The requisition of the National Assembly for the purpose of requiring the prime minister to obtain a vote of confidence under Article 91(7) of the Constitution has generated a debate among constitutional experts on the domain of the constitutional provision since this is the case of first impression. Clause 7 of Article 91 reads: “The Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, but the President shall not exercise his powers under…
Posts published in “Pak Media comment”
During his golden years in cricket for over 20 years, cricketer-turned-politician and now Prime Minister Imran Khan has hardly bowled a ‘no ball,’ and always been praised by the cricketing world as one of the fittest and finest cricketers of his time. In politics, his spell has been full of no-balls particularly in the last two-and-half years in power. Unfortunately, he did not have the services of two Ws (Waseem and Waqar) in the politics…
THE assault by an enraged group of farmers on a provincial revenue team assigned to acquire land for the multibillion-dollar Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project on Tuesday was unfortunate. But it was expected, and may also prove to be a harbinger of worse things unless the government agrees to give the market price of land to the thousands of landowners who would have to relocate because of the rulers’ insistence on building a new city…
Senate poll and political delusion: edit in The Frontier Post / March 4, 2021Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf faced a huge blow as it lost Senate elections to the Pakistan Democratic Movement in the National Assembly on Wednesday. PDM’s candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani defeated PTI’s candidate and Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh. Wednesday Senate Election was scheduled for 52 vacant posts of Senators, while 11 senators from Punjab have already elected unopposed, whereas, 37 seats were contested on March…
Gilani, supported by Opposition Alliance won the Senate seat from Islamabad with 169 votes against PTI backed Hafeez Sheikh who lost with 164 votes. Six votes were rejected on technical grounds, with decision remaining the same on recount. With support of 180 lawmakers when coming to power, Khan was asked to resign when he lost on this seat. The win was not unpredictable. The writer of this piece had predicted it before and again early…
Following the defeat of the PTI in the by-elections, there has been another shock for the ruling alliance: the PDM’s joint nominee Yousaf Raza Gilani defeated Hafeez Shaikh in the most coveted Senate seat of Islamabad on March 3. The defeat has symbolic significance more than anything else because Imran Khan himself was invested in ensuring the victory of Hafeez Shaikh. The PDM has declared that its victory is a political verdict of no confidence…
Questions are being asked among the top PTI circles regarding those MPs who did not cast vote for their Senate candidate Hafeez Sheikh who lost by 16 votes and Senate candidate Fozia Arshad, who though managed to win but secured 10 less votes than the reciprocal strength of the party and allies i.e. 180. By the same token, the former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani won by five votes, sticking a huge upset to the…
Yousaf Raza Gillani’s surprise victory in the Senate election on Wednesday left the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in a state of shock. Former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has dealt a serious political blow to Imran Khan and his ruling party by defeating Prime Minister’s Advisor on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh. And, this has happened despite all-out efforts of the government to block Yousaf Raza Gillani consensus candidate of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) from the…
India and Pakistan have resolved to honour the 2003 Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire agreement. It has brought to an end almost six years of uninterrupted skirmishes along the border. In between was a major strike. Both the countries entered into each other’s airspace to avenge attacks on their respective soils. India was the first to take the leap. It targeted “terrorists” hiding in Balakot. Pakistan could not take this lying down and threw payloads…
India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control. The United States has welcomed the joint statement of India and Pakistan on ceasefire along the Line of Control and other sectors, and called it a positive step towards greater peace and stability in South Asia. Top UN leadership has also welcomed the announcement by militaries of India and Pakistan to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control…
Counting the cost of compromise: By Fahd Husain in Dawn, Mar 6, 2021
As Prime Minister Imran Khan takes his vote of confidence today, he might want to take a moment and meditate on why he has ended up in a position where he has to prove his majority. The vote may provide symbolic relief but the ailment is more than skin deep. Here are five reasons why the PTI has frittered away its political, perceptional and populist capital in the last four weeks. 1 Open ballot issue:…