Category: Politics

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while addressing a press conference on October 17 along with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, had an apparent slip of the tongue when he said: “This is such a significant amendment that there is a big name behind it and that name is…”

As soon as Maulana said those words, everyone burst into laughter, including PTI’s Asad Qaiser, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Omar Ayub, and Sheikh Waqas Akram.

Maulana, while smiling, then stated: “Wait a minute… That man can be Mohsin Naqvi.”

Last night, the JUI-F chief warned of suspending talks on the highly anticipated constitutional amendment with the government amidst undue pressure on his party members.

“We are engaging with the government with absolute open-heartedness, but sadly, we are receiving reports of pressure being exerted on our members while both PTI and BNP members are being intimidated,” said Fazl.

“If these tactics continue, they will be compelled to stop negotiations,” warned Fazlur Rehman.

The JUI-F chief further said that if the government chooses to talk with them reasonably, then his party would answer politely; however, if the government uses thuggery to speak with them, then they would receive their reply in the same tone and tenor.

In the past few weeks, the coalition government has been consistently engaged with the JUI-F Chief to convince him of the proposed constitutional amendments, with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto at the forefront of the negotiations.

Maulana acknowledged the positive role played by PTI, saying, “they have accepted what is feasible and agreed to continue consultations today (Friday).”

Furthermore, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar stated: “Despite these issues, we have participated in every meeting to ensure the draft is presented before us.”

On October 16, PTI member Meher Bano Qureshi posted on X (formerly Twitter) that her sister-in-law, the wife of PTI MNA Zain Qureshi, was abducted from near their home by “masked men in plain clothes and multiple cars.”

“They have not been able to break us for the last year and half despite all kinds of threats and are now resorting to such low level tactics. Mine & my family’s faith in Allah is unbreakable. He will see us & Pakistan through this fascism,” she wrote.

A few hours later, Qureshi posted a photo with the caption: “Alhamdulillah, she’s home. Thank you for your prayers and support!”

However, Meher Bano Qureshi was not the only one to complain about the sudden ‘disappearance’ and ‘abduction’ of lawmakers and their family members.

Chairman Balochistan National Party (BNP) Akhtar Mengal also posted on X, “My party Senator Naseema Ehsan is confined to her apartment, and her son has been abducted. Meanwhile, my party’s other Senator Qasim Roonjo, who went for his dialysis at 8 a.m. in Islamabad, has been untraceable along with his son since then. Is this what democracy looks like?!!!”

The BNP leader warned last week that “undemocratic methods” were being employed to enforce the upcoming constitutional amendments.

In an interesting development, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has disclosed its key suggestions for the 26^th Constitutional Amendment, suggesting the establishment of a constitutional bench at the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan as well as at high courts, reports said.

According to reports, all political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have reached a consensus on the formation of a constitutional bench at the top court, and no party has objected to this suggestion.

Meanwhile, the JUI-F has also suggested in its draft that a constitutional bench should be established at the apex court and include the chief justice, besides the five senior-most judges of the SC, who will decide on disputes regarding the Constitution and its interpretation.

“The constitutional bench at high courts should comprise of the respective chief justice as well as three senior judges of the court,” the draft added.

The party also demanded to restore parts of the 18^th Amendment to the extent of appointment of judges and amendment in article 175-A.

JUI-F also demanded the repeal of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), however, have so far not agreed to most points proposed in the JUI-F draft, reports added.

The coalition government remained unsuccessful last month when it tried to pass the constitutional package, but since then it has been aggressively championed, in a campaign led by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, to get the required votes.

Meanwhile, to pass the constitutional amendment, the government is reportedly short of 13 votes in the National Assembly (NA) and nine in the Upper House (Senate).

Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Barrister Gohar Khan on Thursday claimed that seven Members of National Assembly (MNAs) from the ruling coalition will vote against the twenty-sixth constitutional amendment.

“The government’s numbers are only complete in their books. The government neither consulted its members nor answered them out of fear,” Barrister Gohar Khan told Geo News.

He claimed Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari may also know that his parliamentary members are not going to vote in favour of the government’s proposed amendments, adding, “Government members said they will not vote even if they are disqualified.

The twenty-sixth constitutional amendments aim to establish a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and fix judges’ tenure to three years.

To pass the constitutional amendment, the government is reportedly short of 13 votes in the National Assembly (NA) and nine in the Upper House (Senate).

Police have arrested at least 150 violent protesters in Rawalpindi who were demonstrating against the alleged rape of an unnamed female student in Punjab Group of Colleges in Lahore.

The police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

A social media post went viral alleging that a rape took place in a campus of Punjab Group of Colleges. However, as yet, no student or family has come forward to file a complaint. Enraged students staged protests outside different colleges in Lahore, leaving 28 people injured.

Rawalpindi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operation Hafiz Kamran Asghar today told Dawn that at least 150 violent protesters had been arrested so far, and police have controlled the law and order situation in Rawalpindi.

The Senior Superintendent of Police said that whoever attempts to take the law into their own hand under the pretence of protest would face legal consequences.

“All the closed roads have also been opened,” SSP Asghar added.

Rawalpindi police on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “Rawalpindi Police is fully prepared to deal with any law and order situation.”

Earlier, a college security guard lost his life in violent clashes with students in Gujrat district. Police have booked 185 people in a murder case.

With a muted video of Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) going viral, netizens, especially Indians, have taken to social media, calling out Pakistan for “muting” the Indian representative’s speech.

A social media user on X (formerly Twitter) named A Waheed Murad wrote, “State TV in Pakistan muted the address of the Indian Foreign Minister at the SCO summit in Islamabad.”

While Murad wasn’t the only one to highlight the muted video, Journalist Iftikhar Firdous also took to X to explain that all in-camera sessions were bound to be muted on PTV and the same goes for SCO.

“It’s an in-camera session. I haven’t heard any of the speeches on TV, even the Pakistani premier is live and it’s muted. I also inquired why I couldn’t hear them”, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter)

Meanwhile, Information Ministry also stated that according to standard operating procedure (SOPs), except for the SCO initial ceremony, all addresses were bound to mute.

Islamabad and New Delhi, in their national statements, have avoided taking indirect jabs at each other through the SCO platform.

“While the international community must extend the needed assistance to help Afghan Interim Government in staving off the humanitarian crisis and preventing an economic meltdown, it must also demand from the Afghan Interim Government to take concrete measures to promote political inclusivity, as well as to ensure that its soil is not used for terrorism against its neighbours, by any entity,” maintained PM Shehbaz Sharif during his address at SCO.

“Projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and International North-South Corridor (INSC) can be expanded to improve connectivity, focusing on roads, railways, and digital infrastructure,” he said.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, while addressing the SCO summit, congratulated Pakistan for hosting such a high political union of countries. “We must respect each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and this cooperation should be based on genuine partnership, not unilateral agendas,” he asserted.

According to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister M. Ishaq Dar, the last time Pakistan hosted a diplomatic event of this magnitude was 27 years ago, marking what he called the country’s “return to the international stage.”

In 1997, Pakistan held the first Extraordinary Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to celebrate its 50th year of independence.

The SCO bloc claims to represent 40% of the world’s population and about 30% of its GDP.

Previously, Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday arrived in Pakistan to attend the SCO meeting, as well as for a four-day bilateral visit. His visit is the first by a Chinese head of government to Pakistan in 11 years, Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office said.

Omar Abdullah took the oath of office as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar on October 16, 2024. Five ministers, two from Kashmir and three from the Jammu region, also took the oath of office. Omar Abdullah was declared the 1st Chief Minister in Jammu & Kashmir within 6 years after the Central rule was imposed. He was sworn in over the head of his rival, Mehbooba Mufti, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) head until 2018. This girl was Jammu’s last chief minister.

The ceremony of taking the oath of office was organized at the Sheri-Kashmir International Conference Centre in Srinagar. It was witnessed by Indian leaders and politicians, such as the opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi. This is the first elected government in the region that includes Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir since Article 370 was repealed.

This marks Abdullah’s second term as the region’s Chief Minister after 2009. He holds the record of becoming the region’s first chief minister after the end of its special status. Abdullah’s father, Farooq Abdullah, was the IIOJK CM while in office three times. Contrary to that, Abdullah’s grandfather, Shaikh Mohammad Abdullah, held the post of the Minister in charge of the IIOJK Government as the first one. He also had the position of Chief Minister of the region.

Nidhi Razdan in Front Row at Omar Abdullah Swearing-In Ceremony

This is not the first time the former NDTV journalist is supposed to share romantic relations with Omar Abdullah. Their relationship has fascinated the public for several years, with pictures of them together appearing on social sites for a long time.

Senior journalist Nidhi Razdan was repeatedly hounded for having an affair with National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. This time, an image of Nidhi Razdan was posted on the internet at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre in Srinagar on Wednesday at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s sworn-in program.

Omar Abdullah vs Payal Abdullah: Plea For Divorce

The Supreme Court allowed the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, and his divorced wife, Payal Abdullah, to enter into mediation. A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah listed the matter for consideration after ten weeks when the mediator’s report will be available.