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Category: Politics

  • Speaker Asad Qaiser is ‘Imran Khan’s stooge’, says Opposition after Qaiser adjourns NA session till Monday

    Speaker Asad Qaiser is ‘Imran Khan’s stooge’, says Opposition after Qaiser adjourns NA session till Monday

    The much-awaited and critical National Assembly (NA) session on the vote of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was adjourned till Monday (March 28) by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.

    “Since this is the tradition of this house, that whenever a respectable member [of the assembly] passes away, the [NA] session is adjourned till the next [working] day in their honour,” said Qaiser. “This has happened for years and this had happened a total of 24 times in the past.”

    Addressing a press conference outside Parliament House right after the session was adjourned, Leader of the Opposition in NA Shehbaz Sharif said that the Speaker has become a “stooge” of PM Khan.

     “This was a constitutional obligation and he violated the Constitution by not doing this,” said Shehbaz adding, “The Constitution and the law is above tradition and voting should have been allowed … tradition aside, the Speaker should have taken up the motion [but] he did not listen and left.”

    Shehbaz tweeted, “This partisan behaviour does not suit the custodian of the House. U cannot stop the inevitable through such underhand tactics!”

    Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that PM Khan was “fleeing the pitch”.

    Taking to Twitter, Bilawal wrote, “Speaker provided another weak excuse to avoid tabling the no-trust move.”

    “Imran can’t run forever. PM has no sportsman spirit and cannot face defeat with grace. The once great Kaptaan will go down like a rat on a sinking ship,” he said.

    Prior to the session, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted, “Nothing will happen in the assembly session today.”

  • PM Khan to address Mansehra today despite ECP warning, fines

    PM Khan to address Mansehra today despite ECP warning, fines

    As part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) campaign for the March 31 local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is set to address the public in Thakral Stadium, Mansehra on Friday.

    Previously, it was reported that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had taken notice of PM Khan’s visit to Mansehra. The commission called it the breach of code of conduct as it had earlier restricted the premier and other government officials from attending any public gathering ahead of local elections.

    Despite this, the PM ignored the warning and attended a public gathering in Swat on March 16 for which the commission slapped a Rs50,000 fine on the PM and government officials. The premier also attended a gathering in Lower Dir on March 19 where the region’s District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Hameedul Lah had imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on him.

    According to Dawn, DMO of the Provincial Election Commission Hayatullah Jan has written a letter to the chief secretary asking him to convey to PM Khan that his visit to Mansehra is a violation of the election law and he should cancel it.

  • ‘Tons of chicken meat is burnt for witchcraft in Bani Gala’: Shehbaz Sharif

    ‘Tons of chicken meat is burnt for witchcraft in Bani Gala’: Shehbaz Sharif

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif alleged that tons of chicken meat is burnt for ‘witchcraft’ in Bani Gala.

    Speaking on Aaj News programme, “Faisla Aap ka”, Shehbaz said, “I am saying this with complete responsibility. This is the situation, but the PM is speaking about ‘Riyaasat-e-Madina’ and ‘Amar Bil Maroof [enjoining good]’,” he added.

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader further said that people are deprived of food and children are yearning for milk, but tons of chicken is being burnt in Bani Gala for witchcraft.

    Shehbaz ruled out the possibility of a dialogue with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. Shehbaz said Imran Khan talks about ‘Riyaasat-e-Madina’ and on the other hand, promotes cartels.

    “There is no question that I will talk to someone who is so egoist, he lies, what did he do with the cartels?”

    Responding to PM Khan’s statement in which he said he has a surprise for the Opposition, Shehbaz said, “Before he surprises us, we will surprise Imran Khan.”

    Anchorperson Asma Shirazi asked Shehbaz if he has more surprises up his sleeve, to which he said, “Absolutely, we will bring surprise after surprise. Don’t you worry, in the next few days we will bring surprises and you will be shell-shocked.”

  • Chinese Foreign Minister pays unannounced visit to Kabul

    Chinese Foreign Minister pays unannounced visit to Kabul

    Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister (FM) Wang Yi arrived in Kabul on Thursday after attending the three-day Organisation on of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Islamabad, which ended on Wednesday. His visit was not announced earlier.

    Yi is the first senior Chinese leader to visit Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover in August. He was received by Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

    The two sides will hold talks on important issues, focusing on China’s role in stability and development, reports Afghan state-run Bakhtar News Agency.

    On March 30-31 Beijing is set to host a two-day conference to discuss the Afghan situation. It is pertinent to mention that the Taliban government is yet to be recognised by any country.

    Foreign Minister Yi last visited Kabul in 2017 after a huge bombing incident after which he tried to ease tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    China has been involved in the Afghan peace process since the US started its withdrawal of troops in 2014. Moreover, in the past few years, Taliban political representatives have paid several visits to China.

  • CJP Bandial says not counting a vote during no-trust proceedings against Khan would be ‘contemptuous’

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday observed that not counting a vote that has been cast during the no-confidence vote against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would be “contemptuous”.

    CJP Bandial further questioned that for how long a dissident Member of the National Assembly (MNA) could be disqualified.

    He made the remarks during the hearing of a presidential reference seeking the Supreme Court’s opinion on Article 63-A of the Constitution.

    Earlier, during the hearing, Justice Mandokhail questioned whether the MNA’s vote could be counted in the proceedings conducted before he was de-seated, observing there was no mention of not counting a vote in the 18th Amendment.

    Justice Akhtar observed that the purpose of Article 63-A was to stop defection from party policies. “The party’s collective opinion is above an individual opinion. The collective opinion is important for the stability of democracy.” He said one interpretation of Article 63-A was that the vote of dissidents should not be counted.

    Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan argued that the real issue was about clarifying Article 63-A(4). “Someone who violates the Constitution by defection cannot be praised. We cannot read what’s not written in the Constitution. Article 62(1)(f) states that an MNA should be honest and righteous.

    “Should defecting from the party be rewarded? Can those who are dishonest be considered righteous?” he asked.

    Justice Mandokhail replied that every MNA had the right to vote in accordance with Article 95, which deals with the procedure to bring in a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

    “If vote can be cast, it can also be counted,” he observed, asking the AGP why the government was seeking the court’s opinion if it already had the answer. “If you agree with this point, then withdraw this reference,” he added.

    Earlier, SCBA submitted its response in the apex court, stating that voting is an individual right of an MNA instead of a political party’s collective right under Article 95.

    It declared the MNAs’ right to vote for the no-confidence motion against the prime minister to be an individual capacity in its response to the presidential reference for the interpretation on Article 63A of the Constitution Pakistan.

  • Nawaz Sharif’s close aide Chaudhry Nisar refuses to join PTI

    Nawaz Sharif’s close aide Chaudhry Nisar refuses to join PTI

    Estranged Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party member and former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan revealed that he will not join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) despite his meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, according to Daily Jang.

    “Nisar will neither return to PML-N nor work under Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, hence will maintain his independent status,” said the news outlet’s sources.

    On Wednesday, PM Khan said that he met Chaudhry. “I have had an association with him [Chaudhry] for the last 40 years,” he revealed, adding that Nisar will be “taking all political decisions himself”.

    Jang report further reveals that Chaudhry was offered chief ministership of Punjab when PTI came to power. However, at the time, Nisar refused it and thought that in an assembly, where the PML-N is in the Opposition, he would not be able to speak against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif.

  • More than 88,000 children died in Punjab health facilities

    More than 88,000 children died in Punjab health facilities

    According to an official report, 1,000 pregnant women and more than 88,000 newborns and children under the age of five died in Punjab’s basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs) in 2021, Asif Chaudhry reports for Dawn.

    The report is prepared by the Punjab government’s Planning and Development Board on the Integrated Reproductive Maternal Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition programme (IRMNCH). The Punjab government launched the programme at primary-level healthcare facilities to reduce maternal, newborn, and child morbidity and mortality, promote family planning services, and improve women’s and children’s nutritional status.

    “These are alarming figures requiring immediate and serious attention of the project [IRMNCH] team and other stakeholders,” the report says.

    The report further states, “1,000 maternal deaths were reported to the IRMNCH programme in 2021, that is quite a high figure considering the public health significance and sensitivity of this issue.”

    In addition, during 2021 in Punjab, 25,208 deaths of under-five children were reported to the IRMNCH programme “These included 13,706 neonatal, 8,045 infant and 3,457 under-5 children’s deaths,” the report said.

    In addition to these deaths, there were 62,813 stillbirths reported in Punjab in 2021.

  • ‘Early elections can also be called in the country’: Sheikh Rasheed

    ‘Early elections can also be called in the country’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday said that Pakistan might move towards early elections, also adding that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan would defeat the Opposition’s no-confidence motion.

    During a press conference, Rasheed told disgruntled members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that “switching parties won’t earn them any good”, saying that “turncoats must also keep in mind that early elections can also be called in the country”.

    “I want Pakistan and democracy to progress. The situation in the country is moving towards betterment with every passing day,” said Rasheed.

    Rasheed claimed that the country would get “good news” from this point onwards.

    “Let me tell you with the responsibility that nobody is going anywhere,” the minister emphasised, saying he met Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar who is firmly standing with Imran Khan.

    “He is also not going anywhere,” Rasheed said regarding Buzdar.

    Rasheed said that he was not in touch with disgruntled PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen — whose group has not made it clear whether they will support the PM or not.

    “Jahangir Tareen is a good man, may God bless him with good health,” he said.

    Rasheed said PM Khan would hold a “historic” jalsa in Islamabad on March 27.

    PM Khan, in a video message today, invited the nation to join him on March 27 to reinstate the government’s stance against the “dacoits” ruling Pakistan for the last 30 years.

    The premier urged the Pakistanis to stand with the right side.

  • Supreme Court to take up presidential reference on Article 63-A today

    Supreme Court to take up presidential reference on Article 63-A today

    The Supreme court (SC) will take up the presidential reference seeking opinion on Article 63-A of the Constitution – which deals with the disqualification of parliamentarians over defection – at 1pm on Thursday, reports Dawn.

    A five-member bench of the SC comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial will head the bench, which also includes Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

    Earlier, on Monday, a two-member bench of the apex court comprising CJP Bandial and Justice Akhtar took up the presidential reference and declared that a larger bench would hear the case.

    Justice Faez Isa “perplexed” over CJP Bandial’s decision to hear the presidential reference

    The senior-most judge of SC Justice Faez Isa has said that he is “perplexed” over CJP Bandial’s decision to hear the presidential reference for the interpretation of Article 63-A together with the SCBA petition over the no-confidence motion.

    In a three-page letter to the top judge, dated March 22, Justice Isa has questioned multiple legal aspects along with the formation of a larger bench “without the inclusion of senior-most judges”.

    “On 19 March 2022, a two-member bench headed by yourself and an hon’ble judge 8 in seniority, heard CP No. 2/2022 in Court on a Saturday, despite the filing of the petition on Thursday. On the said date it was ordered that CP No. 2/2022 be heard ‘along with a Reference, if any, that is filed under Article 186 of the Constitution and the petition and the proposed reference were ordered to be fixed together for hearing. I am perplexed as to how a matter which had not been filed was ordered to be fixed for hearing,” the letter said.

    Justice Isa further stated that the apex court rules demand that the constitution of a bench is done fairly and as per the law, referring to Article IV of the Code of Conduct, which says:

    “[…] a judge must avoid all possibility of his opinion or action, in any case, being swayed by any consideration of personal advantage, either direct or indirect.”

    “The Constitution specifically recognises the most senior Judge of the Supreme Court (including in Article 175A(3) and Article 180), and with seniority comes responsibility, which must not be shirked. The most senior Judge also ensures the continuity of the Supreme Court as an institution,” Justice Isa wrote.

    Better if the assembly’s fight is fought inside the assembly: CJP Bandial

    Justice Bandial on Monday heard a plea filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) about the lawful proceeding of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly (NA).

    During the hearing, which was attended by three bigwigs of the Opposition — PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, SCBA counsel argued that NA Speaker Asad Qaiser summoned the session 17 days after the submission of the no-confidence motion. However, according to Article 95, the session has to be called within 14 days.

    He further argued that the no-confidence motion could not be adjourned before voting. To this, CJ observed that it is an “internal matter” and it would be “better if the assembly’s fight is fought inside the assembly”.

    According to Justice Munib, a member’s individual vote has no “status”. Justice Munib Akhtar said after joining a political party, a member’s vote is considered a “collective” right.

    SCBA writes a reply to the apex court

    On Thursday, the SCBA submitted a written reply to the apex court ahead of today’s hearing in accordance with the court’s directives.

    In its reply, the SCBA said that the votes of MNAs “cannot possibly be construed as a collective right of a political party”, citing Article 95 of the Constitution, which deals with the procedure to bring in a no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

    Fawad Chaudhry responds to SCBA’s reply to the apex court

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and reacted to SCBA’s response.

    Fawad said, “Reading SCBA’s answer, it seems that Supreme Court bar body is a subsidiary of Noon League,” says Fawad Chaudhry, adding, “Ordinary lawyers are dissatisfied with the role of lawyers’ organisations and the defeat of this group in the Lahore Bar elections is the result of the lawyers’ reaction.”

    Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan had submitted the reference seeking the SC’s opinion on Article 63-A of the Constitution on March 21.

  • ‘Impose economic sanctions on India’: Azad Kashmir President urges OIC

    ‘Impose economic sanctions on India’: Azad Kashmir President urges OIC

    Addressing a special meeting of the Kashmir Contact Group of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry asked the forum to help stop oppression in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK) by imposing economic sanctions on India and boycotting its products.

    He said that since August 5, 2019 (when India changed IoK special status) Indian authorities have issued fake domiciles to 4.2 million non-state Hindus to change the proportion of population there.

    He said the OIC should play its role for the release of political leaders and youth who have been arrested before and after August 5, 2019.

    On the occasion, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) representative Syed Faiz Naqshbandi and Ghulam Mohammad Safi also briefed the OIC delegations about the current situation of violation of human rights in IoK. They also presented a memorandum to OIC Secretary General Hussain Ibrahim Taha.

    APHC is a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict.