#punjab election 2022

[xtruss]

Imran Khan Warns That Pakistan’s Election Could Be A Farce

His Party is Being Unfairly Muzzled, the Former Prime Minister Writes From Prison

— January 4th, 2024 | The Economist

Imran Khan, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Image: Dan Williams

Today pakistan is being ruled by caretaker governments at both the federal level and provincial level. These administrations are constitutionally illegal because elections were not held within 90 days of parliamentary assemblies being dissolved.

The public is hearing that elections will supposedly be held on February 8th. But having been denied the same in two provinces, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over the past year—despite a Supreme Court order last March that those votes should be held within three months—they are right to be sceptical about whether the national vote will take place.

The country’s election commission has been tainted by its bizarre actions. Not only has it defied the top court but it has also rejected my Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party’s nominations for first-choice candidates, hindered the party’s internal elections and launched contempt cases against me and other pti leaders for simply criticising the commission.

Whether elections happen or not, the manner in which I and my party have been targeted since a farcical vote of no confidence in April 2022 has made one thing clear: the establishment—the army, security agencies and the civil bureaucracy—is not prepared to provide any playing field at all, let alone a level one, for pti.

It was, after all, the establishment that engineered our removal from government under pressure from America, which was becoming agitated with my push for an independent foreign policy and my refusal to provide bases for its armed forces. I was categorical that we would be a friend to all but would not be anyone’s proxy for wars. I did not come to this view lightly. It was shaped by the huge losses Pakistan had incurred collaborating with America’s “war on terror”, not least the 80,000 Pakistani lives lost.

In March 2022 an official from America’s State Department met Pakistan’s then ambassador in Washington, dc. After that meeting the ambassador sent a cipher message to my government. I later saw the message, via the then foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and it was subsequently read out in cabinet.

In view of what the cipher message said, I believe that the American official’s message was to the effect of: pull the plug on Imran Khan’s prime ministership through a vote of no confidence, or else. Within weeks our government was toppled and I discovered that Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had, through the security agencies, been working on our allies and parliamentary backbenchers for several months to move against us.

People flocked onto the streets to protest against this regime change, and in the next few months pti won 28 out of 37 by-elections and held massive rallies across the country, sending a clear message as to where the public stood. These rallies attracted a level of female participation that we believe was unprecedented in Pakistan’s history. This unnerved the powers that had engineered our government’s removal.

To add to their panic, the administration that replaced us destroyed the economy, bringing about unprecedented inflation and a currency devaluation within 18 months. The contrast was clear for everyone to see: the pti government had not only saved Pakistan from bankruptcy but also won international praise for its handling of the covid-19 pandemic. In addition, despite a spike in commodity prices, we steered the economy to real gdp growth of 5.8% in 2021 and 6.1% in 2022.

Unfortunately, the establishment had decided I could not be allowed to return to power, so all means of removing me from the political landscape were used. There were two assassination attempts on my life. My party’s leaders, workers and social-media activists, along with supportive journalists, were abducted, incarcerated, tortured and pressured to leave pti. Many of them remain locked up, with new charges being thrown at them every time the courts give them bail or set them free. Worse, the current government has gone out of its way to terrorise and intimidate pti’s female leaders and workers in an effort to discourage women from participating in politics.

I face almost 200 legal cases and have been denied a normal trial in an open court. A false-flag operation on May 9th 2023—involving, among other things, arson at military installations falsely blamed on pti—led to several thousand arrests, abductions and criminal charges within 48 hours. The speed showed it was pre-planned.

This was followed by many of our leaders being tortured or their families threatened into giving press conferences and engineered television interviews to state that they were leaving the party. Some were compelled to join other, newly created political parties. Others were made to give false testimony against me under duress.

Despite all this, pti remains popular, with 66% support in a Pattan-Coalition 38 poll held in December; my personal approval rating is even higher. Now the election commission, desperate to deny the party the right to contest elections, is indulging in all manner of unlawful tricks. The courts seem to be losing credibility daily.

Meanwhile, a former prime minister with a conviction for corruption, Nawaz Sharif, has returned from Britain, where he was living as an absconder from Pakistani justice. In November a Pakistani court overturned the conviction (Under United States’ Scrotums Licker Corrupt Army Generals’ Directions).

It is my belief that Corrupt to his Core Mr Sharif has struck a deal with the establishment whereby it will support his acquittal and throw its weight behind him in the upcoming elections. But so far the public has been unrelenting in its support for pti and its rejection of the “selected”.

It is under these circumstances that elections may be held on February 8th. All parties are being allowed to campaign freely except for pti. I remain incarcerated, in solitary confinement, on absurd charges that include treason. Those few of our party’s leaders who remain free and not underground are not allowed to hold even local worker conventions. Where pti workers manage to gather together they face brutal police action.

In this scenario, even if elections were held they would be a disaster and a farce, since pti is being denied its basic right to campaign. Such a joke of an election would only lead to further political instability. This, in turn, would further aggravate an already volatile economy.

The only viable way forward for Pakistan is fair and free elections, which would bring back political stability and rule of law, as well as ushering in desperately needed reforms by a democratic government with a popular mandate. There is no other way for Pakistan to disentangle itself from the crises confronting it. Unfortunately, with democracy under siege, we are heading in the opposite direction on all these fronts. ■

— Imran Khan is the Founder and Former Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022.

— Editor’s Note: Pakistan’s government and America’s State Department deny Mr Khan’s allegations of American interference in Pakistani politics (Bullshit! Hegemonic War Criminal Conspirator United States and Corrupt Army Generals and Politicians of Pakistan Were Clearly Involved. It’s Social Media’s Modern Era, Not 1970). The government is prosecuting him under the Official Secrets Act.

[smqazi]

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/06/23/politics-at-bench-pakistani...

The Diplomat

[mariacallous]

Pakistan is scheduled to hold elections on Feb. 8, the latest crucial date in the country’s democratic experiment. Some observers feared Islamabad’s election commission could postpone the vote due to worsening security conditions, but even as the elections go ahead, many analysts worry they may not be free or fair. Pakistan has a long history of political interference in democratic processes by its powerful military.

The upcoming elections offer little hope for near-term political stability. Pakistan, currently led by a caretaker government, faces myriad political, economic, and security threats. Popular opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan sits in prison, convicted on corruption and state secrets charges. On Feb. 8, the military establishment is betting on a leader it dethroned not too long ago: former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose brother Shehbaz led the most recent coalition government.

Because Pakistan’s civil-military relations tilt in favor of the army, politicians are incentivized to side with the generals to attain power. This dynamic has weakened the constitution, compromised the judiciary, and undermined democratic elections. The military no longer intervenes in politics via coup, but its leaders have invested in the political system. Pakistan has developed into a hybrid regime where elements of electoral democracy and military influence mingle. Next week’s vote will only mark the next chapter of hybrid rule.

In 2017, Pakistan’s Supreme Court ousted Sharif as prime minister after his family was linked to offshore companies in the Panama Papers leak; he was later disqualified from holding public office. Sharif had also tried to assert civilian supremacy over the army, and there are strong claims that the army played a role in his ouster, as well as the election of Khan in 2018. As Khan suffered his own fall from grace, Sharif was allowed to return to Pakistan last year. The cases against him have been cleared, potentially enabling him to participate in the elections—hinting that the military may condone his return to the prime minister’s seat.

Many observers regard Khan’s rise to power in 2018 as the outcome of electoral engineering by the military establishment. For a time, Khan seemed to share a mutually beneficial relationship with the army. However, he made a series of missteps in policy areas dominated by the military. First, he endorsed an inexperienced official to become chief minister of Punjab province, which irked then-Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. His disagreement with Bajwa in 2021 over a replacement for the director-general of Pakistan’s premier intelligence service further alarmed the army.

Khan had promised to create Naya Pakistan—a new Pakistan—and to carry out sweeping reforms, but he mostly failed to realize these promises during his almost four years in power. Growing economic volatility and the indifference of some of Pakistan’s closest allies toward the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government further undermined Khan’s leadership. In April 2022, the old guard led by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) called a vote of no confidence against Khan. He was voted out and sentenced to three years in jail last August after a conviction for illegally selling state gifts. Khan alleges the military arranged his ouster.

Motivated by their own interests, Pakistan’s political elites have long been complicit in tolerating the military’s domination of the democratic system. But Pakistan’s political parties have also attempted to establish civilian supremacy and failed to sustain it. As prime minister in the 1990s, Sharif sought to exert his control over state institutions, including the military. Gen. Pervez Musharraf led a military coup against his government in 1999 and became president in 2001. A conflict between Pakistan and India in the hills of Kargil is widely seen as the reason for the coup, but such analysis ignores the role of Sharif’s quest for civilian supremacy.

Musharraf not only prolonged the first exile of Sharif and the self-exile of then-opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, which reshaped Pakistan’s political parties. Ultimately, rivals PML-N and the PPP grew closer, especially after the fallout between the judiciary and Musharraf over the latter’s decision to suspend Pakistan’s chief justice. In 2006, the PML-N and the PPP agreed on a Charter of Democracy, an unprecedented development that sought to limit the army’s role in politics. In 2008, the two parties briefly formed a coalition government to keep the army and its disciples away from politics.

Sharif’s PML-N won a simple majority in the 2013 elections, and Pakistan saw its first peaceful transfer of power. However, Sharif’s growing clout didn’t sit well with the military establishment. In 2014, the military helped Khan launch mass protests against the government; they were also supported and attended by prominent religious figures and clerics. However, Khan called off the four-month protest movement in the wake of a terrorist attack against Peshawar’s Army Public School that killed 149 people. “Pakistan cannot afford [our] opposition in these testing times,” he said at the time.

A deteriorating security situation also contributed to the end of Khan’s tenure in 2022. Following his removal, a coalition of traditional political parties led by PML-N took over, with Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister. It needed the army’s backing to succeed. Instead of working for democratic rights, the coalition government amended Pakistan’s Official Secrets Act to give vast powers to the army and intelligence agencies to conduct raids and arrest civilians. The Pakistan Army Act amendment of 2023 criminalized criticism of the military, especially from retired service members. Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir became a member of a new council aimed at garnering foreign investment and boosting economic growth.

The expanded powers that the Pakistani Army now possesses seem to classify the state as what scholar Ayesha Siddiqa calls a hybrid-martial law system, in which all real power lies with the military while a civilian government is relegated to the position of junior partner. It now appears the judiciary is also toeing the military establishment’s line, with the Islamabad High Court recently acquitting Sharif in a corruption case and ultimately enabling him to contest elections. Khan, in prison, still faces a host of charges. His supporters have not been allowed to hold political conventions or meetings ahead of the elections. Mass protests against Khan’s initial arrest last May seemed to spook the military establishment.

The military’s greater machinations have yet to play out. Interestingly, the PPP chairman, Bilawal Bhutto, has accused the establishment of favoring Sharif—raising questions about the strength of the party’s alliance with PML-N. Bhutto may be filling the political vacuum left by the sidelining of the PTI. Sindh province recently saw a reshuffling of senior bureaucrats seen as favoring the PPP. Meanwhile, the PTI has raised concerns about election officers appointed ahead of the vote and demanded the appointment of officials from the lower judiciary as supervisors for the polls.

PML-N appears to be forging alliances with its traditional partners such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (Fazl), or JUI-F, which has significant political support in the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Baluchistan province, PML-N has managed to secure two dozen so-called electables, local leaders with strong support base. The new Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party—made up of disgruntled former PTI members—has announced a pre-election seat-sharing arrangement with PML-N. The PML-N also finalized a seat-sharing arrangement with the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid e Azam Group, itself formed by former PML-N members in 2002.

Even behind bars, Khan remains the most popular politician in Pakistan. If the military establishment secures an election outcome in its favor, the next coalition government will still struggle to maintain its power across Pakistan’s political institutions. Pakistan urgently needs consensus among its stakeholders about how to create a robust democracy; the easiest way to reach it would be through free and fair elections without military interference. Perhaps the political parties should come up with a new charter of democracy.

But until and unless politicians stop pursuing narrow interests, the military establishment will continue to pull the strings of any government in power in Pakistan.

[speedyposts]

‘Why single us out?’ Pakistan’s Ahmadi minority boycotts elections, again

Islamabad, Pakistan – Amir Mahmood remembers a meeting between his Ahmadi community and top officials of Pakistan’s government last September. He can’t forget how the community, for long a victim of persecution in the country, saw a decline in attacks on its graves and shrines in the days after that meeting.

But that respite did not last.

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As the world’s fifth-most populous nation prepares to vote on February 8, its half-million-strong Ahmadi community will boycott the election, after a spike in attacks on its members, institutions and even burial sites in the weeks leading up to the vote. For many Ahmadis, like Mahmood, the brief decline in attacks following the September meeting was proof of what could happen — if the country’s leaders wanted it.

“What the decline in attacks told us that if the state wishes, it can easily control the violence against us but unfortunately, the impression we get is that either some government is not clear-minded about its action, or is unwilling to help,” he said.

It is a sentiment driven by decades of entrenched discrimination, including in the electoral system. And it has led the community to boycott the elections. In a statement last week, the community’s leaders announced their “disassociation” from the vote. “Although the elections are ostensibly being held under a joint electorate, there is, however, a separate voter list prepared only for Ahmadi citizens due to their faith,” said a statement released by an organisation representing the community on Wednesday.

“This discriminatory treatment based on religion is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise Ahmadi citizens from the electoral process for all intents and purposes and thus denying them their right to vote,” it added.

While the community has been avoiding participation in elections for nearly four decades, the latest boycott announcement came after three different incidents of Ahmadi grave desecration in the last two weeks, in different towns in Punjab province.

Mahmood, also a community spokesperson, said data showed that there were attacks on 42 Ahmadi places of worship across the country last year, as well as desecration of more than 100 graves in just the state of Punjab. The year 2022 also saw at least 14 mosques and 197 graves belonging to the community desecrated last year, according to the community’s statistics. At least three members of the community were gunned down in 2022, allegedly due to their religious affiliation. 

‘No sense of belonging’

The Ahmadi sect considers itself Muslim. But they were declared “non-Muslims” in 1974 under Pakistan’s constitution. In the decades since the 1970s, hundreds of attacks, including murders and desecrations of their religious places and graveyards, have been reported in Pakistan.

Community members were active participants in the electoral process until and including in the 1977 elections, before then-army chief General Zia ul-Haq imposed martial law.

The military strongman passed a ruling in 1984 which restricted the community from practising Islamic rituals or publicly displaying any symbol that identifies them as Muslims, including building minarets or domes on mosques, or publicly writing verses from the Quran.

In the elections that were conducted in 1985, he introduced separate voter lists for different religious groups in the country, after which the community began their boycott of the polls. The system of separate voter lists lasted until the 1997 elections, after which it was unified again for the 2002 elections under military ruler General Pervez Musharraf.

Under the revised joint list, all Pakistanis regardless of their religious affiliation were combined in a single voter list — except Ahmadis. They were instead put in a separate “supplementary” list, where they are identified as “Qadianis”, a term that refers to the town in Indian Punjab where the Ahmadi tradition took root. The community considers the term derogatory.

“If there can be one voter list which has the rest of the citizens of Pakistan, regardless of their caste, ethnicity, and faith, what is stopping them from adding Ahmadis to that list? Why single us out?” Mahmood asked.

Other members of the community say the discrimination in the electoral lists is in keeping with the bias they confront in everyday life.

“I moved to Pakistan two decades ago from the United Kingdom after getting married,” Fatima*, a 47-year-old homemaker, told Al Jazeera. “I am human, of course. I also get frustrated a lot, because I am a citizen of Pakistan and I want to be able to vote,” she said.

“I have voted in the UK in the past when I was young, and it has really given me this sense of pride and achievement, that I can contribute in a small way to my country. But in Pakistan, that sense of belonging has been stolen from me, on account of my faith,” she added.

Akbar*, a 22-year-old student in Islamabad, says that while he is politically aware and would have liked to vote if there was a unified voter list, candidates of mainstream parties often resorted to inflammatory comments against his community.

“It is something very commonly seen in Pakistani election campaigns that bigotry, against our community is very evident. Candidates use inflammatory comments to garner votes while putting our lives at risk,” he tells Al Jazeera.

“There is a clear sense of alienation in the community. If all the mainstream parties are thinking along such lines, how can we even think about voting, especially when the list wants us to renounce our faith and call ourselves non-Muslims?” Akbar added.

‘Limited influence’

Political analyst Tahir Mehdi said that for Pakistan’s religious conservatives, the decision to get Ahmadis declared non-Muslims through the constitutional amendment of 1974 remains a major achievement.

“This is a subject on which there will be no compromise, and they want to protect this victory at any cost,” he said.

Mehdi added that with because the community’s population in Pakistan is relatively small, it is not a significant enough voting constituency to woo for parties. “Their lack of numbers means a limited way to influence polling results, thus leaving no incentive for the state, or even political parties, to change their policies.”

Fatima, the housewife, said that the persecution against the community goes much beyond attacks or the separate voter list.

“We have so many restrictions and limitations in our day-to-day lives. Something as simple as ordering something online, the vendor will refuse to deliver the moment they see the name of Rabwah city as the address of delivery,” she said. Rabwah is a small city in Punjab province, situated roughly 177km (110 miles) west of Lahore. The city houses close to 80,000 people, with over 90 percent of the population belonging to Ahmadi community. The government officially renamed the city Chenab Nagar in the late 1990s but the name has not stuck.

“I have experienced this multiple times myself, that a vendor would point out to my city, and say you live in Chenab Nagar, you must be a Qadiani [a derogatory term for Ahmadis], and they point-blank refuse to deliver,” she said.

Yet, she said, that has not weakened her spirit — or her faith.

“We are not going to give up on our faith. We are never going to renounce it, even if it means not being able to vote. The state is trying to control us, but they won’t succeed,” she said.

That is also why Akbar, the student in Islamabad, refuses to participate in the elections.

“Just by participating in a system like this, it feels like you’re endorsing something that is working towards eliminating you from it. It will be a betrayal to myself and to my community to participate in this apartheid system of dual [voter’s] list singling out me out for my faith.”

*Names changed to protect the individuals.

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[daily-media]

Nitish Kumar May Exit Alliance In Bihar, Likely To Go With BJP Again: Sources

The INDIA bloc appears to be unravelling as a third key leader – Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar – is likely to change camp. Sources said it is likely that Mr Kumar, in a last-minute U-turn, will partner the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Over the last two days, two key leaders – Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal– have ruled out any alliance with the Congress in Bengal and Punjab.

For Mr Kumar, 72, this would be the fifth change in camp. Since 2013, he has been swinging between the NDA and the mahagathbandhan, all the while keeping his job in the state intact. He switched sides last in 2022 – barely two years after he had walked out of the Grand Alliance and joined the NDA.

The signs have all been there over the last weeks, with Mr Kumar's comments on dynastic politics and the subsequent retort from Lalu Yadav's daughter expanding the rift. Yesterday, his lack of response to the Congress invite for Bharat Jodo Yatra, put a question mark on his appearance.

The Bharat Ratna for former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur appears to have been a turning point scripted in advance.

Sources said Mr Kumar has been upset over the lack of clarity in INDIA bloc's poll preparations and being passed over as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate. The delays to seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls had been a further aggravation.

[clearcatmoon]

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister, has been arrested in Islamabad. He was scheduled to appear at the Islamabad High Court to apply for bail in a number of cases that had required his presence, though local media reported that he has not been arrested for a charge for which he was appearing in court on Tuesday.

The arrest warrant, seen by ESPNcricinfo states that Imran has been "accused of commission of the offense of corruption and corrupt practices" under a section of the National Accountability Ordinance.

At approximately 2:15pm local time, Imran was arrested by, according to local media, the Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary federal law enforcement corps in Pakistan. He was handed over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for further investigation. Section 144, a colonial-era law that prohibits large gatherings, has also been imposed in Pakistan's capital.

Islamabad Police released a statement from their Inspector General on Twitter saying Imran had been arrested in the Al Qadir University, an institution he founded as prime minister in 2019 and where he remains chairman. The allegations centre around the alleged involvement of the former prime minister and his wife in the university being donated the land it stands on by the influential Pakistani businessman and real estate giant Malik Riaz. The UK's National Crime Agency seized assets worth £190m from Riaz in December 2019 and returned them to Pakistan and it is alleged links between the land allotted for the university and what the Pakistan government did with those funds that is unclear but has been the subject of a government investigative committee.

The current federal government in Pakistan, which replaced Imran's government in April 2022 after a vote of no confidence, has often called for his arrest, as have several courts over the past year. There were two separate concerted attempts to arrest him from his residence in March, where police were thwarted by huge numbers of supporters gathered outside his residence to help him resist arrest. Several senior figures of Imran's PTI party (Pakistan's Movement for Justice) have been arrested over the last year, on charges the party says are spurious. They have all been subsequently released.

Pakistan's Supreme Court had ordered elections in Punjab, the country's largest province, to be held on May 14, a few weeks after the constitutional mandate for the caretaker government, set up in the province in January, expired. The ruling party had rejected calls for those elections to be held in defiance of that order.

Several polls have shown Imran holding a clear lead as the most popular politician in the country, and he has accused the government of thwarting Pakistani citizens' democratic rights by refusing to hold elections.

The government and its backers are petrified of elections because so far in the last eight months, out of the 37 by elections, my party has won 30 out of them," Imran told Al Jazeera in March.

"They want to either arrest or disqualify me because they are scared [of the fact] that my party is one of the most popular in Pakistan's history," he said then, as attempts to arrest him from his residence in Lahore were underway.

The development escalates an already unstable political climate in the country. Last November, Imran suffered bullet wounds to his leg after an assassination attempt while he was leading a protest march in Wazirabad in Punjab.

[cricdekh]

In the world of cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most prestigious and lucrative competitions. The IPL has seen some exciting matches, amazing performances, and special moments since it began in 2008. Every team and player hopes of winning the IPL trophy, which is the highest honour. In this article, we’ll examine the IPL trophy winner list for every season to determine who has consistently outperformed the competition.

IPL Trophy Winner List from 2008 to 2022

There have been 15 seasons of the IPL so far, with 10 different clubs taking part. Only six of these teams have succeeded in lifting the IPL championship at least once. The complete list of IPL trophy winners from 2008 to 2023 is provided below:

2008: Rajasthan Royals

The renowned Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals had a fairytale run during the IPL’s first season. The Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings by three wickets in a thrilling championship match, defying all odds and expectations in the process.

2009: Deccan Chargers

Due to security concerns, the location of the IPL’s second season was changed to South Africa. Under Adam Gilchrist’s leadership, the Deccan Chargers, who had placed last the previous season, made a tremendous comeback and won the trophy. In a low-scoring final, the Chargers defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs.

2010: Chennai Super Kings

The third IPL season saw the emergence of the Chennai Super Kings, who went on to win their first championship under MS Dhoni’s direction. In the championship game in Mumbai, the Super Kings defeated the Mumbai Indians by 22 runs.

2011: Chennai Super Kings

In the fourth IPL season, The Super Kings were the first team to successfully defend their championship. Additionally, they made history by becoming the first team to win the IPL and the Champions League T20 in the same calendar year. In the championship game in Chennai, they destroyed Royal Challengers Bangalore by 58 runs.

2012: Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders, who were led by Gautam Gambhir, won the IPL’s fifth season. In a tight final in Chennai, the Knight Riders defeated the Chennai Super Kings by five wickets.

2013: Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians won their first IPL championship in the sixth season, captained by Rohit Sharma. At Kolkata, the Indians defeated the Chennai Super Kings by a score of 23 runs.

2014: Kolkata Knight Riders

Due to general elections in India, a portion of the seventh IPL season was held in the United Arab Emirates. In the championship match at Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab by chasing down a huge target of 200. For the Knight Riders, Manish Pandey scored 94 runs in the game-winning innings.

2015: Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians were the third club to win two titles in the IPL’s eighth season. In the championship game at Kolkata, they defeated Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs. For the Indians, Rohit Sharma produced a magnificent 50 off just 26 balls.

2016: Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad won their first IPL championship in the ninth season, led by David Warner. In a high-scoring final at Bangalore, they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs. For the Sunrisers, Ben Cutting scored 39 runs off only 15 balls and claimed two wickets.

2017: Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians became the first team in IPL history to win three championships during the tenth season. They defeated Rising Pune Supergiant in a dramatic final in Hyderabad For the Indians, Krunal Pandya claimed one wicket while scoring 47 runs off of 38 balls.by one run.

2018: Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals made their IPL comeback in the eleventh season after serving two-year suspensions for their roles in a spot-fixing scam. The Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final at Mumbai by an eight-wicket margin to win their third championship. For the Super Kings, Shane Watson struck an unconquerable century.

2019: Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians became the first team to win four titles in the IPL’s twelfth season. They won the dramatic final at Hyderabad by one run over Chennai Super Kings. For the Indians, Jasprit Bumrah claimed two wickets for 14 runs.

2020: Mumbai Indians

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the thirteenth IPL season was staged in the United Arab Emirates. Delhi Capitals were defeated by Mumbai Indians in the Dubai final by a margin of five wickets, giving Mumbai Indians their fifth championship. For the Indians, Trent Boult claimed three wickets for 30 runs.

2021: Chennai Super Kings

Due to the COVID-19 situation in India, the 14th season of the IPL was suspended midway through. In September, the competition returned to the UAE, and it ended in October. By defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the championship game in Dubai, Chennai Super Kings won their fourth championship. For the Super Kings, Faf du Plessis earned 86 points on 59 balls.

2022: Gujrat Taitans

Two new clubs, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Lions, joined the IPL during its fifteenth season. Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the championship match at Ahmedabad, becoming the first rookie side to win the trophy. For the Titans, Hardik Pandya grabbed two wickets for a total of 24 runs while making 69 from 32 balls.

Conculsion

The most successful team in the league, according to the list of IPL trophies won, is Mumbai Indians, who are followed by Chennai Super Kings. Other teams that have had success include Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers, and Gujarat Titans. Many players have used the IPL as a stage to demonstrate their abilities and thrill cricket fans across the world. For each team and participant in the competition, the IPL trophy serves as a source of pride and distinction. For more info visit on www.cricdekh.com

[wiseedition]

Pakistan Finance minister cancels US visit amid domestic political, judicial crisis

The development came amid the widening chasm between the judiciary and the federal government over holding polls in the country's politically crucial Punjab province.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has cancelled his visit to the US to attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF and hold talks with officials to unlock a much-needed USD 1.1 billion IMF bailout, amid deepening domestic political uncertainty and developing judicial crisis, according to a media report on Friday.

During the visit, Dar was to meet the International Monetary Fund management for the removal of bottlenecks in the staff-level agreement on the revival of the stalled bailout package.

Sources said that Dar would not attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF that will take place from April 10 to 16 in Washington, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

"I am not going due to the domestic state of affairs," the newspaper quoted Dar as saying.

The deepening political uncertainty and developing judicial crisis were said to be the reasons behind the cancellation of the trip to Washington, the paper said.

Dar had the plan to address the financial and political worlds' concerns regarding the continuity of the Pakistan government, future economic plans and bridging the once again trust deficit with the multilateral lenders.

The sources said that Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq would also not go to the United States due to the prevailing uncertain political conditions.

The economic affairs minister always represented Pakistan at the World Bank.

Ayaz is considered very close to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and also handled the political affairs of the allied parties.

The development came amid the widening chasm between the judiciary and the federal government over holding polls in the country's politically crucial Punjab province.

The federal government asserts that it has the power to delay the polls and hold them with the general elections in the country after August this year.

However, former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has been pushing for early polls and demanding that instead of delaying the elections in the Punjab province, the national assembly should be dissolved and general elections called in the country.

Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh and Economic Affairs Secretary Kazim Niaz would now represent the government at the WB-IMF spring meetings.

During the visit, Dar scheduled meetings with the presidents of WB, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – the three multilateral creditors that were very crucial for Pakistan's plans to raise USD 6 billion in additional loans to meet the last IMF condition.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is awaiting a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based IMF, which was originally due to be disbursed in November last year.

The funds are part of a USD 6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.

The IMF programme, signed in 2019, is going to expire on June 30, 2023, and under the set guidelines, the programme cannot be extended beyond the deadline.

The pending 9th review was scheduled to be completed in December 2022 and the 10th review should have been kick-started from February 2023.

The 11th review was scheduled to commence on May 3.

Pakistan and the IMF have been negotiating the resumption of the stalled programme for months but have yet to reach an agreement.

There is no easy solution available to fix the ailing economy of Pakistan and the government is of the view that they have taken all the tough decisions for reviving the stalled IMF programme.

Pakistan, currently in the throes of a major economic crisis, is grappling with high external debt, a weak local currency and dwindling foreign exchange reserves, enough to shore up for barely one month's imports.

The current volatile political situation in Pakistan has become a factor in delaying a much-needed deal with the IMF.

[indianewsstream]

Delhi’s excise policy that led to Manish Sisodia’s arrest

New Delhi:Why did the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrest Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia? After all, what is this ‘liquor scam’ that has created a political storm in the country’s capital and finally led to his resignation.

Sisodia has been accused of committing irregularities in the old liquor policy for political gains of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He has been accused of providing undue favors to liquor licensees in return for “kickbacks” and “commission” , which was reportedly used by AAP in the Punjab Assembly elections in February 2022.

The story begins from July 2022, when Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena about these charges against Sisodia.

Earlier, the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police, which reports to the BJP-ruled Centre also took note of the ‘reforms’ in the policy. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also launched a separate probe into the Delhi liquor scam.

According to the report submitted to the #LG and the #chiefminister, Sisodia allegedly made changes in the excise policy without the approval of the LG, such as allowing exemption of Rs 144.36 crore on tender license fee. The report said, “The Excise Department, under the direct orders of Sisodia, decided to give a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore to the liquor cartel alone on the tender license fee, on the pretext of the Covid pandemic.”

Officials said if any changes are made to a policy that has already been implemented, the excise department will have to place them before the cabinet and send them to the lieutenant governor for final approval. Any change made without the approval of the cabinet and the L-G is illegal, and in violation of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010 and the Trade Rules, 1993.

The report also alleged that Sisodia extended undue favor to liquor licensees by revising the rates of foreign liquor and doing away with the import pass fee of Rs 50 per case of beer. As per reports, this made foreign liquor and beer cheaper for retail, leading to loss of revenue to the exchequer.

But before we go any further let us first know what was the excise policy.

The proposal of this policy came in 2020 and it came into force in November 2021. Delhi was divided into 32 zones, with each zone having 27 liquor vends. Under this policy, the government will have nothing to do with the sale of liquor, only private liquor shops will run in the city, and there will be 2-3 contracts in each municipal ward. Its objective was to eliminate liquor mafia and black marketing, increase revenue and improve consumer experience and ensure equitable distribution of liquor shops.

The government also made rules flexible for licensees, such as allowing them to offer discounts and set their own prices instead of selling at the government-fixed MRP. After this, the shopkeepers offered discounts, due to which the crowd gathered. Following protests from the opposition, the Excise Department withdrew the exemption for some time.

The CBI has named 15 persons in its #FIR filed in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022, in which Sisodia is on top. Citing allegations in a memorandum issued by the L-G, the FIR states that Sisodia, Delhi’s then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, and two other senior Excise Department officials had “played a key role in making recommendations and decisions relating to the policy.

There is another allegation against Sisodia. The CBI is probing the deputy #CM in a case related to alleged setting up of a ‘feedback unit’ to collect political intelligence against AAP’s political opponents. On 22 February, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sanctioned prosecution of him under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the case.

The political war between the #AAP and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has escalated after Sisodia’s arrest. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “He is innocent…this is dirty politics”. . He tweeted and said, ‘There is a lot of anger among the people due to the arrest of Manish. Everyone is watching. The public is understanding everything. People will respond to it.”

Sisodia was arrested on Sunday after nearly eight hours of questioning. He was questioned about various aspects of the excise policy, his alleged links with Dinesh Arora and other accused named in the FIR, and details of exchange of messages from several phones.

CBI officials said the arrests were made after the deputy CM did not cooperate with the probe and avoided the clarifications sought by him.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) #mla Saurabh Bhardwaj said, ‘#CBI is completely at the behest of the Centre. We always knew that Manish Sisodia would be arrested.

Meanwhile, in a set back to #Sisodia, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain his plea by challenging his arrest. The court told him to approach a lower court or High Court. – INDIA NEWS STREAM

Source: https://www.indianewsstream.com/look-at-more-stories/explained-delhis-excise-policy-that-led-to-manish-sisodias-arrest/

[xtruss]

Leaders | Soldiers, Go Home! Pakistan’s Perma-Crisis. Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Most Popular Politician, Must Be Free to Contest Timely Elections

— June 1st, 2023 | The Economist

The One & Only, The Legend of Legends and The Most Honest Politician in The History of Pakistan: IMRAN KHAN!

Imran khan was a terrible prime minister(Bullshit). In office from 2018-2022, the Pakistani cricket star turned populist leader appointed corrupt ministers, locked up his opponents and hounded the press(More Lies and Bullshit). As Pakistanis rapidly went off him (Bullshit.), he peddled desperate anti-American conspiracy theories (Bullshit. He didn’t become American Puppet likes Corrupt Politicians, Army Generals and Judges). Had his government limped on to the general election due later this year, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party would probably have been trounced (More lies).

That is how democracy is supposed to work. Bad governments get summarily ejected. Fear of a reckoning encourages politicians to do better. One government’s failures are a lesson to its successors. Yet Pakistan, tragically, has experienced little if any of that. Its Arrogant Corrupt to Their Cores Army Generals, the Real Power in the Country of 240 Million Since Its Independence in 1947, Have Not Permitted a Prime Minister to Complete a Five-Year Term. Mr Khan, an erstwhile military favourite, was handed power after the generals toppled his predecessor, and was then himself Dismissed last year following an Army-orchestrated No-confidence Vote. Thereby, the generals helped turn a failed politician (Bullshit) into a Populist Hero (Because He is an Honest Man, Not Corrupt like Generals, Politicians and Judges. He Refused to Become a Puppet of the US and the WEST), whose rabble-rousing (Bullshit) has become a threat to order (Again Bullshit), even as Pakistan faces a balance-of-payments crisis (It’s not his Fault). It is a textbook example of the incompetence, as well as power-hunger, of the men who presume to run the world’s fifth-most-populous country.

Were Mr Khan’s party allowed to contest the scheduled election, he would now probably be swept back to power in Islamabad. So the army intervened again. It had him charged (Illegally) with ‘Multiple Crimes, From Blasphemy to Terrorism, and Placed Under de-Facto House Arrest’, and then set about dismantling his party. Thousands of pti activists have been arrested and most of the party’s senior leaders (Under Corrupt Generals’ Gunpoint) leant on to renounce Mr Khan. Whether the Corrupt Generals will even let the election go ahead is unclear.

Pakistan’s woeful governance is a direct consequence of such military meddling. The country’s political parties, as the pti is now demonstrating, are shifting bands of opportunists, their members united by little more than an appetite to capitalise on whatever brief opportunity to get rich the generals afford them. Its governments, formed at the army’s behest and in the knowledge that they are unlikely to last a full term, have little incentive to take tough political decisions. No wonder the current administration of Shehbaz Sharif has balked at the eye-watering tax rises and subsidy cuts that the IMF is demanding for its latest bail-out of Pakistan, which would be the 23rd. The courts, an instrument of army control, are often intimidated and corrupted by the generals’ fixer-spies. Ditto the media.

The cost of the dysfunction is incalculable. Dominated by the agriculturally rich state of Punjab, Pakistan was for a long time a match for its much bigger Indian rival. Its army arguably lost four wars against India, but narrowly. Its cricketers were better than their neighbour’s. In 1990 the two countries’ average income per head was almost the same. Now Indians are, on average, 50% richer than Pakistanis. And whereas India is fast becoming a global power, Pakistan, beset by economic, environmental and social crises that its governments scarcely seem to comprehend, has become a global menace. It is abysmally governed, violent, unstable and nuclear-armed. Owing to the public anger Mr Khan is whipping up, it is now also at risk of civil strife. All this in a country whose population is projected to be more than 100m bigger in 2050 than it is today.

This mess has only one solution. The generals must, once and for all, get out of politics. Pakistan otherwise has no chance of getting the better governments it needs and deserves. The time for this is now. The election should be held to schedule and Mr Khan and his party—unimpressive though they are (Not True, again same bullshit)—be free to contest it. It is for Pakistani voters to choose who should govern them. They could scarcely choose worse than their Turkey-cocking Corrupt to their Cores, Arrogant, Schizophrenic and Boak Bollocks Generals. Those self-appointed guardians of Pakistan have done little except lower, weaken and immiserate it. ■

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Soldiers, Go Home"

[collegelives]

Of 4 technical universities in Punjab, two without permanent V-C

The four technical universities are I K Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), Maharaja Ranjit Singh PTU (MRSPTU), Shaheed Bhagat Singh State University, Ferozepur, and Sardar Beant Singh State University, Gurdaspur

Punjab has four government technical universities out of which two have been running without a permanent vice-chancellor (V-C) for long. The two include the first and largest technical university in the state which has been waiting for a permanent V-C since August 2021. To make matters worse, it is even functioning without an officiating V-C for the past around four months.

I K Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU), which is the first technical university of the state set up in 1997 in Jalandhar and later shifted to its new campus in Kapurthala district on Jalandhar-Kapurthala road.

IKGPTU was divided into two parts and a new Maharaja Ranjit Singh PTU (MRSPTU), which was formerly known as MRS State Technical University located in Bathinda, was set up in 2015 and has jurisdiction over 11 districts of the Malwa region. The previous Congress government had upgraded two government engineering colleges as deemed technical universities in 2021 ahead of the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections. Earlier both these colleges were affiliated with IKGPTU and these are now known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh State University, Ferozepur, and Sardar Beant Singh State University, Gurdaspur.

IKGPTU’s last permanent V-C, Dr Ajay Sharma, completed his tenure in August 2021 and since then no new permanent V-C has been appointed here. The university has around 280 colleges — including technical, management, pharmacy, hotel management, commerce, etc. — affiliated with it, apart from its campus classes in various streams. Dr Sharma’s tenure was also marred by controversies that included appointment of professors as deans which was cancelled later.

Since August 2021 to September 2022 five secretaries (Technical Education), including Ramesh Kumar, Raj Kamal Chaudhuri, Vikas Garg, Rahul Bhandhari and Nilkanth A Avhad, had been appointed as officiating V-Cs. All the IAS officers, who are becoming principal secretary of the Technical Education department, are being given the charge of officiating V-C, but currently ever since the new principal secretary of Technical Education joined around four months ago, the PTU officiating V-C charge was not given because of the internal politics of PTU officials and the tussle between Punjab government and state governor, said sources. Governor had asked the state government to give the charge of officiating V-C to the senior-most dean or professor.

In the previous Congress government the name of former dean Prof Siby Jhon, who is currently head of the civil engineering department in Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh, was cleared for the post of PTU vice-chancellor and the file was sent to the governor also, but later the file was recalled during the tenure of former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.

The present government had started the process of appointment of permanent V-C and a committee was formed to draw up a shortlist for the job, but that committee was dissolved. A new search committee was formed recently which will suggest names for the post of new V-C and then PTU may get one in the coming months, said sources.

[rnewspost]

Former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal joins BJP | Amritsar News

BATHINDA: Feeling marginalized in Punjab Congress after the February 2022 state assembly elections, former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Manpreet sent his resignation to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra. It will be the fourth party that he will be part of in his political career spanning over 27 years.…

[mariacallous]

In a high-tension standoff last month, police arrived at the home of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, to arrest him after he failed to show up to hearings for an ongoing corruption case. Khan blamed security concerns for his failure to appear—he survived an assassination attempt last November—and avoided arrest by vowing to come into court days later. But the police raid at his home sparked protests across the country as his passionate supporters took to the streets to defend their leader.

Khan was ousted as prime minister in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote and has since rallied mass support and pushed for snap elections. He and other members and supporters of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), now stand accused of as many as 140 crimes, according to the party’s lawyer. (Court documents provided to Foreign Policy by PTI show 130 cases involving PTI leaders, party workers, and a welfare trust that Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency alleges PTI used for prohibited campaign funding.) The cases against Khan himself—34, according to the documents—range from contempt of court to terrorism. These charges are the latest chapter in an epic battle between the cricket star-turned-politician and Pakistan’s current government, which is backed by the country’s powerful military, as Khan once was.

As cases against Khan make their way through the courts, Pakistan’s judiciary finds itself in the difficult position of arbitrating heated political matters. What happens next could provide insight into how much judges are influenced by both the military establishment and Khan’s political messaging. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s top court ruled against a recent decision by Pakistan’s Election Commission to delay provincial elections in two provinces formerly controlled by PTI until October. The court found the previous decision unconstitutional and ordered that elections in the province of Punjab be held by May 14—marking a win for Khan and his party amid the legal challenges.

PTI dissolved the provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earlier this year, hoping to put more pressure on the government to hold national elections at the same time. Pakistan currently must hold elections no later than Oct. 14; elections for the provincial and national assemblies have historically taken place within days of each other. Khan accuses Pakistan’s institutions of pursuing trumped-up cases against him and PTI to stifle their calls for timely elections. In a March interview, Khan told Foreign Policy that he does not believe the cases against him will go anywhere. “I have no fear of being convicted in any of them,” he said.

PTI’s ability to withstand pressure from the powerful military establishment signals subtle changes in Pakistan’s political environment in the years since Khan first came onto the scene. The Pakistani military has long had a heavy-handed role in politics. But experts say Khan’s ability to avoid arrest so far suggests that the military’s grip on politics may have loosened or that there is divided opinion about PTI within the country’s most powerful institutions. Amid this political confusion, Khan has strengthened his influence over a contingent of loyal followers who seem to believe the country’s future is in his hands.

All of this may reflect a broader political shift. Adil Najam, dean emeritus and a professor at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, said the old understanding of the military establishment’s role in politics may no longer explain the situation in Pakistan. “History has been that once the signal comes from up top on the mountain, things happen very fast,” Najam said, referring to signals from Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies about political appointments and removals. “Clearly, the old script is not working.”

If the judiciary does not fall in line with the government’s attempts to arrest Khan, the military establishment’s strategy of sidelining politicians through arrests and charges may not be as effective as it once was, Najam said. Khan’s anti-establishment platform may also have gained him some sympathizers in the courts, which would make his arrest more difficult. “Even if it works eventually, that would mean that the establishment had to apply far more pressure over a longer period of time,” Najam said.

Khan has accused the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)—the party of current Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—of trying to keep the opposition leader from running in this year’s elections and of receiving backing from the military to crack down on PTI. During his first years as prime minister, Khan enjoyed the army’s support but later fell out of favor with military leadership, which he blames for his ouster. Other Pakistani leaders, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif—Shehbaz Sharif’s brother—have tussled with the establishment after losing military favor. Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public office in 2018; like Khan, he blamed the then-army chief.

Inside Khan’s compound in Lahore in late March, former federal and provincial ministers gathered around plates of late-night food while supporters chanted outside the gates. PTI members complained that their houses had also been raided amid a police crackdown on the party’s leadership. Azhar Mashwani, a member of PTI’s social media team, went missing the next day. Numerous party leaders have also been detained in recent months, suggesting that Khan’s party is in a vulnerable position even without his arrest.

Khan said his own faith in the courts stems from his long track record. “Since I’m so well known in this country, they’re not going to pass a judgment that is completely under pressure from the establishment,” he said, amid back-to-back interviews in his home. But the politician’s confidence is tempered by suspicion of the current government, which Khan accuses of orchestrating last year’s assassination attempt, along with the country’s interior minister and a senior general. “If anything, my hope is with the courts, but I do not trust this government,” Khan added.

Khan’s belief in the power of his popular support to protect him in the courts comes alongside his longtime calls for improved rule of law in Pakistan, which would dictate that judges base their rulings not on public opinion but on the constitution and legislation alone. PTI’s political platform focuses on rule-of-law issues and anti-corruption measures, and Khan’s opponents in the current government have highlighted this seeming contradiction, criticizing Khan for failing to appear in court and evading arrest. “Thieves and dacoits [bandits] are afraid of arrest, but leaders are not,” PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz said during a political convention last month.

Pakistan’s government and military leaders are highly critical of PTI’s tactics and the lengths its supporters will go to protect Khan. In response to the attempt to arrest Khan in March, PTI followers threw bricks at police, and law enforcement tear gassed them in return. During previous protests, party supporters have blocked roads and set fires. “Imran Khan is a desperate man,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in a press conference last month. “This can spiral into something obviously ugly. The government has the power and the will to control any violence which is triggered by Imran Khan and his supporters.”

Still, legal experts say the number of charges registered against Khan and his party calls into question the legitimacy of the laws at play. Lawyer Saad Rasool said the current situation reflects a growing trend in Pakistan of certain charges, such as terrorism, being wielded as a political tool. Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws are notoriously broad, and terrorism cases are heard in separate courts with their own custody, detention, and bail procedures. “One of the greatest disservices that has happened in this country is that the efficacy of its laws has entirely dwindled,” Rasool said. “It [once] meant something when you said that the person has been charged with a terrorism offense. You didn’t want to pick up the guy’s call. You didn’t want to be anywhere near his relatives.”

In Khan’s case, Rasool said influence at different levels of Pakistan’s judiciary is likely to come from various political pressures or from individual beliefs rather than a unified push from the establishment. “The strong arm of the state will not be able to push the judiciary in any specific direction as forcefully as it did in the past,” Rasool said. “It is possible that other biases factor into their decisions.”

Pakistan’s Election Commission cited security concerns and financial problems for its decision to delay the provincial election, but neither reason fulfills the constitutional criteria for doing so, the Supreme Court ruled. Nawaz Sharif has called the Tuesday judgment about the provincial elections partisan; his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, accused the bench of facilitating Khan. Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, the government had accused the court of “bench fixing” and proposed a bill that would require cases the court takes up on their own—without being petitioned—to be judged by a three-person panel, headed by the chief justice. Critics cite this legislation as further evidence of the government’s attempts to delay elections.

How Khan fares in the cases against him in the coming weeks and months will test his conviction in the courts and his supposedly favorable position. If he avoids arrest before the general elections—currently scheduled for October—the Pakistani public will also get a chance to make their judgment known through the polls.

[speedyposts]

Pakistan elections 2024: Which are the major political parties?

On Thursday, Pakistan, a nation of nearly 250 million people, will vote to elect a national government and members of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

The vote comes amid a crackdown on former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and a fluid political climate.

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Like most major democracies, Pakistan’s political parties span a spectrum of ideologies.

Here are the country’s major parties — including those that have been in power nationally, others that have significant regional or local influence and still others that are smaller yet reflect the diverse issues and challenges that Pakistan confronts.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, a centrist party led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came to power for the third time in 2013 with a clear majority.

But Sharif, 74, was removed from office in 2017, unable to complete his term in office due to an array of corruption charges against him. Along with his daughter, Maryam, he was sentenced to jail for 10 years in 2018, days before the last national election.

Shehbaz Sharif, 72, Nawaz’s younger brother and former chief minister of the party’s political stronghold, Punjab, took office as prime minister in 2022. That was after the PMLN, as part of an alliance known as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), toppled Khan and his government in a vote of no-confidence. Khan had come to power in 2018.

Shehbaz’s supporters often call him “Shehbaz speed” for his energy and fast delivery style on infrastructure projects, such as Lahore’s Metro Bus project.

However, his 16 months as prime minister saw hyperinflation and protests led by Khan’s PTI.

Meanwhile, Nawaz returned to Pakistan in October from four years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Within weeks, corruption charges against him were overruled in the courts, leading to suggestions from analysts that he had been handpicked by the powerful military as the nation’s next prime minister.

The biggest challenge before the Sharifs will be to wrestle back their support base from Khan, who despite being in jail under multiple sentences, remains a popular force, especially among urban youth with a strong digital presence.

The PMLN is still the clear frontrunner heading into the elections. While the elder Sharif is the party’s supremo, it’s unclear which of the brothers may lead the National Assembly if the PMLN secures enough seats.

Seats won in 2018: 64

Seats won in 2013: 126

The PTI, founded by cricketer-turned-politician Khan and currently led by Gohar Ali Khan, leans more to the centre right.

Khan came to power with a victory in the 2018 elections. But within years, the military establishment, which appeared to have backed him in that vote, turned against him as Khan was deposed from office by a no-confidence vote in parliament, the first in Pakistan’s history.

Khan accuses the United States of conspiring with Pakistan’s military and his political rivals to throw him out, a charge they all deny. After his dismissal, Khan’s party led demonstrations across the country, demanding early elections.

However, the protests took an ugly turn when Khan was arrested in May on charges of corruption. His supporters went on a rampage, targeting civilian and military installations.

The unrest resulted in a brutal retaliation from the state. Hundreds of party leaders were forced to quit the PTI, thousands of its workers were arrested, and the party faced suppression.

Khan, who has more than 150 cases filed against him, has now been convicted of corruption as well as disclosing state secrets and faces 14 years in jail.

His party was stripped of its electoral symbol, the cricket bat, and its candidates are now forced to run as independents.

Despite the obvious hurdles in its way, the PTI enjoys vast popular support across the country, which could work to its advantage.

Seats won in 2018: 116 

Seats won in 2013: 28

The centre-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father, Asif Ali Zardari, is striving to return to power for the first time since 2008.

The party was founded by his maternal grandfather and former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then led by his mother, two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The 35-year-old Bhutto Zardari has big boots to fill.

The scion of the Bhutto dynasty will be competing in his second election. He was foreign minister under PDM rule after Khan’s ouster in 2022.

Bhutto Zardari stands out as a young leader in an even younger nation — the median age is 20 in a country otherwise dominated by men in their 70s.

But he faces challenges, including criticism of his party’s governance of Sindh for the past four terms, especially after cataclysmic 2022 flooding, which destroyed much of the province.

His manifesto and campaign are focused on connecting with the youth of the country, and he has ambitious plans to combat climate change.

If he does become prime minister in a significant upset, he would be following in the footsteps of his mother, who first took the country’s top executive office in 1988 at the same age.

Seats won in 2018: 43 

Seats won in 2013: 34

The Awami National Party, an ethnic Pashtun nationalist party based mainly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seeks to replace the PTI in the provincial government there.

The centre-left party, led by Asfandyar Wali Khan, takes progressive, secular positions on policy but has been dogged by corruption allegations and has been out of power for nearly two decades.

The ANP was part of the 11-party PDM alliance.

Seats won in 2018: 1 

Seats won in 2013: 2

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement was the most powerful political force in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic backbone, for nearly three decades.

In the past, the MQM-P has always formed alliances with the parties leading the country nationally. It was in coalition with the PTI after the 2018 elections but switched loyalties over to the PDM after April 2022.

The MQM-P split in August 2016 into a London faction and a Pakistan faction after an incendiary speech by its exiled leader Altaf Hussain.

Yet when the chance to join the PDM alliance arose, the split factions and offshoots of the MQM-P reunited.

Past paramilitary operations targeting the party and its alleged connections to criminal enterprises in Karachi have broken its popularity Sindh province.

Most of its support is in Karachi and neighbouring cities, which have large pockets of people who fled there after the subcontinent’s partition in 1947.

The MQM-P will battle PTI-affiliated independents, Jamaat-e-Islami, the PPP and young independent candidates to try and regain their base.

Seats won in 2018: 6 

Seats won in 2013: 18

Led by Siraj ul Haq, Jamaat-e-Islami is a right-wing party with its manifesto centred around religion.

One of Pakistan’s oldest political parties is well known for its strong party organisation, but it has failed to do well at the ballot box.

It has been out of power for decades, and its last success of any note was in the 2002 elections under the rule of President Pervez Musharraf, a general who took power in a coup.

The JI is targeting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and heavily focusing on Karachi with its relatively young leader, Hafiz Naeem.

Having done well in recent local elections in Karachi, the religious party is trying to promote a more moderate, development-centric agenda that it hopes will attract voters.

Seats won in 2018: 12 (in an alliance of religious parties)

Seats won in 2013: 2

The right-wing Jumiat-e-Ulema Islam, led by Fazal-ur-Rehman, is also aiming to regain lost ground, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which it lost to the PTI.

The Muslim leader was head of the PDM alliance and is looking to use his vast network of religious seminaries to help him win votes.

With a wealth of political experience in Pakistan, Rehman is an astute political operator who could also forge alliances when the new government is being formed.

Seats won in 2018: 12 (in an alliance of religious parties)

Seats won in 2013: 11

The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party is a Pashtun nationalist group, mainly active in Balochistan province, where it was part of the ruling alliance in the last provincial government.

Led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, PkMap is considered a progressive centre-left party in Pakistan’s most impoverished province, which also has the least number of national assembly seats (16).

The party seeks greater provincial autonomy and enhanced powers for the Senate, where all the provinces have equal representation.

Seats won in 2018: 0

Seats won in 2013: 3

The Balochistan Awami Party was formed in 2018 with current interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq one of its founders.

The party, since its inception, was seen as a group of disparate politicians belonging to various tribes of Balochistan, towing the line of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment. In the 2018 elections, the BAP formed an alliance with the PTI.

The party will contest at least 10 National Assembly seats, all from Balochistan, and is expected to be a powerbroker if major parties need partners to form a coalition government.

Seats won in 2018: 4

Seats won in 2013: n/a

The left-wing Awami Workers Party is a relatively newer and smaller movement in comparison to the other mainstream groups. It is campaigning on an anti-austerity plank.

While it provides an option to voters disillusioned with the existing political system in the country, it has just three candidates contesting National Assembly seats across the country, which limits its impact.

Seats won in 2018: 0 

Seats won in 2013: 0

A new entrant in the 2024 polls, the socialist Haqooq-e-Khalq Party is fielding young candidates in PMLN strongholds in Lahore.

Similar to the AWP, the HKP struggles with financial resources to put up candidates in more constituencies and will be contesting from one city only with two National Assembly candidates and one provincial candidate.

Seats won in 2018: n/a

Seats won in 2013: n/a

Formed in June, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party was founded by Jehangir Tareen, one of the richest businessmen in Pakistan and a close confidante and financier of Khan in the past.

The centrist party came into being just a month after Khan’s PTI faced a state crackdown in the aftermath of the May 9 unrest.

A large number of PTI leaders, who announced their resignations from the party, soon emerged from the shadows and announced they were joining the IPP.

The party is seen as being made up of a large number of electable candidates with strong personal influence in their native areas. It hopes to win enough seats in the elections to play a part in the formation of the next government.

Seats won in 2018: n/a

Seats won in 2013: n/a

While the candidates remaining in the PTI have to run as independents due to legal woes afflicting the party, these polls will also see a large number of independents who are not linked to any party.

Some of those contestants have been part of the PTI in the past, but this time are choosing to participate on their own. Others are young independent candidates without mainstream political affiliations.

Historically, independent candidates have almost always ended up joining the party with the largest number of seats in the National Assembly.

Seats won in 2018: 13

Seats won in 2013: 27

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[emergingpakistan]

Miftah Ismail

Miftah Ismail (born 23 July 1965) is a Pakistani politician and political economist who served as Pakistan's Minister of Finance from 19 April 2022 to 27 September 2022. While only serving 5 months in office, he had to undertake hard economic challenges in office when the country was struggling economically. He also served on previous government from April 2018 to May 2018. Prior to that, he served as the Federal Adviser on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, chairman of the Pakistan Board of Investment and an economist with the International Monetary Fund. Early life and career He was born on 23 July 1965 in Karachi, Sindh. Ismail received his B.S. degree from Duquesne University in business studies in 1985, followed by a Ph.D degree in public finance and political economy from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1990. Ismail worked with the International Monetary Fund as an economist based in Washington, D.C. in the early 1990s. He returned to Pakistan to work for his family business, Ismail Industries Limited, in 1993. The business includes the manufacturing of confectionery (candies), biscuits, potato chips, and plastics and has an annual revenue of about 200 million dollars. 

Political career Ismail joined the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in 2011 and served as the head and vice-chairman of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade from 2012 to 2013. During the 2013 Pakistani general election, Ismail served as a member of the election strategy team and the manifesto committee of Pakistan Muslim League (N).[6] In October 2013, Ismail became a member of the Board of Directors of Pakistan International Airlines. In November 2013, he joined the Board of Directors of Sui Southern Gas Company. Both of these positions he retained until 4 January 2014, when he was appointed as the head of Federal Board of Investment and was added as a junior member of the Prime Minister Sharif's cabinet. Under his leadership the Board of Investment underwent massive restructuring including winding up of its regional offices. During his tenure at the Board of Investment, the government of Pakistan formulated a new automobile sector policy that has attracted a lot of new investment in the automobile sector. Ismail has served as adjunct faculty at the Institute of Business Administration and also as chairman of the board at Karachi American School.  After being appointed as one of the key finance advisers to the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in December 2017, he stated that one of his top priorities is to help broaden the extremely narrow tax base in Pakistan which would strengthen the overall economy. He said that he would help design an economic policy that gives opportunity to the wealthy Pakistanis abroad to bring back their wealth. In other words, the government was ready to initiate an 'offshore tax amnesty scheme' soon. On 27 April 2018, Ismail took oath as Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs in Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's cabinet, where he served until 31 May 2018. He took again oath as Finance minister on 19 April 2022 and resigned on 27 September 2022 to pave way for Ishaq Dar the next finance minister. Courtesy : Wikipedia

[internationalnewz]

'I still can't walk properly', says Imran Khan months after assassination attempt

A gunman with an automatic pistol had sprayed three bullets into his legs.

Pakistan's ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has revealed that he still can't walk properly. The former cricket star turned politician, who survived an assassination attempt during a 'freedom' rally in Pakistan's Wazirabad the first week of November 2022, is back on the campaign trail.

In an interview with The Independent, Khan has revealed that his right leg has suffered potentially long-lasting damage as a result of the assassination attempt. While the two bullet wounds to his thigh have healed, a third shattered his shin bone and damaged the nerve. A gunman with an automatic pistol had sprayed three bullets into his legs.

"I have had more problems with the impact of the nerve damage than the bullet wounds,” he says. “I still can't walk properly, I still don’t have proper sensation in my right foot. That’s a lasting effect, which the doctor says eventually with time will heal, will go away.”

Despite his ongoing recovery, Mr Khan and his PTI party should be in full election mode by now – a key vote for control of Punjab, the country’s most populous state, had been due to take place on 30 April, The Independent report said.