Category: 1. Pakistan

• CJP-led bench conducts hearing on Imran Khan’s plea.
• PTI founder’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja seeks adjournment.
• Former PM has challenged LHC’s verdict rejecting his bail.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of an appeal filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan against the rejection of his bail pleas in cases related to the May 9 mayhem by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi heard the plea today. However, the court adjourned the hearing till August 12 at the request of Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja.

Khan, on Thursday, had moved the SC against the LHC’s last month’s verdict of rejecting his bail petitions in eight separate cases related to the May 9 riots, including the attack on Jinnah House in Lahore.

In the petition, the PTI founder argued that a first information report (FIR) lacked sufficient evidence and termed the allegations of his involvement in the riots as baseless.

It also stated that since he was in NAB custody at the time, it was impossible for him to take part in those riots, besides raising doubts over the case on the basis of “contradictions” in the prosecution statements.

Khan also sought further investigation into the case, as he suspected mala fide intent on the part of the police for avoiding his arrest for five months.

The petitioner maintained that the evidence against him is inadequate, while other co-accused have already been granted bail.

He also called the delayed police statements unreliable and asserted that he deserves the right to bail.

A two-member LHC bench, headed by Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, pronounced the reserved verdict on June 24 after lawyers from the petitioner and the government sides concluded their arguments.

Previously, on November 27, 2024, the ATC had dismissed Imran’s bail pleas in these eight cases.

There is horror, disgust and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness online as Pakistani netizens react to a video of a young girl being attacked by a grown man in Punjab’s Kasur. The city has been the epicentre of several cases of child abuse, including the Zainab Ansari murder, and a 2015 child pornography ring that involved 280 children. The Zainab case catalysed the setting up of Pakistan’s missing child hotline.

The video that surfaced on Monday showed a young girl riding a tricycle with another child in an alley. A man walks up to her, forcefully grabs and assaults her and then strolls on. Soon after the video went viral, the Punjab Police announced they had arrested the culprit and filed a case against him.

According to Kasur District Police Officer Muhammad Isa Khan, the suspect was arrested in an injured condition. He was caught on Dhanpat Road where he pulled out a pistol to escape arrest. However, he was shot during an exchange of fire and was arrested in an injured condition. “The suspect had molested a little girl playing in a street in Shah Inayat Colony three days ago,” a police statement read.

The video shared by the Punjab Police included a poorly censored picture of the victim being handed a bouquet, a gesture that seemed more concerned with optics and public reassurance than addressing the deeper failures behind such incidents.

The overwhelming sentiment online was one of horror that the city had been hit with yet another case of child abuse. “Kasur. Again,” lamented journalist Zarrar Khuhro.

“The video from Kasur leaves no room for the tired excuse ‘not all men.’ This predatory behaviour is sickening. If there’s no self-accountability, the state must do its part to make an example out of such predators,” another user insisted.

A lot of the conversation online focused on the city itself, while others reminded everyone that it wasn’t just Kasur that was the problem — such predatory behaviour is found elsewhere in the country as well.

“I find it very ignorant that every time a case emerges from Kasur, people start their outrage with ‘what’s wrong with Kasur?’ What do you mean? What’s wrong? Have you been living under a rock?” a user lashed out. “Don’t you know about the biggest child abuse scandal of this country?”

One user urged everyone to take care of the children, “not just girls but boys too.”

More reflected on the growing cases of child molestation in Kasur.

“Another horrifying case from Kasur… This is the same city where 6-year-old Zainab was brutally assaulted. Why do such vile crimes keep happening there?” another pondered.

A user pointed out that we only get to hear about such cases when they’re reported or caught on camera, much like this one. However, most crimes of this nature go unreported, and predators unaccounted for.

“The sad thing is that this may not even be the first time. There is a serious problem in this country, but the ones in power are not ready to address it. Pakistan’s Hidden Shame came out in 2014. The Kasur scandal came to light 10 years ago. Yet nothing was done,” they held.

The cycle is predictable — a horrific case surfaces, public outrage erupts, authorities issue statements, and then the momentum fades. Despite repeated incidents, Kasur remains a case study in neglect. But it’s not that Kasur is uniquely vulnerable — it’s that its tragedies are more visible, more documented, and therefore harder to ignore.

Blaming Kasur, again and again, might give people an outlet for their horror, but it doesn’t come close to addressing the root problem. Predators don’t grow in Kasur alone. They are everywhere — protected by silence, shame, weak policing, and a collective refusal to confront the rot.

The real issue lies in the lack of a consistent policy response. While laws like the Zainab Alert Act exist, the lack of implementation of laws remains key hindrance in protecting children. Police training on handling abuse cases is minimal. And most abuse goes unreported because victims and their families fear stigma or simply don’t trust the system to deliver justice.

Moreover, Pakistan still lacks a child abuse offender registry, and prosecution rates remain low. According to a 2023 Sahil report, over 4,200 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in Pakistan in one year alone — -around 12 cases a day — and these represent only those that make it into the system.

This is not a law-and-order problem alone. Until child protection is treated as a national priority, with funding, accountability, and local-level enforcement, outrage will remain performative. Kasur will trend again. So will our helplessness.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority is likely to reduce the power tariff by Rs1.75 per unit on account of quarterly tariff adjustment.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has submitted an application for the adjustment for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25.

If approved, consumers are expected to benefit from a relief of over Rs53.39 billion. The adjustment will be applicable to all public distribution companies (DISCOs), including K-Electric.

NEPRA will hold a hearing on CPPA’s request on August 4.

If adjustments for September, October, and November 2024 are approved, relief may increase to Rs 2.10 per unit.

A final decision will be made by NEPRA following the hearing.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry on Monday projected consumer inflation for July to remain in a range of 3.5-4.5 per cent, citing stable prices and improved supply conditions, as price pressures ease further after the previous fiscal year’s sharp decline.

Inflation stood at 3.2pc in June, the ministry said in its monthly economic report, while average inflation for the fiscal year ending June 30 dropped to 4.49pc, a nine-year low, from 23.4pc the year before. The country’s fiscal year begins on July 1.

The ministry said the economy is expected to sustain its recovery in the early months of fiscal year 2026, underpinned by an improved macroeconomic backdrop and growing investor confidence.

The Supreme Court adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of bail appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan until 12 August.

The PTI founder had approached the apex court after the dismissal of his bail applications in the May 9 rioting cases by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

A division bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, postponed the hearing on account of general adjournment of Imran’s counsel, Salman Safdar.

Advocate Salman Akram Raja appeared before the bench and requested the court to reschedule the hearing for next week and issue notices to the respondents.

However, the bench declined his request and adjourned the proceedings till the second week of August.

The LHC, led by Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, had previously rejected Imran’s bail, citing his alleged involvement in planning attacks on military installations in anticipation of his arrest on May 9, 2023.

Imran appealed to the Supreme Court on July 26, arguing that the prosecution had presented three conflicting narratives linking him to the alleged conspiracy, all of which were rejected by various courts.

The first version involved two police officials, Hassam Afzal and Asmat Kamal, who reportedly overheard the conspiracy on May 7 and May 4, respectively.

This claim was dismissed by the ATC-III Lahore due to late disclosure and insufficient evidence, leading to bail in FIRs 366/23 and 1078/23.

The second version alleged incitement through media statements but failed due to a lack of incriminating material and was rejected by the LHC.

The third version relied on new witness statements, including from PTI leaders Sadaqat Abbasi and Wasiq Qayyum, but was also disbelieved by ATC-I Rawalpindi, which discharged co-accused Bushra Imran on August 20, 2024.

Despite the rejection of all three versions by competent courts, the LHC denied Imran’s bail on June 24, based solely on statements from the two police officers.

Imran’s petition argues that the case qualifies as one of further inquiry, entitling him to post-arrest bail under Section 497(2) CrPC 1898.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of PTI Founder Imran Khan’s bail pleas in eight May 9 cases until August 12 without issuing notices as requested by the ex-premier’s lawyer.

In November 2024, a Lahore anti-terrorism court had denied Imran bail in the cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots, including an attack on the house of the Lahore corps commander. The incarcerated PTI leader’s plea challenging that was also rejected by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on June 24.

Subsequently, Imran moved the apex court last week against the LHC’s rejection of his bail pleas.

A two-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and including Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui took up those applications today.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared before the court on behalf of Imran, as his main counsel, Salman Safdar, could not attend the hearing due to being out of the country.

Raja informed the bench that Safdar has applied for an adjournment of the hearing till next week. He requested that notices be issued to the relevant parties in the matter and that the hearing be fixed for next week.

However, the bench rejected the requests and adjourned the hearing till August 12.

Imran’s appeal, filed through senior counsel Salman Safdar, claimed that the PTI founder has been accused of conspiring and abetting violence on May 9.

However, at the time of the alleged offence, Imran was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau. Therefore, his involvement in violence was “impossible”, the petition argued.

It contended the PTI founder had been subjected to an “unprecedented campaign of political victimisation” since his ouster as prime minister two years ago.

On LHC’s rejection of the bail pleas, the fresh appeal claimed that the court relied on “engineered and fabricated evidence” which included “stale, discredited and delayed statements of police officials”.

In its detailed verdict, the two-member LHC bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Tariq Mahmood Bajwa observed that the prosecution had evidence that reflected Imran’s role in the violence that broke out on May 9 following his arrest.

The bench reproduced the statements of two police officials and prosecution witnesses, who claimed to have secretly attended PTI’s meetings wherein Imran allegedly gave instructions to other leaders to attack military installations in case of his imminent arrest from the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The meetings were allegedly held at a rest area of Chakri, Rawalpindi, on May 4 and at Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore on May 7-9, 2023.

Following the ex-premier’s arrest on May 9, 2023 from the IHC premises, riots erupted across the country and went on for at least 24 hours, with military installations also coming under attack.

The state subsequently launched a crackdown against him and his party, filing many cases against Imran since the events of May 9. He has been acquitted in some of those cases, including the cipher and Iddat cases.