Connect with us

Politics

Islamabad court to announce verdict on Shahbaz Gill’s bail plea tomorrow

Published

on

  • Additional district and sessions court to announce verdict Tuesday.
  • Judge Zafar Iqbal says he will announce verdict at 11am.
  • Gill is ready to apologise, clear any misunderstanding, lawyer says.

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court said Monday that it will announce the verdict on PTI leader Shahbaz Gill’s bail petition tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11am after hearing in-length arguments from both sides.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal heard the case, where the PTI leader’s counsel told the court that his client was ready to apologise and clear any misunderstanding.

Gill is booked in a sedition and arms recovery case and is in jail after he was sent on a judicial remand following back-and-forth hearings and his counsel’s repeated allegations against the Islamabad police.

Gill was arrested on August 9 in Islamabad after a sedition case was filed against him for inciting mutiny within the Pakistan Army. He was already facing sedition charges, but the Islamabad Police — last week — also registered a case against the PTI leader over possession of an illegal weapon.

He was booked in the case after police raided the incarcerated PTI leader’s room in Parliament Lodges late Monday — where they recovered weapons, a satellite phone, and foreign currency.

The PTI has repeatedly demanded that the party leader be released on bail, alleging that he is facing humiliation, torture and sexual abuse in police custody.

Gill, during the raid at his Parliament Lodge’s residence, also told journalists that he had been sexually assaulted.

The party leader also asserted that he was denied treatment for asthma; however, the federal government and police have refuted the allegations.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also demanded an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the alleged torture of Gill in police custody.

Today’s hearing

At the outset of the hearing, the Islamabad Capital City Police presented the case record in court as directed by the judge at the last hearing.

During the hearing, Gill’s lawyer Burhan Moazzam asked if he can see the case records submitted in court by inspector Arshad.

The court directed the inspector to show the record to the lawyer. However, prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi objected that they cannot show the supplementary challan of the case.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing shortly.

As the hearing restarted, Gill’s lawyer maintained that the police didn’t show the statement recorded under Section 161.

“The police is showing all statements except for Gill’s,” the lawyer said.

At this, the court directed the police to show Gill’s initial statement to the defence lawyer.

While giving arguments, Gill’s lawyer contended that the complainant of the case city magistrate levelled allegations of sedition on the PTI leader after extracting different bits from the transcript of his remarks.

“Gill never thought about committing treason. There must be a misunderstanding about Gill’s statement which he is willing to clear,” he said.

“An incorrect tweet was posted after the army aircraft accident and it later went viral. There is no fault of Shahbaz Gill in that,” the lawyer said, adding that the accused PTI leader even demanded punishment over the wrong tweet.

On the strategic media cell, Gill’s lawyer said that the purpose of this cell is to create a rift between the PTI and the army and there is a mastermind behind it — who he wouldn’t name — who provokes creating propaganda against Imran Khan and PTI.

“How could it be possible that Imran Khan or his party is against the martyrs of the Pakistan Army?” he asked.

Making a reference to the Asia Bibi blasphemy case, the lawyer said that a case is not valid if an accused hasn’t incited hate towards the army but the complainant says they have.

He said that the PML-N insists that Gill has committed treason against the army. “How can they give a meaning of their choice to Gill’s remarks?” he asked.

“My client has and is standing by the Army,” he added.

Elections

Atta Tarar’s triumph over NA-127 in the LHC is contested

Published

on

By

The victory of Attaullah Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) from Lahore’s NA-127 constituency in the general elections on February 8 has been contested in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Samiullah Khan’s victory from PP-145 has also been contested. The petitions will be heard by Election Tribunal Judge Sultan Tanveer. The petitions have included the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) and other parties as parties.

In the meantime, Attaullah Tarar stated during a discussion with Miss Zoe Ware, the Political Counselor of the British High Commission, that fake news, misinformation, and disinformation were global issues that needed to be managed.

According to the minister, fake news is the largest issue on social media, and the government is working to address it.

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including the two nations’ relationship and how to foster media collaboration. Collaboration in the drama and cinema industries was also covered.

According to Attaullah Tarar, social media verification should be adopted by journalists, and a global code of conduct for social media usage should be created.

Miss Zoe Ware thanked Attaullah Tarar on taking over as Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on establishing the cabinet.

She was given the assurance that the UK diplomat will work with her to promote bilateral ties between Pakistan and the UK.

Continue Reading

Pakistan

US commitment to resolving Pakistan’s energy crisis is prioritized

Published

on

By

According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Pakistan was assisted by the United States in producing an extra 4,000 megawatts of sustainable energy.

According to him, these kinds of initiatives have given Pakistan more capacity to produce energy, allowing it to power millions of people.

The spokesman restated that both nations will cooperate through the green alliance to address the environmental issues.

At a news briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “Earlier, the United States advised Pakistan to halt the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project, as engaging in business with Iran poses the risk of encountering U.S. sanctions.”

“We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran carries the risk of encountering our sanctions, and we would advise everyone to consider that very carefully,” he continued. “I’m not going to preview any potential sanctions.”

He said, “We do not support this pipeline going forward, as the Assistant Secretary made clear last week.”

The Pakistan-Iran pipeline project was approved for completion a few months ago by the caretaker administration in Pakistan. But after this permission, Pakistan received an official statement from the US expressing its worries. Pakistan again put a stop to the project’s execution when the United States expressed concerns.

Miller said, “We condemn the attack on a convoy of PRC engineers in Pakistan,” in response to a query. Miller also denounced the terrorist attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan. We offer our sincere condolences to all impacted by the incident and are extremely saddened by the deaths and injuries incurred.

He declared, “Terrorists have caused enormous suffering to the Pakistani people, and Chinese nationals living in Pakistan have also been the targets of terrorist strikes.” Such acts of terror should not occur in any nation.

In response to a question concerning a letter from Pakistani judges, the spokesperson stated that while he had seen the letter, he had not yet conferred with his colleagues and would not be making any comments.

Continue Reading

Pakistan

Fazlur Rehman says the government led by Shehbaz won’t be able to deliver

Published

on

By

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), expressed doubts on Wednesday over the viability of the Shehbaz Sharif administration, stating that he believes the new system will fail if citizens go to the streets.

Fazlur Rehman stated on Wednesday’s “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” segment of Geo News that “the parliament will likely be a rubber stamp.” There are simply too many obstacles for this government to handle. In the end, politicians will be held accountable for all of their shortcomings.”

The “crime is committed by someone else and the politicians take responsibility,” he said, calling it bizarre. The leader of JUI-F declared that his organization will demonstrate against the establishments that had turned the elections into a “game.”

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the Chief of JUI-F

Hold off

Unmute Duration: 0:24; Current Time: 0:16


Levels of Quality Complete Screen
Fazl has previously said that he would abstain from the by-elections for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. In addition, he declared that on April 25, following Ramadan, he will start a protest campaign against the purported election manipulation from Balochistan.

“We firmly believe that there will be a rigged general election in 2024. And the factor that changed the outcome would be our aim. We reject the findings that led to the formation of this government,” he declared.

The leader of JUI-F stated that they disagreed with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa election results.

“[Earlier] the issues with the PTI were ideological and not election-related,” he said.

He stated that the party had not yet made the decision to work with the PTI. He did concede, though, that the Imran Khan-led party’s attitude has changed for the better. He remarked that it was a positive attitude and that it would not be a problem if the two parties moved together.

Fazl also revealed that he told Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, that he thought of him as a new blue-eyed boy during their meeting.

Continue Reading

Trending