Charged lawyers raise slogans for judiciary

TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) Thursday witnessed a milestone achieved on the appearance of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani before a seven-member apex court bench in contempt notice.

Meantime, lawyers were seen fully charged expressing solidarity with the judiciary and raising slogans in favor of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry.

Earlier, the PM Gilani showed up at the court in accompaniment of ministers and advisers; however, they were received with the slogans for the court.

Talking to media on the occasion, Justice (rtd.) Tariq Mehmood said it is not appropriate attitude to pressure the courts.

Various representatives from different Bar Associations said they will not allow any compromise on the independence of the judiciary. TrendPK

ANP to celebrate Independence Day in KPK on Aug 15

PESHAWAR: For the first time in the history of Pakistan, Awami National Party (ANP) has announced to celebrate Independence Day in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on August 15 by hoisting the national flag at the highest point in Peshawar, TrendPK reported late Sunday.

It is pertinent to mention here that the rival country of Pakistan, India will be celebrating the Independence Day on Monday, August 15. Besides, Kashmiris will be observing India’s Independence Day as ‘Black Day’.

Meanwhile, ANP leader and provincial Secretary Information Arbad Tahir, clarifying the impression, has said that due to security arrangements, the hoisting of the flag was delayed till Monday, August 15.

He said that the function may further be extended till August 16 or 17 if security agencies fail to issue security clearance.

Also, PPP’s leader Nabil Gabool, has requested the ANP leadership to change the date of celebrations, citing the past issues in connection with Ramazan and Eid’s moon sighting.

He said the government officials might have mistakenly set this date sans consent of ANP government.

He said if this is a bid for setting a trend then PPP will see the incident as ‘worrying’.

PML-N’s leader Ahsan Iqbal deplored the decision, saying that PM Gilani should immediately take notice and should order directives of cancelation of celebrations on August 15. TrendPK

TrendPK celebrates Independence Day with national zeal

KARACHI: Country’s promising news television channel TrendPK, setting another milestone, celebrated 64th Independence Day of Pakistan with national zeal by inviting the national heroes at Karachi station to make the moment memorable and worth remembering, TrendPK reported Sunday.

The celebrations were graced by the participation of veteran actors and international players.

TrendPK organized a colourful celebration of Independence Day at its Karachi office whereby after midnight on Saturday, all TrendPK staff members stood up on the tune of National Anthem and paid homage.

A few moments later, the stunning news anchors of the channel namely Salman Hassan, Irtiza Ali and Kiran Aftab kicked off the special transmission with national enthusiasm and patriotic zeal.

Versatile television actors Talat Hussain and Mustafa Qureshi especially attended the jubilations.

The celebrations got underway with cake-cutting ceremony. Also, the sweets were dealt out among all TrendPK’s staff.

Along with actors, TrendPK also took the credit to invite famous international players on the memorable occasion. The players were boxer Javaid Jan, boxer Zakir Hussain, cricketer Shabbir Ahmed, woman cricketer Kanwal Naz, woman footballer Hajira Khan and bodybuilder Aamir Rahim Bux.

Moreover, the pride of Pakistan, who prepared the biggest national flag, Nisar Ahmed, specially graced the occasion.

National heroes, amid the celebrations, conveyed their well wishes for the country and also prayed for the prosperity and progress of their dear motherland, Pakistan.

They urged nation to join hands to make Pakistan a country comprising a well-developed, cultured and civilized nation. TrendPK

ICC bans government meddling

HONG KONG: Cricket’s governing body on Thursday banned countries from appointing politicians to national cricket boards, vowing to free the sport from undue government influence.

The International Cricket Council told a media conference in Hong Kong that it had made the decision to uphold “the important principle of free elections and the independence” of the sport.

“It was agreed that all member boards must implement the provisions before annual conference June 2012 and a further 12 months — to June 2013 — would be allowed before any sanctions be considered,” the ICC said in a statement issued in Hong Kong.

The reform, which allows the ICC to suspend a member country in the event of government interference in the running of a national cricket board, will be hugely controversial in Pakistan, where the president is the cricket board’s patron. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will also be hit by the change.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could not immediately be reached for comment.

Chairman Ijaz Butt has been criticised by former players, politicians and media for being a political appointee of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party.

The PCB has already sent a legal notice to the ICC on the amendment and has threatened legal action if the constitution is changed.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the ICC’s full council after four days of talks between the chief executives’ committee and executive board at glitzy hotels in downtown Hong Kong.

“This is a significant step towards achieving best practice and together with the independent governance review, I am excited by the commitment of the ICC to introduce best possible corporate governance,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said. AGENCIES

ICC bans govts to appoint board members

Cricket s governing body on Thursday banned governments from appointing members of national cricket boards, vowing to free the sport from undue government influence.

The International Cricket Council told a media conference in Hong Kong that it had made the decision to uphold “the important principle of free elections and the independence” of the sport.

India begins wargames along Pakistan border

JODHPUR: India kicked off war games involving thousands of troops Monday along its border with arch-rival Pakistan, which is still smarting from the US operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

A military spokesman told reporters the six day exercise, codenamed Vijayee Bhava (Be Victorious) was being held in the Thar desert region in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

“This exercise envisages sustained massed mechanised manoeuvres,” S.D. Goswami said, adding the drill involved an array of weaponry that India has acquired as part of its ongoing military modernization programme.

More than 20,000 combat troops were taking part.

The Indian army, the world’s fourth largest in terms of personnel, has conducted 10 major military exercises along Pakistan’s border in the past six years.

Pakistan is currently under pressure to explain how bin Laden — killed in a US raid on a town near Islamabad a week ago — had managed to live in the country undetected for years.

India has already given its verdict, denouncing its South Asian neighbour as a terrorist “sanctuary” and renewing calls for Islamabad to arrest suspects behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

India says the 10 gunmen who attacked multiple targets in Mumbai, killing 166 people, were members of the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group.

India suspended peace talks with Pakistan after the attacks. The dialogue was recently resumed but India has continued to criticize Pakistan for not doing enough to bring the alleged organisers to justice.

The two nuclear-armed countries have fought three wars since gaining their independence in 1947.

Pakistan Islamists to protest against U.S. bin Laden raid

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most influential Islamist party urged its followers to hold mass rallies on Friday to demand their government withdraw its support of the U.S. war on militancy after U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden near Islamabad.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), one of the country’s biggest religious political parties, said the United States had violated the sovereignty of key ally Pakistan by sending its own forces into the garrison town of Abbottabad to kill the al Qaeda leader.

Pakistan’s support is key to U.S. efforts to combat Islamist militants, and also to fighting against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

“Even if there was any sympathy for the Americans, that would dissipate after the way they crushed and violated our sovereignty and our independence,” JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan told Reuters on Thursday.

“We have appealed to everyone to hold peaceful demonstrations on Friday on a very large scale,” he said. “Our first demand is Pakistan…. should withdraw from the war on terror.”

Anti-American sentiment runs high in Pakistan, despite billions of dollars in aid for the nuclear-armed country with a troubled economy. Pakistan’s religious parties have not traditionally done well at the ballot box, but they wield considerable influence in a country where Islam is becoming more radicalized.

There have so far been few public protests in Pakistan against bin Laden’s killing early on Monday at Abbottabad, 50 kms (31 miles) north of Islamabad. One of Pakistan’s most violent militant groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba, held special prayers for the al Qaeda leader and called his death “martyrdom.”

The United States war on militancy is unpopular in Pakistan, because of the often high civilian cost of drone attacks against suspected militants along the Afghan border. But many people are also critical of al Qaeda’s radical interpretation of Islam and the suicide bombings its followers carry out.

The fact that bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, after having appeared to have lived there for several years, has also embarrassed many people in the government and the country’s powerful spy agency.

Y-Films – Taking the unconventional route

Y-Films have already made a splash. The youth film studio of Yash Raj Films, Y-Films have unveiled three films at one go – LUV KA THE END release: 6 May, MUJHSE FRAAANDSHIP KAROGE 12 August and VIRUS DIWAN 30 December. But have you noticed something? The last two films are slated for release on dates that are considered ‘risky’ by the film fraternity.

MUJHSE FRAAANDSHIP KAROGE is slated for release during Ramzan.
While a chunk of film-going audience is likely to stay away from movies, the movie also faces a strong opponent in Prakash Jha’s AARAKSHAN. At the same time, VIRUS DIWAN is releasing exactly a week after DON 2 and in a week that’s considered ‘dicey’ in filmi lingo because of New Year festivities. The general question is, who’d like to sit in a movie hall on 31 December or 1 January? That’s not all, for the first time, Yash Raj will have two releases in a single month – LADIES VS RIKKI BAHL and VIRUS DIWAN.

But Ashish Patil, Head of Y-Films, thinks differently. “I am no soothsayer who predicts what’s right or wrong. Let’s face it, the release window is so limited that we are left with very few choices/options while zeroing on a release date. Exams, cricket matches, availability of screens, sometimes heavy rains and even H1N1 can ruin the perfect plan. Hence, we’ve opted for dates that may not be patronized by the conventional film-makers,” Patil states.

But AARAKSHAN and DON 2 are mighty opponents. “Of course they are,” Patil adds instantly, “But we’re talking to a different audience. Sure, there would be a huge audience for the multi-starrers you just mentioned, but let’s not rule out the possibility that a segment of audience would be equally enthusiastic to watch the kind of cinema Y-Films is making. As far as MUJHSE FRAAANDSHIP KAROGE is concerned, we are targeting the Independence Day weekend. Also, a lot of colleges may have re-opened during that period. Even if we get two solid days in the weekend, we would be safe as far as the economics are concerned.”

Patil continues in the same breath, “As far as VIRUS DIWAN is concerned, not everybody is out on the streets during the 31 December/1 January celebrations. Yes, people are in a mood to party and I would like to believe that they would also like to frequent cineplexes, if given a choice. Hopefully, things should work in our favour.”

Asma Jahangir elected as SCBA President

Asma Jahangir has won the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election acquiring 834 votes in total whereas his opponent Ahmed Awais managed to get 796 votes. Ahmed Awais has accepted his defeat. The prime minister and the president have congratulated Asma Jahangir upon her victory. The newly elected President of the SCBA has vowed not to allow anybody in the bar to represent any political party or the judiciary, Dunya News reported on Wednesday.
The election of Asma Jahangir has brought about a big change in the SCBA after a lapse of at least four years. The representatives of the lawyers movement had to face defeat who were deemed as opponents of the administration and staunch supporters of independent judiciary. It was the 13th annual election of the SCBA in which Asma Jahangir has been elected as the first woman president of the SCBA.
After 9th March, 2007, when the lawyers movement got started, the election of the SCBA gained a lot of importance and attention. After the start of the movement, all the elections of the bar were dominantly won by the active members and leaders of the movement. Munir A. Malik, Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Qazi Anwar were all the elected presidents who declared themselves as the representatives of independent judiciary. For almost four years their influence remained in the SCBA but now the recent elections have brought about a change. Asma Jahangir, Ahmed Awais and Ikram Chaudhry were all active members of the lawyers movement but this time the representatives of independent judiciary seemed divided. Ahmed Awais who was from the Hamid Khan group was considered a true representative of the independent judiciary but the results of the election have been disappointing for the members and the leaders of the lawyers movement.
On the other hand Asma Jahangir has said that after the independence of the judiciary, she would now strive for the independence of bars.

Supreme Court orders parliament to review judicial reform

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered parliament to review a controversial new procedure of appointing judges that was introduced in a constitutional reform package earlier this year.

The court, which has been locked in a standoff with the government on a separate issue of corruption charges, issued its ruling after legal challenges were lodged against isolated reforms in the largely popular package.

“We would like to refer to the parliament for reconsideration, the issue of appointment process of judges to the superior courts,” said the judgement read out in English by chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Legal experts argue that appointing judges through a commission headed by the chief justice, but with nominations approved by lawmakers, infringes the independence of the judiciary.

“To enable the parliament to proceed and

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