Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed late on Saturday that the PTI was ready to dissolve its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and resign from all assemblies for fresh elections.
“This is a positive approach and we welcome it,” Fazl told reporters at his residence in Islamabad.
The PTI or any leader did not address or comment on the claim on social media as of Saturday night.
He also reported progress in contacts with the PTI and said his party formed a committee for formal negotiations to bury the hatchet.
“PTI and JUI had a bitter past and normalisation is a priority for future cooperation. This will lay the foundation for moving ahead,” he said.
He detailed that senior leader Kamran Murtaza would lead the committee while other members would be Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Fazal Ghafoor, Maulana Amjad and Fazal Ghafoor.
Fazl blasted the government for keeping PTI founder Imran Khan and other party leaders in prison.
He also reiterated his opposition to Operation Azm-i-Istehkam and claimed the people did not support it as they had suffered a lot due to previous military operations.
“People will not leave their houses again as they had to flee Swat and tribal areas due to operations and would live in camps,” he recalled.
Fazl called on the establishment to review its policies, saying the country could not continue to run if the current situation prevailed.
“They (the establishment) have no capability to deal with political matters. They want to make the Parliament and civil institutions as slaves and elected representatives as their servants,” he said.
“If you want to impose an emergency, launch parties of your own choice and make the Parliament subservient, we will not allow this,” he asserted.
Addressing the establishment, Fazl said: “You are creating a situation like Bangladesh in two provinces (KP and Balochistan) to separate from the country. The situation is now out of your hands and control. Martial law and emergency will not work now.”
The JUI-F chief also referred to his visit to Afghanistan in January and said he had received assurance from the Afghan leadership on several issues, including suggestions to resolve the issue of violence.
“Our people lost what I had achieved during my visit to Afghanistan,” he rued.
The JUI-F chief announced a series of gatherings in the coming weeks as part of public mobilisations, including a farmers’ convention in Mardan and traders gathering in Peshawar.
Two tourists were killed and three others, including the tour operator, were missing after a loader jeep carrying tourists plunged into a raging water channel in the Neelum Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Eight tourists were rescued, some with injuries, according to Neelum Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nadeem Ahmed Janjua.
A local witness told Dawn.com that the accident occurred around 1:30pm, when the vehicle en route to Ratti Gali, a renowned alpine glacial lake at 3,683 metres, had only covered three kilometres from the main Neelum Valley road.
The total length of the link road to the base of Ratti Gali Lake is 18km.
The witness told Dawn.com that while negotiating a curve at a location known as Jabba, the vehicle encountered trouble due to a driveshaft failure, which stopped its propulsion.
As the vehicle stalled, the driver jumped out, the witness said, adding that the jeep rolled backwards and plunged into the water channel, tipped over onto its left side.
Residents recovered one body from beneath the overturned vehicle, while the other was found downstream near the Kalas village.
DC Janjua identified the deceased as Ahsan Sheikh from Rawalpindi and Muhammad Bachal Attar from Naushahro Feroze in Sindh.
The eight rescued tourists were identified as Abu Musa’b Siddiqui and his wife Sidra Siddiqui from Karachi; Usman Mughal, Abdul Rehman Butt and Subhan Qureshi from Wazirabad; Mehwal Attar and Saddam Hussain from Naushahro Feroze and Abdullah Mumtaz Qureshi from Rawalpindi.
Some of the injured were hospitalised but were out of danger, he said.
Janjua identified the missing people as Imran Sheikh from Wazirabad, Asrar Ahmed Abbasi from Naushahro Feroze and tour operator Dildar from Muzaffarabad.
“So far, the rescuers have been unable to locate them,” he said.
Lately, Neelum Valley has witnessed several serious road accidents, often due to poor vehicle conditions or driver negligence.
Janjua, who was transferred to the Neelum district early this week, said he had initiated a crackdown on outdated and modified vehicles immediately after assuming office.
“We removed extended footboards, side railings and rods from all vehicles to prevent overcrowding,” he said.
“We have also impounded or sent several off-road unfit and modified vehicles.”
Janjua highlighted that tour operators who misled tourists with exaggerated claims were also being identified, and cases had already been filed against two of them.
“Despite repeated warnings and informative messages, most tourists, even well-qualified ones, do not verify the tour operators’ claims with the administration, tourism department, or tourism police, which are accessible around the clock,” he said.
The jeep involved in the accident was not a passenger jeep but a loader jeep used for carrying sand and gravel, hired by the tour operator after the crackdown on unfit and modified vehicles, he said.
“It’s surprising why the tourists boarded this jeep. They should have raised objections and refused to sit in it. They could have lodged a complaint with the concerned authorities,” he said.
DC Janjua also noted other challenges the administration had been facing during the peak tourist season.
“The length of Neelum Valley, from Nauseri to Taobutt, is around 165km. There are 40 link roads in between, but we have only 22 traffic police personnel to cover this vast area,” he said.
He urged the government to improve the condition of link roads, revamp the motor vehicle examination regime, and augment traffic and tourism police to prevent such incidents and facilitate tourists.
“I also urge tourists to properly plan their visits and verify information from the concerned authorities beforehand to avoid any problems,” he said.
A Lahore anti-terrorism court granted police 10 days’ physical remand of PTI founder Imran Khan in connection with 12 cases over the May 9 riots.
Countrywide protests erupted on May 9 last year after the paramilitary Rangers whisked away Imran from the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case.
While the protests were underway, social media was flooded with footage of rioting and vandalism at various spots, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s residence and General Headquarters, the army’s head of office in Rawalpindi.
A 13-member team of the Lahore police’s investigation wing had visited Adiala Jail on Saturday to quiz the former prime minister regarding the violence.
Sources said the PTI leader had refused to meet the Lahore police team when they tried to gain access to him to interrogate him about the May 9 cases, in which he was nominated on various offences, including charges of provoking the public against the state.
Lahore Investigation DIG Zeeshan Asghar told Dawn that the police arrested the PTI founder as he was the prime suspect in the 12 cases registered at various police stations in the city. Another senior officer told Dawn that the investigation police arrested the PTI founder in 12 out of the total 16 cases registered by the Lahore police over the May 9 attacks.
Out of the dozen cases registered against the former premier, police officials said that two in particular, which pertained to the attacks on the residence of the Lahore corps commander and the Askari Tower, were the focus of police high-ups.
The cases were registered against Imran over his alleged involvement in the attack on a police station in Shadman, military installations, government properties and officials.
The first information reports were registered with the Sarwar Road, Gulberg, Race Course, Naseerabad, Shadman, and other police stations of Lahore.
Anti-Terrorism Court-I Judge Khalid Arshad conducted the hearing today in which the police requested a 30-day physical remand of the former premier to conduct an investigation on the 12 cases.
Imran was taken on a video call via WhatsApp from Adiala Jail while he was represented by his lawyers Azhar Siddique and Usman Gul who opposed the police’s remand request, saying that the PTI founder had to be presented in person for the process.
The judge reserved his verdict after hearing the arguments and announced it shortly later, granting the police Imran’s 10-day physical remand for five cases at Sarwar Road police station, three at Gulberg police station and one each at Race Course, Shadman, Model Town and Mughalpura police stations.
President Joe Biden condemned the assassination attempt against Republican rival Donald Trump on Sunday, urged Americans to come together in unity and ordered a review of security at the rally where Trump was wounded.
Biden, who has been locked in a bitter campaign battle with former President Trump ahead of the November 5 election, said he would address the American people on Sunday night on the need for unity.
“Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now — unity. We’ll debate and we’ll disagree. That’s not going to change. But we’re not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans,” he said.
Biden said he had a short but good conversation with Trump on Sunday night and that he is “sincerely grateful that he is doing well and recovering.”
He said he had ordered a review of security amid questions about how the shooter was able to get into a position to open fire at Trump.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for […] as a nation — everything,” he said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) CTD Investigation Ali Raza, and a security guard were assassinated in Karimabad on Sunday night, police and hospital officials said.
CTD’s senior official Raja Umer Khattab told Dawn.com that DSP Raza, a senior official of the CTD, was martyred in an assassination attempt by unknown suspects at Shakeel Corporation, Karimabad, Block 1.
A security guard, who belonged to a private security company, was also injured in the firing and later succumbed to wounds during treatment at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Khattab said.
Khattab said that the martyred officer had worked extensively against members of banned outfits such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), sectarian groups and sub-nationalist groups as well.
He recalled that slain officer Raza had also remained a close aide of the then Superintendent of Police (SP) Crime Investigation Department (CID), Chaudhary Aslam Khan, who was killed in a suicide attack in the metropolis in the recent past.
He said DSP Raza used to visit Karimabad as it was his neighbourhood where his friends resided.
While he was leaving in his bullet proof vehicle, two suspects on a motorcycle arrived and opened indiscriminate firing before fleeing, he said.
Khattab said Raza suffered critical injuries and was transported to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn.com that the DSP had suffered “multiple gunshot injuries to chest, neck and head.”
A bullet was recovered, however, the complete post-mortem examination was not allowed by his family.
The police surgeon said the guard Waqar, 38, had suffered serious gunshot injuries to the chest, flank and inguinal region. He was in a “critical” condition and was moved to JPMC from ASH where he died during treatment.
Meanwhile, CTD Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Asif Ejaz Shaikh told the media that armed pillion riders fired 11 bullets.
The slain DSP coffin was taken to Imambargah in Ancholi after a post-mortem examination was carried out at the ASH.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister (CM) Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed his sorrow and anger over the attack.
According to the spokesperson, he paid tribute to the slain officer and expressed his condolences to his family.
The CM directed IGP Sindh to conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report to him.
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, in a conversation with Dawn.com, also expressed his grief over the martyrdom of DSP.
IGP Sindh told Dawn.com that the DSP had spent his career in CTD, working against not only the TTP and sectarian groups but Lyari gang-war and MQM-London activists as well.
He said the officer had worked on different high profile cases, adding that it would be premature to blame any group at his time or to assume that the assassination was connected with the arrival of Muharramul Haram.
The Islamabad Capital Territory police on Friday night said the district administration had cancelled the permit for the rally of a “political party” on July 6 and warned of legal action if anyone attempted to take the law into their hands.
The PTI is scheduled to hold a power show on Saturday in the Tarnol area of the federal capital. Lashing out at the federal government for delaying the issuance of a no-objection certificate for holding the public meeting, PTI leaders on Tuesday had announced that they would hold a record-breaking public gathering at the designated place, come what may.
They had made it clear that permission or no permission, a successful and peaceful public gathering would be held with public support, with the slogan ‘Qaidi 804 ka Nara, Azadi Haq Hamara’.
The Islamabad police had arrested PTI Islamabad region’s president Amir Mughal outside the deputy commissioner’s office a day ago ahead of the planned power show.
In a post on social media platform X today, the police said: “The district administration has cancelled the permit for a political party’s rally on July 6. No assembly is allowed without a permit.
“Legal action will be taken against those who take the law into their hands. Islamabad police will ensure the establishment of law and order in the city at all times.”
Despite the police’s post, the PTI subsequently posted a reminder on its X account about the Tarnol rally.
“The time has come for the nation to come out with all its strength and demand the freedom of its leader and its freedom. To be united, be strong! Our strength is in our numbers, in our truth, in our bravery!”
It also posted a video, alleging that it showed the police dismantling the installations at the site of the rally.
“How ridiculous and shameful that police is being used for this illegal work now! This is clearly violation of court’s orders. Rally will happen God willing.”
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub maintained that the party would hold its rally.
“Information has been received that the administration … they have cancelled [the permit]. This is malafide and they are doing it out of fear,” he said.
Earlier today, he alleged that the police and administration were creating hurdles. Ayub warned of taking legal action against the authorities and asserted that the rally would go through.
