Megalomaniac

Former Pakistan premier not allowed to leave the country Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been granted bail for six weeks by the Supreme Court on health grounds. The terms of the bail include that Mr. Sharif “shall not leave or be allowed to leave the country”. He can now be treated anywhere in the country. The leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) hailed this decision. Mr. Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and younger brother Shahbaz Sharif “thanked God” in their tweets for this temporary relief. Ahsan Iqbal, a senior leader of the PML-N, told The Hindu that this decision by the Supreme Court validates their position that Mr. Sharif has serious health issues. “It also negates what the [PTI] government was doing, such as making fun of his health, making statements to that effect and playing politics with Mian sahib’s health. The court has given him bail because he has serious health issues. We will now focus on his treatment as Mian sahib is an asset ...

President Alvi says the country’s real battle is against poverty Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi said on Saturday that the country wants to end long-standing disputes in South Asia through dialogue. “Our real war is against poverty and unemployment and should remain so. We are a responsible nation. We have learnt from our past mistakes and are now building our future keeping that in mind. We want to end hate and long-standing disputes in the region for prosperity and peace. As a democratic country, we don’t believe in wars,” Mr. Alvi said while addressing the annual military parade marking the Pakistan Day in Islamabad. “We respect the sovereignty of all nations and believe in peaceful relations with all countries. But our wish for peace should not be misconstrued as our weakness. Pakistan is a reality. India should also accept this reality. This region needs peace. Instead of war, we need to focus on education, health and providing employment,” he added. The event was attended ...

PM Modi’s message a welcome gesture, say analysts Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday evening tweeted: “Received msg from PM Modi: ‘I extend my greetings & best wishes to the people of Pakistan on the National Day of Pakistan. It is time that ppl of Sub-continent work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive & prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence’.” Mr. Khan’s tweet came on a day when the Government of India boycotted Pakistan’s National Day event in Delhi and the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad also announced that he would not be attending the same event in Islamabad. In his next tweet, Mr. Khan added: “I welcome PM Modi's message to our people. As we celebrate Pakistan Day I believe it is time to begin a comprehensive dialogue with India to address & resolve all issues, esp the central issue of Kashmir, & forge a new relationship based on peace & prosperity for all our people.” Mr. Khan’s tweets created...

The 30 acres around Kartarpur gurdwara will be kept construction-free, says Pakistan Minister The Pakistan government has decided to keep 30 acres of land around the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara free of construction, said the country’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry. Congress leader and a Minister in the Punjab government Navjot Singh Sidhu had written a letter to the Pakistani government, requesting Prime Minister Imran Khan to keep the land in Narowal district of Punjab out of construction as it was used by Guru Nanak for cultivation. Mr. Chaudhry said the 30-acre land would remain untouched in the honour of Guru Nanak. “By using biotechnology, the same vegetables and crops will be grown there that grew there during Guru Nanak’s time,” Mr. Chaudhry told The Hindu . “Despite the tensions between India and Pakistan, we believe in peace and will not indulge in any kind of politicking over Kartarpur.” “Pakistan’s Foreign Office suggested that we allow 500 Sikh pilgrims everyday...

His speech last week, which called for strong action against all terror outfits, resulted in a war of words “The government has responded to my demand to sack Ministers associated with banned outfits by declaring me anti-state, issuing death threats & NAB notices. None of this deters us from our principle[d] stand; form joint NSC parliamentary committee & act against banned outfits,” tweeted Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday. Last week, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari had demanded the removal of three federal Ministers for their links with proscribed organisations. He had not named the three Ministers but everyone had guessed their names — Finance Minister Asad Umar, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi and Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad. In a series of tweets on Monday, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari confirmed these names by tweeting out news stories of these three Ministers hobnobbing with leaders of banned outfits. A united front There...

Earlier this month, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail. Mr. Sharif, a heart patient, has been unwell recently. It was Mr. Bhutto-Zardari’s initiative to remove misunderstanding with Mr. Sharif, according to senior journalist Hamid Mir. “It was Bilawal who called Nawaz ‘ Modi ka yaar ’ when the PML-N was in power,” Mr. Mir said. Though the Opposition parties extended full support to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of Prime Minister Imran Khan during the recent tensions with India, the Opposition feels Mr. Khan never treated them well and did not even bother to attend a briefing on national security. “Both Nawaz and Bilawal definitely discussed some politics. Nawaz asked Bilawal to establish a strong working relationship with his brother Shehbaz Sharif, but the main focus of this meeting was on the health of Nawaz,” said Mr. Mir. He ad...

On March 7, Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari tweeted: “Appalled to hear of the callous and inhumane treatment of imprisoned former PM Nawaz Sharif by the government. His illness should be treated seriously, be provided with proper medical care and treated with respect.” On March 11, he visited an ailing Mian Nawaz Sharif in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail. Bilawal Bhutto’s gracious act of visiting the former prime minister and chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is being given a political angle by the PPP and PML-N’s opponents, namely the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). There are many reasons for this ‘spin’ by the PTI. For one, the PTI was caught off guard as it was an unexpected visit. Sure, we have heard the PPP leadership condemn the insensitive way the Punjab government has been treating Mian Nawaz Sharif’s health but most people did not expect that Chairman PPP would actually go and meet the PML-N leader in jail. After the meeting, ...

Imran Khan added that his government would implement the NAP “in letter and spirit”. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that his government would not allow Pakistan’s soil to be used for terrorist activities and that its focus is on economic development of the country. “Insha’Allah, Pakistan’s government will not allow our soil to be used for terrorist activities anywhere in the world. This is a new Pakistan, a new time. We want investment in this country. Our Naya Pakistan will be prosperous, stable and peaceful. As a responsible country, and part of the international community, we will not allow any militant group to function here,” he said while addressing a rally in Chachro, Sindh. “We sent the captured Indian pilot [Abhinandan Varthaman] back because we don’t want war. We sent this message [to India] time and again. We decided that we will help India in the Pulwama investigations. But no one should think this is due to any fear. This is because the ‘Naya Pakis...

Imran Khan will decide on detention of Masood Azhar in the next 24 hours, says Azaz Syed, author of The Secret of Pakistan’s War on Al-Qaeda , in Geo TV Pakistan has taken 44 members of banned organisations, including Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar’s son and brother, into preventive detention, and put Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoots Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FiF) on its proscribed list, the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday. New Delhi had criticised Pakistan for failing to ban the JuD and the FiF, which are banned by the UN Security Council, despite an announcement that it would do so on February 21. Both organisations were subsequently put on the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA)’s list under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. “In order to implement [the] National Action Plan, a high-level meeting was held in the Ministry on March 4, which was attended by representatives of all provincial governments. It was decided to speed up ac...

We did not want to increase India’s grief, says Foreign Minister Qureshi Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said the decision to release IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was not taken under any external pressure or compulsion. “We wanted to send a message to India. We don’t want to increase your grief, we don’t want to mistreat your citizens, we just want peace,” he told BBC Urdu in an interview. The pilot was captured by Pakistani troops after his jet crashed on the other side of the border on Wednesday. In a separate interview with BBC , the Foreign Minister said both countries were still in a very serious situation. “We still are... it isn’t over!... We are on high alert.” Both India and Pakistan have issues, “but how do we resolve these issues? By firing missiles at each other? No!” he said. Mr. Qureshi said Pakistan never wanted a crisis and was ready to cooperate with India. “We said share evidence with us; we said we are willing to coope...

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan, and asked India to give “solid inalienable evidence” for action to be taken against him. “According to my information, he is very unwell. He is unwell to the extent that he cannot leave his house because he is really unwell. That’s the information I have,” Mr. Qureshi told CNN in an interview. “If they [India] give us evidence which is acceptable to the courts of Pakistan — after all, we will have to justify. They will go to court. If they have solid inalienable evidence, share it with us so that we can convince the people and convince the independent judiciary of Pakistan,” said the Foreign Minister. “We will be open to any step that leads to de-escalation. If they have good solid evidence, please sit and talk. Please initiate a dialogue and we will show reasonableness.” When asked if he doubts the allegations spreading terror against Azhar and Jaish, Mr. Qureshi...

Prime Minister Imran Khan makes surprise announcement to a joint session of Parliament. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, now in Pakistan’s custody, would be released on Friday. “As a peace gesture, we are releasing the captured Indian pilot tomorrow,” he told a joint session of Parliament. On Wednesday night, there was a situation in which there could have been a missile strike from India, but it was defused, the Prime Minister said. “This is why I am saying to India not to take this any further. We will be left with no choice but to retaliate. Don’t do it,” he said. Mr. Khan added that he had tried to contact his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening. “We also sent a message to him. This wasn’t due to any weakness. Our forces are battle-hardened but we don’t want escalation.” On Thursday evening, the IAF said it was “extremely happy” to have Wing Cdr Varthaman back. “We want t...