In partnership with
Profit
PM SHEHBAZ MULLS SUMMONING NA, SENATE SESSIONS TO ‘RESPOND’ TO SC VERDICT ON RESERVED SEATS Monday, 15 July, 2024 I | 8 Muharram, 1446
I g
Rs 50.00 | Vol XV No 15 I 36 Pages I Islamabad Edition
g PM, OTHER LEADERS ALSO SET TO COME UP WITH NAWAZ SHARIF TO CHAIR PML-N TOP MEETING TO DISCUSS SC VERDICT TODAY PROPOSALS TO DEAL WITH NEW CHALLENGES
ISLAMABAD
MIAN ABRAR
N an apparent bid to respond to the recent judgement of larger Supreme Court bench on reserved seats to be allotted to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the federal government has decided to build pressure through the parliament and in this regard the prime minister is considering convening the Senate and National Assembly sessions to discuss Supreme Court’s decision regarding reserved seats for SIC (Sunni Ittehad Council). Sources revealed that Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Azam Nazir Tarar has proposed the prime minister to convene a session of the parliament and to strongly respond to the Sc verdict. The meeting will be chaired by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Maryam Nawaz, federal and provincial ministers and other bigwigs of the PML-N would also attend the meeting, the sources privy to the development said. The sources added that the Nawaz Sharif-headed meeting will also engage in consultations on other key issues. It is learnt that the parliamentarians belonging to the ruling PML-N have been instructed to stay in the capital while a final decision to summon the session likely to be taken on Monday in a meeting to be presided over by Nawaz Sharif. According to sources, the government “wanted to devise a strategy before going for review appeal against the Supreme Court decision.”
The Supreme Court had on Friday annulled the decision of the Peshawar High Court and the order of the Election Commission (ECP) regarding reserved seats and ordered to give seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). It was also law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who opened the first salvo at the apex court verdict. Azam Nazeer Tarar on Friday said the Supreme Court’s (SC) judgement to give the reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was tantamount to rewriting the Constitution. Addressing the media after the SC announced its verdict on the reserved seats for women and minorities, Tarar said the matter had gone beyond interpretation. “A lot of questions have been raised due to this verdict. Those who read and understand the law will continue commenting on today’s decision, as a situa-
tion has been developed where there is no clarity,” Tarar said. “Article 51 and Article 106 of the constitution have been rewritten instead of being interpreted. The 80 winning members neither appeared before the Election Commission or Peshawar High Court, nor the Supreme Court, nor did they submit an affidavit stating that they belong to PTI,” the law minister added. Tarar was of the view that the SC granted relief to the PTI through today’s verdict, which the party had not even sought. “In today’s decision, the SC has exceeded its constitutional limits,” he claimed. It merits mention that other senior PML-N ministers and lawmakers have already criticised the apex court verdict on reserved seats. A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader has also announced it will challenge the Supreme Court’s ruling on PTI’s reserved seats.
PM orders committee to reactivate Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday directed to form a committee on an urgent basis with respect to reactivating the NeelumJhelum Hydropower Project. The prime minister was chairing a meeting to review the progress of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project here at the PM House. During the meeting, he was informed in a detailed briefing that on April 29, 2024, due to the pressure drop in the right and left head race tunnels of Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project, there was a reduction in power generation and on May 2, 2024, power generation from the power plant was completely stopped. A preliminary investigation report was presented in the meeting
by former Federal Interior Secretary Shahid Khan, the head of the investigation committee investigating the recent faults in the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project. He told the meeting that the closure of the project is causing a loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer. It was informed in the meeting that the place where the current fault occurred was the rock burst zone. The meeting was further informed that during the PTI regime in the year 2021 also due to abnormal drop in pressure in the headrace tunnel, a significant decrease in power generation was seen from the project but this abnormal change in pressure was ignored and not reported. “The matter deliberately suppressed.” During the PTI regime, no repair work was done regarding the failure of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project in 2021, which
continued to increase the losses, the meeting was informed. “It was a criminal negligence.” Defects in Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project in 2021 are also being made part of investigation report, the meeting was informed adding that power generation suspended in 2022 due to fault in tailrace tunnel of project. Geophysical and seismic factors were also Ignored in construction of Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project and adequate concrete lining of head race tunnel were also not done. Prime Minister Shehbaz Shairf issued the directives to immediately complete the investigation report regarding the recent closure of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project and identify those responsible for the defects in the NeelumJhelum Hydropower Project and take strict action against them.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump said later on his Truth Social platform following the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (50km) north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.” The shooting occurred less
than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump faces an election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden. Most opinion polls including those by a private news outlet show the two locked in a close contest.
ISLAMABAD: Hours after former US president Donald Trump was shot in the ear on Saturday during a campaign rally, global condemnations poured in, including from President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Republic presidential candidate was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when he was shot in the ear, streaking blood across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him, before he emerged and pumped his fist in the air, appearing to mouth the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!” The suspected shooter and one rally attendee were killed and two other spectators were injured, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt, a source told Reuters.
President Zardari said he was “deeply shocked” to learn about the incident, stressing that “there is no place for violence in politics,” according to a statement by the President’s House. He wished Trump a speedy recovery and regretted the loss of life. PM Shehbaz echoed Zardari’s sentiments in a statement posted on social media platform X. “Just learnt that former President Trump was shot at an election rally. This is a shocking development. I condemn all violence in politics. Wish the former President swift recovery and good health,” he wrote. Incarcerated former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan “strongly” condemned the attack, saying: “Political violence is a tool of cowards and has no place in a democracy.” STAFF REPORT
Trump survives assassination attempt; suspected shooter dead ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a Saturday campaign rally, in an attack that left the Republican presidential candidate’s face streaked with blood and prompted his security agents to swarm him, before he emerged and pumped his fist in the air, mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!” The shooter was dead, one rally attendee was killed and two other spectators were injured, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt. Law enforcement officials told reporters they had tentatively identified a suspected shooter but were not ready to do so publicly. They also said they had not yet identified a motive. Trump, 78, had just started his speech when the shots rang out. He grabbed his right ear with his right hand, then brought his hand down to look at it before dropping to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents swarmed and covered him. He emerged about a minute later, his red “Make America Great Again” hat knocked off, and could be heard saying “wait, wait,” before the fist bump, then agents rushed him to a black SUV.
President Zardari, PM Shehbaz condemn attack on Trump
During a press conference in Rawalpindi, PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi criticised the decision, stating that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was not even a party in the case but was granted undue relief. Abbasi questioned the constant reinterpretation of the Constitution, which he claimed favoured PTI. Abbasi revealed that independent members have been given 15 days to join a party, a period he argued is excessive. He pointed out that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) only withdrew the party’s electoral symbol due to a failure to conduct intra-party elections, and not because it dissolved the party. Abbasi also condemned the Supreme Court’s recognition of 39 PTI candidates for reserved seats, calling it an illegal move. He announced that PML-N, along with other political parties, would file a review petition against the decision. Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that the Supreme Court rewrote the constitution in its decision, which is the right of the Parliament. Speaking at a press conference in Sialkot, Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that legislation is the privilege of the Parliament, and all institutions have their responsibilities outlined in the constitution. The judiciary’s job is to interpret the constitution. Criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision, he said that as politicians, they have made many mistakes. The Supreme Court, in its decision on reserved seats, has rewritten the constitution. This decision not only reached the doorstep but also provided relief.
IN TODAY’S ISSUE
ATTENTION Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy. Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint. Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk
£190 million corruption case: Zubaida Jalal claims Ministers were ‘kept in the dark’ about deal ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Another former cabinet member from Imran Khan’s administration has come forward to testify against him and his close aide, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, in the 190 million pound corruption case. Zubaida Jalal, who served as the minister of defence production in the PTI-led government, testified that ministers were “kept in the dark” regarding the transfer of “crime proceeds” to property tycoon Malik Riaz. The NAB’s reference against Mr. Khan alleges that the cabinet in 2019 approved a confidential deed to return 190 million pounds—seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and sent back to Pakistan—to Mr. Riaz. The case claims that in exchange, the former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Bibi, received billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town to “legalise” the money. In her testimony before accountability judge Mohammad Ali Warraich, the former minister recounted her participation in the December 2019 cabinet meeting as the defence production minister. During this meeting, Mr. Akbar, the then accountability czar, presented a sealed envelope as an additional agenda item. According to her account, Mr. Akbar briefed the meeting that 190 million pounds had been “illegally transferred to the UK,” and the NCA had informed the Pakistani government about the seized funds.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 03