In partnership with
PTI READY FOR THIRD ROUND OF TALKS, BUT EXPECTS PROGRESS ON DEMANDS: SIC CHIEF Monday, 13 January, 2025 I 12 Rajabul Murajjab, 1446
g
HAMID RAZA CAUTIONS TALKS WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD IF GOVT FAILS TO FORM A JUDICIAL COMMISSION
S
ISLAMABAD
g
Profit
SAYS PTI’S FINAL DATE IS JANUARY 31, FOR ANY DEVELOPMENT TO TAKE PLACE
g
formation of a judicial commission and the release of PTI prisoners. Claim and counter-claim between the government and the opposition contin-
ued on Saturday despite the initiation of dialogue after months of deadlock, with the PML-N-led coalition and the PTI accusing each other of derailing negotiation
SIALKOT/ISLAMABAD
He criticized Imran Khan and PTI for shifting from their earlier “Absolutely Not” stance to “Absolutely Yes,” saying this shows a complete change in their position. The defence minister also slammed the former ruling party for expecting support from the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump down the line. Asif further stated that no contact had been made [by Washington] at the government level to seek relief for the PTI founder. He also accused PTI of staging fake dramas, including claims about congressional hearings, to gain public sym-
STAFF REPORT
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday stated that the US had made no demand to provide relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, accusing PTI of spreading false information and trying to damage Pakistan’s reputation. “Pakistan’s relationship with the U.S., he said, is built on 76 years of diplomacy and mutual interests, not on short-term political games,” Kh Asif while addressing a press conference here on Sunday.
ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged Muslim leaders on Sunday not to “legitimise” the Afghan Taliban government and to “show true leadership” by opposing their curbs on women and girls’ education. “The Taliban did not see women as “human beings” and had created a system of “gender apartheid” by cloaking their crimes in cultural and religious justification”, Malala Yousafzai emphasized while speaking at a summit on girls’ education in Muslim nations in Islamabad. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate said the women living under the Taliban system were in a “gender apartheid”. “The Taliban punish women and girls who dare to break their obscure laws by beating them up, detaining them and harming them,” 27-yearold Yousafzai said. “Simply put, the Taliban do not see women as human beings,” Yousafzai told the conference. “They cloak their crimes in cultural
and religious justification.” Since sweeping back to power in 2021, the Taliban government has imposed an austere version of Islamic law that the United Nations has labelled “gender apartheid”. Their curbs have shut women and girls out of secondary school and university education, as well as many government jobs, and seen them sequestered out of many aspects of public life. In her address, the Nobel Peace laureate said she would continue to
call out Israel’s violations of international law and human rights in Gaza. The education advocate was speaking at a global summit on girls’ education in Muslim nations hosted by Pakistan and attended by representatives from dozens of countries. “In Gaza, Israel has decimated the entire education system,” she said in an address to the conference. “They have bombed all universities, destroyed more than 90 percent of schools, and indiscriminately attacked civilians sheltering in school buildings. “I will continue to call out Israel’s violations of international law and human rights.” “Palestinian children have lost their lives and future. A Palestinian girl cannot have the future she deserves if her school is bombed and her family is killed,” she added. The two-day conference has brought together ministers and education officials from dozens of Muslim-majority countries, backed by the Muslim World League.
Global Islamic consensus backs girls’ education in landmark declaration
MWL CHIEF PLEDGES TO MAKE ‘ISLAMABAD DECLARATION’ CONSTITUTIONAL DOCUMENT FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION ISLAMABAD
SALEEM JADOON
Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa on Sunday pledged to enshrine the declaration of the global summit in Islamabad on girls’ education in Muslim countries as a constitutional document. He expressed the views while addressing the concluding session of the two-day conference, titled “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” cohosted by Pakistan and the MWL, and which brought together over 150 representatives from 47 countries. The foreign representatives, including education experts, religious scholars, diplomats and politicians, attended the summit. It comes at a time when global leaders, organizations and activists are urging the Taliban to reverse their restrictive policies about women in Afghanistan. The conference concluded with the adoption of the ‘Islamabad Dec-
and lacking seriousness. SIC chairman Raza said that while both parties were blaming each other for the events that took place on May 9 and November 26, the “civilised” way to deal with the issue was by forming an independent judicial commission. “We also want to clarify that we don’t want the judge of our choice, we are talking about the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court,” he said. “We’re talking about an independent judge to lead the commission.” He added that the government should show the authority they had been claiming for so long and form a judicial commission. However, he said that if the government failed to form a judicial commission then the negotiations would not move forward.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
US made no demand for relief to PTI founder: Kh Asif
Malala urges Muslim leaders not to ‘legitimise’ Taliban over ‘gender apartheid’
g
OMAR AYUB FULLY EMPOWERED BY IMRAN KHAN TO SIGN THE CHARTER OF DEMANDS: SIC HEAD
STAFF REPORT
UNNI Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza said on Sunday that the opposition’s negotiation committee was prepared for a third round of talks with the government, expecting concrete progress on their demand for a judicial commission ahead of the meeting. Speaking to the media after meeting Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, the SIC chief said the PTI’s negotiation committee would inform the government that it was ready for another session of talks. PTI leaders Omer Ayub and Asad Qaiser were also present on the occasion. He, however, added that the government would be urged to make progress on the opposition’s demand for the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the events of May 9 and November 26. “Even after several weeks, there has been no progress in the negotiations,” he said. “You would have to show progress in the third meeting,” he said, adding that they would talk about the “nitty gritties” of the judicial commission in the meeting. He also revealed that PTI's negotiation committee head, Omar Ayub, has been fully empowered by Imran Khan to sign the charter of demands, stressing that the party's founder will not be personally involved in executive orders. Talks between the government and the PTI commenced in the last week of December to bring down political temperatures, but despite weeks of negotiations, the dialogue process has hardly moved forward on major issues — the
Rs 20.00 | Vol XV No 188 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
laration,’ a framework to address challenges in girls’ education in Muslim communities through gender-sensitive policies, resource mobilization, and strengthened international partnerships. Al-Issa emphasized the significance of the diverse group of Islamic scholars present, including
representatives from the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, in solidifying a unified Islamic stance supporting girls’ education. He asserted that this declaration counters misconceptions and provides a definitive statement, thereby preventing any single entity from misrepresenting Islam on this issue. The initiative comes amidst global concern over the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s education in Afghanistan, highlighting the urgency of promoting girls’ access to education within Muslim communities. “The Muslim World League, along with its partners, commits to making the ‘Islamabad Declaration’ a constitutional document so the impact will be tangible,” the MWL chief said, adding that Islamic scholars addressed various misconceptions during the “exceptional and unified solidarity meeting” in Islamabad. The MWL chief said the Muslim world needed this collaboration for a unified voice reflecting Islam’s teachings.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
pathy and political advantage. Ahead of the verdict in the high-profile £190 million case against PTI founder, the Defence Minister expressed the hope that “justice will prevail” as an accountability court was set to announce its judgment tomorrow. “While accusations had been made against past rulers, what transpired during the PTI’s government was “unprecedented,” he added. Commenting on the £190 million settlement case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader alleged that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had sent the settlement money to Pakistan.
Defence Czar denounces Afghanistan’s ‘baseless’ allegations of terrorist training centres ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday strongly rejected the recent allegations made by Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, describing them as an attempt to shift blame onto Pakistan. Acting Afghanistan Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai had asserted that Da’sh operates training centres in Pakistan, where militants are trained for disruptive activities in Afghanistan. In a statement posted on X, the minister denied the claims and insisted that Afghanistan’s accusations were baseless. He further highlighted the findings of a United Nations monitoring report, which revealed that more than two dozen terrorist groups, including the banned Tehreeke-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), al-Qaeda, and ISIS, are operating within Afghanistan. “The report clearly states that Afghanistan remains a hub for terrorist recruitment and facilitation, especially for ISIS, which has continued its activities in the region throughout 2024,” Asif said. He called on the interim Afghan authorities to take immediate action to dismantle the fundamental structures of terrorism within the country and prevent Afghan soil from being used for attacks against other nations.