ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday annulled a government order approving a jail trial for former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case that has famously come to be called the cipher case and in which he is charged with leaking state secrets.
The saga relates to an alleged diplomatic correspondence between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says was proof that his ouster as PM in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022 was part of a US conspiracy to remove him. Washington has repeatedly denied Khan’s accusations. Khan had waved a letter to a crowd during a public rally last year, claiming it was a cipher from a foreign nation calling for the end of his government. Khan later revealed that country to be the US and said the secret diplomatic letter spoke of dire consequences if he continued to get closer to Russia.
The government has since accused Khan of leaking state secrets and using them for political gains. A special court was formed on Aug 21 under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, to adjudicate the case through in-camera proceedings. On Aug. 29, before the first hearing in the case could be held, the law ministry announced the trial would be held in prison due to “security concerns.” All hearings of the case have since been heard in jail, with no members of the public or media allowed.
“The Islamabad High Court Tuesday nullified the notification for conducting former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s jail trial in the cipher case — issued on August 29,” Geo News reported.
All major Pakistani media outlets reported on the verdict, saying the IHC had issued a short order for now and would issue a detailed verdict later.
Khan’s lawyers had opposed the government’s decision to hold a jail trial, saying they were concerned the ex-PM would not get a fair trial behind closed doors. Last month, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party also took the matter to the Islamabad High Court where its plea was turned down by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq who said there was apparently no malice behind the government’s decision to hold the jail trial.
Khan’s legal team then filed an intra-court appeal against the decision which led the Islamabad High Court to issue a stay order against the prison trial.
Last week, the Pakistan government approved Khan’s jail trial in a separate case of a £190 million settlement with a property tycoon.
Khan is currently being held at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail where he is serving a three-year jail sentence in a case in which he was convicted in August for not declaring assets earned from the sale of state gifts while he was PM.
Pakistan court declares illegal jail trial of ex-PM Khan in state secrets case
https://arab.news/8jqg8
Pakistan court declares illegal jail trial of ex-PM Khan in state secrets case
- The government has accused Khan of leaking state secrets and using them for political gains
- Khan’s lawyers had challenged government order, fearing unfair trial behind closed prison doors
Pakistan’s deputy PM to attend SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kazakhstan today
- Deputy PM Ishaq Dar will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts on sidelines of SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting
- Meeting to focus on “comprehensive preparations” for upcoming SCO Heads of States Council meeting in July
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will attend a two-day Foreign Ministers Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Monday in Kazakhstan’s Astana city, state media reported, where he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with counterparts.
Founded in 2001, the SCO is a major trans-regional organization spanning South and Central Asia, with China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan as its permanent members. The SCO member states collectively represent nearly half of the world’s population and a quarter of global economic output.
The event will be attended by foreign ministers of the SCO member states, the SCO secretary-general and director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Executive Committee, the organization said.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at two-day meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, beginning at Astana in Kazakhstan tomorrow,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said on Sunday.
It said Dar would also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting.
The SCO said one of the main items on the agenda will be the “comprehensive preparations” for the July meeting of the SCO Heads of States Council. During the foreign ministers’ meeting, the heads of the delegations will exchange views on international and regional agendas, security issues and the development of political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation within the SCO, the organization said.
“Participants will also sign several resolutions regarding the final documents of the upcoming SCO summit and adopt a communique,” the SCO said.
The SCO’s agenda of promoting peace and stability, and seeking enhanced linkages in infrastructure, economic, trade and cultural spheres, is aligned with Pakistan’s own vision of enhancing economic connectivity as well as peace and stability in the region.
Since becoming a full member of the SCO in 2017, Pakistan has been actively contributing toward advancing the organization’s core objectives through its participation in various SCO mechanisms.
During his visit to China last week, Dar also met SCO Secretary-General Ambassador Zhang Ming and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the organization’s charter and its ideals, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
‘For sake of humanity’: Thousands rally in northwest Pakistan against Israel’s war on Gaza
- The rally was organized by the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) religious party, which has held several similar protests in recent months
- It came as another Israeli strike killed 31 people in Gaza on Sunday amid US national security adviser’s visit to Israel for talks
PESHAWAR: Thousands of Pakistanis, including students, activists and politicians, gathered on Sunday in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar to demand an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
The rally, called ‘Gaza Million March,’ was organized by the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) religious party, which has held several protests and marches in recent months to condemn Israeli military actions in Palestine.
The war broke out after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 people. Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 35,456 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Speaking to participants of the rally, JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman lamented that men, women, children, journalists and human rights activists had been killed in Palestine, but world leaders and rights groups remained silent.
“They want no one to raise their voice for Palestine or against [Israeli] oppression,” he said, adding, “For the freedom of Palestine, we will march in every street.”
Participants of Sunday’s rally said they had gathered to express solidarity with Palestinians and raise their voice against Israel’s actions.
“The reason for our assembly here is to show solidarity with Gaza,” said Amir Hamza, 24.
Mian Hafiz Naeem, another participant who came from the Balakot town, criticized Pakistani politicians “for not doing enough” on the Gaza situation.
“They are not realizing that not only Muslims, but humanity is being killed over there,” he said, adding that he came to attend the rally “for the sake of humanity.”
Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and maintains its support for an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders.
In recent months, the South Asian country has repeatedly raised the issue of Israel’s war on Gaza at the United Nations through its permanent representative, Ambassador Munir Akram.
Dr. Noreena Arshad, a resident of Peshawar who came to the rally along with her daughters, said she did not belong to any political group and came to the rally with the sole purpose of expressing solidarity with the Palestinians.
“I don’t belong to any political party or organization, but I am here to stand in solidarity with Gaza and Palestine,” she told Arab News. “This is the least of faith that we should believe at least in our hearts that they [Palestinians] are being oppressed.”
Over 300 Pakistani students evacuated from Kyrgyzstan following mob violence against foreigners
- Separate flights carrying 140, 175 Pakistani students arrived in Islamabad, Lahore respectively on Sunday night
- Pakistan has started evacuating students from Bishkek after violent attacks last week against foreigners
ISLAMABAD: Two separate flights carrying over 300 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan arrived in Lahore and Islamabad on Sunday night, days after violent clashes in the central Asian country forced Islamabad to evacuate its nationals and arrange for their safe return.
Videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students went viral on social media last week, prompting frenzied mobs to target hostels of medical universities and private lodgings of international students, including Pakistanis, in the city.
Pakistan has since then ramped efforts to repatriate its students from the city, dispatching commercial and special flights to the country. According to official statistics, around 10,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in various educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 6,000 residing and studying in Bishkek. Foreign Minister Dar on Sunday confirmed no Pakistani had died in the clashes.
The first batch of around 130 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan arrived in the eastern city of Lahore late Saturday night. On Sunday, another flight carrying 140 Pakistani students from Kyrgyzstan arrived in Islamabad and was received by Federal Minister of Petroleum Musadik Malik.
“I have no words to describe your situation but I feel the pain and suffering that you and your parents have gone through,” Malik told the students upon their arrival in the country. He said some students did not want to return to Pakistan on account of their exams.
“Any student who wants to come, we will bring them,” he vowed.
Separately, another flight arrived at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on Sunday night with 175 Pakistani students from Bishkek. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar welcomed the students, saying that Islamabad was in touch with Bishkek over the current situation.
“Our ambassador in Kyrgyzstan is in contact with students,” Tarar was quoted as saying by the information ministry. “On Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s instructions, special arrangements have made to shift the Pakistani students from the airports [to their homes.]”
Pakistan’s ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Hasan Zaigham said on Saturday that five Pakistani medical students had been injured in the mob attack. One student was admitted to a local hospital with a jaw injury, while the other four were released after receiving first aid.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had summoned and handed a note of protest to Kyrgyzstan’s top diplomat in the country in response to violence against Pakistani students in Bishkek.
Fresh floods kill 66 in northern Afghanistan
- Hundreds of people have died in flash floods this month that have also swamped agricultural lands in Afghainstan
- The latest heavy floods hit multiple districts of Faryab province Saturday, resulting in human and financial losses
KABUL: Fresh floods killed 66 people in northern Afghanistan, a provincial official said Sunday, after weeks of flooding that has inundated farms and villages and swept away swathes of communities.
Hundreds of people have died in flash floods this month that have also swamped agricultural lands in a country where 80 percent of the population depends on farming to survive.
The latest heavy floods hit multiple districts of Faryab province on Saturday night and “resulted in human and financial losses,” said Asmatullah Muradi, spokesman for the Faryab governor, in a statement.
“Due to the floods 66 people were killed,” he said, adding that at least five people were injured and others were still missing.
The flooding damaged more than 1,500 houses, swamped more than 1,000 acres of agricultural land and killed hundreds of livestock, he said.
The floods came a day after provincial police said more than 50 people were killed in flash flooding in the western province of Ghor.
Just over a week ago, more than 300 people were killed by torrents in northern Baghlan province, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Taliban officials.
Taliban officials have warned the tolls would go up in regions impacted by flooding, as destroyed infrastructure hampered aid delivery and efforts to find the missing.
The death toll from the Ghor flooding rose from 50 to 55 on Sunday, according to Abdul Wahid Hamas, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
“More than 3,000 homes were totally destroyed due to the floods” in Ghor, he added.
Videos shared on social media platform X by the WFP showed currents of brown water crashing through walls of homes and churning through streets in Ghor.
Residents in Baghlan, Ghor, Faryab and other affected provinces found themselves without shelter, stripped of their homes and livelihoods.
“We were inside our home when rain started and all of a sudden, a flash flood came, we were trying to get things out but it washed away our home, our life, everything,” Ghor resident Jawan Gul told AFP on Saturday.
The flooding also sparked concern for the revered 12th-century Jam minaret, located in a remote part of Ghor, provincial officials said.
Images circulated to media showed brown torrents crashing around the base of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“The situation of Jam was very concerning,” Abdul Hai Zaeem, information and culture director in Ghor, told AFP, adding that mud was still piled high around the brick minaret.
The WFP warned that the recent floods have compounded an already dire humanitarian situation in the impoverished country.
Spring floods are not uncommon in Afghanistan, a country of more than 40 million people, but above-average rainfall this year has sparked devastating flash flooding.
Even before the most recent spate of floods, about 100 people had been killed from mid-April to early May as a result of flooding in 10 of Afghanistan’s provinces, authorities said.
The rains come after a prolonged drought in Afghanistan, which is one of the least prepared nations to tackle climate change impacts, according to experts.
Anti-microbial resistance causing 1 million deaths in Pakistan annually — health experts
- Self-medication, unjustified prescription, taking antibiotics for shorter duration major reasons of antimicrobial resistance
- Officials and public health experts urge people not to use antibiotics without the advice of trained and qualified physicians
KARACHI: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the third leading cause of deaths in Pakistan that directly or indirectly results in 1 million deaths in the South Asian country annually, officials and public health experts said on Sunday.
They said this at a press conference in Karachi in connection with the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit 2024, organized by Getz Pharma drug manufacturer in collaboration with the National Health Services Ministry, Health Services Academy (HSA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Around 300,000 people die annually due to drug-resistant bacteria, while AMR contributes to 700,000 deaths because of complications following treatment of diseases, according to the experts.
The deaths are linked with “irrational use” of antibiotics as Pakistan is the third largest consumer of antibiotics in the world, after China and India, and consumed antibiotics worth Rs126 billion in 2023 alone.
“Antimicrobial resistance is now the third leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease and maternal and neonatal disorders in Pakistan because we now have infections caused by bacteria that are not responding to third- and fourth-generation antibiotics,” said Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan, vice-chancellor of the Health Services Academy in Islamabad.
“Abuse of antibiotics by doctors, quacks, and people themselves is making these important medicines highly ineffective,” he said, urging people not to use antibiotics without the advice of trained and qualified physicians.
The summit was attended by over 1,400 health care professionals, including health secretaries and directors-general from federal and provincial governments, officials from the NIH, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, medical societies and health care regulatory authorities, senior physicians and policymakers.
Khan maintained that antibiotics were “wonder drugs” that saved millions of lives during world wars and pandemics, but their “irrational use or abuse” had led to AMR, which was now becoming a global public health concern.
“Self-medication, unjustified prescription of antibiotics by quacks and physicians, taking antibiotics for a shorter duration, and the production of substandard antibiotics by some companies are some of the major causes of antimicrobial resistance,” he said.
Prof. Javed Akram, former Punjab health minister and president of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), said AMR was the third major challenge facing Pakistan after population growth and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“People are now dying due to infections that are extremely hard to treat due to the resistance developed by bacteria against these medicines,” Akram said.
“On one hand, Pakistan has become the world capital of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, and on the other, we have developed Extremely Drug-Resistant (XDR) typhoid, Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB, and various other infections that are extremely hard to treat with most of the available antibiotics. This is because we have been using antibiotics like candies.”
He urged people not to consume antibiotics on their own, saying antibiotics have similar side effects as cancer treatment therapies.
Dr. Afreenish Amir, an NIH representative and senior microbiologist, said AMR had spread to almost all countries and regions, including Pakistan, owing to the “misuse and overuse” of antibiotics.
“This contributes to the increasing burden of infections due to resistant bacteria while limiting treatment options for managing such infections,” she said.
The experts also highlighted the “overuse and abuse” of antibiotics for livestock and said it was responsible for 80 percent of AMR in the veterinary sector. They called for creating awareness among the masses regarding the irrational use of antibiotics in humans, livestock and poultry.
In his keynote address, Prof. Zulfiqar Bhutta, a renowned pediatrician and public health scientist, urged people to get their children vaccinated against typhoid, saying Pakistan was the only country in the world where the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) was being administered to children to prevent the drug-resistant, water-borne disease.
Dr. Wajiha Javed, an associate director of public health at Getz Pharma, said over-the-counter availability of antibiotics, use of these medicines for a shorter duration, and unnecessary prescription of antibiotics by quacks and doctors should be looked into by the authorities.
She said substandard antibiotics containing less or low-grade raw materials were also responsible for AMR and announced that her firm was working work with the government to develop a national action plan on AMR.
On the occasion, a declaration was also signed between the Health Services Academy, NIH and Getz Pharma for the implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS), while Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were also signed with 13 medical societies in this regard.
