FM consults allies on India visit

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held consultation with the political leaders on Wednesday on his upcoming India visit to attend the Shanghai Corporation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers meeting. Bilawal will travel to India on a two-day visit to participate in the conference in Goa on Thursday. The foreign minister will lead the Pakistan delegation at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) to be held on May 4-5. Bilawal Bhutto called Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convenor Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and took him into confidence regarding his India visit. He also consulted other political leaders. The Foreign Office said in a statement that The foreign minister was attending the SCO-CFM meeting at the invitation of its the current chair Dr S Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs of India. "Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities," the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

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Progress made in talks with PTI, says minister

Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) reiterated on Wednesday his party’s stance that political issues must be resolved through dialogue, while remaining within the ambit of the law and the Constitution. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the minister held the view that elections should be conducted on the same day across the country, and said that it would be in the best interests of the nation. The minister took strong exception to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition in the Supreme Court, saying that the move gave the impression that the apex court was standing by the party. "The PTI thinks that the judiciary is favouring it," Qamar said. "Why go to the Supreme Court in the middle of the ongoing negotiations with the government?" the minister wondered. Recalling the recent talks held with the PTI on the issue of removing misgivings on the upcoming elections in the country, the minister claimed that positive progress was made on various points raised by both sides. "We want to resolve the issues amicably with the PTI, we desire success and progress on this front. The ruling collation shows all the flexibility that is needed as well as their respect for the Constitution," he added. Also read: PTI workers, leader get bails He also said that it was the stance of the government that the National Assembly and the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies should not be dissolved before completing their constitutional terms. Qamar said that through dialogue, the government wanted to make things acceptable to all. "This can be achieved through flexibility, and not through a rigid stance," he added. He also said that “political leaders have always shown flexibility” in solving problems. "Politics is the art of the possible," the commerce minister told the lower house of parliament. He added that political dialogue had been started with the PTI to come out of the current political crisis. The minister said that various rounds of talks were held with the PTI. He added that the PPP had taken all the political forces on board to bring the country out of the current challenges. Parliament had the authority to make legislation for the welfare of the people and to run the affairs of the country, he said, adding that the issue of the date of the election was also taken into consideration in negotiations with PTI. (WITH INPUT FROM APP)

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Imran asks supporters to take to streets in solidarity with CJP on Saturday

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has urged his supporters to take to the streets on Saturday to express solidarity with Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial. In a video message issued on social media on Wednesday, the deposed prime minister called on every individual to come out of their homes to streets and markets one hour before Maghrib prayers on Saturday to show their backing of the CJP and to uphold the rule of law. According to Imran, the country is on a critical juncture with inflation and unemployment at an all-time high, and with the “mafia's grip on the nation”. The ex-premier claimed that the current government fears defeat in the elections, and therefore they are resorting to destroy the country's Constitution and malign Supreme Court. Imran also accused the "mafia" of spreading propaganda against the CJP and other SC judges, calling on the nation to come out and express unity with them in upholding the rule of law. https://ift.tt/Mqy8nG0   Earlier in the day, PTI informed the Supreme Court that the incumbent government and the PTI could not reach a solution within the Constitution regarding Punjab Assembly election dates, ‘in spite of the best efforts of [the] parties’. Read more: Will CJP’s dinner heal SC divisions? In a civil miscellaneous application (CMA), the former ruling party pleaded that the top court’s judgement, ordering Punjab Assembly elections to be held on May 14 be “implemented in letter and spirit so that the Constitution is upheld and does not stand violated”. The SC was informed that members of both teams – the PTI and the PDM/alliance – deliberated and held a dialogue with full sincerity over three days. The application maintained that the stance of PTI was initially that the elections of the assemblies have to be held within 90 days and that the SC already determined the Constitutional timeframe for holding elections for the Punjab Assembly. However, the PDM stated that elections for the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies be held on the same day, thus the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkwa elections be held in October 2023, after the other assemblies complete their terms. Subsequently, the PTI proposed that the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies be dissolved on or by May 14 and elections to all assemblies be collectively held within 60 days of the dissolution of the assemblies, that is, in the second week of July 2023.

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Man tortures, humiliates wife

A man, along with his family members, allegedly tortured his wife and her brother and cut their hair to further humiliate them. The incident took place in 208/HR area of Bahawalnagar. The victim was married to the accused, Salim, two years ago, but the couple did not have any child due to which their marital life had been marred with frequent quarrels. The victim, fed up with the taunts her in-laws and husband hurled at her, had filed for separation. The couple’s relatives intervened and made the couple reconcile. However, the reconciliation didn’t last long. The victim’s husband and his family nurtured an added grudge against her over her act of filing for separation. Salim and his family continued to torture her. On one occasion the victim’s brother came to the rescue of her sister, but he too bore the brunt of his sister’s in-laws ire. They grabbed him, cut his hair and shaved his mustache and eyebrows. The accused ultimately kicked the victim out of his house. Photos of the victim went viral on social media. DPO Syed Ali Raza took notice of the incident. An FIR was lodged at the Fort Abbas Police Station on the complaint of the victim after which the police arrested Salim.   Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2023.

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MoU signed to digitise health sector

The Punjab Health Department and Telecom Foundation on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to digitalise the health system in the province. Caretaker Minister for Health, Punjab Dr Jamal Nasir, and General Manager Telecom Foundation Atifa Ehsan signed and exchanged the documents here at a ceremony. Dr Jamal Nasir said that according to the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, a modern digital health system was being planned for the Punjab Health Department, which would initially provide basic health centres and facilities. He said there would be less rush of patients in headquarters hospitals due to this system. The minister said that the system would start from Rawalpindi and digital health service would be more useful for patients above 60 years of age. He said that under this system, smart belts, watches and mobile apps would be provided to the patients through which their health would be monitored at their homes 24 hours while in case of an emergency, it would be activated under the automatic system. Dr Jamal said an ambulance would arrive at the doorstep of the patient and he would be admitted to the hospital in case of an emergency. Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2023.

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Zardari, Fazl discuss political situation

Former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday met PDM chairman and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and discussed matters pertaining to overall political situation of the country. The PPP co-chairman also offered Fateha for the deported soul of Mufti Abdul Shakoor. Meanwhile, Zardari said that the PPP will continue to support freedom of the press. In a message on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, he said Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a supporter of freedom of expression and he taught the common people how to voice their views by giving them political consciousness.

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Justice Isa sees SC in breach of Constitution

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, has said that if the top court “is kept below its sanctioned strength indefinitely and for no good reason, then it does not conform with the Constitution and law”. Against the sanctioned strength of 17 judges, the top court is currently functioning with 15 judges, including Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial. “If the Supreme Court is kept below its sanctioned strength indefinitely, and for no good reason, it, in my opinion, does not conform with the Constitution and the law," the judge wrote in a letter to all members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) which is a constitutional body regarding the appointment of superior courts judges. "There continue to exist two vacancies of judges in the Supreme Court, since July 13, 2022 and August 13, 2022, respectively, when Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah [got] retired, that is, for a combined period of about nineteen months." He letter reads: “Article 176 defines the constitution of Supreme Court to be the chief justice of Pakistan and so many other judges as may be determined by an Act of Parliament. “Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1997 stipulates that the number of other judges ‘shall be sixteen’.” Also read: Will CJP’s dinner heal SC divisions? Justice Isa in his letter says that presently there are about 53,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court; less than nine years ago there were about half this number. "The interest of the people has been undermined because the Supreme Court may reach the point when it is no longer able to attend to the amassed cases. I have been requesting that judges be appointed when vacancies occur. In a little over a month the Supreme Court will be on summer vacations. "These vacancies should be filled before the vacations to ensure participation of all Members in the proposed meeting of the Judicial Commission. "Cognisant of my constitutional duty I would like to propose for your kind consideration to appoint Justice Ahmed Ali M Shaikh and Justice Musarrat Hilali as the judges of the Supreme Court. Justice Shaikh is the chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and Justice Musarrat Hilali was unanimously approved by the Judicial Commission to be appointed as chief justice of the Peshawar High Court. "The people of Sindh were dismayed when their chief justice was not appointed to the Supreme Court and the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa remain concerned that there is only one Judge from their province in the Supreme Court. The Constitution mandates equality of citizens and forbids discrimination on the basis of sex and it also stipulates that there should be no discrimination on the ground of race, residence and place of birth.” Justice Isa also addressed Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial staying that "Hon'ble Chairman, I look forward to your calling a meeting of the Judicial Commission at the earliest because both the said Hon'ble judges will retire in a few months."

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