#Pakistan former prime minister Imran Khan

[banglakhobor]

গ্রেফতার ইমরান খান, প্রাক্তন পাক প্রধানমন্ত্রীর তিন বছরের জেল

ইসলামাবাদ: তোশাখানা মামলায় দোষী সাব্যস্ত হলেন পাকিস্তানের প্রাক্তন প্রধানমন্ত্রী ইমরান খান। শনিবার ইসলামাবাদের একটি আদালত ইমরানকে তিন বছর কারাদণ্ডের সাজা দিয়েছে। এই রায়ের ফলে আগামী পাঁচ বছর ভোটে দাঁড়াতে পারবেন না তিনি। এছাড়াও পাক রাজনীতি থেকে তাঁকে ৫ বছরের জন্য দূরে থাকতে হবে। অভিযোগ, দেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী পদে থাকাকালীন পাকিস্তানের রাষ্ট্র হিসাবে পাওয়া উপহারগুলি অবৈধভাবে বিক্রি করে দিচ্ছিলেন…

[xtruss]

All That’s Left For Them Now Is To Murder Me – But I’m Not Afraid To Die! The Former Pakistani Prime Minister Writes Exclusively For The Telegraph From His Prison Cell

— BY IMRAN KHAN | 2 May, 2024 | The Telegraph

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is currently serving a prison sentence for controversial corruption charges. Credit: AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary

Today, Pakistan and its people stand in confrontation with each other. Almost two years ago, an engineered vote of no confidence was moved against my government and a government cobbled together by the military establishment came into being.

Since then, the Corrupt Military Establishment, under direct guidance of General Asim Munir, The Corrupt Chief of Army Staff, has tried every tactic to decimate my party’s presence from the political environment of Pakistan.

The oppression, torture and denial of our election symbol have been extensively documented, but nothing has worked for the military and the powerless civilian leadership acting as its puppets.

Pakistan’s general elections on Feb 8 2024, showed the utter failure of their design.

With no single electoral symbol in a country where the vast majority of voters are guided by a party symbol, the people came out and voted overwhelmingly for candidates supported by my party, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), despite standing as “independents” with a host of diverse symbols.

This democratic revenge by the people of Pakistan against the agenda of the military establishment not only was a national defiance by the people but also a complete rejection of the official state narrative of May 9 2023, when PTI supporters were falsely accused – as a pretext for a crackdown – of attacking military installations.

Pakistan's Corrupt to his Core Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir (left) shakes hand with Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi CREDIT: Inter Services Public Relations via AP

Unfortunately, instead of accepting the people’s mandate, the military establishment went into a fit of rage and electoral results were manipulated to bring into power the losers.

The same vote tampering was seen in the recent by-elections.

As a result, today Pakistan is at a dangerous crossroads. The people have shown in no uncertain terms their rejection of state electoral machinations and of the oppression, incarceration and torture of not just the PTI leadership but also of its workers.

The military leadership has been subjected to overt criticism at a level unseen before in our history. The government is a laughing stock.

More Oppression and Violence

The response of the state has been to unleash more oppression and violence not just on party workers but also on journalists and human rights defenders. Social media restrictions have been put in place with a complete ban on the X platform.

Perhaps the most ominous development has been the systematic attempt to destroy the independent functioning of the judiciary at all levels.

Judges have been subjected to all manner of pressures including blackmail and harassment of family members. As a result, our trials on false charges are conducted with no proper defence allowed and no concern for the law of the land and the constitution.

The Corrupt Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and of the Islamabad High Court have been found short of delivering unbiased justice.

But members of the senior judiciary have risen against the attempted destruction of the independence of the judiciary. Six brave judges of the Islamabad High Court have written a letter to the CJP highlighting instances of harassment and blackmail including of their families by intelligence agencies. Specific instances are cited and details given.

This is unprecedented in our history – although, informally, many knew what was happening to the senior judiciary but for such a letter to have come from these judges shows the level of despair, anger and frustration.

The sorry state of judicial affairs is reflected in the hesitancy shown by the CJP, who eventually felt compelled to act but instead of calling for a full bench hearing of the supreme court and summoning those named by the six judges, he has sought to put the six judges effectively in the dock.

With an economy in crisis, spiralling prices and a people politically angry at having their electoral mandate stolen and being economically beleaguered, the state stands isolated.

Unwilling to mitigate its grave errors which have led Pakistan to this precarious juncture and unable to go beyond its mantra of oppression and violence against critics, the State is treading the same path it trod in 1971, when it lost East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

Upsurge in Terrorism

At the same time, it is seeing an upsurge in terrorism and a growing alienation in Balochistan where the issue of enforced disappearances is growing in severity. On Pakistan’s borders, India has already admitted to undertaking assassinations inside of Pakistan and the international border with Afghanistan remains volatile.

The military establishment’s expectation of unquestioning support from the US, in return for the provision of access to airspace and related facilities to the US for military purposes, has been punctured after the publication of the latest US state department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices which highlights the many human rights violations in Pakistan.

Again, seeking salvation by relying on support from the International Monetary Fund when there is a confrontation with the people will not result in any stability for Pakistan. There is no other way out of the crisis but to restore the people’s mandate and release all political prisoners including those being held for trial under military courts. The constitutional functioning of state institutions must be restored.

“The Corrupt Military Establishment has done all they could against me. All that is left for them is to now ‘Murder Me’. I have stated publicly that if anything happens to me or my wife, Corrupt General Asim Munir will be responsible. But I am not afraid because my faith is strong. I would prefer death over slavery.”

— Imran Khan is the leader of the Pakistan-Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) party. He is serving a prison sentence for controversial corruption charges.

[globalknock]

Sons of former prime minister and founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan have also become active for the election process in Pakistan, shared a unique post to support PTI.

(24 نیوز )سابق وزیر اعظم اور بانی پاکستان تحریک انصاف  عمران خان کے بیٹے بھی پاکستان میں  انتخابی عمل کیلئے متحرک ہو گئے ہیں ، پی ٹی آئی کی حمایت کیلئے منفرد پوسٹ شیئر کر دی ۔  تفصیلات کے مطابق سابق چیئر مین پی ٹی آئی  عمران خان اس وقت متعدد کیسز  میں سزا کاٹ رہے ہیں اور ان کی جماعت کے تمام امیدوار آزاد حیثیت میں الیکشن لڑ رہے ہیں ،  تاہم ایسی صورتحال میں ان کے بیٹے  انتخابی مہم میں کود پڑے…

[newscast1]

Ex-Pak Army chief Bajwa favoured Imran Khan in Bani Gala house case, claims PM Sharif’s aide

Ex-Pak Army chief Bajwa favoured Imran Khan in Bani Gala house case, claims PM Sharif’s aide

Former Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa influenced the then chief justice to favour ousted premier Imran Khan in his Bani Gala house case, a top aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has claimed. Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan (L) and ex-Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. (File photo)/PTI) By Press Trust of India: Former Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa influenced…

[zvaigzdelasas]

SECRET PAKISTANI ARMS sales to the U.S. helped to facilitate a controversial bailout from the International Monetary Fund earlier this year, according to two sources with knowledge of the arrangement, with confirmation from internal Pakistani and American government documents. The arms sales were made for the purpose of supplying the Ukrainian military — marking Pakistani involvement in a conflict it had faced U.S. pressure to take sides on. The revelation is a window into the kind of behind-the-scenes maneuvering between financial and political elites that rarely is exposed to the public, even as the public pays the price. Harsh structural policy reforms demanded by the IMF as terms for its recent bailout kicked off an ongoing round of protests in the country. Major strikes have taken place throughout Pakistan in recent weeks in response to the measures.

The protests are the latest chapter in a year-and-a-half-long political crisis roiling the country. In April 2022, the Pakistani military, with the encouragement of the U.S., helped organize a no-confidence vote to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan. Ahead of the ouster, State Department diplomats privately expressed anger to their Pakistani counterparts over what they called Pakistan’s “aggressively neutral” stance on the Ukraine war under Khan. They warned of dire consequences if Khan remained in power and promised “all would be forgiven” if he were removed.

17 Sep 23

[mariacallous]

Afghan refugees who fled their country to escape from decades of war and terrorism have become the unwitting pawns in a cruel and crude political tussle between Pakistan’s government and the extremist Taliban as their once-close relationship disintegrates amid mutual recrimination.

On Oct. 3, Pakistan’s government announced that mass deportations of illegal immigrants, mostly Afghans, would start on Nov. 1. So far, at least 300,000 Afghans have already been ejected, and more than a million others face the same fate as the expulsions continue.

The bilateral fight appears to center on Kabul’s support for extremists who have wreaked havoc and killed hundreds in Pakistan over the last two years—or at least that is how Islamabad sees it, arguing that it is simply applying its own laws. The Taliban deny accusations that they are behind the uptick of terrorism in Pakistan by affiliates that they protect, train, arm, and direct.

Mass deportations are a sign that Pakistan is “putting its house in order,” said Pakistan’s caretaker minister of interior, Sarfraz Bugti. “Pakistan is the only country hosting four million refugees for the last 40 years and still hosting them,” he said via text. “Whoever wanted to stay in our country must stay legally.” Of the 300,000 Afghans already ejected, none have faced any problems upon returning, he told Foreign Policy. As the Taliban are claiming that Afghanistan is now peaceful, he said, “they should help their countrymen to settle themselves.”

“We are not a cruel state,” he said, adding: “Pakistanis are more important.”

The Taliban—who, since returning to power in August 2021, have been responsible for U.N.-documented arbitrary detentions and killings, as well forcing women and girls out of work and education—have called Pakistan’s deportations “inhumane” and “rushed.” Taliban figures have said that the billions of dollars of international aid they still receive are insufficient to deal with the country’s prior economic and humanitarian crises, let alone a mass influx of penniless refugees.

The expulsions come after earlier efforts by Pakistan, such as trade restrictions, to exert pressure on Kabul to rein in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban, whose attacks on military and police present a severe security challenge to the Pakistani state. Acting Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar said earlier this month that TTP attacks have risen by 60 percent since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, with 2,267 people killed.

The irony is that Pakistan bankrolled the Taliban throughout their 20-year insurgency following their ouster from power during the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Taliban leaders found sanctuary and funding from Pakistan’s military and intelligence services. When the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated them, as did groups such as al Qaeda and Hamas. But rather than continuing as Islamabad’s proxy, the Taliban have reversed roles, providing safe haven for terrorist and jihadi groups, including the TTP.

“While it’s still too early to draw any conclusions on policy shifts in Islamabad, it appears that the initial excitement about the Taliban’s return to power has now turned into frustration,” said Abdullah Khenjani, a former deputy minister of peace in the previous Afghan government. “Consequently, these traditional [Pakistani state] allies of the Taliban are systematically reassessing their leverage to be prepared for potentially worse scenarios.”

Since the Taliban’s return, around 600,000 Afghans made their way into Pakistan, swelling the number of Afghan refugees in the country to an estimated 3.7 million, with 1.32 million registered with the U.N. High Commission on Refugees. Many face destitution, unable to find work or even send their children to local schools. The situation may be even worse after the deportations: Pakistan is reportedly confiscating most of the refugees’ money on the way out, leaving them in a precarious situation in a country already struggling to create jobs for its people or deal with its own humanitarian crises.

Border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been clogged in recent weeks, as many Afghan refugees preempted the police round-up and began making their way back. Media have reported that some of the undocumented Afghans were born in Pakistan, their parents having fled the uninterrupted conflict at home since the former Soviet Union invaded in 1979. Many of the births were not registered.

Meanwhile, some groups among those being expelled are especially vulnerable. Hundreds of Afghans could face retribution from the Taliban they left the country to escape. Journalists, women, civil and human rights activists, LGBTQ+ advocates, judges, police, former military and government personnel, and Shiite Hazaras have all been targeted by the Taliban, and many escaped to Pakistan, with and without official documents.

Some efforts have been made to help Afghans regarded as vulnerable to Taliban excess if they are returned. Qamar Yousafzai set up the Pakistan-Afghanistan International Federation of Journalists at the National Press Club of Pakistan, in Islamabad, to verify the identities of hundreds of Afghan journalists, issue them with ID cards, and help with housing and health care. He has also interceded for journalists detained by police for a lack of papers. Yet that might not be enough to prevent their deportation.

Amnesty International called for a “halt [to] the continued detentions, deportations, and widespread harassment of Afghan refugees.” If not, it said, “it will be denying thousands of at-risk Afghans, especially women and girls, access to safety, education and livelihood.” The UNHCR and International Organization for Migration, the U.N.’s migration agency, said the forced repatriations had “the potential to result in severe human rights violations, including the separation of families and deportation of minors.”

Once back in Afghanistan, returnees have found the going tough, arriving in a country they hardly know, without resources to restart their lives, many facing a harsh Himalayan winter in camps set up by a Taliban administration ill-equipped to provide for them.

Fariba Faizi, 29, is from the southwestern Afghanistan city of Farah, where she was a journalist with a private radio station. Her mother, Shirin, was a prosecutor for the Farah provincial attorney general’s office, specializing in domestic violence cases. Once the Taliban returned to power, they were both out of their jobs, since women are not permitted to work in the new Afghanistan. They also faced the possibility of detention, beating, rape, and killing.

Along with her family of 10 (parents, siblings, husband, and toddler), Faizi, now eight months pregnant with her second child, moved to Islamabad in April 2022, hoping they’d be safe enough. Once the government announced the deportations, landlords who had been renting to Afghans began to evict them; Faizi’s landlord said he wanted the house back for himself. Her family is now living with friends of Yousafzai, who also arranged charitable support to cover their living costs for six months, she said.

With no work in either Pakistan or Afghanistan, Faizi said, they faced a similar economic situation on either side of the border. In Pakistan, however, the women in the family could at least look for work, she said; their preference would be to stay in Pakistan. As it is, they remain in hiding, afraid of being detained by police and forced over the border once their visas expire.

[workersolidarity]

🇵🇰 🚨

PROTESTS AFTER INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES FORMERLY OF PTI, PARTY OF IMRAN KHAN, DEFEAT WESTERN-BACKED OPPONENTS

Despite the jailing of Imran Khan and the banning of his PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf) Party, several independent candidates formerly of PTI won big in the 2024 Pakistan General Elections, held February 8th.

Pakistan has been in turmoil ever since Imran Khan, Prime Minister since August 2018, was ousted in a Lawfare coup by Western-backed opposition forces in the Pakistani government and military. Khan has since been detained on trumped-up charges, some of which include accusations of an illegal marriage to his third wife, whom he married in 2018 shortly before assuming office.

After Khan's ouster, PTI supporters protested en mass against the government, leading to several violent incidents which the government then used to strip the party of its symbols and prevent candidates from running under the party's banner. PTI candidates have since been forced to run as independents.

Several high-profile former members of PTI turned against Khan under pressure and were trounced in this week's elections, with several lesser-known ex-PTI members defeating the turncoats.

During the elections, which were held on Thursday February 8th, several reports of pressuring and ballot stuffing accusations emerged, with videos posted online showing interference at the polls.

Still, independent, PTI-backed candidates won at least 92 seats, which though not enough to form a government on its own, could make it a major player during negotiations to form a coalition, if not suppressed.

Any coalition will need 169 seats to support its bid before forming a new government, with the Western-backed Muslim League winning the most seats and most likely to form a governing coalition.

Delays in results and fears of a stalemate and further political turmoil has brought thousands of PTI and Khan supporters out into the streets to protest the government's attempts to eliminate PTI and Khan as a threat to the current elite faction governing the country.

#source1

#source2

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[beardedmrbean]

Authorities in Pakistan sealed off the capital, Islamabad, and blocked cellphone services on Friday to prevent an anti-government rally by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials said.

It would be the latest in a series of protest rallies since last month to press for Khan's release and agitate against the ruling coalition government, which the party calls illegitimate, saying it was formed after a fraudulent election.

Shipping containers have been placed to block Islamabad's entry and exit points, guarded by large numbers of police and paramilitary troops, the officials said, while police banned any gathering in the capital.

"If someone plans to storm Islamabad, we wouldn't let that happen," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told a news conference late on Thursday.

He urged Khan's party to shift the rally to later dates, to avoid disrupting Islamabad's preparations to host a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on October 15 and October 16.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is visiting, to be followed by a high-profile Saudi delegation and Chinese Premier Li Qiang ahead of the conference, Naqvi said, adding, "We can't allow any chaos."

Any agitation in the capital would not send a good signal to the world ahead of the conference, Naqvi said.

Disregarding the appeal, Khan asked his supporters to gather outside parliament regardless of obstacles.

"I want you all to reach D-Chowk today for a peaceful protest rally," he posted on X on Friday, referring to a spot outside parliament. "This war has entered a decisive phase."

Even though Khan has been in jail since August 2023, candidates backed by him won the most seats in February's general election, though their numbers were insufficient to form a government.

His opponents, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formed a coalition government instead.

In a statement on Friday, Islamabad police warned they would take action against anyone attempting to disturb the peace in the capital, adding that any gathering had been banned.

Schools were shut and cellphone services suspended in Islamabad and the adjacent garrison city of Rawalpindi.

A telecoms official said cellphone services were blocked on directions from the interior ministry. A ministry spokesman did not respond to a request for a comment.

[xtruss]

Today the World 🌎 is Observing International Day to Combat Islamophobia! This Day is Observed Annually on March 15th, Since Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers of Member States (CFM), in Its 47th Session, November 2020, Unanimously Adopted a Resolution Led By Pakistan to Observe March 15th as the “International Day To Combat Islamophobia.”

[news-of-the-day]

5/25/23

Putin announced Russia would be sending nuclear weapons to Belarus. It would maintain control of them but they would be housed there. Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, announced they were withdrawing from Bakhmut following Russia's victory, and added 20K of his troops died in the battle.

Floridian Governor deSantis announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. People have been talking about him running for president for so long, I hadn't realized he hadn't actually officially launched his campaign yet.

The announcement was streamed live on twitter but there were many technical difficulties, which people like to point out as Musk's failures after his takeover of the company. Musk has been vocalizing for a bit that he wants to step back from twitter to return focus on Tesla and SpaceX, and last month he announced a new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, head of advertising and partnerships at NBC.

I'm trying very hard to keep on top of the Pakistani elections but the situation keeps changing regularly. You may remember there's a big hubbub regarding former Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, who was ousted a year ago after a no-confidence vote. My general sense is the existing powers that be are trying everything to keep him from running again, from throwing antiterrorism or bribery charges at him. In the past week the government has considered banning his party altogether after there were clashes with police when they tried to arrest Khan or just protest in general. Thousands of members of his party have already been arrested and many high-profile leaders have resigned. It's a very tense situation. The backdrop to all this is Pakistan is running out of money and is on the edge of a default, trying to convince the IMF to bail it out.

US jobless claims rose slightly to 229K last week, and unemployment fell to 3.4% in April. GDP was 1.3% annualized rate in Q1.

The Supreme Court handed down a ruling limiting the EPA's ability to regulate wetlands under the terms of the Clean Water Act.

Richard Barnett, the man who was pictured putting his feet up on Pelosi's desk during the January 6th riot, was sentenced to 4.5 years.

I apologize, yesterday I forgot to mention the fire that killed 19 students was in Guyana. It's also come to light the student's phone was confiscated because she was texting her older boyfriend, who is now expected to be charged for statutory rape since she was under 16, so the entire situation is awful and terrible.

1) Politico, Guardian, WSJ 2) Miami Herald 3) NYT, Barrons 4) WSJ, Al Jazeera 5) Reuters 6) USA Today 7) Washington Post

[zersk]

lol. lmao even

[starlightshadowsworld]

Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled that Imran Khan.

Pakistan's former prime minister's arrest on Tuesday 8th May.

Was illegal.

His lawyers are arguing that it was unlawful.

The court are ordering his immediate release.

Though as of the writing of this post, Thursday 11th May 14:40 BST, Imran Khan has yet to be released.

It's believed approximately 10 people have being killed and 2,000 arrested from the protests.

-Information comes from BBC News.

[zvaigzdelasas]

[VoiceOfAmerica is US State Media]

Hameed's name was widely featured in local media for his alleged involvement in national politics and influence on journalists during his tenure as the ISI chief.

The general gained global attention when journalists captured his presence on camera in the lobby of a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S.-led Western forces withdrew following nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.

During their presence in Afghanistan, Washington and allied nations had persistently accused the ISI of providing sanctuaries and covertly enabling Taliban leaders to orchestrate insurgent attacks from Pakistan against international forces on the Afghan side of the border.

Hameed was believed to be close to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who appointed him to lead the ISI when he was prime minister.[...]

In the run-up to the vote [to depose Khan], the deposed prime minister’s aides reported that he developed disputes with the military over whether Hameed should be retained as the ISI chief, as Khan desired.

12 Aug 24