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PESHAWAR: The provincial police force of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) claimed on Wednesday the arrest of a suspect, Gul Rauf, involved in Bannu jailbreak.

“Lakki district police conducted an operation after receiving actionable intelligence and arrested the accused,” said Riaz Ahmed Yousufzai, spokesperson for KP police.

The police spokesperson added that the accused was arrested from Takhtekhel area of Lakki district.

KP police had announced a reward of Rs2 million for the capture of the accused, who was involved in 30 cases of terrorism and abduction, according to KP police sources.

Read: Dangerous militants among 384 escape after Bannu jail attack

In April 2012, over 100 militants had stormed the central prison in Bannu and freed 384 prisoners, among them a man sentenced to death for trying to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf.

The militants had arrived on pick-ups and attacked the prison housing over 900 inmates after blowing up the main gates with rocket-propelled grenades.

They broke open locks of cells, including those housing hardened and condemned prisoners, and blasted metal doors to free the prisoners.

The banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the attack.

ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be a shut-up call to opponents within the party of PPP’s Punjab president Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has praised him for his dedication to organise the party ahead of local bodies’ polls in the province.

“Co-chairman of the PPP and former president Asif Ali Zardari has expressed appreciation for the dedication and commitment of Mian Manzoor Wattoo in organising the party cadres in the province in preparation for the local bodies’ polls,” says a statement issued here by the party’s media office.

Mr Zardari talked to Mr Wattoo by telephone from Dubai amid reports that the latter was being removed from the office of the PPP Punjab president because of the strong opposition he faces within the party.

He said that Mr Wattoo had “earned the respect of many for leading the provincial chapter of the party with confidence and ability even under most difficult conditions”.

Also read: PPP decides to change Punjab leadership in phases

When contacted, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the statement had been issued after media reports that the party was planning to change its set-up in Punjab.

He said certain party members, who were not happy with Mr Wattoo for some reasons, fed media after every party meeting that the PPP leadership had decided to remove him from the office. This happened again after last week’s “courtesy call” by some PPP members on Mr Zardari in Dubai when the media reported that the party’s Punjab set-up was being changed, he added.

Similarly, he said, when PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held meetings in Islamabad with office-bearers of different party chapters of Punjab last month the media had reported that the participants called for Mr Wattoo’s removal. The party had to issue a clarification that Mr Wattoo was not being removed, he said.

In response to a question, Mr Babar said he could not blame the media because some elements within the party had misled journalists.

He said that after Mr Zardari’s statement it should now be clear that there was no plan to make any changes in the party’s set-up in Punjab and Sindh at least till the completion of the local government elections.

The PPP spokesman said the party had already announced to hold fresh intra-party elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He also denied reports that Asif Zardari had abdicated his responsibilities as co-chairman of the party, terming them “exaggerated and not based on reality”.

“Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Zardari are functioning as chairman and co-chairman, respectively, and there is no change in it,” Mr Babar added.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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GUJRAT: Over 40 goats meant for sale on the occasion of Eidul Azha were overrun by a train here on Wednesday after some policemen allegedly herded them to a railway track after their owner refused to accept the price offered by them for a goat.

Traders and area people blocked GT Road in protest against police. The DPO suspended the policemen allegedly involved in the incident and ordered an inquiry against them.

Abul Razzaq, a butcher, had set up a sale point of sacrificial animals along the old GT Road, near the Government Comprehensive School. It was visited by some policemen from a nearby check-post on Tuesday.

According to Razzaq, the policemen wanted to buy a goat for their boss, sub-inspector Ashraf Malhi, at half the price sought by him. But he refused to accept the price.

He said that the policemen left the place but returned on Wednesday and thrashed him. “They untied my goats and herded them to a railway track where they were overrun by a train coming from Lahore,” Razzaq alleged.

Gujrat DPO Rai Zameerul Haq has suspended sub-inspector Ashraf Malhi, in-charge of Jattowakal check-post, ASI Shabbir and four other policemen.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Two suspected terrorists arrested from Islamabad's F-6 sector late on Tuesday have been identified as the sons of deceased Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rasheed.

The suspects identified as Haris and Haroon were arrested by a joint team of Police and Rangers who were patrolling the area at the time.

An army uniform and a handgun were seized from their vehicle. A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against the 'terrorists' for the possession of a weapon at the Kohsar police station.

The suspects are being questioned by authorities.

According to DawnNews, a Lal Masjid spokesman said the FIR is an attempt to bar the sons in their attempts to pursue a case against former president Musharraf who was charged for the murder of the Lal Masjid cleric.

Read: Lal Masjid cleric's murder case: Musharraf files bail plea

The spokesman said that no uniform had been recovered from the car and that only a weapon was present in the vehicle. He added that the recovered weapon was licensed.

Lal Masjid’s Abdul Rashid Ghazi's body was found in the basement of Jamia Hafsa as the security forces’ 2007 Operation Silence neared its culmination.

A large number of people including militants, seminary students and military troops were killed in the operation.

Despite strong concerns from religious quarters, a clean-up operation against seminaries and terror-funding outfits has expanded into the federal capital.

Also read: Badaber attack: Five Pakistani 'terrorists' identified

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday met some of the members of Pakistani contingent which participated and brought back medals in the 2015 Special Olympics.

The eight athletes who met the army chief were part of a 55-member contingent which participated and bagged a rich haul of 35 medals at the 2015 Los Angeles Games that started in July and concluded in August.

COAS appreciated the performance of players in Special Olympics and said that our youth is full of talent and the entire nation is proud of its future heroes.

He further said that the athletes took this daunting challenge and overcame all barriers to keep the “green” flag high due to their outstanding performance and commitment in different sports events, read an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

Read: Pakistan's Special Olympics performance at a glance

The 55-member Pakistan contingent took part in 9 disciplines and won medals in 8 with cycling bringing in as many as six gold medals.

The athletes were welcomed on July 25 in a star-studded ceremony at the arena, site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.

Away from the competitions, thousands of athletes lined up at a medical centre at the University of Southern California for the games’ Healthy Athletes program.

Before it ended in August, more than 500 people, including some who could not hear at all, received needed hearing aids. More than 600 received new prescription glasses and more than 4,000 got new shoes.

The Special Olympics, which began in 1968, was the brainchild of President John Kennedy’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

That first year’s games in Chicago drew about 1,000 athletes from 26 states and Canada. Organisers say this year’s Special Olympics will be the largest sports and humanitarian event in the world in 2015.

QUETTA: At least seven people were killed and more than twenty four injured as a passenger coach collided with a trailer in Balochistan's Gwadar district on Wednesday.

Levies officials told DawnNews that a Karachi-bound passenger coach, which had departed from Jewani, collided with a trailer in Ormara area of Gwadar district leaving seven people dead and around two dozen others injured.

Law enforcement agencies soon reached Ormara and took the trailer and passenger coach in their custody.

Levies officials claimed that the accident occurred due to over-speeding by the coach's driver, who then lost control of his vehicle and collided with a trailer coming from the opposite direction

Those wounded in the fatal mishap were rushed to nearby hospital in Jewani where an emergency was declared. Eight of the injured were shifted to Karachi due to their critical condition and lack of proper facilities in local hospitals.

Pakistan has one of the world’s worst records for fatal traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has approved a Rs10,000 bonus for the employees of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Eidul Azha.

In an Interior Ministry statement, he said all `hardworking’ and`diligent’ employees would be fully encouraged.

He said an incentive package would be announced after Eid under which privileges of honest and dutiful employees would be enhanced. The minister said besides encouraging good employees, efforts would continue to purge Nadra of black sheep.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday accepted the bail application of senior PPP leader Qasim Zia, in a fraud case pertaining to Rs80 million.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on August 8 had arrested Zia, who is also an Olympics gold medalist and former president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), on charges of committing fraud through his brokerage house.

Read: NAB arrests PPP's Qasim Zia in fraud case

A two-member bench of LHC comprising Justice Mehmood Maqbool Bajwa and Justice Farrukh Gulzar heard the bail plea filed by Zia and ordered his release while accepting the application.

During the hearing, NAB additional deputy prosecutor general Arif Mehmood Rana informed the court that Zia had agreed to return the money which he had embezzled as a director of Ali Usman Securities through a plea bargain.

The accused had filed an application to return Rs22.2 million of appropriated money in the Rs80 million scandal, he said.

The NAB official added that Zia's plea bargain application has been approved by Chairman NAB Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.

Rana said that Zia had already submitted a bank draft of Rs8 million, hence NAB has no objection over his release.

If the accused fails to abide by the agreement, NAB reserves the right to arrest him again, the prosecutor added.

After hearing the arguments, the bench ordered the release of Qasim Zia against a surety bond of Rs100,000. Zia was later released from the camp jail on Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier, Dawn newspaper reported that Zia through his counsel stated in the bail petition that he had left the company “Ali Usman Brokerage” seven years before it committed the alleged fraud. The counsel said NAB officials kept his client in custody for 16 days but failed to establish his involvement in the scam. He said the case was a result of mere political victimisation.

The PPP had protested over the arrest of Zia, terming it political victimisation. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had termed the arrest of Zia a “calculated move to discredit political leaders”.

Know more: PPP smells a rat in cases against Qasim, Bangash

Zia functioned as Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly during his earlier term from 2002-2007.

He was appointed president of Pakistan Hockey Federation in 2008 and served as the federation's chief till 2013. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist in the field of hockey, and also remained a member of the Pakistan's national hockey team from 1980-87.

KARACHI: Rangers on Wednesday said they arrested a suspected target killer responsible for taking out Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA Manzar Imam in a raid conducted Tuesday night in Taiser town area of Karachi.

In statement issued by the paramilitary force's spokesman, the paramilitary force leading a security operation in Karachi said suspected murderer Muhammad Ashiq is also affiliated with the MQM, adding he confessed to killing Manzar Imam and his guards on January 17, 2013.

Ashiq is also involved in killing 12 other individuals from other political parties, said the statement, adding that the suspect would dump dead bodies of his victims using a Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation (KKF) ambulance.

The arrested target killer was produced in an Anti-Terrorism Court Wednesday, which approved a 90-day remand in Rangers custody.

MQM MPA Manzar Imam, along with his police guards was killed in January 2013 when four gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on his vehicle in Orangi town’s Hyderi Chowk area. At that time, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the killing of the provincial lawmaker, a spokesman for the banned outfit had told Dawn.com.

Manzar Imam. – Photo courtesy Sindh Assembly

Imam was elected from the PS-95 Karachi VII seat, and served as member on the Sindh Assembly’s Standing Committee on Cooperation, Standing Committee on Environment and Alternate Energy and the Standing Committee on Prisons.

Related:Pakistan Taliban claim responsibility of MQM MPA's killing.

Rangers arrest 'robbers in uniform'

In a separate incident, Rangers personnel nabbed two police officers on Wednesday for allegedly robbing cattle dealers off their hard-earned money in Gulistan-i-Jauhar area of Karachi.

A cattle dealer was robbed during snap checking by police personnel in Gulistan-i-Jauhar area. After the victim called up the Rangers helpline and reported the incident, the force conducted a raid at the spot and took the police officers in custody.

Director General (DG) Rangers Sindh Major Bilal Akber also met Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan at the latter's residence Wednesday and exchanged views on the security situation in the city and province at large.

Related:Karachi Operation: Crime down but sleeper cells still exist

Called in 1989 to assist the police in Karachi by the then PPP-led government amid a deteriorating law and order situation, the Rangers started enjoying more powers in 2009 — again extended by PPP-led governments both in the centre and the province, which allowed the force to search houses and arrest suspects without warrants.

Also Read:Rangers get 120 days extension in special powers

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, at a function organised on Wednesday in connection with the Pashtoon Cultural Day, termed promotion of culture and language as “imperative for development and prosperity” of every society.

The Pashtoon Cultural Day was celebrated at an event organised at the premises of Metropolitan Corporation, with the Balochistan CM as the chief guest.

Attendees of the cultural event wore traditional Pashtoon turbans, while young participants also danced to folk drum beats.

“Promote culture and eradicate the curse of hatred from society,” the chief minister said during his speech.

Dr Malik Baloch said the promotion of Balochi, Brahvi and Pashto languages and culture was the “need of the hour” and urged political parties and members of the civil society to play their roles in this regard.

Earlier it was reported by Dawn.com that the recently concluded World Pashto Conference had decided to celebrate September 23 as Pashtoon Cultural Day.

Authors, writers, poets, political figures and journalists from various countries had participated in the conference to discuss means of developing the Pashto language.

“We are trying to promote soft-image of Pashtoons,” Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Balochistan's information minister, told the crowd, adding that the cultural day celebration was a positive stride towards promotion of Pashtoon culture and language.

Among those who attended the program were provincial ministers Rahim Ziaratwal, Dr Hamid Achakzai, Sardar Raza Muhammad Bareech and Quetta Mayor Dr Kaleemullah.

Apart from political leaders, poets, authors, intellectuals and others also participated in the cultural gathering with zeal and enthusiasm.

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has emphasised the need for making efforts for promoting Pashto and Balochi folk music.

Speaking at a function organised by the Pashto Academy and the provincial information ministry here on Wednesday to observe the Pakhtun culture day, he said promotion of culture was important for the development of any society.

Provincial Information Minister Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Minister for Planning and Development Hamid Khan Achakzai, Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattah, Senator Usman Kakar, Mayor of Quetta Dr Kaleemullah, leaders of various political parties and a large number of people from different walks of life attended the function.

Take a look: World Pashto Conference: Pashtoon Cultural Day to be observed Sept 23

The chief minister said the government had made legislation to give education to children in their native languages. He said promotion of Balochi, Brahvi and Pashto languages and cultures was the need of the hour.

Mr Ziaratwal said efforts were being made to promote the soft image of Pakhtuns and the observation of the Pakhtun culture day was part of these efforts.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (Ifad) have signed an agreement to help increase agriculture incomes of at least 100,000 rural households in Gilgit-Baltistan and employment opportunities for them.

The government is co-financing the $120 million initiative with $23.63m and will lead the programme, while the remaining amount is being provided by Ifad to finance the Economic Transformation Initiative in the region.

An official of the Ministry of Climate Change said on Wednesday that over 90 per cent of the population in the region was engaged in the agriculture sector, growing crops on small landholdings.

The initiative will focus on increasing agricultural production, introducing high-value cash crops and linking farmers to markets. It will also improve the infrastructure, such as the irrigation systems and roads.

“Pakistan is a country with a large population of young people. Over 55pc are below the age of 25. Increasing incomes and creating economic opportunity for rural communities and especially young people is essential for effective rural transformation,” Hoonae Kim, Ifad’s Director for Asia and the Pacific region, said in a statement.

Poverty in remote rural areas is largely because of small per capita landholdings (0.6–0.8 acres), poor access to markets, lack of access to credit, inputs and support services, limited off-farm employment opportunities, and policy and institutional constraints.

Also read: Challenges for GB government

The spokesperson for the climate change ministry, Mohammad Saleem, explained how growing intensity and frequency in climate change impacts posed risks to the sustainability of agriculture sector, which had suffered damage from recent floods and torrential rains.

“Shrinking river flows, depleting groundwater availability is adding more to the impact,” he said. “Higher temperatures reduce yields of crops and encourage weed and pest proliferation. Changes in precipitation patterns increase the likelihood of short-run crop failures and long-run production declines.”

The spokesperson said millions of farmers had already lost their livelihoods and others were abandoning farming and switching over to alternative means of livelihoods in urban areas. If this trend continued, food security could become a problem, he cautioned.

Farmers in Gilgit-Baltistan are in the grip of severe impacts of climate change in the shape of rising temperatures, flash floods, erratic and shifting rain patterns.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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QUETTA: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed two references against a former health secretary and an official of the National Education Foundation in an accountability court here on Wednesday.

The two have been accused of collectively causing a Rs12.6 million loss to the national exchequer through corruption and misuse of authority.

Also read: NAB moves against lawmakers, former AGP

Former health secretary Jalal Khan has been accused of having purchased a dialysis machine for the Bolan Medical College Hospital for an exorbitant price in connivance with his subordinates, causing Rs10,293,539 loss to the national kitty.

In the other reference, Ghaffar Shah, the district in-charge of the National Education Foundation, has been accused of drawing salaries of ghost teachers in Pishin, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah and Zhob districts for about six months.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will carry out investigations into corruption and irregularities of Rs1.5 billion allegedly committed by PPP leader Asif Hashmi while working as chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) during tenure of the PPP-led government.

This was decided at a meeting of the NAB’s executive board held here on Wednesday and presided over by its chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry. The meeting took some other important decisions as well.

According to the NAB spokesman, the meeting decided to conduct three separate investigations against Asif Hashmi, the first one into the alleged illegal investment of Rs985.56 million in a private firm, the High Links Capital.

Also read: CM Shah calls it ‘invasion of Sindh’, lashes out at NAB, FIA

The second investigation is related to appointment, promotion and illegal regularisation of employees. And the third one pertains to the alleged illegal allotment of plots to ETPB employees.

The board also approved an inquiry (a stage prior to proper investigations) against Asif Hashmi over alleged illegal appointments in the ETPB in violation of rules. It is alleged that against the sanctioned strength of 180 employees, he made 716 illegal appointments in the board and thus caused a loss of Rs399m to the department.

In a scam of Rs5.8bn pertaining to misuse of authority and advertisement budget, the meeting ordered an inquiry against officials of the Sindh information department. In this case, the board approved voluntary return requests of Fawad Alam, director of the Value Added Marketing Services, Karachi, for Rs71.29m, and Abdul Qadir Shah, chief executive officer of M/s Connect Marketing Communication, Karachi, for Rs74.4m.

The meeting also approved a voluntary return request of Qasim Zia, a former PPP legislator, with an interim liability of Rs19.48m.

The meeting decided to initiate an investigation against Mian Masood Akhtar, former superintendent engineer of the public works department, Rana Saleem Akhtar and Hassan Akhtar, former executive engineers, and others. They are accused of embezzling Rs105m during the construction of a road from Danday Wala Bridge in Jhang to Danghroo Bridge in Faisalabad. The total cost of the project was Rs805m.

The meeting approved an investigation against the owners of the Fateh Textile Mills, its director Mohammad Saleem and others over illegal excavation of coal from Lakhra mines in Jamshoro district, Sindh, causing a loss of Rs2.24bn to the national exchequer.

The NAB will also carry out an investigation against Asfandyar Kakar, former food minister of Balochistan, Ali Bakhsh Baloch, former food secretary; Zahir Jan Jamaldini, former deputy director of the department, and others. They are accused of embezzling wheat bags from the Provincial Reserve Centre in Quetta causing Rs1.525bn loss to the national exchequer.

An investigation will be conducted against Syed Masoom Shah, special assistant to a former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, over alleged corruption, corrupt practices and accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

An inquiry will be conducted against Syed Nusrat Shaukat and others, who are accused of acquiring millions of rupees in connivance with other people (Benamidars) through financial institutions under suspicious circumstances, causing a loss of Rs5bn to the exchequer.

Another inquiry was approved against Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Chairman Sheikh Arif Elahi and others over alleged corruption and corrupt practices.

The meeting decided to refer a case against a contractor and officials of the Pakistan Railways related to alleged embezzlement of Rs3.8m back to the PR for departmental action as per law.

It also decided to refer a case against the China Harbour Engineering Company and the Standard Chartered Bank back to the financial monitoring unit of the State Bank with a recommendation to send it to the Federal Investigation Agency for an inquiry under money laundering charges.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) decided on Wednesday not to finalise estimates for water availability for the coming Rabi crop as recent rain appeared to have brought down shortage to 13-18 per cent from more than 20pc as was feared earlier.

Sources told Dawn that a meeting of the technical committee of the water regulator decided to leave the matter to its advisory committee which would meet on Sept 29 to finalise data on water availability, after the end of the current spell of rain.

The development came in the wake of improving flows in major rivers in the Chenab zone as the Chenab saw a medium flood of 180,000 cusecs on Tuesday and Jhelum a flow of 125,000 cusecs.

Take a look: Heavy rain lashes Punjab and AJK

“It is difficult at this stage to finalise the availability and shortage estimates as river flows are not settling down,” an official said.

The improved flows have enabled Irsa to reduce discharges from Tarbela dam from 100,000 to 90,000 cusecs. In fact, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company has been put on notice that Tarbela discharges will be further reduced to 50,000 cusecs by Sept 25. Water discharges from Mangla dam have also been reduced to 15,000 cusecs from 45,000 cusecs because of improved water availability in the system.

It was, therefore, tentatively estimated that shortages in Rabi would be significantly lower than previous estimates of over 20pc.

The shortage in the next season would range between 13pc and 18pc but the data would be finalised by the advisory committee, said the official.

The committee would also finalise the amount of water to be provided to each province and the distribution mechanism for the Rabi season, starting on Oct 1. The season normally concludes by the end of April.

The Tarbela reservoir had 4.2 million acres feet (MAF) of water and the Mangla reservoir about 6.22MAF on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court asked the law officers of the federal and provincial governments on Wednesday to weigh in on a federal government appeal that states that the exercise of suo motu jurisdiction by the high courts was not proper.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, issued notices to Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt and the four advocates general, directing them to submit their replies on the law ministry’s appeal.

The appeal was moved against the suspension of a notification regarding the appointment of the chairman of Drugs Court Karachi, which was struck down by the Sindh High Court on April 15.

The federal government has sought suspension of the high court order, which had converted a note from its registrar office into a constitutional petition and then went ahead and suspended the notification regarding the appointment of Khalid Mumtaz as the chairman of Drugs Court.

On April 6, the SHC forwarded three nominations for the post of chairman following a request on the part of the law ministry to suggest a panel of candidates.

On April 8, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved the appointment of Mr Mumtaz – whose name was second on the list sent in by the SHC – as chairman.

But on April 14, the SHC registrar put up a note before the Sindh chief justice, stating that Sofia Latif – a retired district and sessions judge – had been nominated for the post of Drugs Court chairperson, but the law ministry notified Mr Mumtaz instead.

Consequently, the SHC chief justice ordered the conversion of the registrar’s note into a constitutional petition and fixed the matter before a high court division bench. The following day, the bench suspended the notification.

On Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Sohail Mahmood argued before the Supreme Court that the law ministry had contended that the initiation of suo motu proceedings by the high court was an improper exercise of judicial powers.

The ministry also contended that the high court did not have any jurisdiction to issue a writ exercising suo motu powers while there was neither any warrant nor any individual who challenged the federal government’s nomination.

In such matters, the appeal contended, the high court should confine itself only to relief claimed through a petition and, therefore, had no authority in a suo motu jurisdiction to suspend the appointment notification.

The appeal had argued that the proceedings before the high court were liable to be set aside since it never afforded any right of hearing to the law ministry or Mr Mumtaz.

The petition stated that the purpose of the appeal was to have an authoritative pronouncement on the legal aspect since inviolable constitutional rights were not given to the petitioner (the law ministry) and Mr Mumtaz.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday no decision had been taken as yet to hand over suspects in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case to the United Kingdom.

In a statement, a spokesman for the interior ministry said the ministry would do only what was permissible under the law.

He ruled out handing over the three accused in the case to the UK under any administrative or government decision.

Take a look: UK team interrogates key suspect in Imran Farooq murder case

A Scotland Yard team had been given access to all the three accused and the team had concluded investigations inside Pakistan this month.

Dr Imran Farooq, a founding member of the MQM, was murdered outside his house in London in 2010. The accused in the custody of Pakistani authorities include one of the two suspected killers who left London for Sri Lanka on his way to Pakistan hours after the murder.

Among the other two is a man suspected to have negotiated with the killers before arranging their meetings with a Karachi-based businessman who facilitated their admission to a college in UK, visas and tickets besides providing finances for their stay in the UK. The businessman, Moazzam Ali, is also under the custody of Pakistani authorities.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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ISLAMABAD: The spokesman of President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday rejected allegations levelled by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) about ‘political meetings’ of the president, and clarified he had no political ambitions.

“The president held a meeting in Islamabad with a PML-N delegation from Sindh in his personal capacity,” the president’s spokesman said in an official statement.

The spokesman also rejected the notion that Hussain may lead the election campaign for local government elections in Sindh.

Before becoming president, Hussain had an active political role in Sindh and enjoyed grass-root ties with workers, which is why the workers requested for a meeting which the president accepted, clarified his spokesman.

Earlier, according to a report published in Dawn, the PPP had objected to Hussain’s participation in a PML-N meeting despite a ban on his taking part in political activities by the court.

“The PPP is surprised that unlike former president Asif Zardari, the incumbent president is no longer restrained by the court order from participating in partisan political meetings,” said PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar in a statement on Tuesday.

Know more: Presidency not to be used for politics, says govt

He said former president Zardari had been “restrained by the court observations from participating in PPP meetings, which were regarded a political activity not in keeping with the dignity and non-partisan nature of the office of the head of the state.”

“The former president, respecting the court orders, avoided attending meetings of PPP legislators and workers in Presidency even though he had reservations over it,” Babar added.

The PPP’s reaction came in response to an official handout issued by the Prime Minister House stating that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had “co-chaired” a meeting with President Hussain with office-bearers of the Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-N at the PM office on Monday.

Babar said the press release had implied that the restraint did not apply to the incumbent president and vindicated the PPP’s position on the issue.

But Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal rejected the PPP’s criticism and said that the president had maintained the decorum of his office as the meeting had not been held in the Presidency.

Iqbal, who also attended the Monday’s meeting, said that the criticism did not suit the PPP since Mr Zardari was the party’s co-chairman while he was president and he used to hold meetings of even the party’s central executive committee and so-called core committee in the Presidency.

ISLAMABAD: The local administration on Wednesday reminded the PTI that gatherings and processions in Red Zone, where the party plans to hold a rally on Oct 4, are prohibited.

This was said in response to PTI’s overnight letter seeking a no objection certificate (NoC) for its ‘jalsa’ in the square in front of the Parliament House. Additional deputy commissioner general Abdul Sattar Isani wrote back that, “no political gathering is allowed in the Red Zone, staging jalsa as well.”

Just as the party did not specify its political intentions in the request, and used the evasive word ‘jalsa’, the administration also evaded a categorical denial of PTI’s request.

“Without prejudice to ICT’s decision regarding [the] relaxation of Section 144 CrPC presently invoked in Islamabad, you are again directed to request your party to share details of [the] proposed programme on the said date for necessary coordination and examination under the relevant law,” officials quoted the letter as saying.

PTI was previously asked to follow legal procedure while seeking permission for its political gathering because Section 144 is in force in the city, which prohibits gatherings of five or more.

Published in Dawn, September 24th , 2015

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