Azad Jammu and Kashmir to hold local body polls in September

After 31 years, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission (AJ&K EC) will hold local government elections in the month of September on party basis.

This was announced by the Chief Election Commissioner CEC Justice Retd Abdul Rasheed Sulehria on Tuesday along with AJ&K EC members Farooq Niaz and Farhat Ali Mir while addressing the media.

"The apex court of AJ&K has given us a deadline to conduct polls before October 12, 2022 however, we are ready to conduct them in the month of September this year," said CEC Justice Retd Sulehria.

Senior Member AJ&K EC Farooq Niaz said that all arrangements have been completed to ensure impartial local bodies polls aimed at shifting the power to the people at the grassroots level. "Real beauty of democracy lies in the local government system where people have access at Union Council level to get their civic problems solved."

“We are also supporting giving funds according to the population at all UCs to conduct these elections in a peaceful environment."

Member AJ&K EC Farhat Ali Mir said that the first phase for the arrangements was delimitation which has been completed on time while the second phase was the completion of voter lists, and the task has already been achieved before the deadline.

He added that more than Rs900 million would be spent on the elections and in this connection, the EC has received Rs300 million so far.

Mir further said to ensure transparent elections, deputy commissioners in all ten districts of AJ&K will work as focal persons of the Election Commission.

More than 5,192 polling stations have been established while in general elections there were only 5,123 polling stations, the election commission official said.

The official added that at the returning officers (ROs) level, election preparations have been completed.

To a question, Mir said that there is no change in the local government election procedure and they will be conducted on the same pattern as the 1991 local body polls.

To another question regarding the educational qualification for the candidates, the EC official said that matriculation is mandatory while the age should be above 25 years.

To ensure peaceful elections, deployment of additional troops of Frontier Constabulary, FC and Rangers will be discussed with the federal government, Mir concluded.

China, Pakistan agree on third parties participation in CPEC: Zhao Lijian

China has reiterated its commitment to work with Pakistan to push forward all CPEC projects in a safe, smooth, and high-quality manner, to better benefit the two countries and their people.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian, during his regular briefing in Beijing said China is ready to follow through on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries in this regard.

He said China and Pakistan have agreed on participation of third parties in CPEC and exchanges among media and think tanks, including promoting cooperation schemes involving third parties in line with the existing consensus and extending CPEC projects to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Moin-ul-Haque said the third meeting of CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation placed emphasis on high-quality development of CPEC.

He said as an open and inclusive platform, both sides welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues for mutually beneficial cooperation opened by CPEC.

PDMA issues alert on opening of Tarbela Dam spillway

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa disaster management authorities have issued a warning to take preventative action against flooding before opening the spillway of Tarbela Dam to flush out extra water and make room for fresh inflow.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) issued a warning that the spillway gates of the dam would be opened in the following 24 hours due to rising water levels, which could result in a lower-level flood in the Indus River.

It asked the district administrations in Swabi, Haripur and Nowshera to adopt precautionary measures for the safety of life and property.

The current water inflow in Tarbela Dam was recorded at 243,000 cusecs while the outflow was 136,800, adding that the water level at the dam had surged to 1,511 feet.

The authority also asked people residing alongside the banks of the Indus River to stay vigilant and observe water’s flow in the river, advising them to relocate their animals and essential household items to safer places in case of a water surge.

Rescue operations underway in Karachi’s rain affected areas

Rescue and Relief operations are underway in rain affected areas of Karachi and civic agencies are busy in draining stagnant rain water from low-lying areas.

According to media reports staff of different departments including local bodies is busy in ensuring cleanliness in affected areas.

Most of the roads and areas have been cleared by civic agencies by using machinery and de-watering pumps.

Meanwhile complete ban has been imposed by commissioner Karachi on swimming in the sea due to on-going rains and high tides in the sea.

CM punjab election: SC reserves judgement

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi’s petition challenging the deputy speaker’s ruling in the recently held re-election for the Punjab chief minister, which led to Hamza Shehbaz’s victory.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar is expected to announce the decision today evening.

Earlier today, the counsel for Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari, Irfan Qadir, informed the Supreme Court that his client had instructed him not to participate further in the case proceedings and he would instead file a petition for review of the court’s decision not to constitute a full bench.

PPP counsel Farooq H. Naek also declined to participate in the court proceedings. However, they both stayed in the courtroom and watched the proceedings.

During the election, Mazari had decided against counting the votes of 10 PML-Q lawmakers, which were cast in Elahi’s favour, citing a letter written by party President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in which he had instructed them to vote for Hamza instead.

Coalition Govt to boycott court proceedings

Leaders of the coalition government announced to boycott the court’s proceedings after the Supreme Court rejected the plea seeking the formation of a full court bench in petitions related to the Punjab chief minister’s re-election.

The coalition parties opted to boycott the court’s proceeding after a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar turned down the government’s request for constituting a full court to hear the pleas regarding election of the Chief Minister of Punjab.

The PDM chief said that they would not appear before this bench for this case and will boycott it.

“If the full court is rejected, we also reject this decision of the judiciary, we will not appear before this bench and we will boycott the case,” he added.

Fazl said that the coalition govt did not want any interference in its affairs that impacts the administrative functioning, adding that the incumbent government, given mandate by the people, was not being allowed to function properly.

The PDM chief said that the proposal for the formation of the full bench was given to restore the public’s trust in courts but the courts should also assess their role and hold themselves accountable as well.

Fazl said the government wanted to fortify the judiciary but the decisions should speak themselves.

Speaking on the occasion Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stressed that only three judges could not decide the destiny of the nation.

Former prime minister and PML-N Vice President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, while addressing the press conference, said it was a “test” for the Supreme Court as it was a requirement of justice that a judge or bench recuse themselves from a case in which fingers were raised on them.

“This is done in every court in the world where there is rule of law and the constitution,” he said.

COAS lauds armed forces for helping people as rains wreak havoc

As persistent rains wreak havoc in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday appreciated the efforts of formations in relief operations to mitigate the challenges of people affected due to floods and heavy rainfall in the country, the military said in a statement.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief expressed these remarks during the 249th Corps Commanders’ Conference held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The ISPR said that the forum took a comprehensive review of the security situation with a particular focus on the border and internal security. The COAS lauded successful ongoing counter-terrorism operations and paid rich tribute to the supreme sacrifices of officers and men to ensure the security of borders and the safety of the masses.

The statement said that General Bajwa also appreciated the efforts of formations in relief operations to mitigate the challenges of people affected owing to floods and heavy downpours in the country.

The forum reaffirmed the resolve of the armed forces to extend complete support to civil administration in rescue and rehabilitation activities.

Torrential rains continued for the second day in Karachi leaving at least five people dead in various incidents of electrocution during the past 24 hours.

The electrocution incidents reportedly took place in the areas of Tesar Town, Lyari, Liaquatabad and SITE.

Acting Sindh Governor Agha Siraj Durrani, while expressing regret over the loss of precious human lives during the rains, urged people to stay at home.

Meanwhile, due to heavy rainfall, most of the city areas remained submerged in water, with all major highways flooded, causing serious difficulties to the city’s inhabitants and paralysing normal life.

Saddar reported the highest rainfall in the city with 217 millimetres of rain. Furthermore, residents living near suburban areas including Malir River were forced to relocate after several feet of water flooded the streets. All the while, the poor drainage system of the port city continued to add to its problems.

The rains are expected to continue till July 26, with the new monsoon spell in various districts of rural Sindh that may be expected by July 27.

The district administration of Hyderabad is setting up 29 relief camps in the city to deal with any emergencies during the new spell of monsoon rains, which may continue till Tuesday.

According to a notification issued by the district administration, the relief camps are being established in schools and colleges and would be supervised by the relevant principals.

The monsoon rains have resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people, including 118 children and damaged 8,889 houses, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

A report issued by the NDMA stated that 99 deaths were reported in Balochistan, 61 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 60 in Punjab, 70 in Sindh, eight in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), five in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and one death was reported in Islamabad.

Nearly 300 people were also injured in the rain-related incidents.