LAHORE (Dunya News) – Acting Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Zaheer Iqbal Chanar, has reinstated 26 previously suspended opposition members of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
During a session chaired by Chanar, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman appealed for the reinstatement, stating that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also wishes for elected representatives to return to the Assembly to ensure proper constituency representation.
He emphasised that the presence of the opposition is vital to the vibrancy of the house, and that the Assembly feels incomplete without their participation.
May 9 case: Punjab Assembly opposition leader Bhachar sentenced to 10 years in jail
Responding to the appeal, the acting Speaker said reinstating the members would send a positive message and ordered their immediate restoration. He also directed that official notifications be issued to bring the opposition members back to the Assembly.
On June 27, PTI lawmakers disrupted the Punjab Assembly during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech by chanting slogans and surrounding the speaker’s podium.
In response, Speaker Malik Ahmed Khan suspended 26 opposition members for 15 sessions and fined 10 MPAs Rs200,000 each for damaging public property. Disqualification references were also sent to the Election Commission over “unparliamentary conduct.”
However, two days earlier, the speaker rejected the disqualification pleas after successful talks with the opposition. He clarified that serious allegations must be proven in court, and warned against undermining free expression or the assembly’s constitutional role.
The 26 PTI-backed members include Malik Farhad Masood, Tanveer Aslam, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, Ahmad Mujtaba, Shahbaz Ahmad, Saima Kanwal, Usama Asghar Gujjar, and others.
Pakistan PM calls for expediting rescue operations as rains kill 15 in last 24 hours
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to expedite rescue operations in flood-affected areas, his office said, as torrential monsoon rains killed at least 15 people during the last 24 hours in the country’s northern areas.
At least 10 people were killed and two injured during the last 24 hours in rain-related incidents across Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) KP said in its report on Tuesday. Separately, a Gilgit-Baltistan official confirmed five people had died, among them four tourists, while several were reported missing after a cloudburst near the popular Babusar Road triggered floods and landslides in the area on Monday afternoon.
In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Sharif expressed sorrow at the loss of lives caused by heavy rains and floods in several parts of the country.
“The prime minister directed that rescue operations in flood-affected areas be expedited,” the PMO said, directing the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to remain in constant contact with provincial authorities and other government departments.
Sharif directed the authorities to provide immediate relief to the people, saying that all preparations to deal with any possible situation in the coming days should be completed.
He directed the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Frontier Works Organization (FWO) to accelerate restoration work on highways and link roads affected by the floods.
Heavy rains led to urban flooding in Islamabad’s Saidpur Village on Monday, as footage shared widely on social media showed severely damaged cars being swept away by raging currents in nullahs.
The prime minister also expressed grief over news reports of a father and his daughter being swept away in their car by floodwaters in Islamabad’s Defense Housing Authority Phase 5 area.
A video being shared widely on social media and television channels showed the car being swept away by the floodwater, with a man calling out for help from within the vehicle. Local media widely reported that authorities had launched a rescue operation to recover the father and daughter.
“The prime minister directed that all possible efforts be made to rescue the father and daughter swept away in the floodwater with their vehicle,” the PMO said.
As per the PDMA KP’s preliminary report issued on Tuesday, the 10 victims of rain-related incidents include two men, two women and six children while the injured includes a man and one child.
The incidents occurred in various districts of the province such as Swat, Bajaur, Buner, Upper Kohistan, Upper Chitral and Shangla, as per the PDMA report.
The development takes place as the death toll from rain-related incidents in Pakistan since June 26 has surged to 221, as per the NDMA’s latest situation report.
Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province has reported the highest number of deaths at 135, followed by 46 in KP, 22 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, and one each in the federal capital of Islamabad and Azad Kashmir.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned this week that landslides and mudslides may block roads in vulnerable areas of Murree, Galliyat, Azad Kashmir and GB, forecasting heavy rains till July 25. Torrential rains, windstorms and lightning could also damage weak structures, electric poles, billboards, vehicles and solar panels, it added.
Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.
However, Pakistan is ranked consistently among countries most affected by climate change impacts. Pakistan has witnessed irregular weather patterns in recent years, which include heavy rains, droughts and soaring temperatures.
In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains combined with glacial melt submerged nearly a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing over 8 million. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.
In a significant development for wildlife conservation in Pakistan, the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, locally known as Bhakhar, has shown promising signs of population recovery in the Cholistan Desert, according to Punjab wildlife authorities.
Wildlife experts estimate the global population of the Great Indian Bustard to be between 80 and 90, with approximately 30 to 35 believed to inhabit the Cholistan region of Pakistan. This fragile recovery is the result of enhanced conservation efforts, ongoing field monitoring, and the creation of a dedicated public wildlife reserve.
“This bird is now restricted to the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan and Rajasthan in India,” confirmed Wildlife Conservator Syed Rizwan Mehmood.
He documented rare video footage and photographs of the species during a recent field survey.
“The sighting and documentation of its presence confirm its continued survival in Pakistan. It’s a major breakthrough.”
Bahawalpur Deputy Chief Wildlife Ranger Syed Ali Usman Bukhari emphasised the role of dedicated habitat protection in aiding the bird’s recovery.
“A designated Public Wildlife Reserve has been established in Cholistan specifically to protect the Great Indian Bustard. Strengthened conservation measures have led to a gradual increase in the population of this native species,” he said.
The Great Indian Bustard (ardeotis nigriceps) is listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), making it one of the most threatened bird species in South Asia.
Once found in large numbers across the Indian subcontinent, the species is now confined to fragmented habitats in India and Pakistan due to habitat loss, hunting and human disturbance.
Renowned for its distinctive appearance, the Great Indian Bustard is among the heaviest flying birds in the world. Males can weigh up to 15 kilograms, stand about one meter tall, and have a wingspan exceeding two meters. The bird is easily identified by its brown, white and black plumage and a prominent black patch on the neck.
It lays only one egg per year, resulting in an extremely low breeding rate making every individual crucial to the survival of the species.
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), all international trade of the species is strictly prohibited. Domestically, the bird enjoys legal protection, with all forms of hunting or trade banned.
Unlike the more commonly targeted Houbara Bustard, which has faced significant pressure from hunting by foreign falconers, the Great Indian Bustard has largely been spared due to its rarity and the strict penalties imposed on violators.
Conservationists remain cautiously optimistic. “The progress we’re seeing in Cholistan is encouraging, but the species remains on the brink,” said a wildlife official. “We must maintain and expand protection efforts, raise awareness, and safeguard critical habitats if we are to prevent its extinction.”
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Sargodha has sentenced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmed Bhachar, MNA Ahmed Chattha and many other PTI supporters to imprisonment for 10 years in May 9 riots case on Tuesday, Aaj News reported.
They were alleged of involvement in sabotage activities during PTI’s countrywide violent protests on May 9, 2023.
After hearing arguments in the May 9 riots case, the ATC has issued its verdict, sentencing all 32 in prison for 10 years each.
The court judgement adds to the embattled PTI’s legal and political woes that started following the May 9 violent incidents during which military installations including Rawalpindi’s General Headquarters (GHQ) were vandalised by the party supporters upon former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest in a case.
Austria lauds Pakistan’s contributions to UNSC Ptv.com.pk
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, met with the Special Envoy for Global Affairs of the Austrian Chancellor, Peter Launsky, on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development. Associated Press of Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept away several vehicles carrying tourists in northern Pakistan, killing at least three people and leaving 15 others missing, officials said on Tuesday.
Pakistani rescue officials say the above-normal monsoon rains since June 26 have killed at least 225 people and injured more than 500 across the country. Experts say climate change is driving an increase in extreme weather events in the region.
A cloudburst caused floods and landslides on Monday, stranding more than 200 local tourists after a key highway near the northern Chilas district was blocked, said Faizullah Faraq, a government spokesperson in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Army helicopters were used in the evacuation, which included women and children, he said.
Several vehicles had been buried under the rubble of landslides and rescuers are using heavy machinery to find the missing tourists and residents, Faraq said. Three bodies have been recovered.
The National Disaster Management Authority issued an updated flood days before, warning against travel to northern areas due to potential landslides and blocked roads.
Earlier this month, authorities warned they cannot rule out a repeat of extreme weather like the 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and killed 1,737 people.
