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Friday, 14 April, 2023 I 23 Ramzan, 1444
Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 286 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
SC ruleS againSt implementation of JudiCial reformS Bill 2023 g
cJp says court will examine whether draft law violates constitution
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issues notices to major political parties, AGp, pBc, scBA, other respondents
ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
HE Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ruled against the implementation of the Judicial Reforms Bill, following an eight-page order issued by an eight-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar atta Bandial. The ruling came after the initial hearing on the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 case, following four petitions – filed by advocate Khawaja Tariq Rahim and others. an eight-judge bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar atta Bandial includes: Justice Ijazul ahsan, Justice Munib akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar ali akbar naqvi, Justice Mohammad ali Mazhar, Justice ayesha a. Malik, Justice Syed Hasan azhar Rizvi, and Justice Shahid Waheed took up the petitions against of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023. The written order stated that the bill would not be implemented, regardless of whether the President signs it or not. The Supreme Court issued notices to major political parties including Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan awami Party (BaP), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The hearing of the case was adjourned till May 2. Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar ata Bandial, while hearing the plea against the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, observed that the apex court holds parliament in high esteem. The court also issued notices to the federal government, attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor awan, the Pakistan
PDM opposes bench hearing case on bill clipping top judge’s powers ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
The government Thursday rejected a larger bench set up to hear petitions challenging a bill to clip the powers of the chief justice, preventing him from taking suo motu notices in an individual capacity on issues of fundamental rights, and constitute benches for various cases, an issue which has deepened the rift between the ruling Pakistan democratic Movement (PdM) coalition and the Supreme Court. Seeking amendments to the existing law, the legislation — called the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) act, 2023 — was introduced last month after the apex court took a suo motu notice of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) delaying elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
AJK SC rejects Tanveer Ilyas’ plea against disqualification by high court MUZAFFARABAD Staff RepoRt
The azad Jammu and Kashmir Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea of former aJK premier Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, challenging the High Court judgement which disqualified him from being a member of the Legislative assembly and holding any public office for two years. The high court judgement, which was passed on Tuesday, held him in contempt for remarks he had made in a function in Islamabad over the weekend, in which he indirectly blamed the judiciary for affecting the functioning of his government and interfering in the domain of the executive through the grant of stay orders. He had particularly referred to a $15 million Saudi-funded education sector project, saying it had been in a limbo because the court had issued a stay order on it. Similarly, he had also taken strong exception to the “de-sealing by the courts of tobacco factories involved in tax evasion to the tune of billions of rupees”. The ruling saw him lose his office. Soon after, he appealed to the aJK SC against the high court’s decision. The petition for interim relief was part of the appeal his lawyers had submitted to the apex court on Wednesday.
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Subsequently, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court formed an eight-judge bench to take up several identical petitions moved to challenge the bill. Headed by Chief Justice Umar ata Bandial, the bench comprised justices Ijaz ul-ahsan, Munib akhtar, Mazahar ali akbar naqvi, Muhammad ali Mazhar, ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan azhar Rizvi and Shahid Waheed. notably absent from the bench are Justices Qazi Faez Isa and Justice amin ud-din Khan, who had previously ruled that the top judge did not have the power to form special benches, leading to the postponement of all suo motu cases. In a statement released hours before the proceedings began on Thursday, the government rejected the bench and referred to it as “controversial”.
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Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar association and other respondents in the case. The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 aims at curtailing chief justice of Pakistan’s power to take suo motu motice. Four petitions against the bill have been filed in the Supreme Court. Earlier during proceedings, Chief Justice Umar ata Bandial observed the Supreme Court will examine whether a draft law clipping his office’s powers violates the Constitution of Pakistan. The bill, which has been passed by parliament and sent to the president for assent, cuts down the chief justice’s powers to constitute panels, hear appeals or assign cases to judges in his team, according to a copy of the bill. The statement by Justice Bandial on Thursday was made after the federal government rejected several identical petitions against the legislation. during the hearing, the judge noted the importance of judicial independence but also expressed respect for parliament. Lawyers for petitioners, azhar Siddique and Imtiaz Rashid Siddiqui, and awan appeared before the court. Siddiqui presented his arguments, saying the case was of great importance in the current scenario. He noted that since the restoration of the national assembly last april, the political divide and crisis had escalated, with the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) unwilling to hold polls in Punjab and KP. He further highlighted that a deeper crisis had arisen after the Supreme Court’s instructions to hold elections, with the court and judges personally criticised. The lawyer contended that the proposed legislation was an attempt to interfere with the independence of the judiciary.
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PM Shehbaz, Zardari, Bilawal discuss ‘parleys’ to get out of political imbroglio ISLAMABAD Staff CoRReSponDent
In a major development, former president asif ali Zardari and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday and urged the premier to open dialogue with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. The prime minister received the two leaders at the PM’s House. during the meeting, the trio discussed in detail the prevailing political situation in the country. The meeting also delibearted upon the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on holding of the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday constituted a three-member committee to develop a consensus among political parties on opening a dialogue channel for resolution of the ongoing political crisis. The three-member committee comprises: former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani, Federal Minister Syed
naveed Qamar and SaPM Qamar Zaman Kaira. The committee will approach all parties in the coalition government to discuss the issue of dialogue among the political parties, including the PTI. The development came after former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairman asif ali Zardari urged Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with opposition party – Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI), saying that the nation cannot afford any odd situation. “I will request PM Shehbaz Sharif to hold talks with the opposition and set no conditions before
they begin talks,” asif Zardari had said while addressing the Convention on the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the 1973 Constitution on Monday. The PPP co-Chairman also asked the opposition to call on Shehbaz Sharif for talks “as he is the prime minister”. “We cannot afford any odd situation now. The PTI is now approaching us for dialogue, but its chief wants such decisions which are in his favour,” he added. “We will never bow to the violation of law; we will fight on every front to safeguard the Constitution and the country,” he vowed.
All in All, HondA’s cAr plAnt to remAin closed for 53 dAys wHilst suzuki’s motorcycle plAnt to remAin closed for 39 dAys g
LAHORE
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onda and Suzuki have separately announced to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that they will be extending their respective plant shutdowns. Honda’s car plant will remain shut from april 16 until april 30, while Suzuki’s motorcycle plant will remain shut until april 28. Honda’s car plant and Suzuki’s motorcycle plant will remain shut for a cumulative 53 days and 39 days, respectively, upon their resumption of production. Honda’s second-longest lockdown: Honda’s car plant originally shut down from March 9 to March 31. This was later extended until april 15, and finally now until april 30.
The current spell of plant shutdowns is 4 days shy of Honda’s longest-ever spell of lockdowns, which lasted from March 24, 2020, to May 19, 2020. Maqsood Rehmani, Vice President & Company Secretary at Honda Cars, told Profit that the government has mandated that they obtain 365-day usance letters of credit (LCs) from their suppliers for completely knocked-down (CKd) kits and other parts. a usance LC is a type of trade finance instrument that guarantees the confirming bank (exporter’s bank) that the issuing bank (importer’s bank) will make the payment by a specified future date. “We have been instructed to obtain 365-day usance LCs from our suppliers and make the payment in 365 days,” says Rehmani. “However, it is highly unlikely that any supplier would
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Kh Asif warns of strikes on terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
defence Minister Khawaja asif has warned afghanistan’s Taliban rulers that Islamabad will strike terrorist hideouts inside the neighbouring country if they fail to rein in anti-Pakistan militants. “We have communicated to Kabul during our last visit that please, as our neighbours and brothers, whatever is emanating from afghan soil is your responsibility,” he remarked in an inclusive interview with Voice of america published on Wednesday. asif’s comments come on the back of his earlier statement that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were using afghan soil for carrying out attacks in Pakistan. The defence minister said that in his visit to afghanistan in late-February, he reminded the Taliban administration to live up to their cross-border security commitments forbidding terrorists from using afghan soil to plan and conduct attacks on Pakistan or Islamabad will take action. “If that is not done, at some point we’ll have to […] resort to some measures, which will definitely — wherever [terrorists] are, their sanctuaries on afghan soil — we’ll have to hit them,” he said. “We’ll have to hit them because we cannot tolerate this situation for long.” asif went on to say that the afghans responded to this “really well”. “They responded well, really well. Perhaps for them to disentangle the TTP from this stage — of course they want to disentangle, this is my impression [that] they want to disentangle — but this disentanglement, perhaps, will take time. “But they are doing well and we wish them well and we don’t want to get into a situation where this situation with the [TTP] escalates and we do something that is not to the liking of our neighbours and brothers in Kabul.” during the interview, asif was asked whether he believed the Taliban’s claim that the TTP were not using afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan. He responded by saying, “They still operate from their soil.” asif was also asked about his assertion that the TTP were using weapons left behind by the US forces in afghanistan. “Have you provided any evidence of that to the americans?” the interviewer asked. “It can be seen all over the place. on the streets of Kabul, I saw it myself,” the minister responded. He said that the TTP were using “light weapons, assault rifles, ammunition, night vision goggles and sniper rifles” which were left behind by US troops.
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Lights to remain off as Honda, Suzuki extend plant shutdowns Daniyal ahmaD
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agree to provide us with materials for payment one year later. Furthermore, it is difficult to forecast the exchange rate one year in advance. It is not feasible to operate a business under such circumstances,” he adds. suzuki’s motorcycles and tHe price of not being a Honda clone: Suzuki’s motorcycle plant originally shut down from March 20 to March 31. This was later extended until april 15, and finally until the current april 28. Suzuki’s motorcycle plant lockdown is notable because of its volume and sales relative to other competitors who have chosen not to observe plant shutdowns. Its plant lockdown is due to its deviation from the standard model of producing Honda atlas clones. This deviation has cost Suzuki
dearly in these times, as it subsequently relies more on imported components rather than local vendors compared to its competitors in the lower price segments. “It’s the confluence of low localisation levels and limited availability of completely knocked-down (CKd) kits,” says Muhammad Sabir Shaikh, Chairman of the association of Pakistan Motorcycle assemblers. “In Pakistan, only the Honda Cd 70cc and CG 125cc models, which use older technology, are fully localised. all other models, including the Honda CB150F, Yamaha YBR125G, Suzuki GR 150CC, Suzuki GSX 125Q, Honda CG125 F, and Yamaha YBR 125cc, have low localisation levels of 40%, 30%, 25%, or even 0%. These models are based on relatively newer technology,” Shaikh muses.
‘Funds not available’: NA body on finance rejects bill seeking funds for polls ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
The national assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Thursday rejected a bill seeking release of Rs21 billion in funds for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in line with the directives issued by the Supreme Court. Talking to a private TV Channel after the committee meeting, panel chairman Qaiser ahmed Sheikh said that the bill was rejected. “This bill as it was not allocated in our budget and the finance minister has said that funds are not available, there was no other option [so] we rejected it. We do not have any other fund, right the committee does not have funds of its own”, he said. The Supreme Court on april 4 had fixed May 14 as the date for the polls in Punjab and directed the federal government to release Rs21 billion in funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by april 10 for elections to both assemblies. The government, however, instead of disbursing the funds to the commission, referred the matter to Parliament. The bill, titled “Charged Sum for General Election (Provincial assemblies of Punjab & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Bill 2023”, had been tabled by Finance Minister Ishaq dar in the na and the Senate on Monday. However, both sessions had been adjourned that day. during Thursday’s meeting, the committee Chairman Qaiser ahmed Sheikh raised an objection on why the bill was presented before the finance committee and not the budget committee. The committee then rejected the bill. The bill stated that funds required for conducting elections in both the provinces shall be “an expenditure charged upon the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF)”, which it said comprises all revenues received by the federal government, all loans raised by the government and all money received by it in repayment of any loan.” It said it shall “override other laws” and have effect “notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, rules and regulations” when it was in force. The bill further said that the proposed law would stand repealed once elections for both assemblies were held, noting that the general elections and polls to the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies need not be held for it to be repealed.
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