https://www.aajenglish.tv/live/politics-feb-21-2023

Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has expelled his cousin Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi from the party. He announced the decision shortly before Elahi joined the PTI on Tuesday.

Elahi joined PTI with 10 former Punjab lawmakers of the PMLQ.

Imran Khan’s party will be making him PTI president. Hence, he emerges as a major political leader in the party, potentially overshadowing Asad Umar, who is the secretary general, and Shah Mahmood Qureshi who is the vice chairman.

Elahi held a long meeting with Imran Khan and other PTI leaders in Lahore. But at the press conference, he was joined only by Fawad Chaudhry and Mussarat Cheema.

Elahi to become PTI president

Fawad lauded Elahi’s role in recent political developments and said he had rendered huge sacrifices for Imran Khan.

Fawad revealed that Elahi would be made PTI president and that the party leadership had agreed to the proposal during the meeting.

Imran Khan is the chairman of the PTI, Shah Mahmood Qureshi is Vice Chairman, and Asad Umar Secretary general. So, Elahi technically gets a senior position in the party without disturbing the hierarchy.

Elahi said he will follow Imran Khan’s direction and will not anything that may hurt the party.

Shujaat expels Elahi

Shortly before the press conference, Shujaat issued a statement saying Elahi’s basic party membership had been terminated and consequently he had lost all the party positions he held.

The statement also warned Elahi against using the name of PMLQ in the future or entering into any political agreement using its name.

Elahi has been exploring a merger with Imran Khan’s PTI.

When Shujaat learned about his plans last month, he issued a show-cause notice to Elahi.

The show cause said that Elahi being the provincial president of the party had no authority to announce a merger with any other party.

PMLQ has a distinct political identity and a vote bank, the show-cause notice said.

Elahi was asked to submit a clarification within seven days.

On Tuesday, just before Elahi was to hold a meeting with Imran Khan over the merger, Shujaat expelled him from the party.

PMLQ spokesperson Mustafa Malik confirmed to Aaj News that Elahi’s party membership had been terminated.

In a major legal and political development, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) has asked two Supreme Court of Pakistan judges to recuse themselves from the cases involving the ruling party.

The demand has been made in a statement issued at the end of a PMLN meeting under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi should recuse themselves from cases of PMLN, said the statement.

Both judges have been on several benches hearing key political issues involving the interpretation of the Constitution.

Justice Naqvi was on the bench that restored Lahore Police Chief Ghulam Dogar last week.

A recording of the phone conversation between Dogar and PTI leader Yasmin Rashid suggested the PTI was anxiously waiting for his restoration.

In the same case, a rare showdown between judges and the chief election commissioner made headlines.

The judges made reference to certain ‘Mr X’ using the same term PTI chief Imran Khan had deployed in the past to attack his political opponents.

The PMLN meeting was briefed by a legal team about the cases involving the party or its leaders and heard by the two judges.

Sources told Aaj News that the party decided it would formally request the two judges to recuse themselves from PMLN cases.

PMLN leader and Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir said after the meeting that justice should not only be done it must also be seen to be done.

He claimed that recent judgments betrayed that the two judges were biased against the party and audio leaks have proved the notion.

PMLN has made the rare demand at a time when PTI has been accusing it of running a campaign against the judiciary.

A lower court in Islamabad has rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan’s plea to move the hearing of the Toshakhana case to the judicial complex.

Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced a reserved verdict on miscellaneous petitions on Monday.

Moreover, the court extended the PTI chairman’s bail till Tuesday (tomorrow) after Imran Khan’s lawyer Babar Awan assured that he [Imran] will appear before the court on February 28.

Earlier, while filing the petition in an Additional Sessions Judge court, Babar Awan said that two cases against his client (Imran Khan) were in the judicial complex and one in the district court.

He told the court, according to the reports of the agencies; a security alert has been issued in the district court because of the past terrorism incidents, hence the hearing should be transferred to the judicial complex.

NAB summons Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the case. The accountability body is also planning to send a team to Dubai.

PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry and Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also face investigation in the Toshakhana case, sources told Aaj News.

The call-up notice sent to Imran Khan is titled ‘Inquiry against holders of public office and others regarding misuse of authority, criminal breach of trust and illegal gain in selling gifted state assets’.

The notices were sent on Tuesday shortly after NAB Chairman Aftab Sultan stepped down citing political pressure over cases.

Imran Khan has been asked to appear at 2:30pm on March 9 to record his statement.

The notice also lists the seven gifts that Imran Khan has been accused of selling.

The gifts include five Rolex watches, an iPhone, and the Graff watch encrusted with an image of the Holy Kaaba.

The Graff watch has in particular been in the news regarding Imran Khan’s sale of the toashakhana gifts and has been used by opponents as a key point in claiming that Imran Khan was earning money at the state’s expense.

Imran Khan has admitted to selling the watch but claimed that he paid the legally-required value before taking it out of the Toshakhana and selling it.

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has launched a bid to control the appointment of the new NAB Chairman after Aftab Sultan stepped down on Tuesday.

The head of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is appointed after consultation between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. It is a constitutional position and once appointed the all-power NAB chairman could not be removed easily.

The current leader of the opposition, Raja Riaz, is a reneged PTI lawmaker. He and around twenty others refused to resign in April 2022 when most of the PTI MNAs submitted resignations en mass after Imran Khan was ousted in a vote of no confince.

Since Imran Khan has lost control over Raja Riaz, he cannot influence the appointment of the new NAB chairman. There is a strong possibility that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be able to pick anyone as the new chairman with the help of a friendly Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz.

PTI’s Fawad Chaudhary held a press conference on Tuesday and demanded that before the process for the appointment of a new chairman begins, Raja Riaz should be removed as leader of the opposition.

No one would accept the appointment of a new NAB chairman if he or she is appointed in consultation with Raja Riaz, said Chaudhry.

Consultation with Raja Riaz is like Shehbaz consulting his cook, he said.

But most of the PTI MNAs have left the National Assembly. The speaker approved at least 35 resignations that were submitted by PTI MNAs in April.

Fawad Chaudhry said at least 70 MNAs were returning to the National Assembly to elect a new leader of the opposition.

Incidentally, the Lahore High Court on Tuesday stopped the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from holding byelections on the seats vacated by PTI MNAs.

This will also PTI lawmakers who had resigned in April to go back to the National Assembly. They will then form a majority against around two dozen MNAs supporting Raja Riaz.

PTI writes to speaker to remove Raja Riaz

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has written a letter to the speaker of the National Assembly for the removal of Raja Riaz as opposition leader.

The letter was written by PTI’s chief whip Amir Dogar and is dated February 21. It reminds the speaker that the Lahore High Court has suspended his decision of accepting 43 PTI resignations.

“As a result of this decision, the largest opposition party in the National Assembly is now PTI,” the letter reads.

It then mentions the fact that the new NAB chairman has to be appointed after a discussion between the prime minister and the opposition leader.

“Therefore, the replacement of Mr Aftab Sultan should only be finalized after consultation with the new leader of opposition nominated by the PTI,” the letter says.

“Raja Riaz jouride about to end,” PTI’s Asad Umar wrote as he tweeted out a copy of the letter.

Search for new NAB chairman begins

On the other hand, the government has started deliberations over who will be appointed the next NAB chairman.

The government is reportedly considering three names which include Azam Suleman, Yousaf Khokhar and Irfan Elahi.

The government will finalise its own list of candidates before discussing them with the leader of opposition.

An accountability court in Islamabad has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the LNG case.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana issued the warrants over Abbasi’s non appearance in court.

Warrants have also been issued for former OGRA Chairperson Uzma Adil.

The LNG case was filed against Abbasi and multiple others in December 2019 by the National Accountability Bureau. Abbasi is accused of misusing authority by issuing licenses for an LNG terminal, causing a loss of Rs 21bn to the exchequer.

The politician was also arrested in 2019 in connection with the same case.

Abbasi has maintained that he committed no illegality in awarding the contracts and he was ready to defend his innocence on any platform. He also said that LNG was crucial to solving Pakistan’s energy problems.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Aftab Sultan has stepped down citing political pressure. There were reports that he was not falling in line with the government’s policies.

The prime minister accepted Sultan’s resignation on Tuesday, but Sultan told the media that it was submitted two days earlier.

Although initial reports suggested that Sultan cited personal reasons for the resignation, he later told reporters that he was not willing to accept pressure over cases.

Aaj News quoted him saying that he was not ready to file references on the whims of some people or end cases to please them.

Sultan did not make it clear who were the people he was referring to.

He said he did not want to see questions raised over the credibility of NAB.

Reports about his resignation began to circulate on February 15. He was said to be under immense pressure over key political cases.

He was reportedly unhappy with the NAB’s powers being limited as well.

A statement from the PM House confirmed that the resignation had been accepted and that PM Shehbaz Sharif had commended Sultan on his services.

The statement said Sultan resigned citing personal reasons.

Farewell address

A few hours after the news of his resignation being accepted was made public, Aftab Sultan made a farewell speech to NAB officers.

‘I cannot tolerate interference in NAB’s affairs from other institutions,“ he said.

He also said that he would sometimes be asked to act against people owning only one plot, while those who had billions would be free.

“I came with nothing and I leave with nothing,” he added.

He also told NAB officers to fulfill their duties freely and not tolerate interference from any one.

’NAB officers should only follow the law,“ Sultan said.

No major arrest under Sultan

Aftab Sultan was appointed NAB chairman on July 21, 2022 after Justice (r) Javed Iqbal left the charge. Iqbal’s term ended in October 2021 but an ordinance allowed him to continue in office until a new chairman was appointed.

NAB did not make any big arrests under Sultan.

In his long career, Sultan served in the civil service’s police group (PSP). His last job was as the head of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), from where he retired in 2018.

At the time of his appointment as NAB Chairman last year, Rana Sanaullah called him a man of impeccable integrity. He was appointed for a three-year term.

“We are hopeful that he will be able to steer the accountability drive without any partisanship,” Sanaullah said back then.

Why Sultan’s resignation is significant

Sultan’s comments about curtailing NAB powers are significant in the current political context. A case about changes made to the NAB law, filed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, is currently in the Supreme Court.

Opposition Pakistan Tehereek-e-Insaf (PTI) has billed Sultan’s resignation as its victory.

PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry said his resignation was the “first step towards the dismantling of the fascist system.”

Fawad said Sultan had resigned to protest the ‘interference’ with his work.

PTI’s Farrukh Habib said Sultan should have elaborated on the pressure he faced.

Another PTI leader Mussarat Cheema, however, was not appreciative of Sultan.

She said under Sultan the PMD government got several of its cases disposed of. His days as NAB chairman proved costly for the nation, she added.

This story is being updated.