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ISLAMABAD: In a first for Pakistan, the Supreme Court on Monday began live-streaming hearing of multiple petitions against a law that curtails the powers of the country’s top judge, a day after a new chief justice widely believed to be an activist judge took office.
The law, the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, deprived the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan of powers to take suo motu notices in individual capacity, hear appeals and assign cases to other judges. It proposed a three-member committee led by the chief justice to decide on the matters with a majority vote.
The outgoing government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had tabled the draft law in parliament amid a tussle with the apex court, particularly former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial, after he had initiated proceedings through a suo motu notice for snap elections in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
The court ruled that snap polls should be held in both provinces within 90 days of the dissolution of assemblies in January, but the Sharif-led government defied the ruling by refusing to provide funds and security for polls in Punjab. The Pakistan parliament passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 in April, curtailing the top judge’s powers, but it was suspended shortly afterwards by the outgoing chief justice.
After taking oath on Sunday, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa constituted a full court, comprising all 15 judges of the Supreme Court, to hear the petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 on Monday. The decision to broadcast the case proceedings, the first in the country’s history, came after a full court meeting this morning.
“Some of us have heard this matter and some of us are going to hear for the first time,” Chief Justice Isa said in his remarks at the outset of the hearing.
“There was a question because since the bench no longer, one member of the bench has retired, to constitute it. The question also had a reason whether I should be a part of the bench, then the related question would arise should the other two members (two senior judges apart from the chief justice who were part of the committee) be part of the bench… so, I think the best way to resolve it was to constitute a full court.”
Advocate Khawaja Tariq Rahim, one of the petitioners, contended that parliament was not “omnipotent” and it had to go according to certain constitutional limitations.
To which, Chief Justice Isa responded by asking the counsel to not insert words which were not written in the law. “This law doesn’t say that parliament is omnipotent,” he said.
Rahim called the law an “intrusion” by parliament into the affairs of the Supreme Court, which he said prompted him to come forward and file a petition against it.
“I feel every institution must remain within its own domain,” he said.
At this Justice Athar Minallah asked Rahim if he could formulate his exact legal proposition.
To which, the petitioner replied, “My legal proposition is this that this power of forming the benches etc is the domain of the Supreme Court itself.”
Rahim’s contentions were followed by arguments from another counsel of the petitioners, Imtiaz Siddiqui, before the court adjourned for a break at around 230pm.
Ahead of the hearing on Monday, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan submitted the federal government’s response in the matter, requesting the court to reject the petitions against the law.
The full court comprised Chief Justice Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
During the previous hearing in June, similarities between the Supreme Court (Review of Judgments and Orders) Act 2023, which relates to the right to appeal in suo motu cases, and the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 were discussed, with Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan saying that parliament could look into “harmonizing” the two laws.
Welcoming the proposal, the then-chief justice had said the federal government should take the top court into consideration, when making any legislation related to the judiciary.
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar attended on Tuesday the opening ceremony of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, alongside high-profile world leaders.
He arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday afternoon to lead Pakistan’s delegation, where he was warmly received by his country’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Munir Akram, and its Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan.
Kakar is poised to make history on Friday, September 22, as the first caretaker premier of his country to address the UNGA session.
“Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is attending the opening session of the General Debate of 78th UNGA session at the UN headquarters, New York,” his office said in a statement.
The interim premier is scheduled to attend several important meetings during the day.
“The prime minister will represent Pakistan in the high-level meeting on Global Development Initiative today and will address the participants of the gathering,” his office said. “He will also participate in a summit on Sustainable Development Goals where he will interact with people.”
Additionally, Kakar is expected to meet with Turkish and Iranian Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ibrahim Raisi during the day.
The prime minister will also attend a dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden in honor of world leaders visiting New York to attend the UNGA meeting.
Kakar is expected to present Pakistan’s perspective on a wide range of regional and international issues during the coming days and highlight the measures taken by his caretaker administration to consolidate his country’s economic recovery by attracting foreign and domestic investment.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani military launched on Tuesday a two-week multinational military exercise aiming to further harness military relations with friendly nations, including Qatar and Turkiye, its media wing said.
Special forces contingents from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Turkiye and Uzbekistan would participate in the two-week exercise, ‘Eternal Brotherhood-II,’ according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir attended the opening ceremony of the exercise and interacted with the participating soldiers. The commanding officer of Pakistan’s elite Special Services Group (SSG) briefed the army chief on the scope of the exercise.
“The exercise is aimed at further harnessing the historic military-to-military relations among the friendly countries, including nurturing of joint employment concept, while identifying areas of mutual interest for future military collaborations and benefitting from each other’s experience against terrorism,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Prior to visiting Barotha, Gen Munir also visited the Junior Leadership Academy (JLA) in Shinkiari in northwest Pakistan, which is the center of excellence for training of non-commissioned officers. He laid a floral wreath at the martyrs’ monument and addressed the participants of the academy.
“Junior Leaders are the backbone of Pakistan Army and are key to success in conventional and unconventional warfare,” the ISPR quoted him as telling the trainees.
He lauded the army’s junior leaders for proving their mettle in the fields of training, operations and competitions across the world.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani politicians and legal experts on Tuesday lauded the live broadcast of Supreme Court proceedings on national television, calling it a vital step to ensure transparency and while seeking the continuation of the practice in cases of public interest to strengthen the justice system and democracy in the country.
In a first, the country’s top court live streamed a hearing of multiple petitions against a legislation curtailing the chief justice’s discretion to take up any legal matter for hearing on his own and entrust cases to fellow judges without seeking their input.
The law, which was passed by the country’s outgoing parliament in April but was struck down by the top court the same month, proposes a three-member committee led by the chief justice to decide on such matters with majority vote.
The live proceedings on Monday marked the beginning of the tenure of new Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa after he was sworn into the office on Sunday following the retirement of his predecessor, Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
“This is a good and positive development that will help ensure transparency since I believe everyone should be aware of what is happening [at the Supreme Court], especially in such cases of public interest,” Anwar Mansoor Khan, Pakistan’s former attorney general, told Arab News.
He said live streaming offered a valuable learning experience for legal professionals who could not attend the apex court’s proceedings in person, adding it also upheld the public’s right to know about the details of the court’s proceedings.
“However, this is not a general public forum,” he added. “Therefore, instead of broadcasting live on television, these hearings should be streamed on the Supreme Court’s website or through a dedicated mobile application, allowing interested individuals to access and observe the proceedings.”
Sabahat Rizvi, Lahore High Court Bar Association’s secretary, called it a commendable practice which should be maintained in cases of public interest.
“All cases of public interest litigation should be live streamed online,” she told Arab News.
Rizvi sad there was no harm in live broadcasting such cases, especially when decisions that impact people’s lives were at stake.
“The transparency of the process will leave a lasting impression on people,” she continued.
“Individuals have the right to see how judges and their counsels handle cases, how their rights are defended, and how issues related to them are addressed,” she said, adding that private matters should not be open to the general public unless it was required.
Irfan Qadir, who served Shehbaz Sharif’s administration as special assistant to the prime minister, said judges should also feel accountable to the nation, adding that people must have the ability to scrutinize court proceedings for transparency.
“Open trial should never be avoided in political matters,” he told Arab News.
Faisal Karim Kundi, central information secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party, praised the new chief justice for live streaming the proceeding, adding the top court and parliament should have their own dedicated web channels.
“Live streaming of court proceedings takes place in different countries through dedicated web channels,” he said, adding that the recent broadcast was done on the national television and watched by the entire nation.
“Creating a dedicated Supreme Court web channel could be a more favorable option than television broadcasting,” he continued, adding it should be implemented for all public interest cases and not be limited to a specific one.
ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) consulate in Pakistan’s Karachi said on Tuesday it had expedited the US visa application process for Pakistani applicants and was working to reduce wait times, amid an “unprecedented” demand.
The development comes amid soaring inflation, which clocked in at 27.4 percent year-on-year in August, political unrest and an economic meltdown in Pakistan that have forced people to look for options abroad.
More than 540,000 Pakistanis have left the country till August this year, according to the country’s Emigration & Overseas Employment. Of them, 15,052 were highly qualified individuals and 31,130 highly skilled workers.
The US consulate said the demand for US visas was the highest it had ever been in the South Asian country and it was “working hard” to bring down visa appointment wait times.
“We have expedited thousands of non-immigrant visa appointments. More than ten thousand Pakistani visa applicants originally scheduled for 2024 at the US Consulate General in Karachi are receiving notice that their appointments have been rescheduled in 2023, some as early as next week,” it said in a statement.
“To create added flexibility for Pakistani travelers, visa applicants can rebook appointments at either the Consulate General in Karachi or US Embassy in Islamabad.”
Starting September 25, the US consulate said, it would also start accepting new interview waiver applications for some applicants who had previously been issued US visas. “These steps demonstrate how deeply the United States values the relationship between our two countries,” it added.
The exodus of skilled Pakistani workforce from their country comes amid the rising costs of living, low employment rates, and the devaluation of the local currency that has made it difficult to afford basic necessities.
Many Pakistanis believe there is no immediate solution to the country’s complex economic woes originating from decades of corruption, mismanagement and political instability, and find it better to look for greener pastures abroad.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s election regulator announced on Tuesday that the number of voters in the country had increased by 22 million as compared to 2018, amid preparations for the upcoming general elections.
Elections in Pakistan were originally scheduled to be held by November after the outgoing government of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif dissolved the National Assembly on August 9.
However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) opted to delimit the electoral constituencies based on the results of a digital census conducted in April this year, delaying the polls to next year.
On Tuesday, the ECP revealed the updated “province-wise voter statistics from 2018 to 2023” as of July 25, 2023 and revealed that the number of voters had increased to 126.9 million from 105.95 million in 2018.
Updated Voter Stats#ECP pic.twitter.com/Lj6UzsPoGM
The overall number of male voters had risen from 59.22 million in 2018 to 68.50 million in 2023, according to the ECP. Likewise, the count of female voters had gone up from 46.73 million to 58.47 million.
The election regulator also unveiled age-wise voter statistics as of July 25, highlighting that a significant majority of voters, 59.10 million, fell between 18 years and 35 years.
Among these young voters, the majority 31.74 million individuals lived in the Punjab province. Sindh followed with 11.58 million voters, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 10.79 million, Balochistan with 2.53 million, and Islamabad Capital Territory with 0.46 million registered voters.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC), suggesting that polls in the country should be held on November 6.
“WHEREAS in terms of Article 48(5) the general election to the National Assembly should be held by the eighty-ninth day of the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, i.e. Monday, 6th Day of November 2023,” Alvi wrote in his letter to CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja.
Alvi has maintained that as per Pakistan’s constitution, the president must fix a date for polls within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly.
On August 23, the president had also invited the chief election commissioner to a meeting to fix a date for the impending elections, but Raja snubbed the offer and pointed out that after amendments to the Elections Act in June by the outgoing government, fixing a date for elections was the sole prerogative of the election regulator.
Previously, the constitution mandated the president to consult the election commission before determining a date for polls.