Addressing the province’s district and sessions judges along with additional district and sessions judges inside the court premises, Justice Khan maintained this was a “warning” for the new political setup to alleviate the public’s miseries or meet the same fate.

“People have used their votes to take revenge, and the new government should expect the same treatment if they fail to meet the public’s expectations.”

He said the new government, which is soon to take charge, should focus on educating citizens, ensuring equal treatment under the law, implementing court verdicts given in the public’s larger interests and thwarting conspiracies hatched against the homeland.

Acknowledging the transfer of power from one civilian government to another was a historical moment for the country, Justice Khan said corrupt elements would automatically be filtered out if democracy continued in the country. He stressed the incoming government should keep aside political gains and make an effort to steer the country away from the current crises.

“We should give priority to facing challenges in unity, as conspiracies are being hatched against our nukes,” he said, adding people had been knocking on the court’s door because state institutions had failed to perform their legal obligations.

Claiming the subordinate judiciary was the judiciary’s backbone, Justice Khan asked judges to ensure it is does not indulge in corrupt practices.

Justice Khan also distributed keys of official vehicles to the juadges on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2013.

PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan on Saturday said people used the ballot to take revenge on the previous government.

Addressing the province’s district and sessions judges along with additional district and sessions judges inside the court premises, Justice Khan maintained this was a “warning” for the new political setup to alleviate the public’s miseries or meet the same fate.

“People have used their votes to take revenge, and the new government should expect the same treatment if they fail to meet the public’s expectations.”

He said the new government, which is soon to take charge, should focus on educating citizens, ensuring equal treatment under the law, implementing court verdicts given in the public’s larger interests and thwarting conspiracies hatched against the homeland.

Acknowledging the transfer of power from one civilian government to another was a historical moment for the country, Justice Khan said corrupt elements would automatically be filtered out if democracy continued in the country. He stressed the incoming government should keep aside political gains and make an effort to steer the country away from the current crises.

“We should give priority to facing challenges in unity, as conspiracies are being hatched against our nukes,” he said, adding people had been knocking on the court’s door because state institutions had failed to perform their legal obligations.

Claiming the subordinate judiciary was the judiciary’s backbone, Justice Khan asked judges to ensure it is does not indulge in corrupt practices.

Justice Khan also distributed keys of official vehicles to the judges on the occasion.

Voter turnout for the four National Assembly seats in Peshawar district was reported to be 44%, nearly double the 2008 turnout which was around 28.7%.

NA-1

In 2008, 88,945 votes were cast from the constituency out of a total of 387,083 registered voters (22.98% turnout). In 2013, out of 320,578 registered constituency members, 148,027 voted (46.18% turnout). This includes 41,640 women

Result: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan won the seat with 90,434 votes against Awami National Party’s (ANP) Ghulam Ahmad Bilour who retained 24,449 votes.

NA-2

A total 144,198 (including 39,975 women) out of 331,864 registered voters, polled in 2013 (43.45% turnout). While in 2008, 78,296 constituency members out of 387,083 cast ballots (24.86% turnout).

Result: PTI’s Hamidul Haq defeated Maulana Muhammad Saeed of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) by securing 78,948 votes.

NA-3

In 2008, 93,461 (35.6%) out of 262,477 registered electorate voted. From the 384,086-strong vote bank in 2013, 177,823 polled (46.165% turnout); this including 45,855 women.

Result: PTI’s Sajid Nawaz secured 67,214 votes defeating JUI-F’s Senator Haji Ghulam Ali.

NA-4

The turnout in 2008 was 31.66%. In 2013, that jumped to 40.34%. 142,160 voters (including 40,089 women) participated out of a total 352,416 registered voters (40.34% turnout).

Result: PTI’s candidate Gulzar Khan made it to the National Assembly from the militancy-hit constituency by defeating PML-N’s Nasir Khan Musazai. Gulzar scored 55,097.

K-P Assembly seats from Peshawar district

The turnout for the 11 PK constituencies was 44.34% compared with the 26.15% turnout in the 2008 general elections.

The results of the 2013 general polls for the provincial assembly are yet to be approved by the ECP.

PK-1

A total of 54,401 votes (42.69%) including 15,600 cast by women were polled; there were 127,437 registered constituency members. In 2008, 26,504 (14.46%) out of 123,275 registered voters participated in the polls.

Result: PTI’s Ziaullah Afridi secured 22,922 votes defeating Malik Muhammad Nadeem of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) who received 6,888 votes.

PK-2

A total of 61,241 votes were recorded this time round, out of 130,113 registered voters (47.07% turnout). In comparison, 38,850 were cast out of 153,836 registered voters (25.52% turnout) in 2008.

Result: PTI’s journalist-turned politician Shaukat Ali Yousafzai defeated Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Syed Zahir Ali Shah with a margin of around 16,000 votes.

PK-3

In 2013, 50,438 voters, including 12,447 women, turned up at polling stations (out of a total of 107,076), representing a 47.10% turnout. In 2008, 34,800 (20.62%) out of 168,809 registered voters cast their votes.

Result: Javed Naseem of PTI won by scoring 18,080 votes defeating Haroon Bilour.

PK-4

A total of 49,289 out of 109,010 registered voters participated in the polls (45.22% turnout). In 2008, 25,743 out of 114,600 registered constituents cast their votes (22.46% turnout).

Result: PTI’s Arif Yousaf received 24,741, defeating Muhammad Ibrahim Qasmi of Muttahida Deni Mahaz who received 10,540 votes.

PK-5

A total of 61,408 (43.26%) including 1,881 female voters, polled out of 141,964 registered voters. In comparison, there was a 23.32% voter turnout in 2008; 31,994 votes out of 137,198 registered voters were recorded.

Result: PTI’s Yaseen Khalil swept the constituency with 31,575 votes, defeating JUI-F’s Maulana Amanullah Haqqani.

PK-6

A total of 55,072 votes, including 8,661 female votes, were cast out of 138,943 registered voters (39.64% turnout). In stark contrast, only 31,994 votes were polled out of 137,198 registered voters (23.32% turnout) in 2008.

Result: PTI candidate Fazl-e-Ilahi won by receiving 14,870 votes.

PK-7

Out of 120,866 registered voters, 57,838 polled (47.85% turnout).

In the 2008 elections, 30,814 participated out of 78,613 registered voters (39.2% turnout).

Result: Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Hafiz Hashmat Khan lost to PTI’s Mehoom Jan with a margin of 6,000 votes.

PK-8

Out of 122,782 registered voters, 57,115, including 14,676 females, turned to polling stations on Election Day (47.12%). In 2008, 28,935 (32.65%) out of 88,622 registered voters participated.

Result: PML-N’s Arbab Akbar Hayat beat JUI-F’s Asif Iqbal Daudzai.

PK-9

In 2013, 62,271 constituency members, including 16,949 women, cast their ballots out of 127,145(48.98% turnout). While in 2008, 34,134 out of 70,313 registered voters participated (48.55% turnout).

Result: PTI’s Arbab Jandad secured 13,385 votes, defeating JUI-F’s Muhammad Sharif who received 10,776 votes.

PK-10

A total of 48,828 voters, including 12,086 women, turned to polling stations this time around (37.52% turnout). In 2008, 27,212 out of 93,106 registered voters cast their ballots (29.23% turnout).

Result: Voters of the militancy-hit constituency bordering Frontier Region Peshawar chose PTI’s Shah Farman who defeated Awami National Party’s Khushdil Khan with a 1,500-vote lead.

PK-11

Out of 141,334 registered voters, 58,191, including 14,475 women, cast their votes (41.25% turnout). In 2008, 35,026 votes from a bank of 100,055 registered voters (35.01% turnout).

Result: PTI’s Syed Muhammad Ishtiaque received 15,136 votes defeating JUI-F’s Khalid Waqar Chamkani who secured 12,967 votes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.

Strict security measures were taken to ensure a smooth polling process. Police personnel were deployed in and outside the stations and people were thoroughly checked before being allowed to enter.

Army personnel were seen patrolling the main Indus Highway, ready to thwart any situation that threatened the process. Some army personnel were also deployed outside the stations.

Voters of a variety of age groups were found to have different preferences, with some saying the last setup was good enough to eradicate their problems and should be given another chance, while others said it was a time to give others an opportunity.

“I think Khushdil Khan (former deputy speaker K-P assembly) has done a lot,” said 60-year-old Razi Khan, a resident of Badhaber. “I will vote for him because he is from my village and is available at any time.”

Ejaz, 24, who was standing in a queue to vote for the first time in his life, said people were fed up with the situation and wanted change. “Earlier, people used to vote to resolve domestic problems. Now I think militancy is a common problem, and it needs to be uprooted.”

A voter from Pasanni village at the NA-4/PK-10 polling station bordering Frontier Region Peshawar told The Express Tribune by phone both men and women had been casting their votes since 8am despite having received serious threats this week.

Meanwhile, scuffles regarding women voting were reported in most areas including Badhaber and Hazar Khwani. These were later resolved by law enforcement agencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

The drone strikes “are held to be a war crime, cognizable under the international court of justice or a special tribunal for war crimes,” read the judgment, quoting civilian casualties and, damage to property, livestock and wildlife an inexcusable crime on part of the United States and its Central Intelligence Agency.

The PHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Musarrat Hilali, gave the order while admitting four different petitions filed by Noor Khan, FM Sabir, Defence of Pakistan Council and the Foundation for Fundamental Rights.

Terming US drone strikes in North and South Waziristan Agencies a blatant violation of basic human rights, the UN Charter, UN General Assembly resolutions and provisions of the Geneva Convention, the court ordered the government to take all possible measures to halt the attacks.

“The government and security forces shall ensure that in future such drone strikes are not carried out within the sovereign territory of Pakistan. Proper warning shall be administered to the US in this regard. If that does not work, the government and state institutions, particularly security forces, shall be obligated to shut down drone attacks on Pakistani territory,” the bench ordered.

Taking a step further, the court also directed the government to take up the matter at the UN Security Council through an urgent meeting of the General Assembly.

The court added if the move to highlight the matter was vetoed or “in case the US does not comply with UN resolutions, the government shall sever ties with the US and, as a mark of protest, deny all logistic and other facilities to the US within Pakistan.”

The court observed that in view of established facts, civilian casualties were a result of the drone strikes and therefore the US government was bound to compensate victims’ families in US dollars.

The court also observed drone attacks were carried out against a handful of alleged militants who were not engaged in combat with the US, and claimed this amounted to a breach of international laws and conventions.

Quoting Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter, which calls for all members to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, the judges noted the aggression was being undertaken on the whims of US defence and intelligence bodies without taking Pakistan into confidence.

The court also said loss of life and property was strictly prohibited, not only by UN Charter, but also by the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Article 3 and Article 52 (1) and (2) of additional protocol stated targeted killing is lawful only when the target is a “combatant” or “fighter” or, in case of a civilian, a person “directly participating in hostilities”.

The bench noted since the president, prime minister and parliament had already condemned the strikes, the only option left to be exercised was to give an effective rejoinder through the UN.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2013.

PESHAWAR: The US drones strikes are against UN charter and the Geneva Convention, The Peshawar High Court (PHC) declared while terming it against sovereignty of Pakistan.

The government was asked to issue warning to the US and CIA regarding the drone strikes in North and South Waziristan agencies, by a PHC division bench comprising chief justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Musarrat Hilali.

The order clarified that Pakistan had the right to strike back if the attacks continue.

The UN assembly should be asked to inquire the issue and to declare the strikes a crime, especially since the drone attacks were conducted without consent from the Pakistani government, the court further ordered.

Furthermore, Pakistan should stop all ties with the US government if the US vetoed the resolution terming drone strikes, violation of Pakistan’s integrity.

The division bench also ordered that since there was loss of life and property of tribal residents, the US was bound to compensate via dollars.

May 2 was a historic day when such a bench heard cases related to 73 petitions. This was not only warmly welcomed by lawyers and litigants who all stood up in honor of Justice Irshad Qaisar and Justice Musarrat Hilali – the moment was also described as ‘history in the making’.

Lawyers think the female bench will convey a softer image of Pakistan to other countries, proving Pakistani women do not fall short by any standards. Women from Pakistan can not only fly jets, treat patients and report stories. They can also give verdicts in court cases.

“Yes, keeping in view the law and order, it (female bench) could be something exclusive.  But let me tell you one thing, us Pashtuns have always honored females,” PHC Bar Association President Ishtiaq Ibrahim told The Express Tribune.

According to Ibrahim, social norms in Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are based on strict cultural values which do restrict women. “But that does not mean we have restricted our females to their homes only.”

“There are Pashtun teachers, doctors, sportswomen, journalists, lawyers and even law officers representing the provincial government. This conveys to the world how liberal our society is,” stated Ibrahim.

He said the image portraying Pashtuns the world over goes completely against actual facts and the division bench exclusively comprising women judges proves this.

“This has never happened in the history of the country’s judiciary – there has been no other occasion of a division bench comprising two female judges exclusively, something which was witnessed last week,” said Barrister Bacha. The barrister was among the lawyers who stood up to honour the bench.

He urged women in Pakistan be provided equal opportunities.  “I tell you, they (Pakistani women) are no less than men and are women of the modern world. I witnessed this when [the female division bench] was giving verdicts at the PHC,” Bacha said emphatically. “The women of K-P are not necessarily confined to the four walls of their homes; they share the burden of their men.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2013.

Letters were put up on walls in different locations, including Hameed Khan Machine, Captain Tor Khan Kallay and Iqra Public School in Sherkera area. It read that people should avoid voting because democracy is contradictory to the teachings of Islam.

This was the first time the Taliban warned people through letters in the Sherkera area.

Last month, a member of banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said his group is focused on jeopardising democracy by creating obstacles for Election Day.

We have succeeded politically after we were asked to negotiate by the government, said TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, adding that the group is now solely focused on the next elections.

As the elections come closer, the TTP’s aim is to derail the democratic system, read a letter issued to the media. Mehsud also urged TTP’s militants to target senior politicians and party leaders, while simultaneously fighting security forces.

In a rare address from an undisclosed location, Mehsud further said that the TTP is not just fighting a war on a tactical level, but has been successful in subduing politicians and bringing them to the negotiation table.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2013.

PESHAWAR: A sense of fear prevailed among residents after the Taliban warned people not to cast their vote in general elections. They termed democracy as against the ‘teachings of Islam.’

Letters put up on walls in different locations, including the Hameed Khan Machine, Captain Tor Khan Kalay and Iqra Public School in Sherkera area. It read that people should avoid voting because democracy is contradictory with the teachings of Islam.

This was the first time the Taliban warned people through letters in the Sherkera area.

Earlier last month, leader of banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said his group is focused on jeopardising democracy by creating obstacles for Election Day.

We have succeeded politically after we were asked to negotiate by the government, said TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud, adding that the group is now solely focused on the next elections.

As the elections come closer, the TTP’s aim is to derail the democratic system, read a letter issued to the media. Mehsud also urged TTP’s militants to target senior politicians and party leaders, while simultaneously fight the security forces.

In a rare address from undisclosed location, Mehsud further said that the TTP is not just fighting a war on a tactical level, but has been successful in subduing politicians and bring them to the negotiation table.

Receiving a warm welcome by lawyers and litigants present inside the courtroom, the division bench, comprising Justice Irshad Qaisar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, heard cases relating to 73 petitions.

Apart from being a historic occasion, lawyers said it would project a softer image of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). They added it would send a message to the world that Pakistani women not only can fly jets, treat patients and fight for the homeland but are now also part of the judiciary.

“Never in the judicial history of the country has there ever been such an occasion. None of the other high courts of the country has a bench comprising two female judges exclusively,” said Barrister Bacha.

Justice Qaisar became the second female judge after she took oath as PHC judge in July 2012 after a gap of 18 years. Justice Hilali became the third female PHC judge in March.

The first woman to enter the PHC as a judge was Justice Khalida Rashid, who took oath in 1994.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2013.