Former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that new constitutional amendments will jeopardise the country’s future.
Talking to journalists in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that the formation of a new Federal Constitutional Court is originates from the incumbent government’s fear of the Supreme Court (SC).
He also claimed that the purpose of constitutional amendments is to keep him in jail.
“Sitting members in government don’t want to perceive the judiciary as independent,” he added.
He also alleged that the money and properties of those proposing the amendments are abroad.
Criticising the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, he said, “The incumbent government wanted to destroy judiciary by reinstating CJP Isa.”
Khan also said that he had predicted that PTI rally in Lahore on September 21 would be peaceful and historical.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah has questioned the need for secrecy in the constitutional amendment drafts that were being prepared for voting in parliaments.
Appearing in the Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, Hamdullah expressed concern over constitutional amendments, stating, “The coalition parties and opposition parties are completely unaware of the constitutional package that the government proposed. The real draft of the amendments is hidden.”
He remarked that if the amendments are in Pakistan’s interest, why is the government being secretive.
He further said, “Poori hakumat Maulana Fazlur Rehman kay haan ya na par khari hai,” and asked suspiciously, Do the amendments aim to make the judiciary independent or control it?
Responding to party dispute with the incumbent government over proposed amendments, he clarified, “JUI-F’s basic disagreement over constitutional amendments is based on judges extension. JUI-F will answer if the government share a draft with us.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Advisor for Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has declared meetings with Chief JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman productive.
Speaking with the media in the parliament house, Sanaullah disclosed that the Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto, along with Chief JUI-F Rehman, have decided to widen the scope of consultation, which Sanaullah declared beneficial for democracy.
Law Minister Senator Azam Nazir Tarar told the National Assembly that legislation is underway to take disciplinary action against judges who do not decide cases within a year.
Responding to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser’s speech in the session, Nazir Tarar said that Parliament has the authority to enact legislation within the constitutional framework.
“Asad Qaiser is very ‘respectable’ for me as he used to be sitting on the speaker’s chair.
Shedding light on the contents of the supposed draft, Tarrar said it had “not yet been presented before the federal cabinet as a draft nor in the CCLC (Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases)”
Addressing the opposition, he added that further scrutiny is still to be done. “We will send you the draft only when our work is done.”
Defending the proposed constitutional package, the law minister said, “25 crore people have given us the authority, we have to decide the direction of the country and not the Chief Justice deciding the rate of sugar or the installation of electricity poles.”
Azam Nazir Tarar asserted that he wanted to propose a constitutional court, which was immediately linked to the tenure of the Chief Justice of Pakistan wrongly.
That constituional court will act like a judicial commission comprising of a chief justice and 7 to 8 judges, he said. All the provinces will be represented in this constitutional court.
“We want our judges to be held accountable and their performances be reviewed on yearly bases,” Tarrar stated. Additionally, he also said that this will remind the judges enjoying privileges more than anyone else to know that they have to decide for the matters of people from low-income strata to wrap up soonerwhich otherwise don’t happen as it is said, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
“Because of our weaknesses, we want our cases to go to the Supreme Court and be resolved there because we cannot resolve these cases by sitting together,” the Law minister commented, targeting the community of politicians.
The Law Minister said that right now the government is bringing the package of Criminal Code which includes 90 different amendments from arrest to registration of FIR, entry of challans, role of prosecution and bails and judgments of cases, time of trial. A judge will be required to decide a case in one year of the trial time otherwise there will be disciplinary action against that judge.
“I challenge that the opposition can ask any lawyer council about this package and if it is rejected, I will be responsible,” claimed the law minister.
Earlier,PTI’s Asad Qaiser, while expressing his opinion in the National Assembly session, had questioned the intentions of the treasury benches stating that if the minister does not have the package, then where has this draft came from.
Asad Qaiser exclaimed, “Is the opposition an enemy of this country? We want you bring the amendments and discuss them here in the House first. Legislation in the dark of the night or in a secretive manner is a stain on the face of the Parliament.”
Imagine the excitement for cricket fans if Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, along with India’s Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, played on the same team.
This dream union could soon become a reality. But how and when could this happen, if at all?
According to the Indian media, an important development is coming from the cricket circles: talks to start the famous cricket tournament ‘Afro-Asia Cup’ once again are starting.
If anyone does not know what the Afro-Asia Cup is, let us tell them that this tournament was played in 2005 and 2007, and two teams (Asia XI and Africa XI) participated.
The Asia XI included cricketers from Asian teams, including Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, while the Africa XI had players from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and neighbouring countries.
After two successful editions, this tournament could not continue due to political tension between Pakistan and India.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks badly affected the cricketing relationship between Pakistan and India, and this is the reason why the two countries do not even play series against each other.
However, according to Indian media, this Afro-Asia Cup tournament is likely to be restarted after Jay Shah becomes the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in December this year.
Indian media say that the new season of the Afro-Asia Cup can be held in T20 format.
If the final decision is made, the cricketing world will likely see a moment in 2025 that has never happened before. The teams of Pakistan and India are playing on the same team, and then possibly Babar and Kohli are on the same team.
The Asian XI of the first Afro-Asia Cup in 2005 included many famous Asian cricketers, including Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Yousuf, Abdul Razak, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahila Jayawardene, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Nehra.
24-karat gold price, on first trading day of the week, resumed its record high run and surged by Rs1,700 per tola after an increase in global bullion rates.
The recent surge in yellow metal’s price has pushed the gold rate to Rs268,000 per tola, which is the highest price ever recorded for the precious metal in the history of Pakistan.
It is worth noting that in the previous session, gold price in the local market rose by Rs400 per tola and settled the day at Rs266,300 per tola, which was the record high rate at the time for yellow metal in the country.
On the other hand, the global rate of gold also climbed on Monday as the per ounce price was quoted at $2,587, including a premium of $20, reflecting an increase of $10.
In an exclusive interview with The Current, actress Alina Abbas Shah talked about her role in Noor Jahan and shared her experience of working with Noor Hassan.
When we asked, “How was your experience working with Noor Hassan, also known as Hunaid,”
the actress replied, “I love Noor. I just love him, such a sweetheart, and when we were doing scenes like that, he felt really bad, like ‘How can I do that? Are you hurt?’ He’s very sweet. I loved working with him. And the best part is, even after the drama finished, he never stopped checking up on me.”
Talking about her favorite dialogue from Noor Jahan,
Alina Abbas said, “Tou Kursi daal kar dho lou.”
Alina Abbas Shah played the character of Safina in Noor Jahan.
The drama is written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah and directed by Musaddiq Malek. Its last episode was aired on 14 September 2024 on ARY Digital.
She has also worked in dramas such as 22 Qadam and Kuch Ankahi.
Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has directed authorities to ensure that the export of pink raw salt is halted.
Chairing a meeting to review proposals on maximising revenue from the export of pink salt, she stated, “Pink salt is like a treasure trove for Pakistan.”
She ordered the preparation of a plan to form a value-added industry of pink salt aiming to generate up to thirteen billion dollars in the next three to five years and suggested a comprehensive strategy to improve the export of pink salt.
For the extraction of minerals in Punjab, CM Punjab Maryam directed to ensure the safety of mining workers and advised them to use modern technology for better output.
The Founding Chairman of the Salts Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SMAP), Ismail Suttar declared the announcement “immature.”
Suttar said, “It is very unfortunate to witness repeated mistakes by the government, leading the industry towards a destructive path.”
“I am surprised at such a remark from the Office of the Chief Minister without considering the opinion of the salt industry stakeholders,” he concluded.
Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai’s long affair with superstar Salman Khan before her marriage to Abhishek Bachchan, was an open secret in the industry.
Their relationship even reached the point of marriage, but in 2001, there was a rift between the pair.
In 2002, Aishwarya officially announced her separation from Salman by accusing him of many wrongdoings, but do you know that before these announcements, rumors swirled that Aishwarya and Salman had secretly married after Rai converted to Islam.
It was said that the wedding ceremony took place without the presence of both sets of parents, and that Aishwarya’s parents were unaware of their daughter’s marriage.
There were also claims that Aishwarya had converted to Islam to marry Salman Khan and that both went to New York for their honeymoon. This news reportedly affected Aishwarya’s career, with some producers who had cast her facing pressure and boycotting her.
Later, during a show, when Aishwarya was asked about her alleged marriage to Salman Khan, she patiently listened to the question before responding. “The industry is a very small place. If something like this happens, the entire industry would be aware of it. I am not the type of person who would hide a marriage. I will announce it. It is ridiculous to speculate on when this marriage would have taken place.”
China defeated Pakistan 2-0 in a penalty shootout in the first semi-final of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.
Pakistan and China attacked each other’s goalposts in the first quarter of the match, but neither team scored a goal.
China took the lead in the second quarter, but in the third quarter, the Green Shirts scored a goal to tie the game at one. Both teams fought hard at the scheduled time. After the match was tied with one goal, a penalty shootout was decided.
In a penalty shootout, China defeated Pakistan by 2-0 and made it to the final.
The second semi-final will be played between Korea and India, and China will face the winner of this competition in the final.
Earlier, Pakistan defeated China five to one in the Champions Trophy round match.
Famous actress Ayesha Omer got thoroughly confused after seeing a video that was circulating on social media.
On Instagram, she shared a reel of the story.
In the reel, a woman is seen doing a bold dance.
“Someone tagged me on this reel and for a minute I thought it was me,” the actress captioned the Insta story.
She asked her fans whether this was a miracle of AI or if it was her lookalike, after all, who was it?
When the video of the bold dance went viral on social media, the woman in the video also reached Sakshi Agarwal. Later, Indian influencer Sakshi Agarwal also re-shared the circulating news and tagged Ayesha Umar and informed her about the fact that she is not an AI-generated model but Ayesha Umar’s lookalike and belongs to India.
The Indian influencer, who loves to dance and has more than two million followers, was pleasantly surprised at the coincidence.
