Latest news with #Tehreek-e-Insaf
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Nationwide protest campaign: PTI lawmakers step up efforts aimed at getting party founder released
ISLAMABAD: In a bold move escalating the political heat, opposition Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers departed Islamabad for Lahore on Saturday, gearing up to hammer out a nationwide protest campaign aimed at securing the release of their jailed leader Imran Khan. The high-stakes meeting which will take place in Lahore will also chart the party's future political strategy. The delegation includes members of the National Assembly, Senate, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly, signaling PTI's determination to consolidate its fragmented ranks. 'Our first meeting in Lahore will finalise the movement through to August 5,' KP Chief Minister and senior PTI figure Ali Amin Gandapur told reporters on departure – though he remained tight-lipped on the finer details. Arrest warrants for 63 PTI workers issued The timing is crucial: The meeting comes on the heels of last month's fiery clash in the Punjab Assembly. On June 27, PTI lawmakers vehemently protested during Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif's address, an uproar that prompted the assembly speaker to suspend 26 PTI members for 15 sessions – a move seen by PTI as a calculated political hit. PTI leaders vowed the Lahore gathering would send a clear message of solidarity with the suspended lawmakers and lay the groundwork for an aggressive protest campaign. 'This is not a rally,' insisted Gohar Khan, acting PTI chairman, briefing the media before departure. 'We have summoned a parliamentary party meeting to finalise our future strategy.' He confirmed the Punjab government has been formally notified of the meeting. Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja emphasised the party's unwavering resolve, asserting, 'The return of the sons of Imran Khan is their fundamental right, and they will return.' Raja stressed the delegation's trip is strictly for strategic discussions, promising a swift return after meetings over the weekend. He highlighted the critical state of the nation's political and economic landscape and voiced concern over the perceived erosion of constitutional rights: 'Article 19 is our fundamental right, and this right has been taken away from us.' The PTI, he said, is eager to reconnect with the public and 'listen to their issues' amid growing unrest. This planned protest surge follows a bruising Supreme Court ruling last week, which upheld the Election Commission's controversial refusal to allot PTI reserved parliamentary seats for women and minorities – a blow directly tied to the party losing its electoral symbol ahead of the February 2024 general elections. Forced to run as independents, PTI-backed candidates won the most general seats but were denied the proportional reserved seats by the ECP, triggering fierce backlash. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Disrupting the two-party system: Can Elon Musk spark a US political reboot like Imran Khan did in Pakistan?
The dispute between Republican President Donald Trump and his main campaign financier Elon Musk took a fractious turn this weekend with the announcement of the 'America Party' - looking to upend the long-reigning two-party system in the United States, not quite unlike what Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did in 2018. The announcement is already stirring anxieties within America's entrenched political class, where Musk, with his growing influence and vast capital could upset the Republican-Democrat duopoly, which has reigned for 160 years. What Musk is proposing isn't entirely new. Third-party bids in the US have historically fizzled due to structural constraints like ballot access, the Electoral College, and winner-take-all voting. But what's different now is the context: rising polarization, a generation of disillusioned voters and a growing appetite for disruption. Trump's approval ratings in polls in his second term have generally held firm above 40%, despite often divisive policies, the US dollar dropped to its lowest valuation in a decade and the fiscal deficit is set to climb to $2.5 trillion. Who is Zohran Mamdani, New York's presumed next mayor? To understand the potential of such a political moment, analysts are increasingly looking abroad – to Pakistan, where a two-party order collapsed in 2018 under the weight of youth frustration and populist momentum. PTI's disruption and the youth vote For decades, Pakistan's politics revolved around two dominant forces: the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This duopoly, characterized by dynastic leadership and rotating tenures in power, left many voters - particularly the young and those in urban city centres - disillusioned. Enter Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by former cricket captain Imran Khan. Founded in 1996, the party remained on the fringes for over a decade before gaining traction through a combination of populist messaging, anti-corruption rhetoric and savvy digital campaigning. By the 2018 general elections, the landscape had changed. Pakistan's youth, which makes up over 64% of the population, played a decisive role. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, 45% of voters aged 18–35 participated, with PTI capturing a dominant share of that demographic –particularly in urban centres like Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and Peshawar. 'PTI's message resonated with young voters who were tired of family politics and business-as-usual governance,' said analyst Ayesha Siddiqua. 'It was a party that spoke their language - literally and digitally.' PTI's campaign leaned heavily on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, broadcasting rallies live and bypassing traditional media gatekeepers. A parallel movement in the US Back in the US, the political landscape appears similarly fatigued. Gallup polling in 2025 shows that over 42% of Americans now identify as independents, while just 27% identify as Democrats and 26% as Republicans. Among voters under 35, support for a third-party or independent alternative is rising sharply. It's in this environment that figures like Elon Musk, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani are gaining attention - albeit from vastly different parts of the ideological spectrum. While Sanders, a democratic socialist, has mounted two powerful challenges to the Democratic establishment, his influence has reshaped the party's internal debates. Mamdani, the progressive New York lawmaker recently nominated as the Democratic candidate for mayor, represents a growing class of insurgent politicians willing to openly criticize party orthodoxy. 'People are increasingly rejecting the binary,' Mamdani said during his nomination speech earlier this year. 'They want a politics that reflects reality - not party lines.' Observers note that while Sanders and Mamdani are working within the Democratic Party, their popularity reveals how far removed the establishment has become from younger, more diverse, and more economically anxious voters. In contrast, Elon Musk's ambitions remain ambiguous. He has previously endorsed both Republican and Democratic candidates, often on contradictory grounds. But his ability to command attention, resources, and followers - he has over 180 million followers on X - gives him a unique base of political leverage. A global shift? From Pakistan to the U.S., from France's Emmanuel Macron to Italy's Five Star Movement, the last decade has shown that political duopolies are not as unshakable as they once seemed. Youth-driven movements - often organized online and outside traditional party structures - have reshaped political possibilities across the globe. But the obstacles in the U.S. remain formidable. Third-party candidates face significant ballot restrictions in key states. The Electoral College system inherently favours the two main parties. And media coverage often dismisses outsiders as spoilers. Still, Musk's timing may be strategic. The 2024 and 2028 US elections exposed deep voter dissatisfaction with both major parties, and rising digital activism has created new tools for political organization - much like PTI's use of WhatsApp groups and YouTube in the 2018 election. While such efforts have historically fizzled, the mood is different now. A generation disillusioned with establishment politics, a fractured media ecosystem, and growing polarization have opened up new space for outsiders.
Business Recorder
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Shauzab, Aleema face off, but no truce
ISLAMABAD: Kanwal Shauzab, the ex-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA and self-styled defender of the party's honour, received a sharp reality check on Saturday, courtesy none other than Aleema Khan, the sister of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan. What began as a fiery confrontation quickly turned into a humbling moment for Shauzab, who had accused Aleema Khan in a leaked video of undermining key party figures including acting chairman Gohar Ali Khan and tarnishing the party's image, vowing a dramatic face-off. However, when the ex-MNA, who had secured a seat in parliament reserved for women on PTI's quota in 2018, crossed paths with Aleema Khan at the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), the anticipated 'showdown' never materialised. Instead, Shauzab made a last-ditch attempt to offer an apology. In a sudden change of stance, Shauzab denied the accusations from her video, claiming they were part of a smear campaign orchestrated by PML-N trolls. But Aleema Khan – like brother, like sister – uninterested in engaging in any drama, met her with cold indifference. 'I'm not angry with you. Now go,' Khan said, barely glancing at the politician before dismissing her. Shauzab, still attempting to salvage the situation, tried to clarify that her words had been misinterpreted. But Aleema, displaying little more enthusiasm than someone scrolling through social media, responded dryly, 'Others from PML-N and other parties also speak against me,' before walking off. The encounter left Shauzab's attempt at reconciliation in tatters, her hope for a dramatic showdown dissolving into an awkward, futile apology. If Aleema Khan chose not to forgive her, the PTI insiders insisted, Shauzab's political career could very well be left in the gutter, with no amount of backpedaling able to salvage her reputation or future within the party. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Imran Khan's sons call on Donald Trump to intervene and secure his release
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan 's sons have urged US president Donald Trump and the international community to call for their father's r elease from a Pakistani prison. British citizens Suleman Khan, 28, and Qasim Khan, 26, broke their silence for the first time to make a public appeal after 'exhausting' legal and other routes. Mr Khan, the 72-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, has been lodged in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since 2023 after a court handed him a three-year sentence in a corruption case. He faces some 150 charges in total, all of which his party says are politically motivated. The Tehreek-e-Insaf chief served as Pakistan 's prime minister between 2018 and 2022 before being removed from office. In an interview broadcast live on X with citizen journalist Mario Nawfal, Qasim Khan said: "We want the international community to take action and who better than [Donald] Trump.' '...We would love to speak to Trump and try and figure out a way where he would be able to help out." he said, adding they were trying to "bring democracy to Pakistan". Both sons called Mr Khan their "hero" and added they had never "spoken before, but seeing what he's going through, we couldn't stay quiet". When asked about US official Richard Grenell 's call for their father's release, the brothers said they were grateful for all the "support he has shown". Suleman Khan said: 'In terms of a message to the Trump administration, we'd call for any government that supports free speech and proper democracy to join the call for our father's release, and especially the most powerful leader in the world.' The brothers accused the Pakistan government of punishing Mr Khan by keeping him in isolation and complete darkness following a pro- democracy protest that called for the former prime minister's release. Mr Khan has no "access to the outside world, no access to doctors, and has been in prolonged solitary confinement", his elder son said. "Court mandates we speak to him once every week, but we speak to him once in two or three months." Their mother, Jemima Goldsmith, last October accused the Shehbaz Sharif government of cutting his access to lawyers and family visitations and even severing electricity to his cell. "He is now completely isolated, in solitary confinement, literally in the dark, with no contact with the outside world,' the film producer, who was married to Khan from 1995 to 2004, said in a post on X. Qasim Khan reiterated his mother's concerns, adding Mr Khan was "there for 10 days in the pitch black". He said the family wanted "international pressure" on Pakistan because their father is "currently living in inhumane conditions". "They are not giving him [Imran Khan] basic human rights," Qasim Khan said. "It is basically for human rights of not only our father but also other political prisoners and the restoration of proper democracy in Pakistan." Mr Khan's political party, earlier in May, petitioned the court for his urgent release from jail, claiming he could potentially be targeted in drone strikes during Pakistan's military standoff with India. His party said a plea had been filed in the Islamabad High Court to seek his release on parole during a 'national emergency' as India and Pakistan's military exchanged volleys of drones and shells. Both nations walked away from the brink of war following a ceasefire announcement this weekend. Mr Khan's sons said they miss their father, but "what hurts more is seeing a nation lose the man who gave everything for it". 'He always told us 'if you stand for truth, you'll pay a price. We're seeing that now'." Former UK environment minister Zac Goldsmith, in a post on X, praised his nephews for speaking up now for their father. "So proud of my nephews. They have never courted publicity," he said. Mr Goldsmith added: "But they are speaking up now for their father Imran Khan – a hero for so many in Pakistan, an incorruptible leader who is being tortured by a desperate, corrupt and greedy establishment."
Mint
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Pakistan's Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz Ghazi slams own country, says 'war' with India ‘not Islamic'
Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi of Lal Masjid, a cleric has remarked that there is 'more oppression' in Pakistan than in India, adding that Pakistan's 'fight is a fight of nationality, not of Islam'. The cleric slammed his own country as tensions surge between India and Pakistan post a terror attack in Kashmir's Phalgam that killed 26 people. Muhammad Abdul Aziz Ghazi is a Pakistani Deobandi scholar and Islamist dissident, serving as Imam and Khatib of Lal Masjid in Islamabad. A video of the cleric's sermon has gone viral on social media. The two minute clip shows, Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi criticising the Shehbaz Sharif government in Pakistan, calling it a "cruel, useless system". Ghazi accused the state of inflicting systemic violence and injustice upon its citizens. In the viral video, Ghazi poses a question to his audience: who would they support in the event of a war-India or Pakistan? His query is met with a prolonged silence. "There are very few [hands]. This means many are enlightened now. The matter is, war between Pakistan and India is not an Islamic war." Ghazi says. 'Today, the system in Pakistan is a system of disbelief (kufr), a tyrannical system, worse than that of India. There isn't as much oppression in India as there is in Pakistan. Has there been a horrific incident like Lal Masjid in India?' Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi continues. Notably, Ghazi's description of Pakistan as an oppressive state is a striking departure, particularly given his association with Lal Masjid, a site historically linked to radical rhetoric. Referring to the siege of Lal Masjid in 2007, Abdul Aziz Ghazi remarked, "Did the Lal Masjid tragedy happen in India? Does India bomb its own citizens? Are people disappearing in India like they are in Pakistan?" The cleric further highlighted the atrocities committed in Waziristan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, accusing the Pakistani government of bombing its own people. Ghazi stated, 'What happened in Waziristan and across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – these are atrocities... The state bombed its own citizens. Have such atrocities occurred in India? Have their fighter jets bombed their people the way ours have? Are so many people reported missing in India? Here, people are exhausted from staging protests in search of their loved ones. Here, clerics are missing, journalists are missing, Tehreek-e-Insaf members are missing.' Ghazi's rhetoric seemingly reflects deepening disillusionment within Pakistan, highlighting fractures in public support for the establishment's policies. Established in Islamabad in 1965, Lal Masjid became a hub for radical Islamist ideology under the leadership of brothers Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who openly challenged the state and called for the imposition of Sharia law. Tensions escalated over several years, culminating in July 2007 when the Pakistani military launched Operation Sunrise to storm the mosque and its adjoining madrassa following violent incidents, including hostage-taking. The siege resulted in significant casualties and damage, marking a decisive effort by then-President Pervez Musharraf's government to curb growing Islamist militancy. Since then, Lal Masjid has symbolised Pakistan's ongoing struggle with extremism and state authority. Its leadership, particularly Abdul Aziz Ghazi, continues to criticise the Pakistan government, accusing it of oppression and violence against its own citizens. The legacy of Lal Masjid is complex, representing both the rise of radicalism and the state's fraught attempts to contain it. First Published: 6 May 2025, 04:26 PM IST
