#arbab countries

[the-lady-maddy]

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[gryficowa]

Boycott!

Now that I have your attention:

[xtruss]

Pakistani Corrupt Military Use Age-Old Tactics To Keep Imran Khan Away From Election

Former Prime Minister, Once Corrupt Military’s Golden Boy, Has Been Sentenced In Two Separate Politically Motivated Cases To 10 and 14 Years

— Hannah Ellis-Petersen, South Asia Correspondent | Guardian USA | Wednesday January 31, 2024

A vendor holds a picture of the jailed Former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan. Photograph: Bilawal Arbab/EPA

The script seems eerily familiar. Imran Khan, once the golden boy of Pakistan’s Corrupt Powerful Military Establishment, found himself at the receiving end of not one, but two, damning court verdicts this week.

Sentenced to 10 years in jail on Tuesday, and 14 years on Wednesday, the brazen timing of the convictions in two separate cases made one thing abundantly clear: the military will stop at nothing to keep Khan away from Pakistan’s general election, which will be held next week.

It was not so long ago that Khan himself benefited from these age-old tactics utilised repeatedly in Pakistan’s chequered political history. In 2018, when Khan was running for prime minister, it was the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who had fallen out of grace with the military and found himself facing charges of corruption and being barred from office. Less than two weeks before the election in July 2018, Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Now the tables have turned again. Khan has become the military’s harshest critic, confined behind bars, while a cowed Sharif has reconciled with the army generals and his path back to power has been cleared. As allegations of pre-poll rigging have abounded, Sharif is expected to be all but escorted into an election win.

Khan was already banned from running in the election, but the back-to-back convictions and hefty prison sentences speak to the strength of the military’s campaign against its former protege.

Since he was toppled from power in April 2022 – after a vote of no confidence widely acknowledged to have been orchestrated by the military – Khan’s criticisms of the army establishment and its tight control over Pakistani politics has been unprecedented.

Yet his campaign against the military was always doomed to fail given its iron grip, and since August, when Khan was finally arrested, it was made clear that the military would stop at nothing to sideline Khan and destroy his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Any pretence of due judicial process being followed was abandoned entirely at both cases where Khan was sentenced this week. Instead of an open courtroom, the trials were conducted inside the jail where Khan is being detained and his lawyers were not allowed to choose or cross-examine any witnesses.

Given the hefty crackdown on PTI in recent months, including all rallies being shut down by police and all coverage of the party largely banned from news channels, the party is a shadow of its former self, even if it still commands huge support from voters.

For many observers, Khan’s double convictions only serve to confirm that the elections are likely to be among the least credible in Pakistan’s recent history, pushing the country several steps back on its turbulent path towards democracy.

It is reflected too in the unusually muted political campaigning period. As the military has proved to be unafraid to show its hand in “managing” the election, even as it claims to be apolitical, all semblance of a fair fight has dissipated, with parties barely even putting forward a manifesto.

Among Pakistan’s voters, many of whom still revere Khan, there is a sense of anger and apathy. Yet most will echo the same refrain; in Pakistani politics, nothing ever really changes.

********

Imran Khan, Pakistan Former PM, Sentenced To 14 Years in Prison For Corruption (Politically Motivated Charges)

Ruling against Khan and wife Bushra Bibi comes just a day after a 10-year sentence was handed down, and just before Pakistan goes to the polls in a general election

— Hannah Ellis-Petersen, South Asia Correspondent | Wednesday 31 January 2024

Pakistan former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, has been sentenced to 14 years in jail on corruption charges. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 14 years in jail in a corruption case, a day after he was given a 10-year sentence for leaking state secrets.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, was also handed a 14-year sentence in the case, known as Toshakhana, which accused them both of illegally selling state gifts. The judge also banned them both from holding political office for 10 years.

The sentence, given at a hearing held in the Rawalpindi prison where Khan, 71, is being held, further worsens the plight of the beleaguered former prime minister, who has been in jail since August and is facing more than 100 different charges.

The judge had denied Khan’s lawyers’ request to cross-examine witnesses in the trial and his lawyers were not present on Wednesday, when the sentence was given.

Khan questioned why there was an apparent rush to wrap up the case. “Why are you in a hurry to announce the verdict? I have not even recorded my final statement,” he told the judge, before exiting the courtroom. The verdict was then given without either Khan or Bibi present.

Bibi surrendered to the authorities at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday morning.

The Toshakhana verdict came a day after a special court, also held in prison, found Khan guilty of leaking state secrets in relation to a sensitive diplomatic cable that allegedly went missing in his possession. Khan had described the trial as a sham and lawyers said he would be appealing against the verdict.

The timing of both consecutive convictions was deemed as significant by observers, coming a week before Pakistan goes to the polls in its long-delayed general election. Though Khan is already banned from running, he remains hugely popular among voters.

This is Khan’s second sentencing in the Toshakaha case, which related to allegations that the former prime minister bought several gifts given by rulers and government officials at low prices and sold them on for an undeclared profit. Khan had denied all wrongdoing.

The anti-corruption watchdog alleged that Khan and his wife had received 108 gifts from heads of state and foreign officials, some worth millions of rupees, during his term as prime minister and that many had been illegally kept or sold by the pair.

Khan was initially given a three-year sentence in the case in August, but after a higher court threw out the judgment, the legal proceedings began again after investigators presented fresh evidence relating to jewellery given by the Saudi crown prince and allegedly kept by Khan and his wife.

On Wednesday, the judge issued an even more severe sentence against both Khan and his wife, which included a collective fine of 787m rupees ($2.8m).

Khan, who was toppled from power in 2022, has claimed that the mounting cases against him are politically motivated.

Since he was removed from office in a vote of no-confidence, Khan began to publicly criticise the country’s powerful military, who have long been accused of meddling in politics. He alleged the military leadership bore a “grudge” against him and were orchestrating his imprisonment so he could not run in the elections.

Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has also faced harassment and intimidation, with senior leadership imprisoned or put under pressure to leave the party, while workers have been prevented from campaigning or holding political rallies in the buildup to the election.

A statement by PTI on X after Wednesday’s verdict said Khan and Bibi had faced “yet another kangaroo trial in which no right to defence was given to both”.

The party said there had been a “complete destruction of every existing law in Pakistan in two days”.

[carriealena]

Douglas Martin, 1927–2020

A Recollection of a House Member Talk

Memories of serving at the Bahá'í World Center (BWC) are returning with the recent passing of Dr. Arbab and Mr. Martin. I'll never forget the reaction of Mr. Martin when he arrived as a guest in our flat for the House Member dinner speaker series. As I was working as a Security Dispatcher, I knew who were the recent arrivals and soon-to-be departures at the BWC. I always made sure to prioritize invitations to these volunteers while also ensuring invitations were extended to new audience members of current volunteers representing as many countries as possible within the limited space of our three-bedroom flat on Hatzionut Avenue (across from the Monument gardens). When Mr. Martin arrived, he hastily found his way to his seat (he always seemed to be in rush to get somewhere). He took a moment to gaze at the audience. He gasped in delight as he observed the rich diversity of the friends lovingly awaiting his talk. Mr. Martin was so moved that his breath was taken away (I can't stress this enough). Mr. Martin immediately shared his observation with the audience, linking our diversity to the Bahá'í teachings of the unity in diversity of humanity, which brought joy to everyone's hearts. We were all so happy to be there together in our united diversity. This moment was truly the highlight of all the dinner speaker series. 💐

[expatimes]

The life and career of Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s cricket prodigy

The life and career of Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan has seen the theatrical treatment: The curtains parted one day and there he was.

Among a cast of romantic, colourful cricketers from the country’s fairy tale, stood the teen prodigy, the one player ready-made for the biggest stage.

Online profiles feature Rashid’s One-Day International (ODI) debut at the age of 17, the 25 teams he has represented in various formats, his admiration for Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, that whippy, whirly action, dead-eye wrong ’un, striking ability with the bat, athleticism in the field and the ICC T20 Player of the Decade title, even though he played in only half of it.

But what about the other parts of the man that was known as Rashid Arman, the sixth of 11 brothers? The dreamer who thought he would become the family’s first doctor? The computer science student with beautiful handwriting? The part-time English teacher? The boy who was called “Peshawari” in Afghanistan’s local cricket and “muhajir” (refugee) during his college days in Peshawar, Pakistan?

There are bits that make up his life from Bati Kot to Peshawar and back to Afghanistan’s Jalalabad then Kabul, before his October 2015 ODI debut in Bulawayo – on his way to becoming Rashid Khan, the superstar.

In the life of every cricketer, there are family, coaches and teammates who watch their rise with a mix of emotions: Love, pride, delight, among lashings of envy.

We begin with a story from Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain who was Afghanistan coach from October 2015 to April 2016.

Looking at a list of his squad for a 2016 tour of Sharjah, Haq noted Rashid’s omission.

While Rashid’s performance in Bulawayo had not been earth-shattering, he – out of the roster of leg-spinners Haq had first called out and tried – had impressed.

So much so that Haq ended the arguments with selectors by saying: “Only after Rashid is in the team can you talk to me about other things.”

Six years later, Rashid’s name is first on every Afghanistan team sheet.

These days, Rashid is in Abu Dhabi for the Test series against Zimbabwe.

In the touring party is senior team manager Nazeem Jar Abdulrahimzai, who, in his many past roles in Afghanistan cricket remembers 2012 as the year he first met Rashid.

At a provincial Twenty20 match in Kabul, playing for a club called Kochian, Abdulrahimzai watched an unknown teenager, of small built, batting like a dervish.

“He was opening, he scored 93. When he bowled, no one could read him. It hit the legs, bowled. It hit the pads, LBW. It’s like they couldn’t see,” said Abdulrahimzai. “I had not seen a boy like that.”

Rashid had been spotted, marked for attention and encouragement.

Abdulrahimzai started emailing regional teams, asking them to try Rashid out, pushing those who hesitated.

“Listen, I’m the domestic manager, you take him, give him training and a trial. If you’re happy with him, fine. If you’re not, he can come back.”

Khan won the ICC T20 Player of the Decade title, even though he played in only half of it

In 2013, Afghanistan set up the Shpageeza Cricket League, which was to become its national T20 competition, one of the many steps Rashid would take on his meandering odyssey.

That year, at Peshawar’s Arbab Niaz Stadium, Islamia College Coach Ali Hoti was approached by a teenager who introduced himself as Rashid Arman and said he wanted to join the college and its famous cricket programme.

Islamia College alumni have represented Pakistan in various sports. Among its celebrated cricketers are Haseeb Ehsan, Yasir Hamid, Wajahatullah Wasti and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

When Hoti and team captain Sajjad Hashmi saw the youngster’s clean-hitting with the bat and his unorthodoxy with the ball, they knew they had spotted a winner.

But at the trials for the university’s sports quota admissions, the young man was missing. He had had to dash over to Afghanistan to play in a tournament.

This to and fro was due to Rashid’s nomadic boyhood, often as part of a business family alongside 10 brothers.

Cricket, the constant

During a period of uncertainty and war, as the family moved between towns on the border, cricket remained the only constant.

Rashid’s skills were homemade, on the concrete strip inside the housing compound meant for parking cars, in taped tennis ball contests with his brothers, especially brother number two, a football fan.

Once, so furious at being done in by Rashid, his brother wrapped extra tape on the tennis ball only for Rashid to get past him again.

The brothers were competitive but protective. Abdulrahimzai remembers one of Rashid’s brothers Jalil, sitting next to him during an early under-19 match, asking: “What will become of this boy? Of Rashid?”

If he had asked Rashid, he would have been shown him the road map.

At Islamia, Hoti said Rashid enrolled for a computer science degree from 2013 and the formalised structure of cricket training and competition.

Team captain Hashmi befriended the quiet, new entrant and saw what Abdulrahimzai had seen: Presence and confidence.

Hashmi, a former opener-wicketkeeper who played domestic cricket in Pakistan, said Rashid immersed himself in cricket, barely spoke and never complained.

“As college captain, players come and argue their case: Why did you bowl me so late, why can’t I bat in this position. With Rashid, nothing,” said Hashmi.

On one occasion, Rashid was dropped due to a dispute in the team and Hashmi went to his home to make peace.

“The next time I went to the ground, he was there. With his cones, doing his training and shuttle runs,” said Hashmi.

“Others might have gone into a sulk, but he knew what he had to do and wasn’t going to stop. Rashid didn’t waste time, he was driven and completely focused. It was like inside, his real talents were hidden, waiting for their time.”

Rashid’s batting, especially his clean hitting, added to his prowess as a world-class cricketer

Within three years, the world would see those talents.

We must turn to Abdulrahimzai’s Urdu to understand what Rashid’s on-field manner reflected: “Haawi rehna” (domination) and what Abdulrahimzai never saw in him: “Bebasi” (helplessness).

In collegiate and inter-university cricket, Hashmi said Rashid earned the reputation of being the spinner all batsmen thought best to see off.

Hoti is now director of sports at what is now Islamia University and recalls Rashid’s “zabardast” handwriting and the pressure from home to study.

“Rashid was a good student, a thinker. He would try to speak in English, practice it every day, along with his Pashto and Urdu.”

Rashid once said in an interview that he taught English for about six months before cricket took over as he prepared himself for a life beyond college and the towns he called home.

The variations

Rashid’s first cricketing schools – the restrictive and demanding surface of the concrete corridors in his family’s many homes – gave him the fast-arm action to get extra zip on the taped tennis ball.

Flipping the ball out off his fingers – who said wrist-spinners must only use their wrists? – he sent it whirring through the air, rushing the batsmen on concrete, matting, turf, anything.

Where conventional spinners use variations of pace, loop and flight to judge what works best where, Khan’s pace – more than 90km/h (56mph) – is his fundamental staple.

He said he has five grips to choose from during a game… and three googlies.

“Shahid Afridi was my role model while growing up in Afghanistan”. (Rashid Khan) Inspiration of many.❤️@SAfridiOfficial Thank you Lala.#BoomBoom pic.twitter.com/31Y1pyvuwA

— Zain Zahid (@ZainZahid____10) March 9, 2021

To most batsmen, the range is not the issue. Rather, it is the sameness of what everything looks like that leads to befuddlement over what is going to arrive.

As Haq described it, the batsmen’s lack “response time” to react to a ball that not only turns, but turns at speed.

It was not those skills alone that marked Rashid in Haq’s eyes.

On his debut tour in Zimbabwe, Rashid sat out the first ODI. Before the second, Haq told him to bowl at him in the nets.

“If I’m out, you’re in,” he said.

Rashid failed to dismiss his coach but remembers beating him once.

“Even if I had got out to him, it would’ve been fine, that’s the quality of bowler he is. I would have played him, but I wanted to see how he would respond,” Haq said.

What happened before their exchange had revealed more to Rashid.

“When I challenged Rashid, the 17-year-old looked me in the eyes and said ‘haanji, theek hai, aayein net main’ ,” said Haq with a chuckle.

Rashid’s game was always going to be on.

Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=18875&feed_id=36713

[lakyariestate]

Pakistan to realize its agricultural potential through CPEC

Pakistan to realize its agricultural potential through CPEC

The Par­lia­­mentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) held its meeting under the chairmanship of Sher Ali Arbab and called for enhancing the areas of research to encourage indigenous technological innovations and modernise the country’s agriculture sector under CPEC. Moreover, it called for giving due attention to the livestock sector to tap Chinese market. ISLAMABAD: The…

[americanfreedomonline]

Morning mail: inner-Sydney cluster grows, America's 'red zone', the anti-real estate agent

Good morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 30 July.

Top stories

Queensland has closed its borders to greater Sydney and halted all visits to aged care facilities for 48 hours as a new Covid-19 cluster forms in Sydney’s inner-east suburb of Potts Point. Victoria has recorded nine deaths and 295 new infections, with the rising tally of active cases linked to aged care facilities requiring clears answers, Gay Alcorn writes. The prime minister’s department has refused to release 1,100 documents relating to the national Covid-19 commission’s discussion of gas projects, amid ongoing allegations of potential conflicts of interest. Legal advice obtained by the Australian Conservation Foundation suggests that national cabinet deliberations may not be exempt from freedom of information requests. And, in bad news for older Australians, the latest payroll job numbers are in, with workers aged 60 and older facing a sharply tightening labour market, writes Greg Jericho.

The US has suffered its deadliest day of summer, with more than 1,300 Covid-19-related deaths taking the national toll to just shy of 150,000. Twenty-one states have entered what the federal government has dubbed “the red zone”, in terms of rising infection numbers. Globally, known cases have doubled in the last six weeks, undermining optimism that pre-pandemic normality is anywhere in sight. For the first time in history, Saudi Arabia has banned Muslims from abroad from entering the country to perform the hajj – an annual event that usually attracts 2.5 million people, with officials allowing between 1,000 and 10,000 locally based pilgrims access to Mecca.

Top executives from Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple have been grilled by US Congress in a landmark antitrust hearing. The “emperors of the online economy”, including two of the world’s four richest men, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, faced a fierce examination of their business practices, with the panel chair, David Cicilline, saying the four “abuse control over current technologies to extend their power” and use “control over digital infrastructure to surveil other companies”. “Open markets are predicated on the idea that if a company harms people, consumers, workers and business partners will choose another option,” he said. “We are here today because that choice is no longer possible.” Facebook has been under fire for its aggressive monopolistic tendencies and Apple faces accusations of anti-competitive behaviours.

Australia

Aemo’s electricity roadmap outlines a system based on large-scale renewable energy and distributed power sources such as rooftop solar panels supported by multiple ‘dispatchable’ sources. Photograph: Benjamin Egerland/Getty Images/EyeEm

The price of gas-fired power will need to stay very low if it is to compete with a national grid increasingly based on renewable energy, Australia’s peak governing body for the electrical system has warned, with solar panels expected to meet up to nearly a quarter of need by 2040.

A third Aboriginal man has died in Western Australia custody this month, with authorities confirming that a 47-year-old man was discovered unconscious in his cell at Roebourne regional prison, 500km south-west of Broome.

Feral livestock are to blame for a sharp fall in native mammal numbers in the Northern Territory, researchers say. Populations of small and medium-sized animals such as bandicoots and gliders have declined, with cattle, horses, buffalo and donkeys destroying their habitats.

The world

A Pakistani police officer stands guard outside a mortuary where the body of Tahir Ahmad Naseem was taken. Photograph: Bilawal Arbab/EPA

A Pakistani man on trial for blasphemy has been murdered inside a courtroom, with the member of the minority Ahmedi sect shot dead by a lone gunman. A spokesman for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said religious fanaticism had become “unbearable”.

German police investigating the Madeleine McCann case have uncovered a cellar on an allotment plot in Hanover owned by the prime suspect in 2007. A garden house on the property was torn down that year. Forensic experts have begun combing the site.

As many as 1,000 babies born to surrogate mothers in Russia for foreign families have been left in limbo, with international border closures preventing would-be parents from entering the country, one of the few countries globally in which paid surrogacy is legal.

Researchers in England have located the likely site from which 50 of the 52 giant sarsen stones at Stonehenge were hewn, a popular dog-walking spot in Wiltshire some 24km north of Salisbury. The 20 tonne, 7m centre stones were moved 4,500 years ago.

Recommended reads

Veteran mechanic Craig Salmon has retrained to work on electric cars and loves it when his regulars make the switch. Photograph: Matthew Netwon/The Guardian

“Car enthusiasts hate them because they run so silent; you can’t get any noise out of them.” But for the veteran motor mechanic Craig Salmon, the list of upsides to electric vehicles far outweighs the negatives, as he tells Royce Kurmelovs – including performance. “The thing no one tells you about electric cars is you get 100% of the torque with zero rpm.” While Australia may have been slow to embrace the worldwide turn to EVs, one company in Tasmania is making affordability its mission. A common fear across the country is that electric cars won’t get you where you want to go. What happens if you run out of charge on a busy highway, or halfway to work? Here’s how the government could easily address these problems.

It’s almost the norm across parts of Europe and North America, but such are the weak rental protections for tenants in Australia, build-to-rent apartments remain rare. In Sydney’s inner west that’s now changing for longtime renters like John McCallister, writes Alyx Gorman. And while on-site rents might be higher, no-surprise leases and 4% capped annual rental rises are just some of the benefits for those looking to eliminate the real estate agent.

There’s something intrinsically cathartic about being in a choir. Linked to improving health and wellbeing, fighting diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, being in a choir fosters near-family like closeness, Ria Andriani explains. But in the coronavirus era, the feasibility of packing dozens of singers together for rehearsal renders this a remote dream, at least until a vaccine is found.

Listen

As Australia eyes its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, on this episode of Full Story, Greg Jericho speaks with Gabrielle Jackson about where the economy is at and what still lies in store.

Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.

Sport

Western Sydney Wanderers looked as though they had cracked the code until a media campaign carpet bombed the entire terrace. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

In its 15-year history, the A-League has seen the support for clubs wax and wane but it has never captured the sort of tribalism the old NSL engendered, writes Simon Hill. And while success acts as a fillip, a sense of belonging is much harder to sustain.

After nearly five months of inaction Andy Murray believes upsets could be the new norm, likening the enforced break to world tennis to a long injury layoff. And the Scot has called for more mixed-gender events.

Media roundup

Australian workers will withdraw nearly $42bn from retirement savings, reports the Australian, with the figure nearly double forecasts, fuelling concerns the government is undermining long-term planning for short-term solutions. The AFL clubs Richmond and Carlton are facing hefty fines, the Age reveals, after reports a player left the hub to attend a beauty salon, and another’s young children were taken to Sea World before returning to lockdown. And Australian astronomers have discovered a group of ancient stars considered “the building blocks of our galaxy”, posing major new questions about the evolution of the Milky Way, reports the ABC.

And if you’ve read this far …

What’s in an apostrophe? Well, if you’re Donald Trump Jr, quite a bit. Having copped heavy flak for a grammatical error in the subtitle of his forthcoming self-published book, the president’s son has been digging downwards on Twitter: “Sleepy Joe wont like this one. But lets be honest he probably doesn’t keep up with current events.” And his promotional website doesn’t do much better, promising the book will uncover “countless liberal scandals, years of entrenched racism in the democrat party and decades of failed polices”.

Sign up

If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.

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[atifparvaiz000]

Pakistani engineer manufactures country’s first voice-operated wheelchair Pakistani student Faaiz Arbab from Lahore has manufactured a wheel-chair that can be controlled by voice and operated through a smartphone application. The post Pakistani engineer manufactures country’s first voice-operated wheelchair appeared first on ARYNEWS.

[xtruss]

Shocking Opposition Victory Throws Pakistan Into Chaos

The Party of Imran Khan, Illegally Jailed Former Prime Minister, Took The Most Seats, Humiliating the Country’s Corrupt $$$ Military Rulers Who Rigged the Elections heavily and Creating a Political Crisis.

— By Christina Goldbaum | Reporting From Islamabad, Pakistan | February 10, 2024 | The New York Times

Supporters of Imran Khan’s political party rallied on Saturday in Peshawar, Pakistan, asking for the release of the complete results of the parliamentary election. Credit...Arshad Arbab/EPA, via Shutterstock

The party of the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, won the most seats in parliamentary elections this week, delivering a strong rebuke to the country’s powerful generals and throwing the political system into chaos.

While military leaders had hoped the election would put an end to the political turmoil that has consumed the country since Mr. Khan’s ouster in 2022, it has instead plunged it into an even deeper crisis, analysts said.

Never before in the country’s history has a politician seen such success in an election without the backing of the generals — much less after facing their iron fist.

In voting on Thursday, candidates from Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., appeared to win about 97 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, the country’s election commission reported on Saturday. The military’s preferred party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or P.M.L.N., led by a three-time former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, won at least 73 seats, the commission said. Only seven seats were left unaccounted for — not enough to change the outcome as reported by the commission.

While candidates aligned with Mr. Khan were set to be the largest group in Parliament, they still fell short of a simple majority — setting off a race between the parties of Mr. Khan and Mr. Sharif to win over other lawmakers and establish a coalition government.

Leaders of Mr. Khan’s party also said they planned court challenges in dozens of races that they believe were rigged by the military, and said they would urge their followers to hold peaceful protests if the remaining results were not released by Sunday.

The success of Mr. Khan’s party was a head-spinning upset in an election that the military thought would be an easy victory for Mr. Sharif. Ahead of last week’s election, Pakistan’s powerful generals had jailed Mr. Khan, arrested candidates allied with him and intimidated his supporters to clear his party from the playing field — or so they thought. Instead, the election results confirmed that Mr. Khan remains a formidable force in Pakistani politics, despite his ouster and subsequent imprisonment.

On Friday evening, Mr. Khan’s party released a victory speech using a computer-generated voice to simulate that of Mr. Khan, who has been jailed since August. “I congratulate you all for your election 2024 victory. I had full confidence that you would all come out to vote,” the A.I.-generated voice said. “Your massive turnout has stunned everybody.”

The success of Mr. Khan’s party upended the decades-old political playbook governing Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 240 million. Throughout those years, the military has wielded ultimate authority, guiding its politics behind a veil of secrecy, and civilian leaders have typically risen to power only with its support — or been driven from office by its heavy hand.

The vote also showed that Mr. Khan’s strategy of preaching reform and railing against the military has resonated deeply with Pakistanis — particularly young people — who are disillusioned with the political system. It also proved that his loyal base of supporters was seemingly immune to the military’s old tactics for demoralizing voters, including arresting supporters and issuing long prison sentences to their political leaders days before the vote.

Mr. Khan, a former cricket star turned populist politician, was sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison after being convicted in four separate cases on charges that included leaking state secrets and unlawful marriage, and that he has called politically motivated.

Three of those verdicts were issued just days before the vote — an old tactic used by the military, analysts say. But early estimates show that around 48 percent of the voters turned out for the election, according to the Free and Fair Election Network, an organization of civil society groups. Voter turnout in the country’s past two elections was about 50 percent, the organization said.

The results were “both an anti-establishment vote and also a vote against the status quo, against the two other major political parties that have been ruling the country and their dynastic politics,” Zahid Hussain, an analyst based in Islamabad, said, referring to the military as the establishment.

Without a simple majority, most analysts believe it will be difficult for Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., to form a government. Some P.T.I. leaders have also suggested that the party would rather remain in the opposition than lead a weakened coalition government with Mr. Khan still behind bars.

Despite lagging behind in the polls, on Friday Mr. Sharif gave a victory speech in front of a crowd of supporters of his party, P.M.L.N. He also invited other parties to join his in forming a coalition government, suggesting that such a coalition would not include P.T.I.

“We are inviting everyone today to rebuild this injured Pakistan and sit with us,” he said in a speech in Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province.

But any coalition Mr. Sharif manages to form will face serious political challenges. The coalition government led by P.M.L.N. after Mr. Khan’s ouster was deeply unpopular and widely criticized for failing to address an economic crisis that has battered the country and sent inflation to record highs.

The incoming government is also likely to face a serious legitimacy crisis. The election on Thursday has also been criticized by some as one of the least credible in the country’s history, and delays in releasing the election results have led to widespread allegations that the military tampered with the vote count to tip the scales back in P.M.L.N.’s favor.

With P.T.I. promising bruising and lengthy court battles over the results, it could be some time before any party manages to form a government.

“We will pursue all legal options, and we will pursue all constitutional options,” said the P.T.I. leader, Raoof Hasan.

— Zia ur-Rehman contributed reporting.

— Christina Goldbaum is the Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief for The Times. More about Christina Goldbaum

[tumbirus]

Good evening,today my words any kingdom's are agree came to in the world,but truth tell to me,not any fear ,me any way our life lose to agree ones,but god permission want you,not human permission, 100%,. Many gulf countries are,king Dom raj running to still,full of abuse,murder,fake faith,less independent, girls and woman's life rules under,so many Islam communities ,jihad ones,afganisthan ,Taliban group,own benefit many Muslim leaders,coming generation children's mind banding ,unless faith rule and publicity making to gulf countries and Islam countries inside,not any good knolge speed to any Islam madrssa and group, many gulf king Dom's Islam human counting thinks running and finacily help to pakisthan and afganisthan ,Bangladesh and many countries divert to money,terrisam and fear give to this ones persons in whole world,so gulf country humans life waisting to this king Dom's and are mans,uneducated and middle educated peoples ,mad mind how is it,many country persons cheating to this arbabs to Dubai,many arbab property get to Indians and many country peoples own,same to Indian "yousafali" middle family this middle educated Peron today corror path I no,so arbab property cheating ones is other country persons in the world,why this silly humans are not any life knowledge, sure100. So gulf country humans ,fake believe ,less education is this country ,girls ,woman's and children's life spoiling systems,so public government and are public education, decent development is must,so try to public,side to king domes,soudi Arabian girls open to way in the world,soudi criminal is am open to this girl,not human stay to soudi,any this ones faith is flase,many Muslim faith country name money making to king Dom,not any makka our madina,Mohammed nabi business aria only,old ones making to many flase history,so today see to world peoples to good,Holy Quran rules ,which Islam accepting to in the world,humans blood and life lose and terresiam name is Islam,so many kind words give to me,"you all Islam change to this world,yours real faith and holy Quran words accepted to you all (at Mumbai, Maharashtra) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnuDzenDqa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=96qam4rn81ph

[media-zoon]

Mediazoon: “All cases are being observed according to law”- NAB

Mediazoon: “All cases are being observed according to law”- NAB

Mediazoon: The spokesperson NAB says that all the parties, including PPP, are watching according to the law.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) spokesperson said in a statement that NAB rules apply to all parties and personalities.

All parties, including PPP, are watching according to the law.

Justice (R)  Javed Iqbal, Chairman NAB said that the blame on Arabab Alamgir and Asma Arbab…

[hamzaaslam]

Imran Khan has set new example of accountability from his associates: Arbab Rahim

HYDERABAD: Grand Democratic Alliance leader and former chief minister of Sindh Arbab Rahim has said Prime Minister Imran Khan has set an example by taking accounts from his own associates. This proves he has interest of country and nation more dear than his associates.

Arbab Rahim said on this action of accountability process I salute prime minister for taking accounts from his minister which…

[lakyariestate]

Allama Iqbal Industrial City’s groundbreaking to be held on January 3, 2020: Chairman CPEC Parliamentary Committee

Allama Iqbal Industrial City’s groundbreaking to be held on January 3, 2020: Chairman CPEC Parliamentary Committee

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government would open the 4,000-acre Allama Iqbal Industrial City, Faisalabad, under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on January 3, 2020.

Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC Sher Ali Arbab informed this correspondent after the in-camera committee meeting on Monday.

He said the two countries had agreed to develop nine Special Economic Zones…

[helenjoke60-blog]

Most current breaking sci-tech News & Videos News Headlines-Beam.Pk

At close to 180 million individuals, Pakistan is the 6th most populous country in the world, and also is geopolitical necessary as a factor of connection between Asia and the Middle East. All huge technical Brand names are available in Pakistan and you can easily look for house and office devices from Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, and also LG. You can easily get all the latest gizmos and tools for school tasks from brand names like HP, IMose, Lenovo, Samsung as well as Apple without problems as you can take pleasure in fast shipment solution even to your institution. Murree played host to the very first as well as only Brewery firm in Pakistan "Murree-Brewery": To fulfill the beer needs of British personnel (mainly army), the Murree Brewery was developed in 1860 and also integrated a year later at Ghora Gali "loose translation= Valley of the White People", located in the Pir Punjal range of the Western Himalayas at an elevation of 6000' above sea level, near the resort community of Murree. If we speak about the natural beauty, the magnificent Kaghan valley in North West Frontier Province had its very own paradise. Latest Market Rates & Updated will certainly not locate these fantastic locations all over the world. Current changes in policies pertaining to visas as notified by the Civil Aviation Authority in January 2018 has actually proposed to restore the visa-on-arrival option for group vacationers from 24 tourist-friendly" countries, consisting of China, Finland, Austria, Belgium, France and also Greece, if the trip is arranged with designated excursion drivers in Pakistan". Hanna Lake, the man-made Hanna Lake located near Quetta is rated as one of one of the most breathtaking lakes of Pakistan. There are many spectacular locations in Balochistan province with immense natural charm that attracts a large number of vacationers each year. Hence, summertime season is the best time to see these spectacular plains that hold numerous kinds of flowers that give color to it. One of the greatest lakes worldwide, Sheosar Lake moves along them with hills and also plant behind-the-scenes, making a best landscapes. Going through Reasons why Pakistan is just as beautiful as Switzerland , the Neelam River valley has outstanding picturesque appeal, scenic sights; looming hillsides on both sides of the loud Neelum River, lush environment-friendly forests, bewitching streams and also attractive surroundings make the valley a desire happened. Summer getaways were an additional aspect motivating residential travelers to intend their journeys to the lovely uneven areas of north Pakistan, he said that PTDC motels were large sufficient to suit a large number of individuals as well as its Naran motel has 60 areas, which was situated on the financial institution of Naran River. Individuals around the globe do have an extremely incorrect assumption of Pakistan being terrorised country, yes it has some major safety problems yet it's mainly on a details location like Waziristan the locals are completely risk-free present moment its obtaining better thanks to the extremely hard working Armed forces of Pakistan. Pakistan peak list of world's top travel destination for 2018 will certainly InshaAllah make an undertaking to make certain that innovation graduates and also experts are geared up with the ideal knowledge and also skills via maintaining requirements of professional principles, guaranteeing nationwide and international standards are satisfied, boosting a society of entrepreneurship and giving possibilities for Proceeding Specialist Advancement (CPD). Acquire online Xtouch Smart phone on low-cost price in Pakistan. Mobiles are classified right here inning accordance with different price varieties, video camera ranges, as well as chosen requirements like twin sim, three-way sim, wifi, Bluetooth, without video camera, FM radio, 3G as well as 4G. The mobile brands have the tendency to introduce phones with brand-new as well as advanced attributes to fascinate the mobile users. When you intend to keep up to date with exactly what happens in the world of innovation, smart devices, latest video games, most recent apps, smartphone and laptop computer evaluations, latest geek stories and most of all technology news in little time as possible, then beam.pk is what you need. Pakistan prime list of world's prime travel location for 2018 and every phone has a detailed specification sheet, the listing of on the internet shops in Pakistan selling the phone, the most affordable prices as well as a brief testimonial in order to help you know a lot more concerning it. f you desire even more details, we constantly feature comprehensive insurance coverage on the beam.pk blog site Beam.pk carries you all the details that you require about mobile phones. Technologies of Smartphone are proliferating, as well as the latest, most intelligent and also fastest IOS as well as Android Smartphones are revealing by various renowned phone brands such as IPhone, Samsung, Huawei, Infinix, QMobile and more. All these brands are more indulging to provide the brand-new and also better phones relating to technology. It is additionally a really renowned traveler destination due to the magnificent as well as terrific surroundings of the surrounding mountains like Ultar Sar, Rakaposhi, Ghenta Top, Hunza Optimal, Passu Optimal, Diran Peak and Bublimating all 6,000 metres 19,685 feet or above. Faaiz Arbab, an Electrical Design student from Lahore College of Administration Sciences (LUMS) has been awarded 'Finest Customer Item Design Honor for 2018' by National Style Honors (NDA) for creating Pakistan's very first voice-operated clever mobility device. The pleases of Pakistan speak for themselves once you are there, and it tends unexpected that the Mugal forts and also mosques, beautiful bazaars and also high-altitude trips are not thronging with the daring travellers who frequent other parts of south Asia.

[evangelistarbab-blog]

When I started kingdom work I was asking myself where am I going alone, but I was not alone, He sent me with a purpose, I tried to ask help to many people but they give me promises till today, but God reminded me, arbab you r a child of the king, God sent angles in form of men and women to help in His work, Lord, father God bless all my family friends brothers and sisters who always don't sleep thinking of us,from Pakistan, united state, Canada, Australia, and other countries,increase their pockets, so we can building done ( WHITLER ORPHANAGE HOME IN PAKISTAN) I speak favour, increase in everything they touch with their hands, speed in their foots,may they achieve many things more than what their families achieved before, in Jesus Name I pray and believe, Amen. Www.ccfm.pk

[batexamin]

List Of International Cricket Stadiums In World | Famous Cricket Stadium In World

  A stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports with seats for spectators who come to watch the games. Stadiums are places of national importance as people from all castes, religions, etc. come together to support the national teams. This article provides you with a list of Stadiums in different countries along with their locations. Enhance your GK by reading this list :     List of International Stadiums in India   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Feroz Shah Kotla Ground Delhi Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium Dharamshala Brabourne Stadium Mumbai M Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore Green Park Stadium Kanpur M.A. Chidambaram Stadium Chennai Wankhede Stadium Mumbai Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur Barabati Stadium Cuttack Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Mohali Eden Gardens Kolkata Green Park Stadium Kanpur       List of International Stadiums in Australia   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Adelaide Oval Adelaide Marrara Cricket Ground Darwin Bundaberg Rum Cairns Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Telstra Dome Melbourne Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Manuka Oval Canberra W.A.C.A. Ground Perth       List of International Stadiums in Bangladesh   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Bangabandhu National Stadium Dhaka Chittagong Stadium Chittagong       List of International Stadiums in England   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Edgbaston Birmingham St Lawrence Ground Canterbury Headingley Leeds The Brit Oval London Lord’s London Trent Bridge Nottingham Old Trafford Manchester Sophia Gardens Cardiff       List of International Stadiums in New Zealand   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Basin Reserve Wellington John Davies Oval Queenstown Eden Park Auckland McLean Park Napier Jade Stadium Christchurch       List of International Stadiums in Pakistan   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Arbab Niaz Stadium Peshawar Gaddafi Stadium Lahore Ayub National Stadium Quetta       List of International Stadiums in South Africa   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Kingsmead Durban St George’s Park Port Elizabeth New Wanderers Stadium Johannesburg Centurion Super Sport Park Pretoria Newlands Cape Town       List of International Stadiums in Sri Lanka   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Colombo Cricket Club Ground Colombo R.Premadasa Stadium Colombo Galle International Stadium Galle Sinhalese Sports Club Ground Colombo P.Saravanamuttu Stadium Colombo          List of International Stadiums in West Indies   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Sabina Park Kingston Jamaica Kensington Oval Bridgetown Barbados Antigua Recreation Ground St John’s Antigua Mindoo Phillip Park Castries St Lucia Guyana Cricket Stadium Georgetown Guyana Albion Sports Complex Berbice Guyana       List of International Stadiums in Zimbabwe   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Bulawayo Athletic Club Bulawayo Kwekwe Sports Club Kwekwe Harare Sports Club Harare Queens Sports Club Bulawayo        List of International Stadiums in United Arab Emirates   Name of Stadium Place Name of Stadium Place Sheikh Zayed Stadium Abu Dhabi Sharjah Cricket Stadium Sharjah    

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