[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

[ghazi]

‘That time of fear has passed’: PTI’s Asad Qaiser​

PTI leader Asad Qaiser has condemned the raid on the residence of their presidential candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Qaiser said, “A message was given that if someone makes a speech in the NA, his result will be this.”

“I want to make this clear; that time of fear has passed. We have come out of all situations,” the PTI MNA said while referring to the crackdown against the party during the past year.

Recalling his struggle of “29 years” in the PTI, Qaiser said that his party founder Imran Khan has decided to “remain in the country and face the circumstances”.

“Neither our leader will bow down, nor will we,” he added.

Asad Qaiser speaks in NA.

 

[ghazi]

Ruckus in NA as speaker warns of action against PTI’s Jamshaid Dasti​

At one point during today’s NA session, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq warned of taking against PTI MNA Jamshed Dasti.

The warning followed after PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said, “If you think the people of Pakistan are a fool, then you are wrong. We all know that someone on purpose printed that alleged copy of the cipher.”

“If I violate the Constitution, then have me punished 100 times, but if someone from that side violates the Constitution, then have them punished,” he said while referring to the opposition.

Sloganeering and ruckus were once again seen during today’s NA session as Bilawal continued with his fiery speech.

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq chairs the NA session

 

[ghazi]

ECP rejects SIC's plea for reserved seats in NA​

Updated Mar 04,
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday rejected the application of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) for reserved seats for women and minorities in the National Assembly.

The SIC, a party backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), sought these seats through an application that stirred controversy and led to a prolonged deliberation by the electoral body.

A five-member bench, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, reached a 4-1 verdict, declaring that the Sunni Ittehad Council is not entitled to reserved seats in the National Assembly.

The ECP maintained that these seats would be distributed among other political parties based on their proportional representation. The commission emphasised that reserved seats in the assemblies cannot be left vacant.

However, it's worth noting that ECP Punjab member Babar Hassan Bharwana dissented from the majority decision, expressing disagreement with the allocation of reserved seats to other political parties.

 

[ghazi]

Achakzai says house raided for 'seeking parliament's supremacy'​

Updated Mar 04,
Speaking during the newly convened session of the 16th National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and presidential candidate, said his house was raided for seeking to uphold the supremacy of Parliament.

The PkMAP chief took the floor after PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto requested the NA speaker to allow Achakzai to address the session before him.

The PkMAP alleged on Sunday that the police raided the house of its party chief and presidential candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai without justification and arrested his personal guard.

Addressing a press conference at the party's central secretariat in Quetta, PkMAP Central Secretary General Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal said that a heavy police contingent raided the house of the party chief “without any magistrate" in violation of the people’s right to privacy, according to a BBC report.

He added that the police also arrested a personal guard of Achakzai’s, who was in possession of a licensed weapon. The PkMAP leader alleged that the raid came after Achakzai exposed rigging in the recent elections and the people responsible for it in a National Assembly session.

 

[ghazi]

Shehbaz sees off outgoing PM after farewell guard of honour​

Mar 04,
A sharply dressed contingent representing all three services extended a farewell guard of honour to the departing Caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif bid him farewell following the ceremonial guard of honour and a concluding meeting with the staff of the Prime Minister's Office.

 

[ghazi]

PTI to challenge ECP verdict on reserved seats​

Mar 04,
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to challenge the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Supreme Court, which denied reserved seats for women and minorities to the Sunni Ittehad Council in the National Assembly.

In his address during a Senate session following the verdict, PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar said that the ECP’s decision is a stab in the back of democracy. He emphasised that it is the responsibility of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies to elect senators, the president, the prime minister, and the chairman Senate, and incomplete assemblies cannot fulfil these elections.

 

[ghazi]

Bilawal calls on PM to take notice of raid at Mahmood Achakzai’s house​

Updated Mar 04, 2024
In his first address to the 16th National Assembly, PPP leader Bilwal Bhutto condemned on Monday last night’s raid at PkMAP chief and opposition’s presidential nominee Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s house in Quetta.

He called on prime minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif to have the raid investigated, stating that the presidential election was being made unnecessarily controversial.

Bilwal then requested NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to allow Achakzai to speak before him.

Sadiq said he was unaware of the raid and said he would speak to the Balochistan chief minister if something like this has happened. He then allowed the PkMAP chief to take the floor.

 

[ghazi]