Nawaz | Pakistan

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday held ex-spymaster Faiz Hameed responsible for the ouster of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017, adding that more charges against him were to come soon. The minister’s remarks come two days after Hameed, in a first, was sentenced to a 14-year jail term after being convicted on four counts related to violating secrecy laws, engaging in political activities, misuse of authority and causing harm to others. Addressing a press conference in Sialkot, the defence minister said, “A former head of ISI has been convicted in a trial that ran for 15 months; there are still other charges on which legal proceedings will be initiated soon.” The defence minister assailed the former spymaster, claiming that Nawaz was ousted through a “conspiracy”. “The removal of Nawaz, the cases lodged against him, the allegations, and Imran’s coming into power, this whole project was enacted under the supervision of Faiz Hameed,” the defence minister said. He said that Hameed, along with his ...

PML-N President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday asked his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to give funds to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in accordance with the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. Nawaz’s suggestion on including AJK and GB’s share in the NFC is significant, as smaller provinces have previously rejected this federal plea several times. The proposal was formally initiated when NFC talks started under then-prime minister Imran Khan, while current Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had also suggested the same in the past to reduce the financial burden on the Centre. “Funds should be given to Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan under the NFC award. I will speak to PM Shehbaz Sharif in this regard,“ the PML-N supremo said while talking to party leaders in Lahore. “A certain amount every year must be given to both provinces — Azad Kashmir and GB. This is very important,” he said, adding that these two provinces must have the capacity to spend this money. H...

PML-N president and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday called for accountability for “those who brought Imran” into power, claiming that they were bigger “criminals” than the PTI founder. “Imran Khan was not the only criminal; the ones who brought him to power were the bigger criminals, and they should be held fully accountable,” said the PML-N supremo while addressing a gathering of newly elected lawmakers today. Nawaz has generally maintained a low profile since the PML-N, following the formation of a coalition with the PPP, came into power after the 2024 elections. In 2018, according to figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan, PTI had emerged as the largest political party in the country, winning 115 of the 270 National Assembly seats on which the elections were held. During a session in parliament following the election of then-PM Imran, PML-N leader Shehbaz brought up allegations of rigging in the July 25 polls. Alleging that 1.6 million votes were rejected, he questioned the...

Pakistan men, led by spinner Mohammad Nawaz’s hat-trick, bamboozled Afghanistan to win by a huge margin of 75 runs in the final of the Twenty20 International tri-series in Sharjah on Sunday. Player of the match Nawaz became the third Pakistani bowler to take a hat-trick in T20Is for the Green Shirts and ended up with figures of 5-19 as the Afghan batters had no response to his wily left-arm spin — getting bowled out for a paltry 66. He also contributed with the bat in Pakistan’s first innings by hitting two sixes and scoring 25 of 21 deliveries. Earlier, Afghanistan men’s spinners restricted Pakistan to 141-8 after skipper Salman Ali Agha had elected to bat first after winning the toss, and the Green Shirts had one change since their last encounter against Afghanistan on Tuesday, with spinner Abrar Ahmed playing in place of pacer Haris Rauf. Spinners Abrar and Sufyan Moqim picked up two wickets each as the Pakistani spinners outbowled their Afghan counterparts to win the final by 75 runs at the packed Sharjah...