Political bigwigs suffer shocking defeats in Pakistan polls
Islamabad, July 26 : Many political bigwigs in Pakistan suffered shocking defeats in the national elections even as votes were still being counted, with former Prime Ministers Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Yousaf Raza Gilani, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari losing their strongholds.
While the preliminary results from different parts of the country had good news for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), it brought bad news for many top leaders from various parties who bit the dust in the polls.
The biggest setback was for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)'s Abbasi as he lost both his seats, in Islamabad and his native constituency in Murree. He was defeated by Imran Khan in the capital.
Shehbaz Sharif, who had contested from three parliamentary seats - Karachi, Dera Ghazi Khan and Lahore -- was defeated by PTI candidates in Karachi and in Dera Ghazi Khan. However, he managed to win the Lahore seat.
PPP leader and former PM Gilani lost his home turf in Multan.
Similarly, another surprise defeat was that of former Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, a former confidant of Nawaz Sharif who had defected from the PML-N and fought as an Independent. He lost in Rawalpindi.
He was among the politicians who have consecutively been winning their seats since 1988. It was for the first time he lost in his home constituency.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who was fighting his first political battle from Malakand, lost by a huge margin of 10,000 votes.
Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also lost his seat. "It seems Imran Khan is the favourite leader of the people."
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Shivakumar urges centre to intervene on Alamatti dam height issue
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday urged the Centre to intervene and allow Karnataka to raise the height of the Almatti dam across the Krishna river.
He also said that he will lead an all-party delegation to Delhi in this regard.
Noting that all three states -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra -- have opposed the project, he said the Andhra Pradesh government has asked the Centre not to allow Karnataka acquire land for the proposed project to increase the dam's height from 519 meters to 524 meters.
"Andhra Pradesh government has written to the Centre asking it to refrain from giving any approval or gazette notification that allows Karnataka to carry out land acquisition for the proposed project stating the matter is pending before the Supreme Court," Shivakumar, who is also the state's water resources minister said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, the Union Water Resources Secretary has sought Karnataka's response. "We will reply to it after consulting legal experts."
"I did not expect Andhra Pradesh to react this way. (Andhra Pradesh CM) Chandrababu Naidu is an experienced politician; he is aware of everything, but they are now putting such pressure on the centre. I'm unable to understand this," he said.
Noting that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) award permitted Karnataka to raise the dam to 524 metres and that there was no stay from the Supreme Court, the Deputy CM said and appealed to the Centre to act in accordance with earlier orders.
He also appealed to all the parliament members of Karnataka to put pressure on the central government in this regard, in the interest of the state.
"I will be sending all the details and records to our MPs; we need to build pressure on the centre, Prime Minister and the Union Jal Shakti minister on the issue when the Parliament session begins on March 10," he said, adding that he also plans to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi in this regard.
Pointing out that the Karnataka cabinet, on September 16, 2025, decided to acquire 1.33 lakh acres of land for this project in one go, through consent acquisition, and planned to allocate Rs 70,000 crore for land acquisition in three phases, Shivakumar said, adding, "Now obstacles are being caused to it."
Further delays would escalate costs, he said, as land compensation has become a major burden, with courts awarding higher payouts after farmers rejected earlier offers of Rs 8-9 lakh per acre during the previous BJP government.
"After deliberations, compensation is fixed in the range of Rs 35-40 lakh per acre, with some awards reaching Rs 10 crore because of litigations," he said, adding that around Rs 20,000 crore has already been spent on the project.
Asserting that it is "our water, our land", Shivakumar said, "I appeal to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra not to interfere in this project; it is not good for you."
