Stampede during food distribution claims 12 lives in Karachi

KARACHI: At least 12 women and children were killed in a deadly crush at a Ramazan food and cash distribution centre, set up by a private company in Karachi on Friday, police and rescue officials said, as the country struggles with surging food prices.

The stampede occurred when hundreds of women and children panicked and started pushing each other to collect food outside the F.K. Dyeing company in the Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE) industrial area, Fida Husain Janwari, Keamari’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), told Dawn.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that 11 people — three children and eight women — were among the dead. She said nine bodies were brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and two were brought to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital.

Later, the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) for Karachi’s south zone, Irfan Ali Baloch, told Dawn that another woman had died, bringing the number of deaths to 12.

An Edhi Foundation spokesperson also said in a statement that death toll had risen to 12.

Dead were among hundreds that flocked to factory distributing alms

The bodies of all victims — two boys, one girl and nine women — have been shifted to an Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth.

SSP Janwari said the dyeing company had invited the families of its employees in order to distribute Zakat among them.

He said that around 400 women had arrived and fearing a large crowd, the company staff closed the doors.

He said that inside the premises, there were no arrangements in place for making a queue, adding that local police were also not informed about the activity.

Several women fainted from the heat and during the stampede, he said, adding that police contingents rushed to the spot, detained some of the employees on charges of negligence and shifted the women to different hospitals. “Repo­rtedly, the company’s owner was not present,” he said.

South DIG Baloch said the company used to distribute Zakat and other items among the poor in Ramazan. He said that Friday was the third day the company was distributing alms, adding that between 400 and 500 people turned up.

He said the factory owner, identified as Zulfiqar, would be arrested soon.

Keamari’s deputy commissioner, Mukhtiar Abro, told Dawn that the factory owner did not have a no-objection certificate from the district administration and nor did he ask for security. He said that so far, seven employees have been arrested and a case would be registered against them.

On what could have caused the stampede, Mr Abro said that open water supply pipes narrowed the space for such a large number of people to make a queue.

Thousands of people have gathered at flour distribution centres set up across the country, some as part of a government-backed programme to ease the impact of inflation. At least five other people have been killed and several injured in recent weeks at sites in other provinces.

A police spokesperson said some of those who lost their lives on Friday were identified as Waseem Asif, 10, Saad Umar, 7, Ume-i-Hani Irshad, 7, Mrs Khursheeda Zafar, Abida Rashid, Sonia Saeed, Saeeda Umar, Naseema Shahid, and Waheeda Fazal. Most women were aged between 40 and 50 years.

The woman who died of her wounds later was identified as Mrs Rehmatullah, 35, according to an Edhi Foundation spokesperson.

The injured were identified as Yasmeena, 40, Malaika Shahid, 20, Modol Saeed, 20, Zahida Rafiq, 40, and Nazeera Sudhir, 45.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2023

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What happened in final F1 practice at the Australian GP

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LHC stops transfer of land to army for corporate farming

LAHORE: The high court on Friday stopped the handover of 45,267 acres of land on a lease to the Pakistan Army for the purposes of corporate farming.

The Punjab caretaker government recently agreed to hand over the land in question to the army in three districts — Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal — on a 20-year lease (with the possibility to extend it for another 10 years).

The Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (Pilap), a not-for-profit legal organisation, moved the LHC against the agreement and the subsequent notification issued by the caretaker government.

They argued that the notification was illegal as the caretaker government of a province had no power under the Constitution to take such a decision.

Giving away state land an ‘impermissible’ act under election law, argues lawyer

On Friday, Justice Abid Hussain Chattha took up Pilap’s petition, filed through advocates Ahmad Rafay Alam and Fahad Malik.

The counsel contended that the Punjab Colonies Department issued a notification on Feb 20 for handing over the land under Section 10 of the Colonisation of Government Lands (Punjab), Act 1912.

The scope of the caretaker government, they said, was limited to performing day-to-day functions and it had no power to make policy decisions of permanent nature.

Advocate Malik pointed out that giving state land for 30 years was a decision of a permanent nature, which could not have been taken by the caretaker government.

He said the exercise of powers under Section 10 of the Colonisation Act did not fall under the category of permissible actions by a caretaker government under the Elections Act, 2017. In fact, it directly fell under the category of impermissible activities under Section 230 of the Act.

He said the purported handing over of the land was also in violation of the Doctrine of Public Trust, which stated the government was responsible for protecting certain natural resources and cannot give them away to private citizens arbitrarily.

The counsel said the superior courts have recognised the state’s obligation to act as trustees over these natural resources under the doctrine. It binds the government to protect natural resources and consume them in a manner beneficial to all citizens and not just corporate or commercial interests.

The counsel argued there was no provision in the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 empowering the entity to undertake any activity beyond its scope for welfare unless the federal government expressly granted permission to do so.

The army neither has the jurisdiction to directly or indirectly engage in business ventures outside its scope nor can it claim any state land for corporate agriculture farming. After hearing the arguments, Justice Chattha passed an order to not hand over the land for corporate farming and issued notices to the respondents for submission of reports by May 9.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2023

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Elections conundrum: Nawaz says 3-member SC bench hearing case ‘unacceptable’

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Friday cast doubt on the verdict — which is yet to to come — by the three-member Supreme Court bench hearing the petition against the postponement of polls in Punjab.

A diminished Supreme Court bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — is currently hearing the PTI’s petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to postpone elections to the Punjab Assembly till Oct 8.

The three-member bench was constituted after the original five-member bench was disbanded following the recusals of Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

Earlier today, the three-member bench had rejected Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan’s request for the formation of a full court to hear the PTI’s petition.

In a press talk from London, Nawaz was asked whether the three-member bench’s decision would be acceptable. “It is a straightforward thing. When the bench itself is not acceptable, then how can its decision be acceptable?” the ex-premier asked.

“What is the wisdom behind it? […] the whole nation needs to understand this.”

Nawaz noted that a bill aimed at curtailing the chief justice’s suo motu powers had also been passed by parliament and was now with the president. He said that the attorney general and a “majority of judges” in the country had also expressed their opinions in this regard.

“When there is a united voice, then why this stubbornness that only these three judges will be on the bench? This is a national issue, not a minor one.”

He said there were many capable judges in the top court “yet in every case these three come to the fore and make decisions regarding Pakistan’s future”.

Nawaz said that a “similar bench” was constituted in 2017 that had taken the country to a point where its future “had turned black”.

The PML-N supremo called on the people to “open your eyes”. He went on to say that the country was thriving in 2017, talking about his government’s achievements.

“After 2017, we have to plead for our friends to give us $1 billion […] and this is because of the decisions of our benches,” he said, again calling on the nation to “open your eyes”.

“Once again, Pakistan has been brought to the edge of destruction due to the decisions of these benches,” he said, alleging that “those same three judges” were involved in disqualifying him while the rest, including ex-chief justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Khosa, had retired.

While the PML- leader did not name the judges in his press talk, the bench that disqualified him in the Panama Papers case only featured one of the judges hearing the Punjab polls case, Justice Ahsan.

He wondered where the decision in the case at hand would take the country. “Protect yourselves from the decision they’re about to take […] stand up against such people who want to take Pakistan to the edge of destruction,” he said, addressing the nation.

In an apparent reference to PTI chief Imran Khan, he alleged that moves were being made for the sake of “one person”.

He pointed out that the top court did not take suo motu notice of the things that ex-judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui said.

“Is suo motu not warranted after the things ex-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa said? That there was an injustice against Nawaz Sharif and a wrong verdict was announced against him?” he asked.

Bajwa has reportedly said that there was nothing credible in the furore created over a Dawn story published in 2016, claiming that the issue was hyped up by his predecessor in a bid to secure an extension from then-prime minister Nawaz.

Nawaz said that a full court bench would have the party’s “full confidence”. Without taking any names, he said that two of the judges included in the bench had issued verdicts against him in the past.

“And every past decision seems to be against us yet the judges are still sitting there. One person on this bench has recused himself yet he is still there,” he said.

During the media talk, Nawaz was also asked about whether an inquiry should be initiated against Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who has been the subject of recent audio leaks.

“Justice Mazahir’s case should go to the Supreme Judicial Council. What he has said and the proof against him, audio and video leaks […] there is no doubt about this.”

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Citizens warned of digital loan sharks lurking around

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has warned the general public about unregistered and fraudulent lenders operating through mobile applications.

An inquiry initiated by the CCP over the subject has shown that such apps constantly change their premises and whereabouts as well as the undertakings behind such operations.

However, the CCP said it is necessary to alert the public about the issues identified and ways to avoid them until the probe is underway.

“To avoid falling prey to such activities, it is important for the public to be aware that there have been instances where recovery agents have given their personal account details instead of the lender’s valid account,” the CCP said. As a result, the payments were not adjusted against the repayment and caused further inconvenience to borrowers, it added.

These applications, available on Google PlayStore and AppStore, offer short-term micro-credits to borrowers but are currently facing numerous complaints and challenges in their track-and-trace process. Most of these applications operate without complying with Pakistan’s regulatory framework.

“The consumers need to be careful and only make payments on the registered accounts of online micro-credit and nano-loan facilities,” the CCP said, adding that it is imperative to ensure that the applications from which consumers are borrowing are operating under a regulatory regime as the trend of online micro-credit and nano-loan facilities is on the rise.

As per the initial findings, these applications have well over 10 million downloads by the general public, mostly vulnerable consumers, belonging to the lower to middle-income class. The CCP also revealed that these applications may tend to take complete control of the user’s device by requiring the user to agree to standard access permissions for the app, which would then breach users’ privacy as well as make the user vulnerable to those running the app.

Therefore, the CCP emphasised exercising caution and carefully reading the displayed terms and conditions to take an informed decision.

It also noted that recovery agents have reportedly been known to harass and abuse borrowers and their contacts for the sake of repayment.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2023

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NA continues to pick apart judiciary’s performance

• 38 posts of judges lying vacant, state minister says JCP not convened in a long time
• Lawmakers protest withdrawal of power subsidy to textile industry

ISLAMABAD: The performance and working of the judiciary came under scrutiny of the National Assembly for the second consecutive day when the house was informed that over 380,000 cases were pending before the Supreme Court and all the five high courts of the country.

During the alternate private member’s day, the lawmakers also protested over the government’s move to withdraw subsidy on power tariff for the textile industry as per conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Both the issues came up under discussion during the Question Hour and lawmakers, who had lashed out at the judiciary during the sitting on Monday at the time of the passage of the controversial bill clipping the suo motu power of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), once again consumed significant time on discussing reasons for the huge backlog of cases in the country, causing problems to litigants and the masses.

One of the reasons for this heavy backlog, according to Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan, is the inaction on the part of the judiciary to fill vacant posts in all courts.

Presenting the data in response to a question asked by a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) dissident Nuzhat Pathan, the minister told the assembly that a total of 380,436 cases had been pending in the higher courts till Dec 31, 2022, whereas 38 posts of judges were at present lying vacant.

Providing a break-up, the minister told the lower house of the parliament that a total of 51,744 cases had been pending before the SC where three posts of judges had been lying vacant for a long time. Similarly, the data shows that 179,425 cases were pending before the Lahore High Court, where a total of 19 posts of judges are lying vacant against the sanctioned strength of 60.

As many as 85,781 cases were pending before the Sindh High Court which is also facing a shortage of 11 judges.

The number of pending cases before the Peshawar High Court stands at 41,911 whereas Baloch­istan High Court and Islamabad High Court have backlogs of 4,198 and 17,104 cases, respectively.

The five-year data, however, shows that the number of pending cases had come down from the previous year when there were 389,392 cases pending in the courts.

When the members and Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf asked the minister to explain the reason for not appointing judges in the courts, the minister said that his ministry or the federal government had no role in it, stating that judges themselves “control and supervise the judiciary”.

He said it was the responsibility of the judicial commission to recommend names of the judges to the parliamentary committee, but regretted that there had been no meeting of the judicial commission for quite a while.

“It is said that why the parliament is looking at the judiciary. When one institution will not function properly, it is the job of the parliament to look into it,” said Mr Awan in an apparent reference to the criticism on the government for the legislation on the CJP’s powers.

He alleged that instead of looking into the problems of the litigants, the judicial commission had remained busy in focusing on other issues. He also called for merit-based appointment of judges on seniority basis.

The speaker termed the situation “alarming” and referred the matter to the law reforms committee asking it to approach judges to get the vacant posts filled and suggest mechanism to clear the backlog of cases.

Protest over subsidy withdrawal

Earlier, the members in their speeches lamented the government’s decision to withdraw subsidy on power tariff for the textile industry, stating that the move would further damage the industry which was facing hardships due to decline in exports.

Responding to a question by PML-N’s Sheikh Fayyazuddin, parliamentary secretary for energy Rana Iradat Sharif told the house that the government had to withdraw the subsidy on the IMF’s demand, saying that they had done so “under compulsion and unwillingly”.

The NA also passed a bill seeking to set up Pakistan Institute of Research and Registration of Quality Assurance at Gwadar and introduction of six other private member’s bills.

The National Assembly will meet again on Friday at 11am.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2023

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KP bureaucrats threaten strike over ‘misuse’ of powers by minister

PESHAWAR: Bureaucrats threatened a pen-down strike across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday accusing information minister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel of overstepping his powers by trying to occupy the office of additional secretary of the department Arshad Khan.

The minister claimed that he visited the secretary’s office and wanted to sit on his chair but the latter didn’t allow that prompting him to step out and go to the office of the director-general (public relations).

“I held the same chair during an earlier visit to the office,” he told Dawn.

Mr Kakakhel alleged that the province’s bureaucracy had a tilt to the former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Minister Kakakhel claims secy denying him record of official cars

Official sources claimed that the DG was away but still, the minister occupied his chair.

The minister said he had sought details of official vehicles used by officers of his department, but the records weren’t shared.

“I want to see how many official vehicles are used by the families of these bureaucrats, but the secretary is reluctant to respond to my repeated queries,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Management Services resented the minister’s “unbecoming” conduct towards bureaucracy and asked the chief minister to act against him to prevent a pen-down strike by government officials.

In a letter to Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, the association of the provincial management services said the information minister had overstepped his powers.

“The information minister transgressed his jurisdiction by insisting that he would occupy the chair of the secretary. He even threatened the secretary with a news conference against him,” read the letter.

The PAS said the minister’s conduct was extremely unprofessional and that many members of the government had sought official vehicles used by the secretaries for themselves in violation of rules and regulations.

“Some departments are being pressured to take policy decisions, which is the mandate of the elected government only,” it said in the letter.

The association said the Constitution and Elections Act 2017 declared that the mandate of caretakers was just to hold free and fair elections and not to take policy decisions.

It warned that if the chief minister didn’t address the issue immediately, it could announce a pen-down strike across the province.

Later in the day, minister Kakakhel told a presser that the government departments would be cleared of all political appointees and the caretaker government had the constitutional mandate to do so.

He said he would move a summary to the chief minister for terminating the services of social media influencers recruited by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

The minister accused the bureaucracy of creating hurdles for caretakers to perform their duties.

He said a proforma was sent to the information secretary to share details of official vehicles used by bureaucrats but such records were still awaited.

About stampedes in flour distribution centres, the minister said the government was increasing the number of such points while expanding the coverage of the initiative to village council level.

He said officials of the district administration were told to ensure presence at flour distribution points.

“We have given away around 7.7 million flour bags to 22 per cent of the targeted population,” he said, adding that a committee has been formed comprising administrative secretaries to ensure trouble-free exercise.

The minister said there were no plans to call or deploy Frontier Constabulary personnel at those points.

He said the caretaker government would terminate the services of all political appointees to departments.

“We have the mandate to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan for holding free, fair and transparent elections,” he said.

Recently, Mr Kakakhel had claimed that it was not possible to hold a fair election to the provincial assembly as there’s a “100 per cent” tilt to former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, PTI, in the entire local bureaucracy.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023

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SC judges call for postponement of suo motu matters

ISLAMABAD: The Constitution does not grant unilateral and arbitrary power to the country’s top judge to list cases for hearing, form special benches and select judges, Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday.

He proposed that cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution be postponed until amendments were made to Supreme Court Rules 1980 regarding the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) discretionary powers to form benches.

“With respect, the Chief Justice cannot substitute his personal wisdom with that of the Constitution,” Justice Isa said in his remarks, part of a 12-page judgement he authored.

“Collective determination by the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court can also not be assumed by an individual, albeit the Chief Justice,” he said.

Justice Isa was heading a three-judge special bench, which was formed by CJP Bandial, to hear a suo motu case related to the award of an additional 20 marks to candidates for memorising the Holy Quran by heart to get an MBBS or BDS degree.

Say CJP doesn’t have arbitrary power to form special benches

“It would be in the best interest of citizens if the hearing in the present case is postponed and of all other cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, till the matters noted hereinabove are first attended to by making requisite rules in terms of Article 191 of the Constitution,” Justice Isa wrote.

The other two judges on the bench were Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Shahid Waheed. However, Justice Waheed disagreed with the judgement and will write a separate dissenting note.

During the last hearing on March 15, Justice Isa questioned the constitution of the special bench to hear the matter.

Referring to Article 184(3), Justice Isa explained in the latest verdict that there were three categories of cases. First, when a formal application seeking enforcement of the fundamental rights was filed; second, when suo motu notice was taken by the Supreme Court or its judges; and third, when there are cases of immense constitutional importance and significance, which may also be those in the first and second categories.

Order 25 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 only attended to the first category of cases and there was no procedure prescribed for cases in the second and third categories, Justice Isa observed, adding that the situation was exacerbated as there was no appeal against a decision under Article 184(3).

He noted that neither the Constitution nor the rules grant the chief justice or the registrar the power to make special benches, select judges who will be on these benches and decide the cases that they will hear.

He said the Latin term suo motu — relating to an action taken by a court of its own accord, without any request by the parties involved — “does not find mention in the Constitution”.

“A practice which is not sanctioned does not supplant the Constitution, no matter the duration for which it has been practised,” Justice Isa said.

“We must remind ourselves of the oath that we take, which is to (a) act in accordance with the Constitution and the law, (b) abide by the code of conduct, (c) not let personal interest influence decisions, (d) do right by all people and (e) to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” Justice Isa said.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023

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Biden announces $690m for world democracies

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced new funding to bolster democracies around the world amid criticism his administration has made little progress in advancing human rights and democracy as a focus of its foreign policy.

Biden announced he planned $690 million in funding to help fight corruption, support free and fair elections and advance technologies that support democratic governments at a second White House-led Summit for Democracy.

He announced over $400 million for similar programmes in 2021 when he last held such an event.

“We’re turning the tide here. As we often say, we’re at an inflection point in history here, when the decisions we make today are going to affect the course of our world for the next several decades for certain,” Biden said.

Rights advocates say there is little evidence the countries joining the summit have made progress on improving their democracies, and that there is no formal mechanism to hold participants to the modest commitments made at the first meeting even as Biden and South Korea announced plans to host a future third summit.

Freedom House said this month that global freedom had declined for the 17th consecutive year, but there are signs the tide is turning, said Katie LaRoque, the monitoring group’s deputy director for policy and advocacy, explaining that while 35 countries scores declined in Freedom House’s annual rankings, 34 countries improved.

Out of the countries that participated in the first Summit for Democracy, 77 countries’ scores remained the same in 2022, 17 declined and only 16 improved.

In addressing the summit on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu voiced confidence that a political compromise could be reached on the judicial reforms, which he argued could be reconciled with civil liberties even as his opponents have accused him of seeking to curb judicial independence.

He called Biden “a friend of 40 years”. “Israel and the United States have had their occasional differences, but I want to assure you that the alliance between the world’s greatest democracy and the strong, proud and independent democracy — Israel — in the heart of the Middle East, is unshakable. Nothing can change that,” Netanyahu said.

Addressing foreign critics, Netanyahu promised that Israel “was, is and will always remain a proud, strong and vibrant democracy as a beacon of liberty and shared prosperity in the heart of the Middle East”.

Biden on Tuesday warned that Israel “cannot continue down this road” and called on Netanyahu to reach a compromise, while calling himself a “strong supporter” of Israel.

The summit is co-hosted by the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia. The event involves 120 countries including Taiwan, civil society groups and technology companies.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023

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Wider grid boxes and ‘guide line’ trial after F1 penalties

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Justice Musarrat Hilali to become first female CJ of Peshawar High Court

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday appointed Justice Musarrat Hilali as the first female chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), according to a notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said she was promoted to the position since she was the most senior PHC judge and will assume office from April 1 “till the appointment of a regular chief justice by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan”.

She will be the second female to become the chief justice of a high court after Justice Tahira Safdar, the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court from September 2018 to October 2019.

Born in Peshawar on August 8, 1961, Hilali received her law degree from Khyber Law College of the University of Peshawar and enrolled as an advocate of district courts in 1983, as an advocate of the high court in 1988 and as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2006.

She was the first female elected office-bearer on the post of secretary at the bar from 1988-1989, twice the vice president at the bar from 1992 to 1994, the general secretary from 1997 to 1998 and the first female twice elected as an executive member of the Supreme Court Bar Association from 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

Hilali was also the first female additional advocate general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from November 2001 to March 2004 and was later appointed as the first female chairperson of the KP Environmental Protection Tribunal.

She also served as the first female Ombudsman for the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace.

Hilali was elevated to the bench as an additional judge on March 26, 2013, and confirmed as a permanent PHC judge on March 13, 2014.

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How MotoGP’s ‘Mr. Dependable’ tripled his DNF tally in one round

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F1 mustn’t target Red Bull’s dominance for sake of its integrity

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Citizens’ boycott shrinks fruit sale in Faisalabad

TOBA TEK SINGH: The sale of fruit in Faisalabad division was reportedly cut down by at least 50pc as a result of fruit boycott by the citizens.

The campaign was launched on social media by the concerned citizens of Karachi against the hike in fruit prices in Ramazan and it had reached the Punjab cities too.

In Faisalabad division, it remained successful on the second day on Tuesday as the citizens refused to buy expensive fruit in all its cities.

The people took part in this silent protest against the fruit inflation mafia, which had increased the prices manifold because of the month of fasting.

The citizens told Dawn in a survey carried out in various bazaars of Toba Tek Singh that they did not buy fruit on Monday and Tuesday in protest against the fruit sellers.

They claimed that the shopkeepers and vendors kept on waiting for the customers. According to some reports, the vendors had been forced to sell bananas and melons at reduced prices.

FESCO: The Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) disconnected power supply connection to the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) of Faisalabad on default of Rs540m.

A press release issued by Fesco said final notices were served on the defaulting departments for payment of the arrears but the payments could not be made.

Hence the company started the process of severing electricity connection to all the departments. It added that more than 47,000 consumers had been issued new meters in all the five circles of Fesco for installation of new electricity connections and replacement of damaged or burnt meters.

Fesco Chief Executive Officer Engineer Bashir Ahmad has directed all superintending engineers to ensure speedy installation of these meters in their circles.

Fesco said that due to unavailability of meters, the power connections were delayed and now after the issuance of new meters, the process of installation of connections and replacement of faulty meters would be accelerated.

15 INJURED: Fifteen workers were injured seriously when a bus of the Bismillah Textile Mills overturned on Makkuana-Khurrianwala bypass road near Khurrianwala in Faisalabad.

Rescue 1122 said the accident happened when the bus driver tried to overtake a tractor-trolley.

The bus was transporting workers from mills to their homes in the Jaranwala area. They injured were identified as Asad (20), Umar Hayat (59), Awais (22), Ajmal (35), Imran (40), Tanveer (38), Ashiq (33), Wasif (40), Shahzaib (23), Shabbir (40), Qasim (25), Ali Raza (31), Nasir (50), Ali Maqbool (27) and Atif (20).

All the wounded were shifted to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital by the rescue ambulances.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2023

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Imran faces 29 criminal cases in Islamabad, IHC told

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court was informed on Tuesday that 29 criminal cases had been registered against former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in the federal capital.

The state counsel told IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq that PTI chief was nominated in 28 first information reports (FIRs) by the capital police while the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also booked him in one case.

Justice Farooq was hearing a petition seeking details of the cases registered against the PTI chief in Islamabad’s police stations.

According to report submitted to the court, out of 28 FIRs, one has been quashed, investigation is in process in seven cases and trial is under progress in 20 cases. It said the FIA has registered a case against Mr Khan under Foreign Exchange Act and this matter is pending before the Special Court on Offences in Banks.

According to the report, police registered 15 cases against the former premier on a single day, on May 26 last year. An FIR was registered against him on May 25 in connection with violence during the PTI’s long march. The report said police registered 26 cases against Mr Khan over the past two years.

Two cases had already been registered against the PTI chief in 2014 in connection with his party’s sit-in that year.

PTI’s counsel Faisal Fareed informed that court that police had asked Imran Khan to join investigation in all these cases, but police officials never picked up the phone whenever “we wanted to get some information about the pending cases”.

Justice Farooq disposed of the petition with a directive for the inspector general and the federal government to look into the matter.

In a related development, Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir of the IHC issued a notice to the police on identical petitions filed by Senator Azam Swati and Ali Amin Gandapur seeking details of the cases registered against them across the federal capital.

The court also sought a report from the police on March 31.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2023

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Thirty-nine killed in fire at Mexico migrants facility

CIUDAD JUAREZ: At least 39 migrants from Central and South America died after a fire broke out at a migrant holding centre in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, the government’s National Migration Institute (INM) said on Tuesday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the blaze apparently broke out after migrants set fire to mattresses in protest after discovering they would be deported.

“They didn’t think that would cause this terrible tragedy,” Lopez Obrador told a news conference, noting that most migrants at the facility were from Central America and Venezuela.

President Obrador says asylum seekers apparently burnt mattresses to stop being deported

There were 68 adult men from Central and South America staying at the facility in the city opposite El Paso, Texas, the INM said in a statement. Twenty-nine of them were injured in the blaze and taken to four hospitals in the area.

Those who died included migrants from Guatemala and Honduras, a Mexican official said.

“I was here since one in the afternoon waiting for the father of my children, and when 10pm rolled around, smoke started coming out from everywhere,” said 31-year-old Viangly Infante, a Venezuelan national.

Her husband, 27-year-old Eduard Caraballo, was in a holding cell inside the facility when the fire started.

Recent weeks have seen a buildup of migrants in Mexican border cities as authorities attempt to process asylum requests using a new US government app known as CBP One.

Many migrants feel the process is taking too long and earlier this month hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants got into a scuffle with US officials at the border after their frustration welled up about securing asylum appointments.

The blaze in Ciudad Juarez is one of the deadliest incidents to afflict migrants in Mexico in recent decades.

Forty-nine children died following a blaze in a daycare centre in the northern city of Hermosillo in 2009, while 72 migrants were massacred by drug cartel gunmen in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas the following year.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2023

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Opinion split in legal fraternity after bill clipping CJP’s powers tabled in NA

After a bill aimed at curtailing the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) powers to take suo motu notices and constituting benches of the Supreme Court (SC) was approved by the federal cabinet and presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday, the opinion in the legal fraternity was split.

The cabinet summary for the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, states that “every cause, matter or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the CJP and the two senior-most judges,” adding that “the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.”

Regarding exercising the apex court’s original jurisdiction, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the abovementioned committee.

“If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter,” the bill reads.

Here is what the legal eagles had to say about the bill’s proposed amendments to curtail the top court’s powers.

Asad Rahim

Barrister Asad Rahim Khan told Dawn.com that the government’s legislation was a “clownish attempt — in the same vein as Israel’s Netanyahu — to declaw the one institution standing in the way of the Constitution’s violation”.

“It can’t be done through ordinary legislation, and it attacks both the independence of the judiciary as well as the principle of trichotomy of powers,” he said.

Salahuddin Ahmed

Terming the amendments as “excellent and much-needed”, Lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed said the proposed changes were in line with what all the bar associations had been demanding.

Ahmed said the bill was in line with the suggestions of the bars regarding the CJP’s “absolute discretion to constitute benches for well over a decade now”.

“In fact, even CJP Asif Khosa had proposed regulating the power of suo motu along similar lines but unfortunately the Supreme Court did not frame rules in this regard,” he said. “As a result, the Parliament has had to act in the exercise of its law-making powers under Article 191 of the Constitution.”

Ahmed said the right of one appeal against decisions made by the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction under Article 184 (3) is also a long-standing demand of bars.

“Another excellent part of the bill is the stipulation that urgent matters will be fixed for hearing within two weeks. Presently, urgent applications can remain pending before CJ for months at end,” he added.

Abdul Moiz Jaferii

Lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii said the proposed act sought to override the relevant chapter of the Supreme Court rules which have been in place since 1980 and termed it a “great solution to suo motu engineering and unilateral bench fixing by the CJP that should have come from the court itself.”

“Article 191 of the constitution makes very it clear that the Supreme Court can make rules regulating the practice and procedures of the court, but this power is subject to the constitution and the law.”

He added that an ordinary piece of legislation can effectively fill the void which exists in the rules and better structure the discretion that vests in the chief justice with regard to the formation of benches and the fixation of cases before them as well as the right of appeal for suo moto decisions.

Muhammad Ahmad Pansota

Barrister Muhammad Ahmad Pansota said that while he supported the reform, the manner in which it was being conducted was “improper and violative” of the Constitution.

“I am all for reform in the power of the CJP to take suo motu action. It must be structured, however, the process being adopted by the government in curtailing the suo motu power through subordinate legislation is improper and violative of Articles 238/239 of the Constitution,” he said.

Hassan Niazi

Lawyer Hassan Niazi disagreed with Barrister Pansota’s take, saying the apex court’s power was being “structured instead of curtailed”.

“The amendment does not appear to take away the SC’s original jurisdiction, it merely describes how it will be exercised. That doesn’t require a constitutional amendment,” he said.

He said the parliament was “well within its rights” to regulate how the CJP’s powers are to be exercised, adding that it was a “longstanding” demand which should be welcomed.

Basil Nabi Malik

Advocate Basil Malik said Article 191 of the Constitution allowed the appropriate legislature to regulate practices and procedure of the Supreme Court.

“As such, certain subject matters of the bill, such as regulating bench fixing and exercise of suo motu powers, appear to be within its competence via a simple majority,” he said.

“However, considering that the Constitution already delineates the Supreme Court’s appellate powers, it is arguable as to whether the parliament, through a simple majority, can carve out a fresh appellate jurisdiction in the Supreme Court against an order of that very Supreme Court.”

Salaar Khan

Lawyer and columnist Salaar Khan said that while regulating the apex court’s procedure did not necessarily require a constitutional amendment, it was possible that any law passed would be struck down by the Supreme Court for “violating the promised independence of the judiciary” since laws were still subject to the Constitution.

“One can even imagine the SC will consider such a law, or laws, within the present context (the government’s design to delay elections, in violation of the Constitution). As such, the SC may even fashion a way to bring that to the fore,” he explained.

He recalled that there were many calls for reforms over the years, including from within the apex court and “this is not the first time this issue has been raised.”

He also pointed out that the issue of the provincial elections could not be separated from the entire matter.

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Govt will never surrender to Imran’s wishes: Saad Rafique

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that what Imran Khan wants will never happen, as the government will never surrender to his desires.

“Whatever you want, it will not come to pass. It will not be done because you are a fascist. You don’t have any connection with democracy. You have abrogated the Constitution. You are ‘falsely’ popular,” the minister lashed out at PTI chief Imran Khan at a news conference here at the Pakistan Railways (PR) headquarters on Monday.

“You (IK) have a cult-following. And [we] will not hand over this country to a man having such following,” he declared.

Describing Mr Khan and his facilitators as thieves and Sicilian Mafia, the minister asked them to apologise to the nation for promoting and installing a party that had allegedly destroyed everything in the country.

Claims ‘facilitators’ are trying to reinstall ex-PM; asks PIA pilots to ‘bear with’ govt on tax issue

“Not we, you are thieves. Not we, you are the Sicilian Mafia. Instead of seeking pardon individually and covertly, you all (IK’s facilitators) must seek pardon collectively from the nation.”

He alleged that Imran Khan’s facilitators (within the establishment and the judiciary) had now started efforts to bring the PTI chief back to power at a time when the PDM-led government is trying hard to clean the mess created by Imran Khan.

Mr Rafique said the opposition threw Mr Khan out in a constitutional way, but his facilitators had started fresh efforts to bring him back. “We undertook the work to clear the mess created by him [Imran] that caused further inflation,” he said, adding the PDM government did this at the cost of its political capital. And now, he lamented, by highlighting the same pretext of inflation before the public, they (the facilitators) are trying to install him again.

“We know what’s happening. You [facilitators] can do whatever you want, but we will not give space to Imran Khan,” he warned.

In reply to a question, the minister termed the April 30 date for elections in Punjab and KP unrealistic. According to him, it was done in isolation to support a particular party. How long will PTI be given special treatment, he questioned.

Recalling the previous PML-N government, he deplored that state institutions (establishment, judiciary and some journalists) had joined hands to remove a well-performing government under a conspiracy, repeatedly called opposition leaders as looters and thieves, rigged elections, installed a man having no sense of politics, put opposition politicians behind bars, registered baseless cases against them and destroyed their businesses and the country’s economy.

And when he was removed through a no-confidence move, he declared that was done under a conspiracy, the minister said. However, he added, the conspiracy turned out to be false as PTI is now polishing American boots by hiring lobbying firms in the US.

“You (Imran) and your facilitators will have to bring back Pakistan on the position of 2017,” Mr Rafique warned, referring to the time when PML-N was in power.

“What justice you have given to Nawaz Sharif who was thrown out of politics on the basis of an iqama (work permit) or non-receiving of salary from his son. Did anyone find and prove even a single corruption case against Nawaz Sharif or Shehbaz Sharif during their 20 years’ opposition period,” he argued.

Trains being upgraded

Mr Rafique said Pakistan Railways had decided to upgrade two more trains to reduce travelling pressure on Green Line Express.

“Besides running special trains on the eve of Eid, we have decided to operate summer or seasonal trains. The department has also decided to run a new cargo train from Peshawar to Karachi, besides reducing freight charges for all existing freight trains,” he explained.

He said a pilot project is being launched under which railway stations (Lahore City and Raiwind) and several trains, including Green Line and Railcar, will be branded and added that for this purpose bidding process will be held soon. The process to auction or lease out some 2,600 PR-owned shops has also started.

“The PR management has decided to convert 51 buildings, including railways stations, to solar energy,” he said.

Talking about the aviation ministry, Mr Rafique said his ministry is all set to outsource the operation of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports and the issue will be placed before the Economic Coordination Committee soon.

He urged the PIA pilots to cooperate with the government, saying it was trying hard to resolve their issue of 32 per cent tax on their salaries.

“Since we are passing through a fire-fighting phase, please help us,” he requested the pilots.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023

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Karachi police get transit remand of Imran’s nephew

LAHORE/KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Monday denied further physical remand of Advocate Hassaan Khan Niazi, nephew of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, to police in a Lahore case and granted his two-day transit remand to Sindh police in a case lodged in Karachi.

The police produced Niazi before the court to seek physical remand in a case registered with the Racecourse police regarding attacks on police teams and damage to public property outside the Zaman Park residence of Imran Khan.

The investigating officer told the court that custody of the suspect was required for the recovery of a laptop and a cellular phone from him.

Mr Niazi’s lawyers opposed the remand and asked the court to discharge him in the case.

ATC judge Abher Gul Khan rejected the request of the police and sent Hassaan Niazi to jail on judicial remand.

However, the judge allowed two-day transit remand of Mr Niazi to Sindh police for his shifting to Karachi as required in a case of hate speech.

Separately, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh of the Lahore High Court directed the federal and Punjab governments to submit details of the cases registered against Advocate Niazi.

Noreen Niazi, mother of the lawyer, filed a petition asking the court to restrain the trial court from handing over custody of her son to Sindh police. She also asked the court to summon details of the cases registered against her son in the country.

A counsel for the petitioner argued before the court that the lawyer had been implicated in politically-motivated cases lodged against him in different cities of the country. He pointed out that a court of Islamabad had released the lawyer on bail but Quetta police took his custody in another case. Later, he said, the lawyer was brought to Lahore in another case.

The counsel said the trial court denied custody of the lawyer to the police but Sindh police secured his transit remand.

A law officer of the caretaker government opposed the petition.

Justice Sheikh turned down the request of issuing a restraining order against handing over of the lawyer to Sindh police. The judge sought details of the cases registered against Advocate Niazi by the next hearing.

Meanwhile, Karachi police have registered a case against Mr Niazi over charges of threatening heads of institutions.

A police officer who wished not to be named confirmed that the case has been registered on the complaint of a private citizen at the Jamshed Quarters police station.

According to contents of the FIR, complainant Mohammed Iqbal said he was using social media inside his home on March 26 when he saw a person giving interview to different Whatsapp groups and TikTok by warning that if “[Imran] Khan was arrested, then no regard/respect would be shown to any Haji or Hafiz, there would be Dama Dam Mast Qalander, leading to civil war in the country”.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023

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Police ‘clueless’ as court seeks report on Azhar Mashwani

LAHORE: The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought a report from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) about the whereabouts of PTI social media activist Azhar Mashwani, as police investigators have been clueless for the past five days, despite the registration of an abduction case on a court order a couple of days ago.

According to his family, Mr Mashwani was travelling to Zaman Park in a cab from his home on March 23 when he went missing.

Mazharul Hassan, the elder brother of the PTI activist told Dawn that a preliminary police investigation failed to trace his whereabouts despite the passage of five days. He said the law enforcement agencies should produce his brother in a court of law if he had done anything wrong.

He said his parents were cardiac patients and were worried about their missing son.

It was only after a sessions court issued notices to the Lahore police chief on a petition seeking the registration of a case over his alleged abduction that the Green Town police registered a case against unidentified persons on March 25.

Mr Hassan told Dawn they also approached the LHC Rawalpindi bench and filed a petition against the FIA for the recovery of his brother. He said the family still did not know the whereabouts of his brother and each passing day was increasing their worry about his safety.

Earlier in the day, Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz of the LHC issued notices to the FIA cyber crime wing director and asked the relevant authorities to produce the PTI social media activist on Tuesday (today).

The petitioners sought early recovery of Mr Mashwani, impleading both the FIA and Lahore police as respondents in the case.

Malik Asad in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023

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Pemra requested to stop coverage of Sheikh Rashid for smoking cigars

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) has appealed to the electronic media regulator to stop media coverage of former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as he smokes cigars during press conferences and this can influence the young generation.

Moreover, it has demanded from Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to issue a general instruction not to provide coverage to any person who promotes smoking.

The letter signed by Panah General Secretary Sanaullah Ghumman stated that the association has been working to minimise cardiovascular diseases since 1984.

“This association had also put in its good share in helping people who suffered in the natural disasters that struck the nation in the past and is also helping poor patients get expensive cardiac investigations, angioplasty, stents and cardiac surgery at various hospitals. The president of Islamic Republic of Pakistan by virtue of his position is our patron-in-chief. Panah works closely with policy makers to advocate for policies to reduce non communicable diseases (NCDs) and many other fatal diseases,” it stated, adding that Panah has been running an aggressive campaign against tobacco use in the country as a part of the Heart Disease Prevention programme because tobacco is one of the leading causes of heart and many other fatal diseases.

The letter stated that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, renowned politician of Pakistan always waves his cigar and its pack during his media talks while saying: “I have been the federal minister of Pakistan several times”.

“We know that youngsters always follow their elders and especially renowned personalities. Due to his action of waving the cigar, our young generation may think that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed became the federal minister just because of the use of cigar and also suppose that it is the symbol of personality and they should also start smoking.

“In Pakistan, already 1,200 new children start smoking every day,” it stated.

While talking to Dawn, Mr Ghumman said showing a smoker on media was a violation of tobacco control laws of Pakistan and legal action could be taken against media houses for showing smokers.

“We also request the media that they should show responsibility and not give coverage to people while smoking as it gives a wrong impression to the young generation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023

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Ethiopian Airlines likely to start flights to Karachi soon

ISLAMABAD: Ibrahim Khalid Tawab, Honorary Consul General of Ethiopia in Karachi, has said that a Pakistani delegation during a visit to the African country met the chief of Ethiopian Airlines, who announced that flights to Karachi will start very soon.

During its visit from March 5-10, the delegation comprising businessmen reviewed trade and investment opportunities in the African country’s markets.

The delegation, led by Mr Tawab, called on several high-ranking government officials, including the deputy prime minister, foreign minister, head of investment commission and minister of state for diplomatic affairs.

These meetings allowed the delegation to learn more about the business environment in Ethiopia and explore potential collaboration between the businesses in Pakistan and Ethiopia.

The consul general said Ethiopia was a large market in the African region with a population of 120 million, adding that the total market of Pakistan and Africa was 350 million. He said Ethiopia was the hub of business and trade in the African region and there were great opportunities for mutual trade between the two countries in the future.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2023

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Sanaullah links peace with Imran’s ouster from politics

• Warns PML-N won’t consider democratic norms if cornered again
• Blames PTI chief for anarchy-like situation
• Marriyum chides 10-point agenda of ex-PM

LAHORE: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan has said that former premier Imran Khan has steered his political rivalry to a point of enmity where “either we will maintain our existence or he”, fearing that the PTI chairman could lead the nation and the country towards some tragedy if people didn’t oust him from the politics through their power of vote.

In an interview with a private TV channel, the minister who is a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz termed the ex-PM ‘incorrigible’ and ‘incurable’ and said peace could not be guaranteed until Mr Khan was there in the political arena.

He also made it clear that if they (his party) found that they were being eliminated (from the politics), they would go to any extent to save themselves, without thinking about the merits and demerits of their steps, whether these were democratic or undemocratic, principled or unprincipled.

“Now either he will be eliminated from the political arena or us. Only Imran is to be blamed for bringing us to this stage,” the interior minister said, adding that Mr Khan was responsible for the anarchy-like situation in the country. He told the interviewer they had been considering him (Imran) a political rival, but the PTI chairman took them as arch-enemy.

Mr Khan “even blamed me, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and an army officer for plotting to kill him,” Mr Sanaullah said, apprehending that the PTI chief’s narrative was creating bad blood among followers of both parties and either he or they could be killed (by followers of each other’s party).

Responding to a query, the minister said when Mr Khan was in power he planned to recruit through president’s powers such retired judges of the subordinate judiciary as presiding officers of special courts such as anti-narcotics courts who would hand down “capital punishment or life term to political rivals”.

Also, the differences between Mr Khan and former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had developed on the issue of “eliminating the then opposition” by hook or crook, the PML-N leader recalled.

Answering a question, he said Mr Khan had been trying for the past 11 months to “set fire to the country” but the coalition government always exercised restraint to save the situation from getting worse.

Meanwhile, firebrand PML-N leader and information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb addressing a presser called out Mr Khan for announcing a 10-point agenda that according to her only indicated his party’s failure during its 10-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four-year rule in both Punjab and centre.

Referring to his changing narratives and conspiracy theories behind his ouster from power corridors, the PML-N leader said Mr Khan would fabricate a new story only to divert attention of the people from the falsehood of his previous tale, adding that his only problem was ‘psychological’.

In the name of elections, she said, the PTI chief wanted to get ‘selected’ again to save his skin in the cases of prohibited funding to his party, Toshakhana gifts and Tyrian Khan.

Had he been serious in the democratic process, he would have neither forced the National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker to violate the constitution while facing no-confidence motion nor dissolved the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Chiding his 10-point roadmap, she said: “Imran Khan should be slapped 10 times for giving a 10-point plan, not a single of point of which he could implement during his (party’s) 10-year rule in KP and four-year rule both in Islamabad and in Punjab.”

She quipped if Mr Khan had planned to improve the national economy in the same manner as he had improved the financial status of his spouse and her friend Farhat Shehzadi.

Referring to the point of housing, the minister remarked the PTI chief had fulfilled his pledge to the nation by building ‘five million houses for his spouse’, who accepted Rs5 billion ‘bribe’ in the name of Al-Qadir Trust.

Regarding money laundering, she alleged the former premier used private jets to move the plundered money out of the country. If the prohibited funding case decision was implemented, the menace of money laundering could have been dealt with, she remarked.

About Mr Khan’s much-trumpeted promise of 10m jobs, she said the ex-premier rendered over 10 million Pakistanis jobless.

In response to a query about the leaked audio recording of former chief justice Saqib Nisar, Ms Aurangzeb said the language he had purportedly used in the audio against PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz Sharif reflected his upbringing.

About the massive inflation, the minister said the country’s economy was not a machine that could be switched on rather it would take time to rebuild the national economy devastated by the PTI government.

She said Mr Khan had attempted to hide behind excuses of his fractured leg, old age, and threats to his life for not appearing before courts in cases against him though no such excuse barred him from attending the public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan.

She said the PTI chief exhausted all other tricks and the only option left with him was to raise the issue of so-called threat to his life for not appearing before courts in cases against him.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2023

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Nato criticises Putin for ‘dangerous and irresponsible’ nuclear rhetoric

Nato on Sunday criticised Vladimir Putin for what it called his “dangerous and irresponsible” nuclear rhetoric, a day after the Russian president said he would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Putin announced the move on Saturday and likened it to the US stationing its weapons in Europe, while insisting that Russia would not violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises.

Although the move was not unexpected, it is one of Russia’s most pronounced nuclear signals since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago, and Ukraine called for a meeting of the UN Security Council in response.

While Washington, the world’s other nuclear superpower, played down concerns about Putin’s announcement, Nato said the Russian president’s non-proliferation pledge and his description of US weapons deployment overseas were way off the mark.

“Russia’s reference to Nato’s nuclear sharing is totally misleading. Nato allies act with full respect of their international commitments,” a Nato spokesperson said in emailed comments to Reuters on Sunday.

“Russia has consistently broken its arms control commitments, most recently suspending its participation in the New START Treaty,” the unnamed spokesperson said.

New START caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

A top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russia’s plan would also destabilise Belarus, which he said had been taken “hostage” by Moscow.

Experts said Russia’s move was significant since it had until now been proud that unlike the United States, it did not deploy nuclear weapons outside its borders. It may be the first time since the mid-1990s that it has done so.

Another senior Zelenskiy adviser on Sunday scoffed at Putin’s plan, saying the Russian leader is “too predictable”.

“Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing and all he can do is scare with tactics,” Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Washington appeared to see no change in the potential for Moscow to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, and it and Nato said the news would not affect their own nuclear position.

“We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own,” the Nato spokesperson wrote.

Tactical nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains on a battlefield rather than those with the capacity to wipe out cities. It is unclear how many such weapons Russia has, given it is an area still shrouded in Cold War secrecy.

Ukraine urges UNSC meeting

Ukraine’s foreign ministry called for an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) after Putin’s announcement, and it asked the international community to “take decisive measures” to prevent Russia’s use of nuclear weapons.

“Russia once again confirms its chronic inability to be a responsible steward of nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence and prevention of war, not as a tool of threats and intimidation.”

Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the risk of escalation to nuclear war “remains extremely low”.

In Washington, Rep Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the US House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, said he regarded Russia’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as disturbing and designed to intimidate the West.

“Tensions are rising. I think this is saber-rattling on the part of Putin basically to try to frighten,” McCaul told the Fox News Sunday programme.

“These tactical nukes are disturbing.”

But the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin’s announcement an extremely dangerous escalation.

“In the context of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” it said on Twitter.

Putin decries Western ‘axis’

Putin said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had long requested the deployment. There was no immediate reaction from Lukashenko.

While the Belarusian army has not formally fought in Ukraine, Minsk and Moscow have close military ties. Minsk allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine last year.

Putin on Sunday also denied Moscow was creating a military alliance with Beijing and instead asserted that Western powers are building a new “axis” similar to the partnership between Germany and Japan during World War Two.

This was a reprisal of a theme he has often used in his portrayal of the Ukraine war — that Moscow is fighting a Ukraine in the grip of supposed Nazis, abetted by Western powers menacing Russia.

Ukraine — which was part of the Soviet Union and itself suffered devastation at the hands of Hitler’s forces — rejects those parallels as spurious pretexts for a war of conquest.

On the battlefield, Russian forces hit military targets in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, causing significant Ukrainian casualties, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying a Ukrainian drone packed with explosives hit the centre of the Russian town of Kireyevsk in the Tula region on Sunday, injuring two people.

Russia has said in the past that Ukrainian drones have flown into its territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure, an assertion that Kyiv denies.

Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said Russian forces had destroyed two apartment buildings in a missile strike on the eastern city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. He said there were no casualties.

Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday Ukrainian forces had repelled 85 Russian attacks over the past 24 hours across the eastern front, including the Bakhmut area, the scene of brutal fighting in the last few months. Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.

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Pakistan’s exports to Middle East fall 12pc

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to the Middle East shrank 11.87 per cent on a year-on-year basis to $1.491 billion in the first eight months of FY23 mainly driven by a substantial decline in exports to the United Arab Emirates.

The exports to the region saw a mixed trend with an increase to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, while a decline to other countries of the region, data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan showed on Saturday.

The UAE has emerged as the leading country for Pakistan’s export of goods as nearly 64pc of the total exports to the region go to the UAE market alone, however, it suffered a decline of 19.91pc to $0.945bn in 8MFY23 from $1.180 over the corresponding months last year (FY22).

Out of seven UAE states, the bulk of exports was destined for Dubai amounting to $856.27 million during 8MFY23 against $996.32m in the corresponding months last year, showing a decline of 14pc.

Pakistan’s top export products to UAE include rice, bovine carcasses and half carcasses, men’s/boys’ cotton ensembles, guavas, mangoes, etc.

Similarly, Pakistan’s top sectoral exports to the UAE include cereals, articles of apparel and clothing, meat and edible offal etc.

The second biggest market for Pakistan’s exports in terms of value is Saudi Arabia. However, the exports witnessed an increase of 15pc to $300.61m in 8MFY23 from $260.26m in the preceding fiscal year.

Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabia have stagnated at around $500m in the last decade, showing that no significant growth was seen in the market access as compared to the UAE.

Pakistan’s top exports to Saudi Arabia include rice (semi- or wholly milled), bovine carcasses and half carcasses, tents, textile materials, etc.

Pakistan’s exports to Qatar dipped 3pc to $119.17m in 8MFY23 from $122.87m during 8MFY22, which include rice, bovine carcasses, potatoes, onions, guavas, mangoes, etc. However, one of the most exported goods to Qatar during 7MFY23 remained footballs as Pakistan was the official football supplier to the FIFA World Cup 2022 held in November in Doha, Qatar.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2023

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GB police ‘barred’ from escorting CM outside region

• CM usually moves with eight-man security detail
• Aide to CM snubs ‘discriminatory’ interior ministry order, vows to move court
• Accuses interior minister of trying to ‘create tiffs between units and federation’

GILGIT: After the interior ministry stopped the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) chief minister and the governor from using regional police as their security detail during visits outside the region, CM’s aide Shamsul Haq Lone hit back at the interior minister, saying the regional government would challenge the directive in court.

The GB CM usually has a security detail of eight police personnel, led by an official of the rank of SP.

In a letter sent by the interior ministry to the GB chief secretary, chief secretaries and police chiefs of all provinces and Azad Kashmir and the chief commissioner and SP Islamabad, the federal government directed that security arrangements for the GB governor and Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid during their visits outside the region would be arranged by the respective provincial and regional governments. According to the letter, seen by Dawn, the GB government will not deploy its police officials for the security of the CM and the governor.

The communique drew a strong response from the aide to the CM, who condemned the move and announced that the GB government would not accept the order. He said the regional government would take the interior ministry to court for issuing such directives. The adviser called Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah “mentally unstable” for attempting to create such tiffs between the units and the federation.

“GB is a sensitive area, Rana Sanaullah played with the sentiments of two million people of the region,” Mr Lone said, accusing the minister of “hatching conspiracies to create a rift between the federal and GB governments.”

Referring to allegations of a standoff between GB and Punjab police personnel at Zaman Park earlier this month, Mr Lone said the allegations had already been rejected by the IG of Punjab.

The adviser also called out the discriminatory interior ministry order and asked, “Did the ministry also ask other provinces for such measures?”

On March 15, the federal government transferred GB police chief Muhammad Saeed from his post in the wake of the information minister’s claim that GB police personnel were being used against Punjab police in the latter’s attempt to arrest PTI chief Imran Khan from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2023

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Mir penalised for Quartararo collision as Honda appeal fails

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Mississippi tornado and storms kill at least 23

At least 23 people were killed and dozens injured after thunderstorms spawning high straight-line winds and tornados ripped across Mississippi late on Friday, leaving hundreds without shelter, state officials said on Saturday.

Four people were missing following the storms, which left a trail of damage for more than 100 miles (161 km). The tornados struck Silver City, a town of 200 people in western Mississippi, as well as Rolling Fork, with a population of 1,700, which was hardest hit. Parts of the state remain under tornado warnings.

“At least 23 Mississippians were killed by last night’s violent tornados,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter. “We know that many more are injured. Search and rescue teams are still active. The loss will be felt in these towns forever.”

Reeves declared a state of emergency in the affected areas, which he said would remain in effect “until such time as this threat to public safety shall cease to exist.”

President Joe Biden described the images from Mississippi as “heartbreaking,” and said in a statement that he had spoken with Reeves and offered his condolences and full federal support for the recovery.

“To those impacted by these devastating storms, and to the first responders and emergency personnel working to help their fellow Americans, we will do everything we can to help,” Biden said. “We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Deanne Criswell told CNN that she would be traveling to Mississippi on Sunday. Criswell pledged to process quickly an anticipated request from Mississippi for a major disaster declaration to enable full federal support now and over the long term.

FEMA was already on the ground, she said, adding that the American Red Cross was setting up shelters.

Search and rescue teams combed through the destruction looking for survivors in Silver City and Rolling Fork.

“My city is gone, but we are resilient,” Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker said on CNN. “We are going to come back strong.”

Walker said several people were trapped in their homes, adding that rescue efforts were underway.

He said 12 of the people who died were in Rolling Fork. Television images showed uprooted trees, houses ripped apart, and damaged motor vehicles. Many areas were without electricity.

Humphreys County Sheriff Bruce Williams told CNN that “this town has been destroyed as a bomb hit it.”

Williams said there were no missing persons reported, but three deaths had been confirmed in the county.

Grim situation

Yazoo Constable Jeremy McCoy, who had gone to Rolling Fork to assist with rescue efforts told CNN of the grim situation on the ground and stepping on nails.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said McCoy. “You hope to hear somebody call, a baby crying, a dog barking or something, but hear nothing.”

Tracy Harden, the owner of Chuck’s Dairy Barn, told the network that she and her husband sought shelter in a cooler. Others hunkered down in their homes, finding refuge in bathtubs.

The organisation Volunteer Mississippi, through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, asked citizens, not to self-deploy but welcomed donations of water, canned food, and other resources.

It said unaffiliated volunteers would be matched with affiliated groups on the ground when the time was right.

A Rolling Fork resident, Brandy Showah, also told CNN that the town was gone. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said, adding that her grandmother’s house suffered damage.

“My friend was trapped in her home a few houses down, but we got her out,” Showah said, adding that people who lived next to her grandmother were still trapped in their houses.

Todd Terrell, who heads a volunteer rescuers group called United Cajun Navy, told ABC News that Rolling Fork was “pretty much devastated” and many people remained trapped in their homes. Terrell compared the destruction to a tornado in Joplin, Missouri, that killed 161 people in 2011.

At least 24 reports of tornadoes were issued to the National Weather Service on Friday night and into Saturday morning by storm chasers and observers.

The reports stretched from the western edge of Mississippi north through the center of the state and into Alabama. Unconfirmed reports said one person had died in Alabama.

Photographs of the destruction published by news networks showed entire buildings left in rubble and cars turned over on their sides as people climbed through the debris in darkness.

“Many in the MS Delta need your prayer and God’s protection tonight,” the governor, Reeves, said late on Friday in a tweet. “We have activated medical support - surging more ambulances and other emergency assets for those affected.”

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Dennis fumes at ‘plonker’ Ticktum after new Formula E blow

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Sao Paulo race decided on last lap by three-way Jaguar scrap

Mitch Evans fought off Jaguar stablemates Nick Cassidy and Sam Bird to win Formula E's first-ever Sao Paulo race [...]

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