ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court is meeting for the fourth time today, Thursday, to rule on the legality of political maneuvers that led Prime Minister Imran Khan to dissolve the national assembly last weekend and call for fresh elections.
Khan was due last Sunday to face a no-confidence vote tabled by the opposition in the National Assembly. But Qasim Suri, the deputy speaker of parliament, a member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, threw out the motion, saying it was part of a foreign conspiracy and thus unconstitutional. He used Article 5 of the constitution, which deals with loyalty to the state, to make his case.
The president then dissolved the lower house of parliament on Khan’s advice.
The Supreme Court has since been hearing a case against the government moves filed by the opposition. The panel of five judges has not said when it will give a ruling but it could order parliament to be reconstituted, call for elections or bar Khan from power if he is found to have violated the constitution. The court could also decide that it cannot intervene in parliamentary affairs.
“The court doesn’t have authority to review the speaker’s ruling,” Lawyer Ali Zafar said at Wednesday’s hearing, adding that parliament could not comment on a case pending before the courts and the courts should likewise not interfere in parliamentary proceedings.
“Any direction from the parliament will be trespassing of the authority [of the court],” he said, adding that any direction to the speaker would mean giving direction to parliament.
The chief justice remarked that according to the petitioners, the court could review parliamentary proceedings in case there was a violation of the constitution.
“Your point is interesting that even if a ruling of the speaker is wrong, it enjoys a privilege,” he added, saying that what the speaker had done was “unprecedented” apart from the significance of Article 69, which says proceedings in parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any irregularity of procedure.
“This will have many negative consequences if allowed to happen,” the chief justice said, adding that the no-confidence motion was about to be adopted on the day of voting when the deputy speaker gave his ruling that it was unconstitutional.
Zafar replied: “The court should leave the matter to the public instead of interfering [in parliamentary proceedings].”
The chief justice remarked that the judges would respect the sanctity of the parliament but the Supreme Court could interfere if there was a violation of the constitution.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counsel Babar Awan raised legal points to justify the speaker’s ruling and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly, saying there was a foreign conspiracy to topple Khan.
“We want to know about the conspiracy before handing down judgment,” the chief justice said. “Apparently the deputy speaker’s ruling contains allegations instead of facts.”
The chief justice questioned if the deputy speaker could give such a ruling without revealing evidence and facts: “This is the constitutional point in which the court has to give its verdict.”
Bandial also asked Awan about the minutes of a March 31 National Security Committee’s meeting that reviewed a “blatant interference” in Pakistan’s domestic affairs by a foreign power.
Pakistan’s military, whose army, navy and air force chiefs were present at the NSC meeting, is facing growing calls by the opposition to clarify its position on the veracity of Khan’s complaints about a foreign conspiracy against him.
Khan has said the plot to dislodge him was being orchestrated by the United States, which the State Department and the White House have denied.
AFP adds: The court could decide that the National Assembly is responsible for its own rules and regulations, and the refusal of the deputy speaker to hold a vote is a matter for lawmakers to settle.
However, some legal analysts argue it is an issue for the court: according to the constitution, the prime minister cannot ask the president to dissolve the assembly if a no-confidence vote is pending.
Still, the court could decide the decision to refuse the vote effectively meant the matter was no longer pending, sending the issue back to the assembly, which would mean the dissolution likely stands.
In this case, the ruling would effectively nullify the subsequent decision to dissolve parliament, so lawmakers could be ordered to reconvene and Khan would almost certainly be booted out of office.
There is precedent, however.
In 1988, Muhammad Khan Junejo appealed to the court after the assembly was dissolved by then-president General Zia-ul-Haq, who had taken power in a military coup years earlier.
It agreed his government had been dissolved unconstitutionally, but ruled that since elections had been announced, it was best to move on.
No date has been set for elections in the current crisis, but a similar ruling could emerge.
Also, in 1993, the court ruled president Ghulam Ishaq Khan had illegally dissolved the assembly -- then with Nawaz Sharif as prime minister.
Although the government resumed business, it lasted less than two months before being dissolved again.
If the court rules nothing untoward happened, it seems likely all subsequent actions would also stand and Pakistan would go to polls within 90 days.
Pakistan Supreme Court meets for fourth time today to rule on political crisis
https://arab.news/89hkw
Pakistan Supreme Court meets for fourth time today to rule on political crisis
- Court could decide parliament responsible for its own rules, speaker's refusal to hold no-trust vote for lawmakers to settle
- Some legal analysts argue PM cannot ask president to dissolve assembly if a no-confidence vote pending
Suicide bombers detonate and breach wall of a military facility in Pakistan’s northwest
- Plumes of gray smoke rose into the air and there were gunshots after the explosions, a police officer said
- The blasts happened after sunset, when people were breaking their fast during Islamic holy month of Ramadan
PESHAWAR: Twin blasts struck a military facility Tuesday in the northwest Pakistani city of Bannu after suicide bombers blew themselves up to breach the wall, officials said.
Plumes of gray smoke rose into the air and there were gunshots after the explosions, said police officer Zahid Khan.
The army said two suicide bombers detonated near the wall of a sprawling military area in Bannu, which mainly houses offices and homes of security forces.
Bannu is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban are active.
“After a breach in the wall, five to six more attackers attempted to enter the cantonment but were eliminated. Operations in the area are still ongoing,” the army said in a statement.
The blasts happened after sunset, when people would have been breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Jaish Al-Fursan, claimed responsibility for the attack, the third militant assault in Pakistan since Ramadan started Sunday.
In a statement, Jaish Al-Fursan said its fighters had killed dozens of security personnel. The army did not immediately provide casualty figures.
Armed groups have targeted Bannu several times. Last November, a suicide car bomb killed 12 troops and wounded several others at a security post.
In July, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle and other militants opened fire near the outer wall of the military facility.
Pakistan announces probable players for AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Syria
- Pakistan have been placed in Group E alongside Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar in the Asian Cup qualifiers
- Stephen Constantine has been reappointed as Pakistan head coach for the match against Syria on March 25
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Tuesday announced the list of probable players for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers away match against Syria.
The development came a day after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) lifted its international suspension against the South Asian country.
FIFA hit Pakistan on Feb. 6 with a third international suspension in less than eight years after the federation rejected its electoral reforms. Following the suspension, the PFF unanimously approved FIFA’s proposed constitutional amendments in an extraordinary meeting in Lahore last Thursday.
The lifting of the suspension will enable Pakistan to take part in the AFC Asian Cup. The green shirts will kick off their AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying campaign with an away match against Syria.
“The [Pakistan-Syria] match will be played on March 25, 2025 in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia,” the PFF said in a statement.
Stephen Constantine, who previously served as the Pakistan head coach from late 2023 until mid-2024, has been reappointed as head coach for the match against Syria, according to the PFF.
The AFC Asian Cup qualifiers will be played on a home-and-away basis, with Pakistan placed in Group E alongside Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
PAKISTAN PROBABLES
Goal-Keepers: Yousuf Butt, Saqib Hanif, Abdul Basit and Adam Khan
Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal, Easah Suliman, Haseeb Khan, Junaid Shah, Mamoon Moosa, Mohammad Fazal, Abdul Rehman and Waqar Ihtisam
Midfielders: Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Uzair, Ali Zafar, Muhammad Umar Hayat, Rahis Nabi, Toqeer ul Hassan, Umair Ali and Moin Ahmed
Forwards: Fareedullah, Harun Hamid, Imran Kayani, Mckeal Abdullah, Abdul Samad, Shayak Dost and Muhammad Adeel Younas
Pakistan’s finance chief says economic reforms ongoing as IMF begins $7 billion loan review
- Successful review and subsequent approvals can take a few weeks before IMF disburses $1.1 billion
- Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan is ‘well positioned’ to discuss economic performance with IMF
KARACHI: Pakistan is continuing with macroeconomic reforms, its finance chief said on Tuesday, as a visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation formally kicked off the country’s economic review under a $7 billion loan program.
This is the first review carried out by the IMF since Pakistan secured the loan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). A nine-member mission of the global lending agency, led by Nathan Porter, landed in the country a day earlier to assess Pakistan’s economic performance before the disbursement of a $1.1 billion tranche.
Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators have gradually improved since it secured the IMF bailout last year. The country’s consumer price index maintained a downward trend last month, hitting a more than 9-year low at 1.51 percent year-on-year in February.
Pakistan’s current account also recorded a surplus of $729 million in November 2024, marking the fourth consecutive month of surplus.
“[The] macroeconomic stability has been achieved in the country, and structural reforms are ongoing,” Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said at an event in Islamabad.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s finance ministry released photos showing Aurangzeb, his economic team and the IMF delegation, led by Nathan Porter, holding a meeting.
A successful review and subsequent approvals can take a few weeks before the Washington-based lender releases the funds. However, Pakistan’s finance chief told Reuters his country was “well positioned” to discuss its performance with the visiting IMF team, with which it is expected to hold both technical and policy level talks in the coming days.
According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, the IMF team has expressed concerns about Pakistan’s slow tax collection rate against the required target of Rs1.3 trillion ($4.65 billion) until June. The tax collection is likely to fall short by about Rs600 ($2.15 billion).
However, the newspaper noted, the international lender might look the other way, given the rest of the positive macroeconomic indicators, including a higher-than-expected budget surplus the debt-ridden nation is expected to show in its fiscal plan in June.
“Except for revenue collections, Pakistan has achieved most of its quarterly quantitative targets,” Mohammed Sohail, chief executive officer at Topline Securities, said while speaking to Arab News.
“The IMF may insist on increasing and broadening taxes in the coming budget,” he added.
One of the IMF’s requirements for Pakistan is to privatize loss-making state-owned enterprises, including the national airline and power distribution companies.
The process to sell off such enterprises has already begun, with the government having hired a financial adviser, according to Business Recorder newspaper.
Citing unnamed officials at the power division, the English-language daily said all power sector benchmarks agreed upon with the IMF were progressing as planned.
Iraqi scholars seek Islamic finance collaboration with Pakistan during stock market visit
- Half of Iraq’s banks operate on Islamic principles, with the sector boasting a value of a trillion dinars in six years
- Pakistan has been transitioning toward Islamic finance since a court ruling declared interest to be against Shariah
KARACHI: A delegation from Iraq’s Scientific Foundation for Financial Transactions, led by prominent scholars, announced plans on Tuesday to collaborate with the Pakistani banking sector by adopting its Shariah-compliant financing models during a visit to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), according to an official statement.
Pakistan has been actively transitioning toward Islamic finance since April 2022, after the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) ruled that the prevailing interest-based banking system violated Islamic principles, directing the government to fix the problem within five years.
The ruling came as the country faced significant economic challenges, ultimately bringing it closer to sovereign debt default in 2023 before securing a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July of that year.
Despite these hurdles, the PSX demonstrated remarkable resilience, with its benchmark KSE-100 Index reaching an all-time high of 81,459 points in September 2024, earning recognition as one of the world’s best-performing equity markets. The PSX also came to symbolize Pakistan’s economic recovery, attracting foreign delegations, most recently the Iraqi scholars.
“Our objective is to leverage Pakistan’s proven models of Islamic finance to benefit our own market,” the PSX statement quoted one of them as saying. “With 50 percent of Iraqi banks operating on Islamic principles and remarkable growth— from 200 billion dinars to a trillion dinars over the past six years— we see immense potential for collaboration in Islamic finance.”
PSX officials provided an overview of Pakistan’s capital market and highlighted the country’s evolving landscape of Islamic finance.
“We are thrilled to host our esteemed Iraqi counterparts and explore partnership opportunities,” PSX Managing Director Farrukh H. Sabzwari said. “By focusing on capacity building and product innovation, we are confident that our collaborative efforts will benefit both Pakistani and Iraqi capital markets.”
The visit is part of a series of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Iraq, aiming to deepen bilateral cooperation across various sectors. The ongoing visit of the Iraqi scholars also marks a step toward expanding economic and financial collaboration, particularly in Islamic finance.
‘No greater oppression’: Pakistan PM slams Israel’s blockade of Gaza aid
- Israel blocked entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as standoff over uneasy truce with Hamas escalated
- Islamabad calls aid blockade a ‘blatant violation of law,’ urges the world to hold the Jewish state accountable
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday slammed Israel for blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying there could be “no greater oppression” than this.
Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated. The blockade is likely to add significant pressure on the two million Palestinians who are still suffering from shortages of essential goods following 16 months of war.
Speaking at a special meeting of the federal cabinet, Sharif said the month of Ramadan teaches Muslims to serve humanity and be kind to people who are less privileged, and requires them to express solidarity with Palestine, where Israel’s war had killed more than 50,000 people.
“I believe there can be no greater oppression than blocking food and aid supplies to Gaza in Ramadan despite a ceasefire,” he said. “We are to raise our voice on this.”
Sharif’s statement came hours after Pakistan’s foreign office criticized Israel for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, calling it a blatant violation of law and urging the international community to hold the Jewish state accountable for collectively punishing millions of civilians.
“This latest action is part of Israel’s systematic campaign to deny much needed humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinians in dire need. This constitutes yet another blatant violation of international law by the occupying power and could imperil the ceasefire agreement,” it said.
Israel, while announcing the halt to aid entry, said it will not allow a ceasefire without the release of all remaining hostages. Hamas has denounced Israel’s move as “blackmail” and a “blatant coup against the agreement.”
Israel’s war on Gaza began after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and over 200 others were taken into Gaza as hostages. The subsequent Israeli campaign killed around 50,000 Palestinians and displaced almost all of Gaza’s 2 million population, leaving the territory a wasteland.
Both sides agreed to an uneasy, six-week truce on Jan. 19 which paved the way for the release of hostages from both sides. Israel’s move to block humanitarian aid to Gaza has renewed fears among the international community that the fighting could reignite.
“We also reiterate our call for the full implementation of the agreement to secure a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza as well as the revival of a political process to achieve the two-state solution,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
