SC relegates Hamza Shahbaz to ‘interim CM’ with limited powers

A Supreme Court bench at Lahore Registry on Saturday relegated Hamza Shahbaz to interim chief minister of Punjab - the status he held before July 22 - who would just serve as a ‘trustee’ as it heard the case against the ruling of the Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari which paved way for Hamza’s victory in the Punjab chief minister election.

This morning, Hamza Shahbaz had taken the oath as the CM again after defeating Pervaiz Elahi in the run-off election.

The hearing of the case has been adjourned till Monday which will be conducted in the Supreme Court’s main building in Islamabad.

The top court barred Hamza Shahbaz from making errant transfers and postings and directed him to work in accordance with the law and Constitution.

Hamza Shahbaz was also restrained from exercising any such powers which could benefit him politically.

The court said it would keep an eye on appointments during the span and those against merit will be declared null and void.

Earlier, the court termed the petitions against ruling of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari as maintainable. The hearing resumed at 2:30pm after a gap of around four hours.

A three-member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial is hearing Punjab Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s application against the ruling given by Punjab Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari canceling 10 votes cast by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) members in favor of him.

Other judges on the bench are Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan. The hearing is being conducted at Supreme Court-Lahore Registry.

Advocate Irfan Qadir represented the deputy speaker while Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman and Punjab Advocate General Shehzad Shaukat were also present in the hearing.

As the hearing resumed, Mazari’s lawyer submitted his client’s reply in the court.

The court asked where the deputy speaker was. Mazari’s lawyer said that he was present in the court for assistance.

The chief justice ordered to move all unrelated people out of the courtroom and adjourned the hearing briefly.

Owing to rush in the courtroom, the court decided to carry out the hearing via video-link.

The chief justice inquired Mazari’s lawyer about the paragraph of the court’s verdict which was referred by the deputy speaker in his ruling.

“It is my first appearance. You are taking a difficult test from me,” Qadir said and read the ruling before the bench on the order.

Justice Ahsan said that in the verdict, the role of the parliamentary leader was clear and asked what was ambiguous in it.

The lawyer argued that different court verdicts in the past had various interpretations.

The bench said that it had made clear that the votes against the party line should not be counted.

The court asked how 10 votes of PML-Q were canceled.

The court said that in the broader perspective, the deputy speaker’s ruling was not in accordance with the Supreme Court’s verdict in Article 63(A) case.

Qadir argued that the bench should put itself in the deputy speaker’s place to which the court asked where the record of the election it had sought was.

The chief justice said they want to see if Mazari had the letter sent by PML-Q Chief Chaudhry Shujaat.

The court restored Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz’s status before July 1, making him an interim chief minister.

The chief justice said that Hamza would serve as a trustee as they could not leave the province without an administrative head.

The court ordered the deputy speaker to submit a written response and directed the Punjab government to do so as well.

Morning hearing

Earlier, the bench said that the deputy speaker did not pinpoint the paragraph of the Supreme Court’s verdict on interpretation of Article 63(A) which he referred while pronouncing his ruling.

The matter apparently looks complicated, the bench said and expressed hope that all respondents would cooperate with the court.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) also filed a petition in the court challenging Mazari’s ruling.

In its application, the PTI said that the parliamentary head of PML-Q had directed the MPAs to vote for Elahi. It prayed to the court to declare Mazari’s ruling void.

During the hearing, Barrister Ali Zafar who was representing both the PTI and Elahi, said Hamza Shahbaz got 179 votes while his client Pervaiz Elahi secure 186 votes. Deputy speaker, however, rejected the votes of PML-Q MPAs.

Hamza has even taken the oath of the office, he added.

Zafar said that the deputy speaker read out the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the disqualification of lawmakers for not following the party line.

He said that the deputy speaker rejected the votes based on a letter from party head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. He, however, did not consider the role of the parliamentary leader, Zafar argued.

The court then issued a notice to the attorney general and sought an answer from him.

The bench has also summoned Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari and ordered him to bring the record of the election with him.

The hearing was adjourned till 2pm.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, talking to the media ahead of the hearing at 2pm, said that the ruling coalition wants to make the bench controversial and accused SAPM Fahd Hussain and his paid journalists of running a Twitter trend against the top court.

Pervaiz Elahi approaches SC against Mazari’s ruling
Punjab Assembly Speaker and joint candidate of PTI-PML-Q in Punjab chief minister election, Pervaiz Elahi, had submitted the application through Advocate Aamir Saeed.

In his application, Speaker of Punjab Assembly had requested the court to hear the application today.

Mazari’s decision to cancel 10 votes of PML-Q MPAs came after he claimed to have received a letter from PML-Q Chief Shujaat Hussain which he read out in the House.

In the letter, Chaudhry Shujaat had directed his party members to vote in favor of Hamza Shahbaz in the run-off polls for CM Punjab.

“I confirmed the letter with Ch Shujaat Hussain thrice on the phone,” Mazari said.

The cancelation cost Elahi the coveted Punjab Chief Ministership.

FM Bilawl Bhutto urges student to work hard for progress of Pakistan

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood interacted with students of the Narayan Jagannath Vaidya School hailing from different districts of Sindh.

On the occasion, the students were briefed on different aspects of life and career in the Foreign Office.

The Foreign Minister encouraged them to work hard for progress of Pakistan and wished them a bright future.

Coalition govt demands full court hear petition against Dost Mazari's ruling

The coalition government on Saturday demanded that a full court hear the petition filed against the ruling issued by Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Dost Muhammad Mazari in the election of the province's chief minister.

A joint statement has been issued in this regard, urging the chief justice to constitute a full bench to hear the case.

Mazari rejected 10 PML-Q votes after party chief Chaudhry Shujaat directed his lawmakers to vote in favour of Hamza Shahbaz, but they decided to support Pervez Elahi.

As a result, Elahi lost the crucial election, and he approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) — whose three-member bench is hearing the case, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

The statement

In the statement, the parties said it will be fair that the full court bench, comprising all the respected judges of the Supreme Court, review the the Supreme Court bar application, the present application, and other related applications, and schedule them for hearing together and issue a single ruling because these are matters of national, political and constitutional importance.

The country is paying a heavy price of the resulting political instability is paying a heavy price, with the economy at risk of bankruptcy and the people suffering from inflation, unemployment and poverty, the statement said.

Turning their guns to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, the coalition rulers said that the former prime minister was moving the country's politics towards chaos.

"Imran Khan is repeatedly creating chaos in politics with the aim of avoiding accountability, hiding his corruption and gaining power through illegitimate means," they said in the statement.

The constitution draws clear lines of authority between the Legislature, the Judiciary, and the Executive, but an "arrogant violator of the Constitution" — Khan — wants to erase those lines, the statement said.

The coalition government said that the PTI chairman wants to move Pakistan's democracy and right to governance towards "default", "just as he did with the economy".

"Imran Khan's attitude and thought are like a 'termite' eating away at Pakistan [...] but the ruling coalition reiterates its commitment that there will be no compromise on the constitution, democracy and people's right to rule," they said.

They added that the coalition parties will move forward on every forum together and they will "fight against the darkness of fascism".

Pakistan dispatches relief goods through special flight to flood affected people of Afghanistan

Pakistan has dispatched humanitarian assistance and relief goods through a special flight to the flood affected people of eastern Afghanistan.

Addressing a ceremony in connection with the delivery of relief goods to Afghanistan at Nur Khan Airbase in Islamabad on Friday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the relief assistance includes tents, blankets, clothing items, cooking oil and sugar.

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan shares the grief of Afghan people and stands in solidarity with them in these difficult times.

He said our relief efforts are a humble testament to the fraternal bonds that exist between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister called upon the international community to also step up its relief efforts to support the Afghan people who have been faced with one calamity after another. He said the international community cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan in these difficult times.

He said Pakistan has been advocating at all levels that international community must engage with Afghanistan to avoid its economic collapse.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Pakistan is desirous of a peaceful, stable, prosperous and connected Afghanistan.

Top military brass confident in armed forces' resolve to respond to threats

A huddle of the military’s top brass was held Friday to discuss the defence and security environment of the country, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza chaired the meeting that took place at Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ), with all services chiefs in presence, the military's media wing said.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu were in attendance.

The meeting, according to ISPR, received a detailed briefing on a review of the national security situation specific to the western border, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

In light of the recent terrorist events and the military's response, the forum expressed complete satisfaction and full confidence in the readiness of the defence forces.

The participants also reaffirmed the resolve of the armed forces to respond to the entire spectrum of threats in the most befitting manner in line with a comprehensive security strategy.

The military's top brass also lauded the sacrifices of security agencies in the fight against terrorism.

Apart from that, the forum also discussed fast-paced developments in the realm of strategic and conventional policies.

They also exchanged views on the importance of peace in Afghanistan for sustainable development in the region and the operational preparedness of the armed forces.

Ahead of CM elections, govt appoints Faisal Shahkar as new IG Punjab

The government Friday appointed Faisal Shahkar as the new inspector general Punjab ahead of the closely watched election for the province's chief minister.

According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat, Shahkar — a BS-22 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan — has been transferred and posted as a provincial police officer with the approval of the federal government.

Shahkar, who was previously serving as the Inspector General of Pakistan Railways Police (PRP), has replaced Rao Sardar with immediate effect. Furthermore, Sardar has taken over his successor's post at the railways.

sources said that top-ranking government officials — IG Punjab and Chief Secretary Kamran Afzal — sent their transfer requests to the incumbent government a few days back,

Their requests came after PTI Chairman Imran Khan, following the party’s win in the recently-held Punjab by-election, warned that he remembers the name of "every police and government official involved" in activities against his party.

PTI leader Shahbaz Gill told media persons that the government hasn’t changed and the incumbent inspector-general has made a “run” for it.

“IG Punjab Rao Sardar sahab, don’t run away from Punjab,” he said, warning that everyone will be dealt with after PTI wins the election.

He also said that the people would deal with those involved in hooliganism.

Samina Baig summits K2 along with her team

Samina Baig summited the mighty K2 along with her team members and became the first ever Pakistani woman to scale the mountain. Following Samina’s summit, Naila Kiani reached the top, becoming the second.

Several other climbers from various countries, including female climbers from Oman, Lebanon, Iran, and Taiwan summited the peak on Friday morning.

The summit push started late last night as soon as rope fixing teams completed their jobs and the first group reached atop K2 at around 3am in the night.

Social media users have praised Samina Baig for her bravery. Samina Baig, who was born in Gilgit-Baltistan, became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, in 2013 at the age of 22.