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LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Sardar Usman Buzdar was elected chief minister of Punjab on Sunday.

Buzdar, who was nominated for the coveted post on Friday, received 186 votes to defeat Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominee Hamza Shehbaz, who got 159 votes.

The newly elected chief minister is an advocate and a landlord by profession. Born in May 1969, in the tribal stretch of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab, Buzdar is the eldest of five brothers and sisters. He received his early education from his family village, Barthi, and later enrolled at Multan’s Bahauddin Zakariya University for a masters in political science and then completed an LLB.

Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan Buzdar, his father, served as a Grade 14 teacher at a local school, but soon took a liking for politics. He was elected to the provincial assembly three times from DG Khan – 1985-88, 2002-2007 and 2008-2013 – as a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.

The younger Buzdar, in August 2001 when Pakistan held local bodies election under General Pervez Musharraf, managed to secure the position of nazim (local elected official) twice and stayed affiliated with his father’s party. But in the 2013 general polls, he contested for a provincial assembly constituency, from the PML-N platform, and lost.

Who is Usman Buzdar, Punjab’s next chief minister

In May, Buzdar switched parties again. Using the Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz movement, he and several other South Punjab members of national and provincial assembly defected from the PML-N to its rival PTI. On July 25, he won PP-286 (DG Khan) with over 26,000 votes.

Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier reposed his confidence in Buzdar for the post of CM Punjab via a video message. Explaining his decision, the PTI chief said that Buzdar hailed from the most impoverished area of Punjab and he had decided on him as the party’s candidate after due diligence.

‘Unfair match’
The start of Sunday’s Punjab Assembly session was overshadowed by protests from members of the opposition, who chanted slogans and wore black armbands.

Before the session began, Hamza Shehbaz, the son of Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N’s nominee for Punjab chief minister, slammed PTI for coming to power through unfair means, calling it an “unfair match”.

“We are only taking oaths because we want the process of democracy to continue,” he told reporters.

He demanded a parliamentary commission to probe the electoral process, and said his party will play its constitutional role.

“We will not [resort] to climbing on containers and hurling abuses.”

Over 214 Pakistanis, who had been stranded in China for over a week, were brought to Lahore by Shaheen Air on Monday
ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered Shaheen Air to pay monetary compensation to over 214 passengers who were left stranded in China for a week, after their flight was abruptly cancelled following a payment dispute between the airline and the Civil Aviation Authority.

After remaining stuck at the airport in the Chinese port city of Guangzhou since July 29, the passengers were finally brought back home via a Shaheen Air flight on Monday. The passengers were said to have faced immense difficulties amid the blame game between the CAA and Shaheen Air, with a few also reported to have fallen sick as they waited to return home.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar resumed hearing its suo motu notice on the matter today. The apex court had last week ordered the airline to ensure all stranded passengers were flown back home by Monday and compensated fairly.

As the hearing got under way, the chief justice remarked that the passengers had suffered unusual mental strain by being stranded for so many days at the airport, and ordered the airline to pay monetary compensation to all the affected passengers.

The chief executive of Shaheen Air, who was summoned before the bench today, said the airline could pay Rs5 million in compensation and asked the court to determine an amount for the purpose.

CJP Nisar remarked that the airline should pay Rs0.1 million to each passenger who went through the ordeal.

The Shaheen Air CEO responded that he would consult with the finance department, and blamed the CAA for the fiasco. He further informed the bench that the airline had borne passengers’ expenses.

Flight from China carrying 214 stranded Pakistanis reaches Lahore

The chief justice remarked that many passengers had been forced to borrow money, while the embassy also lent out support to them.

The top judge then ordered the official to inform the court till August 20 about how much money the airline would be paying to the passengers in compensation. He also instructed the CEO to apprise the court of the airline’s dispute with the CAA in written form.

The court adjourned the next hearing till August 20.

ISLAMABAD: Whether it was twist of fate or a deliberate attempt on part of NAB and CDA to spoil Aleem Khan’s bid for the office of the Punjab chief minister, the PTI leader was thrown in possible hot water by the two government entities at a time when he was being seriously considered for the high profile slot.

What raises suspicions is the fact that a senior NAB official personally told different newsmen during the last a few days that Aleem Khan had “failed to justify the means” to buy his London flats and other properties in Dubai.

The newsmen were even told that the Bureau has a strong case of assets beyond means against the senior PTI leader. Usually even for an ordinary query, it is hard for journalists to get to the NAB’s official spokesman but in this case a senior Lahore-based Bureau official has been found willingly telling the journalists that Aleem may face serious trouble.

In a strange coincidence, the CDA has also issued notice to different housing developers including Aleem Khan and his company, who have been told to appear before the Authority or get ready for criminal proceedings.

Although Aleem Khan was already being probed by the NAB, this time when the PTI was finalising its candidate for the office of Punjab chief minister, the NAB shared a twisted “leak” which clearly suggested that Khan is going to face the music. With such a message from “NAB sources” making headlines in the media, the obvious objective could be to shoot down Aleem’s name from among those being considered for Punjab chief minister office.

NAB, however, has repeatedly reiterated that it has no political objective and is performing its duty as per law and on merit. As it happens mostly, the NAB spokesman was contacted by this correspondent on Thursday but he did not attend the call.

Contrary to NAB’s claim that it has no political objectives, the history of the Bureau is full of instances where it has been used for arm twisting for political gains of rulers or others in different times.

Before and after the 2002 elections, NAB was massively used in the making of the King’s Party- the PML-Q- and to create forward block in PPP to make a choice government for the then military dictator.

Although Aleem Khan has a controversial reputation, he was a strong contender for the CM slot for the PTI. But, it is believed that the NAB’s latest move has almost ruined his case. As if NAB was not enough to dent Aleem’s chances, the CDA also came into action and issued on Thursday notices to the operators of various housing developments including PTI leader Aleem Khan.

According to a newspaper report, the notices were issued for various violations and directed operators to appear before the CDA and explain themselves on Aug 8, or else the Authority will initiate criminal proceedings against them.

The notice issued to Aleem Khan said that based on a site report by Building Control field staff and the available records, the CDA can begin criminal proceedings against him for allowing construction in his housing development without approval from the Authority’s Building Control Directorate. The notice said the case will also be referred for cancellation of the layout plan of the Park View Housing Scheme, but gives Mr Khan and others a chance to explain their positions on Aug 8 before proceedings begin.

According to the report when asked about the timing of the notices, CDA Director Building Control II Shafi Marwat said: “We issued notices to operators of around 50 housing schemes, including Aleem Khan’s Park View society.”

PESHAWAR: A meeting between a senior US diplomat and Taliban representatives in Doha last week to discuss a possible ceasefire ended with “very positive signals” and a decision to hold more meetings, people with knowledge of the talks said on Sunday.

The meeting between a delegation led by Alice Wells, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and Taliban representatives was first reported in The Wall Street Journal but has not been officially confirmed.

According to one Taliban official, who said he was part of a four-member delegation, there were “very positive signals” from the meeting, which he said was conducted in a “friendly atmosphere” in a Doha hotel.

“You can’t call it peace talks,” he said. “These are a series of meetings for initiating formal and purposeful talks. We agreed to meet again soon and resolve the Afghan conflict through dialogue.”

He said the talks had been held without the presence of Afghan government officials at the insistence of the Taliban.

The move comes as the Afghan government and the United States have stepped up efforts to end the 17-year-war in Afghanistan following the unprecedented three-day truce during last month’s Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The truce, which saw unarmed Taliban fighters mingling with soldiers on the streets of Kabul and other cities, offered the first concrete vision of a peace settlement since an earlier attempt at peace talks broke down in 2015.

Although the Taliban refused an offer by President Ashraf Ghani to extend the Eid ceasefire, behind-the-scenes contacts have continued and the government has said it is considering another ceasefire during next month’s Eid-al-Azha holiday.

As hopes of possible formal negotiations have risen, the US has agreed to participate directly in the talks, although it insists the process will remain under Afghan leadership.

Free movement
The Taliban official said the talks took place with the approval of the leadership council. The two sides had discussed proposals to allow the Taliban free movement in two provinces where they would not be attacked, an idea that President Ashraf Ghani has already rejected. They also discussed Taliban participation in the Afghan government.

“The only demand they made was to allow their military bases in Afghanistan,” said the Taliban official.

The meeting in Doha, where the Taliban maintains a political office, followed two earlier meetings between US officials and Taliban representatives in recent months, the sources said.

“We have held three meetings with the US and we reached a conclusion to continue talks for meaningful negotiations,” said a second Taliban official.

He said they would first exchange prisoners and then discuss other issues that could restore peace to Afghanistan.

“However, our delegation made it clear to them that peace can only be restored to Afghanistan when all foreign forces are withdrawn,” he said.

Another person with knowledge of the talks said the US had pressed the Taliban side to accept the ceasefire offer for Eid-ul-Azha, which this year starts on August 22.

“So a long-term ceasefire is expected on Eid-ul Azha,” the person said. “Both sides agreed upon the continuation of the meetings and talks and another meeting is expected before Eid, but the exact time and place is not clear yet.”

The State Department confirmed that Wells had visited Doha but has said only that she met United Arab Emirates (UAE) government officials, including the deputy prime minister, to talk about their contributions to the situation in Afghanistan.

Asked about talks with the Taliban, a State Department spokesman referred to a July 9 comment from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that the US would “support, facilitate, and participate in these peace discussions, but peace must be decided by the Afghans and settled among them”.

Ghani’s main spokesman Haroon Chakansuri said last week the peace talks would be Afghan-led and would build on international consensus in support of peace.