After daylong proceedings, Islamabad court remands ex-PM Khan aide to police custody in sedition case

After daylong proceedings, Islamabad court remands ex-PM Khan aide to police custody in sedition case
Pakistan's former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, center, gestures as police officials escort him after a hearing at a court in Islamabad on January 27, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 28 January 2023
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After daylong proceedings, Islamabad court remands ex-PM Khan aide to police custody in sedition case

After daylong proceedings, Islamabad court remands ex-PM Khan aide to police custody in sedition case
  • Chaudhry Fawad Hussain was accused of ‘threatening’ election commission officials before being arrested from Lahore
  • The court accepted his physical remand for two days, asking police to present him before a judicial magistrate on Monday

ISLAMABAD: After a daylong hearing, an Islamabad district court on Saturday remanded Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a close aide to former prime minister Imran Khan, to police custody for two days for completion of investigation in a sedition case.
The development came only a day after Hussain was sent to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on a 14-day judicial remand, making the police challenge the verdict and seek his physical remand.
Khan’s aide, who is also a former information minister, was arrested from Lahore on Wednesday after a complaint was filed against him by a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) who accused him of “threatening” members of the regulatory body, according to a complaint registered with an Islamabad police station.
“Two-day physical remand [of Chaudhry Fawad Hussain] is granted,” judicial magistrate Waqas Ahmad Raja announced at the conclusion of the court proceeding.
Earlier, a district and sessions court, Judge Tahir Mahmood Khan, accepted the plea submitted by the Islamabad Police on Saturday that challenged the judicial magistrate’s ruling of sending the former minister to Adiala Jail. The judge also rejected Hussain’s petition seeking a discharge from the sedition case on the complaint of ECP secretary Omar Hamid Khan.
The court directed the police to produce the arrested leader of ex-PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party before the judicial magistrate’s court for further proceedings into the plea.
The prosecution requested the court for Hussain’s seven-day physical remand, saying they had to take him to Lahore for a photogrammetry test to complete the investigation.
Hussain was presented in the district court amid tight security with his face covered with a black cloth. However, the judge expressed his displeasure over the covering of the accused’s face and reprimanded the investigation officer.
The prosecution said they needed to recover the accused’s mobile phone, laptop and other electronic devices for analysis. “We have to find out the mastermind behind his [Fawad Hussain] hateful statement against the election commission,” it argued.
Later, the police presented Hussain before judicial magistrate Waqas Ahmad Raja while seeking his physical remand for seven days to complete the investigation. However, he only gave them two days and while instructing them to present him before a judicial magistrate on Monday.
Hussain’s lawyer Dr. Babar Awan objected to the covering of his client’s face by the police during the proceedings and said he had not even been allowed to meet his legal team.
“The way he is brought to the court is a clear violation of human rights,” Awan said, adding the accused would be joining the investigation and there was no need to extend his physical remand for further investigation.
Hussain’s lawyer contended his client would not travel abroad. “He is healthy and here [to join the investigation],” he added.
Advocate Faisal Fareed, who is also the brother of the accused, informed the court that Hussain’s mobile phone and SIM card were still being used while requesting the court to get them blocked.
“We fear that Fawad could be subjected to torture,” he said. “And if it happens, it will be illegal.”
Taking to the rostrum in the fully packed courtroom, Hussain said he stood by everything he said while telling the court he would not back down.
“Denying freedom of expression is tantamount to ending democracy in Pakistan,” he said. “If you can’t handle criticism, you should not accept such positions.”


Pakistan Cricket Board drops ex-captain Salman Butt from selection panel after backlash

Pakistan Cricket Board drops ex-captain Salman Butt from selection panel after backlash
Updated 02 December 2023
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Pakistan Cricket Board drops ex-captain Salman Butt from selection panel after backlash

Pakistan Cricket Board drops ex-captain Salman Butt from selection panel after backlash
  • The PCB announced the appointment of Butt as consultant to Pakistan chief selector on Friday
  • The 39-year-old was sentenced to prison in 2011 in a spot-fixing scandal, banned for 10 years

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dropped ex-cricketer Salman Butt from its panel of consultants for team selection, Chief Selector Wahab Riaz announced Saturday, following backlash over Butt's appointment. 

The PCB announced the appointment of Butt along with Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar Anjum as consultants to Riaz on Friday, amid a reshuffle in the national side and the board’s management.  

Pakistanis took to social media and strongly criticized the PCB for the appointment of Butt, who was sent to prison in 2011 and banned from playing for 10 years for his part in a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls during a 2010 Test match against England at Lord's. 

Speaking at a press conference at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Riaz said it was his decision to appoint Butt his consultant as he understood cricket. 

"Salman Butt's name has now been withdrawn," he said, adding that there was no pressure from anyone. 

"I took the decision to make Salman Butt a consultant. Now, I am also taking the decision to remove Salman Butt." 

Butt represented Pakistan in 33 Tests, 78 ODIs and 24 T20Is. He made 5,209 runs spanning the three formats with 11 international centuries. He was in the T20 World Cup winning squad in 2009. 

His appointment came as part of a reshuffle that began amid Pakistan's poor show at the World Cup that saw the national side crashing out of the showpiece tournament even before the semi-final stage. Pakistan finished fifth in the 10-team World Cup tournament that culminated last month, with Australia lifting the trophy for a record sixth time. 

Following below-par performance of the team, Babar Azam resigned from the captaincy in all formats and Shan Masood was made test captain. Shaheen Afridi was appointed as skipper of T20 side.  

Riaz was appointed Pakistan’s chief selector last month, after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down in October following allegations of a conflict of interests, while former captain Mohammad Hafeez was named as team director, who will also be the head coach of the team on the twin tours of Australia and New Zealand. 

The PCB last month also appointed former international players Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal as bowling coaches for the national team. 


Pakistan top judge says won’t ‘favor anyone’ after ex-PM Khan asks for equal opportunities in polls

Pakistan top judge says won’t ‘favor anyone’ after ex-PM Khan asks for equal opportunities in polls
Updated 02 December 2023
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Pakistan top judge says won’t ‘favor anyone’ after ex-PM Khan asks for equal opportunities in polls

Pakistan top judge says won’t ‘favor anyone’ after ex-PM Khan asks for equal opportunities in polls
  • Through a letter written this week, Khan had drawn Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s attention toward ‘discrimination’ faced by his party
  • Chief Justice Isa is fully cognizant of his constitutional duties and will continue to abide by the oath of his office, his secretary says

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Saturday said he would “neither be pressurized nor favor anyone” as he responded to a letter written by former prime minister Imran Khan that sough equal opportunities for all political parties in the upcoming general elections. 

In his letter written to CJP Isa this week, Khan had drawn CJP Isa’s attention toward the “discrimination” faced by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, citing “disappearances” and “arbitrary arrests” of his supporters. The ex-premier said there was no possibility of a fair general election on February 8 without the intervention of the apex court to halt these widespread arrests. 

The development came amid a months-long crackdown on supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which began after violent attacks on government and military installations over Khan’s brief arrest in a graft case in May this year. Several top aides and members of Khan’s party have since distanced themselves from the party, while many still remain behind bars. 

In response to Khan’s letter, the chief justice’s secretary, Mushtaq Ahmed, said the top judge was fully cognizant of his duties and would continue to abide by the oath of his office. 

“Let all be assured that Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, is fully cognizant of his constitutional duties and will neither be pressurized nor favor anyone, and by the grace of the Almighty shall continue to fulfil his duties and abide by the oath of his office,” Ahmed said in a press statement. 

Referring to Khan’s letter, Ahmed said the office of the chief justice received an undated seven-page application on Friday, which comprised a typed application, tabulated tables and photocopies, altogether 84 pages, without the identity and contact details of the advocate who had prepared it. 

Surprisingly, before receiving the document (in a sealed envelope), it had already been distributed to the media, the chief justice’s secretary noted. 

“As per the envelope, the document was couriered by ‘Intazar Hussian Panjutha (Adv)’. Misgivings also arise when the political party on whose behalf the document has ostensibly been sent is well represented by advocates,” the statement read. 

“Only recently its advocates conducted two significant cases in the Supreme Court, on the military courts and on the elections.” 

Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022, wrote the letter amid repeated accusations by his PTI party against the current caretaker administration and the military establishment of having a soft corner for three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. 

Sharif, who was convicted of corruption in 2018 and returned to Pakistan in October after nearly four years in self-imposed exile, was on Wednesday acquitted in a case relating to the purchase of upscale London flats. He was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison in the case. 

Khan, who is in jail since August 5 after being convicted in a case involving the sale of state gifts, says the cases against him are “politically motivated” and aimed at keeping him out of politics, while his loyalists see the recent judgments granting relief to Sharif and his family members as favors given to the PML-N, which appears to be poised to take over the reins of the country once again. 


Residents voice health concerns as smog continues to batter Pakistan’s Lahore

Residents voice health concerns as smog continues to batter Pakistan’s Lahore
Updated 02 December 2023
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Residents voice health concerns as smog continues to batter Pakistan’s Lahore

Residents voice health concerns as smog continues to batter Pakistan’s Lahore
  • The eastern Pakistani city topped the world’s most polluted city index several times last month, with an AQI above 300
  • The issue has forced authorities to announce lockdowns, school closures, and crack down on smoke-emitting vehicles

LAHORE: Residents of Lahore on Saturday voiced concerns about their health as toxic smog continues to affect Pakistan’s second largest city for weeks, with the government taking various measures to reduce pollutants in the air. 

The eastern Pakistani city topped the world’s most polluted city index several times last month, consistently having an air quality index (AQI) above 300, according to Swiss group IQAir. 

The AQI is a standardized tool measuring air pollutants, serving as a crucial barometer for public health. An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’, particularly for sensitive groups while an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’ and above 300 is ‘hazardous.’ 

Residents, who complain of difficulty in breathing, say smog remains “one of the most serious issues” facing them. 

“This is like one of the most serious issues we are facing as students. First of all, it is not [just] affecting our health but it is also affecting our environment. Whenever I am stepping out of the house, I feel discomfortable breathing in the air,” Uzair Asif, a student, told Arab News. 

“The problem of smog is a recurring one, becoming more severe each year in Lahore in the autumn and winter months when weather changes mean pollutants remain trapped in the air for longer.” 

Heavy smog has forced authorities in the Punjab province to announce several measures, including lockdowns, school closures, changing business hours for markets, and cracking down on smoke-emitting vehicles and industries. 

But people say these measures are just a “temporary solution” to the issue. 

“That [lockdown] is just a temporary solution. Nothing is going to change from it. It will just reduce [the smog level] temporarily,” said Nazeer Ullah, another resident. “For permanent [solution], the government should shift [fuel-powered] vehicles to electric ones and install factory filters for smoke.” 

To combat air pollution, real-time air quality data must first be made available to everyone so people may take better protection measures and mobilize efforts around tackling air pollution, according to experts. 

Reducing industrial and vehicular emissions is critical to improve the air quality, for which people should be carpooling and using public transport more. 


Pakistan women's cricket team to face off New Zealand in first T20I in Dunedin on Sunday

Pakistan women's cricket team to face off New Zealand in first T20I in Dunedin on Sunday
Updated 02 December 2023
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Pakistan women's cricket team to face off New Zealand in first T20I in Dunedin on Sunday

Pakistan women's cricket team to face off New Zealand in first T20I in Dunedin on Sunday
  • New Zealand, at present, maintain a 100 percent winning record against Pakistan women in eight head-to-head outings
  • But Pakistan Captain Nida Dar says she is confident that the national women's side can perform well in the T20I series

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan women’s team are all set to take on New Zealand in their own backyard when both sides meet in the first of a three-match Twnety20 International (T20I) series at the University of Otago Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.  

Since arriving in New Zealand on November 25, Pakistan women’s team had a couple of training sessions and practice games in Christchurch before traveling to Dunedin on Friday afternoon. The team had a three-hour training session under the supervision of coaching staff at the University of Otago Oval on Saturday. 

New Zealand, at present, maintain a 100 percent winning record against Pakistan women in eight head-to-head outings, but Pakistan Captain Nida Dar says she has faith in her teammates that they can perform well in the series. 

"New Zealand are known for their cricketing excellence, and we respect that. However, we are here to compete, and I have faith in the players who can do good for the team in the series," she said in a statement shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 

"We see the forthcoming T20I series as an opportunity for our players to perform against one of the most formidable sides in the world. We are looking ahead to next year’s T20 World Cup, and with a minimum of nine T20Is to be played before the mega event, the series against New Zealand provides us with a chance to work on the combination of the team for next year’s event." 

Pakistan left-arm spinners Nashra Sundhu and Sadia Iqbal are positioned at the fifth and seventh spots, respectively, in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings and are looking forward to performing well for the team in the upcoming series. Nashra is one match shy of completing 50 T20I appearances for Pakistan. In the all-rounder category, Dar is placed on the fifth position in the ICC T20I rankings. 

Dar said the series against New Zealand would allow them to assess their strengths and areas of improvement. "It’s a valuable experience, and I am sure the players have now got a good idea of the conditions here after playing practice matches and also undergoing training sessions," she added. 

The second T20I will also be staged at the same venue on Tuesday, while the third T20I will be played at the Sir John Davies Oval in Queenstown on December 9.  

At the conclusion of T20I series, both sides are scheduled to play three one-day internationals (ODIs) — part of the ICC Women’s Championship — from December 12 to December 18 in Queenstown and Christchurch.  

PAKISTAN SQUAD

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar 


Pakistan minister in Saudi Arabia to finalize investment part of free trade agreement with GCC

Pakistan minister in Saudi Arabia to finalize investment part of free trade agreement with GCC
Updated 02 December 2023
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Pakistan minister in Saudi Arabia to finalize investment part of free trade agreement with GCC

Pakistan minister in Saudi Arabia to finalize investment part of free trade agreement with GCC
  • Pakistan, GCC signed framework agreement to discuss the FTA in 2004, but only a few rounds of talks were held in subsequent years
  • Last year, both sides held technical-level talks to examine the possibility of signing the agreement that can help Pakistan boost exports

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz arrived in Saudi Arabia for the finalization of investment-related chapter of a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Pakistani commerce ministry said on Saturday. 

Pakistan and the six-member GCC bloc signed a framework agreement to discuss the FTA in August 2004 but only a few rounds of negotiations took place in subsequent years. However, the GCC and Pakistan resumed the discussions in 2021 after a significantly long period. 

Last year, both sides held technical-level talks to examine the possibility of signing the agreement that could help Pakistan boost its exports to the six-nation bloc, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.  

The Pakistani commerce minister on Saturday held parleys with the GCC's chief negotiator to finalize investment-related part of the proposed agreement. 

"The technical teams from two sides held extensive discussions on the remaining details of the investment chapter, including investment protection and facilitation,"  the Pakistani commerce ministry said in a statement. 

"They also discussed the potential impact of the FTA on bilateral trade and investment flows." 

The FTA is expected to boost trade and investment between Pakistan and the GCC, according to the statement. The agreement will also create new jobs and opportunities for businesses in both regions. 

“This is a major step forward in our efforts to strengthen economic ties between Pakistan and the GCC,” Ejaz was quoted as saying by his ministry. 

It said the investment chapter was an important part of the agreement and it was confident that an agreement would soon be reached between the two sides.  

"The two sides also discussed the possibility of holding a joint business forum in the near future to promote trade and investment between Pakistan and the GCC," the ministry added.  

The development comes as Pakistan treads a tricky path to economic recovery after securing a crucial $3 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June. 

Currently, the South Asian country has free trade agreements with China, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, but it still needs to increase exports to other trade destinations.