'X' Reports

Internal rift in PTI surfaces after Zehra’s death

2013-05-19T13:46:00.003-07:00

20-05-2013
Some reports have surfaced about mysterious killing of PTI’s slain leader, Zahra Shahid Hussain. It is being discussed with in PTI circles that Zahra Shahid Hussain had serious disagreements with Dr Arif Alvi over party's ticket and his soft corner with religious extremist groups mainly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The bone of contention had become strong between the two and Alvi, who had political tilt towards JI and TTP, developed a strong dislike for late Ms Hussain in the aftermath of this issue.

Vice-President of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf’s Sindh chapter, Zahra Shahid Hussain, was killed late on Saturday in an attempted robbery incident on the eve of re-polls in Karachi’s NA-250 constituency.

Remember, Ms Hussain was a vocal voice of women freedom and known to be a lady with secular and moderate ideology.

Arif Alvi’s twitter handle exposed

2013-05-18T12:38:00.003-07:00

18-05-2013
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is one of the most active political parties on social media networks, and its leadership is active on social media sites too.

Today a same tweet from two different twitter handles at the same time has exposed the credibility of social media profiles of its politicians. Twitter handle of Arif Alvi’s son Awab Alvi and Arif Alvi tweeted the same tweet at the same time. The question is this that who is operating twitter account of Arif Alvi? Either his son Awab Alvi or some one else who is operating both handles simultaneously.

Several months ago, X-reports has also exposed the reality of Imran Khan’s twitter handle that it is not being operated by himself.

Rigging by PTI? - PTI’s Ishaq Khakwani loses after re-count

2013-05-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

17-05-2013 | Pakistan Today
Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ishaq Khan Khakwani lost to a PML-N candidate after re-count for the National Assembly seat from Vehari, NA-168.

Speaking to media persons, Khaqwani expressed lack of trust over performance of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

He said that he had got 55, 000 votes, but returning officers did not cooperate and refused to show votes.

FAFEN: Punjab leads in the list of polling stations with over 100% turnout

2013-05-13T15:38:00.003-07:00

14-05-2013 | FAFEN
ISLAMABAD, May 13, 2013 – Based on data gathered by Free and Fair Election Network observers at polling stations showing impossible voter turnout greater than 100%, FAFEN called on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to release all polling station Statements of the Count (Form XIV) to the public on its website before certifying any final election results in any constituency.

The voter turnout was more than 100% in at least 49 polling stations out of 8,119 polling stations sampled by FAFEN across Pakistan, according to Statements of the Count delivered so far by FAFEN observers.
ECP must not include votes from these polling stations in calculations of constituency election results, and should consider re-polling in these stations.

At least 32 polling stations with greater than 100% turnout were in Punjab, 10 in Sindh, six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Balochistan. The polling stations with impossible voter turnout figures included 19 female polling stations, 16 male stations and 14 combined (male and female) stations.

Voter turnout is calculated on the basis of the registered voters for each polling station as given on the ECP website http://ecp.gov.pk/PollingScheme.aspx. Polling stations included in the analysis are only those in which presiding officers accurately calculated the total number of ballots as recorded on the Statement of the Count (Form XIV).

FAFEN has recommended since 2008 that ECP should void the results from any polling station where more ballots are cast than the number of registered voters, and should investigate highly improbable cases of voter turnout, such as those greater than 80%.

Best practice for election transparency requires that polling station ballot counts and vote counts should be posted as quickly as possible on the ECP website, both as scans of the original forms and in data tables that can be scrutinized. This information was made public by ECP for the first time many months after General Election 2008, based on persistent FAFEN advocacy.

Polling Stations with Greater than 100% Voter Turnout

Muttahida-PTI ‘accord’ keeps ties cordial

2013-05-09T01:25:00.001-07:00

09-05-2013 | Dawn News
KARACHI, May 7: Though both the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have dismissed that there is a ‘tacit agreement’ between the two that Imran Khan will not mobilise his election campaign in the urban centres of Sindh, analysts believe that the camaraderie could be significant in the post-election scenario, it emerged on Tuesday.

Mr Khan made a brief visit to Karachi on Tuesday before going back to Lahore and getting injured in a fall at an election rally. Here his most significant activity was a visit to the Quaid’s mausoleum, besides his meetings with local party leaders and cadres.

He had cancelled his rally in Karachi at the eleventh hour citing security reasons, fuelling speculation that his party did not want to upset the apple cart in Karachi, unlike the way the PTI was crossing swords with Nawaz Sharif’s Muslim League in Punjab, and that the PTI and the MQM had a ‘tacit deal’ vis-à-vis elections in urban Sindh, Karachi in particular.

The speculations are rife despite a statement by Mr Khan upon his arrival in Karachi in which he said the MQM was the PTI’s ‘key rival’ in Karachi and the Pakistan Peoples Party in the rest of Sindh.“Here in Karachi the MQM is the PTI’s main rival and the PPP in the rest of Sindh,” he told reporters at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport on his arrival.

Insiders in both parties dispelled the impression about the speculated deal. However, it emerged that they had no hard feelings against each other as they had a few years ago.

Sources did not rule out that the leadership of the two parties ‘understandably’ avoided to criticise each other as both eyed the post-election scenario, which could bring a lot of surprises in an anticipated hung parliament. Analysts said for the PTI, Punjab was much more important than Sindh, where the party had little hope to win even a single seat, which was also a reason for its chief to spend its energies in the constituency where it could make the most.

“In fact, Imran’s visit to Karachi had a political notion to woo the voters in Punjab,” said Syed Jaffar Ahmed, a professor in the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi.

He said the Quaid’s mausoleum had great importance for the people in Punjab and Mr Khan’s visit here was bound to make an impact on his constituents in the country’s most populous province where more than half of the National Assembly seats were up for grabs.

“Going to the Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum counts a lot for anyone coming here from Punjab. And at a time when Imran promises that he will make it the Pakistan of the Quaid and Allama Iqbal, it was highly important for him to make a visit here,” said Mr Ahmed.

He said the MQM had no danger, whatsoever, from the PTI in Karachi and if it had any danger to two or three constituencies, it was from the PPP or the Jamaat-i-Islami.
“The PTI has no prospect of winning any seat in Karachi, that’s why the MQM has no reason to get worried about it. However, the post-election scenario is certainly very important for both of them,” he said.

Sources in the parties confirmed that though both parties had no tacit agreement during elections, yet they had an unwritten understanding to maintain the ‘level of acceptance’ when it matters the most.

Though Mr Khan parried a query about his possible future allies, it is understood that every political force would search for allies after the general elections and so far every party has kept its doors open for each other except for a political wedding between the PTI and the PML-N.

“The MQM has a great amount of political pragmatism; it has been an ally twice with the PPP and the PML-N. So the MQM has every reason to keep its options open for all the parties,” said Mr Ahmed.

“No one should rule out the possibility of the MQM’s joining a PML-N-led future coalition, which could be conducive for the party when we see Sindhi and Baloch nationalists are also aligned with Nawaz Sharif, which could bring the MQM closer to those forces.”

Imran on Karachi

Mr Khan said he had to cancel his rally in Karachi because of the poor law and order situation. He said any untoward incident could have marred the party’s entire election campaign.

Talking to reporters upon his arrival at Karachi airport, he said his party had given a choice to the people of Karachi to decide whether they wanted to change their future from an ‘uncertain present’.

He asked the people not to vote for political parties, which had their own militant wings. He said once he grabbed power a ban on the militant wings of the political parties would be a top priority.

“The political parties, which run their own militant wings, will never reform the police as they realise that it would amount to shooting in their own foot,” he said.

He said the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi had made its youth’s future uncertain.
“Kidnapping for ransom is the only business which is booming,” he said.

In Orangi, a 100-year-old diehard fan of two Quaids

2013-05-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

05-05-2013 | The News
Karachi: A few months short of his 100th birthday, Aseeruddin Ahmed, makes a fraction of the 0.225 percent of Pakistani voters, who have lived for more than 91 years.

Clad in a white kurta and a chequered dhoti, he holds in his right hand a walking stick, which, when it does not support his frail body, is used to hit anyone who speaks against Mohammad Ali Jinnah or Altaf Hussain – the two Quaids he refuses to hear ill of.

“Till my last breath,” he vows, “I will vote for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.”

Such is his loyalty toward the party that he still remembers the number plate of Hussain’s motorcycle (KAJ-161), on which the MQM chief came to Orangi Town.

“Bhai would sit on the floor with us and hold meetings,” Ahmed recalls. “Those were the good days, filled with hope.”

In his neighbourhood, where he has lived most of his life, people lovingly call him Chacha. And though he cannot walk around the streets anymore, his grandsons also find it impossible to move around with him in a car because passersby keep stopping them, to invite their beloved Chacha for a cup of tea.

Till the last elections in 2008, his health allowed him to walk door to door in Orangi Town to motivate the people to come out and vote but wisely “for the person who gave you your identity” he would hint.

He struggles to remember the infamous Operation Cleanup against the MQM in the 90s that forced many of the party leaders to escape but then drifts off to the days before partition.

An employee at the British Railways, Ahmed was 35 at the time of Partition. “I remember filling a form, writing I am a Muslim and in favour of Pakistan,” he recalls.

Back then, he lived in Saidpur, where the largest railway workshop for Assam-Bengal province was established by the British. After Partition, Saidpur came under East Pakistan – now Bangladesh. Ahmed remembers the massive bloodshed forced the Hindus to flee to the Indian border while the Muslims migrated to the other side of the border. “But there was hope. We were ready to sacrifice everything for the homeland our leaders had carved out for us.”

Not yet had the emotions of living in a Muslim homeland fizzled away, when there was the second partition, as Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan.

Every now and then, Chacha brings up a town called Munger in his conversation. His son explains Munger was mainly an Urdu-speaking town of Bihar, India. When Bangladesh was created, the Urdu-speaking community there fled to East Pakistan fearing for their lives in communal violence.

Ahmed became a migrant for the second time. He landed in Quetta. Much later, in 1974, he arrived in Karachi and made it his permanent residence. But if there is anything that he winds up after all his struggles, it is the fact that he had lost two homes. “We were two nations before Partition based on the two-nation theory. Then we became three when Bangladesh was carved out. Now four or five nations inhabit Pakistan. There will be more partitions,” Ahmed warns.

PTI, PML-N join hands ‘quietly’ in Sindh’s district Tharparkar

2013-05-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

04-05-2013 | SAMAA
THARPARKAR: Apparently, archrivals Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have joined hands ‘quietly’ with other key parties against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate in District Tharparkar of Sindh, SAMAA reports.

Sindh’s District Tharparkar is portraying a very strange political picture in comparison to the other areas of the country, where all key political parties are supporting or not contesting against PTI’s senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The PML-N, the biggest rival being painted by the PTI, has also not fielded its candidate against Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Tharparkar’s constituency NA-230.

Arbab Rahim, a key leader of the area, has also withdrawn its candidate Dr. Ghulam Hiader Samejo, in favor of PTI’s Qureshi.

The PML-F Chief Pir Pagaro is a part of ten-party alliance with the PML-N in Sindh but he has also announced his support for Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

On other seats of Tharparkar, very stiff competition will be seen amongst candidates of the PPP, PTI and Arbab Group.

Arbab Rahim, Chief of People’s Muslim League, called on The PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif in Thatta and held successful talks over seats adjustment in different constituencies including Mirpur Khas Division.

Under the prevailing political scenario in Tharparkar, now it is clear that all parties including key rivals PTI and PML-N have developed understanding for support to Shah Mehmood Qureshi in NA-230 against PPP candidate Noor Muhammad Shah Jeelani.

PTI and PML-N spent millions into TV ads

2013-05-04T02:27:00.001-07:00

04-05-2013 | AFP
RAWALPINDI - As bombs curtail campaign rallies, political parties are ploughing millions of dollars into TV and print adverts to sway voters ahead of next week’s historic polls.

Competition is fierce but it’s a cash market and those with the biggest bucks get the most air time ahead of the historic May 11 general elections, set to mark a key democratic transition, say television executives on condition of anonymity.

Bursting with colour, promising to fix the nation’s myriad ills, bust corruption and bring prosperity to voters, the ‘paid content’ ads are broadcast day and night accompanied by the upbeat, nationalist jingle of campaign songs. Although there is limited Internet access, more than 60 per cent of the 180m population have access to TV, according to the Pakistan Advertisers Society.

For medium-sized channels, an average minute of advertising costs $460-500 during 6pm to midnight prime time or $250-300 earlier in the day, according to one television insider speaking on condition of anonymity.

Top-rated channels charge $2,200 dollars a minute for the 9-10pm slot, a source in the advertising business told AFP, adding that up to $300,000 is being spent a day by the main three parties on their television campaigns.

The outgoing PPP gives prominence to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, showing footage of her 2007 assassination and anointing her son Bilawal - still too young to contest the vote - as the country’s future. The main opposition and frontrunner PML-N lionises its leader Nawaz Sharif as a statesman and a developer, the man who knows how to fix the economy, beloved by a sea of flag-waving crowds.

Ads for cricket star Imran Khan - looking to make a breakthrough at the May 11 polls - offer voters a ‘new Pakistan’ with his PTI party symbol, a cricket bat, swiping away corruption and propelling the country into the future.

With Taliban threats against the main outgoing parties, Khan and Sharif are the only party leaders to address traditional public rallies in person. Ad men consider the election a two-horse race in which the PPP - rudderless without Bhutto and her son too young to run for parliament - has deliberately taken a backseat, consigned to a stint in opposition.

“It’s PTI and PML-N who are the highest spenders,” said Bilal Agha, general manager for Dawn News television. He said the Pakistan Broadcasters Association raised ad prices by 25 per cent and made political spots cash only, but that his channel had no favourites. “Whoever pays more, gets more,” he said.

Recently a popular anchor of a private news channel quit her job saying she would not sell her integrity.

“This elections in Pak, every1 - channel and anchor - is up for sale. I refuse to put a price tag on myself,” tweeted Sana Bucha.
For the first time, the election commission has capped spending on advertising in a bid to level the playing field between rich and poorer candidates, although there is no restriction on parties.

Any of the 4,671 candidates for the national assembly can spend up to 1.5 million rupees and the 10,958 provincial assembly candidates up to 1 million rupees.

Streets across the country have been festooned with colourful flags, banners and posters of different candidates with their leader’s mugshots and party symbols.

Supporters have plastered cars and taxis with party stickers, a sort of drive-by publicity that reminds those locked in traffic jams or weaving down Pakistan’s chaotic roads who they should be voting for.

Mohammad Faraz, manager of the Vital Lines printing house, denied print advertisements had lost ground to electronic media.

“People are not watching the television or listening to radio all the time, but they see these boards all the time when they leave home,” Faraz told AFP.

“We’ve been very busy for the last two months and most of us have not even had our weekends off. We’re working 24/7,” Faraz said.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif ‘runs away’

2013-05-03T17:40:00.002-07:00

04-05-2013
The supremo of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), Mr. Nawaz Sharif had walked away from interview, when Aaj TV anchorperson Wajahat Khan did not show him questionnaire.

Wajahat has tweeted, “Dear Mian Sb, as one bald man to another: Transplants are for movie stars & such. Public servants like u & me should deal w/ what we have!”

Further he elaborate that why did Nawaz Sharif walk away from his interview show.

Click picture to enlarge

PTI fails to stand on its commitment

2013-05-01T11:55:00.001-07:00

01-05-2013
November 02, 2011 – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday said it would not take part in the general elections if they were held under incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari.

Now, 2013 is here and PTI is contesting upcoming polls with full energy while Zardari is still President of Pakistan. Hence it is proved proved that PTI has failed to stand on its commitment and took a ‘u-turn’.

The screen shot of The News’ article:

Pakistani Taliban gives clean chit to PTI, PML-N, JI and JUI-F

2013-04-30T16:39:00.002-07:00

01-05-2013
Last week, TTP distributed pamphlets in Buner and Peshawar in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and different areas of Karachi warning people not to participate in the election campaign or cast their votes at polling stations on May 11. The pamphlets warned voters that they would themselves be responsible for their own lives on the day.

On the other hand, Pakistani Taliban have announced that they will not target right-wing political parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by former prime minister of Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) led by former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), and Jamiat-i-Ulma Islam (JUI-F) led by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman.

"Taliban shura had decided to target those secular political parties which were part of the previous coalition government and involved in the operation in Swat, Fata and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwah," TTP spokesperson Eshsanullah Ehsan as saying.

Musharraf refuses exile offer brokered by ‘international players’

2013-04-25T16:57:00.003-07:00

25-04-2013 | Pakistan Today
ISLAMABAD - Amid claims of another exile being offered to former dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf in the garb of seeing his ailing 95-year-old mother, the former president has reportedly rejected any offer of safe passage, saying he would not leave Pakistan until and unless declared innocent in all cases framed against him.

"Some international leaders have conveyed to Musharraf to make up his mind for another exile keeping in view the hostile media and judiciary in Pakistan. They also asked him to file a plea in the court seeking bail on pretext to see his ailing mother. But Musharraf politely refused to accept the offer and told all his well-wishers that he would not leave Pakistan until he was freed by the courts in all cases against him," a source who met Musharraf at his farmhouse told.

"General Musharraf told the interlocutors that it was none other than his ailing mother who had directed him to go to Pakistan and face courts and get himself cleared from all charges. He said his mother had told him that Pakistan was his country and he should live and die there," the source added.

The source said Musharraf told visitors that he had made up his mind to return to his homeland after through thinking and he would bravely face the courts irrespective of the behaviour he was facing.

"He strongly believes that the courts would give him justice but we know that this is not going to happen," the source added.

APML Secretary Information Aasia Ishaq confirmed Musharraf had rejected an offer made to him for visiting her ailing mother.

"Musharraf is not a coward and he will face the legal process. He will not leave the country come what may. He believes that he would get justice and the courts would decide his cases on merit," she added

Imran Khan embraces “bullet-proof” culture

2013-04-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

24-04-2013
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Supremo, Imran Khan addressed the gathering in Shahkot behind the bullet-proof screen.

This is particularly hypicritical because after the top leadership of PPP, PML-N and other political parties PTI workers and supporters had criticized them by calling them cowards, but now, PTI chief has also embraced “bullet-proof screen” for his security in the public gathering.

After Shahkot gathering, the scene has changed; now PTI workers will stop ridiculing others for using bullet proof screen.

NA-251: MQM awards key seat to 'biryani wala', any agenda behind it?

2013-04-22T07:26:00.001-07:00

22-04-2013 | ET
KARACHI: After tantalising Karachi’ites’ taste buds with a plethora of flavours, The Grillfather, Ali Raza Abidi, has developed a taste for a spicier profession – a candidate contesting the elections from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s seat.

Originally, the 41-year-old owner of Biryani of the Seas (BOTS) had planned to introduce an ‘election menu’, featuring a seafood platter named after the MQM, sizzling prawn tempura to be served as the Pakistan Peoples Party’s arrow and simmering tsunami prawns representing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

“I can’t introduce the menu now as I am too busy with the party and won’t be able to give much time to BOTS. But I am constantly aware of what is happening there,” said Abidi, who is contesting the NA-251 seat in Karachi.

The constituency was won by MQM’s Waseem Akhtar in the last elections and covers areas of Mehmoodabad. “I am overwhelmed. I respect the party’s decision of awarding me the ticket,” says Abidi, who is among the fresh candidates that the party has brought forward for the 2013 elections.

The love of food or MQM?

Abidi’s loyalty for MQM surpasses his love for BOTS. “Even though I don’t have a feudal, tribal or industrial background, they have nominated. I did not even spend a single penny for nominations.”

He said that MQM leaders frequently visit roadside restaurants. “Haider bhai is a regular and loves barbequed shrimps and Faisal loves prawn makhni.” Abidi’s passion for MQM is evident even in the landline number for BOTS which includes the digits 9090.

Alleged suspect for Boston bombings was a Hindu Sunil Tripathi

2013-04-19T02:43:00.002-07:00

19-04-2013
After three days of investigations, the Boston Police Department has identified one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects as Ivy League student, Sunil Tripathi.

Tripathi, who is identified by a white cap in the FBI photos released late this week, was a philosophy major at Brown University, not far from Boston. He comes from a well-to-do family; his father is a rich software engineer.

The student went missing last month without a trace. The FBI became involved in the case, even though it was a presumed suicide.

Right before his disappearance, explosives were found near Brown University, however, they were destroyed in a controlled detonation. Police have yet to implicate anyone in the bomb scare.

His former classmate was a bit freaked out by the whole thing:

Naimatullah Khan puts blame on Fauzia of politicizing the Aafia issue

2013-04-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

18-04-2013
Well, usually, before Fauzia Siddiqui decided to contest elections from NA-250, JI always used the Afia issue as a major element of its politics.

Now, when Fauzia has decided to contest elections ao that she can practically do something for her sister if she gets elected, JI's Naimatullah Khan has put the whole blame on her of politicizing the Afia issue.

Have a look at the video.

Fatwa: Dar-ul-Ifta terms Jamaat’s politics “haram”

2013-04-16T06:38:00.001-07:00

16-04-2013
Jamaat-e-Islami is one of the active religious political parties in Pakistan and it is comprised mostly of “deoband-Sunni” cleric. In the below, screen shot of ‘Darul Ifta Deoband’ has exposed the conflicts among religious based political party (JI) and Tableeghi Jamaat.

JI dislikes the involvement of its workers and supporters in Tableegh, Tableeghi Jamaat and stops them to join any such religious awareness movement.

“Darulifta-deoband.org” has given fatwa against JI that it is party of hypocrites and they are propagating false Islamic principles to attract masses. According to fatwa, it is forbidden to join and spread the ideology of Jamaat-e-Islami.

The literature of JI is totally against the Deobandi sect and Islam.

Afaq blames ‘Altaf Hussain serving foreign agenda’

2013-04-14T14:38:00.001-07:00

15-04-2013 | The News
LAHORE: Chairman Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) Afaq Ahmed Sunday alleged that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain was working on a foreign agenda.

Talking to media persons here at Allama Iqbal Airport, Afaq Ahmed said his party was taking part in the upcoming general elections with an aim to loosen the grip of Altaf Hussain’s fear on the city.

“We will subject Altaf Hussain to accountability through ballot,” he said, accusing the MQM Chief of attempting to cause Karachi’s economic devastation.

He said he has been in contact with other political parties but added that no seat-adjustment has been made anyone.

Almost all JI’s candidates didn’t pay their taxes

2013-04-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Sushmita-Wasim to wed?

2013-04-11T15:22:00.002-07:00

11-04-2013 | Khaleej Times
The latest buzz in Bollywood is that Sushmita Sen has finally decided to make it official with former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram. The duo who met on the sets of a reality show a couple of years back, reportedly got closer to each other following the death of Akram’s wife Huma last October. Though the actress has frequently denied news of an impending marriage, the buzz is strong this time around that the two will get married by the end of this month.

And the venue is likely to be Dubai where Akram is a frequent visitor and Sen owns a jewellery shop.

The former Miss Universe is known for leading a bohemian lifestyle – with her personal life gaining more media space than her acting career. Be it her adoption of two girls or her relationships with directors Vikram Bhatt, Mudassar Aziz and Manav Menon, the actress has never acted coy about her personal life.

We just hope the relationship has a smooth sailing unlike the Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik wedding drama that was played out in the India-Pakistan media.

Wikileaks: Zardari and Nawaz had secret deal about reinstatement of Chief Justice

2013-04-10T12:15:00.002-07:00

10-04-2013

B. ISLAMABAD 970
C. ISLAMABAD 924

Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b), (d)

1. (C) Summary: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Zardari told Ambassador 10 that yesterday's agreement with Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif was less than it seemed regarding the restoration of the judges (Ref A). Zardari reiterated his desire to work with Musharraf as President. He and Nawaz have agreed, privately, that former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry will not be restored and that the current Chief Justice will remain. Zardari said his choice for Prime Minister was Yousef Gillani (Ref B). Zardari has selected Sherry Rehman as Minister of Information and Syed Naveed Qamar as Minister of Finance (Ref C). Embassy cautions there is more ground to travel before these issues are resolved. Zardari seems sincere and has shown some political courage, particularly on the Kashmir issue. He has good ideas, especially on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and on economic issues. But it remains to be seen how he will handle the parliament)- and his coalition partners -- once the sessions get underway. End Summary.

2. (C) Ambassador called on Asif Zardari March 10 to get his version of the "deal" with PML-N head Nawaz Sharif. Zardari said he and Nawaz had agreed (very privately) that the former Chief Justice would not be restored, nor would current Chief Justice Dogar be removed. Zardari said he had to do something about the judges: a new civilian government could not keep the former Chief Justice and his family, including two disabled children, in confinement two blocks from the parliament, and Zardari had conveyed this view to ISI head Nadeem Taj and NSA Tariq Aziz. He had asked the government to move the former Chief Justice to his family home in Quetta, but the government had refused, arguing that the CJ "had a gun" and would forcibly resist being moved.(Comment: No one wants the black eye of moving the former Chief Justice and his family under the glare of international publicity. End Comment.) When Ambassador asked about the 30 day deadline for the parliamentary resolution which would supposedly reinstate the judges, Zardari laughed and said in politics thirty days could become eighty or ninety. He reiterated his commitment to working with Musharraf and especially Tariq Aziz, with whom he felt particularly comfortable. He wanted Musharraf to "relax" and not be so concerned about the former Chief Justice.

Love is, above all: Atiqa Odho ties the knot with PTI's Samar Ali Khan

2013-04-10T07:54:00.001-07:00

10-04-2013 | PakiUM
Considering the fact that politics have always been a controversial issue in Pakistan, one must wonder what is bound to happen when a member of Pervez Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) marries a member, a founding member for that matter, of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). As a matter of fact, the scenario is a reality as member of AMPL, legendary actress Atiqa Odho has married architect and founding member of PTI, Samar Ali Khan.

The actress is not bothered by the fact that this is her third marriage as she firmly believes that love can happen at any age. In a recent interview with The Express Tribune, the love birds talked about not only their feelings towards each other but also towards their parties. Despite from being different parties, the relationship seems to be a genuine one as both have seen how generous the other one is. Odho stated, “We are two people who have a deep connection with this country and we are certainly not letting that go.”

The couple has ensured that they will not allow the political rivalry come between their marriages. From their previous marriage, Samar has four children and Odho has three. With the rising temperature of the current state of politics in Pakistan, one cannot be sure of the fate of the connection between the newly wedded couple.

Dr Fauzia vs the Jamaat-e-Islami

2013-04-09T07:58:00.001-07:00

09-04-2013 | Tribune
KARACHI: Ms Fauzia Siddiqui, the sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, will be contesting elections against former mayor of Karachi and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Naimatullah Khan. Understandably, this has put the JI in a tight spot.

She originally decided to contest from NA-250 (Karachi) in order to take on former President Pervez Musharraf. Now, his nomination papers for that constituency have been rejected and one has to wait and see whether he will file an appeal or not.

Fauzia, who decided to contest as an independent after getting a cold shoulder from the JI, is still in the running. Despite the JI’s best efforts, she has refused to withdraw. A senior JI leader in Karachi confirmed that efforts were made to convince her not to contest but she insisted and there is not much they can do to change her mind.

Why the JI refused her a ticket is another question. Sources say the tough JI conditionality for selection of the candidates may have prevented them from nominating or even supporting her in the elections. But one wonders why the Jamaat, which has seen its influence in Karachi whittled away, did not cash in on this opportunity.

After all, the Pasban, which comprises of youth members of the JI, have led a campaign too free Dr Aafia since 2005 and are still backing Fauzia Siddiqui. They too are now in a fix.
However, the JI is now giving more importance to its other youth wing, Shabab-e-Milli , and seems to have practically abandoned the Pasban, which was promoted by former JI Ameer, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, in the ’90s.

Fauzia, who is inexperienced in politics, came to the fore after 2005, when for the first time a foreign female journalist disclosed the presence of her sister Aafia in an Afghan jail.
Dr Aafia, who was residing in the US, disappeared in May 2003 after she left her home in Karachi, where she was staying with her mother. It is generally believe that she was picked up in an intelligence operation and handed over to the US at the old Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, from where she was flown to Kabul.

Surprisingly, the then MMA, which included the JI, did not raise the issue in the National Assembly or even in what was then the NWFP Assembly.

Her mother, who was interviewed for the first time by me, about a week after Aafia’s disappearance, disclosed that she was assured by then chairman of the Senate Mohammad Mian Soomro and Mushahid Hussain Syed, that she would be returned. That promise remains unfulfilled.

One also wonders what Fauzia Siddiqui wants to achieve by contesting elections, given that she stands little chance of success and that her defeat can only damage her sister’s cause. She has every right to feel disappointed with the JI for not supporting her or nominating her, but the cause of releasing her sister should take precedence over an electoral bid.

The Jamaat could have accommodated her on a reserved seat and only the Jamaat’s leadership knows why they did not do so. If they can make seat adjustments with the PML (N), the leader of which its Ameer once described as “two sides of the same coin,” when comparing him to Asif Ali Zardari, then one seat could have been given to Fauzia as well.

PTI leader, Arif Alvi uses illegal-SIM card ?

2013-04-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

09-04-2013
Karachi: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the SIM card information of all candidates who have filed the nomination papers. According to ECP, none of the contact number has been registered to CNIC number (42000-0557068-7) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, Arif Alvi.

Alvi is contesting the upcoming polls on NA-250 (Defence/Clifton), Karachi.

The question is that if none of the numbers are registered against the CNIC of Arif Alvi then his cell-phone number is registered to whose CNIC?

We all know that it is illegal to use a SIM which is not registered against your own CNIC number. PTI leader is using illegal SIM cards because none of the SIM cards are registered on his CNIC.

Click picture to enlarge

PTI’s chief, Imran Khan is “drug addicted” ?

2013-04-08T14:28:00.002-07:00

09-04-2013
Usman Manzoor, the investigative journalist of ‘The News’ has tweeted that the cousin of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Inam Ullah Niazi intends to file a petition against Imran Khan regarding use of some drugs.

Inam Ullah Niazi is one of the closest relatives of PTI’s chief and it can create mess to Imran Khan.

After his tweet regarding this undercover news, PTI cyber activists started to bash him in their traditional way. Further he revealed that this secret news was being discussed in Islamabad since last day. He had warned PTI that they should check, who are leaking such confidential news.

Later on, he stated that PTI activists either should not leak the secret information of their party to media or they should have courage to face it.