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LAHORE: The caretaker Punjab government has asked the PTI to provide proof of the killing of 25 people in the May 9 incidents for investigation into the matter.
“Investigation will be launched if the names of 25 people killed in riots are given to the government,” caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said here on Wednesday.
PTI chief Imran Khan had claimed that 25 people were killed during violent clashes on May 9.
He reiterated that only 11 women prisoners, belonging to PTI, were in jails across the province and a four-time counter check was made after every arrest.
Information Minister Amir Mir said of 300 women involved in the May 9 violence, 46 had been arrested so far. Of them, 29 had been released on bail, he said and contradicted the CM’s claim of the arrest of 11 PTI women. “Some 17 women are in prisons for the identification parade,” Mir said.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that the price of petrol was being reduced by Rs8 and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs5 per litre for the next fortnight.
The new prices of petrol and HSD are Rs262 and Rs253 per litre, respectively.
The price of light diesel oil (LDO) was also slashed by Rs5 per litre to Rs147.68 while the price for kerosene oil remained unchanged at Rs164.07.
In a video address, he said that there was no substantial change in the international prices of petroleum products in the last 15 days and neither had the rupee appreciated against the dollar.
“But the government tried to create as much room as possible to provide relief to the people,” the finance minister said.
The cuts come on the heels of a previous round of price reductions in the prices of petrol, HSD and LDO on May 15 by Rs12, Rs30 and Rs12, respectively.
While announcing these cuts in prices, Dar had also requested transporters and other departments that use diesel to forward relief to the public in the form of lower fares so that every segment of the economy could benefit from the development.
Kosovo’s top Olympic body said on Wednesday it had asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic over his public statements on clashes in the country.
On Monday, after confrontations began between ethnic Albanians and Serbs, Djokovic scrawled the message “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence” on a camera following his victory in the opening round of Roland Garros.
A Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOC) spokesman told AFP on Wednesday that Djokovic was “stirring up” political tensions.
Djokovic “breached the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter regarding political neutrality and involved yet another political statement in sports”, the KOC wrote in a letter sent to the IOC on Tuesday.
KOC head Ismet Krasniqi asked the IOC to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Djokovic, an Olympic bronze medallist in 2008, said the letter posted on its Facebook page.
Such “behaviour cannot be tolerated as it sets a dangerous precedent that sports can be used as a platform for political messages, agendas and propaganda”, the letter quoted Krasniqi as saying.
Djokovic defended his message in comments to Serb media, saying that Kosovo is Serbia’s “cradle, our stronghold”.
Meanwhile, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the governing body of the sport, said they had received a request from the Kosovo Tennis Federation that Djokovic be sanctioned.
However, they pointed out that “political statements” are not banned at Grand Slam events.
Thirty peacekeepers from a Nato-led force in Kosovo and over 50 demonstrators were injured in clashes during protests about the installation of ethnic Albanian mayors in northern Kosovo.
The situation remained tense on Wednesday as ethnic Serbs demand the withdrawal of the mayors in four northern municipalities and Kosovo police sent to support them as they take office.
Ethnic-Albanian majority Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but its Serb minority remains largely loyal to Belgrade.
"One of the biggest risks for global cricket is its over-dependence on India for a major part of revenues generated," former ICC president Ehsan Mani said
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After a washed-out day and a long delay, CSK won a thriller off the final ball against Gujarat Titans to spark off celebrations in the early hours of Monday
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Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Monday said that a nexus between “internal collusive elements and external forces to create instability” in the country had been “amply exposed” to the people of Pakistan.
According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the COAS made the statement during a visit to the Quetta Garrison where he was received by the Commander Quetta Corps and addressed the officers of Command and Staff College Quetta.
During his address, the army chief “emphasised upon operational preparedness for conventional, sub-conventional and fifth-generation warfare”, the ISPR statement said.
He further stated that “those who were making futile efforts to drive a wedge and weaken the unbreakable bond between the people of Pakistan and its armed forces will never be able to succeed.”
The COAS added that the “armed forces of Pakistan remain perpetually indebted to the valiant and proud people of Pakistan who, through the recent manifestation of their unique love for their armed forces across the length and breadth of the country, have given a befitting reply to the nefarious designs of the enemy and their collaborators.”
The ISPR statement further quoted him as saying that the Pakistan Army was “one of the strongest armies of the world”.
“With the blessings of Allah and undaunted support of the proud people of Pakistan, [it] can neither be deterred nor coerced by anyone,” he said.
The army chief also visited various welfare schemes for soldiers in the Quetta Garrison.
Okara police briefly detained a teenage boy on Monday after an “inappropriate” social media post announcing an “aerial firing” event on the death anniversary of Indian singer Sidhu Moosewala — who was shot dead last year — went viral.
Referring to the post, police spokesperson Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Mohammad Khalid said that a teenage boy had expressed his intent to hold an annual khatam (recitation of Quran) and make arrangements for “aerial firing” on Moosewala’s death anniversary.
Photos of the post doing rounds on social media feature photographs of Moosewala and a boy. It is an invitation to the “entire Jatt community and thugs” for the khatam in the Samadpura area, stating that “there will be firing after [the event]”.
ASI Khalid said B-Division police detained the teenage boy as soon as the post went viral. “Upon inquiry, it was found that the [suspect] is a matric student and approximately 15 years old,” he added.
Police let the boy go with a warning “after he realised his mistake”, the ASI said.
According to the police statement, the boy said he posted the invitation “only with the intention of mischief” and he did not actually intend to go ahead with organising the event.
“He expressed regret and apologised,” the statement said, adding that the boy’s father assured the police that his son would not commit any such act again.
“This was his mistake he committed due to his young age and immaturity,” the statement quoted the father as saying.
“Considering the boy’s young age and his future, police released the boy with a warning to practice caution in the future,” the police statement said.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday said negotiations can’t be held with PTI Chairman Imran Khan until “he apologises, takes corrective actions, owns the problem, and promises” the nation that anything even close to the May 9 riots will take place in the future.
In recent days, Imran has made impassioned appeals to state institutions to immediately sit with his party, talk and find a solution to put the country on the path of progress. The PTI on Saturday also constituted a seven-member “negotiation committee” without any explanation of who the committee will negotiate with for talks on elections.
Speaking on Geo’s Jirga, the PML-N leader was of the view that the May 9 riots “changed everything completely” bringing the election negotiations between the government and PTI back to square one.
“Now in this situation how will you negotiate until he (Imran) doesn’t apologise to the nation, he has only condemned the Jinnah House [torching] along with others, but he hasn’t condemned attacks on martyr monuments and military installations.”
The finance minister urged the PTI chief to go through the process of being held accountable and facing the law just like PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went through and were proven innocent.
“You also go through this process. If you are a leader, you should at least do this,” he said. “Otherwise this is fascism.”
Dar added: “Let the law make its way. When all the evidence is there, it will be established who was behind the May 9 riots.”
Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah rebuffed PTI’s offer of talks, saying that “negotiations are held with politicians and not such people.”
The security czar was addressing a rally at Faisalabad.
“He (Imran Khan) says now to have negotiations with him. What negotiations should be held with you? You, shameless man, have not even condemned this event (May 9 riots) and never talked like politicians.”
Sanaullah questioned how will the government answer to the families of martyrs if it sits down for talks with the PTI.
“If we do this then what answer will we give to martyrs’ families? We cannot face them [then]. When inquiry happens of all this matter then the responsibility will be attached to this fitna.”
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique made it clear that there was no way possible for talks with the PTI, especially after the vandalisation of military installations.
“Imran has formed a committee,” Rafique said while talking to the media in Lahore. “Who will talk to them? No one. This is no situation to hold talks.”
The PML-N leader claimed that Imran had told his team to end the previous rounds of talks with the government, which were held on the orders of the Supreme Court last month and continued into May.
Rafique and Dar were part of the government team for talks with the PTI on elections.
He told the reporters to also question the politicians that were representing the PTI in talks about the matter.
Rafique urged Imran and the entire PTI leadership to accept their mistake and apologise to the whole nation over the May 9 riots.
“They should release a public apology,” the PML-N minister said, emphasising that what PTI did did not fall under the garb of politics.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon also shared the views of the federal ministers and said that negotiations with the PTI were only possible once Imran “personally apologises” to the nation, families of the martyrs, and everyone who suffered during the May 9 events.
“You tried to become an underworld don, a mafia in the country and harmed the people and institutions. And now you are saying you are ready for negotiations.
“This means whatever happened holds no value for you,” Memon said during a press conference in Karachi. “Will Imran Khan answer the nation today? Imran Khan doesn’t care about his party workers.”
PTI committee
Soon after the PTI chief notified Omar Ayub Khan as the party’s new secretary-general on Saturday — replacing Asad Umar — the new secretary, constituted a seven-member committee for talks, on the party chief’s instructions. The team will consist of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak, Asad Qaiser, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Aon Abbas Buppi, Murad Saeed and Hammad Azhar.
But a number of PTI leaders Dawn spoke to expressed their surprise over the formation of this committee, and some pointed out that many of the leaders named as part of the negotiation committee were either in jail or in hiding to avoid arrest.
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PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Sunday rued that “some people” had tried to “pull his legs” during his three government tenures when he aimed to ensure that Pakistan remained ahead in development and prosperity.
Addressing a PML-N rally in Lahore to commemorate the silver jubilee of Youm-i-Takbeer, the date of Pakistan’s nuclear tests, Nawaz said that going ahead with the tests despite all international pressures and offers was the “real absolutely not”.
“We do not carry aggressive designs against anyone but cannot permit anyone to look at us with a dirty eye. It has always been my wish for which I made efforts … that Pakistan remains ahead in development and prosperity as well … but what can I do unfortunately I have to say, that some people began pulling my legs.
“This happened in 1993, again in 1999 and you saw it happened in 2017 as well. Who knows what fear these people have of me that they want to ruin a smiling and thriving country,” the former premier said.
He contrasted the high difference in current economic indicators and prices with 2017, saying that he had always strived to serve the nation but “I am still sad that all three times I was deprived of advancing this sacred mission due to some excuse.”
Mentioning his government’s economic performance and achievements, he said they should not be forgotten but compared to those who had “arrived and only destroyed Pakistan”.
Expressing good wishes for the country, Nawaz said he had said much the same before and the country was going forward in a positive direction but “it is unfortunate that those derailing [us] from that track are still present in this society.”
Nawaz said those who had “thrust Pakistan into the fires of hate, misguided the nation, sacrificed the youth for their impure aims and pushed the country back many years” were unveiled.
“God did not give us this country for a dark day like May 9 but a bright day like May 28 or for burning but for development and prosperity.”
His daughter PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz also addressed the rally and paid tribute to the politicians, scientists, engineers and defence personnel who had played crucial roles in the country’s nuclear programme.
In separate messages on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Youm-i-Takbeer, President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb felicitated the nation.
The president termed the achievement of nuclear capability a remarkable feat for which the country’s scientists, engineers, and political and military leadership of the time deserved high commendation.
He said that on this day 25 years ago, in response to India’s nuclear tests, Pakistan conducted nuclear tests that were essential for maintaining the balance of power in the region.
“We must highly appreciate our political and military leadership that took the wise decision at that time to achieve nuclear capability making defence of the country unassailable,” the president said.
Alvi added that the whole nation paid tribute to the contributions of their eminent engineers and scientists who made Pakistan a nuclear power within a short period of time.
“For this, our whole nation was indebted to all those who played their part in making Pakistan the first Islamic nuclear power,” he added.
PM Shehbaz said Youm-i-Takbeer was not just a day but a story of the nation’s challenging and remarkable journey toward establishing credible minimum deterrence.
“The day represents how the consensus between all elements of national power achieved what once looked like an uphill task,” he said.
The prime minister paid tribute to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, terming him a visionary who initiated the nuclear programme.
“In a show of bold leadership, my leader Mian Nawaz Sharif firmly rejected the policy of stick and carrot and made sure that the country became nuclear.”
PM Shehbaz said, “Our armed forces remained a guardian and protector of the programme in the face of the malign intentions of our enemies.
“On this day, Pakistan set a redline for its defence and laid down rules of the game for peace and stability in the region,” he added. “On the silver jubilee of Youm-i-Takbeer, I pay rich tributes to the political and military leadership, scientists, engineers and all those who remained associated with our nuclear programme.”
The premier concluded that “hard work, commitment, and determination” made it possible for our people to guard their independence against any physical threat.
FM Bilawal said he saluted scientists for their untiring commitment and contribution to Pakistan’s security and development.
“Quaid-e-Awam Bhutto laid the foundations of Pakistan’s nuclear programme and our scientists made his vision a reality, not only ensuring our regional security but also contributing to development.”
The defence minister hailed Nawaz for making the country’s defence invincible by detonating nuclear weapons.
“Our defence has become very strong due to achieving nuclear deterrence”, he said while addressing the ninth convocation of a private college in Sialkot as the chief guest.
He said that PM Zulfikar initiated the plan to make the country a nuclear power, but it was completed by the PML-N and the army also played a “very important role” in the nuclear assets of the country.
“Our Pakistan Army today is also protecting its borders as well as its nuclear assets for which we pay tribute to them.”
He said that “we should value our martyrs and ghazis because nations that forget their martyrs and desecrate their monuments cannot flourish.”
Meanwhile, Aurangzeb said Youm-i-Takbeer was the “declaration that Pakistan’s defence is invincible.”
“This day is the day of no compromise on the patriotism, bravery, insight, and national interest by PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif,” she maintained.
The minister saluted the entire team, including the scientists, who sacrificed for the country and made the defence invincible for future generations 25 years ago.
She asked the masses to celebrate the day’s national victory and national unity with pride this evening at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk Lahore by ensuring their participation at a rally to mark the occasion.
The armed forces of the country also paid rich tribute to “the brilliant minds who conceived and achieved this accomplishment under daunting challenges”, the army’s media wing said.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said: “Today, the complete Pakistani nation celebrates the silver jubilee of Youm-i-Takbeer and commemorates the remarkable achievement of establishing Credible Minimum Deterrence”.
The statement said that the achievement “reshaped the power dynamics in our region”.
“We salute the scientists and engineers who turned the impossible into a reality. Long live Pakistan,” the ISPR concluded.
The dates and venues for this year’s ODI World Cup in India will be revealed around the Test championship final, a top official said on Saturday.
It remains unusual that a schedule has not been announced for the 50-over showpiece event expected to be held in October-November.
How to accommodate Pakistan remains the main cause of delay.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking to work out a plan to play arch-rivals and Asia Cup hosts Pakistan at a neutral venue in September.
Pakistan has threatened to boycott the World Cup in India if the cricketing powerhouse refuse to play the Asia Cup.
India and Australia will face-off for Test cricket’s ultimate prize in the final between June 7-11 at the Oval, which is likely to be the venue of the World Cup announcement.
“The venues for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will be decided at a press conference during the ICC World Test Championship Final,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement after a meeting on the eve of the Indian Premier League final in Ahmedabad.
“The complete schedule for the tournament will also be revealed,” he said adding that they were looking at all the major cities as venues for the tournament, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata.
The fate of the Asia Cup is expected to be decided on the sidelines of the IPL final between Chennai Super Kings and holders Gujarat Titans.
Shah, who is also president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), has invited the cricket board presidents of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka to the IPL final where they will discuss the tournament details.
“The future of the Asia Cup 2023 will be decided once we have a meeting with the ACC members (Test-playing nations) and the Associate nations,” said Shah.
Cricketing giants and arch-rivals India and Pakistan have not met on home soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in multinational tournaments on neutral grounds.
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Bayern Munich snatched their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title in dramatic fashion with a final day 2-1 win at Cologne on Saturday courtesy of Jamal Musiala’s 89th minute goal, grabbing the trophy from the hands of rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund had gone into the last game of the season in top spot but stumbled to a 2-2 against visitors Mainz 05, allowing Bayern to squeeze past them in the tightest league race in years.
In a climactic season finale, Bayern were celebrating what ended up being an unexpected title win while Dortmund’s dreams of their first league trophy since 2012 were left in tatters when they were trailing 2-0 to Mainz early on before battling to a 2-2 draw — but they needed victory to become champions.
Bayern finished on 71 points, ahead on goal difference from Dortmund. RB Leipzig and sensational Union Berlin are third and fourth respectively and will also compete in the Champions League next season.
Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 were relegated, while VfB Stuttgart will go into the relegation playoff.
“It is unbelievable that I experience such a title race,” said Bayern’s Thomas Mueller, who celebrated a league-record 12th Bundesliga title.
“People interested in football have the feeling that we do not deserve this and I clearly say I understand that because of the second half of the season being so chaotic for us. “But it is still an unbelievable moment. Crazy, electric. I hoped it would happen but did not think it would,” Mueller added.
While the title win rescues some silverware in what has been a frustrating season for Bayern, the club sacked Chief Executive Officer Oliver Kahn, who was not in Cologne, and sports director Hasan Salihamdizic minutes after the title win.
The surprise sacking of Julian Nagelsmann in late March and the arrival of Thomas Tuchel was not coupled with success with the team crashing out of the German Cup and the Champions League last eight and the Bayern bosses paid the price.
“This game today describes my phase as coach here,” a relieved Tuchel said. “But we had one last exclamation mark.”
“We started well, took the lead, had another big chance. That’s our season in summary but Jamal had one more moment,” he added.
Early goal
The Bavarians needed a win and Kingsley Coman settled their nerves early on, putting them into the lead with a superbly curled shot into the top corner.
With Dortmund behind from the first half, the Bavarians knew they were now in front and controlled the first half without risking too much.
Leroy Sane did slot in just before the break but his effort did not count following a video assistant referee review for handball.
With Bayern club bosses, including Salihamidzic, nervously checking their mobile phones for the score in Dortmund, Cologne earned an 80th minute penalty and Dejan Ljubicic sent keeper the wrong way to level.
Sane thought he had missed the chance to hand his team the title when he failed to beat the Cologne keeper in the 88th but Musiala did it perfectly a minute later, curling a low drive into the far post in the rollercoaster season ending.
India’s top anti-terrorism investigation agency on Friday again sought the death sentence for Kashmiri leader Muhammad Yasin Malik after he was given life in prison, the Indian media has reported.
Malik, 57, former chief of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was sentenced to life imprisonment by an Indian court last year in a terror funding case after he refused to accept a government-appointed lawyer or to defend himself against the charges.
The court had also turned down a plea by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a death sentence, saying capital punishment was for a crime that “shocks the collective consciousness” of society.
On Friday, the NIA petitioned the high court in New Delhi again seeking a death sentence for Malik, a senior security official in Indian-occupied Kashmir told AFP.
The petition is due for hearing on Monday, legal news website Bar and Benchreported.
The JKLF was one of the first armed freedom fighting groups to come into existence in India-occupied Kashmir. It supported an independent and united Kashmir. Led by Malik, the group gave up armed resistance in 1994.
A resistance movement broke out in IoK in 1989 with fighters demanding an independent Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.
Karachi police said on Friday they had detained a man after a video of a dog being killed by hanging was widely shared on social media.
The video shows a man hanging a dog from a rack with the help of a rope and then raising both his hands, which was followed by a clap. He then goes on to hold two of the dog’s paws, swinging them upward and downward.
Saudabad Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Zulfiqar Haider told Dawn.com that the detained man was the watchman of a market and “appeared to be emotionally disturbed”.
“We are now contemplating what law he is to be charged under,” he said, maintaining that the law was clear about the killing of a pet dog, but the canine seen in the video was a street dog.
The SHO added that the detained man “may have employed the wrong means of killing the dog by hanging him, instead of opting for poisoning or shooting, which is usually practiced in the city to kill dogs in a bid to protect children against dog bites”.
Meanwhile, JFK Animal Rescue And Shelter termed the incident “horrific”, urging people to “raise your voice against this brutality” and “pressurise the authorities to take strict action against” those responsible.
The CPO had ordered an inquiry into the video clip and the report found him guilty of violation of police department’s discipline.
In the light of the inquiry report, the CPO dismissed constable from service.
A press release said that police were a disciplined force and its every official must be above the political affiliation, especially after wearing uniform.
DROWNS: A boy allegedly drowned in Gogera branch canal near Chak 58 GB on Shahkot Road in Faisalabad’s Jarranwala tehsil on Wednesday.
Rescue 1122 said Kamran Sarwar (13) was swimming in the canal when he went into deeper water and drowned.
Rescue 1122 divers called on the scene fished out the body from the canal after hectic efforts.
Meanwhile, a man allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday in his house in Zafar Colony on Millat Road.
According to Rescue 1122, Ashraf (45) quarreled with his family members over a monetary issue and later found hanged with a rope from a ceiling fan.
ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Faisal Vawda claimed on Wednesday that former spymaster retired Lt Gen Faiz Hamid was the real beneficiary of the multi-billion dollar Al-Qadir Trust scam.
Speaking after appearing before the National Accountability Bureau in the £190m corruption case to record his statement, he claimed that former ISI chief Faiz Hameed was the “architect” and the “mastermind” of the corruption case.
He said many names were being taken in the media pertaining to the case, including Shahzad Akbar, Imran Khan and others.
“But one name which everyone has forgotten is that of the architect and designer of all this, who benefitted the most from this corruption scam. His name is Faiz Hamid and you know he was the former DG ISI,” Mr Vawda alleged.
Claims Gen Hamid facilitated Shahzad Akbar’s escape
The former PTI leader, alluding to the Al Qadir Trust case, claimed that this was a “very small case” as further investigations would reveal even bigger crimes. “If there is a man whose salary began from Rs100 before the start of his career and then he went on to become someone earning Rs10,000 and gained assets worth Rs100 million, I don’t think you need to go far.”
Mr Vawda said he only pointed out Hamid’s personal assets and displayed responsibility by not expounding on his “other deplorable crimes”. He added that his claim could be verified if any agency would evaluate Hamid’s assets in his native town, Chakwal.
“If you’re moving forward for Pakistan’s sake, then by and large there will be accountability across the board. It won’t happen that there will be [accountability] of politicians, police officials, bureaucrats, media persons and businessmen while some people will remain above the law,” he added. He also claimed that Hamid facilitated Mr Akbar’s escape from Pakistan.
During his media talk, Faisal Vawda criticised President Dr Arif Alvi as well for creating “misunderstandings”.
“I had warned Imran Khan before about “snakes” in his party, who would be holding press conferences soon, to condemn May 9 violence,” he added.
NAB alleges that the PTI government struck a deal with Malik Riaz that caused a loss of more than £190m to the national exchequer, in a quid pro quid arrangement with the real estate businessman.
The case alleges that Mr Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise his crime proceeds. The case also involves the role of former accountability czar Shahzad Akbar in the repatriation of the Rs50bn.
ISLAMABAD: Continuing their attack on the PTI over the incidents of May 9, lawmakers on Tuesday called for exemplary punishment to those who attacked military installations and public properties during the protests in the aftermath of the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan, as the members belonging to the smaller provinces expressed their serious reservations over the perceived preferential treatment that the former prime minister was getting from the state institutions.
Speaking on points of order on a private member’s day in the National Assembly, the members in their one-sided speeches termed Imran Khan “the mastermind” of the violent protests on May 9 and alleged that he was still getting support from the “serving and retired people” within the state institutions.
Touching the country’s fault lines, independent MNA from Gwadar Aslam Bhootani and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA from Hyderabad Salahuddin said the preferential treatment being given out to Imran Khan, who belonged to the Punjab province, was sending a wrong message to the people of the smaller provinces.
“Had the May 9 incidents taken place in Balochistan or Sindh, thousands of the people would have become victims of the bullets manufactured by POF [Pakistan Ordnance Factories, Wah],” said Mr Bhootani who was the first speaker of the day.
Term former prime minister ‘mastermind’ of May 9 incidents; call for probe into Malik Riaz’s role in Al-Qadir case
“There are feelings among the people of smaller provinces that since the attackers were own people, the security institutions belonged to the same people and judges also belonged to the same territory, they [PTI people] are getting bails in wholesale,” said Mr Bhootani who termed May 9 as a black day in the country’s history.
He asked the government to award exemplary punishment to all those involved in the May 9 incidents to send a message to the people of the smaller provinces that they all belonged to one Pakistan and there was no discrimination among them.
The MNA from Gwadar also expressed his surprise over the failure of the military authorities in preventing the protesters from attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence, known as Jinnah House.
Mr Bhootani also called for probing the reports that the Lahore corps commander was a “fan of Mr Khan”, adding that he hoped that Army Chief Gen Asim Munir would be investigating the matter.
“Jinnah House kept on burning for three hours and its resident could not save it. How a person who could not save his own house would save us. He should be punished. I don’t know where is he [the Lahore corps commander]. Had he got martyred while offering resistance, the whole parliament would have been saluting him today,” he went on saying.
Referring to the Al-Qadir Trust case against the PTI chairman, the MNA from Balochistan said reportedly Mr Khan had received kickback from Malik Riaz, but surprisingly no one was questioning the property tycoon, who was the main “culprit”.
He was of the view that if Malik Riaz was not arrested then there would be no outcome of the case against Mr Khan.
Mr Bhootani said it seemed that Malik Riaz was more powerful than NAB, the establishment and even the media.
Similar views were also expressed by PTI dissident Javeria Zafar who also questioned the role of media, stating that no media had the courage to air the name of the property tycoon.
MQM’s Salahuddin regretted the way Mr Khan was provided security and protocol at the time of his appearance before the Islamabad High Court. He said it seemed that Mr Khan was still a ladla [blue eyed] of “some retired and in-service people, the judges and even Washington”.
He alleged that Mr Khan was being facilitated because he possessed a domicile of Punjab. “The people of Balochistan and Karachi have no such facility,” he said, recalling how the MQM people were treated like war criminals and presented before courts blindfolded only because they were listening to the speech of MQM founder Altaf Hussain who was sitting in London on Aug 22, 2016. Lone Jamaat-i-Islami MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali said his party stood by the armed forces, but opposed the decision to try civilians through military courts.
The National Assembly will meet on Wednesday (today) at 1pm.
A citizen has been killed and a policeman injured during an exchange of fire with “miscreants” in the Banjot area of Swat, police said on Tuesday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amjad Ali from City police station — under whose jurisdiction Banjot falls — confirmed the development to Dawn.com, saying local residents had earlier intimated police at Manglor police station that seven “suspicious” people were seen going towards the hilly area of Banjot.
“Soon after, police personnel were sent to the site and an exchange of fire has been taking place since then,” he said, adding that “miscreants were holed up inside a cave in one of the mountains”.
The DSP said police had surrounded the cave.
Dawn.com correspondent in Swat said at around 11pm — when the last update for this report was filed — that firing continued in the area at intervals and the operation was under way until then.
Separately, Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital Deputy Medical Superintendent told Dawn.com that an emergency had been imposed at the facility following the incident.
SWAT: Civil society members and women rights activists here on Monday termed firing on a school van by a policeman an alarming act and demanded of the government to initiate a judicial inquiry into the incident.
Addressing a meeting, they showed serious concerns over the incident of firing on school van by a policeman, who was on duty to protect the children. The meeting was organised by Alliance for Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls in collaboration with the Aurat Foundation.
Sabina Ayaz and Saima Munir of Aurat Foundation, Samreen Hakeem, Humaira Shaukat, Reena Begum, Dr Yasmeen Gul, Mohiuddin Khan, Shakeel Ahmed Khan and Shamsher Ali addressed the meeting.
They said that they were not satisfied with the police investigation into the incident. They said that girls and women in Swat suffered a lot during the period of militancy as terrorists targeted their schools and banned their movement. “The incident shows that still some elements do not want girls to get education,” they said.
They said that the accused in the Sangota Public School van firing incident should be tried in anti-terrorism court. “Solid and effective measures are needed by the law enforcement agencies to prevent such incidents,” they said.
The participants of the meeting said that women rights activists should be included in forums like dispute resolution council. They said that they would soon launch awareness sessions about women rights in Swat.
ARREST: The anti-corruption department on Monday arrested 10 people including former medical superintendent of Kidney Hospital Manglawar Dr Syed Ali Khan over their alleged corruption.
According to a statement of the department, a complaint was registered with director of anti-corruption that in 2015 vacancies of Class-IV employees were announced, for which a committee under the MS was formed, but all the candidates were recruited through political influence, favouritism and misuse of powers.
It said that an inquiry was conducted into the matter that found that the illegal recruitments caused a loss of Rs12,907,034 to the government exchequer. It stated that about 10 persons including the Class-IV employees were arrested.
MOSCOW: Armenia is ready to recognise the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as part of Azerbaijan if Baku guarantees the security of its ethnic Armenian population, the Russian state news agency TASS and the Russian news outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti quoted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as saying on Monday.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been a source of conflict between the two Caucasus neighbours since the years leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and between ethnic Armenians and Turkic Azeris for well over a century.
In 2020, Azerbaijan seized control of areas that had been controlled by ethnic Armenians in and around the mountain enclave, and since then it has periodically closed the only access road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, on which the enclave relies for financial and military support.
The 86,600 sq km of Azerbaijan’s territory includes Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan told a news conference, according to Ostorozhno, Novosti (Caution, News).
“If we understand each other correctly, then Armenia recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within the named limits, and Baku — the territorial integrity of Armenia at 29,800 sq km.”
The outlet quoted him as saying he was prepared to do this — in effect accept Azerbaijan’s internationally recognised borders — if the rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh were guaranteed. He said the issue should be discussed in talks between the two countries.
“Armenia remains committed to the peace agenda in the region. And we hope that in the near future, we will come to an agreement on the text of the peace treaty and be able to sign it,” he said, according to TASS.
‘Not ruling out’
On Monday, Pashinyan said that his country could withdraw from Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), in a fresh show of discontent over the lack of support from its ally Russia.
Yerevan has grown increasingly frustrated over what it calls Russia’s failure to protect Armenia in the face of military threats from Azerbaijan.
“I am not ruling out that Armenia will take a decision to withdraw from the CSTO,” if the bloc fails to respect its treaty obligations, he told a news conference in Yerevan.
Pashinyan’s remarks came ahead of the talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to be hosted by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Moscow.
Locked in a decades-long territorial conflict, the Caucasus neighbours have been seeking to negotiate a peace agreement with the help of the European Union and United States.
The West’s diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked traditional regional power broker Russia.
“We began discussing security issues with our Western partners because we see that the security system in the region is not working,” Pashinyan said.
Yerevan’s concerns have grown after Azerbaijani activists blocked in December Karabakh’s only land link to Armenia. In April, Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint manned by border guards along the route.
Last year, Yerevan also accused Azerbaijan of occupying a pocket of its land, in what it has said amounted to military aggression and demanded military help from the CSTO, which has never materialised.
With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan’s key ally Turkiye, the United States and European Union have sought to repair ties between the Caucasus rivals.
KARACHI: Multinationals operating in Pakistan have asked the government to increase the minimum taxable limit from Rs600,000 a year to Rs1.2 million to offset the impact of unprecedented inflation on individuals.
The representative body of 200-plus multinational investors from 14 sectors called the existing salary tax structure “inconsistent with the basic principle of non-discrimination” as part of its taxation proposals for the 2023-24 budget.
While the current regime imposes on an individual earning as low as Rs600,000 a year (or Rs50,000 a month) an income tax at 2.5pc, the top marginal personal income tax rate (35pc) significantly exceeds the corporate income tax rate of 29pc – a practice that’s against the International Monetary Fund’s recommendations for good tax policy.
The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) said in its proposals that the unprecedented inflationary pressure and high-interest rates have particularly hurt the net disposable income of individual salaried persons.
Since any property purchased through a bank loan contributes towards the documentation of the economy, the OICCI demanded that a tax credit for markup paid on the house loan should be allowed to compensate individuals against high-interest rates on mortgage — something that was allowed until the Finance Act 2022.
Similarly, it demanded that the tax credit for investment in mutual funds and health insurance should be restored in 2023-24.
The OICCI said the data of imports should be made public property, albeit restrictively, to ensure transparency and control under- and over-invoicing.
It demanded that the wholesale/retail trade be brought into the tax net by re-introducing the CNIC requirement on all cash transactions above Rs 50,000. A point-of-sale (POS) system should be made mandatory for sales tax, which should be integrated with the respective trader’s income tax return, it said.
As for the tax on real estate, the OICCI demanded that a POS-type integration be made mandatory for all property transactions. The holding of a national tax number be made mandatory for all property sales and purchases, it recommended.
About the service providers that operate largely out of the tax net, the OICCI recommended that doctors, private hospitals, lawyers, painters, fashion designers, property dealers, interior designers, salons and educational institutes, including private teachers and coaching centres, be “completely” brought into the tax net.
Similarly, the chamber of overseas investors demanded that agricultural income be brought under the federal government’s purview through a constitutional amendment. “The exemption to agricultural income should be withdrawn and appropriate laws should be made in coordination with the provincial governments to collect fair taxes from the agriculture sector,” it said.
Afghan transit trade
The OICCI called for revising the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement in line with the “current reality” to protect the revenue base of Pakistan.
Before the government formally engages key stakeholders like OICCI in the proposed renegotiations, the chamber said the government should at least harmonise duty and tax rates to remove the incentive for evasion.
It recommended fixing the quantitative limits for imports based on genuine Afghan needs and the size of its population. There should be a negative list of items, which are not utilised in Afghanistan, it said, noting that such imports eventually make their way into Pakistan.
The practice can be discouraged by installing vehicle trackers and scanners from the Pakistan border to the Afghanistan border.
Afghan importers should file the entry in their WeBOC system — computerised mechanism that provides end-to-end automated customs clearance of import and export goods — while the Pakistani authorities should have access to the same, the OICCI recommended.
ISLAMABAD: The army will observe a “Martyrs’ Respect Day” on May 25 (Thursday), Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir said at the General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, on Monday during a ceremony held to remember the martyrs.
The COAS deplored the May 9 attacks on army installations, monuments and desecration of memorials to martyrs, describing them as intolerable.
He decorated officers and Jawans with gallantry awards for their courage and valour during operations, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
A total of 51 heirs of martyrs received Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) while 22 officers and Jawans were awarded Tamgha-i-Basalat.
Two officers were awarded the United Nations Special Medal.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of senior military officers and families of martyrs.
Addressing the ceremony, Gen Munir said the sacrifices of martyrs and services of Ghazis are “our valuable asset and pride”.
He said the army always remembered every person associated with it and their families. “Our relationship as a family is a proud and exemplary one.”
The army chief said every soldier and officer of the Pakistan Army put their duties and responsibilities first “regardless of regional, linguistic, and political prejudices and distinctions”.
“A strong army guarantees the security and unity of the country,” the COAS stressed.
He condemned the recent attacks on military installations and monuments, making special mention of incidents in which martyrs’ portraits were torched.
Martyrs’ Respect Day
The Martyrs’ Day has been earmarked to remember the sacrifices of martyrs and to honour their families.
Floral wreaths will be laid at the monuments of martyrs of the armed forces, police and other law enforcement agencies.
The main event will be held at GHQ and separate events will take place at the headquarters of Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy.
The police department will also hold ceremonies in Islamabad, the four provincial capitals, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir to pay tribute to their martyrs.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday secured the endorsement of an ultra-nationalist whose third-place finish helped force Turkiye’s first election runoff.
Sinan Ogan’s 5.2 per cent of the vote in the May 14 general election deprived Erdogan of an outright victory for the first time in his 20-year rule.
He met the Turkish leader on Friday and held separate negotiations with allies of opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
“We will support the People’s Alliance candidate, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the second round of the elections on May 28,” he told reporters in nationally televised remarks.
“I invite voters who backed us in the first round to support Mr Erdogan in the second round.”
Ogan portrays himself as an ardent supporter of a brand of Turkish nationalism espoused by the post-Ottoman republic’s creator Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
He has demanded the immediate expulsion of millions of migrants and sought a firm stance on “terrorists” — a euphemism for Kurdish groups fighting for broader autonomy in Turkiye’s southeast.
The 54-year-old also tried to stop the opposition from discussing constitutional changes that could dilute language stressing the importance of Turkishness at the expense of other ethnicities.
‘Terrorism and refugees’
Analysts question how much weight Ogan’s endorsement carries with his voters.
His tiny party has only been around for a few months and most of his support appears to be disaffected with both Turkiye’s Islamic-rooted leader and his 74-year-old secular rival.
But it undermines Kilicdaroglu’s urgent efforts to expand his appeal among more nationalist voters in the runup to the second round.
“Ogan’s newfound reputation as a kingmaker is an exaggeration.. Ogan’s backing for Erdogan is no guarantee that his voters from the first round will follow in lockstep,” Hamish Kinnear of the Verisk Maplecroft consultancy told AFP.
“Assuming Erdogan’s first round voters remain on side, only a small portion of Ogan’s voters need to go with Erdogan to push the president into his third decade in power.”
Kilicdaroglu ran a more inclusive campaign that focused on Turkiye’s raging economic crisis and Erdogan’s crackdown on civil liberties during his second decade of rule.
But he struck a decidedly more nationalist tone in his first post-election appearance last week.
The former civil servant pledged to send “all the refugees home” when he comes to power and accused Erdogan of failing to “protect the borders and honour of our country”.
Erdogan had signalled that he did not intend to make any concession to Ogan to secure his support.
Kilicdaroglu sounded defiant in a tweet posted moments after Ogan’s announcement.
He accused unnamed forces of “selling out this beautiful country” and signalled his intention to continue pursuing the nationalist vote.
“We are coming to save this country from terrorism and refugees,” Kilicdaroglu wrote. “This is a referendum. No one can fool anyone anymore. “
Sporadic fighting between Sudan’s warring factions could be heard in the capital Khartoum on Sunday, residents said, after a Saudi and US-brokered deal for a week-long ceasefire raised hopes of some let-up in the five-week conflict.
The ceasefire deal, signed by the army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, is due to come into effect on Monday evening with an internationally supported monitoring mechanism. It also allows for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Repeated ceasefire announcements since the conflict started on April 15 have failed to stop the fighting, but the Jeddah deal marks the first time the sides have signed a truce agreement after negotiations.
Analysts say it is unclear whether army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan or RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, are able to enforce a ceasefire on the ground. Both have previously indicated they are seeking victory in the war, and neither of them travelled to Jeddah.
The war has seen 1.1 million people flee their homes, moving either within Sudan or to neighbouring countries, fuelling a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region.
It has left those still in Khartoum struggling to survive amid mass looting, a collapse in health services, and dwindling supplies of food, fuel, power and water. Witnesses reported the sound of clashes in central and southern Khartoum on Sunday.
Safaa Ibrahim, a 35-year-old Khartoum resident, told Reuters by phone that she hoped the deal could bring an end to the conflict.
“We’re tired of this war. We’ve been chased away from our homes, and the family has scattered between towns in Sudan and Egypt,” she said.
“We want to return to normal life and safety. Al-Burhan and Hemedti have to respect people’s desire for life.”
Waiting for the truce
A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan on May 1. — Reuters
The war erupted in Khartoum over plans for the generals who seized full power in a 2021 coup to sign up for a transition towards elections under a civilian government.
Burhan and Hemedti had held the top positions on Sudan’s ruling council since former leader Omar al-Bashir was overthrown during a 2019 popular uprising.
The Jeddah talks have been focused on allowing aid and restoring essential services. Mediators say further talks would be needed to seek the removal of forces from urban areas to broker a permanent peace deal with civilian involvement.
“The people of Khartoum are waiting for the truce and the opening of humanitarian corridors,” said Mohamed Hamed, an activist in the capital. “The health situation is getting worse day after day.”
Senior army general Yassir al-Atta told Sudan state TV that the army had been trying to remove the RSF from homes, schools and hospitals.
Millions of civilians have been trapped as the army has used air strikes and shelling to target the RSF forces that embedded themselves in residential areas early in the fighting.
Asked about calls from some tribal leaders for civilians to be armed, Atta said this was not currently required but residents being attacked in their homes should be able to act in self-defence. “Let them arm themselves to protect themselves, that is a natural right,” he said.
Since the conflict began, unrest has flared in other parts of Sudan, especially the western region of Darfur.
Some 705 people have been killed and at least 5,287 injured, according to the World Health Organization, though the true death toll is believed to be much higher.
Sindh Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani claimed on Sunday that the majority of 43 Union Committee (UC) chairmen will not vote for the Jamaat-e-Islami’s candidate for the Karachi mayor seat.
The political situation surrounding Karachi’s mayoral elections took an interesting turn over the weekend when the opposition PTI announced its unconditional support for JI’s candidate for the city mayor’s slot.
The decision gives enough numerical strength to the two-party alliance to successfully bring in their joint candidate for the key post of the local government set-up.
It all started with the statement of the PTI announcing support for the JI candidate after several rounds of consultation.
In the statement, the PTI didn’t even mention any condition for its support to the JI for the Karachi mayoral candidate and asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure free and fair polling.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi today, Ghani said the PTI’s elected UC chairmen in their party meeting had made it clear that they wouldn’t support JI in the upcoming mayoral election.
He added that the majority of the 43 newly elected UC chairmen of the PTI had made up their minds to stay neutral in the mayoral poll, citing how PTI Chairman Imran Khan and JI Karachi chief had both been disappointed over the decision.
The Sindh minister said JI leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman should ensure that all 86 members of his party in the city council would vote for him in the upcoming poll for the Karachi mayor’s seat.
Ghani revealed that he had found out through some people in JI that fellow party members had objections to Rehman’s attitude.
He claimed that the PPP and its allies would have a total of 173 members in the city council, adding that his party was merely short of nine members for gaining the desired strength needed to win the mayor poll.
Ghani also expressed confidence that the PPP would win the mayor polls after the local government elections were held.
He said the Sindh government didn’t need to detain PTI’s UC chairmen in order to prevent them from voting in favour of the JI’s candidate.
Responding to allegations pertaining to delimitation being done in favour of PPP, the minister highlighted that prior to 2013 the provincial government had always carried out the delimitations but later when the Sindh Local Government Act-2013 was challenged in court, the judiciary authorised the election commission to do the delimitations.
He recalled that PPP’s Sindh government for the first time had done the delimitations in 2013 that were declared null and void by the court. “The 2015 local government elections in Sindh were held on the basis of delimitations carried out by the election commission.”
Ghani, who is also the PPP Karachi president, stated that the latest local government elections were also held on the basis of the delimitations carried out by the ECP.
He, however, maintained that the Sindh government as per the law had determined the total number of local councils in the province.
The Sindh minister said the candidate of JI should become the mayor if he gained the confidence of the majority members of the city council but if the candidate failed to secure the desired number of votes in the mayoral poll, he should respect the mandate of the other party.
Ghani warned the JI leaders to not accuse the PPP of illegally occupying the city if its candidate won the mayoral election.
He told media persons that the PPP’s ticket holders who had won the local government elections belonged to the city of Karachi as much as the winning candidates of any other political party.
Meanwhile, PPP Sindh General Secretary Waqar Mehdi informed journalists that a consultation process was underway to finalise the candidate of the PPP for the Karachi mayor election.
He clarified that the Sindh chief minister while addressing a press conference the other day had jokingly said that the PPP’s candidate for mayor election was sitting with him in the room.
Mehdi said there were no differences within the party on the issue of the candidate for the mayoral poll as the entire organisation was on the same page regarding this issue.
The leaders of the Quad group — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — delivered a thinly veiled swipe at Beijing’s behaviour on Saturday at a summit in Hiroshima.
US President Joe Biden and his three partners in the group did not mention China by name but the communist superpower was clearly the target of language in a joint statement calling for “peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain”.
“We strongly oppose destabilising or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion,” the statement said, using diplomatic language that appeared to refer to China’s economic tactics to gain leverage over poorer countries and also its military expansion in the Pacific.
“We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard and maritime militia vessels, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities,” the statement added, clearly referring to Chinese construction of bases on former offshore reefs and harassment of non-Chinese vessels in disputed waters.
The Quad leaders held their meeting while already gathered in Hiroshima for a Group of 7 summit.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been meant to host Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney next week. However, Biden pulled out, saying he had to return to Washington from Japan on Sunday to negotiate with Republican opponents on the US debt ceiling.
Biden apologised for forcing the change in plans and has invited Albanese to make a state visit to the White House.
In their statement, they stressed the Quad’s support for infrastructure improvements across the vast Asia-Pacific region, while saying, in another apparent dig at China, that they wanted to assist such investments but would “not impose unsustainable debt burdens” on recipients of assistance.
Among the projects the Quad leaders highlighted was the “urgent need to support quality undersea cable networks in the Indo-Pacific, which are key to global growth and prosperity”.
They announced a partnership aiming to draw on their countries’ expertise in the specialist maritime cable sector.
They also said that an existing pilot programme for high-tech monitoring of illegal fishing would expand.
And they said they were “deeply concerned” by repression in Myanmar, and they condemned “North Korea’s destabilising ballistic missile launches and pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions”.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday set aside National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s decision to accept the resignations of at least 53 PTI lawmakers and the subsequent de-notifications orders issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The court order was pronounced by Justice Shahid Karim on pleas filed by 72 PTI members — notably including Fawad Chaudhry, Hammad Azhar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Shafqat Mahmood and Riaz Fatyana — with him directing the petitioners to appear before the NA speaker for the withdrawal of their notifications.
The judge further issued directives for the speaker to hear out the relevant PTI members again and then take a decision regarding their resignations.
The ruling, a written order of which is awaited, comes more than a year after the PTI lawmakers’ en masse resignations from the NA, following the ouster of party chief Imran Khan as the premier in April last year.
Their resignations were accepted by the NA speaker in a piecemeal manner while they continued to file multiple petitions against the speaker’s decision.
Initially, the NA Speaker accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI lawmakers on July 28, 2022.
Ashraf told a PTI delegation on Dec 29, 2022, that the party’s lawmakers would be summoned individually for verification of their resignations as the latter insisted on them being accepted in one go.
But after stalling the process for eight months, the NA speaker accepted the resignations of 34 PTI MNAs on Jan 17 and 35 MNAs on Jan 20, including Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid, as the party hinted it would “test” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with a confidence vote.
On Jan 24, 43 PTI MNAs had written to the NA speakers withdrawing their resignations. However, the speaker had already accepted the resignations by then. Subsequently, on Jan 25, the ECP de-notified 43 more PTI lawmakers, taking the total number to 123.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, state media said, to join an Arab League summit for the first time in more than a decade of war.
The visit seals Assad’s dramatic return to the Arab fold, a development championed by host Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf power the United Arab Emirates despite reservations from other Arab leaders.
Assad “arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to participate in… the Arab League summit” to be held Friday, Syrian state television reported.
Saudi state-affiliated channel Al-Ekhbariya showed footage of a smiling Assad disembarking from a plane and being greeted on the tarmac by Prince Badr bin Sultan, deputy governor of Makkah region, where Jeddah is located.
The Arab League suspended Damascus in November 2011 over its bloody crackdown on protests, which triggered a conflict that has gone on to kill more than 500,000 people and displace millions more.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries either severed or downgraded ties with Assad at the time — with Riyadh long openly championing his ouster.
But earlier this month, the 22-member pan-Arab body welcomed Damascus back and Saudi Arabia invited Assad to Jeddah, the latest in a series of high-profile diplomatic twists reshaping the region in recent months.
Syrian pro-government newspaper al-Watan said Assad would likely meet “a number of leaders in bilateral meetings” on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The last Arab League summit Assad attended was in 2010 in Libya.
Arab embrace
Regional capitals have gradually been warming to Assad as he has held onto power and clawed back lost territory with crucial support from Iran and Russia.
In 2018, the United Arab Emirates re-established ties with Syria, and it has been leading the charge to reintegrate Damascus.
It has also invited Assad to attend the UN climate summit in Dubai later this year, Syrian official news agency SANA reported on Monday.
In March 2022, Assad visited the UAE on his first official trip to an Arab country since the war began.
He has also visited Oman, Iran and Russia in recent years.
Arab outreach to Assad picked up pace after a deadly earthquake struck Syria and Turkey on February 6.
Riyadh, which cut ties with Assad’s government in 2012, confirmed last week that work would resume at the two countries’ respective diplomatic missions.
Not every country in the region has been eager to mend ties with Assad.
Qatar said this month it would not normalise relations with Assad’s government but also noted this would not be “an obstacle” to Arab League reintegration.
On Thursday, the emir of Qatar, a fierce critic of the Syrian leader, announced he would lead the Gulf state’s delegation.
While the Qatari government has called for accountability for “war crimes” in Syria, the emir made no comment on Qatar’s expectations for the summit.
‘Reconstruction’ push
Syria’s front lines have mostly quietened, but large parts of the north remain outside government control, and no political solution to the conflict is in sight.
Officials at several recent meetings have said Arab leadership is needed to find a settlement.
The fate of millions of Syrian refugees — many of them living in neighbouring Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon — is among some states’ main concerns.
Several Arab countries are also seeking increased security cooperation with Syria, which critics say has turned into a narco-state with a $10 billion captagon industry, mostly trafficked to the Gulf.
Assad is hoping full normalisation of ties with wealthy Gulf monarchies and other Arab states will help finance reconstruction.
Following a preparatory meeting in Jeddah on Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said “reconstruction will facilitate (refugee) returns, and we welcome any Arab role in this field”.
The United States has said it does “not believe that Syria merits readmission to the Arab League”.
“We are not going to normalise relations with the Assad regime and we certainly don’t support others doing that as well,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
