Tag supreme court

CJP will hear cases regarding land grabber Mansha Bomb and installation of water treatment plants in Punjab. Photo: File

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar will hear a number of important cases at Supreme Court’s Lahore registry today.

The top judge will hear a case regarding land grabber Mansha Bomb, who has at least 70 cases registered against him.

During yesterday’s hearing, CJP had censured the Punjab Police and questioned whether this was Naya Pakistan’s police which could not control Mansha Bomb.

The bench had then summoned IG Punjab and DC Lahore for today’s hearing.
Is this Naya Pakistan’s police which cannot control Mansha Bomb, asks CJP

The court had further ordered that land be returned to the concerned people by midnight (December 1) and a report be presented in this regard.

Justice Nisar will also hear a case pertaining to the installation of water treatment plants in Punjab. A day earlier, he had directed the Punjab government to submit a final plan on the installation of water treatment plants on December 5.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan on Friday said she will respond to all allegations levelled against her in the Supreme Court.

A day earlier, the Supreme Court while hearing a suo motu case on foreign properties owned by Pakistani nationals, directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to present property and tax amnesty details of Aleema Khan.

Aleema Khan, who is currently on a tour of Japan to raise funds for NUML University, while addressing an event in Tokyo said, “I am being asked tough questions because I am in the headlines these days.”

“I am answerable to God and when the court summons me I will respond to their questions as well,” she added.

The premier’s sister further said that she’s “not a public office holder but a private citizen” and “will reply where she has to”.

“I am being asked where I got the money from [to purchase property]. I inherited this money from my maternal and paternal grandfathers as well as my parents and even earned myself,” she continued.

Aleema, who is a board member of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital, added, “None of us board members have ever touched the money that has been raised and nor have we ever tried to earn money through the wrong means.”

Stating that the allegations against her “hurtful”, she said, “My father was also accused of corruption and that was painful.”

“My father taught us to always be honest and forget taking bribes he never even gave them except to one telephone person who he used to give Rs100,” Aleema added.

She further said that Imran “always opposed accumulating money”.
Suo motu notice

Chief of Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of Aleema’s property in Dubai on November 28.

The chief justice, who was in London to raise funds for building dams in Pakistan, was informally speaking to journalists when they drew his attention to the matter of Aleema Khan’s properties abroad.

This month, Aleema deposited half the total cost of her previously undeclared Dubai property with tax authorities as penalty.

Aleema paid 25 per cent of the total estimated amount of her luxurious flat, “The Lofts East-1406”, in taxes and 25 per cent fine charges, officials had said. The prime minister’s sister was slapped with a double penalty (taxes and fine) because she did not disclose the said property worth around Rs74 million.

The said luxurious flat was located in the heart of Dubai, adjacent to Burj Khalifa, the most expensive area in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), added the officials.

Aleema, in her affidavit submitted with FIA team, stated: “The Lofts East:1460 was paid for from funds generated from my business dealings overseas. Further, I have already disposed of my property and have also informed the FBR about the purchase and sale of the said property.”

On October 27, FIA had submitted in the Supreme Court the details of 44 close relatives of prominent political personalities who owned properties in the UAE.

LONDON: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday night said that accountability should be done without discrimination and with justification.

During an interview with Geo News in London, the chief justice shared, “The nation pays their hard-earned money as taxes and we cannot allow people to loot it.”

“A team has been formed under the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor to bring back looted money to the country,” he said. “Through the protocol signed with Britain, we have received important information regarding properties owned by Pakistanis.”

Justice Nisar continued, “Pakistanis who own properties in Britain were not sharing details. I had selected 15 Pakistanis who own properties in Britain of which seven appeared before the court and further investigations in this regard are under way.”

The top further said, “There is room for improvement in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws.”

Stressing the need for accountability across the board, the chief justice said, “In the Supreme Court, we do not see who is on whose side and we only see the law.”

“There is no other way except for accountability without discrimination and with justification,” he added.

Further, speaking to journalists, Justice Nisar said, “I am thinking of forming a bench to keep a watch on the money spent from the dam fund so they cannot be used for any other purpose.”

A record amount of £2.3 million was raised for the construction of dams at the Geo Television Network’s live telethon from Manchester.

The chief justice is currently visiting the United Kingdom to raise funds for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams.

LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Saturday dissolved the Punjab Healthcare Commission’s (PHC) board of commissioners and directed that a new board to be formed within two weeks.

A special bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the matter of PHC board appointments at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry. Provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid appeared before the court for the hearing.

As the hearing went under way, the chief justice turned to Dr Rashid and remarked, “I had high hopes from you. What kind of people have you included in the board?”

The provincial health minister responded, “The board was formed as per the directives of the Supreme Court and members were named according to the set procedure. The chief minister accorded approval for the appointments.”

Justice Ijazul Ahsan observed, “The institution is a regulator but politics is taking place over there.” The bench further remarked, “The board should be unbiased and independent.”

The chief justice then ordered that a new board be formed comprising esteemed and qualified individuals.

During the hearing, PHC board member Shafqat Chohan informed the court, “Member Hussain Naqvi and Justice (retd) Amir Raza, chairperson of the commission, had a heated exchange which has nothing to do with the other board members.”

“Hussain Naqvi did not ask Justice (retd) Amir Raza to resign from his post as commission chairperson. In fact, Naqvi said he will resign himself,” Chohan added.

Justice Nisar then said, “Where is Hussain Naqvi because of who Justice (retd) Amir Raza resigned?”

When board member Naqvi appeared before the court, the chief justice asked him, “Who are you?” To which, the board member responded, “I was the union secretary of Islamia College.”

Justice Nisar in response said, “So then leave the board and run the union.” Expressing anger at Naqvi, the top judge asked, “Why did you misbehave with Justice (retd) Amir Raza?”

Naqvi then pleaded, “Hear me out. I am sorry for raising my voice.” However, Justice Nisar said, “How dare you. We will give you a contempt of court notice.”

The board member responded, “I am 20 years your senior. Hear what I have to say.” Justice Nisar, however, asked Naqvi to apologise which the board member did. The chief justice further ordered, “Take Naqvi out of my court.”

The court then dissolved the PHC board and ordered that a new board be formed within two weeks. The hearing of the case was then adjourned.

ISLAMABAD: A joint investigation team constituted on the directive of the Supreme Court of Pakistan has summoned Azam Swati today in its ongoing probe against alleged misuse of authority, misconduct and encroachment by the federal minister.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had taken suo motu notice of Islamabad IGP Jan Muhammad’s abrupt transfer last month. The IGP was transferred on October 27 after he allegedly refused to take action on a complaint by the son of Federal Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati, regarding a fight over purported encroachment with a family at their farmhouse.

The apex court had formed a JIT to probe allegations of misuse of authority, misconduct and encroachment against the minister. The JIT is headed by DG National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi Irfan Mangi and includes top officials from the Intelligence Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency. The team was tasked to submit its report to the court within 14 days.
IGP transfer: SC forms JIT to probe Azam Swati’s misconduct

According to sources, the JIT has prepared a questionnaire in light of its findings so far, and has summoned Swati for questioning today.

The JIT has already questioned Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi and other government officials in the case.

The Supreme Court had suspended the transfer of Jan Muhammad but had to withdraw its order after he excused himself from performing duties as Islamabad IGP.

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday rejected news reports that Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was acquitted by the Supreme Court last week in a blasphemy case against her, has left the country.

“Asia Bibi is in Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said during his weekly press briefing.

“There is no truth in reports that Asia Bibi has left the country,” he added.

The FO spokesperson’s statement came in response to reports that Bibi had left the country following her release from a prison in Multan on Wednesday night.

“She has been freed,” lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook said in a text message to AFP last night. “I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land.”

Asia Bibi leaves jail, flies out of Multan

The mother of five was headed for an unknown destination, her lawyer had further said.

Earlier, a civil aviation official in Multan said a small plane arrived in the city with “a few foreigners and some Pakistanis” on board to fetch Bibi.

According to a civil aviation official, the aircraft that collected Bibi from jail would have been required to land in Islamabad but it was unclear if she may have had a connecting flight.

On the other hand, three security officials told Reuters early Thursday that Bibi was released from the Multan prison. She was flown to the airport near Islamabad but was in protective custody because of threats to her life, they said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Bibi’s release came a week after her acquittal in a landmark case that triggered angry protests in the country and following appeals from her husband, Ashiq Masih, for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum.

Asia Bibi’s acquittal
Allegations against Bibi, 53, dated back to June 2009 when she was labouring in a field and a row broke out with some Muslim women who had alleged that she committed blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

Bibi was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 2010 despite her advocates maintaining her innocence and insisting the accusers held grudges against her.

Supreme Court acquits Asia Bibi after blasphemy charges not proven

Bibi’s conviction was overturned by the country’s highest court on October 31 but she had remained in prison as the government negotiated with protesters from religious groups — led by the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) — who blockaded major cities and demanded her immediate execution.

Riots broke out in major cities across the country in the wake of the ruling, with club-wielding protesters barricading roads and highways in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. Enraged masses had blocked several routes across the country for two days, while at some places they had also set fire to vehicles.

On November 2, two days following the protests, the government had agreed in a deal with the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) — one of the most vocal groups in the protests — to follow due process to impose a travel ban on Bibi, and not to challenge an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Saif-ul-Mulook, her lawyer, fled to the Netherlands on Saturday citing threats to his life.

KARACHI: The Sindh government has lifted the ban on pillion riding and rallies across the province.

“The ban imposed for ten days on pillion riding, rallies and gathering of four persons has been withdrawn with immediate effect,” read a notification issued by the provincial home department on Saturday.

On Wednesday, the Sindh government had imposed Section 144 in the province for ten days from October 31 to November 10, placing a ban on pillion riding, rallies and carrying or displaying arms across the province.

The decision was taken in the wake of protests and rioting after a Supreme Court verdict acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been on death row in a blasphemy case. After three days of protests, the demonstrators ended their sit-ins after reaching an agreement with the government over the matter.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s ambitious plan to reform the Punjab Police is on hold, after the recent resignation of retired police officer Nasir Khan Durrani as chairman of the Commission on Police Reforms and Implementation in Punjab.

Durrani cited poor health as the cause of his resignation. However, it is widely believed he resigned to record his protest when the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Punjab, Mohammad Tahir was abruptly removed and replaced by Amjad Javaid Saleemi. Khwaja Khalid Farooq, a retired IGP of Punjab, soon gave credence to this belief by tweeting that Durrani had resigned probably due to the premature transfer of IGP Tahir.

Unnamed officials were quoted as saying that Durrani told his subordinate he had reservations over IGP Tahir’s abrupt removal. It was reported that offices of the Commission on Police Reforms and Implementation in Punjab, located in the GOR-1 Lahore, were closed down, apparently temporarily, when Durrani refused to take back his resignation.

This triggered a chain of events as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) immediately took notice of the IGP Punjab’s premature transfer on the eve of by-elections on 36 parliamentary and provincial assembly seats, including Punjab. The ECP suspended the notification of the transfer, as it had barred the government from making any postings and transfers until the October 14 polls.

The government found it difficult to defend IGP Tahir’s transfer as Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry made a vague statement that the Punjab police chief had refused to obey orders and failed to work in accordance with the PTI’s agenda of reform. His government should have known that postings and transfers during the election campaign have been banned by the ECP, but it still went ahead, only to face embarrassment when the order was suspended.

Tahir continued to work as IGP Punjab until the by-elections. However, it was obvious he will be posted out after the by-polls. Finally, Saleemi replaced him as planned.

Tahir spent less than two months as IGP Punjab, after his appointment on September 7 from a panel of three shortlisted candidates. His term appears to be the shortest for an IGP in Punjab.

Earlier, Tahir had served as the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), during the rule of the caretaker government. The IGPs of all four provinces were replaced at the time to ensure free and fair general election.

For now, Tahir has been made the commandant of National Police Academy.

Back to Durrani. Now, if poor health was an issue, he would not have accepted the job to head the reforms commission, in the first place. He took the job as a challenge and began drawing up plans for reforming the police in his native Punjab. Durrani had reformed and depoliticised the KP Police and set up several specialized training schools as the IGP, during PTI’s rule in the province from 2013-2018. In fact, his work earned him generous praise from the party chairman, Imran Khan.

It is also a fact that Durrani cited health reasons for declining the offer to become the Punjab caretaker chief minister, who was tasked to hold the elections in Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest province in terms of population and the main battleground between deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Imran Khan’s PTI in the July 2018 election.

His reluctance to become the caretaker chief minister was understandable. The job had to be performed in full glare of the media in a politically charged situation. Given Pakistan’s past history, polarised politics and previous elections, Durrani opted to stay away to avoid controversy.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first speech mentioned Durrani as the architect of police reforms in KP and announced that he will undertake a similar task in Punjab.

Durrani would not have accepted the job without first getting an assurance that there will be no political interference in his work. He had obtained such a promise before accepting Imran Khan’s offer to become the IGP for KP. As Durrani publicly said on several occasions, Imran Khan stood by his word and made no interference in police department affairs.

The outcome was a reformed KP Police that already had a good reputation, and had offered tremendous sacrifices as the frontline law-enforcement force in the war against terrorism. Khan used to proudly claim that his government got the KP Police free from political interference to make it an exemplary force. He mentioned it as a major PTI achievement in KP and pledged to replicate it in Punjab, where he blamed the PML-N leadership for politicising the police.

However, the prime minister’s plan to undertake similar reforms in Punjab met its first hurdle when IGP Tahir was unceremoniously forced out of his job by the PTI’s provincial government.

This wasn’t acceptable to Durrani, who saw his task as police reformer of a system, in which such arbitrary transfers and postings would no longer be possible. Durrani may have realised he will have to face political interference in his work in Punjab and it was better to quit now than later. Perhaps the political culture is different in Punjab than in the more egalitarian KP society.

Already, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was left red-faced, and he, and certain police officials, had to tender an apology to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which took suo motu notice of the abrupt transfer of Pakpattan district police officer Rizwan Gondal following the late August incident involving Khawar Maneka, the former husband of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Maneka.

But despite these happenings, Prime Minister Khan may not easily give up his wish to bring reforms in the Punjab Police, but to accomplish this he will have to persuade Durrani to resume his job or find someone equally competent and dynamic. Besides, he will need to push his party’s lawmakers and allies to agree to police reforms in Punjab. He managed to make this happen in KP, but Punjab presents a bigger challenge.

KARACHI:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Police on Tuesday took several residents of Pakistan Quarters into custody after they staged a protest against their eviction from the federal residential colonies.

Police and the anti-riot force resorted to baton-charge and used a water cannon to disperse protesters.

The residents of the Pakistan Quarters in Karachi staged a protest against the operation to evict them from the federal residential colonies following the Supreme Court’s directives.

Residents, including women and children, installed blockades at entrances of the quarters and did not allow personnel of law enforcement agencies to enter leading to clashes between them.

Heavy contingents of police, including the anti-riot force, were called and they resorted to baton-charge and used a water canon to disperse the protesters. Several protesters were taken into custody.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders Amir Khan, Naveed Jamil, Farooq Sattar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Jamal Siddiqui reached the site to extend support to the residents of the quarters.

ISLAMABAD:(Net News/ Media 92 News) A two-day international symposium on water crisis will begin in the federal capital on today (Friday).

President Dr Arif Alvi will inaugurate the symposium titled ‘Creating a Water-Secure Pakistan’, to be held at the Supreme Court premises in the afternoon. The concluding session will be chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar.

The symposium has been organised by the Law and Justice Commission on the direction of Justice Nisar to highlight issues relating to water shortage in the country and devise immediate remedial measures.

Jurists and experts in water resource management and researchers from different countries will present their research papers in the symposium.

Themes pertaining to legal aspects of the Indus Basin, construction and financing of dams and reservoirs and management of water resources will be discussed in the meeting.