Tag: law

  • Imran cites British PM Rishi Sunak fine for not wearing seatbelt as ‘rule of law’

    Imran cites British PM Rishi Sunak fine for not wearing seatbelt as ‘rule of law’

    British Prime Minister (PM) Rishi Sunak was fined by the police on Friday for not wearing a seatbelt in the car while filming a social media video.

    Lancashire Police announced on Twitter that they have issued Sunak “with a conditional offer of fixed penalty”.

    In the video that went viral on Thursday, the seatbeltless Conservative leader speaks from the back seat of a moving car about his policies for boosting growth during a trip to Lancashire in England’s north.

    According to BBC, passengers caught failing to wear a seat belt when one is available can be fined £100 (PKR 28,475).

    Reacting to the news, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former PM Imran Khan highlighted the rule of law in Britain.

    In a tweet, Khan said, “This is rule of law where no one is above it; this differentiates prosperous nations from poor ones.”

    “No NROs, no qabza GPS, no custodial torture for tweeting the truth about the powerful because the justice system protects the weak. Justice was the bedrock of Riyasat e Madina,” he added

    However, Sunak apologised afterward and called it a “brief error of judgement”.

    It is the second time Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice while in being in the government.

    Last April, he was fined along with the-then PM Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie for breaking Covid lockdown rules by attending a gathering in Downing Street in June 2020.

  • PPP Sindh MPA, two others acquitted in Nazim Jokhio case after out-of-court settlement

    PPP Sindh MPA, two others acquitted in Nazim Jokhio case after out-of-court settlement

    A local court on Thursday acquitted three people including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Member of Sindh Assembly Jam Owais in the Nazim Jokhio murder case.

    The Additional District and Sessions court Malir announced the verdict on the applications of reconciliation between the victim’s family and the accused.

    Jam Owais and other two persons appeared in the court. The court accepted the reconciliation petition of Jam Owais, Meraj Jokhio and Ahmed Khan. The court rejected the petition of two accused for reconciliation.

    On November 3 last year, Nazim’s tortured body was found in Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Jam Awais’ farmhouse in Karachi’s Malir area, a day after he filmed a group of foreigners hunting the endangered houbara bustard in Achar Salaar village in Thatta.

    According to Jokhio’s brother, Nazim had broadcast a live stream on social media of a hunting expedition involving foreign guests of PPP MPA Jam Awais, after which Jam Awais called Nazim to the house where he was allegedly murdered.

  • New Zealand passes world’s first tobacco law to prevent future generations from smoking

    New Zealand passes world’s first tobacco law to prevent future generations from smoking

    As part of its attempts to become smoke-free by 2025, New Zealand has passed new regulations. The newest legislation prohibits anyone under the age of 14 from ever being able to legally purchase cigarettes. The decision to ban smoking for the next generation would be a first in the world.

    According to associate health minister Ayesha Verrall, “Thousands of people will live longer, healthier lives and the health system will be $5bn better off from not needing to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations.”

    The laws passed their final reading on Tuesday evening and will come into force in 2023. The number of stores legally allowed to sell cigarettes will be reduced to a tenth of their existing levels – from 6,000 to just 600 countrywide.

    Tobacco will not be sold to anyone who was born on or after January 1, 2009, in New Zealand, which will be the first country in the world to specify the age for smoking that increases every year.

    The amount of nicotine that is legally allowed to be present in tobacco products will be drastically reduced, and instead of being sold in corner stores and supermarkets, they will have to only be sold through specific tobacco stores, according to The Guardian.

    These laws will also be accompanied by a number of other initiatives to make smoking more expensive and less accessible.

  • Peshawar SHO announces he will resolve issues according to Sharia

    Peshawar SHO announces he will resolve issues according to Sharia

    Abdul Ali, Station House Officer (SHO) of Shahpur Police Station in Peshawar, has announced that he will resolve issues reported to his station according to Sharia.

    In the video, he can be heard saying that he will not let eunuchs or dancers be invited to marriage ceremonies, there will be a complete ban on fireworks and aerial firing in marriage ceremonies and strict action will be taken against violations.

    “If there is any issue in the area, i will take fatwa from the madrassa and tell people openly how it works,” he said while talking to Geo News.

    SHO Abdul Ali told Geo that he did not say anything wrong in the video.

  • ‘Qanoon ke saamnay sar jhukay’: PM and others react to IK’s disqualification

    ‘Qanoon ke saamnay sar jhukay’: PM and others react to IK’s disqualification

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday disqualified Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan under Article 63(1)(p) of the constitution in the Toshakhana reference.

    Article 63 (1)(p) of the Constitution states that an individual is, “for the time being, disqualified from being elected or chosen as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament) or of a provincial assembly under any law for the time being in force”.

    According to the verdict, criminal proceedings will be initiated against Imran for misdeclaration.

    A four-member bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, unanimously announced the verdict. The PTI chairman is no more a member of the National Assembly.

    The commission stated that Imran Khan submitted a false affidavit and was found involved in corrupt practices in the reference.

    Following the announcement, Khan’s party leaders and the coalition government parties reacted to this major ruling.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said that PTI should refrain from violence and bow its head before the law.

    “The Election Commission did justice in the Toshakhana reference. The nation has seen that the post of Prime Minister has been made a source of personal income through corrupt practices. The idol of honesty and trust was shattered,” the premier added.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz spoke to the media in London. She said, “Khan is Pakistan’s first certified liar with irrefutable evidence of theft.”

    She added that after this verdict criminal proceedings should start against Khan and he should be punished for his theft.

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that Khan has been caught “red-handed”. In a tweet, he stated: “He who would spread lies about the alleged corruption of his political opponents has been caught red-handed.”

    The former planning minister, Asad Umar, made an announcement, saying: “The decision will be challenged in court. The dream of ‘minus Imran Khan’ will never come true.”

    Umar’s party mate Fawad Chaudhry asked the people to come out of their houses for their rights.

    He called the ECP’s ruling a “slap on the face of 220 million people”.

    “Not just anyone cannot disqualify Imran Khan. Only the public can do that,” the PTI leader said.

    He alleged that today’s verdict was “written by Nawaz Sharif and signed by his servants”.

    Alongside him, PTI leader Shahbaz Gill said the PTI would approach “every forum” against the verdict. “Imran has been disqualified from just one seat, not politics,” he added.

    Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman, took to Twitter to say that Imran Khan’s disqualification case is no different as he is not the only one who has been disqualified.

    In a series of tweets, she said, “Those who claim to bring a neutral umpire want the umpire to decide in their favour, otherwise the decision will not be accepted.”

  • ‘Kya Imran Khan ne hum se poocha jab army chief ko extension deni thi?’ Shehbaz lambasts Khan

    ‘Kya Imran Khan ne hum se poocha jab army chief ko extension deni thi?’ Shehbaz lambasts Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, September 27, stressed that the appointment of the new army chief will be through “law and constitution” and that “everyone is going to follow it”.

    “They want to bring their own army chief… they are afraid that if a strong and patriotic army chief is appointed then he would ask them about the looted wealth,” the PTI chief had said about the government at a rally in Faisalabad earlier this month.

    Imran had also called out the incumbent government for consulting an “absconder” and “convict” — former Prime Minister and PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif — for the crucial decision, claiming that it was against the Constitution.

    At the press conference today, Shehbaz asked, “Did Imran Khan consult us before giving an extension to the army chief?”

    He also said that he didn’t see anything wrong in consulting Nawaz. “What’s the point of criticising my talks with Nawaz? He is my leader and I discussed Pakistan’s issues with him,” he asserted.

    The premier termed the audio leaks between key figures in the coalition government a “very serious lapse” as he announced that a high-level committee would be constituted to probe the matter.

    Shehbaz said the “audio leaks” scandal was a critical matter and he was in the process of forming a high-level committee to probe into it.

    “Who is going to visit the Pakistani prime minister from overseas now?” the PM questioned. “This scandal has put the prestige of a 220 million-strong nation at stake.”

    “I am taking notice of this and a committee will be formed and reach the depth of this matter,” PM Shehbaz said.

    Audio recordings of conversations between key government figures — including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz and some members of the federal cabinet — discussing governance matters privately surfaced over the weekend, prompting concerns over the security of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    Sharif said that previously several audios relating to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan were leaked but no questions were raised on that. “Have you heard the conversation about diamonds? About the piece of land that was given to them as a gift? You don’t talk about it but you are discussing this matter,” said the PM.

    “Imran Niazi brutally used his force to target opponents,” he reminded the media.

    “He called [ex-FIA DG] Bashir Memon to his office and asked him to file cases against his rivals. This is on record. Did I amend the policy, there is no question about it. You must do justice. I will apologise to the nation if I did something wrong.”

    “Imran also sold Toshakhana gifts, why aren’t those audios being leaked. The audios on the increase in sugar prices should surface […] this is a billion-rupee scam.”

    “Imran said he will form a commission. Was anyone caught, was anyone punished? Billions of dollars from Pakistan were wasted,” the prime minister pointed out, claiming that Imran’s “corruption is a long saga”.

    Shehbaz said that Imran did not spare any opportunity of “Dividing the army and institutions”, highlighting that the PTI chief was creating polarisation which could take the country towards destruction.

    “This is an alarm bell. This man is a risk to the country,” he concluded.

  • ‘Only Yes means Yes’: Spain passes new law that requires explicit consent for sex

    ‘Only Yes means Yes’: Spain passes new law that requires explicit consent for sex

    Spain’s lower house of parliament passed legislation on Thursday requiring explicit consent for sex rather than consent that might be inferred from silence or by default.
    The legislation was passed on Thursday with 205 lawmakers voting in favour and 141 against.
    The law “Only Yes means Yes”, defines rape as sex without clear consent.

    “Consent is recognised only when a person has freely demonstrated it through actions which, in the context of the circumstances of the case, clearly express the person’s will,” says the law.

    The new law also sets fines for street harassment and for sharing intimate images and videos of a person without their consent.

    It was proposed by the country’s Socialist government after the high-profile “Wolfpack” gang-rape incident in Pamplona in 2016 prompted widespread protests.
    An 18-year-old woman was gang-raped by five men at the bull-running festival in Pamplona, northern Spain.

    In court, it was argued that video footage from the men’s phones, which showed the woman motionless and with her eyes closed during the attack, was proof of her consent.

    The men were convicted guilty of sexual abuse but not of rape because the woman was unable to prove that she had not given consent.

  • The Minor Case: Magistrate allows The Minor to meet a ‘stranger’

    The Minor Case: Magistrate allows The Minor to meet a ‘stranger’

    The Minor, who was sent to a Dar-ul–Aman (shelter home) in Lahore on court orders, was allowed to meet a stranger by a local magistrate.

    “Extremely questionable proceedings of the Concerned Magistrate at Lahore who on the application of a complete Stranger has allowed her to meet The Minor at Darul Aman to get Vakalatnamas signed whereas kept our application to intimate Court abt Hon SHC order is pending,” tweeted lawyer Jibran Nasir, who is representing The Minor’s father.

    The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday ordered to transfer The Minor to Karachi. A two-member SHC bench announced its verdict yesterday on a petition filed by The Minor’s father Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi regarding the alleged kidnapping and child marriage of his daughter.

  • Kevin Spacey charged with four different cases of sexual assault

    Kevin Spacey charged with four different cases of sexual assault

    American actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday.

    House Of Cards star was also charged with one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, the CPS said.

    The charges relate to two alleged incidents in London in 2005, another two in 2008, and a further incident in Gloucestershire, western England, in 2013.

    Hollywood star Kevin Spacey charged with sexual assault against three men | Evening Standard

    The alleged victim of the 2005 incidents is now in his 40s, while the two men allegedly involved in the 2008 and 2013 incidents are now in their 30s, London’s Metropolitan Police said.

    The decision to charge Spacey “follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service in its investigation,” the force said.

    While the charges were authorized on Thursday, Spacey is not currently in England or Wales and the charges cannot formally be applied until he enters one of those countries, a CPS spokesperson told CNN.

    The agency did not comment on whether it would be seeking Spacey’s extradition if he does not do so.

  • FIA arrests gang from Lahore for selling child pornography on dark web

    FIA arrests gang from Lahore for selling child pornography on dark web

    The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Cell nabbed a gang in Lahore on Friday that was allegedly making money from the “dark web” through child pornography, Muhammad Shehzad reports for The Express Tribune.

    According to the preliminary inquiry, at least 10 people have been sexually exploited. Suspects living in a private housing society situated in Lahore would lure victims through money or other means, rape them and film the entire process.

    According to the FIA, the suspects extorted money from the victims and sexually assaulted them by threatening to go viral with their obscene tapes if they refused.

    The complainant, father of a victim, said that the accused, Arslan Arshad and Ammad Shahzad, used to to sexually assault and videotape children of their neighbourhood without their consent. They would monetise it by uploading it to the internet. He said that his son was also trapped by them. The suspects on February 15 took the victim to the upper portion of his house and sexually assaulted him and also recorded a video.

    After receiving the plea, the FIA initiated an investigation and arrested suspect Abid Ali in the Arifwala tehsil of Pakpattan district.

    Officials also discovered a big amount of films of child pornography on his phone, and the main suspect, Arslan, was seen raping youngsters in the videos.

    FIA Cyber Crime Cell Lahore has registered a case against the accused persons under Section 20, 21 and 22 of The Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA) 2016 and section 109 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).