PML-Q reiterates support to govt

Federal Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi assured on Thursday National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser that PML-Q was an ally of the government and would stand by it in any political situation as it had confidence in the leadership abilities of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The minister belonging to PTI’s only coalition partner in the Centre and Punjab also cleared the air on opposition parties’ back-to-back meetings with PML-Q leadership, saying his party has not assured support to any opposition party on their no-confidence move against the premier. The assurance from Moonis, son of Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, has come days after he delivered a potentially fatal blow to the opposition hopes of ousting the prime minister through a no-trust motion when he assured PM Imran that his party made the connection with PTI to make it last. In a telephonic conversation with the NA speaker, Moonis said that “his party was an ally of the government and would stand by it in any political situation”. The official statement attributed to the PML-Q leader noted that “his party had not assured any party of the opposition to support their non-trust move against PM Imran Khan”. Clarifying speculations making rounds following opposition parties’ meetings with PML-Q leadership, Moonis said that “meetings of PLM-Q leaders with the opposition leaders were being misinterpreted and that they were part of a political process.” During the phone call, Moonis told Qaiser that the economic indicators were positive and the country was politically and economically stable, saying “his party had confidence in the leadership abilities of Prime Minister Imran Khan.” Acknowledging the positive role of PML-Q leadership in national politics, Qaiser said the party had always taken decisions in the best national interest. He said that all political parties needed to work together to steer the country out of the challenges it was facing. The speaker said that the country was on the path of development due to the economic policies of the present government led by PM Imran, adding that stability of democratic institutions in the country was essential for the progress and prosperity of the country. He said the premier had led the country on the path of economic development. The statement noted that Moonis and Qaiser also discussed the current economic and political situation in the country besides issues of mutual interest during the call. In less than two weeks, Moonis has poured cold water twice on the opposition parties’ hopes, who have been trying their best for roping in PML-Q in its efforts to zeroing in on the no-trust motion. On both the occasions, Moonis left little to imagination about where PML-Q stands and, have, apparently, forced the opposition to come up with something else than merely relying on the government allies. Apart from wooing the government allies, the opposition has been banking its support on the ruling party’s lawmakers that they would revolt against their party and support the opposition on no-confidence motion. However, only time will tell if they would get any support from PTI MNAs or are left-red faced at the last minute as the opposition itself admits that the lawmakers were waiting for a signal from “State” – a tacit reference to establishment – before abandoning their party.

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Over 7.54m people get Covid jabs in Faisalabad

Over 7.54 million people have been vaccinated so far against Covid-19 in the district. District Health Officer Dr. Ataul Munim said on Thursday that 4.45 million citizens received their first dose, while 3.01 million were given the second injection. He further added that 39,828 health workers were also given the first dose, while 36,647 received their second. Vaccinations were conducted at 37 vaccination centers and 20 mobile vaccination camps across the Faisalabad area, where registered people were being vaccinated. In order to facilitate these people, centers had been established in various areas of the city including Allied Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital, Government General Hospital, Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Government General Hospital Samanabad, Children Hospital, Sports Complex Samanabad, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Jaranwala, Samundri, Tandlianwala, Chak Jhumra, Sports Complex Chak Jhumrah, Sports Complex Jaranwala, Government General Hospital Chak 224/R-B, New Building RHC Khurrianwala, New Building THQ Sammundri, New Building THQ Tandlianwala, Social Security Hospital Madina Town, Wapda Hospital, Rural Health Centers Mureed Wala, Kanjwani, Mamukanjan, RHC Chak 400-GB, RHC Chak 153/R-B, RHC Chak 374-GB and Chak 469-GB. Read: Stalled vaccine drive These vaccination centers are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. except for the Sports Complex Samanabad center, which will remain open round the clock. Dr. Munim added that the district has a sufficient stock of the vaccine. Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2022.

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IHC describes PECA changes as ‘draconian’

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Thursday described the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) Ordinance 2022 as “oppressive and draconian”. The court also extended its order to refrain the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from directly arresting anyone without the complete implementation of its standard operating procedures (SOPs) till March 10 – the next date of hearing. Justice Minallah was hearing the pleas clubbed together against the new ordinance. Lawyers representing the petitioner Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) as well as PPP’s Farhatullah Babar, who had also filed a plea against the ordinance, appeared before the court. Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan was also present during the proceedings as a judicial assistant. Read: IHC takes sting out of PECA 2022 The IHC CJ observed that Peca was only used to target critics of the government. “It is being said with regret that the proceedings [under Peca] were initiated against those individuals who criticised the government.” Justice Minallah noted that it did not appear as if this was happening in a democratic country. The court also referred to a case against a neighbour of a PTI lawmaker over criticism. “The FIA harassed that person,” the judge observed, calling it a “shocking case”. It added that there were 14,000 complaints pending with the FIA but only the government’s rivals were being targeted. “Why shouldn’t Section 20 of Peca be declared null and void?” the IHC CJ remarked, adding that such decisions had been made by courts across the globe. Read More: Bars term PECA ordinance oppressive, extraconstitutional The IHC chief justice further observed as to how could the PTI, which rose to fame due to the support it garnered on social media, make such legislation. The judge remarked that he would not entertain the pleas of political parties against the ordinance, blaming them and their activists for “whatever is happening on social media”. He added that with the exception of the Jamaat-e-Islami, all political parties encouraged their activists to troll and hurl accusations against opponents on social media platforms. The IHC CJ advised the opposition parties to play their role against the Peca ordinance in parliament instead of filing petitions in this court. “This court respects parliament and will not initiate proceedings at the request of political parties,” Justice Minallah noted, adding that the government made the ordinance and it should let the Senate “accept or reject” it. The Peca ordinance was challenged by the PPP and PML-N along with media bodies and superior bar councils. Addressing the opposition, the IHC CJ said: “You have a majority in the Senate...you have the power to reject the ordinance.” Read Also: Pressure piles up on govt over PECA tweaks The judge questioned as to why political parties were afraid of dissent when they themselves had established social media cells. “State institutions don’t have fundamental rights. How can they be included in the aggrieved parties?” the IHC CJ asked, adding that the public bodies should not be afraid of criticism. He noted that the executive should remove public office holders from their posts if it was so concerned about their reputation. During the hearing, the IHC CJ grilled the FIA for abusing its powers in cases against the critics of the government. The IHC CJ noted that the FIA had abused its authority in complaints involving public office holders in every case that came before the high court even before the amendments to Peca. The judge maintained that through this ordinance, the government was giving the FIA powers to arrest anyone and put them in jail till the conclusion of the trial. “The court has no hesitation in saying that the ordinance is a draconian law.” He noted that the ordinance would result in self-censorship, adding that the law was even worse than the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO). “People will stop writing out of fear of this law.” Speaking further about the FIA, Justice Minallah noted that the agency had already submitted a document of its SOPs to the court but had not followed them. “Such is the highhandedness of the FIA.” The judge observed that the FIA had picked up two journalists from Lahore under Peca. “These journalists were picked up in a manner that they weren’t even told the reason for their detention,” he added, noting that they remained “disappeared” for quite some time. The judge observed that when asked about the arrests, the FIA had said a complaint was registered against them. Justice Minallah remarked that one of the journalists was picked up for quoting a history book in his vlog. “Now, it is not even allowed for anyone to cite history,” he questioned. The AGP contested this, saying that had not happened. The IHC CJ also remarked on the confiscation of journalist Mohsin Baig’s laptop from his house, saying the government was even targeting the “sources of journalists”. “Even though they [journalists] are not asked about their sources,” he added The judge reiterated that defamation laws were being decriminalised across the world as he gave examples of Britain and Uganda. The AGP responded that there were many countries where the law was not decriminalised. The attorney general told the court that Section 20 of the ordinance was not unconstitutional. However, he added that there was a need to provide safeguards against the misuse of the law. He said he would meet the prime minister as he had a “plan” for changes in the law. He further said the law would not apply to political speeches. The IHC CJ, however, asked him to assure that the law would not apply to all types of speeches. Read Also: IT minister urges PM Imran to 'pay heed' to PECA protests The AGP said he would take up the issue with cabinet members. Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned till March 10. In an order issued later, Justice Minallah observed that the AGP “was informed that it has, prima facie, become obvious on the basis of the record before the court that the gross abuse of powers vested in the agency [FIA] was restricted to alleged complaints of attacks on reputations of public office holders”. “The victims were critics, dissenters, political activists, human rights defenders, journalists and even a neighbour who had raised his dissent regarding damage caused to the environment at the behest of an elected public office holder,” the order read. ”It appears that rather than exercising caution and taking effective measures against abuse of criminalised defamation, prima facie, oppressive amendments have been introduced.” The judge noted that it prima facie, appeared that the likely effect of the amendments would be to discourage free speech. “The chilling effect that has already been created through the rampant and widespread abuse of the offence of criminalised defamation seems to have been sanctioned through the repressive and draconian powers given to the agency [FIA] pursuant to the impugned ordinance.” The judge further noted that the arrest or prison sentence in complaints relating to defamation had sufficient “chilling” effect to raise the question whether or not the threshold of “reasonable restriction” in the context of Articles 19 and 19-A of the Constitution had been met. “Moreover, whether [or not] even unjustified attacks on the reputation of private individuals would outweigh compromising the right of free speech guaranteed under the aforementioned constitutional provisions.” The order further read that arrest or imprisonment might be justified only in exceptional circumstances i.e. when there was serious impairment of fundamental rights -- in case of hate speech or incitement to violence -- but definitely not when it had a “chilling” effect likely to breach or discourage free speech in order to protect a private individual’s reputation. “It, therefore, prima facie, appears to the court that criminalisation of defamation under Section 20 of the Act of 2016 and the impugned ordinance do not satisfy the threshold of “reasonable restriction” and thus they are [neither] compatible with the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 19-A of the Constitution,  nor the obligation of the State.” It was pointed out in the order that there was another crucial question regarding the constitutional validity of the impugned ordinance. “Public bodies do not enjoy protection of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution because they are bereft of the required status. Their existence is solely to serve the people and the test of their performance is confidence reposed in them by the actual stakeholders i.e. the people.” The judge noted that public bodies, therefore, did not require protection against attacks on their reputation. “They cannot claim immunity from rigorous scrutiny and accountability by the people.” The court also noted that the vires of the ordinance had to be justified on the touchstone of jurisdictional preconditions prescribed under Article 89 of the Constitution. “It has to be justified that circumstances existed which rendered it necessary to take immediate action by exercising powers conferred under Article 89 and thus circumvent the legislative process within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).” The court raised the question as to would an unjustified circumvention not be a fraud upon the Constitution, particularly when it had the effect of violating one of the most important fundamental rights i.e. guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. “The learned attorney general is, therefore, expected to satisfy on the next date fixed, why the court may not declare criminalisation of defamation under Section 20 of the Act of 2016 and the oppressive amendments introduced through the impugned ordinance, as “unreasonable restriction”, consequently incompatible with the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 19-A of the Constitution and thus ultra vires and liable to be struck down.” Meanwhile, PML-N's Marriyum Aurangzeb also filed a petition against the ordinance on behalf of her party. Speaking to reporters later, the PML-N leader said every citizen had the right to information and freedom of expression according to the Constitution.

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Judge raises questions over police probe in Noor murder case

Despite awarding death sentence to main accused Zahir Zakir Jaffer, Additional Sessions Judge Islamabad Muhammad Atta Rabbani has raised serious questions on the police investigation in Noor Muqadam murder case. "The procedural defect and irregularity might have been done by the Investigation Officer (IO) during investigation to give undue favour to the accused and the police authority at the most may take action in this regard. The police authority must think over it to take positive steps for reforms in the investigation wing of police department," a 61-page judgment said. Renowned lawyer Salman Safdar, who has expertise in criminal law, lauded the trial court to give speedy and bold judgment in the case. He said evidences were collected more professionally as compared with other cases of same nature. Read more: Zahir Jaffer awarded death sentence in Noor murder case He maintained that acquittal of accused’s parents was a courageous decision when superior courts had already rejected the father’s bail. The trial court in its judgment noted that many technical objections were raised on part of the defence, adding that technical aspects regarding defective investigation had no value in light of the modern device and scientific evidence. "The police witnesses made some contradictory statements regarding the time of arrival of the police officials and complainant at the place of occurrence. It is submitted that the oral statement has no value in light of documentary evidence in shape of P-13 and P14. The CCTV footage P-13 and P-14 made clear all the contradiction pointed out by learned defence counsel. The defence side also pointed the loopholes and lacunas in the investigation. “The court observed that the IO committed mistakes and left loopholes during investigation. The IO got drafted the recovery memos through his colleagues or subordinates without giving reason. The question arises that whether the defective investigation is enough to spoil the case of prosecution/complainant,” the judgment said. In this regard, the judgment noted that the Supreme Court in judgment cited as 2008 SCMR 1228 held that discrepancy reflected on the working and lethargy of the IO could not cause any harm to the prosecution’s case. “In the said case, the IO did not take into possession the blood stained clothes of the deceased, blood stained cloth, empties from the place of occurrence. Similarly, the Hon’ble High court in judgment cited as 1998 P.Cr.L.J 114 held that procedural defect or irregularity or even illegality in course of investigation shall not demolish the case of – prosecution.” Also read: Noor Mukadam murder case: A timeline The court noted that the discrepancies and contradiction as pointed out by defence side were not material and such contradiction and discrepancies were not fatal to case of complainant. However, the judgment said that the prosecution had produced its sufficient evidence in shape of modern scientific and forensic evidence to establish its case that Noor was killed by accused Zahir Zakir Jaffer inside his room. "The dead body was recovered from the room of accused Zahir Zakir. Even the accused (the members of Therapy Team) had seen the dead body lying in the said room. The defence side has failed to rebut the evidence of prosecution. “The defence also failed to establish that the dead body was not recovered from the said room of accused Zahir Zakir or the deceased Mst Noor Muqadam was done to death at somewhere else. According to the reports of PFSA Ex P-BM relating to Forensic toxicology, drugs/ poison were not detected in the liver and stomach contents of deceased sent to the laboratory and as per PFSA report Ex P-BL the DNA profile of the accused is also matched and accused Zahir Zakir cannot be excluded being contributor to DNA mixture profile. “As per statements of PW-4 and PW-7 the sealed parcels were kept in save custody and transmitted to concern authority/laboratory. The medical evidence also supports the prosecution version as the cause of death is lack of blood supply to the brain due to separation from head from the body. The defence evidence as well as point raised by defence side has no weightage in front of the heavy flow of the prosecution evidence,” the judgment said.

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Zardari seeks JI’s support for no-trust motion

Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday met with Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq and sought his support for bringing the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, apprising him of the decisions taken by the opposition parties so far. However, the JI has sought a few days to put the entire matter before their Central Majlis-e-Shura. Zardari called on Haq at JI Central Headquarter Mansoorah in Lahore. During the meeting, the former president informed the JI chief of the understanding reached thus far between the anti-government political parties and that they would first plan and later consolidate support for the no-trust motion. A source in the JI revealed that the party was informed that the opposition parties had enough support in the National Assembly to take the government down comfortably, however, a few issues had yet to be ironed out. He said that Zardari had informed Haq that he had proposed the name of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif as the next prime minister. “We do not know if Shehbaz has agreed to the option or not.” Also read: 'Time ripe for tabling no-trust motion', Fazl agrees with Zardari He said when Zardari was asked if the PPP and other parties supporting the no-confidence motion would take their share of ministries, he replied that the PPP was only interested in the National Assembly speaker’s slot. He said that Zardari replied that the PML-N could have all the ministries for itself, adding that the JI chief was informed that the opposition parties first wanted to undo a lot of controversial legislations passed during the PTI stint, before moving towards mid-term elections. He said a pending issue that needed to be resolved was of Punjab, where the PPP was proposing that the PML-Q be given the government while the PML-N was not agreeing. When asked about the timeframe of the no-confidence motion, the source replied that the move, according to his understanding, might take some time and not come as early as being said. He said that Zardari was informed that the entire matter would be kept before Central Majlis-e-Shura to seek its approval. Also read: Fawad foresees opposition leaders in jail before no-trust move Speaking to media after the meeting, former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf who was part of the PPP delegation which met the JI chief, said Pakistan politics and current state of the affairs of the country were discussed during the meeting with the JI amir. He said that owing to sheer incompetence of the government, country was passing through uncertain times. He said that they hope the JI would support those who were on the path of righteousness. JI leader Liaquat Baloch said after listening to the decision reached thus far, Haq made it clear that it was the right of every political party to exercise all the constitutional options available to them to come up to the expectations of the people. “We have called the Majlis-e-Shura session to decide on the matter.” JI Information Secretary Qaiser Sharif said that the PPP only sought support for the no-confidence motion and not their long march.

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Fawad mocks 'breathless' opposition as PM visits Russia

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday mocked opposition over Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Russia, saying they didn't need to be afraid about it. Premier Imran along with a high-level delegation is on a two-day visit to the Russian Federation from 23-24 February. He is accompanied by cabinet members and senior officials. He held one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kremlin and the two leaders held wide-ranging consultations on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest. "Those belonging to the PML-N, PPP and some quarters of the media are scared of PM Imran's visit to Russia," Fawad said on his Twitter handle. He added that the only problem was these "brothers have so much money in the West that they are breathless." The minister further stated that such people needn't worry as Pakistan's stay is and will remain as PTI's supreme policy. نون لیگ پیپلز پارٹی اور کچھ میڈیا والے وزیر اعظم کے روس کے دورے سے ایسے خوفزدہ ہیں کہ کسی نے ان کے جسم سے خون نکال لیا ہو مسئلہ صرف اتنا ہے کہ بھائیوں کا اتنا پیسہ مغرب میں ہے کہ سانس رکی ہوئ ہے فکر نہ کریں پاکستان کا مفاد تحریک انصاف کی سپریم پالیسی ہے اور رہے گا — Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 24, 2022 On Monday, while addressing a gathering, the PM said he had always urged his team not to panic, and “today, I am telling the opposition ‘ghabrana nahi’ (don’t panic)”. His remarks came as the opposition leaders met to discuss tabling the no-confidence motion against the incumbent government in the National Assembly. PM Imran had said that when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf came to power, “the situation was very bad and the country was bankrupt”. “I was worried the team would panic, so I urged them not to panic. “This is what I used to say to my team when we were playing against the toughest cricket team [of that time] West Indies and today I am telling the opposition not to panic,” he was quoted as saying.

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Security forces seize arms, ammunition in North Waziristan IBO

The security forces on Thursday conducted an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) in Madi Khel, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) North Waziristan district, on reports of weapons and ammunition cache, the military's media wing said in a statement. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a large quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered during the search operation. Read: Security forces seize arms, ammunition during North Waziristan IBO “Recovered weapons and ammunition include sub machine guns, light machine guns, RPG-7s, hand grenades, RPG-7 rockets and hundreds of multiple calibre rounds,” the ISPR reported. The statement also mentioned that locals of the area appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to eliminate terrorism from the area. Read: Security forces kill five terrorists in North Waziristan operation On Sunday, the security forces killed five terrorists in another IBO conducted on the reported presence of terrorists in the North Waziristan district of the province, the military said in a statement. According to the ISPR, wanted terrorists including Habib Nawaz alias Shakil, Waheedullah, Abdur Rehman, and Muhammad Ullah were killed in the operation. The identification of the fifth terrorist is being investigated, it added.

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