PIA plane stuck in Malaysia ‘will return soon’

A subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament on Thursday was informed by the Aviation Division that a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane – stopped in Malaysia over a claim of unpaid dues – would be brought back soon. The meeting of the subcommittee was chaired by its convener, Syed Hussain Tariq. During the huddle, the audit objections related to the Aviation Division from 2005-06 to 2017-18 were reviewed. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, a member of the panel, inquired about the PIA plane stopped at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The aviation secretary informed him that a Boeing 777 aircraft of the PIA had reached Kuala Lumpur. He added that one of its engines was purchased on lease and they had already paid off the company it was bought from. The aviation secretary told the subcommittee that the aircraft would be recovered as the PIA lawyers were currently engaged in taking up the matter in a Malaysian court. The convener inquired when the PIA plane would be returned. Senator Mushahid said he was leaving for Kuala Lumpur next week. The aviation secretary assured him that the plane would be retrieved by then. He added every document proving that the payment had been made was provided to the Malaysian court. The aircraft’s leasing company approached a court, claiming that the PIA owed it $4.5 million. However, the PIA disputed this claim, saying that it owned the aircraft. The national carrier said the leasing company only owned one of the engines and it had already paid $1.8 million for it. A PIA spokesperson said the claim submitted by the company to seek the impounding order was “incorrect”. He added that the national carrier had engaged its legal team in Kuala Lumpur to contest the matter in the court. The spokesperson stated that the passengers of the disputed plane had been accommodated on an alternative aircraft. He continued that the disputed Boeing 777 would also operate as a normal commercial flight from Kuala Lumpur. In January 2021, another PIA's Boeing 777 was stopped in Malaysia for about two weeks over a case involving $14 million in unpaid dues. (With input from agencies)

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Zardari active in Punjab political sphere

PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has become active in the political sphere of Punjab, especially after the PTI has lost its status as the largest party in the province after several of its leaders parted ways with it over their ‘differences' on the May 9 violence, triggered by the arrest of its chairman Imran Khan. Zardari on Thursday continued to hold  meetings with political leaders at the Bilawal House in Lahore. He met PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari, Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi, and party candidate from NA-69 Rana Mahmood Ashraf. Zardari also met with PPP Central Punjab President Rana Farooq Saeed, Faisal Mir, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Abdul Qadir Shaheen and other party leaders. In these meetings, the situation of Punjab in the upcoming elections was discussed. Zardari was informed by the party leaders about those who had recently joined the PPP. The former president of the country assigned the task to the party leaders of bringing forward a strong candidate in Southern Central Punjab. A day earlier, several political leaders fron South Punjab announced joining the PPP in a meeting with Zardari and party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

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Asif says IMF ‘meddling in internal affairs’

  Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday termed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent statement “meddling in the country’s internal affairs”, urging the global lender to take stock of the situation elsewhere in the world, also. In an interview with a private TV channel, the minister resented the comments by IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter, who said earlier this week that the IMF hoped that a peaceful way forward was found in line with the Constitution and the rule of law. “Obviously, he [Nathan Porter] was talking about Pakistan’s recent political developments,” Asif said, referring to the violent riots in the country following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on May 9. Asked if he saw Porter’s statement as meddling in the country’s internal matters, Asif replied in affirmative. “Yes, it is meddling in our internal affairs,” he said, adding that a “very serious law and order situation” was created on May 9. “I think these institutions should also take stock of the situation elsewhere in the globe. Like what is happening in Gaza? What is happening in the West Bank? What is happening in Srinagar or the Kashmir valley?” he added. The minister defended the measure taken by the government in the aftermath of May 9 riots, stressing that a mutiny took place on that day and that the state was threatened. “The government measures are in line with the crisis that was perpetrated on the May 9.” Asif slammed Imran for making constant mistakes, while in the Prime Minister Office and later as the leader of an opposition party for the past 13 months. “When your enemy is making a mistake, you don’t interrupt,” he added.

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Govt wants to secure law clipping CJ’s wings

The federal government wants to “secure” the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023. That is why Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan on Thursday requested the apex court to adjourn hearing of petitions filed against the piece of legislation that seeks to regularize the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) discretionary powers to form benches and fix cases. The AGP told an eight-member bench that some provisions of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 and the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements & Orders) Act, 2023 are overlapping and there is need to harmonize them. Some senior lawyers believe that drafts of both the laws were framed in haste and therefore there are some lacunas in both the laws. A member of the federal cabinet also admitted that the government wants to “secure” the legislation, regularizing the CJP's discretionary powers. He said although the law related to widening the scope of review— the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements & Orders) Act, 2023—is in the field, it does not serve the purpose. “Under this law, only a larger bench will be formed to hear a review and there is no restriction on the members of the original bench to hear the review petition against a judgment, given in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 184 (3) of Constitution. “On the other hand, the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 provides right of appeal against judgments given under Article 184 (3) of Constitution. These appeals will also be listed before a different bench,” he added. He said both former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) former secretary general Jahangir Tareen could not file a review against their disqualification for life as lawmakers under Article 62 (1) (f). The cabinet member said the government will have no issue if the court keeps the law suspended till retirement of CJP Bandial. Justice Bandial is retiring in the month of September while summer vacations of judges are going to start from June 12. Since enactment of this law, the incoming CJP, Justice Qazi Faez Isa has not sat in any bench. The cabinet member said some elements in the government believe that they should adopt a more aggressive attitude toward the judiciary. “Some judges are also hardliners,” he added. “We still have the greatest respect for CJP Bandial but unfortunately, he could not maintain a balance and has been including only one section of judges in benches hearing high profile political cases.” The division within the SC has further widened in the last couple of months. There is a complete mistrust between CJP Bandial and the present government. The establishment is fully backing the latter.” A government functionary said SC’s senior puisne judge Qazi Faez Isa is becoming untouchable with the passage of time. “Whoever tries to hatch any conspiracy against the incoming CJP would face dreadful consequences,” he said. He said there are reports that back channel negotiations are under way between judiciary and the government. CJP Bandial's main concern is that the government should write him a letter for nomination of the members of an inquiry commission probing some leaked audios. The government is not ready to form a commission minus Justice Isa. It does not want to take any step which could annoy Justice Isa who is heading the inquiry commission right now.

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Asif says IMF ‘meddling in internal affairs’

  Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday termed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent statement “meddling in the country’s internal affairs”, urging the global lender to take stock of the situation elsewhere in the world, also. In an interview with a private TV channel, the minister resented the comments by IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter, who said earlier this week that the IMF hoped that a peaceful way forward was found in line with the Constitution and the rule of law. “Obviously, he [Nathan Porter] was talking about Pakistan’s recent political developments,” Asif said, referring to the violent riots in the country following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on May 9. Asked if he saw Porter’s statement as meddling in the country’s internal matters, Asif replied in affirmative. “Yes, it is meddling in our internal affairs,” he said, adding that a “very serious law and order situation” was created on May 9. “I think these institutions should also take stock of the situation elsewhere in the globe. Like what is happening in Gaza? What is happening in the West Bank? What is happening in Srinagar or the Kashmir valley?” he added. The minister defended the measure taken by the government in the aftermath of May 9 riots, stressing that a mutiny took place on that day and that the state was threatened. “The government measures are in line with the crisis that was perpetrated on the May 9.” Asif slammed Imran for making constant mistakes, while in the Prime Minister Office and later as the leader of an opposition party for the past 13 months. “When your enemy is making a mistake, you don’t interrupt,” he added.

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Navy rescues six stranded fishermen

Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) SAIF has expeditiously responded to a distress call by a stranded Fishing Vessel AL ZUBAIR and saved the valuable lives of six fishermen while carrying out routine patrolling in the Arabian Sea. The fishing vessel had suffered engine failure and subsequent flooding due to rough sea conditions, a Pakistan Navy statement said. PNS SAIF swiftly responded to the distress call at night and safely recovered six stranded fishermen. Also read: China delivers 2 more navy frigates to Pakistan Medical assistance was provided onboard and the fishermen were subsequently shifted to Gwadar. The fishermen’s community lauded the efforts of Pakistan Navy in saving precious lives at sea. Pakistan Navy, besides ensuring combat readiness at all times, remains vigilant to contribute to ensuring the Safety of Life at Sea through sustained presence and monitoring of activities within the Maritime Zones of Pakistan.

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Ex-AJK PM calls for Imran’s military trial

Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas has said that Imran Khan should be punished under military laws and made an example. Speaking to the media at Jinnah House, the former AJK prime minister condemned the attack on Jinnah House, saying the nation may have seen many bad days, but that [May 9] was worse than all as “even non-Muslims love Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.” There is not a single thing that Imran Khan has done for this nation except that he made the youth of Pakistan face the army to evade arrest, he added. Tanveer Ilyas said that Imran Khan should be dealt with under military laws to set a precedent for such cases. He further said that for the last several years, there has been an unimaginable smear campaign against the army on social media. Not only Imran Khan, he added, but all those who were involved in this act should be given severe punishment. APP

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