Sanaullah | Pakistan

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah voiced support on Friday for meetings between incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and his family members, subject to certain conditions. Imran has been in jail since August 2023, serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges. His family and party members have protested outside Adiala Jail in recent days, demanding a meeting but have been repeatedly denied despite orders from the courts. Imran’s sister Aleema Khan filed a contempt of court petition against the Adiala jail superintendent and others over their failure to comply with an earlier Islamabad High Court (IHC) order that reinstated a twice-a-week meeting schedule for the incarcerated former premier. Speaking on the matter in an interview on Geo News show ‘Naya Pakistan’, Sanaullah said: “There should be permission for meetings and they should definitely take place, but a 90-minute press conference cannot take place after an hour’s meeting; no law allows this.” He further said that pol...

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that a 28th Constitutional Amendment, dealing with “public issues”, could be introduced if there is political consensus. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, enacting it into law. Speaking to reporters in Chiniot, the PM’s aide said that the amendment would deal with “public issues, such as local bodies, population, the National Finance Commission … health-related issues”. “There is a need to review how we can better serve the people according to the present needs of the provinces and the Centre,” Sanaullah stated. “This is being debated and if there is any consensus, then we can bring the 28th Amendment forward,” said the PML-N leader. Referring to the recent resignations by judges of the Supreme Court and LHC, the PM’s aide said that “those who stepped down did so due to their personal motives”. He maintained that the parliament has the constitutional right to p...

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that the government will proceed only with those parts of the 27th Constitutional Amendment agreed upon by coalition partners, while disputed matters, including changes to the 18th Amendment and the NFC Award, will remain under discussion. Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan, Sanaullah said the amendment’s draft was expected to be presented before the cabinet today, but was delayed as the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) had not yet finalised its position. “We thought it better to wait for their opinion before moving forward. Once their input comes, we’ll finalise the draft and take it to the cabinet for approval before presenting it in the Senate,” he said. Responding to a question about PML-N’s agreement with PPP on the formation of a constitutional court, Sanaullah highlighted that the PPP has been committed to the idea since 2005, and both parties are signatories to the Charter of Democracy. “Their only demand...

Sanaullah rules out talks with banned TLP

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that the country has achieved economic revival under the leadership of PM Shehaz Sharif, assuring the provision of relief to the public in the upcoming budget. The government will present the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 on June 2. PM Shehbaz has assured that providing relief to the common man in the upcoming budget was the government’s priority, and all-out resources will be utilised to reduce the financial difficulties of the poor and middle class. A delegation comprising the PML-N leader, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and Energy Minister Awais Leghari called on Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori in Karachi today, while MQM leaders Farooq Sattar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Faisal Sabwari, and Nasrin Jalil were also present on the occasion. Addressing the media after the meeting, Sanaullah said that Pakistan had emerged out of an economic crisis due to the untiring efforts of the economic team comprising the financ...