Toshahana case: IHC finishes Imran Khan’s February 8 election hopes
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday completely dismissed and annulled the appeal of imprisoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan seeking stay of the trial court’s verdict in the Toshahana case. This ended his hopes of running for president in the next general election.The former prime minister, who was removed from office by a parliamentary vote in April last year, had applied to the IHC to amend the August 28 order by suspending the August 5 judgment of the court of first instance.In August, after Khan was found guilty of bribery in the Toshahana case, on August 5, 2023, Additional District Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Judge Humayun Dilawar sentenced him to three years in prison and a fine of 100,000 yen. A judgment of Rs.He was found guilty of abusing his position as prime minister and selling more than 140 million rupees (about $490,000) worth of state gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during overseas visits. Following his conviction in the case, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified the former prime minister for five years. In a notification, the election authority announced that the PTI chief has been disqualified after being found guilty of corruption under Section 167 of the Election Act 2017 and sentenced to three years in prison.“As a result, Mr. Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi has been disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read in conjunction with Article 232 of the Elections Act, 2017,” the notification said. added.However, the IHC on August 28 stayed the sentence imposed on him by the PTI Supreme Court in the Toshahana case, but his conviction and disqualification will remain until the court decides on this appeal. .The PTI chief requested the IHC to completely set aside the trial court’s verdict in the case.
It’s time for Pakistan to limit the number of seats in Elections
In view of the recent consultative meetings organized by Pirdat and UNDP, it is time for Pakistan’s political landscape to adopt a much-needed reform of limiting the number of seats that electoral candidates can contest. Although this practice is not new, it has sparked controversy recently, especially after PTI chief Imran Khan decided to contest in eight constituencies in last year’s by-elections. We regret that the private bill submitted by Jamaat-e-Islami Plurinational State last year to limit the number of candidates of more than two seats was not taken seriously.Lack of progress on this front results in unfair electoral advantages and financial burdens on the state. Democracies around the world have approached this problem with pragmatic solutions. For example, India allows up to two simultaneous candidates, while Bangladesh allows up to three simultaneous candidates. The UK currently has a complete ban on contesting multiple seats. These measures not only ensure fiscal health, but also maintain the fairness of the electoral process. In Pakistan, the economic impact of this practice is significant. The ECP has estimated the cost of holding by-elections in constituencies where candidates are absent to be Rs 20.7 million. These costs, borne by taxpayers, are difficult to justify, especially in countries facing economic challenges.
UN Secretary-General calls Israel’s ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians is “Unjustifiable”
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres criticized Israel for resorting to “collective punishment against Palestinians in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.”Guterres told CNN that Israel could not use Hamas attacks “as a reason for collective punishment against the Palestinian people,” according to Reuters.He also acknowledged that 101 UN staff have been killed in the conflict so far.The UN Secretary-General’s comments come against the backdrop of more than 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 5,000 children, being martyred by Israeli aggression. As the war intensifies in Gaza, several Israelis have been injured in cross-border anti-tank missile attacks from Lebanon, and the war is escalating on another front. The attack, said to have been carried out by Hezbollah, occurred near the community of Dobeb, near the Israeli-Lebanese border, the Times of Israel claimed.Meanwhile, the IDF announced that it had carried out retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah cells behind the cross-border attacks.
We have not yet discussed seat arrangements, PML-N’s Saad Rafique said
Saad Rafiq made the comments after a PML-N delegation, including Ayaz Sadiq and Bashir Memon, visited the MQM-P leadership office in Bahadurabad, Karachi.His comments came after a surprising development after the “election alliance” announced by the PML-N and MQM-P on Tuesday was apparently downgraded to “seat adjustment”.On Tuesday, a three-member MQM-P delegation comprising Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar and Mustafa Kamal visited Sharif brothers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif in Model Town Lahore. At the beginning of today’s press conference in Karachi, Prime Minister Siddiqui welcomed the PML-N delegation. He expressed hope that the relationship between the two parties would be an “important step” for Pakistan’s democracy and security. Mr. Siddiqui then invited Mr. Rafiq to speak. Mr. Rafique thanked the MQM-P leadership for welcoming the PML-N leadership and said, “Both parties are of the same opinion that Pakistan’s democracy needs to be transformed into a people’s democracy.” “There is,” he said. and to provide legal and constitutional protection. ”The PML-N chief said parties should remain calm and make “electoral adjustments” before the elections if possible. If that is not possible, the government and opposition formed after the elections will need to work on a democracy charter and agree on an economic charter, he said.
Islamabad ATC grants bail to Parvez Elahi in complex assault case
On March 18, clashes broke out between police and PTI workers when party leader Imran Khan appeared for a public hearing on the Toshahana incident at the FJC.Elahi is one of several PTI leaders and employees arrested as part of a state crackdown on the PTI leadership following the violence in the country following Imran’s first arrest on May 9. He has been arrested at least 11 times in various cases since early June.On September 5, Elahi was arrested in a complex federal court case, hours after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended his detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and ordered his release. The ATC granted police a two-day remand to former Punjab Chief Minister and later sent him to jail on a 14-day remand in the FJC terror case. ATC Judge Abu Al Hasnat Zulkarnain presided over today’s hearing. Advocates Babar Awan and Sardar Abdul Razak were present as Elahi’s lawyers, while public prosecutor Raja Naveed was also present.During the hearing, lawyers argued that Elahi was not named in the first information report (FIR) in which the judge accepted a bail application of Rs 20,000 against sureties.
Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan on October 21,says Shehbaz Sharif
Shehbaz’s statement, shared by PML-N Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on social media platform X, said the party’s founder would receive a warm welcome upon his return. Shehbaz had said in July that if the PML-N came to power in the next election, Nawaz would be the party’s candidate for prime minister.Sharif left the country for health reasons in November 2019 after being convicted in a corruption case, but never returned. Nawaz’s resignation comes about 20 days after the Islamabad High Court’s order granting temporary relief on medical grounds in the Al Azizia case.In February 2020, the then government recognized him as a fugitive, and later the same year, an accountability court declared him the suspected perpetrator in connection with the Toshahana vehicle. It is mentioned here that in June 2023, the National Assembly and the House of Lords passed the Elections (Amendment) Act 2023. This empowered the Election Commission to pave the way for Nawaz’s return to Pakistan to unilaterally decide election dates and deadlines. The term of office for members of the Diet will be retroactively limited to five years.
PM Modi uses ‘Bharat’ instead of India on G20 name tag amid name change row
India is also known as Bharat, Bharat, and Hindustan in Indian languages, which are pre-colonial names that are commonly and officially used interchangeably.The country has traditionally insisted on using India as the title for president, prime minister, etc. when communicating in English, but President Drupadi Murmu said in a dinner invitation to a G20 leaders’ reception earlier this week: He called himself ‘President Bharat’. caused controversy. As Prime Minister Modi opened the summit in New Delhi on Saturday, he said that while the G20 logo has both the name “Bharat” in Hindi and “India” in English, “Bharat” is written in it. We sat at a table behind the sign.“India” has been used on such posters in the past.“Mr. Bharat welcomes the delegation as the G20 chairman,” Prime Minister Modi said in Hindi, which is spoken by the majority of the country. Mr Modi’s rivals say the change will be forced by the new opposition alliance INDIA (India National Development Alliance), which was formed in July by 28 political parties and is set to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in next year’s general elections. It is claimed that it was done.
ECP has an obligation under the constitution to draw new boundaries and hold elections – Zardari
The statement by key PPP figures comes a day after party leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called for timely elections and within the constitutional deadline of 90 days during a media interaction in Karachi on Friday. Announced. Although the ECP has ruled out elections this year, the 90-day election period following the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA), required by Article 224 of the Constitution, ends on November 9. The commission justified the announcement of the results of the new 2023 digital census and the decision to postpone the elections to after November 9, based on Article 17, Paragraph 2 of the Election Law, which provides: It has become The census has been officially announced. ““The Election Commission will conduct elections in accordance with the Constitution,” the former president said in a statement released today. He added that the ECP is committed to establishing new boundaries after the census. “We have full confidence in the Chief Election Commissioner and the Chief Election Commissioner,” Zardari said.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may return to Pakistan in October
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), officially announced his intention to return to Pakistan in October this year. The statement, his first public confirmation of the plan, was made during a meeting with PML-N party members and supporters at Stanhope House. Participants at the meeting included former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as well as other PML-N leaders such as Chaudhary Tanveer, Danyal Chaudhary, Chaudhary Nadeem Khan, Dr. Like Angerme.Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Pakistan is actually scheduled for next month, but the exact date has not yet been decided, according to people familiar with the Stanhope House meeting.About three weeks ago, the PML-N leader had planned to return to Pakistan in mid-October. These sources also said Nawaz Sharif is likely to return “in the second half of October.” Two weeks before this announcement, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif confirmed his brother’s plans to return in October, saying that upon his return, Nawaz would lead his election campaign and face trial in the country. .
Pervaiz Elahi Placed on 14-Day Judicial Remand in Judicial Complex Attack Case
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Pervaiz Elahi was on Friday sent to Adiala jail for 14-day remand in the court’s complex attack case. Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad rejected the prosecution’s request to remand the PTI leader. Elahi allegedly sent rioters to Islamabad to vandalize the court complex besides providing him with vehicles and batons, police said, adding that the detention was aimed at questioning Elahi about unidentified criminals and car recovery. His lawyer told the court that Elahi had joined PTI in April this year and was not a member of the party led by Imran Khan when party activists allegedly attacked the enforcers law outside the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) on March 19. Elahi’s other lawyer, Babar Awan, also pleaded with the court to dismiss his client, saying the prosecution had failed to present any evidence to prove his client’s involvement in the terrorist attack. “There is no prison left in Punjab where I have not been detained,” Elahi told the judge while thanking him for inviting him to the podium. Elahi said he had a heart condition and had drugs implanted in his heart. Meanwhile, Elahi’s lawyer also filed a request to allow his family to see him and receive homemade food in prison. The judge also issued notice to the defendants on September 11 regarding Elahi’s bail application.