ISLAMABAD: An eight-member larger bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial will hear three petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, on Tuesday (2nd May). The court will conduct hearing on the petitions at 12:30 PM on Tuesday. The court has issued notices to all the concerned parties regarding the hearing of the case. At the last hearing of the case on 13th April, the court had stopped implementation of the law till the next orders.

The bench is headed by CJP Umar Ata Bandial and comprises Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed.

Petitions have been filed by Raja Amer Khan, Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain and Muhammad Shafay Munir, Advocate High Court, Lahore, through Khawaja Tariq A. Rahim, Imtiaz Rashid Siddiqui, Muhammad Azhar Siddique Advocate and Muhammad Hussain Choutya. Tariq Aziz and Chaudhry Akhtar Ali appeared in the court as Advocates on Record.

The petitioners have made the Federation of Pakistan through the Secretary Law and Justice Division, Ministry of Law and Justice Islamabad and others in the petitions.

The court has issued notices to Attorney General for Pakistan,

Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association through President and other concerned parties.

It is worth mentioning here that amid strong protest from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the federal government 10th April (Monday) got the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, passed in the joint session of parliament after President Dr. Arif Alvi returned the bill seeking to curtail the chief justice's suo motu powers.

Minister for Law and Justice Senator Chaudhry Azam Nazeer Tarar Advocate presented the SC bill in the joint sitting of the parliament held with National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the chair.

The president had returned the bill for reconsideration to parliament as per the provisions of the Article 75 of the Constitution, stating that the bill prima-facie travels beyond the competence of parliament and can be assailed as colourable legislation. The bill was aimed at curtailing the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) — including the suo motu and the formation of benches.

During the much-anticipated sitting, the house approved an amendment to the SC bill, under which the judges committee meeting will be convened to devise rules and regulations regarding the suo motu matter. The amendment was proposed by PML-N lawmaker Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

The Bill proposes that every cause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a Committee comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan and two senior most judges in order of seniority. It further states any matter invoking exercise of original jurisdiction under clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution shall be first placed before the committee for examination and if the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights is involved then it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the apex court , which may also include the members of the committee for adjudication of the matter.

The Bill recommends that an appeal shall lie within 30 days from the final order of a bench of the Supreme Court, who exercised jurisdiction to the larger bench of the apex court and such appeal shall for hearing be fixed within a period not exceeding fourteen days. Furthermore, it grants a party the right to appoint counsel of its choice for filing a review application. An application pleading urgency or seeking interim relief filed in a cause, appeal or matter shall be fixed for hearing within 14 days from the date of its filing.

As per the amendment, the chief justice of Pakistan or any other member of the committee can call the meeting until the rules and regulations are finalised.

Now the bill will be presented before the president once again for his assent. If the head of the state does not give his approval within 10 days, it would be deemed to have been given.

Addressing the joint session, the law minister said that voices against the chief justice's suo motu powers were arising from within the top court.

It is pertinent to mention here that two judges of the apex court on March 27 raised questions over the powers of the CJP, saying the SC “cannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the Chief Justice”.

In a 27-page detailed note for the apex court's March 1 verdict in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suo motu, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail pointed out that it is important “to revisit the power of ‘one-man show’ enjoyed by the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan [Umar Ata Bandial]".

In his 25 page-long note, Justice Athar Minallah said, “The process of constitution of benches and allocation of cases must be transparent, fair and impartial.”

The law minister read out the message of the president who returned the bill for reconsideration. He said that bill was discussed in detail in the National Assembly and it was also approved by the Senate.

The minister responded to the objections of the bill and said the “President used inappropriate words while returning this bill and used a biased approach”. He said that Dr Alvi should think “as the President rather than a political worker”.

The federal minister said it was the demand of the bar associations and councils to introduce the bill and they had supported the bill. This bill, he said, was an old demand of the bar council which said that the indiscriminate use of 184(3) should be stopped.

The passed bill – the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 – aims at giving the power of taking suo motu notice to a three-member committee comprising senior judges including Chief Justice. It also aims to have transparent proceedings in the apex court and includes the right to appeal.

Regarding the constitution of benches, the bill states that every cause, matter or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the CJP and the two senior-most judges. It added that the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.

Regarding exercising the apex court’s original jurisdiction, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the committee.

The bill says that if the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the SC of Pakistan which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter.

On matters where the interpretation of the Constitution is required, the bill said the committee would compose a bench comprising no less than five apex court judges for the task.

About appeals for any verdict by an apex court bench that exercised Article 184(3)‘s jurisdiction, the bill said that the appeal will lie within 30 days of the bench’s order to a larger SC bench. It added that the appeal would be fixed for hearing within a period not exceeding 14 days.

It added that this right of appeal would also extend retrospectively to those aggrieved persons against whom an order was made under Article 184(3) prior to the commencement of the SC (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023, on the condition that the appeal was filed within 30 days of the act’s commencement.

The bill additionally said that a party would have the right to appoint its counsel of choice for filing a review application under Article 188 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, it states that an application pleading urgency or seeking interim relief, filed in a cause, appeal or matter, shall be fixed for hearing within 14 days from the date of its filing.

The bill said that its provisions would have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, rules, or regulations for the time being in force or judgment of any court, including the Supreme Court and high courts.

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan has submitted a motion in the Upper House (Senate) for holding debate on the India's decision to convene the G20 meeting in Occupied Kashmir. This motion has been submitted by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan in the Senate Secretariat.

It has been stated in the motion, “Kashmir is an admitted disputed territory according to decisions of the United Nations resolutions as well as the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions. India has no right to convene the G20 meeting in Occupied Kashmir. It is a clear violation of charter of United Nations, resolutions of Security Council and decisions of international community.”

It stated, “Since August 05, 2019, Pakistani governments have been consecutively adopting the course of retreat on Kashmir dispute due to which, today, India dared to convene the G20 meeting in the occupied valley.”

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan in his motion stated, “It is result of failed foreign policy of Pakistan as well as its retreat. In the disguise of G20 meeting, India wants to provide a justification to genocide of Muslims, war crimes and violation of human rights in occupied Kashmir.”

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan has demanded in his motion that, “Government of Pakistan should condemn the India's decision to convene the G20 meeting in Occupied Kashmir and initiate a robust diplomatic war against it.”

He deplored instead of this, “Pakistan's foreign minister is visiting India to attend the conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is tantamount to Indian facilitation.”

ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi has directed the Employees’ Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) to issue pension to a retired female teacher within 30 days, who had been deprived of her pension by the EOBI since February 2019 on the flimsy ground that the beat officer of the complainant had verified her service period of only 03-years.

Expressing displeasure over the failure of EOBI to address the grievances of the complainant, President Dr. Arif Alvi regretted that EOBI had un-necessarily wasted its precious time by submitting representation against the decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib who had referred the case to EOBI for resolution within 45 days. He also directed the Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development to take effective measures to enhance the service delivery of EOBI immediately.

As per details, Mst Zohra Bibi (the complainant) had stated that she served with the Oxford Public School, Hayatabad, Peshawar, w.e.f. 01-07-1996 to February 2019 (almost 23-years) and that the contribution from her salary had been deducted and this fact had been admitted by the Employees’ Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) that the concerned school was registered with it. According to her, after retirement she applied to for grant of EOBI pension but to no avail. Feeling aggrieved, she approached Wafaqi Mohtasib who passed the order in her favour. EOBI, then, filed a representation with the President.

President Dr. Arif Alvi rejected EOBI’s representation and observed that the Registration Card dated 29-11-2006 of the pension scheme issued by EOBI was genuine and it was written on the card that the effective date was 07-05-1996; whereas the complainant was eligible for EOBI pension with effect from 01-07-1996. He further pointed out that the contribution was throughout deducted from the monthly salary of the complainant and it was admitted by EOBI that the concerned school was also registered with EOBI. He said that EOBI had failed to computerize the complete record of that school and also failed to recover its share, if any, from the school, and resultantly the low paid female complainant was kept deprived of her due pension since February 2019.

In his decision, the President stated that the pension was not a bounty rather an employee earned it by dint of his long, continuous and faithful service and this constituted a fundamental right to livelihood under Article 9 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, adding that this hard-earned right could not be denied to a pensioner except in accordance with law. He noted with grave concern that EOBI failed to redress the grievance of the complainant even after clear direction of the Wafaqi Mohtasib to the Agency to dispose of the case within 45-days. He added that instead of focusing on resolving the issue, EOBI unnecessarily wasted its precious time by submitting representation to the President.

The President, therefore, rejected EOBI’s representation and directed it to issue pension to the retired teacher within 30 days and report compliance to the Wafaqi Mohtasib.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the meeting of Reforms and Resource Mobilization Commission (RRMC) at Finance Division on Saturday.

Ashfaq Yousuf Tola MoS/Chairman RRMC, Tariq Bajwa SAPM on Finance, Tariq Mehmood Pasha SAPM on Revenue, Secretary Finance, Chairman FBR, and other senior officers from Finance Division, FBR, and RRMC attended the meeting.

Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar welcomed the members of the Commission and highlighted the current economic and financial outlook of the country. He shared that in spite of challenges, the government is determined to set the economy on a positive trajectory through introducing reforms in various sectors in order to achieve economic stability and growth.

The Chairman of the Commission presented an interim report containing recommendations of the Commission to the Finance Minister.

The Finance Minister further appreciated the efforts of the RRMC in recognizing issues and challenges in the exiting taxation system and for devising valuable suggestions for reforms in the revenue policies for resource mobilization, ease of doing business, and tax payer facilitation to achieve sustainable economic growth. The meeting deliberated upon the suggestions being put forward by the Commission and agreed to come up with business friendly tax reforms after interacting with all the stakeholders.

The Finance Minister extended his best wishes and absolute support to the Commission to ensure fast track implementation of the reforms. Chairman RRMC expressed his gratitude to the Finance Minister for taking keen interest in the process and for his kind support for comprehensive reforms.

Islamabad: Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto , Chaiperson Standing Committee on Human Rights in the National Assembly has taken a serious notice of the arrest of Ms. Ismat Shahjahan, a well-known political and human rights activist, during the CDA's operation in D-12 yesterday. She condemned the arrest of Human rights activists and demanded full inquiry in the matter. She also said that the arrest of Human rights activist be probed into impartially and she sought an inquiry report.

The committee's chairperson has also directed the Inspector General (Isb) to submit a report on Ms. Shahjahan's arrest and that of other protestors to the committee at the earliest.

ISLAMABAD: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) to collaborate for the promotion and adoption of latest/novel technologies, practices, and techniques for improving agricultural productivity and livelihood of rural communities. Both the institutions will jointly organize webinars, field days, seminars, and workshops to share latest advancements in agriculture with rural communities and small farmers. Under a multi-partnership approach, other stakeholders will also be invited to develop and carry out joint ventures, pilot projects, and research activities to cater for today’s farm needs.

To further its activities, ZTBL has been conducting Zarai Baithaks (get-togethers) with an integrated approach and SDPI experts will collaborate to develop new ideas and mechanisms to strengthen this initiative by educating masses in rural vicinities of the country. In this regard, the two sides have agreed to develop joint proposals for development of new green-loan products and environmentally sustainable value-addition opportunities in the existing loanable credit products.

SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, while delivering a lecture, said that food security is a major concern of Pakistan that is linked with other national security issues and needs to be resolved urgently. Though Pakistan has improved productivity of certain crops, diversification of food basket continues to be a challenge and inadequacies in access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.

Highlighting the issues of misalignment/lack of coordination between high-standard research and indigenous agricultural technology, he called for the extension of agricultural financing products and capacity building of workers. He said that a golden triangle can be created by converging skills, market, and capital forces. He urged ZTBL to bridge capital space, harness skills and knowledge of labour, and connect them with the market. He further said that despite the Geneva Pledge, Pakistan has been unable to capitalize on the financing opportunity due to lack of convincing projects. He encouraged ZTBL to collaborate with stakeholders and pitch do-able and achievable projects for agricultural revival and livelihood development particularly focusing on communities affected by the recent floods.

He further said that “next decade is the era of precision agriculture”, and it is an untapped market for financial institutions which can be exploited by collaboration with research institutions and Armed Forces which have expertise in drone-tech and GIS-mapping. To revive agriculture sector and prevent over-abstraction of groundwater, he emphasized on solarization of tube-wells, he said, adding that it must be coupled with technologies like drip and sprinkle irrigation to replace flood irrigation and tools like water tariff and pricing based on consumption rather than flat rate billing.

ZTBL President Asadullah Habib, on the occasion, said: "ZTBL alone serves 78 per cent of small farmers while rest of the banks serve the remaining farmers. This fact is enough to gauge the importance of our bank.”

He further said the rising population and shrinking agricultural land has put stress on agriculture and stressed adoption of modern and scientific approach to revive agriculture. He informed the participants that through over 500 branches, ZTBL provides swift and indiscriminate financing services to both subsequently and commercial farmers. He informed that ZTBL is proactively providing financial, area specific and capacity building services to one million farmers.

Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi, Member of ZTBL Board of Directors, said that $15-20 billion can be added by import substitution of agricultural products and can be instrumental in transforming the socio-economic landscape of rural communities. He further said that revamping the agriculture sector is impossible without empowering rural women and focusing on water conservation and efficiency and renewable energy. He highlighted that despite an impending water scarcity, 70-80% of water consumed in agriculture is wasted.

ISLAMABAD: The hearing of the Tosha Khana criminal case was adjourned without proceeding in District and Sessions Court Islamabad.

The hearing of case was adjourned without proceedings Saturday being Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar on leave.

The arguments will be given on next hearing on the maintainability of the petition.

Saad Hassan counsel for Election Commission (EC) and Imran Khan's assistant lawyers Barrister Gauhar Ali Khan and Khalid Chaudhry appeared in the court.

The hearing of the case was adjourned till May 3 without any proceeding being the newly appointed Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar on leave.

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources Senator Abdul Qadir said that politicians should not turn political differences into personal enmity, nor should they ever close the door to negotiations as well as willingness to make the negotiations between PDM and PTI is important and good for the country's politics.

In a statement issued on Saturday Senator Abdul Qadir said that politicians should do constructive politics in the wider interest of the country and the nation. “Disagreement in politics is considered the beauty of democracy”, he said, adding that politics is the name of tolerance and there should be harmony in institutions and not conflict as the price of conflict between politicians always has to be paid by the country and the nation.

Senator Qadir said that politicians can solve all problems through negotiation as the point of no return should never be reached in politics because politicians could not close the doors of negotiations in politics.

He said that handling the situation of the country is the common responsibility of all of us and the first responsibility of the politicians, especially the rulers, is to solve the problems of the people of Pakistan and make their lives easier. People expect that the politicians will focus on national affairs so that the country can move forward in a dignified manner.

Islamabad: The Government of Japan has announced the 2023 Spring Conferment of Decorations and H.E. Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad, former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Japan, will be decorated with “the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star”, in recognition of his contribution to strengthen bilateral relations and promoting friendship between Japan and Pakistan.

H.E. Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad had served as a diplomat in Japan four times, for more than 16 years and had held almost every post from young diplomat to the Ambassador in Japan.He has also acquired a broad knowledge of Japanese language, culture and history, which led to his significant contribution to the enhancement of our relations in many fields.

In addition to the regular diplomatic activities, he has done a great contribution to Japanese people. During his tenure as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Pakistan in Tokyo, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011.

After the earthquake, he reached out to the Pakistani community in Tokyo and visited the affected areas with them every weekend to serve Pakistani food and distribute relief supplies. Many Japanese people were moved by the dedication from him and Pakistani people, and his presence with the disaster victims was highly praised by the Pakistani and Japanese media.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting on reforms in Energy Sector at Finance Division on Saturday.

SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Secretary Finance, Secretary Petroleum, Auditor General of Pakistan, MD SSGCL, MDs and CEOs of Sui Companies, and senior officers from Finance and Petroleum Division attended the meeting.

The meeting conversed about the ongoing issues in the Energy sector, and discussed viable proposals to introduce reforms in the energy sector in order to improve cash-flow, specifically in the gas sector.

The Finance Minister urged the relevant authorities in Petroleum Division, Sui Companies, and PSO to make necessary efforts to improve their liquidity as early as possible. He emphasized that it is the priority of the government to address the issues of liquidity and performance of SOEs of the energy sector to enhance economic growth of the country.