Govt decides to withdraw appeal against Saad Rizvi’s release

The government has started to implement a secretive agreement signed with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), with reports suggesting that it has released more than 800 supporters of the party arrested across Punjab under the deal.

The government had signed an accord with the proscribed outfit last Sunday, under which workers of the organisation who are not facing any formal criminal charges were to be released. The amnesty will also extend to the party's top leader, Saad Rizvi.

Implementation of the agreement started after a Monday meeting of the steering committee formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to work out how the deal would be executed.

Federal Minister Ali Mohammad Khan chaired the meeting. It was attended by Punjab's Minister for Law Raja Basharat, secretaries of the federal interior ministry, additional chief secretary of the Punjab Home Department, other officials, as well as some members of the TLP.

According to the Punjab Home Department, 860 persons who were not facing any formal charges have been released across Punjab.

The meeting also decided to withdraw its appeal filed against the release of TLP leader Saad Rizvi. The government had earlier challenged the order of a Lahore High Court (LHC) bench regarding Rizvi’s release.

Meanwhile, talking to a private channel, Saylani Welfare Trust Chairman Maulana Bashir Farooqui, who was present during negotiations between the TLP and the government, said the agreement cannot be made public before the 10th day of the deal, even as he assured that its contents "do not go against the national interest".

News of an agreement between the government and TLP was announced Sunday in a sombre press conference hosted by officials from the PTI government's negotiating team.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser were present on behalf of the government at the press conference. Barelvi scholar Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman was also present, having arbitrated between the government and the protestors.

Rehman began the news conference held in Islamabad, saying talks with the banned TLP had been "successful" and that an "agreement" had been reached.

He had said at the time, however, that details of the agreement will be revealed at a "suitable time". He added that a positive outcome of the agreement will be seen in the coming days.

Farooqui said other signatories of the agreement included the NA speaker, FM Qureshi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, besides members of the TLP shura.

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At least 15 killed, 34 wounded in Kabul hospital blast

At least two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan's biggest military hospital in Kabul, witnesses and Taliban officials said on Tuesday.

The blast resulted in at least 15 deaths and injury to 34, according to a Taliban security official.

Earlier, interior ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosty said the explosions took place at the entrance of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital.

"Security forces are deployed to the area, there is no information about casualties," he said on Twitter.

Photographs shared by residents showed a plume of smoke over the area of the blasts near the former diplomatic zone in the Wazir Akbar Khan area in central Kabul.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the official Bakhtar news agency quoted witnesses saying a number of Daesh fighters entered the hospital and clashed with security forces.

The blasts add to a growing list of attacks and killings since the Taliban completed their victory over the previous Western-backed government in August, undermining their claim to have restored security to Afghanistan after decades of war.

Daesh, which has carried out a series of attacks on mosques and other targets since the Taliban's seizure of Kabul in August, mounted a complex attack on the 400-bed hospital in 2017, killing more than 30 people.

A health worker at the hospital, who managed to escape the site, said he heard a large explosion followed by a couple of minutes of gunfire. About ten minutes later, there was a second, larger explosion, he said.

He said it was unclear whether the blasts and the gunfire were inside the sprawling hospital complex, the largest military hospital in Afghanistan.

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Govt decides to withdraw appeal against Saad Rizvi’s release

The government has started to implement a secretive agreement signed with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), with reports suggesting that it has released more than 800 supporters of the party arrested across Punjab under the deal.

The government had signed an accord with the proscribed outfit last Sunday, under which workers of the organisation who are not facing any formal criminal charges were to be released. The amnesty will also extend to the party's top leader, Saad Rizvi.

Implementation of the agreement started after a Monday meeting of the steering committee formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to work out how the deal would be executed.

Federal Minister Ali Mohammad Khan chaired the meeting. It was attended by Punjab's Minister for Law Raja Basharat, secretaries of the federal interior ministry, additional chief secretary of the Punjab Home Department, other officials, as well as some members of the TLP.

According to the Punjab Home Department, 860 persons who were not facing any formal charges have been released across Punjab.

The meeting also decided to withdraw its appeal filed against the release of TLP leader Saad Rizvi. The government had earlier challenged the order of a Lahore High Court (LHC) bench regarding Rizvi’s release.

Meanwhile, talking to a private channel, Saylani Welfare Trust Chairman Maulana Bashir Farooqui, who was present during negotiations between the TLP and the government, said the agreement cannot be made public before the 10th day of the deal, even as he assured that its contents "do not go against the national interest".

News of an agreement between the government and TLP was announced Sunday in a sombre press conference hosted by officials from the PTI government's negotiating team.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser were present on behalf of the government at the press conference. Barelvi scholar Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman was also present, having arbitrated between the government and the protestors.

Rehman began the news conference held in Islamabad, saying talks with the banned TLP had been "successful" and that an "agreement" had been reached.

He had said at the time, however, that details of the agreement will be revealed at a "suitable time". He added that a positive outcome of the agreement will be seen in the coming days.

Farooqui said other signatories of the agreement included the NA speaker, FM Qureshi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, besides members of the TLP shura.

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NAB officials and prosecutors will also be made accountable soon

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday has said that the corruption of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has continued to affect the people.

In a statement, the former Prime Minister (PM) said that Rs70 out of Rs120 per kg price of sugar is going into the pockets of PM Imran and his ministers.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials and prosecutors will also be made accountable soon, he added.

Earlier, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the government of PTI is trying to hide truth from the nation. He said that one minister is holding negotiation and the other one is shutting the channel on breaking the news.

There is a huge difference in statements and actions of the government, he went on to say.

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NAB amendment bill will target opposition only: Sherry Rehman

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman on Wednesday has said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance 2021 is new proof of government’s dishonesty.

In a statement, the PPP leader said that the opposition parties are not demanding relief but justice. This amendment bill will target opposition only, she added.

Sherry Rehman further asked why the anti-graft watchdog is silent over the corruption and fraud of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

The federation is on one page with NAB instead of security departments, she went on to say.

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NAB officials and prosecutors will also be made accountable soon

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday has said that the corruption of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has continued to affect the people.

In a statement, the former Prime Minister (PM) said that Rs70 out of Rs120 per kg price of sugar is going into the pockets of PM Imran and his ministers.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials and prosecutors will also be made accountable soon, he added.

Earlier, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the government of PTI is trying to hide truth from the nation. He said that one minister is holding negotiation and the other one is shutting the channel on breaking the news.

There is a huge difference in statements and actions of the government, he went on to say.

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‘Disunity’ among PTI leaders makes PM Imran Khan‘angry’

Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed on Monday “anger” over the “disunity” among the PTI leaders and directed them to back federal ministers Azam Swati and Fawad Chaudhry amid a row with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The prime minister reportedly made these remarks during a meeting of the PTI Core Committee a day earlier to discuss the ongoing political situation in the country after protests by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

According to the sources, the Prime Minister appeared dissatisfied with his Cabinet ministers and party leadership and complained to the members that “you people do not stand together on any issue”.

He told them all to "speak the same language" on national and political issues, the sources added.

PM Imran Khan, according to insiders, gave an example of MQM-P lawmakers, who, according to him, always had each other's backs. “When I was an MNA, the MQM lawmakers used to speak the same language,” he reportedly told the party leaders.

Confusion among the federal ministers was clear during the TLP crisis when they were issuing contradictory statements related to the talks with the proscribed outfit.

During the core committee meeting, the premier directed the party leadership to accompany Azam Swati and Fawad Chaudhry to their appearance before the ECP. Both ministers are facing contempt charges for levelling allegations against the ECP and the chief election commissioner.

The PTI Core Committee also expressed concern over notices issued by the ECP, saying they were unjust and should be withdrawn immediately.

The sources said the premier also directed Punjab Chief Minister Usman Bazdar to get the local bodies election draft approved by the Cabinet soon.

While discussing the accord signed with the proscribed outfit, the PM stopped the members from discussing the agreement publicly.

The meeting also held consultations on the joint sitting of Parliament.

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