Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Pakistan prime minister extends olive branch to Imran Khan

The Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have been at loggerheads for years

Pakistan prime minister extends olive branch to Imran Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday offered to hold talks with political rival Imran Khan if he was facing "troubles" in jail.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder has been in jail since August last year.


The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been slapped with nearly 200 cases since his ouster from power in April 2022.

"If their [PTI] founder is facing troubles [in jail], then I reiterate: come, let's sit down and talk," Sharif said while addressing the National Assembly.

“Let us sit together to take the country ahead. Let us talk for the betterment of the country. There is no other way forward,” he said.

The Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PTI have been at loggerheads for years, particularly after the February 8 elections, which Khan's party claims it had won.

Commenting on the 2018 elections won by Khan's PTI, Sharif said: "We joined Parliament despite the [rigged] polls. The sort of slogans that were raised during my first speech will always be remembered as a dark chapter in the history books."

Sharif, 72, also recounted the victimisation he faced during Khan's tenure and how he was in jail when his mother passed away.

He said that despite being a cancer survivor, he used to be taken to courts in an ordinary prison van just to exacerbate the condition, but he never complained.

In response, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, reiterated that the PTI would talk with the government only when Khan and other incarcerated leaders and workers are released from jail.

"This should be in your minds: you torture our workers, you've kept our women workers in prison vans at 45°C. My prime minister Imran Khan was kept in a death cell, there's an oven-like environment over there," he said, amidst sloganeering from the treasury benches. (PTI)

More For You

Southport stabbings: Terrorism watchdog rejects definition change

FILE PHOTO: Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle in Southport, England (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Southport stabbings: Terrorism watchdog rejects definition change

TERRORISM watchdog has rejected calls to redefine terrorism following last summer's tragic Southport murders, while recommending a new offence to tackle those intent on mass killings without clear ideological motives.

Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, published his highly anticipated report on Thursday (13), concluding that the existing definition of terrorism should remain unchanged despite growing concerns about violent attackers with unclear motives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Commonwealth wreath-laying ceremony held in London

A military piper, choir, and the Sikh soldiers of the British Army took part in the ceremony.

Commonwealth wreath-laying ceremony held in London

A WREATH-LAYING ceremony was held at the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill in London on 10 March to honour Commonwealth servicemen and women who fought in the First and Second World Wars.

Lord Boateng, chairman of the Memorial Gates Council, led the event, highlighting the importance of remembering those who served.

Keep ReadingShow less
Student visas

The ongoing negotiations focus specifically on business mobility, addressing only the relevant business visas

iStock

Student visas excluded from UK-India FTA talks, says government

THE government last week clarified that only temporary business mobility visas are part of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Other types of visas, such as student visas, will not be included in the trade deal, it was revealed during a debate in the House of Lords.

Keep ReadingShow less
India Detains Crypto Administrator Wanted by US for Laundering

Aleksej Besciokov, was charged with money laundering and accused of violating sanctions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, according to the US Justice Department. (Photo: US Secret Service)

India arrests crypto administrator wanted by US for money laundering

INDIAN authorities have arrested a cryptocurrency exchange administrator at the request of the United States on charges of money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday.

The arrest follows a joint operation by the United States, Germany, and Finland, which dismantled the online infrastructure of Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer said that the change would free up funds for doctors, nurses, and frontline services while reducing red tape to accelerate improvements in the health system. (Photo: Getty Images)

Starmer scraps NHS England, brings health service under ministerial control

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has abolished NHS England, bringing the health service under direct ministerial control.

The decision reverses a key reform introduced by former health secretary Andrew Lansley during the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, The Guardian reported.

Keep ReadingShow less