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‘Cowardly’: World reacts to attack on Imran Khan

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Chaotic scenes broke out near PTI’s reception camp at Allahwala Chowk in Gujranwala after gunshots were fired at PTI Chairman Imran Khan. He sustained a bullet injury to his leg and has now been shifted to Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, Geo News reported.

The police said that the suspect who opened fire on Khan’s container has been arrested. Several other people, including PTI leader Faisal Javed, also sustained injuries. 

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Pakistan Army, and other politicians and government leaders have condemned the attack and called for an immediate investigation into the matter.

The attack has not only been condemned by Pakistani political leaders, activists, and social media users but people from around the world have also expressed shock and concern.

The prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau “strongly condemned this violence”, adding that the attack was “completely unacceptable”.

Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith called the man who foiled the assassination attempt on Khan a “hero” and posted his image on her Twitter.

Praying for the chairman’s “swift recovery”, Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party condemned the “cowardly attack”.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Baghchi said that they were “closely following the situation.”

Simranjit Singh Mann, who is a Member Of Parliament (Lok Sabha), striving for a separate state for Sikhs, thanked God that Khan had survived the attack. “Political differences should be sorted out on the table, not at shootouts,” he said.

Ramazan Izoi, President of the Turkic World Youth Council, called the attack “vile” saying that Khan “sacrificed his life for the people of Pakistan and risked it”.

“There is no room for violence in politics,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, a senior fellow at Stimson Centre, wishing a “speedy recover to Imran Khan”.

Malala Yousufzai said that “attacks on leaders of any political belief or party are always wrong”, wishing the chairman “full recovery”.

Indian journalist Pramod Kumar Singh retweeted an old tweet by an “astrologer friend” who had asked Khan to be careful on road, saying that there was danger ahead.

Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute Director at The Wilson Center said that the matter could have been “much worse” if a brave man had not intervened.

“Pakistan cannot handle more blood, and certainly not another assassinated former prime minister,” said Indian journalist Muhammad Taqi.

The attacker, who has been arrested, confessed on camera alleging that “Imran Khan was misguiding people”.

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PM Shehbaz will meet with Saudi ministers and speak at the WEF special session today.

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On the third day of his visit to the Kingdom, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will speak at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting’s final plenary, which is titled “Rejuvenating Growth.”

Other speakers at the concluding plenary, in addition to the prime minister, are Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim, British Secretary of State David Cameron, WEF Geneva President Brørge Brende, and WEF Head of Middle East and North Africa Maroun Kairouz.

Meetings with Saudi ministers of trade, energy, the environment, and agriculture are also scheduled for the third day of the prime minister’s visit. He will probably also meet with his counterpart from Malaysia.

Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, will be present at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development, which gets underway here today.

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The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

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A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

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Audio leaks case: FIA, PTA, and PEMRA pleas seeking Justice Sattar’s recusal dismissed

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The Islamabad High Court fined each of the three government departments Rs. 500,000 on Monday after dismissing their arguments against a bench trial over audio leaks.

The court may also hold the heads of the aforementioned departments—the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)—culpable for contempt.

In the audio leak case, four government agencies—the PEMRA, PTA, FIA, and Intelligence Bureau—filed separate petitions with the IHC, pleading for Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal and asking for the case to be heard by the same bench that has previously decided a case of a similar nature.

The petitioners contended that in order to prevent a different ruling, Justice Babar Sattar should recuse himself from the case that was decided in 2021. The petitions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, and Najamul Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, should also be brought before the same bench.

During the current hearing, Justice Sattar also issued a summons to IB Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood, directing him to come before the court for the case’s subsequent hearing.

Following the issue’s discovery in 2023, the judge has been considering the aforementioned petitions.

The government agencies contended in the petitions in the case before Justice Sattar that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had already resolved an analogous issue in 2021. Thus, in order to prevent a conflicting ruling and for the sake of justice, they asked the judge to recuse herself from the case.

The departments are requesting that Justice Sattar recuse himself after six IHC judges—among them, himself—complained in writing to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about intelligence agencies interfering with the court’s decision.

On March 25, the judges called for the calling of a judicial convention to address the issue of purported meddling by intelligence agents in the judicial activities or “intimidation” of judges in a way that jeopardised the judiciary’s independence.

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