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☆ Shehbaz Sharif: Pakistani legislators elect new prime minister to head coalition
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Azaz Syed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Islamabad CNN —Pakistani legislators on Sunday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s prime minister nearly a month after a general election marred by delays and widespread allegations of vote-rigging. The official results from the February 8 poll had independent candidates affiliated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party securing the most seats in parliament, with 102. The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party (PMLN), headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is also the older brother of Shehbaz Sharif, came in second with 73 seats, and their long-term rivals the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 54 seats. Shehbaz Sharif will become prime minister for the second time, leading a coalition government with the PMLN. Following the vote in the lower house of parliament, opposition party members began chanting at Sharif as he addressed parliamentarians, calling him a thief.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Imran Khan’s, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz, Sharif Organizations: Islamabad CNN, Sunday, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party Locations: Islamabad, Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif

☆ Coalition government deal in Pakistan leaves Imran Khan’s party out of power
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Two of Pakistan’s major political parties - the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) - say they will form a coalition government after last week’s inconclusive elections. The move means the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan will not be in power, despite independent candidates affiliated with it gaining the most votes. The PMLN also released a statement that Shahbaz Sharif would be the party’s candidate for prime minister. Earlier on Tuesday, the PPP’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said his party would support the PLMN candidate for prime minister. The party would also field its candidates for the National Assembly speaker, chairman of the Senate, and president, he said.

Persons: Imran Khan, Shahbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Imran Khan’s, Nawaz Sharif, Khan, ” Zardari, Sharif, “, ” Bhutto Zardari Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party, PPP, PTI, National Assembly, Senate Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Lahore, Wahdat

☆ The Rise, and Fall, and Rise Again of Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Pakistan’s government censored the media, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party posted campaign videos on TikTok. When the police barred his supporters from holding rallies, they hosted virtual gatherings online. And when Mr. Khan ended up behind bars, his supporters produced speeches using artificial intelligence to simulate his voice. The success of candidates aligned with Mr. Khan’s party in last week’s election — snagging more seats than any other in Parliament — was a stunning upset in Pakistani politics. Since Mr. Khan fell out with the country’s generals and was ousted by Parliament in 2022, his supporters had faced a military-led crackdown that experts said was designed to sideline the former prime minister.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, — Locations: Pakistan

☆ Imran Khan’s ‘Victory Speech’ From Jail Shows A.I.’s Peril and Promise
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has spent the duration of the country’s electoral campaign in jail, disqualified from running in what experts have described as one of the least credible general elections in the country’s 76-year history. But from behind bars, he has been rallying his supporters in recent months with speeches that use artificial intelligence to replicate his voice, part of a tech-savvy strategy his party deployed to circumvent a crackdown by the military. And on Saturday, as official counts showed candidates aligned with his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., winning the most seats in a surprise result that threw the country’s political system into chaos, it was Mr. Khan’s A.I. voice that declared victory.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan’s Locations: Pakistan

☆ Election Shocker in Pakistan: Where the Country Goes From Here
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Salman Masood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Imran Khan’s stunning performance in Pakistan’s national election has upended most traditional political forecasts in a country where leaders who run afoul of the powerful military rarely find electoral success. Here’s what to know about the uncertainty now hanging over Pakistan’s political system. Mr. Khan’s supporters are challenging the results of dozens of races in the country’s courts, and pressure is growing on Pakistan’s Election Commission to acknowledge the widely reported irregularities in the vote counting. Backers of Mr. Khan say they will hold peaceful protests outside election commission offices in constituencies where they contend the rigging took place. Protests have already erupted in several parts of the country, especially in the restive southwestern Baluchistan Province.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, What’s, Khan’s Organizations: Mr Locations: Baluchistan Province

☆ Pakistan releases official election results, independents affiliated with Khan’s PTI secure most seats
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Heather Chen | Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Pakistan’s official election results were announced by the election commission on Sunday, with independent candidates affiliated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party securing the most seats in parliament. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, independent candidates won 102 seats. The majority of the independents are affiliated with Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party (PMLN), headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came in second with 73 seats, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 54 seats. The PTI party has called on party workers and supporters to hold protests on Sunday outside polling offices in constituencies where party members say election results were “withheld and delayed.”The capital Islamabad has imposed Section 144, allowing police to take legal action against any illegal assemblies and activities.

Persons: CNN —, Imran Khan’s, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Nawaz Sharif Organizations: CNN, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party, PTI Locations: Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Pakistan, Islamabad

☆ Pakistan election 2024: Millions will head to the polls in an election mired in controversy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Rhea Mogul | Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Millions in Pakistan will head to the polls on Thursday for a general election in which old dynasties are vying for power while the country’s widely popular former leader languishes behind bars unable to stand and militants ramp up deadly attacks. Mobile internet has been suspended in various districts of the province, leading to concerns of a nationwide blackout. A street is festooned with posters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on February 4, 2024. Sharif remains widely popular in Pakistan’s Punjab province – the country’s most populous and a key electoral battleground – where his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party has been lauded for advancing mega infrastructural projects. Standing against him is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 35-year-old son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, seeking to reestablish his Pakistan People’s Party as a major political force.

Persons: languishes, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Nawaz Sharif, ARIF, Volker Türk, ”, Liz Throssell, Imran Khan’s, Khan, Sharif, Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Islamic State, Mobile, Foreign, ARIF ALI, AFP, Getty, United Nations, Human Rights, “, Cricket, PTI, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, country’s, Balochistan, Islamic State Pakistan Province, Iran, Afghanistan, Lahore, Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Punjab

☆ Rehan Zeb Khan: Pakistan election candidate killed ahead of general election
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —A Pakistan election candidate was shot dead while campaigning on Wednesday, as violence escalates a week before polls open. Rehan Zeb Khan, an independent candidate affiliated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was shot in a “targeted killing” when gunmen opened fire on his car in a market in Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to district police. In response to the violence, Pakistan’s Election Commission (ECP) summoned an emergency meeting of security officials on Thursday to discuss the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the two provinces, according to a statement from the commission. On Wednesday, Pakistan’s military also met for an annual conference where they discussed the possible deployment of the country’s army to assist the election commission during the general election next week, according to a government statement. The election commission has declared February 8, the day of the election, a public holiday for the country’s 240 million people.

Persons: Rehan Zeb Khan, Imran Khan’s, ”, Malik Kaleem Ullah, Home and Tribal Affairs Balochistan Zubair Jamali, “, Khan Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly, Reuters, Pakistan’s People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League, Home and Tribal Affairs Balochistan, Baloch Liberation Army, PTI Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, State Khorasan, Balochistan, Home and Tribal Affairs Balochistan Zubair, Sibi

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Pakistan's caretaker prime minister ahead of elections in February
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Pakistan's caretaker prime minister ahead of elections in FebruaryAnwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, speaks to CNBC’s Dan Murphy in a wide-ranging interview about the economic outlook for the country, the upcoming election and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s charges.

Persons: Haq Kakar, CNBC’s Dan Murphy, Imran Khan’s

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Pakistan’s interim prime minister said he expects parliamentary elections to take place in the new year, dismissing the possibility that the country’s powerful military would manipulate the results to ensure that jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party doesn’t win. Kakar resigned as a senator last month after outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raza Riaz chose him as caretaker prime minister to oversee the elections and run the day-to-day affairs until a new government is elected. “The most important player in this dispute is the Kashmir people," Kakar said. “It is neither India or Pakistan,” but the Kashmiri people who "have to decide about their identity" and their future. It’s just a divine blessing.”By law, he can’t contest the elections when he’s interim prime minister, but Kakar said in the future he hopes “to play a constructive political role in my society.”

Persons: —, Imran Khan’s, Haq Kakar, Khan, Kakar, Shehbaz Sharif, Raza Riaz, ”, ” Kakar, Imran Khan, I’m, that’s, — Kakar, Karar, “ Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Associated Press, United Nations, NATO, Taliban, Islamic Locations: Pakistan, Kashmir, India, “, Ukraine, Europe, North America, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Kabul, Pakistan's

☆ Imran Khan’s 3-Year Sentence Is Suspended by Pakistan Appeals Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | More About Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An appeals court in Pakistan suspended former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s three-year prison sentence on Tuesday, the latest twist in a political showdown between Mr. Khan and leaders of the powerful military establishment who appear intent on sidelining him from politics. Mr. Khan had been arrested earlier this month after a trial court gave him the three-year term in a corruption case — a sentence that the Islamabad High Court suspended on Tuesday after an appeal by Mr. Khan’s legal team. It was not immediately clear on what grounds the court had suspended the sentence, or whether he would be promptly released from prison. The possibility that Mr. Khan could remain behind bars or be rearrested after he is released looms over him. He faces dozens of court cases, part of what he and his allies have characterized as a coordinated effort by the military to keep him out of politics.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan Organizations: Court Locations: Pakistan, Islamabad

Yet the final days of Imran Khan’s political career tell a contrasting tale. Khan’s supporters – some armed with sticks and stones – marched through cities, chanting slogans against the ruling dispensation. To his supporters, Khan was seen as a political martyr, someone they had vowed to defend till the very end. Analysts say Khan’s arrest following a yearlong showdown with the military sends a pointed message to the former prime minister and his supporters. “Imran Khan’s political will wasn’t strong enough to begin with from what we saw.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, Khan’s, –, ”, Arifa Noor, “, Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, Patrick Durand, Sygma, Pervez Musharraf, Arif Ali, Noor, “ Imran Khan’s, Shehbaz Sharif, Aamir Qureshi, Mr, Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, Salaar Khan, Khawaja Asif, Khan won’t, “ Imran, ” Noor Organizations: CNN, Cricket, Getty, Oxford University, Movement for Justice, PML, AP, Pakistan’s, PTI, CNN Monday Locations: Pakistan, Lahore, Islamabad, British India, It’s, Melbourne, Australia, Khan, British, AFP, India, Afghanistan, United States, Gujranwala

☆ Droves of Imran Khan’s Allies Defect as Military Ramps Up Crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Salman Masood | Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Throngs of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan have been arrested. Key allies have resigned from his party, saying they had been threatened with criminal charges and arrests. As political tensions between Mr. Khan and the Pakistani government have flared in recent weeks and sparked violent nationwide protests, the country’s powerful military has responded by launching a chilling campaign against Mr. Khan’s supporters that aims to hollow out his political party ahead of general elections this fall. The pressure campaign has begun to chip away at Mr. Khan’s momentum, analysts say — the military’s most forceful effort yet to disempower the former leader who was removed from office last year. It’s the latest move in the Pakistani military’s standard playbook to sideline politicians who have fallen out of its favor and preserve its iron hold on the country’s politics.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan, Khan’s Organizations: Media, Mr

☆ Fact Check-Video shows migrants clashing with Guatemalan police, not protests against Imran Khan’s arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Footage of migrants clashing with lines of Guatemalan police while heading into Mexico with the hopes of arriving in the United States in 2021 has been shared on social media with false captions saying it shows demonstrations in Pakistan against the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. “Visuals from Kashmir highway where thousands of protesters breach Police blockade and advance towards the capital, Islamabad,” read posts on Twitter and Facebook (here), (here) and (here). The video can be traced back to a 2021 NBC News report about Guatemalan police beating back a caravan of migrants bound for the United States (here). Violent protests erupted across Pakistan following former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest at the Islamabad High Court on May 9, Reuters reported (here). Video shows Guatemalan police clashing with migrants in 2021.

☆ Pakistan Seeks to Extend Imran Khan’s Detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Saeed Shah | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mr. Khan’s party has called for more protests. Photo: PPI/Zuma PressISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before a judge Wednesday, officials said, after his arrest on corruption charges this week triggered violent protests and government calls for the army to deploy. Authorities are seeking to extend Mr. Khan’s detention on corruption charges and said Wednesday’s hearing took place at a police compound on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad to avoid further clashes.

The stage is now set for the possibility of a tumultuous showdown between the country’s powerful military and Khan’s supporters following deadly and unprecedented clashes Tuesday that saw angry crowds break into and vandalize the homes of army personnel. Hundreds of Khan supporters responded to his call to take to the streets and violent protests broke out in several cities. Imran Khan's supporters burn tires to block roads in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 9, 2023. Protesters burn tires to block roads in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 9, 2023 following Imran Khan's dramatic arrest. A demonstrator is seen as Pakistani police use tear gas against supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan during a protest in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 9, 2023.

☆ Former Pakistan Leader Imran Khan’s Arrest Sparks Protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Saeed Shah | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, was arrested in Islamabad on corruption charges, officials said. Photo: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty ImagesISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges sparked demonstrations Tuesday, in an escalation of the confrontation between the popular opposition politician and the country’s civilian and military leaders. Protests by Mr. Khan’s supporters erupted in towns across the country, as demonstrators clashed with police, blocking roads amid dozens of arrests. The authorities partially restricted access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, according to digital rights groups, in an apparent attempt to quell videos of the protests and hinder their organizers.

☆ Pakistan police enter Lahore property of ex-PM Imran Khan - party officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gather, as they guard the entrance of Khan's house, in Lahore, Pakistan March 17, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/ File PhotoLAHORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Pakistani police on Saturday entered the property in Lahore of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials from his political party said, as he was arriving in the capital Islamabad for a court appearance. The move followed days of standoff and intense clashes between police and his supporters around the property, where police had attempted to arrest Khan on Tuesday. Khan said in a Tweet that his wife was at the property. (This story has been corrected to say police entered Imran Khan’s Lahore property as he was arriving in Islamabad for a court appearance in paragraph 1)Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-Imran Khan photo from 2014 falsely used in reports about 2022 shooting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A photo posted on the official Twitter account of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2014 is being falsely used in reports about a Nov. 3 shooting attack in which he was wounded in the shin. Several in his convoy were wounded in the attack in Wazirabad, nearly 200 km (120 miles) from the capital. However, the picture being shared on social media dates was posted in 2014 and is not from the 2022 shooting. It was posted on the former prime minister’s verified Twitter account in 2014 (here) and captioned: “Night at the dharna.”VERDICTMiscaptioned. The image being shared was posted in 2014 and does not show the aftermath of the shooting of Imran Khan in November 2022.

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