Category: 1. Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to prepare a coordinated plan in coordination with the provincial disaster management authorities to prevent incidents like the recent Swat tragedy.

Addressing a ceremony during his visit to the National Emergency Operations Centre of the NDMA in Islamabad on Tuesday, Sharif ordered a comprehensive reporting on such incidents. He said at least 49 people have died and several others injured across Pakistan.

Commending the state of the art NEOC facility, he assured the officials he would provide all possible assistance to strengthen the institution and build its capacity.

Sharif said he has already tasked Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Minister for Climate Change Musadik Masood Malik with securing grants and investment through public-private partnerships for building a resilient infrastructure in Pakistan.

On the subject of water security in light of India’s provocative and hostile intentions regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, the prime minister announced the government’s decision to construct non-controversial water storage facilities using Pakistan’s own resources.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday appointed the chief justices to the four high courts, a statement issued by the Supreme Court said.

Per the statement, the JCP held four consecutive meetings to make a decision related to the appointments and, by a majority of its total membership in each meeting, opted to allow the acting chief justices to continue serving the top roles.

Letters were subsequently issued to the prime minister’s principal secretary, informing the government about the nominations and requesting the forwarding of the same to the president for their appointment.

The letters said that Justice Sarfraz Dogar was nominated as the new chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Rozi Khan Barrech as the chief justice for the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah for the Peshawar High Court, and Justice Junaid Ghaffar for the Sindh High Court (SHC).

Pre­sident Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday had already formally decla­red Justice Dogar the “senior-most judge” of the IHC, following the issuance of a revised seniority list by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The development followed a ruling by the Supreme Court on June 19, upholding the constitutionality of transferring three judges from other provincial high courts and referring the matter of seniority determination to the president.

On Friday, five IHC judges had challenged the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the transfer of three judges — Justice Dogar from the LHC, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the SHC, and Justice Muhammad Asif from the BHC.

President Zardari had also declared that the status of the transfer of all three judges would be permanent.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, approved on Tuesday the appointments of permanent chief justices for four major high courts, including Peshawar, Balochistan, Sindh and Islamabad.

According to sources, Justice SM Attique Shah has been appointed as the permanent Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, reported Express News.

His name was chosen from among three candidates including Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali.

For the Balochistan High Court, Justice Rozi Khan was confirmed as the new Chief Justice.

He was selected based on his top seniority ranking, ahead of other two nominees, namely Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan and Justice Iqbal Ahmed Kasi.

Meanwhile, Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar has been appointed as the permanent Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court. His appointment was reportedly unanimous, as he currently ranks highest in the court’s seniority list.

Read: Five IHC judges file intra-court appeal

The commission also deliberated over the Islamabad High Court’s top post, reviewing the names of Justice Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar was confirmed as the new Chief Justice, securing a majority vote with nine JCP members in favour. He also leads the court’s seniority list.

Plea before SC

Meanwhile, Senator Ali Zafar, a member of the JCP affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told media outside the Supreme Court that his stance remains firm — only the senior-most judge should be appointed as chief justice.

He noted that an intra-court appeal concerning IHC judges’ seniority is still pending and said the matter should not have been discussed until the appeal is decided.

“If our view is not accepted, we will vote accordingly,” he said, without disclosing how he had cast his vote.

Earlier, five IHC judges had challenged the apex court’s order endorsing the transfer of three judges to the IHC.

They have also requested the apex court to restrain the three transferred judges — including Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar — from performing any judicial or administrative functions as IHC judges.

The judges, including Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, have filed an intra-court appeal against the order through counsels Muneer A Malik and Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed advocate in the apex court.

ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed the disqualification hearing of National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan until July 15. The adjournment came after Ayub’s lawyer submitted a stay order issued by the Peshawar High Court related to the case.

A three-member bench, led by ECP Member Sindh Nisar Durrani, conducted the proceedings on Tuesday. During the hearing, Justice (retd) Ikramullah from KP noted that the court order lacked a specified next date, prompting the ECP to ask its legal team to seek clarification from the Peshawar High Court.

Notably, Omar Ayub was absent from the hearing. However, the bench stressed that the reference sent by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq must be decided within the given time frame. The Commission also directed Ayub to submit a written response in the assets declaration case.

The opposition leader is accused of submitting inaccurate details in his nomination papers and providing misleading information to the returning officer. These allegations are part of a disqualification reference filed by PML-N’s Babar Nawaz, who was defeated by Ayub in the 2024 general elections from Haripur.

As the hearing continues, political tensions remain high. The outcome could significantly impact the opposition’s role in the National Assembly, especially if the ECP finds grounds for disqualification.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit Baltistan and State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Provincial President Engineer Amir Muqam and Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi here on Tuesday discussed the prevailing political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
 
During the meeting, both leaders expressed deep concern over the lack of good governance, worsening law and order, and what they termed as record-breaking corruption under the current provincial administration.

They described the present provincial government as highly detrimental to the interests of the province.

The two leaders also consulted on the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on reserved seats and its implications for the political landscape in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
 
Issues related to Kashmir, the situation in the merged tribal districts, and the misuse of federal funds allocated for these areas by the provincial government were also discussed.
 
The leaders condemned what they called the provincial administration’s misappropriation of these funds and emphasized the need to address the growing concerns of the people in the merged districts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the government is not considering any proposal to shut down or merge national institutions of academic, literary, historical, or cultural significance.

He was talking to PML-N Parliamentary Leader in the Upper House Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who called on him in Islamabad today (Tuesday).

Declaring sources of knowledge and literature as the spirit of a society, the Prime Minister said Pakistan possesses a rich heritage of civilization and culture, which is a source of national pride. He said on the contrary, the government will strive to make these institutions stronger, more effective and more productive so that society can be cleansed of extremism and country’s true soft image can emerge before the world.

Irfan Siddiqui informed the Prime Minister about the concerns among intellectuals, writers, poets, and artists across the country regarding the recommendations of the government’s rightsizing committee to shut down or merge scholastic institutions. He also reminded Shehbaz Sharif that during ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s previous tenure, special attention was given to these institutions and their performance was widely appreciated across all sectors of society.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif further said societies that sideline knowledge, literature and the fine arts fall prey to mechanical thinking and lose feelings of delicate human emotions. He added that the government will soon form a committee to improve the management and performance of these institutions and expand their scope and mandate in line with the demands of the modern era.

Irfan Siddiqui thanked the Prime Minister for his clear stance on academic and literary institutions.