Category: National

Days after a peace accord was signed between warring tribes in the troubled Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud and three others were injured as unknown assailants opened fire on an aid convoy in Lower Kurram.

According to reports, the district administration said that unidentified armed men targeted the DC’s convoy in the Bagan area of Lower Kurram during the wee hours of Saturday. Mehsud was shifted to a hospital in injured condition and later airlifted to Peshawar.

The claim was reported after KP CM’s Information Advisor, Barrister Saif, said that arrangements were being made to shift the DC to Peshawar. “His condition is said to be out of danger,” Saif said.

Conflicting reports, however, maintained that the helicopter never arrived in Kurram and had to return to Peshawar due to bad weather. A report by Khorasan Diary also said that the DC had received a total of three bullet injuries to his shoulder and legs and lost a lot of blood.

“He will be shifted to Thall Hospital from Alizai soon. Four injured have been brought to the hospital in Alizai, that include: Deputy Commissioner Kurram Javedullah Mehsud, Police Constable Misal Khan, Frontier Corps Soldier Rahimullah, Frontier Corps Soldier Rizwan [sic],” it added.

Intermittent firing is continuing in the Bagan area of Lower Kurram, reports said.

Kohat Regional Police Officer (RPO), while talking to a private media outlet, said that one of the local warring groups was behind the incident. However, a search operation had been launched in the area to find the accused.

The incident has been condemned by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who said that the firing on an aid convoy was “clear proof of incompetence and failure” of the provincial government.

Meanwhile, a convoy carrying food and other daily items, which was expected to leave from Thall tehsil of Hangu towards Kurram, was stopped due to the situation in the area.

It merits a mention that on January 1, a peace agreement was reached between the warring groups, under which it was agreed that the Tall-Parachinar Highway was to be opened after weeks of closure.

The reopening of the highway remains critical to end the humanitarian crisis that unfolded in Parachinar due to weeks-long violent disputes.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered a high-earning groom to increase the haq mehr from $1,000 to $10,000 based on his affordability.

LHC’s Justice Farooq Haider allowed a woman who married of her own choice to go with her husband while directing the husband to raise the dower amount.

The case was filed by the woman’s father, who was seeking the recovery of his daughter from the alleged illegal custody of her supposed husband.

After the habeas corpus petition was filed by the father, the court sent a notice to the couple, for which they were brought before the court by the local police.

During the course of the hearing, the woman responded to the court’s inquiry by stating that she was an adult and had married of her own free will. She denied charges of being abducted or threatened by her husband and, in her statement, told the court that she wanted to go with her husband and not with her father.

However, Justice Farooq Haider asked the woman’s husband about his monthly income, to which he replied that he worked in the United States and earned $2,000 (more than 5,55,000 rupees) per month.

On this, the high court said that $1,000 (more than 2,78,000 rupees) in haq mehr was insufficient and observed that the amount should be enhanced to ensure the woman’s security in the marriage.

As per the court’s direction, the bridegroom submitted an affidavit in the court setting the amount of haq mehar at 10,000 dollars. 

Additionally, the judge also disposed of the habeas corpus petition based on the father’s plea for the recovery of the woman from the alleged confinement of her husband in light of her statements.

The matters of dower and dowery have been in the legal discourse previously as well. 

On December 6, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that haq mahr must be paid by the husband whenever the wife demands it, not just in the event of divorce. Mahr is the mandatory payment or gift from the groom to the bride at the time of marriage based on his affordability. It is a fundamental part of an Islamic marriage contract and is considered the bride’s exclusive right.

Read more: ‘Mahr has to be paid whenever demanded by the wife’: Chief Justice

Senior analyst Najam Sethi has revealed whether the military establishment is satisfied with Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz’s performance in the province during his show on Samaa News. 

“Maryam Nawaz is doing an excellent job as Chief Minister in Punjab. She isn’t accepting any political favours, even for her own party MNAs and MPAs. At the same time, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is saying that they had an agreement for their accommodation,” stated Najam Sethi. 

“Establishment is happy with Maryam Nawaz’s role as the CM of Punjab. If they’re happy with Shehbaz Sharif then they’re happy with Maryam as well. Because she’s running the administration on merit.  Critics can say anything about her performance, but there is no denying the fact that she’s doing everything on merit,” said the former PCB Chairman. 

Najam Sethi also revealed that the PPP is not happy with Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz because she does not listen to anyone asking for political favours. 

It merits a mention here that Governor Punjab Saleem Haider, who belongs to PPP,  on November 23 publicly complained that his party was not being taken on board by the ruling PML-N in the decision-making process.

Punjab Governor Saleem Haider had also showed his frustration with the ruling party in the province by delaying the appointment of vice-chancellors to universities. “Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has become an empress. She never calls or consults me on issues of merit,” he stated, while referring to the appointment of vice-chancellors.

The PPP Governor also warned Maryam Nawaz: “PML-N government will come to its knees if PPP withdraws its support.”

“Over the past six months, I tried to contact her repeatedly by phone but got zero response as she never consulted with us on any issue. So now I won’t meet her,” he said.

While referring to PPP’s frustration with Maryam Nawaz, Sethi stated: “Because no unjust transfers are being carried out among bureaucrats, Deputy Commissioners aren’t being transferred, so MNAs and MPAs are worried. PPP is very angry with her over this because, according to them, they should be accommodated in four or five regions where PPP ministers are in power.”

The former PCB chairman opined that contention between PPP and Maryam Nawaz became such a serious issue that now the Chief Minister Punjab has started listening to them.

Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza has revealed that he among other opposition leaders, including those belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were told to take off their socks and rings before meeting former prime minister (PM) Imran Khan in jail.

Appearing on ARY News programme ‘Off The Record’, Raza was asked if PM Shehbaz Sharif’s political aide Rana Sanaullah advised opposition leaders to take notes of the meeting with Khan in jail.

Host Kashif Abbasi’s question was in reference to the ongoing negotiations between the government and opposition, and PTI leaders’ repeated statements regarding Khan being the “only decision-making authority” for the party when it came to talks with the government.

Responding to the question, the SIC chief asked how could they have taken notes when they weren’t even allowed to carry a paper or pencil with them.

Talking about the strict security measures at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, Raza claimed that security had even told them to take off their socks and rings before meeting the incarcerated PTI founder. It happened rather often, he added.

“Security checks we go through after meeting Imran Khan are even stricter,” Raza said, sharing how all meetings with the jailed former premier were held in a “highly controlled environment”.

The SIC chief’s statements come after the government’s negotiation committee, during the second round of government-PTI talks on Thursday, advised opposition leaders to submit their demands in writing.

“The talks concluded with all participants deciding to sit together for the betterment of Pakistan [and] to talk about issues such as economy and terrorism among other things,” National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who chaired the meeting, told reporters in Islamabad.

Earlier, Rana Sanaullah had also hinted at government tabling certain demands during the talks, however, Raza said that it did not happen.

“They [government members] did not demand anything. In fact, despite us presenting them with hard facts, members of the government’s negotiation committee behaved well. No heated debates erupted during the meeting,” he said.

During the show, Raza also expressed hope that Khan would be released very soon.

While the country eagerly waits for outcome of the currently ongoing negotiations, government members have rubbished claims of backchannel talks between the PTI, government or state institutions.

The statements from government members come amid reports of a “separate negotiation channel” being established to bypass official talks between government and PTI’s negotiating committees.