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Land-grabbing: Counsel seeks bail for Dost Mazari in ‘politically motivated’ case

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  • District Court Judge Khalid Mahmood heard the bail plea.
  • Dost Mazari’s counsel completes his arguments.
  • Public prosecutor called tomorrow for cross-examination.

LAHORE: The counsel of ex-deputy speaker of Punjab assembly, Dost Mohammad Mazari — who was jailed by a court in a land-grabbing case — Tuesday urged the judge to grant bail to his client, arguing the case was “politically motivated.”

A District Court Judge Khalid Mahmood heard the bail plea filed by Mazari’s lawyer Farhad Ali Shah.

Following the completion of Mazari’s counsel’s arguments, the judge directed the public prosecutor to ensure his presence in the court tomorrow for cross-examination.

On Friday, November 4, a district court in Lahore sent the former deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly to jail on judicial remand.

The court took this action after rejecting Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab’s request for extending the remand.

Mazari was presented in court after the completion of his two-day remand.

Last week, ACE Punjab arrested the former deputy speaker of the provincial assembly in an alleged land encroachment case.

‘Political tool’

Last month, the Lahore High Court (LHC) called out ACE Punjab for becoming a “political tool” for its recent actions against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.

The remarks were passed by the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench when it heard the case filed by the minister against his arrest warrants issued by ACE Punjab.

“Your institution has become a political tool,” the court told the Director-General of ACE Punjab Nadeem Sarwar, who was also present during the hearing.

“One [DG] comes and forms a case, another (DG) comes and finishes that case,” observed the court. It also slammed the official for obtaining Sanaullah’s arrest warrants by making a false statement.

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“Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card” for farmers gets approved by CM Punjab

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At a meeting on agricultural reforms, Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz presided over the approval of the “Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card” for farmers.

Farmers would receive a variety of subsidies through the Kisan Card scheme, and 500,000 small farmers in Punjab will be eligible for loans totaling Rs 150 billion over the course of a year. Each farmer will receive Rs 30,000 for every acre of land used for agriculture.

CM Maryam Nawaz announced during the meeting that a model agriculture center will be constructed in each district of the province with the assistance of the commercial sector, enabling farmers to discard phony fertilizers and medications.

The establishment of a cutting-edge center of excellence for research development on cotton, wheat, and rice crops was approved during the conference, and the Agriculture Department was instructed to gather comprehensive data on the production and demand of each crop.

Participants in the conference decided to link the research center with local universities and to give the board authority over administrative matters.

It was also decided to construct a research and development center at Agricultural University Faisalabad with Chinese participation, at a cost of Rs 2 billion.

In addition, it was decided to hire 500 agricultural graduates, update the Punjab Seed Corporation and Punjab Agricultural Research Board’s organizational structures, provide a bill that forbids the use of agricultural land for residential purposes, and outfit the Agricultural Extension Wing with cutting-edge machinery.

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Khalid Maqbool calls the ‘non-local’ police that were placed in Karachi ‘injustice’.

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Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the convener of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), described the imposition of “non-local” police and administration on the port city as an injustice for the people, as reported by The News on Friday.

During a labor wing of the party-organized iftar dinner in North Nazimabad, the politician claimed that Karachi had non-local police, calling this an injustice to the city’s residents.

Siddiqui questioned why the province’s capital city had a non-local police force, pointing out that other major centers in Sindh had their own citizens working in state and federal organizations.

We are going through numerous political phases as a country, and we are forced to use non-local administration and law enforcement. However, the MQM-P has once again reclaimed from the non-locals the mandate of the province’s metropolitan districts,” Siddiqui stated.

Siddiqui claimed that “ghair maqami,” or non-local, bandits were killing young people in Karachi through street violence, citing the city’s growing number of youth fatalities from such incidents.

“Young people in the city are being brutally murdered by out-of-town bandits during Ramadan,” the MQM-P leader claimed.

He went on to say that Sindh’s “racist” administration had been given free rein and that although his party had been silent throughout Ramadan, it will now speak out about the deaths of young people in the city at the hands of outside bandits.

Siddiqui emphasized that if it took going to the streets to defend women’s honor, the MQM-P would not think twice about making any sacrifice. The ad hoc organizing committee of the party was also present at the occasion.

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Chinese firms have temporarily halted construction on the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha dams.

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A day after work at the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project was also put on hold, Chinese businesses in charge of operations at the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha Dams have temporarily paused civil work at the sites due to security concerns, The News reported on Friday.

This development follows earlier this week’s terror incident in Shangla, which resulted in the deaths of at least six individuals, including five Chinese engineers who were working on the Dasu Dam.

The passengers died on Tuesday when their bus was struck by an explosives-laden automobile on the Karakoram Highway in the Bisham region.

An official working on the project revealed to the publication that approximately 991 Chinese engineers were employed on both projects, with the local workers being instructed to remain at home until further orders are given.

At District Upper Kohistan, the 4,320 MW Dasu Dam is being constructed by over 6,000 locals and 741 Chinese laborers. Chinese engineers are still employed at the Mohmand Dam site in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nevertheless, where construction is still ongoing.

In a similar vein, Chinese company’s suspension of dam construction was verified by GM Diamer-Bhasha Dam (DBD) Nazakat Hussain. According to him, there were about 500 Chinese nationals working in DBD, but the FWO personnel is still employed. Approximately 6,000 residents are working on the dam project.

In a few days, he hoped, things would settle down and the Chinese workers would return. By using hydropower, the Diamer-Bhasha Dam would generate 4,800 MW of electricity.

Asim Rauf, the general manager of the Mohmand Dam, told The News that the 250 Chinese laborers are still working on the project and have not stopped.

“Chinese have shown satisfaction over the security situation in the project area and they are working on the site,” according to the official.

After it is finished, the Mohmand Dam will manage floods downstream, irrigate 15,100 acres of land, and provide 740 MW of hydroelectricity.

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