PTI stages rally in Sialkot over ‘election rigging’

SIALKOT: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Saturday staged rally against alleged election rigging.

Addressing the participants of the rally, PTI chief Imran Khan said that his party would move courts and take out to streets as well against the poll rigging.

He claimed that the last general election was the historic fraud as Election Commission officials said amid the polling that they had failed to conduct transparent election.

Khan said that DPO of Hafizabad ran election campaign of his rival party. He also played an alleged tape of the DPO’s talk during the rally. He also criticized the government over the budget.

MQM stages sit-in at Numaish Chowrangi

KARACHI: Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists on Tuesday staged a sit-in at Numaish Chowrangi to show solidarity with their leader Altaf Hussai who is held by police in London in alleged money laundering case.

Earlier, addressing the activists at Nine Zero, MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said that the activists would now stage sit-in at Numaish roundabout. He said that the protest would continue until the party chief addresses the activists.

Several activists including women gathered at the Mazar-e-Quaid roundabout and chanted slogans in favour of their party chief. The activists vowed to continue the until MQM chief address them.

MQM legislators also joined the protest sit-in at the roundabout and said that they would update their activists on every development in London.

Meanwhile, the MQM coordination Committee asked their workers to stage protests outside press clubs across the country and said that these protest were called for expressing sympathy with the party chief. (PPI)

Opposition in NA stages token walkout

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties on Thursday staged a token walkout from the National Assembly against the ‘unsatisfactory reply to their queries regarding the $1.5 billion foreign assistance and preventing Shaikh Rasheed’s departure for Canada’.

The opposition members were protesting on the issue of foreign aid and an increase in electricity tariff but the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad prompted them to stage a token walkout from the House.

The members from all the opposition parties, including the PPP, MQM and PTI, left the House for a few minutes but they were not supported by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.

The PPP members, including Syed Naveed Qamar and Dr. Nafeesa Shah, questioned why the government was reluctant to disclose the name of the friendly country that had extended $1.5 billion assistance to Pakistan.

PTI chairman Imran Khan also apprehended that there might be some conditions attached to the financial assistance from a friendly country.

Imran Khan said it was the right of the parliamentarians to ask why dollars had been doled out to Pakistan. “Such gifts in the past have brought nothing but miseries for the country,” he said. He said in the 1980s, the Mujahideen were raised after should remain away from Sunni-Shia conflict, which is being enhanced internationally.

He regretted that no apology was sought by the Pakistan government from a foreign country for not allowing Sheikh Rashid Ahmad to go abroad. He recalled that similar treatment was also meted out to him and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Parliamentary Secretary for finance Rana Afzal Khan said doubts and suspicions should not be raised about the grant received from a friendly country. He said the friendly country has left it to the Pakistani government to decide the usage of this money.

He said finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar has already given a categorical statement on the floor of the House that Pakistan has no intention of interfering in the matters of any other country.

He clarified that there has been no raise in electricity tariffs rather fuel adjustment charges have been added to utility bills of the month of March.He said Sheikh Rashid Ahmad was not cleared for Canada visit under an agreement signed by the previous elected government.

However, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad disagreed with the information provided by the parliamentary secretary saying the record of the Foreign Office had been checked and there was no such agreement.

Federal minister for Kashmir affairs Chaudhry Birjees Tahir while responding to allegations of the opposition members said that during the tenure of PPP government foreign debts increased from $5,000 million to $14,000 million and the present government inherited a weak economy.

He said Sheikh Rashid Ahmad had said that he would resign from the National Assembly if the value of dollar comes down to Rs98. “Now that the US dollar has comes down to Rs97, he should to fulfil his promise,” he said

Sheikh Rashid Ahmad asked the opposition parties to stage a token walkout as his said the sanctity of the whole House was hurt when he was not allowed to leave for Canada. “Today such treatment has been meted out to me, tomorrow others too could face similar situation,” he said.