Gujrat:  Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi said that police surrounded his house in Gujrat in a bid to arrest him.

“Police are trying to enter his house,” said Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi in a message to the reports.

Hundreds of police officials were present there outside the home with dozens of vehicles.

This is the second raid of the police in less than a week time.

According to the sources, the police contingent raided the former chief minister’s home. Hundreds of police officers and dozens of police vehicles reached there.

On other hand, the police raided the residence of Muhammad Khan Bhatti, the former Principal Secretary to Punjab CM, and tried to arrest him

It may be mentioned here that  the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment filed a case against ex-chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s former principal secretary on corruption charges.

He was accused of accepting a bribe over Rs460 million in bribes from Punjab Highway Department officials.

SDO Highway Police Rana Muhammad Iqbal had already been arrested on charges of bribery while the ACE has also started the process to arrest Bhatti on corruption charges.

The complainant stated that Iqbal had given millions of rupees to accused Bhatti to get posts of his choice. “Several officials from the communications and construction departments were working for Muhammad Khan Bhatti,” it added.

The FIR further divulged that the role of other officials of the department would also be investigated.

Islamabad: The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution demanding all existing laws in the country be brought in conformity with the injunctions of Islam.  

The resolution moved by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, demanded that as per the obligatory constitutional strength, the Government should make the Federal Shariat Court and Shariat Appellate Bench in the Supreme Court of Pakistan functional by appointing all required Judges on immediate basis.

Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan says the government is taking steps to provide job opportunities to the people of Gwadar.

Concluding the discussion on motion about the recent situation of protests in Gwadar city, the Minister of State said the government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Maritime Affairs to look into the issues of people of Gwadar. He said the committee will coordinate with provincial governments of Balochistan, Sindh and federal government to resolve the problems of the area.

The Minister of State said the government is aware of the fact that Gwadar port is a key for the development of the country.

Talking on another motion on implementation of National Immunization Policy 2022, Shahadat Awan said the targets set by the government have been achieved hundred percent. He said children in the age bracket of one to fifteen months are immunized against twelve diseases.

The House unanimously passed a resolution expressing grief, sympathy and solidarity to the people of Türkiye, Syria and Lebanon on the devastating earthquake.

The resolution was moved by Senator Yousuf Raza Gillani. 

The resolution recalled that Turkiye was in the forefront rushing to support Pakistan during a devastating earthquake in 2005. It also said that we stand by with the people of Turkiye in this hour of grief and tragedy.

It urged the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to leave for Turkiye with relief goods to demonstrate solidarity with the people and government of Turkiye. 

The House will now meet again tomorrow at 11am.

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday and expressed grief and sorrow over the destruction caused by the earthquake.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan is deeply saddened over the loss of precious human lives due to earthquake. He said Pakistan stands with brotherly country Turkiye and its people during this difficult hour.  He assured Pakistan's full cooperation with the government and people of Turkiye in dealing with this disaster.

The Prime Minister also expressed concern over the rising natural calamities due to climate change. He said these calamities are not confined to any specific region or border.

He prayed for the departed souls and speedy recovery of those who injured in the earthquake.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his phone call and support. He said we acknowledge the sentiments and sympathies of Pakistani people and government.

Hundreds of people lost their lives in the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Earlier in the day,  Pakistan expressed solidarity with Türkiye in the wake of the massive Earthquake.

According to Foreign Office, the government and people of Pakistan have received the news of a massive earthquake in Southern Türkiye earlier today, with deep sorrow and anguish.

The Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also spoke to his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to offer condolences and express solidarity and reiterated offer of support and assistance.

On the instructions of the Prime Minister, the National Disaster Management Authority is mobilizing all available resources including winterized tents, blankets and other critical life-saving supplies.

Urban Search and Rescue Teams trained to operate in disaster hit areas are being dispatched with their equipment and medicines.

According to Foreign Office, Pakistan's Mission in Ankara is in constant touch with the relevant Turkish authorities to identify any additional requirement for the Earthquake affected areas.

Beyond the immediate relief effort, we will continue to work with Türkiye in the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction phases.

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday barred the relevant authorities from taking action against Awami Muslim League (AML) and former minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad in the cases registered in Karachi and Hub.

IHC Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri passed the order on petition moved by AML chief Sheikh Rashid challenging his shifting from Islamabad to Karachi in a case related to the charges of abusing PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto.

During the hearing, the counsel representing Sheikh Rashid argued that the court had already stayed further action on the summons of the Aabpara police station. He said the police registered a case in the same plea and made an arrest. Another FIR was registered in Karachi when Sheikh Rashid was in the police custody, he added.

Justice Jahangiri remarked that if the place of statement was Poly Clinic Hospital, how was a case registered in Karachi? The court also issued notices to the bar councils, the Attorney General and the Advocate General, barring them from proceeding in the cases registered against Sheikh Rashid in Mochko area of Karachi and Hub area of Balochistan. The judge also raised a question that how could there be FIRs in different cities on the same incident?

The counsel said the third case was registered in Murree, upon which the court inquired whether the arrests had been made in these three cases. Sheikh Rashid's lawyer said there had been an arrest in only one case.

The judge also observed that the law says that when an arrest is made in one case, it is also done in the rest".

The counsel said Sheikh Rashid was tied with a chair at an unknown place for about six hours for political questioning. He was also subjected to torture.

The judge observed, “I don’t know when this series  of cases will ever come to an end, you had filed cases of terrorism against the Secretary Information and the Pakistan Television Corporation's managing director and now the same thing is happening against you,”.

The judge also observed, “imagine what would have happened had the police arrested the woman secretary Information?,”.

The court put off further of the case till Feb 9.

Karachi: Gold prices in Pakistan decreased by Rs200 per tola and Rs172 per 10 grams to settle at Rs24, 30 and Rs175, 154 respectively.

The latest reports suggested that no major change took place in the price of the yellow metal in the local markets as mostly the investors stayed away from their deals amid prevailing economic situation.

The All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA) also confirmed the development, saying that there was a slight change in the price.

“The price of gold (24 carats) decreased by Rs200 per tola to settle at Rs204,300,” said the traders, pointing out that Rs172 was the decrease per 10 grams to close at Rs175,154,

On Friday, the price of per tola gold went down by Rs4,000 per tola as the relevant markets were mostly bullish last week.

On other hand, the gold price regained some ground in the international market as investment focused it after its price went down last month.

Spot gold rose $5 to $1,870 per ounce, after hitting its lowest level since January 6.

Lahore: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday approached the Lahore High court (LHC) with a plea to bar the caretaker Punjab government from transfers and postings.

PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhary, Hammad Azhar and others filed the petition the in LHC and made the federal government, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), caretaker government of Punjab and the principal secretary as respondents.

The PTI leader said that the constitution did not allow the caretaker government to carry out transfers and postings as their only responsibility was to hold elections and delimitations.

They asked the court to bar the caretaker government from transfers and postings across the province and declare the transfers and postings made by it as invalid.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan had earlier returned with objections a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition moved against appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as caretaker Punjab Chief Minister (CM).

The top court had objected that the petitioner did not approach the relevant forum.

Gujrat:  Chaudhary Moonis Elahi, the son of PML-Q leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi, reacted to the police raid on their residence in Gujrat.

Moonish addressed the police, Federal Investigation Agency and others for conducting raid at their residence in Kanjah House.

He made it clear that they would not leave Imran Khan despite raids. The PML-Q asked the authorities to rethink what they were going to do while sharing the video of the raid at Kanjah House in Gujrat.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Police , Fia, and others again at Kunjah House . They keep raiding without warrant. By raiding our house you think you will make us leave  @ImranKhanPTI . Think again!!,”.

Police , Fia, and others again at Kunjah House . They keep raiding without warrant. By raiding our house you think you will make us leave @ImranKhanPTI . Think again!! pic.twitter.com/eumfhL0BaA

— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) February 6, 2023

The reaction came after his father former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi said that police rounded up their house in Gujrat.

“Police are trying to enter his house,” said Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi in a message to the reports.

Hundreds of police officials were present there outside the home with dozens of vehicles.

This is the second raid of the police in less than a week time.

According to the sources, the police contingent raided the former chief minister’s home. Hundreds of police officers and dozens of police vehicles reached there.

On other hand, the police raided the residence of Muhammad Khan Bhatti, the former Principal Secretary to Punjab CM, and tried to arrest him

It may be mentioned here that  the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment filed a case against ex-chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s former principal secretary on corruption charges.

He was accused of accepting a bribe over Rs460 million in bribes from Punjab Highway Department officials.

SDO Highway Police Rana Muhammad Iqbal had already been arrested on charges of bribery while the ACE has also started the process to arrest Bhatti on corruption charges.

The complainant stated that Iqbal had given millions of rupees to accused Bhatti to get posts of his choice. “Several officials from the communications and construction departments were working for Muhammad Khan Bhatti,” it added.

The FIR further divulged that the role of other officials of the department would also be investigated.

Karachi: The special plane carrying the body of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf landed at Karachi airport on Monday night.

The latest reports said that the flight landed at Karachi airport at around 9: 51pm while Sehba Musharraf, the widow of the former army chief, and his children were also there  in the special flight.

Before departure to Pakistan, the body was given Ghusal [ritual wash and shrouding of the deceased ahead of burial], in Sonapur of Dubai where he took his last breathe at the age of 79.

According to the reports, Aircraft A319 was tasked to bring the last remains of the ex-army chief after the bereaved family formally approached Pakistan’s consulate in Dubai on Sunday for repatriation of the remains of the former army chief from there to Pakistan.

The funeral prayer of Pervez Musharraf will be offered at the Polo Ground in Malir Cantt in Karachi at 1: 45 pm.

President Dr. Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the military leadership expressed sorrow over the demise of the former president.

Musharraf joined Pakistan Army in 1964 and became the tenth president of Pakistan in 2001 till 2008.

The military ruler also took part in the 1965 and 1971 wars.

He imposed emergency in 1999 and became the cheif executive of Pakistan. Pervez left Pakistan for Dubai in 2016 to seek medical treatment and had been living in exile in the country ever since.

The general was born in Delhi in August 11, 1943 and died at the age of 79.