ISLAMABAD: An apparently defiant Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to meet today (Friday) for the third consecutive day to deliberate over the Supreme Court’s order on reserved seats, whereas the National Assembly speaker urged the body to honour laws made by parliament, insisting that the amended Elections Act prevents independent lawmakers from switching parties. Sources told the ECP’s …
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held talks with Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar in Beijing, with the two sides pledging to deepen cooperation in each other’s modernization efforts. The Malaysian king is on a four-day state visit to China that will conclude on Sunday. It is his first visit to a non-ASEAN country since assuming office as the …
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has reiterated his party’s long-standing demand for judicial reforms, emphasising the need for a constitutional court to ensure a fair judicial system. Speaking to representatives of lawyers across the country on Thursday, Bilawal praised the legal community for their resistance against dictatorships, particularly in defeating General Musharraf’s regime. “Lawyers have always stood …
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday Pakistan’s intention to enhance its trade, economic, energy, connectivity, and security relations with Russia during a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk in Islamabad. The discussions underscored the two countries’ mutual interest in expanding cooperation in key sectors, including agriculture, food security, business, education, and science and technology. PM Shehbaz …
ISLAMABAD: In a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday stated that the Supreme Court’s judgment on reserved seats “cannot be implemented under the Amended Election Act, 2017”. In July, the SC declared Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a major …
NEW YORK: Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram on Wednesday warned the UN Security Council of a “serious threat of terrorism within and from Afghanistan”, emphasising that Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was fast emerging as an “umbrella organisation” with potential of causing regional destabilisation. The banned TTP, a separate group but aligned with the Afghan Taliban, had escalated attacks on Pakistani security …
KARACHI: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is convinced that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah would be the next chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) and would be taking charge of the top office next month. The PPP chairman also believes that they will be able to win over JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the proposed legislation that allows establishment of “constitutional courts”, …
ISLAMABAD: After Maulana Fazlur Rehman ‘completely rejected’ the proposed constitutional package chalked up by the PML-N, the coalition government without losing hope has stepped up consultations with other political parties to evolve a consensus on the controversial amendments to the Constitution. In a media talk following a meeting between the JUI-F chief and the PTI leaders at the residence of …
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday restrained the accountability court from pronouncing its verdict in the £190 million corruption reference against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi. A division bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb issued the restraining order while hearing Mr Khan and Bushra Bibi’s petitions. Through their …
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is still undecided on the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict regarding the eligibility of PTI for reserved seats and has decided to seek opinion of legal experts on the matter. Sources told Dawn the ECP met here to deliberate on the Supreme Court’s judgement on reserved seats and its September 14 order …