ISLAMABAD: All eyes are on Pakistan’s top court today, Friday, set to deliver a verdict on a set of petitions challenging the denial of reserved seats in parliament to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party, which is backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict in the case, which could see 70 seats for women and minorities that were allotted to the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after Feb. 8 general elections go to the Khan-backed alliance.
A simple majority in Pakistan’s parliament is 169 out a total 336 seats. Candidates backed by Khan had won the most seats, 93, in the polls but did not have the numbers to form a government.
“A 13-member bench [of the Supreme Court] will announce the decision at noon [12pm] Friday,” the PTI said in a text message sent to reporters with a copy of the cause list issued by the top court on Thursday.
All candidates from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were forced to contest the February polls as independents after the party lost its election symbol on technical grounds. After the election, these candidates joined the Sunni Ittehad Council party to claim a share of 70 reserved seats for women and minorities allotted in proportion to the parliamentary seats a party wins in elections.
The Election Commission (ECP) however ruled that the SIC was not eligible for the reserved seats and a Peshawar court upheld the decision, dealing a blow to the embattled PTI’s governing prospects and proving to be a major setback for Khan, who has been in jail since last August. The Supreme Court subsequently overruled these verdicts and has since last month been hearing petitions filed by SIC to restore the seats to the opposition alliance.
PM Sharif formed a weak coalition with other parties after the general elections produced a hung parliament. Sharif’s PML-N party’s 79 and the PPP’s 54 seats together made a simple majority in parliament to form a government at the center and they also roped in smaller parties in the coalition.
Khan and his party have rejected the results of the elections, alleging widespread rigging, which the ECP denies.
In Pakistan, parties are allocated 70 reserved seats — 60 for women, 10 for non-Muslims — in proportion to the number of seats won in general elections. This completes the National Assembly’s total 336 seats. Independents are not eligible for reserved seats.
Without the reserved seats, Sharif’s ruling coalition will lose its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, without which the government cannot push through constitutional amendments.
All eyes on Pakistan Supreme Court, set to rule on parliamentary reserved seats case
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All eyes on Pakistan Supreme Court, set to rule on parliamentary reserved seats case
- Under election rules, parties are allotted reserved seats in proportion to number of parliamentary seats they win in polls
- Khan’s party hopes to win back 70 seats that were allotted to other parties which are now part of the PM Sharif-led ruling coalition
Pakistan PM writes to China for debt reprofiling as IMF loan approval nears
- Debt reprofiling involves altering the terms of loan agreements to make it more manageable for a country
- IMF has consistently focused on Pakistan’s debt obligations, energy sector issues during talks with government
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday he wrote a letter to the Chinese government requesting debt reprofiling as his administration seeks a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has consistently focused on the country’s debt obligations and energy sector issues.
Last month, Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a fresh loan, which it expects to be validated by the Fund’s executive board later this month. The IMF has repeatedly expressed concerns about Pakistan’s plans to manage its escalating circular debt in the energy sector while also addressing its external financial obligations.
“I have written to China for [debt] reprofiling,” the prime minister informed his cabinet ministers.
Debt reprofiling is a financial strategy used to restructure a country’s existing debt obligations. It involves extending the maturity dates of debt, reducing interest rates or altering other terms of the debt agreements to make repayment more manageable.
The IMF previously raised concerns about Pakistan’s external financing gaps, prompting the country to seek assistance from friendly nations like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, which shored up its foreign exchange reserves by depositing significant amounts into the central bank.
These nations also rolled over existing funds when Pakistan requested it, thereby providing additional relief to its financial situation.
The prime minister pointed out his government had also sent Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to China for talks on power sector debt relief.
He said he had a detailed conversation with President Xi Jinping during his own visit to China, where Xi asked about Pakistan’s plans to convert to coal-based projects under the multibillion-dollar joint economic corridor project.
Sharif told him it would help Pakistan save “$500 million in investment, and annually, we will save $1 billion, which will be a very significant thing.”
He maintained that his administration was aware of people’s hardship amid rising power tariffs causing inflationary pressure. But he noted that it was taking steps to provide relief to power consumers, though it would take some time before these efforts produce the desired outcomes.
“Rome was not built in a day, and you cannot expect instant results,” he added.
Pakistan’s national air carrier resumes Faisalabad-Jeddah flight to facilitate Umrah pilgrims
- Saudi destinations of Jeddah and Madinah have always been lucrative for the Pakistani airline
- Pakistan International Airlines will operate direct flights between the two cities twice a week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national air carrier has resumed two-way direct flights from Faisalabad in the country’s eastern Punjab province to Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah, an official statement said on Friday, with an aim to facilitate Umrah pilgrims.
The Saudi destinations of Jeddah and Madinah have always been lucrative for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a loss-making state-owned entity that the government is trying to privatize.
These routes are particularly profitable due to the high volume of passengers traveling for religious purposes, such as Umrah and Hajj pilgrimages.
Jeddah is located close to Makkah, and the consistent demand for flights to the two holy cities of Islam ensures a steady stream of revenue for the airline, making them some of the most critical routes in terms of profitability and passenger load.
“PIA started two-way flights from Faisalabad to Jeddah,” the airline announced in a statement. “With the resumption of these flights, special facilities will be available, especially to Umrah pilgrims.”
PIA reduced its flight operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will operate these flights between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia twice a week.
The initiative was welcomed by the business community in Faisalabad, a major textile hub of the country.
PIA’s Chief Commercial Officer Nausherwan Adil bid goodbye to at least 170 Umrah pilgrims as the first flight PK763 left Faisalabad Airport for Saudi Arabia.
Adil said PIA always tried to provide direct travel facilities to its passengers, adding the resumption of flights would benefit overseas Pakistanis residing in the kingdom for employment purposes.
Pakistan to sign trade MoU with Beijing after offering free visas to Chinese from Aug. 14
- The MoU will help enhance smartphone, new energy automobile manufacturing in the country
- Pakistan is striving to set up special economic zones to promote industrial cooperation with China
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Friday approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China on trade promotion and cooperation after the government announced free visas for Chinese nationals from August 14.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to China on a five-day official visit earlier this year in June where he interacted with investors and representatives of big businesses, asking them to branch out and set up their facilities in Pakistan.
The two countries have already been collaborating under the umbrella of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a collection of infrastructure and energy projects, with an aim to enhance economic growth and regional connectivity.
They now plan to establish special economic zones and promote bilateral industrial cooperation.
“The cabinet has approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding on trade promotion and cooperation between the governments of Pakistan and China, as recommended by the commerce ministry,” said an official statement issued after the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“Under the MoU, cooperation between Pakistan and China will be enhanced in various sectors, particularly in the manufacturing of smartphones, new energy automobiles, textiles, agriculture and agricultural product processing, pharmaceuticals and information technology industries,” it added.
Pakistan has also taken steps to ease the movement of Chinese nationals to the country, with Radio Pakistan reporting a day earlier the prime minister had announced “exempting Chinese citizens from visa fee with effect from 14th of this month.”
The report said Sharif also highlighted his interest in joint ventures among the firms based in the two countries and hoped Chinese firms would relocate to Pakistan.
Pakistan approves financial compensation for families of ‘missing persons’ after decade-long effort
- Government vows to pay Rs5 million to such families since ‘the state is like a mother’ and must extend such relief
- Rights activists have frequently raised the issue of enforced disappearances, mostly targeting political workers
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Friday approved a financial package of Rs5 million ($17,925) for each family of a “missing person,” pointing out that a commission had been working on the issue for almost a decade.
Hundreds of political workers, rights activists and professionals have gone missing in Pakistan over the years, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern Balochistan provinces, where militants have waged a war against the state for long.
Families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani security agencies have been blamed in many cases, though they have always denied involvement in such disappearances.
“The cabinet today has approved an aid package of five million rupees for each family of missing persons,” Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the media in Islamabad after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The development comes just hours after a Baloch rights group signed an agreement with the local authorities in Gwadar to call off its sit-in that began last Sunday.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) staged the protest demonstration to highlight the alleged human rights abuses, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of Baloch nationals in the province.
“Terrorism engulfed Pakistan after the Afghan war that created a number of internal challenges including the issue of missing persons,” the minister continued, adding a commission had been formed that worked for nearly a decade to address the problem.
He highlighted “positive cooperation” from the country’s powerful intelligence agencies to resolve the issue.
“A report has been compiled after consultations with the state institutions and intelligence agencies,” he said. “The state is like a mother, so a relief is being extended to the victims as per this principle.”
The law minister informed that “only 23 percent of missing persons cases are pending” as a total of 10,200 cases were brought before the commission working on the issue and 8,000 of them had already been resolved.
“The government is committed to resolving all cases of the missing persons by utilizing all available resources,” he added.
Two policemen killed as judges’ convoy attacked by militants in northwestern Pakistan
- Both judges remain safe in the shooting incident at a junction between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan
- A senior police official in the area says the militants primarily wanted to target the police personnel
PESHAWAR: At least two policemen were killed on Friday when a convoy of local judges came under attack in northwestern Pakistan, a police official confirmed, as the country grapples with a surge in militant attacks, particularly in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan has faced deadly attacks by the banned militant conglomerate Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since an uneasy truce between them collapsed in November 2022.
The network, whose leadership is reportedly based in neighboring Afghanistan, has targeted civilians and security forces with impunity since its inception in 2007, prompting the military to launch multiple operations to dislodge its fighters from the country’s northwestern tribal region.
This is not the first time the lives of district judges have been endangered by militants operating in KP. Last April, Judge Shakirullah Marwat was abducted by unidentified kidnappers near a village at the junction of Tank and Dera Ismail (DI) Khan districts but was recovered after a few days.
“Two policemen have been killed who were part of the judges’ security squad,” District Police Officer Abdul Salam Khalid told Arab News on Friday. “The attack on the convoy occurred at the junction of Tank and DI Khan.”
The police official said two judges were traveling in separate cars from Dera Ismail Khan to South Waziristan when their convoy was ambushed by unidentified militants. He added more details related to the incident would be shared after the investigation was completed.
Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer Nasir Mehmood said the attack was not aimed at the judges but was instead carried out to target the police personnel.
“Attacks on police and law enforcement agencies occur on and off in the region,” he added.
Reacting to the attack, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur described the targeting of judges and police as a “sad and condemnable” act, directing the authorities to submit a detailed report on the incident.
The province has witnessed a major increase in militant violence, with two policemen and a civilian killed this week in an attack on a police checkpoint in Khyber district.
Earlier in July, 10 soldiers and five civilians lost their lives in two separate attacks in the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts of KP.
In the first attack, the army reported that a group of 10 militants attempted to enter the cantonment in Bannu in the early hours of July 15, while in the second attack, militants opened fire on rural health center staff.
In February, 10 policemen were killed and six others injured in an attack on the Chodwan police station in Dera Ismail Khan, a district that remains one of the most dangerous parts of KP due to frequent militant attacks.
Pakistan has blamed the recent surge in militant violence on the Taliban administration in Afghanistan, which it says facilitates groups like the TTP. Kabul denies allowing its territory to be used by armed militants and maintains that Pakistan’s security issues are a domestic matter.
