Terms and Conditions https://indiamirror.net Fri, 29 Mar 2024 05:50:55 +0000 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management en-gb Six Islamabad High Court judges allege ISI interference in judicial matters https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3969-six-islamabad-high-court-judges-allege-isi-interference-in-judicial-matters https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3969-six-islamabad-high-court-judges-allege-isi-interference-in-judicial-matters

In an unprecedented move, six judges from the Islamabad High Court have appealed to the Supreme Judicial Council for intervention regarding alleged interference in the judiciary by Pakistan's powerful intelligence agencies.

A joint letter signed by the six judges from the Islamabad High Court calls upon the Supreme Judicial Council to convene and address concerns over undue influence on judicial proceedings.

The signatories of the letter, dated March 25th, include Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.

Furthermore, the letter emphasises the importance of adopting a firm stance to safeguard the judiciary's independence through this proposed convention.

The SJC is the highest body authorised to take action against judges of high and supreme courts.

"We are writing to seek guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) with regard to the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with discharge of his/ her official functions and qualify as intimidation, as well as the duty to report any such actions that come to his/her attention in relation to colleagues and/or members of the courts that the High Court supervises," the letter stated, according to PTI.

It goes on to highlight the interference of the executive and agencies in judicial matters, including the kidnapping and torture of the brother-in-law of a high court judge to put pressure on the judge regarding a case.

"We will also note that the code of conduct for judges prescribed by SJC provides no guidance on how judges must react to and or report incidents that are tantamount to intimidation and interfere with judicial independence," it said.

The judges further said they believe it is imperative to inquire into and determine whether there exists a continuing policy on the part of the executive branch of the state, implemented by intelligence operatives who report to the executive branch, to intimidate judges, under threat of coercion or blackmail, to engineer judicial outcomes in politically consequential matters.

The development came days after the top court declared the removal of former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui illegal, directing that he may now be considered a retired judge.

The verdict noted that the SJC proceeded against Justice Siddiqui on the assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled by the former judge was irrelevant.

Siddiqui was sacked on October 11, 2018, by the SJC based on a speech he had delivered weeks ago at the Rawalpindi Bar Association in which he accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - the powerful intelligence agency of the country - of influencing the court proceedings and forming benches of choice.

In their letter, the IHC judges supported Justice Siddiqui's request to investigate the allegations made by him.

The letter is believed to be unprecedented as it officially highlights the alleged involvement of executive and intelligence agencies in the matters of the judiciary and seeks the support of the SJC, the highest body, to take action against judges and provide guidance on such matters.

 

 


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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Wed, 27 Mar 2024 10:37:27 +0000
U.S. warns of strained relations with Pakistan over election irregularities https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3959-u-s-warns-of-strained-relations-with-pakistan-over-election-irregularities https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3959-u-s-warns-of-strained-relations-with-pakistan-over-election-irregularities

The United States on Wednesday expressed significant concerns regarding the conduct of Pakistan's elections held on February 8, indicating that bilateral relations could be negatively impacted if the alleged irregularities are not thoroughly investigated and rectified through a rerun of votes where necessary.

Donald Lu, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, voiced these concerns to members of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, highlighting the U.S.'s dissatisfaction with the election process and the disruption of media and social media platforms, including the extended shutdown of X, previously known as Twitter.

Lu underlined the importance of Pakistan's Election Commission to validate these irregularities and consider rerunning elections in areas affected by interference, stating, "The Election Commission of Pakistan, should it find that these irregularities are substantiated, should rerun elections where there's been interference."

"We have enjoyed 76 years of partnership with this country. It will be an impediment to our relationship if Pakistan does not have a democratic process that upholds its own constitution," Lu said.

Lu said the United States was not considering any major new military sales to Pakistan, a Cold War ally whose army and intelligence apparatus has long played a dominant role in politics and whose past links with Afghanistan's Taliban soured ties with Washington.

Ahead of the election, former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan was jailed and barred from running, with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a crackdown.

Khan's candidates nonetheless won more seats than any party, but rival Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister in a shaky coalition between two dynastic parties.

Khan, who was removed as prime minister by a parliamentary vote two years ago, has frequently criticized the US military and has alleged that the United States engineered his removal.

Khan's supporters have cited a leaked Pakistani diplomatic document that said that Lu had voiced alarm over the then prime minister's relationship with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.

Lu, who was repeatedly disrupted at the hearing by pro-Khan demonstrators, strongly denied that he ever tried to remove Khan.

"This conspiracy theory is a lie. It is a complete falsehood," he said.

"We respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. We respect the principle that Pakistan -- Pakistani people -- should be the only ones choosing their own leaders through a democratic process."

Lu, a career diplomat, said that he has received death threats and his family has been threatened over the allegations.

 

 


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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Thu, 21 Mar 2024 08:43:34 +0000
North Korea tests ballistic missiles amid Blinken visit to Seoul https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3955-north-korea-tests-ballistic-missiles-amid-blinken-visit-to-seoul https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3955-north-korea-tests-ballistic-missiles-amid-blinken-visit-to-seoul

North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters on Monday, amid US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Seoul for a democracy summit.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the detection of "several" suspected short-range ballistic missile launches by North Korea on Monday morning.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session that the North Korean missiles landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

No damage or injuries have been reported.

The US State Department criticized the missile launches, calling them a threat to the security of the region.

Blinken attending democracy summit

This latest military posturing by Pyongyang comes as Blinken was visiting Seoul to attend a conference hosted by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Blinken is also scheduled to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the third Summit for Democracy in Seoul.

The summit is an initiative of US President Joe Biden, focusing on exploring strategies to stop the global decline of democracy and the erosion of rights and freedoms.

The meeting, running from March 18 to 20, will host government officials, NGOs and civil society members.

The US secretary of state's trip includes meetings with South Korean officials, and aims to reinforce alliances.

US-South Korea conclude joint military exercise

The North Korean missile launch comes just after the 11-day annual Freedom Shield joint military exercises between the US and South Korea concluded on Thursday.

North Korea has condemned the exercises in the past as preparation for invasion.

Pyongyang recently threatened Seoul and Washington with severe consequences for their Freedom Shield exercises, saying there would be a "dear price" to be paid.

In January, tensions soared after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proposed constitutional changes to abandon peaceful Korean unification efforts.

Kim suggested declaring South Korea as its "invariable principal enemy," and threatened annexation in case of war.

Tensions in the peninsula have been high with North Korea's frequent missile tests since 2022.

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:54:21 +0000
Chinese military claims Arunachal Pradesh as inherent part of China’s territory days after PM Modi’s visit to state https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3953-chinese-military-claims-arunachal-pradesh-as-inherent-part-of-china-s-territory-days-after-pm-modi-s-visit-to-state https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3953-chinese-military-claims-arunachal-pradesh-as-inherent-part-of-china-s-territory-days-after-pm-modi-s-visit-to-state

The Chinese military has reaffirmed its assertion over Arunachal Pradesh, labelling the region as an “intrinsic part of China’s territory”, just days after India dismissed Beijing’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the area.

According to official media reports, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defence Ministry, emphasised that the southern segment of Xizang (Tibet’s Chinese designation) is an inherent part of China’s territory, firmly rejecting the existence of “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India”. Zhang’s remarks came in response to India’s reinforcement of its military preparedness via the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, as detailed in a report published on the Chinese Defence Ministry’s website on Friday.

China, asserting Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, regularly protests Indian dignitaries’ visits to the area to underscore its claims, also designating the region as Zangnan. Conversely, India consistently rebuffs China’s territorial assertions over Arunachal Pradesh, maintaining the state’s integral status within the nation. India also disregards China’s attempts to assign “fabricated” names to the area, asserting that such actions do not alter the factual situation.

On March 9, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Sela Tunnel, constructed at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh, aimed at facilitating all-weather connectivity to strategically significant Tawang and improving troop movement in the frontier region.

The Rs 825 crore tunnel, situated on the route connecting Assam’s Tezpur to West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh, is touted as the world’s longest two-lane road tunnel at such an elevation. Indian military officials affirm that the Sela Tunnel will enhance troop and weaponry deployment to various forward positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Zhang criticised Modi’s visit, stating that such actions contradict efforts to ease border tensions and impede peace and tranquillity in border areas. He reassured that the current border situation remains generally stable, with effective diplomatic and military communication addressing mutual border concerns.

Zhang urged India to refrain from actions complicating the border issue and earnestly uphold peace and stability in the region, emphasising the Chinese military’s vigilance in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zhang’s response follows the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statement on Monday regarding lodging a diplomatic protest against India over Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. India firmly rejected China’s objection, affirming Arunachal Pradesh as an integral and inalienable part of India.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s consistent stance, stating that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will” always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Jaiswal emphasised that objections to Indian leaders’ visits or developmental projects in Arunachal Pradesh lack rationale and do not change the factual status of the state.

 

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:28:40 +0000
Pakistan Election Crisis Deepens As Top Official Confesses Rigging, Claims CEC, Chief Justice Involved https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3927-pakistan-election-crisis-deepens-as-top-official-confesses-rigging-claims-cec-chief-justice-involved https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3927-pakistan-election-crisis-deepens-as-top-official-confesses-rigging-claims-cec-chief-justice-involved

New Delhi: A shocking scandal has rocked the political landscape of Pakistan, as a former commissioner of Rawalpindi accused the chief election commissioner and the chief justice of being involved in rigging the recent elections.

Liaquat Ali Chattha, who resigned from his post on Saturday, claimed that he was under immense pressure to manipulate the poll results in favour of the candidates who were losing. He said he was taking the responsibility for the wrongdoing and demanded that he and others who were part of the injustice should be punished.

Chattha’s Explosive Allegations

Chattha made his explosive allegations at a press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he said he could not sleep after stabbing the country in its back. He said he even contemplated suicide, but decided to expose the truth before the public. He appealed to the bureaucracy to not do anything wrong for the politicians, and said that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice were completely involved in the rigging.

His remarks came amid nationwide protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, who alleged that their mandate was stolen in the February 8 elections.

ECP, CM Reject Claims

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) strongly rejected Chattha’s claims, and said that no official of the commission ever issued any instructions to change the election results. It also said that the commissioner of any division had no direct role in the conduct of elections, and that the matter would be investigated.

Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also ordered an impartial probe into the allegations, and formed a high-level committee to conduct an inquiry. He said that an independent inquiry would be held and the facts would be brought forward.

Chattha Arrested, Shifted

Following Chattha’s press conference, police arrived at the venue and arrested him. He was shifted to an unknown location by the security officials. The reason for his arrest and his current whereabouts are not clear.

PTI Demands Re-Election

PTI senior leader and Khan’s close aide Zulfi Bokhari reacted to Chattha’s revelation on X, and said that it was shocking and unacceptable. He blamed the chief election commissioner and the chief justice for being part of the crime, and said that Chattha was pushed close to suicide by the unbearable pressure to rig the elections.

He also said that the entire Pindi Division’s elections were rigged and null and void, and that the situation in other divisions could be worse. He demanded that the elections should be re-held and that the people’s will should be respected.

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Sun, 18 Feb 2024 05:25:31 +0000
Imran bowls surprising swing at opponents https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3918-imran-bowls-surprising-swing-at-opponents https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3918-imran-bowls-surprising-swing-at-opponents

The people of Pakistan have spoken. And if the results being projected by a man that the Army has not been able to bend to their will is even half-way true,

the winner in Pakistan’s critical 2024 national polls is not Punjab strongman and three-time former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif or prime ministerial hopeful Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party, but the Pakistan Army’s arch nemesis, Imran Khan Niazi. The results were announced some 60 hours after polls closed on Thursday.

Imran's runaway victory at the hustings, despite being jailed for eight months and his party made electorally ineligible, has thrown a huge question mark over an electoral exercise that the vast majority of Pakistanis see as ‘state-managed’. The worries are compounded by a highly suspect internet shutdown during counting, supposedly initiated to “prevent violence”.

Fingers are being pointed at the Army led by Imran’s bete noire Gen Syed Asim Munir and his Inter-Services Intelligence cohort, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, for the ‘manufactured’ poll results—charges that both have denied.

Imran is preparing to unleash a fresh round of street protests to challenge the PML-N-PPP coalition government being put in place at the Army’s prodding, despite the political stalwarts’ shockingly poor performance in their former stomping grounds. The irony that political leaders who know first-hand what it is to be on the wrong side of the military—and history—are preparing to sup at the same table as the men in khakhi, is lost on no one.

Given the serious charges and jail terms slapped against Imran for espionage and leaking state secrets, and despite getting bail which is no more than a move to offset international condemnation of his continued incarceration neither the US nor the UK can be seen as condoning, there’s little likelihood that he will be released from jail.

But even from behind bars, he has upset the Army’s applecart, forcing it to scramble to contain the fallout from the elections that are being questioned not just within Pakistan, but in major world capitals.

Despite the PML-N winning only 75 seats, Nawaz Sharif, the 74-year-old political tour de force, who had been removed from office in 2018 but welcomed back to the political fold to counter Imran, announced victory and laid claim to a historic fourth term in office. Within hours, the Army’s nemesis appeared in an AI-generated image and laid claim to form his own government. Imran’s claim? He won “a landslide victory” in “an unprecedented fightback”. “We are winning in more than 170 seats in the National Assembly,” he said on his X account.

By late Saturday, his party, the tech-savvy Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was questioning the slow vote count as an attempt to deprive PTI-backed independents of victory. They sent out numbers based on the Form 45 notices on the votes cast posted outside booths by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

From claiming victory in 98 of the 245 seats counted by Friday evening, as opposed to 69 by the PML-N and 51 by the Pakistan People’s Party, the PTI on Saturday upped that number to 99 seats. By late Saturday night, PTI was flooding social media with grandiose claims they had won 183 seats, the PPP 41 seats and the PMLN a mere 17, with the Jamaat-ul-Islam Fazlur winning 2 seats, and similar tallies of one and two to a host of smaller parties.

As Nawaz reaches out to the young and untested Bilawal and his far cannier father Asif Ali Zardari through his brother and former prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, few recall the large-hearted Nawaz and the pragmatic Benazir Bhutto’s deal in 2006-07, overseen by Washington and the then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

 

This time, Nawaz has a far trickier path to navigate as the IMF deal negotiated by his brother Shahbaz’s government rides on projecting a steady, savvy hand at the tiller. But while it's clear PTI's final numbers of 101 electoral winners, who all fought as independents, cannot form a government, it hasn’t stopped the wily Imran from throwing a ticking bomb under Gen Munir’s bus. He would like nothing better than for it to explode and show up his arch-enemy for stalling his unexpectedly strong showing at the hustings.

The incarcerated populist won the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and seats in Karachi. He is challenging Nawaz’s win in his home seat of Lahore. He has fed off a strong anti-American, anti-establishment, anti-dynast sentiment in his country to garner these votes. This is an electoral impasse that no one, least of all Gen Munir, saw coming.

 

But as this fractured mandate that Imran has now counter-engineered shows, he cannot be dismissed as an aberration, a footnote, as the Army would like to. The fact that PTI leaders who abandoned Imran are now electoral write-offs is one message that must be taken on board. Second, Imran’s independents are a potent third force, one he will guard against poaching by PML-N for a multi-party coalition.

Imran has opened communication lines with the Zardari-Bhuttos, offering to back Zardari as president and Bilawal as prime minister, in return for a free pass out of a lifetime in prison. If the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement agrees to play on Imran’s team, the game could change in the Kaptaan’s favour.

Gen Munir—unlike his predecessor Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who had hand-picked Imran for political office overlooking the cricketer’s hedonist, narcissistic streak that impeded good governance—knows that Imran’s popularity cuts across gender, age and community. With his own term coming to an end in a year, Munir, a Shehbaz Sharif appointee hand-held by a Washington frowning on Imran's return, also needs a pliant prime minister to extend his own term.

 

Imran had famously blotted his copybook with impolitic critiques of Washington’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, alienating Pakistan’s mentors, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He also upset Washington by calling for neutrality in the Ukraine-Russia war when he arrived in Moscow on the day Vladimir Putin launched the war.

Imran, holding off on unleashing his street power to arrive at a backroom deal with the establishment, looks unlikely. He seems more inclined to pressure the establishment, emboldened after the US State Department called for an investigation into “claims of election interference or fraud in Pakistan” and US politicians called for a probe into the electoral process.

For Gen Munir as much as Mian Nawaz Sharif, everything rides on putting in place a stable government that not only keeps the Sharif political legacy alive, but leads Pakistan out of the economic morass. Imran Khan, the wild card, could upend all that and more.

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:36:47 +0000
Canada condemns violence that marred parliamentary polls in Pakistan https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3911-canada-condemns-violence-that-marred-parliamentary-polls-in-pakistan https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3911-canada-condemns-violence-that-marred-parliamentary-polls-in-pakistan

Toronto: Canada has condemned the violence that marred parliamentary elections in Pakistan while expressing its concern over the process.

Several other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom as well as the European Union have already expressed their concern over the polls to the National Assembly which were held on February 8.

In a statement on Saturday, Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, said, “We condemn the incidents of electoral violence, which are attacks on democracy. Canada remains committed to supporting the people of Pakistan in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous and democratic future.”

The statement added, “We join civil society, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in their concerns about the lack of a free, fair and transparent democratic process, including cellular and Internet service disruptions and attacks on media workers.”

It said that Canada will “remain a firm and consistent voice, speaking up for the protection and promotion of human rights and the advancement of democratic values in Pakistan”.

The statement came as the elections were held with former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan incarcerated and unable to campaign during the elections and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) barred from fielding candidates under its banner. Though its candidates ran as independents and emerged as the largest bloc in the elections, several results changed overnight in favour of the Pakistan Muslim League and its leader, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has the support of the powerful Armed forces to head the country.

Pakistan People’s Party is another significant factor as it holds the balance of power in the formation of the next government. In Islamabad.

Canada congratulated the millions of citizens who voted in the elections and said it will “continue to work with Pakistan on our shared priorities, including enhancing climate resilience, strengthening trade and advancing gender equality”.

 

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Sun, 11 Feb 2024 07:40:20 +0000
Why Pakistan's election drama is all set to unlock a new crisis https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3907-why-pakistan-s-election-drama-is-all-set-to-unlock-a-new-crisis https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3907-why-pakistan-s-election-drama-is-all-set-to-unlock-a-new-crisis

Pakistan’s election has just delivered the mother of all surprises—a googly for the ages—and at the receiving end is the Army.

In the general elections conducted on Thursday, Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League won 43 seats. Bhutto’s PPP got 28 seats, and surprisingly, candidates backed by Imran Khan were at 57. Pakistan’s national assembly has 266 seats, so to form a government, one needs 134, and Imran Khan is in pole position.

But Nawaz Sharif doesn’t seem to care. He visited his party headquarters a short while back. Sharif says he’s won the elections. Despite his party trailing, Sharif says he has won the election—that’s Pakistani politics for you!

Nawaz Sharif’s plan is to build a coalition. He says he will reach out to other parties. But why is he celebrating prematurely? What exactly happened in the last 24 hours?

Voting in Pakistan ended at 5 pm local time on Thursday. Then the drama began. Pakistan’s election commission began counting the votes. Expectations were of an easy victory by Nawaz Sharif. After all, the Army had played every dirty trick. Imran Khan was in jail. His party had lost its election symbol. Its top leaders were intimidated. So, what could possibly go wrong?

Late into the night, results started trickling in. It showed Imran Khan’s candidates in the lead. Most of them had contested as independents, and yet they were leading. Some trends showed Imran Khan’s party, the PTI, crossing the majority, and that too comfortably!

The other side was in disarray. Nawaz Sharif himself was trailing from his seat. Most of his party leaders were nowhere to be seen. In contrast, Imran Khan’s PTI hit the streets. Their supporters rallied outside polling stations. They refused to leave until the counting was done.

“From Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the electoral symbol bat was withdrawn, our leader Imran Khan was jailed, and PTI supporters were given a message that you cannot win, but still, PTI supporters did not lose heart; the result of today’s polling will be all in our favour,” said Ishaq Khan, a PTI supporter.

“If our leader is in jail, we are his lions outside, and we will fight until our lion is out of jail, and we want Imran Khan to be out of jail as soon as possible, and inshallah we will still win,” said Zohaib Khan, another PTI supporter.

So everyone began asking the same question: Had Pakistanis beaten the army? It was too early to say. Once the early trends emerged, a few suspicious things happened. First, the Election Commission’s website went down. People couldn’t access it anymore. Then, the counting slowed down. Suddenly, results were simply not being published.

 

Then, at 3 a.m. local time, the election commission called a press conference. An election official addressed the presser. He made two important announcements: One reason for the delay was the internet. Pakistan had snapped mobile services on voting day. Apparently, that was slowing things down. Two, the early trends were unverified, meaning the PTI’s lead may not have been real. Now, obviously, this sounded fishy, because on Thursday, the Election Commission said something different. They said the internet shutdown would not affect counting. So what changed in a few hours? Only they can tell us.

But afterwards, we saw some worrying pictures of soldiers deployed outside counting centres and soldiers pushing away PTI workers. Even some footage of ballot stuffing. Multiple journalists and activists have posted these videos. But we cannot vouch for their authenticity.

Counting speed has improved compared to Thursday. But still, the pace is slow, and Pakistan’s homegrown result transmission system isn’t working. So the results are being relayed physically, which means the rigging is easier.

The PTI has pointed out several examples.

 

https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1755841889234800855

 

Take a look at this document that shows results from a constituency in Lahore. The winner is Nawaz Sharif, but look at the numbers. Around 293 thousand votes were cast, and 294 thousand were counted. Where did these extra thousand votes come from? It looks like a classic case of rigging—a poorly executed one. But even rigging can only help so much because Sharif actually lost his other seat. He was contesting from two constituencies. One was in Lahore, and the other was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thanks to magic numbers, he won in Lahore, but in the other seat, he lost.

 

Well, Pakistani voters have given the answer. They do not love Nawaz Sharif like they used to. He now represents the politics of the past. A politics that young Pakistan does not identify with. Many voters have openly called out the rigging.

It is not game over yet. The results still show Imran Khan in the lead. But the Sharifs are not giving up. Maryam Nawaz says her party, the Muslim League, will be the single largest party. She says Nawaz Sharif will give a victory speech once the results are in. So did the tide change overnight? The Sharifs seem to think so. But don’t expect this drama to end with the results. Early trends showed the PTI forming a government, but 24 hours later, they could lose. How would you react to that? If you’re an Imran Khan supporter, you will be outraged, and by the looks of it, Pakistan has many of those. So this election drama isn’t ending anytime soon. In fact, it has unlocked a new crisis.

 

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Sun, 11 Feb 2024 07:08:34 +0000
China has made 'dramatic advances' in its hypersonic missiles that can reach up to 6,500mph and are almost impossible to stop, intelligence officials warn https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3904-china-has-made-dramatic-advances-in-its-hypersonic-missiles-that-can-reach-up-to-6-500mph-and-are-almost-impossible-to-stop-intelligence-officials-warn https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3904-china-has-made-dramatic-advances-in-its-hypersonic-missiles-that-can-reach-up-to-6-500mph-and-are-almost-impossible-to-stop-intelligence-officials-warn

China has made 'dramatic advances' in hypersonic missiles that fly too fast to be intercepted, intelligence officials warn.

They said the DF-17 – and its successor the DF-27 – reach speeds approaching some 6,500 miles per hour and they are almost impossible to stop.China has designed these weapons to destroy aircraft carriers, such as Britain's flagship vessels HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, over a range of up to 5,000 miles.The UK, Australia and the United States, who formed the AUKUS alliance, are frantically looking for some sort of preventative measures.The Chinese 'Hypersonic Glide Vehicles' fly on lower trajectory than intercontinental ballistic missiles, making them harder to intercept. 


China has made 'dramatic advances' in its hypersonic missiles that can reach up to 6,500mph and are almost impossible to stop, intelligence officials warn© Provided by Daily Mail

China has designed these weapons to destroy aircraft carriers, such as Britain's flagship vessels HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, over a range of up to 5,000 miles. The missle was seen during a military parade to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, at Tiananmen Square on October 1, 2019 in Beijing© Provided by Daily Mail
The UK, Australia and the United States, who formed the AUKUS alliance, are frantically looking for some sort of preventative measures to respond to the missile threat. Britain does not have hypersonic missiles while the US is only testing these weapons© Provided by Daily Mail

The Chinese 'Hypersonic Glide Vehicles' fly on lower trajectory than intercontinental ballistic missiles, making them harder to intercept. Picture shows Chinese navy troops marching past Tiananmen Square during a military parade© Provided by Daily Mail

One concerned official said: 'The buzz phrase here is that "speed is the new stealth". 

'China has prioritised this capability and has generated the world's leading arsenal of HGVs.

'It has made dramatic advances in this area in the 2020s. Countering this threat is a priority for AUKUS.

'Countering the delivery mechanism, which fires the missile, is more effective than countering the missile itself. We would have to hit the bases, hit the launch systems.'

Britain does not have hypersonic missiles while the US is only testing these weapons.

Russia has been utilising much less sophisticated versions of the Chinese HGVs during the conflict in Ukraine.

China's missiles are capable of carrying nuclear payloads. It is considered likely Beijing would seek to use its HGVs against US and UK navies in the South China Sea.

 

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Thu, 08 Feb 2024 06:31:14 +0000
Oxford University Chancellor Election: Imran Khan Among Candidates https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3902-oxford-university-chancellor-election-imran-khan-among-candidates https://indiamirror.net/index.php/en/terms-and-conditions/item/3902-oxford-university-chancellor-election-imran-khan-among-candidates

Oxford University's Chancellor position is vacant following Chris Patten's resignation. The new election will be conducted online, marking a first in history. Among possible candidates is Imran Khan, former PM of Pakistan and Oxford alumnus.

In a noteworthy development, Oxford University's Chancellor post has become vacant following the resignation of Chris Patten, who graced the role for over two decades. This primarily ceremonial role, traditionally filled by an erstwhile politician, is highly regarded and elected by Oxford alumni. In an unanticipated turn of events, the election for the forthcoming Chancellor will be conducted online, replacing the conventional requirement for graduates to cast their vote in full academic attire.

Imran Khan Among Candidates

Among the distinguished potential candidates vying for the position is Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Khan, an Oxford graduate, studied Economics and Politics at Keble College and led the university's cricket team to victory during his tenure. His previous experience as the chancellor of Bradford University for eight years until his resignation in November 2014 adds a feather to his cap.

Online Elections Mark a New Era

As the race for the next Oxford University Chancellor takes off, this significant shift to online elections marks a new chapter in the university's history. The detailed process for the election will be announced in due time, promising a fair and transparent election process.

Other Notable Candidates

Other notable figures on the candidate list include former British Prime Ministers Theresa May, Sir Tony Blair, and Boris Johnson. Their political experience and ties to Oxford University make them strong contenders for the prestigious role.

The new era of online elections opens up fresh opportunities, bringing the Oxford University community closer while maintaining the integrity and prestige of the Chancellor's role.

 

 

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kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) International Thu, 08 Feb 2024 06:20:35 +0000