Tag: Punjab

  • Ap ko tab jazbaati hona chahiye tha jab Nawaz Sharif ko nikala gaya, Maryam tells Chief Justice

    Ap ko tab jazbaati hona chahiye tha jab Nawaz Sharif ko nikala gaya, Maryam tells Chief Justice

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, speaking at a lawyers’ convention, criticised Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial after the Supreme Court (SC) verdict of holding of Punjab polls on May 14.

    “I saw tickers on TV attributed to the CJP, that said that the chief justice got emotional during the hearing.”

    “He should have felt emotional when an elected prime minister [Nawaz Sharif] was ousted on the basis of an expired Iqama (work permit),” she said about the controversial decision that ousted her father from power.

    “An election won by Nawaz was handed over to Imran … why didn’t you get emotional then? Why didn’t you get emotional when your brother [judge] Justice Qazi Faez Isa was suffering?” Maryam asked.

    Regarding the verdict which was given by the three-member bench, she asked, “How can the CJP expect us to accept a decision that even his brother judges are not accepting it? He discluded the judges who had raised legal reservations and instead brought those judges who favoured him.”

    She also pointed out CJ’s remarks about parliamentarians. Bandial had said: “Today when you go to parliament, you find people addressing the parliament who were till yesterday in captivity, imprisoned, declared traitors. They are now talking over there, and being respected because they are representatives of the people.”

    “Instead of taunting Shehbaz Sharif and the entire government for going to jail, the CJP could have mentioned that those who went to jail were imprisoned due to fake cases,” she stated, recalling the number of cases registered against PML-N leaders and the times they appeared before courts.

    “Our leaders like Rana Sanaullah remained in jail for six months and they had a smile on their faces when they were freed. But Imran and his men are getting bail within two hours,” she criticised.

    She also gave an example of herself being in Adiala Jail for months.

    Addressing the CJP again, Maryam said: “You encouraged the man who violated the Constitution and now he is causing anarchy in the country.”

    She claimed that Imran and “his facilitators” have a plan in store, which Maryam claimed was to be executed by September before the new CJP takes charge.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also criticised Bandial’s remarks and said that it is a matter of pride for him that he has been released by the high court on merit in false and fabricated cases.

    “It is our right under the Constitution to express our views in the parliament,” he said

    Earlier, supremo Nawaz Sharif urged the parliament to file a reference of misconduct against Chief Justice Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar who decided on the Punjab election date.

    Calling the verdict a reflection of a “one-man show” in the judiciary, Nawaz argued that one individual should not be allowed to hold multiple functions, such as the prime minister, defence minister, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and above all, parliament.

  • PTI to celebrate Youm-i-Tashakur in over 75 cities across all provinces today

    PTI to celebrate Youm-i-Tashakur in over 75 cities across all provinces today

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce that his party and supporters will celebrate Youm-i-Tashakur in over 75 cities across Pakistan after Isha prayers today.

    Khan’s announcement comes after Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday declared Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision on delay in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) polls null and void. 

    Khan said, “SC has stood with Constitution & put an end to Doctrine of Necessity, which is used in the absence of Rule of Law. This is also a huge step forward towards Haqeeqi Azadi.”

    The PTI chairman said that he will address and warn his people of the real danger that, despite the SC order, the ruling mafia will still not hold elections because they are petrified of losing.

    “We must be prepared to come out on the streets for peaceful protest in support & protection of SC, which is upholding Constitution,” tweeted Khan.

    The Supreme Court, in its verdict, declared the electoral body’s decision to hold polls on October 8 as “unconstitutional”.

    A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, announced that Punjab polls should be conducted on May 14.

    Regarding the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the three-member bench said during the course of the hearing nobody represented the provincial governor therefore the issue, only till this extent, will remain under debate.

  • Cotton production in Pakistan drops to 40-year low due to flood damage

    Cotton production in Pakistan drops to 40-year low due to flood damage

    According to data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), cotton production in the country has decreased by 34 per cent this year compared to the previous season. The final figures for the crop year 2022-23 show that Pakistan produced 4,912,069 bales, which is the lowest in around four decades, as opposed to 7,441,833 bales produced in the 2021-22 season, resulting in a year-on-year decline of 2,528,764 bales or a 34 per cent loss.

    This drop in production means that the textile industry will have to import around 10 million bales to meet its annual demand of 15 million bales. However, mill consumption in the year 2022-23 has also been reported at 8.8 million bales, the lowest in over 20 years, primarily due to severe import financing issues.

    Market sources state that textile mills have so far signed import agreements for 5.5 million bales, while they have purchased 4,605,449 bales from the local market. Last year, the mills had bought 7,332,000 bales from the domestic market. Ginners report that they are still holding 301,720 bales in their stocks, compared to last year’s inventory of 93,833 bales.

    The massive drop in cotton arrival is blamed on flash floods and heavy rains during last year’s monsoon that devastated large swathes of agricultural land in the country, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

    Interestingly, despite strong demand in international markets, only 4,900 bales of white lint were exported this year, compared to the previous year’s figure of 11,000 bales, a fall of over 69 per cent. The main destinations for Pakistan’s raw cotton are the Philippines, Italy, Bangladesh, Greece, and France.

    Province-wise, Punjab registered over a 32 per cent year-on-year decline in output, producing 3,033,050 bales this season against 3,928,690 bales last season. Sindh reported over a 46 per cent year-on-year loss in yield, with the lint production in the province this year standing at 1,879,019 bales against 3,513,143 bales last year.

    Pakistan’s cotton output reached a high of 14.1 million bales in the year 2004-05. But it dropped to 7 million bales in 2020-21 and about 9.45 million bales in 2021-22, as the country’s per acre yield contracted to half of the crop productivity in other countries of the region.

    A recent meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) expressed concern over the continuous decline in cotton production and acreage over the years. As a result, the ECC approved Rs8,500 per 40kg as the intervention price on a summary submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to attract growers towards the crop.

    The ministry informed the ECC that in order to draw up a cotton intervention price proposal, consultations were held with all stakeholders, including the provincial governments, growers, and cotton associations in January and February. Stakeholders, including the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, called for pegging the cotton intervention price with the import parity price in line with the policy adopted over the past two years.

    To review market prices and propose intervention on a fortnightly basis, the ECC constituted a cotton price review committee with the mandate to review market prices and propose intervention on a fortnightly basis.

  • Urgent cabinet meeting called ahead of SC verdict on election in Punjab, KP

    Urgent cabinet meeting called ahead of SC verdict on election in Punjab, KP

    The federal cabinet has been summoned for an emergency meeting for the second time in less than 24 hours today.

    The meeting, scheduled for 1pm today at Parliament House, comes after the upcoming announcement of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Punjab and KP elections delay case.

    This will be the second cabinet meeting in a row, following a previous one held on Monday at 8pm.

    During the meeting, the federal cabinet made the decision to withdraw the services of SC Registrar Ishrat Ali, following a letter by Justice Qazi Faez Isa seeking to remove him from office by the cabinet division.

  • Supreme Court reserves decision over postponement of Punjab and KP elections

    The Supreme Court has reserved its decision over Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elections and will announce the decision tomorrow (Tuesday).

    The hearing of the case has been going on for the past week with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanding immediate elections.

    On February 22, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial took a suo motu notice of the delay in elections, forming a larger bench to hear the case but later many top judges excused themselves from the hearing.

    Today, the hearing was headed by a three-judge bench comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Bandial.

    Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) lawyers Irfan Qadir and Sajeel Swati, PTI lawyer Ali Zafar, and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) counsel Farooq H. Naek were present in the courtroom.

    At the outset of the hearing, Naek came to the rostrum. Justice Bandial asked the lawyer if PPP had ended its boycott against the court hearing to which the latter replied that he had not boycotted the proceedings.

    Naek replied in the affirmative and said that “we never boycotted the hearing”.

    At one point during the hearing, the CJP noted that harmony among judges was crucial for the Supreme Court. He observed that while judicial proceedings were made public, consultations among judges were considered internal matters.

  • ‘Mera bhi dil hai’, Chief Justice Bandial ki ankhon mein aansoo aa gaye

    ‘Mera bhi dil hai’, Chief Justice Bandial ki ankhon mein aansoo aa gaye

     Now at three members — resumed hearing the PTI’s petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to delay polls in Punjab on Friday.

     The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the government’s request to form a full court on the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election delay case. 

    A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, rejected the request put forward by Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan on behalf of the government. 

    During the hearing it was reported that CJP Bandial got teary eyed and said that he too has a heart and emotions.

    SC bench dobaara toot gaya; After Justice Amin, Justice Mandokhail recuses from hearing election delay case

    Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, who was part of the four-member bench hearing the case against the delay of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elections, has excused himself from hearings on Friday morning, adding to the turmoil gripping the Supreme Court.

    Justice Mandokhail said that Justice Amin-ud-Din excused himself from hearing the case. After Justice Amin’s decision, the order was awaited. “I received the court order yesterday at home. I have written a separate note on the order, Attorney General, please read the dissenting note,” said Justice Mandokhail.

    The Attorney General read the dissenting note of Justice Jamal Mandokhail, in which it was said that he was a member of the bench; he was not consulted while writing the judgment. “I think I am a misfit in the bench,” the justice wrote in his note.

    A four-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial was to hear Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) plea against the delay in elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab today.

    Initially, a five-member larger bench of the top court was hearing the case.

    The original bench comprised CJP Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

    However, on Thursday the bench was dissolved after Justice Khan recused himself from the case after a Supreme Court order halted proceedings under Article 184(3).

    After the dissolution of the bench, Supreme Court announced that the bench would continue hearing the case without Justice Khan.

    Taking to Twitter, the PTI Chairman Imran Khan said, “Whether it’s a 5 mbr SC bench or Full Bench, it makes no difference to us bec all we want to know is if elections will be held within the 90 days’ constitutional provision.”

    “Before we dissolved our two provincial assemblies, I consulted our top constitutional lawyers, all of whom were clear that the 90-day constitutional provision on holding elections was inviolable.”

    “Now Imported Govt of crooks, their handlers & a compromised ECP are making a complete mockery of Constitution. By cherry picking which Articles of Constitution they will abide by, they are threatening the very foundation of Pakistan, which is the Constitution & Rule of Law. So petrified are they of elections & so desperate to whitewash their convicted ldrs that they are prepared to destroy the Constitution & any semblance of Rule of Law.”

  • ‘Larger bench toot gya’: Justice Amin-Ud-Din recuses from hearing delay in elections case

    ‘Larger bench toot gya’: Justice Amin-Ud-Din recuses from hearing delay in elections case

    The Supreme Court was set to resume the hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) plea against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to defer the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 11:30 but the hearing was delayed following Justice Amin-Ud-Din’s recusal.

    At the outset of today’s hearing, when the five-member bench came to the courtroom, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial said Justice Amin wanted to say something.

    “I recuse myself from the instant case in light of SC order issued by Justice Qazi Faez Isa,” the judge stated. 

    The original bench comprised CJP Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

    Justice Amin-Ud-Din concurred with Justice Isa while Justice Shahid Waheed dissented with the majority order of 2-1 in a suo moto case regarding the grant of 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran students while seeking admission to MBBS/BDS Degree under Regulation 9(9) of the MBBS and BDS (Admissions, House Job and Internship) Regulations, 2018.

  • Biryani ka laalach de ke logon ko bulaya jata hai, PTI criticises Maryam Nawaz for holding jalsa

    Biryani ka laalach de ke logon ko bulaya jata hai, PTI criticises Maryam Nawaz for holding jalsa

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz has come under fire for holding a workers’ convention in Khudian on Wednesday.

    Her rival party—Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)—mocked the party for distributing biryani among the attendees. They accused that PML-N lured the people to attend the convention in the name of biryani.

    Former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, taking a jibe at Maryam said, “No wonder Pineapple Maryam wants to evade elections as long as Imran Khan is here.”

    https://twitter.com/OmarAyubKhan/status/1641120682846175235?s=20

    During Wednesday’s jalsa, the PML-N leader didn’t hesitate to call out the judiciary. Without naming anybody, she advised the facilitators not to help PTI Chairman Imran Khan, as he had always let his helpers down. She said that former chief justice Saqib Nisar and Justice Khosa hatched a conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif and selected Imran Khan.

    Maryam declared Supreme Court (SC) judge Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, “a facilitator of Imran Khan, whose corruption case is awaiting trial at the Supreme Judicial Council”.

    Pointing to Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial, Maryam said that the line of people seeking justice in courts is longer than the queue waiting for free flour.

    Maryam said the CJP said that the government has money for laptop schemes but does not have Rs20 billion for elections in Punjab.

    She said that they have Rs20 billion for elections in Pakistan one time, not thrice. She reiterated that there is no guarantee that the PTI would accept the outcome of these elections if they lose it.

  • Election suo moto: Supreme Court will hear the case tomorrow

    Election suo moto: Supreme Court will hear the case tomorrow

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday pointed out that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone polls in Punjab was taken in haste.

    During the hearing, the criticism from top court judges, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail was also discussed.

    “Two honourable judges gave a decision. It’s the opinion of those two judges but is not related to the current case. Do not bypass a sensitive matter,” remarked the CJP.

    However, the two judges also said that the suo motu proceedings initiated by the CJP were “wholly unjustified”, besides being initiated with “undue haste”.

    About the polls matter, CJP Bandial remarked that the court does not want to drag this matter. He also said that elections are necessary for a democracy.

    The hearing was then postponed till 11:30am tomorrow (Wednesday).

    CJ Bandial says he respects colleague’s criticism, resumes hearing over polls

    After criticism of the unfettered powers enjoyed by Bandial by his fellow judges Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, the head of the apex court said that the note is his colleagues’ opinion.

    Earlier on Tuesday, the five-member larger resumed the hearing on election suo moto, with Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail sitting on the bench.

    ‘One-man power show’: Chief Justice under fire by his own colleagues

    On March 27, the top court judges said that the suo moto taken by the top court over the delay in elections was rejected by four judges so there is no point in the proceedings of the case.

    Turning their guns toward CJP Bandial, the two judges said that the SC can’t rely on him for its decision. Using strong words against the CJP, both of them were of the view that institutions should review this “one-man power show”.

    “When one person has too much power, there is a risk that the institution may become autocratic and insulated, resulting in one-man policies being pursued, which may have a tendency of going against the rights and interests of the people,” the document read.

    They said that CJP has unlimited powers and he can enjoy that tirelessly.

    Regarding the election matter, the top court judges directed Lahore High Court (LHC) and Peshawar High Court to settle the problem in both provinces.

    It should be noted that the Supreme Court had taken notice itself regarding the date of the election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and initially a 9-member larger bench was formed on it. However, later, a five-member bench heard the case and announced that elections should be held within 90 days.

    Earlier, a bench headed by Bandial heard a plea by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the Election Commission’s decision to delay Punjab elections till October 8.

  • Can ECP change election date set by President Alvi? Supreme Court will resume hearing tomorrow

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Monday heard a plea by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the Election Commission’s decision to delay Punjab elections till October 8 after which the apex court issued notices to the commission and to the governors of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    The five-member larger bench — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail — heard the case.

    The apex court also sought guarantees from the government and PTI for remaining peaceful for free, fair, and transparent elections. 

    PTI’s lawyer Ali Zafar pointed out that the Ministry of Interior and Defence refused to provide security personnel.

    Zafar said that the Constitution does not allow the postponement of elections on the basis of the administration’s non-cooperation.

    “What guarantee is there that the situation will be better in October?” he questioned.

    The hearing was adjourned till 11:30am tomorrow (Tuesday).

    Earlier, ECP delayed Punjab elections and change the date from April 30 to October 8 after which the commission came under fire from the former ruling party.

    President Arif Alvi set April 30 as the date of the election in Punjab.

    Following the ECP’s announcement, KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali also urged the electoral body to also hold the general elections on the same date (October 8) as the Punjab polls given the growing security threats from terror groups operating from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border regions.

    No live coverage of rallies in Islamabad

    The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday restricted live coverage of rallies and public gatherings across the federal capital on March 27, hours before PTI chairman Imran Khan was expected to appear before the Islamabad High Court.

    It observed that satellite television channels run live footages/images of violent mobs, attacking on police and law enforcement agencies.