In contact with opp for joint sitting on Nov 20: Qaiser

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has said that the government plans to convene the joint sitting of parliament next week by November 20 and is awaiting a positive response from the opposition parties.

“A total of 28 bills will be presented for approval [during the sitting],” the speaker said while talking to the media persons on Thursday.

Qaiser said he was in contact with various opposition leaders and hoped that they would respond positively.

“As a speaker of the National Assembly, I am striving to pass legislation on which everyone can agree,” he said, adding that a meeting would be called as soon as there was any response from the opposition.

“I am in touch with (former prime minister) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq,” he added.

Talking to the media, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan confirmed that the National Assembly speaker was in contact with the opposition parties for holding a joint sitting of parliament.

“We are ready to consult with the opposition again as they are not supporting the government in legislation,” Awan said, adding that the joint sitting had been adjourned for a few days, not months.

Awan further said that the overseas Pakistanis wanted the right to vote and legislation on electronic voting machines.

“The government is serious about electoral reforms,” the adviser said, adding that the government wants to “legislate for the country, not the ruling PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf)”.

He said legislation and electoral reform should not be blocked as they are aimed at curbing fraud and ensuring transparent elections.

The Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs added that legislation for the protection of women's rights is a national agenda.

“The government’s doors are always open for consultation on legislation. Neither the PTI nor its allies have a secret legislative agenda.”

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Germany mulls new measures amid explosion in Covid cases

Germany needs further coronavirus restrictions to combat a record surge in infections and “get through this winter”, the country’s likely next leader Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, calling a national meeting to decide new curbs.

The EU’s most populous country recorded 50,196 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency — the first time the figure has exceeded 50,000.

Infections and deaths have been climbing steeply since mid-October, in an outbreak blamed on Germany’s relatively low vaccination rate of just over 67 percent.

After getting through the first three onslaughts of the pandemic better than many of its neighbours, the current fourth wave seemed to take the nation by surprise.

At nearly 250 infections per 100,000 people, Germany is faring much worse than France (94), Italy (73) or Spain (41), according to the Statista data agency.

Scholz’s remarks came as he faced criticism for his relative silence, with detractors saying he was consumed by his Social Democrats’ bid to form a ruling coalition with the Greens and liberal FDP following September’s election.

Presenting proposed measures drafted by the three parties in parliament, Scholz said new restrictions were necessary to “get through this winter”.

“What we need now is for the country to pull together in one direction,” he said, also urging more Germans to get vaccinated.

“Even if the situation is different (from last winter) because so many people have been vaccinated, it is still not good, especially because not enough people have made use of the vaccination option so far,” Scholz added.

The measures proposed by the incoming coalition parties include restricting access to certain facilities to those who are vaccinated or have recovered from the disease — a system known as 2G in Germany.

They also want to tighten testing requirements at workplaces and reintroduce free rapid antigen tests, a measure that had been in place over the summer but was abandoned in mid-October.

The proposals will be scrutinised by the Bundestag lower house of parliament this week and are expected to come into force at the end of the month.

Scholz also announced a meeting between the federal government and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states next week — to be held on Thursday, North Rhine-Westphalia state premier Hendrik Wuest said.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for urgent action and described the rise in infections as “dramatic”.

“The pandemic is returning in a new spectacular fashion,” her spokesperson said this week, calling on regional authorities to take further steps to quell the outbreak.

However news magazine Der Spiegel slammed the measures — and Scholz’s speech — as totally inadequate to the crisis.

“His address remained as grey as the suit he was wearing,” it said. “He has the unusual talent to consistently sedate his listeners within minutes.”

Hospitals in some regions are already overwhelmed, especially in the east of the country, which has started transferring patients to less affected regions.

Health Minister Jens Spahn has said the country is facing a “massive pandemic of the unvaccinated” and has urged as many Germans as possible to get a booster vaccine.

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IHC dismisses Faisal Vawda's plea to stop ECP disqualification case against him

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday rejected PTI Senator Faisal Vawda's appeal to stay proceedings of the disqualification case against him in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Vawda had filed the petition on Thursday against the decision of the ECP dated October 12 through which his application to stop the proceedings regarding his disqualification case was rejected. He had adopted the stance that the case against him in the ECP had become invalid as the body could not make a decision within the prescribed time limit.

During today's hearing, Vawda's counsel, Hasnain Ali Chauhan, argued that the ECP had to decide the application against the senator within 60 days of him being elected and thus the petition against Vawda was overdue and should be declared invalid.

"According to which law are you saying this?" asked IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who was presiding over the hearing. The counsel responded that the ECP was bound to make a decision within 60 days according to the Elections Act, 2017.
The judge noted that an application had been filed against Vawda within 60 days and called upon the senator to prove his innocence and let the ECP take action in accordance with the law if he was in the clear.

"What are you afraid of? Let the Election Commission hear the case. Do you want the court to decide the [original] petition?" Justice Minallah asked.

He further inquired whether the issue was not challenged in 60 days and how many times the ECP was requested to adjourn the hearing.

"Did you submit a response in the ECP?" the judge asked Vawda's counsel.

After hearing the counsel's arguments, Justice Minallah rejected Vawda's plea, declaring it inadmissible.

A citizen, Dost Ali, had filed an application in the ECP against Vawda, seeking his disqualification over hiding information pertaining to his dual nationality. The petition was filed in 2020 challenging his election as a member of the National Assembly on account of the fact that when Vawda filed his nomination papers for contesting the elections he held dual nationality as he was a US citizen as well.

The petition stated that since Vawda had furnished an affidavit to the ECP to the effect that he was not a national of any other country at the time of contesting the elections, he had made a false statement on oath, hence he was disqualified under Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution.

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Opposition seeks details in writing from govt on legislation

The Opposition parties on Thursday decided to hold consultations with the government on more than 20 bills only after it receives proposed legislative details in writing from National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.

The ruling party had earlier announced to approach the Opposition regarding these bills related to electoral reforms and other issues. A joint session of Parliament convened on Wednesday was postponed after PTI allies raised concerns on the bills to be presented for approval.

The NA speaker had said he would contact Opposition leaders for electoral reforms and their reservations would be addressed.

Following the development, a steering committee of the joint opposition in Parliament held its meeting in the chamber of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, which was attended by Opposition Leader in the Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani, Syed Naveed Qamar, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Farooq H Naek, Shazia Marri, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Senator Kamran Murtaza and Shahida Akhtar.

Talking to the media after the meeting, parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate, Sherry Rehman, said it was decided that the steering committee would consider further action upon the receipt of a written request from the speaker and after consultation with the party leadership, adding, “There is no question of approaching the government or speaker on our part to seek cancellation or reversion of the joint session they had called.”

The PPP senator asserted they discussed the strategy on the pending legislative business that included the recently promulgated ordinances.

“The steering committee will consider further action after receiving legislation in writing from the speaker regarding the bills and ordinances to be discussed in the joint session,” said Sherry, adding that all those bills and ordinances could be discussed in the parliamentary committee as “we believe in the supremacy of parliament and dialogue but obviously, our leadership will take the final decision after the steering committee deliberations.”

Rejecting the government’s claims that the opposition was behind the cancellation of the joint session, she said the joint session of Parliament was called off by the government because they were politically isolated by their allies and lacked the numbers to bulldoze the bills.

“They are afraid of being exposed and of facing defeats in Parliament while we have our numbers in Parliament and support of the people of Pakistan,” Sherry claimed.

 

 

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Dollar touches new all-time high at Rs176 in interbank trade

The US dollar on Friday reached an all-time high against the rupee, soaring to Rs176 in the interbank market in intraday trading.

In the open market, meanwhile, the dollar rose by Rs1.70 and was being traded at Rs178.

Zafar Paracha, chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, told Dawn.com that the dollar had depreciated to Rs169.50 after Saudi Arabia revived financial support and oil supplies to Pakistan, however, "the statement from the finance adviser (Shaukat Tarin) in which he predicted further rise in the dollar's value provided space to speculators and they manipulated the market."

According to Paracha, the delay in the finalisation of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan programme was also one of the reasons for the dollar rise "because if this programme was approved, we would have received $1 billion immediately".

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Biden, Xi expected to hold virtual summit on Monday: US media

US President Joe Biden is expected to hold a hotly awaited virtual summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, US media reported, as tensions mount over Taiwan, human rights and trade.

Both CNN and Politico, citing unnamed sources, said the meeting was tentatively scheduled for Monday.

Relations between the world s two largest economies have deteriorated in recent weeks, in particular over Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy claimed by China, which last month made a record number of air incursions near the island.

Washington has repeatedly signaled its support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression, but the United States and China reached a surprise agreement on climate at a summit in Glasgow.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the two presidents, who have not met in person since Biden took office in January, will hold virtual talks "soon."

Asked about the meeting at a press briefing on Thursday, China s foreign ministry said the two heads of state had "agreed to maintain frequent contact through multiple means."

"At present, China and the US are in close communication over the specific arrangement for the leaders summit," said ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

Biden and Xi have talked by phone twice since the veteran Democrat moved into the White House. The pair also met extensively when Biden was serving as vice president to Barack Obama, and Xi was vice president to Hu Jintao.

Biden had hoped to meet Xi at a recent Group of 20 summit in Rome, but the Chinese leader has not traveled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and instead agreed to virtual talks by the end of the year.

The US president has largely kept the tougher approach on Beijing of his predecessor Donald Trump, with both administrations considering a rising China to be the top challenge of the 21st century.

On Thursday, Xi warned against a return to Cold War-era divisions in the Asia-Pacific, in remarks to a virtual business conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit hosted by New Zealand.

"Attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geopolitical grounds are bound to fail," he said.

"The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era."

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IHC dismisses Faisal Vawda's plea to stop ECP disqualification case against him

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday rejected PTI Senator Faisal Vawda's appeal to stay proceedings of the disqualification case against him in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Vawda had filed the petition on Thursday against the decision of the ECP dated October 12 through which his application to stop the proceedings regarding his disqualification case was rejected. He had adopted the stance that the case against him in the ECP had become invalid as the body could not make a decision within the prescribed time limit.

During today's hearing, Vawda's counsel, Hasnain Ali Chauhan, argued that the ECP had to decide the application against the senator within 60 days of him being elected and thus the petition against Vawda was overdue and should be declared invalid.

"According to which law are you saying this?" asked IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who was presiding over the hearing. The counsel responded that the ECP was bound to make a decision within 60 days according to the Elections Act, 2017.
The judge noted that an application had been filed against Vawda within 60 days and called upon the senator to prove his innocence and let the ECP take action in accordance with the law if he was in the clear.

"What are you afraid of? Let the Election Commission hear the case. Do you want the court to decide the [original] petition?" Justice Minallah asked.

He further inquired whether the issue was not challenged in 60 days and how many times the ECP was requested to adjourn the hearing.

"Did you submit a response in the ECP?" the judge asked Vawda's counsel.

After hearing the counsel's arguments, Justice Minallah rejected Vawda's plea, declaring it inadmissible.

A citizen, Dost Ali, had filed an application in the ECP against Vawda, seeking his disqualification over hiding information pertaining to his dual nationality. The petition was filed in 2020 challenging his election as a member of the National Assembly on account of the fact that when Vawda filed his nomination papers for contesting the elections he held dual nationality as he was a US citizen as well.

The petition stated that since Vawda had furnished an affidavit to the ECP to the effect that he was not a national of any other country at the time of contesting the elections, he had made a false statement on oath, hence he was disqualified under Article 62 (1)(f) of the Constitution.

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