Islamabad court sends Fawad Chaudhry to Adiala jail on judicial remand in sedition case

January 27, 2023

ISLAMABAD: District and Sessions Court Islamabad on Friday turned down a plea for extension in physical remand of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry in a sedition case.

Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmed Raja has sent the former information minister to the Adiala Jail on 14-day judicial remand. The judge announced the verdict after hearing arguments from Fawad’s lawyer Babar Awan and counsel for the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The PTI bigwig was produced before the court of the judicial magistrate in handcuffs after his two-day remand ended today in the case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for threatening the officers of the electoral body in a speech.

During the hearing, the prosecutor pleaded the court to extend physical remand of the PTI leader as the investigation needed more time to complete the probe. Reading out the content of the FIR, he said the former minister attempted to incite violence against ECP officials and their families.

He said voice-matching test of the suspect had been completed while there was a need to take him to Lahore for photogrammetric test. He also sought permission to search the house of the Imran Khan’s close aide to recover laptop and mobile phone. He said the role of the electoral body was crucial in coming months due to elections but Fawad Chaudhry was trying to put pressure on ECP.

Fawad Chaudhry’s lawyer Babar Awan expressed reservations over treatment meted out to his client, stating that the PTI leader was treated as a “terrorist”. He said the statement of Fawad Chaudhry was reflection of public opinion against the ECP. He also requested the court to discharge his client’s name from the case.

On Wednesday, Duty Magistrate Naveed Khan handed over the PTI stalwart in the custody of Islamabad police on two-day physical remand after he was arrested from his resident in Lahore in a case filed over hurling threats at officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan and their families. The investigating officer had sought eight-day physical remand of the former minister but the request was rejected.

At the outset of the hearing, PTI’s lawyers requested the court to remove the handcuffs of Fawad Chaudhary, Fawad Chaudhary asked the court to tell the Islamabad police not to do this, there are 1500 policemen outside, and he is handcuffed, adding, “I am a lawyer of the Supreme Court, and I want to talk to my family for five minutes and five minutes to my lawyers.”

“It is unfortunate that we are taking revenge against each other in politics,” he said. Fawad requested that the case against him be dismissed, arguing that if the case continued, free speech would end in the country.

The counsel of the ECP, Saad Hassan, read out the text of the FIR. In his arguments, the lawyer said that the ECP is a constitutional institution, and it has all the rights to hold elections. He said that the commission was being targeted under a well-thought-out plan, and the accused tried to provoke the citizens, while they are role models for the public. The purpose of his speech was to provoke the groups.

Saad Hassan told the court that Fawad targeted the families of the ECP members, adding that the PTI leader was promoting hatred against the institution. He went on to say that the people behind the speech also needed to be identified, adding that there was sufficient evidence in the media against the PTI leader.

The ECP lawyer further added that the charges of sedition are also included in the FIR, adding that the members of the Commission are being threatened, the accused has been remanded, and further investigation is to be done.

Saad Hassan, while presenting his arguments, said that the PTI leader called ECP a clerk, to which the former minister again repeated his words, on which the court asked Fawad Chaudhary to come to one side and let the other parties come to the other side.

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Existing political system not capable to solve problems, deliver to masses

Palwasha Mustafa

January 25, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister of Pakistan and the central leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the existing political system had no capacity to solve the country’s problems and deliver to the masses.

In an interview with VOA, he said that the parliament including the provincial assemblies are inactive and the scope of listening to the dissent opinions by the political parties has ended. He added, that is why the parliament failed to solve the country’s problems in the last five years.

Shahid Khaqan said that in the current political and economic conditions, the country cannot be left to a caretaker government for a period of three months, nor can Pakistan afford an immediate general election. He said that in order to get the country out of the dire situation, all the institutions need to sit and think, which is not happening in their opinion.

To a question that when PTI announced to return to Parliament, why were their resignations accepted, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that it is not possible to resign today and say to come back tomorrow.

The senior PML-N leader said that the government wants to discuss national issues with PTI Chairman Imran Khan, but this discussion could be done within the parliament. If the PTI was in the parliament, it could have played its role in forming the caretaker government and holding the elections, but they felt it was appropriate to resign.

He said that despite PTI’s non-participation in the Parliament, the upcoming general elections will be held without controversy.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi asked the judiciary to correct the decisions taken beyond the constitution and law in Nawaz Sharif case.

The former prime minister said that the army should work with the government to abolish the legislation regarding the extension of the army chief’s term, otherwise it will have negative effects on the institution.

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Mohmand Dam Project: Construction in progress on all 11 sites

Our Correspondent

January 25, 2023

MOHMAND: Chairman WAPDA Engineer Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd) was briefed during his visit to under-construction Mohmand Dam Project that the diversion system is scheduled for completion in November this year, while the project is likely to be completed in 2026.

Member (Finance) WAPDA Naveed Asghar Chaudhry and Member (Power) WAPDA Engineer Jamil Akhtar were also present during the Chairman’s visit to Mohmand Dam Project.

WAPDA is constructing Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project on River Swat, upstream of Munda Headworks in Mohmand District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

During his visit to the project today, the Chairman reviewed construction work on different sites, which included re-regulation pond, main dam, spillway, diversion tunnels, access tunnel, power intake, power house, switch yard and irrigation system etc.

He urged upon the project management to strictly adhere to the specifications laid down for construction of the project.

Reviewing the pre and post-flood situations, the Chairman was of the view that concerted efforts are needed to complete this mega project in accordance with the timelines.

WAPDA’s project management, the Consultants and the Contractor will have to work pro-actively in this regard, he further said.

Later, GM and PD, Mohmand Dam Project, flanked by the Consultants and the Contractor, gave a run down of progress on the project. It was briefed that most of the damages, caused to the diversion system by the devastating flood last summer, were got repaired till December last.

At present, the construction work is progressing ahead on all 11 sites of the project, day and night on the sites where feasible.

Mohmand Dam is a multi- purpose project. On completion, it will store 1.2 MAF of water and help mitigate floods in Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera.

Besides supplementing 160,000 acres of existing land, it will also irrigate 18,237 acres of new land in Mohmand and Charsadda. Installed generation capacity of Mohmand Dam is 800 MW. It will contribute 2.86 billion units of low-cost and environment friendly hydel electricity per annum to the National Grid.

The project will also provide 300 million gallons water per day to Peshawar for drinking purpose. Estimated annual benefits of the Project stands at Rs. 51.6 billion. A sum of Rs. 4.5 billion has been earmarked for Confidence Building Measures (CBM) in the project area for socio-economic development of the locals.

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LHC summons Punjab, Islamabad IGPs after police fail to present Fawad

Asifa Farhat

January 25, 2023

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has summoned the Punjab and Islamabad IGPs over police failure to produce senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry in court on a plea challenging his overnight arrest by the Islamabad police.

A petition was filed in the high court, challenging Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest for “threatening” the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) members and their families. The petition was subsequently taken up by LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh. During the hearing, the court instructed police to present Fawad in court by 1:30pm.

The PTI stalwart was taken into custody in the wee hours of Wednesday after he was booked under sections 153A, 506 and 124 A of the Pakistan Penal Code on a complaint lodged by Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary Umer Hameed.

The judge had earlier asked police to present Mr Chaudhry in court at half past one but police refused to comply without a written order. As the court took up the case, Justice Sheikh asked the law officer about the whereabouts of the PTI leader. As the additional advocate general told the court that police had already taken the petitioner to Islamabad, the judge expressed his annoyance and remarked that “the court knows how to have its orders implemented”.

The judge gave police time till 6pm to produce Fawad Chaudhry failing which, he said, he would take an action.

In a short media talk earlier, the PTI leader said security had been placed in a way as a “terrorist” was being brought to court, adding that he was unaware of the charges levelled against him. He also urged people to take to the street against the government. He said former South Africa president Nelson Mandela had also been booked in a sedition case.

The sudden arrest of Mr Chaudhry has angered the PTI leaders including Hammad Azhar and Farrukh Habib who warned of launching countrywide protests and moving court against it.

The PTI leader, according to the First Information Report (FIR), has been booked under sections 153A, 506 and 124 A of the PPC for allegedly threatening the ECP and its members in a televised interview on Tuesday. The FIR carries the excerpt of the former MNA’s statement wherein he alleged that the election commission had become a “Munshi” as the election commissioner signed things like a clerk after they were sent to him by the government.

Fawad Chaudhry said those who would be involved in injustice to the PTI would be pursued until they were punished. He said people should pursue the elements who were deceiving public, to their houses. Expressing reservations about the appointments of some officials in the ECP Punjab ahead of elections, he said if these appointments were not rolled back, “we warn that the election commission and its members will have to pay back”.

The complainant said Fawad Chaudhry had threatened the chief election commissioner, members of the ECP and their families in his speech which he described as an attempt to create hurdles in the electoral process.

“The speech has created a permanent threat for the ECP members and their families,” he said, adding that the PTI leader had attempted to create differences between the government and the ECP. “It is a serious crime to influence the electoral process by issuing threats to the constitutional institutions,” he said, adding that such statements could lead to chaos in the country.

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US court sentences Virginia family for forced labor of Pakistani woman

TNT Monitoring Desk

January 25, 2023

VIRGINIA: A court in the United States sentenced three family members for using a Pakistani woman as forced labor and physically and mentally abusing her for 12 years.

“Zahida Aman, 80, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison, Mohammed Rehan Chaudhri, 48, to 120 months in federal prison and Mohammad Nauman Chaudhri, 55, to 60 months in federal prison in the Eastern District of Virginia. Additionally, the Court ordered Aman and Rehan Chaudhri to pay the victim $250,000 in restitution for back wages and other financial losses she incurred as a result of the defendants’ criminal conduct,” said a statement issued by the US Justice Department.

The Justice Department said that Aman, Rehan and Nauman were convicted following a seven-day trial in May of last year. The jury had declared the three of conspiracy to commit forced labour, convicted two of the defendants of forced labor and convicted Aman of document servitude.

“These defendants callously exploited the victim’s vulnerabilities and brutally coerced her labor through physical violence and emotional abuse,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division

“Human trafficking is an affront to human rights and to our nation’s core values. The Department of Justice is committed to vindicating the rights of survivors and bringing human traffickers to justice.”

“Human trafficking is a global issue that cannot be tackled alone,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI will remain committed to investigating all forms of human trafficking and work with our law enforcement partners in combatting the problem.”

Zahida Aman had arranged for her son’s marriage to the victim in 2002, but even after the victim’s husband moved away from the home, the defendants kept the victim in their Virginia home to serve the extended family.

The US Justice Department said that evidence showed that the victim was compelled by the convicts to serve the family as a domestic servant, using physical and verbal abuse, restricting communication with her family in Pakistan, confiscating her immigration documentation and money and eventually threatening to separate her from her children by deporting her to Pakistan.

“The defendants slapped, kicked and pushed the victim, even beat her with wooden board, and on one occasion hog-tied her hands and feet and dragged her down the stairs in front of her children. All of these coercive means were employed by the defendants to compel the victim’s labor in their home,” said the statement.

The evidence also showed that the convicts forced the victim to work every day from early morning.

“They restricted her food, forbade her from learning to drive or speaking to anyone except the defendants’ family members and prohibited her from calling her family in Pakistan,” said the Justice Department.

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In major blow to PTI, ECP denotifies 43 MNAs

Sara Maqsood

January 25, 2023

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday denotified 43 lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the last batch of the MNAs who resigned en masse.

The development came after National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday approved the resignations of the PTI MNAs in the lower house despite their request for withdrawal of the resignations, raising the total to 123.

According to reports, the NA speaker had approved the resignations on “January 22 and forwarded them to the electoral body the same day” for further processing.

The news had come after the party announced that its MPs are withdrawing their resignations and returning to the assembly in a bid to claim the posts of the leader of the opposition and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee — a powerful NA body that keeps a check on government spending.

Last week, the Election Commission denotified 80 members of the PTI and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Chief of the Awami Muslim League and Imran Khan’s ally.

With the acceptance of 123 resignations, only dissident PTI lawmakers remain in the National Assembly.

Though former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been disqualified from his seat in the Mianwali constituency, he has won from six constituencies in the by-elections of 11 vacant seats of the National Assembly.

He has not taken yet an oath from any of the winning seats while another PTI candidate Maulvi Mehmood, who won the election from the seat that fell vacant due to the death of Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain from Karachi, is yet to take oath.

On Monday, the PTI approached the ECP that it had withdrawn the resignations and that the commission should not denotify its members.

According to parliamentary sources, the PTI members’ requests to withdraw their resignations were not as per the rules.

The sources in the National Assembly say that the speaker had accepted the resignations of the remaining 43 members on January 22 and sent them to the Election Commission, so email and WhatsApp requests on January 23 were against the rules.

They say the resignations had been accepted on January 22, so on January 23, the withdrawal requests were ineffective.

The speaker had accepted 113 resignations in the last two weeks, while two PTI members Sardar Talib Nakai and Nawaz Alai’s resignations are yet to be accepted for being on leave.

The resignations of PTI members of the National Assembly were approved in four phases: 11 in the first phase, 35, 34, and 43 in the second, third, and fourth phases, respectively.

According to the National Assembly Secretariat, Riaz Fatiyana, Sardar Tariq Hussain, Muhammad Yaqub Sheikh, Murtaza Iqbal, Sardar Muhammad Khan Leghari, Haji Imtiaz Chaudhry, Lal Chand, Jawad Hussain, Nosheen Hamid, Manza Hassan, Saima Nadeem, Tashfeen Safdar, Subia Kamal Khan, Zil-i-Huma, Rukhsana Naveed and Ghazala Saifee are among the 43 MNAs whose resignations were accepted in the last phase.

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LHC orders to present Fawad Chaudhry even if he’s taken to Islamabad

Asifa Farhat

January 25, 2023

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the Punjab government Wednesday to present Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Fawad Chaudhry before it even if he was taken to Islamabad by the police.

Fawad was arrested from his residence earlier today after he publicly “threatened” the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a media talk outside Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park a day ago.

The LHC had ordered authorities to present Fawad before it in response to a petition filed by Fawad’s cousin, Nabeel Shehzad, for the “recovery” of the former federal minister.

The petitioner had filed a habeas corpus plea and urged the court to “recover” the PTI leader, after the Islamabad police acquired his transitory remand. He also appealed the court to stop any illegal action against the PTI leader.

Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh heard the plea and ordered the authorities to present the PTI leader before the court by 1:30pm. The time was later extended to 2:00pm, but the authorities failed to produce Fawad before LHC.

Interestingly, the orders were issued after a local court of Lahore had approved Fawad’s transitory remand in a sedition case filed against him in Islamabad on the Election Commission’s complaint.

At the resumption of the hearing at LHC, Fawad’s lawyer informed the court that the motorcade transporting Fawad has left for Islamabad.

The government’s lawyer said that he is unable to state Fawad’s exact location.

At this, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh asked the lawyer how long it will take for him to inquire about the location. The lawyer said that he needs half an hour.

“Bring him back even if he is taken to Islamabad,” Justice Sheikh remarked before adjourning the hearing for a while.

Hours after Fawad’s arrest, the PTI leader was presented before the court of judicial magistrate Rana Mudassir in Lahore’s Cantt.

The former federal minister was presented before the court by the Islamabad Police to seek his transitory remand.

At the outset of the hearing, the prosecution told the judge that Islamabad Police had registered a case against Fawad. The prosecution also urged the court to approve a transitory remand of the PTI leader.

At this, Fawad’s lawyer argued that the distance between Islamabad and Lahore was of just four hours and there was no need for the transitory remand.

“They [police] should just present him [before a court] in Islamabad,” said Fawad’s lawyer. The counsel claimed that the police wanted to get the transitory remand so they could take his client somewhere else.

The counsel also urged the judge to order the police to uncuff his client’s hands. Instead of both hands only one should be handcuffed, he added.

At this, the judge remarked that the lawyer was wasting the court’s time over frivolous arguments.

Fawad’s lawyer also told the magistrate that a habeas corpus plea was pending before a high court and till that is decided his client’s transitory remand should not be approved. The magistrate then adjourned the hearing for a few minutes.

Once the hearing resumed, the court approved the transitory remand of the PTI leader to transfer Fawad to Islamabad and present him in a court of the federal capital.

However, the police has been asked to conduct a medical of the PTI leader at Services Hospital before he is taken to Islamabad.

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Karachi Safe City project: seven years late and counting

Sameena Umar

January 21, 2023

KARACHI: The Safe City project in Karachi, which promised the installation of 10,000 CCTV cameras, has been delayed for seven years despite a Supreme Court order to launch the project in 2016.

The joint venture between the Sindh Government and the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) has been plagued by multiple setbacks, resulting in a staggering 300 per cent increase in the estimated cost of the project.

Initially budgeted at Rs10 billion in 2011, when it was approved, the cost of the project has now risen to Rs40 billion. The project was set to include the installation of CCTV cameras, the establishment of command and control centres, the introduction of face and vehicle recognition software, and a biometric system to identify culprits.

Street crime in Pakistan’s largest city has reached alarming levels in recent years, leaving residents feeling unsafe and vulnerable. Incidents of mugging, theft, and violent crime have risen sharply, with police struggling to keep up with the growing number of reports.

The situation has become so dire that many residents have taken to carrying firearms for their own protection. The lack of surveillance in the city is seen as a major contributing factor to the rise in street crime.

Even so, despite plans to monitor the streets, the project has been delayed for over seven years, and is yet to be launched.

In April 2021, following pressure from the federal government of Imran Khan, the province had approved Rs30 billion to launch the project. In May of last year, Syed Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister, ordered his administration to a detailed plan for the project and invite bids for its physical launch within the next four months.

However, despite his order, the plan is yet to take off. The delay is due to multiple reasons including increasing costs, lack of coordination and political wrangling.

The need for surveillance in Karachi is now more urgent than ever. CCTV cameras not only act as a deterrent to crime, but they also provide vital evidence that can be used to bring criminals to justice.

In addition, the installation of a command and control centre, such as the one established in Lahore, and the introduction of the face and vehicle recognition software and biometric systems would also be a major step forward in the fight against street crime in the city.

The ballooning cost and delays from the provincial authorities have raised serious questions about the government’s performance which critics say is nothing short of a travesty.

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Saadhay 14 August: Bought laughter & satire to Islamabad

Editor

January 21, 2023

ISLAMABAD: The play, which was well-liked in Karachi and successfully ran 100 performances, is now in its final week of performances in Islamabad. Saadhay 14 August, like Karachi, was able to draw large crowds to each performance, and the audiences were astounded by the incredible presentation, drama, choreography, and, of course, the powerful storyline.

President Arif Alvi, attended the performance at the Pakistan National Council of Arts in Islamabad with the first lady. His admiration for Saadhay 14 August demonstrated that the masterpiece was not only adored by the general public but also by those responsible for setting national policy.

Saadhay 14 August is the third and last part in the trilogy that started with Sawa 14 and Pawnay 14 August. Exceptionally well-written by the legendary Anwar Maqsood and masterfully put together by Dawar Mehmood. Saadhay 14 August is a thorough thought-provoker and entertainer.

The political, economic, and social upheavals in Jinnah’s and Gandhi’s respective countries were explicitly presented to them by the inclusion of well-known historical and contemporary personalities. Even when serious situations are shown, people are seen laughing because of Maqsood’s writing magic and every actor’s immaculate performance.
The audience and the main characters of the play are shown everything there is to know about Pakistani and Indian politics from Kashmir to Lahore to Delhi to London. From the bustling streets of Lahore to the burgeoning political activism among its citizens—from a state-sponsored film set in Delhi to London—you see the most outstanding, humorous performances along with Sajid Hassan’s convincing portrayal of a Sindhi politician in London who, like the many politicians and powerful individuals in Pakistan, managed to flee despite having his name on the Exit Control List.

Saadhay 14 August provides satire and amusement in one package. The spectacular the play’s team is now travelling to Lahore where they will perform Saadhay 14 August for the city’s zealous populace after the incredible house packed performances in Islamabad.

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Maryam Nawaz to return to Pakistan on January 29

Our Correspondent

January 20, 2023

LONDON: The schedule of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif return to Pakistan has been finalized. The PML-N vice president will return to the country on January 29.

According to PML-N sources, Maryam Nawaz will leave London on January 28 and reach Lahore at 4:00pm on January 29 (Sunday).

On her return, Maryam Nawaz would assume her new responsibilities as “Chief Organizer” of the party. Sources also informed that the PML-N vice president has been tasked to lead the party’s election campaign Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In October last year, Maryam Nawaz left Pakistan for London to unite with her father after her name was removed from the no-fly list after three years.

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