Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges

Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges
A man walks past the Pakistan’s Supreme Court building in Islamabad on October 23, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 07 December 2024
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Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges

Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges
  • The committee will comprise Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Attorney-General Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Ali Zafar and Farooq H. Naek, and Akhtar Hussain
  • The Judicial Commission of Pakistan says it accords highest priority to procedure and criteria for assessment, evaluation and fitness for appointment of judges

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has constituted a five-member committee for drafting rules to regulate procedure and criteria for the appointment of judges, the Supreme Court of Pakistan said on Friday.
The development came after Chief Justice Afridi presided over meetings of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan to consider constitution of the committee to draft rules for judges’ appointment, nomination of Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan as eighth judge of the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, and the appointment of additional judges in Sindh and Peshawar high courts.
The committee to draft rules will be led by Supreme Court judge, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and comprise Attorney-General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Ali Zafar and Farooq H. Naek, and lawyer Akhtar Hussain, according to a Supreme Court statement. The panel will draft rules and share them with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan secretariat by December 15.
“The Judicial Commission of Pakistan unanimously decided to accord highest priority toward framing of rules relating to regulating its procedure including the procedure and criteria for assessment, evaluation and fitness for appointment of Judges,” the Supreme Court of Pakistan said in a statement.
The commission also approved the nomination of Justice Hassan, a judge of the Supreme Court, for the constitutional bench of the apex court.
In its maiden session on Nov. 5, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, reconstituted under the 26th constitutional amendment, appointed Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan as head of the seven-judge constitutional bench to take up constitutional cases. The bench includes Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and high-profile cases with political implications will now be brought before it to adjudicate such matters.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan nominated Justices Adnan-ul-Karim Memon and Agha Faisal as judges of constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court by a majority vote, according to the Supreme Court statement. The agenda for appointment of additional judges to the Sindh and Peshawar high courts was deferred till December 21.


Pakistan health workers kick off polio drive despite snow in Kashmir

Pakistan health workers kick off polio drive despite snow in Kashmir
Updated 17 min 16 sec ago
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Pakistan health workers kick off polio drive despite snow in Kashmir

Pakistan health workers kick off polio drive despite snow in Kashmir
  • There has been no polio case in the mountainous Himalayan region of Kashmir for 24 years
  • Pakistan recorded at least 73 polio cases in 2024, a sharp increase from six cases a year before

SURGAN, Pakistan: Health workers are braving freezing temperatures this week to administer polio vaccinations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir after cases surged nationwide last year.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where polio is endemic, and militants have for decades targeted vaccination teams and their security escorts.
A police officer guarding polio vaccinators in the northwest was shot dead by militants on Monday, the first day of the annual campaign that is due to last a week.
In Kashmir, health worker Manzoor Ahmad trudged up snowy mountains as temperatures dipped to minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) to administer polio vaccinations in the region.
“It is a mountainous, hard area... we arrive here for polio vaccination despite the three feet of snowfall,” Ahmad, who heads the polio campaign in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told AFP.

A health worker marks a child's finger after administering polio drops during a vaccination drive in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Neelum Valley on February 4, 2025. (AFP

Social worker Mehnaz, who goes by one name and has been helping the vaccinators since 2018, said the difficult climate poses a huge risk to the vaccination teams.
“We have no monthly salary... we come here to give polio shots to the children despite the glaciers and avalanches,” she told AFP.
“We risk our lives and leave our children at home.”

Health workers sit on snow during a polio vaccination drive in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Neelum Valley on February 4, 2025. (AFP)

The challenge is larger this year for the country with a population of 240 million, after it recorded at least 73 polio cases in 2024 — a sharp increase from just six cases the year before.
Health workers aim to vaccinate approximately 1,700 children within a week in the town of Surgan, around 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“Our target is to give polio shots to 750,000 children below the age of five. There are 4,000 polio teams that visit house-to-house,” Ahmad said.

A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a door-to-door vaccination campaign amidst heavy snow in the Bakwali-Surgan area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Neelum Valley, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)

“There have been no polio cases in Kashmir for the last 24 years,” he added with pride.
Polio can easily be prevented by an oral vaccine, but in the past some conservative religious leaders have falsely claimed that the vaccine contains pork or alcohol, declaring it forbidden for Muslims to consume.


Pakistan and China agree to boost intelligence sharing in high-level security talks in Beijing

Pakistan and China agree to boost intelligence sharing in high-level security talks in Beijing
Updated 05 February 2025
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Pakistan and China agree to boost intelligence sharing in high-level security talks in Beijing

Pakistan and China agree to boost intelligence sharing in high-level security talks in Beijing
  • Both nations share concerns over militant violence, particularly due to attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan
  • The two countries also discuss border security and advancing high-quality development under CPEC projects

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China discussed security cooperation on Wednesday, agreeing to enhance intelligence sharing to address growing threats during a high-level meeting in Beijing, according to an official statement circulated by the interior ministry.
The two nations share concerns over militant violence, particularly due to attacks on Chinese nationals working on the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in various Pakistani cities. Such incidents have prompted Beijing to call for enhanced security measures.
Last year, several Chinese nationals lost their lives in deadly suicide bombings, the most recent of which occurred in October 2024, killing two Chinese engineers near Karachi airport just days before the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in the federal capital.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is currently accompanying President Asif Ali Zardari on a five-day visit to China, met with his Chinese counterpart, Qi Yanjun, in Beijing to discuss concrete measures to bolster security and strengthen intelligence-sharing mechanisms.
“The meeting focused on improving intelligence coordination between the two countries,” said the official Pakistani statement.
It noted that discussions included an exchange on modern technology for police and paramilitary forces, as well as a detailed discussion on acquiring advanced equipment from China for law enforcement agencies.
The talks further covered border security cooperation, including measures to safeguard key routes and infrastructure projects. Both sides expressed a commitment to deeper collaboration in law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts.
Beyond security cooperation, the two countries are also working to establish special economic zones and encourage private sector partnerships to deepen economic ties. The development of these zones is a key component of CPEC, aiming to boost industrialization and economic growth in Pakistan.
President Zardari also met with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, to reaffirm the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China.
Both officials emphasized strategic mutual trust and discussed advancing CPEC’s high-quality development, focusing on cooperation in science and technology, renewable energy, infrastructure and agriculture.


Saudi cabinet approves memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to combat financial crimes

Saudi cabinet approves memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to combat financial crimes
Updated 05 February 2025
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Saudi cabinet approves memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to combat financial crimes

Saudi cabinet approves memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to combat financial crimes
  • The development signifies deepening strategic relations between the Kingdom and the South Asian state
  • MoU was signed between Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit and Saudi Department of Financial Investigation

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) to enhance cooperation in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and related crimes, the Saudi Press Agency reported this week.
Pakistan has faced significant challenges with money laundering and terrorist financing in recent years, leading to its placement on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in June 2018.
After implementing comprehensive reforms to strengthen its financial system, the country was removed from the grey list in October 2022.
The FMU, established under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010, serves as Pakistan’s financial intelligence unit, responsible for analyzing suspicious transaction reports and coordinating with international counterparts.
“[The cabinet approved] a memorandum of understanding between the General Department of Financial Investigation at the Presidency of State Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Financial Monitoring Unit in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan regarding cooperation in exchanging investigations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related crimes,” the SPA reported.
The MoU signifies the deepening strategic relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. A significant Pakistani diaspora resides in the Kingdom, and numerous Pakistani businesses have established a presence there.
Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of Pakistan’s economy, bolstering its reserves with substantial deposits in the State Bank of Pakistan and offering deferred oil payment facilities.
The Saudi cabinet also highlighted the Kingdom’s hosting of the INTERPOL Regional Bureau as a significant step, saying it underscored international recognition of the Kingdom’s pivotal role in combating extremism and other crime in their different forms.


PM Sharif condemns deadly Sweden school shooting that left 11 dead

PM Sharif condemns deadly Sweden school shooting that left 11 dead
Updated 05 February 2025
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PM Sharif condemns deadly Sweden school shooting that left 11 dead

PM Sharif condemns deadly Sweden school shooting that left 11 dead
  • The incident, which took place at an adult education school, is Sweden’s deadliest attack in recent history
  • Police say the motive of the attack remains unclear, with Swedish PM calling it a ‘painful day’ for his country

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday condemned a deadly shooting at a school in Örebro, Sweden, that left eleven people dead, expressing grief over the tragic act of gun violence and extending condolences to the victims and their families.
The shooting, which took place on Tuesday at the Risbergska school for adult education, is Sweden’s deadliest gun attack in recent history.
Police said the gunman was believed to be among those killed, while authorities continued their search for other possible victims. The motive for the attack remains unclear.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic act of gun violence at a school in Örebro, Sweden, that claimed so many innocent lives,” Sharif said in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the entire community during this painful time,” he added.
The Risbergska school serves adults who did not complete their formal education or failed to attain the necessary grades for higher education.
Located on a shared campus with children’s schools, it is a key part of Sweden’s adult education system, which includes many immigrants striving to improve their qualifications and find employment while learning Swedish.
Sweden has been grappling with a surge in shootings and bombings linked to gang violence, making it the European Union’s most gun-violence-affected country per capita in recent years. However, fatal attacks at schools remain rare in the Nordic nation.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called it a “painful day,” acknowledging the shock and sorrow felt across the country as authorities investigated the incident.

-With input from Reuters


PM Sharif mourns Aga Khan’s passing, hails his humanitarian legacy

PM Sharif mourns Aga Khan’s passing, hails his humanitarian legacy
Updated 05 February 2025
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PM Sharif mourns Aga Khan’s passing, hails his humanitarian legacy

PM Sharif mourns Aga Khan’s passing, hails his humanitarian legacy
  • The 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili community died in Lisbon on Tuesday at the age of 88
  • The Aga Khan spearheaded global efforts in poverty alleviation, health care and education

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed grief over the passing of Prince Karim Aga Khan, calling him a visionary leader whose contributions to development and humanitarian causes will continue to inspire generations.
The Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili community and head of a major development aid foundation, died on Tuesday in Lisbon at the age of 88, his foundation announced. He spearheaded global efforts in poverty alleviation, health care and education, touching millions of lives across continents.
“I join the Ismaili community in mourning the colossal loss from the passing away of Prince Karim Aga Khan,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. “A man of vision, faith, and generosity, his enduring legacy will continue to inspire generations. His contributions transcended borders, bringing hope and progress to communities in need.”
“He was a remarkable leader whose life was dedicated to uplifting communities across the world,” the prime minister added. “Through his tireless efforts in poverty alleviation, health care, and gender equality, he championed the cause of the marginalized, leaving an indelible mark on countless lives.”

The Aga Khan was widely respected for his philanthropic and development work. He founded and presided over the Aga Khan Development Network, which employs nearly 96,000 people and funds projects particularly in Asia and Africa.
Pakistan is home to a significant Ismaili community, particularly in the northern regions such as Hunza, Gilgit and Chitral. The Aga Khan’s institutions have played a vital role in improving education, health care and economic opportunities in these areas, helping to uplift remote communities. His network’s initiatives, such as the Aga Khan University and various rural support programs, have had a lasting impact on the country’s social development.
Born in Geneva, the Aga Khan spent his early years in Kenya before being appointed in Tanzania to succeed his grandfather in 1957. Over the decades, he expanded his community’s global presence, including in South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
-With input from AFP