The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has on Tuesday suspended PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s conviction and three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.
Imran Khan was rearrested again in the cypher case right after getting bail in the Toshakhana case. According to the judgment of Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, Khan will remain in police custody until August 30.
Imran Khan was sentenced to jail for three years on August 5 in the Toshakhana Case. As a result of the sentence, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also banned Imran Khan for five years from contesting elections.
Imran Khan has to sumbit a surety bond of Rs 100,000 to get bail, as per Geo.
The former Prime Minister had challenged his sentence in the high court, with today’s verdict coming as a major legal victory.
Earlier, Judge Humayun Dilawar of a sessions court in Islamabad found former Prime Minister Imran Khan guilty in the Toshakhana case.
Khan had been disqualified for five years and given a prison sentence of three years.
He had also been fined Rs 100,000. The judgement also said that if the fine is not paid, the imprisonment can be increased by six months.
Shehbaz Sharif took to X (formerly Twitter) and reacted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision suspending Imran Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.”‘Laadla’s’ sentence has been suspended, not terminated,” Sharif wrote, adding that Chief Justice’s message of “Good to see you” and “Wishing you good luck” has reached Islamabad High Court.
لاڈلے کی سزا معطل ہوئی ہے ختم نہیں ہوئی۔ چیف جسٹس کا “گُڈ ٹو سی یو” اور “وشنگ یو گڈ لک” کا پیغام اسلاآباد ہائی کورٹ تک پہنچ گیا۔ فیصلہ آنے سے پہلے ہی سب کو پتہ ہو کہ فیصلہ کیا ہوگا تو یہ نظام عدل کے لئے لمحہ فکریہ ہونا چاہیے ۔ اعلی عدلیہ سے واضح پیغام مل جائے تو ماتحت عدالت یہ نہ…
He tweeted, “Before the decision comes, everyone knows what the decision will be, so it should be a momentary concern for the justice system. If a clear message is received from the higher judiciary, then what else should the subordinate court do?”
He further stated that a monitoring judge was appointed to ensure Nawaz Sharif’s punishment, and the then Chief Justice himself became a monitoring judge to save “Laadla”.
He added, “This role of the justice system will be written in the dark chapter of history. Scales tilted to one side and a justice system that undermines justice are not acceptable. The law is powerless before the one who sold watch. Thieves and state terrorists will be facilitated, then where will the common man get justice in the country?”
He also stated that be it May 9, be it an attack on the judicial complex, be it throwing petrol bombs on the police, everything is forgiven.
An anti-terrorism court has handed over Imaan Mazari, the daughter of former federal minister Shireen Mazari, to the police on a three-day physical remand.
Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Abual Hasanat heard the case against Imaan Mazari in which prosecutor Raja Naveed appeared in court while Zainab Janjua appeared on behalf of Iman Mazari.
UPDATE: Anti Terrorism Court judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain grants Counter Terrorism Department 3-day physical remand of human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir in the new frivolous Bara Kahu FIR related to terror-financing.#ReleaseImaanMazaripic.twitter.com/LkSxOk0YeE
During the hearing, prosecutor Raja Naveed argued that a case had been registered against Imaan Mazari in Bara Kahu police station. The plaintiff accused Imaan Mazari of inciting the youth and instigating them against the state, alleging that he received threats when he broke away from Imaan Mazari’s party.
Prosecutor Raja Naveed requested the physical remand, which was opposed by her lawyer, saying that a new case was made on the same day that Imaan was supposed to get bail. He asked how can three cases be registered on the same incident.
She said that a drama is being constructed against Imaan Mazari, while the real purpose of the prosecution against her is something else.
Imaan’s lawyers requested to discharge her from the case.
After listening to the arguments of the parties, ATC judge Abual Hasnat reserved the decision, after which she was handed over to the police on a three-day physical remand.
Superstar Mahira Khan was a guest on Frieha Altaf’s podcast where she opened up about learning to face her mental health struggles, especially after stepping into Bollywood with the Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Raees’, and the 2017 incident where pictures of her smoking with Ranbir Kapoor emerged online. She also talked about the 2016 Uri attack, after which Pakistani actors were banned from working in Bollywood.
Reflecting on that time, the actress revealed she dealt with immense backlash, calling it “unexpected”.
Mahira said she was getting scary calls, hateful messages to the point that she couldn’t travel to India to promote ‘Raees’, which was heartbreaking and it began creating anxiety and depression. The ‘Hum Kahan Kay Sachay Thay’ actress revealed she was constantly seeing her image on television screens, and getting hateful messages telling her to leave India, and it escalated to the point that her faith broke.
“I developed severe anxiety to the point that one day I had a panic attack and fainted’ recalled Mahira. “That’s the first time I went for therapy.”
“But that didn’t work out, as I went to several therapists. But either I was not opening up, or the therapist sitting across me would be looking at me with awe thinking ‘what would she have to complain about’?”
Raees released in 2017, the same year Mahira’s Pakistani film ‘Verna’ released across Pakistan, and at the same time, the picture scandal happened.
“I couldn’t sleep, my hands would shake,” the ‘Bin Roye’ actress confessed.
Mahira said she eventually visited a psychiatric hospital, where she was informed that she had manic depression. The actress said for the past six or seven years she has been on anti-depressants. She once tried quitting the meds in the middle which put her in a dark hole.
“I did understand that there is something beyond me. Beyond the prayers i will do, beyond the friends that will cheer me up, beyond work and success. There is something not right, and it’s okay.”
The ‘Superstar’ actress said that by talking about her mental health struggles and breaking the stigma surrounding the topic, she hoped more people would learn to approach others for help rather than treat it with shame.
“I talk it every chance I get. This is the first time I’m opening up about the fact that I’ve been taking medicine for so many years. And when I tried leaving it like I said it was bad… And I was again in and out of hospitals trying to get help. But yes, everybody has ups and downs, bad times and happy times, but clinical depression is real like any other mental illness or physical illness.”
Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) asking for general elections to be conducted in Pakistan within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA), Geo has reported.
The petitioner, Omar Ayyub, who is also PTI’s Secretary General, requested the court to direct President of the country Dr Arif Alvi to announce a date for the elections and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue an election schedule accordingly.
On the other hand, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has asked the electoral body to issue an election schedule along with the delimitation schedule in order to avoid any confusion. On Monday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) supported the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in holding elections after the delimitation of constituencies.
According to the ECP’s official statement issued after the meeting, both parties made their stances clear in front of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja, who was also part of the meeting.
Chief Organiser and Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz Sharif has stated that just as the country was saved from the risk of default within 16 months, similarly, her party under the leadership of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, will also lessen public burden of inflation and skyrocketing electricity bills.
“We saved Pakistan from default within 16 months, and now we will shield the people from inflation. It’s upsetting that the public has to face challenges like inflation and increased electricity charges,” she said during a meeting with leaders and officials of the party’s Punjab Women Youth Wing in Lahore.
“If the process of development had not been halted, there would not have been any tears in the eyes of the common man today. The issues of today have emanated from the four-year era of project Imran,” she added in reference to arch-rival Imran Khan who was deposed through a Vote of No Confidence in April 2022.
Maryam stated that only an elected government will be capable of curbing the demon of inflation and of initiating a period of progress and contentment.
“InshaAllah, just as we eradicated load-shedding, terrorism, and lawlessness in Karachi, we can also control inflation. Nawaz Sharif is the guarantee of Pakistan’s progress, and he alone can liberate us from all these issues,” she said.
She also reviewed the performance of the women youth wing and said that she feels pride in seeing the active participation of many women in political activities.
Maryam said that it is her desire that more party tickets should be given to the youth in the next election because the youth have the ability to make Pakistan a strong country.
She claimed that female students like the PMLN leadership because of their performance, claiming that her party had become the largest youth and women’s party in the country.
“PMLN leadership has always empowered the youth, they were provided with laptops and interest-free loans for decent employment,” she said.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will resume hearing today of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s petition seeking suspension of sentence by the trial court in the Toshakhana case.
A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, is hearing the case, and in today’s hearing, the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) lawyer Amjad Parvez will give his arguments, as he was not present in the last hearing on Friday because of health reasons.
On the request of his assistant lawyer, the court postponed the hearing until today (Monday). Due to the lawyer’s unavailability, the court also instructed the electoral authorities to make other arrangements.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) attorney, Latif Khosa, finished his arguments in the last hearing.
The IHC will announce the verdict tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11am.
Earlier, Judge Humayun Dilawar sentenced Imran Khan to three years imprisonment and fined him one lakh rupees. According to the judgement, “Charges of misdeclaration of assets have been proven against the PTI chairman.”
Senior leader of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Saira Bano, has asked in her video why parties who have been in government for the past 16 months, are calling for protests against high electricity bills, terming the action “incomprehensible”.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government is responsible for inflation as well as the “handi” of high electricity bills, Bano stated.
She further said in her video that every citizen is facing difficulty paying their electricity bill, stressing that the situation is the same for rich and poor in Pakistan due to inflation.
On the other hand, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has directed party workers to take part in the protests against exorbitant electricity bills and become the “people’s voice,” Geo News has reported.
Secretary General (SG) of PPP, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, instructed workers on Sunday to protest at the union council and tehsil levels.
According to Nayyer Bokhari, every citizen of the country is worried about the electricity bill. He further added, ” PPP workers should become the voice of the people and start protesting against inflated electricity tariffs”.
The protests started across the country because of exorbitant electricity bills, with protesters demanding a reduction in their electricity bills as well as the removal of extra taxes on utility bills. The protesters also mentioned that they would not pay their bills if their demands were not met.
Earlier, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) announced on Saturday that it would stage a protest against the exorbitant electricity bills.
Addressing a seminar in Lahore, JI Ameer Sirajul Haq lashed out at political opponents and the caretaker government, saying, “The caretaker government is following the footsteps of the previous governments in terms of taking wrong decisions for the sake of the country.”
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s recent endorsements were met with severe backlash from the public, including an NGO which felt the actor was encouraging younger minds to play online games. The actor recently endorsed a gaming app A23, an online platform, for which a commercial was released in which the ‘Pathaan’ actor said “Chalo saath khelein’.
Protests followed and were led by the NGO Untouch Youth Foundation, which called for celebrities to be held accountable for promoting online gaming apps which could ‘corrupt their minds of the youth of India’. Demonstrations were held outside Mannat house, SRK’s residence, and police officials were deployed in case of security threats.
In an official statement, the organisation said they were calling for a protest against gaming apps like Zuppee, Jungly Rummy, and called out actors who endorsed these products.
“Famous actors and actresses work in these advertisements and they are working towards misguiding society. The protest will be held outside Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat bungalow on behalf of Untouch India Foundation.”
The president of Untouch India Foundation, Krishchandra Adal, said:
“The new generation is involved in playing Junglee rummy. If someone is playing Junglee rummy or gambling outside, the police arrest them, but big Bollywood stars promoting online games are misleading the young generation. The Bollywood stars also know it is wrong, but they are getting money so they are promoting them. We make these stars famous by watching their movies and spending our money on them. We demand these advertisements to stop. These apps are illegal, we can not find them on Google, but these apps are uploaded on private websites.”
Actor Ali Rehman Khan is currently playing the role of a transgender woman in the Express Entertainment drama ‘Guru’. The drama is facing intense backlash from social media users, especially transgender activists like Shahzadi Rai, who condemned the limited spaces allowed to members of the transgender community within the entertainment industry to be able to tell their own stories.
Speaking to The Current, the activist expressed her dismay at how cis men were constantly taking up roles about people belonging to the third gender, and used the incorrect term used to describe the community like ‘intersex’.
“People who do not want to declare themselves as intersex, why are you pushing the label on them? And roles that are about the third gender, you should give them to people who identify under it. A man’s role would be played by a man, while a woman’s role would be played by a woman.”
Several social media users also pointed out that films like ‘Joyland’ which starred transgender actress Alina Khan were met with intense backlash and banned in the country, but it was dramas like ‘Guru’ which were not met with the same scrutiny since members of the transgender community aren’t involved in production.
2) This is hypocrisy. When Joyland featured an actual khwajasira person, the entire country is up in arms. But we seem to be totally okay with basing our movies and shows on their lives as long as we’re not actually giving them opportunities in the process.
Speaking to BBC Urdu, the actor has come forward to address these allegations, saying that despite the studio’s best efforts, they couldn’t find transgender actors to take on the role, and encouraged more members of the community to come into the field.
“We were planning that one or two of the chelas in the show should be members of the transgender community. But we did a lot of auditions and couldn’t find any actors. And with a huge production there is a lot at stake, since you have to shoot for 40-50 days. You can’t just rely on one actor: you have to have a cohesive list.”
The actor went on to express his desire to see more transgender people coming into acting, who can play these kinds of roles even more efficiently than he has.
The actor also elaborated on how he had prepared for the leading role, revealing the process involved. He spoke with members of the transgender community, along with watching documentaries and movies related to the topic.
