Former caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda announced on Tuesday that they will not join either the government nor opposition sides in the Senate.
The Senate Secretariat released a notification about the six independent senators in the senate and their decision to join a party. According to the issued notification, two out of the six senators, Kakar and Vawda, decided to not join any side in the Senate.
Similarly, Senator Mohsin Naqvi, who is also a federal interior minister, was not sure about joining a side in the upper house.
However, Naqvi’s name was mentioned as a senator on the treasury bench with an additional note of “(Federal Minister, however, not yet opted)”.
Senator Abdul Qadir joined the government benches after winning the senate polls. The senator was initially part of PTI and then left the party after May 9.
Former speaker of the National Assembly and a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Asad Qaiser, appeared on a talk show ‘Khabar’ with Meher Bokhari on ARY News and said that he refuses to apologise for the May 9 events.“We don’t even apologise to our fathers, why would we ask for forgiveness from anyone else,” he said.
On May 7, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the people involved in the May 9 riots must be punished as per the law.
The military spokesperson also said, “There can be no dialogue with an anarchist group,” he said firmly, adding that the “only way forward for the anarchists [group] is to apologise sincerely [for their acts], abandon the politics of hate and indulge in constructive politics [instead]”.
Asad Qaiser stated that PTI wants the constitution and law to prevail in the country saying, “We want all citizens to have equal rights, for that all the institutions have to work within their constitutional limits.”
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered on Wednesday to transfer former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, from Banigala to Adiala jail, Geo is reporting.
IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the decision on Bushra Bibi’s plea seeking her transfer from Banigala to Adiala jail. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan is also currently in Adiala jail.
IHC reserved a verdict on Bushra Bibi’s petition on May 2 after hearing arguments. On the other hand, the Adiala jail superintendent said that they can’t accommodate Bushra Bibi as the jail is already overcrowded and there are security concerns.
Bushra was placed under house arrest at her residence in Bani Gala on January 31, following her conviction in the Toshakhana case. Authorities had declared the Bani Gala residence a “sub-jail” to confine the former first lady at the request of the Adiala jail superintendent.
Karachi police and intelligence agencies caught two terrorists connected to India’s main intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), during a targeted operation, Korangi Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hasan Sardar confirmed on Monday.
Korangi police and agencies worked together to stop a major terrorist plan targeting a city.
The SSP confirmed that police found two hand grenades, a 9mm gun, and bullets from the arrested terrorists.
In the past, there have been several incidents where RAW agents were caught infiltrating Pakistani territory for intelligence gathering and terrorist activities.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi exposed the “sophisticated and sinister” Indian campaign of extra-territorial and extra-judicial killings.
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the people involved in the May 9 riots must be punished as per the law.
“The issue of May 9 riots is not limited to the Pakistan Army but [in fact] concerns the whole nation,” said the General during a rare press conference.
The military spokesperson also emphasized that dialogue should take place between the politicians rather than institutions and said, “No talks will be held with any political leader, or group which attacks its own army and indulges in propaganda [against them].”
“There can be no dialogue with an anarchist group,” he said firmly, adding that the “only way forward for the anarchists [group] is to apologise sincerely [for their acts], abandon the politics of hate and indulge in constructive politics [instead]”.
DG ISPR remarked, “For such people, it is said: ’ You can fool all the people some of the times, some of the people all the times but you cannot fool all the people all the times.’”
When the General was asked about PTI’s demand of a judicial commission to probe the entire May 9 events, he replied, “Fine, we are ready, make a judicial commission but if you have to, then go to the root of this entire incident. The judicial commission should also determine what the goals of the 2014 dharna (sit-in) were and how Parliament was attacked. It should also look into the PTV attack and how people were encouraged to stand against the state, indulge in civil disobedience, and burn utility bills.”
The Commission, the army spokesperson said, should also investigate “How Islamabad was attacked in 2016 with KP’s federal resources, and then again in 2022.”
“It must also see how letters were written to the IMF and lobbying was conducted abroad so that Pakistan would not be given loans and fall into a state of default.”
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah informed Islamabad High Court (IHC) that former Prime Minister Imran Khan was aware of the sensitivity of the diplomatic cipher but he didn’t protect it. The FIA prosecutor also said that Imran Khan not only kept the copy of cipher without permission but also failed to safeguard it.
He also said that the main purpose of cipher security is to prevent its circulation to unauthorised individuals.
Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the petitions of founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday in the cipher case.
“The cipher document is stamped as classified, and its copies are mandated to be destroyed after six months,” the FIA prosecutor explained, and added that even after declassification, stringent measures are in place for its disposal.
However, the chief justice asked how the accused will present a defence without a lawyer and what the impact of the accused’s statement will be. In response, the FIA prosecutor said that the defence doesn’t need legal representation under Section 342.
Chief Minister of KP Ali Amin Gandapur appeared in an interview with journalist Hamid Mir and spoke against the dangers of the drug ice, aka crystal meth, mostly used by young students.
The KP CM said that he would soon “introduce the death penalty for this drug.”
Gandapur remarked, “This drug is destroying our nation and our youth.”
“I will start the process of drug testing all the students in my province so their parents and I know what is happening,” he promised.
The Chief Minister said that the process of drug tests is going to start very soon under his administration.
Ice is the street name for the drug Methamphetamine or Crystal Meth which is a highly addictive and dangerous chemical concoction.
Khyber Pakhtunkhua (KP) chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Monday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) should learn from Jamiat Ullema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s experience.
In an interview on the Geo News programme “Capital Talk”, Gandapur said: “[We] should benefit from Maulana Sahib’s experience as he knows [better] what had been happening in Pakistan.”
The provincial chief executive urged the JUI-F chief to be clear in his statements, as he had earlier announced that the PDM ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan. However, now he claims that former army chief, Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, is responsible for regime change, said Gandapur.
The JUI-F chief discovered “ideological coordination” in the anti-government movement, so he openly supported the PTI and urged the PML-N-led government to respect the “constitutional rights” of the former ruling party, Geo News reported.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Monday condemned the Faizabad Dharna Inquiry Commission stating that the report was “very disappointing” and he was “surprised” to read it.
The CJP made these comments as a three-member bench — headed by Isa himself — resumed the hearing of the federal government’s review petition after the inquiry commission, formed to investigate the Faizabad sit-in, submitted its report.
The commission was made on SC orders following the case regarding the 2017 dharna by TLP in Islamabad. The commission gave a “clean chit” to the former spymaster General (retd) Faiz Hameed and former Punjab Rangers director general Major General (retd) Azhar Naveed Hayat.
“What did the commission do? It just wasted time. The commission is just making speeches,” said CJP Isa during the hearing.
“It seems that all this was done just to exonerate General Faiz,” he observed.
The chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly has sparked a conflict between big figures in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with the party’s political committee voting in favour of Sheikh Waqas Akram to replace the famous Sher Afzal Marwat.
Party insiders told Dawn News that PTI’s political committee gathered in Islamabad on Friday to discuss replacing Marwat with member of the National Assembly (NA), Sheikh Waqas Akram.
The party insider said that 19 members voted in favour of Sheikh Waqas, while seven people voted for Sher Afzal Marwat. Former speaker of NA, Asad Qaiser and Sher Afzal Marwat were not present in the meeting.
“This is a conspiracy against me by the PTI establishment,” a bitter and angry sounding Sher Afzal Marwat said, confirming the report, when approached for comment over the phone.
