Friday, 6 May, 2022 I 4 Shawwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 306 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
Govt to form inquiry commission to probe ‘foreiGn conspiracy’: marriyum islamabad
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staff report
NFORMATION Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced on Thursday the government had decided to form an “independent” inquiry commission to probe the alleged “foreign conspiracy” that former prime minister Imran Khan has been claiming was behind the ouster of his government. The minister told a press conference in Islamabad that the commission will “fairly decide that the narrative of foreign conspiracy was all drama and the real character behind it was Imran Khan”. “These allegations are an attempt to cause irreparable damage to the country,” the information minister said.
Punjab governor decides to file reference against LHC judge for decision on Hamza’s oath islamabad staff report
Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema said on Thursday that he had decided to send a reference against Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Justice Jawad Hassan to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for what he called an “illegal decision” of directing the National Assembly speaker to administer oath to Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz. The SJC is a specialised forum created under Article 209 of the Constitution specifically for determining complaints of misconduct received against judges. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Cheema said he had decided to take legal action against the judge after consultations with professionals over the last two days. Last month, Justice Hassan had issued a ninepage verdict after Hamza approached the high court for the third time, ending a days-long deadlock over the chief minister’s office in Punjab. Subsequently, Hamza, who was elected as Punjab chief minister on April 16, was administered the oath by NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on April 30. In his press conference today, Cheema termed the LHC judge’s verdict “illegal”, saying
that according to the honeycomb principle, no institution could “interfere” in the working of another institution. There was no provision in the Constitution that stated that anyone besides the president or the governor could issue a notification regarding the new chief minister, he added. The governor also shared that he had requested meetings with the president and the army chief to discuss the situation in the province. He also advised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to make his son, Hamza, aware of how to contest the election for the chief minister in a constitutional way, stressing that he would administer the oath himself if Hamza did that. Earlier in the day, Cheema claimed that if Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa provided him with one subedar and four jawans, he would arrest recently sworn-in Chief Minister Hamza, who he termed “illegal, unconstitutional and counterfeit”, and throw him in jail. In a series of early morning tweets, he said that the province, which was facing a constitutional and legal crisis, had been “taken hostage by force” and termed the political parties’ silence “very concerning”.
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Govt trying its best to maintain petrol prices: Miftah Ismail
islamabad staff report
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Thursday that the government would try its best to maintain petrol prices and assured that even if the rates were increased, no new tax or levy would be imposed. The previous PTI government
had announced a four-month freeze (until June 30) on petrol and electricity prices on February 28 as part of a series of measures to bring relief to the public. The PML-N led coalition government has severely criticised the previous Imran-led government for first failing to control fuel prices in the country and later for “derailing” the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund (IMF) programme through fuel subsidies. In recent meetings with the new finance minister, the IMF has linked the continuation of its loan programme with the reversal of fuel subsidies, which Pakistan cannot afford. But Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has now twice rejected the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (Ogra) summaries to increase fuel prices — a move that has been criticised by experts. Ismail, in his Thursday’s presser in Karachi, said the government had previously never sold petrol at a loss because the economy could not afford it, adding that if fuel prices are not hiked in May, the treasury will lose Rs102 billion. Ismail blamed the previous Imran Khan-led government for implementing policies that contradicted what was agreed by them during meetings with the IMF in Washington.
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Predicting the post-inquiry scenario, Aurangzeb said anyone who levelled such allegations “will be dealt as per the law” in light of the decision made by the inquiry commission. She reiterated that the commission would be independent and its probe report would be brought before the public. “This drama should now end.” The minister said the terms of reference of the inquiry commission would be placed before the cabinet for approval in its next meeting. No one including Imran Khan would be able to raise an objection to the name of the commission’s head, Aurangzeb added. She accused the PTI chief and former premier of attempting to divert public attention from the alleged cor-
ruption of Farah Khan — a close friend of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi. The minister lambasted Imran, saying the PTI-led government facilitated opening of around 34 bank accounts between 2018 and 2022, most of them in the name of Farah. “Rs 870.4 million were transferred into those accounts during the period.” The PML-N leader went on to say the PTI government “sold” Pakistan’s foreign policy and invited the wrath of “friendly countries”. She said Imran would not accept the inquiry commission but “its findings will be accepted by the parliament and people of Pakistan.” The controversy surrounding the noconfidence motion against the former premier Imran Khan took a dramatic turn when the embattled PM brandished a letter at a rally on March 27 — days before his ouster — claiming it contained evidence of a “foreign conspiracy” hatched to topple his government. Imran had kept mum about the contents of the letter when he first unveiled it but he spilled the beans days later by naming the United States when the exit of his government appeared imminent.
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