QUETTA: Journalists covering the assembly session on Monday boycotted the proceedings to protest against the lockdown of Quetta Press Club (QPC) and the entry of police into the premises on Saturday to stop a seminar of the Baloch Yakjahti Committee (BYC). The decision to boycott was made in a joint meeting of the executive committees of QPC and the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ). A large number of journalists, led by BUJ president Khalil Ahmed and QPC president Abdul Khaliq Rind, walked out of the press gallery soon after the assembly session started and gathered in front of the hall. They were carrying placards…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
ISLAMABAD: The upcoming Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting on June 7 will consider the candidacy of nine judges from the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the Sindh High Court (SHC) to fill three vacant positions in the Supreme Court. The LHC has proposed the names of six senior judges to fill two positions in the Supreme Court, while one of the three judges from the SHC will be elevated to the top court. Those being considered from the LHC are Chief Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan, Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, Justice Shahid Bilal, Aliya Neelum,…
ISLAMABAD: On the request of attorney general’s Office, Sindh High Court (SHC) has fixed over 500 pending cases related to energy disputes for hearing, according to a source. Two different benches of the SHC will commence on Tuesday the hearing of several appeals and civil suits concerning gas tariff, petroleum levy, Liquefied Gas Price (LPG) and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), etc. Around 358 appeals, including those instituted by the government, were pending before a SHC division bench comprising Justices Naimutullah Phulpoto and Zulfikar Ali Sangi, the source told Dawn. Around 150 civil suits filed by different litigants were fixed…
ISLAMABAD: An election tribunal headed by a judge of the Islamabad High Court on Monday said the tribunal would issue arrest warrants against the returning officers of three Islamabad constituencies over their non-appearance and proceed ex parte on the poll petitions filed against the final results. The tribunal led by Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri issued notices to all the respondents, including the returned candidates, ECP officials and the returning officers, on these petitions. When the tribunal resumed hearing on Monday, the respondents were in attendance; however, the ROs were absent. In three separate orders, the judge gave “last and final…
ISLAMABAD: The Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has urged the federal and provincial governments to develop respectful words aimed at replacing derogatory ones currently being used for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in official communication and documentation. In a letters addressed to the prime minister and chief ministers of the four provinces the CPDI Executive Director Mukhtar Ahmad Ali highlighted the urgency of the issue, stating, “the language we use shapes our perceptions and attitudes. Using derogatory terms for persons with disabilities not only perpetuates harmful stereotypes but also marginalises a significant segment of our population. It is imperative…
ISLAMABAD: Two persons were killed and four others, including a police inspector, were injured when a speeding car ran over participants of a protest sit-in on the edge of Red Zone early on Monday, police said. At the time of the incident, the participants of the ‘Save Gaza’ protest were sleeping on a portion of Jinnah Avenue between Express Chowk and the old Parade Ground, the police said. The streetlights of the area were switched off when the incident occurred. “At around 2:45am, a speeding car appeared on the road, ran over five participants and then crashed into a police…
QUETTA: Life in the border town of Chaman has been at a virtual standstill for almost two weeks due to protests against the new border crossing regulations and action of security forces. Public and private banks and offices of passport, deputy commissioner, and Customs have been closed since earlier this month when protesters clashed with security forces. The protesters, including traders, political leaders and daily wage workers, have also blocked the Quetta-Chaman national highway, connecting Pakistan with Afghanistan. Hundreds of trucks and other vehicles loaded with goods of Afghan transit trade and other items have been stranded on both sides of the…
KARACHI: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are very clear; civilians should not be tried by military courts, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Dr Agnès Callamard said. In an exclusive interview with Dawn, the Amnesty chief — who is on her first regional visit to South Asia — said that although military trials for civilians are a “no-no” under international law, “sadly it has happened throughout Pakistan’s political history… [and] is not a novelty”. Speaking to , Dr Callamard emphasised the principles of transparency, due process and judicial independence, urging Pakistan to uphold…
ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday acquitted former prime minister Imran Khan and other Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders in the cases nearly two years after they were registered for alleged violence, riots, obstructing public service and mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage during the May 25 Azadi March. Besides the ex-premier, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Qasim Suri, Zartaj Gul, Ali Nawaz Awan, Faisal Javed, Shireen Mazari, Saifullah Niazi, Asad Umar and Awami Muslim League chairman Sheikh Rashid were acquitted. Judicial magistrates Mureed Abbas and Shahzad Khan pronounced the verdicts, which had been reserved after arguments, in the…
LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Monday passed the Defamation Bill, 2024, rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition amid protests by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council and journalists covering parliamentary proceedings. The SIC members tore apart copies of the bill after the house passed it through a voice vote. Vetted by the Special Committee-1 in the absence of standing committees, the bill was tabled by Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman after the PML-N government refused to delay voting on the bill, even for a week, at the request of journalists. On the occasion, the press gallery members walked out of the assembly…
