pakistan
PM Shehbaz calls for ‘tangible & timely’ support for earthquake victims in Turkiye, Syria
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the world to extend tangible and timely material support to Turkiye and Syria after devastating earthquake killed over 5,000 with several others trapped under the rubble of thousands of razed buildings.
In a tweet, the premier wrote: “24 hours after the devastating earthquake hit Turkiye & Syria, scenes of death & destruction are mind numbing. It breaks the heart to witness sheer scale of unfolding human tragedy”. He said solidarity should translate into tangible and timely material support for suffering humanity.
The confirmed death toll across the two countries has soared above 5,000 after a swarm of strong tremors near the Turkey-Syria border – the largest of which measured at a massive 7.8-magnitude.
The premier and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are expected to leave for Turkiye on Feb 8 (Wednesday) to offer condolences amid the devastating earthquake.
Diplomatic sources said the premier would also visit Ankara to have a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A day earlier, Mr Sharif telephoned the Turkish president and conveyed condolences over the destruction caused by the earthquake. Expressing deep grief over the loss of life and property, the prime minister sympathised with the grieved families.
“The people of Pakistan are with their brotherly Turkiye and its people. Pakistan will extend its maximum support to the Turkish government and people to help them cope with the quake-caused destruction,” added PM Shehbaz.
Upon this, President Erdogan thanked the prime minister for the support. He added that he valued the sentiments of the prime minister as well as the Pakistani people.
The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Islamabad has discharged 32 individuals arrested in connection with the PTI protests, clearing them of the charges.
The 32 accused were brought before the ATC Islamabad late at night after being sent for an identification parade.
The case was heard by ATC Judge Abulhasnat Zulqarnain, with the accused represented by their lawyer Ansar Kiani.
Although the police had claimed that the arrests were made at the I-9 and Margalla police stations, the accused were brought to the court from Jhelum Jail, which led to the judge expressing displeasure.
During the proceedings, the police argued that the accused were arrested on November 25 and the identification parade had not yet been conducted. The police requested a 30-day physical remand for each of the accused.
However, the defense lawyer opposed the request, stating that there had been no identification parade and the police were seeking remand for recovery purposes.
The lawyer further claimed that the police had picked up laborers from their homes just to meet arrest quotas, involving them in the protest case.
After hearing the arguments, Judge Abulhasnat Zulqarnain ordered the release of the 32 accused by discharging them from the case, removing their handcuffs in the courtroom.
He also warned that if the police re-arrested them, the officers would be handcuffed as well.
An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Saturday extended bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser in a case pertaining to vandalism in Sangjani public gathering held by his party on Sept 28.
Justice Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain of the ATC conducted hearing of the case against the former NA speaker.
The petitioner’s lawyer requested exemptionof her client from appearance, citing terminal illness.
The lawyer also attached medical certificate of the former NA speaker.
Later, the court accepted the plea of Qaiser by extending his bail till Jan 7.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Adviser Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif claimed on Saturday that “secret meetings” were being held in the President House to oust Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and bring Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the new PM.
In a statement, the adviser said both father and son (President Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal) were making all the necessary efforts for premiership of the latter, adding that the president was on a secret mission to see his son as the PM.
“Zardari should make his son the PM through fair means instead of stealing the mandate given by the people to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Both Sharifs and Zardaris are enjoying the power through a stolen mandate,” he added.
He reiterated that Zardari should keep it in mind that the PTI would continue its struggle to restore its mandate.
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