Peshawar High Court (PHC) heard a case regarding the acquittal of a Forest Department official, with Justices Syed Arshad Ali and Muhammad Fazal Wahla presiding over the bench. The court dismissed NAB’s appeal against the acquittal, upholding the officer’s release.
The Forest Department official’s lawyer, Daniyal Chauhan, argued that the appeal was baseless, citing the officer’s previous acquittal by the Accountability Court in 2011. The Special Prosecutor for NAB claimed that the officer was involved in the cutting down of trees in Kagan, with significant financial losses amounting to Rs 5 crore.
After hearing both sides, the PHC dismissed NAB’s appeal, ruling in favor of the Forest Department official. The case highlights the ongoing struggle between the government and the opposition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the residence of martyred police officer, Umar Abbas, who lost his life while trying to stop a suicide bomber. The PM paid his respects to the fallen officer and the victims of the incident.
In other news, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of the Jamaat-e-Islami, called for improved relations between the federal government and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
Meanwhile, a fixed-charge case was decided in favor of the Power Division, with the court ruling that both protected and unprotected consumers would be charged the same rate.
In a separate incident, a retired army general, Qamar Javed Bajwa, suffered injuries after a fall, with sources indicating that he received multiple injuries to his body.
In sports news, the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, Asif Bakhtiar, assured that the government would take steps to ensure that the Chief Information Officer and Public Information Officer at the provincial level would oversee the cases of harassment and intimidation of journalists.
In a separate development, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Asad Rauf, expressed regret over the incident, stating that he would advise new players to avoid getting involved in corruption and would take steps to prevent it.
The Pakistan government has also expressed its commitment to ensuring the safety of women in Punjab, with the Chief Minister stating that the province had seen a significant decrease in crimes against women. The CM also announced that women would be able to participate in all sports, including cricket, kabbadi, tennis, hockey, football, and swimming.
In a separate incident, the Minister of Information, Fawad Chaudhry, announced that the federal government would pay its outstanding dues to the Punjab government, following a meeting with the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).
In other news, the Chairman of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Tauseef Farooqi, expressed support for the new regulations regarding net-metering, stating that it would help reduce the burden on consumers.
In a separate incident, the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Qibla Ayaz, expressed his views on the issue of blasphemy, stating that the accused should be put on trial and punished accordingly.
In a separate incident, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, met with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Mayor of Eskisehir, Zeynep Gonca Agpar, in a meeting that was seen as a sign of improved relations between the two countries.
In a separate incident, a 19-year-old girl was killed in a shootout in Mumbai, with police investigating the incident.
Note: The above article is a translation of the original Urdu news article and has been rewritten to make it more readable and SEO-friendly.
