Shujaat ouSted aS Pml-Q PreSident amid SPeCulationS of merger with Pti

Staff RepoRt

tHEgeneral council of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Thursday removed former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as the party chief, amid emerging differences within its ranks.

His brother, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, who along with his cousin and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is allied with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan, was chosen as the new party president, while Kamil Ali Agha was selected as the central secretary-general.

The event comes days after Shujaat, then president of PML-Q, suspended the basic membership of Elahi, in response to the latter’s statement about a possible merger with the opposition PTI. A show-cause notice served to Elahi mentioned that the PML-Q president called

governor administers oath to 15-member interim cabinet in kP

PESHAWAR Staff RepoRt

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali Thursday administered oath to 15 members of the interim cabinet. A notification issued by the administrative department of the provincial government announced the cabinet was being appointed under Article 224(1A) of the Constitution. Those who took the oath included former police chief Syed Masood Shah, Barrister Sanwal Nazir, Bakht Nawaz, Fazal Elahi, Adnan Jalil, Shafi Ullah Khan, Shahid Khan Khattak, Haji Ghufran, Khushdil Khan Malik, Taj Muhammad Afridi, Muhammad Ali Shah, retired Justice Irshad Qaiser, Manzoor Khan Afridi, Abdul Haleem Qasuriya, and Hamid Shah. The portfolios of the ministers have yet not been announced, but Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former provincial finance minister Taimur Jhagra raised objections over the newlyappointed interim cabinet. He shared the notification of appointments over Twitter saying, “Sadly, this looks like a PDM cabinet, barring a couple of names.” The PDM has been challenging the Imran Khan-led government and has been running a movement against it since last year, demanding the resignation of the prime minister and dissolution of the assemblies.

Pakistan, uS forge ahead in renewed partnership with emphasis on productivity

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt an urgent meeting of the senior leaders, where it was noted that the provincial president did not have the authority to merge the party with PTI.

Pakistan and the United States are currently in a new process of re-engagement, with productive and cooperative collaboration being undertaken in different matters, said Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson of the Foreign Office, on Thursday. Ned Price, American State Department spokesman, had said earlier this week that the country had granted concessions to other countries for buying oil fromRussia, and that Pakistan could use these concessions as well. Baloch spokesperson noted that Pakistan appreciated its close friendship with the United States, and that there was a process of re-engagement between the two countries. When asked about the case of Abdul Rehman Makki, who had been listed by the United Nations without being given the chance to defend himself, the spokesperson stated the decision had been made by the UN via its listing procedure and that Pakistan, as a responsible member of the international community, follows decisions made by the agency and its institutions. The spokesperson also dismissed claims of backdoor diplomacy between Pakistan and India, stating that at this stage, no dialogue was taking place between the two countries. Hina Rabbani Khar, deputy foreign minister, is set to lead the Pakistan delegation to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva later this month.

The statement went on to say that PMLQ, as a political party, maintains its individual identity, vote bank, party discipline, and rules and regulations which Elahi violated through his statements.

The notice demanded an explanation from Elahi within seven days, otherwise, action would be taken against him under the party constitution’s Article 16 and Article 50.

The decision to issue a show-cause notice to Elahi was made during a highlevel party meeting that included Tariq Bashir Cheema, the then secretarygeneral, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, the senior vice president, and Chaudhry Shafay Hussain, a senior leader.

Salik, Cheema inSiSt Ch Shujaat Still ConStitutional head

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders – Tariq Bashir Cheema and Salik Chaudhry Thursday termed Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain legal and constitutional head of the party, saying Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s move to re-elect party’s leadership was unconstitutional and illegal. Addressing media here in Islamabad on Thursday, Tariq Bashir Cheema said decisions regarding the leadership of party will be made in Party’s General Council meeting that will be held soon with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the chair. “We had scheduled meeting of the general council in Islamabad for today and leadership of all the four provinces were supposed to be here but due to Ch Shujaat’s illness, the meeting could not take place”, Cheema informed. He declared that Pervaiz Elahi cannot change the party leadership single handedly as the final decision regarding party’s head will be announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan. He said: “They know about the ongoing drama in Lahore but will respond when the right time comes. That group plans to formally merge with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), though it would not bother them whatever party Parvez Elahi joins.” Staff RepoRt