Here’s what is happening across the border: Pakistan opener Ahmad Shahzad may have failed dope test and Imran Khan is contesting the rejection of his nomination papers.
Punjab’s first woman advocate general removed
Asma Hamid, the first woman ever to take charge as Pakistan Punjab’s advocate general, has been removed from the post by the caretaker administration of the province.
The Harvard University alum had been appointed to the post hours before the term of the Shehbaz Sharif-led PML(N) administration was to end ahead of the 25 July provincial and general election, The Express Tribune reported.
The appointment had evoked vociferous criticism from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with the Imran Khan-led party writing to the chief election commissioner and the caretaker administration that it was meant to “provide covert and announced aid to PML-N’s candidates and pave way for pre-poll rigging”.
“Terming it a move to manipulate the upcoming elections, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry alleged that the appointment was made to serve the interests of the Sharif brothers,” the report added.
All-women team eyes Everest glory
Celebrated mountaineer Samina Baig will lead Pakistan’s first all-women expedition to climb Mt Everest, reported Dawn Wednesday.
Baig, the first Pakistani woman to climb the Everest, has climbed all the Seven Summits, the highest peak of each continent. Earlier this year, she was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the country by the UN Development Programme.
In 2014, Baig and her mountaineer brother Mirza Ali had started a training camp for about 200 girls and boys, but financial difficulties led to the endeavour’s demise.
Baid told Dawn that women from her home region, the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan, had a natural talent for mountaineering, but lacked the facilities to pursue it, with local traditions proving a hurdle too. It’s her aim to ensure greater participation of women in mountaineering.
Pakistan opener Ahmad Shahzad may have failed dope test
Cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has reportedly failed a dope test conducted during the domestic five-team Pakistan Cup tournament from 19 April to 1 May, reported The News.
In a press statement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) admitted a player had tested positive for a prohibited substance, but cited ICC rules to withhold his identity. “Under ICC rules, PCB cannot name the player or chargesheet him until the chemical report is confirmed by the anti-dope agency of the government,” the PCB added.
The cricketer would have the option of undergoing a second sample test, and face a ban of at least three months from international cricket if the violation is confirmed.
A decision regarding the scope of punishment is expected in the next few days.
Shehzad, who played for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the tournament, went on to be Pakistan Cup’s top-scorer, with his team winning the title.
Once ‘landless’, Maryam now owns 187 acres
Pakistan’s former first daughter Maryam Nawaz has declared assets worth Rs 846 million in her election nomination papers, including 187 acres of land and investments worth millions in multiple companies, reported Dawn.
The value — as recorded on 30 June 2017 — marked a rise of Rs 44 million over her asset worth the year before. According to the document, the tax paid by Maryam fell from Rs 1.5 million in 2015-16 to Rs 41,961 in 2017-18.
Maryam, on trial for corruption along with her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had claimed in 2011 that neither she nor her two brothers (Hussain and Hassan Nawaz) held “any properties outside or inside Pakistan”. However, since her election papers included financial details of only the last three years, they didn’t offer information on the 2011 claim.
Shia neighbours welcome back Sunni families displaced by riots
Over 10 Sunni tribal families were repatriated to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Parachinar Wednesday, 11 years after they were displaced by sectarian violence, reported The Express Tribune.
Awaiting their return were their neighbours from the Shia community and the Turi-Bangash tribes, and drum beats ushered them in as paramilitary personnel stood by to garland them. They received keys to their new homes from the Pakistan army’s 73 Brigade, and the deputy commissioner of the district.
More families will be repatriated in the second batch, the army assured.
Renowned Urdu humourist Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi dies at 94
Popular Urdu satirist and humourist Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi passed away Wednesday in Karachi after prolonged illness, reported ARY News. He was 94.
Yousufi was recently shifted to a hospital in Karachi for pneumonia, reported Daily Pakistan.
His notable works include Chiragh Talay, Khakam-ba-dahan, Zarguzasht, Aab-i-Gum and Sham-e-Shair-e-Yaaraan.
He also received the prestigious Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s third-highest civilian honour, in 1999 and Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the second-highest honour, three years later.
Imran Khan appeals rejection of his nomination papers
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan submitted an appeal to an election appellate tribunal Wednesday to contest the rejection of his nomination papers for Islamabad’s NA-53 constituency, reported Geo TV.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will hear the appeal Thursday.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had Tuesday turned down Imran’s, as well as former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s, nomination papers for NA-53 over their alleged failure to meet the requirements of a section of the affidavit that pertains to a candidate’s contribution towards their constituency.
Imran will still contest the 25 July general election from three constituencies, with his nomination papers also rejected from another of the five seats he sought to stand from.
Contributors: Sharanya Munsi, Priyamvada Grover, Hansa Kapoor, Manisha Mondal, Alind Chauhan, Prateek Gupta, Rupanwita Bhattacharjee and Anagha Deshpande.