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LAHORE: The Pakis­tan Peoples Party has demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan hold early elections to the 11 Senate seats presently lying vacant. In a letter written to the chief election commissioner on Thursday, PPP Central Election Cell in-charge Senator Taj Haider asked the former to hold elections to the 11 vacant seats of the Senate as soon as possible. Senator Haider said the upper house of the bicameral parliament is incomplete because its 11 seats, or about 10 per cent of the total strength, are lying vacant. He said Section 127 of the Elections Act deals with by-elections to vacant seats in the Senate, while Section 107 prescribes the procedure for all elections to the Senate under which not more than one day is given to complete each stage of the schedule. “It is requested that elections be held for the vacant seats in the Senate as soon as possible,” he said, giving names of the senators who have vacated the seats. These senators are Yousuf Raza Gilani, Jam...

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) on Thursday decided to stay away from any elections taking place in the provincial assemblies as well as Senate. ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan in a statement issued here said that his party members will not be taking part in elections in any assembly and Senate. Mr Khan said that his party wanted civilian supremacy, democracy and supremacy of the parliament in the country. He said the manner in which the money was used in the Feb 8 general elections had no example in the history. “In the current situation, ANP was not in opinion of voting for anyone in the provincial assemblies and Senate,” he said. He added that the leaders of majority parties approached them with offers of offices, however, ANP was not into politics of offices. Mr Khan said that it was his party’s principled stance that the mandate should be taken from ‘thieves’ and be given to the real representatives. Besides, he said, the party would announce its course of action reg...

LONDON: Prince Harry lost a court challenge against the UK government on Wednesday over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the country. The youngest son of King Charles III launched legal action against the government after being told in February 2020 that he would no longer be given the “same degree” of publicly funded protection when in Britain. “The ‘bespoke’ process devised for the claimant in the decision of Feb 28, 2020 was, and is, legally sound,” Judge Peter Lane said in a 52-page judgment. Harry sensationally left Britain in 2020 with his wife Meghan, eventually settling in California. He told a hearing at London’s court in December that security concerns were preventing visits back to the United Kingdom. “The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children,” he told court in a written statement read out by his lawyers. “That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe. “I cannot put my wife in danger like tha...

ISLAMABAD: Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday kept Pakistan’s ratings unchanged at ‘Caa3’ with a stable outlook but highlighted that significantly high risks of liquidity and external vulnerability challenges following highly controversial elections, severely constrained decision-making capacity of the coalition government-in-waiting. The international rating agency — one of the top three global rating firms — said it had completed last week review of Pakistan rating assessments but neither it was announcing a credit rating action, nor an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. “Pakistan’s ratings, including its Caa3 long-term issuer rating, with stable outlook remain unchanged,” it said. The agency had downgraded the country’s rating to Caa3 from Caa1 in February last year, owing to challenges with the IMF programme and the resultant depletion of foreign exchange reserves. “Political risks are high, following a highly controversial gener...

• PPP, PML-N, MQM-P challenge allocation of seats to PTI-SIC alliance, argue it is not a ‘parliamentary party’ • ECP takes up parties’ challenges before original SIC plea, proceedings to continue today • PTI’s Gohar says assembly sessions without allocation of seats will be ‘illegal’ ISLAMABAD: With only one day left before the first session of the National Assembly is convened, the Election Com­m­ission of Pakistan (ECP) has yet to clear the air over the allocation of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), following a PTI-SIC ‘merger’ for this very purpose. The issue became further complicated on Tues­day after at least three political parties, the PPP, PML-N, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakis­tan (MQM-P), approached the commission to lay claim to the seats dem­a­nded by SIC in parliament. During a hearing on a set of petitions filed against the proposed allocation of seats to the SIC as demanded by the PTI, it emerged that the PML-N, PPP, and the MQM-P opposed ...

Lahore Qalandars’ troubles were further compounded after they received another beating at the hands of Multan Sultans at Qaddafi Stadium on Tuesday. Chasing a mammoth target of 215, thanks to a superb 96 off 55 by Usman Khan who played his first game of this year’s Pakistan Super League edition, Lahore got bundled out for 154, primarily because of Multan’s frontline leg-spinner Usama Mir who picked up six wickets for 40 runs. Despite a decent start to the chase, Lahore struggled to keep the momentum up once Multan broke the opening partnership. With Fakhar Zaman being the first Lahore wicket to fall, nobody from the top and the middle-order was able to convert their starts. For Lahore, Sahibzada Farhan top scored with 31 off 21 with Fakhar scoring 23, the centurion from Lahore’s previous game Rassie van der Dussen 30, Kamran Ghulam 12, and Sikandar Raza managing only 17 runs. In yet another bizarre move by Lahore, captain Shaheen Shah Afridi came ahead of the West Indian star allr...

QUETTA: Balochistan caretaker Minister for Information Jan Achakzai has claimed the caretaker provincial government is leaving with Rs50 billion in the provincial treasury for the new elected government to spend on welfare and development projects. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the minister said the caretaker government took measures to check unnecessary expenditures and provided funds to complete ongoing development projects. “Over the last six mon­ths, efforts were made by the caretaker government to resolve problems of the people of the province.” “No scandal of corruption has surfaced under the caretaker government,” the minister claimed. He congratulated the newly-elected members of the provincial assembly and expressed good wishes for them. “I welcome the new assembly members on behalf of the caretaker government,” remarked Mr Achakzai. He said the biggest challenge for the caretaker government was to send illegal immigrants back to their countries, which “we ha...

People were determined to vote in the 2024 elections. However, despite the increase in absolute terms, voter turnout dipped in terms of percentage. Harsh winter in parts of the country, fears of violence and terrorism in KP and Balochistan, as well as uncertainty about the conduct of elections, may have also adversely affected the turnout , states an analysis by the Free & Fair Election Network (Fafen). Voter turnout has decreased since the 2013 elections, though it is higher than what it was in the 1980s and the 1990s. (The 1990s saw the musical chair of the Bhutto and Sharif family, though the bitter rivalry then could not have foreseen the coalition government today.) The percentage of youths as voters has increased, and so has awareness through social media and the internet. It may account for a higher absolute voter turnout increase in the recent elections. Research suggests that a poor economy may depress voter participation in some countries, hence under-penalising incum...

What did not appear so pronounced in politics has surfaced in the recent split electorate mandate: people’s urge for self-governance. An analyst says that the public has reclaimed the grounds that rightly belong to them by defying the chronic status quo and the culture of dread. In the economic field, as evidenced by the mobility of labour, an increasing number of people are improving their livelihood and their quality of life by themselves. And human capital is turning out to be the most productive asset. Landless peasants migrate to cities and towns for livelihood, and unskilled, skilled and top professionals find lucrative jobs in foreign countries. An increasing number of young people, empowered by IT skills, work from home for companies located abroad. To cut costs, corporates everywhere prefer to hire consultants for specific assignments rather than retain talents and expertise. Self-employment is on the increase. Similarly, job hopping is common among unskilled, skilled urba...

ISLAMABAD: The PTI has issu­­ed a show-cause notice to Advocate Sher Afzal Marwat over rema­rks against PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan that had triggered a controversy within the party. Mr Marwat has been advised to tender an unconditional apology within two days and has been informed that if he did not reply or his reply was unsatisfactory, further action would be taken as per the party policy. Amid wild rumours taking rounds about why the PTI founding chairman Imran Khan did not decide to continue with Mr Gohar as the party chairman, Mr Marwat claimed in a talk show that Mr Gohar was not competent enough to be continued as the party chairman. He claimed that it was the reason the party had decided to nominate Barrister Ali Zafar as a candidate for the chairman’s slot. “Mr Gohar is a gentleman, but his performance was unsatisfactory. A cha­irman needs to be active all the time,” Mr Marwat said. He said that Mr Go­­har got three months but could not perform well, adding that...

PESHAWAR: Newly elected members of the Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies will be sworn in on Wednesday (Feb 28), as the governors of both provinces have requisitioned assembly sessions. KP Governor Ghulam Ali has summoned the session following advice from the KP caretaker chief minister, Syed Arshad Hussain Shah. On Friday, the provincial law department requested Mr Shah to advise the governor to convene the provincial assembly meeting. “The chief minister is requested to advise the governor to summon the provincial assembly on a date to be mentioned in the draft order regarding summoning of the provincial assembly,” read an official summary sent by the law department to the caretaker chief minister. On Saturday, the governor signed the summary and summoned the KP Assembly meeting. ECP allocates reserved seats for women in KP Assembly, SIC matter remains pending “In exercise of the power conferred by clause (a) of Article 109 of the Constitution of the Islamic Repub...

LAHORE: An MQM-P delegation called on PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif here on Friday and discussed a power-sharing formula with him. The delegation from Kara­chi comprised Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Farooq Sattar and Mustafa Kamal. The MQM-P reportedly came to meet Mr Sharif, who is the candidate of six parties for the post of the prime minister, to get his assurance that the party will get ‘reasonable share’ in the upcoming government. The Sindh governor’s slot is expected to go to MQM-P. Besides, the MQM-P wants some important ministries. According to a statement issued by the PML-N after the meeting, the visiting MQM-P team and Mr Sharif discussed mutual cooperation. Talking to the MQM-P delegation, Mr Shehbaz Sharif said that the mandate of every party should be respected. “We should respect the mandate of every party. It is the duty of every one to steer the country out of the economic crisis. We need to prefer the national interest over political interest,” he said...

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said on Friday that it had removed the United Arab Emirates from its “grey list” of countries subject to increased monitoring, while Kenya and Namibia were added. Countries on the list have “strategic deficiencies” in their efforts to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, but are cooperating with the global anti-money laundering watchdog to correct the problems and are subject to increased monitoring. FATF head Raja Kumar said that Kenya and Namibia suffered deficiencies in their anti-money laundering systems and that action plans had been developed to remedy them. A total of 21 nations are on the grey list. In addition to the UAE, Barbados, Gibraltar and Uganda were removed from the grey list. “They’ve all taken substantial steps to improve the anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism safety systems and address all items on their actions plans,” said Kumar. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nah...

ISLAMABAD: An MQM-P delegation led by Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori on Thursday called on caretaker Prime Min­ister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and discussed with him the country’s political situation. MQM-P leaders Dr Farooq Sattar and Mustafa Kamal also attended the meeting, a PM Office press release said. The MQM-P leaders lauded PM Kakar for the steps taken by the caretaker gover­nment to stabilise the country’s economy. A source in the MQM-P told Dawn that the formation of the new government also came under discussion. The source said that after the PPP’s decision to not sit in the government in the Centre, the PML-N and MQM-P will be the two mainstream political parties in the forthcoming federal cabinet. Political situation, govt formation also come under discussion It may be recalled that MQM-P has already demanded four federal ministries in the federal cabinet to be headed by PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister. It has been agreed between the PML-N and MQM-P ...

KARACHI: The nation’s battle with debt repayment has intensified amid a drop in the State Bank’s foreign exchange reserves and rising political uncertainty, currency experts said. The SBP reported on Thursday that its foreign exchange reserves fell by $44 million during the week ending Feb 16 due to debt servicing, highlighting the ongoing financial strain. Despite an uptick in remittances in December and January, the challenge of debt repayment looms large, with the country requiring over $6 billion for foreign payments by the end of the fiscal year. In the first half of the current fiscal year, the country dedicated $7.2bn to debt servicing, split between a $4.5bn principal amount and $2.7bn in interest. SBP reserves fall $44m, rupee edges higher to 279.32 against US dollar Bankers hope the formation of a new government in Islamabad in the next couple of weeks will bring stability. “Political stability is the most-needed element for economic growth,” a senior banker said, s...

ISLAMABAD: An environmental sample collected from Balochistan’s Lasbela district has tested positive for wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1). The virus was found in a sewage sample collected from Lasbela, an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) said. Federal Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan said that as long as this virus survives, children on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, and the world over, remain at risk. “This makes it imperative for Pakistan and Afghanistan to work together for its eradication.” Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus. It mainly affects children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/4mExHMh

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Wednes­day transferred Multan Division Commissioner Muhammad Abdul Aamer Khattak and posted him as Rawalpindi Division Commissioner. The reshuffle relieves Rawalpindi Development Authority Director General Muhammad Saif Anwar Jappa of additional charge of the Pindi commissioner post. The post of Rawalpindi Division commissioner had fallen vacant when the then office-holder, Liaqat Ali Chattha, tendered his resignation after alleging massive rigging on all national and provincial assembly seats in his jurisdiction in the Feb 8 general election. I&C and Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD)Secretary Marryam Khan has been transferred and posted as Multan commissioner. Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/0HsPxiD

• PTI lawmaker warns unrest to continue if those with mandate not allowed to rule • ‘N’ senator seeks release of all political prisoners, including Imran and missing persons ISLAMABAD: The controversy over a “stolen mandate” echoed in the Senate on Tuesday, with lawmakers from different political parties calling for action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, including his arrest and high treason trial under Article 6. They also cried foul over alleged rigging before and after elections and called for investigations into the charges of manipulated results and audit of Forms 45 and 47. Speaking in the Senate, veteran politician Tahir Bizenjo strongly criticised the Election Commission, asserting that it had completely failed to perform its primary responsibility of conducting free and fair elections. He demanded Mr Raja’s arrest for allegedly violating the Constitution. Mr Bizenjo said the mandate given by the people to their real representatives had bee...

KARACHI/ISLAM­ABAD: For a fourth straight day, social media platform X remained disrupted in many areas on Tuesday, with officials still reluctant to offer any clarity on the situation. Rights bodies and journalists’ organisations have condemned the muzzling of social media, while internet service providers have also lamented losses due to disruptions. The platform has been inaccessible since Satur­day when former Rawal­pindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha held a press conference and accused the chief election commissioner and chief justice of being involved in rigging the Feb 8 general elections. ![ .]( The platform remained sporadically accessible in some cities, while reports from Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi suggested disruptions on Tuesday. Alp Toker, the director of NetBlocks, told Dawn that the latest metrics showed access has been “partially or intermittently restored for some users” while restrictions persisted in some areas. “It’s unclear whether this is a temporary ch...

ISLAMABAD: In yet another blow to struggling electricity consumers, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has sought a massive Rs7.13 per unit increase in fuel charges in the upcoming bills on account of electricity consumed in January to generate an additional Rs57 billion for power distribution companies (Discos) formerly under Wapda. This is the highest-ever increase in fuel cost adjustment (FCA) demanded by the CPPA in history — almost 96pc higher than the pre-fixed fuel cost of Rs7.50 per unit already charged to consumers in January — and calls into question the capabilities of the power sector bureaucracy to forecast fuel costs even for six to seven months. This increase in FCA is on top of about 26pc increase in the annual base tariff and another 18pc hike under the quarterly tariff adjustment currently in place. As a result, consumers will have to pay excessive bills despite minimum consumption in peak winter months. The Nat­­ional Electric Power Regu­­latory Authority ...

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Monday approved the transit bail pleas of four PTI leaders, including nominee for the provincial chief minister’s office Ali Amin Gandapur, Senator Faisal Javed and MNAs-elect Shahram Khan Tarakai and Atif Khan, in cases registered against them. During the hearing by Chief Justice Ibrahim Khan into Mr Gandapur’s bail application, counsel for the PTI leader, including Syed Sikandar Shah, Shah Faisal Utmankhel, Nomanul Haq Kakakhel and Inam Yousafzai, said his client wanted to appear before an Islamabad court in a case registered by the local police against him under Pakistan Penal Code’s sections 395, 380, 440, 435, 506, 427, 186, 353, 148 and 149, and Anti-Terrorism Act’s Section 7. Justice Khan observed that it was an old case. The lawyers argued that they just learned about that case and rushed to the court for transit bail. CJ Khan asked lawyers whether the bail applications of their clients in other cases were accepted. The counsel replied i...

KARACHI: A banking court has granted exemption to Pakistan Peoples Party-Parliamentarian president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur from appearing in a fake bank accounts case. Senior lawyer Farooq H. Naik filed applications on Monday before the court on behalf of his clients, pleading that Mr Zardari was unable to appear in court due to his political engagements in Islamabad. Regarding Ms Talpur, the counsel informed the court that she was unwell. The court granted them exemption from appearance for one day and adjourned the hearing till April 22. Mr Zardari, Ms Talpur, and others have been facing cases pertaining to the alleged opening of fake bank accounts and using them for illicit transactions amounting to billions of rupees. In 2018, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court had identified at least 29 bank accounts as fake and claimed in its report that these had been used for laundering Rs42 billion. The apex court had in Jan 2019, referred...

RAWALPINDI: The fallout of bombshell allegations about election rigging levelled by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha continued to unfurl on Sunday as the Punjab government has decided to register a case against the ex-bureaucrat. On the other hand, PTI has sought an “independent and empowered” judicial commission to probe the allegations without the chief justice being made part of it, while the PML-N termed Mr Chattha’s statement ‘May 9 part-II’ aimed at creating unrest in the country with PTI ‘provoking’ hatred against bureaucracy. At a press conference on Saturday, Mr Chattha accused the CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja and CJP Qazi Faez Isa of being involved in “rigging” and claimed that results were changed to ensure the victory of candidates who were losing. Following the press conference, the Punjab caretaker chief minister ordered the formation of an inquiry committee. When contacted, Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir said no committee has been fo...

ISLAMABAD: Amid a growing controversy over the variance between forms 45 and 47 and allegations of massive rigging, an election watchdog has called for an independent audit of election results. The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has proposed a three-stage methodology for the audit of results of the recently held general elections. In a statement, it urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to scrutinise the results of constituencies duly challenged by political parties and candidates at the appropriate legal fora, using data analytics and forensics to establish the legitimacy of the outcome of general elections. “Such an audit must include representatives nominated by political parties concerned as well as independent observers to ensure the transparency and credibility of the process,” Fafen stressed. Fafen says post-election situation warrants an urgent response to claims of illegalities by ECP It said the post-election situation warrants an urgent and prompt re...

LAHORE: Leading from the front, experienced all-rounder Shadab Khan steered Islamabad United to a resounding eight-wicket victory over defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the opening match of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday. Chasing a big total of 196 on a batting-friendly track under lights, United were home in the 19th over when Shadab cracked a six off leg-spinner Salman Fayyaz. Qalandars rued several missed chances, including two dropped catches of Shadab, who had made a bold move of promoting himself to number three. Shadab smashed an unbeaten 74 off 41 balls, studded with six fours and five sixes, while Salman Ali Agha scored a breezy 64 not out off 31 (seven fours and three sixes). The two built a match-winning 138-run stand after Qalandars lost openers Colin Munro (five) and Alex Hales (28-ball 36), with 62 on the board in the eighth over. Man-of -the-match Sha­dab was lucky twice, first in the 11th over when he was dropped on 22 b...

KARACHI: Taking exception to mushroom growth of illegal buildings in the city, the Sindh High Court has said it is not possible that such constructions are being carried out without being in the notice of Sindh Building Control Authority officials. The SHC also noted that either the SBCA officials were in league or they were incompetent to perform their duties. A two-judge bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Mohammad Abdur Rahman directed the secretaries of finance and local government departments to submit reports about funds provided to the SBCA in the last five years. The secretary of LG department was also directed to file details of all director general of SBCA appointed during last five years. The bench also summoned the SBCA chief along with a report of complete record of funds provided by the government as well as fees/penalties of approvals/regularisation of different projects in last five years as well as utilisation of such funds. Observes that it’s...

SHADAB Khan (left) and Shaheen Shah Afridi address pre-match press conferences on Friday.—White Star LAHORE: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United are all set to lock horns in the opening clash of the ninth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday night. Both the teams have two titles to their name each. While the Qalandars have won back-to-back editions in 2022 and 2023, United clinched the inaugural season in 2016 and then in 2018. The new edition’s first ball will be bowled at 8.00pm after the conclusion of what is expected to be a colourful opening ceremony, which is set to start at 6.30pm. Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi — under whose captaincy the side won their first two titles after going trophy-less in the first six seasons — and Islamabad United skipper Shadab Khan addressed pre-match press conferences here on Friday. Qalandars, United set to lock horns after star-studded opening ceremony ...