Barrister Khalid Javed Khan, the newly appointed attorney-general, has excused himself from representing the federal government in the presidential reference against Supreme Court Judge Justice Qazi Faez Isa. During hearing of the case on Monday, Khan said he cannot personally represent the government. The court then adjourned the hearing and told the government to bring a new lawyer who can represent them in the case.
Pakistan temporarily closed its border with Iran at Taftan as the number of casualties from the novel coronavirus in the neighbouring country rose to eight. The Balochistan government has also imposed a ban on the travel of pilgrims from Pakistan into Iran by road. The prime minister’s aide said that teams have been posted across the Taftan border, where all passengers entering Pakistan are being screened
Vendors who have been serving expired food items at the Karachi airport will now be fined Rs100,000 and their licences will be cancelled. Contractors will be fined Rs4,000 for using mobile phones while providing services to passengers, not wearing uniforms or displaying their ID cards. Similarly, misbehaving with passengers will land them a fine of Rs6,000.
Over 100 young drug users broke out of a rehabilitation centre in Khyber’s Jamrud Saturday afternoon. They fled during a lecture. They held the staff hostage, broke the gate and some other things inside the facility and then fled. Most of the patients were young men who used ice (methamphetamine) or heroin, according to the centre’s administration.
The government of Pakistan is going to create Pakistan’s first artificial intelligence centre with China’s help for Rs1 billion in a bid to set up technology zones across the country. This is part of its Rs6.26 billion plan to digitise the country. Parliament is also going to be digitised. The IT ministry plans to use technology to record attendance, votes and quorum. This will cost Rs8 million.
The Supreme Court has told Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik to choose between the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and PIA. He cannot hold two posts at once, said the bench, which declared his appointment as chief of the national airlines illegal. The court said PIA needs a permanent CEO that will make it into an international standard airline. It should be providing better services to passengers, it said.
Attorney-General Anwar Mansoor Khan resigned in a surprise move on Thursday after the Pakistan Bar Council demanded he do so. He was the chairman of the PBC by virtue of his post as attorney-general. I didn’t t want to leave them behind, he said. He added that he decided to resign last night. His resignation letter has been sent to the president.
Petrol pumps in various areas of the metropolis have started to shut down after authorities closed oil terminals in Keamari. Oil terminals closed after aeroallergen from soybean dust reportedly caused at least 14 deaths and affected hundreds more. Petrol pumps in Saddar and on Shahrah-e-Faisal and Karsaz have already closed down while throngs of cars rushed to join queues outside those that were still open.
A special Lahore anti-terrorism court sentenced three men to death for the 2014 suicide attack at the Wagah Border. The court announced the verdict on Wednesday. It found three men, Haseebullah, Saeed Jhan and Hussain, guilty and sentenced them to death five times. It also imposed a 300-year imprisonment and life imprisonments on the men. They have also been ordered to pay a Rs10 million fine.
Pakistan Army has successfully test-fired the air-launched cruise missile ‘Ra’ad-II,’ according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Ra’ad 2 is an air to surface and underwater cruise missile, capable of delivering various warheads up to a range of 600 kilometers, according to military media wing. The training launch was part of a field training exercise of Army Strategic Forces Command for rehearsing the operational readiness procedures during day and night.