Police file multiple cases after violence-marred NA-240 by-election

Police have filed multiple cases after one person was killed and several injured in the violence-marred NA-240 by-election.

Three cases have been registered at the Landhi police station, whereas one has been filed at the Korangi police station, police said on Friday.

Among the cases registered at the Landhi police station, a case mentions the name of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal.

According to the FIR, Kamal entered a polling station in Landhi 6 accompanied by 50 to 60 men, and wreaked havoc there.

Another FIR stated that the chaos at the Landhi 6 polling station resulted in the death of one person and injury to several.

It said that clashes broke out when during a TLP rally, several armed men belonging to the TLP opened fire on PSP members.

A passerby, Saifuddin, son of Kalimuddin, was killed in the process.

The FIR said that due to the firing by TLP, deep panic set in among the area's residents.

It further stated that following retaliatory fire by PSP, several people were wounded and are under treatment.

The police cases say that the act of firing by the political parties, that ultimately resulted in a death and multiple injuries, constitutes a crime under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 324 (attempt to commit murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The third case registered at the Landhi police station was filed on the complaint of the presiding officer and includes terrorism related clauses, said police officials.

According to the first information report (FIR), 400-500 people belonging to a political party entered a polling station all at once.

The staff of the polling station were beaten up and election materials damaged, the FIR said.

When the ballot boxes were damaged, the police sprung into action, it further said, adding that the troublemakers were immediately dispersed and the polling process resumed.

The fourth case, registered at the Korangi police station was filed on the complaint of a police officer and includes a riot clause.

According to the FIR, 20-25 men armed with sticks stood outside a polling station set up at a school.

The police raided the polling station and took five men into custody and recovered the sticks, the FIR said.

The stick-wielding men attempted to destabilise law and order, the FIR added.

Yesterday's by-election saw incidents of violence across the constituency, with one person belonging to the PSP killed and several others injured — including ex-MPA Iftikhar Alam, who is also a member of the PSP.

The contest saw the participation of 25 candidates for the seat — a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) — that fell vacant after the death of MQM-P MNA Muhammad Ali Khan this year on April 19.

MQM-P once again emerged victorious with a close margin of 65 votes against rival Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

The MQM-P candidate, Mohammad Abubakar, secured 10,683 votes, while TLP candidate Shahzada Shahbaz bagged 10,618 votes.

Meanwhile, Muhajir Qaumi Movement candidate Syed Rafiuddin secured the third position with 8,349 votes, PPP Nasir Rahim got fourth place after bagging 5,240 votes, and PSP’s Shabbir Kaimkhani grabbed 4,782 votes to stand fifth.

 

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FATF: Plenary meeting show good signs of a decision in Pakistan's favour

BERLIN, GERMANY: All eyes are on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) plenary meeting concluding today (Friday), with Pakistan having high hopes to secure an 'onsite visit' which may lead Islamabad a step closer to get out of the grey list.

 A government official said in conversation with the BBC that the recent updates on the plenary meeting show good signs of a decision in Pakistan's favour.

He said that the consent and consolation of other countries in the meeting is also significant.

However, he said that matters will take seven to eight months to settle even if Pakistan makes its way out of the watch list as the FATF team will visit Pakistan for an inspection.

Sources said that the FATF had directed Pakistan to fulfil 34 conditions in two stages, which Pakistan accomplished. The country fulfilled 32 out of 34 conditions in the last FATF meeting and completed the remaining two in this meeting.

They said that the final decision could be delayed till the next FATF meeting scheduled to take place in Paris in October.

Pakistan had launched a massive diplomatic effort to get off the FATF grey list. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of Pakistan’s National FATF Coordination Committee, is leading the Pakistan delegation at the plenary meeting that started on June 14.

Pakistan needs the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to get off the list, and all three countries have assured the Pakistani authorities of full support. That's why there are now bright chances that Pakistan may finally exit the FATF grey list after its current meeting being held in Berlin, Germany.

According to sources, during the recent visits of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to different countries, important discussions took place regarding FATF. In all these meetings, a soft attitude towards Pakistan was expressed by important countries.

Pakistan has implemented almost all points of the FATF Action Plan, except for the penalties, and Pakistan has made prosecutions and all relevant legal amendments.

Pakistan was placed on the FATF list of countries under increased monitoring in June, 2018.

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Energy regulatory has app­roved an increase of Rs1.55 per unit

The energy regulator has app­roved an increase of Rs1.55 per unit (kilowatt-hour) in rates of power distribution companies under the quarterly tariff adjustment mechanism for September-December 2021 to generate Rs39 billion revenue.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority said it had already conducted a public hearing on the matter on April 28.

The hike will apply to all consumers, including lifeline consumers using up to 50 units per month and some industrial users covered under a support package.

K-Electric consumers are exempted from the tariff increase.

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US dollar continues to extend

The US dollar continued to extend gains on Friday as it crossed Rs208 during early morning trade in the interbank market — a trend analysts attribute to a delay in the deal with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves.

According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the greenback appreciated by 65 paisa from the yesterday's close of Rs207.85 and rose to Rs208.40.

Rupee has been losing ground ever since the start of the week which has worried investors and is creating frustration among the stakeholders of the economy.

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FATF: Plenary meeting show good signs of a decision in Pakistan's favour

BERLIN, GERMANY: All eyes are on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) plenary meeting concluding today (Friday), with Pakistan having high hopes to secure an 'onsite visit' which may lead Islamabad a step closer to get out of the grey list.

 A government official said in conversation with the BBC that the recent updates on the plenary meeting show good signs of a decision in Pakistan's favour.

He said that the consent and consolation of other countries in the meeting is also significant.

However, he said that matters will take seven to eight months to settle even if Pakistan makes its way out of the watch list as the FATF team will visit Pakistan for an inspection.

Sources said that the FATF had directed Pakistan to fulfil 34 conditions in two stages, which Pakistan accomplished. The country fulfilled 32 out of 34 conditions in the last FATF meeting and completed the remaining two in this meeting.

They said that the final decision could be delayed till the next FATF meeting scheduled to take place in Paris in October.

Pakistan had launched a massive diplomatic effort to get off the FATF grey list. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of Pakistan’s National FATF Coordination Committee, is leading the Pakistan delegation at the plenary meeting that started on June 14.

Pakistan needs the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to get off the list, and all three countries have assured the Pakistani authorities of full support. That's why there are now bright chances that Pakistan may finally exit the FATF grey list after its current meeting being held in Berlin, Germany.

According to sources, during the recent visits of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to different countries, important discussions took place regarding FATF. In all these meetings, a soft attitude towards Pakistan was expressed by important countries.

Pakistan has implemented almost all points of the FATF Action Plan, except for the penalties, and Pakistan has made prosecutions and all relevant legal amendments.

Pakistan was placed on the FATF list of countries under increased monitoring in June, 2018.

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Lahore High Court seeks arguments from Hamza's counsel

A Lahore High Court larger bench on Thursday sought arguments from a counsel for Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz whether the court could nominate anyone to administer oath to a chief minister-elect if the governor refused to do so.

The bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan was hearing appeals of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against three orders passed by single benches for oath-taking of Chief Minister Hamza.

Resuming his arguments, Advocate Mansoor Usman Awan, the counsel for Hamza, said the governor had no power to refuse oath to a chief minister even if it was written in the Constitution that votes of defectors were not counted. He said the governor could ask the chief minister for a vote of confidence but only after administering oath even if he believed that the election was not lawful. He said the presiding officer had the power to hold scrutiny of the votes.

PTI’s counsel Imtiaz Rasheed Siddiqui interrupted the chief minister’s counsel and said “then what power does the governor have.”

The bench asked the PTI’s counsel not to disrupt the proceedings and wait for his turn.

Later, the bench asked Mr Siddiqui about the letter of the then governor written to the president on the matter of the CM election. The counsel read the letter and said he personally believed that the governor was not given the right advice.

The bench asked former advocate general Ahmad Awais who was also present in court for his point of view as he had given the advice to the governor. Mr Awais said there was an extraordinary situation in the province.

The bench asked Mr Awais if he owned his advice as the governor refused to administer oath to the chief minister after his legal advice. The former advocate general said his advice was based on factual position.

The bench adjourned further hearing till June 28 and observed that the hearing would be completed before summer vacation in courts.

The appeals filed by the PTI argued that court had no jurisdiction to issue directions to the president of Pakistan and the governor. The appeals further argued that the PTI, the speaker, the governor and the president had not been given an opportunity of hearing by the court while issuing the impugned orders.

A single bench in its April 22 order had ruled that the governor could not refuse oath to a newly-elected chief minister of a province and expected that the president of Pakistan would nominate any person to administer oath to CM-elect Hamza without any delay.

The same bench, in its April 27 order on another petition of Mr Hamza, had advised the Punjab governor to ensure completion of the process of the administration of oath to the CM-elect, either himself or through his nominee within a day.

The third order was passed by another single bench on a third petition of Hamza wherein the National Assembly speaker was asked to administer oath to the CM-elect.

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Lahore High Court seeks arguments from Hamza's counsel

A Lahore High Court larger bench on Thursday sought arguments from a counsel for Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz whether the court could nominate anyone to administer oath to a chief minister-elect if the governor refused to do so.

The bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan was hearing appeals of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against three orders passed by single benches for oath-taking of Chief Minister Hamza.

Resuming his arguments, Advocate Mansoor Usman Awan, the counsel for Hamza, said the governor had no power to refuse oath to a chief minister even if it was written in the Constitution that votes of defectors were not counted. He said the governor could ask the chief minister for a vote of confidence but only after administering oath even if he believed that the election was not lawful. He said the presiding officer had the power to hold scrutiny of the votes.

PTI’s counsel Imtiaz Rasheed Siddiqui interrupted the chief minister’s counsel and said “then what power does the governor have.”

The bench asked the PTI’s counsel not to disrupt the proceedings and wait for his turn.

Later, the bench asked Mr Siddiqui about the letter of the then governor written to the president on the matter of the CM election. The counsel read the letter and said he personally believed that the governor was not given the right advice.

The bench asked former advocate general Ahmad Awais who was also present in court for his point of view as he had given the advice to the governor. Mr Awais said there was an extraordinary situation in the province.

The bench asked Mr Awais if he owned his advice as the governor refused to administer oath to the chief minister after his legal advice. The former advocate general said his advice was based on factual position.

The bench adjourned further hearing till June 28 and observed that the hearing would be completed before summer vacation in courts.

The appeals filed by the PTI argued that court had no jurisdiction to issue directions to the president of Pakistan and the governor. The appeals further argued that the PTI, the speaker, the governor and the president had not been given an opportunity of hearing by the court while issuing the impugned orders.

A single bench in its April 22 order had ruled that the governor could not refuse oath to a newly-elected chief minister of a province and expected that the president of Pakistan would nominate any person to administer oath to CM-elect Hamza without any delay.

The same bench, in its April 27 order on another petition of Mr Hamza, had advised the Punjab governor to ensure completion of the process of the administration of oath to the CM-elect, either himself or through his nominee within a day.

The third order was passed by another single bench on a third petition of Hamza wherein the National Assembly speaker was asked to administer oath to the CM-elect.

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