that course of time, they headed the ball 335 times, breaking the previous record of 170 head hits.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/22-Oct-2012/more-world-records-for-pakistan-at-youth-festival

#World Records by Pakistani Youths #Punjab Youth Festival #Punjab Sports Board #Punjab #Pakistan #Mahak #Heroes of Pakistan #Guinness World Record #Great Western Railway #Chess Olympiad

[ericfruits]

Who will fill the void left by Pakistan’s sacked prime minister?

A COUPLE of days before Nawaz Sharif was forced to step down as prime minister of Pakistan, his most vehement critic, Imran Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, asserted to The Economist that Mr Sharif had spent his life rigging the system. Hell, Mr Khan complained, when they used to play cricket together as young men in Lahore, at the Gymkhana Club, Mr Sharif somehow made sure that the umpire cried foul any time he appeared to have been bowled out.

Given Mr Sharif’s reputation for canniness, it is a mystery why, following the publication in 2016 of papers leaked from a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, he went into bat so nonchalantly to save his own political career. The leak ended up bringing him down and threatens the survival of his political dynasty. The papers suggested that Mr Sharif’s children had amassed valuable assets abroad, including four apartments in an expensive area of London, that seemed unaffordable given his stated income.

Mr Khan seized on the papers, relentlessly demanding that the Supreme Court pursue the matter as the family kept changing its story and as inconsistencies in its account grew. The court first formed a special task-force to look into the allegations, which duly produced a damning report. On July 28th the court instructed the National Accountability Bureau, an anti-corruption body, to bring a case against Mr Sharif based on the report’s findings. But it also ruled that Mr Sharif was no longer fit to be prime minister. He stepped down on the same day, leaving Pakistan’s politics in turmoil before a general election due within a year.

To Mr Khan, the Supreme Court has shown courage and wisdom, but that view is self-serving. You do not have to believe Mr Sharif to be a model of probity to think that the court overstepped its bounds in its pursuit of him. Other politicians are fingered in the “Panama Papers”, including in Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, but they have not been pursued with the same relish. The court included two soldiers in the task-force it created to investigate Mr Sharif, laying itself open to accusations that it was doing the army’s bidding (the generals helped oust Mr Sharif as prime minister twice before, in the 1990s). And it ejected him without ruling on the nub of the case against him.

Very fine print

The court’s grounds for Mr Sharif’s dismissal were narrow in the extreme. They had to do with a family company in the United Arab Emirates, formed when Mr Sharif was in exile. Mr Sharif, the judges said, should have declared his income as chairman on election forms—even though he had not drawn it. That, they ruled, disqualified him under a clause in the constitution, inserted during one of Pakistan’s several periods of military rule, that insists that leaders uphold Islamic virtues and be “sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest and upright”. The precepts are so broad as to be meaningless—and wide open to abuse.

Yet Mr Sharif has accepted the outcome, and in doing so has probably forestalled greater turmoil. Indeed, it is not clear that he believes himself to be down and out. After all, his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N, still holds a majority in parliament. Mr Sharif has installed a loyal placeman, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, previously the minister for natural resources, as interim prime minister. Meanwhile, a path is being cleared for Mr Sharif’s younger brother, Shahbaz, chief minister of the province of Punjab, the family’s power base, to enter the lower house of parliament, and then be made prime minister. That will keep the job in the family. For how long is another matter. Nawaz Sharif had seen his daughter, Maryam, as his successor, but she is now besmirched by the Panama saga. A degree of rivalry exists between Nawaz and Shahbaz, who wants the succession to pass to his son.

There have been many predictions that MPs from PML-N will jump ship en masse, fearing that they will go down with the Sharifs. That looks premature—and not only because Nawaz’s allies think he may find a way to survive. The PML-N remains broadly popular with swathes of Pakistanis for having governed relatively well since returning to power in 2013, not least by starting to resolve the country’s dire electricity shortages, and by securing Chinese participation in vast infrastructure projects. Optimism over the economy has grown by leaps in the past four years (see article), even though the outlook is now souring somewhat. What is at stake in this political crisis, says Ahsan Iqbal, the planning minister, is the economic turnaround. Voters may yet agree with him.

Meanwhile, Mr Khan has yet to convince many Pakistanis that the PTI is ready for power. It appeals to the young, urban and educated and has made a decent fist of governing the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. But to gain national power it would have to recruit dozens of “electables”, MPs commanding huge vote banks in Punjab, the richest and most populous province. Even if it succeeded, that would tarnish PTI’s claims of probity—its chief selling point.

Much hinges on what other parts of the government do now. Should the Supreme Court—with a history of activism and even, some say, a “Messiah complex”—choose to go after almost the entire political class, there would be few civilian politicians left to govern. Even Mr Khan has been hauled into court accused of making faulty declarations of assets as a candidate, just like Mr Sharif. For now, lawyers close to the court predict it will shrink back into its shell after such a consequential verdict as this one.

As for the army, few suggest that it is about to intervene directly in politics, as it often has in the past. That is certainly a mark of progress. But it was not shy to confront Mr Sharif whenever it felt he was muscling in on what it considers its turf, most notably relations with India. It will presumably be even more assertive with Mr Abbasi and the younger Mr Sharif. In the meantime, the army may be happy not to have to clear up the current political mess. Only voters can do that.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "A Nawaz-shaped hole"

http://ift.tt/2v2EzUe

#IFTTT #Feedly

[timesofpakistantoday]

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid has said that Saudi Arabia is a close friend of ours. Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and DG ISI Major General Babar Iftikhar will visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow. Will be

According to details, Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid while giving a press conference said that 10 more trains will run from 17th and Mohenjo-daro Express will reach Karachi.

The Federal Minister for Railways said that ML-1 is a game changer in the history of Pakistan. He hoped that a big personality from China would be invited for the inauguration of ML-1. The credit for ML-1 goes to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sheikh Rashid said that the news of expected reduction in electricity prices is very big, Pakistan's economy is moving in the right direction, contrary to public opinion, Imran Khan adopted smart lockdown, Imran Khan's policy against Korona was successful.

Referring to Pak-Saudi relations, he said that Saudi Arabia is our tried and tested and close friend. Misunderstandings have been dispelled from Saudi Arabia. However, the shortcomings will go away.

Regarding the Sharif family, the Federal Minister said that Maryam Nawaz was disqualified. Let's see why Shahbaz Sharif is eligible. Yes, the case of Hamza Shahbaz is very serious, they go to court as if they are going to conquer Dwarka.

Sheikh Rashid said that they are thinking that they will use Maulana, Maulana has misunderstood that they will seduce children, they have only one demand that their lives be saved from cases.

He further said that there are 20 cases, even if 10 out of 20 are acquitted, the decision will be taken, resignation from the assembly is his big mistake, all his importance is due to the assembly, that is why the media shows it, Imran Khan's Opposition will be strong.

The Federal Minister for Railways said that earlier his statement was in the deep freezer, all his efforts are to get rid of the cases, people will not come out for him, half of the people were outsiders, 65 of them are out, in the Senate. If you go, you are left with 40.

Sheikh Rashid said that at present the Pakistan Army and Imran Khan's government are in a line length, where they come to work for each other and give advice.

Referring to the NAB appearance of the Punjab Chief Minister, he said that as long as Imran Khan is standing with Bazdar, Usman Bazdar is standing, the allegation against Usman Bazdar has not been proved yet.

The Federal Minister said that there would be such a big work in IPPs that the opposition would smell snakes, the work of courts is good for democracy, Tarzan would go both ways.

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