other show solidarity during opposition parties’ anti-govt rally on mall road. INP PHOTO by Hamid Musa
LAHORE: Rival opposition parties joined hands with TahirulQadri’s Pakistan AwamiTehreek (PAT) in an anti-government protest on Wednesday in a bid to seek justice for victims of the 2014 shootings in Lahore’s Model Town.
The allied opposition parties — which included the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami Muslim League (AML), Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), and others — threatened to topple the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government and said they would announce their next course of action in the coming days.Addressing the rally on Lahore’s Mall Road, PAT chief TahirulQadri claimed the Sharifs would not be able to step out of their homes if he mobilises his workers.“You won’t be able to step out of Jati Umrah, if I ask my workers,” Qadri said, taking the stage once again in the second session of the rally.
“We are holding a meeting within two days, and will announce a date. We will call a meeting of APC parties, its steering committee,” he said.
“It has been decided that you will go home; you will have to go home,” he warned the ruling PML-N. He said the joint opposition would soon announce its next course of action.
Qadri, however, failed to bring Imran Khan and Asif Ali Zardari on the stage at the same time, with the PPP co-chairperson and his party leaders addressing the first session of the rally, and PTI leadership dominating the second half of the show of political power in the heart of Lahore.
Khan, who is a vocal opponent of Zardari, listened to the PPP co-chairperson’s address on television at Jahangir Tareen’s residence and departed for the venue only after Zardari stepped down from the stage.
Addressing the rally, Khan lambasted the parliament for allowing a ‘criminal’ to be elected a party president.
“I curse the parliament that made a criminal the president of a party,” he said, in an apparent reference to the PML-N’s decision to elect ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif as its president. ”The two [Sharif] brothers are responsible for the Model Town incident,” said Imran. “I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it [Model Town incident] was done on orders received by the police.”
Former President and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari while addressing the rally, said Pakistan faced danger from Jati Umrah referring to the Sharif family residence.
“They [PML-N] know that they can be disqualified any time, but I just think for Pakistan,” said Zardari.
Source:Geonews.com
Chief justice takes notice of civil servants, judges holding dual citizenship
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar has taken notice of dual citizenship of civil servants and judges of superior and district courts, read a statement issued by the apex court.Justice Nisar took the notice on Wednesday during the hearing of a service matter case in the court. He directed the secretary of Establishment Division to submit a detailed report containing the names of dual national civil servants from BPS-17 to BPS-22 within 15 days.
The chief justice also directed the “registrar of Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court and all high courts to submit a list of dual national judges (if any) within 15 days”, read the statement.
In 2015, the Senate had approved an amendment envisaging a ban on holding dual nationality by judges, armed forces personnel and government officials.
The bill sought amendments to Articles 177 and 193 of the Constitution, stating that no dual nationality holder can become a judge of the Supreme Court or high courts.
“A person in the Service of Pakistan shall not hold dual nationality or citizenship of any foreign country,” said another amendment in Article 240 of the Constitution.
There is already a ban on holding of dual nationality by the personnel of armed forces under the military rules. But after its passage, the bill put a constitutional bar on them as well. Source:Dawnnews.com
NAB summons Shehbaz in connection with Ashiana housing scheme inquiry
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has summoned Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif with regard to an inquiry into Ashiana-e-Iqbal housing scheme.
The Punjab chief minister is called upon to appear before a combined investigation team and record his statement on January 22, read a letter by NAB Lahore.
NAB Lahore has been conducting an inquiry against management/officials of Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC), Lahore Casa Developers, Lahore Development Authority and others, it said.
The letter read that the prima facie Shehbaz Sharif, being the Punjab chief minister, ordered “cancellation of award of contract of Ashiana-e-Iqbal to successful bidder M/s Ch Latif and Sons, leading to award of contract to M/s Lahore Casa Developers (J.V), a proxy of M/s Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which resulted into loss of Rs193 million approximately.”
Shehbaz directed “PLDC to assign the project Ashiana-e-Iqbal to Lahore Development Authority (LDA) resulting into award of contract to M/s Lahore Casa Developers (JV), thus causing loss of Rs715 million approximately and ultimately failure of project,” it said.
The letter further said that Shehbaz “directed PLDC to award consultancy services of Ashiana-e-Iqbal project to M/s Engineering Consultancy Services Punjab (ECSP) for Rs192 million approximately, whereas actual cost was Rs35 million as quoted by
NESPAK.”
