C lashing with the judiciar y in Israel

SO M E of the mystery of Israel’s fascination with human rights in Pakistan expressed in its expression of concern about the violation of PTI supporters human rights in their trials by military courts, by the recent passage of a judicial reforms package Israel does not have a constitution, and judicial reforms can be carried out by a simple parliamentary majority One thing the Israeli government is worried about is making sure that the judiciary is not supreme over Parliament

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netamyahu is accused of corruption, and if the law is changed to save him, then the Supreme Court must respect the will of the people One wonders why Netanyahu is so concerned about the PTI because its chief is so much against corruption Admittedly Ne- tanyahu has sold no watchees nor received any land for a university but he has favoured a media mogul over his rivals There is a military component as well, as one of the means of protest has been the refusal to answer call-ups Remember, the Israeli armed forces consist of conscripts and could soon be dysfunctional if conscripts don t show up It s a bit like the May 9 attacks So we ve got a government engaged in a clash with the judiciary, and an opposition which is going head-to-head with the military too The big difference is that everybody knows the name of the COAS over here but no one knows the name of the Israeli Chief of General Staff and Commanderin-Chief of the Israeli Defence Forces who is a lieutenant-general, not a full general I just hope he knows what name he has Now, if the Supreme Court strikes down a law if the Knesset repasses it it can’t be struck down I’m sure our Parliament would like to have this tool of parliamentary supremacy Of course we are stuck with a Constitution, which Israel doesn t have

That wasn t the only change in the world Twitter removed the familiar bird logo and replaced it with an X Now that was a jarring change, and more noticeable than the declining support in Sweden for a ban on Quran burning It seems the Swedes want to make a fight of it I mean they’ve abandoned neutrality and applied to join NATO To abandon freedom of speech and the consequent right to burn any book they please, seems a bit much

Another thing that appeared much as the proposal to make Ishaq Dar caretaker PM That would compromise the neutrality of the election and would make people wonder why Hamza or Maryam couldn t be caretaker CM (the one who would be dropped after the election) Well, the requirement

Federal Minister for Food Security Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema on Sunday demanded the government to establish Judicial Commission to conduct an inquiry into Islamia University Bahawalpur s (IUB) scandal Talking to media persons, he said that he had written a letter to the Punjab’s Caretaker Chief Minister to establish a Judicial Commission comprising more than one judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to conduct an inquiry into IUB s scandal Wali Dad Cheema the son of the Federal Minister, Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema was also present in the media talk Cheema criticized his political opponents for levelling allegations against his son Wali Dad of being involved in IUB’s scandal “It is a conspiracy hatched by my political rivals to air propaganda against me and my son on the pretext of IUB s scandal, he said I will get my son out of my home if he was found guilty in the inquiry to be conducted into IUB’s scandal,” he added He said that his family never remained involved in IUB’s affairs adding that but his political opponents were behind the propaganda to defame him on the pretext of IUB s scandal I and my son are ready to appear before any inquiry committee or commission that would conduct an inquiry into IUB’s scandal,” he said He warned that he would file a defamation case against those who had been making false and baseless propaganda against him He said that he never made any phone call to District Police Officer Bahawalpur over IUB s affairs He said that he had nothing to do with Ehsan Jutt case Ehsan Jutt had left Bahawalpur two and half years ago and I had nothing to do with his matter ” he said The Federal Minister supported the police action over IUB s scandal He demanded punishment for those involved in the scandal

Islamabad securit y put on high aler t ahead of Chinese vice premier visit

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The initial investigation into the Islamia University Bahawalpur incident had been completed and those responsible would be given stern punishment If needed, then judicial inquiry would also be conducted he said The police had been empowered fully he added Provincial Minister Bilal Afzal Chief Secretary Commissioner Gujranwala division, RPO Gujranwala, Secretary C&W, Deputy Commissioner, DPO and other officers were also present on the occasion CM Mohsin Naqvi also took an aerial view of Gujranwala Motorway link road project CM Mohsin Naqvi also took an aerial view of 15 KM long link road from Wandu Interchange up to Benazir Chowk and witnessed various sections of under construction Gujranwala Motorway link road project CM issued directions to Secretary C&W on the spot in this regard Provincial Minister Bilal Afzal and Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman also accompanied him

The Police in Islamabad have been put on high alert as Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is all set to arrive in Pakistan today on a three-day visit According to the Capital police spokesperson 50 additional cameras have been installed on the route leading to airport from red zone Moreover all the security measures will be monitored from the CCTV cameras Chinese premier due in Pakistan Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will arrive in Pakistan today on a three-day visit to attend a ceremony planned to mark 10 years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project A statement issued by the FO said that the Chinese vice premier will be in Pakistan from July 30 (today) to August 1 (Tuesday) at the federal government s invitation to attend a ceremony celebrating a decade of CPEC as the chief guest The Chinese vice premier will also meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi during the visit according to the FO Lifeng has played a prominent role in China s international economic relations and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, of which CPEC is a flagship project, the FO said As the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (2017-23) he was instrumental in the planning and execution of multiple CPEC projects in Pakistan as per the FO The visit is part of regular high-level exchanges and dialogue between Pakistan and China It reflects the importance attached by Pakistan and China to further deepen their “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership”; reaffirm support on issues of each other s core interests; enhance economic and financial cooperation; advance high-quality development of CPEC; and explore new avenues for strengthening trade and investment ties between the two countries,” the spokesperson further added