Dr. Yasmin has filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Pakistan, challenging Nawaz Sharif's election victory and arguing that notices to candidates before compiling final results are mandatory.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday said that the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was living in the stone age, critising the province’s government for not taking steps for development in the age of technology. Addressing a laptop distribution scheme at a Gujrat university, CM Maryam highlighted that students in Punjab had access to Honhaar scholarships, laptop schemes, Parwaz Card, green buses and technical training programmes. “So there is Honhaar here, and incitement there, but this is nothing to rejoice about,” she said, adding that she was extremely upset that the “people of KP were still living in the stone age”. Maryam stated: “They do not know what development is. They do not realise that Honhaar scholarships also exist if one does not have the resources for their child’s studies. “They do not know that you must have a gadget or a laptop or an iPad or a computer in your hands if you are to meet global standards in today’s age.” Indirectly noting that the PTI had been in power in KP for the past “13 years”, she said the public there “does not even know what development is”. The chief minister quipped that the KP government’s response to every need was that it was providing them “awareness”. Maryam emphasised that blocking major roads in KP did not affect the businesses in Punjab but rather the economic activity of KP itself. During her address, Maryam also recalled the time when her mother Kulsoom Nawaz was hospitalised due to cancer in 2017 and 2018, as well as when her father and ex-premier Nawaz Sharif was ill during his imprisonment in 2019. Noting that Nawaz was in his 70s when he was jailed, the Punjab CM said, “He got sick after multiple heart attacks and his platelets dropped. He had cardiac pain [but] such a joke was made out of his ailment.” She continued: “When my father and I were in jail, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and her disease was ridiculed so much; it was even said that she was not sick and it is all a drama.” Maryam then recalled that Kulsoom was on a ventilator in a London hospital when certain individuals “entered the ICU through deception by wearing doctors’ uniforms to verify whether it was true or false”. “When my mother passed away, my father said, ‘One has to die to prove their innocence here’,” she said, adding that she was in a jail cell when Nawaz informed her about Kulsoom’s death. The PML-N leader then played some old video clips of ex-premier Imran Khan from when he was in power. In the clips, the PTI founder threatened to get the TV and air conditioner removed from the prisons of the PML-N leadership. Maryam asserted: “I am swearing by God that till today, neither I nor Nawaz Sharif or Shehbaz Sharif even thought of removing his AC or shutting off his food and TV. “In fact, Nawaz Sharif said one day that he (Imran) has one AC, give him two ACs as he should not face any problems.” She further said she was the “first woman” to be locked in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) jail and a cell had to be vacated for her as they did not have a dedicated women’s prison. The Punjab CM then played another video of ex-PM Imran, wherein he commented on the “long list” of health issues Nawaz was facing. “You can have differences on policies and policies, but you cannot turn political disagreements into personal enmities,” Maryam emphasised. “My children, you must never do this,” she told the audience, referring to the actions taken by the PTI government of jailing PML-N leadership and “making fun” of the ailments. “The time circles back, but my father was telling me at dinner the other day to never wish bad for even one’s political opponents,” she said. “You all must not do what he or his party is doing,” the politician stressed. “Those who are ill, we pray that God may give them recovery soon,” she added. Speaking on Imran’s current health issues, Maryam said, “The kind of facilities and the doctors he needs are being provided to him, and I am telling you this on oath that no one wishes ill for him.” She called for lies, accusations, incitement, vandalism and fitna to be “thrown out” of politics.

The Pakistani government has invited the opposition to hold talks aimed at strengthening and advancing the 2006 Charter of Democracy, a document signed by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and late Benazir Bhutto.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif began his two-day visit to Austria on Monday, during which he will hold bilateral meetings and delegation-level talks, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. The premier arrived in Vienna for the two-day visit on Sunday, at the invitation of Austria’s Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker. As per a PMO statement, PM Shehbaz arrived at the Austrian Chancellery today, where he was presented with a guard of honour and welcomed by Stocker. The statement said that the national anthems of both countries were played at the arrival, and both leaders “introduced their respective delegations to each other before proceeding for tête-à-tête and the delegation-level talks, wherein both sides will take stock of the entire gamut of bilateral relations”. PM Shehbaz also penned his remarks in the guest book at the Chancellery. The premier is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and one of his aides, Tariq Fatemi, during the two-day visit. This visit marks 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In its statement issued on Sunday, the Foreign Office (FO) noted that the trip marked “the first visit by a Pakistani prime minister to Austria in over three decades, the last having been undertaken by the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1992”.

Incarcerated PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has approached the Supreme Court to overturn PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's election victory from Lahore’s NA-130 constituency in the 2024 general elections.

IT has been a worrying week for the PTI as the news about Imran Khan’s health became public and dominated news headlines and private conversations. From the sketchy information that came out initially, it appeared that he had some problem with his eye and has lost up to 85 per cent of his vision in that eye. This was reported by lawyer Salman Safdar, after his court-appointed visit to Khan at Adiala jail, though there had been news reports about the matter earlier. According to Safdar, the percentage was communicated to Khan by the doctors who examined him. The government’s earlier reaction appeared a bit inexplicable. It took the government days to confirm the problem, after it had been reported in the media. And then it did nothing while the Supreme Court woke up to take notice, sending Safdar to the jail. Over the weekend, there were reports that a team of doctors had been sent to the jail to examine him, while his family and personal doctors continued to wait for access. As the family and party refused to accept the government’s decision of giving access to only certain individuals (rather than the family being allowed to choose the person) the examination was carried out at the jail by doctors without any relative present. The party is trying to build up pressure through protests and sit-ins, which seems to cause no sleepless nights to the government. This is so despite reports that KP is cut off from the rest of the country. The PTI is getting criticised for this though it is hard to understand why the federal government is ignoring it. To return to Adiala, this is a good time for a reminder that health issues, especially of imprisoned political prisoners, should not be downplayed or treated lightly. For this reason, the government should provide all help possible to Khan; this includes allowing his family and personal doctors access to him, so they can take decisions on his health, instead of the government making the call on which experts should conduct the examination and which family members can be present. This reeks of callousness. The reports of Khan’s ill health have added fuel to the talk of a probable deal. However, there is a political angle to this entire crisis. The reports of Khan’s ill health have added fuel to the talk of a probable deal or ‘dheel’, as it seems to share some parallels with the platelets issue which allowed Nawaz Sharif to be freed and flown to London. In fact, the question being asked again and again in Islamabad is if this is Platelets 2, implying that some backroom deal is being worked out. It is important to point out that the rumours did not just emerge as a result of health worries but also because of the events of the past couple of weeks where the cooperation between the federal and provincial governments improved. Once this happened, the allegations of drugs and other criminal activities directed at Chief Minister Sohail Afridi gave way to praise for his cooperation with Islamabad. So once the reports of the illness emerged, it simply lent credence to rumours that something was cooking. At the moment, it is hard for those of us who live away from Constitution Avenue to comment on these rumours with any authority. And beca­u­­se I would like to feel better about my ignorance, perhaps some of those living on Constitution Avenue may also be as ill-informed as the rest of us mortals. Despite this, there is much support for the idea of a deal. For many within the PTI think it would provide respite to Khan and others and allow them to bide their time for a return to power (as in the case of other politicians in the past). On the government side, it is seen as a way to bring some stability to the situation, allowing the focus to remain on the economy. But all of this ignores a larger issue, beyond the comfort of those in power and in the opposition. In other words, beyond the level of high politics, where the players tend to be the establishment, the parties and individuals, what will this deal bring to dissatisfied people who have been feeding into the popularity and stature of Khan? Indeed, it is this anger which has resurrected Khan and the PTI each time a fatal blow has been struck in the direction of the party in what is ‘high politics’. Be it the forcible exits from the PTI of the more well-known faces or the decision to deprive the party of its symbol — popular support for it has ensured that none of these steps proved sufficient. So it is perhaps worth asking what the impact of such a ‘deal’ would be. Suppose the deal does disillusion the supporters of Khan and undermines his popularity in a way similar to Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. (The economy and its poor performance landed the second blow on N’s popularity.) And then what options will be left for the people to still stay engaged in electoral politics. Will they opt for other, smaller political parties? Or will they look around for more radical options? The point here is that the establishment needs to realise that it not going to be enough to win over politicians to its side; this is not what will make the system more stable. For the system to be more stable, it is not enough to quieten politicians such as Sharif or Khan and then revel in the decline of their popularity. For real stability, the anger of the people will have to be understood and then addressed through a more equitable economic system and by giving them a voice. Instead of focusing on high politics, it might help if for once attention were paid to the level at which people operate and exist. After all, electoral politics in Balochistan was tamed some time ago, but stability continues to be elusive. The writer is a journalist. Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2026