Erdogan's solidarity at challenging time hailed
Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan has conveyed his heartfelt appreciation to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people for their resolute expression of solidarity with Pakistan during the recent regional tensions in South Asia.
Speaking to Turkish Ambassador Dr Mehmet Irfan Nezir Oglu who called on him on Saturday, he remarked that President Erdogan's continued support has deeply resonated with the people of Pakistan.
The speaker said the unwavering support from the Turkish nation in challenging times has added a renewed strength to the fraternal ties between both nations. He emphasised Pakistan's commitment to reinforcing its strategic partnership with Turkiye.
He highlighted the deeply rooted historical, religious and cultural bonds shared by both nations, noting their consistent support for each other during times of adversity.
Both sides discussed the significance of regular parliamentary exchanges.
He also invited Turkish investors to take advantage of the promising investment opportunities in Pakistan.
Ambassador Irfan Nezir Oglu said the people of Turkiye take pride in Pakistan's achievements and reiterated President Erdogan's strong desire to deepen bilateral relations in all sectors.
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Express Tribune
6 hours ago
- Express Tribune
SC calls for review of Nikahnama form
Listen to article The Supreme Court has asked the federal government as well as the provincial governments to review the 'Nakahnama form' in order to make it user-friendly, effectively safeguarding the rights of the parties, particularly the women. A three-member bench of the apex court, led by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, noted that without reviewing the Nikahnama form as a whole, the positive step taken by the Punjab government might not achieve the intended goal of protecting the rights of women. The Nikahnama form has been prescribed in the Ordinance of 1961 and notified as part of the schedule of the Rules of 1961. However, the federal government is empowered to make rules in respect of the cantonment areas and the provincial governments in their respective areas of jurisdiction. According to a 22-page judgment, authored by Justice Athar Minallah in a family dispute case, the expressions used in the current Nikahnama form were ambiguous and, therefore, open to be misconstrued. The judgment said that the federal and the provincial governments might consider reviewing the Nikahnama form "to make it more user-friendly", so that "even a literate person of ordinary prudence does not have difficulty in understanding its requirements" and the columns. The judgment stressed the need for removing the "ambiguities likely to arise from the vague and ambiguous expressions used in the headings of the columns in the form currently prescribed" under the Ordinance of 1961, read with the Rules of 1961. "This would not only protect the rights of the parties in general and the women in particular but would also reduce litigation since a more user-friendly prescribed form of the Nikahnama will give rise to lesser disputes," the judgment said. The court noted that Nikah might also be solemnised by a person other than a Nikah registrar. However, it stated that the integrity, competence, knowledge and understanding of the Nikah registrars were crucial for effectively safeguarding the rights of the parties, particularly the women. In the province of Punjab, the judgment continued, the Act of 2015 imposed a statutory upon the Nikah registrar to accurately fill all the columns of the Nikahnama with specific answers of the bride and the groom. The court said that a breach of this statutory duty exposed a Nikah registrar to penal consequences ie imprisonment for up to one month and a Rs25,000 fine. It added the purpose was to protect women from exploitation and provide them with expeditious resolution of family disputes and ancillary matters. "The legislature [Punjab Assembly] was, therefore, conscious of the challenges faced by women in the context of exercising their rights relating to settling the terms and conditions of marriage," Justice Minallah wrote. "The Act of 2015, through which sub-sections (2A) and (4)(i) were inserted in Section 5 of the Ordinance of 1961, was definitely appreciable in securing the rights of the parties, particularly the women, keeping in view the social and cultural norms prevalent in many parts of the country," he said. The court also said that it was indeed a step in the right direction in order to reduce the number of disputes and consequently the volume of litigation as well. "However, we are of the opinion that without reviewing the prescribed form of the Nikahnama as a whole, particularly the expressions used in the headings of the columns, this positive step taken in the province of Punjab may not achieve its intended goal of protecting the rights of women in particular." The Nikah registrars, the judgment stated, had the most important role in ensuring that each party exercised her or his rights and that the entries recorded in a Nikahnama correctly reflected their intention. "It is a statutory duty of each Government to guide the Union Councils in setting out adequate qualifications and criteria for the granting of licences to persons for performing the functions of Nikah registrars," it stated. "Moreover, training and evaluation of performance of those who have been licensed would further guarantee that the social or cultural norms and influences do not prevail over the absolute rights bestowed upon women under the law," it added. "The Governments may also consider taking steps to ensure that persons of integrity and those who possess the required qualification and knowledge are granted licences and regular audits of the record relating to Nikahnamas maintained by the Union Councils are conducted." The court directed the Registrar Office to send copies of this judgment to the cabinet secretary, government of Pakistan, and the chief secretaries of the respective provinces so that they might place it before the competent authorities and forums for considering the observations. The court expected that effective steps would be taken to ensure safeguarding the rights of the parties to a marriage contract, particularly the bride, who might be more vulnerable on account of multiple factors, including the cultural and social norms and beliefs.
Business Recorder
11 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Punjab PA approves Rs5,335bn budget
LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Thursday approved a tax-free budget of Rs 5,335 billion for the fiscal year 2025-26, maintaining the current tax structure without imposing any new taxes. The Finance Bill 2025-26 was also passed, ensuring no changes in provincial taxes, property tax, or transport tax, with no additional levies on industries, agriculture, health, or education sectors. During the session, the House approved 41 demands for grants worth Rs4,306.9792 billion, while rejecting eight cut motions presented by the opposition. The newly passed budget and finance bill will take effect from July 1, 2025. Key allocations in the budget includes; Rs120 billion for construction of roads and bridges, Rs462 billion for pensions, Rs258 billion for healthcare facilities, Rs137 billion for education reforms, Rs200 billion for police to maintain law and order, Rs27 billion for jail administration, Rs1 billion for civil defence, Rs26 billion for farmers welfare, Rs66 billion for agricultural loans, Rs18.22 billion for industrial development and Rs37.96 billion for irrigation projects. Moreover, the assembly approved Rs910 billion for various development projects, Rs161 billion for government buildings, Rs26.5 billion for agriculture, Rs19 billion for veterinary services and Rs1.6 billion for fisheries. Grants for registration, stamps, motor vehicle acts, and excise were also approved. Four significant bills were presented by Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman which include Punjab Autism School and Resource Centre Bill 2025, Urban Immovable Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2025, Essential Commodities Price Control (Amendment) Bill 2025 and Punjab Labour Courts Bill 2025 These bills were referred to relevant standing committees, with the Speaker seeking reports within two months. During the session, government member Saeed Akbar Nawani raised objections over duplicate serial numbers (35 and 41) in the demands for grants, suggesting they should be merged for clarity. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman responded that the practice was longstanding but assured a review to determine if a technical merger was feasible. The Punjab Assembly session was commenced under the chairmanship of Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan after a delay of 4 hours and 6 minutes. The proceedings began with heated exchanges over a point of order, as government member Munawar Ghous lashed out at the alleged illegal actions of the Counter-Cybercrime Department (CCD). Ghous claimed that a former councillor from his constituency was unlawfully arrested by a CCD DSP, handcuffed, paraded in public, and humiliated. He further alleged that the officer slapped the detainee, recorded videos, and encouraged bystanders to film the incident, saying, 'Look at him and make videos.' Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan termed the act unconstitutional and illegal, stating, 'If a video was indeed made, it violates both the law and a High Court order.' He directed the Provincial Minister for Parliamentary Affairs to investigate the matter, calling it a 'bad practice.' In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman assured the assembly that he would look into the issue immediately. The Speaker also emphasized the need for the government to disarm the public, stating, 'I will consider this government successful only when it retrieves weapons from people's hands.' He expressed concern over personal vendettas leading to entire villages living in fear, urging the minister to take the matter to the cabinet. 'Armed civilians spread terror, and murders are occurring in broad daylight,' he added. Minister Shujaur Rehman responded that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was already working on a campaign to eliminate weapons from society and eradicate such a culture. He recalled that the cabinet had previously discussed reopening arms licences in Punjab. Meanwhile, Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan read the ruling regarding his decision on June 16th incident in which the Speaker suspend opposition member Hassan Malik for his misconduct during the budget session. The Speaker stated that opposition members attempted to disrupt the budget speech, with Hassan Malik allegedly throwing the budget book at the Finance Minister. 'After reviewing the video footage, it became clear that this behaviour was repeated, forcing the Finance Minister to halt his speech,' the Speaker said. While acknowledging that protest is a constitutional right, he emphasized, 'I will not allow the assembly to be taken over. I have the authority to suspend members for misconduct. Attempts to obstruct House proceedings will not be tolerated.' The Speaker warned that strict action would be taken against any member trying to disrupt the assembly's functioning. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
11 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Tensions flare as PA clears Rs3.67tr in grants
The Punjab Assembly on Thursday approved 36 out of 41 demands for grants worth Rs3,667.71 billion for various departments, rejecting all cut motions presented by the Opposition. The cut motions, which sought to reduce budgetary allocations on grounds of alleged mismanagement and poor performance, targeted key departments such as police, education, health, agriculture, and public health. However, the treasury benches dismissed them by majority vote. The grants were part of the total Rs4,306 billion budget for the fiscal year 2025-26. A day earlier, on June 25, the Assembly had passed five of the demands amounting to Rs638.29 billion. The presentation of grants followed the conclusion of a five-day general discussion on the budget, led by Provincial Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman. Among the grants approved was Rs1,036.96 billion for miscellaneous expenditures, which drew particular criticism from Opposition lawmakers. Sheikh Imtiaz, a member of the Opposition, argued that this amount made up 20% of the total budget and questioned the lack of transparency about the institutions covered under this category. In response, Finance Minister Rehman clarified that this amount included allocations for various authorities, the Pay and Pension Fund (PF), as well as initiatives related to Women Development, Baitul Maal and Zakat and Ushr. The Assembly also approved Rs125.23 billion for general administration and Rs9.54 billion for housing and physical planning, despite similar objections raised by the Opposition regarding lack of clarity and alleged overlaps with other departments. With the Opposition's cut motions exhausted, the remaining grants were presented and passed through voting. These included allocations of over Rs.462 billion for pensions, more than Rs.910 billion for development projects, Rs200.10 billion for the police department, Rs258.97 billion for health services, Rs137.53 billion for education, Rs26.53 billion for agriculture, and Rs15.16 billion for public health. Several other departments, including those related to justice, jails, museums, and infrastructure, also received substantial funding through approved demands.
