Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of Sri Lanka Tests

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a petition challenging the delay in the approval of judicial appointments for high courts across the country. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the petition filed by advocate Luqman Zafar Chaudhary through his counsel Zahid Asif Chaudhry. The petitioner requested the court to direct President Asif Ali Zardari to approve a summary forwarded by the prime minister for the appointment of 19 additional judges and the confirmation of five judges in the Islamabad, Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan and Peshawar high courts. During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer argued that the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had recommended the appointments during its meetings held on July 20 and 21. He said the summary was later sent to the president for approval, but no decision has been made despite the passage of more than two weeks. The counsel maintained that the delay is affecting the functioning of the superior judiciary. He informed the court that the tenure of an additional judge of the Sindh High Court has already expired, while the terms of four additional judges of the Peshawar High Court are expected to end within the coming days. The lawyer also told the court that reports suggest the government may issue notifications regarding the appointments within the next 48 hours. Justice Tahir repeatedly questioned whether a constitutional petition could legally be maintained against the president. He asked the petitioner’s counsel to cite any previous court ruling in which a writ had been issued against the president regarding the exercise of constitutional powers. The court observed that the judgments presented by the petitioner did not support the argument that courts could direct the president in matters governed by Article 48 of the Constitution. Justice Tahir asked whether any legal precedent existed requiring the president to act on such matters through a judicial order. The petitioner’s counsel argued that Article 48 requires the president to act on the advice of the prime minister or the cabinet. He maintained that the president has no independent authority to indefinitely delay judicial appointments once the Judicial Commission has completed its recommendations. The lawyer further argued that the Ministry of Law is the competent authority to issue appointment notifications after the completion of the constitutional process. He claimed that the president’s role in the appointment process is largely formal and that unnecessary delays should not hinder the functioning of the judiciary. The petitioner requested the court to seek responses from the federal government, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Law regarding the status of the pending summary. However, the court declined to issue notices at this stage.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Akmal Khan Bari has approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), accusing the Punjab Police of political victimisation and unlawful harassment, while seeking constitutional protection for himself and his family against what he alleges are repeated illegal actions by law enforcement authorities. The constitutional petition was filed through senior lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa, with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab and other relevant officials named as respondents. The petition urges the court to intervene, alleging that police actions have exceeded legal limits and infringed upon the petitioner’s constitutional rights. According to the plea, police officials allegedly raided Akmal Khan Bari’s residence at around 10:00 p.m. on July 27. The petitioner claims that officers entered the premises without lawful justification and subjected his family members to intimidation and harassment during the late-night operation. The petition further states that Bari had previously been arrested in what he describes as a fabricated criminal case. It argues that the latest police action is part of a broader pattern of political victimisation aimed at pressuring him because of his affiliation with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The petitioner maintains that no criminal allegation currently justifies repeated police raids or coercive measures against him or his family. He contends that such actions violate the fundamental rights guaranteed under Pakistan’s Constitution, including the rights to personal liberty, dignity, privacy, and equal protection before the law. According to the petition, law enforcement agencies are legally bound to operate within the framework of the Constitution and cannot exercise their authority arbitrarily or for political purposes. It alleges that the conduct of the respondents is mala fide, unlawful, and inconsistent with constitutional safeguards designed to protect citizens from abuse of power. Bari has requested the Lahore High Court to issue directions restraining the Punjab Police and other respondents from taking any unlawful coercive action against him. He has also sought specific orders preventing police officials from harassing, intimidating, or interfering with members of his family. Additionally, the petition asks the court to direct all respondents to perform their duties strictly in accordance with the Constitution and applicable laws, ensuring that no individual is subjected to harassment without legal grounds. The Lahore High Court is expected to take up the constitutional petition for preliminary proceedings, where it will determine whether notices should be issued to the respondents and what further legal steps, if any, are warranted. The Punjab Police had not issued an official response to the allegations at the time this report was filed.

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said that he entered politics as an IT minister 23 years ago and became Karachi’s mayor 21 years ago, claiming that he played a role in ending the politics of violence in the city. Speaking in Karachi, Kamal said he had spoken out against a system in which people could be killed simply for expressing disagreement. He said Karachi’s political and administrative problems could not be resolved without addressing the structural issues facing the city. Kamal claimed that Karachi had not been properly counted in the population census. He said the city’s share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award would amount to around Rs800 billion this year. He argued that the existing system was damaging not only Karachi but the entire country. According to him, the city continues to face serious problems despite massive spending and a lack of effective administrative arrangements. The federal minister said drinking water was not reaching many parts of Karachi, while the city’s sewage system was also unable to properly dispose of wastewater. He said there was no effective mechanism to transfer sufficient powers and resources to the grassroots level. Kamal further claimed that despite around Rs22,000 billion being spent in the city, Karachi had reached the third position on a global list of cities with poor living conditions. He stressed that the city needed stronger local governance, adequate resources and greater administrative powers at the grassroots level to address its longstanding problems. Commenting on the political debate over administrative units, Kamal said that if the old Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were still in its previous form, the responsibility for incidents such as the Gul Plaza tragedy would have been placed on the party. He said he had advocated the creation of an administrative unit for better governance and claimed that the proposal was now receiving support from different quarters. Kamal added that under the old political environment, such a proposal would have been dismissed as a foreign conspiracy. He maintained that Karachi’s governance problems required practical administrative reforms rather than political accusations.