Interim govt not ‘mandated’ to challenge SC verdict

Senior lawyers on Monday censured the caretaker government for challenging the Supreme Court’s decision to declare the trials of civilians in military courts illegal, saying it was not the mandate of the interim set-up to do so, adding that the “entire legal fraternity” backed the top court’s verdict. Addressing a news conference in Lahore, senior counsel Hamid Khan noted that “currently Constitution was being violated” in the country. “The Supreme Court had given a very good decision against the trial of civilians in the military courts. The central caretaker government, K-P (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) government and the interim Balochistan government have filed an appeal against top court’s decision,” Khan said. “This is not mandate of the interim governments. These governments are unconstitutional,” he added. The senior lawyer stated that the entire legal fraternity stood by the apex court’s decision. On October 23, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had unanimously declared the trial of civilians in military courts as null and void and ordered that the 103 accused in cases relating to the violence on May 9 and 10 be tried under the ordinary criminal laws. The court through the 4-1 majority also declared certain clauses of the Army Act as ultra vires of the Constitution and of no legal effect. Scores of protesters were held following violence on May 9, which included attacks on military installations, when former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested in a corruption case. Some faced military trials under the Army Act. Last week, the caretaker government challenged the apex court’s verdict. In their intra-court appeals, the caretaker federal and provincial governments of K-P and Balochistan as well as the defence ministry urged the top court to restore the sections of the Official Secrets Act. Read also: Kerfuffle in Senate over military trial resolution During the presser on Monday, Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) President Ishtiaq A Khan paid tribute to the top court’s judges of the bench who had given verdict, adding that the legal fraternity can “never accept” the military courts. “Rights [of people] are deprived in the military courts. Punishment should be awarded according to the laws prevailing in the country. Military courts were established under the martial law,” the LHCBA president said. “These caretaker governments seek a decision by the Supreme Court through these petitions (challenging top court’s verdict on military courts),” he added. “The apex court should avoid any (such) decision that reminds (us) of Justice Munir.” In 1955, the federal court led by then chief justice Muhammad Munir ruled in support of the governor general. The court suspended the decision of the high court and held the governor general, and not the constituent assembly, to be the sovereign authority. Voicing her support for the Supreme Court’s decision, LHCBA Vice President Rabbiya Bajwa emphasized that they had always opposed the military courts. “The Senate passed a resolution regarding military courts. No unconstitutional order can be obeyed after 18th Amendment,” she said. Rabbiya urged the courts not to give a decision that was ultra vires to the Constitution.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/0dwXqsi

No proposal under consideration to alter 18th amendment: Marriyum

The Central Information Secretary of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Marriyum Aurangzeb, on Monday categorically dismissed recent reports suggesting alterations to the 18th amendment of the Constitution. The clarification came amid media reports that the PML-N's manifesto committee had received various proposals, ranging from a complete reversal of the 18th amendment to alterations in the distribution mechanism of financial resources among provinces. "As the secretary of the party's manifesto committee, I deny this news; no such proposal is under consideration,” Marriyum said in a press statement. Read more: NAB told to record Nawaz's statement in Toshakhana case Expressing disappointment at the lack of prior consultation, she added, "The Chairman or Secretary of the Manifesto Committee could have been contacted before reporting the unsubstantiated news regarding amendments to the Eighteenth Amendment. Unfortunately, the opinion of an opposition political party was taken, but the opinion of the relevant party, PML-N, was not sought." pic.twitter.com/lSnsrT8ivP — PMLN (@pmln_org) November 20, 2023 The former federal minister said that PML-N has consistently pursued a policy aimed at enhancing the resources of all units within the federation. Looking ahead, she said that the party intends to further augment the resources of all units, including the central government. It is crucial to note that the 18th Amendment garnered unanimous approval from all political parties during the Pakistan Peoples Party government, with constitutional amendments focused on reinstating the spirit of Pakistan's Constitution, prioritising national interest over political considerations. Also read: Acquittals don’t make PML-N ladla: Marriyum Emphasising the importance of a fair distribution of resources as per the Constitution between the federation and its units, Marriyum said that PML-N underscores its commitment to building a robust Pakistan. She said that the party firmly believes that local government institutions serve as the bedrock of democracy, and PML-N is dedicated to fortifying democracy by implementing and enhancing the effectiveness of this system.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/sfiak6q

Vote for JI for Palestine and IIOJK’s freedom: Siraj

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Sunday maintained that only his party could achieve freedom for Palestine and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and that was why it should be voted into power in the next elections. “The leadership of the so-called major political parties is silent on the oppression in Gaza,” he told the participants of a march organised in Lahore by the JI to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. The JI chief maintained that PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif were quiet on the issue of Gaza, “Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif's agenda is personal interest and their families. The people [of Pakistan] cannot progress even for a 100 years if they remain in power,” he added. Read More: JI leaders detained for planning ‘Gaza March’ Hamas leader Dr Nawaf Takruri also addressed the participants of the Gaza march online. The JI chief lashed out at the “silence” of the Muslim rulers on the Israeli atrocities in Gaza. “If they can’t help the people of Palestine to stop the massacre of innocent children and women, then at least they can open their borders for its people,” he continued. لاہور - امیر جماعت اسلامی سراج الحق اہل غزہ سے اظہاریکجہتی کےلیے تاریخی عظیم الشان غزہ مارچ سے خطاب کر رہے ہیں۔ لاکھوں مردوخواتین اور بچوں نے مارچ میں شرکت کی#GazaMarchLHR pic.twitter.com/xrovYehPkU — Jamaat e Islami Pakistan (@JIPOfficial) November 19, 2023 He added that the that the recent Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) i summit avoided announcing practical measures to help Gaza and issued a feeble declaration that had no effect on Israel and the US. “We thought that the leader of Hamas would be invited to the summit and a boycott of Israel would be announced,” he continued. Instead, he claimed that summit was held merely as an attempt to cool down the feelings of the Muslims around the world. The JI chief insisted that the problems of the Islamic world could not be solved until the Muslim rulers combined forces. Siraj further said today’s gathering of millions was a message of death to the enemy, who had captured Bayt al-Muqaddas as well as martyred children and mothers in Palestine. He continued that the Gaza march in Lahore had sent a message to the leader of Hamas that they were not alone and the Pakistani nation stood by them. The JI chief maintained that India was also afraid that if the residents of Gaza succeeded despite the modern weapons and technology of Israel, then the people of IIOJK would defeat New Delhi as well. Siraj said his agenda was the interest of Pakistan; the freedom of IIOJK and Palestine; the return of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the rule of the Holy Quran and Sunnah in the country, eradication of interest from the financial system, and the establishment of justice. Read More: Students march for Gaza children The JI chief said a time would come when he would personally lead an army from Pakistan to Gaza. He said Gaza was being bombarded for 44 consecutive days. “This cruelty and brutality is being carried out by a state which was established by the imperialist forces in 1948,” he added. “Before that, Israel did not even exist. Because of the establishment of an illegal state, the people of Palestine have not recognised it,” he continued.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/3uv6RmU

Robbers disguised as cops make off with jackpot in Karachi

Over a dozen robbers, some donning police uniforms, looted Rs20 million in cash, approximately 80 tolas of gold jewellery, and various valuables from a trader's residence after taking the family hostage at gunpoint in Karachi’s Orangi Town. “Over a dozen suspects broke into my house on the night between Saturday and Sunday at 2:20am, claiming to be affiliated with the police department,” the victim, Imran, who is a wholesaler of sanitary ware, said while speaking to The Express Tribune. “They wanted to search my house by falsely claiming that there were weapons hidden at my residence,” he informed. The armed intruders gathered the family at gunpoint, threatening them to cooperate. Subsequently, they searched each room before managing to escape with more than Rs20 million in cash, gold ornaments weighing 70 to 80 tolas, several mobile phones, laptops, and other valuables. Read More: Police weapons used in street crimes in city The robbers spent nearly two and a half hours in the house, rummaging every corner. Imran is an authorised dealer for several companies and most retailers in Orangi Town purchase sanitary wares from him. The money looted belonged to him. He had intended to deposit the money into the companies’ accounts, but due to the weekly holiday, he was unable to do so, leading to the brazen robbery. Imran further revealed that he and his five brothers, all married, along with their families, live in the same house. Imran and his five married brothers, along with their families, were targeted by armed robbers who brazenly invaded their shared residence. The stolen loot included gold ornaments of significant sentimental value, belonging not only to their wives but also to Imran's sister and late mother. Read More: Growing street crimes The stolen gold held special significance as it was intended for Imran's sister, who was soon to be get married and was to gifted to her as part of the dowry. Imran said that the robbers also took the DVR of the CCTV camera installed in the house. They blindfolded two men from the house, identified as Amir and Shakir, took them along in a police van and dropped them near Baloch Colony Bridge in the Tipu Sultan police station limits. Imran said that the armed robbers had cordoned off his house. When he did not open the door, one of the robbers entered through an adjacent house, opening the main door for the others. Imran procured CCTV footage from a neighbour's camera, revealing a double cabin vehicle, a police mobile van, a Mehran car, and two motorcycles. Despite Imran's timely call to Madadgar 15, police did not arrive on time. Visits to the police station yielded no results as officials claimed the SHO was not present, and action could only be taken upon his return.  

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/vKHXlrf

IHC CJ to retain powers to form benches

The chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Aamer Farooq, has issued an office order, stating that in case of his unavailability, the court’s assistant registrar judicial shall seek guidance from him with regard to formation of benches. The chief justice has, however, clarified that the senior most available judge of the court can mark cases if the chief justice “is on any kind of leave”. Justice Farooq issued this office order in response to a written order issued by IHC Senior Puisne Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on November 3. Read More: IHC grills govt over veracity of audio leaks In the order, Justice Kayani had laid emphasis on regulating powers of the IHC chief justice, stating that in the absence of the CJ, the administrative judge cannot form benches to hear important matters, an aspect that puts some petitioners in a difficult situation. The judge had ordered the IHC registrar office to place the matter before the court’s Administration Committee “to be resolved by way of informed decision by the Administration Committee or by the Full Court under the High Court Rules and Orders”. While hearing the plea of a member of the PTI legal team, Sher Afzal Marwat, regarding grant of protective bail, Justice Kayani had referred to the powers defined in Chapter 10 (Miscellaneous) Part-A of “Rules for the Disposal of Executive and Administration Business” of the IHC. Read More: Imran has no confidence in IHC chief justice: lawyer He noted that according to the rule, the IHC’s administrative and executive work shall be controlled by a Committee of Judges to be known as the Administration Committee. “[This will be the case] provided that those matters which are the exclusive concern of the CJ, namely, the constitution of benches and the appointment and control of the High Court Establishment shall be dealt with in accordance with such instructions as may from time to time be issued by the CJ”. The judge stated that cases can only be marked by the administration judge on the basis of powers assigned by the CJ and no special powers have been extended to the administration judge for the constitution of any bench. “Therefore, any case including instant petition to be fixed for same day or for that matter all other petitions, which were not entertained by the office including but not limited to pre-arrest bail, ad-interim protective bail, which could only be marked for next working day in absence of Hon’ble CJ, but Bench could not be constituted by the administration judge of this court.” He stated that this aspect prime facie put the petitioner in a difficult situation, which relates to fundamental rights of an individual, who could not be given protection due to the absence of the CJ. "Therefore, this matter be placed before the Administration Committee to be resolved by way of informed decision by the Administration Committee or by the Full Court under the High Court Rules and Orders.” Recently, a full court of the Supreme Court upheld a piece of legislation—the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023—which aimed at regulating powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP). According to the law, the CJP is now supposed to consult a committee comprising two senior most SC judges for exercising original jurisdiction of the court and formation of benches.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/s6j9TXF

Govt warns against Dead Glyph Backdoor cyber threat

The government has issued a cybersecurity advisory warning against the ‘Dead Glyph Backdoor’ – a “x64 native binary” and “.Net assembly exploit code” used as an entry method to exploit Windows based operating systems. The Cyber Security Department has shared technical details with all ministries, divisions, and departments, informing them about all precautionary measures to ward off the attacks of hackers. The system and network administrators of all ministries, divisions and institutions are instructed to ensure proper system hardening and whitelisting at all levels, including OS, BIOS, hardware, software etc (defence in depth). The advisory outlined the backdoor’s tactics, indicating that it targets online systems through malicious scripts attached to impersonated files. The backdoor exploit code then infiltrates the online system, saving fake DLL files in the Windows C Drive. Subsequently, the fake DLL file executes second-stage malware through unauthorised PowerShell script issuance, extracting critical user data. To evade detection, the malware shares this information with the attacker using a random network communication timing pattern. In response to this threat, the advisory urged ministries and departments to implement robust cybersecurity measures. The advisory emphasised the installation of reputable and licensed cybersecurity solutions such as antivirus, anti-malware, firewalls, SIEM, SOAR, IPS/IDS, and NMS. Regular manual inspections of the C Drive System32 folder are also advised to detect any suspicious file creation activity. To bolster defence against the Dead Glyph Backdoor, the government advisory suggested ongoing monitoring of domain controllers for signs of malware infection. Read also: Cybersecurity breach halts port operations Additionally, departments were encouraged to examine endpoints and network logs regularly to identify anomalous network traffic. Outbound network connections from specific executables, such as powershell.exe, winword.exe, notepad.exe, and others, were recommended to be blocked. Further preventive measures included blacklisting unnecessary Windows commands and utilities and restricting the execution of scripts with specific extensions. The advisory called for the establishment of a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) for domains to prevent email spoofing and recommends application whitelisting. Strict implementation of Software Restriction Policies (SRP) to block binaries running from %APPDATA% and %TEMP% paths was also advised. In the interest of maintaining cybersecurity resilience, the government advisory advocated regular updates for Microsoft Windows vulnerabilities and other installed software. Endpoints were advised to disable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) when not required and patch against the latest vulnerabilities. Establishing a site-to-site VPN for remote access and adopting a zero-trust architecture for service access were additional cybersecurity measures. The advisory also underscored the importance of regular updates to anti-malware solutions and performing backups of critical information to mitigate the impact of data or system loss and expedite the recovery process.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/OLbRUBv

Bilawal warns against installing ‘selected PM’

In a fiery address on Saturday, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari issued a stern warning against any attempts to impose a "selected" prime minister, asserting that such endeavours would be futile, Express News reported. Bilawal emphasised that his party would actively resist any such moves, adamantly refusing to accept manipulated election outcomes contrary to the public mandate. He cautioned those allegedly conspiring to impose a "selected" prime minister, stating that they would face staunch resistance. Speaking at a workers' convention in Peshawar, Bilawal criticized both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), accusing them of deviating from their proclaimed narratives upon assuming power. بھٹو ازم کا مطلب پاکستان کے عوام کی خدمت کرنا ہے، بلاول بھٹو Follow our WhatsApp channel: https://ift.tt/tW7ZSdl #BilawalBhutto #ImranKhan #PPP #PMLN #PTI #NawazSharif #flood pic.twitter.com/UdnK4YHmLE — Express News (@ExpressNewsPK) November 18, 2023 He lambasted the PTI, asserting that its promise of bringing change had allegedly brought the country to the brink of destruction. Simultaneously, Bilawal accused the PML-N of exacerbating economic hardships for the common man, branding it the "Pakistan Inflation League." He contended that the PML-N had seemingly abandoned its slogan "vote ko izzat do" (respect the vote). Highlighting his tenure as the foreign minister in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government led by the PML-N, Bilawal proudly stated that he would contest elections based on his performance over the last 16 months. "I am proud of my performance in the last 16 months [in the PDM government] and will contest elections on that," affirmed the PPP chairman. Reiterating the PPP's ideology to provide basic necessities to every poor Pakistani, Bilawal stressed the importance of a government that considers people as the source of power. Read More: Bilawal asks rivals to give up 'selection' hopes Reflecting on his efforts as foreign minister, Bilawal cited his role in addressing the aftermath of floods that affected two-thirds of Pakistan's population within months of his tenure. He claimed that, with international cooperation, three million houses were reconstructed for flood victims. Bilawal expressed concern about health cards being allocated to private hospitals in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during PTI’s tenure and emphasised his party's resilience in the face of an uneven playing field in election run-ups. The PPP chairman also acknowledged a growing discontent among the youth and advocated for a shift away from the trend of multiple terms for one individual as prime minister, endorsing the elevation of a young leader to the position. Saad Rafique hits back at Bilawal Responding to Bilawal's criticism of PML-N, former federal minister and senior PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique asserted that the former’s dissatisfaction stems solely from growing distance from the slot of premiership, as he had anticipated that he would not be the next prime minister. He urged the PPP chairman not to harbour resentment. Instead, Rafique encouraged Bilawal to face the electoral challenge by showcasing the performance of the Sindh government and adhering to the party's election manifesto. Read More: Gen Bajwa wanted us to withdraw no-trust vote against Imran: Bilawal Regarding Bilawal's remarks about former lawmakers and ‘electables’ aligning with the PML-N, Rafique emphasised the necessity of elected representatives and members as essential support in forming a government. He pointed out that both the PPP and PTI had utilised similar strategies in the past. Furthermore, Rafique expressed optimism about the potential transformation of Sindh's cities, stating that if given the opportunity, they could be developed to emulate the prosperity of Punjab cities like Lahore and Faisalabad. He said that it was important to get Sindh rid of the ‘system’, without elaborating what he actually meant by the terminology.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/WRozHZr