Lahore: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday blamed national and international forces for his Pakistan Peoples Party defeat in the May 11 polls while the party's losing candidates held former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf responsible for the debacle. In a meeting with PPP ticket-holders of Punjab province at his private residence here, Zardari claimed some "international forces" did not want the party to come to power again.
"These forces were not happy with the (outgoing) PPP government's agreements with the countries in the region," he said. PPP leaders believe that the US was not happy over the previous government's agreements for a gas pipeline and the management of Gwadar Port with Iran and China, respectively. Zardari said the mandate of the PPP had been "stolen" but it would play an effective role at the centre as an opposition party. He said he would actively participate in politics after completing his tenure as President in September.
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01:05 AM, May 21, 2013
Islamabad: Six suspects, including two women, were arrested on Thursday during an operation to trace the kidnapped son of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani in Pakistan's restive northwest, officials said. A joint team of police and law enforcement agencies raided the property of a man named Sardar Ali near Akhora Khattak in Nowshera district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province early Thursday morning. The team arrested six suspects and freed a kidnapped man...
12:59 PM, May 16, 2013
Lahore: Former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday resigned from the post of vice-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party, accepting responsibility for its resounding defeat in the general election. "I am tendering the resignation on the basis of the election results," Gilani told a news conference in his hometown of Multan. "The PPP did not want to contest the May 11 elections but President Asif Ali Zardari did not let...
11:13 PM, May 13, 2013
Islamabad: Pakistanis began voting on Saturday for a landmark democratic transition of power after a bloody campaign, marred by Taliban violence that killed over 100 people, forced key parties to abandon rallies and large gatherings. Polling for 2013 general election started across the country where masses will cast their vote to elect their representatives for the next five-year term. Long queues of people were seen outside polling stations well before...
08:50 AM, May 11, 2013
Pakistan will vote on Saturday to decide who is next leader amidst threats of terror and violence. ...
08:47 AM, May 11, 2013
Islamabad: Despite a bloody campaign marred by Taliban attacks, polling began in Pakistan on Saturday amidst threats of violence, pitting a former cricket star against a two-time prime minister once exiled by the army and an incumbent blamed for power blackouts and inflation. The vote marks the first time in Pakistan's 65-year history that a civilian government has completed its full term and handed over power in democratic elections. Previous...
07:24 AM, May 11, 2013
Islamabad: Former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haider, kidnapped by gunmen while campaigning for Pakistan's landmark elections, had received threats from the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Though no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, Gilani and other members of his family told The Express Tribune that Ali Haider had been receiving "death and kidnapping threats" from the LeJ and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Ali Haider, 27, was kidnapped on Thursday while...
12:13 PM, May 10, 2013
Lahore: With just a day to go for elections in Pakistan, former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haider was abducted by a Taliban group in Punjab province. The news has shaken Pakistan. But As Taliban militants took away Gilani's son in the final hours of campaigning on Thursday, it was only the latest in a series of attacks on the election process. In the past month, more than...
08:59 AM, May 10, 2013
Lahore: The Punjabi Taliban is believed to be behind the kidnapping of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haider, officials said on Thursday. "A Punjabi Taliban group based in Mian Chanu, 80 km from Multan district, is believed to be involved in the kidnapping of Ali Haider Gilani," a source in Punjab Police said. Earlier in the day, gunmen kidnapped Ali Haider in Multan district, 350 km from Lahore,...
09:59 PM, May 09, 2013
Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Haidar was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from a rally in Multan and his secretary killed on Thursday. The attack comes just two days ahead of elections in Pakistan that are scheduled to be held on May 11. According to Pakistani news channel Geo News, Ali Haider was campaigning when he was kidnapped and has been injured. Gilani has now reached...
02:12 PM, May 09, 2013
Islamabad: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and other officials to respond to allegations that the previous Pakistan Peoples Party-led government closed a probe into corruption in organising the Haj pilgrimage. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is investigating a multi-million rupee scam in organising the Haj, also issued notices to the Law Ministry and the Attorney General and...
12:38 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Karachi: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday launched the Pakistan People's Party's election campaign in a low-key manner, invoking the legacy of the Bhutto family while calling on people to back the party in the May 11 election. Addressing a gathering of hundreds of PPP leaders and workers in the Bhutto family's traditional stronghold of Naudero in Sindh province at about 1.30 am, Bilawal listed the achievements of his grandfather Zulfiqar...
01:00 PM, Apr 04, 2013
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso was on Monday sworn in as Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister by President Asif Ali Zardari during a ceremony held at the presidency. The ceremony was attended by former premiers Raja Pervez Ashraf and Yousuf Raza Gilani, leaders of political parties, top military officials, bureaucrats and diplomats. ...
09:15 AM, Mar 26, 2013
Lahore: Days after he aired his grievances against the government for failing to prevent the arrest of his son, former Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has reconciled with his successor Raja Pervez Ashraf on the intervention of President Asif Ali Zardari. Gilani's son Ali Musa Gilani, named as an accused by the army-run Anti-Narcotics Force for alleged irregularities in the import of the controlled drug ephedrine, was recently arrested at...
02:09 PM, Oct 14, 2012
Islamabad: Former Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that things had became unbearable for him to continue living at the presidency after his son was "held" at the gate. Gilani was reportedly living in a presidential suite of four bedrooms on the sixth floor of the Aiwan-e-Sadr since his ouster in July. Gilani said there was no political prisoner during his rule but his son was made one....
05:00 AM, Oct 08, 2012
Lahore: Differences between Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Yousuf Raza Gilani have come to the fore, with an "unhappy" former premier speaking out for the first time against PPP-led government for its inability to avert his son's arrest and for "unceremoniously" changing bureaucrats appointed by him. Gilani was convicted of contempt and disqualified as a lawmaker by the Supreme Court in June after he refused to act on orders...
04:47 PM, Oct 07, 2012
Islamabad: Former Pakistani premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's son Ali Musa was on Friday arrested by the army-run Anti-Narcotics Force in connection with a case related to alleged irregularities in the import of Ephedrine, a controlled drug. Ali Musa was arrested at the gates of the Supreme Court when he arrived on Friday morning to seek pre-arrest bail. He was taken to an ANF office in Rawalpindi and detained in a...
01:04 PM, Sep 14, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan Supreme Court has adjourned the contempt case against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf till September 18. Ashraf has asked for more time of about four to six weeks from the court. The court, however, seems to be taking a hard stand. It has told Ashraf that contempt of court is avoided not by merely appearing in court, but by following the court's directives. The Supreme Court has asked...
10:43 AM, Aug 27, 2012
Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf faces contempt charges for refusing to reopen a money-laundering probe against President Asif Ali Zardari. ...
09:53 AM, Aug 27, 2012
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday directed authorities to prepare for the next general election, saying his Pakistan People's Party is committed to holding free, fair and impartial polls. Ashraf made the remarks while chairing a weekly meeting of his cabinet. He did not indicate when the next general election would be held though opposition parties have been demanding that the polls should be held later this...
07:28 PM, Aug 15, 2012
