Sharif, Zardari to meet on Pakistan Govt formation
Former premier and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday said he would meet PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and leaders of other democratic forces soon to discuss the formation of a new government, hours after the two opposition parties emerged as the largest groups in Pakistan's Parliamentary polls.
"I invite everyone to sit together and rid Pakistan of dictatorship for all time," Sharif said. PML-N bagged 65 seats and became the second largest party after PPP, which bagged 85 seats out of 248 results announced so far.
"We will cooperate with (all democratic forces) and try to seek their cooperation...To accomplish this democratic agenda, all of us must unite on one common platform."
Sharif said he will meet Zardari on Thursday, while insisting that the deposed members of the superior judiciary should be reinstated so that they can decide on the legality of Pervez Musharraf's re-election as President in October last year.
"I have already discussed this matter with Mr Asif Zardari and I told him that Pakistan's judiciary's independence is very strongly linked with its restoration. It is dependent on the restoration of the judiciary. Unless the judges are restored, the judiciary cannot attain any independence," he said.
The two-time premier, who was deposed by Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, said the PML-N did not accept the emergency imposed by the President last year or the sacking of the judges who had not endorsed the measure.
"The steps taken by Musharraf during the emergency will have to be rolled back," he asserted.
Musharraf sacked nearly 60 members of the superior judiciary during the emergency, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry and other judges who were hearing challenges to his re-election.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
White people get bigger share of monkeypox shots, early data show
Much like with Covid-19, the monkeypox health crisis in the US is hitting Black and Hispanic Americans hard. Yet those groups are so far lagging in vaccination rates, early data obtained by Bloomberg News show. In some major US cities with outbreaks, White people are getting the majority of vaccinations, data collected by Bloomberg show. In Chicago, 55% of vaccines have gone to White people. In Washington, D.C., 63.5% of vaccine recipients identify as White.
-
Top Taliban cleric killed in blast in Kabul: Officials
A prominent Taliban cleric, Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, was killed in an attack in a seminary in Kabul when the attacker detonated explosives hidden in a plastic artificial leg on Thursday, according to officials and Taliban sources. It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in a plastic artificial leg.
-
China says it needs more time to assess US, India proposal to blacklist JeM chief’s brother at UNSC
China on Thursday said it needs more time to “assess” the India-US proposal to list Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Abdul Rauf Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN Security Council, hours after blocking the joint effort. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the 1267 Committee of the UN Security Council has clear provisions about designating terrorist organisations and officials. China had similarly sought time to assess the case.
-
China, Nepal agree on cross-Himalayan railway
China has agreed to finance a feasibility study for a cross-border railway with Nepal under the trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional connectivity network, part of the Belt and Road Initiative and pledged $118 million for China-assisted projects in the country, the foreign ministries of the two countries have said. Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, Wang Yi said China will work with Nepal on power projects and also in building cross Himalayan connectivity projects.
-
Sri Lanka's ex-leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa leaves Singapore: Report
Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Singapore Thursday, the city-state's immigration office said, after his social visit pass expired. "The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority confirms that Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa left Singapore on 11 August 2022," the office said in reply to an AFP query. Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on July 13 and then to Singapore, where he announced his resignation after months of protests over Sri Lanka's economic meltdown.
