Here’s what’s happening across the border: PM’s house to auction its luxury fleet, and govt to probe election results ‘delay’.
Pakistan PM ignores French President’s call to keep meeting going
Seventeen journalists having an interaction with Pakistan PM Imran Khan at his residence Friday were in for a surprise. The former cricketer reportedly ignored a call from French President Emmanuel Macron in order to not disrupt his chat with the scribes.
The episode came to light with a tweet by journalist Hamid Mir, who was a part of the meeting.
New Pakistan.French President @EmmanuelMacron called Prime Minister of Pakistan @ImranKhanPTI today but he was busy in a meeting with journalists including me Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua wanted PM to attend the call but PM said I am busy here tell them to call in 30 minutes
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) August 31, 2018
Opposition senator and former diplomat Sherry Rehman said the account sounded “absurd”, asking why a “state to state” call was not pre-scheduled.
Let’s not construct notions of “honour” akin to discourtesy. Bizarre that a call at this level was not pre-scheduled. Why is this some badge of honour that even if it came in a rolling schedule of calls a state to state call was refused? No journalist present would have minded. https://t.co/RPu3riLLIA
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) September 1, 2018
Mir replied that the journalists had urged Khan to take the call, but he was more keen to know the “fiery criticism” of his two-week-old government.
Yes some of us asked PM to go and attend the call but I think it was not pre-scheduled and PM was more interested to listen fiery criticism on his two weeks old government https://t.co/f0MgUY6AU7
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) September 1, 2018
Dawn reported that Khan and Macron did subsequently catch up. Details of the conversation were not disclosed.
Imran Khan’s meet with journalists slammed
Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s meeting with the 17 journalists, reportedly meant to discuss the role of scribes in the country’s development as well as the importance of access to information, was widely derided online.
Media watchdog Pakistan Media Watch said the meet was meant to ensure continued attacks on former PM Nawaz Sharif.
All anchors who attended meeting with Imran Khan in PM House agreed in advance they wil not criticise govt, will continue to attack Nawaz Sharif who is in jail and will do everything they can to continue supporting PTI for creation of a 'Naya Pakistan', invites issued after that pic.twitter.com/lRwl6U7SeO
— Pakistan Media Watch (@PakPressWatch) August 31, 2018
Journalist Omar. R. Quraishi suggested the journalists were part of Khan’s “PR machinery”.
????? pic.twitter.com/m5I5EA8sxx
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) August 31, 2018
‘Extra’ luxury cars at Prime Minister’s house to be auctioned
The Pakistan government has decided to auction the surplus vehicles posted at the Prime Minister’s house, reports Dawn.
The auction will take place on 17 September.
According to the newspaper, the PM’s house had released a list of the cars Friday. They include eight BMWs, four Mercedes Benzes, 16 Toyota cars, four bulletproof Land Cruiser vehicles, one Honda Civic, three Suzuki vehicles, and one Hino Bus.
The auction was among the decisions announced by Imran Khan after he was sworn in as Prime Minister last month. It is part of a larger austerity drive launched under his administration to curb unnecessary government expenses.
Interesting tweets of the day
“I travel to Banigala by helicopter to save the nation the inconvenience (of routes, blockages for a cavalcade)” – Imran Khan https://t.co/EXj6l6UmG0
— Gul Bukhari (@GulBukhari) August 31, 2018
Journalist Gul Bukhari took a dig at Imran Khan for using a helicopter to travel between home and his workplace.
Also a note for PMLN Social Media Wing – the government pages that you guys have hijacked/stolen will be handled directly by @facebook and @twitter and will be handed back to the govt.
Tumharay baap ki jageer nai!
No more room for lootmaar, chori, daaka!
Be very scared!
— Imran Ghazali (@ImranGhazaliPK) August 31, 2018
Imran Ghazali, who headed the PTI’s digital campaign in 2013, lashed out at the PML(N) for “hijacking” the official Twitter accounts of the Punjab government despite losing the election. Facebook and Twitter will handle the issue, he said.
Dated 1971. Most of us on social media don't know what happened at that time. And even those of us who've studied South Asian Military history/strategy over the years, still should not claim we "know what happened" as we weren't there; armed services were, though. #RealityCheck https://t.co/qbDMuYGtUY
— Cynthia D. Ritchie (@CynthiaDRitchie) August 31, 2018
Former Pakistan ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani slammed efforts to build a “false narrative” in the country, with help from the very different editions released by Indian and Pakistani newspapers at the close of the 1971 war. When freelance director Cynthia D. Ritchie sought to counter the claim, Twitter hit back.
The Japanese Minister of State expressed the strong desire of the government of Japan to strengthen the existing friendly relations between the two countries based on long history of economic and development cooperation. pic.twitter.com/T64uuHP2Jx
— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 31, 2018
Japanese foreign affairs minister Kazuyuki Nakane met Pakistan PM Imran Khan Friday and both the countries vowed to strengthen bilateral ties.
PTI government to probe general election results
The Pakistan government has decided to start an investigation into the alleged manipulation of results of the 25 July election. Though the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) believes there was no rigging, it has alleged that “the flow of the results was deliberately delayed by Nadra (National Database and Registration Authority)”, reports Dawn.
The announcement was made by minister of information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry and senator Azam Swati, the chief researcher of the PTI, in a media interaction.
But Nadra has rejected all such claims, saying they were ready for a forensic audit.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday launched a website that will allow Pakistanis living abroad to cast their votes in upcoming by-polls, reports Dawn. Between 10 and 14 October, those who register as voters on the website will be issued a unique pass code.
Pakistan backs Iran in dispute with the US
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered to back Iran in its ongoing dispute with the United States, reported Dawn.
Talking to visiting Iran foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Friday, Khan said “the two countries remained the key to growth and prosperity in the region through enhancing connectivity and promoting people to people linkages”.
According to the Dawn report, Pakistan’s consistent support for Iran on the stalemate with the US stems from its “longstanding position that all countries should have access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes”.
Zarif later wrote on social media that the meeting with Khan was “fruitful”.
Fruitful meetings in Islamabad with PM @ImranKhanPTI, Army Chief, Speaker & Foreign & Finance Ministers. In my 8th trip to Pakistan, I was honored to be the first minister received by new govt. Emphasis on expanding bilateral, regional & global partnership. Neighbors our priority pic.twitter.com/4J69DVNGSc
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 31, 2018
The Dawn report added, “Iran made a special outreach to the new government in a bid to reset the ties that have suffered deep mistrust over the past decades.”