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  • Saudi Arabia ‘forces’ PM Imran to cancel Malaysia trip

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has cancelled his scheduled visit to Malaysia following his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh, The News reported.

    According to reports, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be representing Pakistan in the premier’s place at the Kuala Lumpur Summit scheduled for December 18-20, which will also be attended by notable Muslim leaders, including Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

    “Saudi Arabia raised serious concerns over the statement of Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad who had recently said that the Muslim countries at Kuala Lumpur Summit would form a new platform to replace the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which he said had failed to deliver on issues faced by the Muslims across the world,” the report quoted sources as saying.

    Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Bahrain are perturbed over the expected presence of Qatari emir, Turkish president and Iranian president at the summit and fear a new but parallel leadership forum is being developed to undermine Saudi Arabia and its allies, it said.

    The report further claimed that the UAE has also raised its concerns over Mahathir’s statement and has requested Pakistan to avoid the Kuala Lumpur Summit that “may trigger a new controversy among the Muslim Ummah”.

    “PM Imran was also conveyed concerns by Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa over the intentions of the Kuala Lumpur Summit. The premier assured the royals of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain that he would not be a partof any scheme being planned to undermine the Gulf leadership,” sources were quoted as saying.

    They said that UAE’s Emir Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had raised his concerns with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa three days ago on December 14 as well.

    Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said decision about Imran Khan’s visit to Malaysia to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit will be taken according to national interest.

    She noted that after his Bahrain visit, the premier will travel to Geneva and return to Pakistan Wednesday, following which a final decision regarding his Malaysia trip would be taken.

  • VIDEO: Lawyer slaps citizen trying to cross street during protest

    VIDEO: Lawyer slaps citizen trying to cross street during protest

    Days after the lawyers’ had attacked the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), a new video has surfaced on the social media in which a lawyer can be seen slapping a motorcyclist.

    In the viral video a lawyer can be seen stopping a motorcyclist passing between the lawyers protesting outside PIC and snatching his motorcycle keys.

    After exchanging few words, the lawyer slapped the man prompting others present there to intervene.

    Watch Video:

    After Wednesday’s attack on PIC, several videos showing the violent acts committed by the lawyers have been coming out on social media platforms.

    A group of over 200 lawyers, following an earlier quarrel with the doctors, stormed the hospital, vandalised property and damaged dozens of vehicles parked in the hospital premises and burned a police van.

    Three people had lost their lives amidst the chaos as doctors abandoned their patients to escape the angry mob.

    The police have registered a first information report (FIR) against 200-250 unidentified lawyers on the complaint of an official of the hospital.

  • SC issues detailed judgement in Gen Bajwa’s case, points out flaws

    SC issues detailed judgement in Gen Bajwa’s case, points out flaws

    The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday issued its detailed judgment on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension, pointing out the flaws in the process undertaken by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    Citing procedural loopholes, the top court had last month suspended a notification issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in August for the army chief’s reappointment till 2022.

    It had directed the federal government to legislate and remove lacunae in the reappointment/extension of tenure of the COAS within six months.

    The detailed written judgement released Monday in connection with the previous short, the SC said it had “found that the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 falls deficient of the structural requirements for raising and maintaining an Army under clause (3) of Article 243 of the Constitution”.

    EXPLAINED:

    The verdict noted that “no tenure or age of retirement for the rank of General is provided under the law. As per the institutional practice a general retires on completion of a tenure of three years. Although an institutional practice cannot be a valid substitute of the law.”

    “There is no provision in the law for extending service of a General for another tenure; nor is there any consistent and continuous institutional practice of granting such extension,” Justice Shah wrote, adding that the summaries for the reappointment, extension and fresh appointment of General Bajwa were “meaningless” in absence of the relevant law.

  • PIC attack ‘agitator’ Dr Irfan was accused of murder in 2018: report

    The main character behind the clash of lawyers and doctors at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), Dr Irfan, was earlier nominated as the main accused in the murder case of a Christian who was tortured to death by doctors at the Services hospital Lahore last year, Pakistan Today reported.

    According to the details, Dr Irfan was nominated among the four doctors in FIR [First Information Report] “No. 163/18” registered with the Shadman Police for torturing Sunil Saleem, to death.

    According to the FIR, Anil Masih — Sunil’s brother — has stated that he, his brother Sunil and other relatives had taken their pregnant sister Kiran Kashif to the emergency labor ward of the Services hospital on March 26, 2018, because she was suffering labor pains.

    Anil said, “Kiran went to the doctor on duty, Dr Saira, who was playing with her cell phone while sipping on tea. Dr Saira told Kiran to wait outside until she finished her tea. We waited for some time, but since Kiran was experiencing severe pain, she again went inside the ward to request for immediate attention.”

    Anil Saleem added that as soon as Kiran approached Dr Saira, she started cursing her for not waiting and told a nurse to attend her.

    “When my sister protested against the rude behavior, the doctor started slapping her, throwing her on the floor,” he said, adding that she asked my sister how dare a Chuhri [a derogatory term for Christians] question her order?.

    Anil said, “On hearing the ruckus we entered the ward, but as soon as she saw us, Dr Saira shouted to the other doctors and security guards to lock the doors from the inside and teach these Christians a lesson”.

    “Around 15 to 20 paramedical staff and security guards and eight to 10 young doctors, including Dr Irfan, Dr Salman, Dr Hasan and Dr Sahi lunged at us with iron rods, chairs, leather belts and other things and started beating us,” Anil added.

    He said “Sunil, a police constable in the National Highway and Motorway Police, tried his best to placate the assailants but they continued to beat him mercilessly, kicking and punching him in the groin and chest until he fell unconscious.”

    “Sunil died after a delay in treatment and due to lack of timely emergency medical assistance”, Anil said.

    “We had pardoned the accused doctors after pursuing the case for a year”, reports quoted Anil as saying.

    It is important to mention here that Dr Irfan’s speech, which went viral on social media a few days before the attack was the core reason behind the clash between doctors and lawyers at the PIC.

    Dr Irfan in the video was seen narrating an encounter with some lawyers in front of a group of medical and paramedical staff of PIC, where he said that a group of lawyers had gone to the inspector general (IG) of police and told him to charge “two doctors” under Section 7 of ATA.

    The doctor narrated that the IG had refused while the lawyers had urged him to press charges, saying “they could save face” that way.

  • Mengal wants DG Khan, Rajanpur back in Balochistan

    Mengal wants DG Khan, Rajanpur back in Balochistan

    Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal has demanded the inclusion of Dera Ghazi (DG) Khan and Rajanpur into Balochistan, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, BNP-M chief while addressing a gathering held at Kalama Chowk of Taunsa tehsil in honour of the martyrs of Koh-e-Sulaiman said that Balochistan had the lowest population in Pakistan despite having an area of 43% of the country.

    “Both these regions should be included in Balochistan to balance the population,” Mengal said, adding that they were part of the province at the time of partition.

    While criticising the the government for launching mega projects such as metro trains under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in other cities of the country, he said that no welfare projects were being introduced in Balochistan.

    Akhtar Mengal also accused the government of “selling” the entire country, including Balochistan province under CPEC.

    Akhtar said that he is only supporting the government for the implementation of his six-point agenda.

    “I am not supporting them in greed for any post,” he added, saying that he was striving for the rights of his people within the framework of the Constitution.

    He further demanded of the Punjab chief minister to conduct an inquiry into the killing of two persons in DG Khan two months back in police encounter.

  • Gen Bajwa’s extension: ‘Supreme Court can’t tell us what to do,’ says Fawad

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that the Supreme Court (SC) “does not have the authority to dictate the parliament on what matters to legislate on and how”.

    The apex court, in its November 28 verdict, had allowed the federal government to grant a six-month extension to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, directing the government to legislate on the army chief’s tenure and extension during the said time.

    Speaking to Voice of America (VOA), Fawad questioned the judiciary’s “authority to direct the parliament on legislative matters”. “The SC’s orders have a lot of legal defects and shortcomings. It almost eliminates Article 243.”

    Article 243 of the constitution pertains to the command of armed forces — that the federal government should have their control.

    “The SC cannot tell the parliament that ‘you can legislate on this but cannot legislate on that’ or ‘you can or cannot extend the duration’,” Fawad said, adding that in the constitutions of 1956 and 1962, the duration of the army chief’s tenure was ascertained.

    “But after many debates and arguments, it was taken out of the constitution of 1973, and there was a reason for that because the parliament wanted the prime minister (PM) to be empowered.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “If you assign a specific amount of term to the army chief then how would you remove him before the expiration of his term, if need be. Therefore, the SC’s verdict has a lot of flaws and it needs to be corrected.”

    The minister maintained that the federal cabinet was awaiting the release of the detailed verdict of the apex court, after which the government would decide how to proceed forward. “The decision to file a review petition still has to be finalised,” he clarified.

    When asked about the differences between the government and the opposition, and how they could hinder efforts aimed at the smooth passage of any legislation in the parliament, the Fawad said “all political players in the country were on the same page on the matter since the army chief was apolitical”.

  • VIDEO: ‘I’m ISPR DG’s nephew; friend of PM, Gen Bajwa,’ man threatens Motorway Police

    VIDEO: ‘I’m ISPR DG’s nephew; friend of PM, Gen Bajwa,’ man threatens Motorway Police

    A video of an unknown man misbehaving with motorway police is making rounds on the internet, claiming that he is the nephew of Major General Asif Ghafoor, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

    The video shows that the guy is misbehaving with police officials when they asked him to move his vehicle on the side of the road. The man while replying to officials demand said, “I am a son of an MNA and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and army chief are my friends”.

    He also said that he is a captain and all these officials will get dismissed.

    The person also insisted the police officials to dial a number.

  • LHC directs lawyers to seek public’s apology over PIC attack

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the lawyers involved in Punjab Institute of Cadiology (PIC) to seek public’s apology and correct their ranks, The News International reported.

    According to the details, a two-member bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, took up the petition seeking cancellation of FIRs [FIrst Information Report] registered against lawyers and their immediate release.

    Justice Najfi during the hearing said that it seemed the law of jungle is prevailing in Pakistan, as lawyers attacked the PIC, adding that no society could exist long under law of jungle.

    The court asked Azam Nazir Tarar, a Member Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), who appeared in the court on behalf of lawyers as to how lawyers dared storm a hospital?

    “What would be your reaction if such invasion of bar council’s office takes place?”, the judge asked, adding that it had not happened even in war times. “Black sheep are present among lawyers and they should be kicked out”, the judge remarked.

    Petitioner’s lawyer said that the entire lawyer community felt regret over the PIC incident and condemned the incident soon after it happened. Justice Najfi asked Azam Tarar could you present a single justification of attack on a hospital and said that the lawyers should seek public apology and correct their ranks.

    The judge added that the court was hearing the case with heavy heart and pain.

    Justice Anwarul Haq Punhun who is the other member of the bench, asked whether any bar council had shown willingness to take action against the delinquent lawyers.

    To this, Azam said that the bar council was going to take action against them and their practice licences would be suspended.

    However, Justice Najfi said that apparently lawyers were aggressor, adding that the arrested lawyers would have to seek bail from the trial court.

    “The judges had taken oath to do justice in accordance with the Constitution and law of the land, he added.

    The court then adjounred the hearing and directed provincial law officer to furnish record of cases and details of arrested lawyers by Dec 16.

  • Saudi royals unhappy with Imran; PM to visit Kingdom, clarify his position

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will visit Saudi Arabia on Saturday after recent signals from Riyadh indicate that the kingdom’s leaders were not happy with Imran’s decision to attend Kuala Lumpur summit scheduled to be held in Malaysia later this month, Dawn reported.

    According to the details, PM Imran will reportedly reassure Saudi leadership that ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia remain firm despite Islamabad’s engagement with other Muslim countries.

    The reports further reveal that Saudis are seeing the summit an an attempt by Malaysia to present an alternative to the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as the progressively dysfunctional OIC works under the de-facto leadership of the Saudis.

    Other leaders which are participating in the summit include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani among others.

    Pakistan has expressed its keenness to attend the summit as the Foreign Office (FO) in its recent statement has said, “The KL summit would provide Pakistan with an opportunity to exchange views and find solutions to challenges facing the Muslim world, particularly the governance, development, terrorism and Islamophobia”.

    “The summit will also provide us an opportunity to foster cooperation in diverse areas with the participating countries”, the statement added.

    Meanwhile, FO spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal while responding to questions about PM Imran’s sudden visit to Saudi Arabia has said, “High-level political exchanges between the two countries are the hallmark of this brotherly bilateral relationship. You have witnessed the high frequency of leadership level exchanges, especially since last August”.

    Dr Faisal further said, “The PM has undertaken at least three visits to KSA since May this year. Any further information about any future visit will be shared accordingly.”

  • Zardari will sign plea bargain deal by March: Sheikh Rasheed

    Zardari will sign plea bargain deal by March: Sheikh Rasheed

    Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has claimed that former president Asif Ali Zardari will sing a plea bargain deal in corruption cases “by the end of March”, Pakistan Today reported.

    According to the details, the minister during a media talk at the Bahria University in Islamabad has said, “If Bilawal doesn’t accept a plea bargain deal, his political career will be finished.”

    Shiekh Rasheed said that Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) government has been taking steps to address the issue of inflation, adding that only Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan can take people out of their problems.

    The minister also urged youth to play their role in the progress of the country and asserted that a strong economy was important to formulate independent policies and ensure a strong defence.

    Rasheed also regretted the attack on the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) in Lahore by a disgruntled mob of lawyers.