Imran issues call to action amid pitched battle between police, PTI workers at Zaman Park

March 14, 2023

LAHORE: A heavy contingent of the Islamabad police on Tuesday had a clash with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters outside party chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence.

A number of people gathered on Canal Road despite obstructions put up by police hours earlier. The police team from the capital city reached Lahore to arrest Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. Police and the public clashed on Canal Road as a result of which some people were taken into custody and officials had to resort to baton-charge, water spray and tear-gas shelling.

Punjab government also called Punjab Rangers to arrive at Mr Khan’s residence which was responded to by a fleet of Rangers comprising four vehicles reaching the destination.

After issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants for PTI chief Imran Khan in Toshakhana case, a team of Islamabad police on Tuesday reached Lahore to get the court orders implemented. Police brandished the court order and warned people against creating law and order situation.

Speaking to reporters, DIG Operations Shahzad Bokhari, who was clad in riot gear, said the team had arrived to arrest the PTI chief. He said police had warrants for the arrest of Imran Khan who failed to appear before the court. Reports said the DIG was injured amid the police’s clash with the PTI activists who pelted stones. He was later shifted to the hospital for treatment.

Earlier, a police armoured vehicle also reached Zaman Park at noon. On the other hand, activists of the PTI started gathering over there. Soon after reaching Lahore to get the arrest warrants implemented, the capital police had a consultative meeting with Lahore CCPO Bilal Siddique Kamyana. The meeting mulled various options to arrest the PTI chief.

They said consultations had been completed and plan finalised to confront any possible reaction by the PTI leaders and workers. A list of local PTI leaders and activists has been prepared. The Lahore police said any effort to obstruct law-enforcement agencies would be dealt with sternly. Sources further said the Islamabad police would contact the security officer of PTI chief Imran Khan.

The official Twitter handle of the PTI also asked the party supporters to reach Zaman Park.

The Islamabad court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran Khan in the Toshakhana and judge threat cases over his continuous skipping of court hearings.

Imran asks public to continue struggle even if he is arrested or killed

PTI chief Imran Khan in a short address to people said the police had arrived at his residence to arrest him. “They think that my arrest will snooze the public but you have to prove them wrong”, he added. He was fighting for the people, he said, as he had always done. He maintained that whether they arrested him or killed him, people had to continue the struggle.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi wants police to furnish arrest warrants before arresting Imran

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Tuesday the police should furnish arrest warrants so that the party might consult with PTI chief Imran Khan, and asked the police to stop using force on PTI activists that gathered outside Mr Khan’s house.

Speaking to the media outside Mr Khan’s residence, he said Mr Khan might surrender himself to avert bloodshed, adding that the police had an agenda of bloodshed. “The party is ready for holding negotiations with the police over the matter,” he added. He reiterated that the police should meet him. The police wanted to use force, he said, to thwart the way to elections in the province.

He went on to say that Mr Khan would not surrender until the party completed its consultations. On another occasion, he said today’s (Tuesday) arrest was illogical and added that Mr Khan was on protective bail.

PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said the party had approached the IHC to challenge Mr Khan’s arrest warrants. Taking to Twitter, he shared a picture of the signed file showing that the court had taken up the plea for hearing and wrote, “IHC will hear the plea shortly”.

However, the court rejected the party’s plea to take it up for hearing today (Tuesday) and fixed it for hearing on Wednesday.

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FIA arrests another suspect of Italy boat wreck in Gujrat

Mehtab Cheema

March 14, 2023

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has made a major breakthrough in the investigation of the Italy boat accident case, as it claimed to arrest the brother of the main accused in Gujrat.

FIA officials have arrested Obaidullah, the brother of the main accused Afaq, in a recent operation in Gujrat.

According to FIA sources, Obaidullah was involved in the financial aid, receiving money from Pakistan and sending it to his brother, who was residing in Libya.

The FIA stated the money was being used to fund the illegal transportation of migrants from Pakistan to Europe, including the ill-fated boat journey that resulted in multiple fatalities.

At least seven Pakistani citizens lost their lives, while 16 survived the unfortunate accident in the migrant shipwreck on the southern Italian coast on February 26, as the overall death toll from the tragedy rose to 62.

A sailboat, carrying 180 to 200 migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia and several other countries to Europe, crashed into rocks amid stormy weather near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria.

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US working to address Pakistan’s economic issues: Donald Blome

Nuzhat Aftab

March 14, 2023

ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome on Tuesday said that Washington not only wants Islamabad to find a way out of the difficult times but was also putting efforts to sort out the economic problems faced by the nation.

While speaking after attending a ceremony in the federal capital, the US ambassador said that Washington was working to find a solution to Islamabad‘s serious economic issues in all fields.

Blome said that the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme — which is being negotiated between the Pakistani authorities and the Fund since early February — is also a part of the same effort.

Pakistan and US had recently completed high-level trade and investment negotiations in Washington, he said, adding senior-level energy, security and climate change negotiations — as a follow-up of the Geneva talks — were taking place this week.

Bloom said Islamabad was facing human rights challenges like other countries and that it had to deal with these [challenges]. “The US considers Pakistan its partner and will continue to support the country in the field of security,” added the ambassador.

According to a The News report, Pakistan has approached the US seeking its help to secure “lenient treatment” from the Washington-based lender amid a delay in signing the staff-level agreement (SLA).

The IMF has asked Pakistan to get confirmation on external financing needs of $6 to $7 billion from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and multilateral creditors to fill the gap till the end of June 2023.

After failing to convince the lender, Islamabad is left with no option but to seek help from Washington and its western allies, in order to secure a “lenient treatment” from the IMF for moving towards the staff-level agreement.

The report stated that Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar had established contacts with the US diplomatic corps, based in Islamabad, and made requests to help end the lingering stalemate with the help of the US Treasury Department.

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World Bank committed to Pakistan’s long-term development: Martin Raiser

Our Correspondent

March 14, 2023

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan held a meeting with World Bank’s Vice President for the South Asia Region Martin Raiser in Washington D.C to advance cooperation between Pakistan and the World Bank in the development and climate response sectors.

The Ambassador thanked World Bank for contributing two billion dollars towards flood recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction during International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva which would cover support for housing, water and agriculture, social protection and health, among others.

He said that the World Bank has been a resolute development partner of Pakistan.

Masood Khan requested the Bank for additional financing and assistance for health related projects, especially to address the issue of water-borne diseases in the flood affected areas.

He also solicited Bank’s support in transitioning from adaptation and mitigation to building resilience. He said that Pakistan is committed to ensuring transparent and effective mechanism for disbursement of funds for the flood affectees.

Masood Khan said establishment of an International Partners Support Group (IPSG) would soon be announced for this purpose.

He also thanked the Bank for releasing around 1.2 billion dollars of committed funds for various ongoing projects in Pakistan.

Martin Raiser said that World Bank remains committed to Pakistan’s long-term development with emphasis on transitioning to renewable energy especially hydro and solar power.

Appreciating the existing cooperation between the Bank and the relevant agencies of Government of Pakistan, he said that this cooperation would be optimized in the years to come.

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Islamabad court suspends Imran Khan’s arrest warrants in judge threat case

Tanzeel Ahmed

March 14, 2023

ISLAMABAD: District and Sessions Court in the federal capital suspended the non-bailable arrest warrants of PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan in woman judge threat case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Islamabad Faizan Haider Gillani suspended the warrants till March 16 after Imran Khan challenged the decision of a district and sessions court. A legal team comprising Advocate Naeem Haider Panjutha and Advocate Intizar Haider Panjutha represented the PTI chief in the case.

Senior Civil Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for PTI chief Imran Khan over his continuous skipping of court hearings. The case against the former prime minister was registered on Aug 20, 2022, with the Margalla police station in the federal capital over his remarks at a rally in F9 Park where he warned Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry and police higher-ups of dire consequences for what he called their ‘biased’ attitude towards his party.

Imran alleged that Judge Zeba knew that incarcerated party leader Shahbaz Gill was tortured, but she did not release him on bail. The former premier was booked in a terrorism case on the complaint of Islamabad Saddar Magistrate Ali Javed for threatening the additional sessions judge.

The hearing was presided over by Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim who instructed police to arrest the ousted premier and present him before the court by March 29. The judge added that the court would hear arguments on a petition seeking Imran’s dismissal from the case during the next hearing.

A district and sessions court in the federal capital on Monday restored the arrest warrants issued against PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced the verdict reserved earlier in the day after hearing arguments from the PTI chief’s lawyer. The judge turned down his exemption plea and ordered the authorities to produce the suspect before court on March 18.

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SCP to pronounce verdict in Punjab, KP polls’ date case at 11am on Wednesday

Palwasha Mustafa

February 28, 2023

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Tuesday reserved verdict in the suo motu case taken up to determine who has the authority to announce a date for the elections. The verict will be announced at 11 am tomorrow (Wednesday).

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail will pronounce the verdict on Wednesday at 11am.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial thanked all the lawyers for assisting the apex court throughout the hearing.

“I cannot say when will we be back [to announce the verdict],” the CJP added.

Earlier today, the court directed the political parties – both in power and opposition – to sit together to work out the date for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections.

The apex court directed PTI leaders Shireen Mazari and Fawad Chaudhry to hold consultation with party chairman, Imran Khan, and legal team of the ruling coalition to consult with their leaders on the election date.

The latest directive was issued after the three ruling parties – PML-N, PPP and JUI-F – withdrew the plea seeking formation of the full bench to hear the suo motu case following the recusal of four judges from the bench. While withdrawing the petition, Farooq H Naek said the ruling partners did not want to pursue the plea.

Justice Mansoor remarked the political parties should think about the country instead of indulging in the legal battle.

Previously, the case was being heard by the nine-member bench but it split on Monday into a five-judge bench after four judges – Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah – recused themselves from hearing the case.

At the outset of the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi raised objection about Islamabad Bar Council lawyer Abid Zuberi, saying his name was removed from the previous order of the top court. CJP Bandial remarked that an order became a decree when it was signed by the judges. He then allowed Mr Zuberi to submit his arguments.

At one point during the hearing, Justice Mandokhail asked if the governors and president were bound to take advice from the cabinet in the matter. “Can they announce the date for polls on their own?” he questioned.

The chief justice observed there was no need to take an advice when a person had a discretionary authority.

The CJP then inquired, “Who can issue the notification of dissolving the assemblies?” Abid Zuberi said the law secretary had issued the notification to dissolve the assembly. He said the apex court had declared in the past that elections were to be held within 90 days.

Meanwhile, Justice Mandokhail commented on the authority of the president to issue the date for elections, remarking that the Article 48 of the Constitution explained that every action of the president should be based on the recommendation of the government. At this, the CJP remarked: “This means that the announcement of the date for polls will be on advice of the government”.

However, Abid Zuberi argued that the governor had the authority to dissolve the assemblies. When the CJP asked, “Who will then issue the notification of the dissolution of assemblies?”

The lawyer said the governor had to issue a notification of dissolution of the assembly on the advice of the chief minister. He said the assemblies automatically stood dissolved within 48 hours of sending the advice whether the summary was signed by the governor or not. In this case, the notification of the dissolution was issued by the law secretary and not the governor, he said.

Justice Mandokhail observed that the government could still ask the governor for giving a date for elections today as per the Constitution. Justice Shah asked whether the president could refuse to approve an advice of the governments.

In the previous hearing, the PML-N, the PPP, the JUI-F and other parties raised objection against two judges of the nine-member bench of the apex court, saying a full bench should be made to hear the case.The ruling coaltition has also submitted an application seeking formation of the full bench case.

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Foreign visits of Imran, Shehbaz cabinets cost Rs65.21m to national exchequer in 2022

Sara Maqsood

February 28, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Federal ministers and prime minister’s aides spent Rs65.21 million on their foreign trips from January 1, 2022, to December 2022, National Assembly (NA) was told.

As reported by The News on Tuesday, a list detailing the money spent on foreign visits was presented in NA, in a written reply to the question of the Grand Democratic Alliance’s (GDA) parliamentary leader Ghaus Bakhsh Mehar. The lawmaker had sought the details of foreign trips conducted by the federal ministers, state ministers, and advisors between January 1, 2022, and December 2022.

The detailed list shared by the Cabinet Division showed that Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel tops the list with an expenditure of Rs10.42 million on his foreign visits.

Similarly, Rs3.78 million was spent on Minister for Board of Investment Chaudhry Salik Hussain’s visites, and Rs4.91 million on the foreign visits of Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman.

At least, Rs1.84 million were spent on visits by Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mehmood and Rs5.89 million on the foreign visits of Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar.

Moreover, Rs0.935 million was also spent on the foreign visits of Zubaida Jalal, the minister for defence production in Imran Khan’s cabinet.

The list also shows that Rs2.5 million was borne by the national exchequer on the foreign visits of Minister for Defence Production Israr Tareen while Rs3.167 million on the foreign visits of Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

It also mentioned that Rs2.60 million was also spent on the foreign visits of Khurram Dastgir and Rs3.5 million on the foreign trips of the Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum Division) Dr Musadik Malik.

The list goes on to mention that, Rs1.5 million (Rs1,529,964) were also spent from the taxpayer’s money on the trips of former minister for economic affairs Omar Ayub Khan, Rs0.912 million on the former minister for federal education and professional training Shafqat Mehmood. While Mehmood’s successor, Rana Tanveer Hussain spent only Rs178,401 on his foreign visits.

The list also showed that former finance minister senator Shaukat Tarin spent Rs912,239 on his foreign visits and Rs4.59 million was spent by his successor Miftah Ismail.

The list mentioned that Rs2.45 million was borne by the national exchequer on the foreign trips of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Rs4.096 million was spent on the visits of the Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Rs1.54 million on the visits of Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari and Rs619,157 on visits of Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Meanwhile, Rs1.8 million of the taxpayer’s money was also spent on the trips of Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haq, Rs818,646 on Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Rs805,954 on Minister for Maritimes Affairs Senator Faisal Sabzwari, Rs3.117 million on Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajid Hussain Turi, Rs1.58 million on Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Justice Shazia Marri and Rs791,256 on Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor.

Similarly, Rs39,850 was also spent on the visits of a former national security advisor Moeed Yousaf to Kabul and Rs19,296 to China. Imran Khan’s advisor on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood spent Rs466,285 and Rs481,854 on visits to Dubai.

An amount of Rs328,332 was spent on the foreign trips of former special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on social protection and poverty alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar to Dubai, Rs195,309 on ex-SAPM on climate change Malik Amin Aslam to Saudi Arabia, Rs457,383 on ex-SAPM on tourism coordination Azam Jamil to Dubai and Rs1,437,139 on SAPM on poverty alleviation Faisal Karim Kundi’s visit to Egypt and Rs1,333,960 on a visit to Istanbul.

The NA was also informed that Rs57.36 million was spent on the purchase of eight new vehicles for the protocol squad of foreign guests.

In a written reply to a question by Sikandar Ali Rahoupoto, the NA was informed that the vehicles include one 29-seater Toyota VIP Coaster (Model 2022) costing Rs17,154,000, 14 seaters Toyota high roof van (Model 2022) costing Rs10,772,000 and six 1800cc Toyota Corolla Cars (Model 2022) costing Rs29,400,000.

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Premier Shehbaz inaugurates school on wheels project in Islamabad

Nuzhat Aftab

February 28, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated Schools on Wheel project to provide education to the children especially in the rural areas at their doorsteps.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister was appreciative of the initiative saying it will be a singular contribution towards nation building efforts.

He was confident that this program will bring revolution in the rural areas by equipping hundreds of thousands children there with education.

The Prime Minister directed to widen the scope of this program to all the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Earlier, Minister for Education Rana Tanveer Hussain briefed the Prime Minister about various aspects of this project saying the initiative is initially being launched with eight buses. He said food will also be provided to the children getting education through these mobile schools.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister also interacted with the students and teachers.

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White House gives government agencies 30 days to enforce TikTok ban

TNT Monitoring Desk

February 28, 2023

WASHINGTON: The White House gave the government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices and systems.

In a bid to keep U.S. data safe, all federal agencies must eliminate TikTok from phones and systems and prohibit internet traffic from reaching the company, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told agencies in a guidance memorandum.

The ban, ordered by Congress late last year, follows similar actions from Canada, the EU, Taiwan and more than half of U.S. states.

The device ban — while impacting a tiny portion of TikTok’s U.S. user base — adds fuel to calls for an outright ban on the video-sharing app. National security concerns about China surged in recent weeks after a Chinese balloon drifted over the U.S.

ByteDance-owned TikTok has said the concerns are fueled by misinformation and has denied using the app to spy on Americans.

The action does not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices. TikTok did not immediately comment on the White House memo.

Congress in December voted to bar federal employees from using the Chinese-owned video app on government-owned devices and gave the Biden administration 60 days to issue agency directives. The vote was the latest action by U.S. lawmakers to crack down on Chinese companies amid national security fears that Beijing could use them to spy on Americans.

Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said “this guidance is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy.”

Many government agencies including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department had banned TikTok from government devices before the vote.

The TikTok ban does not apply if there are national security, law enforcement or security research activities but agency leadership must approve these activities, Young’s memo said and “blanket exceptions applying to an entire agency are not permitted.”

On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to vote on a bill that would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok from all U.S. devices.

“My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security,” Representative Mike McCaul, the committee chair, said. “Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the (Chinese Communist Party) a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into your phone.”

The American Civil Liberties Union said it opposed a congressional ban on TikTok.

The White House memo said within 90 days, agencies must address any use of TikTok by IT vendors through contracts and with 120 days agencies will include a new prohibition on TikTok in all new solicitations.

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Justice Isa refuses to hear cases after SCP registrar suddenly reshuffles benches

Sara Maqsood

February 28, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Casting doubts on the transparency of the case-assigning procedure, Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa Tuesday refused to hear the scheduled cases after the registrar shook up the benches without keeping the concerned judges and other stakeholders in the loop.

The registrar reshuffled the benches today and replaced Justice Hasan Rizvi with another judge after which Justice Isa and Justice Yahya Afridi raised objections to the allocation of cases.

The judges questioned the procedure of assigning cases in the top court. During the hearing, the court also summoned the registrar of the Supreme Court along with all the records.

“I am a Supreme Court judge and have been the chief justice of Balochistan High Court for five years,” said Justice Isa, adding that he wants transparency.

“How will there be transparency if the registrar transfers a case from one bench to another?” he questioned.

“It seems like the registrar has more power than a judge like me,” he said, adding, “He cannot hear the cases from the year 2010 as the registrar appoints the judges by himself”.

“Can I ask the registrar to appoint a specific case to a specific bench?” Justice Isa asked.

At this, the registrar said that the hearing of the cases is scheduled only after Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial’s approval.

“The bench included Justice Hasan Rizvi. Why did it change?” questioned Justice Afridi.

Amanullah, former president Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said people had tired themselves out by asking but their cases were not fixed for hearing.

“What is the policy behind the allocation of cases?” Justice Isa asked the SC registrar.

He said that the court had ordered the registrar on April 2, 2022, to set the procedure for scheduling cases.

Justice Isa said there was no transparency in the case-assigning procedure at the registrar’s office.

“Why were mine and Justice Yahya Afridi’s benches changed?” he asked the registrar and argued that changing the benches without informing the stakeholders created suspicions in the minds of the people.

The registrar said that the chief justice’s staff officer made a proposal regarding the reshuffling of benches on verbal instructions.

He added that the officer had said that the roster of the judges was to be changed on the chief justice’s directives.

Justice Yahya Afridi asked the registrar how was the weekly roster changed. “Was this roster set by Chief Justice rather than you (registrar)?” Justice Afridi asked.

“The initial roster is sent to the Chief Justice after setting the benches,” the registrar responded.

To this Justice Isa said, “think before you speak, people look to Supreme Court for justice”.

“Present the file and the approval upon which the note was sent,” Qazi Isa told the registrar. “Sir, there’s no file, we send it on paper like this one,” the registrar responded.

“You kill half the justice if you bring my brother’s case forward for hearing on my behest by pushing the scheduled ones back,” Justice Isa remarked.

“I am sorry to the petitioners and the lawyers, I will not be conducting the hearings today,” said Justice Isa, adding that a reason was not given regarding the sudden change of benches.

“The sudden change in benches and the rescheduling of the cases cast doubts on the whole judicial process,” he remarked.

He said that Article 10-A was about basic rights, “which say that a person shall be entitled to due process”.

“There should be legal reasons to change a bench,” he said, adding that the dignity of the judiciary would be affected if there was no transparency.

“The cases that were filed first should get precedence and be heard first,” he added.

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