ICJ judges set to seek help from SJC; Pakistani rupee holds fresh gains
In Brief
POLITICS
Shebhaz meets President Zardari to revive the country out current situation
On 26 March, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari held their first meeting after taking their offices. In the meeting, PM Shehbaz and President Zardari discussed the overall political and economic situation of the country. They further discussed about the aid to the people during the holy month of Ramadan. According to The News International, PML-N and PPP formed the government with the aim of reviving the economy PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif pledged to bring down inflation, food prices. He further added that Pakistan will come out of the dire situation in the next two years. (Nausheen Yusuf, “PM Shehbaz, President Zardari renew committment to steer country out of crisis,” The News International, 26 March 2024)
ECP holds the petition of KP MPAs
On 26 March, according to the The News International, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had reserved its verdict over the petition submitted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly who were elected for the reserved seats and soon to sworn in as MPAs. The elected minority and women called the ECP to put off the senate elections until their oaths. The petition was heard by a five-member bench presided by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. In the hearing, counsel Shah Khawar said: “ECP issued notifications for the female members on March 4, so the KP Assembly speaker should have taken oath from them after that.” According to ECP director general, it is the responsibility of ECP to conduct elections and the oath taking ceremony post elections. (Nausheen Yusuf, “ECP reserves verdict over pleas of KP MPAs-elect seeking oath,” The News International, 26 March 2024)
JUDICIARY
ICJ judges set to seek help from SJC
On 26 March, in a letter, the Islamabad High Court (ICJ) judges are set to get guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) over the “interference of members of the executive” that encompass intelligence agencies in judicial affairs. The letter stated: “We are writing to seek guidance from the Supreme judicial Council (SJC) with regard to the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with discharge of his/her official functions and qualify as intimidation, as well as the duty to report any such actions that come to his/her attention in relation to colleagues and/or members of the courts that the High Court supervises.” The letter comes after the Supreme Court announced the eviction of IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as illegal and stated that he will be considered as a retired judge. The judges further added that they “believe it is imperative to inquire into and determine whether there exists a continuing policy on the part of the executive branch of the state.” (Maryam Nawaz, “IHC judges seek SJC guidance on spy agencies’ 'interference with judicial functions,” The News International, 26 March 2024)
ECONOMY
Pakistani rupee holds fresh gains
On 27 March, according to The Express Tribune, the Pakistani currency holds “fresh gains” for the eighth consecutive day by rising to PKR 278.12 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market. According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) data, the Pakistani rupee increased PKR 0.02 on a daily basis against the greenback. The currency has gained 10.41per cent in the past six and a half months compared to the all-time low close of PKR 307.10 filed in the first week of September 2023. Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) asserted that the local currency closed unchanged at PKR 280.73 in the open market. (“Rupee extends rising streak into 9th day,” The Express Tribune, 27 March 2024)
ON AFGHANISTAN
Data collection on Afghan nationals begins
On 26 March, according to the sources, data is being collected on Afghan nationals who possess legal resident status in Pakistan. The eviction is set to commence after Eid. According to The Express Tribune, more than half a million of undocumented migrants have left Pakistan. A government official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) said: “This time, instructions have been given to also collect data and conduct mapping of legally resident Afghan citizens.” A senior K-P police official said: “The federal government has directed to not only collect data of legal and illegal Afghan citizens but also to conduct their mapping.” (“Govt 'mapping' Afghans ahead of eviction push after Eid,” The News International, 26 March 2024)
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“27 years ago, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf started its struggle to assert the primacy of the rule of law & justice within the country. Central to establishing rule of law is the presence of an independent judiciary.”
- Imran Khan
“While Pakistan celebrates a new government, Balochistan mourns. Citizens protest against disappearances and government-led unrest, demanding justice for loved ones.”
-Aneesa Baloch
“As a prodemocratic citizen of Pakistan and a patriotic overseas Pakistani who believes in the supermacy of the Constituition, I stand in solidarity with the judges of Islamabad High Court who did not write these events in their biographies after their retirements and on their death beds, rather they exposed this “state with in a state” while on duty. ”
- Dr Waqas Nawaz
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Zahid Hussain, ‘Global terrorist threat’
Dawn, 27 March 2024
“The attack has raised the profile of the IS-K as a global terrorist group that has long been active in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries. The suspects who were arrested are from the Central Asian region, which has produced a large contingent of foreign fighters for the Islamic State in the Middle East in the past. Many of them are now associated with its Khorasan chapter after the routing of the transnational jihadi group in Iraq and Syria. It is, however, not clear why the group targeted Russia. According to some analysts, the militants see Russia as responsible for the persecution of Muslims. In September 2022, IS-K claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at the Russian embassy in Kabul. Moscow has long been concerned about the rise of IS-K’s influence in the Central Asian states.”
Atta-ur-Rahman, ‘Building high-tech industries’
The News International, 27 March 2024
“Pakistan’s development strategy should be primarily focused on the manufacture and export of high-tech goods. Therein lies our salvation. Knowledge today is the single biggest power engine for the sustainable and equitable socio-economic development of world economies. We must realize this and change the direction of our development programmes to meet this new world order.Past mistakes made by successive governments should not be repeated, and policies should be designed to help Pakistan transition to a technology-driven knowledge economy on the pattern of Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, or China. As a result of our myopic development policies, we keep borrowing more to pay off increasing debts and thereby sink deeper into the hole. This nuclear country has thus become a puppet, dancing to the tunes of foreign masters.”
Editorial, ‘New terror wave’
Dawn, 27 March 2024
“Security must immediately be beefed up for all foreigners working in the country, particular Chinese nationals. The civilian and military leadership must work closely together to uproot the terrorist infrastructure without delay. If malign foreign actors are involved in subterfuge, diplomatic channels need to be used to communicate to them that their facilitation of terrorist violence will be exposed before the international community. For the government, the honeymoon is over, and the time has come for decisive action against militancy.”
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“Development of cutting-edge technology such as this reveals that we are on the cusp of transformations.”
-An opinion in Dawn, ‘Chips in the brain’
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