SC reserves verdict on Punjab, KP polls delay case

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

The Supreme Court Tuesday reserved its verdict on suo motu case regarding delay in the announcement of the date of provincial assemblies’ elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial concluded the two-day long proceedings in the case. The CJP said that the verdict of the case would be announced on Wednesday (tomorrow) before 11am. Earlier, the apex court had di- rected the incumbent government and the PTI to ‘sit together’ and decide on a date for elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab by 4 pm today. CJP Bandial said that even if the court takes a decision on the matter of poll dates, “the litigation will continue and this will become very costly for the people and the political parties”.

The court passed the instructions after it resumed hearing the matter after a short recess. However, when the hearing resumed after 4 pm, the counsel for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the ruling party needed additional time for consultations. Mansoor Usman Awan, represent- ing the party of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in the suo motu case, said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition includes members from Balochistan as well, and that the PML-N must hold internal discussions as well as consult with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the second largest party in the government.

“The court proceedings should continue as more time is needed for consultations,” Awan told the fivejudge bench. These provinces have been under caretaker governments since early January, when their respective assemblies were dissolved. The latest political crisis emerged after President Arif Alvi declared the elec- tion date for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) refused to do so. ket of the country. Chairman LPG Association Irfan Khokhar said that this is unbearable, adding that instead of giving relief, the government has resorted to raise prices further. He asked whether LPG could be made cheaper if incentives similar to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are provided. He also asked for the removal of all taxes imposed on LPG.

In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the president cited his constitutional authority to declare April 9 as the poll date in the two provinces.

The proceedings on Tuesday began with judges debating whether President Alvi had the authority to act without the recommendation of the cabinet of Shehbaz Sharif.

Subsequently, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial highlighted the potential cost and negative impact of ongoing litigation on the public and political parties.

Poor quality LPG cylinders are being manufactured in Gujranwala and currently around 400 factories are manufacturing such poor-quality LPG cylinders, explained Khokhar.

The government should close all such factories, he advised and introduce strict legislation in this regard.

Five Pakistanis lost lives in two boat wreck incidents near Italy, Libya: FO spokesperson

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

At least five Pakistanis were among the people who lost their lives in two different capsized boat incidents off Southern Italy and Libya.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, on her Twitter handle, on Tuesday announced that they could confirm with great sorrow that two Pakistanis had lost their lives in the tragic incident of a boat capsized off the coast of Italy, as identified by their families. “However, another Pakistani national has Alhamdulillah been found among survivors the in same incident, bringing total Pakistani survivors to 17,” she further posted. The spokesperson said the Embassy of Pakistan in Italy remained engaged with the authorities to assist in the matter. The embassy officials had met survivors and were in contact with the Italian authorities as well, she further added in her tweet. While in a related tweet, she posted that in an earlier, separate tragic incident, three Pakistani nationals perished in a boat wreck near Benghazi, Libya. The Pakistan embassy in Libya was facilitating the process of transportation of the mortal remains to Pakistan, she added.

According to BBC at least 63 migrants were confirmed to have died, with 12 children including a baby said to be among the victims after the vessel, thought to have carried some 200 people, broke apart while trying to land near Crotone, Italy on February 26. On board, there were people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran, the report claimed. More than 170 migrants were estimated to have been aboard the ship, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration said in a joint statement.

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