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Author: News Desk

  • ‘Return to April 3’: Twitter hails Supreme court’s verdict

    ‘Return to April 3’: Twitter hails Supreme court’s verdict

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has declared the National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the dismissal of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as unconstitutional and illegal.

    The session chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and the five-member bench has unanimously ruled that President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly is “illegal” and restored Imran Khan as Prime Minister as well as his cabinet ministers. They will now face the no-confidence motion on Saturday, April 9th 2022.

    This is how Pakistani social media reacted to the decision:

    https://twitter.com/furqanahmad75/status/1512095805678796811
  • ‘Unconstitutional’: What else did the Supreme Court say?

    ‘Unconstitutional’: What else did the Supreme Court say?

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has declared the National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling on the dismissal of no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as unconstitutional and illegal.

    The session chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and the five-member bench has unanimously ruled that President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly is “illegal” and restored Imran Khan as Prime Minister as well as his cabinet ministers. They will now face the no-confidence motion on Saturday April 9th 2022.

    “The deputy speaker gave a ruling on April 3. Leave was granted on the no-confidence motion on March 28. The ruling of the speaker is declared unconstitutional,” Justice Bandial declared.

    Chief Justice Bandial also said the verdict was announced with an unanimous agreement of 5-0 after the judges consulted each other.

    The apex court has also ordered a lower house session to vote on no-trust against PM Khan on April 9th, 2022 [Saturday] at 10 am, saying that the session cannot be adjourned without the conclusion of the no-trust motion and the government cannot interfere in the participation of any Member of National Assembly in the assembly session.

    Ahead of the verdict, SC summoned Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. Prior to the verdict, PM Khan called a party meeting at Banigala.

    The short order by the SC is as follows:

  • State Bank of Pakistan hikes interest rate to 12.25% in an emergency meeting

    State Bank of Pakistan hikes interest rate to 12.25% in an emergency meeting

    Following an emergency meeting, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised interest rates by 250 basis points, as mounting political uncertainty and rising worldwide oil prices threaten to drive the country into a full-fledged economic catastrophe.

    The key rate is now 12.25 per cent, as per the latest statement released by the central bank on Thursday. According to the report, this makes the real rate “mildly positive” and will assist maintain external and price stability.

    The judgment came a few hours before the Supreme Court was due to rule on the constitutionality of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s disputed move to dissolve parliament and hold new elections. Pakistan may find it difficult to persuade the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to grant a much-needed loan tranche due to the political limbo.

    At the recent briefing, SBP governor, Reza Baqir, said, “We thought it’s important to take decisive action”.  He added that the body does not intend to do anything else.

    The central bank claimed that intensified domestic political turmoil contributed to the rupee’s 5 per cent loss and caused a jump in local bond rates, as well as Pakistan’s Eurobond yields and Credit Default Swap (CDS) spreads. Oil prices are likely to remain elevated, and the Federal Reserve of the United States is expected to compress sooner than expected, according to the report.

    The PKR broke all records on Thursday, selling at more than Rs189 per dollar in intraday trading in the interbank market, continuing a slump that has witnessed its decline of more than 10 per cent since March 4.

    Read more: Pakistan to import 32.7 million barrels of oil to cover petroleum needs

    Pakistan’s political instability, in addition to money from the IMF, is causing delays in a planned $1 billion green bond offering. A refinancing from China is also expected; the repayment in recent weeks caused Pakistan’s foreign-exchange reserves to plummet to their lowest level since records began in 2010.

    In a meeting last month, SBP cautioned that it might convene earlier than planned to avoid a crisis. It revised its average inflation prediction for the fiscal year ending in June from 9 per cent to little more than 11 per cent.

  • Verdict on no-trust motion coming soon: Supreme Court hint towards restoration of assembly?

    Verdict on no-trust motion coming soon: Supreme Court hint towards restoration of assembly?

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) wrapped up the hearing on the ruling of National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on the dismissal of the no-confidence motion against the interim Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Thursday (today). The court has reserved the verdict, which will be announced at 7:30pm today. The verdict has been reserved after five days of court hearings.

    On the final day of the hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial (CJP) remarked that it is clear that the April 3 ruling is erroneous. “We have to look at national interest,” he said.

    CJP noted that the act is a violation of Article 95 (which is related to the vote of no-confidence against the PM in the lower house) and that the elections would cost the nation “billions of rupees”.

    Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail observed that the ruling doesn’t have Suri’s signature, it was signed by Speaker Asad Qaiser [who couldn’t preside over the session due to the submission of the no-confidence motion against him in NA].

    Justice Ijazul Ahsan said that Imran Khan took advantage of the situation and dissolved NA.

    Opposition Leader and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari appeared before the court and were called to the rostrum.

    Shehbaz said that he hoped that when the deputy speaker’s ruling was suspended, the no-confidence motion would be revived. “Let us vote for the no-confidence motion”, the Opposition Leader added.

    Justice Mandokhail inquired that if the Opposition wanted to conduct elections from day one, what was the issue now. To this, Shehbaz pointed out that the problem concerns the breaking of the Constitution. Justice Mandokhail replied: “We will repair the Constitution.”

    Attorney-General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan, who was also present before SC argued that the case is over since April 3, the same deputy speaker passed the ruling to dismiss the motion. CJP Bandial said that he wanted to hear from the AGP on the main issue, which is the dissolution of NA.

    AGP further said that he isn’t defending the speaker’s ruling. “My concern, for now, is the new elections.”

    Since the controversial ruling of the deputy speaker, the matter is in the apex court.

    On March 27, Imran Khan accused the United States (US) of interfering in Pakistan’s politics and plotting to oust him through a no-confidence motion in the NA. In a public gathering, he also brandished a ‘threat letter’ [which he claimed was from the US].

    Following this, based on this ‘threat letter’, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected the no-trust motion against the PM on April 3. Later, acting on the PM’s advice, President Arif Alvi dissolved the lower house.

    This has plunged Pakistan into a constitutional crisis.

  • Indian TV reporter gets furious on ‘Urdu description’ on product packaging; Staff angrily responds

    Indian TV reporter gets furious on ‘Urdu description’ on product packaging; Staff angrily responds

    An Indian TV reporter got into a heated argument with the Indian food manufacturing company, Haldiram’s manager. The argument started when the reporter argued about Urdu’s description on one of its product packaging. The whole incident happened in the presence of police.

    In reality, the instructions were written in Arabic and English languages on the “Falhari Mixture” product packaging. However, the reporter from ‘Sudarshan News’ claimed the instructions are written in the Urdu language over which she started war of words with the manager.

    She kept asking the manager the same question, ” What lies are you disseminating in public or concealing by writing Urdu instructions?” The manager retaliated by saying, “Do whatever you want because these kinds of tantrums Halidram won’t entertain at all.”

    The reporter repeatedly asked, “Why have you written this (instructions) in Urdu? “Does it includes animal oil?”

    The outlet Manager replied bluntly, “Ma’am if you want to have it, you can have it. If you don’t want to have it, you can leave it here and go.” During the argument, she also questioned the reporter, “if people from three communities in India come to the outlet, who may know three languages- English, Hindi, Urdu. I have given these prescriptions for them then why she (the reporter) was stubborn on reading only the Urdu prescription. “Aap ko Urdu hi Kyun padhni hain, ma’am? English aur Hindi bhi hain wahan pe aap ke liye( there is English and Hindi for you as well.”

    This clip has widespread across social media and received backlash from various netizens and Indian journalists.

    One user asked this TV reporter, “Here is some Urdu text. Will this reporter go to the Railways and ask what it is about.”

    https://twitter.com/KSasiKL1987/status/1511474095098978304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511474095098978304%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv.com%2Findia-news%2Fhaldirams-trends-after-tv-reporter-heckles-staff-over-urdu-text-2865599

    Another user sarcastically asked to boycott the Indian currency too as Urdu script is written on the note.

    Indian Journalist, Rana Ayyub highlighted the smear campaign against the Muslim community by the Indian Central government and TV channels.

    Another Journalist, Alishan Jafri appreciated the behaviour of Haldiram’s staff who confidently stood by the stance in favour of ‘Urdu description’ without giving any explanation.

    Haldiram’s products are exported to various Muslim countries including United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey. It is very common to write the Arabic language to facilitate customers living there.

  • What do the legal experts have to say about the expected SC verdict?

    What do the legal experts have to say about the expected SC verdict?

    All eyes are on the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) as the country waits for the verdict of the dismissal of the no-confidence motion tabled against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan by National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. Pakistan is in a state of political chaos as the no-confidence motion against Khan was dismissed abruptly on Sunday, April 3.

    Supreme Court will announce its verdict on Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling at 7:30pm today.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday said that it was clear that the April 3 ruling of Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri was “incorrect”.

    Here is what legal experts have to say about the expected verdict.

    Ahsan Bhoon, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said, “I am hopeful that the SCP will give its verdict in accordance with the constitution,” adding, “It is important to emphasise the need for an election order while maintaining the dissolution order of the Assembly.”

    SC lawyer Feisal Naqvi wrote in his op-ed in The News titled, ‘Destroying democracy from within‘: ” If today, the entire opposition can be disenfranchised on the basis of one man’s suspicions of treason, then tomorrow the entire opposition can be disenfranchised on the basis of different suspicions. No parliamentary system can work in such manner.”

    Lawyer Salaar Khan tweeted, “If the SC decides to return proceedings to the original position, the vote of no-confidence proceeds. If it fails, Imran Khan stays PM. If it succeeds, the next PM can be elected immediately thereafter. In either case, we have a stable government.”

    However, Salaar also wrote, “Mixed signals coming in from the SC. On the one hand, it has indicated that it believes the Speaker/Deputy Speaker’s ruling to be illegal. On the other, terms like ‘public interest’ and ‘stability’ suggest that we may be veering close to Necessity.”

    SC lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed tweeted, “Real mistake of SC was in not constituting a full court or larger bench of 5/7 senior-most judges. In a polarised political atmosphere; they will be lambasted whatever they decide.”

    PM Khan on March 27 claimed that the Opposition’s no-trust move is part of an alleged “foreign-funded conspiracy” hatched against his government. It is pertinent to mention here that the Opposition tabled the no-confidence motion against PM Khan on March 8. The government claims to have received the threatening communique on March 7.

    Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on April 3 said that the no-confidence motion, presented on March 8, should be according to the law and the Constitution. “No foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy,” he said, adding that the points raised by the minister were “valid”.

  • 17 Pakistani universities listed among world’s best institutions

    17 Pakistani universities listed among world’s best institutions

    As many as 17 Pakistani universities have been listed among the best global universities for 2022.

    According to the ranking published by US News, Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad has been ranked 461 in the World Ranking for 2022. Aga Khan University, Karachi and COMSATS University Islamabad are following the QAU in the ranking respectively.

    Apart from these institutions, more universities have made to the list, such as the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) which is placed at 922, the University of Peshawar, at 933, University of Agriculture Faisalabad at 954, Government College (GC) University Faisalabad at 1,149, University of Punjab at1,242, Bahauddin Zakariya University at 1,368 and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore have been placed at 1,458th position.

    Following the news, the Vice-Chancellor (VS) of QAU Prof Dr Muhammad Ali Shah congratulated the faculty, students, staff, and alumni on the official website of the university.

  • PML-N MPA refuses to accept Farah Khan as daughter-in-law

    PML-N MPA refuses to accept Farah Khan as daughter-in-law

    Muhammad Iqbal Gujjar, father-in-law of Farah Khan has refused to accept her as his daughter-in-law. Iqbal Gujjar is Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA from Gujranwala of the Punjab Assembly.

    As per Geo News, he also attended the symbolic assembly session of the Punjab Assembly in which Hamza Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab.

    The reporter asked him about the allegations against Farah Khan, to which he replied that he has no link with her adding that he has not accepted her as his daughter-in-law.

    Gujjar, while explaining the reason why he has not accepted her as a daughter-in-law, said that his son married her without his consent.

    The wealth of Farah Khan has grown exponentially during the three and a half years of rule of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) at the Centre and in Punjab. Umar Cheema in his special report The News writes, “Farah’s penchant for luxury items is also evident from her bid to buy a luxury car, Porsche, which she got booked through Porsche’s Pakistani dealer and paid a part amount of it (Rs33 million) as advance. This she declared in the nomination papers she submitted for the Senate election in March 2021. Later, Farah pulled out from the Senate race.”

  • PML-N’s Miftah Ismail fact-checked by PTI’s Hammad Azhar on load-shedding, Miftah acknowledges

    PML-N’s Miftah Ismail fact-checked by PTI’s Hammad Azhar on load-shedding, Miftah acknowledges

    Miftah Ismail, General Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Sindh, recently took to Twitter, saying that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has restricted fuel supplies to Independent Power Projects (IPPs), potentially resulting in significant load shedding in the coming week.

    He directly accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of the impending power outage, writing that it is the result of his incompetence, corruption, falsehoods, and “lust for power: that has gotten the country into such a mess.

    After an hour, Former Energy Minister, Hammad Azhar responded to Ismail’s tweet, calling it “Fake news” and claiming that he had checked with PSO and there had been no such supply cuts notified for IPPs.

    “My statement regarding IK’s corruption (Farah), incompetence (Buzdar), lying (Sh Rasheed) & hunger for power (Suri) is valid,” Ismail responded with a strange tweet to cover up his incorrect finding about PSO.

    It is worth noting that PSO serves a diverse range of customers, including Pakistan’s industrial sector, several power projects, aviation, and maritime sectors. On a daily basis, the company meets the POL needs of millions of clients.

    Apart from selling oil to Pakistan’s power utilities, such as K-Electric and Wapda, PSO is the primary supplier of furnace oil to all IPPs in the country, with a local market share of more than 80 per cent.

  • US Airport: Advanced security system asks ‘Are you a Terrorist?’ from people

    The United States (US) has installed self-check-in kiosks at airports across the country for advanced security measures. People are being asked the problematic query, “Are You a Terrorist?” with a “Yes” or “No” option.

    A freelance journalist, Asaad Sam Hanna shared an image of the kiosk on his Twitter where users started debating the query with amusement on how it provides security at airports.

    One user commented jokingly, “there should be a third option: “Yes” “No” and “It’s complicated.”

    https://twitter.com/Spokoiny/status/1511361879775584257

    Another user considered it a bad step was taken for security, “I really don’t understand how, since 9/11, our airport check-in has become more computerized, w much less human-to-human interactions. Given past observations by agents who have noticed suspicious behavior, seems like a bad thing for security.”

    One user raised the question, “Does this question appears to white ppl or do they recognize their features and skip this question?”

    One user explained the purpose of this query, “If you are (terrorist), and you lie, it’s a way for law enforcement to bring additional charges. Then they will go for what they can make stick.”

    https://twitter.com/lisaborel/status/1511580182410268672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511580182410268672%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F409911-are-you-a-terrorist-asks-us-airports-advance-security