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Sindh governor administers oath to Interim CM Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar

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KARACHI: Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori on Thursday administered oath to Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar. 

Outgoing CM Murad Ali Shah and his cabinet members were also present at the oath-taking ceremony. Before attending the oath-taking ceremony, the former chief minister was given a guard of honour as he was leaving the provincial chief executive’s residence.

Earlier this week, after days of deliberation about who will be the next interim Sindh chief minister, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the province and leader of the opposition of the dissolved assembly Rana Ansar, representing the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), had agreed on naming Justice (retd) Baqar for the post.

Justice (retd) Baqar last served as a senior judge at the Supreme Court of Pakistan after receiving elevation from his post as the Sindh High Court chief justice on February 17, 2015. He was appointed as the top provincial judge of Sindh in September 2013. Justice (retd) Baqar retired from the apex court in April 2022.

He garnered praise for his works as an excellent and brave jurist, particularly following a targeted attack on him by a terrorist outfit due to his judicial verdicts against terrorists.

Justice (retd) Baqar was also known for his critique of the judiciary. Following his retirement in April 2022, he once publicly pointed out severe flaws in the country’s judicial affairs.

Born on April 5, 1957, the senior SC judge began his legal career with his enrollment as an advocate in May 1981 after completing his LLB from the University of Karachi. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on August 26, 2002, and confirmed as an SHC judge the following year.

While he was serving at the SHC, Justice Baqar’s judgments in terrorism cases irked terrorist outfits, after which he was targeted by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorists in a bomb explosion on June 26, 2013, in Karachi. He, along with personnel of law enforcement agencies, suffered injuries in the attack. But the judge returned to work after months of rehabilitative surgery.

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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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