LHC order on Ravi project challenged in SC

The PTI-led Punjab government on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court seeking the suspension of the Lahore High Court’s on January 25 order, which declared had the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP) as illegal and ‘unconstitutional’. A division bench of the SC, led by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, will take up matter today (Thursday). Earlier, the Supreme Court withdrew its interim order for the restoration of the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA). A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Ahsan, heard the case pertaining to the Punjab government’s appeal against the interim order of the LHC to suspend RUDA. During the hearing, the court ruled that the LHC had given a final verdict in the RUDA case, but the Punjab government could still challenge the decision before the SC. Read Supreme Court reiterates directives on grant of bail The apex court further stated that under the law, an interim order had been incorporated in the verdict. “Appeals against the interim order have become ineffective after the final judgment,” the SC order read. The lawyer representing RUDA sought two weeks from the SC to review the high court order. To this, Justice Ahsan remarked that the high court had already given its verdict and there was no point in prolonging appeals. “If you want to raise legal issues, raise them in an appeal against the decision,” he added.

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AJK lambasts India's rights abuses in IIOJK on 'Black Day'

People across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) observed India's 73rd Republic Day as 'Black Day', condemning rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Wednesday. Various organisations took to the streets in the capital city to denounce the rising rights violations in the occupied valley. The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Cell (JKLC) took out separate anti-India rallies in Manikpain and near the Burhan Wani chowk. Besides men, a good number of women joined the rallies, raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Addressing one of the rallies, AJK's local government minister Khawaja Farooq Ahmad said India has no right to celebrate Republic Day when its forces are killing innocent people in IIOJK just for demanding the right to self-determination granted by the United Nations. PHOTO: EXPRESS "A country that blinded children by pellet guns, made scores half-widows and incarcerated thousands of political activists have no moral right to deliver sermons on democracy," Farooq added. He also said that the people of AJK will continue to raise voices against the rising human rights violations being committed by the Indian military and other occupational forces in IIOJK. Ahmad stressed it was time for the world community to implement the resolutions of the United Nations on Kashmir to bring peace and tranquility in South Asia. Also read: Pakistan reaffirms solidarity with Kashmiris on 'Black Day' He added that the permanent peace of South Asia was closely linked with the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, so it needs the world's attention. The activist urged the global community to pressurise Indian government to free all political prisoners in the held region and resume dialogue with Pakistan and the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) to find an amicable solution to the vexed dispute. The rallies were also organised in Mirpur, Bhimber, and Sehnsa and other areas, wherein the speakers vowed to continue supporting the Kashmiri brethren in the occupied territory. Hundreds of protesters chanted "go India, go back", "we want freedom" and other slogans, demanding freedom for IIIIOJK.

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PPP to clean up ‘garbage in Islamabad’: Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that his party will clean up the “garbage accumulated in Islamabad” on February 27 – a tacit and tongue-in-cheek reference to PPP’s long march on federal capital against the government next month. Addressing a ceremony in Larkana, the PPP chairperson said that like every other city, Larkana had its own garbage problem but pointed out that there has been an improvement. He asked people to gear up for the upcoming sanitation work and called for departments concerned to redouble efforts to provide basic facilities to people at their doorsteps for the house-to-house garbage lifting. He pointed out that the task would be impossible without the cooperation of citizens. Every administration has to keep its own area clean, he added. "The responsibility to keep the city clean lies not only with the authorities but also with the citizens," he said. The PPP chief claimed that there were some political elements plotting a conspiracy, but “we have to continue our work”. We will take to the streets on February 27 to clean up the “garbage accumulated in Islamabad”.

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Top court undoes 2% quota for DAE holders in engineering courses

The Supreme Court has ruled that the students having Diploma of Associate Engineers (DAE) were eligible for getting admission in to the BSc (Engineering) programme through merit-based open competition with those having passed the FSc degree. A three-judge bench of the apex court, led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, declared that the decision of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) to fix 2% quota for the DAE holders in admission to the BSc (Engineering) programme as ultra vires of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) Act, 1976. “The best way forward is to allow admissions to BSc (Engineering) on open merit and through open competition amongst the FSc and DAE holders,” said an 8-pages judgment authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah. “Such a level-playing field encourages competition and allows the best of the best amongst the FSc and DAE to be admitted to the BSc (Engineering) Programme,” added the judgment, which reversed the decision of a division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the matter. Also read: SC advises courts not to dislodge university decisions The PEC, in its 15th governing body meeting on March 25, 2015 reserved 2% seats in the BSc (Engineering) programme for the DAE holders, instead of allowing them to apply on open merit, like the candidates holding an FSc degree. The petitioners, who are holders of DAE with more than 81% marks, took the plea that the PEC did not have such power under the PEC Act. The Supreme Court said that the FSc and DAE holders were at par for admission into BSc (Engineering). “The learned Division Bench of the High Court has failed to appreciate the scope and extent of Sections 8 and 25A of the Act and the unlawful imposition of reserved seats for DAE holders through the decision dated 25.03.2015 and through Article 2 (C) of the regulations,” the judgment said. The order also put to an end the issue of equivalence of the FSc and the DAE. Now the holders of the FSc and the DAE are considered eligible for the purposes of seeking admission to the BSc (Engineering) programme under Article 2 of the regulations. “The counsel for the respondent also failed to justify why DAE should not be considered at par with the FSc students on open merit when both of them are eligible for admission under the Regulations,” Justice Shah wrote in the judgment. Also read: Sub engineers demand scale upgradation “In the absence of any power to reserve seats for admission to the BSc (Engineering) programme, both the set of candidates with FSc and DAE have to be treated at par. This parity is created by equal eligibility of DAE for admission,” the judgment added. “Therefore, the decision of PEC dated 25.03.2015 fixing 2% reserved seats for DAE holders is not only unsustainable under the Act but is also discriminatory. Since PEC cannot reserve seats for any program, the condition of “reserved seats” by the Governing Body under Article 2(C) of the Regulations is also illegal and ultra vires the Act.” The court also said that another dimension of the case was that on the one side, the regulations allowed both the FSc and DAE holders to be eligible to apply for BSc (Engineering) programme, subject to meeting the requirement of 60% aggregate marks, yet on the other hand, the regulation put a clog on the admission of DAE holders by imposing the condition of reserved seats. “Other than the fact that the PEC or the Governing Body has no such power to impose such a condition, it is also ex-facie discriminatory against the DAE holders, especially when they are considered eligible for the BSc (Engineering) Programme along with the FSc degree holders,” the order said.

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Kashmiris across UK mark India's Republic Day as ‘Black Day’

Expressing solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Kashmiri diaspora in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe on Wednesday observed India’s Republic Day as “Black Day”. The Kashmiri community in the UK was joined by members of the Sikh community to express solidarity with innocent Kashmiris in IIOJK, who are facing an all-out war by the occupation forces. The anti-India rally was led by Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TEK) UK President Raja Fahim Kayani and Ranjit Singh Srai. The Kashmiri diaspora and World Sikh Parliament members gathered outside Indian High Commission, London and the Indian Consulate in Birmingham. Read more: Jan 5 to be observed as Right to Self-Determination Day Raising pro-freedom slogans, the protesters condemned human rights violations in IIOJK and demanded that the international community break the status quo imposed by the fascist Indian regime in the occupied valley. The TeK UK president said that only a shameless country like India will take pride in celebrating its Republic Day while it illegally occupies IIOJK through its military might. “Kashmiris challenge India to take out its one million forces from IIOJK and then celebrate its Republic Day,” Kayani said. “India’s presence in IIOJK is just because of its military and this ‘military might’ will have to end one day and that day is not far,” Coordinator, Self-Determination Council of World Sikh Parliament Ranjit Singh Srai said. Also read: PM Imran reiterates support to Kashmir issue He said that genocide perpetrators must never be allowed to succeed if humanity truly aspires to live by a rules-based international order. "The recent, well-publicised, open threats of genocide made by Hindutva-professing leaders in India shine the light on what the alternative will look like." TeK UK also held demonstrations in Nelson, Glasgow, Leeds, Bradford and Reading to remind the UN and the international community of its obligation to end the illegal Indian occupation of Kashmir. Hanif Raja, President TeK Scotland, in his remarks, reminded Kashmiris in IIOJK and in the diaspora about countless sacrifices made for freedom. “We have no luxury to forget the sacrifices made by the innocent people for freedom of Kashmir from the ugly clutches of India." Secretary-General TeK Mian Muhammad Tayyib said that the memories and guidance given by movement's leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai is itched in the minds to challenge India every day over IIOJK. “We will not forget it and will continue to fight for our legitimate right to self-determination," he asserted. The TeK Europe also held a virtual conference to deliberate on the freedom movement underway in IIOJK and to mark January 26 as “Black Day”. Consul General of Pakistan in Spain Mirza Salman Babar Baig also attended the conference and reiterated Pakistan’s unflinching support to the people of IIOJK. He said that Pakistan will continue its diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris to achieve their right to self-determination as promised in various UN resolutions. Chaudhry Shahnawaz President APKCC said that Kashmiris are brave people who will not be cowed down by India’s military might. While addressing the protesters outside the Indian High Commission London, Chaudhry Muhammad Sharif, Senior Vice President TeK UK said that the love for freedom is deep in our hearts and blood. "India cannot hold Kashmir for long. Kashmiris in IIOJK will break the chains of slavery and force Indians out of our beloved land.”

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NA panel told to strike Rana Shamim off agenda

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Tuesday wrote a letter to the chairman of the Standing Committee on Information asking him to exclude from one of its meetings the agenda pertaining to the issue of ex-CJ Gilgit Baltistan Rana Shamim’s affidavit. Speaker Qaiser has emphasised that the agenda should be amended on the ground that it is a sub judice matter. The speaker’s letter comes weeks after Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain also penned a similar letter to the chairman of the committee, Mian Javed Latif, and asked him to drop the agenda item. The agenda item VI states: “to discuss the issue published in electronic and print media and also discussed in the previous meeting of the standing committee on information and broadcasting regarding ex-CJ GB claims in a signed affidavit: ‘Saqib Nisar directed not to release Nawaz, Maryam before 2018 elections”. The NA standing committee had summoned Nisar and Shamim on December 29 but the meeting could not be held and remains delayed for several weeks due to the contention. Earlier this month, the opposition members of the said committee had asked the NA speaker to call the meeting of the panel and expressed concern that the much-needed meeting has not been held even after a lapse of several weeks. The agenda item VII is “to discuss the issue of audio recently released by Mr Ahmed Noorani regarding ex-chief justice of Pakistan Mr Saqib Nisar”. Other agenda items include murder attempt on former senior journalist Absar Alam, attack on journalist Asad Toor and registration of FIRs against senior journalists Hamid Mir and Asma Shirazi. Another agenda item is related to columnist and TV news analyst Hassan Nisar who has made a statement on PTV that those who take the name of democracy “should be shot dead and the cost of the bullet should be recovered from their families”.   Read: "Body formed to investigate audio leak, affidavit"

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PM Imran defends govt against damning Transparency Int'l report

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday defended his party's anti-corruption drive in the wake of the country's dismal ranking on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as he expressed resolve to become more aggressive with his push for speedy disposal of pending corruption cases. The global graft ranking has been viewed as a major blow to the ruling party’s rallying narrative – a central campaign promise of his party to restore a steady hand to governance, particularly on the issue of corruption. The development came as a shot in the arm for the opposition that seized on the index's ranking to lambast PM Imran over his government's "record-breaking" corruption. Alarmed by the ranking and the anti-government narrative it helped generate, the prime minister took his cabinet into confidence over the “numerous steps” the ruling party has taken to eradicate graft during its rule. Read: TI report dents PTI’s ‘anti-graft’ narrative In the federal cabinet meeting, the prime minister while apprising the cabinet about various steps taken to reduce corruption in the country lashed out at political rivals, saying that “those who committed corruption were now staying abroad instead of facing corruption cases in Pakistan.” In the past, the prime minister used to blast the governments over CPI rankings, accused them of corruption and asserted that the nation was paying the price of rulers’ corruption in the form of increased taxes, He vowed to eradicate corruption within 90 days after coming into power. Ironically, in order to form the government in 2018, PM Imran had to take help from those whom he used to call the biggest ‘thieves’ in the past. For a long time, Imran Khan has been putting corruption as the single biggest issue of the country yet his own government had no dearth of corruption scandals in the last three-and-a-half-year and the country went further down on the global watchdog’s perception list. In the post-cabinet press briefing, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain emphasized that Transparency International's report does not mention financial corruption, saying the country’s ranking on CPI was dropped due to weak implementation of law and ‘state capture’. In its defence, the government’s spokesperson said that the complete report has yet to come and the current score of 140 out of the total 180 was based on different indicators, including financial corruption, accountability, rule of law and state capture. The information minister reiterated in the press conference that Pakistan got further down on the index, not because of financial corruption but weak rule of law and state capture. “The report did not include any kind of financial corruption,” he said. Read More: Shehbaz mocks govt over Transparency International ranking The minister said that the report was prepared on the basis of the reports of various organizations and NGOs, adding that all the institutions maintained Pakistan’s ranking but only the Economist Intelligence Country Unit has dropped the rankings. “Check who is its head in Pakistan and then you will know why the ranking was dropped,” Fawad said. The minister clarified that he did not want to get into any controversy about whether the report was correct or not. Undoubtedly, he said, there is a need to take steps for strengthening rule of law in Pakistan and that’s what the Prime Minister has stressed time and again. “No doubt a lot of work needs to be done in the area of rule of law,” Fawad said while explaining how different systems for the rich and the poor were going on. Urging the judiciary to play its role, he emphasized that all the institutions needed to work collectively for establishing the rule of law in letter and spirit. “Judiciary should think about it … there is no harm in showing trials of corruption cases,” Fawad said, adding the government was also working on bringing in reforms in this regard. His statement came after he reiterated the government’s request to the country’s chief justices to live broadcast trials of Sharif and Zardari families by installing cameras inside the courtrooms. He believed that such steps would improve Pakistan's perception at the international level, adding a comprehensive response would be given once Transparency International releases its complete report.

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