Police arrest PTI leader Mahmood Jan in K-P

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former deputy speaker of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mahmood Jan, and two others, were arrested by police in an alleged murder case. According to the police, a murder and an attempted murder case was registered against Jan after a property dispute with locals, wherein three people were killed on both sides and more than eight were injured. The police later produced the arrested PTI leader in a judicial magistrate's court, where the court handed over the accused to the police on a one-day physical remand. Earlier, the police informed the court that Jan was arrested on charges of shooting at the procession of the Isakhel tribe within the limits of the Regi police station. The accused were arrested after being granted interim bail by a local court in Dera Ismail Khan. Further investigation is underway. Elahi’s spokesperson arrested Meanwhile, in Gujranwala, PTI President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi's spokesperson Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal was arrested by police from within court premises. Iqbal was arrested before the appearance of the former Punjab chief and was taken to an unknown location by the police. Read PTI defector upbeat about jail meeting with Qureshi Reacting to the arrest, Iqbal’s son, Ali Iqbal Chaudhry, said that there was no case against his father and insisted that Iqbal had not broken “any law”. He added that some people in police uniforms arrested him and took him to an “unknown place”. Ali also said that his father was a representative of the media and his arrest was an attack on the freedom of the press. Iqbal's arrest comes a day after Elahi was re-arrested in another case registered with the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in Gujranwala for corruption in development projects shortly after a court in Lahore ordered his release. The arrest followed Elahi's prior arrest by ACE Lahore with the help of Punjab Police from near his residence, according to a spokesperson for the interim Punjab government. Various corruption cases have been registered against the former Punjab chief minister, who is accused of receiving kickbacks for awarding several government development projects during his tenure.

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Two held for sexually abusing mentally-challenged girl

Two men were arrested for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl mentally-challenged girl over a period of five months. The arrest came after the victim's father lodged a formal complaint at a police station. According to the police, Umair and Ateeq, both residents of Badhora, had been sexually abusing the girl on the outskirts of Beer, Badhora. The assault came to light when the girl's father discovered the crime, subsequently revealing the names of the two perpetrators. An official application was then filed at the Beer police station, prompting SHO Khalid Rehman to take action against the culprits. SHO Khalid Rehman summoned the girl and her father to the police station, where their statements were recorded. Based on the report compiled by the investigating team, the accused were apprehended. The victim girl has been transferred to the Haripur Trauma Centre for medical treatment. Furthermore, the police have assured the aggrieved party of their complete cooperation. Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2023.

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Man allegedly shoots brother dead

A man allegedly shot his brother dead and injured his father in Ghulam Muhammadabad area, police said. The injured was transferred to the hospital. The police arrested the accused with weapons and locked him up in jail. Amir Shahzad, 35, residing in Haven Villas on Narwala Road had had a quarrel with Imran and Arsalan over some matter in the house. The quarrel turned ugly, and on the day of the incident Arsalan and Imran fired. As a result, Aamir Shahzad and his father Shafi sustained injuries and were shifted to the hospital where Amir Shahzad died. As soon as information about the murder was received, police officers. including the DSP of Gulberg, Rana Attaur Rehman, and the SHO of Ghulam Muhammadabad, Rashid Mahis, reached the spot and arrested the accused Imran with weapons. Police registered a case after handing over the body of the deceased to his family after the postmortem. Meanwhile, Shabana Bibi, 32-year-old wife of Nisar Ahmed and a resident of 208 Chak Azafi Abadi, had forbidden her brother-in-law Adil from using drugs. Out of this resentment, Adil allegedly shot and injured his sister-in-law Shabana. Abdul Ghaffar and three other accused allegedly injured 36-year-old Abdul Rauf due to litigation in Chak No. 150 Rab while Ijaz, who was trying to settle a dispute between shopkeeper Inam and tenant Muzaffar in Madina Chowk, Ghulam Muhammadabad, was shot and wounded by the defendant. Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2023.

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PM throws open govt coffers for ‘poll politics’

Finally, the Pakistan Democratic Movement government on Friday threw open public coffers ahead of the next general elections and decided to increase the next fiscal year’s federal development budget by 31% to Rs950 billion. The decision to increase the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) from the earlier proposed Rs700 billion to Rs950 billion was taken by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif minutes before the scheduled meeting of the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC). The confusion was apparent. The Ministry of Planning had distributed the APCC working paper among all stakeholders based on the Rs700 billion PSDP size. But Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told the media that the size of the PSDP will be Rs950 billion, excluding Rs150 billion to be spent by the private sector. Subsequently, the APCC recommended a Rs2.5 trillion cumulative national development outlay for spending by the federal government and the four provinces. The Rs2.5 trillion allocation was Rs90 billion or 4% higher than this fiscal year. The APCC also approved a 3.5% GDP growth target with sectoral growth of 3.5% in agriculture, 3.4% in industries and 3.6% in services for the fiscal year 2023-24. The inflation target for the next fiscal year is set at 21%. The APCC approved Rs950 billion for the federal development budget – up by Rs223 billion or 31% for over this year’s original allocation. The finance ministry had approved Rs700 billion ceiling, which the planning ministry was strongly contesting. Iqbal said that the PSDP provides an opportunity to leverage scarce public resources for priority sectors. He said that the development projects relating to 5Es, i.e., exports, equity, empowerment, environment and energy framework; CPEC as well as 4RF, i.e., resilient, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction framework in the aftermath of catastrophic flood 2022 have been assigned priority while allocating resources under the PSDP 2023-24. Various ministries had demanded over Rs2.6 trillion for 2,035 projects having a throw-forward of Rs8 trillion under the PSDP 2023-24. The IMF estimated the throw-forward-month needed to complete the approved projects at Rs12 trillion. The APCC also endorsed Rs1.56 trillion development outlays for the four provinces. The interim governments of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have proposed smaller development allocations till October 2023. The proposed budgets will now be presented to the National Economic Council next week for its endorsement. The NEC is the constitutional economic decision-making body, which is headed by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The four provinces will spend Rs1.559 trillion from their own resources. Punjab has proposed a Rs426 billion development budget for just four months, which is significantly lower than this year’s Rs712 billion revised estimates. Sindh has allocated Rs617 billion budget compared to Rs442 billions of this fiscal year, showing a huge increase of 40% ahead of elections. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa allocated Rs268 billion for the development spending for four months compared to this year’s revised figure of Rs373 billion. The Balochistan government also proposed Rs248 billion development budget for the next fiscal year, showing an increase of 65% over this fiscal year’s revised estimates. The parliamentarians’ schemes have been given Rs90 billion compared to Rs111 billion of this fiscal year. The federal development portfolio is marred by various issues due to lack of resources, poor planning, management and execution. The coalition government made many adjustments within this year’s development budget due to changes in its priorities. An amount of Rs64 billion was re-appropriated by the ministries from one project to another while supplementary grants of Rs75 billion were also secured. An amount of Rs12 billion was diverted from this year’s PSDP towards conduct of the 7th Population and Housing Census. Likewise, an amount of Rs8 billion was adjusted to the current side by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for provision of 2000 engines to poor fishermen, Gwadar. The planning ministry said that about 164 projects costing Rs294 billion would be completed by the end of this fiscal year. The share of the provincial nature projects further increased to 31% of the total federal PSDP, which further thinned out already limited resources. The issue of arrears of the defunct Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority remained unresolved. The APCC was informed that the federal government provided yearly allocations to the tune of Rs180 billion up to FY-2022-23. The ERRA could not fully discharge its assigned tasks within the stipulated period and liabilities were building up during the period. The government had decided to merge ERRA into the National Disaster Management Authority in the year 2018 but it has never been implemented. The APCC also approved guidelines to address these issues. It recommended that only those provincial schemes should be funded where the provincial government shares half of the cost. It also proposed that the total PSDP should be handed over to the Planning Ministry in four equal quarterly tranches instead of giving only 10% during the first quarter. The APCC has recommended providing the foreign exchange cover wherever required and also exempt the development spending from austerity measures like ban on procurement. It has also proposed that the Ministry of Finance should not deduct interest on cash development loans given to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Power Division and the National Highway Authority. The APCC sought banning of diverting development funds for the current expenditures.

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PTI defector upbeat about jail meeting with Qureshi

Former Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Sindh senior vice president Mahmood Moulvi on Friday said that the outcome of the party's defectors' “encouraging” meeting with PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi would be visible “within two days”. Mahmood Moulvi made these claims during an interview on a private news channel. Moulvi was one of the several party leaders who quit the PTI leadership position and the National Assembly seat earlier this month in the aftermath of the violent May 9 riots. Khan’s party has been feeling the heat of the government's might after military installations were attacked, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s House and the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, following the PTI chief’s arrest in a corruption case on May 9 — a day army described as “Black Day”. Sources said that the party's former bigwigs met Qureshi in Adiala jail on Wednesday to coax him to "change" his loyalty. “250 million people can’t be left at the mercy of [Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman] Asif Ali Zardari and [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo] Nawaz Sharif,” Fawad said after meeting Qureshi. Moulvi said no one should leave politics and sit aside. He added that even if Khan is disqualified, the PTI chairman has made it clear that the party’s vice chairman would lead the party. He refrained from commenting when asked if Khan should relinquish the party's charge before his arrest. “Khan has been adamant despite more than 100 party leaders having parted ways,” he said, adding: “No matter how many people leave, anyone who gets the PTI's ticket will win elections”.

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EOBI pension may rise to Rs10,000

  The government is expected to increase the pension from the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) from the current Rs8,500 to Rs10,000 per month in the next fiscal year’s federal budget. Sources told The Express Tribune that given the ongoing economic situation and financial constraints, the amount of pension could not be increased any further. At present, the EOBI gives R4 billion among its 430,000 registered pensioners. EOBI Deputy Director General Dr Javed Shaikh said that for the current financial year, the EOBI was given a target of Rs33.5 billion contribution. However, its contribution had topped Rs36 billion in May, while another Rs4 billion was expected in June. “In this way, by the end of the current fiscal [June 30, 2023], the volume of receipts in the form of EOBI contribution will increase by 30% more than the set target, Dr Shaikh told The Express Tribune. According to the EOBI Official, 90% of the pension cases of the institution had been settled and pension payments worth more than Rs4 billion are being made to 430,000 registered pensioners. “This institution is paying a total of Rs52 billion annually.” The institution has issues cards to all the registered pensioners. Through the EOBI card the pensioners can easily withdraw their pension amount from ATM machine and other easy money facility in any city or area in the country.

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Activist Jibran Nasir has returned home safely: police

Prominent human rights activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir returned home safely on Friday, almost 24 hours after he was abducted by unidentified gunmen in Karachi, family members and police said. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) South Asad Raza confirmed that Nasir has safely reached residence in Karachi, but has yet to record his statement with the police. Clifton police had earlier registered the case of Nasir's kidnapping on the complaint of his wife. SSP Raza said that police investigators will soon record Nasir's detailed statement. If any person is identified by him, the police will take action against such elements, he added. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah as well as several rights organisations had expressed concern over the lawyer's mysterious disappearance. CM Murad had instructed the Inspector General of Sindh Police (IGP) to submit a report of Nasir's disappearance. The IGP had also been ordered to take all necessary steps to ensure the activist's earliest possible recovery. Read more Activist Jibran Nasir ‘abducted’ in Karachi, says wife Nasir's spouse, Mansha Pasha, said she was present with him in their car on Thursday when at least 15 unidentified heavily armed men in multiple vehicles cornered them and abducted him from near his residence in Karachi’s DHA. کچھ دیر پہلے میرے شوہر جبران ناصر کو پندرہ کے قریب مسلح لوگ اٹھا کر لے گئے ہیں، اہلیہ منشا پاشا What the hell! Why#releasejibrannasir pic.twitter.com/a2wbXeQ6QW — Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) June 1, 2023 “We were returning after having dinner when a white Vigo intercepted and almost crushed us. There were 15 men with pistols and they took away my husband forcibly,” Pasha had said in her video statement. She had urged everyone to make efforts and pray for the early recovery of her husband. Nasir, a former independent candidate in the 2018 general elections from Karachi, has criticised the recent state crackdown on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and legal proceedings concerning individuals allegedly involved in riots. His efforts to address sectarian violence earned him a place on Foreign Policy Magazine's 2013 list of three inspirational Pakistanis working against such conflicts.

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