Sunday, 13 November, 2022 I 17 Rabi us Sani, 1444 I Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 134 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
President ‘mediating’ talks to bring Political temPerature down g
SayS tryIng to Save democracy from deraIlment, ImProve SItuatIon
LAHORE
P
staff report
reSIdent dr arif alvi has said that as supreme commander of the armed forces, he was playing his role to bring down the political temperature in the country. “I am trying to reduce tensions and bring all political parties to negotiating table to save democracy from derailing and improve situation,” the president said while interacting with a group of journalists here at governor house in la-
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SayS though he belongS to PtI, he doeSn’t take InStructIonS from Imran
hore on Saturday. dr alvi admitted that although his constitutional role does not allow him to mediate between political parties particularly on the matter of army chief’s appointment, he is trying to reduce tensions to save democracy. President alvi, who belongs to Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (PtI), said that he didn’t take instructions from Imran khan. “I am on friendly terms with him. We share same opinion but I don’t seek his counsel,” the president added. President alvi said negotiations are underway to reduce the friction and im-
prove situation but matters “are being kept under wraps to so that things progress amicably”. “I am playing a role of mediator as supreme commander of the armed forces but I am not a broker,” he asserted. Speaking about security measures being taken in the federal capital ahead of PtI’s long march to Islamabad, the president said, “containers were used for trade across the world but in Pakistan they have been given a new use”. President alvi said all political parties have demanded early elections at some point in time and added that even Supreme court had discussed the possibility of early polls to end the political deadlock. responding to a question about establishment’s role in politics, the president said he cannot rewrite history but can only try to make things better. President alvi’s remarks came the same day his party chief criticised Prime minister Shahbaz Sharif and other party leaders for holding a meeting in london to decide the Pakistan army’s next chief as he addressed participants of the party’s haqeeqi azadi march in lala musa. “the important decisions of the country are taken abroad and by those who have looted Pakistan for the last 30 years,” Imran khan said in reference to Shehbaz purportedly discussing the key appointment and other issues of national importance with his elder brother nawaz Sharif during his unscheduled london visit.
Saudi crown Prince’s Pakistan visit ‘postponed’ ISLAMABAD staff report
Saudi crown Prince and Prime minister muhammad bin Salman’s much-anticipated visit to Pakistan has been postponed, the foreign ministry confirmed on Saturday. according to the foreign ministry officials, the Saudi crown Prince’s visit to Pakistan and other regions of South asia has been postponed, adding that the crown Prince would only visit the Indonesian city of bali for the g20 summit. they claimed that new
date of his visit to Pakistan would be announced soon. It is important to mention here that Pakistan’s government was optimistic about the Saudi crown Prince’s visit despite the political turmoil in the country. last month, Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the crown prince would soon be visiting Pakistan and that he had expressed willingness to support development projects in the country, including an announcement for a $10 billion investment for the establishment of an oil refinery. the premier’s remarks
had come days after he concluded a three-day trip to the kingdom during which the two leaders resolved to upgrade bilateral ties and fraternal bonds. the crown prince had last visited Pakistan in february 2019 during the term of former prime minister Imran khan. during his visit, the inaugural session of the Saudi-Pak Supreme coordination council was held. the council was formed to put in place a high-level institutional mechanism to fasttrack decisions in key areas
of bilateral cooperation, and for close monitoring of their implementation.
PTI’s caravans converging at Rawalpindi from various locations ISLAMABAD Mian abrar
While Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is busy in his effort to convince his elder brother and party Quaid nawaz Sharif over the next army chief, Pakistan tehreek-i-Insaf (PtI) caravans are heading towards federal capital with huge number of party workers from various locations of the country. this time around, the PtI may also find it easy to storm the capital as Pml-n’s ‘trump card’ – Interior minister rana Sanaullah – is hospitalised with heart ailment. the PtI announced that though its chief Imran khan was nursing his wounds in his lahore residence after a failed assassination attempt at his life, various party leaders would be leading caravans from various locations simultaneous towards federal capital. according to the issued tweet, PtI vice chairman Shah mahmood Qureshi is leading the march and is in lala musa right now. Qureshi has already been joined in by party’s Sindh chapter president ali Zaidi who led a caravan from Sindh. Party’s another leader, haleem adil Sheikh is leading another caravan from interior Sindh and would be joining Qureshi’s main caravan later next week. anther major convoy is led by asad umar who stated from toba tek Singh and now has reached Jhang. the caravan will reach rawalpindi after passing through faisalabad and Sargodha. PtI general Secretary asad umar has reached Shorkot in Jhang district leading the long march rally. but PtI’s biggest show would arrive in rawalpindi from khyber Pakhtunkhwa – the bastion of the PtI. three major caravans from various parts of kP would arrive rawalpindi where Imran khan would receive them. PtI general secretary kP ali amin gandapur would lead a caravan
from southern districts including north and South Wazirisatn, bannu, dera Ismail khan, lakki marwat etc. Shehryar khan afridi would lead a caravan from Parachanar, kurram agency, darra adamkhel and kohat districts. asad Qaisar and murad Saeed would lead a rally from Peshawar while Pervez khattak would lead a rally from hazara division. all caravans from kP would converge on Peshawar-Islamabad motorway and then would lead towards rawalpindi. Qasim khan Suri would be leading a rally from balochistan and he would directly arrive rawalpindi. PtI azad kashmir rally would be lead by aJk Prime minister Sardar tanveer Ilyas who is set to join the marchers in rawalpindi while chief minister khalid khursheed khan would lead a rally from gilgit baltistan. PtI’s official twitter account shared photographs of asad umar and Qureshi interacting with supporters there who addressed huge rallies on their way. PtI leader asad umar has said the “haqeeqi azadi” is not just former prime minister Imran khan’s “war” and that the “people of the country are also an equal part of it.” addressing a rally in Jhang, the explanning minister urged the supporters of Imran to stand by their party leader during the current struggle. during his speech in Jhang, asad umar stated that Imran khan believes the next coaS should be appointed based on merit. further, he slammed the Pml-n leaders “sitting in london, making decisions for Pakistan”. referring to nawaz Sharif, he said that the leaders were seeking advice from “a thief who fled the country”. responding to a question, asad said that the PtI had not “started a war to come into power”, and highlighted the party’s successes including the victory by a great lead in the Punjab elections on July 15.
PM ‘extends’ London stay after consulting Nawaz over next army chief LONDON/ISLAMABAD staff report
following a flurry of family meetings with disgraced former prime minister nawaz Sharif and his children in london to discuss the appointment of the new army chief, among other political matters, Shehbaz Sharif, who was scheduled to land in Islamabad on friday night, changed his plans and decided to stay on in the british capital. the development was also confirmed by marriyum aurangzeb, Sharif’s minister for information, who said the prime minister had extended his stay in the european country for a day. khawaja asif, minister for defence, who is travelling with the prime minister but reportedly was not present during the meeting, confirmed the development on geo news on thursday. “everything will become clear in the coming
few days,” he told the station. aurangzeb had previously shared a video showing the Pakistan muslim league-nawaz (Pml-n) supreme leader seeing off the prime minister from what appeared to be the Stanhope house offices of the Sharif family in london after a marathon meeting that, according to some press reports, lasted over two hours. Sharif “is not just my leader and my elder brother but also someone who has been a pillar of strength for me throughout my life. his affection [and] love is a source of confidence and inspiration for me,” he tweeted, responding to the video of him touching the feet of his elder brother. Sharif is now expected to return early on monday. he had reached london on Wednesday on what his party declared was a “private visit” after attending coP 27 climate change conference in egypt.
this is Sharif’s third trip to london after assuming the nation’s top office in april and comes ahead of the all-important appointment of the successor to gen. Qamar Javed bajwa who is due to retire on november 29. asif has also accused Imran khan, chairman of the Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (PtI) party, of trying to influence the appointment and making it controversial. over the last few months, khan has repeatedly questioned how the “corrupt” ruling Pakistan democratic movement (Pdm) alliance could pick the next army chief. he has alleged that asif ali Zardari, co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and nawaz want to name a chief of their choice in order to evade accountability for corruption charges against them. meanwhile, the PtI resumed its protest march to Islamabad on thursday to demand early elections.