Current Final

Category: Politics

  • IHC indicts ex-GB judge Rana Shamim in affidavit case, defers journalists’ indictment

    IHC indicts ex-GB judge Rana Shamim in affidavit case, defers journalists’ indictment

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday indicted former Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Judge Rana Shamim for allegations that he levelled against former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar in a signed affidavit in London.

    IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah has deferred the framing of charges against the media personnel who were also named in the case, including journalist Ansar Abbasi and Jang Group owner Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman.

    The contempt of court case is in accordance with the publication of an affidavit containing allegations that Saqib Nisar attempted to influence a case against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to bring Imran Khan into power.

    The IHC chief justice said the court had been disrespected and questioned whether anyone had any issue with the high court.

    Justice Minallah said the court could not give a license for anyone to disrespect it. “[It is] not even realised that there was an attempt to influence a case [that was being heard in court]. This court believes in open accountability and welcomes it. Has there been any order from July 2018 till now on which this perception [of judges being compromised] fits?”

    “The article is not related to Saqib Nisar but it has to do with this court. People have been told the judges of this court are compromised. A case was fixed for hearing two days later when the story was published,” Justice Minallah said.

    The chief justice addressed Judge Shamim and asked if he had heard any contempt cases himself during his tenure as a judge. Shamim responded in the negative, saying he had neither heard such cases nor believed in the concept of contempt.

    At this point, Justice Minallah gave Judge Shamim the opportunity to present the arguments made in his petitions. Shamim said that in the first petition he requested that a fact-finding inquiry be conducted into the case instead of framing the charges. In the other petition, he requested for the attorney general to be removed as the prosecutor.

    He also said it was important for the requirements of justice that former CJP Nisar’s reply was also made part of the inquiry and cross-examined. “This will not be a case of criminal contempt unless the facts stated in the affidavit are proven wrong,” he argued.

    The court proceeded to reject Shamim’s petitions and indicted him.

    Moreover, adjourning the indictment against the journalists, Justice Minallah said that if it was found during the trial that the news story was published deliberately, then action would be taken.

    After the arguments, Justice Minallah adjourned the proceedings till February 15 and asked Shamim to present his written response.

  • PTI’s Zartaj Gul lashes out at anchor Kamran Shahid, asks if she should call his show ‘pathetic’

    PTI’s Zartaj Gul lashes out at anchor Kamran Shahid, asks if she should call his show ‘pathetic’

    Minister of State Zartaj Gul lashed out at anchorperson Kamran Shahid when he called the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ‘pathetic’.

    While speaking on Dunya News programme, ‘On The Front with Kamran Shahid’, Gul was told by Shahid that the government’s focus should be governance.

    “From the past two to three years the governance of [PTI] has been pathetic. You [government] shouldn’t be worried about Nawaz Sharif or anything else,” said Shahid.

    Gul while responding to the government being labelled as pathetic said, “You [Kamran Shahid] being the host [of the show] can not call my government pathetic.”

    “How would you feel if I say that you are conducting your programme in a pathetic way. You need to increase the value of your show and give better analysis,” responded Gul.

    “You cannot become a party, you are the host,” said Gul, adding, ” Senator Afnan Ullah or Major General (R) Ejaz Awan can say this to me, [being fellow panelists] discussing political analysis but as a host, you cannot.”

    ” You being the anchorperson, I will also say to you, that you are conducting your show in a pathetic way, improve your standard,” said Gul.

    Shahid interjected Gul and said, “You can call my programme pathetic and give it minus zero numbers. I will give a warm welcome to your criticism and learn from the suggestions you give for my improvement.”

    “I wouldn’t act like you or your prime minister and act tone-deaf towards issues and become rigid on one thing and make it a matter of my ego.”

    “The government made things a matter of ego and took a U-turn from all the promises it made to the people,” said Shahid.

  • Justice Ayesha Malik confirmed for Supreme Court Judge, needs President’s formal approval

    Justice Ayesha Malik confirmed for Supreme Court Judge, needs President’s formal approval

    The Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court (SC).

    Justice Malik only requires the president’s formal assent to become the first woman to be elevated to the country’s top court.

    Justice Malik will remain a judge of the Supreme Court until March 2031 and may even have a chance to become the first woman to hold the post of chief justice.

    After a session on January 6, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended Justice Malik’s name by a majority of five votes to four.

    Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, senior judge Justice Umar Ata Bandial, former judge Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem, and Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan had supported Justice Malik’s candidature, while Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain opposed the selection.

  • ‘Authorities were unable to perform their duties’: CM Buzdar suspends 15 officials responsible for Murree tragedy

    ‘Authorities were unable to perform their duties’: CM Buzdar suspends 15 officials responsible for Murree tragedy

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar on Wednesday ordered the suspension of 15 officials for being negligent towards their duties.

    CM Buzdar,while addressing a press conference, revealed the findings of the inquiry report and said that Rawalpindi’s deputy commissioner has been removed and disciplinary action has been ordered against him.

    The Murree assistant commissioner has also been suspended along with Murree’s assistant superintendent of police (ASP), said the CM.

    Buzdar further said that the Rawalpindi chief traffic officer (CTO), traffic deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Murree divisional forest officer, Murree district emergency officer, Murree Rescue 1122 in charge, and Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) director have also been suspended and disciplinary action has been ordered against them.

    The chief minister said that disciplinary action has been ordered against these 15 officers over the Murree tragedy as “concerned authorities were unable to perform their duties.”

    “The government has fulfilled its promise of a transparent inquiry into the Murree tragedy,” Buzdar said, adding the inquiry report has highlighted the shortcomings of the authorities.

  • Turkish President Erdogan says open to fix ties with Israel

    Turkish President Erdogan says open to fix ties with Israel

    After years of a fraught relationship, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated mending ties with Israel.

    A joint pipeline to bring eastern Mediterranean Sea gas to Europe was started by Turkey’s rival Greece and Israel which was backed by then-President Donald Trump’s administration. At the time, Turkey strongly opposed the project but last week it was reported that Washington no longer backed the pipeline project.

    Following this, Erdogan said he was in talks with Israel on an old idea to bring Mediterranean gas to European clients via Turkey. “We can still do that,” he said.

    This is not the first time that Turkey has expressed the desire to be on good ties with Israel. In 2020, the President said the country would like to have better ties with Israel but it is impossible to accept their Palestine policies.

    In recent years, Ankara has repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians.

    Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu have often exchanged angry remarks, but both countries continue to trade with one another.

  • UK asked to probe Indian army chief, home minister over alleged war crimes in occupied Kashmir

    UK asked to probe Indian army chief, home minister over alleged war crimes in occupied Kashmir

    A London-based law firm has filed an application with the British police seeking the arrest of India’s army chief and a senior Indian government official over their alleged roles in war crimes in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, reports TRT World.

    Law firm Stoke White said on Tuesday it submitted extensive evidence to the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Unit documenting how Indian troops headed by General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah were responsible for the torture, kidnapping, and killing of activists, journalists, and civilians.

    The law firm’s report was based on over 2,000 testimonies taken between 2020 and 2021. It also accused eight unnamed senior Indian military officials of direct involvement in war crimes and torture in Occupied Kashmir.

    “There is strong reason to believe that Indian authorities are conducting war crimes and other violence against civilians in [Indian-Occupied] Jammu and Kashmir,” the report stated.

    Hakan Camuz, director of international law at Stoke White, said he hoped the report would convince the British police to open an investigation and ultimately arrest the officials when they set foot in the United Kingdom (UK). Some of the Indian officials have financial assets and other links to Britain.

    “We are asking the UK government to do their duty and investigate and arrest them for what they did based on the evidence we supplied to them. We want them to be held accountable,” Camuz said.

    The police application was made on behalf of the family of Zia Mustafa, a jailed rebel fighter whom Camuz said was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by Indian authorities in 2021, and on behalf of human rights campaigner Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, who was allegedly tortured before his arrest last week.

    Human rights lawyers have increasingly used the universal jurisdiction principle to seek justice for people who were unable to file criminal complaints in their home countries or with the International Criminal Court, located in The Hague.

    Last week, a German court convicted a former Syrian secret police officer of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of thousands of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago.

    Camuz said he hoped the request to the British police seeking the arrest of Indian officials will be followed by other legal actions also focusing on Kashmir.

    “We are sure this is not going to be the last one, there will probably be many more applications,” he said.

  • PML-N’s Khaqan Abbasi knows 22 NA members who want to leave PTI govt

    PML-N’s Khaqan Abbasi knows 22 NA members who want to leave PTI govt

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khandaza Kay Sath’, said, “I know 22 members of the National Assembly who don’t want to remain part of the incumbent government anymore.”

    Abbasi said that if those 22 people step aside, the government will lose its majority in the House.

    Responding to Fawad Chaudhry’s claim that four PML-N leaders are “hell-bent on removing Nawaz Sharif from the party,” Abbasi said: “I am unable to understand Fawad’s statements as he is just trying to seek attention.”

    He said that “no one desires the throne in PML-N”, adding that party leaders “just want the implementation of the Constitution in the country”.

    “I never had the desire to become the prime minister,” Abbasi added.

    The former premier said that the “government itself is walking with the help of crutches and can’t stand without it even for a single day”.

    On being asked why did the four names turn up, Abbasi said the government is lying.

    On the other hand, responding to Abbasi’s comments during the show, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said that “without taking any names, we had just hinted at four senior leaders of PML-N, and now people can guess themselves who we were referring to.”

    “PML-N is an incompetent party with an incomplete narrative and its leadership lacks democratic thoughts,” added Faraz.

  • Usman Buzdar is ahead of all Chief Ministers in performance: survey

    Usman Buzdar is ahead of all Chief Ministers in performance: survey

    The Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) in its recent survey has found Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar is leading in satisfaction level for developmental works in comparison to other chief ministers, reports The News.

    As per the survey, Buzdar is ahead as 51 per cent of respondents from Punjab are satisfied with him. CM KPK Mahmood Khan ranked second by securing a 48 per cent satisfaction rating. CM Balochistan Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo secured 43 percent while CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah got only a 38 per cent rating.

    The research center surveyed from December 22, 2021, to January 9, 2022, in which they ask the opinion of 3,700 respondents from different provinces.

    About the improvement in the performance of provincial health departments, 72 per cent are satisfied with Buzdar while CM Shah is at last with a 53 per cent rating.

    Similarly, in the education sector 86 per cent of people have shown their satisfaction with CM Punjab and KPK education department drew the appreciation of 80 per cent of respondents.

    In all the sectors, Pakistan People’s Pakistan (PPP) CM Sindh is behind among all the other CMs.

  • PTI spokesperson slammed after implying reduced prices of ‘Shoop Noodles’ shows less inflation

    PTI spokesperson slammed after implying reduced prices of ‘Shoop Noodles’ shows less inflation

    Spokesperson to the Finance Minister, Muzzammil Aslam has shared a screenshot of a message he received from a departmental store. In the message, the supermarket offered reduced prices of a few local commodities.

    Muzzammil while sharing the tweet wrote, “Everyone is talking about inflation but on the other hand, the prices of local commodities are continuously decreasing. Isn’t this an open contradiction?”

    He shared some prices of local products which lowered their prices.

    Netizens slammed the spokesperson for sharing reduced prices of ‘Shoop Noodles’ on Twitter which shows less inflation in Pakistan.

    A netizen replied in the same manner, “Everyone is talking about that the country has no gas but on the other hand, we are doing so much gaslighting every day. Isn’t this an open contradiction?” 

    




    
https://twitter.com/AliMaken/status/1483705646503579655

    




    




    Another user added, “It is a Simple Demand-Supply Crisis.”
    




    


    




    




    Another netizen questioned the intelligence of the person who appointed him as a spokesperson.
    




    


    




    Some users have expressed extreme disappointment with the government’s spokesperson.
    




    


    




    


    




    




    




    


    

    
			
    
		
    
		
	
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    Bilawal offers to rejoin PDM but has some conditions
    
			
    Bilawal offers to rejoin PDM but has some conditions
    
			
    

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that there is now a high probability of the Opposition parties working together in the future.
    




    The PPP chairperson while talking to reporters outside the Parliament House on Tuesday said, “If they [Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)] are ready to withdraw their stance on the issue of en-mass resignations and consider my proposal of bringing a no-confidence motion, then certainly there is a possibility that we can work together.”
    




    He said all parties have to play their role. “We have to dislodge the government, no matter the number of marches we have to take.”
    




    He said his party’s reservations regarding the prices of essential commodities being multiplied due to the mini-budget had proved correct as Pakistan had already been facing an economic crisis before the mini-budget, which has now led to a historic price hike, unemployment, and poverty. “People are being crushed under this burden,” he said.
    




    Bilawal Bhutto along with former Prime Minister (PM) Yusuf Raza Gilani, said that they protested inside and outside the Parliament against the mini-budget. They were promised that tax will not be imposed on a few items, but that was false as well.
    




    “The people of Pakistan are demanding that we take to the streets against this government and our CEC has decided that we will take to the streets on February 27,” added Bilawal.