The federal government’s highly anticipated Constitutional Package which includes significant judicial reforms, including increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court and High Court judges, is set to be introduced in parliament today.
Although the government has kept quiet on the exact details of the proposed amendments, it has been working hard to achieve the votes required to pass the constitutional amendment.
Dawn News reported that it is uncertain whether the ruling coalition has secured the magic number—around 224 votes out of a total of 335 members in the national assembly—to pass the legislation.
However, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, while talking to journalists yesterday, said, “We have completed the number game in the lower house of parliament.”
Geo News reported that the government intends to increase the retirement age of Supreme Court judges to 68, with the retirement age of other high court judges also increased to 65.
Sessions of both parliamentary houses have been summoned this evening with only an hour’s gap.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Faisal Karim Kundi has accused the provincial government of corruption, saying, “I don’t change clothes as much as ministers in KP are being changed.”
Speaking to journalists at the Peshawar Governor House, Kundi said that it is the provincial government’s responsibility to maintain peace, but the police were on strike.
While questioning security issues in KP province, he asked, “Where are six billion rupees handed over to the KP government for police?”
He also said that the provincial government had failed to maintain peace and that no provincial meeting had been held to discuss security issues in KP.
Responding to provincial-level talks with the Afghanistan government, Kundi clarified that only the federal government has the authority to engage in dialogues with other countries.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers who were released after their arrests following the September 8 rally have shared their ordeal with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
Leader PTI Sher Afzal Khan Marwat has revealed that the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) operations threatened him with dire consequences while pointing his 9mm gun at him.
Marwat alleged that the same treatment had been given to the country’s bigwigs, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Advisor Prime Minister for Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, and Saad Rafiq.
Opposition Leader NA Omer Ayub Khan said that parliament was humiliated on Tuesday following the arrest of Members of the National Assembly (MNA) from parliament premises.
Responding to a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against lawmakers on the pretext of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) violation in the Sagjani rally, he clarified that PTI’s rally was delayed due to roads blockage.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Makhdoom Tahir Rashiduddin has won a by-election in Rahim Yar Khan with a huge margin, securing one lac sixteen thousand four hundred twenty-nine votes.
The by-election, held on Thursday in NA-171, saw the PPP candidate defeat the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Hasan Mustafa, who could only secure fifty-eight thousand two hundred fifty-one.
In a well-hyped campaign, the polling process continued without a break from 8 AM to 5 PM.
The by-election took place after the death of PTI Member National Assembly (MNA) Mumtaz Mustafa in the NA-171 constituency, which has 5 lac twenty-six thousand nine hundred seventy-three (526,973) votes.
Under section 73 of the Election Act, a by-election occurs when an elected official dies, is disqualified, resigns or is unable to continue serving as a lawmaker.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has cancelled its protests today across the country, to save its strength for the upcoming September 22 Lahore power show.
The protests were scheduled against the arrests of PTI leaders after the September 8 rally.
PTI leaders said that the Friday protests were called off at the instructions of founder PTI Imran Khan. The party wanted to gather its strength and mobilise its leaders and workers from across the country.
Hammad Azhar also tweeted yesterday that the Friday protest has been “postponed” per Khan’s directions, and all focus should be on the Lahore rally.
PTI spokesman in Punjab, Shaukat Basra, spoke with Dawn News, saying, “Since every peaceful PTI activity has resulted in party leaders and workers’ arrests and registration of FIRs, the party has decided to save its strength and attend the Lahore jalsa with full force and enthusiasm.”
“The PTI is determined to hold its meeting in Lahore on Sept 22, come what may,” said Basra regarding the issuance of NOC (no objection certificate) by the Lahore administration.
Former spymaster General Faiz Hameed gifted a brand new bulletproof car to the Chief of terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Noor Wali Mehsud, a step taken allegedly to win his confidence amid negotiation.
Veteran journalist Azaz Syed took to his YouTube show Talk SHOCK to reveal that TTP head Mehsud presented three demands to ex-spymaster Gen Faiz during the tenure of the government led by founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan. One of the demands was to settle forty thousand families, including militants, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The second demand was to abolish the merger status of the Federal Administrative Tribal Area (FATA) with KP, while the third demand was to provide TTP with six billion rupees of financial support.
However, the state resisted the financial demand, expressing concern about the possible use of financial aid against Pakistan in terror activities.
Azaz further revealed that Gen Faiz urged Mehsud to have friendly relationships with the state of Pakistan, to which Mehsud sarcastically responded, saying that they are not as isolated as Pakistan in terms of cordial relations with border countries.
Lahore High Court on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to an underage driver involved in the fatal car accident in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase Seven that resulted in the death of six members of a family last year.
Proceedings of the case
Suspect Afnan Shafqat’s lawyer stated that three co-suspects have been found innocent in police investigation. Additonally, the geofencing of the incident also showed that witnesses were not present at the scene.
The court also inquired whether the suspect, who was 17 and a half years old at the time of the accident, was declared a juvenile. To this the lawyer confirmed that the police declared the suspect a juvenile in the charge sheet.
He said as per law, if the trial does not start within six months, bail should be granted.
Victim’s lawyer opposed the bail and argued that the discrepancies in the versions of his client were due to state of shock when he gave the initial statement and provided a supplementary statement once he regained his composure.
He stated in front of the court that the statements of the witnesses are not relevant to the bail petition.
The bench observed that the decision on bail would be based on the available evidence.
The victims’ lawyer told court that the suspect did not merely hit the vehicle accidentally, but he forcefully hit it with intent.
Forensic report
The court was told a forensic report of the vehicles was still pending and a medical board had been formed to assess the juvenile status of the suspect.The lawyer argued that a decision on the bail should be made in light of the medical board’s report.
Bail granted
Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, the head of the judicial bench allowed the bail petition of the suspect after furnishing surety bonds.
Case so far
The Punjab police is yet to receive the test reports of Afnan Shafqat, the primary accused in the death of six members of a family while driving a car without a license in DHA Phase 7, Lahore.
According to sources, the Polygraph and Photogrammetric test of Afnan was conducted by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency. The polygraph test is conducted to detect lies while the photogrammetric test is a part of forensic analysis where an accurate 3D reconstruction of an accident or crime scene is done especially in cases where position, distance, and perspective are important to determine.
However, police has not received the Ossification test conducted to determine the age of Afnan. Police will further proceed with the case after receiving the results of reports, reports The News.
On November 23, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore handed over the underage driver Afnan Shafqat to the police for five days on physical remand. During the hearing, the investigation officer (IO) of the case told the court that the age of suspect was over 17 and a medical test was required to determine his actual age.
Meanwhile, Judge Abher Gul Khan extended the pre-arrest bail of the suspect’s father Shafqat Ali till Dec 4, reports Dawn.
Previously, another suspect named Ibrahim, a friend of the teenage boy Afnan, also sitting in the car with him when the car got into an accident in Defence Phase 7 has been arrested by the police.
According to a report by the Dawn News, four of the friends were there in the car when the tragic accident took place. They were Saad, Ali and Ibrahim along the prime accused Afnan.
The police has started the process of Ossification to determine the age of the suspect. Lahore Investigation DIG Imran Kishwar said the decision was made following the conflicting reports/claims either he was underage or a teen. Initially, the police were told that the prime suspect was 17 years old, he said.
The Ossification is a test that determines age based on the degree of fusion of bone by taking the x-ray of a few bones. This process of the bone formation is based on the fusion of joints between birth and the age of 25 years in an individual.
The police added terrorism and murder charges to the already registered case against a teenage boy who killed six of a family in DHA Phase 7, Lahore. On the other hand, head of the family who was in the other car expressed his disappointment over this new development. Rafaqat Ali claims that the boy killed his family members over a grudge.
He alleges that the boy was not alone at the time when he ‘deliberately’ hit the car of his family while driving his four-wheeler at high speed (over 100 km/h) at Phase VII. He also mentioned that the two other accomplices were also accompanying him in the car at the time of the incident, reports Dawn.
The prime suspect had a prior brawl with his family members when they chased his car on the road, to which he demanded the addition of more sections to the FIR to punish all the suspects.
The Police has stated that the boy was chasing the family in the car and on interruption at a point he had threatened the family that he would not let them drive in DHA’s jurisdiction, another act that reflected his ‘mindset’.
The police had sent notices to the accomplices as mentioned in Rafaqat’s statement.
New revelations are coming up as the investigation continues in the case of a teenage boy who killed six people of a family in a road accident in DHA Lahore.
Crackdown on Young drivers
In light of the accident, the Lahore chief traffic officer (CTO) said the police lodged 998 cases against underage drivers during the last three days and sent many of them behind bars, besides seizing their vehicles, including motorbikes.
Caretaker CM Naqvi also issued a directive to be strict against underage drivers.
The proceedings of the case up till now
Previously, In a geo.tv report, Azam Malik reported that the teenage boy, Afnan, was stalking the car of the deceased victims after he had a brawl with them. The driver of the car Hasnain, reprimanded Afnan for harassing the women travelling with him, raising the speed to dodge Afnan but the boy kept following him.
A third car that was following them was being driven by Hasnain’s father. At some point, near Y Block’s Nala, the two of them stopped the car to scold Afnan but the boy remained adamant and cursed at the two in response.
The stance of the Punjab government
The Punjab government has stated that Afnan hit Hasnain’s vehicle near McDonald Chowk in Phase 7 at a speed of 160 km/hr. As a result, Hasnain’s car overturned and fell some 70 feet away. Four people came to rescue Afnan but left him after seeing the rage of the crowd. Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has told IG Punjab to add sections of terrorism against the accused.
The proceedings of the Court
The family of the victims have alleged that the police is not cooperating with them. Previously, the judicial magistrate at Cantonment Courts on Tuesday sent the boy to jail on judicial remand whereas the police asked for a physical remand. The counsel for the suspect denied the charges, leading to the magistrate turning down the police’s request.
The catch in the case
The case lodged by the police is in line with the statements of the witnesses that the boy was driving the car alone which led to the accident, claiming the lives of six people including two children but a video statement released by the Lahore Traffic Police on Twitter showed the boy himself claiming that he and his friends were going to the McDonalds in Phase Seven in a high speed when they hit the victim’s car.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought clarification from the federal government regarding the possible military trial of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.
“The PTI founder is a civilian, and the military trial of a civilian is a matter of concern for the petitioner and the court,” Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb remarked while hearing Khan’s plea.
Citing the statement of Director General (DG) Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif, Justice Hassan advised the federation to submit its stance on Khan’s possible military trial.
On September 3, Khan filed a plea under Article 199 of the constitution amid speculation of his military trial.
Among several cases, Khan is currently incarcerated for the May 9 riots.
Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had remarked that there is a possibility of Khan’s military trial based on “evidence against him.”
Founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has shared a message from her brother pertaining to the September 10 arrests of PTI lawmakers from parliament premises.
She claimed in the tweet that Khan received information from credible and reliable sources, which disclosed, “A decision has been taken to eliminate Imran Khan.”
The former Prime Minister claimed that a plan had been made to finish him in the style of former Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi.
While lambasting the country’s premier intelligence agency, Khan claims, “Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) controls Adiala jail Rawalpindi.”
Aleema Khan stated that all concocted cases have been cleared against Khan, but he is still in prison.
On Tuesday at midnight 3 AM, plain clothes men entered the parliament, cut the electricity supply, and arrested at least six PTI legislators.
Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar Khan, Sher Afzal Marwat, Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, and Zain Qureshi were also arrested. Gohar was released after a brief detention.
Speaking at parliament yesterday, Gohar clarified that the rally was delayed amid road blockages, which prevented the Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, from reaching the Sangjani area for the rally.
The incumbent government led by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif intends to extend the judge’s tenure as soon as it secures enough votes in the Upper House.
The incumbent government is only three votes short in the Senate to amend the tenure of Supreme Court and High Court judges, a government source told Geo News.
Government sources further revealed that the incumbent government has achieved a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly (NA). Once the Senate’s majority is secured, Parliament will pass constitutional amendments.
After constitutional amendments, the tenure of Supreme Court judges will be extended to sixty-eight years of age, and that of High Court judges will be extended to sixty-five years of age.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar had remarked that suggestions for extending the judge’s tenure could be considered. Meanwhile, Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa had vehemently rejected the extension offer.
