Want immediate LG polls in Karachi, but not without correct delimitations, voter lists

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has, in principle, ruled out holding local government elections in Karachi, Hyderabad divisions and surrounding areas until delimitations based on fresh census are held. This was stated by MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Monday while speaking to the media at a ceremony to lay the foundation for the first IT Park of Karachi. When asked what was MQM-P’s stance on holding local government elections in the city, which have been postponed thrice already and a decision from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) expected later in the week, he stated they wanted to go to polls. “First priority we believe is to immediately hold local government elections across the country,” he said, adding, “But for that, it is important to roll back the fake and biased delimitation.” “Second, it is necessary to wait for the upcoming census so that there is a correct count of the population, as is the want of democracy, accurate voter lists, and delimitation based on the new, accurate voter lists,” he said. The final step was transparent voting so that the right of franchise is respected and the true representatives of the public are put in office. “We want local government elections as soon as possible but with corrected delimitation and fresh census,” he asserted. Asked if such a demand goes against what the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wants and that such a demand means they do not want to hold local government elections, Siddiqui clarified that you couldn’t delimit constituencies where one Union Council (UC) comprises just 25,000 people while a second UC comprises 90,000 people. “Would you call it a local government election based on such delimitations?” Asked if this would be up for discussion in the upcoming meeting with PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Siddiqui said that these were basic questions regarding democracy which need to be answered. This is not just a demand of the MQM-P, he said that the decision from the Supreme Court was applicable to all of Pakistan. He questioned why when there is democratic rule in the country, grassroots democracy such as local body elections disappear but return during times of dictatorship. “Even during democratic times, there should be basic democracy (Local government),” he said. Asked if these statements suggested that MQM-P could exit the ruling coalition, Siddiqui said that the government had made some promises and that they should renege on them. ‘If I am no longer a minister, you won’t be either’ Earlier while addressing the groundbreaking ceremony, Federal Information Technology Minister Aminul Haq expressed his disappointment over the federal government’s reluctance to release funds for his ministry’s projects. He claimed that for the past three months, their projects have been stuck in the finance ministry. Haq said that he will take up the matter with Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in meetings during his week-long trip to Islamabad. If you do not bring a positive change in your attitude, then listen closely, if I do not remain a minister, then neither will you, you know very well what I mean,“ he said while sending a message to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. “You will have to give relief to people in the IT industry, and telecom sector, stubbornness will not work.” He added that he will be bringing a new proposal to the finance ministry and that he was hopeful it will be approved. “,” Haq threatened.
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Rupee sees positive momentum continue over $13b financial package

The Pakistani rupee continued its weekend positive trend into the new week, as it registered a marginal improvement of 12 paisas to rise to Rs221.80 during early trading in the interbank market on Monday. After making gains of around Rs1.3 gaining against the rupee last week by Rs1.3, the greenback on Friday lost some steam and fell marginally by 0.01% against the rupee. The rupee’s modest recovery came after the announcement of $13 billion financial package from China and Saudi Arabia. Open market The Pakistani rupee on Monday was trading at Rs227.75 against the US dollar in the open market.
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Challenge of the century: Shehbaz to present Pakistan as example of climate devastation

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will today raise the devastation caused by climate change events in Pakistan as an example to the world over what he termed was a “challenge of the century” for world leaders. Shehbaz had arrived in Egypt last night to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP-27). He has been invited to co-chair the COP-27 conference along with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi on the latter’s invitation. As the chair of G-77, he is expected to urge the world to deliver on its commitment to climate finance and the loss and damage fund. In a message posted on social media site Twitter, Shehbaz highlighted the importance of the summit. “The deliberations by the world leaders will shape the future of our struggle against climate change,” he said, adding, “What we face today is the challenge of the century.” Shehbaz reminded that world leaders have a duty to leave a clean and green environment for our coming generations. “At COP27, we should vow to succeed at all costs.” COP-27 schedule On Monday, Shehbaz is expected to visit Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center to attend the opening ceremony of the “Sharm Al Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit”. He is expected to later meet with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres. At the end of their meeting, they are expected to have a joint press stake-out. He will then participate in an important round table on “Early Warning for All Executive Plans Launch”. Later, he is expected to attend the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” hosted by Saudi Arabia. Shehbaz is also expected to meet with Egypt President Al-Sisi and the Emir of Kuwait.
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Punjab govt unilaterally extends chief secretary’s leaves

The Punjab government on Sunday, once again unilaterally extended the leaves of Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal for a month. This is the fourth time his leave has been extended. Following the extension in Afzal’s leaves, Punjab Planning and Development Board Chairman Abdullah Sumbal will continue to perform as the acting chief secretary on a look-after-charge basis. A notification in this regard was issued by the Service and General Administration Department of the Punjab government on Sunday. Sources told SAMAA TV that Afzal had not applied to extend his leaves but he has no plans to join the office of chief secretary any time soon since he is believed to be on leaves in ‘protest’. Afzal first, he went on leaves for 14 days from September 17 to September 30. On September 30, the leave of Punjab CS was extended from October 1 to October 7. Following the expiry of his vacation, his seat remained vacant for the entirety of October 8. Later, the Punjab government had extended his leaves from October 8 to November 6 after midnight on October 9. On Sunday, his leaves were extended from November 7 to December 6. While the notification was supposed to carry a signature from the chief secretary but since he is on leaves, the field was left unsigned. It is pertinent to mention that Kamran Ali Afzal, a basic pay scale (BPS) grade 22, had refused to work with the Punjab government led by Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. Elahi, though, has not moved to permanently replace Afzal as the chief secretary. Instead, he has decided to continue with Sumbal, a BPS-21 officer of the provincial administrative services, on temporary charge basis.
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Senate chairman forms 14-member committee to probe Azam Swati’s video

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Sunday named a 14-member special committee to inquire into the alleged leaked video of fellow Senator Azam Swati. A notification to this effect was issued by Joint Secretary Rabeea Anwar. The special committee has been tasked with compiling and presenting its report into the matter within 30 days. The special committee formed includes leaders of all political parties elected to the upper house of parliament including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-P), Baloch Awami Party (BAP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), National Party (NP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Baloch National Party (BNP), Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and independent candidates. Senator Swati, however, has been excluded from the committee. Instead, his party and senate colleague Mohsin Aziz has been incldued in the committee. The notification said that in their first meeting the committee will elect its chairperson while it will have 30 days to complete its probe and submit a report. The notification explained that this had been done to “avoid any conflict of interest”. The committee members include: * Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar – PML-N * Senator Mohsin Aziz – PTI * Senator Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani – PPP * Senator Molana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri – JUIP * Senator Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar – BAP * Senator Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari – MQM-P * Senator Muhammad Tahir Bizenjo – NP * Senator Sardar Muhammad Shafeeq Tareen – PkMAP * Senator Mushtaq Ahmed – JI * Senator Muhammad Qasim – BNP * Senator Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah – PML-F * Senator Hidayatullah Khan – ANP * Senator Kamil Ali Agha – PML * Senator Dilawar Khan – Independent Group On Saturday, Sanjrani had announced to constitute a Parliamentary committee to probe into allegations leveled by PTI Senator Azam Swati that compromising videos of him with his wife had been recorded during his stay in Quetta. READ: Parliamentary committee to probe Azam Swati video allegations: Senate chairman
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Faisal Shahkar resigns as Punjab police chief

Faisal Shahkar who had been serving as the inspector general of Punjab police, resigned from his post on Sunday. He sent his resignation to the Punjab Secretary of the Establishment Division and the provincial government. “It is not possible for me to continue on my current assignments, due to personal reasons, therefore, requested that my services may kindly be withdrawn with immediate effect from Punjab government and placed at the disposal of the federal government,” Shahkar stated in his resignation letter. His resignation comes hours after the Lahore capital city police officer was removed from his post. READ: Lahore CCPO suspended over violation of discipline Political infighting Earlier, Imran Khan had expressed his displeasure over delays in registering the FIR for the Wazirabad attack on him and his party leadership. A deadlock emerged after Imran wanted to include the names of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a senior military officer. However, the provincial government opposed this. He expressed dissatisfaction over the Punjab IG and a decision was taken to remove him from the post. Chaudhry Monis Elahi, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) leader and son of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, met with Imran Khan in Shaukat Khanum Hospital to inquire about his health. Monis assured Imran that decisions will be made as per his directions. PTI senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi has also said that there were reservations over the delay in the registration of FIR. Speaking to journalists he had said that the delay in the registration of FIR was not understandable as it was the right of every Pakistani. He had said that despite the passage of 48 hours no FIR was had been lodged of the incident.
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Imran Khan discharged from Shaukat Khanum Hospital

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been discharged from the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore on Sunday. Imran escaped with bullet wounds to his legs from an assassination attempt during his long march in Wazirabad on Thursday. He was leading supporters on a highly publicized march to the federal capital to press for early elections. At least one person was killed while 14 others, including Imran, were injured in a gun attack believed to have been orchestrated with multiple gunmen. A four-member medical board conducted for the medical treatment of former prime minister Imran Khan. With doctors say he was injured with four bullet fragments, he was operated on to remove them on Thursday. One of the bullet fragments was close to the bone (tibia) in his right leg, causing it to fracture. A plaster was applied to Imran’s right leg to facilitate healing of the fracture. He is said to be recovering well from his injuries. The medical board of Shaukat Khanum Hospital has declared all the medical reports of the former prime minister are normal and satisfactory. Following this, the hospital management told him he could go home today and prepared his discharge slip. Imran is expected to leave for Zaman Park soon. However, security has been beefed up for his safety outside the hospital and along the route to his home.
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