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Tag: Pakistan

  • Imran Khan ‘fears for his safety’ in jail

    Imran Khan ‘fears for his safety’ in jail

    Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s bail plea was rejected by the Islamabad High Court on Friday in a case involving the leaking of state secrets.

    The court also turned down his petition to cancel the FIR in the cipher case.

    The charges relate to the alleged unauthorized communication of classified information, with potentially severe penalties of death or up to 14 years imprisonment.

    Imran Khan’s defense team argued that the case didn’t align with specific sections of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and that as a former prime minister, he had constitutional immunity from prosecution.

    However, the prosecution contended that the act applied to all citizens and that his actions had jeopardized national security.

    The court emphasized that the disclosure of the classified document during a political gathering was not within the scope of his duties as prime minister.

    It also noted that only the country’s president and governors possess constitutional immunity while in office, not the prime minister.

    The rejection of Imran Khan’s bail request was due to the seriousness of the allegations and the potential penalties involved.

    Furthermore, concerns were raised about the contested cipher copy remaining in his possession.

    Meanwhile, Imran Khan has expressed fears for his safety, stating concerns that there might be another attempt on his life while he is in jail.

    Police open probe on May 9 events

    An official inquiry into the events of May 9 has been opened by police in three districts of Punjab province against Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the deputy chairman of the party.

    The police teams from Kasur and Faisalabad asked specific questions during the initial investigation, but the PTI leaders chose not to answer them.

    Teams from Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Kasur police have commenced their interrogations of Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi within Adiala Jail.

    Permission for these interrogations was granted by a court established under the Official Secrets Act.

    The police team from Rawalpindi is expected to return to Adiala Jail in the coming days to interrogate Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the former prime minister.

    Meanwhile, the teams from Faisalabad and Kasur have completed their preliminary investigations, according to jail sources.

    The jail administration has made special arrangements to make these investigations easier.

    As part of ongoing attempts to determine what happened on May 9 and the roles that different people played in those occurrences, investigations are being conducted.

  • PML-N will win elections, predicts Ahsan Iqbal

    PML-N will win elections, predicts Ahsan Iqbal

    Ahsan Iqbal, senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said on Saturday that his party will secure the majority in the upcoming general elections scheduled for late January next year.


    Speaking to media in Lahore, the former planning minister recalled the ouster of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, saying he was ousted as the premier through a conspiracy in 2017.’


    ‘’Nawaz Sharif was not given a level playing field in 2018,” he observed.


    Opining on the elections, he said, ‘’Elections in the country should be held on time to bring economic stability to the country.’’


    He lavished praise on Nawaz Sharif, saying, ‘’It was Nawaz Sharif who addressed the problems in line with power outages”, Samaa has reported.
    The former planning minister also said, ‘’Nawaz Sharif has said that institutions should play their role to take the country out of the economic quagmire.’’

  • Weather: Karachi to have a light rainfall

    Weather: Karachi to have a light rainfall

    Breaking the streak of hot weather in Karachi and Southern Sindh, winds from the West will bring light rainfall in different parts of the city along with the lowering of temperature. 

    The Meteorological Department has stated that this system of winds will cause a light shower of rain in Tesar Town, Kathor, M-9 motorway, Gulshan e Maymar, and Malir Highway. 

    However, the central part of the city will not experience any downpours. 

  • Why was Shahid Khaqan Abbasi barred from flying abroad?

    Why was Shahid Khaqan Abbasi barred from flying abroad?

    Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi faced a brief hiccup on Friday when he was initially stopped from flying abroad due to his name being on the no-fly list, as per Shahzad Ali of Samaa.

    However, after clarification, he was allowed to proceed with his travel plans to China.

    Mr. Abbasi and his wife were at Islamabad Airport to catch a flight to China when immigration authorities informed him that he was on the stop list based on orders of the Sindh court.

    Consequently, he was told he couldn’t continue his journey and had to return from the airport lounge.

    Eventually, the issue was resolved, and he was permitted to travel.

    When reached for comment, Mr. Abbasi denied any disruption and stated that he had already departed for China.

    Despite attempts to contact the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immigration authorities for clarification, no response was received.

    Earlier last month, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s son Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi was prevented from leaving the nation at the Islamabad airport by immigration officials.

    On a foreign carrier, flight EK-613, Abdullah Khaqan Abbasi was scheduled to travel for Dubai.

    Due to the fact that Abdullah’s name was on the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) stop list, the FIA immigration officers stopped him.

    Earlier, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s bail had been extended by the Sindh High Court in a case related to an unauthorized appointment at Pakistan State Oil (PSO).

    The court also ordered that Abbasi’s name and those of the other defendants be added to the Exit Control List (ECL).

    The case involved allegations against Abbasi, Arshad Mirza, Imranul Haque, and Yakoob Babar, with the former petroleum secretary also being present during the court hearing.

  • Sheikh Rashid petitions court to withdraw review request in Faizabad sit-in case.

    Sheikh Rashid petitions court to withdraw review request in Faizabad sit-in case.

    Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the leader of the Awami Muslim League (AML), submitted an application for the withdrawal of his review plea in the Faizabad sit-in case before Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Friday.


    In the top court’s miscellaneous application, the former minister argued that he had no affiliation with Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and had not participated in the relevant sit-in.


    Multiple pleas were filed challenging the SC verdict — given by the apex court’s two-member bench comprising now-Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mushir Alam — on the Faizabad sit-in staged by the TLP in 2017 against the then-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
    Rashid’s withdrawal request follows the federal government’s request to have the review petitions from Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z) President Ijaz Ul Haq withdrawn.


    The three-member Supreme Court bench led by CJP Isa will hear review petitions in the Faizabad sit-in case on November 1.

  • Protesting railway workers bring trains to halt

    Protesting railway workers bring trains to halt

    Railway employees are protesting against the delays of salaries by limiting the trains on the tracks after rounds of negotiations failed because the state institute has not been able to pay the staff.

    The situation got worse on Friday when several intercity trains from Lahore to Karachi – including the Karakoram Express, Pak Business Express, and Karachi Express – could not depart on their scheduled routes as the employees staged protests on the tracks.

    Amidst all this is the protest of passengers for being stranded for hours at the platform and being punished for the crime of relying on the national railway.

    Some of the protesting employees are claiming to have not been paid for the months of August and September while the others have experienced significant delays. They halted the washing line before proceeding to block the track. They also stopped by the Business Express train from Karachi to Lahore and forced the passengers to disembark. They were reportedly chanting slogans against the management and expressed their anger over the difficulties they are experiencing due to this crisis. Some even complained about the electricity and gas supply being cut off due to this crisis.

    Owing to Pakistan’s plummeting economy and the growing financial crisis of different institutions the employees are frustrated. The outgoing Chief Executive Officer Shahid Aziz highlighted the adversity of the circumstances by stating that a bailout package of Rs 35 billion is awaited to save the struggling institution.

  • ‘We made a mistake, forgive us’: Khurshid Shah apologises for PPP being part of PDM govt

    ‘We made a mistake, forgive us’: Khurshid Shah apologises for PPP being part of PDM govt

    Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Khurshid Shah has publicly admitted that his party’s decision to join the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) coalition government was a mistake.

    In an interview on Dawn News, Shah sought forgiveness for the move, emphasizing the need for a specific election date.

    “We were there 16 months [in the government]. We made a mistake, forgive us. We committed a mistake,” Shah stated, acknowledging the party’s misstep.

    The PPP leader stated that the past should be left behind and emphasized the need for a specific election date.

    When asked again if the PPP had erred by participating in the previous coalition
    government, Shah reiterated, “I say forgive us, we made a mistake. There, are you content? Now, provide the [election] date.”

    He mentioned that the PPP’s support wasn’t directed at any specific government but rather aimed at upholding democracy and the parliament.

    “We upheld and safeguarded the slogan of ‘vote ko izzat do’ (respect the vote), not the PML-N. Despite that, we say, forgive us, as we were part of the government for 16 months, so please forgive us.

    “It was a mistake, so now announce the elections. What else are we requesting?”

    In response to a query regarding the PPP’s initial congratulatory message to caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and subsequent accusations of favoritism towards the PML-N, Shah clarified, “The PML-N is part of that [caretaker government], we are not. We could also have joined and secured four ministries, but we realized that by doing so, we might hinder the prospect of timely elections.”

    He further emphasized that the PPP’s primary goal was to ensure elections proceed in accordance with the law and the Constitution.

  • Gen Bajwa’s relative cleared in FIA investigation

    Gen Bajwa’s relative cleared in FIA investigation

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has cleared Sabir Hameed, also known as Mithu, a close relative of former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a case pertaining to suspicious transactions, The News has confirmed on Saturday.


    The FIA closed an inquiry against the well-known businessman as no evidence in support of allegations leveled against him was found.
    Hameed, who works for a large real estate company, gave the FIA investigators access to all of the records he had, including tax returns through the fiscal year 2022, bank statements, information on both domestic and foreign real estate, automobiles, offshore businesses, and so forth.


    The people close to him said that the FIA initially called the close relative of the former army leader on October 23. Hameed is a hardworking Pakistani who does transparent business but his rivals levelled baseless allegation against him to vilify him, FIA said after conducting an in-depth inquiry.


    In addition, Hameed was required to bring a list of all the countries he has visited as well as an explanation of why. A list of all offshore/shell firms and business vehicles owned by the ex-army chief relative, his spouse, and family members was also instructed to be brought.

  • General Elections ki date aa gaee?

    General Elections ki date aa gaee?

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is getting ready for the next big elections.

    The commission is thinking of setting January 28 as the day for the General Elections in 2024, as per Waqar Satti of Geo News.

    ECP is set to apprise the Supreme Court (SC) after it sought the commission’s response in a case pertaining to timely elections.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, earlier this week, during the apex court’s hearing on the issue of timely elections, observed that it was “not possible” to meet the 90-day deadline for holding elections and lamented the lack of preparations of the petitioners.

    The CJP’s remarks came as he is leading a three-member bench comprising himself, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan to hear petitions filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and others, seeking elections within the 90-day constitutional limit.

    During the hearing, the SCBA lawyer apprised the court that the “90-day period will complete on November 3″.

    To this, CJP Isa inquired whether it would even be possible to hold the polls within 90 days, to which the lawyer conceded that even if the top court gives the order even then it will not be possible to hold the elections within 90 days.

    The National Assembly, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies, were dissolved by the Shehbaz Sharif-led government on August 9.

    This was done so the ECP could have enough time to organize the elections within the 90-day limit.

    However, the ECP had to wait a bit longer to get everything sorted because they needed to consider the new population census approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI). This meant they had to do some fresh planning and organization.

    The ECP later announced that the new elections would happen in the last week of January 2024. But before they made this announcement, some people had filed petitions in the Supreme Court, asking them to make sure the elections happen within the 90-day limit.

    These petitions were filed a while back but weren’t looked at during the tenure of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

  • Supreme Judicial Council issues show-cause notice to Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi

    Supreme Judicial Council issues show-cause notice to Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi

    The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has formally issued a show-cause notice to Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi of the Supreme Court to explain his stance in response to complaints against him, Geo News reported on Friday.  

    The notice was issued after a meeting of SJC, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, was held after a gap of three years. Justice Tariq Masood and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan of the Supreme Court (SC) are also part of SJC.

    In the show-cause notice, the judge has been asked to submit his response by November 10.

    Earlier, the CJP called a meeting of SJC to discuss the complaints against Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi.

    Notably, this will mark the first SJC meeting under the leadership of CJP Isa, following a gap of over three years since the previous moot.

    However, the SJC has the authority to remove judges from power on different charges.