Talha,s Journals

30/08/2023

A special court established under the Official Secrets Act Wednesday extended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's judicial remand by 14 days in the case pertaining to the missing cipher — a classified state document, sources told Geo News.

The court's decision, issued by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, came after its hearing took place at the Attock District Jail following approval by the Law Ministry amid security concerns

Khan has been imprisoned in the said jail since his conviction in the Toshakhana case on August 5 for failing to properly declare gifts he received while in office.

While the Islamabad High Court, a day earlier, overturned a lower court's decision to jail him for three years with a Rs100,000 fine — a judgment that kept him from contesting upcoming elections, he remains behind bars due to his judicial remand in the cipher case till August 30.

Meanwhile, sources told Geo News that Khan's five-member legal team — headed by Advocate Salman Safdar — attended the court hearing in the prison.

PTI chief's legal team comprising Naeem Haider Panjotha, Salman Safdar, Intizar Panjotha, Ali Ijaz Buttar and Umair Niazi were earlier denied request for meeting Khan, but were later allowed entry inside the jail.

The police had earlier only permitted Safdar to enter the Attock jail premises.

On the other hand, one of Khan's counsels, Buttar, questioned the former prime minister's remand.

"We have many questions. When was the PTI chairman remanded? How was the remand made possible without telling the party chief and his lawyers?" he asked.

Qureshi to appear before special court
Meanwhile, Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also be produced at the judicial complex in relation to the cipher case today after his two-day remand is completed today, the sources said.

Qureshi's lawyer and PTI leader, Babar Awan, will be representing him at the court.

'Manipulation' behind Khan's extended jail stay
The PTI chairman's lawyers claim that a "manipulation of justice" was keeping him behind bars.

According to his lawyers, the deposed prime minister — who was ousted from office after a no-confidence motion last year — was granted bail and expected to be released from Attock Jail, where he had been locked for the last three weeks.

However, they said on Tuesday afternoon Khan remained in detention because of a previous arrest, made in secret, over a case alleging he had leaked the cipher.

A day earlier, one of his lawyers told reporters outside the prison, which was surrounded by patrolling police units, that Khan was "on judicial remand" and would appear before a special court in Islamabad on Wednesday.

"He was arrested prior to today's court ruling. The exact date of his arrest remains unclear," another lawyer, Gohar Khan, told AFP by phone.

Another, Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen, said "his legal team was intentionally left uninformed and kept in the dark".

"This constitutes a manipulation of justice," he said.

Since his ouster, the PTI chairman has been embroiled in more than 200 cases and had been previously denied bail in at least nine other cases, including three in anti-terrorism courts and six in the district courts in Islamabad.
Cipher case: Court extends Imran Khan's judicial remand by 14 days
Court's decision, issued by Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain, comes after hearing at Attock jail under Official Secrets Ac

28/08/2023

'Imran Khan once again changed his stance on May 9 riots'
"My party ledaers were not part of the riots, they were some other people", PTI chief tells JIT

LAHORE: The joint investigation team (JIT) probing the May 9 rampage almost across the country said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has once again changed his stance regarding the events, sources told Geo News on Sunday.

The JIT, which comprises a five-member high-ranking team, visited the Attock jail to question the PTI chief in different cases, for which he has been booked under sedition and anti-terror laws.

Khan — who is currently serving a three-year sentence after being convicted in the Toshakhana case — told the team that his party leaders were not involved in the May 9 riots but some other people participated in the event.

The entire JIT including Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Investigation Imran Kishore questioned Khan.

During the interrogation, the team told the former premier — who was ousted from office after a no-confidence motion against him in April 2022 — that there was evidence against him of inciting violence on May 9.

"I was arrested and did not provoke anyone by calling them," he replied.

The JIT said they have video clips showing protesters taking Imran Khan's name.

"I did not incite anyone, everyone went to the cantonment area on their own. My party members were not part of the riots, they were some other people," he told the JIT.

A day earlier, the JIT interrogated Imran Khan on the addition of offences under sections 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty) and 146 (rioting) mentioned in the first information report (FIR).

Other offences, under which Khan was grilled, include sections 120, 120-A, 120-B, 121-A, 505, 153, 153-A, 153-B and 107 of PPC for his alleged involvement in attacks on Askari Tower, Shadman police station, and torching of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) offices in Lahore's Model Town and Jinnah House, which also serves as the corps commander’s residence.

The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister's arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.

During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

To probe Khan for the violence that ensued, the police had added the provisions on August 18 as per the case diary after which it contacted the anti-terrorism court seeking permission to investigate the PTI chief.

The court's Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar, consequently, issued an order at the request of the police.

28/08/2023

Sedition case: ATC grants post-arrest bail to Imaan Mazari, Ali Wazir



ISLAMABAD: Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain granted bail to human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir on Monday in a sedition case related to the controversial speech against the state institutions.

The two were arrested last week and sent on physical remand after they were accused of delivering a controversial speech at the PTM's public rally in Islamabad.

The ATC judge heard the plea today (Monday) and approved the post-arrest bails of Imaan and Wazir against surety bonds of Rs30,000 each.

On August 19, two first information reports (FIR) were registered against Imaan and Wazir at the Tarnol police station and Counter-Terrorism Department police station, following a rally of the PTM in the federal capital.

Both were booked on the charges of sedition, preventing government officials from carrying out their duties and damaging public property.

During today's hearing, Prosecutor Raja Naveed argued that more than 1,000 people were present at the rally where Imaan delivered the controversial speech against state institutions.

He said Imaan had accused government officials of committing treason in the speech while USB containing the controversial speech had not been received yet.

During the last hearing on August 24, Imaan and Wazir were produced before the ATC judge after a three-day physical remand and the prosecutor sought an extension in their remand.

The prosecutor had told the court that the voice matching and photogrammetry of Imaan Wazir had been completed.

The investigating officer told the court that Imaan was given a piece of paper from which she made the speech.

"She needs to be interrogated who gave her that piece of paper."

However, Judge Zulqarnain said that the decision would be made based on justice only.

The two were remanded into a 14-day judicial remand on Thursday.

The FIRs
The FIR relating to "interference in state affairs", was filed on the complaint of Tarnol Station House Officer (SHO) Miam Mohammad Imran following the PTM rally, under Sections 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) and 506ii (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Tasked with maintaining law and order situation during a rally of the PTM, the SHO said that he was present with other police officials at Tarnol Phatak Chowk on Friday at 5pm, when the rally — in violation of its NOC — started moving from the place allocated to it.

He maintained that the participants of the rally equipped with batons clashed with the police when law enforcers attempted to stop the rally. The crowd blocked both lanes of GT Road after being stopped by the police, read the FIR.

When the leaders of the PTM and supporters were asked to open the road, they attacked the police and issued threats of dire consequences and damaged vehicles and vandalized nearby shops, said the SHO.

The second FIR was registered under PPC Sections 124A (sedition), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) among others.

26/08/2023

former defence minister
By Rasool DawarAugust 26, 2023
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) chief Pervez Khattak (right) and party’s Vice Chairman Mahmood Khan address a presser. — Radio Pakistan/File
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) chief Pervez Khattak (right) and party’s Vice Chairman Mahmood Khan address a presser. — Radio Pakistan/File
Firing a fresh salvo at his once boss Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) chief Pervez Khattak on Saturday claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman wanted to bring about a “revolution” against the Pakistan Army.

PTI-P Chairman Khattak made the remarks during an interaction with the journalists. The newly-formed political party’s vice chairman and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa former chief minister Mahmood Khan was also present during the interaction.

Berating his former boss, Khattak — who launched his new political party last month — claimed that Khan was against the 18th Amendment.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PTI, on July 12, terminated the basic party membership of Khattak after he failed to respond to a “show cause notice” issued to him. The notice was served on him for asking workers to quit the PTI.

A few days later he launched the PTI-P.

“Azam Khan [former principal secretary] ran the government and the rest used to help him,” revealed the ex-defence minister.

Refereeing to May 9 riots and attacks on the military in stations, Khattak said, “PTI may be banned.”

The May 9 riots were triggered across the country after the deposed prime minister's arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.

During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

Responding to a question, Khattak said that the establishment had created an environment for elections but Khan did not agree to it.

Contrary to Khan’s allegations against the former chief of army staff (COAS) Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the ex-defence minister said, “Gen Bajwa supported us [PTI] a lot.”

The former army chief, however, excused himself from further support as the Khan-led had failed to deliver, he added.

To another query, the PTI-P chief said, “I see elections in February, 2024.”

Uncertainty around polls
There has been uncertainty around when the polls will be conducted after the dissolution of the assemblies.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, while Sindh and Balochistan assemblies were also prematurely dissolved to allow the electoral authority to hold elections in the country within 90 days instead of 60 days if the legislature completed its constitutional tenure.

However, the ECP may not be able to hold the polls within the stipulated time as the Council of Common Interest (CCI), days before the dissolution of the assemblies, approved the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023.

The CCI meeting chaired by then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the final results of the census reporting the country’s population at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55%.

The CCI approval made it constitutionally mandatory for the poll watchdog to hold elections following fresh delimitations in the light of the results of the 7th census.

According to Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, the seats of the National Assembly to each province and the federal capital shall be allocated on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published.

Subsequently, on August 17, the ECP announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the CCI.

As per the schedule, the new delimitation of constituencies nationwide will be notified in December this year.

The ECP schedule showed that fresh delimitation will take nearly four months, meaning the general elections in the country cannot be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial and national assemblies.

26/08/2023

26/08/2023