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KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday set aside the life imprisonment handed down to a man by the trial court in a murder case. Aqil Bashir was sentenced to life in prison by a sessions court in October last year for killing Shabbir alias Shabana, said to be a transgender person, in April 2019 within the remit of the Ferozabad police station. The convict, through his counsel, filed an appeal against the trial court order and after hearing both sides and examining the record and proceedings of the case, a single-judge bench headed by Justice Omar Sial allowed the appeal and exonerated the appellant. The bench in its judgement said that as per prosecution, Shabbir was a transgender and said to have been married to the appellant whereas simultaneously it seemed that the appellant had been married to Sobia and had five children from her. It further noted that the case of the prosecution was mainly based on the evidence of two last-seen witnesses and recovery of the crime weapon

KARACHI: Pakistani start-ups raised a total of $23.1 million in eight deals in the January-March quarter, down 86.6 per cent from a year ago. However, the amount of quarterly funding rose 52.5pc from the preceding three-month period. The recovery from the trough of the last quarter of 2022 marks the reversal of a long trend. The haul of Pakistani start-ups in October-December was $15.2m, lowest since the first quarter of 2020 when the funding size amounted to just $5m. Statistics compiled by Data Darbar, a website that tracks investment flows into the country’s tech ecosystem, showed the quarterly improvement of 52.5pc was on a low base while the deal count remained flat. There was also an uptick in deal sizes as both the average and median levels posted some recovery and reached $3.85m and $3.25m, respectively. These numbers show one of the lowest gaps between average and median levels as the difference had widened significantly during the period of capital frenzy about a year ago.

KARACHI: At least 12 women and children were killed in a deadly crush at a Ramazan food and cash distribution centre, set up by a private company in Karachi on Friday, police and rescue officials said, as the country struggles with surging food prices. The stampede occurred when hundreds of women and children panicked and started pushing each other to collect food outside the F.K. Dyeing company in the Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE) industrial area, Fida Husain Janwari, Keamari’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), told Dawn. Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that 11 people — three children and eight women — were among the dead. She said nine bodies were brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and two were brought to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital. Later, the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) for Karachi’s south zone, Irfan Ali Baloch, told Dawn that another woman had died, bringing the number of deaths to 12. An Edhi Foundation spokesperson also said in a s

LAHORE: The high court on Friday stopped the handover of 45,267 acres of land on a lease to the Pakistan Army for the purposes of corporate farming. The Punjab caretaker government recently agreed to hand over the land in question to the army in three districts — Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal — on a 20-year lease (with the possibility to extend it for another 10 years). The Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (Pilap), a not-for-profit legal organisation, moved the LHC against the agreement and the subsequent notification issued by the caretaker government. They argued that the notification was illegal as the caretaker government of a province had no power under the Constitution to take such a decision. Giving away state land an ‘impermissible’ act under election law, argues lawyer On Friday, Justice Abid Hussain Chattha took up Pilap’s petition, filed through advocates Ahmad Rafay Alam and Fahad Malik. The counsel contended that the Punjab Colonies Department issued a no

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Friday cast doubt on the verdict — which is yet to to come — by the three-member Supreme Court bench hearing the petition against the postponement of polls in Punjab. A diminished Supreme Court bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — is currently hearing the PTI’s petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to postpone elections to the Punjab Assembly till Oct 8. The three-member bench was constituted after the original five-member bench was disbanded following the recusals of Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail. Earlier today, the three-member bench had rejected Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan’s request for the formation of a full court to hear the PTI’s petition. In a press talk from London, Nawaz was asked whether the three-member bench’s decision would be acceptable. “It is a straightforward thing. When the bench itse

SHANGLA: Four persons including a policeman were injured in a clash between police and protesters over distribution of free flour in Maira area of Bisham tehsil on Thursday. The clash erupted when protesters attempted to loot flour bags meant for free distribution among deserving people. Three protesters and a police constable were injured. Police vehicles were also damaged as angered protesters pelted stones at them. Dandai SHO Fazal Elahi told Dawn that protesters, led by village council chairman Shah Zenat, blocked Karakoram Highway and attempted to loot flour bags being transported to Bisham from a flour mill. He said that protesters pelted stones at police when they tried to stop them from looting the flour truck. Shah Zenat, who led the protest, said that they were protesting against the unjust distribution of flour and demanding the establishment of more points but police started baton charges and injured several people. Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Jawad Asif said that

PESHAWAR: The Judicial Com­mission of Pakistan (JCP) has done an injustice to judges of the Peshawar High Court by not elevating any of them to the Supreme Court over the last few years, a member of the commission from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observed on Thursday. Ahmad Farooq Khattak also expressed concern over the delay in appointment of the high court’s new chief justice on retirement of the incumbent. In a strongly worded letter addressed to the JCP’s Chairman (the Chief Justice of Pakistan), Mr Khattak stated it was incumbent upon the JCP chairman to have given his attention to successive retirements this week of two chief justices of the PHC and to have convened a meeting of the commission to make timely appointment of a permanent chief justice. “In circumstances and on serious reservations shown by the legal fraternity of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, I earnestly request to immediately convene a meeting of the Commission for appointment of the senior most judge as Chief Justice in accordanc

ISLAMABAD: A surprise Tarbela operational plan from Wapda on Thursday came as a shock to the advisory committee of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) which could not even take up, let alone finalise the Water Availability and Distribution Plan for the Kharif season starting April 1. Interestingly, the Wapda authorities were part of the Irsa’s Technical Committee (ITC) meeting held on March 24 that had discussed criteria for estimated water shortages and availability during the coming season but did not apprise the meeting about any changes to its operational plan. The ITC had received from various stakeholders separate shortage estimates that ranged between 25 to 35 per cent. More shockingly, the members for water and power of Wapda who are permanent members of the Irsa’s Advisory Committee (IAC) did not attend the meeting on Thursday that had been called specifically for finalising the water distribution plan for the upcoming season based on estimated water availability and sho

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has warned the general public about unregistered and fraudulent lenders operating through mobile applications. An inquiry initiated by the CCP over the subject has shown that such apps constantly change their premises and whereabouts as well as the undertakings behind such operations. However, the CCP said it is necessary to alert the public about the issues identified and ways to avoid them until the probe is underway. “To avoid falling prey to such activities, it is important for the public to be aware that there have been instances where recovery agents have given their personal account details instead of the lender’s valid account,” the CCP said. As a result, the payments were not adjusted against the repayment and caused further inconvenience to borrowers, it added. These applications, available on Google PlayStore and AppStore, offer short-term micro-credits to borrowers but are currently facing numerous complaints and c

• 38 posts of judges lying vacant, state minister says JCP not convened in a long time • Lawmakers protest withdrawal of power subsidy to textile industry ISLAMABAD: The performance and working of the judiciary came under scrutiny of the National Assembly for the second consecutive day when the house was informed that over 380,000 cases were pending before the Supreme Court and all the five high courts of the country. During the alternate private member’s day, the lawmakers also protested over the government’s move to withdraw subsidy on power tariff for the textile industry as per conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Both the issues came up under discussion during the Question Hour and lawmakers, who had lashed out at the judiciary during the sitting on Monday at the time of the passage of the controversial bill clipping the suo motu power of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), once again consumed significant time on discussing reasons for the huge backlog of cas

A senior doctor, who had recently retired as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) medical and health services director, was killed after armed assailants opened fire on his vehicle as he was leaving his private clinic in the city’s Garden area on Thursday evening, officials said. Garden police said that 62-year-old Dr Beerbal was gunned down while his assistant, 35-year-old Dr Qurutulain, was injured by armed assailants on a motorcycle near the Lyari Expressway junction. The dead and the injured were subsequently shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that Dr Beerbal sustained two bullet injuries to the head. She said that he was already dead when he was brought to the hospital at 6:46pm. She said that Dr Qurutulain was shot in the shoulder but her condition was out of danger. The police surgeon said that the injured was also a member of staff at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD). South Deputy

ISLAMABAD: For a change, the country’s five leading oil and gas companies joined hands on Wednesday to delve into green energy projects as the world moves towards an energy transition away from fossil fuels. The five public sector entities including Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pak-Arab Refinery Ltd (Parco), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MPCL) and Government Holdings Private Ltd (GHPL) formally signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore and pursue green hydrogen opportunities within and outside Pakistan. The oil companies typically focus on their hydrocarbon resources to expand their businesses which are considered a key source of greenhouse gas emissions leading to extreme weather conditions and global warming. In recent years, such firms have started diversifying businesses towards green energy projects as pressures build across the country against greenhouse gas emissions. The collaboration aims to drive the energy transiti

PESHAWAR: Bureaucrats threatened a pen-down strike across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday accusing information minister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel of overstepping his powers by trying to occupy the office of additional secretary of the department Arshad Khan. The minister claimed that he visited the secretary’s office and wanted to sit on his chair but the latter didn’t allow that prompting him to step out and go to the office of the director-general (public relations). “I held the same chair during an earlier visit to the office,” he told Dawn . Mr Kakakhel alleged that the province’s bureaucracy had a tilt to the former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). Minister Kakakhel claims secy denying him record of official cars Official sources claimed that the DG was away but still, the minister occupied his chair. The minister said he had sought details of official vehicles used by officers of his department, but the records weren’t shared. “I want to see how many official vehi

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced new funding to bolster democracies around the world amid criticism his administration has made little progress in advancing human rights and democracy as a focus of its foreign policy. Biden announced he planned $690 million in funding to help fight corruption, support free and fair elections and advance technologies that support democratic governments at a second White House-led Summit for Democracy. He announced over $400 million for similar programmes in 2021 when he last held such an event. “We’re turning the tide here. As we often say, we’re at an inflection point in history here, when the decisions we make today are going to affect the course of our world for the next several decades for certain,” Biden said. Rights advocates say there is little evidence the countries joining the summit have made progress on improving their democracies, and that there is no formal mechanism to hold participants to the modest commitment

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday acknowledged that there was “some need to streamline” Supreme Court’s internal matters but questioned the timing as well as the manner of the government’s bid to curtail the chief justice’s power to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity among other things. Earlier in the day, the National Assembly passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023’s passing after it was presented by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar. Regarding exercising the apex court’s original jurisdiction, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before a Supreme Court committee comprising the CJP and two most senior judges. “If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of th

President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday appointed Justice Musarrat Hilali as the first female chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), according to a notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice. The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , said she was promoted to the position since she was the most senior PHC judge and will assume office from April 1 “till the appointment of a regular chief justice by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan”. She will be the second female to become the chief justice of a high court after Justice Tahira Safdar, the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court from September 2018 to October 2019. Born in Peshawar on August 8, 1961, Hilali received her law degree from Khyber Law College of the University of Peshawar and enrolled as an advocate of district courts in 1983, as an advocate of the high court in 1988 and as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2006. She was the first female elected office-bearer on the post

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) is working on the monsoon contingency plan 2023 in consultation with all stakeholders to identify monsoon hazards, vulnerabilities, risks and resource mapping for effectively reducing disaster risks and taking coordinated disaster response on time. A statement issued here said the contingency plan’s outcomes reinforced prevention, mitigation and response to monsoon-related disasters. A “pre-planning and orientation” meeting for it was held here with PDMA director (disaster risk management) Mohammad Amin in the chair. The participants included representatives of the relevant departments. Mr Amin said the PDMA had begun the monsoon contingency planning for the current year by involving all stakeholders and that such meetings would continue next month. PDMA promises effective disaster risk management and response He said hopefully, the contingency plan would be developed by the end of May. “The PDMA d

TOBA TEK SINGH: The sale of fruit in Faisalabad division was reportedly cut down by at least 50pc as a result of fruit boycott by the citizens. The campaign was launched on social media by the concerned citizens of Karachi against the hike in fruit prices in Ramazan and it had reached the Punjab cities too. In Faisalabad division, it remained successful on the second day on Tuesday as the citizens refused to buy expensive fruit in all its cities. The people took part in this silent protest against the fruit inflation mafia, which had increased the prices manifold because of the month of fasting. The citizens told Dawn in a survey carried out in various bazaars of Toba Tek Singh that they did not buy fruit on Monday and Tuesday in protest against the fruit sellers. They claimed that the shopkeepers and vendors kept on waiting for the customers. According to some reports, the vendors had been forced to sell bananas and melons at reduced prices. FESCO: The Faisalabad Electric Supp

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court was informed on Tuesday that 29 criminal cases had been registered against former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in the federal capital. The state counsel told IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq that PTI chief was nominated in 28 first information reports (FIRs) by the capital police while the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also booked him in one case. Justice Farooq was hearing a petition seeking details of the cases registered against the PTI chief in Islamabad’s police stations. According to report submitted to the court, out of 28 FIRs, one has been quashed, investigation is in process in seven cases and trial is under progress in 20 cases. It said the FIA has registered a case against Mr Khan under Foreign Exchange Act and this matter is pending before the Special Court on Offences in Banks. According to the report, police registered 15 cases against the former premier on a single day, on May 26 last year. An FIR

CIUDAD JUAREZ: At least 39 migrants from Central and South America died after a fire broke out at a migrant holding centre in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, the government’s National Migration Institute (INM) said on Tuesday. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the blaze apparently broke out after migrants set fire to mattresses in protest after discovering they would be deported. “They didn’t think that would cause this terrible tragedy,” Lopez Obrador told a news conference, noting that most migrants at the facility were from Central America and Venezuela. President Obrador says asylum seekers apparently burnt mattresses to stop being deported There were 68 adult men from Central and South America staying at the facility in the city opposite El Paso, Texas, the INM said in a statement. Twenty-nine of them were injured in the blaze and taken to four hospitals in the area. Those who died included migrants from Guatemala and Honduras, a Mexican

After a bill aimed at curtailing the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) powers to take suo motu notices and constituting benches of the Supreme Court (SC) was approved by the federal cabinet and presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday, the opinion in the legal fraternity was split. The cabinet summary for the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, states that “every cause, matter or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the CJP and the two senior-most judges,” adding that “the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.” Regarding exercising the apex court’s original jurisdiction, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the abovementioned committee. “If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitut

TAXILA: The Taxila police on Monday arrested six people including a doctor and a nurse involved in depriving people of their kidneys and selling them to patients at a high price. Police sources said a police party led by SHO Sub Inspector Sarmad Ilyas along with Human Organ Transplant Agency (HOTA) staff raided a house located in a society where kidney of Shahid Ali, a native of Lahore, was being transplanted to Baseer Khan, a native of Peshawar, under a deal. Police sources said nine other facilitators including a Peshawar based anesthetist, a female nurse, a medicine supplier and two of them brokers managed to escape from scene successfully. Sources said that a case was registered against the accused under section 334 and 337-R of Pakistan Penal code (PPC) as sections 3, 4, 9 and 10 transplantation of human organs and tissues act 2010 and launched further investigation. Responding to a question, Sub Inspector Sarmad Ilyas said both the donor and receiver were shifted to Benazir B

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that what Imran Khan wants will never happen, as the government will never surrender to his desires. “Whatever you want, it will not come to pass. It will not be done because you are a fascist. You don’t have any connection with democracy. You have abrogated the Constitution. You are ‘falsely’ popular,” the minister lashed out at PTI chief Imran Khan at a news conference here at the Pakistan Railways (PR) headquarters on Monday. “You (IK) have a cult-following. And [we] will not hand over this country to a man having such following,” he declared. Describing Mr Khan and his facilitators as thieves and Sicilian Mafia, the minister asked them to apologise to the nation for promoting and installing a party that had allegedly destroyed everything in the country. Claims ‘facilitators’ are trying to reinstall ex-PM; asks PIA pilots to ‘bear with’ govt on tax issue “Not we, you are thieves. Not we, you are

LAHORE/KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Monday denied further physical remand of Advocate Hassaan Khan Niazi, nephew of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, to police in a Lahore case and granted his two-day transit remand to Sindh police in a case lodged in Karachi. The police produced Niazi before the court to seek physical remand in a case registered with the Racecourse police regarding attacks on police teams and damage to public property outside the Zaman Park residence of Imran Khan. The investigating officer told the court that custody of the suspect was required for the recovery of a laptop and a cellular phone from him. Mr Niazi’s lawyers opposed the remand and asked the court to discharge him in the case. ATC judge Abher Gul Khan rejected the request of the police and sent Hassaan Niazi to jail on judicial remand. However, the judge allowed two-day transit remand of Mr Niazi to Sindh police for his shifting to Karachi as required in a case of hate speech. Separately, Justice Tar

LAHORE: The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought a report from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) about the whereabouts of PTI social media activist Azhar Mashwani, as police investigators have been clueless for the past five days, despite the registration of an abduction case on a court order a couple of days ago. According to his family, Mr Mashwani was travelling to Zaman Park in a cab from his home on March 23 when he went missing. Mazharul Hassan, the elder brother of the PTI activist told Dawn that a preliminary police investigation failed to trace his whereabouts despite the passage of five days. He said the law enforcement agencies should produce his brother in a court of law if he had done anything wrong. He said his parents were cardiac patients and were worried about their missing son. It was only after a sessions court issued notices to the Lahore police chief on a petition seeking the registration of a case over his alleged abduction that the

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) has appealed to the electronic media regulator to stop media coverage of former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as he smokes cigars during press conferences and this can influence the young generation. Moreover, it has demanded from Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to issue a general instruction not to provide coverage to any person who promotes smoking. The letter signed by Panah General Secretary Sanaullah Ghumman stated that the association has been working to minimise cardiovascular diseases since 1984. “This association had also put in its good share in helping people who suffered in the natural disasters that struck the nation in the past and is also helping poor patients get expensive cardiac investigations, angioplasty, stents and cardiac surgery at various hospitals. The president of Islamic Republic of Pakistan by virtue of his position is our patron-in-chief. Panah works closely with policy

Legal experts and lawyers on Monday weighed in after Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail of the Supreme Court called for revisiting the power of the “one-man show” enjoyed by the chief justice. The two judges made the remarks in a detailed dissenting note — released on Monday hours after the SC took up the PTI’s plea challenging the postponement of elections in Punjab — for the top court’s March 1 verdict regarding holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The top court, in a 3-2 verdict, had directed the electoral watchdog to consult with President Arif Alvi for polls in Punjab and Governor Ghulam Ali for elections in KP, so that elections could be held within the stipulated timeframe of 90 days. In the dissenting note, the two judges said that the reconstitution of the bench hearing the suo motu notice case regarding the delay in the provincial elections was “simply an administrative act”. “Therefore, we are of the opinion that the dismi