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Zardari-led Bilawal House huddle to discuss MQM-P’s reservations today

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  • Ruling PML-N ramps up efforts to save coalition.
  • High-level delegation to hold meetings with PPP, MQM-P.
  • Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori asks PPP to fulfil promises.

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah Monday confirmed a meeting will be held today —to be attended by leaders from coalition parties with former president Asif Ali Zardari in the chair— to discuss Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) reservations over the delimitation of constituencies in Karachi and Hyderabad.

Sources told Geo News that Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Sanaullah, Malik Mohammad Ahmed Khan, Khalid Magsi, and Asad Mahmood will participate in the huddle. The MQM-P side will be led by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

The delegation will also visit MQM-P’s office in Bahadurabad, they added.

The development comes after MQM-P threatened to quit the ruling government in the Centre and kick off protests if “fresh delimitation” of constituencies for local body polls is not conducted in Karachi and Hyderabad ahead to January 15.

While speaking to the media at the Sehwan airport, CM Murad Ali Shah said that MQM-P has its viewpoint regarding constituencies which has been shared with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

“It is up to the ECP to take a decision in this regard. We will act accordingly.”

About Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori’s statements, the chief minister said he hasn’t heard their comments.

“Today, there is a meeting chaired by Asif Zardari and all our allies including federal minister Ayaz Sadiq and others will attend.”

“We will consult with former president Zardari about the political situation in the country. Everyone has the right to present their position.”

About the prevailing economic crisis, Murad Ali Shah said there are problems and the government has to make difficult decisions.

MQM-P threatens to quit

MQM-P chief Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, after the party’s Rabita Committee meeting on Sunday, said that they have decided to adopt a strict stance over the delimitation issue and a non-serious attitude of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Sindh.

The meeting also deliberated on various steps including protests and conveying its grievances to the federal government.

Addressing a press conference following the huddle, the MQM-P convener urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to fulfil his promises made with the party.

“We will be compelled to hold the protest if our grievances are not redressed,” he announced.

“In agreement with the PPP, our key point was fair delimitation of constituencies for the LG polls,” Siddiqui said. Terming the prevailing delimitation of the constituencies inappropriate, the MQM-P leader said that pre-poll rigging was evident from it.

In this situation, he said, the party has to decide whether they should go to polls in alliance with the coalition parties or contest independently.

Shehbaz calls Zardari

Following Dr Siddiqui’s presser, PM Shehbaz Sharif called up Asif Ali Zardari and requested him to address the MQM-P’s reservations with regard to the implementation of the agreement.

‘Tried to unite all friends in Karachi’

In a separate statement, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori said that he is trying to unite all the factions of the MQM.

Stressing the need for unity, Tessori said that everyone needs to fix his intentions.

Political parties vanish when disunity emerged in their ranks, he warned.

The Sindh governor also said that he has asked the PPP to fulfil its promises made with the MQM-P. He added that the MQM-P would be free to decide if the PPP did not keep its promises.

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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