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• Palestinians long for peace, but hopes of ceasefire seem farther than ever • Israeli minister calls for return of settlers to Gaza GAZA CITY: Israeli jets intensified attacks on central Gaza on Sunday, residents and medics said, as battles raged through the rubble of towns and refugee camps in a war that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would take “many more months” to end. Netanyahu’s comments signal no let-up in a campaign that has killed many thousands and levelled much of Gaza, while his vow to restore Israeli control over the enclave’s border with Egypt raises new questions over an eventual two-state solution. Air strikes pounded al-Maghazi and al-Bureij in the centre of Gaza, killing 10 people in one house and driving more to flee to Rafah on the border with Egypt from front lines where Israeli tanks are battling Hamas fighters. At least 48 Palestinians were killed in overnight bombing in Gaza City, the health ministry said, with many still buried under the r...

LARKANA: People ride a rickshaw on a foggy morning, on Saturday. Although Punjab suffers the most from air pollution, the menace has started troubling Sindh as well. Poor visibility led to cancellation of several flights and delayed departure of trains from Lahore and other stations in Punjab.—AFP LAHORE: The foggy weather continues to disrupt flight and train schedules adversely, leading to the cancellation of various flights and delaying the departure of express trains from Lahore and other major stations in Punjab. Official sources said fli­ghts, including PIA’s Jed­­dah-Karachi, Islamabad-Jeddah, Peshawar-Kara­chi, and some others, were ca­­ncelled, while several others either couldn’t land or depart from Karachi and other airports in Punjab. Similarly, trains, including Karakoram Express, Business Express, Millat Express, and some others, also departed from Lahore to various destinations late by three to four hours from their actual departure timings. Traffic disrupted Hea...

• Nominations of Imran, Qureshi, other bigwigs rejected; party cries foul; tribunals to decide appeals till Jan 10 • GDA leaders Zulfiqar, Fahmida Mirza; Akhtar Mengal, Sheikh Rashid, Alvi’s son, Ayaz Amir face rejection • Nawaz, Shehbaz, Bilawal, Achakzai, Maryam, Khattak, Fazl, Siddiqui, Tareen, Awan, Siraj among those cleared ISLAMABAD: In the initial phase of elections slated for Feb 8, the top leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its allies has been knocked out of the polls race, as almost “90 per cent of nominations from important leaders” failed to stand the scrutiny exercise ended on Saturday. Despite their failure to clear scrutiny at the initial stage, the PTI candidates have till Jan 3 to approach an appellate tribunal against the decision of the respective returning officer. The tribunals can adjudicate on these appeals till Jan 10. Most of the candidates whose papers were rejected belong to PTI, which has fallen out of favour and is facing the full ...

• State joins Colorado in disqualifying him over role in assault on US Capitol • Campaign spokesman says ex-president will appeal the decision Donald Trump WASHINGTON: The US state of Maine on Thursday blocked former president Donald Trump from its Republican presidential primary ballot, the second state to disqualify him over his role in the January 2021 assault on the US Capitol. Maine’s top election official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, decided in favour of the citizens who had claimed that Trump should be constitutionally barred from seeking re-election after trying to upend the 2020 election. Bellows said in her decision that the January 6 attack “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President”. “The US Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government and (Maine law) requires me to act in response,” read the decision, which came in response to challenges filed by a handful of Maine voters. Mai...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday officially declined India’s demand for the extradition of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed after New Delhi announced it had formally requested Islamabad to extradite him in a money laundering case. Responding to media inquiries about India’s extradition request, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch pointed out that “no bilateral extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and India”. Saeed is currently serving a jail sentence after being convicted of terror financing in multiple cases. He has received various prison sentences, ranging from over 15 to 31 years. Although India accuses him of being behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Saeed has denied any involvement. He was arrested in 2019 when Pakistan was struggling to get out of the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list comprising countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and proliferation financing regimes. ...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday ruled that the federal capital’s deputy commissioner, who also acts as the district magistrate, does not have the authority to issue detention orders under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960. The ordinance provides the government with vast powers of detention and has been used by authorities to round up and detain PTI leaders following the May 9 riots. Section 3 of MPO states: “The government, if satisfied that with a view to preventing any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, it is necessary to do, may, by an order in writing, direct the arrest and detention in such custody […] and [the] government, if satisfied that for the aforesaid reasons, it is necessary so to do, may extend from time to time the period of such detention, for a period not exceeding six months at a time.” Justice Babar Sattar presided over the hearing today on petitions filed by...

RAWALPINDI: Police have implicated PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi in at least 12 different cases registered by the district police in connection with the May 9 violence — erupted after the arrest of former PTI chairman Imran Khan — as a magistrate on Thursday sent him to Adiala Jail on a two-week remand in a case regarding the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. The court rejected the Punjab police request for a 30-day remand of the former foreign minister and sent him to prison for two weeks. The former foreign minister, who was whisked away by the police from prison, claimed that he was “mentally and physically tortured” on Wednesday night. He was detained in a case regarding the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) on May 9. Sources said the Rawalpindi police have implicated the PTI leader in 12 different FIRs registered with the district police in connection with the May 9 violence. The PTI leader was brought to the court of Magistrate Syed Jhangeer Ali i...

LAHORE: The nomination papers of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for Mansehra’s NA-15 constituency were reportedly approved by the respective returning officer on Thursday, whereas separate decisions were reserved on objections to the nomination papers of PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and ex-premier Imran Khan in Lahore. In NA-15, objections were moved against Nawaz Sharif by PTI leader Azam Swati through his representative Shahid Rafiq, a local party leader. The papers, however, were initially cleared by the RO after she rejected the objections. The PTI leader argued that the PML-N supreme leader had been disqualified for life by the Supreme Court and added the RO was not authorised to approve the nomination papers. But Mr Sharif was cleared. In Lahore’s NA-122 constituency, the nomination papers of ex-PM Imran Khan were contested on grounds of his punishment in the Toshakhana case. The objector said the court had only suspended the sentence, not the conviction handed out to ...

LAHORE: With elections just round the corner, the PML-N on Wednesday unveiled an online portal to seek inputs from Pakistani nationals at home and abroad by Jan 5 for its upcoming manifesto, likely to be launched in the second week of next month. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif underscored the participation of people in this endeavour and said the former ruling party aimed to enter elections “with a mission to identify Pakistan’s main issues across various sectors and propose implementable solutions”. “We extend an invitation to you, the people of Pakistan, to help us achieve this objective. Visit ‘pmln2024.com’ now and be an integral part of shaping a meaningful manifesto that propels Pakistan forward,” the PML-N president said on the occasion. PML-N Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz tweeted, “PML-N’s unbreakable bond with the people is its greatest strength! We are excited to take this cornerstone of our politics into the digital age with an online portal that empowers every Pakistani, ...

• Apex court sees nothing wrong with SC Practice and Procedure law • When power is concentrated in an individual, ‘disastrous’ consequences follow, CJP observes • Intervention only needed when parliament enacts law demonstrably ‘unconstitutional’ • In additional note, Justice Yahya says giving ‘right of retrospective appeal’ beyond parliament’s power ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the chief justice of Pakistan was not “Master of the Roster” and that he cannot substitute his wisdom with that of the Constitution nor can his opinion prevail over other judges. In a detailed judgement , the SC said that the enactment of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 by parliament does not infringe any fundamental rights, rather facilitates their enforcement. Authored by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the 22-page detailed judgement said that Constitution empowers parliament to legislate on practice and procedure of the Supreme Court as stipulat...

LAHORE: The award of tickets has become a thorny issue in the PML-N camp, with former Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz reportedly asking his uncle, Nawaz Sharif, not to ignore party loyalists in the distribution of tickets for general and reserved seats. The PML-N leadership’s decision to nominate women, either from influential families or the upper echelons of society, for reserved seats has already sparked discontent among women workers, who are questioning the criteria of the selection process. “Now, Hamza Shehbaz has joined [this chorus] and requested the party supremo to give importance to loyal workers,” a party insider told Dawn on Tuesday. The source said the party’s old guard was worried over the preference being shown for new faces. It may be noted that Hamza, who is the son of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, has kept a low profile since he lost the chief minister’s office to Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in July last year. Ex-Punjab CM asks uncle Nawaz not to ignore ‘party ...

GAZA: Even on Christmas day, the land where Jesus Christ was born remained in the crosshairs of the Israeli military, which continued its relentless bombing of Gaza, as well as launching raids in West Bank cities such as Bethlehem, on Sunday. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that war with Israel since early October has killed at least 20,674 people in the Palestinian territory. The ministry added that 54,536 people have been wounded since the start of Israeli hostilities. The health ministry said that an Israeli air strike killed at least 70 people at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. Biblical Bethlehem also among West Bank towns raided by Israeli forces Palestinian health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said the toll was likely to climb, adding: “What is happening at the Maghazi camp is a massacre that is being committed on a crowded residential square”. Before dawn, an Israeli strike “targeting a house” in the central Al-Zuwaida area killed at least 12 peopl...

ISLAMABAD: As more than 100 Baloch students reportedly remain missing in the aftermath of a crackdown on their long march, the police on Sunday set up a ‘special help centre’ for the release of the incarcerated individuals. The long march — which started in Turbat on December 6 after the alleged “extra-judicial killing” of a Baloch youth by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials — had reached the federal capital on Wednesday. SPP Abdul Haq Umrani has been assigned as the focal person for these matters and contact numbers have been shared with the public to lodge complaints, a statement by the capital police on ‘X’ social media platform read. According to the public relations officer, a dedicated help desk aimed at ensuring the “safe release” of detained individuals had been established by the police. “The help centre will remain operational round the clock to aid citizens in immediate resolution of issues and prioritise swift redressal of their concerns on grounds,” he cl...

LAHORE: The PTI has not managed to catch a break, as it claimed that several of its candidates were left injured, harassed and intimidated and unable to file their nomination papers for the Feb 8 elections until the closing of the process on Sunday evening. However, the party said it still managed to submit nomination papers of a large number of its aspirants. The PTI was dealt yet another blow when the ECP did not share the lists of names of its aspirants for reserved seats for women and minorities. The party is now hoping to get relief from the Peshawar High Court, where it has challenged the watchdog’s decision of depriving it of its election symbol. The situation has forced the party to employ multiple means to stay in the election arena against all odds. Though the party’s status remains unclear, the potential candidates did mention in their nomination papers that they belong to the PTI. The PTI has also filed a large number of complaints with the ECP against the “highhandedne...

CHAKWAL: A PTI activist, who was detained under Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) on Dec 21, was rearrested shortly after getting released from Jhelum prison on Dec 22 — this time on cow theft charge, sources told Dawn on Sunday. Mohammad Naseeruddin Babar alias Babar Gujjar was among the four PTI activists who were detained on Dec 21 under the MPO on the order of deputy commissioner (DC) Chakwal. Advocate Syed Najamul Hassan, the lawyer of PTI’s president Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Malik Akhtar Shahbaz, PTI’s candidate for PP-22; PTI Choa Saidan Shah tehsil general secretary Malik Ehsan Mehmood and Babar Gujjar, an office-bearer of PTI’s Youth Wing in Choa Saidan Shah, were detained under MPO on Dec 21 on the order of DC Chakwal. However, after the arrest of Advocate Syed Najamul Hassan, the district administration faced intense pressure from the District Bar Association as well as the Punjab Bar Council and had to release the four detainees. The deputy commissioner, therefore, issue...

• Apprehends rollback of commitments on gas, power subsidies, tax measures and trade tariffs • Indicates willingness to support Pakistan in coordination with IMF • Says broader, deeper reforms needed to support fiscal consolidation, increase investment ISLAMABAD: The World Bank fears that following the upcoming elections , strong and organised vested interests may spur a number of potential reversals on critical policy reforms — committed to multilateral lenders — posing ‘high’ macroeconomic risks to Pakistan. The possible reversals include the rationalisation of gas and electricity subsidies, lower trade tariffs and better property tax realisation. “Stakeholder risks are high due to strong and organised vested interests, potentially advocating to reverse critical reforms, particularly trade tariff reforms, increases to property taxation and energy sector reforms,” said the Wash­ington-based lending agency in an assessment of its recently approved $350 million loan under second R...

ISLAMABAD: The Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations on the international spread of poliovirus has warned that re-infection of epidemiologically-critical areas and historical reservoirs in Pakistan and Afghanistan represent a significant risk to the gains made during the last 18 months. The emergency committee, in a statement issued in Geneva on Friday, says the risk of international spread of wild poliovirus remains since the actual spread of Type-1 Wild Poliovirus (WPV1) lineages seen predominantly in Afghanistan in 2022 now being detected in Pakistan in 2023. In this regard, the statement mentioned historical reservoirs like Karachi and the Quetta block in Pakistan and Kandahar in Afghanistan. According to the statement, high-risk mobile populations in Pakistan represent a specific risk of international spread to Afghanistan in particular, compounded by the large number of returnees from Pakistan into various parts of Afghanistan. The large pool of unvacc...

• Apex court says plea suffers from ‘deficiencies’ • Khosa’s clerk ‘mugged on SC premises’ • Appeal claims ECP blocked ex-PM’s right to contest polls ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court office on Saturday returned an appeal seeking to set aside the three-year conviction awarded to former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case. The registrar’s office returned the appeal moved by Mr Khan through his counsel Sardar Latif Khosa under Article 185 of the Constitution, challenging the Dec 11, 2023, Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision of rejecting a similar plea for lacking necessary requirements, including absence of actual controversies or chronology of the past litigation. The petition was filed with a plea to overturn the Aug 5 conviction awarded by additional sessions judge, Islamabad, for illegally selling state gifts. The registrar’s office, however, returned the appeal with observations that the same was suffering from a number of deficiencies, like the concise statement...

• BYC issues ultimatum for withdrawal of cases; demands UN probe • 160 protesters granted bail, police claim ISLAMABAD: As a protest outside the National Press Club in Islamabad against the enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings continued, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee — organiser of the long march — gave the authorities a three-day ultimatum to quash cases registered against students and activists and release all protesters. A statement issued by the BYC on their social media platform said over 100 Baloch students were “missing” after the crackdown on the march by the police on Wed­nesday night. “Nearly 350 of our students and families were arrested…the females and 33 students were granted bail the next day, while more than 250 of our students are still in jail…more than 100 still have not been presented before court,” it claimed. The protesters demanded the withdrawal of all cases registered in different cities — including Islamabad — against the participants of...

• Elahi’s wife Qaisara prevented from filing her own papers for NA-64 for second day • PTI leader taken to hospital after chest pain, returned to Adiala LAHORE/GUJRAT: The Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the police and the Election Commission on Saturday to ensure that the wife of PTI leader Parvez Elahi can submit the nomination papers of her husband, and son Moonis Elahi without obstacles. Presiding over a contempt petition filed by Qaisara Elahi, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi addressed complaints against district returning officers (DROs) of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin for not complying with the court’s previous directive to collect the nomination papers. A lawyer for the petitioner said that despite the court’s instructions to district police officers (DPOs) and DROs, the representatives of Mr Elahi and Mr Moonis were reportedly barred from collecting the nomination papers, with the police allegedly seizing control of the DRO’s office. A representative from the Election Commission ...