SC remands Saad Rizvi's detention case back to LHC for two-member special bench to decide

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday remanded the matter of Saad Hussain Rizvi's release, chief of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), to the Lahore High Court (LHC) for a two-member special bench to decide after hearing arguments from both sides.

The Punjab government had approached the SC on Monday, challenging an October 1 LHC decision whereby Rizvi's detention was set aside and declared illegal in response to a plea filed by Rizvi's uncle against his continued incarceration.

The provincial government had argued in its petition that legal requirements were not met in the LHC's direction, paving the way for the TLP chief's release. Additionally, it said there were reports by intelligence agencies that Rizvi's continued detention was necessary to prevent workers of the proscribed organisation to create a law and order situation.

In Tuesday's (today) hearing, conducted by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, the government's lawyer argued that 12 people including three police officers had lost their lives in the violence during the TLP protests in April.

He added that the LHC review board had not extended Rizvi's detention.

Justice Ahsan questioned the government lawyer on whether a gazette notification of detention had been issued according to the anti-terrorism provisions to which he was told that it had been.

Advocate Burhan Moazzam Malik, counsel for Rizvi's uncle, argued that "the government does not have the authority to extend detention after 90 days."

Justice Naqvi opined that "maybe the case was not handled properly by both parties".

"You [at least] admit that the events in the past happened (violence in TLP protests)?" he questioned.

Malik responded that Rizvi was in jail before the riots started. "Saad Rizvi has been in jail for six months without any reason," he said.

The SC bench noted that no injustice will be allowed to happen with anyone and remanded the matter to the LHC for a two-judge special bench to decide after hearing the case.

After the LHC decision on Oct 1, the Lahore deputy commissioner had issued orders for Rizvi's release, citing the LHC judgement. The orders have, however, yet to be complied with and Rizvi remains in custody.

In addition, the DC's order had referred to two earlier decisions taken by the federal review board of the SC with regards to Rizvi's detention.

On July 2, a review board of the LHC had rejected the Punjab Home Department's request to extend Rizvi's detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960. It had released its detailed order in the case on July 8, observing that Rizvi should be "released forthwith" if he was not required in any other case.

Subsequently, Rizvi's uncle had filed a petition calling for the annulment of his “illegal detention” and claiming that there was no proof on record against him.

Rizvi's detention was supposed to end on July 10 in light of the review board's decision. However, the deputy commissioner of Lahore issued a fresh notification under Section 11-EEE (Powers to arrest and detain suspected persons) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and detained Rizvi for 90 days.

Ameer Hussain (Rizvi's uncle) subsequently filed another petition on Aug 2 with the LHC, claiming that the government had extended Rizvi's detention with "mala fide intention". The petitioner said the government had implicated Rizvi in 14 criminal cases after detaining him.

He asked the court to declare the act of the government illegal and order his nephew's release. The court had on Aug 17 sought replies from the authorities on the plea before declaring his detention illegal in a subsequent hearing at the start of this month.

Rizvi was detained by police under the MPO ordinance on April 12 over charges that he had incited his followers to take the law into their hands as, according to him, the government had reneged on its promise to expel the French ambassador.

The party had been pressing the government for the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan ever since blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were published in France and their publication was supported by the French president.

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Authority to appoint DG ISI lies with the prime minister: Information Minister

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa have "ideal" civil-military relations and they both never take any steps that could "disrespect" each other, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday.

Addressing a post-cabinet meeting press conference, the minister said the authority to appoint the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general "lies with the prime minister", and that the set procedure would be followed for the purpose.

"The legal procedure will be followed in the appointment of the new DG ISI, for which both [Gen Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran] are in agreement," he said.

Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran and the army chief had a "long sitting" last night to discuss the matter and the premier had subsequently taken the cabinet into confidence over the issue.

"Gen Bajwa and the prime minister have close and cordial relations. And it is also important from a historical perspective that there are ideal relations between Pakistan's civilian and military leaderships," he added.

Referring to rumours about the matter, Chaudhrys said: "I see on social media, there are many who have wishes; I want to tell them that the Prime Minister's Office will never undermine the respect of the Pakistan Army and army chief. And the COAS and the army will never take any step that will undermine the respect of Pakistan's prime minister or civil setup."

He stressed that both the premier and the military leadership were in close coordination, and the DG ISI would be appointed after fulfilling all the legal requirements. "Both (PM Imran and Gen Bajwa) are in agreement over this and the prime minister has the authority over it," he said.

Chaudhry also appreciated the media for not "sensationalising" the matter of the DG ISI's appointment.

The federal cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, discussed the country's overall political and economic situation.

In recent days, the federal capital has been gripped with feverish speculation about a delay in the issuing of notification for the appointment of incoming ISI Director General Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmad Anjum by the Prime Minister's Office.

The government had so far maintained silence on the issue.

On Monday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, when asked at a media interaction about the issue, had uncharacteristically refused to give a clear answer and said that Information Minister Chaudhry was authorised to speak on “civil-military” issues.

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Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir to have 4G internet services

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in agreement with Zong, Telenor Pakistan and Ufone granted additional spectrum for Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

All three telecommunication service providers are successful bidders in the first ever auction of additional spectrum for GB and AJK.

Representatives of all three mobile companies have demanded of the PTA and the Ministry of Information and Technology to ensure that the required backend facilities are provided in the region for fast and reliable 4G internet service.

Addressing the ceremony, Khalid Khursheed, the GB chief minister, said lack of political will had delayed the launch of 3G and 4G services in the region despite the fact that these services were launched in the rest of Pakistan in 2014.

“We heard everywhere that the Special Communications Organisation (SCO) was resisting the launch of 3G and 4G in GB and the AJK. When we asked them about it, the answer was in the negative and we were told that the PTA was not interested but that too was incorrect,” Mr Khursheed said and lauded the efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan and IT Minister Syed Aminul Haq for initiating the auction of spectrum for the region.

“Not only visiting tourists and the business community will benefit from the launch of 3G/4G services in GB and AJK but the people will be able to avail e-education, e-health, e-learning, e-commerce etc., which will eventually uplift the overall economic and social standards,” the CM added.

The governments of GB and AJK will also get a total of up to Rs7 billion in terms of royalty from the auction proceeds that will be divided between the two regions at the ratio of 40:60, respectively, based on their population.

Meanwhile, state-owned telecom service in the region, SCO, established in 1976 to connect the remote region with the rest of the country has been granted 20 mega hertz of spectrum free of cost as all its earnings are deposited in the divisible pool.

While the SCO officially has exclusive rights to operate telecom services in the region, all private sector mobile companies were allowed to operate in GB and AJK after the devastating 2004 earthquake.

Kamal Ahmed, chief cooperate affairs officer Telenor Pakistan, which has the highest market share in the region called upon the PTA to establish optical fibre network in the region if the benefits of connectivity have to be achieved.

Meanwhile, senior officials of PTA said customer protection clauses were added to the agreement of additional spectrum, which included enhancing internet speed to 1 megabit per second (mbps) for 3G and 4mbps for the 4G service.

Besides, additional spectrum will be distributed equally in rural and urban areas of GB and AJK. PTA has already granted 45 licences to various companies for establishing optical fibres and other services in the region.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, Federal Secretary IT & Telecommunication Dr Suhail Rajput, PTA Chairman retired Maj Gen Amir Azeem Bajwa, CEO of Zong Wang Hua and acting CEO of Ufone Nadeem Khan spoke on the occasion.

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SC remands Saad Rizvi's detention case back to LHC for two-member special bench to decide

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday remanded the matter of Saad Hussain Rizvi's release, chief of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), to the Lahore High Court (LHC) for a two-member special bench to decide after hearing arguments from both sides.

The Punjab government had approached the SC on Monday, challenging an October 1 LHC decision whereby Rizvi's detention was set aside and declared illegal in response to a plea filed by Rizvi's uncle against his continued incarceration.

The provincial government had argued in its petition that legal requirements were not met in the LHC's direction, paving the way for the TLP chief's release. Additionally, it said there were reports by intelligence agencies that Rizvi's continued detention was necessary to prevent workers of the proscribed organisation to create a law and order situation.

In Tuesday's (today) hearing, conducted by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, the government's lawyer argued that 12 people including three police officers had lost their lives in the violence during the TLP protests in April.

He added that the LHC review board had not extended Rizvi's detention.

Justice Ahsan questioned the government lawyer on whether a gazette notification of detention had been issued according to the anti-terrorism provisions to which he was told that it had been.

Advocate Burhan Moazzam Malik, counsel for Rizvi's uncle, argued that "the government does not have the authority to extend detention after 90 days."

Justice Naqvi opined that "maybe the case was not handled properly by both parties".

"You [at least] admit that the events in the past happened (violence in TLP protests)?" he questioned.

Malik responded that Rizvi was in jail before the riots started. "Saad Rizvi has been in jail for six months without any reason," he said.

The SC bench noted that no injustice will be allowed to happen with anyone and remanded the matter to the LHC for a two-judge special bench to decide after hearing the case.

After the LHC decision on Oct 1, the Lahore deputy commissioner had issued orders for Rizvi's release, citing the LHC judgement. The orders have, however, yet to be complied with and Rizvi remains in custody.

In addition, the DC's order had referred to two earlier decisions taken by the federal review board of the SC with regards to Rizvi's detention.

On July 2, a review board of the LHC had rejected the Punjab Home Department's request to extend Rizvi's detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960. It had released its detailed order in the case on July 8, observing that Rizvi should be "released forthwith" if he was not required in any other case.

Subsequently, Rizvi's uncle had filed a petition calling for the annulment of his “illegal detention” and claiming that there was no proof on record against him.

Rizvi's detention was supposed to end on July 10 in light of the review board's decision. However, the deputy commissioner of Lahore issued a fresh notification under Section 11-EEE (Powers to arrest and detain suspected persons) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and detained Rizvi for 90 days.

Ameer Hussain (Rizvi's uncle) subsequently filed another petition on Aug 2 with the LHC, claiming that the government had extended Rizvi's detention with "mala fide intention". The petitioner said the government had implicated Rizvi in 14 criminal cases after detaining him.

He asked the court to declare the act of the government illegal and order his nephew's release. The court had on Aug 17 sought replies from the authorities on the plea before declaring his detention illegal in a subsequent hearing at the start of this month.

Rizvi was detained by police under the MPO ordinance on April 12 over charges that he had incited his followers to take the law into their hands as, according to him, the government had reneged on its promise to expel the French ambassador.

The party had been pressing the government for the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan ever since blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were published in France and their publication was supported by the French president.

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Authority to appoint DG ISI lies with the prime minister: Information Minister

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa have "ideal" civil-military relations and they both never take any steps that could "disrespect" each other, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday.

Addressing a post-cabinet meeting press conference, the minister said the authority to appoint the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general "lies with the prime minister", and that the set procedure would be followed for the purpose.

"The legal procedure will be followed in the appointment of the new DG ISI, for which both [Gen Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran] are in agreement," he said.

Chaudhry said Prime Minister Imran and the army chief had a "long sitting" last night to discuss the matter and the premier had subsequently taken the cabinet into confidence over the issue.

"Gen Bajwa and the prime minister have close and cordial relations. And it is also important from a historical perspective that there are ideal relations between Pakistan's civilian and military leaderships," he added.

Referring to rumours about the matter, Chaudhrys said: "I see on social media, there are many who have wishes; I want to tell them that the Prime Minister's Office will never undermine the respect of the Pakistan Army and army chief. And the COAS and the army will never take any step that will undermine the respect of Pakistan's prime minister or civil setup."

He stressed that both the premier and the military leadership were in close coordination, and the DG ISI would be appointed after fulfilling all the legal requirements. "Both (PM Imran and Gen Bajwa) are in agreement over this and the prime minister has the authority over it," he said.

Chaudhry also appreciated the media for not "sensationalising" the matter of the DG ISI's appointment.

The federal cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, discussed the country's overall political and economic situation.

In recent days, the federal capital has been gripped with feverish speculation about a delay in the issuing of notification for the appointment of incoming ISI Director General Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmad Anjum by the Prime Minister's Office.

The government had so far maintained silence on the issue.

On Monday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, when asked at a media interaction about the issue, had uncharacteristically refused to give a clear answer and said that Information Minister Chaudhry was authorised to speak on “civil-military” issues.

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Major gas crisis expected again in Winter

Another major gas crisis is expected to hit the country this winter as Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) was unable to attract LNG trading companies to its tender floated on September 11, 2021, where eight LNG cargoes were sought - four each for December and January.

Sources said the country will not be able to import 1.2 bcfd LNG each during the peak demand season in December and January.

Instead, the country will be able to import just 900mmcfd each month with a deficit of 300 mmcfd. In November, the government will import 1bcfd against a capacity of 1.2 bcfd, the publication reported.

Because of no response from LNG trading companies, PLL’s 600 mmcfd capacity at the PGPCL terminal will remain underutilized by 300 mmcfd in both in December and January. “This would be double jeopardy for the government, creating major political backlash from the masses who are sick of high inflation for a very long time,'' a senior official from the energy ministry told the publication.

“The production of local gas has fallen to 2.8 bcfd and the country can import 1.2 bcfd LNG which will not be fully exploited in the coming winter. In the winters, demand goes up to five bfcd, whereas the country will only have 3.7 bcfd in December and January for failure in purchasing eight LNG cargoes," the official was quoted as saying.

Even if the government manages the eight LNG cargoes during peak demand in December and January, there will be a sizeable gas crisis.

Under the new scenario, without contracting the required tender, the intensity of the gas crisis will reach a point where the government will not be able to provide gas to the power and export sectors. The domestic sector may also face maximum load-shedding, apart from zero gas supply of non-export, commercial and CNG sectors.

“This means that in December and January, the country’s economic and industrial activities will virtually come to standstill,” the official said.

PLL confirmed the development, saying that in response to its PPRA compliant tenders floated on September 11, 2021, seeking eight LNG cargoes, four each for December, 2021 and January 2022, it has not received any bids.

The LNG companies may not have submitted their bids on account of PPRA compliant tender, as under its rules the PPL is bound to hold the bids for 15 days, discouraging the companies to come up with bids at a time when LNG spot prices have crossed $35 per mmbtu.

Against this backdrop, the PLL got an exemption from PPRA on September 21, 2021 for spot purchasing which did not prove fruitful as it had already issued tenders on September 11, 2021.

In November, PSO will have six term cargoes and PLL will have four, including one cargo from Qatar at 10.2% of the Brent, the energy ministry official said.

In December and January, however, the country will have nine LNG cargoes (six by PS0 and three by PLL) in each month against a demand of 13 cargoes per month. So there will be an unprecedented gas crisis in December and January.

He said Bangladesh purchased LNG under spot purchasing at over $30 per mmbtu some days back, which has now further increased over $35 per mmbtu.

The official said that the prices of LNG in the spot market have increased mainly because of the high demand by EU countries as Russia has majorly squeezed gas supply to all of Europe after Germany raised an issue of sanctioned companies being involved in building the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline.

The demand for LNG has also been driven as China is abandoning power generation based on coal as fuel.

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T20 World Cup: 'Babar Azam-Rizwan duo 'biggest threat' to India'

Pakistan's opening batsmen duo Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are on song this year, especially in T20Is. All eyes will be on the two batsmen when Pakistan takes on India in a high-octane clash on October 24 for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

However, ahead of the highly anticipated clash between the two South Asian cricket giants, Babar Azam and Rizwan are being keenly watched by Indian cricket buffs.

Babar and Rizwan have scored 736 runs in T20Is together, scoring an impressive average of 57. The two have managed to amass these runs from a mere 13 T20Is since January 1, 2021.

Of these, statistics show that they have added 521 runs as an opening pair, with their highest stand being of 197 runs.

When it comes down to the most number of runs scored for Pakistan this year, Rizwan finishes on top while Babar comes in second, with the former scoring 752 runs from 17 innings while the latter scored 523 runs from 17 innings.

As far as India is concerned, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw have scored 712 runs together so far but Shaw is not part of the Indian cricket team.

Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul have also added more than 600 runs together. However, Mayank is not part of the Indian World Cup squad.

Babar and Rizwan are impressive hitters of the ball, who not only smack it around for sixes and fours but can also find the gap during the PowerPlay.

The two also have an excellent understanding with one another, helping them run fast and take singles and doubles when they are direly needed.

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