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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
LONDON: Breaking his silence for the first time after his party faced a major political blow in Punjab following Parvez Elahi’s victory in a vote of confidence shortly before the dissolution of the provincial assembly, PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif said “a cruel joke had been played on Pakistan… for the sake of personal gains”.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with a delegation of senior PML-N leaders from Pakistan, he said: “We all discussed the situation in Pakistan. Pakistan will come out of this difficult situation and we will be the ones to take the country out of it.”
When asked if he held former army chief retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa and former spymaster General Faiz Hamid responsible for the state of the country, he said: “The reality is before everyone. Now no name or face is hidden. Pakistan was used for personal gain. It was a cruel joke played on the nation.
“In my Gujranwala jalsa, I stated who was responsible and everything was out in the open. It is my responsibility to tell the nation about the wrongs committed against the people, and it is my responsibility to make things right.”
At the time, he also questioned who was responsible for the “two governments” in the country, and went on to blame then army chief Gen Bajwa and then ISI chief Faiz Hamid as being behind everything.
His remarks came in the wake of a top-level huddle where he and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, met with party leaders to discuss strategy as the possibility of polls in two provinces grows.
The meeting took place amidst heightened political activity back home, with the dissolution of both the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies and the imminent return of Ms Nawaz to Pakistan.
PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah, Pervaiz Rashid and Javed Latif were also present at the meeting held at Stanhope House on Thursday, where along with the ongoing political situation, Ms Nawaz’s return to Pakistan and the party’s election campaign prospects were discussed in the four-hour huddle.
Although it was being speculated that Mr Sanaullah — who was charged with overseeing trust vote proceedings in the Punjab Assembly — had been summoned to London to explain the party’s defeat, a source privy to the discussion rubbished reports that the senior Sharif was annoyed with the interior minister.
“The meeting took place in a very good atmosphere. Mian sb told Rana sb ‘we have been waiting for your arrival for four days’. He [MNS] also said in the last few days homework has been done and it will be presented to you [Sana]. Mian sb said as president Punjab, Rana sb’s recommendations are key and the party will act on them,” the source said.
The source claimed the meeting was called to discuss the return of Ms Nawaz and her role as chief organiser. “Rana sb’s opinion on that programme and implementation to mobilise the party was critical to Ms Nawaz’s return.”
When pressed on the party’s defeat in the vote of confidence at the Punjab Assembly, Rana Sanaullah attributed it to the “doublespeak” of CM Elahi, who had earlier said he wouldn’t take a vote of confidence or dissolve the assembly.
“We had the numbers and we will show we have the numbers. The coming elections will show PML-N strength and victory,” he told reporters outside the PML-N’s London headquarters.
He said there will be more meetings in the coming days, and that the party’s election campaign will be kicked off according to the guidance given by their leader. He confirmed Ms Nawaz will return next week.
When asked about the return of the senior Sharif, Rana Sana said, “It is understood MNS will return, and he will lead the party’s election campaign. The legal formalities regarding his return were also discussed, DAWN reported.
“MNS return is critical as he is the leader of the party, he has the vote and support of the people.”
The interior minister also rubbished reports of rifts between former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the PML-N leadership. “There are no differences and Mr Abbasi is committed to the party.”
