Tag: petition

  • ECP rejects PTI petition seeking stop on Gilani notification

    ECP rejects PTI petition seeking stop on Gilani notification

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking to stop the notification of newly-elected Senator Yousaf Raza Gilani.

    According to reports, the election watchdog sought amendments to the petition.

    Last Wednesday, Gilani, who was fielded as a joint candidate of the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on a technocrat seat from Islamabad, defeated Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in Senate elections in a major setback to the government. He received 169 votes to the latter’s 164.

    On Saturday, three PTI leaders — Farrukh Habib, Maleeka Bokhari, and Kanwal Shauzab — approached the election commission to halt the issuance of the victory notification for Gilani until a probe into a contentious video, showing the former prime minister’s son Ali Haider Gilani explaining to MPs how to waste their votes, is completed.

    In another petition filed on Monday, the trio sought an early hearing of the case which was earlier scheduled for March 11 — a day before the election for the office of Senate chairman.

    “The matter is extremely important as a senator elected with corrupt practices is now aspiring to become the chairman of Senate,” the petition said.

    “It is a matter of utmost importance, which will have far-reaching consequences.”

    “The election of Yousuf Raza Gilani has been a rare incident in the national political history,” the request further said.

    “Hopefully, the election commission will hear the matter urgently, as it heard the issue related to [the] by-election in NA-75, Daska.”

    “The issuance of the notification should be stopped till the action on the video scandal is completed,” the petition said.

    The video, which had emerged hours before legislators across the country were set to go to Senate elections, showed Ali Gilani explaining to MPs how to cancel their votes. In a press conference, Ali Gilani accepted that he was in the leaked video, but denied he was engaging in a deal to buy votes for his father.

    A separate video clip showed Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah assuring four MPs of getting paid “over and above” the agreed amount and also resolve all issues from the provincial government.

    The person, who was seen finalising the deal, told Shah that all the four were “sold” and, in return, Shah also assured the legislators that all the tasks of his “brothers” were now his own responsibility.

  • Author Noam Chomsky condemns Jang/Geo owner’s arrest

    Author Noam Chomsky condemns Jang/Geo owner’s arrest

    Renowned linguist, philosopher, historian, social critic and political commentator Noam Chomsky has endorsed a petition condemning the arrest of Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rahman.

    According to reports, the petition stated that the arrest of Mir Shakilur Rahman, the editor-in-chief of the Jang/Geo media group in Pakistan, had taken place without a free trial or conviction.

    “Not only has the trial not begun, but no charges have even been framed against him. Yet he has been in a lockup now for over a month, practically in solitary confinement,” it added.

    “Under international law, if a prisoner spends more than 22 hours alone in a prison without meaningful human interaction, it is considered solitary confinement, the psychological and health damage of which can be permanent,” the petition highlighted. 

    “Rahman has been cooperating with the authorities about the case which is related to a 34-year old property transaction between two private parties. He presented himself before the investigators, flying in from outside the country,” it added.

    “There is no reason to not release him from jail, particularly at a time when the global coronavirus pandemic is leading governments to set free non-violent prisoners with no criminal record, particularly if they are elderly and have health issues as Rahman does,” it noted. 

    “Let the case continue against him if there is merit. Let him be arrested if he is found guilty after a trial. This is what fundamental rights are about. This is what an elected government that claims to be democratic should ensure,” the petition concluded.

  • ‘First individuals to embrace Islam were women,’ says IHC on petition calling Aurat March ‘anti-Islamic’

    ‘First individuals to embrace Islam were women,’ says IHC on petition calling Aurat March ‘anti-Islamic’

    Reserving its verdict on the maintainability of a petition seeking to restrict the Aurat March for being “unlawful, unconstitutional and un-Islamic”, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has questioned the petitioners’ interpretation of slogans they had objected to.

    “The first individuals to embrace Islam were women,” IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah noted as the petitioners’ lawyers told the court that they sought restrictions on the Aurat March — scheduled to take place across the country on March 8 as the world marks Women’s Day — and shared three slogans that women would chant at such an event, Dawn reported.

    The eight petitioners had earlier appealed to the court to regulate activities like the Aurat March “subject to law, norms, decency and public morality in the best interest of justice and to order the respondents to perform their obligatory duties towards the Constitution and the law of land in this regard and restrain unlawful, unconstitutional and un-Islamic activities forthwith”.

    “In our society, various Islamic laws are being seriously violated. The court hopes that the petitioner also approaches it for the enforcement of all these Islamic laws,” remarked Justice Minallah during the hearing today.

    “The women’s slogans are that they be given the rights that Islam grants them. Can we interpret their slogans by ourselves?” the judge questioned.

    “It is important that you see the Aurat March in a positive light. On your own, how can you interpret these slogans?”

    The judge also questioned the petitioners’ counsel on how many women in the country were given the right to an inheritance, alluding to the difficulties they face despite clear Islamic laws in place.

    “Who ended the practice of burying girls alive?” the IHC chief justice inquired, in response to which the petitioners’ lawyer said Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had done so.

    “In our society, the birth of a girl is still not considered good,” he added.

    The petitioners’ lawyers told the court that they completely supported women’s rights, adding that they were not opposed to the march or to the rights of women.

    They pleaded for the court to pass an order that the march is conducted within the ambit of the law, Constitution and Islam.

    Following the statements of the parties in the case today, the IHC reserved its verdict.

  • Man files petition against ‘Ehd-e-Wafa’

    A man has filed a petition against the drama serial Ehd-e-Wafa in the Lahore High Court arguing that the drama has negatively portrayed politicians and media personnel.

    The petitioner, Muhammad Zeeshan, in his petition stated that the show has represented a politician, media anchor, bureaucrat and army official but have ignored the judiciary.

    “Four pillars of the state were displayed but the role of the army was shown instead of the judiciary,” read the petition.

    Zeeshan further said that Ehd-e-Wafa could damage the image of politicians and media personnel. He said that the roles shown in the drama portrayed a negative image of Pakistan internationally and requested the court to stop the airing of the drama episodes.

    The case has been taken up by the court.

    Read more – ‘Ehd-e-Wafa’s latest episode comes with a bucketful of tears

    In Ehd-e-Wafa, Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt) is a politician, Shariq (Wahaj Ali) a successful journalist, Shehryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar) an assistant commissioner and Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) an army officer.

    Directed by Saifee Hassan, Ehd-e-Wafa is a joint collaboration between ISPR and Hum TV. It has been penned by Mustafa Afridi of Sang-e-Mar Mar and Aangan fame.