(CTN News) – The Pakistani government has announced measures to outlaw Pakistan Terheek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar made the declaration on Monday, only days after the Supreme Court declared the PTI eligible for a share of reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies.

After reviewing all relevant information, the government has decided to ban PTI. “We will file a case to ban the party,” he said, citing claims such as inciting violent protests last year and leaking confidential information.

Tarar stated that the case would be moved to the Supreme Court.

He also stated that the government intended to file treason charges against Khan and two other senior party leaders, former President of Pakistan Arif Alvi and ex-Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri, as well as a review appeal against the Supreme Court’s ruling that the PTI should be allocated some assembly seats reserved for women and members of religious minorities.

According to Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a top PTI politician and party spokesperson, the government’s action “betrays their complete panic”.

“After realizing that they could no longer threaten, compel, or blackmail judges, they decided to make this move through the cabinet. “All of their attempts to stop us have been declared illegal by the courts,” he stated.

Last week, the Supreme Court recognized the PTI as a political party and confirmed that the party’s lack of an electoral emblem did not affect its legal right to field candidates.

The verdict was in response to the PTI being barred from competing in parliamentary elections in February using its party emblem, the cricket bat, forcing it to field candidates as independents.

Despite the setback, PTI-backed candidates emerged as the largest parliamentary bloc, winning 93 seats.

After Khan declined to cooperate with his political opponents, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) formed a coalition government with other smaller parties.

Ex-Governor Sindh Zubair, who formerly served in the PMLN, stated that the government’s action was in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling last week and warned of political upheaval ahead.

“The powers that be are trying to disenfranchise the largest majority of voters of the country, who voted for PTI,” he disclosed to Al Jazeera.

Khan was appointed prime minister in August 2018 but was dismissed from power in April 2022 after a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

The cricketer-turned-politician has since faced a slew of legal issues, including charges of misplacing and leaking the contents of a confidential cable delivered to Islamabad by Pakistan’s then-ambassador in the US in 2022.

Khan has continually disputed the charge, claiming that the dossier contained evidence that his resignation as prime minister was orchestrated by his political opponents and the country’s powerful military, with assistance from the US administration. Both Washington and Pakistan’s army deny the accusation.

Despite multiple recent court verdicts in his favor, Khan has been in prison since August of last year.

Source: Aljazeera

(CTN News) – Former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were acquitted in the Iddat case by a sessions court on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the PTI in reserved seats.

However, their relief was short-lived when Imran Khan was detained by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for selling official goods. Bushra Bibi was also rearrested in this case while being released from Adiala Jail’s Gate No. 3.

According to sources, the NAB detained Bushra Bibi after the bureau’s chairman issued arrest warrants for her and Imran Khan. Both are to be investigated in Adiala Jail.

Opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan condemned Bushra Bibi’s imprisonment and criticized the Adiala Jail administration. He also cautioned the jail superintendent of the repercussions and announced that a privilege motion would be filed against him.

Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were acquitted in the Iddat case after Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Mohammad Afzal Majoka reversed their previous verdict, which sentenced them to seven years in prison on February 3, five days before the general election.

Imran Khan’s lawyers, Usman Gill and Zaheer Abbas, were in court when the verdict was pronounced.

In the 28-page ruling, Judge Majoka rejected Khawar Fareed Maneka, Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband,’s arguments that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi’s nikah was illegally performed and that Mr. Maneka was denied Buju (reconciliation rights) under religious law.

The court also rejected the allegation of fornication under provision 496-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), stating that no charge was filed under this provision against both Imran Khan and his spouse “because there was no evidence of a second witness”. The trial court heard only one witness, Mr Maneka’s domestic servant.

“In these circumstances, it cannot be said that the appellants committed fornication,” the judge wrote. Regarding the charge of contracting marriage fraudulently during the Iddat period, the judge found that in a video given as evidence during the trial, Mr. Maneka lauded his ex-wife, Bushra Bibi, and “deposed that his ex-wife is a pious lady.”

The magistrate inquired about “how this witness [Mr Maneka] can claim that the appellant No. 2 [Bushra Bibi] committed fraud with him” .

The court announced its decision: “From a perusal of Section 496 PPC and the above-mentioned esteemed citations, this court is of the view that the appellants have not gone through any marriage ceremony fraudulently or with dishonest intention because none of the parties claimed that nikah was not performed and fraudulently he or she was supposed to believe that marriage ceremony was solemnised.”

The court judgment added: “In the instant instance, it is the complainant’s case that the appellants’ nikah was done on January 1, 2018, followed by the second nikah in February 2018. By no stretch of the imagination, it was a marriage with dishonest or deceptive intentions.”

Regarding Mr. Maneka’s claim that he was denied reconciliation rights and so deceived by Imran Khan and Ms. Bibi, the court noted that during cross-examination, Mr. Maneka stated that he learned of the appellants’ marriage on the second day of their nikah.

Before submitting the complaint, the judge questioned why Mr Maneka had been silent on his reconciliation rights for six years.

The judge stated, “The complainant has failed to prove his case against the appellants.” As a result, both appeals filed by appellants No. 1 [Imran Khan] and No. 2 [Bushra Bibi] are accepted, the judgment of the learned trial court of February 3, 2024, is overturned, and both appellants are acquitted of the accusation.”

The court ordered their freedom unless they needed to be imprisoned in other cases.

Source: DAWN

(CTN News) – China’s yuan weakened on Friday after reaching a one-month high as the central bank set a low guideline rate.

Conflicting trade statistics late in the morning also impacted optimism. The country’s exports grew more than expected in June, but imports unexpectedly fell, underscoring stubbornly low domestic demand. By 0350 GMT, the yuan was down 0.09% at 7.2639 to the dollar, trading from 7.2575 to 7.2677.

Before the market started, the People’s Bank of China fixed the midpoint rate, around which the yuan can trade in a 2% band, at 7.1315 per dollar, 1,199 pips higher than a Reuters estimate.

According to Maybank analysts, the difference between the estimate and the PBOC’s fixing rate was less than 1,391 pips on Thursday, indicating that the central bank was “potentially allowing more room for two-way moves in the USDCNY (dollar yuan pair).”

Traders and analysts said the central bank has steadily reduced its daily yuan official guidance, which is well within market expectations but with a bias indicating that it is permitting some depreciation.

The spot yuan opened at 7.2575 per dollar and was last trading 71 pips higher than the previous late-session close and 1.86% lower than the midpoint.

This month, the yuan is up 0.1% against the dollar, although it is down 2.2% yearly. It has been under pressure since early 2023, as a prolonged property crisis, weak consumption, and declining rates force capital out of the yuan and keep foreign investors away from the country’s faltering stock market.

The dollar was on the defensive. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was at 104.47, close to the one-month low of 104.07 set on Thursday.

The dollar plummeted after data indicated that US consumer prices fell for the first time in four years in June, firmly putting disinflation back on track and bringing the Federal Reserve another step closer to reducing interest rates in September.

According to Friday’s official advice, the yuan can fall as low as 7.2741.

The offshore yuan traded 7.2755 yuan per dollar, down roughly 0.08% in Asian trade.

Source: Recorder

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