PESHAWAR: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday paid a visit to the Cadet College in Wana, where an attack was thwarted earlier this week, saying that elements from “across the border” were responsible for terrorist incidents. In remarks which were televised, Naqvi told tribal elders gathered at the college during his visit that several officials from Pakistan — including himself, …
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) formally commenced on Friday after its chief justice and four judges took oath, though the proceedings were overshadowed by a boycott from five senior judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and questions are being raised over what principle, if any, guided these appointments. Critics point out that if seniority was the yardstick, none …
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has accepted the resignations of Supreme Court judges Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah, a post on the President’s official X account said on Friday. The two judges had handed in their resignations yesterday, hours after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by the president, describing the legislation as an affront to …
ISLAMABAD: The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) held an emergency meeting on Friday to review the country’s political situation in the wake of the 27th Constitutional Amendment’s passage. President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment on Thursday, enacting it into law. The TTAP had already announced a nationwide protest movement against the amendment since …
ISLAMABAD: Jordan’s King Abdullah II will arrive in Pakistan for a two-day state visit on Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which he is expected to hold high-level meetings with the prime minister and the president, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) on Friday. The Jordanian monarch’s last visit to Pakistan was …
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday criticised two Supreme Court judges for tendering resignations following the passage of the 27th constitutional amendment a day earlier, saying their “consciences only awakened after their monopoly was curtailed.” Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah handed in their resignations, hours after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by President …
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi asserted on Friday that Pakistan had never eschewed dialogue with any government in Kabul but would not hold talks with any terrorist groups. The spokesperson’s speech came in the context of the third round of talks that concluded on November 7 in Istanbul between Pakistan and Afghanistan, aimed at ending cross-border terrorism …
ISLAMABAD: The Senate swiftly passed four bills related to the recently approved contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment on Friday, including one that seeks changes to the Army Act and resets the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir after his appointment as the chief of the defence forces (CDF). As explained by Law Minister Azam Nazeer …
RAWALPINDI: Four terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested for their involvement in the suicide blast in Islamabad earlier this week, the government said on Friday. “In a joint operation conducted by the Intelligence Bureau Division and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), four members of the TTP/Fitna al-Khawarij terrorist cell involved in the suicide attack at the Judicial …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Aminuddin Khan on Friday was sworn in as the first chief justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) after the 27th Amendment was enacted into law a day earlier. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza were also present for the ceremony …