Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza is a (so-called) hooligan : Rana Sana Ullah

Geo
KARACHI: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Sunday came hard on Sindh Home Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza for the latter’s statement against Pakistan Muslim League-N, Geo News reported.

“Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza is a (so-called) hooligan who only a few days back visited Nine Zero to bow his head in respect,” Rana Sanullah said in reaction to the statement of Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza in which he warned Nawaz League of dire consequences ‘if it tried to use undemocratic tactics against Pakistan People’s Party in Punjab’

The Punjab Law Minister said ill will is evident in Zulfiqar Mirza’s statement, describing it as an attack on Pakistan’s integrity.

“Pakistan People’s Party has no intention to implement the 10-point agenda,” he claimed, adding that no reconciliation can be greater than Pakistan’s stability.

He said N-League has already decided to throw PPP out of the Punjab government.

Punjab tussle: Zulfiqar Mirza warns PML-N of consequences

Tribune

FAISALABAD: Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza has warned PML-N of “consequences”  if the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is forced out of the Punjab coalition.

Speaking at a public gathering in Lyari on Sunday, Mirza asserted that the PML-N was hatching conspiracies to eliminate the PPP from Punjab. He warned the PML-N that any undemocratic step against the PPP government would result in anarchy in the country.

Mirza’s warning follows statements by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who  said February 22 will be the final day of talks with the PPP on the PML-N’s 10-point agenda.

Talking to the media in Faisalabad on Sunday, Shahbaz said the PML-N will decide on February 22 if it wants to have the PPP as a coalition partner in the Punjab government. Party chief Nawaz Sharif had earlier ruled out giving more time to the PPP to implement the 10-point reforms agenda.

PML-N, the main opposition group, has been engaged in negotiations with government interlocutors on economic and governance reforms linked to a 10-point agenda it had given to the PPP. Nawaz Sharif has given a 45-day deadline to implement the agenda, starting from January 10. Failure to deliver on the economic cum political agenda may lead to the parting of ways for both parties in Punjab.

Tension in Punjab

In an earlier report in The Express Tribune, the PML-N had refused to propose two members from its party to be part of a committee to discuss the 19-point agenda put forward by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) regarding governance in Punjab.

The agenda – presented to the Punjab government by the PPP in seeming retaliation to a 10-point agenda given to it by the PML-N in the centre – was termed ‘useless’ and a ‘waste of time’ by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.

The PML-N had to announce its members on February 15, but Sanaullah has now categorically refused to implement the PPP’s agenda in Punjab. When contacted, Raja Riaz refused to comment on the issue.

Punjab University students attempt self-immolation

Tribune

LAHORE: Students of Punjab University’s Plant Pathology department attempted self-immolation on Wednesday, demanding the Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognise their degrees.

The students, who have been making the demands for the past nine months, stated that they have not been able to secure jobs due to the their degrees not being recognised by the authority.

The university had started admissions and the program without the approval of the HEC.

The students began their protest outside the Vice Chancellor’s office, where clashes broke out between the police and the students after they tried to enter the office.

Later, two students doused themselves in kerosene oil and tried to set themselves on fire. They were later calmed down by the police and other students.

The VC ‘s office has stated that the matter is pending with the HEC.

Cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz joins MQM

Tribune

ISLAMABAD: Former test cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz on Tuesday announced to venture into politics by joining the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

He announced this at a press conference at the National Press Club, Islamabd, where he was accompanied by MQM’s senior leaders Dr Farooq Sattar and Babar Ghauri.

“We warmly welcome Sarfaraz Nawaz in the party,” Sattar said, adding that the MQM will soon emerge as a major national party.

Nawaz met MQM chief Altaf Hussain around four years ago. He has also served as the sports adviser to the Punjab government, Sattar said while giving a short introduction of the cricketer-turned-politician. Sattar also extended Nawaz an invitation to visit Nine-Zero.

“I had met Altaf Hussain four years back in London. I was impressed by the policies of the party and so decided to join the MQM,” Nawaz said.

When asked whether he joined the MQM in rivalry of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, Nawaz questioned Khan’s political standing while Babar Ghauri clarified that the MQM has no enmity with anyone.

Farooq Sattar said that Nawaz’s inclusion in the party was a good omen as people from different walks of life have started joining the MQM. “The MQM is actively working for the downtrodden sector of the society,” he added.

Answering a question about rejoining the cabinet, he said that currently the MQM was prioritising taking up economic issues with the government and does not think this is the right time to join the cabinet.

Nine of same family murdered in Mandi Bahauddin

Tribune
The assailants slaughtered the owner of the house Irshad, four of his sons, his parents and grandparents.

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: Unidentified men killed nine members of the same family in the Qadirabad area of Mandi Bahauddin on Tuesday morning.

The assailants slaughtered the owner of the house Irshad, four of his sons, his parents and grandparents.

According to reports, Irshad had married a girl from Sheikhupura two years ago but his family had completely restricted her movement, which is why the girl’s relatives allegedly murdered Irshad and his family.

The police also recovered a letter from the crime scene allegedly written by the girl’s relatives in which, they claimed that their daughter was kidnapped two years ago and the killings were a punishment for that.

The girl has been missing since the incident took place.

PPP Punjab sets Feb 7 as deadline for PML-N

Tribune
PPP Punjab had earlier presented the PML-N with a 19-point agenda to improve workings in the province.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab on Sunday set Monday, February 7, 2011 as the deadline for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to reply to the 19-point agenda that the PPP sent to it.

PPP provincial ministers will arrange token protests in front of the Punjab Assembly if the PML-N does not give a positive response, said sources. Hour-long protests are expected to take place every day after February 8, 2011.

Earlier, Punjab Senior Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed had told a press conference that the provincial parliamentary party of PPP had sent a 19-point agenda to the chief of PML-N Mian Nawaz Sharif for improving the performance of the Punjab government.

The PPP asked Sharif to remove corrupt provincial ministers whose portfolios were changed in the recent past over corruption and negligence charges. The party also demanded holding of local government elections as early as possible and action against officials responsible for failure of Sasti Roti and food stamp schemes.

This had come in the wake of the 10-points agenda that the PML-N had initially presented the PPP with along with a 45-day deadline.

Rape attempt at Punjab University hostel

Tribune

LAHORE: A rape attempt was reported by a female student at Punjab University Girls Hostel on Thursday night. The man involved escaped after the girl raised a ruckus, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The girl, an MPhil Behavourial Sciences student, said a man entered her room at around 3 am and tried to rape her.

When she cried out, she said, the man raced way. Other students soon made their way to her room. At around 4 am assistant superintendent Qudsia arrived at the hostel and tried to pacify the students.

The students, however, would not calm down and at around 5 am hostel warden Farah and close to 6 in the morning Hall Council chairman Ather Amin arrived at the scene.

A student who resides at the hostel spoke with the The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity and said that a man entered the hostel around 3 am. She said that he went to the first floor and started checking for open doors.

He entered a room but upon finding two women there who woke up, changed his mind and stepped out. She said he then went to the right wing of the hostel and entered a room where a student was fast asleep.

She said once the sleeping woman woke up she cried out for help. She said that she also tried to switch on the lights while the man attempted to pin her down.

The woman kept shouting and after about five minutes the intruder fled.

Another student said that the girls in the room the man had initially tried to enter had a vague sense of a man peeping in. She said that the man seemed to know his way around the hostel.

Amin while speaking with The Express Tribune said that the student had most likely had a nightmare. He said even so the matter was being investigated. He claimed that the guards on duty saw no one enter or exit.

One of the students insisted that two of the guards at the entrance were missing from duty that night.

Interior ministry report: Punjab tops list of abduction cases

Tribune
Province also has the most number of incidents of violence against women.

ISLAMABAD: Punjab tops the disturbingly long list of criminal cases of kidnapping for ransom and violence against women in Pakistan.

According to official documents of the interior ministry tabled in the National Assembly by Interior Minister Rehman Malik during question hour about the law and order situation in the country on Wednesday, a total of 2,300 persons were kidnapped for ransom from 2007 to 2010 in the four provinces and 11,789 women were subjected to violence in the last two years between 2009 and 2010. Punjab topped in both categories.

Out of 2,300 cases of kidnapping for ransom in the country, 834 were reported in Punjab. Similarly, out of 11,789 cases of violence against women, 8,433 cases were reported in country’s largest province.

Islamabad, too, witnessed an increase in cases of kidnapping for ransom last year. As compared to 12 cases in 2007, a total of 23 persons were kidnapped in 2010.

In 2007, a total of 449 persons were kidnapped, but in the following year, 2008, the figure went up to 670 – an increase of 221 cases. In 2009, there were 645 cases.

A breakdown of the figures shows that, in 2007, Punjab saw 190 cases of kidnapping for ransom, followed by Sindh’s 134, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) 87, Balochistan 26 and Islamabad with 12 cases.

In 2008, of the 670 cases of kidnapping for ransom Punjab was once again at the top with 248, while Sindh had 217 cases, K-P 150, Balochistan 35 and Islamabad 20. In 2009, a total of 645 cases of kidnapping for ransom were registered, out of which 224 were in Punjab, 188 in Sindh, 180 in K-P, 37 in Balochistan and 16 were in Islamabad. In 2010, 604 cases were reported out of which 192 were in Punjab, 177 in Sindh, 162 in K-P, 50 in Balochistan and 23 were in Islamabad.

Rana Bakhtiar resigns over dismissal from Davis case

LAHORE: Deputy Prosecutor General (DPG) Rana Bakhtiar has tendered his resignation from his post after been dismissed from the Raymond Davis case.

According to the sources, Additional Prosecutor General Abdul Samad has been appointed as official counsel in Raymond Davis case.

It is pertinent to mention here that Rana Bakhtiar was dismissed over his statement given to Geo News that Raymond Davis does not have diplomatic immunity.

Bakhtiar said that he gave the above statement in accordance with the law and record, adding that he tendered his resignation over his dismissal from the Raymond Davis case.

"I am also handing over my official car and gunmen," he added.

Rana Bakhtiar was also investigating the murder case of Justice Javed Iqbal’s parents.

Free ride: 76 PML-N affiliates costing Rs20m to Punjab govt

Tribune
These people were appointed after approval by the Chief Minister's secretariat.

LAHORE: As the Punjab government abolishes 550 posts to save Rs6 billion annually in expenditures, 76 people connected with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) continue to work as coordinators, chairpersons of task forces and media consultants in various departments and institutions, causing a financial burden of above Rs20 million annually to the provincial government.

An official requesting anonymity told that these appointed men are enjoying perks and privileges without making any remarkable contribution to government business.

Among them, 49 are consultants, 17 chairpersons of task forces of various departments and 10 are media consultants in the Information Culture and Youth Affairs (IC&YA) department to look after media management of the government.

Since July 2009, the Punjab government has appointed ruling party office-bearers and workers, 49 of them, as coordinators in various departments and teaching hospitals to assist officials in improving performance and service delivery to the masses. Of these 49, 11 are offered salaries, allowances, vehicles, petrol, lubricant and oil, office with telephone facilities. Their salaries range between Rs20,000 and 75,000 per month. They are also provided between 150 and 200 litres of fuel per month. The remaining 38 are working on a honorary basis.

These individuals are enjoying perks associated with their posts without making any contribution to government affairs. Since June 2008, the Punjab government led by Shahbaz Sharif constituted 28 task forces in different departments, which were assigned various responsibilities including recommending proposals for the promotion of good governance and merit in the public sector. The purpose of establishing these task forces was to save public funds likely to be utilised on offices of provincial ministers.

The government, after approval by the chief minister’s secretariat, appointed some elected parliamentarians, party office bearers, like-minded businessmen, retired bureaucrats and technocrats as chairpersons of these task forces. All chairmen were given official vehicles, offices, telephones and manpower to complete the assigned tasks. Of these appointed people, 11 were offered salary packages ranging between Rs75,000 and Rs2,25,000. In addition, they were also offered travelling allowance/daily allowance at par with BS-20 officers.

However in August 2010, after analysing the poor performance and casual attitude of the chairpersons, the Punjab government abolished 11 task forces on the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, an official said. But despite that, 17 people continue to enjoy benefits as chairpersons of various bodies.

An official said that the provincial government can save Rs20 million if it terminates contracts of these 76 people.

Fourth daughter: Man chops off his wife’s hands with axe in Punjab

Tribune

KHANEWAL: A man chopped off his wife’s hands after she gave birth to their fourth daughter.

Illah Abad resident Musarrat is the mother of four daughters and said that she had been abused by her husband ever since she gave birth to her fourth daughter.

“My daughter was born nearly two months ago and ever since he has tortured me,” she told doctors and police before she collapsed.  Musarrat delivered a baby girl one and half months ago and her husband Altaf detained her with her daughters in a single room of the house. “We were all locked up for nearly two months and every day we would dread the time he returned home,” she told the police.

Musarrat told police officials that Altaf used to beat her with a stick every day and it started immediately after she delivered their fourth daughter Rabia.
“He blamed me for having daughters and he wouldn’t let me forget it. Now he has chopped off my hands and I cannot forget it,” she said.

On hearing her cries, one of the neighbours told Musarrat’s father Lal Baksh about the situation. “They told me that she had been abused for months. We hadn’t seen her but her but we had no idea this was happening,” Baksh said.

Laal Baksh arrived at his daughter’s house but Altaf along with his brothers Mukhtar, Mushtaq and Akram attempted to kill Musarrat with a knife. Altaf attacked his wife with an axe and chopped off both of her hands. Altaf and his brothers also beat Laal Baksh with sticks. Baksh informed the police and police officials recovered the victim and immediately shifted her to the THQ Hospital Kabeerwala where according to MS Dr Zafar Masood her condition was critical. “She has suffered massive bleeding not only from her hands but other open wounds and we are not sure we will be able to save her,” he said.

“When we found her there was so much blood it is hard to describe it. The entire floor was covered in blood,” said SHO Mehr Waseem.

Dr Masood also said that the children and their mother were severely malnourished. “He had detained them for over a month and nearly starved them,” he said. Police officials raided the house but initially Altaf and his brothers escaped the scene. Saddar Police Station House Officer (SHO) Mehr Waseem registered an FIR on a complaint filed by Laal Baksh and conducted raids in the village.

An FIR No40/2011 under Sections no337 F-1, 337 A-1,148,149 has been lodged against six people including the husband of the victim. Police officials conducted raids and have caught all of the accused. The men are currently being interrogated by the police.

IJT terrorists manhandle PU teachers, admin officials

Daily Times
* Clash took place after event organised by IJT without admin’s permission

* Admin concerned over MPs’ participation in functions

LAHORE: The Islami Jamiat Talba (IJT) activists manhandled senior teachers and administrative officials of the Punjab University (PU) for trying to stop them from organising a ceremony without the administration’s permission on Thursday.

Reportedly, the clash occurred in the lawn of the varsity’s Philosophy Department, where the IJT was holding a prize-awarding ceremony, in which Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leaders Farid Paracha and Hafiz Salman Butt also participated. The PU administration’s officials and some teachers, after receiving information, tried to stop the function, upon which the IJT activists got infuriated and allegedly tortured them. Shortly after, more teachers and officials, including Prof Dr Amin Athat, Prof Dr Shaukat Ali, Prof Dr Abdul Ghaffar, Javed Sami, Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed, rushed to the Philosophy Department to control the situation.

The event, organised by the IJT without permission, disturbed the environment in the academic block of the new campus, the varsity administration said, adding that the Jamiat had also called its activists from the Government Science College, Wahdat Road, to participate in the event.

An official statement issued by the PU vice chancellor’s adviser, Col (r) Ikram, claimed that the (IJT) students not only misbehaved with the senior teachers and administrative officers but also abused and pushed them to make them go away. Such insulting behaviour towards teachers was without any parallel in the history of any educational institution, the statement added.

According to PU Resident Officer Javed Sami, IJT Nazim Zubair Safdar, Hafiz Wajid, Amir Yaqub and Rashid Manzoor were among those who misbehaved with the teachers. He held that the students’ organisation should abide by the varsity’s rules and regulations, adding that those who manhandled the teachers should be rusticated. Sami further said that participation of the political leaders in the illegal event had a negative impact on the peaceful environment of the campus.

Sources said that Punjab University Academic Staff Association (PUASA) President Mehr Saeed Akhtar’s sons were also in the group that manhandled the teachers.

Meanwhile, the PU spokesman said that the academic staff had also condemned the incident. He said that the staff had resolved to maintain peaceful academic environment and ensure respect of the teachers and administrative officers. No students’ organisation would be allowed to violate the rules and regulations, and high values and traditions of the oldest and largest seat of higher learning in Pakistan, the PUASA pledged.

The spokesman further said the PU administration had shown serious concern over the participation of some political leaders in the illegal functions held at the campus by the IJT students. “The administration hopes that the esteemed political leaders, who hold great respect, will avoid attending functions organised without a prior information of the administration,” he added.

Faisalabad factories at halt, as gas crisis intensifies

SAMAA
FAISALABAD: The gas supply to industries here is closed on the fourth day today, as gas crisis intensified in Punjab, leaving thousands of labourers without wages.


The decision to suspend gas supply to Faisalabad industries was made on Saturday under load management. Hence, the gas supply to industries in the city is cut off on the fourth day today, causing the industries to stand at a halt and labourers without employment.


Industries are not receiving new export orders and the old ones are being cancelled thanks to gas outages meted out to industries, causing industrialists to suffer the loss worth millions of rupees.

‘Nawaz should pay attention to poor people in Punjab’

Daily Times

* Sharmila advises Nawaz not to try and deceive people of Sindh


KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is a national party and free from all kinds of linguistics and provincialism and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, before claiming to change the fate of Sindhis, should concentrate on how to change the life of poor people in Punjab.


Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information Sharmila Farooqi said this while commenting on a statement of Nawaz.


The present democratic government has adopted an equal footing-based policy for all provinces and believes in serving the people irrespective of their affiliation, she added.


She said, “The people of Pakistan have not forgotten that the killings in Karachi were started during the tenure of Nawaz and that he had imposed governor rule in Sindh to protect his motives. If Nawaz knew who were behind the target killings in Karachi, then he should tell the people.”


Sharmila said before claiming to arrest the killers of Benazir Bhutto, he should first arrest the killers of General Zia, under whose leadership he started politics. Benazir’s assassination investigation has made considerable progress and the killers have been arrested as a joint interrogation team investigated them and the cases are going on in the court. The United Nations also helped in the investigation of her assassination, she added.


Sharmila said, “PPP is the largest political party of Pakistan and people belonging to all races and religions are the part of it as it believes in complete freedom of judiciary and media.”


She said political history of Pakistan has witnessed that the leaders and workers of PPP played the pioneer role in the freedom of judiciary and media.


She said the people of Sindh would never come under the influence of empty promises made by Nawaz because they believe firmly in the leadership of PPP.


She advised Nawaz to concentrate on the development of poor masses in Punjab and not to try and deceive the people of Sindh.

9-year-old gang raped and murdered

Police officials have arrested three men on suspicion
for the assault.

Tribune

MULTAN: A post mortem report of a 9-year-old girl revealed that she had been gang raped and murdered.

Three people have been identified in the medical report and doctors at Nishtar Hospital said that the child had been hand cuffed and cut with a knife before she was raped several times.

“The medical report confirms that the victim died during the assault and at least three different men were involved,” said Nishtar Hospital’s Dr Shahid.

The victim was a resident of Khudaad Colony and the eldest of five children.

Her father told police officials that his daughter was kidnapped on Thursday and that he had registered an FIR with the police. “On Saturday evening I found her body in a garbage dump outside my house,”  he said.

“A group of children found the body and my son and other daughter recognised who it was,” he said, adding that his children told him about the body.

The girl’s body was handed over to Nishtar Hospital in Multan. Medical officials conducted a post mortem and handed the body over to the police. Cantt Police Station superintendent of police (SP) Mehmoodul Hassan assured that stern action would be taken against the criminals involved in the case. “The medical report confirms that at least three men were involved and we have begun questioning neighbours about any suspicious activity in the area,” he said.

Police officials have apprehended three suspects in this regard.

The mens’ DNA and blood samples have been sent to a lab for testing. Residents of the area have protested against the incident and said that the men responsible should be ‘hanged in public’.

“The criminals will be punished according to the law,” the SP said, adding “but there is immense public pressure on us to catch them and hand them over to the public.”

Police have lodged FIR No 24/2011 in the Cantt Police Station under Section-302 by the father of the victim. The victim had two brothers and two sisters and her mother is currently in the hospital.

“My wife had a heart attack when she found out. She is still in the hospital and the doctors don’t know if she will survive,” the victim’s father said.

Police officials have said that they are presently waiting for the DNA results of the suspects to proceed with their investigation. “We have three suspects in custody and are waiting on the evidence,” the SP said.

Update: January 17, 2011

The Express Tribune Lahore desk has clarified that the names of the victims had been changed to protect their identity in the original print edition. The error was an omission of the notification stating this.

VIP protection: CM’s office security bolstered at Rs12m cost

Tribune

Rs373 million spent on security of top functionaries since Dec 2007.

LAHORE: The police department is set to install additional equipment worth Rs12 million to beef up security at the chief minister’s camp office in Raiwind.

The decision has been taken in the wake of the assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer. A summary moved by the Special Branch has been approved by the provincial finance department.

The sanctioned equipment includes two vehicle scanners, two CCTV networks with 40 cameras, 25 sets of walkie-talkies, 12 searchlights, a sound system, two blow-horns, 10 cabins, a sniffer dog and a moveable picket.

The Punjab government has spent Rs373 million since December 2007 on security upgrades for VIPs.

An official said most of the equipment purchased  previously was for 41-S Defence Housing Authority and 180-H Model Town (CM’s camp office and residence). He said that installation of similar equipment at the chief minister’s residence in Raiwind was because it has been declared his camp office.

“A Special Branch team will be deployed at the Raiwind office to monitor security arrangements around the clock,” he added.

He said that currently 248 Elite Force personnel were deployed for the security of the Sharif family. Of these, he said, 71 were with Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, including 58 at his Raiwind residence, 55 with Nawaz Sharif, 24 with Hamza Shahbaz, seven with Salman Shahbaz, six with Capt (retd) Safdar Mehmood, nine with Imran Yousaf (Shahbaz’nephew) and 10 with the chief minister’s first wife. Eight Elite Force officials were deployed at the Gulberg residence of Shahbaz’s other wife, he added.

Another police official seeking anonymity said that the police department was facing a shortage of funds and that police officials on other than VIP duty were mostly using outdated weapons.

In December 2008, the police department imported security equipment worth Rs250 million, including heavy-duty IED jammers, walk-through gates (with photo recording facility), conventional gates with wooden carry boxes, bomb locators/mine detectors, hand-held metal detectors, bomb defusing blankets, defusing bin, bullet-proof jackets, bullet-proof rostrum, CCTV cameras and bottom-view mirrors with night-sight facility.

In December 2007, the provincial government provided Rs111 million for the purchase of 621 items. These included four Toyota Land Cruisers and four heavy-duty IED jammers, 23 walk-through gates (with photo recording facility), 90 conventional gates with wooden carry boxes, 30 bomb locators/mine detectors, 340 hand held metal detectors and 130 bottom-view mirrors with night sight facility.

Of these, 80 were handed to the Directorate of Civil Defence, 13 to Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) and remaining 528 remained with the police department.

Latif Khosa takes oath as Governor Punjab

Tribune

LAHORE: Former Senator and Attorney General, Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa took the oath of Governor Punjab today.

Leading stalwarts from the Pakistan People’s Party, office bearers of People’s Lawyers Forum and other important personalities attended the oath-taking ceremony. Khosa was scheduled to take oath on Wednesday but the ceremony was postponed owing to themurder of Justice Javed Iqbal’s parents.

Khosa was appointed as the Governor of Punjab by President Asif Ali Zardari on 11th January. His appointment was challenged in the Lahore High Court the next day when a citizen filed a petition against him. It said that he was not eligible for the post under the articles 62 and 63 of the constitution because he was removed from the office of Attorney General in 2009 under charges of corruption.

The court adjourned the hearing till January 19. He will be taking the post of Salmaan Taseer, who was murdered by his own bodyguard last week for giving out statements against the blasphemy law. Khosa is the 27th Governor of the Punjab and is considered to be a close ally of President Asif Ali Zardari.