ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s top aides said on Friday they had held a meeting with Pakistan Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, in a rare development to discuss drafting a National Judicial Policy.
The move comes days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Afridi at his residence, with the top judge sharing the agenda of an upcoming meeting of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee and seeking the input of the government on the draft, according to the Supreme Court. The chief justice’s reforms agenda aims to reduce the pendency of cases and provide speedy justice to litigants.
Afridi had informed PM Sharif during their meeting that he would also be taking the opposition’s input and wanted bi-partisan support for his reforms.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Gohar Khan, the chairman of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said the party had met the chief justice on his request to discuss the new National Judicial Policy.
“The chief justice of Pakistan had shared an agenda with us regarding National Judicial Policy and asked for our inputs on ten points,” Gohar said.
Last year, ex-PM Khan had written a letter to then Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who retired in October, seeking judicial intervention into alleged rigging in the Feb. 8, 2024 national election and the subsequent allocation of reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies, which the PTI says were unfairly allocated to their opponents.
After the election, the Election Commission of Pakistan had denied the PTI its share of 70 reserved seats in parliament, contending that Khan-backed independent candidates could not claim them. PTI candidates contested the polls independently after the party lost its election symbol in the run-up to election for not holding intra-party elections.
The Supreme Court later struck down the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision on the reserved seats, calling it “unconstitutional” and ordering that reserved seats be allocated to the PTI.
“We also told him [Chief Justice Afridi] that no one regards SC order as a court order these days. SC orders are not being implemented be it senate elections or reserved seats,” Gohar said.
The PTI chairman added that the chief justice had assured the party of taking “certain measures” to address its issues.
The Supreme Court issued a statement later in the day, corroborating the information shared by PTI leaders about their discussion with the chief justice regarding the situation faced by their party colleagues and supporters.
The statement emphasized the need to make judicial reform a “Minimum Common National Agenda” with comprehensive political support.
Pakistan, currently bolstered by a $7 billion IMF facility granted in September, is navigating an economic recovery path even as it faces prolonged political crisis.
Imran Khan, arguably the country’s most popular politician, has been behind bars since August 2023 in a slew of cases he says are politically motivated. His party has been leading a movement, including through street protests and sit-ins, to demand his release.
In rare development, ex-PM Khan aides hold meeting with Pakistan chief justice
https://arab.news/w2fzu
In rare development, ex-PM Khan aides hold meeting with Pakistan chief justice
- Imran Khan’s aides say top judge asked for their input on draft National Judicial Policy
- Supreme Court says judicial reform should be ‘minimum common national agenda’
Police kill five militants, foil plan to block highway in Pakistan’s southwest
- The militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Mastung district of Balochistan
- Search, combing operations are underway to apprehend accomplices of militants who fled the scene
QUETTA: Pakistan’s counterterrorism police on Monday said they had killed five militants, who were planning to block the Quetta–Sibi highway and target security forces, in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province.
The operation took place in Mastung district when militants affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were planning to carry out “subversive activities” against security forces and the public, according to a CTD spokesperson.
CTD received credible intelligence that armed BLA militants had taken positions near Mastung’s Dasht area to block the Quetta–Sibi highway and target security forces and civilian traffic. Acting swiftly on the information, CTD teams moved into the area. The militants opened indiscriminate fire upon sighting CTD personnel.
“During the encounter, five unknown terrorists were shot dead, while other accomplices managed to flee, taking advantage of the rugged and mountainous terrain,” the CTD spokesperson said in a statement.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a separatist insurgency and witnessed a series of high-profile militant attacks last year. In March, the BLA hijacked a passenger train and the siege killed at least 60 people, while in May, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar killed several children on a school bus.
The separatists accuse the central government of stealing their resources to fund development in Punjab. The federal government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan, where China has been building a deep-sea port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
Officials found seven hand grenades, five sub-machine guns with live rounds and three motorcycles from the scene, according to the CTD statement.
“Search and combing operations are underway to apprehend the fleeing terrorists and dismantle the remaining network,” it read.
