TOSHAKHANA CASE: PTI CHIEF AGAIN MOVES SC AGAINST PROCEEDINGS

CH A I R M A N Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) again moved the Supreme Court on Monday against the proceeding on Toshakhana case

In the appeal submitted in the apex court the PTI chief pleaded to stop proceedings of recording his statement under Section 342 in the case, which was initiated after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) found him guilty of not declaring the gifts he had retained from the state depository in his asset declarations

He was of the view that the proceedings should be halted until the Islamabad

Cour t extends judicial remand of PTI’s Khadija Shah, Sanam Javed and Ejaz Ch

LAHORE S ta f f r e p o r t

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Monday extended the judicial remand of Khadija Shah, Sanam Javed and other staunch PTI supporters and workers in Jinnah House attack case by 12 more days

High Court IHC) announces its ruling on the jurisdiction of the trial court He cited a previous decision of the top court that says the jurisdiction of the court must be decided first

In Toshakhana case, the PTI chief has moved the SC for the second time Last week, a two-member bench, headed by Justice Yahya Afridi had turned down a petition filed by him seeking an order to restrain trial in the Toshakhana case

The case was set to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by two-member bench to reexamine it The former prime minister had petitioned the apex court against the IHC’s directive to the trial court that had asked for a re-examination of the maintainability of the Toshakhana case within a week

On May 10, the PTI chief was indicted in the case by Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar who dismissed objections to the admissibility of the case On July 4 the IHC nullified the decision of the trial court that had turned down the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s plea challenging the admissibility of the Toshakhana case IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the verdict reserved on June 23 after hearing arguments on the petition of the former prime minister against the trial court s ruling The chief justice sent the matter back to the trial court, ordering it to again hear the arguments of the PTI He gave the trial court seven days to decide the PTI chairman s plea in the Toshakhana case

The petition had been filed after the PTI chief was indicted in the case on May 10 – two days after the high court had stopped criminal proceedings in the case

Last year a reference was filed against him by lawmakers from the ruling coalition accusing him of not sharing the details of gifts he retained from Toshakhana in his assets declarations and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had concluded in October last year that the PTI chief filed false statements regarding the gifts

The electoral watchdog subsequently disqualified him for being dishonest and corrupt and approached the district and sessions court seeking criminal proceedings against the PTI chief for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts

Suicide attacks in Pakistan surge in 2023, claiming over 200 lives in seven months

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan is grappling with a distressing surge in suicide attacks witnessing a significant rise in fatalities and injuries compared to the previous year

The country has already experienced 18 suicide attacks in the first seven months of 2023 resulting in the loss of more than 200 lives and leaving over 450 others injured This alarming figure has surpassed the total number of suicide attacks recorded in the entirety of 2022, which stood at 15

The most severely affected region has been the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (erstwhile FATA) accounting for half of the total suicide attacks in 2023

Marriyum rubbishes media repor ts about appointment of caretaker PM

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e p o r t

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has termed media reports and speculations about any decision regarding appointment of caretaker Prime Minister as baseless and out of context Taking to her twitter handle on Monday she said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has not chosen or ruled out any candidate for interim Prime Minister yet Marriyum Aurangzeb said the appointment of interim Prime Minister will be made as per procedure laid down in the Constitution Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will consult all coalition parties in the government PMLN Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to identify the most suitable candidate she added The information minister said as per the Constitution, the Prime Minister will consult with the Leader of the Opposition after consulting with the allies to make a decision on the matter

Economic, diplomatic ties between Pakistan, China to reach new heights: Dar

The court ordered the police to produce the suspects on August 12 Earlier the suspects were brought to the court on the completion of their judicial remand Informing the court that the case s challan was being prepared, investigation officer (IO) prayed to the court to extend judicial remand of the ladies and others ATC judge Abhar Gul Khan heard the case A case had been registered at Lahore s Sarwar Road police station

Thousands of people took to streets to register their protest against the arrest of former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on May 9 They attacked and ransacked government and military installations besides damaging and setting on fire memorials of the Pakistan Army martyrs PTI leader Ejaz Chaudhry s judicial remand was also extended by seven days

Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Abhar Gill ordered the authorities to again produce Ejaz Chaudhry in the court at the expiry of his remand on August 7

Par t y Discipline: PTI terminates par t y membership of Imran Khattak, Ishaq Khattak

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has taken decisive action by terminating the party membership of former MNA Imran Khattak and Ishaq Khattak on Monday

The move comes as a result of their alleged involvement in inciting party members to leave the political organization The decision to expel the two prominent members was announced through an official notification issued by the Party Secretary General Omar Ayub As per the notification, both Imran Khattak and Ishaq Khattak have been stripped of their PTI membership with immediate effect

Nine of these attacks have struck the area, leading to the tragic demise of approximately 60 people, while over 150 others sustained injuries Notably the deadliest attack of the year in the tribal region occurred during a JUIF gathering on Sunday July 30th

Mainland KP faced its own share of devastation, with four suicide attacks causing the deaths of more than 110 people and leaving 245 injured Among them, the Peshawar Police Line attack stood out as the deadliest in the country claiming the lives of over 100 individuals Balochistan also experienced a troubling wave of violence, encountering at least four suicide attacks within the first seven months of 2023 Tragically, 14 people lost their lives, and 27 others were injured in these attacks

Additionally one reported suicide attack occurred in Sindh resulting in the deaths of five individuals and injuring 18 others