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Ex-PM Sharif’s party challenges rivals to win public support amid pre-poll rigging allegations

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (center) is pictured with his daughter, Maryam Nawaz (left) and his brother and ex-premier Shehbaz Sharif (right) in Lahore, Pakistan on October 21, 2023. (PML-N)
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Updated 07 November 2023
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Ex-PM Sharif’s party challenges rivals to win public support amid pre-poll rigging allegations

  • PPP, PTI have accused Sharif’s party of being favored by administrations in Punjab and center ahead of polls
  • Sharif’s party says it is looking to form alliances with other parties in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Updated 07 November 2023
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party on Tuesday brushed aside allegations of “pre-poll rigging” in its favor, calling on rivals to win the upcoming general elections through the public’s support.

Pakistan’s election regulator announced last week that polls in the country would be held on Feb. 8 after it held consultations with President Arif Alvi. The PML-N’s rival parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have leveled accusations that Sharif is being facilitated by the state’s machinery ahead of elections.

Both parties have complained that they are not being provided a “level-playing field” to contest elections after Sharif was granted protective bail last month. The former three-time prime minister arrived in Pakistan on Oct. 21 after living in self-imposed exile for almost four years in London.

“Our party is fully ready for elections while our rivals are trying to hide behind lame excuses like the level playing field, seeing the lack of their public popularity,” Azma Zahid Bokhari, information secretary of the PML-N’s Punjab chapter, told Arab News on Tuesday.

She said the PML-N was focused on mobilizing the masses instead of indulging in foul play.

“Everybody knows the PML-N is the most popular party in Pakistan and Nawaz Sharif is going to be elected the next prime minister for the fourth time,” she said.

Bokhari rubbished allegations her party was being supported by the caretaker administrations in Punjab and the center.

“The PPP has no candidates to field in Punjab but dares to accuse us [the PML-N] of being supported by the state machinery,” she said.

On Tuesday, the PML-N and the Karachi-based Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) announced they would contest the upcoming elections together.

Bokhari said the PML-N was trying to forge alliances with other parties in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

“We are way ahead of all other parties in terms of public support and votes, especially in Punjab province,” she said.

 The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Information Minister Murtaza Solangi did not respond to queries on what measures they were taking to ensure a level-playing field for political parties.

Former prime minister Imran Khan, who leads the PTI, has been in jail over what he says are “bogus” cases intentionally designed to keep him out of the coming elections. Khan has been in jail since August after he was convicted of corruption in a case involving the sale of state gifts. He is currently charged with leaking the contents of a secret document.

PTI’s Barrister Gohar Khan lamented the arrest of the party’s senior leader Asad Qaiser last week in Islamabad. On Sunday, police raided a convention organized by the party in the northwestern city of Mansehra.

“Our leaders and workers are still being arrested even after the announcement of the election date just to keep us out of the election race,” Khan told Arab News. “PTI is not being allowed to hold workers’ conventions, let alone big public gatherings.”

He hoped the apex court would intervene to stop what he said was the police’s “high-handedness” against PTI supporters.

“Voters across Pakistan are with us and our party will win the majority in the polls despite the rigging in the PML-N’s favor,” he claimed.

Syed Hassan Murtaza, a senior PPP leader, supported Khan’s demand for the government to release its party’s leaders and supporters.

“The PML-N is trying to create an impression in the public that it is winning the election to form the government, though the reality is totally different,” he told Arab News.

“Pre-poll rigging is already underway in favor of the PML-N, therefore the Feb. 8 election is no more a transparent election,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-F) party has voiced concerns over a surge in militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We have shared a proposal with the election commission to delay elections till the security situation and weather improves,” Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a senior JUI-F leader, told Arab News, adding that the freezing cold in Pakistan’s northwestern areas would make it difficult for parties to campaign.

Pakistan unveils first-ever policy to regulate digital assets in line with FATF guidelines

Updated 5 sec ago
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Pakistan unveils first-ever policy to regulate digital assets in line with FATF guidelines

  • New policy will set rules for the operation of digital currencies and related companies in Pakistan
  • Pakistan Crypto Council was established in March to create legal framework for digital currencies
Updated 5 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has introduced its first-ever policy framework to regulate virtual assets and service providers, aligning with compliance and financial integrity guidelines of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the country’s top investigation agency said on Thursday.
The new policy, created by a special government group under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF) authority, is meant to set rules for how digital money like cryptocurrencies and the companies that deal in it should operate in Pakistan.
The move follows the establishment of the Pakistan Crypto Council last month to create a legal framework to create a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in a bid to lure international investment. 
Cryptocurrencies including bitcoin are not officially regulated in Pakistan but are also not illegal or banned. As of Jan. 16, 2021, the State Bank of Pakistan has not authorized any individuals or organizations to carry out the sale, purchase, exchange, and investment of virtual currencies, coins, and tokens.
“Pakistan has formulated its first-ever comprehensive policy framework for the regulation of Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers,” the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said in a statement. 
The policy will be scrutinized by stakeholders and legislative proceedings before being implemented in phases from next year.
The policy aims to curb money laundering, terrorism financing, financial instability and the potentials of blockchain-based finance and also provide space for innovation and develop institutional expertise. 
“This is a paradigm shift in how Pakistan views digital finance,” FIA Director Sumera Azam was quoted in the statement as saying. “The policy proposal seeks to strike a historic balance between technological advancement and national security imperatives.”
She added that the framework aligned with FATF Recommendation 15 on compliance and financial integrity.
FATF Recommendation 15, titled “New Technologies,” ensures that AML and CFT frameworks are adaptable to emerging financial technologies, including virtual assets and virtual asset service providers.

Topics: Pakistan Crypto Council

Pakistan markets rebound as Trump makes tariff U-turn

Updated 25 min 50 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan markets rebound as Trump makes tariff U-turn

  • US President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day delay in tariffs
  • KSE-100 Index surged by over 2,036 points following the announcement
Updated 25 min 50 sec ago
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market bounced back on Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay in tariffs, analysts said. 
The KSE-100 Index surged by over 2,036 points (1.75 percent), following the announcement.
On Wednesday (April 9), the KSE-100 Index had dropped 5 percent, leading to a 45-minute halt in trading.
Zafar Moti, CEO of Zafar Moti Capital Securities, said the decision helped calm investors, while Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director and CEO of Arif Habib Group, said the pause in tariffs was seen as good news by investors.
“The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed on a positive note,” Topline Securities said in its daily market review.
“This upward trajectory was fueled by a strong rebound in US and other international equity markets, with the index rallying as much as 3,331 points during intraday trading.”

Topics: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Trump tariffs US tariffs US China relations Pakistan economy

No extension in deadline to deport illegal foreigners from Pakistan — minister

Updated 10 April 2025
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No extension in deadline to deport illegal foreigners from Pakistan — minister

  • Over 850,000 people repatriated since a deportation drive was launched in late 2023
  • Pakistan has expelled over 8,000 Afghan nationals in the past week, UNHRC says
Updated 10 April 2025
Muhammad Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Thursday the government was not considering extending the deadline for illegal foreigners to leave the country, with over 850,000 people repatriated since a deportation drive was launched in late 2023. 
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s interior ministry asked all “illegal foreigners” and holders of Afghan Citizen Cards — a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees — to leave the country before Mar. 31, warning that they would otherwise be deported from April 1. The move is part of a larger repatriation drive of foreign citizens that began in November 2023.
Pakistan has expelled more than 8,000 Afghan nationals in the past week in a fresh repatriation drive after the expiry of a March 31 deadline, the UNHCR said on Tuesday. 
“The first and foremost thing I want to share with you is that there is no deadline extension [to deport illegal foreigners] being considered or given, nor will there be any extension,” Chaudhry said at a press conference, saying 857,157 people had been repatriated since 2023, including those residing in Pakistan illegally and ACC holders.
“Particularly in the case of Afghan nationals, this decision had to be made after considering some ground realities,” he said, accusing Afghan nations of being involved in militant attacks, narcotics trade and other crimes.
Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in militant attacks, nearly half of them security forces personnel, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies. 
Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge Kabul denies, saying it does not allow its territory to be used by militants against Pakistan. It also says Afghan nationals are not involved in terrorism and other crimes in Pakistan and Islamabad’s security and criminality issues are a domestic problem.

Topics: Afghan Refugees in pakistan Pakistan Afghanistan border Pakistan Afghan Ties

Pakistan distances itself from extradition to India of 2008 Mumbai attacks’ suspect

Updated 10 April 2025
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Pakistan distances itself from extradition to India of 2008 Mumbai attacks’ suspect

  • Foreign office says Tahawwur Hussain Rana was Canadian, had not renewed Pakistani origin documents in decades
  • 64-year-old is accused of being in LeT group, planning four-day Mumbai siege in which 160 people were killed in 2008
Updated 10 April 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday distanced itself from the issue of the extradition to India of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a suspect in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, saying he was a Canadian national who had not renewed his Pakistani origin documents in the past two decades.
New Delhi accuses Rana, 64, of being a member of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or the Army of the Pure, a group blamed by India and the United States for the four-day Mumbai siege in which 160 people, including Americans and other foreigners, were killed in 2008. Rana is accused of assisting his friend David Coleman Headley who was sentenced to 35 years in a US prison after pleading guilty to aiding LeT militants and scouting target locations in Mumbai.
Pakistan has always denied official complicity in the Mumbai attacks.
“On the Tahawwur Rana issue, we have conveyed our position regarding his Canadian nationality,” Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in reply to a question during a weekly media briefing.
 “As far as our record indicates, he did not even apply for renewal for his Pakistani origin documents for the last two decades …I reiterate the position that we will give further updates in due course.”
In February, US President Donald Trump announced the extradition of Rana, calling him “one of the very evil people in the world.”
The US Supreme Court rejected Rana’s plea in February to remain in the country, where he was serving a sentence for planning another LeT-linked attack. 
According to a Reuters report, Rana, a former Pakistan Army doctor, immigrated to Canada in 1997 before moving to Chicago to set up businesses. He was arrested by US authorities in 2009, a year after the Mumbai attacks. 
In 2013, a US court acquitted him of conspiring in the Mumbai attacks but sentenced him to 14 years for plotting an attack on the Jyllands-Posten newspaper office in Denmark, which had published blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
Media has reported that Rana and Headley knew each other from boarding school days in Pakistan. Headley testified as a witness at Rana’s trial, claiming he used Rana’s immigration services business as a cover to scout targets in India. 
Rana admitted to visiting Mumbai before the attacks and staying at the luxury Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which became the focal point of the deadly siege. However, he denied any involvement in the conspiracy.

Topics: Pakistan India MUMBAI ATTACKS Lashkar-e-Taiba

Pakistan to seek fresh bids for national airline, says adviser

Updated 10 April 2025
Reuters
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Pakistan to seek fresh bids for national airline, says adviser

  • Pakistan has been looking to offload a 51-100% stake in debt-ridden PIA
  • Attempt to privatize PIA last year fell flat when Pakistan got only one bid
Updated 10 April 2025
Reuters

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government will seek fresh expressions of interest for the sale of Pakistan International Airlines later this month, a government adviser said on Thursday, two days after PIA reported its first annual profit in over two decades.
Pakistan has been looking to offload a 51-100 percent stake in debt-ridden PIA, part of an effort to raise funds and reform cash-bleeding state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund program.
However, Islamabad’s attempt to privatize PIA last year fell flat when it received only a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million.
Pakistan has offloaded almost all of the national carrier’s legacy debt and shifted it to government books after bidders raised issues that had led to the failed attempt, according to the privatization ministry.
“In our last attempt to privatise PIA, pre-qualified bidders had some issues with taxation and the balance sheet. Those are taken care of now,” Muhammad Ali, government adviser on privatization, told Reuters. “We plan to publish the new Expression of Interest (EoI) by the last week of April 2025,” he said.
The government plans to complete the airline’s privatization before the end of this year.
“We are also revising the pre-qualification criteria,” he said, adding that the reference price could also be revised keeping in view the latest accounts and changes in the balance sheet.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last year announced plans to sell all SOEs.
The adviser said that the process to privatise power distribution companies had also started, terming it a “high priority transaction.”
He said some companies previously due to be sold in the second phase were being pushed into the first phase.
The adviser said the government had appointed Jones Lang LaSalle to advise on exploring different sales options for the PIA-owned Roosevelt hotel building in Manhattan, New York. They include selling the building as it is or opting for a joint venture with a top tier developer, which has the potential to generate proceeds five times higher, Ali said.

Topics: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) PIA privatization

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