Latest news with #K-P
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PPPP protests Rs50m grant to Lahore Bar
The Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) has strongly protested the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister's decision to allocate a grant of Rs50 million to the Lahore High Court Bar Association. In response, the party has submitted a formal 'Call Attention Notice' in the K-P provincial assembly. The notice was submitted to the Assembly Secretariat by PPPP Parliamentary Leader, Ahmad Karim Kundi. It states that the provincial government, in its upcoming cabinet meeting, has placed the proposed grant for the Lahore High Court Bar Association as the last item on the agenda. The notice raises serious concerns, questioning the government's priorities in light of the current challenges faced by K-P. The province is grappling with deteriorating law and order conditions as well as a worsening economic crisis. Under such circumstances, the notice argues, it is unjustifiable for the provincial leadership to approve such a large sum from K-P's resources for an institution based in another province. "The Chief Executive of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has no justification for allocating provincial funds to political bodies or institutions outside the province," Kundi stated. The PPPP has demanded a clear explanation from the provincial government regarding its stance and the rationale behind this financial decision. On the other hand, Senator Wali Khan condemned the move, accusing the K-P government of misusing taxpayers' money by distributing it among 'political friends of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).'
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Health
- Express Tribune
CII takes exception to child marriage bill
Listen to article The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has rejected a bill that bans marriage under the age of 18 in Islamabad, describing it as un-Islamic. The council has also declared the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025, presented by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, in conflict with Shariah. A meeting of the CII was held on Tuesday chaired by Dr Raghib Hussain Naeemi. According to the statement issued after the meeting, the council discussed the bill presented by MNA Sharmila Faruqi of the PPP and passed by the National Assembly on May 17. The bill was introduced with the object to curb, discourage and eventually eradicate the concept and phenomenon of child marriages. It said no Nikah registrar shall register a marriage where one or both the contracting parties are below the age of 18 years. It stated that whoever contravened with or failed to comply with sub-section (1) and (2) of the bill shall be liable to be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which shall not be more than one year and with fine amounting to Rs100,000, or both, unless he proved that he had reason to believe that the marriage was not a child marriage. The bill sought further punishment for male adults above 18 years of age marrying a child. "Whoever, being a male above eighteen years of age, contracts a child marriage shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to three years but shall not be less than two years and shall be liable to fine," it said. The CII noted that the clauses defining marriage under the age of 18 as sexual assault and prescribing punishments do not align with Islamic injunctions. The statement clarified that the bill to prohibit child marriage was not referred to the CII for review before legislation. The council also found the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025 submitted by the K-P government to be in contradiction with Shariah. The CII emphasized that thalassemia testing before marriage should be optional, not mandatory, adding that, according to Islamic teachings, marriage should be kept free from unnecessary complications. The council also expressed concern over the irresponsible reporting of court decisions. It clarified that forcing the bride's family to provide dowry items is contrary to Islamic teachings. The statement also said that women should have the right to choose whether to keep the domicile of their husband's area or that of their parents after marriage. It ruled that after the completion of iddat — the mandatory waiting period — the husband is not financially responsible for the divorced wife. In Islamic Shariah, iddat is also observed in the event of the husband's death. The CII also proposed amendments to Clause 7 of the Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was referred to it by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and formed a committee to draft a new version of the law. The meeting also considered questions received from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as well as issues related to mudarabah (Islamic finance), housing schemes, and investment matters.
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
K-P to unveil FY25-26 budget on June 13
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government will table the FY 2025-26 budget on June 13. Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur greenlighted the summary sent by the finance ministry and approved the date for budget presentation. Instead of finance advisor Muzamil Aslam, Minister for Law Aftab Alam will unveil the budget as Aslam is not a member of the house. Alam had also presented the budget for the current financial year. Sources said the total outlay of the K-P budget for the next fiscal year is likely to be pegged at Rs2,000 billion. Around Rs450 to Rs500 billion are likely to be earmarked for development projects. It is pertinent to mention that the total volume of the current fiscal year was fixed at Rs1751 billion, with Rs420 billion set aside for ADP. The K-P government is preparing for a Rs180 billion surplus budget for the next fiscal. Interestingly, the K-P government had broken the parliamentary tradition last year and presented a surplus budget for FY 2024-25 in the provincial assembly, even before the announcement of the federal budget, a move unprecedented in the country's history. Finance Minister Aftab Alam unveiled the Rs1,754 billion budget for fiscal 2024-25 [July-June], boasting a surplus of Rs100 billion.
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Bilawal slams PTI's 'fascist' govt in K-P
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government of trying to shield "rampant corruption" by blocking the PPP's peaceful protest, calling the move a failed attempt to suppress dissent. In a statement, Bilawal condemned the use of tear gas against PPP's political workers, who had taken to the streets in K-P to protest against lawlessness and rising unemployment in the province. "It is deeply regrettable that peaceful political workers were targeted with tear gas shelling," he said, adding, "We are not the ones to be cowed by such cheap tactics. Our pursuit of this corrupt and incompetent provincial government will continue." The PPP chairman further lambasted the PTI-led K-P administration, terming its action against unarmed political activists as an act of cowardice. "By unleashing violence on unarmed workers, the PTI government has shown its true colours," he added. Bilawal said the 'Save the Province Movement' (Suba Bachao Tehreek) had now become the voice of every citizen of K-P. "We will not be intimidated by batons and brute force," he asserted. He maintained that PPP workers were fully prepared to confront the corrupt K-P government head-on. "The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have now seen the real fascist face of the PTI's provincial government," he added. Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also raised serious concerns regarding the performance of the provincial government, accusing it of widespread corruption and a failure to maintain law and order. While speaking to journalists outside the Balochistan Assembly, Governor Kundi criticised the provincial government, claiming that key members of the provincial cabinet, including the chief executive, were involved in major financial misconduct. He said that mismanagement and embezzlement involving billions of rupees had weakened the governance structure and left the public without relief. He expressed alarm over the security situation, alleging that the provincial authorities had effectively ceded ground to militant elements. "The public is suffering, but those in charge are not responding. Terrorist groups are acting freely, and the government appears incapable of stopping them," he added. Referring to a recent bombing that claimed the lives of several children, the governor said the incident highlighted a pattern of repeated security failures. He pointed out that similar attacks had taken place in the past, notably in Khyber, and lamented that vulnerable communities remained frequent targets of such violence.
Express Tribune
7 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Gandapur skips Field Marshal's dinner
As the country's top brass gathered under one roof at a high-profile dinner hosted by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Friday night, one conspicuous chair remained empty - that of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. Despite being invited, the PTI stalwart sat the event out, choosing instead to attend a high-level party meeting focused on securing the release of PTI's jailed founding chairman, Imran Khan. Gandapur's absence and the broader non-participation of the PTI leadership once again served as a pointed reminder that while the country's ruling elite was breaking bread, its rift with the former ruling party over the ex-premier's incarceration remained far from healed - a divide that had briefly narrowed during the recent Pakistan-India war. The Friday night banquet, hosted in honour of the armed forces' success in Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, drew an elite crowd: President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the three provincial chief ministers (barring K-P), governors, key cabinet members and senior political leaders, including PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and ANP's Aimal Wali Khan. "CM Sahib didn't attend the dinner as he was busy in a party meeting called to discuss about Imran Khan's release from jail," KP CM's spokesperson Faraz Mughal told The Express Tribune. "Meeting about Imran Khan's release was more important than field marshal's dinner," the spokesperson said. Mughal said that Imran's sisters and party's key leaders had a long meeting regarding founding chairman's release and that is why he didn't attend the dinner. He also confirmed that it was the same reason – party meeting about Khan's release – why Gandapur didn't attended the ceremony where the army chief was officially elevated to the rank of field marshal at the Presidency the other day. Since August 2023, Imran Khan is incarcerated at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, serving sentences in multiple cases, including charges related to corruption – a charge that he used to frequently level against his political opponents and refused to even shake hands with them on this ground alone. The efforts by his party to secure his release have so far yielded little progress. Khan and his party maintain that the cases against him are politically motivated, aimed at sidelining him from the national political landscape. His continued imprisonment has not only remained a rallying point for PTI leaders and supporters but become a central issue in the party's ongoing standoff with the establishment. PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, while speaking to The Express Tribune said: "no one from our party was part of the dinner. I have no information suggesting any PTI leader was invited. Had anyone been invited, I would have known." The party spokesperson while confirming that the CM was "definitely invited" said the chief minister's spokesperson would be in a better position to comment further. He, however, added that neither he had any information nor seen any photographs indicating Gandapur attended the event. Apparently, the non-invitation to PTI and conspicuous absence of provincial chief minister underscores the lingering strain between the party and the powerful stakeholders amid PTI leaders' frequent statements that the party was ready to hold talks with the establishment to lower the political temperature in the country. The question about PTI and Gandapur's absence surfaced after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement, video and photos of the Friday night's dinner. The video and photos showed Field Marshal receiving the guests, which also included PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and ANP's Aimal Wali Khan. The military's media wing's statement said that President Asif Ali Zardari, PM Shehbaz Shari, deputy PM and foreign minister; chairman senate; speaker national assembly; federal ministers; governors; chief ministers; chairman joint chiefs of staff committee; chief of air and naval staff; senior leadership of major political parties; high-ranking government officials; and senior officers from the three services were present at the gathering. Field Marshal had hosted the dinner to celebrate success in the operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. On May 10, 2025, Pakistan had launched the as a retaliatory response to unprovoked Indian aggression, including missile strikes on Pakistani airbases and civilian areas. The operation, named after a Quranic term meaning "solid structure," was aimed to neutralise key Indian military installations and demonstrate Pakistan's military resolve. Following Indian attacks, the Armed Forces of Pakistan targeted the BrahMos missile storage facility in Beas, airbases in Udhampur and Pathankot and a military intelligence training facility in Rajouri. Pakistan's armed forces also shot down at least five Indian fighter jets, including a Rafale aircraft. Pakistan's strong response soon drew international attention and got recognition from several countries and renowned experts, with global powers urging both nations to de-escalate tensions and avoid further military confrontations. A ceasefire has been in place since then.
