Author: News Desk

In a massive blow to the ongoing negotiations, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government has refused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) demand for the formation of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 incident, reports said Monday.

Reports quoted sources saying that the government had prepared responses to the PTI’s demands, which were finally handed over to the government in writing ahead of the third round of talks last week.

The government has raised objections to the demands, reports said and added that reason behind its refusal to form a judicial commission on May 9 was the fact that the matter was sub-judice.

A judicial commission can only be formed in cases that are not pending before a court, reports quoted sources as saying. They added that in case of May 9, several cases pertaining to the violence were being heard by different courts, whereas some accused had also been committed by military courts.

In reference to another demand of the PTI, the government will be seeking names and details of the party workers who have been “missing” and are believed to have been arrested in connection with November 26 protests. “How can any step be taken for their release without their names and other relevant information?” reports quoted sources as questioning in response to the demand.

In the government’s response, reports added, the PTI will also be asked to provide details of the alleged deaths that took place during crackdown on Nov 26 protesters in Islamabad.

Response to the PTI’s demands will be handed over to National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq within a few days, upon which he will summon the fourth meeting between the negotiation committees of the government and opposition, reports said.

It merits a mention that the development comes days after the PTI, following party founder Imran Khan’s approval, submitted its demands to the government in writing. Earlier, the negotiations between the two sides had hit a roadblock amid government’s insistence and the PTI’s reluctance in doing so.

PTI’s first demand for headway in talks is the formation of a judicial commission to probe the May 9 and Nov 26 incidents that saw widespread violent protests, resulting in a crackdown on its supporters and leadership across the country.

The former ruling party’s other demands pertain to the release of political prisoners from jail and unearthing of facts surrounding the alleged death of party workers at the hands of law enforcement during protests.

The local administration in Daska, Sialkot, has demolished an Ahmadiyya place of worship built by former foreign minister Zafarullah Khan.

According to the administration, the demolition was part of an anti-encroachment campaign.

The building was razed on January 16. A notice was reportedly issued two days prior under the Punjab Local Government Act, claiming that the extension of the structure was illegal because it encroached 13 feet onto a public road.

However, the local Ahmadiyya community asserted that efforts were made to comply with the notice by removing the extended 13 feet on January 15. Despite their claimed compliance, Daska Assistant Commissioner Maham Mushtaq, accompanied by the police, proceeded with the demolition.

The anti-encroachment operation lasted from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the evening, during which the electricity supply to the entire area was cut off.

The worship place was built by Zafarullah Khan in his native town of Daska, Sialkot, years before Pakistan’s independence in 1947. He later served as Pakistan’s first foreign minister from 1947 to 1954 and was also a key advocate for the Ahmadi cause in the subcontinent.

Incidents of razing Ahmadi worship places in Punjab are relatively high, with data showing that 22 of their worship places were demolished across the province in 2024 alone.

A spokesperson for Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan, Aamir Mehmood, accused the government of being complicit in targeting the Ahmadi community, claiming that the local administration continuously targets the community’s properties and ignores their grievances.

He also claimed that the demolished building had not been altered or extended since its original construction before the partition.

He requested the government to take immediate action to protect their places of worship.

Previously, in September 2023, it was reported that the banned outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) threatened to destroy the minarets of the same Ahmadiyya worship place in Daska.

The same year, the Lahore High Court ruled that Sections 298-B and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code criminalise specific acts of the Ahmadiyya community but do not authorise the demolition of structures built before these provisions were incorporated through a 1984 ordinance.