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PM Sharif’s party wants stakeholders to decide ‘rules of the game’ before elections

An election official seals ballot boxes before people vote during Pakistan's general election at a polling station in Islamabad on July 25, 2018. (AFP/File)
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Updated 13 January 2023
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PM Sharif’s party wants stakeholders to decide ‘rules of the game’ before elections

  • The development comes a day after Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi moves summary to dissolve provincial assembly
  • PML-N's Tallal Chaudry says his party is ready for elections, but a national consensus needs to be evolved
Updated 13 January 2023
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party said on Friday that a national consensus should be evolved among all political parties before any elections to ensure their fairness and transparency, ruling out the possibility of snap polls across the South Asian country.  

The development comes a day after Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, an ally of ousted premier Imran Khan, sent a summary to Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman for the dissolution of the provincial legislature. As per the constitution, if the governor fails to dissolve the assembly, it will automatically stand dissolved on Sunday, 48 hours since the circulation of the summary.  

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party has also announced dissolving the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly in a couple of days to force PM Sharif's government into announcing snap polls. Khan’s PTI party and allies have been in power in both Punjab and KP provinces. 

But Tallal Chaudry, a senior member of Sharif’s party, stresses the need for a national consensus before the conduct of nationwide polls in the South Asian country, which is already facing an economic crisis compounded by months of political instability. 

“We want the rules of the game to be decided before the elections, otherwise nobody would accept results of the polls,” Chaudry told Arab News.  

“Our party is ready for the elections in Punjab and other provinces as well, but first we need to develop a national consensus to hold fair and free polls.”  

He said elections in parts of Pakistan would further “ruin our economy and prolong the political instability” as Khan had repeatedly expressed his lack of trust in the current election commission. “So will he be accepting the results if his party loses the elections,” the PML-N leader questioned. 

Chaudry revealed that backdoor negotiations with the PTI, through President Arif Alvi, "for a consensus over elections" had failed to yield desired results and “as of now, no talks were underway with the PTI.”  

About the possibility of countrywide elections, he said PM Sharif could not call the snap polls without the consensus of coalition partners.  

“We are a coalition government in the centre and cannot take decisions without consultation and consent of our coalition partners,” Chaudry explained.  

He pointed out that even if Sharif dissolved the National Assembly — the lower house of Pakistan parliament — there was no guarantee that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) would agree to dissolve the provincial assemblies in Sindh and Balochistan, which are ruled by the coalition partners.  

Pakistan's constitution says when the National Assembly or a provincial assembly is dissolved, a general election for the assembly “shall be held within a period of ninety days after the dissolution.”  

Kanwar Dilshad, former secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan, doubted that elections would be held in parts as this would raise questions over transparency and fairness of the polls.  

“The ECP enjoys unrestricted powers in terms of holding elections, so it will either delay the Punjab and KP polls till October or the National Assembly will have to be dissolved in the next 15 to 20 days to conduct the national elections,” he told Arab News.  

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Islamabad-based PILDAT think-tank, said there were no solid grounds with the election commission or the federal government to delay the polls, after the dissolution of the two provincial assemblies.  

“The caretaker governments will have to be installed in the provinces where assemblies are dissolved to ensure free and fair elections,” he told Arab News.  

Mehboob, however, agreed that elections in parts of the country would lead to multiple questions over their transparency.  

“In case the elections are held only in Punjab and KP, then there will be no caretaker government in the centre, and it can try to influence the results,” he said.  

“And when elections for the National Assembly would be held at a later stage, the [new] provincial administrations would try to influence the results in their favour.”  

Mehboob doubted the Sharif-led coalition government would be willing to dissolve the National Assembly to pave the way for the national elections.  

“The PML-N and its coalition partners' assessment is that this is not a favourable time for them to go into the elections,” he added.  

Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote, has since been demanding snap elections in the country.  

The former premier says he was ousted as part of a United States-backed "foreign conspiracy." Washington and Khan's opponents deny the allegation. 

PM Sharif's government says countrywide elections will be held in the latter half of this year as per the schedule. 

Topics: Pakistan General Elections

Over 50,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to benefit from Makkah Route Initiative this year — ministry

Updated 10 May 2024
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Over 50,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to benefit from Makkah Route Initiative this year — ministry

  • This year Saudi Arabia extended Makkah Route Initiative to Karachi airport, was previously available only in Islamabad
  • Around 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj pilgrimage this year under both the government and private schemes 
Updated 10 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The religious affairs ministry said on Friday 26,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims had benefited from the Makkah Route Initiative last year, with the government planning to double the figure this year with the inauguration of the project in Karachi. 

Pakistani officials last month confirmed Saudi Arabia’s decision to expand the Makkah Route Initiative, previously available only in Islamabad, to the airport in Karachi, the country’s largest and most populous city. 

Launched in 2019, the Makkah Route Initiative allows for the completion of immigration procedures at the pilgrims’ country of departure, making it possible to bypass long immigration and customs checks on reaching Saudi Arabia. The facility significantly reduces waiting times and makes the entry process smoother and faster.

“Last year, the count of pilgrims utilizing the ‘Route to Makkah’ stood at 26,000 while this year, concerted efforts have been made to double the number of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims benefiting from this streamlined process,” state-run APP news agency said, quoting Secretary Religious Affairs Zulfiqar Haider, who alongside Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Pakistan, formally inaugurated this year’s ‘Route to Makkah’ project at the Islamabad International Airport on Friday.

“Saudi immigration and customs procedures for Hajj pilgrims departing from Islamabad would now be efficiently conducted in Islamabad itself,” Haider said. 

“Consequently, these pilgrims would swiftly navigate through the Saudi airport and proceed to their destinations without delay.”

This year, around 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj under both the government and private schemes, for which a month-long flight operation started on May 9. 

Out of 179,210 pilgrims, 89,605 each will embark on the holy journey under the government and private schemes, while a quota of 25,000 and 44,802 pilgrims, respectively, has been allocated to the sponsorship schemes.

Under the Hajj flight operation, five airlines – Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, Airblue, Serene Air, and Air Sial – will operate 259 sorties to transport around 68,000 intending pilgrims from eight major cities of Pakistan, namely Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Quetta, Sialkot, and Sukkur, to Jeddah and Madinah under the government scheme.

The first set of Hajj flights took off on Thursday early morning. 

Topics: hajj Makkah Route initiative

PM orders immediate rebuilding of girls school bombed by militants in northwestern Pakistan

Updated 10 May 2024
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PM orders immediate rebuilding of girls school bombed by militants in northwestern Pakistan

  • Attackers beat up school guard before setting off explosives at private Aafia Islamic Girls Model School in North Waziristan
  • Pakistan witnessed multiple attacks on girls schools until 2019, especially in Swat Valley and elsewhere in northwest
Updated 10 May 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered that a girls school bombed by militants this week in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban should be immediately rebuild, vowing to provide women with equal opportunities for education.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack late Wednesday that targeted the only girls school in Shawa, a town in the North Waziristan district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

Suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have targeted girls schools in the province in the past, saying that women should not be educated.

The TTP group was evicted from northwest Pakistan’s Swat and other regions in recent years after successive military operations. The TTP are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban takeover in neighboring Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban, the Pakistan government says. 

“Prime Minister directed to immediately identify the people involved in the incident and ensure that they are punished,” a statement from Sharif’s office said, adding that the PM had instructed that the part of the school destroyed in the attack be “immediately” rebuilt at government expense.

“The nefarious ambitions of terrorists to stop the education of girls will never be allowed to succeed,” the statement quoted Sharif as saying. “Terrorist elements who are trying to create obstacles in the education of the daughters of the nation will be brought to justice.”

Pakistan witnessed multiple attacks on girls schools until 2019, especially in the Swat Valley and elsewhere in the northwest where the Pakistani Taliban long controlled the former tribal regions. In 2012, the insurgents attacked Malala Yousafzai, a teenage student and advocate for the education of girls who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the latest incident, police said the attackers first beat up the school guard before setting off the explosives at the private Aafia Islamic Girls Model School, which has 150 students.

In a statement, Abdullah Fadil, the UNICEF representative in Pakistan, said the “destruction of a girls’ school in a remote and underserved area is a heinous crime detrimental to national progress.” He cited Sharif’s statement on Wednesday declaring an education emergency and pledging to work toward enrolling 26 million out-of-school children.

With inputs from AP

Topics: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Giles schools

Pakistani police prevent pro-Palestinian protesters from moving toward US embassy in Islamabad

Updated 10 May 2024
AP
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Pakistani police prevent pro-Palestinian protesters from moving toward US embassy in Islamabad

  • Police used batons on demonstrators who briefly blocked a key road and later staged a sit-in near a high-security area 
  • Students from the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party posted videos on social media, claiming they were beaten by police 
Updated 10 May 2024
AP

ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Friday prevented a pro-Palestinian rally by a religious party from moving toward the US Embassy, where demonstrators wanted to stage a sit-in protesting Israel’s strikes in Gaza.

Police used batons on the demonstrators, angering hundreds of rallygoers who briefly blocked a key road and later staged a sit-in near a high-security area where foreign embassies and the offices of president, prime minister and parliament are located.

Students from the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party posted videos on social media, claiming they were beaten by police who did not allow them to go toward the American embassy for a peaceful rally to denounce the Israeli strikes on Gaza.

Demonstrators held banners and posters with slogans opposing Israel and the United States and in support of the Palestinians. Organizers vowed to continue raising their voices for the Palestinians.

According to police, officers were negotiating with demonstrators to end the sit-in.

Topics: pro-Palestinian protesters

Downside risks for Pakistan remain exceptionally high — IMF

Updated 10 May 2024
Reuters
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Downside risks for Pakistan remain exceptionally high — IMF

  • Lender says while government has indicated intention to continue reforms, political uncertainty remains significant
  • Policy slippages and lower external financing could undermine path to debt sustainability, put pressure on exchange rate
Updated 10 May 2024
Reuters

KARACHI: Downside risks for the Pakistani economy remain exceptionally high, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday in its staff report on the country, ahead of talks with the fund on a longer term program.

An International Monetary Fund mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a new program, ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year.

“Downside risks remain exceptionally high. While the new government has indicated its intention to continue the SBA’s policies, political uncertainty remains significant,” said the fund in its staff report following the second and final review under the standby arrangement (SBA).

The fund added that political complexities and high cost of living could weigh on policy, adding that policy slippages, together with lower external financing, could undermine the narrow path to debt sustainability and place pressure on the exchange rate.

The IMF also said higher commodity prices and disruptions to shipping, or tighter global financial conditions, would also adversely affect external stability for the cash-strapped nation.

The fund stressed the need for timely post-program external financing disbursements.

Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer term program.

Pakistan narrowly averted default last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized after the completion of the last IMF program, with inflation coming down to around 17 percent in April from a record high 38 percent last May.

It is still dealing with a high fiscal shortfall and while it has controlled its external account deficit through import control mechanisms, it has come at the expense of stagnating growth, which is expected to be around 2 percent this year compared to negative growth last year.

Pakistan is expected to seek at least $6 billion and request additional financing from the Fund under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust. 

Topics: International Monetary Fund

Gang mastermind, extradited from Pakistan, jailed for life for UK police officer killing

Updated 10 May 2024
AFP
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Gang mastermind, extradited from Pakistan, jailed for life for UK police officer killing

  • Piran Ditta Khan fled UK after Sharon Beshenivsky was shot at close range in Bradford in 2005
  • Khan, a former takeaway boss, was said to be the ringleader of the gang involved in the murder 
Updated 10 May 2024
AFP

LONDON: A 75-year-old man who was extradited from Pakistan was jailed for life on Friday for the murder of a British police officer nearly 20 years ago.

Piran Ditta Khan fled the country after Sharon Beshenivsky was shot at close range as she and a colleague arrived at the scene of a robbery at a travel agency in Bradford, northern England, in 2005.

Although he did not pull the trigger, prosecutors at his trial said he was equally guilty of murder as he had planned the raid and knew that loaded weapons would be used.

Judge Nicholas Hilliard at Leeds Crown Court on Friday handed Khan a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years and told him: “You will inevitably spend the remainder of your life in custody.”

Beshenivsky, 38, had only been an officer with West Yorkshire Police for nine months before her death, which happened on her daughter Lydia’s fourth birthday.

“Every birthday is a reminder of what happened that day,” Lydia said in an impact statement read in court.

“It has recently been Mother’s Day, and while my friends are celebrating with their mums, I sadly can never do that.”

She was “too young and innocent” to understand why her mother did not return from work to celebrate her birthday, the statement added.

Judge Hilliard praised Beshenivsky’s bravery in responding to the call “when she and her colleague had no way of knowing what they would be confronted with when they got there.

“Sharon Beshenivsky’s courage and commitment to duty that day cost her her life,” he added.

The rare fatal shooting of a police officer on duty caused widespread shock and revived calls for British police to routinely carry guns. 

Khan, a former takeaway boss, was said by prosecutors to be the ringleader of the gang involved in the killing on November 18, 2005.

He remained in a lookout car during the robbery, played a “pivotal” role in planning the heist and knew that loaded firearms would be used.

As such he was as culpable of Beshenivsky’s murder “as surely as if he had pulled the trigger on that pistol himself,” prosecutors told his trial.

He claimed he was trying to recoup money owed to him by the owner of the travel agency but lawyers said there was no evidence for this.

The gang escaped with little more than £5,000.

Khan was arrested in Islamabad in January 2020 after years on the run and extradited in April 2023.

He was found guilty of murder as well as firearms offenses. He had admitted robbery.

Six other gang members have previously been jailed over the shooting, which also saw Beshenivsky’s colleague Teresa Milburn shot in the chest.

Milburn, who was 37 at the time, had joined the force two years beforehand.

Three of the men, including one who fled to Somalia but was later extradited, were jailed for life and told they would serve at least 35 years behind bars.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Patrick Twiggs said members of the force “welcome the life sentence handed down to Khan.

“West Yorkshire Police will continue to honor Sharon’s memory, we still mourn the loss, we still miss her, she will be forever in our thoughts,” he added.

Topics: Gang mastermind UK Police

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