WASHINGTON DC: A top US Military Intelligence source today warned that Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan could be killed in an assassination bid any time, even in the next few hours, either by certain rogue elements within the Pakistan army establishment or the Afghanistan Taliban or similar militant groups operating in the region.

Khan’s life is in grave danger as there are several very powerful entities both within and without the country (Pakistan) who want him dead. He may not survive till the time elections are held in Pakistan, the US official said on condition of anonymity, claiming that “elaborate and sophisticated plans are made to bump off Imran Khan and to ensure that he is not available during the national polls”. There is a lot of money and powerful people with international connections involved, the official said.

The 70-year-old former premier faces 37 or 40 cases filed against him by various law enforcement agencies in different parts of the country. These include five cases filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan in connection with alleged illegal foreign funding and using inappropriate or threatening language against the poll panel and its chairman as well as trying to influence the outcome of polls using certain banned or communally offensive methods.

Imran Khan’s security was beefed up after he survived an ‘assassination attempt’ during a rally in Wazirabad in Pakistan’s Punjab province last November. According to local newspaper, Dawn, a “special contingent of commandos from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” took charge of his security following the purported attack in which he was injured.

However, US Intelligence agencies tracking the political developments in Pakistan are of the view that the present ruling dispensation in Pakistan does not want Imran Khan to be “politically active” and his presence could lead to their downfall if polls are held in the next 6-10 months.

Imran Khan recently appeared in a Pakistan court wearing a bullet proof bucket-shaped contraption on his head with security guards carrying bullet proof shields.

A Pakistan high court on Thursday ruled that the former Pakistan prime minister should be provided security according to his status as an ex-premier.

The Islamabad High Court was hearing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s plea regarding being provided adequate security after Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah allegedly threatened him.

ISLAMABAD, (ANI): An Islamabad court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the judge-threatening case.

The court dismissed the former premier’s plea to extend the suspension of the arrest warrant as it announced the verdict today.

On March 13, Senior Civil Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran while hearing a case registered against the ex-premier for using threatening language against ADSJ Zeba Chaudhry and the Islamabad police officials, according to The Dawn.

The cricket star-turned-politician has faced a barrage of legal woes since his ouster in a confidence vote in April last year by a united opposition led by his successor as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. (ANI)

NEW DELHI, (ANI): Pakistan’s electronic media regulator has imposed a ban on Bol News for the live coverage of clashes between law enforcement personnel and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers in Islamabad, Dawn reported.

PTI workers and law enforcement personnel came face-to-face on Saturday when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan reached Islamabad to appear before a judge in the Toshakhana case.

As the situation escalated, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) ordered all news and current affairs channels to stop live coverage from outside the Judicial Complex.

However, Bol News continued to air the situation, prompting the regulator to order cable operators to stop its transmission, as per the Dawn report. Pemra said that live coverage of public outrage against law enforcers caused panic among viewers and police personnel. In the advisory issued on the Islamabad district administration’s request, the PEMRA said TV channels showing live footage and images of a violent mob and attacks were a matter of concern.

“Such footage/images were seen on TV screens without any editorial oversight during a recent standoff between political party workers and law enforcing agencies in Lahore wherein, [a] violent mob used petrol bombs, injuring [unarmed] policemen and blazing police vehicles,” Pemra said in the advisory as per the Dawn report.

“Live telecast of such footage on different satellite TV channels created chaos and panic among the viewers and the police.” Pemra said such actions by a mob not only affect the law and order situation but also make people’s lives and properties vulnerable. Pakistan’s media regulatory authority noted that airing such content is in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgement in suo motu case No 28 of 2018.

The Pemra stressed that in case of non-compliance, the channel’s licence shall be suspended without any show-cause notice “in public interest along with other enabling provisions of law,” the news report said. Meanwhile, Bol News management termed the regulator’s action as “unfair” and said that it will continue to fight at all forums. Siddique Jan, who is Bol News bureau chief in Islamabad, said that their channel has been repeatedly targeted over their stance to give fair coverage to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

“Bol [News] has been repeatedly targeted by Pemra over our stance to give fair coverage to the mainstream political opposition, the PTI,” Siddique Jan, who is the channel’s bureau chief in Islamabad said. He further stated that cable operators said they were directed to move the channel’s number, making it difficult for people to watch its coverage.

As Imran Khan reached outside Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) to appear in court in the Toshakhana case on March 18, at least 25 people were injured, 30 automobiles, including motorbikes, and a police station was set on fire during clashes between the police and PTI supporters in Islamabad, as per the Dawn report. Law enforcers and PTI supporters used anti-riot gear against each other with teargas used from both sides to push the opposing side back. (ANI)

ISLAMABAD, (PTI): A Pakistani anti-terrorism court here on Wednesday rejected the bail of former prime minister Imran Khan for failing to attend the court hearing of a case linked to protests outside the election commission, a ruling which could lead to his arrest.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists staged a protest after Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the prohibited funding case last year.

In October last year, Police launched a case under the anti-terrorism laws and the former premier was on interim bail in the case.

On Wednesday, Judge Raja Jawad Abbas of Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad remarked that Khan had been given enough time to appear before the court but he had failed to do so while his lawyer Babar Awan in his arguments urged the court to grant a one-time exemption from in-person appearance as Khan had not recovered from a gun attack of last year. The judge refused to accept the plea and ordered that Khan should appear by stating that the court cannot give any relief to a “powerful person” like Khan which is not given to a common person.

Finally, the judge refused to extend the interim bail, leaving the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, who survived an assassination attempt in November last year, vulnerable to police arrest.

The PTI leadership had asked party workers to stage protests across the country, including near the ECP, after Khan was disqualified over hiding details of party funding.

Separately, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) barred a banking court from passing any direction on Khan’s bail plea in the Federal Investigation Agency’s prohibited funding case against the PTI.

Last year, the ECP in the funding case against the PTI ruled that the party had received prohibited funding.

Later, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a case against Khan and other party leaders as signatories/beneficiaries of the PTI account where the funds were parked.

At the previous hearing, the banking court had rejected Khan’s request for a virtual hearing and asked him to appear in person on February 15.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the court once again rejected the exemption request and instructed him to appear before the judge in person on Wednesday.

But Khan had approached the IHC with a request for virtual proceedings which in its order instructed the PTI chief to submit fresh medical reports and stopped the banking court from taking further action in the case till February 22.

Khan has been facing a raft of cases and once he jokingly remarked that the only case he was not booked so far was the “crime of dipping rusk in tea before eating them”. (PTI)

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters): Pakistan plans to quadruple its domestic coal-fired capacity to reduce power generation costs and will not build new gas-fired plants in the coming years, its energy minister told Reuters on Monday, as it seeks to ease a crippling foreign-exchange crisis.

A shortage of natural gas, which accounts for over a third of the country’s power output, plunged large areas into hours of darkness last year. A surge in global prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an onerous economic crisis had made LNG unaffordable for Pakistan. “LNG is no longer part of the long-term plan,” Pakistan Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan told Reuters, adding that the country plans to increase domestic coal-fired power capacity to 10 gigawatts (GW) in the medium-term, from 2.31 GW currently.

Pakistan’s plan to switch to coal to provide its citizens reliable electricity underscores challenges in drafting effective decarbonisation strategies, at a time when some developing countries are struggling to keep lights on. Despite power demand increasing in 2022, Pakistan’s annual LNG imports fell to the lowest levels in five years as European buyers elbowed out price-sensitive consumers.

“We have some of the world’s most efficient regasified LNG-based power plants. But we don’t have the gas to run them,” Dastgir said in an interview. The South Asian nation, which is battling a wrenching economic crisis and is in dire need of funds, is seeking to reduce the value of its fuel imports and protect itself from geopolitical shocks, he said.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank have fallen to $2.9 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of imports. “It’s this question of not just being able to generate energy cheaply, but also with domestic sources, that is very important,” Dastgir said.

The Shanghai Electric Thar plant, a 1.32 GW capacity plant that runs on domestic coal and is funded under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), started producing power last week. The CPEC is a part of Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to the coal-fired plants, Pakistan also plans to boost its solar, hydro and nuclear power fleet, Dastgir said, without elaborating.

If the proposed plants are constructed, it could also widen the gap between Pakistan’s power demand and installed power generation capacity, potentially forcing the country to idle plants. The maximum power demand met by Pakistan during the year ended June 2022 was 28.25 GW, more than 35% lower than power generation capacity of 43.77 GW.

It was not immediately clear how Pakistan will finance the proposed coal fleet, but Dastgir said setting up new plants will depend on “investor interest,” which he expects to increase when newly commissioned coal-fired plants are proved viable. Financial institutions in China and Japan, which are among the biggest financiers of coal units in developing countries, have been backing out of funding fossil-fuel projects in recent years amid pressure from activists and Western governments. (Reuters)

NEW DELHI, (Reuters): Pakistani former President Pervez Musharraf died on Sunday following a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, after years in self-imposed exile.

Pakistan’s military and the country’s mission in the United Arab Emirates announced the death of the former army chief, 79, who was pushed from power in 2008. “I can confirm that he passed away this morning,” Shazia Siraj, spokesperson for Pakistan’s consulate in Dubai and embassy in Abu Dhabi, told Reuters.

The chiefs of Pakistan’s army, navy and air force expressed condolences on his death, the public relations wing of the military said. President Arif Alvi expressed condolences in a statement. A special flight will be made to Dubai on Monday to bring Musharraf’s body back to Pakistan for burial, local TV channel Geo News reported.

The former four-star general, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, oversaw rapid economic growth and attempted to usher in socially liberal values in the conservative Muslim country. Musharraf enjoyed strong support for many years, his greatest threat al Qaeda and other militant Islamists who tried to kill him at least three times.

But his heavy-handed use of the military to quell dissent as well as his continued backing of the United States in its fight against al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall. Allowed abroad for medical treatment even as he faced a treason case in Pakistan, Musharraf last flew to Dubai in 2016. (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD, (PTI): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI)’s petition against the ruling of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday, Geo News reported.

Regarding the foreign funding case, a bigger bench of the IHC, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Miangul Hassan, and Justice Babar Sattar reserved its verdict on January 11, after arguments were completed.

The election commission issued a show cause notice to the PTI in August 2022 after concluding that the party received financing from banned sources. Later, the notice was challenged in the IHC. The verdict, today was announced verbally.

Earlier, in its reserved judgement, the ECP bench stated that prohibited funding against the PTI had been confirmed. The ECP found unanimously that the party received cash from business billionaire Arif Naqvi and 34 other foreign nationals.

In its ruling, the ECP also stated that former Prime Minister Imran Khan made a false declaration on the PTI illegal funding issue. The money also violated Article 6 of the Political Parties Act,

During the hearing, the court had observed that the ECP’s responsibility was merely to do what the Constitution permitted — which was limited to the confiscation of funds. While the ECP during the hearing claimed that it had no power to change its decision, the court had observed that should the PTI present in the court satisfactory evidence — proving the legitimacy of the funds — the amount would not be confiscated, reported Geo News.

The PTI counsel had argued during that hearing that the ECP had declared it a “foreign-aided” party and had rejected the declaration of PTI chief Imran Khan false. “Political parties’ finances are looked after by a chartered accountant,” he argued.

“The ECP has targeted PTI.” The commission found that donations were taken from America, Australia, Canada and the UAE, reported Geo News. The PTI received funds from 34 individuals and 351 businesses including companies, the ECP verdict stated. (ANI)

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters): Seeking to force Pakistan to hold an early national election, the opposition party led by former prime minister Imran Khan dissolved its provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, three days after doing the same in Punjab province.

Under the rules, fresh polls for the two provincial assemblies should be held within 90 days, and Khan’s Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is gambling on the national government being unable to afford to hold the provincial elections separately from a national election, which is otherwise due by October.

Pakistan has four provinces, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest and Punjab in the east account for more that half of the country’s 220 million population.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s governor Ghulam Ali said he had accepted the resignation tendered by the PTI government a day earlier, telling reporters that he had “no other option”.

The 70-year-old Khan, a former captain of Pakistan international cricket team, has been demanding snap polls since his ouster in a confidence vote in parliament in April.

He has also led a nationwide protest campaign against his successor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and was shot and wounded at a rally in October.

Sharif, whose government is trying to steer the economy out of a severe crisis that was worsened by the devastating floods in the country last year, has repeatedly rejected the calls for early polls. (Reuters)