pakistan

Putting doubts to rest, interior minister says elections to be held on Feb 8

Published

4 months ago

February 1, 2024

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Putting doubts to rest, interior minister says elections to be held on Feb 8

Caretaker Interior Minister Dr Gohar Ejaz on Thursday said that general elections would be held on Feb 8 under any circumstances.

He expressed these views while talking to media after attending the meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces.

Caretaker interior minister, Interior Secretary Aftab Durrani, intelligence officials as well as chief secretaries and police chiefs of Balochistan and KP attended the key meeting.

The meeting discussed the situation after terror attacks took place in the two provinces.

Reiterating government resolve, the interior minister said the caretaker government was determined for holding fair, free and peaceful elections in the country.

“All resources will be provided to the provincial governments for holding transparent and peaceful elections,” he said.

Balochistan meeting

Earlier, addressing a consultative meeting held here at secretariat to review the overall law and order situation in Balochistan, the interior minister expressed his satisfaction over the preparations and strategy of the provincial government for holding peaceful and successful elections.

Caretaker Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs, Mir Zubair Jamali, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakil Qadir, Additional Chief Secretary Home Balochistan, Zahird Saleem, Commissioner Quetta Hamza Shafkat and officers of the law enforcement agencies attended the meeting.

Additional Chief Secretary Home, Zahid Saleem gave a detailed briefing regarding the overall situation of law and order in the province and arrangements for holding the elections in the province. The interior minister said that caretaker government was committed to complete the election process by using all available resources and leaving no stone unturned in that regard.

The federal government was striving hard to provide the provincial governments with necessary equipments, latest gadgets and other resources to ensure safety of lives of the voters and candidates, he added.

Lauding the efforts made by the Balochistan government for maintaining peace and holding general elections 2024, the minister said provincial government had chalked out a comprehensive strategy for the successful conduct of the election process.

The minister said that elements hostile to peace would not be allowed to take the law into their hands.

Dr Gohar, said that there was a dire need for devising a long-term integrated strategy for sustainable peace in the province, adding that formation of a better strategy for maintaining law and order in the province could prevent young minds from falling into the wrong hands.

The government was taking all steps to eliminate poverty and provision of better opportunities for dignified employment for prosperity of the province, he added.

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pakistan

Court reserves verdict on PTI founder’s bail plea in May 9 case

Published

19 hours ago

May 16, 2024

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Court reserves verdict on PTI founder's bail plea in May 9 case

The Islamabad district and sessions court has reserved verdict on the bail plea of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder in the May 9 case.

Judicial Magistrate Omar Shabbir heard the case against the PTI leader registered in Shahzad Town police station.

Naeem Haider Panjhota, Sardar Masroof and Amina Ali appeared before the judge as counsel for the PTI leader.

The lawyers said the case against the PTI founder had not been pursued by an authorised officer. All cases against him had been instituted on the basis of politics and should, therefore, be quashed, they demanded.

The court after listening to the arguments reserved the verdict.

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pakistan

Rawalpindi court bins plea for initiating case against former commissioner Liaquat Chattha

Published

19 hours ago

May 16, 2024

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Rawalpindi court bins plea for initiating case against former commissioner Liaquat Chattha

The Rawalpindi Sessions Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking the registration of a case against former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Hakim Khan issued a two-page written order on the petition.

In its order, the court observed that apart from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a departmental inquiry was also being conducted against the former commissioner.

If the allegations were proven in the ECP and departmental inquiries, a legal action was certain, the order stated, adding that in this situation, there was no justification for registering a separate case against the former Rawalpindi commissioner.

Two lawyers from Rawalpindi had filed the petition seeking the registration of a case against former commissioner.

In a Feb 18 presser, the former commissioner admitted that elections in his division were “rigged”.

The commissioner accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja of being complicit in the rigging and asserted that he, along with the CEC and Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, deserved punishment, even the death penalty, for their injustice.

Chattha expressed remorse for forcing his subordinates to engage in wrongdoing and admitted that winning candidates were made to lose on 13 seats in the Rawalpindi division.

Later on Feb 23, Chattha retracted his earlier statement in a written statement submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

In the statement, Chattha confessed to having supported the narrative of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) about rigging in the general elections and maligning state institutions in exchange for a lucrative position in the future.

He stated he had been made this offer by a Lahore-based PTI leader with whom he had developed a close friendship.

Chattha alleged that “this entire planning had been formulated after consultation and approval of the senior leadership of PTI”.

He stated that this proposal was made by the said [PTI] individual in consideration of the fact that he was about to retire from service after having remained a part of the services for 32 years and enjoyed all the perks and privileges.

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pakistan

IHC orders Zartaj Gul to appear before court with record in ECL name removal case

Published

19 hours ago

May 16, 2024

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IHC orders Zartaj Gul to appear before court with record in ECL name removal case

Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought the record from Zartaj Gul’s counsel on a petition seeking the name removal of PTI leader and MNA Zartaj Gul from the Exit Control List (ECL).

IHC’s Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri heard the case on Zartaj Gul’s name removal from ECL.

During the hearing, the state counsel stated that Zartaj Gul’s name has been included in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL).

Upon inquiry from the court, the state counsel informed that Zartaj Gul’s name was included in PNIL on the order of Islamabad and Punjab police, and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was responsible for including the name in PNIL.

Also read: PTI’s Shibli Faraz, Raja Basharat, Zartaj Gul secure bail in May 9 cases

State counsel added that five cases were registered against Zartaj Gul in Islamabad and Punjab.

The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Usama, disclosed that Zartaj Gul has been granted bail in those cases. He reiterated that the name was being included in the PNIL list despite being on bail.

During the hearing, Justice Tariq Jahangiri inquired about how many cases Zartaj Gul has been granted bail in and ordered the petitioner to appear before the court in the next hearing.

Consequently, IHC has adjourned the case hearing until next week by directing Zartaj Gul’s counsel to appear before the court in the next hearing with records.

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