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Imran Khan, wife file high court appeal against new graft case by Pakistan accountability bureau

Imran Khan, wife file high court appeal against new graft case by Pakistan accountability bureau
Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Imran Khan (R) along with his wife Bushra Bibi (L) looks on as he signs surety bonds for bail in various cases, at a registrar office in the High court, in Lahore on July 17, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 15 July 2024
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Imran Khan, wife file high court appeal against new graft case by Pakistan accountability bureau

Imran Khan, wife file high court appeal against new graft case by Pakistan accountability bureau
  • Hours after acquittal in ‘illegal’ marriage case on Saturday, new corruption referenced filed against couple by NAB
  • Reference relates to alleged “misuse of power” in acquiring gifts from a state repository called the toshakhana 
Updated 15 July 2024
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Khan have filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court against a fresh corruption case registered against them hours after they were acquitted on Saturday on charges of marrying unlawfully, the ex-premier’s party said on Monday. 

The couple were sentenced to seven years in February this year in what has come to be called the Iddat case in which a lower court found them guilty of breaking Islamic law by failing to observe the required interval, or Iddat, between the divorce from a previous marriage of Bushra and her marriage to Khan. They had filed an appeal against their convictions and were acquitted on Saturday.

Khan was convicted in four cases ahead of a February national election and has been in jail since August last year, but all of the sentences against him, the last of them in the marriage case, have since been overturned or suspended. On Saturday, however, hours after being acquitted in the Iddat case, a fresh corruption reference was filed against the pair by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“The petitions of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi have been filed to Justice Aamer Farooq’s court to annul the summons notices in NAB’s new toshakhana [state treasury] inquiry and to stop NAB from proceedings,” Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ​party said on X on Monday, referring to the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court.

On Saturday, a team of the anti-corruption watchdog arrested the couple from Adiala Jail where they have been imprisoned for months in the new reference related to the alleged “misuse of power in acquiring Toshakhana gifts.”

Khan was given jail sentences — one of 14 years and the other three years — in two cases pertaining to acquiring and selling state gifts. Both sentences have been suspended by high courts while his appeals are heard. 

Khan and his wife are charged in the Toshakhana case with selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees ($501,000) in state possession, which he received during his 2018-2022 premiership. The gifts included diamond jewelry and seven watches, six of them Rolexes — the most expensive being valued at 85 million rupees ($305,000).

Pakistani media widely reported on Sunday that an accountability court had approved an eight-day physical remand each for Khan and Bushra in the new NAB reference. 

“The accountability court today [Sunday] has directed the NAB to interrogate the two suspects in Adiala jail and also ordered to produce the couple before the court on July 22,” Geo News reported. 

Khan is still facing trial on anti-terrorism charges in connection with violence against the military and other state installations that erupted following his brief arrest in May 2023. 

A court last week canceled Khan’s bail in the case, creating a new ground to keep him behind bars following his acquittal on the unlawful marriage charges.

Topics: Imran Khan PTI Bushra Bibi Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan PM says Islamabad keen to expand trade, security cooperation with Russia

Pakistan PM says Islamabad keen to expand trade, security cooperation with Russia
Updated 41 sec ago
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Pakistan PM says Islamabad keen to expand trade, security cooperation with Russia

Pakistan PM says Islamabad keen to expand trade, security cooperation with Russia
  • Visiting Russian deputy PM calls on Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad to discuss bilateral relations 
  • Islamabad has recently sought to strengthen ties with Moscow to address its economic woes
Updated 41 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Islamabad was keen to expand its trade, energy, connectivity and security cooperation with Moscow during his meeting with visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk. 

Overchuk arrived in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Wednesday on a two-day official visit with a high-level delegation. He has held talks with Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s army chief and leading officials in Islamabad to bolster trade, investment, security and energy cooperation with Pakistan. 

Islamabad has recently sought to strengthen ties with Moscow, including requests for discounted crude oil to address its balance of payments crisis and high energy import bill, as part of a broader strategy to diversify its international partnerships and economic dependencies.

“The Prime Minister stated that Pakistan is keen to expand trade, economic, energy, connectivity and security cooperation with Russia,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. 

Sharif told Overchuk that Pakistan considers strengthening relations with Russia as an important priority of Pakistan’s foreign policy, the PMO said. 

Overchuk thanked the Pakistani premier for giving him a warm welcome and reiterated Moscow’s resolve to deepen relations with Islamabad, the PMO said. 

“He characterized Pakistan-Russia relations as constructive and mutually beneficial,” it added. 

Sharif also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries to further strengthen mutually advantageous cooperation in all areas of shared interest, especially trade, investment, energy, IT, agriculture, science & technology and education.

Topics: Pakistan Russia Ties Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistani blockbuster ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ to release in India on Oct 2

Pakistani blockbuster ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ to release in India on Oct 2
Updated 3 min 5 sec ago
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Pakistani blockbuster ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ to release in India on Oct 2

Pakistani blockbuster ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ to release in India on Oct 2
  • Film is a reboot of a hyper-masculine Punjabi film from four decades ago
  • Political tensions between India and Pakistan result in minimum cultural exchanges
Updated 3 min 5 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani blockbuster movie “The Legend of Maula Jatt” starring superstars Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi is set to be released in Indian theaters on Oct 2, the film’s director Bilal Lashari confirmed on Wednesday. 

Released in October 2022, the movie is a reboot of a hyper-masculine Punjabi film that enchanted viewers four decades ago.. It has not only won critical acclaim but also done incredibly well in domestic and international markets. 

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Political tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors still dominate their relations, resulting in minimum cultural exchanges. 

“Releasing in India, Punjab on Wednesday 2nd Oct! Two years in, and still house full on weekends in Pakistan!” Lashari said in a social media post on Instagram. 

“Now, I can’t wait for our Punjabi audience in India to experience the magic of this labor of love!“

The film’s official Instagram page wrote that the official list of cinemas that would screen the movie would be revealed soon. 

Upon its release in October 2022, the film broke all previous local cinema records by grossing an impressive Rs1.5 billion – or over $6.78 million at the time – since its release in Pakistan and the rest of the world.

Topics: maula jatt Mahira Khan Fawad Khan

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Speaker tells Pakistan election body to ‘honor’ parliament’s laws amid tensions with judiciary

Speaker tells Pakistan election body to ‘honor’ parliament’s laws amid tensions with judiciary
Updated 53 min 43 sec ago
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Speaker tells Pakistan election body to ‘honor’ parliament’s laws amid tensions with judiciary

Speaker tells Pakistan election body to ‘honor’ parliament’s laws amid tensions with judiciary
  • Pakistan’s top court in July ruled that ex-PM Khan’s party is entitled to reserved seats in parliament for women and minorities
  • Sharif’s government last month amended country’s election law that restricts allottment of reserved seats to ex-PM Khan’s party 
Updated 53 min 43 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday told the country’s electoral body that amendments made to Pakistan’s election laws last month would supersede a prior ruling of the top court related to reserved seats in parliament, raising fears of a standoff with the Supreme Court. 

Sadiq’s letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) came after the Supreme Court censured the election regulatory authority last week for what it said were “dilatory tactics” to avoid implementing a judgment on reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures that favored the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. 

In a verdict on July 12, a 13-member bench of the court declared the PTI of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan eligible for reserved seats after the ECP forced the party’s candidates to contest the February 8 polls as independents. After the election, the PTI-backed candidates were forced to join Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party to claim a share of the reserved seats as independents are not eligible for the extra seats.

The Supreme Court overturned the ECP’s decision, saying it had misconstrued an earlier verdict related to the party’s election symbol by depriving the PTI of the reserved seats. The verdict was a blow to the ruling coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz, which could lose its two-thirds majority if the verdict is implemented. 

In August, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, which restricted granting the reserved seats in parliament to the PTI. The bill says that if a candidate does not submit a declaration of his affiliation with a political party to the returning officer before seeking the allotment of an election symbol, he or she shall be “deemed to be considered as an independent candidate and not a candidate of any political party.” 

“As the judgment of the SC was rendered based on the law prior to the enactment of the amendment, the said judgment is now incapable of implementation,” Sadiq wrote in a letter to the ECP. 

“Instead, it is the Amended Election Act that shall prevail and supersede the prior ruling.”

He pointed out that the consistent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court also held the view that the parliamentary law was superior to the court’s order. 

“It is also brought to your kind notice that the Amended Election Act is in the field, therefore, it is the statutory obligation of the ECP to honor the laws made by Parliament and uphold the principles of democracy and parliamentary supremacy,” the letter said. 

He warned that actions perceived to be undermining parliament’s sovereignty can “erode public trust and confidence in our institutions.”

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

The development takes place at a time when Sharif’s coalition government is planning to get a constitutional amendment passed from parliament to allegedly give an extended term to the country’s top judge. 

The amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament, though the coalition can lose a portion of its existing number of seats after the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling on reserved seats gets implemented. 

The package of reforms, widely believed to include as many as 22 amendments to the constitution, is expected to increase the retirement age of superior judges by three years and change the process by which the Supreme Court chief justice is appointed.

The amendments have raised widespread concerns among opposition parties and legal experts who say the moves are aimed at increasing the government’s power in making key judicial appointments and dealing with the defection of lawmakers during house votes. 
 

Topics: Speaker National Assembly Pakistan

Pakistani blasphemy suspect’s family forgives police officer accused of killing him

Pakistani blasphemy suspect’s family forgives police officer accused of killing him
Updated 19 September 2024
Reuters
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Pakistani blasphemy suspect’s family forgives police officer accused of killing him

Pakistani blasphemy suspect’s family forgives police officer accused of killing him
  • Abdul Ali, 52, was shot dead last week in a heavily fortified police station in Quetta
  • Killer was a police office who had accessed facility by pretending to be Ali's relative
Updated 19 September 2024
Reuters

QUETTA: The family of a blasphemy suspect killed in custody in southwestern Pakistan has forgiven the police officer accused of killing him, saying they would not press charges “in the name of God.”

Abdul Ali, 52, also known as Sakhi Lala, was shot dead last week in a heavily fortified police station in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, by police officer Saayd Mohammad Sarhadi, who had accessed the facility by pretending to be Ali’s relative, police said.

“We will not fight the case,” Ali’s son Muhammad Usman told a press conference late on Wednesday, sitting with another brother and some elders from his tribal clan. “We have forgiven the police officer in the name of God.”

One of the elders, Faizullah Noorzai, said the tribe would disown Ali. “We and our families are the kind of people who would sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Prophet Muhammad and his respect.”

Blasphemy is punishable by death in predominantly Muslim Pakistan. No one has been executed by the state for the crime, but dozens of those accused have been lynched by mobs before trial.

Such killings are often glorified. The father of Ali’s alleged killer, Hajji Daad Muhammad, has been receiving visitors paying their respects at his house since last week’s killing.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says the South Asian country is one of the world’s strictest and most frequent enforcers of blasphemy laws.

Blasphemy accusations fueled mobs that attacked Christian neighborhoods in the eastern province of Punjab, burning several churches and displacing hundreds of people last year.

A court will consider the plea by Ali’s family for a pardon and decide whether to proceed with charging the officer, said a senior police officer who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Ali’s alleged blasphemy centered on an argument he had had about politics and the Prophet Muhammad, according to a police investigator. He had been moved to the more secure police station after hundreds gathered outside the facility where he was initially detained, chanting that they wanted to kill him publicly.

Topics: Pakistan blasphemy Pakistan

Pakistan PM to attend UN General Assembly session from September 23-27

Pakistan PM to attend UN General Assembly session from September 23-27
Updated 19 September 2024
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Pakistan PM to attend UN General Assembly session from September 23-27

Pakistan PM to attend UN General Assembly session from September 23-27
  • PM will emphasize the importance of addressing issues on Security Council’s agenda, including Palestine and Kashmir
  • Pakistan says it expects India to remain committed to the Indus Water Treaty, the ‘gold standard’ of bilateral accords
Updated 19 September 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the high-level segment of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from September 23 to 27, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday.
Each September, world leaders and delegates gather at the UN Headquarters in New York to discuss the most pressing global issues within the framework of the UN Charter. The UNGA opened the 79th session on September 10, with the high-level general debate scheduled to begin on September 24 and conclude on September 30.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the high-level segment for the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York from 23rd to 27th of September,” the foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said during her weekly news briefing in Islamabad.
She noted that Sharif would be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior government officials.
In his address to the world body, the prime minister will emphasize the importance of addressing longstanding issues on the Security Council’s agenda, including the question of Palestine and the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, she added.
“The prime minister will attend several high-level meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA session including the high-level meeting on existential threat posed by sea level rise and the UN Security Council’s open debate on leadership for peace,” she said, adding that his program would also include bilateral meetings with world leaders and members of the Pakistani diaspora.
INDUS WATER TREATY
Asked about the notice sent by India to Pakistan under Article 33 of the Indus Water Treaty, calling for the reassessment of the agreement on a bilateral basis, Baloch said Pakistan expected India to remain committed to the accord.
India sent a notice to Pakistan on August 30, requesting a review of the water-distribution mechanism outlined in the treaty, signed by the two countries on September 19, 1960, citing “fundamental and unforeseen” changes in circumstances.
The treaty, brokered by the World Bank, grants India control over the Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers, while Pakistan controls the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers. Both nations can seek arbitration from the World Bank in case of any water disputes.
In 2016, Pakistan requested arbitration over India’s Kishanganga and Ratle hydropower projects. While India claims its water usage complies with the treaty, Pakistan opposes some of these projects, arguing they violate the agreement, which is crucial for its agriculture as 80 percent of the country relies on the Indus River.
“The Indus Waters Treaty is an important treaty that has served both Pakistan and India well over the last several decades,” Baloch said, adding that Pakistan believed it was a “gold standard” of bilateral treaties on water sharing.
“Pakistan is fully committed to its implementation, and we expect India to also remain committed to the treaty,” she added.
The spokesperson said Pakistan believes it is a collective responsibility to maintain ecological balance, protect the environment, and avoid measures that may have adverse implications for the region’s climate.
“The two countries have a mechanism of water commissioners, and we believe all issues pertaining to this treaty can be discussed in this mechanism,” she added.
PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL ANTHEM
Responding to a query about the incident of purported disrespect toward Pakistan’s national anthem during a ceremony in Peshawar by an Afghan diplomat, Baloch said Pakistan had rejected the explanation the acting consul general provided for his actions and lodged a strong protest with Afghan authorities.
Videos circulated on social media showed Afghan Consul General Mohibullah Shakir seated while the Pakistani anthem was played during a religious conference, as others stood in respect. According to a representative of the Afghan diplomatic mission, Shakir had no intention of disrespecting Pakistan, explaining that he did not stand because of the background music.
He further maintained that Afghan authorities had banned their own national anthem for the same reason.
The Afghan Taliban believe music is forbidden in Islam, though several schools of thought within the same religion do not agree with their stance.
“We have raised this issue with the Afghan authorities and conveyed our strong displeasure on this and we also reject the explanation that the acting council general has given for his actions,” Baloch said, adding that Pakistan believed this action had hurt the sentiments of its people.
Asked about a media report suggesting that Shakir had been staying in Pakistan without valid documentation, she said, according to available data, the acting Afghan consul general was in possession of a valid visa and enjoyed diplomatic status.
She also mentioned Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani’s recent termination from his position, saying such appointments were made by the government based on the country’s requirements at specific times.
“Ambassador Asif Durrani was appointed as Special Representative of Pakistan for Afghanistan in May 2021 and after serving three years in this position, the government has decided to terminate his contract,” she said, adding it had been done in keeping with the present requirements.
“No decision has been made so far on his replacement,” she added.

Topics: Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif UN General Assembly UNGA

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