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CJP seeks clarification from SC registrar on reserved seats case
Justice Isa raises nine questions in response to an explanation provided by eight judges in the case
ISLAMABAD MIRZA MUHAMMAD SHAHID
ISLAMABAD:
Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, has demanded answers from the Supreme Court’s Deputy Registrar regarding a miscellaneous application filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on reserved seats. The Chief Justice raised nine questions in response to an explanation provided by eight judges in the case.
Chief Justice Isa questioned the timing of the applications filed by both the ECP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He asked why these applications were not forwarded to the Practice and Procedure Committee. Additionally, he inquired how the hearing was scheduled without a cause list and why relevant notices were not issued to the concerned parties, including the attorney general.
The chief justice also asked in which courtroom or chamber the applications were heard and why a cause list was not issued for the hearing. He raised concerns about the original file and order being uploaded without being submitted to the Supreme Court Registrar.
Furthermore, Chief Justice Isa requested an explanation on who ordered the publication of the order on the Supreme Court’s website.
Earlier in the day, PTI approached the Supreme Court, filing a petition regarding the allocation of reserved seats. PTI’s counsel, Uzair Bhandari, argued that the amendment to the Election Act does not apply to the Supreme Court’s July 12 decision and that the ECP is bound to implement that decision.
PTI’s petition seeks a court declaration stating that the National Assembly speaker’s letter regarding the July 12 decision holds no legal value. PTI also requests that the ECP reject the NA speaker’s letter and halt the distribution of reserved seats to other political parties.
The PTI has urged the Supreme Court to ensure the ECP complies with the July 12 ruling and blocks the allocation of these seats to other political entities.
This development follows a recent letter by Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to the ECP, urging respect for parliamentary sovereignty in allocating reserved seats to PTI. The speaker referenced the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, which restricts party-switching by independent candidates and overrides the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling.
Trump to visit North Carolina amid growing scandal involving Republican rally
The Harris campaign also began running a TV ad in the state on Friday featuring Trump’s past praise for Mark Robinson.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will not be joined by his party’s embattled pick for North Carolina governor when he visits the critical electoral state on Saturday, the Trump campaign said.
Trump previously endorsed Mark Robinson, who was the subject of an explosive CNN report this week that he once called himself a Black Nazi and proposed bringing back slavery in comments posted on a pornography website.
Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, denied the allegations and has said he will remain in the governor’s race. His campaign could not be reached for comment.
Some Republicans fear his candidacy in one of the country’s highest-profile down-ballot races this year could damage Trump’s chances in the battleground state, where polls show Trump essentially tied with Democratic rival Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Ahead of Trump’s afternoon rally in Wilmington, North Carolina on Saturday, the Democratic National Committee launched new advertising across the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro tying the former president to Robinson.
The billboard ads show a photo of the two men together, along with direct quotes from Trump previously calling Robinson an “outstanding person” and an “incredible gentleman.”
The Harris campaign also began running a TV ad in the state on Friday featuring Trump’s past praise for Robinson.
In March, Trump called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” after Robinson delivered remarks in Greensboro, and Robinson appeared at a Trump event as recently as last month. Robinson would be the state’s first Black governor if elected.
Robinson has a history of inflammatory rhetoric, at times referring to Muslims as “invaders” and calling gay and transgender people “filth.” He has made comments denying the Holocaust.
Trump has yet to address the latest allegations against Robinson. One Trump adviser, who asked not to be named, said Trump should stay silent and not fan the controversy.
“Ignore it, and let it die,” the adviser said.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Harris’ campaign and its allies have made a significant investment in North Carolina, including two stops by the vice president last week. A Democratic presidential candidate has not won the state since 2008, but voters elected Democrat Roy Cooper as governor in 2016 and 2020.
Robinson had been trailing his opponent, Democrat Josh Stein, even before the CNN report, suggesting that he could be a drag on Trump’s chances in the state if some disaffected Republicans stay home on Election Day or defect to Harris.
Chris Cooper, a professor of political science at Western Carolina University, said in a state that Trump won by just 1.3 percentage points in 2020, the Robinson scandal could damage Republicans’ chances up and down the ballot in November, including Trump’s.
“If some people feel that the Republican brand is stained enough that they’d rather stay home, then that’s going to matter,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t take a big difference to flip the state.”
Thom Tillis, a Republican U.S. senator from North Carolina, responded to the allegations against Robinson by telling voters on X that “we must focus on the races we can win,” citing the presidential contest but omitting the gubernatorial vote.
“If Harris takes NC, she takes the White House,” Tillis wrote. “We can’t let that happen.”
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IHC sets one-month deadline for decision on Iddat case appeal
Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders Bushra Bibi’s transfer to Adiala jail. PHOTO: FILE
Lawyer Salman expresses concerns over the abrupt transfer of the case
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday mandated a swift decision on appeal regarding the Iddat case involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.
On February 3, Imran and Bushra Bibi were sentenced in the Iddat Nikkah case. Twenty days later, the appeal against the verdict was filed in the sessions court. Judge Arjumand heard the appeal and was expected to announce his ruling on May 29, when he requested the IHC to send the case to another judge.
Later, the IHC transferred the case to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majuka. Imran and Bibi challenged the transfer of the appeal in the IHC through lawyer Salman Akram Raja. However, the registrar office raised the objection that the appeal was pending before the session court.
Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, presiding over the hearing today, instructed the session court to resolve Bushra Bibi’s plea for suspension of the sentence within 10 days and ordered a decision on the appeal within a month.
During the proceedings, lawyer Salman Akram Raja, representing the petitioners, expressed concerns over the abrupt transfer of the case from the original Sessions Judge to an Additional Session Judge.
Raja questioned the rationale behind this sudden change and urged the court to direct Sessions Judge Shah Rukh Arjumand to deliver the reserved verdict.
He suggested that, alternatively, the high court could take up the appeal itself or reassign it to the Session Judge West. Emphasising the need for a prompt resolution, he noted that the trial had concluded in two days and argued that the appeal should be treated with similar urgency.
Khawar Maneka’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, contested the transfer, highlighting that an objection had been previously raised and dismissed. Abbasi asserted that the administrative decision to refer the appeals to the Additional Session Judge West was unchallengeable.
After considering arguments from both sides, Justice Aurangzeb reaffirmed the court’s directive. He tasked Additional Session Judge Afzal Majoka with rendering decisions on both the suspension request and the appeal within the specified deadlines.
“The perpetrators of the May 9 riots, who had also attacked parliament and PTV and besieged the PM House in the past, have resorted to new tactics to malign the country and its armed forces as a malicious campaign was run against Army Chief General Asim Munir from the official website of the PTI,” said PM Shehbaz, while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday.
“We will not tolerate any such steps against the country, its innocent people, and its armed forces.”
The prime minister’s remarks came two days after Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General (DG ISPR) Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry expressed the same views, calling on the nation to stand up against militants and “digital terrorists”.
“Digital terrorism is being done on social media. The army is standing up against terrorists and digital terrorists. The time has come for the entire nation to stand up against them,” the chief military spokesperson stated on Monday.
On the same day, the federal capital police arrested PTI’s Information Secretary Raoof Hasan from the party’s central secretariat in Islamabad for being allegedly involved in propaganda against the country and its integrity.
In today’s cabinet meeting, the premier also reiterated his call for national unity to protect the national interest.
The federal cabinet did not discuss about the government’s decision to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during its meeting, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.
However, the federal cabinet huddle did not discuss the much-hyped matter of imposing ban on the opposition PTI and invoking Article 6 (high treason) against the former prime minister Imran Khan, ex-president Arif Alvi and former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri.
There were reports that the matter of banning the Imran Khan-founded party will come under cabinet’s discussion today after Information Minister Attaullah Tarar recently announced that the federal government would impose a ban on the PTI over its alleged involvement in the anti-state activities.
‘Terror attacks unacceptable’
PM Shehbaz also pointed out the surge in terror incidents, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, resulting in the martyrdom of the personnel of the security forces and the law enforcement agencies.
He condemned the recent terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of some personnel of armed forces in Pakistan, saying these incidents that indicate the involvement of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) holed up in Afghanistan are “unacceptable”.
He said Pakistan was fully prepared to protect its citizens but desired to resolve the matter peacefully.
Two days earlier, the Pakistan Army killed three terrorists who were trying to infiltrate the Pak-Afghan border from Afghanistan, in the Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Moreover, two terrorist attacks took place last week, one in DI Khan and the other in Bannu. Two soldiers and five civilians were martyred in DI Khan while eight other soldiers were martyred while trying to foil a terrorist infiltration into the Bannu Cantonment in the wee hours of July 15.
PM Shehbaz termed this current wave of terrorism a machination against the country, arguing that it was taking place at a time when the coalition government was making efforts for development as it reached a staff-level agreement with IMF despite challenges and announced a three-month relief package for 96% of domestic power consumers.
Highlighting the role of Afghanistan in the wave of terrorism, the prime minister said the government was in interaction with them as Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also visited there.
He highlighted that the country was hosting Afghan refugees only to be rewarded with the attacks by terrorists from the Afghan soil.
“But how is it possible that we hosted millions of their people here without any complaint? We treated them like our brothers and never considered them as a burden. But we were rewarded in the form of TTP attacks on our citizens to mar the country’s peace and business. This is not acceptable,” he remarked.
Visa fee to be abolished for 126 countries
The prime minister apprised the members of a decision to abolish visa fees for 126 countries as a “quantum jump” to bring ease of doing business and attract businessmen, tourists and travellers to Pakistan.
The decision, made after a threadbare discussion, would be tabled before the cabinet for its consideration, he added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said that visitors would get visas within 24 hours through the electronic travel authorisation form. Besides, E-gates would be set up at Gwadar Port and nine airports – initially at the Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi airports.
The prime minister also strongly condemned the unprecedented human rights abuses of Israel against Palestinians as around 40,000 Palestinians had been killed including thousands of children and women.
He said despite the resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council and UN General Assembly and the decision by the International Court of Justice, Israel remained adamant on its oppression which was highly condemnable.
The prime minister drew attention to the attacks on Pakistan’s missions in Germany and London. He said the Foreign Office had timely taken up the matter and that the envoys of the countries concerned should be given demarches to seek the protection of Pakistan’s missions.: Home
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