PSL: Gladiators vs United match rescheduled for Tuesday, 2 March

The Event Technical Committee of the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 has decided to reschedule Quetta Gladiators-Islamabad United match for Tuesday, 2 March, at 7pm Pakistan Standard Time.

The decision has been made despite both the sides returning negative tests on late Monday afternoon after Fawad Ahmed of Islamabad United’s coronavirus test result came back positive earlier today.

Fawad was put in isolation late Saturday night. He will re-enter the bio-secure bubble after two negative tests.

The decision to reschedule the match has been made after a careful consideration, aimed at allowing players sufficient time to relax, refocus and regroup following the testing and in the best interest of the competition.

While all squad members of Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United have tested negative, players and player support personnel of the four remaining sides and the match officials will undergo rapid tests on Monday evening.

The tickets for Monday’s match will be valid on Tuesday, while the unused tickets can be refunded.

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Govt, opposition both claim victory over SC opinion on Senate elections

Members of the government and the opposition both claimed victory over the Supreme Court's (SC) opinion on the issue of secret ballot in the upcoming Senate elections, which was announced early on Monday morning.

In its short written order issued some hours after the announcement, the Supreme Court bench noted that Senate elections are held in accordance with the law and the Constitution. However, the apex court suggested that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) could use the latest technology to hold transparent elections. The bench also said that the secrecy of the ballot papers was "not final", quoting a decision by the top court on a similar matter in 1967 (Niaz Ahmed case).

The 4-1 majority opinion was announced by a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and including Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi, with the latter choosing to abstain from responding to the question posed by the president's reference.

Addressing the media outside the ECP's head office in Islamabad, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said that the SC's decision "supports our stance and moves it forward". The education minister was joined by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior and Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar and PTI Senator Faisal Javed.

The education minister said the SC's decision "has shown a path" to how bad practices in the Senate elections could be prevented. He said it was "clearly written" that it was the duty of the ECP to conduct an election which was free of corrupt practices.

Awan, meanwhile, said that the SC referred to a previous decision of the top court in 1967 which allowed for "secrecy to be lifted considering the present circumstances, this is clearly written". "This is a decisive moment in Pakistan's history for elections to be conducted fairly".

Chaudhry also said that the SC's advice was "clear" that voters and their votes should be identifiable. "This is the principle on which the prime minister and the cabinet sent this reference to the SC," said the federal minister.

"What is the SC's decision? They have said that the secrecy of the ballot will remain secret for political parties but it won't be secret for the ECP. So if there are allegations of horse trading or selling votes, then the ECP can conduct an inquiry," said Chaudhry.

The technology minister said in a post on Twitter that the SC had "acknowledged the stance" to end horse-trading and corrupt practices in the Senate polls, adding it "has not adhered to the principle of full secret ballot".

Minister for Information Shibli Faraz also took to Twitter and hailed the decision as "historic". He said it was a "big day" for businessmen and traders of "[people's] consciences" since the people who set up markets for buying and selling of votes will be disappointed.

"This is a success of Imran Khan's vision of transparent elections," said the information minister, adding that technology would be used in light of the SC decision to make "transparency real and make the identification of votes possible".

Addressing the media outside the SC premises earlier, Senator Javed had also termed the opinion a "splendid decision" and a "victory for Pakistan". "The honourable court said secrecy is not absolute. That means it cannot stay [this way] till the Day of Judgement," said the senator.

Meanwhile, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter, saying the SC's opinion once again proved that "the Constitution is far above the tricks of vote thieves, malicious references and conspiratorial ordinances".

She said that now "alarms of technology are being raised" but warned that "RTS and Daska-fog technologies" wouldn't work anymore.

"Why are you afraid of the power of the vote?"

The Sindh government's spokesperson, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, too said that the SC opinion agreed with the "principled stance of the PPP, Sindh government, different opposition parties and Pakistan's various lawyer organisations".

"What was that stance? it was that Senate polls must be held in accordance with the Constitution," said Wahab, adding that Article 226 had already decided that any election in accordance with the Constitution would be through the secret ballot.

"Our stance was victorious because it was in accordance with the Constitution and the PTI and federal government lost," the Wahab, adding that the federal government had repeatedly claimed that Senate elections aren't held in accordance with the Constitution and they shouldn't be held through secret balloting.

"Today is a day for the lovers of the Constitution and those who have always struggled for the supremacy of the Constitution and free and fair elections."

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'Happy Birthday Lala': Throwback to legendary Shahid Afridi's feats

Seasoned Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi, who is currently associated with the Pakistan Super League's (PSL 2021) franchise Multan Sultans, is celebrating his birthday today — Monday.

While social media is abuzz with warm wishes, such as "you're our pride" and Shahid Afridi being "the man who made us crazy for the game of cricket", there's also a debate since Wikipedia, Google, his book, and he himself have provided different ages — 45, 41, 46, and 44, respectively.

Whatever his age may be, however, the fact is that the veteran cricketer has given Pakistan much to celebrate about and be proud of. Here's a look at his feats and milestones through the years.

In the T20 World Cup 2007, he was named the "Player of the Tournament".

In the T20 World Cup 2009, he was awarded the title of "Player of the Semis and Finals".

In the Asia Cup 2012, he was named the "Player of the Final".

Shahid Afridi is also the player who scored the fastest ODI century in 1996 at 37 balls.

He also has the honour of being a one-time champion of the T20 World Cup.

The legendary cricketer scored the most sixes in ODI cricket at 351 sixes.

He remained second in bagging the most wickets in T20I at 98 from 99 matches.

Moreover, Afridi holds the record for taking the most number of wickets as captain in T20Is, at 40.

The veteran cricketer also became the first-ever player to score a hat-trick in the 10-over match format for Pakhtoons vs Maratha Arabians in 2017.

Unfortunately, he also has a record of conceding most runs as a bowler in his T20I career, at 2,362 runs.

As a civilian, on the other hand, Shahid Afridi was awarded the Pride of Performance on March 23, 2010, and the Sitara-e-Imtiaz on March 23, 2018.

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Senate polls to be held through secret ballot, but secrecy not absolute: SC

As political parties remain engaged in intense campaigning for the upcoming Senate polls, the Supreme Court on Monday held, with a 4-1 majority, that polling for Senate elections is held "under the Constitution" and thus can not be done through an open ballot.

However, the court also held that the secrecy of the ballot is not "absolute" and can be diluted by practical considerations, especially those that relate to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) exercising its mandate to conduct free and fair elections that are devoid of any corrupt practices.

The apex court said that it is up to the ECP to decide to which extent the voting should remain secret.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justices Mushir Alam, Umar Ata Bandial, Ijazul Ahsan and Yahya Afridi — announced the reserved opinion in Courtroom No 1 of the Supreme Court.

“It is the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution, to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against,” the opinion stated.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan is required by the Constitution to take all necessary steps in order to fulfil the above mandate/duty in terms of Article 222 of the Constitution," it added.

The Supreme Court also made it clear that “all the executive authorities in the Federation and Provinces are obliged to assist the Commissioner and the Election Commission of Pakistan in discharge of his or their functions.”

The Election Commission also has to take all available measures, including "utilising technologies to fulfil the solemn constitutional duty to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against," the Supreme Court said.

The opinion also highlighted that it is the job of Parliament, "to legislate [...] on the conduct of elections and matters relating to corrupt practices and other offences in connection with elections."

However, it made clear that such legislation should not take away from or limit the powers of the chief election commission or the ECP.

Regarding the secrecy of the ballot, the Supreme Court referred to a past precedent in which it had held that the secrecy of the ballot is not absolute and that “the secrecy of the ballot [...] has not to be implemented in the ideal or absolute sense, but to be tempered by practical considerations necessitated by the processes of election”.

The court had reserved its opinion on the matter last week after the parties had concluded their arguments and Attorney-General Khalid Javed had issued a rebuttal.

The reference, filed by the government in the Supreme Court, had said that the president has sought the apex court's opinion on whether the condition of holding a secret ballot referred to in Article 226 of the Constitution is applicable only for elections held under the Constitution — such as the election to the office of president, speakers and deputy speakers of the Parliament and provincial assemblies — and "not to other elections, such as the election for the members of Senate" held under the Elections Act 2017 enacted to pursuant to Article 222 read with Entry 41 (1) of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution "which may be held by way of secret or open ballot" as provided for in the Act.

According to the government, the nature of the elections and the way it is conducted was not been clearly mentioned in the Constitution.

Talking to media after the SC order, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz urged the ECP to make arrangements to ensure transparency in light of the directions given by the court.

The federal minister described the SC's opinion as 'historic' under which Senate elections will be held as per Article 226 of the Constitution.

He stressed on the fact that the court believes that the secrecy of the ballot is not absolute.

PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said her party was of the opinion that Senate polls should be held according to constitutional provisions and any change in this process should be brought through Parliament.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that Senate polls in 2021 will be held according to Article 226 of the Constitution,” she said.

The PML-N spokesperson said that the ECP’s role regarding transparency has yet to be determined and the detailed order will shed more light on the matter.

She said that the PML-N has been the victim of horse-trading and vote-theft in the past and the party wanted that the polls should be held transparently.

 

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Senate polls to be held through secret ballot, but secrecy not absolute: SC

As political parties remain engaged in intense campaigning for the upcoming Senate polls, the Supreme Court on Monday held, with a 4-1 majority, that polling for Senate elections is held "under the Constitution" and thus can not be done through an open ballot.

However, the court also held that the secrecy of the ballot is not "absolute" and can be diluted by practical considerations, especially those that relate to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) exercising its mandate to conduct free and fair elections that are devoid of any corrupt practices.

The apex court said that it is up to the ECP to decide to which extent the voting should remain secret.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justices Mushir Alam, Umar Ata Bandial, Ijazul Ahsan and Yahya Afridi — announced the reserved opinion in Courtroom No 1 of the Supreme Court.

“It is the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution, to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against,” the opinion stated.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan is required by the Constitution to take all necessary steps in order to fulfil the above mandate/duty in terms of Article 222 of the Constitution," it added.

The Supreme Court also made it clear that “all the executive authorities in the Federation and Provinces are obliged to assist the Commissioner and the Election Commission of Pakistan in discharge of his or their functions.”

The Election Commission also has to take all available measures, including "utilising technologies to fulfil the solemn constitutional duty to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against," the Supreme Court said.

The opinion also highlighted that it is the job of Parliament, "to legislate [...] on the conduct of elections and matters relating to corrupt practices and other offences in connection with elections."

However, it made clear that such legislation should not take away from or limit the powers of the chief election commission or the ECP.

Regarding the secrecy of the ballot, the Supreme Court referred to a past precedent in which it had held that the secrecy of the ballot is not absolute and that “the secrecy of the ballot [...] has not to be implemented in the ideal or absolute sense, but to be tempered by practical considerations necessitated by the processes of election”.

The court had reserved its opinion on the matter last week after the parties had concluded their arguments and Attorney-General Khalid Javed had issued a rebuttal.

The reference, filed by the government in the Supreme Court, had said that the president has sought the apex court's opinion on whether the condition of holding a secret ballot referred to in Article 226 of the Constitution is applicable only for elections held under the Constitution — such as the election to the office of president, speakers and deputy speakers of the Parliament and provincial assemblies — and "not to other elections, such as the election for the members of Senate" held under the Elections Act 2017 enacted to pursuant to Article 222 read with Entry 41 (1) of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution "which may be held by way of secret or open ballot" as provided for in the Act.

According to the government, the nature of the elections and the way it is conducted was not been clearly mentioned in the Constitution.

Talking to media after the SC order, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz urged the ECP to make arrangements to ensure transparency in light of the directions given by the court.

The federal minister described the SC's opinion as 'historic' under which Senate elections will be held as per Article 226 of the Constitution.

He stressed on the fact that the court believes that the secrecy of the ballot is not absolute.

PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said her party was of the opinion that Senate polls should be held according to constitutional provisions and any change in this process should be brought through Parliament.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that Senate polls in 2021 will be held according to Article 226 of the Constitution,” she said.

The PML-N spokesperson said that the ECP’s role regarding transparency has yet to be determined and the detailed order will shed more light on the matter.

She said that the PML-N has been the victim of horse-trading and vote-theft in the past and the party wanted that the polls should be held transparently.

 

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Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz to attend PDM event tomorrow

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz and the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz will depart for Islamabad tomorrow to attend an event of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), on Monday.

Hamza Shahbaz will begin his political activities tomorrow after getting released on bail. He is likely to arrive in Islamabad over the invitation of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, sources told ARY News.

The Punjab Assembly’s opposition leader will join PDM lawmakers in a dinner event where the opposition alliance will discuss the current political situation.

Moreover, Hamza also initiated contacting PML-N leaders and he is expected to summon a session of the party leaders soon.

It is pertinent to mention here that an accountability court in Lahore on February 27 issued released orders for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Hamza after submission of Rs10 million surety bond against his bail.

Maryam Nawaz along with PML-N lawmakers will also depart for the federal capital to attend the dinner event of PDM members to be hosted by PPP, sources said, adding that the PML-N vice president will stay in Islamabad till the completion of Senate elections.

In the upcoming event of PDM, the opposition leaders will formulate an election strategy for its joint candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani in the Upper House polls.

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Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz to attend PDM event tomorrow

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz and the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz will depart for Islamabad tomorrow to attend an event of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), on Monday.

Hamza Shahbaz will begin his political activities tomorrow after getting released on bail. He is likely to arrive in Islamabad over the invitation of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, sources told ARY News.

The Punjab Assembly’s opposition leader will join PDM lawmakers in a dinner event where the opposition alliance will discuss the current political situation.

Moreover, Hamza also initiated contacting PML-N leaders and he is expected to summon a session of the party leaders soon.

It is pertinent to mention here that an accountability court in Lahore on February 27 issued released orders for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Hamza after submission of Rs10 million surety bond against his bail.

Maryam Nawaz along with PML-N lawmakers will also depart for the federal capital to attend the dinner event of PDM members to be hosted by PPP, sources said, adding that the PML-N vice president will stay in Islamabad till the completion of Senate elections.

In the upcoming event of PDM, the opposition leaders will formulate an election strategy for its joint candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani in the Upper House polls.

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