ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday appointed Justice Aminuddin Khan as the first chief justice of Pakistan’s newly created Federal Constitutional Court, moving swiftly to implement a sweeping constitutional overhaul that has already prompted the resignation of two senior Supreme Court judges in protest.
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Pakistan deploys troops to guard Sri Lanka cricketers after capital bombing
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ringed the Sri Lankan cricket team with army and paramilitary troops and moved an entire Twenty20 tri-nation tournament to Rawalpindi after a suicide bombing in the capital on Tuesday killed 12 people and rattled a sport still haunted by the 2009 attack on the same visiting side.
Chief Justice summons emergency full-court meeting as constitutional crisis deepens
ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Thursday summoned an emergency full-court meeting of all Supreme Court judges for Friday morning, bowing to a third judicial plea in as many days for the court to confront the far-reaching 27th Constitutional Amendment that President Asif Ali Zardari formally enacted into law only hours earlier.
Sri Lankan cricket tells players to press on with Pakistan tour after Islamabad blast
ISLAMABAD: Sri Lanka’s cricket board on Wednesday ordered its players and staff to press on with their tour of Pakistan despite security fears sparked by a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad, warning that anyone who defies the directive faces a formal review.
Justice Aminuddin Khan tipped to head new Federal Constitutional Court
ISLAMABAD: Justice Aminuddin Khan, who currently heads the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (SC), is expected to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the upcoming Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), a new judicial body aimed at easing the Supreme Court’s caseload and focusing on constitutional matters, Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Afghan militants confined, cadets rescued in South Waziristan school siege
ISLAMABAD: Security forces rescued all 550 students and nearly 40 teachers from a military-run cadet college in the northwestern tribal region of South Waziristan on Tuesday, where three Afghan militants remained holed up in an administrative building after a brazen suicide attack on the facility the previous day, officials said.
PTI pursues disqualification, JUI-F expels senator for backing 27th amendment
ISLAMABAD: Two opposition parties moved swiftly on Tuesday to discipline senators who broke ranks to support a contentious 27th constitutional amendment, underscoring the deepening fissures in the country’s political landscape amid accusations that the measure consolidates power in the hands of the executive and military.
Retired judges, top lawyers ask CJP Afridi to convene full court on 27th Amendment
ISLAMABAD: As the Senate passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment on Monday, a group of present and former judges and prominent lawyers urged Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to convene a full court meeting to address what they described as the most profound threat to the Supreme Court since its founding.
PIA cancels nine flights as engineers’ strike enters sixth day
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines, the country’s beleaguered national carrier, grappled with widespread disruptions on Sunday as a labor dispute with its engineering staff stretched into a sixth day, leading to the cancellation of nine flights and delays for 18 others.
KP chief minister Afridi faces backlash after comments on counterterror ops
PESHAWAR: The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has come under intense criticism after questioning the conduct of security forces in counterterrorism operations, drawing swift rebukes from political and religious leaders who accused him of ingratitude, incitement and undermining national morale at a time when the military is bearing heavy losses in the fight against militant groups.