Current Final

Category: Politics

  • Lawyers call upon the SC to use suo moto powers to probe IHC judges letter

    Lawyers call upon the SC to use suo moto powers to probe IHC judges letter

    More than 300 lawyers across the country have urged the Supreme Court to initiate proceedings under Article 184(3) on the Islamabad High Court Judges’ letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan alleging “interference” by the executive in judicial matters.

    On March 26, six IHC judges — Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Fafat Imtiaz — wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), demanding a judicial convention over the alleged meddling of spy agencies in legal matters.

    Last week, the CJP met with the Prime Minister to discuss this matter and it was mutually agreed to make an inquiry commission chaired by a retired judge to investigate the allegations.

    “We further call upon the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take cognisance of the matter in its jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution as this issue eminently relates to the public interest and to the enforcement of fundamental rights,” the lawyers’ statement came after the commission was approved by the federal cabinet.

  • PTI alleges widespread rigging, boycotts Sindh Senate elections

    PTI alleges widespread rigging, boycotts Sindh Senate elections

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced that it will not take part in Senate polls in Sindh on April 2, citing alleged widespread rigging.

    “Senate elections are being won through rigging,” PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh said while addressing a press conference in Karachi on Sunday.

    He said that the people who won elections according to Form 45 are not members of the Sindh Assembly. Pointing out that six candidates supported by PTI were participating in the Senate elections in Sindh, he said they have decided to boycott the upcoming polls.

    “The incumbent government is going to be buried in a mass grave. We won elections on 180 seats in the general elections, but most of them were taken away,” he alleged.

    On Wednesday, 14 candidates decided to withdraw their nomination papers for the Senate elections in the province. Following this, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is expected to secure one of the two Senate seats reserved for women without facing any competition.

  • Cabinet names ex-CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as head of commission

    Cabinet names ex-CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as head of commission

    The federal cabinet on Saturday officially approved the constitution of an inquiry commission to investigate the shocking allegations made by the six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges and forwarded the name of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice (retired) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as its head.

    The IHC judges — Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Fafat Imtiaz — sent the letter on Tuesday to Supreme Judicial Council headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa.

    The letter sent shockwaves across the country as it underscored the alleged “interference” of intelligence agencies in legal matters of the court.
    Responding to the letter, the CJP and the Prime Minister held a meeting and a decision was reached to establish a commission to investigate the contents of the letter.

    Justice Jillani is known for his ‘balanced’ approach. He was awarded the 2020 J Clifford Wallace Award by the J Reuben Clark Law Society (JRCLS) to honor his “extraordinary career as a judge and a jurist”. He also received the 2023 American Bar Association (ABA) International Human Rights Award.

  • Which family has more legislators in assembly? Bhutto-Zardaris or Sharifs?

    Which family has more legislators in assembly? Bhutto-Zardaris or Sharifs?

    After Aseefa Bhutto Zardari won the by-election on NA-207 unopposed, the Zardaris now hold the record for having the most number of legislators from a political family in Pakistan.


    With President Asif Ali Zardari’s daughter Aseefa’s election in the National Assembly (MNA) from Shaheed Benazirabad (former Nawabshah-I) constituency, the Zardari family has broken the record of the Sharif family as it now has the most number of members from the same family in the Pakistan’s parliamentary history, explains a report by Geo’s Maqsood Awan.


    Asif Ali Zardari himself is the country’s president, his daughter Aseefa, son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and brother-in-law Munawar Ali Talpur are MNAs, while both sisters Faryal Talpur and Azra Pechuho are members of the provincial assembly in Sindh.


    On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s elder brother Mian Nawaz Sharif, and his son Hamza Shehbaz Sharif have been elected MNAs, while his niece Maryam Nawaz Sharif is the chief minister of Punjab. Meanwhile, members of the extended family, Bilal Yasin and Ishaq Dar are serving as Punjab Food Minister and Minster of Foreign Affairs respectively.


    As a result, in terms of having the greatest number of immediate family members elected as MNAs or MPAs, the Zardari family stands first, while the Sharifs are the second.

  • ‘You’re asking the cat who drank the cream’; Fawad Chaudhry jokes about PM’s inquiry commission

    ‘You’re asking the cat who drank the cream’; Fawad Chaudhry jokes about PM’s inquiry commission

    Former federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has quipped that the commission to investigate the six judges’ letter is akin to “asking a cat to investigate who has drank the milk.”

    Chaudhry had been detained by authorities on graft charges since November 2023. His office page on X, formerly Twitter, posted the video of him being presented to the court for a hearing where he gave the humorous remarks about the inquiry commission.

    On Tuesday, six judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) wrote an explosive letter to Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging egregious meddling by the executive, including spy agencies, in judicial affairs. Following this, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

    It was decided that the PM would constitute an inquiry commission headed by a retired judge to probe into the allegations levelled against intelligence agencies.

  • Email kholo! SIFC to officials

    Email kholo! SIFC to officials

    The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has ordered all the focal persons of ministries to regularly check and respond to their emails after it was revealed that no one responded to UAE companies interested in investing in renewable energy projects in Pakistan.

    The event unfolded when the Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan noted that when its ambassador to UAE held a meeting with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ) focal person to receive an update on the seven bilateral investment MoUs signed with UAE in November 2023.

    It was then revealed that the ADQ had tried to establish contacts with the concerned focal persons through formal channels of communication – emails. However, they received no reply in over a month and despite reminders, they await our response.

    Considering the recent developments, SIFC has requested all focal persons to establish official communication channels with a proper record keeping mechanisms in place. Email is regarded as the official means of communication while WhatsApp is treated as an informal tool.

  • Civil-military leaders decide on action against corruption, smuggling, power theft

    Civil-military leaders decide on action against corruption, smuggling, power theft

    The civil-military leadership of the country has chosen to take tough measures against anyone engaged in illegal activities like corruption, smuggling, power theft, and criminal gangs.

    The decisions were taken in a high-level meeting — with an agenda of “measures against spectrum of illegal activities and criminal mafias” — chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday attended by civil-military leadership in which measures against unlawful activities were discussed.

    General Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), along with federal cabinet members, chief ministers, and other high-ranking government officials, participated in the important meeting.

    The authorities thoroughly explained the actions taken against criminal mafias, smuggling, hoarding, money laundering, power theft, and repatriation of illegal foreigners to the participants.

  • Didn’t call him, but wrote a letter: Biden tells Shehbaz they need to work together

    Didn’t call him, but wrote a letter: Biden tells Shehbaz they need to work together

    United States President Joe Biden, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday in which he emphasised that Washington will “continue to stand with Pakistan” in confronting “most pressing global and regional challenges”.

    While Biden did not call the PM, this letter is the first official diplomatic correspondence between the two states. This holds significance for Pakistan because relations between the two nations have been tense ever since former Prime Minister Imran Khan publicly accused the US of launching a conspiracy in a bid to remove him in 2022.

    “The enduring partnership between our nations remains critical to ensuring the security of our people — and people around the world —and the United States will continue to stand with Pakistan to tackle the most pressing global and regional challenges of our time,” the letter read.
    Biden also talked about the US-Pakistan Green Alliance framework, the two countries would collaborate and strengthen their climate resilience and supporting Pakistan’s development from floods of 2022.

    “Together, we will continue to forge a strong partnership between our nations and close bond between our people,” the letter concluded.

  • PM includes Dar in CCI instead of Aurangzeb

    PM includes Dar in CCI instead of Aurangzeb

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reconstituted the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Friday, notably replacing Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

    The PM is heading the CCI which constitutes the chief ministers of all four provinces. Interestingly, this is the first time in the history of the council that a Foreign Minister of Pakistan has been included in the CCI.

    Business Recorder article reported that it would be normal if a Finance Minister isn’t included in the CCI because historically it has happened. However, energy and planning ministers were mostly included because they deal with provincial matters.

    The presence of the Finance Minister and the Law Minister in the CCI is very important as these two portfolios are required to respond to numerous queries raised by the provinces during the meeting.

    A similar pattern could be observed as PM Shehbaz gave Ishaq Dar the control of Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) as well instead of including Aurangzeb earlier this month.

  • Punishing Nawaz Sharif on Iqama was judge’s mistake, says Aleema Khan

    Punishing Nawaz Sharif on Iqama was judge’s mistake, says Aleema Khan

    Founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan has said that punishing Nawaz Sharif on Iqama in the Panama case was a judge’s mistake.  

    Talking to media in Islamabad, Aleema Khan declared that the letter from six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges has revealed the wrongdoing of many individuals. She emphasised the importance of judges advocating for justice, stating that without their support, justice cannot prevail. Aleema Khan urged lawyers to unite in solidarity.

    Imran Khan’s sister stated that the judge made a mistake in the Panama case. She pointed out that the former prime minister was sentenced in the Iqama case, not in the original case, adding that if he were punished in the original case, he would not be free today.

    Aleema continued to say that if pay attention to the cipher case, there will be no doubt in the statement of Asad Majeed. The 10-year sentence in the cipher case and the treason case will be buried; this case is being conducted to save Donald Lu.