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‘NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH TERRORISTS’: SHARIF CONFIDANT REJECTS PTI DIALOGUE Tuesday, 2 May, 2023 I 11 Shawwal, 1444
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ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
XPRESSING his disapproval of the ongoing talks between the government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, a prominent member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) declared that negotiations should never be held with individuals or groups who are “affiliated with terrorism” and aim to “dismantle national institutions.” The statement from Javed Latif, a close ally of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, comes at a crucial time when the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition and the opposition party of former prime minister Imran Khan are holding a formal dialogue to break the months-long deadlock over the timing of elections in the country. Talks between the two, facilitated by the Supreme Court, began Thursday and have been seen as a breakthrough in the months-long deadlock on elections. Presenting its demands during successive sessions, PTI has called for the speedy dissolution of all parliaments and elections no later than August. The party also said that the delay to the election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be granted legal cover through a constitutional amendment and sought the return of its resigned MPs to the National Assembly to achieve this. In the second round, the government presented its own proposals, reportedly to conduct polls in September to allow for the presentation of the upcoming fiscal year’s budget in June. The second round concluded on Friday with both sides agreeing to consult with their respective leaderships before reconvening for a final session on Tuesday. Addressing party workers and sup-
porters on Saturday night, Khan said his party was willing to discuss the election date only after the dissolution of the National Assembly before May 14. This deadline is in accordance with the April 4 order of the Supreme Court regarding
elections in Punjab. Latif questioned the rationality of holding talks with those who he accused of referring to the government as “Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq” — two 18th-century Indian courtiers infamous for betray-
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ing Muslim rulers of the subcontinent to British imperialists. He further alleged that negotiations with terrorists and those who are benefiting from global powers could not be conducted. The PML-N leader also criticised those who are causing unrest in the country during a time when the economy is improving without the aid of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Latif argued that conducting such talks would put Pakistan’s security and growth at risk. Latif urged individuals in positions of power, an oblique reference to the military, to take responsibility for their “actions, which have led to the emergence of leaders like Khan,” and for the “consequences that follow.” He warned that if the trend continues, the future of Pakistan would remain uncertain. Latif also said the PML-N party would not allow the upcoming elections to be held without the participation of its leader, Nawaz Sharif. He added that Khan could be challenged in the political field only after justice has been served.
IN TODAY’S ISSUE
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Govt, PTI to hold final round of talks on elections today
Khawaja Asif declares elections after Sept as Imran's nightmare ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday said that an election after September was Imran's nightmare because he wanted an early election. He said that Imran has still a hope that someone might expedite elections for him once again. Talking to a private news channel, he said that the election should take place at its scheduled time in October 2023, neither earlier nor later. Answering about Imran’s popularity, he claimed that Imran Khan's popularity was limited to social media, as
evidenced by the low turnout in their today’s rallies on Labor Day. Furthermore, Asif accused PTI of collecting money under the guise of election tickets. “Imran Khan is an opportunist and a shrewd bargainer”, he added. He also remarked that In terms of negotiations with PTI, he believed that it was pointless to negotiate with a person who lacked credibility, as Imran Khan was prone to making decisions but then reversing them due to his indecisive mindset. As for the demand for elections within 90 days, Asif questioned why this requirement applied solely to Punjab Province?
High food prices PM directs to stay alert, use all continue to plague resources for help of people during current rain spell KP residents after Ramzan ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
PROFIT
PESHAWAR
Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are voicing their frustration with the local district administration’s inability in controlling food prices that have failed to reduce even after Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr have ended. As traders are pricing goods at their discretion, citizens have no choice but to continue paying inflated prices for essential commodities, such as chicken, meat, vegetables, and fruits. Reports say that a committee with the task of determining chicken rates was formed, however, it has failed to convene its meetings for months, which has left chicken sellers to their own volition to set desired prices. This has resulted in the price of live chicken skyrocketing to Rs425 per kilogram, up from Rs. 395 per kilogram the previous day. Moreover, vegetable prices are also experiencing high volatility, making it challenging for consumers to plan and budget purchases. Lack of proper check and balance by the district administration and the resulting high rates have made fruits to be increasingly inaccessible to citizens, as well. Despite the mounting prices of basic commodities, district administration officials have failed to take any action or leave their offices to assess the situation. This lack of oversight has left local residents at the mercy of the profiteering mafia. Amidst this uncontrolled food inflation, while KP residents continue to struggle with high food prices, many are calling on the district administration to take immediate action to regulate these prices and protect the interests of citizens.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the federal and provincial departments to stay alert and use all the resources for the help of the people during the current rain spell. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister Office on Monday, the Prime Minister directed the National and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities to strictly monitor the situation. He said the federal departments should work in close collaboration with the provincial governments and departments. Shehbaz Sharif said where necessary, provision is made for the protection and assistance of the public and that the people be shifted to safe areas immediately. The Prime Minister also directed the National Highway Authority and other relevant departments to monitor interprovincial national highways. He directed to ensure effective arrangements for traffic flow
and public convenience on Quetta-Karachi highway in Lasbela and Quetta-Sibi highway in Bolan. He said the people should be alerted in various highways and affected areas. He said protecting life and property is the priority. Shehbaz Sharif said all civil
service departments should remain vigilant in the current rains and work with national spirit and sense of responsibility. He also appealed to the people to take precautionary measures in the severe weather conditions and cooperate with the government departments.
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The government and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have ‘mutually agreed’ to change the timing of negotiations to break the ongoing political and constitutional impasse and agree on one date for holding elections in the country. The third round of negotiations were originally planned for 11am on May 2nd but, according to Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, they have been moved to 9pm on the same day as per a mutual agreement. The talks between the government and PTI will be held at the Senate Secretariat, Sanjrani confirmed on Monday. The decision to change the negotiation time was made due to the busy schedules of the members of the government and the PTI negotiation committees, he explained. Efforts to find common ground through dialogue between the leaders of the ruling alliance and the PTI have continued as the talks remained on track. However, the talks have not yet yielded results so far. Leaders from both sides have refused to let their differences come in the way of forging a consensus on general elections. On the second day of talks, the government and the PTI teams once again entered a room in the Parliament House, shut the door, only to emerge after a couple of hours, agreeing that the third – possibly final – round would take place on Tuesday after which a decision would be announced. Though the leaders sounded hopeful about future prospects, the second round of talks ended with both sides agreeing to take input from their leadership and continue negotiations. On Saturday, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry announced that the former ruling party has decided to continue negotiations with the government regarding the framework for elections within the bounds of the Constitution. Taking to Twitter, Fawad stated that the PTI is committed to upholding the orders of the Supreme Court and rejecting any attempts to “sabotage the talks”. He further said that the final agenda for the negotiations will be discussed on Tuesday.
Who orchestrated Police attack on Ch Shujaat’s House? LAHORE
MIAN ABRAR
In an interesting sequence of events, the Police assault on the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was smartly diverted towards the residence of former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain who is an ally of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Though caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has taken notice of the police assault at Shujaat’s residence and subsequent injuries to federal minister Salik Hussain and others who got injured due to the police mishandling, Chaudhry Shujaat wants the matter needs to be probed into thoroughly to help ascertain the facts behind the assault at his residence. Reliable sources in Chaudhry family have informed Pakistan Today that an AntiCorruption team escorted by Punjab Police had arrived at the residence of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for investigation but the employees locked the gate and the situation aggravated into a police encounter. While the police action started, the sources said that a sister of Chaudhry Shujaat misled the police about whereabouts of Pervaiz Elahi, pointing out that Elahi was present inside Shujaat’s residence. “Hence, the police action swiftly was diverted from Elahi’s residence to Shujaat’s
residence – both are side by side at Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi Road. The police tried to break into Shujaat’s house despite being informed about the presence of federal minister Salik Hussain and other lawmakers but to no avail,” the sources said. The sources said that the situation aggravated to a point that Salik had to himself come to the gate and speak to police officers but they insisting on breaking into the house. Subsequently, the police smashed the door, injuring Salik and his brother who had multiple stiches on their hand, the sources added. When contacted, Federal Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain confirmed the information. “The police blatantly violated the sanctity of our house and despite being informed time and again, they broke into our house and we sustained injures. I am in shock not at police action as this is what they do. But I am shocked at what my close relatives did to us,” he said referring to the misinformation passed onto police by his aunt. Salik said that his parents were inside and he refused to allow the police inside as the police looked hell-bent to break into his father’s house without any warrant or valid document. “My aunt also asked me to open the door and when I asked the reason, she said that Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was inside with Chaudhry Shujaat and the police wanted to ar-
rest him. I laughed off the allegation and told the police that my aunt was lying and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was not inside my house but the police refused to trust me,” he added. The minister said he had sustained eight stitches to his hand but didn’t allow the police to barge into his parent’s house without any valid reason.
Salik also took a jibe at Moonis Elahi and said that the cyber warrior was not even visible when the police raided his residence but now was playing victimhood to attract sympathies. “Look at the cyber warrior who keeps tweeting all the time from abroad. And when the police came to arrest his father, the other brother also fled from the scene and didn’t
appear anywhere. It was me and my family members who faced police brutality, got inured but didn’t allow the police to enter our residence,” he asserted. He alleged that the Elahi family were hurling threats to his family. He lamented that politicians needed to sit down and resolve not to victimize the opposition on political grounds.
“When police went to Pervez Elahi’s residence they were informed that he was at Chaudhry Shujaat’s residence. The policemen left Elahi’s residence and rammed into my house,” the PMl-Q leader said. He added both his sons stopped the police from entering his house yet they tried to enter the house forcefully. The PML-Q chief further stated that both his sons were injured in the raid and the police left after two hours. Hussain said that when the police were questioned about the raid they stated that it was about embezzlement done in the development work done in Gujrat. He clarified that both his sons were not related to the case. The PML-Q leader added that he would speak about the raid at another time and he has asked both his sons to be patient. Last week’s, late-night raid to arrest Elahi
has become a hot topic in political circles. A day earlier, Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that he was “appalled” to know that the police stormed into the PML-Q president’s house to arrest the PTI leader. A heavy contingent of Punjab Police had raided the residence of the former PML-Q leader to arrest him. The PTI strongly criticised the police’s actions, voicing concerns regarding the arrests of its workers and leaders. Taking note of a tweet by Shujaat’s son, Chaudhry Saalik Hussain, the caretaker CM said that “no illegal action will be allowed by anyone”. Saalik, sharing a video of the police party trying to break into his house during the raid to arrest Elahi, expressed dismay over what had happened.
Shujaat calls police action at his residence ‘unacceptable’ LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
After days of silence, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Monday slammed the police action on his house during the raid carried out to arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Parvez Elahi and termed it “unacceptable”. “The procedure adopted in all this process is unacceptable. I strongly condemned how an armed personal carrier was used to take down the door,” Hussain told journalists. He also called for the removal of officers involved in the raid. The PML-Q chief said that he did not want to say anything which would harm national politics as the country is already in a lot of problems.