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A look back at major political happenings in Pakistan in 2020

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Waqas Jawaid
Waqas Jawaid
Waqas Jawaid is a multimedia journalist associated with ARY News. He tweets @arainwaqas27

2020 is drawing to a close. The year 2020 saw many major political developments in the country, with many ups and down for government and opposition parties.

The year 2020 witnessed several high profile arrests of the opposition politicians in accountability cases, the release of NAB detainees, protests by the opposition parties under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the poor political relationship between the treasury and opposition, reservations of PTI allies, quit of BNP-Mengal from PTI coalition govt and Gilgit-Baltistan elections 2020.

With 2020 coming to an end, here is a recap of some of the key political happenings in the country.

Bust-up and patch-up

The year 2020 started with rifts between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies; MQM-P, PML-Q and BNP-Mengal. Reports of rifts between the PTI and its allies emerged after MQM-P lawmaker Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui resigned as federal minister for information technology on January 12.

Siddiqui in a press conference announced to left cabinet but said his party would not withdraw support for the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

MQM Pakistan

To woo upset allies, Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 31 had formed committee of his party’s leaders, headed by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, to meet ‘annoyed’ government allies — MQM-P, PML-Q and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) — to address their concerns.

The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP) on June 17 announced to part ways with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led (PTI) coalition government after remaining part of the coalition for around 2 years.

“I am officially announcing that our party is separating itself from the PTI government,” said Akhtar Mengal in National Assembly session.

prime minister 2020

However, the BNP-M chief said his party will remain a part of the National Assembly and keep raising their problems in the lower house of parliament.

Except for BNP-Mengal, the PTI government succeeded in convincing its allies as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan in April rejoined the cabinet after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf assured it of development funds for Karachi and Hyderabad.

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The ties between PTI and PML-Q also comes to normal after Prime Minister Imran on November 25 visited the house of Chaudhry brothers and assured removing their all grievances.

Nawaz’s deportation

In October, Pakistan requested the UK to deport former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from London to serve his prison term in the country after being sentenced in corruption cases.

Through the letter, the Pakistani government asked the British authorities to consider cancelling Sharif’s visit visa, which has allowed him to live in London on medical grounds since November.

pakistan 2020

The Islamabad High Court has declared him an absconder for not appearing before the court. Prime Minister Khan has tasked relevant authorities with bringing the PML-N supreme leader back at any cost.

The former Prime Minister left for the UK in November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for medical treatment.

Ups and downs in PTI-Tareen relations

The relations between Prime Minister Imran Khan and once his close aide Jahangir Khan Tareen witnessed ups and downs in 2020 after PTI’s former secretary-general Tareen had been removed as  chairman of task force on agriculture following his name in a high-profile inquiry report of sugar crisis as one of the main beneficiary.

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The report released by the government on orders of PM Imran orders revealed PTI stalwart Jahangir Khan Tareen, a brother of Food Minister Khusro Bakhtiyar, and PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi were among the beneficiaries of the sugar crisis which took a serious toll on the people, especially the poor.

However, Tareen had rejected all allegations leveled against him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in a report.

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Tareen — a close confidant of Prime Minister Imran Khan — had ‘quietly’ departed for London in June despite being a prime suspect in the sugar scam. PTI’s ‘isolated’ leader Jahangir Tareen had returned back to Pakistan on Nov. 6.

Arrest and Release of NAB Detainees

As we all know that the year 2019 had witnessed high profile arrests of the politicians mostly from the opposition on charges of corruption, but this year in 2020 several opposition leaders were released on bail by courts except one high-profile arrest of PML-N President and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

Those released in the outgoing year included former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who was granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on February 25.

PDM 2020

 

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is accused of awarding an LNG import contract allegedly at exorbitant rates in 2015, which caused a big loss to the national exchequer. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in 2013, had awarded a LNG import and distribution contract to the Elengy Terminal in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and relevant laws.

Another PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was granted bail on November 25 by the IHC in Narowal Sports City case.

Ahsan Iqbal is accused of using funds of the federal government and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for a sports city in Narowal. PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was arrested on December 23, 2019 by NAB.

The Supreme Court on March 17 had granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique in Paragon Housing corruption reference. The duo had been arrested by NAB in 2018.

khawaja brothers paragon case accountability court

Khawaja brothers were accused of establishing a housing project by acting as benamidars in the name of Air Avenue. The project was later converted into a new housing scheme namely Paragon City which, as per NAB, was an illegal society and not approved by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA).

The high-profile arrest that witnessed in the outgoing year was of PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, who was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Sept. 29  after the Lahore High Court rejected his bail plea in a money laundering case.

The money laundering reference mainly accuses Shehbaz of being beneficiary of assets held in the name of his family members and benamidars who had no sources to acquire such assets. It says the suspects committed offences of corruption and corrupt practices as envisaged under the provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and money laundering as delineated in the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010.

Capt Safdar’s arrest fiasco

On October 19, PML-N leader Safdar, who was staying at a Karachi hotel with his wife, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, was arrested for “violating the sanctity of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum” a day after the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had staged a rally in the city.

Safdar PDM 2020

Following Safdar’s arrest, a purported voice message by PML-N leader and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair was shared on social media in which Zubair alleged that the Sindh inspector general of police was kidnapped and forced to register the first information report against Maryam, her husband Safdar and 200 others for violating the sanctity of the Quaid’s mausoleum.

On October 20, the Sindh police chief and other top police officials in the province had decided to go on leave in protest over mishandle and ridicule of the Sindh police officials in an episode involving the arrest of the PML-N leader Captain (retd) Safdar Awan.

Murad Ali Shah

Later, IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar deferred his own leave and ordered his officers to set aside their leave applications for ten days in the larger national interest after the army chief ordered the inquiry into the incident.

On Nov. 10, a probe into Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mahar’s “grievances” was completed on the orders of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and all officers found responsible were removed from their posts in light of the court of inquiry, according to military’s media wing Safdar.

coas qamar javed bajwa

PML-N suffers massive blows in Balochistan

The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) on Nov 1 suffered massive setbacks in Balochistan after former federal minister and acting president of PML-N Balochistan chapter Lieutenant General (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch and former chief minister Sanaullah Zehri announced to quit the party.

“The only reason I have decided to part ways with the PML-N is its narrative against Pakistan Army,” said Abdul Qadir Baloch while terming the act as unacceptable for him.

“I challenge PML-N to secure the win on even a single seat from Balochistan now,” said Zehri after quitting the party.

PTI clinches victory in GB

The 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on 15 November 2020. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the winner and formed the government after having secured 22 of its 33 seats.

pdm prime minister

The PTI bagged 10 seats, independent candidates won seven and PPP and PML-N — both of which have levelled allegations of rigging — hold five and three seats, respectively. The ruling party also grabbed four seats reserved for women and two reserved for technocrats.

Soon after the chief election commissioner issued the official election results, two big political parties of Pakistan, PPP and PML-N rejected the resuts and announced to hold protests. On Nov. 30 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Barrister Khalid Khursheed was elected as Gilgit-Baltistan’s new chief minister.

prime minister 2020

 

Govt, opposition face-off

After the failure of Azadi March led by JUI-F chief Fazl last year, opposition parties once again in 2020 joined hands and formed an 11-party alliance under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on September 20 and appointed JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman to lead the opposition front against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

PDM, Lahore rally, Larkana

The PDM announced protest movements across the country and so far held 11 big political gatherings in major cities of Pakistan. The first public meeting was held on October 16 in Gujranwala followed by a rally in Karachi on October 18, a third public meeting was held in Quetta on October 25.

The fourth power show was organised in Peshawar on Nov. 22, in Multan on Nov. 30 and the last public meeting of the 11-party opposition alliance was held in Lahore on Nov 13.

The PDM held the majority of rallies despite govt ban on public gatherings due to Covid-19 pandemic. Several political workers had been arrested by the government for violating laws and cases were registered against PDM leaders.

Pdm 2020

The opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on December 14 demanded the PTI-led government quit by January 31 or face an intensified opposition movement, including a long march to the capital.

The PDM also announced resignations from provisional assemblies and parliament and lawmakers from PDM member parties in the national and provincial assemblies will hand in their resignations to their party leaders by December 31.

Aseefa enters politics

Daughter of late PM Benazir Bhutto, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari entered into politics on Nov 30 by addressing a rally in Multan under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement.

Aseefa attended the Multan rally on behalf of her brother and party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who went into isolation after contracting coronavirus last week.

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari

 

It is also important to point out that Aseefa had already been involved in numerous progressive programmes in Pakistan. She is not only Pakistan’s ambassador for polio eradication but was also the first Pakistani child to receive the polio vaccine in the country. In 1994, Benazir Bhutto, then prime minister, gave the drops to her daughter herself.

Amid ongoing government-opposition row, the future for a common Pakistani remains uncertain.
But the leaders at the centre of the whole scene are sure about the achievement of their targets.

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