Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated on Thursday that he did not receive any complaints of interference in the judiciary by any High Court judge.
“Since I have been Chief Justice [of the Supreme Court of Pakistan], I have not received a single complaint from any high court judge that there has been any interference in their work,” Justice Isa said while speaking at Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA).
Isa also stated that if there were any complaints of meddling then it would have happened before his tenure.
“So, this is a thing to bear in mind that interference is not acceptable but at the same time nothing has been reported to me during … my watch,” said CJP Isa.
The statement comes after six judges of Islamabad High Court (IHC) last month wrote a shocking letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging blatant interference by intelligence agencies in judicial matters.
Nadeem Afzal Chan, former advisor to Imran Khan, stated in a talk show with Geo’s Shahzeb Khanzada that Imran Khan was against the appointment of Babar Sattar as a judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
“Imran Khan said that he writes and speaks against us so we will not let him become a judge,” Chan narrated.
Nadeem said he intervened by saying, “He’s [Justice Babar Sattar] a very fair person and people like him will be beneficial for us in hard times.”
But the former Prime Minister did not agree with him and even told his party member Ali Muhammad Khan to speak against the judge in the parliamentary committee.
Shahzeb Khanzada asked Nadeem that would he give the same advice to the current ruling government that they shouldn’t go against these judges. Nadeem replied, “Absolutely, we should appreciate those judges who are free and fair.”
Indonesian female bowler Rohmalia made a stunning world record by taking seven wickets without giving a single runs against Mongolia on April 25.
The 17-year-old off-spinner made it even more special by achieving the feat on her international debut. Mongolian cricketers could not score any runs in three overs and two balls that Rohmalia bowled.
She surpassed the previous record held by Netherlands fast bowler Frederik Overdijk, who took seven wickets for three runs against France in the T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier in 2021.
In Pakistan, marrying a person of choice is usually looked down upon considering the shame attached to it and lack of option and privilege to interact with people.
Which is why the result of Gallup’s new survey comes as no surprise.
Gallup Pakistan, the well-known public opinion polling agency, has released a new survey on social attitudes, according to which only five per cent of people in Pakistan get married to people of their choice, aka love marriage.
Whereas 85 percent of the country’s marriages are arranged.
A 22-year-old man staged his own kidnapping to trick his father into giving him two million rupees, reports Dawn News.
Two days ago, Muhammed Ahmad, son of Mushtaq Mahra, went missing from Rohillanwali, 25 km from Muzaffargarh city. His father approached police by calling 15, complaining about his son being abducted by Katcha gangs of Sindh.
Rohillanwali police registered a case. A day later, Mushtaq received a call from his son who told his father that he had been kidnapped by the Katcha area gangs of Sindh who demanded two million rupees as ransom for his release. He told his father that the kidnappers would kill him if they did not get the money.
Police took action, reaching the Katcha area of Ranipur in Sindh, and located Ahmad by using modern technology and recovered him.
The SHO said that Ahmad had faked his kidnapping and his ‘kidnapper’ kept calling his parents, demanding the ransom amount.
During the investigation, police came to know that Ahmad wanted to marry a girl of his choice while his parents opposed it. He made a plan with his friend to get a money from his father and contract a love marriage. Police arrested Ahmad and his accomplice who was with him in Ranipur.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup 2024 trophy has reached Islamabad.
The trophy was unveiled on a double decker bus at various locations including D Chowk, Faisal Masjid and Pakistan Monument. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and ICC officials were also present on the occasion.
A photo shoot of the trophy was also held at the Pakistan Monument, while a large number of citizens also took photos of the trophy.
After Islamabad, the World T20 trophy will be taken to Abbottabad and Lahore, where the trophy will be unveiled at Gaddafi Stadium on the occasion of the fifth T20 between Pakistan and New Zealand cricket team.
The trophy will go to India after completing the tour in Pakistan.
Irfan Mehsood, the world record holder who made a century of Guinness World Records, has returned the prize check of five lacs rupees, displaying unhappiness with the behavior of the officials of the Sports Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Irfan was given a prize check of PKR five lac rupees in recognition of his services but the player returned the check to the office staff of the Sports Advisor.
Irfan Mehsood told Geo News, “The behavior of the officials of the sports department was disgraceful. If the sports authorities cannot respect the players, then do not call them to their offices for some money.”
He said that officials of the sports department were bargaining with him that two or three lacs would be enough.
Sports officials have said that they are not aware of the check being returned.
India’s six-week election juggernaut resumed Friday with millions of people lining up outside polling stations in parts of the country hit by a scorching heatwave.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a third term in the election, which concludes in early June.
But turnout in the first round of voting last week dropped nearly four points to 66 percent from the last election in 2019, with speculation in Indian media outlets that higher-than-average temperatures were to blame.
Modi took to social media shortly before polls re-opened to urge those voting to turn out in “record numbers” despite the heat.
“A high voter turnout strengthens our democracy,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Your vote is your voice!”
The second round of the poll — conducted in phases to ease the immense logistical burden of staging an election in the world’s most populous country — includes districts that have this week seen temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
AFP – MOHAMMED
India’s weather bureau said Thursday that severe heatwave conditions would continue in several states through the weekend.
That includes parts of the eastern state of Bihar, where five districts are voting Friday and where temperatures more than 5.1 degrees Celsius above the seasonal average were recorded this week.
Karnataka state in the south and parts of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and heartland of the Hindu faith, are also scheduled to vote while facing heatwave conditions.
Earlier this week, India’s election commission said it had formed a task force to review the impact of heatwaves and humidity before each round of voting.
The Hindu newspaper suggested the decision could have been taken out of concerns that the intense heat “might have resulted in a dip in voter turnout”.
In a Monday statement, the commission said it had “no major concern” about the impact of hot temperatures on Friday’s vote.
AFP – SHARMA
But it added that it had been closely monitoring weather reports and would ensure “the comfort and well-being of voters along with polling personnel”.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted South and Southeast Asia, prompting thousands of schools across the Philippines and Bangladesh to suspend in-person classes.
The heat disrupted campaigning in India on Wednesday when roads minister Nitin Gadkari fainted at a rally for Modi in Maharashtra state.
Footage of the speech showed Gadkari falling unconscious and being carried off the stage by handlers. He later blamed the incident on discomfort “due to the heat”.
Years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
AFP – SHARMA
Friday will also see voting in the constituency of India’s most prominent opposition leader — Rahul Gandhi of the once-dominate Congress party.
The 53-year-old is fighting to retain his seat in the southern state of Kerala, a stronghold for opponents of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“It is the duty of every citizen to become a soldier of the constitution, step out of their homes today and vote to protect democracy,” he wrote on X.
Gandhi is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, but his Congress party has suffered two landslide defeats against Modi in the last two general elections.
Gandhi has been hamstrung by several criminal cases lodged against him by BJP members, including a conviction for criminal libel that saw him briefly disqualified from parliament last year.
The opposition alliance has accused Modi’s government of using law enforcement agencies to selectively target its leaders and undermine its campaign.
More than 968 million people are eligible to take part in India’s election, with the final round of voting on June 1 and results expected three days later.
In the fourth T20 match, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 4 runs in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and invited New Zealand to bat first.
New Zealand inning:
Batting first, New Zealand scored 178 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
New Zealand’s Tim Robinson scored 51 runs and Dan Foxcroft scored 34 runs, while Tom Blundell scored 28 runs and Michael Bracewell scored 27 runs, Josh Clarkson was dismissed for zero.
On behalf of Pakistan, Abbas Afridi dismissed 3 players, Usama Mir and Iftikhar Ahmed also got one wicket each.
Pakistan inning:
The national team managed to score 174 runs for 8 wickets in pursuit of the target of 179 runs.
Fakhar Zaman scored 61 runs on behalf of Pakistan, Iftikhar Ahmed scored 23 runs, Saeem Ayub scored 20 runs and Usman Khan scored 16 runs. Imad Wasim was not out with 22 runs.
Last match of this series will be played on April 27 in Gaddafi cricket stadium.
A report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) reveals that foreign aid to Pakistan, despite commitments exceeding $200 billion, has failed to deliver sustainable economic growth.
The report, titled “Foreign Aid Donors and Consultants Analysing Pakistan’s Foreign Aid Inflows and Their Outcomes,” highlights that while about $155 billion has been disbursed from the committed amount, there’s little evidence that these funds have significantly improved Pakistan’s economy.
PIDE finds that the aid has not met key criteria for effective foreign aid, as outlined in the influential Millikan-Rostow report.
These criteria include the ability to transfer resources without creating future liabilities, avoiding source-tied aid, promoting sustainable economic development, increasing the marginal savings rate to drive capital formation, and supporting development programmes that enable productive use of additional capital.
The PIDE report notes that Pakistan’s aid programmes fail to meet these benchmarks.
According to Mettis Global, the research acknowledges some positive outcomes in specific sectors, such as the United Nations-led vaccination efforts, which have improved public health.
However, it also points out that this success has led to greater dependency on external sources for vaccines, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of such programmes.
Overall, the report suggests that despite the significant amount of foreign aid received, Pakistan’s economy has not experienced the desired transformation.
Even when examining Official Development Assistance (ODA) by sector, the improvements are marginal and do not lead to substantial aggregate economic growth.
This finding raises concerns about Pakistan’s reliance on foreign aid and underscores the need for more effective and sustainable economic policies.
