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ISLAMABAD: The Sup­r­eme Court has held that pre-arrest bail, being a judicial power and rooted in equity, is an extraordinary remedy and, therefore, should be exercised cautiously only to protect innocent people from the horrors of abuse of process of law. Authored by Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed, a three-page judgement on a set of appeals against a Nov 5 Sindh High Court verdict has explained that any prosecution initiated by considerations for the purpose stained with the taints of mala fide was the abuse of process of law. The appeals were moved by Sindh irrigation department officials Tariq Hussain, Sher Mohammad, Ayaz Ahmed Soomro, Ali Gul Phull and Ghulam Nabi and contractors Ghulam Sarwar, Tariq Hussain and Mir Mohammad Sodoro to seek bail in anticipation of their arrest in a corruption reference initiated by the National Acc­ountability Bureau on the SHC directive in connection with alleged misappropriation of funds in execution of the annual development plan for irrigat

Metropolitan Police on Saturday identified the London Bridge attacker as British national Usman Khan, a 28-year-old male from Staffordshire. "We are now in a position to confirm the identity of the suspect as 28-year-old Usman Khan, who had been residing in the Staffordshire area. As a result, officers are, tonight, carrying out searches at an address in Staffordshire,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said in a statement issued past midnight. Khan stabbed two people to death and left three injured a day earlier in an attack that caused fear and panic across the city as residents revisited the spectre of terror returning to London. "This individual was known to authorities, having been convicted in 2012 for terrorism offences,” Basu said. “He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack. He added that Khan was shot by specialist armed forces and died at the scene. "T

London's Metropolitan Police on Saturday identified the London Bridge attacker as British national Usman Khan, a 28-year-old male from Staffordshire. "We are now in a position to confirm the identity of the suspect as 28-year-old Usman Khan, who had been residing in the Staffordshire area. As a result, officers are, tonight, carrying out searches at an address in Staffordshire,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said in a statement issued past midnight. Khan stabbed two people to death and left three injured a day earlier in an attack that caused fear and panic across the city as residents revisited the spectre of terror returning to London. "This individual was known to authorities, having been convicted in 2012 for terrorism offences,” Basu said. “He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack. He added that Khan was shot by specialist armed forces and died at the sc

LONDON: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif had to turn back from the London Bridge Hospital where he was scheduled for a medical test after police sealed the area following reports of a shooting and a knife attack on Friday afternoon. Sharif was on his way to the hospital for a scan when an alert was issued by the Metropolitan Police about the incident at London Bridge where two gunshots had been heard. The hospital, where he has been visiting for routine check-ups, is less than half a mile from the scene of the incident. The former PM turned back from the scene and returned to his family apartment in Avenfield, Park Lane. The Met Police said they were called to a stabbing at a premises near the bridge just before 1400 GMT, adding that they had detained a man. Initial reports said five people were injured and one has been shot dead by police. The London Ambulance Service declared it a “major incident”. The incident sparked pan

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi has assured the business community that raids would not be carried out on places of registered taxpayers for collection of income tax or sales tax. He, however, called upon businessmen and traders to help the authorities solve the problems of smuggling and tax evasion. Talking to a delegation of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) here on Friday, the FBR chief said he would ask the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation of Inland Revenue (IR) to largely refrain from mounting raids. Mr Zaidi agreed to a proposal for granting the power of imposing penalties to an official not below the rank of an FBR member, who would evaluate the complaints/charges against an individual and then give permission for a raid, if really needed. Says that turnover tax will be reduced for small businesses on case-to-case basis and its threshold will be enhanced The sensitive issue came under discus

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges on Friday amended its rules to invite candidates for judicial posts in the provincial and Islamabad high courts. Earlier, the parliamentary committee, in the wake of a judicial order during the period of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, had virtually become a rubber stamp. The apex court while examining the scope of the committee held that recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) would stand approved if the committee could not consider a name within 14 days. The former CJP had also made it difficult for the parliamentary committee to reject the JCP’s recommendations. As per the amended rules, in case of non-appearance before the parliamentary committee, the nomination of a judge will be deemed to have been cancelled. Non-appearance before the committee will deprive a candidate of nomination The committee also decided to invite three nominees recommended by the JCP for the vacant po

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday presided over another meeting of senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on the Supreme Court verdict granting extension in tenure of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for six months, but remained "harsh" on the opposition despite the need to be in harmony with them to make smooth legislation on the issue of COAS’s service and extension as directed by the apex court. In another development, Farogh Naseem again took the oath as law minister. President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to Mr Naseem who had resigned from his post on Tuesday to plead the case of the army chief in the Supreme Court. A participant of the meeting told Dawn that the prime minister remained on the path of confrontation and continued “bashing” opposition leaders during the huddle. The prime minister repeated that those expecting “clash of institutions” and mafias were disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision. He