ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani Supreme Court judge on Tuesday remarked that a “series of errors” by the country’s election regulator forced candidates backed by former prime minister Imran Khan to contest elections as independent ones, as a full-court bench of the top court heard a set of petitions challenging the denial of reserved seats in parliament to the Khan-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party.
A 13-member bench of the top court, a full court, heard a set of petitions filed by the chairman of the SIC on Monday, challenging the denial of the reserved seats to the party and their distribution to other parties that are now part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling coalition.
Weeks before the national election, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was stripped of its iconic election symbol of the cricket bat on technical grounds, and all its candidates had to contest polls as independent ones. After the election in which Khan-backed independents won the most seats overall, they joined the SIC to claim a share of the reserved seats in parliament for women and religious minorities. Under Pakistan’s election rules, political parties are allotted reserved seats in proportion to the number of parliamentary seats they win in the election. This completes the National Assembly’s total strength of 336 seats.
Khan’s party is hopeful it can win back at least 78 reserved seats in parliament that were allotted to rival parties after the elections. The PTI had accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) og being biased and denying it a level playing field months before the national polls were held. The ECP ruled in March that the Khan-backed SIC party was not eligible for extra reserved seats in the legislature, dealing a blow to the embattled group’s governing prospects and proving to be a major setback for Khan, who is in jail following a string of convictions. The election regulator’s decision was upheld by the Peshawar High Court but last month the Supreme Court overruled the verdict, followed by the ECP suspending 77 lawmakers from PM Sharif’s ruling coalition.
“All of these returned candidates were PTI candidates forced by cascading series of errors of law by the ECP to take on the garb of independents,” Justice Munib Akhtar, one of the 13 members of the bench, remarked during the hearing.
Justice Akhtar wondered whether it was fair to deny reserved seats to the SIC “simply because now they [wining candidates] have taken shelter” in the party.” The judge emphasized that it was important to establish whether the SIC was a registered political party with Pakistan’s election regulator.
He said that a candidate could be deemed an independent one only if he declared in the nomination paper that he does not belong to any political party, recalling that the PTI-backed candidates passed the scrutiny process and subsequently got elected after their nomination papers were accepted by the authorities.
“How can the ECP’s law declare PTI’s candidates as independents,” Justice Akhtar wondered.
The court then adjourned the hearing till June 24.
Earlier, the PTI said it was hopeful of getting justice from the top court in the case.
“The reserved seats are our right as per the constitute on, how can the election commission deprive us of our legal right,” Advocate Naeem Haider Panjutha, a spokesperson for Khan, told Arab News.
“We are quite hopeful the top court will provide us justice by returning our stolen mandate,” he said.
“JUSTICE FROM THE COURTS”
With the ECP’s notification suspending 77 lawmakers, the strength in the National Assembly of PM Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reduced from 121 to 107 while that of its main coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is down from 72 to 67.
This means the ruling coalition has lost its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, with its numerical strength decreasing to 209 from 228. In the 336-member National Assembly, the figure to attain two-thirds majority is 224, without which the government cannot push through constitutional amendments.
Sharif formed a weak coalition with other parties after February general elections produced a hung parliament. The PML-N’s 79 and the PPP’s 54 seats together made a simple majority in parliament to form a government and they also roped in smaller parties in the coalition.
Candidates backed by Khan won the most seats, 93, but did not have the numbers to form a government. Khan and his party have rejected the results of the elections, alleging widespread rigging.
Khan’s party got other good news this week as the Islamabad High Court overturned the leader’s conviction on charges of leaking state secrets. Earlier this year, Khan, 71, had been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a lower court for making public a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in 2022. He has been in jail since August last year and faces a slew of legal cases.
“Our leadership and workers have been implicated in hundreds of bogus cases,” Panjutha said, “and gradually we are getting justice from the courts.”
‘Series of errors’ by Pakistan’s election regulator forced Khan candidates to contest as independents— judge
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‘Series of errors’ by Pakistan’s election regulator forced Khan candidates to contest as independents— judge
- Pakistan’s too court hears petitions by Sunni Ittehad Council challenging denial of reserved seats to party
- Justice Munib Akhtar questions election regulator’s role in declaring PTI candidates as independent ones
Minister calls for strict measures to curb carbon emissions to deal with Pakistan smog crisis
- Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province experiences smog each year, with the provincial capital of Lahore ranking second among world’s most polluted cities on Sunday
- Officials say smog is a byproduct of large numbers of vehicles, construction and industrial work as well as burning of crop residue at the start of winter season
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Sunday called for the enforcement of stringent policy measures to mitigate heat-trapping carbon emissions from vehicles in order to tackle the issue of smog, Pakistani state media reported.
Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province experiences dense smog each year, with the provincial capital of Lahore ranking second among the world’s most polluted cities on Sunday, according to Swiss air monitor IQAir.
Late last year, the province closed down schools and offices, banned outdoor activities and shortened timings for restaurants, shops and markets in a bid to contain the crisis.
The dangerous smog is a byproduct of large numbers of vehicles, construction and industrial work as well as burning of crop residue at the start of the winter wheat-planting season.
“Smog has emerged as a serious environmental and public health concern,” Tarar said as reported by Radio Pakistan, stressing the need to ensure conformity with Euro-5 or higher-grade fuels to improve the air quality and mitigate heat-trapping carbon emissions.
The comments came at a meeting of a committee to implement the National Climate Change Policy, aimed at steering Pakistan toward climate resilience and low carbon development.
Officials informed the participants that efforts had already been ramped up to transition the South Asian country to renewable energy sources, with significant investments in solar, wind, and hydropower projects.
“The government’s plan to achieve a 30 percent share of renewables in the energy mix by 2030 is well on track and all-out efforts are being made to promote Electric Vehicles to reduce the environmental impact of transportation,” they were quoted as saying.
Pakistan is among countries deemed most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change, despite contributing less than 1 percent to global carbon emissions, according to officials.
In 2022, devastating floods, blamed on human-driven climate change, killed more than 1,700 Pakistanis, affected another 33 million and caused the country over $30 billion in economic losses.
Top Bangladeshi commander meets Pakistan Navy officials, discusses regional maritime security
- The development comes amid a thaw in relations between both nations since PM Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August
- The two sides discussed joint military exercises, reciprocal visits and training exchange programs, Pakistan Navy says
ISLAMABAD: Lt. Gen. SM Kamr-ul-Hassan, principal staff officer (PSO) of the Bangladesh armed forces division, on Sunday met senior Pakistan Navy officials and discussed with them regional maritime security cooperation, Pakistan Navy said.
Lt. Gen. Hassan toured Pakistan Navy ships and units during his visit to the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, according to the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy.
He met Pakistan Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Abdul Munib, Coast Commander Rear Admiral Faisal Amin and Managing Director of Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) Rear Admiral Salman Ilyas.
“During these engagements, discussions focused on professional matters of mutual interests, including regional maritime security and bilateral defense collaboration,” the DGPR said in a statement.
“Various potential areas of cooperation were highlighted, such as joint military exercises, reciprocal visits, and training exchange programs between the two countries.”
Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 as a result of a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.
In the years since, Bangladeshi leaders, particularly former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, chose to maintain close ties with India. Relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August, witnessing a marked improvement.
“The visit of Lt. Gen. SM Kamrul Hassan is expected to further strengthen defense ties between the two brotherly nations, enhancing cooperation and solidifying the bonds between the armed forces of Pakistan and Bangladesh,” Pakistan Navy said.
Lt. Gen. Hassan, who is currently on a visit to Pakistan, this week met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir in Rawalpindi, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing. During the meeting, both military commanders stressed the need for an enduring partnership between the two countries to remain “resilient against external influences.”
Earlier in the day, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) said it would send two trade delegations to Bangladesh on Jan. 19-20 to increase bilateral relations and economic collaboration as both countries move to repair strained ties.
“The first delegation of dates comprising 13 exporters will leave for a week-long visit on Jan. 19 while the second delegation of citrus will leave for a business-to-business (B2B) meeting on Jan. 20,” the TDAP said.
The delegations will explore more trade opportunities, promote business partnerships and Pakistan’s export potential in the Bangladeshi market, it added.
The development comes days after the signing of a landmark agreement between Pakistan and Bangladeshi businesspersons to establish a joint business council between the two countries.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar is also scheduled to visit Dhaka at the start of February to further consolidate the relations between the two countries.
Pakistan to launch yuan-denominated Panda bonds by June, finance minister says
- The South Asian country intends to raise approximately $200 million from Chinese investors through Panda bonds
- Muhammad Aurangzeb says the move is part of a strategy to achieve sustainability in Pakistan’s balance of payments
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan plans to launch yuan-denominated Panda bonds in June to enhance its presence in Chinese capital markets, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday.
The development follows an upgrade in Pakistan’s sovereign rating by all three major credit agencies. The country aims to get into the “single-B” category that would allow it to return to global bond markets to raise funds.
Aurangzeb said the South Asian country intends to raise approximately $200 million from Chinese investors through the issuance of the Panda bonds, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“This step is part of a broader strategy to transition Pakistan’s economy toward export-driven growth, with a focus on achieving sustainability in the country’s balance of payments,” he was quoted as telling Hong Kong’s TVB news channel.
The South Asian country is navigating a challenging economic recovery path and has been buttressed by a $7 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September. The government is optimistic it will meet the terms of the program.
Pakistan is being advised on the issuance of Panda bonds by the China International Capital Corporation, a partially state-owned financial services company, according to the finance minister. However, the latest figure is lower than the $300 million targeted by Pakistan last year.
Aurangzeb extended an invitation to Hong Kong to send delegations to explore trade and financial opportunities in Pakistan, according to the Radio Pakistan report.
“Hong Kong could serve as a strategic hub for joint ventures between Chinese and Pakistani companies,” he said.
To revive its $350 billion economy, Pakistan has been making efforts to position itself as a regional trade and transit hub by leveraging its strategic geopolitical position.
The South Asian country has witnessed a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity involving officials from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, China and Central Asian nations in recent months.
Pakistani security forces kill five militants in volatile southwest — military
- The militants were killed while attempting to ‘infiltrate’ Pakistan’s border in Balochistan’s Zhob district
- Islamabad blames a surge in militancy on militants operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies allegation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have gunned down five militants in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, the Pakistani military said on Sunday.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province in terms of landmass that borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a low-level insurgency by Baloch separatists and religiously motivated militant groups.
The militants were killed while attempting to infiltrate Pakistan’s border in Balochistan’s Zhob district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
“Pakistan has consistently been asking Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfill its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij [Pakistani Taliban militants] for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have frequently targeted Pakistani forces in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The group has also maintained some presence in Balochistan.
This week, Pakistani security forces also killed 27 militants in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Kacchi district, according to the ISPR. The deceased militants had been involved in militant activities against security forces as well as innocent civilians and were “highly wanted” by law enforcement agencies.
Islamabad has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
Masood defends Pakistan’s spin-spiced formula after West Indies win
- Pakistan completed the win before tea on the third day as spinners Sajid Khan grabbed 5-50 and Abrar Ahmed finished with 4-27
- The Test lasted fewer than eight sessions on a dry, grassless Multan Stadium pitch, with spinners taking 34 of 40 wickets to fall
MULTAN: Skipper Shan Masood defended Pakistan’s formula of using spin-friendly pitches to win home Test matches after a 127-run victory over the West Indies in Multan on Sunday.
Pakistan completed the win before tea on the third day as spinners Sajid Khan grabbed 5-50 and Abrar Ahmed finished with 4-27 to dismiss the West Indies for 123 after setting a 251-run target.
The Test lasted fewer than eight sessions on a dry and grassless Multan Stadium pitch, with spinners taking 34 of the 40 wickets to fall.
Sajid finished with nine wickets, fellow spinner Noman Ali six and the West Indian left-armer Jomel Warrican took a maiden 10-wicket haul.
Pakistan bowled just one over of pace in the match.
“If we want to be a top side in the World Test Championship then we have to sacrifice some things, like we did with the fast bowling in this Test,” Masood said.
Pakistan made drastic changes after going winless in 11 home Tests since 2021, using industrial fans and patio heaters to dry the Multan pitch against England last year.
Sajid and Noman took 39 of the 40 wickets to give Pakistan a come-from-behind 2-1 series win against England, repeating the same ploy against the West Indies.
Masood’s captain counterpart Kraigg Brathwaite had no issue with it.
They will play the second Test from January 25 at the same venue.
“They’re at home so they got their decision how they want the pitch to behave,” said Brathwaite.
“It was a difficult pitch to bat on for sure.
“We expect the same type of pitch in the second Test so we got to come better with bravery and belief.”
Left-hander Alick Athanaze hit the only half-century for the tourists in the match with 55, an innings Brathwaite wants his batters to learn from.
“He swept it on both sides so we just have to be brave,” said Brathwaite.
“We have got one more Test and we have to believe in ourselves.”
