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PTI, govt to hold talks on elections today

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ISLAMABAD: Following the Supreme Court’s emphasis on negotiations, talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will begin at the Senate secretariat at 6pm, sources told Geo News.

Officials, privy to the development, shared that Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and briefed him on today’s hearing at the Supreme Court.

Following his meeting with the PM, the AGP contacted PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar and Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar.

From the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) side its three-member committee will lead the talks while the government’s panel will be finalised after the ruling alliance’s lawmakers will meet with PM Shehbaz.

The development comes after Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial urged the government and the opposition to sit for talks for the sake of the constitution.

The talks are happening at the Senate Secretariat despite PTI rejecting the Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani’s proposal of forming a 10-member special parliamentary committeefor the dialogue.

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi — speaking to media persons outside the Supreme Court before today’s hearing— said that the party has rejected Sanjrani’s committee as “this matter isn’t about Senate, it is about political consensus”.

Qureshi said that the party has already formed its three-member committee after consultations with party chief Imran Khan. The panel comprises Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and Barrister Ali Zafar.

The ruling alliance had proposed the formation of a 10-member parliamentary committee with equal representation from both sides for talks on holding elections across the country on the same date.

The thaw in the rigid political scenario took place following the government’s suggestion of a parliamentary committee to hold parleys with the Opposition in line with the Supreme Court’s instruction to develop a consensus on the election date.

According to Geo News sources, Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar and Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique contacted Sanjrani in this regard.

The sources further added that the government suggested that the parliamentary committee should include five members from each side.

Following the meeting, Sanjrani wrote a letter to PTI seeking nominations for the committee.

In his letter to PTI leader Shehzad Waseem, the Senate chairman said that he had been approached by the ruling coalition to mediate a “political dialogue to address the ongoing political and economic crisis including the holding of general elections.”

“The Senate of Pakistan; House of Federation, being a stabilising factor of the federation is constitutionally bestowed with the responsibility of protecting the national and political harmony vis-a-vis the national and public interest,” he wrote.

Sanjrani added that a 10-member special committee for holding political dialogue is being constituted under the joint convenership of the Leader of the House in the Senate and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and comprising four members each from the treasury and opposition benches.

He further mentioned that his office and the Senate will be available to facilitate the talks. He then asked Waseem to provide, on the PTI’s behalf, the names of four members from the opposition benches, to be made part of the committee in two days.

Earlier, Sanjrani had also contacted PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Waseem, the sources said.

PTI’s panel

Meanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan formed a three-member panel for a dialogue with the government over the issue of elections and other relevant matters, The News reported.

The panel comprises PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Barrister Ali Zafar.

It may be noted that the Supreme Court has directed the political parties to hold a dialogue in a bid to reach a consensus on the date of elections in the country, with the government stressing to hold the polls on same day.

The government is expected to inform the apex court about the progress in the implementation of orders, in today’s hearing on pleas seeking simultaneous elections across the country.

On April 4, the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had ordered the government to hold polls in Punjab on May 14.

However, after issuing its written verdict in the previous hearing, the court held that its judgment rendered on the case of delay in the elections had already fixed May 14 as the date of election to the Punjab Assembly.

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After taking an oath to lead JI, Hafiz Naeem declares an anti-government movement.

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The JI’s headquarters, Mansoora, hosted an oath-taking ceremony that was attended by workers, party leaders, and former chief of the party Sirajul Haq, Liaqat Baloch, and others from around the nation.

Speaking at the event, Hafiz Naeem—who was elected as the JI’s sixth Ameer—reaffirmed the party’s commitment to advancing its principles and goals and stated that he believed the JI would lead the nation as a whole.

He added that his party would start a broad campaign against the “fake democratic” process and Form 47, which the government “imposed.” He went on, “Workers should get ready for the movement.”

Hafiz Naeem further urged the JI to collaborate with like-minded groups who feel that the public mandate was “stolen” on February 8.

Hafiz Naeem succeeded Maulana Abul Ala Maududi (1941–72), Sirajul Haq (2013–2024), Qazi Hussain Ahmed (1987–2008), Munawer Hassan (2008–2013), and Mian Tufail Muhammad (1972–87) as the sixth individual to occupy the top spot in the party.

Sirajul Haq was replaced as Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan by Hafiz Naeem, who was elected earlier on April 4.

Voting was done by some 45,000 party members nationwide, according to the election commission that the JIP’s Majlis-e-Shura created.

Approximately 6,000 female party members participated in the election process, according to the election commission. There was a registered turnout of 82 percent overall.

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Hamid Raza says Nawaz Sharif used the Faizabad sit-in to criticize institutions.

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The individual asserted that they had proof of the PML-N’s betrayal during the 2017 Faizabad sit-in, citing knowledge of the protest from both General Faiz Hameed (Retd) and former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (Retd).

The PML-N workers in Rawalpindi were instructed to make sure that people participated in the sit-in, while the then-Punjab administration assisted in organizing it, according to Hamid Raza.

The head of the SIC said that while the goals of the Faizabad sit-in were correct, the event was deliberately planned to include individuals who carried signs criticizing government agencies.

During the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) sit-in, he said, workers for the PML-N were also among those who received money.

Remember that the investigation commission cleared former spy chief Faiz Hameed of all charges when it was established to look into the 2017 sit-in at the Faizabad Interchange in Islamabad.

To protest the changes made to the Election Act of 2017, which changed the word “oath” to “declaration,” the TLP staged a sit-in at the Faizabad junction on November 8, 2017.

In a submission to the Supreme Court, former PEMRA chairman Absar Alam said that pressure was applied to the media regulating body during the Faizabad sit-in by former ISI commander Faiz Hameed.

After the Fact-Finding Committee report was rejected by the Supreme Court, the federal government formed an inquiry commission led by retired Inspector General Akhtar Ali Shah.

The probe panel, however, handed the former intelligence head the clean pass in its 149-page report, which was released Thursday.

Faiz Hameed was granted authorization for the arrangement, according to the commission, by the then-DG ISI and Army Chief. Additionally included in the article was the inclusion of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and then-Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the arrangement.

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The IHC upholds Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail.

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Bushra Bibi’s request to be transferred from Bani Gala to Adiala Jail was granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.

The former first lady Bushra Bibi’s application to be transferred from Bani Gala sub-jail to Adiala was heard today.

Details reveal that the Islamabad High Court heard a motion to restore the denied petition about the relocation of Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder, from sub-jail Bani Gala to Adiala.

The application for the reinstatement of appeal was heard by Justice Miagul Hassan Aurangzeb. When state attorney Abdul Rehman entered the courtroom on behalf of the state, Usman Riaz Gill represented the former first lady.

State counsel did not object to the appeal being restored during court proceedings. At the following hearing, the court asked for assistance in determining what conditions must be met for a location to be designated as a sub-jail.

The court also mandated that Bushra Bibi’s medical examination be scheduled. The court subsequently delayed the hearing and gave instructions to fix the appeal for April 22.

Recall that the attorneys for former first lady Bushra Bibi, Barrister Salman Safdar, Usman Riaz Gill, and Khalid Yusuf Chaudhary, had filed an application to restore the dismissed appeal a day ago, but the Islamabad High Court had denied their request to pursue the case.

The petition contended that the traffic gridlock at the Sarina Chowk checkpoint was the reason for the delay in getting to the court.

The attorneys did not purposefully take their time getting to court. They warned that the petitioner would suffer irreversible loss if the petition was not resurrected.

IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has voiced his displeasure at the absence of attorneys from the court.

According to Judge Aurangzeb, the former first lady would have been imprisoned if Bushra Bibi’s attorneys had prevailed in this case. The attorneys themselves were opposed to Bushra Bibi’s incarceration.

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