Islamabad: Justice Qazi Faez Isa, in a letter addressed to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, has accused former top judges Saqib Nisar and Gulzar Ahmed of deliberately disregarding merit in the appointment of Supreme Court (SC) judges.

He called for more transparency in the process.

The letter, dated May 25 (Wednesday), was written by Justice Isa after "much reflection and ... because legitimate concerns of quite a few members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) continue to be ignored". It added that bar associations had also expressed those concerns.

It said that an important factor in the appointment of judges to the apex court was whether they had the "requisite ability and determination to resist and repel unconstitutional acts, and the courage to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution".

Justice Isa said a longstanding practice was to appoint high court chief justices to the SC since they would have attained the necessary judicial experience, administrative understanding and skills to interact with the executive.

Islamabad: Pakistan is committed to the promotion of an environment of peace and stability in South Asia while preserving its capability to ward off aggression or adventurism in any form.

In a press release in connection with Youm-e-Takbeer being observed on Saturday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said the tests conducted in 1998 not only demonstrated the resolve of the Pakistani nation to safeguard the country's territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty, but also the desire to preserve strategic balance in South Asia.

He said we are partners in international efforts to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime based on the principles of non-discrimination and equal security for all states.

The spokesperson said Pakistan adheres to the latest international standards on export controls and maintains the highest standards of nuclear safety and security.

He also paid tributes to its scientists, engineers and technicians in ensuring Pakistan's security saying that the nation also deeply appreciates the contributions of Pakistan's nuclear programme to the country's socio-economic development.

Lahore: Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz has imposed a ban on public gatherings in Greater Iqbal Park.

According to details, Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz chaired an important meeting in which he approved a ban on public gatherings in Greater Iqbal Park. The Chief Minister said that it was not appropriate to use the historical Pak for meetings as holding frequent rallies here damaged plantations at the park.

It was briefed that the plantation at the Greater Iqbal Park was damaged after a public rally of the PTI, resulting in losses of Rs5 million to the provincial exchequer.

“Using a historic park for the public rallies is inappropriate,” Hamza Shahbaz said while imposing a ban on any sort of public gatherings at the Minar-e-Pakistan.

Moreover, the chief minister of Punjab rejected a proposal to charge an entry fee from people coming to the Greater Iqbal Park and said that it was a park for people from all walks of life and he would not allow any entry fee.

“Such an item should not be even brought before the meeting,” he said.