Pakistan
Neither Tareen nor Shehbaz, only Imran
Jahangir Khan Tareen’s group’s ‘rebellion’ has both perplexed and encouraged the opposition. They are encouraged because the grouping within the PTI that was much talked about is now out in the open. What the combined might of the PDM could not do, this group might just be able to accomplish.
But the opposition is vexed too. If this group fails, Imran Khan may become more powerful. The failure of the JKT gang would lead to nipping in the bud of every future rebel.
Much is being speculated about, especially the alleged contacts established between the JKT group and the two main opposition parties, PML-N and PPP. Rumors say that a meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Tareen is imminent. The chances of such a meeting are quite dim. Not only is Jahangir Tareen an astute politician but he is also a smart businessman. He takes only calculated steps. Already, the party Chairman, Imran Khan, views the formation of this group as a challenge to his authority. They are skimming the border on the red area. Any future miscalculation could see them outside the party instead of being inside it.
And if by chance such a meeting does happen, then it will potentially have more negative political consequences than positive ones. Imran Khan will have the chance to make his narrative stronger. As is usual for him, he will term this the unity of corrupts. He once again repeated in Peshawar that he will not give an NRO, a hint to the group.
The formation of the JKT group did not happen without reason. The group has three main grievances. The foremost one is that the Prime Minister is surrounded by the ‘Karachi Group’ of his party, who are behind the cases against Tareen. Under Asad Umar’s leadership, the group has become stronger and lobbies for its own causes in the PM office. The second reason is that the group, comprised mainly of members from South Punjab, is not happy with Shah Mahmud Qureshi’s behavior. The Foreign minister and Tareen have a long history of enemity. Qureshi is still unable to forget his defeat at the hands of Salman Naeem in his home constituency. He also benefitted the most from Tareen’s disqualification at the hands of the Supreme Court. Today, although his influence within the government has increased, in his home region of South Punjab, his influence is waning while Tareen’s is getting stronger by the day.
The third and most important grievance is about Punjab Chief Minister, Sardar Usman Buzdar. For those in the know, it is common knowledge that Imran Khan is the de facto Chief Minister of Punjab. Buzdar and Khan are one and the same. Chief Minister hopefuls have raised the rumors multiple times that Buzdar is on his way out. A section of media was also recruited to play up the impression that Buzdar did not deserve the seat given to him. Tareen group knows all of this, yet its target is clear. But silence from the establishment seems to have given the group a hint; proceed at your own cost.
Displaying uncharacteristic political wisdom, the government has decided to give the Tareen group a way out. Once Usman Buzdar addresses the complaints of the group, the forward block will hold far less threat. The situation will shift back towards normalcy although differences will remain. As for those people who were hoping for Chaudhary Nisar or Shehbaz Sharif to take advantage of the situation, I ask, why would Tareen do all the hard work only for the fruit to fall into PML-N’s lap?
And now for the important question, how will the budget be passed through the assembly? Exactly in the same way as it has been since the previous two years. The Tareen group will give their vote, and PML-N will become a silent spectator. Shehbaz Sharif will pay the price for another two years for a shot in 2023. After all, the same page story hasn’t changed much yet.
Sports
PCB introduces T20 World Cup 2024 kit for Pakistan team
Pakistan are in Group A of the World Cup with India, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts United States
Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday unveiled the green shirt's official kit for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 at a ceremony held in the provincial capital.
Skipper Babar Azam along with senior players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and others posed with the new jersey named "Matrix Jersey" in a video shared by the cricket board on X.
The video showed Saim Ayub, Naseem Shah, Babar and others doing drills. It concluded with all the players wearing the new jersey for the upcoming ICC event.
🎵𝑳𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎, 𝒃𝒂𝒋𝒂 𝒅𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂, 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒓!🎵
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 6, 2024
Presenting Pakistan 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐱 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐲'𝟐𝟒! Pre-order now: https://t.co/TWU32T9BHd#WearYourPassion | #WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/akwWjkjZBB
Pakistan are in Group A of the World Cup with India, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts United States.
Furthermore, the Pakistan team will leave for Ireland tomorrow ahead of their T20I series against the home side.
Pakistan
PPP’s Sardar Salim Haider Khan to take oath as Punjab governor tomorrow
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan will administer oath to Sardar Salim Haider Khan while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will arrive in Lahore and will grace the occasion.
Lahore: Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Sardar Salim Haider Khan will take oath as Punjab governor on Tuesday (tomorrow).
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan will administer oath to Sardar Salim Haider Khan. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will arrive in Lahore and will grace the occasion.
The oath taking ceremony is expected at 6:00 pm at Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam.
The PPP leaders and workers including members of the provincial cabinet as well as the leaders of the PML-N and others will also take part in the oath-taking ceremony.
The sources said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would stay in Lahore for next two days. During his stay he would hold important meetings with the party leaders and would discuss the political situation in Punjab.
Pakistan
OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir calls for early resolution of J&K dispute
The participating delegations from different member states expressed support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Islamabad: OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on Monday called for an early and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Its meeting was held in Banjul, The Gambia on the sidelines of the 15th Islamic Summit of the OIC.
The participating delegations from different member states expressed support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who led the Pakistan delegation briefed the Contact Group on India’s ongoing efforts to transform Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land.
He apprised the meeting that India was systematically denying the Kashmiri people their fundamental rights and freedoms.
Ishaq Dar said the Indian authorities have created an environment of fear and intimidation in the IIOJK to crush dissent.
He urged the international community to take cognizance of the Indian leaders’ provocative statements and unwarranted claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which constitute a serious threat to regional peace.
The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed that India must release all the political prisoners, lift curbs on the outlawed political parties, revoke the illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 and the subsequent steps aimed at demographic change and political engineering, and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
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