An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday extended the judicial remand of Chief of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and General Pervez Musharraf (Retd) for 14 days in judges’ detention case. Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi, while hearing the case, extended the remand of Musharraf and adjourned the hearing till June 1. Police could not produce Musharraf in the court for security reasons.

The court also acceded to the plea made by the lawyers from the former President and allowed the exemption of his presence in the court for one day. During the course of hearing, the court was informed that Aamir Nadeem Tabish was appointed as the new public prosecutor of the said case.

Furthermore, Musharraf’s counsel Ilyas Siddiqui informed the court that Advocate Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman, the plaintiff in the case, had announced his decision to withdraw his petition, but had not submitted a written notification to the court. Aamir Nadeem Tabish, while talking to the media, said the announcement by the case’s plaintiff, Ghumman, to withdraw the case was only confirmed to media. According to him, the court shall take due action after it receives an official notification from Ghumman with regard to his withdrawal of the case. Aamir said he had requested the court to give him time for preparation. Meanwhile, Ghumman said that he had taken back his complaint without any threat or pressure.

Advocate Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman while talking to Business Recorder claimed that the Islamabad police had cautioned him against life threats and offered security. He said before he took that decision, he consulted his friends. “When the court summons me, I will explain my point of view before the court as the court does not believe in media reports. It is up to the court to decide the fate of the case against Musharraf,” he said.

The judges’ detention case was registered by the Secretariat Police Station on August 11, 2009 and the complainant had sought legal proceedings against Musharraf for confining 60 judges of the superior courts for over five months at their residences, and restraining them from administering justice.

KARACHI: Re-polling in 43 polling stations in Karachi’s NA-250 constituency officially began amidst tight security on Sunday, DawnNews reported.

Along with police and Rangers, military personnel were also present at the polling stations to provide security.

Earlier, polling was not held in these stations as per schedule on May 11 due to the absence of presiding officers and electoral staff.

Due to widespread complaints of alleged rigging and irregularities, the ECP had postponed polling in 43 polling stations of the NA-250, PS-112 and PS-113 constituencies.

Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) boycotted the re-polling in protest.

The MQM had announced its boycott of the re-polling on Friday after its demand for re-polling in the entire NA-250 constituency was rejected. On the other hand, PPP’s local leader Najmi Alam in an about-face told a news conference on Saturday night that the party was boycotting the re-polling saying the ECP was not willing “to listen to us”.

The PPP’s decision to boycott the re-polling came hours after PPP Sindh’s General Secretary Taj Haider, in a statement, urged party workers and supporters to fully participate in the election process.

LONDON: British High Commissioner (HC), Adam Thomson has said that UK police have received countless complaints against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain for his remarks about detaching Karachi from Pakistan, Geo News reported.

In a statement, the British HC said Pakistan should take serious notice of Altaf Hussain’s statement.

Thomson further said that strict laws are followed in Britain against hate speech and spreading violence, adding the UK police is currently investigating Altaf’s speech.

He added that if anyone is found guilty, the accused can face imprisonment.

However, the MQM Chief Altaf Hussain has already denied demanding separation of Karachi from Pakistan.

He, however, said that there was no extradition treaty signed between Pakistan and Britain but added that taking action against Altaf Hussain was not out of the question.

Adam Thomson termed the recent elections in Pakistan as historic, saying the people subjected the governments to accountability through ballot.

However, he said that there should be a proper investigation into the allegations of rigging in the polls.

KARACHI/HYDERABAD: Following Jamaat-e-Islami’s boycott, other political and politico-religious parties also announced to pull their candidates out of the polling race because of vote-rigging in Karachi and Hyderabad.

Jamaat-e-Islami was the first to announce boycott from two major cities of Sindh, Karachi and Hyderabad.

JI chief Syed Munnawar Hasan, while addressing a press conference along with other party leaders, said that JI supporters were not allowed to cast their votes in various polling stations.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has also expressed its doubts in the fairness of the elections, saying that rigging is being carried in Karachi under an effective plan.

Addressing a press conference, senior PPP leaders Taj Haider alleged elections have massively been rigged in Karachi and subsequently their results would also be
tampered.

The Muttahida Quami Movement also complained for rigging, and later announced to boycott the polls from NA-248 constituency where Nabil Gabol, who has recently joined the party, was contesting polls.

Addressing a press conference, MQM’s Farooq Sattar alleged that rigging is underway at some polling stations of Karachi.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain telephoned Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim and complained about delay in the start of polling in various constituencies.

Chief of Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Haqeeqi Afaq Ahmed announced to boycott general elections in Karachi, saying that the polling was not being held free and fair.

The Muhajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) had fielded its 11 candidates for National Assembly and 15 for Sindh Assembly seats in Karachi.

Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) also pulled its candidates out of the polling race in Karachi. The SIC alleged that rigging was being carried out in an organized way.

Another key religious party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) followed the suit.

During a press conference, JUP central leader Sahibzada Abul-Khair Muhammad Zubair bemoaned the rigging in Karachi and Hyderabad and announced to boycotts from the two cities.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), the most popular party among youngsters, faced the same situation in Karachi, but only announced to boycott elections from Hyderabad.

PTI chairman Imran Khan, Pakistan’s best-known sportsman, in his message on Twitter said “Pakistan is witnessing a historic turnout today. We demand from ECP that voting time be extended to allow all voters to exercise their vote,” he said.

Meanwhile, Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimee (MWM), an alliance of Shia parties, announced the same decision.

In Balochistan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Nazriyati) leader Maulana Abdul Qadir Loni announced to boycott elections.

Another party of the province, Jamhoori Wattan Party, also announced to stay away from polls over rigging.