In Brief
POLITICS
Non-core services in the ministries to be outsourced as a part of rightsizing approach
On 22 October, The News International reported that the Establishment Division has instructed all the ministries to sub-contract non-core services such as cleaning, plumbing and gardening as per the rightsizing policy. Through an office memorandum, the division elucidated that it would not be recommending formation of any of the non-core services in the future and that recruitment would not be made in the current vacant posts. (Rana Ghulam Qadir, “Ministries directed to outsource general, non-core services,” The News International, 22 October 2024)
JUDICIARY
Special Parliamentary Committee set up to appoint the new Chief Justice; PTI to abstain
On 21 October, Dawn reported that following the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, a special parliamentary committee has been formed that would recommend the name of the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). The committee will forward the name of the nominee, who will be chosen from three most senior judges to the Prime Minister, who in turn will send the name to the President for his approval. This marks a significant change from the earlier procedure where the President would appoint the senior most judge as the CJP. The Special Parliamentary Committee consists of eight members from the National Assembly and four members from the Senate. As per clause 3B, Parliamentary parties would have proportional share of members in the Special Parliamentary Committee. The clause 3C of amendment directs that the nominee must secure two-third majority of votes in the Special Parliamentary committee. The current special parliamentary committee comprise of PML-N’s Khwaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar and Shaista Pervaiz Malik, PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf, Senator Farooq H Naek and Naved Qamar, MQM-P’s Rana Asar, JUI-F’s Senator Kamran Murtaza and Sunni Ittehad Council(SIC)'s Hamid Raza, Barrister Ali Gohar and Senator Ali Zafar.
However, PTI has announced that it will not participate in the meeting of the Special Parliamentary Committee to be held on 22 October for deciding the name of the next Chief Justice.(Nadir Guramani, ”Special Parliamentary Committee constituted for upcoming CJP’s appointment,” Dawn, 21 October, 2024;“CJP appointment: PTI opts out of special committee meeting,” The News International, 22 October 2024)
Supreme Court dismisses PTI’s petition on intra-party elections
On 21 October, The Express Tribune reported that the Supreme Court has decided to retain its ruling given on 13 January pertaining to PTI’s intra party election case. PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar, however, countered the move stating that post passing of the 26thConstitutional Amendment, the SC should not be hearing the case to which Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa replied that he does not have complete information on the amendment. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had earlier pointed out flaws in PTI’s intra party elections and held the party responsible for the delays in conducting the same. ECP had claimed that it has been lenient on the matter and has given PTI multiple chances to fulfill its constitutional duty. It further claimed that it had repeatedly reminded the party of conducting intra party elections which the latter was not able to hold in the stipulated time frame. PTI had requested for one year extension citing Covid-19 which was accepted by ECP, however, when the former submitted documents for intra party elections in the due month, the latter alleged that the same were incomplete. (“SC rejects PTI’s intra-party election review plea,” The Express Tribune, 21 October 2024)
“Now that it has arrogated more powers over the judiciary to itself, the government must act judiciously and with restraint,” suggests an editorial in Dawn
On 22 October, an editorial titled “The next Chief Justice” in Dawn discussed the likelihood Justice Mansoor Ali Shah being appointed the the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). It also discussed the speculation of constitution amendment being deliberately introduced as an attempt to stop Mansoor Ali Shah from becoming the next CJP. With the current CJP Justice Faez Isa retiring on 25 October, the newly formed Special Parliaments Committee would have to nominate the next CJP by 22 October from the three most senior judges. The editorial pointed out the moral responsibility of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to support Justice Mansoor to be the next CJP as the latter had earlier stressed on not creating any controversy since the former was part of the bench in Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s case. It also pointed out the possibility of government targeting Justice Mansoor for a delivering a verdict in the reserved seats case which was not in its favor citing the social media campaign against judges involved in the verdict. It emphasized that maintaining independence of the judiciary is “one of the core tenets of the Constitution “ and the government now must be careful since it has more powers and should continue to maintain the independence of the judiciary. (“The Next Chief Justice,” Dawn, 22 October 2024)
ECONOMY
Islamabad to seek additional funds through Climate finance for EEF programme
On 22 October, The News International reported that Islamabad is looking to seek an additional USD 1.5-2 billion funds as part of the the Extended Fund Facility (EEF) programme in the scheduled yearly meeting of IMF/World Bank in Washington DC. This additional fund would be requested for climate finance. A total of USD 7 billion was earlier approved for the EEF programme which would now sum up to USD 8-9 billion. The yearly meeting of IMF is scheduled to take place from 21 to 26 October and would be attended by important leaders from diverse spheres. Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb would be attending the IMF meeting in Washington and has confirmed to bring the issue of requesting funds for Climate finance. The Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) is one of the instruments of International Monetary Fund (IMF) that provides reasonable long term financing to countries which are looking to introduce reforms to minimize the risks due to climate change to balance of payment stability. (Mehtab Haider, “Climate finance: Pakistan to seek IMF’s EEF programme augmentation, The News International, 22 October 2024)
HEALTH
The absence of a government and community cooperation leaves children “vulnerable to preventable, life-threatening diseases,” suggests an editorial in Dawn
On 22 October, an editorial in Dawn titled “Alarming resurgence,” discussedthe efficacy of the diphtheria vaccine as it has made a comeback in Pakistan. Though it has raised concerns of whether the vaccinated children will be protected from the disease, the editorial stressed that this should not divert attention from the need for “widespread immunization.” The number of vaccinations administered in Pakistan has declined., For instance, reports from Balochistan claim only 37 per cent coverage. The fact that many of the children who have shown symptoms for diphtheria are over the age of five means that they are not covered by the Expanded Programme for Immunization. This implies the urgent need to extend the age limit. However, this is not the only issue: hospitals suffer a shortage of diphtheria antitoxin and the understaffing in vaccinators of staff in Sindh reflects upon a system which is spread too thin. Additionally, the issue of vaccine hesitancy is also an obstacle in achieving immunization. For instance, in Sindh about 250,000 cases refused to get children vaccinated. The editorial also warned of a greater risk of improper treatment, particularly among unvaccinated children. (“Alarming resurgence,” Dawn, 22 October 2024)
SECURITY
“The civil administration and the LEAs, backed by the army where necessary, should make greater efforts to ‘hold’ and ‘build’ the areas so that terrorists cannot sneak back in,” suggests an editorial in Dawn
On 22 October, an editorial in Dawn titled “Warning signs,” discussed the recent developments in Khmer Pakhtunkhwa’s Torah area where militants who were part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) have set up their own “governance structure” in the province. The editorial referenced similar events that happened in the past where the Talibanisation of Swat and Fata region was carried out in a similar manner. The editorial emphasized the need to neutralize these actors. It argued that if they are “left to their own devices,” or if an operation aimed at counter-terror failed then they will continue to establish their dominance over the territory. This would render all sacrifices made by civilians and security men meaningless Further, some local actors such as the tribal jirga have expressed their dissent and even called for militants and the military forces to exit. The editorial deemed such a demand against the terror groups ineffective as they may not relent to the jirga and the latter, “unrealistic.” In such a situation, it would be ideal if the Legal Enforcement Agencies’, the administration and the military make an effort to sustain and build regions where terrorism cannot creep back in. (“Warning signs,” Dawn, 22 October 2024)
PROVINCES
Sindh: Eight Baloch students reported missing
On 21 October, about eight students were reported missing from their shared residence in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Karachi. Among them, three were from Karachi University, one from the Urdu University and an intermediate student. According to their family members, they were taken away by law enforcement forces on 16 October in Rustam Zikri Goth. An elder brother of one of the students, Wazir Ahmed, claimed that despite approaching the Station House Officer (SHO) with family members of other students, they did not lodge a complaint. Ahmed and the others also claimed that these students were neither involved in any suspicious activity nor were they a part of any political group. (Waqas Ali, “Eight Baloch students go ‘missing’ from shared residence in Karachi ,” Dawn, 22 October 2024)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Provincial Assembly passes bill on changes to police appointment
On 21 October the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed a KP Police (Amendment) Bill 2024, which grants the chief minister the authority to appoint and transfer senior police personnel belonging to grade 18 and above in the province. On the other hand, the grade 17 and 18 officers will be dealt with by the inspector general of police. The bill states that all instructions made by the Chief Minister within the constitutional framework should be implemented and two members of the Public Safety Commission will be appointed as observers to ensure transparency during the procurement of the equipment. The commission will consist of seven members of the Members of the Provincial Assembly, who will be appointed by the speaker. The bill was initially rejected last week after the Law Minister Aftab Alam called for the withdrawal of the previous bill. The revised bill presented by Provincial Minister Akbar Ayub calls for the establishment of an Independent Police Complaint Authority, which will enforce disciplinary action against police officers and even remove Sections 21, 24 and 37 from the Police Act of 2017. (“KP Assembly passes changes to police law: KP Public Safety Commission to have MNA in place of judge,” The News International, 22 October 2024)
Balochistan: Governor proposes strengthening ties with Germany
On 21 September, the Provincial Governor of Balochistan, Jaffar Khan met the German consul general, Dr Ruediger Lotz in Karachi. They discussed investment opportunities in Baluchistan’s mineral sector. Khan stated that both countries enjoyed friendly relations and proposed the idea of strengthening their bilateral relations in cognizance with modern demands. He also praised the German government for supporting the province in areas of health, technology, education and capacity building. ( “Balochistan governor, German envoy discuss investment in mineral sector,” Dawn, 22 October 2024)
INDIA VIEW
“Will the positive momentum created during Jaishankar's visit to Islamabad lead to any rapprochement,” questions an opinion on The Express Tribune
On 21 October, an opinion titled “Takeaways from Indian FM's visit to Pakistan,” by Kamran Yousaf reviewed the visit of Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit held in. Despite India ruling out a bilateral engagement between the countries, his visit to Islamabad was seen as a progress in the diplomatic deadlock which has lasted for nine years. There was skepticism over whether his Excellency’s presence in Pakistan would be a breakthrough as former president Bilawal Bhutto Zaradri’s visit to Goa had been in 2023. Supporting his argument, Yousaf termed the SCO being a breakthrough because the Foreign Minister Jaishankar was hosted for dinner by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It was a “departure from the previous positions that both sides held, as they had avoided such informal meetings in multilateral forums.” Additionally, the following day the author observed that neither of the country’s representatives pointed fingers at one another during an informal meeting at the Jinnah Convention Centre. According to the author, “it was clear that both sides were trying to lower the rhetoric.” (Kamran Yousaf, “Takeaways from Indian FM's visit to Pakistan,” The Express Tribune, 21 October 2024)
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The relief that Imran Khan got from the courts was not given to any political leader. We were not even allowed to order food and bed from home, but the facilities provided to him are also in front of everyone.
- PMLN
"You don't give up in bad times, never give up, because a man loses when he gives up."
Founder Chairman Tehreek-e-Insaaf Imran Khan
- PTI Islamabad
Those who put obstacles in the way of the constitutional amendment are announcing a committee to take advantage of it today.
- PMLN Digital
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"A seat in parliament is apparently worth a lot more than the rights of the people of Pakistan."
- An opinion in Dawn, ‘A hostage parliament'
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