Member of the National Assembly Ali Pervaiz took the oath of the office of Minister of State here on Friday.

President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to Ali Pervaiz in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, parliamentarians, and notables from different walks of life.

Ali Pervaiz was elected as MNA from NA-119 constituency of Lahore on the ticket of the Pakistan Muslim League-N in the recently held by-election. 

Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to appear in person before the court on May 20 regarding a case involving allegations of possessing weapons and alcohol.

During a hearing presided over by Judicial Magistrate Sohaib Bilal of Islamabad district and session court, the court handed a questionnaire consisting of nine questions to Ali Gandapur’s counsel, Zahoorul Hassan.

The questionnaire seeks responses from the accused regarding various aspects of the case.

Among the questions posed to Gandapur are inquiries about his awareness of the evidence and arguments presented by the prosecution during the hearing, as well as his involvement in a gathering that allegedly violated orders issued by the district magistrate on October 30, 2016.

The court seeks clarification on an incident where Gandapur reportedly fled into a forest from his car, which was subsequently apprehended by the police.

The questionnaire addresses the recovery of illegal arms, a liquor bottle, and a person identified as Allah Nawaz wearing a bulletproof jacket with an unlicensed gun in Gandapur’s car.

The court references a report from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency confirming the presence of alcohol in the bottle recovered from Gandapur’s vehicle.

The court also inquired about the filing of charges against Gandapur and the testimony provided by prosecution witnesses. the accused is given the option to present a defense under Section 340.

The case hearing has been adjourned until May 20 to allow Gandapur to respond to the questionnaire and ordered him to appear before the court in person on that date.

The provincial education department on Friday announced the schedule for summer vacation across the province as above-normal temperatures hit the parts of country.

The department has issued a notification, stating that the summer holidays will be observed from June 1 to August 14. It added that all public and private schools will reopen on August 15 (Thursday).

The department has also revised the school timings to protect students and teachers from the blistering heat. As per the revised schedule, schools will open at 7:00am to 11:30am till Thursday while the classes will conclude at 10:30am on Fridays.

Meanwhile, Met office said due to the presence of high pressure in the upper atmosphere, heatwave conditions are likely to develop over most parts of the country, especially over Punjab and Sindh from 21st May and likely to convert to severe heatwave conditions from 23rd to 27th May.

Day temperatures are likely to remain 4 to 6°C above normal in Sindh and Punjab from 21st to 23rd and from 06 to 08°C from 23rd to 27th May.

Day temperatures are likely to remain 4 to 6°C above normal in Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan from 21st to 27th May.