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Protests break out across Pakistan after ECP disqualifies Imran Khan

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ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Imran Khan’s disqualification from holding public offices by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday steeped the country into agitation as angry PTI workers started protests against the decision, seen as a massive political blow to Khan’s party.

Following the announcement of the verdict, chaotic scenes were witnessed outside the ECP office where enraged PTI workers converged in large numbers, chanting slogans against the government.

According to police sources, three major arteries leading to Islamabad have been blocked by the district administrator to avoid any untoward incident.

The Islamabad traffic police advised commuters to use Peshawar Road or Lehtrar Road as Chungi No 26 and Athal Chowk in Bhara Kahu area have been closed to all types of traffic due to the protests and security concerns.

In Peshawar, protesters blocked a road near Pir Zakordi bridge and another near Stadium Chowk. They also put traffic on hold after burning tyres on the Motorway near the toll plaza.

Meanwhile, in Karachi, protesters led by party leaders Ali Zaidi, Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Mehmood Moulvi, and others staged a sit-in outside the Sindh ECP office. Reportedly, PTI workers tried to force their way into the ECP building but were repelled by the police amid thunderous slogan-chanting. 

In Charsadda protesters thronged the Farooq-e-Azam Chowk, where they were confronted by the ANP workers. Both sides shouted slogans against each other in the presence of a heavy contingent of police; however, no clash was reported.

Swabi also emerged on the protest map after PTI cohorts barricaded the Mardan and Jehangir roads for traffic. Life in Shabqadar was also reported to have suffered from the PTI protests. 

However, part of Mardan was seen cheering Imran Khan’s disqualification by distributing sweets among each other. A poor labourer from Mardan in a video message said he was so happy that Khan was gone. “I am poor so I could only buy half a kg of sweetmeat,” the labourer said.

According to reports pouring in from Naushehra, hundreds of fuming Khan fans crowded at Shawera Chowk and recorded their protest, which is currently underway. 

Moreover, Mangora Road in Swat has also been closed by the protesters.

PTI’s supporters have also kicked off a protest at Shahdra Chowk in Lahore.

On the contrary,  Hafizabad, a PML-N stronghold, was a scene of celebration with the N-league workers rejoicing over the ECP’s decision saying Imran Khan’s chapter had finally come to an end.

PTI youths blocked the M5 Motorway near Billiwala area in Multan’s suburbs, according to reports, while protesters sat in the middle of Delhi-Multan road in Vehari, bringing the heavy traffic to a halt. 

Chinot also saw disturbance as agitation hit the city after Khan’s disqualification as PTI workers assembled outside DHQ office in Satellite Town to decry the decision.

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Nawaz Sharif departs for a five-day personal visit to China.

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Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a former prime minister, departed for China on Monday night for a five-day private visit.

Nawaz Sharif is visiting China, escorted by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Nawaz Sharif reportedly planned to see Chinese company owners as well as discuss the Punjab province’s development projects. During his visit in China, he will also have a medical examination.

In addition, the fact that Nawaz and his party chose China for his first overseas trip after he returned to Pakistan in October of last year shows how much weight the Asian superpower holds.

Eight other Chinese companies were reportedly prepared to start working right away, while 16 Chinese companies had expressed interest in the Nawaz Sharif IT City, which is the brainchild of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who has plans for similar projects in all of the province’s major cities.

Remarkably, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s scheduled visit to China ahead of his anticipated talks with Chinese authorities next month coincides with the elder Sharif’s visit.

Dar’s presence alongside Nawaz simultaneously underscores the party leadership’s confidence in him and serves as a reminder of why he was chosen to be foreign minister.

The fact that this visit was organized in the wake of the recent terror assault in Shangla on Chinese engineers involved in the Dasu hydroelectric Project, however, may provide some insight into the significance of this visit.

That was followed by Pakistan’s resolute pledge to deal harshly with those groups that have been attacking Chinese citizens in an effort to undermine the cordial relations between the two countries.

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Education

The president of Iran’s wife, Dr. Jamileh, claims that knowledge without ethics is worthless.

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The Iranian President’s wife, Dr. Jamileh-Sadat Alamolhoda, claimed on Monday that Islam had illuminated the globe 1400 years ago by emphasizing the value of knowledge.

She said, “Knowledge without ethics has no value,” during her speech at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML).

Dr. Jamileh earlier today opened the university’s cultural festival. She visited a number of foreign and national booths exhibiting distinct cultures and customs.

Attendees included academic members, a sizable student body, Director General Brig Shahzad Munir, Rector NUML Major General (retd) Shahid Mahmood Kayani, and many others.

Speaking to the pupils, Dr. Jamileh added that religious leaders in Iran and this area were crucial in keeping the nations unified during the colonial era.

She was impressed by Muhammad Iqbal, the Poet of the East, for his contribution to the dissemination of Islamic norms and knowledge via his poetry.

She also gave a speech at the launch of her own book, “The Art of Living Femininely,” adding that it was also being translated into Urdu.

She expressed gratitude for NUML’s contribution to the creation and sharing of knowledge and expressed a willingness to investigate the potential for reciprocal scholarly cooperation in the fields of languages and science and technology.

Thanking the NUML administration for welcoming her and giving her a chance to engage with the teachers and students, Dr. Jamileh expressed her gratitude.

In his remarks at the event, the Rector NUML stated that profound people-to-people links as well as bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran are historical, fraternal, and mutually trustworthy.

The honorable guest accepted an honorary doctorate in educational sciences from the NUML Rector.

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To discuss the judges’ letter, the IHC CJ calls for a full court meeting.

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A full court conference has been called by the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court for this Tuesday in order to consider the matter of the letter of six IHC judges.

The full court session is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. All judges, including district and session court judges, have been asked for comments by the chief justice’s office of the Islamabad High Court.

The development follows accusations made by six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the nation’s intelligence services for meddling in judicial matters.

Judges Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Justice Rafat Imtiaz are the six judges.

In response to the letter, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had intimated on March 27 that the Supreme Court would convene as a full court.

The Supreme Court’s Justice Yahya Afridi has withdrawn from the suo moto case involving the letter authored by six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Prior to this, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association petitioned the Supreme Court under the Constitution, asking for an open and impartial inquiry into the six judges’ letter that purportedly involved meddling in judicial matters.

The petitioner begged the supreme court to prosecute individuals who were found to have influenced the legal system.

The petition claimed that the judges had brought up a serious matter. “If the apex court deems it necessary, it should refer the matter to the Supreme Judicial Council for review,” it requested.

The petitioner argued that the only source of justice and defender of the Constitution was an independent judiciary. Under no circumstances can the judiciary’s independence be compromised.

How it started

A letter against the “interference of intelligence agencies in judicial matters” was sent to the Supreme Judicial Council on March 25 by six justices of the Islamabad High Court.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice and made hints about forming a full court to consider the case. Prior to that, the federal government established a one-man inquiry commission, but Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, the former chief justice, refused to allow the body to begin any proceedings.

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