Spainish police detain father of two sisters slain in Pakistan

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Police in Spain have detained the father of two sisters who were victims of so-called honour killings while visiting family in Pakistan, authorities said Wednesday.

Spain’s National Police confirmed media reports the father was taken into custody in the eastern town of Terrassa, near Barcelona. He is under investigation for his possible involvement in the murders of his daughters, Urooj Abbas, 21, and Anisa Abbas, 23. They were killed last year in Pakistan for allegedly refusing to help their husbands come to Spain after the women had been forced to marry two of their cousins. The women were severely tortured and shot dead in the Gujrat district of Punjab.

According to Spanish media reports, the women, who had spent several years in Spain, had been forced into the marriages in 2021. When they traveled to Pakistan the following year, their relatives wanted them to help their husbands emigrate to Spain with them. They reportedly refused and asked for divorce instead. In May, the police arrested six men for their suspected involvement in the murders. Pakistani officials said that murder charges were leveled against the victims’ brother, a paternal uncle, both husbands, a cousin, and both fathers-in-law. also the relevant sections of the Elections Act.

Forced marriages are common in rural areas of Pakistan.

“In particular, the issues involve, prima facie, a consideration of Article 17 of the Constitution and enforcement, inter alia, of the fundamental right of political parties and the citizens who form the electorates in the Punjab and KP provinces to exercise their right to elect representatives of their choice to constitute fresh assemblies and provincial cabinets. This is necessary for [the] government in the two provinces to be carried on in accordance with the Constitution.

“These matters involve the performance of constitutional obligations of great public importance apart from calling for faithful constitutional enforcement,” the CJP said. The Punjab and KP assemblies — where the PTI had governments — were dissolved on January 14 and January 18, respectively, in an attempt to pave the way for snap polls.

On Jan 24, the ECP wrote letters to the principal secretaries of Punjab and KP governors, suggesting elections in Punjab between April 9 and 13, and in KP between April 15 and 17.

The United Nations specialized organization, the UNESCO observe the day every year in a befitting manner. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 17 November 1999. The Member States of the UNESCO have been observing the 21 February as the ‘International Mother Language Day” since 2000. The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution of 2002. On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world". pR

Baby burnt as hospital staff forgets to remove newborn from warmer

A newborn baby girl received severe burn wounds due to sheer negligence of the paramedic staff of BHU Hospital in Jhelum, source said on Wednesday. The hospital staff put a newborn baby on a warmer soon after her birth but forgot to remove her from there. As a result, the delicate body of the newborn baby was severely burnt.

Sources said that the baby was moved to the DHQ Hospital in critical condition.

The hospital administration suspended the lady health visitor and two midwives who were working in the labour room of the hospital.

Sources said that the body of the newborn baby was burnt as temperature of the warmer was high. Spokesperson for Jhelum health department said that CEO Health Dr Mian Mazhar has suspended all staff who was appointed in the labour room. The suspended staff included: LHV Nadia and two midwives Farzana and Samia.

Ch Pervaiz’s political journey

CH Pervez Elahi’s joining the PTI was perhaps a foregone conclusion, after his failure to take over the PTI, and the PTI’s giving him the Presidency of the party, an office vacant since Javed Hashmi left the party, has not been confirmed. The is not the only issue. What is perhaps more pressing is what happens to the 10 outgoing PML(Q) MPAs that joined the PTI along with him. With the fight for PTI tickets likely to be fierce, these outgoing MPAs will face opposition for tickets, not least from the 2018 PTI ticket-holders they defeated. Ch Pervaiz will probably not be able to help them, and in any future dispensation, neither he nor his son Ch Moonis Elahi will be able to offer much support. Ch Pervaiz may find that his relationship with party chief Imran Khan shifting from that of coalition partner to subordinate.

Ch Pervaiz will also find that he will face much opposition within the PTI, especially from senior leaders who have their own ambitions. Assuming that the PTI wins in Punjab, which is not a certainty, he has no guarantee that he will get the office he so deeply covets, that of Punjab CM. Excluding the man he succeeded, Usman Buzdar, Fawad Chaudhry and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were also aspirants in 2018. While all parties have an element of jostling for the leader’s favou, this is a tendency particularly marked in the PTI. Ch Pervaiz will find that he will face the same sort of opposition within the party as he did when he was stigmatized as a mere ally, who was using nearly 200 PTI MnAs to become CM when he only had 100 MPAs of his own.

On the other hand, it could be argued that he had burnt all his other bridges, including to his cousin Ch Shujat, and had no choice but to accept whatever terms Mr Khan gave him. Apart from Ch Shujat, he has also lost his support within the establishment, with the result that he is facing arrest, while his close aide has been picked up. An immediate test for him is likely to lie in the PTI’s Jail Bharo Tehrik. With the PTI ranks anxious to curry favour with Mr Khan by courting arrest, will Ch Pervaiz be able to stay free?

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor