SJC asked to snub complaints against two SC judges, two ex-CJPS

Supreme Court’s senior puisne judge Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, who is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), has recommended to the body to dismiss the complaints against two serving SC judges and two former chief justices of Pakistan. Some citizens filed a complaint against Justice Ijazul Ahsan as well as ex-CJPs Umar Ata Bandial and Mian Saqib Nisar on the basis of their judicial orders. They also filed another one against Justice Ayesha Malik on the same grounds. Under the SJC inquiry rules, the SJC chairman, incumbent CJP Qazi Faez Isa, referred the two complaints against the two serving judges and two retired CJPs to Justice Masood seeking his opinion. Justice Masood, after reviewing the complaints, sent his opinion to the SJC head, declaring that they were not maintainable as they were based on judicial orders upheld in the apex court. It should be noted that the matter of complaints against another judge of the apex court, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, has also been sent to Justice Masood for his opinion. According to sources, about 10 complaints against Justice Naqvi have been sent to the SJC. Different complaints were filed by lawyers and superior bars against Justice Naqvi. In April this year, Justice Isa and Justice Masood wrote a judicial letter to Justice Bandial, then CJP and SJC head, and other members of the council to call a meeting to review the allegations of misconduct and financial corruption levelled against Justice Naqvi. In May, then CJP Bandial, as the head of the SJC, sought an opinion from a council member about the complaints of misconduct against the SC judge. According to Section 7 of the SJC Procedure of Enquiry Rules 2005, once any information in respect of inquiry into the conduct of a judge was received by any member or the council, it shall be presented to the council’s chairman, “who; shall (a) refer the same to any member of the council to look into the said information; and to express his opinion in relation to the sufficiency or otherwise of the information; (b) if the council is satisfied that the information prima facie discloses sufficient material for an enquiry, it shall proceed to consider the same”. It added that the member, to whom the chairman had referred the information, would “examine the same and ascertain if the information so received discloses specific particulars of misconduct, and provides factual details necessary to form prima facie opinion in respect of the guilt of the judge”. Thirdly, if the member forms an opinion that the information does reveal sufficient material to commence an inquiry, “he shall inform the council accordingly and the information shall be placed before the council”. Lastly, “if the member comes to a conclusion that the information is false, frivolous, concocted or untrue, he shall inform the council accordingly and may recommend action against the person who initiated the information”.

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PIA flight escapes two accidents

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Abu Dhabi narrowly escaped two accidents at the Sialkot Airport. According to aviation sources, flight PK-264 coming from Abu Dhabi to Lahore was shifted to Sialkot due to inclement weather conditions in Lahore. As soon as the report that the weather had cleared in Lahore came in, the plane took off from Sialkot but it was hit by a bird due to which the plane had to land again. Read also: Govt won’t let PIA be grounded The aviation sources said during the landing of the plane, three of its tires had burst, and the plane narrowly escaped an accident at the Sialkot Airport. The passengers left for Lahore by bus. According to the PIA spokesperson, tires had been sent from Lahore to Sialkot for the aircraft. The national flag carrier was facing another problem as several of its planes had already been grounded.

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PIA flight escapes two accidents

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Abu Dhabi narrowly escaped two accidents at the Sialkot Airport. According to aviation sources, flight PK-264 coming from Abu Dhabi to Lahore was shifted to Sialkot due to inclement weather conditions in Lahore. As soon as the report that the weather had cleared in Lahore came in, the plane took off from Sialkot but it was hit by a bird due to which the plane had to land again. Read also: Govt won’t let PIA be grounded The aviation sources said during the landing of the plane, three of its tires had burst, and the plane narrowly escaped an accident at the Sialkot Airport. The passengers left for Lahore by bus. According to the PIA spokesperson, tires had been sent from Lahore to Sialkot for the aircraft. The national flag carrier was facing another problem as several of its planes had already been grounded.

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9 accused in Jinnah House attack case get bail

Of the 63 accused persons, an anti-terrorism court on Saturday granted post-arrest bail to nine and dismissed pleas of 39 allegedly involved in creating a law and order situation, chaos, and attacking the Jinnah House following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May.   Judge Arshad Javed granted bails to Sanam Javed, Shah Bano, Ashmia Shujah, Rubina Jameel, Mubeen Qadri, Syed Faisal Akhtar, Ali Hassan, Afshan Tariq, and Muhammad Qasim. However, the ATC judge fixed next date in pre-arrest bails of the 13 accused persons for further proceedings. Read More: Designer Khadija Shah arrested for ‘leading attack on Jinnah House’   The prosecution had placed its arguments that the accused persons were fully involved in creating law and order situation and that was substantial evidence of their involvement in the attack on Jinnah House. It requested the court to dismiss their bail pleas.   However, the counsels for the accused contended that the accused persons had been implicated in a forged case merely to humiliate them despite the fact that they had nothing to do with this case. They requested the court to grant them bail. Read More: US seeks consular access to Khadija Shah   The ATC judge after hearing detailed arguments, granted bails to nine and dismissed the post-arrest pleas of 39 accused persons, including Khadija Shah.   The Sarwar Road police had registered an FIR against the accused persons over allegedly creating a law and order, chaos, and attacking Jinnah House following the arrest of Imran.  

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Soldier martyred in North Waziristan IBO

A soldier of Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom on Saturday during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district’s Mir Ali area, the military said in a statement. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an intense exchange of fire took place between the troops and terrorists during the operation. “Own troops effectively engaged terrorists’ location. However, during the operation, Sepoy Shakeel Shafqat (age 21 years, resident of District Khanewal), having fought gallantly, embraced Shahadat,” it added. ISPR said that sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” it further said. Also read: Six soldiers martyred in South Waziristan: ISPR Earlier this month, another soldier of Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom in a gun battle with terrorists in North Waziristan district. According to ISPR, the fire exchange took place between security forces and terrorists in general area Mir Ali, where army troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location. However, during intense exchange of fire, Lance Naik Jamshed Khan, a 28-year-old resident of Upper Dir district, having fought gallantly, embraced martyrdom, it added. Last month, at least six soldiers were martyred in a skirmish with terrorists in the Asman Manza area of South Waziristan district, ISPR said. The military's media wing added that at least four terrorists were also killed while two were injured in the fighting.

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Minister emphasises importance of exercise

Punjab’s Health Minister Dr Javed Akram underscores the significance of exercise and walking for both a healthy life and treatment of various ailments. While leading a three-day health conference in Bhurban, he joined numerous doctors in a brisk two-kilometre mountain track walk. During the journey, he highlighted the importance of physical activity and attributed many health problems to the lack of attention to physical fitness, asserting that exercise and walking are crucial in preventing conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart diseases. He also called out doctors to encourage their patients to adopt healthy lifestyles. He underscored the role of doctors in promoting a healthy lifestyle as a natural means to combat diseases, stressing the significance of a balanced diet. He said he believes that every human life is invaluable, and physicians should prioritise saving lives. He said health is also wealth and most diseases can be fought with natural immunity. Dr Javed called out doctors to encourage their patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle instead of relying on medicines, which is a natural way of fighting diseases. Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2023.

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95m Pakistanis live in poverty: World Bank

Deeply concerned over the state of economy, the World Bank has urged Pakistan to take urgent steps to tax its sacred cows – agriculture and real estate – and cut wasteful expenditures in an effort to achieve economic stability through steep fiscal adjustment of over 7% of the size of the economy. The lender on Friday also revealed that poverty in Pakistan shot up to 39.4% as of last fiscal year with 12.5 million more people falling into the trap due to poor economic conditions. About 95 million Pakistanis now live in poverty. The Washington-based lender unveiled the draft policy notes that it prepared with the help of all stakeholders for the next government. The lender identified low human development, unsustainable fiscal situation, over-regulated private sector, agriculture and energy sectors as the priority areas for reforms for the next government. It proposed measures – immediately increase the tax-to-GDP ratio by 5% and cut expenditures by about 2.7% of GDP – aimed at putting the unsustainable economy back on a prudent fiscal path. However, the measures suggested were mostly in areas that had been considered as “sacred cows”. “The World Bank is deeply concerned about the economic situation of today,” Tobias Haque, the WB’s lead country economist, said. Pakistan is facing serious economic and human development crises and it is at a point where major policy shifts are required, he added. The bank’s note on strengthening government revenues showed a host of measures to improve the revenue-to-GDP ratio by 5% through withdrawal of tax exemptions and increasing burden of taxes on the real estate and the agriculture sectors. “This may be Pakistan’s moment for significant policy shift,” Najy Benhassine, the country director for Pakistan at WB, said. To a question, he said: “We hope there is a realisation of the current economic situation but the question is whether the realisation for the change in policies is across all the political parties, businesses, civil society and all those who count.” The poverty in Pakistan increased within one year from 34.2% to 39.4% with 12.5 million more people falling below the poverty line of $3.65 per day income level, according to the WB. It added that the increase in poverty was consistent with ground realities. “Pakistan’s economic model is no longer reducing poverty and the living standards have fallen behind peer countries,” Haque said. Revenues Pakistan has the capacity to collect taxes equal to 22% of the GDP but its current ratio is only 10.2% – showing a gap of more than half, according to the WB note. The lender proposed reducing distortive exemptions to generate taxes equal to 2% of the GDP. It wanted an increase in taxes on land and property to collect another 2% of GDP in revenues and generate another 1% of the GDP from the agriculture sector. The lender proposed a mandatory use of CNIC for transactions, particularly of assets. The WB recommended withdrawing income tax exemption available to the power generation projects and to the real estate investment trusts. “The revenues generated by withdrawing these exemptions are enough to fund 35,000 teachers’ salaries,” it added. The WB recommended further tightening the noose around salaried individuals by reducing the numbers of tax slabs and further reducing the income threshold for the top marginal tax brackets. It proposed increasing excise duties on cigarettes by applying a uniform rate across all brands and an automatic inflation-adjusted increase in these rates every year. It also wanted withdrawal of tax exemptions on machinery import for power generation and transmission, and withdrawal of exemptions for pharmaceutical and energy sectors. It also proposed withdrawing exemptions for food items – oil, pulses, animal, fruit and dairy. The WB proposed to lower the income tax free slab for the agriculture sector from the existing 12.5 acres and through proper categorisation of land aimed at generating taxes equal to 1% of the GDP. The farmers with land of less than 12.5 acres did not pay any tax, while those who owned up to 25 acres paid just Rs100 per acre. The ones owning from 26 to 50 acres land paid only Rs250 per tax and the rate for above 50 acres was mere Rs300 per acre. To collect 2% of the GDP taxes from land and real estate, the WB proposed harmonisation of three different valuation systems, increase in property tax rates and change in land classification for taxation purposes. At the moment, there is actual market price of a plot, then a deputy collector valuation to pay provincial tax and then FBR valuation to pay federal taxes. Expenditure cut The lender proposed reducing energy and commodity subsidies, implementing a single treasury account, and imposing temporary austerity measures in the short-term for saving about 1% of the GDP equivalent expenditures. In 2022, the federal government’s deposits in commercial banks amounted to over Rs2 trillion and due to the government’s sovereign borrowings in absence of use of this idle cash, an amount of Rs424 billion was paid in interest, the WB said. For the medium-term, the WB proposed reducing federal development and current expenditures on provincial nature projects, reducing spending on loss making entities, and improving quality of development spending to save about Rs1.4 trillion. The cumulative impact of these short- to medium-term savings is 2.7% of the GDP. Pakistan is heavily subsidising the agriculture sector, which is leading to low productivity. The government can reduce Rs328 billion spending by winding up ministries that fall in the provincial domain, it added. Another Rs70 billion can be saved by devolving the Higher Education Commission to the provinces and Rs217 billion savings can be ensured through cost sharing of BISP with the provinces, the WB said. “There is a lot of stop and go and a lot of policy reversals, which often are correlated with the political cycles,” Benhassine said. He said that the donors could only provide advice and financing and the solution would have to come from inside Pakistan. “Pakistan needs to address the human capital crisis and there is a need to recognise the scale of the problem,” Haque said. There is a need for reduction in energy subsidies. High energy prices are putting heavy pressures on the households and there is a need to address the issues of higher losses by the power distribution companies, changing the energy generation mix. “We hope this programme of discussions will help build a consensus around a path towards inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilient development,” Benhassine said.

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