An Indian court on Friday granted bail to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in the latest of several defamation cases brought against him for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his party of corruption. Gandhi, 53, has faced numerous legal cases brought by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was last year briefly disqualified from parliament after a criminal libel conviction. He is one of several top opposition leaders to face criminal proceedings in cases they claim are politically driven by Modi’s government. The latest case stems from advertisements published by Gandhi’s Congress party accusing the BJP of corruptly taking commissions from infrastructure…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
India’s Narendra Modi was formally elected on Friday by lawmakers of his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to be prime minister for a historic third consecutive term, as the world’s most populous nation returns to government by coalition. Modi will next meet President Droupadi Murmu later in the day and present his claim to form a new government, with a spokesperson for one of his allies saying his swearing-in was set for Sunday evening. It is the first time in a decade that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has needed the support of regional parties to form the government. The party, which had…
MUZAFFARABAD: An 82-year-old villager from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), who had inadvertently strayed into the Indian-occupied territory of the disputed Himalayan region on Tuesday, was repatriated by the Indian authorities via the Tetrinote-Chakan da Bagh crossing point along the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday. Munir Hussain had left his home in the Battal sector of Poonch district to join his wife who was grazing cattle there. However, the octogenarian villager, suffering from some mental ailments for about four years, went astray and set foot on India occupied territory, where he was apprehended by an army patrol. The family and government…
RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has issued notice to Bahria Town for encroachments, plotting/cutting and circulating brochure in violation of approved layout plan (LOP) in Phase VIII of mouza Gali. It also issued notices to the owners of two illegal housing schemes namely Zak City located in mouza Harnal, Gujar Khan and Hoon Farm House located in mouza Adhwal Tehsil Rawalpindi for starting development work and marketing without the approval from RDA. According to a press release, RDA Director General Kinza Murtaza said RDA has issued notice to the owner of Bahria Town Phase VIII and two illegal housing schemes.…
KARACHI: To deal with more than “normal rainfall” which is expected this monsoon, the city administration came together on Thursday and decided in a meeting to clean 586 drains and clear over 310 choking points across Karachi. According to Meteorological department and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the heavy downpour would mainly affect the southern parts of Sindh. After the advisory and warning issues by the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), Met office and the NDMA, the city administration held a meeting with Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah to discuss the arrangements for the upcoming monsoon rains, wherein…
KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Thursday remanded a private security guard in police custody for three days for allegedly killing a young TikToker near Sarina Mobile Market in North Nazimabad. The investigation officer (IO) brought Hamad Gul before the judicial magistrate (Central), seeking his 14-day remand for further interrogation. After hearing the IO, the court remanded the guard for three days and directed the IO to submit a progress report at the next hearing. According to the FIR, the complainant father of the victim informed police that he had received a phone call. The caller informed him that his son Saad Ahmed…
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday announced a tentative plan to present the country’s budget for the next fiscal year on June 12 as National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, using his special powers, “appointed” three standing committees on an interim basis to get approval of pending bills. According to an official announcement by the National Assembly Secretariat, the speaker appointed these standing committees using his powers under Rule 215 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The committees, comprising only five members, mostly from the treasury benches, also held their meetings on Thursday…
ISLAMABAD: After the federal government furnished ‘pictorial evidence’ to challenge PTI leader Imran Khan’s claim of solitary confinement in Adiala Jail, the former prime minister asked the Supreme Court to order an inspection of his jail cell. Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, however, observed the court may assign a judicial officer to conduct a discreet check, but did not propose any date. On Thursday, the five-judge Supreme Court also reserved its ruling on the federal government’s intra-court appeal against the Sept 15 majority judgement that ruled amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) illegal. At the fag-end of the proceedings, Attorney General for…
ISLAMABAD: As it faces challenges to the recently promulgated ordinances about the accountability law and the elections, the federal government on Thursday tabled the Election (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 and National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 through supplementary agenda while the PTI described the laws “politically motivated”. The NAB law increases the remand period from 14 days to 40 days; whereas the election law allows the government to appoint retired judges to the election tribunals, a move already challenged in the Islamabad and Lahore high courts. Even before Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar laid before the house the ordinances, PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council Chief Whip Aamir…
QUETTA: At least 40 people, including 17 security officials, were injured in Chaman on Thursday amid escalating tensions as protesters, incensed by the arrest of their leaders of a sit-in, launched attacks on government buildings and installations, demanding immediate releases. The unrest spread across the border town, with protesters staging rallies and demonstrations, effectively shutting down the city. The arrested leaders were part of a months-long sit-in in Chaman against the government’s decision to only allow those with valid passports and visas to cross the Chaman border crossing. Before, Pakistanis and Afghans would cross the border upon showing their respective identity cards. Officials said clashes…
